One of the UK’s best-selling novels, from chart-topping author Peter James, has been turned into a gripping play set to thrill audiences at Newcastle Theatre Royal next month.

Dead Simple features an all-star cast led by Tina Hobley, who returns to the stage having graced TV screens for the last 12 years as ward sister Chrissie Williams in the BBC 1’s Holby City as well as roles in Coronation Street and Harbour Lights before that and was seen earlier this year in Celebrity Master Chef. She currently presents the prime time Sunday morning programme on Smooth Radio.

Tina leads the cast in an edge-of-your-seat plot, where a stag-do prank goes wrong, leaving the groom buried in a coffin with everyone who knows his whereabouts dead. Everyone but one person… and Detective Roy Grace must race against the clock to find that person and rescue the victim before it’s too late!

Dead Simple also stars award-winning TV heartthrob, Jamie Lomas who appeared recently in EastEnders as the murderous Jake Stone and before that played bad boy Warren Fox for five years in Channel 4’s Hollyoaks. Jamie plays alongside Rik Makarem who played Nikhil Sharma in Emmerdale and previously appeared in Torchwood and Michael McKell who played Dr Nick West inDoctors as well as DC Nick Henshall in Emmerdale.

The role of the famous Detective Roy Grace is played by Gray O’Brien, the award-winning star of Coronation Street, TV seriesTitanic, Peak Practice and Casualty as well as Sleuth in the West End. He will follow up his critically acclaimed performance in previous Peter James adaptation, The Perfect Murder, by playing the detective in this gripping, chilling, thriller that has all the classic suspense, twists and turns of a best-selling Peter James novel.

Peter James has gone straight in at number one in the Sunday Times bestseller charts seven times in the last four years with his Roy Grace series. The international bestselling crime thriller novelist has won numerous awards both in the UK and in the USA, Peter has sold over 15 million books of his Roy Grace series, and is published in 36 languages. Dead Simple has itself sold over 2 million copies around the word and has been a number one best seller in the UK, Germany, Italy, France, Holland and Russia

Dead Simple is the second of James’ novels to be adapted for the stage and Peter said: “From the age of eight, when my parents first took me to the Theatre Royal in Brighton, it had been my dream that one day the curtains would rise in a theatre and a play of my work would be performed.  That dream came true after a chance meeting with my old friend, producer, Joshua Andrews, at a party in November 2012.

“Josh had seen first-hand the success of the recent Agatha Christie stage productions and he joked that I was the nearest thing to a living modern day Agatha Christie – so he asked if I had any novels that I felt might adapt well to the stage. The result was the first run of The Perfect Murder, over 16 weeks from early January this year, and to my delight it played to packed houses, enthusiastic audiences and a great critical response around the country and has just started its second tour this autumn!

“It is a real thrill now for Josh and I to be launching our second collaboration, an adaptation by the brilliant Shaun McKenna, of my first Roy Grace novel, Dead Simple. It’s a tale of treachery and deceit, which seems to touch a nerve in everyone who reads it and has been one of my best-selling books to date.”

“I had myself locked in a coffin for 30 minutes as part of my research, and it was one of the scariest moments of my life. It’s so many people’s worst nightmare to be buried alive and I’m looking forward to recreating some of that terror in the theatres soon with another incredible cast of actors!”

Dead Simple appears at Newcastle Theatre Royal from Tue 26 – Sat 30 May 2015 (Evenings: 7.30pm, Matinees: Wed and Thur 2.30pm). Tickets from £14 (online price) Tickets can be purchased from the Theatre Royal Box Office on 08448 11 21 21 or select your own seat and book online at www.theatreroyal.co.uk.

DUE TO UNPRECENTED DEMAND, THE RECORD-BREAKING 60TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR OF THE MOUSETRAP CONTINUES THROUGH TO NOVEMBER 2015

Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap will continue its record-breaking, and first ever, UK tour into 2015. The beloved murder mystery will begin the 2015 leg of its tour at His Majesty’s Theatre in Aberdeen on 28 April. The show will then visit over 25 venues across the UK including a return visit to The Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury in September 2015 where the record-breaking tour began in September 2012.

The cast for the 2015 tour includes Hester Arden (Macbeth, Orange Tree Theatre) as Miss Casewell,Edward Elgood  as Christopher Wren, Mark Homer (Eastenders’ Tony Hill) as Giles Ralston, Esther McAuley (I Promise You Sex and Violence, Northern Stage) as Mollie Ralston and Jonathan Sidgwick(Hollyoaks; Coronation Street) as Mr Paravicini. William Ilkley joins from the West End production ofThe Mousetrap as Major Metcalf alongside Luke Jenkins and Anne Kavanagh who will reprise their roles from the record-breaking 2014 tour as Sgt Trotter and Mrs Boyle respectively.

The production, which originally opened in 1952 starring the late Richard Attenborough and his wife Sheila Sim, will visit: Aberdeen, Sunderland, Mold, Dundee, Preston, Newark, Eastbourne, Scunthorpe, Lowestoft, Wolverhampton, Sheffield, Weston-Super-Mare, Swansea, Bradford, Bournemouth, Oxford, Truro, Canterbury, Northampton, Durham, Gravesend, Dorking, Horsham, St Albans, Colchester, Hamilton, Buxton and Coventry.

Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap has been the world’s longest running stage production at its London home since 1958. The 60th Anniversary – and first ever – UK tour of this beloved murder mystery has been seen by over 600,000 people across more than 600 performances and breaking box office records in many of its venues.

Mousetrap Productions has also licensed 60 productions of The Mousetrap world-wide to mark the 60th year, and many of these have also broken their records, from Cape Town to Philadelphia, Singapore to Sydney.  During this period the world’s longest running show has been seen in every continent, with professional productions in Australia, China, Korea, Turkey, South Africa, Russia, Czech Republic, Hungary, France, Germany, Holland, Italy, Poland, Spain, Scandinavia, Venezuela, and across the United States and Canada.

The Mousetrap continues its London run, after recently celebrating its 26,000 performance at St. Martin’s Theatre, London.

www.mousetrapontour.com

2015 TOUR DATES

28 April – 2 May
His Majesty’s Theatre, Aberdeen
www.aberdeenperformingarts.com/venues/his-majestys-theatre
Box Office: 01224 641 122

5 – 9 May
Sunderland Empire Theatre
www.atgtickets.com/venues/sunderland-empire
Box Office: 0844 871 3022

11 – 16 May
Clwyd Theatr Cymru
www.clwyd-theatr-cymru.co.uk
Box Office: 0845 330 356

18 – 23 May
Dundee Rep Theatre
www.dundeerep.co.uk
Box Office: 01382 223530

26 – 30 May
Charter Theatre, Preston
www.prestonguildhall.com
Box Office: 0844 844 7710

1 – 6 June
Palace Theatre, Newark
www.palacenewark.com
Box Office: 01636 655 755

8 – 13 June
Devonshire Park Theatre, Eastbourne
www.eastbournetheatres.co.uk
Box Office: 01323 412 000

16 – 20 June
Scunthorpe Baths Hall
www.scunthorpetheatres.co.uk
Box Office: 0844 854 2776

22 – 27 June
Marina Theatre, Lowestoft
www.marinatheatre.co.uk
Box Office: 01502 533 200

29 June – 4 July
Wolverhampton Grand Theatre
www.grandtheatre.co.uk
Box Office: 01902 429212

6 – 11 July
The Lyceum, Sheffield
www.sheffieldtheatres.co.uk
Box Office: 0114 249 6000

13 – 18 July
The Playhouse, Weston-super-Mare
www.parkwoodtheatres.co.uk/theplayhouse
Box Office: 01934 645 544

20 – 25 July
Swansea Grand Theatre
www.swansea.gov.uk/swanseagrandtheatre
Box Office: 01792 475715

27 July – 1 August
The Alhambra Theatre, Bradford
www.bradford-theatres.co.uk/venues/the-alhambra-theatre
Box Office: 01274 432 000

3 – 8 August
Bournemouth Pavilion Theatre
www.bournemouthpavilion.co.uk
Box Office: 0844 576 3000

17 – 22 August
Oxford Playhouse
www.oxfordplayhouse.com
Box Office: 01865 305 305

24 – 29 August
Truro Hall for Cornwall
www.hallforcornwall.co.uk
Box Office: 01872 262 466

1 – 5 September
Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury
www.marlowetheatre.com
Box Office: 01227 787 787

7 – 12 September
Royal and Derngate, Northampton
www.royalandderngate.co.uk
Box Office: 01604 624 811

14 – 19 September
Gala Durham
www.galadurham.com
Box Office: 0300 026 6600

21 – 26 September
The Woodville Halls Theatre, Gravesend
www.woodville.co.uk
Box Office: 01474 337 774

28 September – 3 October
Dorking Halls
www.dorkinghalls.co.uk
Box Office: 01306 881 717

5 – 10 October
The Capitol Horsham
www.thecapitolhorsham.com
Box Office: 01403 750220

12 – 17 October
Alban Arena
www.alban-arena.co.uk
Box Office: 01727 844 488

19 – 24 October
Mercury Theatre, Colchester
www.mercurytheatre.co.uk
Box Office: 01206 573 948

26 – 31 October
The Town House, Hamilton
www.sllcboxoffice.co.uk
Box Office: 01698 452 122

2 – 7 November
Buxton Opera House
www.buxtonoperahouse.org.uk
Box Office: 0845 127 2190

9 – 14 November
Coventry Belgrade
www.belgrade.co.uk
Box Office: 024 7655 3055

The Mousetrap
continues at
St. Martin’s Theatre
West Street
London
WC2H 9NZ

Box Office 08444 99 1515
www.the-mousetrap.co.uk

Performances
Monday to Saturday at 7.30pm
Matinee performances at 3.00pm on Tuesday and 4.00pm on Saturday

HEARTWRENCHING WARTIME TALE MAKES NEWCASTLE DEBUT

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, a world stage premiere of the bestselling novel by John Boyne, is set to make its Newcastle debut at the Theatre Royal in May.  Be prepared to be stirred, stunned and heartbroken 19-23 May 2015.

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas is an emotive tale of an unlikely friendship between two innocent boys. Set during World War II, the story is seen through the eyes of Bruno, the eight-year-old son of the commandant at a concentration camp, whose forbidden friendship with a Jewish boy on the other side of the camp fence has startling and devastating consequences.

John Boyne’s 2006 novel has sold millions of copies around the world and has appeared on many bestseller lists including the New York Times where it reached number one. It was made into a Miramax feature film which was released in 2008.

This play is produced by The Children’s Touring Partnership, which is led by independent producer Fiery Angel and a consortium of major regional theatres. The Partnership has previously toured hit shows Goodnight Mister Tom (which won the Olivier Award for Best Entertainment and Family) and Swallows and Amazons.

Marianne’s Oldham plays Mother. Marianne recently appeared in The Musketeers for BBC One; Foyle’s War for ITV1 and was a lead regular role in The Crimson Field for BBC One. Her most recent film credit is Absolutely Anything, directed by Terry Jones and starring alongside Kate Beckinsale.

Phil Cheadle stars as Father.  Phil has extensive stage credits, including a local appearance in Blue Remembered Hills at Northern Stage.  His TV credits include Crimson Fields; New Worlds; Silent Witness and Inspector Lynley to name but a few, and he has appeared in films John Carter; Comes A Bright Day and To The Sea.

The role of Bruno during the Newcastle Theatre Royal run will be played by Jabez Cheeseman, and Colby Mulgrew will play Shmuel, both 9 years old.

Edward Snape for the Children’s Touring Partnership commented, ‘The Children’s Touring Partnership aims to produce and tour innovative, ambitious and engaging large scale theatrical productions for children and families. After two years of development we are very excited by this new commission which will bring this extraordinary story to life on stage for the first time’.

As the book is a Key Stage 3 level school text for 11 – 14 year olds, there will be an extensive education programme attached to this production and an additional matinee performance to accommodate school parties.

Born in Dublin, John Boyne has published nine novels for adults, including his most recent, A History of Loneliness (2014).  As well as The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas,  John has written three other novels for younger readers: Noah Barleywater Runs Away (2010), The Terrible Thing That Happened to Barnaby Brocket (2012) and Stay Where You Are And Then Leave (2013).

The production has been adapted for the stage by Angus Jackson, Associate Director of Chichester Festival Theatre. His Chichester credits include Neville’s Island (now playing in the West End) and King Lear (also New York), The Browning Version (also West End), Goodnight Mr Tom (also national tour), and Bingo (also Young Vic). For the National Theatre he directed Rocket to the Moon, The Power of Yes, Fix Up and Elmina’s Kitchen (also tour and West End). His film of Elmina’s Kitchen won him a BAFTA Best New Director nomination.

The director is Joe Murphy, the Artistic Director of nabokov, a new writing company which is dedicated to making work in response to immediately relevant social and political themes.  Joe’s 2010 production Bunny won the Scotsman Fringe First Award following its premiere in Edinburgh and went on to tour the UK.

Design is by Robert Innes Hopkins, who renews his collaboration with Angus Jackson following several hit productions at Chichester Festival Theatre, and Lighting design is by Malcolm Rippeth, an Associate Artist of Kneehigh where his credits includeBrief Encounter, which was a sell-out success at Newcastle Theatre Royal in 2009.

The composer is Stephen Warbeck whose credits include the film Shakespeare in Love for which he won an Academy Award.

www.theboyinthestripedpyjamas.com

CASTING ANNOUNCED FOR REVIVAL OF

ELEGIES FOR ANGELS, PUNKS AND RAGING QUEENS

CRITERION THEATRE (PICCADILLY), 31 MAY 2015

RAISING FUNDS FOR THE MAKE A DIFFERENCE TRUST

Tickets are now on sale for a West End revival of the song cycle Elegies For Angels, Punks and Raging Queens, taking place at the Criterion Theatre on Sunday 31 May 2015.

More than 30 of the West End’s most talented performers will take to the stage for the special “one night only” performance in aid of The Make A Difference Trust, with direction by Stephen Whitson and musical direction by Dean Austin.

Cast members who are confirmed so far* include: Vivienne Acheampong, Simon Bailey, Paul Baker, Daniel Boys, Natalie Bush, James Charlton, Adam Colbeck Dunn, Michelle Crook, Fra Fee, Sarah French, Tom Gillies, Rachel Lea Gray, Victoria Hamilton-Barritt, Emma Hatton, Paul Hazel, Nick Hendrix, Graham Hoadly, Freddy Hutchins, Lauren Ingram, Kurt Kansley, Emma Kingston, Emma Lindars, Leon Lopez, Grace McKee, Matt McKenna, Ako Mitchell, Ursula Mohan, Katie Paine, Michael Pickering, Ella Marshall-Pinder, Kelly Price, Sophia Ragavelas, Grace Reynolds, Paul Riddiford, Joanna Riding, Oliver Saville, Adam Stafford, Alwyne Taylor, Izabella Urbanowicz, Miles Western, Emma Williams, Gary Wood, Matthew Wycliffe (*subject to availability; further names to be announced).

Elegies For Angels, Punks and Raging Queens is a song cycle with music by Janet Hood and lyrics and additional text by Bill Russell. The work features songs and monologues inspired by the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt and Edgar Lee Masters’ Spoon River Anthology. Each of the monologues is written from the perspective of characters who have died from AIDS and the songs represent the feelings of friends and family members dealing with the loss.

The piece was developed in the late 1980s and was originally titled “The Quilt.” It was produced first at the Ohio Theatre in Soho in NYC in 1989, where the new title was adopted. In 1992, it was produced at the King’s Head Theatre in London, where it played for several months. In June 1993, the production was transferred to

the Criterion Theatre in London’s West End.

Bill Russell has adapted the piece over the years and has kindly given the producers the permission to be the first people to produce this “new version for the 21st century”.

All profits will go The Make a Difference Trust. Originally founded as West End Cares in 1990 and later becoming Theatrecares, The Make A Difference Trust (www.madtrust.org.uk), raises funds for HIV and AIDS Projects that raise awareness and provide care, support and education in the UK and Sub-Saharan Africa.

Elegies For Angels, Punks and Raging Queens, produced by Leon Kay for First Light Theatre, in association with TheatreMAD, takes place on Sunday 31 May at 7.00pm (VIP reception from 6.00pm). Tickets, priced from £30-40 (£75 with VIP reception) are now on sale online*: www.ticketmaster.co.uk , by telephone*: 08448 471778 and in person at the Criterion Box Office (*booking fees may apply).

http://www.madtrust.org.uk/elegies.php
https://twitter.com/elegieslondon

LISTINGS

DATE: Sunday 31 May 2015

TIME: 7.00pm (VIP Reception from 6.00pm)

VENUE: Criterion Theatre, 218-223 Piccadilly, Piccadilly Circus, London, W1V 9LB.

TICKET PRICES: £75 VIP Champagne Reception, £40, £30

TO BOOK:

Phone: 08448 471778 *

Online: www.ticketmaster.co.uk *

In Person: Criterion Theatre Box Office

(* fees may apply)

2015 NATIONAL TOUR ANNOUNCED
FOR A NEW PRODUCTION OF
TERENCE RATTIGAN’S EPIC WARTIME ROMANCE
FLARE PATH
DIRECTED BY JUSTIN AUDIBERT

The 2015 national tour of Terence Rattigan’s FLARE PATH, directed by Justin Audibert, will open on 17 August at Devonshire Park Theatre in Eastbourne (national press night, 2 September at Richmond Theatre). Casting is to be announced.

FLARE PATH will then tour to Richmond, Bath, Malvern, Exeter, Cambridge, Ipswich, Coventry and Guildford with further dates to be announced.

Based on Rattigan’s experiences as a tail gunner during World War II, FLARE PATH paints an evocative portrait of life in wartime Britain for the life-and-death existence of the RAF bomber crews, and their wives and sweethearts who were left waiting their return.

Set in 1942 against a backdrop of heartache and quiet bravery, FLARE PATH tells the story of former actress Patricia, the wife of RAF pilot Teddy, whose marriage is tested to the limits by the surprise arrival of Patricia’s ex‐lover and Hollywood idol Peter Kyle. An unexpected and dangerous mission over Germany puts Patricia at the centre of an emotional conflict as unpredictable as the war in the skies.

FLARE PATH combines highly charged drama with a truly authentic taste of the fear, camaraderie and passion experienced by the men and women who fought to save their country, their families and each other.

This new production of FLARE PATH will be directed by Justin Audibert, who is currently directing The Jew of Malta for The Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford. Justin is an Artistic Associate for HighTide Festival Theatre and Red Ladder, and his directing credits include productions at Soho Theatre, the Young Vic and West Yorkshire Playhouse.

FLARE PATH will have Set and Costume Design by Hayley Grindle, Lighting Design by Alex Wardle and Sound Design by Dom Bilkey.
Most recently seen in London’s West End in 2011, in a production directed by Trevor Nunn, this major revival of FLARE PATH comes from the producers behind the current critically-acclaimed and hugely successful touring production of BIRDSONG.

FLARE PATH is produced on tour by Alastair Whatley for The Original Theatre Company and Anne-Marie Woodley and Jon Woodley for Birdsong Productions Ltd.
Official website: www.flarepaththetour.com
Twitter: @flarepathtour
Facebook: @flarepaththetour

2015 TOUR SCHEDULE

17 – 29 August      Devonshire Park Theatre, Eastbourne

Now  on sale www.eastbournetheatres.co.uk                           01323 412000

1 – 5 September    Richmond Theatre

Now on sale www.atgtickets.com/venues/richmond-theatre     0844 871 7651

7 – 12 September     Theatre Royal, Bath

On sale in June www.theatreroyal.org.uk                                     01225 448844

15 – 19 September   Festival Theatre, Malvern

Now on sale www.malvern-theatres.co.uk                               01684 892277

21 – 26 September     Exeter Northcott Theatre

Now on sale www.exeternorthcott.co.uk                                 01392 493 493

28 September – 3 October  Cambridge Arts Theatre

On sale soon         www.cambridgeartstheatre.com                          01223 503333

19 – 24 October      The New Wolsey Theatre, Ipswich                       On sale 18 April
www.wolseytheatre.co.uk                                   01473 295900

3 – 7 November       The Belgrade Theatre, Coventry                          On sale soon
www.belgrade.co.uk                                          024 7655 3055

23 – 28 November       Yvonne Arnaud, Guildford                                 On sale soon
www.yvonne-arnaud.co.uk                                 01483 440000

FULL CAST ANNOUNCED FOR

THE FIRST LONDON REVIVAL OF

CLOSER TO HEAVEN

A musical by Jonathan Harvey and the Pet Shop Boys

AT THE UNION THEATRE FROM WEDNESDAY 22 APRIL – SATURDAY 23 MAY 2015

Full casting is announced today for Closer to Heaven, a musical by Jonathan Harvey and the Pet Shop Boys, which will receive its first London revival at the Union Theatre from Wednesday 22 April 2015, with a press night on Tuesday 28 April.

The cast features Jared Thompson as Straight Dave, Katie Meller as Billie Trix, Amy Matthews as Shell, Connor Brabyn as Mile End Lee, Ben Kavanagh as Flynn, Craig Berry as Vic and Ken Christiansen as Bob. The cast also includes Ellie Mitchell, Tamsyn Blake, Grace Reynolds, Jamie Firth, Martin Harding, Ben Somerside and Alex Tranter.

Reserved Seats will also be released online today, priced at £30 and available at selected performances. Reserved Seats are guaranteed reservations in the best seats in the theatre, which operates unallocated seating. 100% of the ticket revenue from these seats will contribute towards a profit share between the cast and creative team.

Paul Taylor-Mills Ltd said: “We are absolutely delighted that Closer To Heaven has recouped its production costs pre-opening due to an unprecedented 48 hour online sell-out. This means the entire cost of the Reserved Seats will be shared equally amongst the cast, musicians and creative team. The Off West End exists because of the good-will, risk and generosity of the people that decide to work on these shows, and in our fortunate circumstances it feels only right that any financial award is split amongst those giving their time and energy to make the work happen.

Tickets are available at www.ticketsource.co.uk/uniontheatre.

Set against the backdrop of Soho’s pulsing clubland, Closer to Heaven tells the story of Dave, just off the boat from Ireland and determined to make something of himself. He is offered a bar job at a glitzy London nightclub, where he quickly becomes part of an unconventional family including Billie Trix, a fading rock star of the sixties and mother figure to the club’s habitués, Vic, the club’s owner and a middle-aged gay father, and his daughter Shell, who Dave sparks an immediate connection with. But will Dave truly discover himself in London, or will he fall into a labyrinth of excess, false agendas and the darker side of club life?

Closer to Heaven originally premiered at the Arts Theatre in 2001, and features an original club score by the Pet Shop Boys.

Pet Shop Boys are the UK’s most successful pop duo with 12 Top Ten studio albums and 40 Top Twenty singles including four number one records. Their first single West End Girls reached number one in nine countries, with further number one hits including It’s a Sin, Always on My Mind and Heart. They have won Brit awards for Best Single, Best Group and Outstanding Contribution to Music, and Ivor Novello Awards for Songwriting and Outstanding Contribution to British Music. They have a dedicated interest in combining music with theatre and film, having collaborated on tours with artist/director Derek Jarman, David Alden and David Fielding from the ENO, theatre designers Ian MacNeil and Es Devlin and director Sam Taylor-Wood. In 2001, Closer to Heaven was produced in the West End, and in 2011 their ballet The Most Incredible Thing, choreographed by Javier De Frutos, premiered at Sadler’s Wells.

Jonathan Harvey is the multi award-winning writer of Beautiful Thing, which returns to the West End in June. He has written 20 stage plays including Corrie!, Canary, Hushabye Mountain, Babies, Boom Bang A Bang and Rupert Street Lonely Hearts Club. His theatre work has won him an Evening Standard Award, two Manchester Evening News Awards, the George Devine Award and the John Whiting Award. Television work includes the Bafta nominated sitcom Gimme Gimme Gimme, Beautiful People, Coronation Street, Shameless, Rev (Bafta, Best Sitcom), At Home With The Braithwaites, Lilies, The Catherine Tate Show and Murder Most Horrid. Jonathan has also written 4 novels, published by Pan Macmillan, All She Wants, The Confusion of Karen Carpenter, The Girl Who Just Appeared, and The Secrets We Keep.

Closer to Heaven will be directed by Gene David Kirk, whose recent credits include Me & My Friend (Drayton Arms Theatre), The Two-Character Play by Tennessee Williams (Off Broadway), Orwell: A Celebration (Trafalgar Studios), TheAsh Boy (Theatre503) and Elgar & Alice (UK Tour). Gene was Artistic Director of Jermyn Street Theatre from 2007 – 2012, winning The Stage’s Theatre of the Year Award in 2012. Gene was Executive Producer for the stage premiere of Samuel Beckett’s All That Fall starring Sir Michael Gambon and Dame Eileen Atkins, directed by Sir Trevor Nunn, which transferred to the West End’s Arts Theatre and to Off-Broadway’s 59east59 Theatre. Gene is currently Artistic Director of the Drayton Arms Theatre.

Paul Taylor-Mills Ltd returns to the Union Theatre following productions of The Beautiful Game and Bare: The Rock Musical. Other productions include In The Heights (Southwark Playhouse), Altar Boyz (Greenwich Theatre), The Cat in the Hat (UK Tour) and the forthcoming London revival of Carrie: The Musical (Southwark Playhouse).

Closer to Heaven has a book by Jonathan Harvey and music and lyrics by Pet Shop Boys. It is directed by Gene David Kirk with choreography by Philip Joel, musical direction by Patrick Stockbridge and design by David Shields. Casting is by Adam Braham. It is produced by Kylie Vilcins for Paul Taylor-Mills Ltd, by special arrangement withThe Really Useful Group.

@Closer_2Heaven

LISTINGS

WEDNESDAY 22 APRIL – SATURDAY 23 MAY 2015

UNION THEATRE

204 Union Street, London SE1 0LX

Press Night: Tuesday 28 April 2015, 7.30pm

Performances: Tuesday – Saturday at 7.30pm, Saturday and Sunday at 2.30pm

Tickets: £20 (£17 Concessions)

Box Office: 020 7261 9876 | www.ticketsource.co.uk/uniontheatre

ON SALE NOW

Takes Families from the North East on a Captivating Adventure to

Four Magical Locations

New Production Features Dynamic Sisters Anna and Elsa

from the #1 Animated Movie of All Time Disney’s Frozen

Also watch Lightning McQueen, Tow Mater and the crew of Disney●Pixar’s Cars take to the ice

Disney On Ice presents Worlds of Enchantment, Feld Entertainment’s action-packed ice spectacular featuring four fun-filled Disney stories, is coming to Newcastle on Tyne in October. Worlds of Enchantment showcases beloved characters from Disney●Pixar’s Cars, The Little Mermaid, and Disney●Pixar’s Toy Story 3, along with Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck and Goofy. Joining these cherished characters are the stars of Disney’s Frozen. Tickets for performances at The Metro Radio Arena go on sale Friday 10th April.

Audiences will enter the fantastical wintery world of Arendelle with royal sisters Anna and Elsa from the BAFTA and Academy Award® winning and number one animated feature film of all time, Disney’s Frozen. Anna, a girl with an extraordinary heart, embarks on an epic journey with the hilarious snowman Olaf and rugged mountain-man Kristoff to find her sister, the magical Elsa, whose icy powers have trapped the kingdom of Arendelle in eternal winter.

“Our re-creation of Arendelle and the visual splendor on the ice sets the stage for the magical transformation from summer to winter,” says Producer Nicole Feld. “While it might seem obvious that Frozen is well suited for the ice, this Disney On Ice production will touch audiences emotionally through innovative show elements and world-class skating.”

In Radiator Springs, life-size Disney●Pixar’s Cars characters – Lightning McQueen, Tow Mater and the crew – take their high-octane personalities to the ice. Featuring state-of-the-art, custom animatronics, their eyes and mouths move with every twist and turn on the frozen highway. Mater has amusing antics in store as the Cars characters rock the ice with jumps, spins and freewheeling fun.

“Worlds of Enchantment connects classic and new Disney stories,” says Producer Kenneth Feld. “Audiences will be blown away in Radiator Springs when they encounter the unforgettable crew of animated cars, built to scale and live on ice. They will see their all-time favourites like The Little Mermaid and Disney●Pixar’s Toy Story 3 and discover a story full of action, magic and unforgettable characters with Frozen.”

To produce Worlds of Enchantment, the Feld father-daughter duo called upon the talents of an incredible creative team consisting of Jay Smith (Director), Patty Vincent (Director Toy Story 3 and Frozen sections), Jerry Bilik (Writer/Adapter), Two-time Emmy® Award-winner Sarah Kawahara (Choreographer), Cindy Stuart (Choreographer – Toy Story 3 and Frozen sections), Cynthia Nordstrom (Costume Designer), Scott Lane (Costume Designer – Toy Story 3 section), Emmy®-nominated Gregory A. Poplyk (Costume Designer – Frozen section), Peter Morse (Lighting Designer), Alex Reardon (Lighting Designer – Toy Story 3 section), Sam Doty (Lighting Designer – Frozen section) and Jeremy Railton (Set Designer).

Disney On Ice presents Worlds of Enchantment

Metro Radio Arena

Newcastle on Tyne

6th- 11th October 2015

www.metroradioarena.co.uk

Ticket Hotline: 0844 493 6666

Tickets costing from £16.00 will go on sale Friday 10th April 2015 and are available online, from the booking hotline number 0844 493 6666 or in person from the Metro Radio Arena Box Office.

Tickets are available from:-

Credit Card Booking and Information Line 0844 493 6666

The Metro Radio Arena Newcastle Box Office (Mon – Fri: 10.00am – 4.00pm, Sat: 11.00am – 2.30pm)

Internet Site:- www.metroradioarena.co.uk

Group Bookers should call (0191) 260 6006

Accessible Bookings should call (0191) 260 6066 for further details

Civic Theatre, Darlington – 7 April 2015

In his first stand up tour for four years, Tim Vine arrived to a fully sold out Darlington with  “Timtiminee Timtiminee Tim Tim to You”  with the warning that the show contains wobbly props, one reference to a panda and a song about getting water in your ear after swimming.  It also has a veiled reference to Mary Poppins via the name of the show, the arrival of Vine in a chimney and his outfit (think Dick Van Dyke and the dancing penguins bit) and his leaving music of “Lets Go Fly a Kite”.

But the show was hilarious, from start to finish.  Full of puns, one liners, visual gags, ridiculous songs and the pure madness of Vine himself.  Including the epic “Pen Behind the Ear” and the joke voted funniest at the 2014 Edinburgh Fringe “I’ve decided to sell my hoover… well, it was just collecting dust.” 

Tim Vine presents proper, wholesome, clean family entertainment.  No profanities, no innuendo just fast-fire, clean and corny gags.  Suitable for an audience made up of 0 to 90 year olds. No politics, sexism or put downs just silliness on a grand scale which is a welcome relief for those of us who like our comedy to be funny.

The support act was equally as brilliant – local magician John Archer who baffled with his tricks and had me as a very unglamorous assistant whilst he guessed which street I had picked out of a choice of 3 map books.  I went for Krefeld Way in Barnet because we used to live in Krefeld – how he knew I do not know.  But I do love a good magician and he was a very good magician.

The tour continues until the middle of June and you would be mad to miss it.  Tour details can be found at http://www.timvine.com/tour.html