London, you’re like, really pretty.

Broadway’s SMASH HIT musical is coming to the Savoy Theatre, London, from June 2024!

www.MeanGirlsMusical.com

“A MARVEL: DAZZLING & HILARIOUS” – Entertainment Weekly

“Tina Fey writes FUNNIER, SMARTER, SHARPER satire than anyone else in the business.” – New York Magazine

“We’ll let you in on a little secret, because we’re such good friends: GET YOUR TICKETS NOW!” – USA Today

●          Award-winning creative team includes Tina Fey, Jeff Richmond, Nell Benjamin and Casey Nicholaw

●          Public booking opens November 1^st 2023

●          Previews begin June 2024

●          Further information, including performance schedule and casting, will be announced at a later date.

What day is it? It’s October 3^rd! Lorne Michaels, Sonia Friedman Productions, and David Ian for Crossroads Live – producers of MEAN GIRLS in the West End – today announce MEAN GIRLS will be coming to London from June 2024! The smash hit musical comedy based on the Paramount Pictures film of the same name will debut at the West End’s Savoy Theatre. Tickets go on sale from November 1^st 2023.

Cool people (and you better be one of them) can sign up for presale access through www.MeanGirlsMusical.com.

It’s gonna be a little bit dramatic…

Get in, loser, MEAN GIRLS is coming to London! Broadway’s hilarious hit musical from an award-winning creative team including writer Tina Fey (“30 Rock”), composer Jeff Richmond (“Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt”), lyricist Nell Benjamin (Legally Blonde) and director and choreographer Casey Nicholaw (The Book of Mormon), opens at the Savoy Theatre late next spring.

Meet The Plastics –Regina, Gretchen and Karen. They rule North Shore High and will burn anyone who gets in their way. Home-schooled Cady Heron may think she knows a thing or two about survival of the fittest thanks to her zoologist parents, but high school is a whole new level of savage. When Cady devises a plan to end Regina’s reign, she learns the hard way that you can’t cross a queen bee without getting stung.

Expect iconic characters, razor-sharp wit, and killer songs. Grab your friends and your cool mom, this is going to be fetch – and YES London, we’re making it happen!

The reign begins June 2024. If you want to sit with us, book your tickets and don’t forget… on Wednesdays, we wear pink.

MEAN GIRLS had its world premiere in 2017 at the National Theatre in Washington, D.C and opened on Broadway in April 2018 at the August Wilson Theatre to ecstatic responses, where it played to packed houses. The show then went on a hugely successful US tour in 2019 and is currently on its second US tour. The upcoming MEAN GIRLS musical film adaptation from Paramount Pictures will debut in UK cinemas in early 2024.

Originally released in 2004, the film Mean Girls has had a profound impact on pop-culture for nearly 20 years. Tina Fey’s hilarious and relatable portrayal of high school life struck a chord with audiences across the globe and the film’s whip-smart satire, iconic catchphrases, and unforgettable characters made it a phenomenon that remains a cultural touchstone to this day.

Tina Fey said: ”We’re so excited to bring MEAN GIRLS to London, where everyone already knows what Regina means.”

Producers Lorne Michaels and Sonia Friedman added: “MEAN GIRLS is a timeless comedy that for decades has connected with generations of audiences across the globe. Having worked together for several years on this production, we are immensely proud and excited to be bringing this stage musical, led by this incredible writing and creative team, to London’s Savoy Theatre.”

David Ian, CEO of Crossroads Live, said: “I’m beyond thrilled to have been asked to sit with Lorne Michaels and Sonia Friedman to produce Tina Fey’s iconic MEAN GIRLS. London audiences are in for a real treat.’’

Watch out for special announcements including dates and casting. Love ya x

Creative Team Biographies

Tina Fey

Tina Fey is an award-winning writer, actress, producer and author.  She wrote the 2004 film Mean Girls, in which she also played Ms. Norbury. Fey created and starred as Liz Lemon on the celebrated comedy series 30 Rock, which earned 16 Emmys (and 103 total nominations) over 7 seasons. Prior to 30 Rock, Fey enjoyed 9 seasons as a writer and cast member on Saturday Night Live. She continues to co-create and/or produce hit shows such as Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Great News, and Girls5eva and the feature films Sisters, Whiskey Tango Foxtrot and in 2024, the musical feature version of Mean Girls. As an actor she has appeared in Baby Mama, Date Night, Muppets Most Wanted, Admission, This is Where I Leave You, Pixar’s Soul, Only Murders in the Building and most recently Kenneth Branagh’s A Haunting in Venice. In 2011, Fey published her first book, Bossypants, which topped the New York Times best seller list for 5 consecutive weeks. She lives with her husband and two daughters in New York City, but is thrilled at the chance to work again in London.

Jeff Richmond

Jeff Richmond is an award-winning composer, songwriter and producer for television, theatre and film. He served as composer and an Executive Producer on NBC’s 30 Rock, winning three Primetime Emmy Awards alongside his wife Tina Fey. He began as a musical director at The Second City in Chicago and eventually moved on to Saturday Night Live, where he spent 5 years creating special material for talents ranging from Jack Black to Tom Brady. Jeff’s New York theatre credits include the musical Melancholy Baby, Lobo A Go-Go, the score for Fully Committed and Mean Girls the Musical. His most recent television credits include Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (Netflix), Great News (NBC), Mr. Mayor (NBC), The Mapleworth Murders (Quibi) and Girls5eva (Netflix) where he serves as Executive Producer and creator of music. Richmond was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Original Score in 2018 for Mean Girls. He currently lives in New York City with his wife and their two daughters.

Nell Benjamin

Nell Benjamin wrote the lyrics to the Tony-nominated Mean Girls and co-wrote the score to Legally Blonde: the Musical, (Olivier Award, Tony nomination) with Laurence O’Keefe. She also co-wrote The Sea Beast for Netflix (Best Animated Feature Oscar nomination. Annie Award nomination). She has written book and/or lyrics for Come Fall In Love: the DDLJ Musical, Dave The Musical, Because of Winn Dixie; Cam Jansen (Drama Desk Nomination); Half Time; Pirates! (or Gilbert and Sullivan plunder’d), Sarah, Plain and Tall; The Mice (from 3hree); I Want My Hat Back, How I Became A Pirate, The New York Philharmonic New Year’s Eve celebration and Young People’s concerts. Her play, The Explorers Club won the Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Play, a Drama Desk nomination, an Edgerton Foundation New American Plays Award, and an Alfred P. Sloan Foundation grant.

For Television, she has worked on Unhappily Ever After; Whoa! Sunday with Mo Rocca; The Electric Company; Best Time Ever With Neil Patrick Harris; Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway; Julie’s Greenroom. Nell is currently working on Nancy Drew: The Musical, Real Women Have Curves, Huzzah!, and Fado, along with an original movie musical for Universal. She is a proud recipient of the Jonathan Larson award and Kleban Foundation grant, and a member of ASCAP and The Dramatists Guild.

Casey Nicholaw

Casey Nicholaw (Director, Choreographer). Currently represented on Broadway as director/choreographer of Some Like It Hot (2023 Tony® and Drama Desk Awards for Best Choreography, Outer Critics Circle nomination in the same category, Tony® nomination for Best Direction), Disney’s Aladdin (2014 Tony®, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Award nominations for Best Choreography), and co-director and choreographer of The Book of Mormon (2011 Tony®, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards for co-director and nominations in the same categories for choreography); Olivier award winner for Best Choreography. Other notable Broadway credits as director/choreographer: The Prom (2019 Tony® nomination for Best Direction), Mean Girls (2018 Tony® nominations for Best Direction and Choreography), Tuck Everlasting, Something Rotten! (2015 Tony®, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Award nominations for Best Direction and Choreography) Elf: The Musical; The Drowsy Chaperone (2006 Tony® and Drama Desk nominations for Best Direction and Choreography, Outer Critics Circle nomination for Best Choreography); Monty Python’s Spamalot directed by Mike Nichols (2005 Tony®, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle nominations for Best Choreography). Represented on the West End as co-director/choreographer of The Book of Mormon. Other notable West End credits as director/choreographer: The Drowsy Chaperone, Dreamgirls, and Aladdin. Film and TV credits include: The Prom (choreographer), Trolls (choreographer), Smash (director, S2 E7).

Lorne Michaels

Lorne Michaels is an award-winning producer and writer, best known as the creator and executive producer of Saturday Night Live, the most Emmy Award-nominated show in television history.

Michaels’ television credits also include The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Late Night with Seth Meyers, 30 Rock, Portlandia, Schmigadoon and Kids in the Hall. His motion picture credits include Three Amigos, Wayne’s World, Tommy Boy, Mean Girls and MacGruber. On Broadway, Michaels produced Gilda Radner – Live From New York, which he also directed, Mean Girls, the Tony Award-nominated Broadway musical based on the hit movie, and Tom Stoppard’s Tony Award-winning play, Leopoldstadt.

Michaels’ 102 Emmy nominations are the most ever for an individual, with 21 wins. He received the 2004 Mark Twain Prize for American Humor and in 2013 earned the rare honor of an individual Peabody Award. Michaels was awarded a Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2016, the nation’s highest civilian honor, and was made a Companion of the Order of Canada in 2018. He received a Kennedy Center Honor for lifetime artistic achievement in 2021.

Sonia Friedman Productions

Sonia Friedman Productions(SFP) is an international production company responsible for some of the most successful theatre productions around the world. Since 1990, SFP has developed, initiated and produced over 200 new productions and together the company has won 61 Olivier Awards, 39 Tonys and 3 BAFTAs. In 2019, Sonia Friedman CBE was awarded ‘Producer of the Year’ at the Stage Awards for a record-breaking fourth time. In 2018, Friedman was also featured in TIME 100, a list of Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in the World. In 2017, she took the number one spot in ‘The Stage 100’, becoming the first number one in the history of the compilation not to own or operate West End theatres and the first solo woman for almost 20 years.

Current productions include: The Book of Mormon (West End); Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (West End, Broadway, Hamburg and Tokyo); Dr Semmelweis (West End); Merrily We Roll Along (Broadway); The Shark is Broken (Broadway); Funny Girl (US tour).

Forthcoming productions include: Stranger Things: The First Shadow, a co-production with Netflix (West End); Lyonesse (West End); Fangirls (Lyric Hammersmith). 

Previous theatre productions include: Funny Girl (Broadway, West End, UK tour); Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Oklahoma! (West End); Patriots (West End); New York, New York (Broadway); Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (Melbourne, Toronto, San Francisco); Leopoldstadt (Broadway, West End); Mean Girls (US tour, Broadway); The Secret Life of Bees (Almeida); To Kill a Mockingbird (West End); The Piano Lesson (Broadway); Merrily We Roll Along (New York Theatre Workshop, West End); Dreamgirls (UK tour, West End); The Book of Mormon(UK & Europe tour); The Shark is Broken (Toronto, West End); Eureka Day (The Old Vic); Jerusalem (West End, Broadway, Royal Court); Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Oklahoma! (The Young Vic); The 47th (The Old Vic); The Human Voice (West End); Maria Friedman and Friends: Legacy (West End); Dr Semmelweis (Bristol Old Vic); Fair Play (Bush Theatre); Anna X (West End), Walden (West End) and J’Ouvert (West End) as part of the Re:Emerge season; The Inheritance (Broadway, West End, The Young Vic); The Comeback (West End); Uncle Vanya (West End); Fiddler on the Roof (West End); Rosmersholm (West End); The Ferryman (Broadway, West End, Jerwood Theatre); Ink (Broadway, West End); Summer and Smoke (West End); The Jungle (San Francisco); All About Eve (West End); Consent (West End); The Birthday Party (West End); Farinelli and the King (Broadway, West End); 1984 (Broadway, West End); Our Ladies of Perpetual Succour (West End); Hamlet starring Andrew Scott (West End); Don Juan in Soho (West End); Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (West End); Travesties (Broadway, West End); The Glass Menagerie (West End); Nice Fish (West End); The Haunting of Hill House (Liverpool Playhouse); A Christmas Carol (West End); Orestia (Almeida); Hamlet starring Benedict Cumberbatch (Barbican); Sunny Afternoon (UK tour, West End); Bend It Like Beckham (West End); The Nether (West End); The River (Broadway); Electra (The Old Vic);King Charles III (Sydney, UK tour, Broadway, West End); Shakespeare in Love (West End); Ghosts (Brooklyn Academy of Music, West End); Twelfth Night & Richard III (Broadway, West End); Mojo (West End); The Sunshine Boys (L.A, West End); Chimerica (West End); Nice Work If You Can Get It (Broadway); Old Times (West End); A Chorus of Disapproval (West End); La Cage aux Folles (US tour, Broadway, West End); Hay Fever (West End); Masterclass (West End); Absent Friends (West End); Legally Blonde (West End); Top Girls (West End); Private Lives (Broadway); Much Ado About Nothing (West End); Betrayal (West End); Arcadia (Broadway, West End); The Children’s Hour (West End);Clybourne Park (West End); A Flea In Her Ear (The Old Vic); A Little Night Music (Broadway, West End); Educating Rita(West End) and Shirley Valentine (West End) as part of The Willy Russell Season; The Prisoner of Second Avenue (West End); All My Sons (West End); La Bête (West End); Prick Up Your Ears (West End); Othello (West End); After Miss Julie (Broadway); The Mountaintop (Broadway, West End); The Norman Conquests (Broadway); Boeing-Boeing (UK tour, Broadway, West End); A View From the Bridge (Broadway, West End); Dancing at Lughnasa (The Old Vic); Maria Friedman Re-arranged (West End); No Man’s Land (West End); The Seagull (Broadway); Under the Blue Sky (West End); That Face (West End);Dealer’s Choice (West End); Is He Dead? (West End); Rock ‘n’ Roll (Broadway, West End); Hergé’s Adventures of Tintin (West End); Donkeys’ Years (UK tour, West End); In Celebration (West End); King of Hearts(Hampstead Theatre); The Dumb Waiter (West End); Love Song (West End); Bent (West End); Faith Healer (Broadway); Eh Joe (West End); The Woman in White (West End, Broadway); Otherwise Engaged (West End); A Celebration for Harold Pinter (West End);Shoot the Crow (West End); As You Like It (West End); The Home Place (West End); Whose Life Is It Anyway? (West End);By the Bog of Cats (West End); Guantanamo: ‘Honour Bound to Defend Freedom’ (West End); Calico (West End); Endgame (West End); Jumpers (West End); See You Next Tuesday (West End); Hitchcock Blonde (West End);Absolutely! {Perhaps} (West End); Sexual Perversity in Chicago (West End); Ragtime (West End); Macbeth (West End);What the Night is For (West End); Marc Salem: Mind Games (West End); Maria Friedman: Live (West End); Gagarin Way (West End); Afterplay (West End); Noises Off (Broadway, West End); Lobby Hero (West End); Up for Grabs (West End); A Day in the Death of Joe Egg (West End); On an Average Day (West End); Benefactors (West End); A Servant to Two Masters (West End); In Flame (West End); The Mystery of Charles Dickens (West End); Port Authority (West End); Speed-the-Plow (West End); Spoonface Steinberg (West End); Last Dance at Dum Dum (West End) and The Late Middle Classes(Watford Palace Theatre).

TV and digital productions include, as Co-Producer: Wolf Hall (BBC), Uncle Vanya (BBC), J’Ouvert (BBC), Walden (Sky Arts) and Anna X (Sky Arts); as Exec Producer: The Dresser (BBC), King Lear (BBC); as Producer: Dennis Kelly’s BAFTA-winning Together (BBC). Cinema productions include Uncle Vanya and Walden. SFP’s productions of Hamlet starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, All About Eve and Leopoldstadt have all been filmed for cinema release by NT Live. All About Eve, Hamlet and Leopoldstadt featured on NT at Home, and Hamlet on Amazon’s Great British Theatre series.

Crossroads Live

Crossroads Live is a global theatre producer. Through their production offices in North America, the UK and Australia and their network of producing partnerships in Asia and Europe, they work with the foremost creative talent and rightsholders, to present the best-loved titles from Broadway and the West End to audiences around the world.

Current productions/co-productions include 42nd Street, Annie, The Bodyguard, Cats, Chicago, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, The Drifters Girl, Grease, Jesus Christ Superstar, Love Never Dies, Mean Girls, Pretty Woman, The Rocky Horror Show and Wicked.

As the world’s leading pantomime producer, Crossroads Pantomimes also produces 24 pantomimes every year in the UK.

Forum Theatre, Malvern – 1st October 2023

Reviewed by Courie Amado Juneau

5*****

The Simon & Garfunkel Story has been a show I had wanted to see for quite a while, but kept missing. So the return of the smash West End hit was most welcome.

Where else to start but with arguably their most famous song (ok, arguments can begin now) – “The Sound Of Silence” – perfectly presented to achieve maximum emotional effect; back-lit on a darkened stage until the whole band kicked in, when the lights came up (along with the cheering).

The success of a show of this kind will hinge on the actors playing the star parts. Will Sharp (Paul Simon) and Oliver Cave (Art Garfunkel) looked and sounded the part and had an obvious affinity with the material. Their harmonies were excellent, Mr Sharp’s guitar playing was masterful and they thoroughly convinced as the duo. They also had some lovely on-stage banter and great chemistry with the audience, getting them involved throughout.

After the opening numbers from the first album (“Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M.”) we were given the first of our inter-song introductions from our front men. This was not only informative but entertaining and elevated the show far beyond just a mere tribute act who lovingly recreated the songs (though it was that too). Instead, this was perfectly conceived to outline the duo’s career in a kind of on-stage musical biography. It also gave us the rare opportunity to enjoy an early song from the Tom & Jerry era (pre Simon & Garfunkel); “Hey Schoolgirl”. Being familiar with the pair’s discography, I hadn’t realized that many songs that subsequently ended up on the albums were originally on Paul Simon’s 1965 solo release (from his time in the UK). The presentation of “Kathy’s Song” amply showed the care, attention and research that has gone into this show – beginning with Simon on his own before Art came on and the band joined in, to dramatic effect. Brilliant. The first half ended with songs from the third album “Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme” – home of “Homeward Bound” and the title track which was particularly effecting being juxtaposed with footage (on the large rear screen) from the Vietnam war which was raging at albums release.

After the interval we were onto the last two albums, giving us the chance to hear “Mrs Robinson”, “Baby Driver”, “The Boxer” and more. The band (drummer Mat Swales, guitarist/keys Will Tuckwell and bassist Nick Gontarski) were superb throughout but it was in this latter section that they shone most brightly. Hearing these songs live made me realize what amazing basslines they have (almost McCartney-esque) and that fuzzy guitar sound on “The Only Living Boy In New York” was to die for! They also got to play a medley of solo material bridging the gap between the duo’s split in 1970 to their reunion in 1981.

And it was with that reunion that the show ended, perfectly (I may add), with an impactful rendition of “Bridge Over Troubled Water” which brought a tear to the eye. What a performance from Mr Cave and way to finish a magical evening of classic songs! This customer was sure kept satisfied and I definitely left feelin’ groovy. Unreservedly recommended.

Museum of the Home announce their
sensational cast for On Railton Road
Tuesday 31st October – Saturday 18th November 2023
Museum of the Home, 136 Kingsland Road, London E2 8EA

Sharing a powerful and moving story of queer communities in Brixton and domestic spaces, On Railton Road is the first theatre production to be staged at Hackney’s amazing Museum of the Home. Netflix sensation Hannah van der Westhusysen (Fate: The Winx Saga, Netflix; Salty Irina, Summerhall), will star as Casper, as the production highlights the lived experiences of gay squatters in the 70s.

Joining them on stage will be West-End wizard, Thomas Royal (Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, The Palace Theatre) in the role of Philip, alongside Manish Gandhi (Call the Midwife, BBC; Silent Witness, BBC) as Ned and Jamal Franklin (Midsummer Mechanicals, The Globe; King Lear, National Theatre Live) as Darie. Jaye Hudson (GRILLS, Camden People’s Theatre; Trans Day of Joy, Somerset House) will play the role of Atom, alongside fellow Queer Tours of London performer Dan de la Motte as Clifford (Live to Tell: (A Proposal for) The Madonna Jukebox, Omnibus Theatre), Aoife Smith (If This Is Normal, VAULT Festival) as Marie and Nicholas Marrast-Lewis (Bogeyman, Edinburgh Fringe Festival; Scenes With Girls, The Royal Court Theatre) as Jack.

Developed with the support of Jerwood Arts, On Railton Road will be performed by The Brixton Pansies, a theatre troupe of queer actors formed by artist and director Ian Giles (A Reflection in Time, BBC Sounds) to tell the story of Brixton’s gay squatting community. This initiative mirrors the lively street theatre groups who were active in the 1970s; gay people used theatre to share their experiences and grievances with a wider public.

Writer Louis Rembges (Chatham House Rules, Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the recipient of the BOLD 2023 Playwriting Prize, as well as an alumni of the Royal Court’s Intro to Playwriting Group; his script will be supported by a score devised by Sophie Crawford (War Horse, The National Theatre; Amelie the Musical, UK Tour). All puppetry is designed by award-winning London-based puppet artist, Oliver James Hymans who has created puppets for events at Tate Moden and the National Gallery

On Railton Road is a hedonistic drama about the pioneering Brixton queer squatters who fought for a place to call home. Casper wants to bomb WH Smiths, Daire wants to put on a play, Atom is naked in the garden on an acid trip and Ned just wants to be with Philip and live on Railton Road forever. Throwing audiences headlong into Brixton’s radical past, On Railton Road will share how queer activism transformed the lives of this unique community. Based on real events and archival scripts by the Brixton Faeries, Ian Giles has created this bold new production with an exciting ensemble cast and creative team to bring this revolutionary period to life.

Creator and Director Ian Giles comments, What came through during auditions was how timely this play feels- the housing crisis and cost of living crisis echoes the 70s when over 30,000 people squatted across London. Squatting enabled queer people to live together like never before – they had the creative freedom to make new spaces, protest and make art. The 70s are undoubtedly a key decade in queer rights, it’s the period between the Stonewall uprising and before Section 28; gay people began to find space within society and made their voices heard – this echoes trans rights today. The mantra of the Gay Liberation Front was ‘Gay is Good’ -a message that still needs to be held aloft around the world today.

Cast announced for new British musical
‘Billie the Kid’ at the Vaudeville Theatre

The full cast is today announced for new British musical ‘Billie the Kid’, with music and lyrics by Gez Mercer, book by Conway McDermott and Gez Mercer, directed by Kerry Kyriacos Michael.

It is being semi-staged in front of a live audience for the first time in the West End at the Vaudeville Theatre on Monday 13 November & Monday 20 November at 7.30pm.

Seventeen-year-old Billie Belle is a girl used to having the odds stacked against her. Born in a Bible Belt town to a delinquent mother, Billie spent her childhood saving discount-store coupons and working night shifts to keep the lights on in her grandma’s tiny trailer. Through it all, Billie has had one person by her side: her childhood sweetheart, Brody Benson. Brody’s a redneck with a heart of gold and they have spent years planning their future together, all pinned on Billie’s hopes for a full-ride scholarship to Charleston City College. But their plans are thrown into chaos when Billie discovers Brody has been trading dirty DMs with David Francis – the school queer punk rocker.

Torn between the pain of this betrayal and her love for her boyfriend, Billie reaches out to David and his gang of misfits. While Billie has put all her energy into thriving within the system, they’ve gone the other way, determined to be wild and joyful outsiders with no fear of offending! Inspired by and united with her new friends, Billie finds herself at the heart of a new kind of love story, one where her happily ever after is with herself in her fight for justice and equality; and the chance to ride out into the sunset on her terms.

Natasha J Barnes (‘Hex’, National Theatre, ‘Funny Girl’, Savoy, title role in ‘Cinderella’, London Palladium)
Kymberley Cochrane (won the prestigious BBC Norman Beaton Fellowship in 2022 and went on to be a member of the 2023 BBC Radio Drama Company)
Harvey Ebbage (Cagelle in ‘La Cage Aux Folles’, Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre, ‘Dreamgirls’, UK Tour)
Ki Griffin (TV debut was playing the first non-binary character, Ripley Lennox, in ‘Hollyoaks’)
Beth Hinton-Lever (‘Hadestown’, ‘The Doncastrian Chalk Circle’, ‘As You Like It’, ‘Dick Whittington’, all at the National Theatre)
Tony Jayawardena (‘The Father and the Assassin’, ‘England People Very Nice’, both at National Theatre)
Rob Kershaw (making his professional debut)
Ryan Kopel (‘Newsies’, Troubadour Theatre, ‘The Book Of Mormon’, Prince of Wales)
Phoebe-Loveday Raymond (‘NewsRevue’ London and Edinburgh)
Aharon Rayner (‘Miss Saigon’, Sheffield Crucible, Hassan in ‘The Great British Bake Off the Musical’, Noël Coward Theatre, ‘Hex’, National Theatre)
Olivia Saunders (‘Hex’, National Theatre), ‘Kinky Boots in Concert’, Theatre Royal Drury Lane, ‘Trompe L’oeil, The Other Palace Studio)
Jodie Steele (Blanche Barrow in ‘Bonnie and Clyde’, Garrick, Heather Chandler in ‘Heathers’, West End/The Other Palace, Beth Boscombe in ‘Rehab the Musical’, Playground Theatre)
Yuki Sutton (2023 Offie Winner Best Supporting Performer in a Musical, ‘Ride: The Musical’, Charing Cross Theatre)
Hannah Victoria (Gloria the Hippo in ‘Madagascar – The Musical’, Ronnette in ‘Little Shop of Horrors’, Gary Coleman in ‘Avenue Q’, Maggie Hill in ‘Peaky Blinders: The Rise’)
Yasmin Wilde (Azra in BBC Radio’s ‘The Archers’)

Creative team:
Director – Kerry Kyriacos Michael
Musical Director – Tom Cagnoni
Choreographer – Julian Capolei
Lighting- Tim Deiling
Sound- Sam Vincent
Costume – Stephen Foley
Props – Jida Akil
Musical Supervisor – Alex Beetschen
Associate Musical Director -Annemarie Lewis Thomas
Associate Director- Shelley Williams
Associate Choreographer – Laura Braid
Casting – Andrew Lynford
Casting Associate – Sophie Matthew
General Manager – Lisa D. Richardson
Production Manager – Felix Davies
Associate Producer – Laila Alj

Writer and Composer Gez Mercer
Writer and Composer Gez Mercer is a self-taught musician, dancer and natural-born punk. Born in Liverpool, Gez studied Theatre & Performance at the University of Leeds, before joining award winning dance collective Fat Blokes Dance Company, led by performance artist Scottee and choreographer Lea Anderson MBE, touring in their national sell out show, Fat Blokes.

‘Billie the Kid’ is his third full length musical, and his songwriting ability has netted him the Cameron Macintosh Award for Musical Theatre in 2014, West End producer’s Twitter Composer Award in 2013.

Gez was a finalist in the Stiles and Drew Prize 2018, as well as being a shortlisted candidate for the Mercury Musical’s Cameron Mackintosh resident composer.

Writer Conway McDermott
Writer Conway McDermott is a trans non-binary writer from Liverpool, with a passion for juicy, accessible stories which ask big questions through the lens of a broke-ass queerdo. ‘Billie the Kid’ was the first project they worked on for stage, and their career as a writer has grown alongside it. They’re currently writing for BBC’s ‘EastEnders’, and are Playwright in Residence at Box of Tricks Theatre. They are a winner of the Sky Studios 2021 Screen/Play Award, and have had work commissioned by The Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse, Popelei Theatre Company, and the Liverpool Light Night Festival, as well as working as an artist and performer with FACT, the Liverpool Biennale, Creative Europe, and a handful of other organizations across the UK and Europe.

Director Kerry Kyriacos Michael
Director Kerry Kyriacos Michael was Artistic Director & Chief Executive of Theatre Royal Stratford East from September 2004 to September 2017. For 13 years, he forged the Theatre’s commitment to develop new work & provide a platform for voices under-represented. He won two Olivier awards, seven nominations, two What’s on Stage Awards, and the UK Best Touring Theatre Award. In March 2018, Kerry won Artistic Director of The Year at the OFF WEST END Awards; and awarded the Freedom of the City of London. In the 2018 Queen’s Birthday Honours List, he was made an MBE for services to the Arts. Kerry’s theatre directing credits include new plays, musicals, and operas, including John Adam’s I Was Looking At The Ceiling & Then I Saw The Sky (co-production with Barbican Centre, London), The Harder They Come (transferred to the West End & tours of Canada and USA), Ray Davies’ Come Dancing (Winner What’s On Stage Best New Musical) and a new production of The Who’s Tommy – embedding creative BSL, Captioning and Audio Description, produced by Ramps On The Moon. (Winner UK Theatre Awards Best Touring Production 16/17). In June 2022 he became the creative director Theatro Technis @ 26 Crowndale, the home of Theatro Technis.

LISTINGS INFORMATION

BILLIE THE KID

Vaudeville Theatre,
404 Strand,
London
WC2R 0NH

Monday 13 November
Monday 20 November
at 7.30pm

Duration: 2 hours 15  mins  

Age Recommendation: 12+

Trigger warning:  
Depictions of homophobia, transphobia,
gun violence and mild drug use.
Descriptions of suicide, self-harm, and sex.

Booking Information

Tickets: All seats £25.00
plus a £1.50 Restoration Levy

No booking fee if booked in person at the Box Office

Box Office: 0330 333 4814

www.nimaxtheatres.com

www.billiethekidmusical.com

Social Media

On all platforms as
@BillieMusical

Full schedule released for Musical Con 2023
Saturday 21st – Sunday 22nd October 2023
ExCel London, Royal Victoria Dock, London E16 1XL

Musical Con have released the full schedule for the second year of the UK’s official musical fan convention, which is taking place at ExCeL London later this month. Over 10,000 fans will be attending, with over 100 special guests and 140 hours of programming!

Highlights on the Main Stage include the opening and closing ceremonies featuring performances from Musical Con Ambassadors Aimie Atkinson, Trevor Dion Nicholas, Sophie Evans, Alice Fearn, Ben Forster, Lucie Jones, Shanay Holmes, Miriam Teak Lee, Jon Robyns and Layton Williams.

Show Spotlights include unique performances and interviews with the cast and creatives of Disney’s The Lion King, Everybody’s Talking About Jamie and the new smash hit, Operation Mincemeat. Fans will also get to say farewell to Heathers with a special celebration featuring the show’s composer, Laurence O’Keefe

Other features include a performance and interview with Roald Dahl’s Matilda The Musical Movie stars Alisha Weir and Meesha Garbet, an interview with internationally renowned choreographer and director Dame Arlene Phillips, and guest performances and an interview with the composer of Les Misérables & Miss Saigon, musical theatre legend Claude-Michel Schönberg.

Other segments include special performances from Rachel Tucker and SVN, a celebration of the iconic pairings of Alice Fearn & Sophie Evans and Lucie Jones & Helen Wolf and a celebration of new shows with performances from Lizzie, Babies, Bronco Billy, Ride and The Book Thief

The iconic Cosplay, Lip Sync and Star of Musical Con competitions are back, as are the Cast Reunions with previous cast members of Newsies, Bat Out Of Hell, and a special surprise reunion revealed at the event. The Show Off game show also returns, and this time, its previous cast members of SIX versus Heathers.

Theatreland is more extensive than ever with a huge marketplace full of stagey businesses and shows, including Hadestown, Disney’s Aladdin, Matilda, SIX, Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, The Time Travelers Wife, Moulin Rouge, Goosebumps The Musical and Andrew Lloyd Webber Musicals.

The Backstage Theatre has moved into its own space. It will play host to a plethora of panels with notable guests, including ‘Accessibility On the West End’ with The Little Big Things choreographer Mark Smith, ‘LGBTQIA+’ with Olivier award winner Matt Henry MBE and Davina De Campo, ‘Black Excellence’ with Tosh Wanogho-Maud and Miriam Teak Lee, ‘Social Media & Musicals’ with influencers Hannah Lowther and Tom Scanlon, an interview with Standing at The Sky’s Edge and Cabaret At The Kit Kat Club casting director Stuart Burt, ‘Creating A Musical’ with Operation Mincemeat and Standing At The Sky’s Edge director Rob Hastie and designer Ben Stones and the return of last year’s popular Disney’s The Lion King & Frozen ‘Puppetry Demonstration’.

At Stage Door fans will once again get a professional photo and autograph with stars including Lucie Jones, Erin Caldwell and Alisha Weir. There are also countless workshops and masterclasses, all taught exclusively by West End stars and creatives, including dance workshops with Layton Williams and Dame Arlene Philips and a writing masterclass with Claude-Michel Schönberg.

Fans can take a break from the main programming in the new pop-up cinema playing not-stop musicals, enjoy a photo opportunity or join Fan Meets for The Queendom, Corn Nuts, Phans, Mincefluencers and Fansies alike!

The last remaining day and weekend tickets are on sale now.

See the full schedule at www.musicalcon.co.uk/schedule.

FULL CASTING ANNOUNCED FOR ALICE BIRCH’S ADAPTATION OF THE HOUSE OF BERNARDA ALBA, DIRECTED BY REBECCA FRECKNALL, AT THE NATIONAL THEATRE FROM 16 NOVEMBER

The National Theatre today announced the full cast for The House of Bernarda Alba, in a co-production with Playful Productions.

Following Olivier Award-winning revivals of Cabaret and A Streetcar Named Desire, Rebecca Frecknall makes her directorial debut at the National Theatre with Alice Birch’s (Normal People) radical version of Federico García Lorca’s modern masterpiece.

In the domain of Bernarda Alba, a daughter who disobeys is no longer a daughter.

Forced to live under their mother’s tight grip as they mourn their father’s death, can five sisters survive when young Adela dares for passion and freedom?

Olivier Award-winner Harriet Walter (Succession) plays the formidable matriarch, guarding her reputation against the rising tide of her family’s desires in this devastatingly dark and comic drama exploring the consequences of oppressing women. Isis Hainsworth (Romeo & Juliet) plays Adela the youngest, most rebellious of Bernarda’s five daughters. Playing Bernada’s eldest daughter Angustias is Rosalind Eleazar (Slow Horses) and Thusitha Jayasundera (The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power) will play the role of Poncia.

Joining them is Lizzie Annis as Martirio, Pearl Chanda as Magdalena, Bryony Hannah as Maid, Marcia Lecky as Prudencia, Eileen Nicholas as Maria Josefa and Eliot Salt as Ameila.

Catharine Humphrys, Asha Kingsley, Celia Nelson, Ellouise Shakespeare-Hart, Georgia Silver, Imogen Mackie Walker, Charlotte Workman, James McHugh and Michael Naylor complete the adult cast. Esma Akar, Livia Court and Sicily Rose De Bernardini will share the role of Young Girl.

Composer Isobel Waller-Bridge (The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse) writes an original score for the production.

Directed by Rebecca Frecknall with set and costume designer Merle Hensel, lighting designer Lee Curran, composerIsobel Waller-Bridge, sound designer Peter Rice, casting by Alastair Coomer CDG and Naomi Downham, and staff director Lilac Yosiphon.

Playing in the Lyttelton theatre from 16 November 2023 until 6 January 2024 with press night on 28 November. Tickets are available from £20 and are on sale now via the National Theatre website.  For further information, including details about assisted performances, please visit nationaltheatre.org.uk.

THE STAGE DEBUT AWARDS 2023
IN ASSOCIATION WITH ATG
WINNERS ANNOUNCEMENT

The winners of The Stage Debut Awards, in association with ATG, have been announced at the annual awards ceremony in a star-studded bash at 8 Northumberland Avenue, London, hosted by legendary drag artist, performer and songstress Divina De Campo,

This year the spotlight fell on a total of 45 nominees across 8 categories, ranging from performers to composers and designers through to writers, lyricists and directors, whose work debuted on stages across the country. For the first time, this year’s winners also took home a share of a £10,000 prize fund.

The former winner of 2021’s Strictly Come Dancing, Rose Ayling-Ellis scooped up the Best West End Debut award for her standout performance in As You Like It at @sohoplace. The category, the only one voted by the public, is hotly contested and Ayling-Ellis proved the favourite out of a strong shortlist that included A Streetcar Named Desire’s Paul Mescal, Emily Fairn and Mike Faist in Brokeback Mountain, Kyle Ramar Freeman in A Strange Loop, Gabriel Howell for The Unfriend, Zachary Quinto for Best of Enemies and Samira Wiley for Blues for an Alabama Sky.

The night also saw two categories with joint winners. Best Performer in a Play was awarded to both Isobel Thom for Shakespeare’s Globe’s I, Joan and Elan Davies for Imrie at the Sherman Theatre Cardiff, the latter marked the first win at The Stage Debut Awards for a performer in a Welsh-language production. The Best Creative West End Debut award was also shared between two winners: Rob Madge, for writing their West End hit show My Son’s a Queer, (But What Can You Do?) at the Garrick Theatre and Ambassadors Theatre and Tingying Dong for her sound design that created an eerie atmosphere for The Crucible at the National Theatre and Gielgud Theatre.

Jessica Lee took home the Best Performer in a Musical award for Miss Saigon at Crucible Theatre, Sheffield, while productions staged at the Bush Theatre, London had two winners in the creative categories: Anoushka Lucas was honoured for Best Writer for Elephant and Emily Ling Williams received the Best Director award for A Playlist for The Revolution.

Hit productions staged at the Barbican Theatre also made their mark at the awards with a win for Andrea Scott for her video design for My Neighbour Totoro in the Best Designer category. Meanwhile, Broadway musical sensation Michael R Jackson showed his influence on both sides of the Atlantic, as he scooped the Best Composer, Lyricist or Book Writer award for his stunning show A Strange Loop.

The Stage editor Alistair Smith, said: “Our wonderful winners highlight just how much emerging talent there is across British theatre. I’m particularly pleased that this year we were able to recognise our first ever winner in a Welsh-language performance. “Meanwhile, also for the first time this year, I’m delighted to reveal that, in partnership with ATG, we are offering a £10,000 prize fund split among our winners. Along with the exposure these awards bring, we hope this will be a real tangible help to them as they embark on what we have no doubt will be stellar careers.”

The winners were announced at The Stage Debut Awards, hosted by legendary drag artist, performer and singer Divina De Campo on October 1 2023 at 8 Northumberland Avenue, London, in association with headline sponsor Ambassador Theatre Group (ATG). The ceremony also featured live performances by Divina De Campo, who opened the night with an exclusive musical number devised especially for the ceremony. Rachael Wooding sang After the Rain from the hit new British musical Standing at the Sky’s Edge, opening at the Gillian Lynne Theatre in the West End in 2024; Charing Cross Theatre’s upcoming Bronco Billy: The Musical lead’s Emily Benjamin performed Cabaret’s soaring ballad Maybe this Time and rounding off the evening Zizi Strallen performed Champagne Dreams from Cake: The Marie Antoinette Playlist which just completed a short West End transfer to the Lyric Theatre last month.

#DebutAwards

THE WINNERS IN FULL

Best Performer in a Play (Sponsored by Cabbells):

● Elan Davies for Imrie at Sherman Theatre, Cardiff

● Isobel Thom for I, Joan at Shakespeare’s Globe, London

Best Performer in a Musical (Sponsored by Carnival Cruise Line):

● Jessica Lee for Miss Saigon at Crucible Theatre, Sheffield

Best Director: (Sponsored by Arts Council England):

● Emily Ling Williams for A Playlist for the Revolution at Bush Theatre, London

Best Designer (Sponsored by Wimbledon College of Arts, UAL):

● Andrea Scott (video) for My Neighbour Totoro at Barbican Theatre, London

Best Writer (Sponsored by Sonia Friedman Productions):

● Anoushka Lucas for Elephant at Bush Theatre, London

Best Composer, Lyricist or Book Writer (Sponsored by Crossroads Live):

● Michael R Jackson for A Strange Loop at Barbican Theatre, London

Best West End Debut Performer (Sponsored by TodayTix):

● Rose Ayling-Ellis for As You Like It at @sohoplace

Best Creative West End Debut: (Sponsored by Trafalgar Entertainment):

● Tingying Dong (sound designer) for The Crucible at National Theatre and Gielgud Theatre

● Rob Madge (writer) for My Son’s a Queer, (But What Can You Do?) at Garrick Theatre and Ambassadors Theatre

With thanks to our sponsors ATG, Arts Council England, Cabbells, Carnival Cruise Line, Crossroads Live, Sonia Friedman Productions, TodayTix, Trafalgar Entertainment and Wimbledon College of Arts, UAL.

The inaugural The Stage Debut Awards took place in 2017. Recipients of these awards have gone on to star in and create West End shows, television series and films. Notable award winners include Shan Ako (Hamilton), Tyrell Williams (Red Pitch), Sam Tutty (Dear Evan Hansen), Miriam-Teak Lee (& Juliet), Jac Yarrow (Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat), Bush Theatre Artistic Director Lynette Linton, and Composers Femi Temowo (Death of a Salesman) and Dan Gillespie Sells (Everybody’s Talking About Jamie).

The Other Palace Studio – until 15 October 2023

Reviewed by Claire Roderick

3***

Exhilerating and frustrating in equal measure, Trompe L’Oeil is an intriguing and ambitious show slightly overladen with ideas and imagery.

Billed as a “hilarious blend of cabaret, queer theatre, and circus in a world where nothing is what it seems”, the first time the rug is pulled out from under the audience’s feet is the first glimpse of the set, with a huge picture of Donald Trump on the backdrop and rifling through the programme reveals two characters Trump and Ivanka – so this is a Trump musical? The show begins with a whimsical cabaret number led by Sarah Louise Hughes as The Imitator, before the two parallel storylines begin. Emer Dineen’s fantastic portrayal of Trump – bad orange foundation and white eyes, tiny hands just visible in her oversized jacket – and his presidency plays out alongside a tentative romance between staunch Republican Rip (Alex Wadham) and Democrat Demi (Dominic Booth).

Henry Parkman Biggs has been working on this show for eight years, and there is so much thought and detail in the lyrics and music (with Preston Jones) that it sometimes feels like a particularly fiendish round in Only Connect. I didn’t find the crib sheet explaining the puzzles and parallels in certain songs until the interval, but that didn’t stop me loving their ridiculous energy. Trump sings his entrance song “Magical Me” in the meter of Yertle the Turtle, Putin song is written as a Pushkin sonnet, Pity Party is an anagram song – there are even two songs where certain letters in the lyrics form an image – these may have been projected onto the stage, but I didn’t spot that from my seat to the side (I may have just been focussing on the cast and director Blair Anderson’s ingenious choreography.) Director and choreographer Anderson creates a spectacle on the tiny stage brilliantly, with stellar work from William Elijah-Lewis and Yasmin Sharp matching the acrobatic artistry of Hughes.

To ensure his presidency, Trump makes a Faustian pact with Putin (Hughes again as a VERY disturbing darkness dweller), allowing Putin to fix a vice to Trump’s scrotum that can be tightened whenever he disappoints his master. Olivia Saunders Barbie/sex doll version of Ivanka is hilarious as she sings “Blanke Verse” at his inauguration and husband Jarrod (The Imitator Hughes again!) sings a truly bizarre number as a horrified Statue of Liberty (Craig Bartley) looks on. The constant firing of his staff is covered in the exuberant “Bounce” with the cast gleefully performing tricks on a trampoline as they are dispatched. Magritte’s Son of Man provides government agents with cover as they hide behind giant apples and sabotage Trump’s laptop with apple juice. But nothing can stop Trump, and a delightful lipogram song full of insults using the only vowel key still working follows. Some wonderfully clever ideas adding to the Trump pastiches that sprung up during his first campaign.

Rip and Demi’s relationship, presumably meant to show that the two sides of the political spectrum can meet somewhere in the middle is the most unsatisfying part of the show, although Wadham and Booth give splendid performances and win the audiences sympathy for their characters. As they struggle to find words to describe Trump’s presidency – saying “surreal” has consequences that Dali would approve of, the portrayal of stereotypical discourse between left and right means that Rip’s right-wing views and his transphobic and misogynistic comments are meant to be hard to swallow

But we needed some retribution or at least education. Demi’s annoyance at his linguistic errors and prejudices becomes DEMI’S problem as Rip won’t accept criticism so they just stops and lets Rip keep talking loudly waiting for him to realise his mistakes instead of confronting him. The finale “Better Together” is a great song and dance number, but even the hidden message doesn’t create a satisfactory end to the characters’ arcs. But then this is a cabaret, and the best trompe L’oeil mislead and deceive. This is definitely a marmite production – I loved it, even though I probably missed a lot of references, the silliness and energy of this curious show are infectious.

Forum Theatre, Malvern – until 30th September 2023

Reviewed by Courie Amado Juneau

4.5****

Crimes On Centre Court is a murder mystery whodunnit parody adapted from an award winning podcast.

Some of the zaniest pre-show music you will ever hear preceded one of the wackiest opening numbers you will encounter – a barber-shop quartet singing hedge! This hedge featured prominently throughout, outlining the plot, singing exposition points and as stage hands moving the scenery and props around.

The surprisingly cogent plot begins with the murder of Lord Knows, Chairman of the Whombledun International Invitational Tennis Tournament, prompting his son, Hugh Knows (I know, stick with it) to call in private investigators Perry and Penny Pink to crack the case…

The cast is tiny – in fact, it’s the entire hedgerow quartet. Each actor plays multiple diverse roles meaning two impressive things leap out at you – given the paucity of persons on stage, there’s a lot of dialogue for each to learn. Secondly, that the costume changes alone necessitate a lot of running around and mark hitting (being in the right place at the right time) so the slapstick and visual gags work. I’m surprised the actors had any breath left to deliver such a wordy script!

The inventive character names (already mentioned but my personal favourite being tennis player Notta Damclu) and the tortuously convoluted wordplay provided much scope for verbal misunderstandings (the hot chilli exchange stood out in the memory). Alliteration featured heavily too, impressively delivered, especially from the improbably haired Hugh Knows. I’ll just mention here that I wish there had been a cast list (or introductions on stage) so I could praise the performers individually by name. The visual gags were hilarious and I particularly enjoyed the line-call action replay. Just when you thought they had rung all the laughs they could out of the joke they threw another one in. Inventive use of the minimal modular set (such as pull down blinds as a road backdrop for a driving scene) and the scoreboard, made plenty from very little and was even funnier for it, adding to the impression of a fast paced show (those hedges were really zipping around).

It was worth the price of admission just to laugh yourself silly at the slow motion tennis match – how they did those special effects God only knows (where’s the emoji wink when you need it? Haha). The story fizzed along at breakneck speed to the denouement with recap scenes necessitating multiple rapid character changes – giving the actors plenty of scope for those exasperated looks and “improvisational asides” that are always crowd pleasers. If you love The Goes Wrong series you will love this. A suitably convoluted twist in the tale and romantic ending brought the curtain down on a wonderful evening’s fun.

Intrigue, murder, romance, sport, fresh fruit, outlandish murders, whodunit, fresh fruit… farcical stuff in the mould of PG Wodehouse meets Christie, through the Goons and Python. The work had everything including the “going down” (stairs, escalator, lift) gag which is always welcome.

Serving up volley after volley of top-notch tomfoolery with very few faults and many aces, one doesn’t need Hawk-eye or replays to know this is a surefire hit. Game, set & match – I absolutely loved it.

The Other Palace – until 17 December 2023

Reviewed by Claire Roderick

4****

Usually when two great actors perform on stage together, they’re battling it out in a hard-hitting drama, so to see Ian McKellen and Roger Allam have a ball in this gently meandering romantic comedy is a breath of fresh air.

Ben Weatherill’s charming story of two older men meeting on their daily walks with their dogs (unseen but a chorus of yelps and barks making their presence known) and the friendship that develops into love is warm and witty. Frank (Allam) is a widowed retired teacher who lost his beloved wife to cancer while Percy is still active in his field, a professor lecturing around the world and writing books with an ex-husband living around the corner and a daughter in Australia.

Percy’s lack of inhibitions and confidence as a gay man allows Frank to finally explore and confirm his sexuality, realising that he is bisexual. The couple’s romance is written beautifully, with the men carrying and demonstrating an easy acceptance of each other’s recognisable baggage from their past. There are some sticking points in the relationship – notably their attitudes to dog care – which lead to breakups, but it is always clear that these two men have an innate connection and should end up together.

Frank’s wistful reminiscing about his wife highlights Percy’s reluctance to talk about his past relationships without deflecting with humour, and when Percy’s mask of confidence drops and McKellen lets the audience see the frightened and lonely man behind the snarky jokes, it becomes clear how much he needs Frank in his life. Percy’s life story lays bare the prejudice and hate faced as a gay man in the 1970s, and McKellen is at his best flitting between biting wit and world-weary sorrow as the men discuss the changes that have been, and still need to be, made.

The ups and downs of the relationship are great fun to watch – Frank’s first Pride and karaoke are glorious moments – but the inevitable health scares (both human and canine) that happen in later life through a few spanners in the works to ensure not all is plain sailing. The tone is somewhere between Alan Bennett and Victoria Wood – familiar and comforting, and very funny.

Nick Richings lighting design and Andy Graham’s sound design evoke the changing seasons on Morgan Large’s minimal but gloriously evocative set. Sean Mathias’ s confident direction ensures the gentle pace never lags as the two extraordinary actors create magic together.

Allam and McKellen are a joy to watch in this charming and quietly moving warm hug of a romantic comedy.