SOPHIE OKONEDO AND BEN DANIELS STAR IN
A NEW PRODUCTION OF
MEDEA
DIRECTED BY DOMINIC COOKE
@SOHOPLACE

• Sophie Okonedo and Ben Daniels return to the West End to star in Robinson Jeffers’
  adaptation of Euripides’ Medea, directed by Dominic Cooke.
• Opening @sohoplace on 17 February 2023, with previews from 11 February.
• The production will run until 22 April 2023 in a strictly limited 10-week season
• Medea is the second production for Fictionhouse, run by Dominic Cooke and Kate Horton.
• Fictionhouse’s first production, GOOD starring David Tennant, is currently playing to sold-out houses at The Harold Pinter Theatre.
• Further casting to be announced.
• Tickets are on sale today, 19 October 2022.

Fictionhouse Limited, Nica Burns and Kate Pakenham Productions today announce Medea, adapted by Robinson Jeffers from the play by Euripides. Dominic Cooke directs with Sophie Okonedo as Medea and Ben Daniels as Jason/Creon/Aegeus, with full cast to be announced. The production opens at @sohoplace on 17 February, with previews from 11 February, and runs until 22 April 2023. Further casting to be announced.

Medea sees Dominic Cooke reuniting with long-term collaborators’ Sophie Okonedo and Ben Daniels, most recently with BBC’s The Hollow Crown – Wars of the Roses, in addition to working together across multiple stage productions since the 1990s.

What could turn a woman from a lover into a destroyer of love?

Medea tells the story of a woman laid bare by grief and rage, and her terrible quest for revenge against the men who have abandoned her.

Sophie Okonedo brings her visceral, mercurial brilliance to literature’s most titanic female
protagonist, whose complexity and contradictions have kept audiences on the edge of their seats, unable to look away, for almost 2,500 years.

Sophie Okonedo said, “I am really excited and a touch nervous to be playing Medea. I’m buoyed by the fact I’m working with two of my closest friends and long-term collaborators, Dominic Cooke and Ben Daniels. I was lucky enough to have Nica Burns show me around the new @sohoplace theatre while it was still being built, and I was so impressed by the space that I signed up immediately to perform there!”

Dominic Cooke also commented, “I have been friends with Sophie Okonedo since we were in our teens. We’ve worked together many times including on Arabian Nights at the Young Vic in 1998 and The Hollow Crown: Wars of the Roses for the BBC in 2015. Sophie is one of our most visceral, emotionally connected actors and I have long thought she’d be a brilliant Medea. I am over the moon that it’s now happening as the second West End production for Fictionhouse, run by Kate Horton and myself. I’m also really looking forward to working again with the super talented Ben Daniels after our hugely fulfilling collaboration on The Normal Heart at the National Theatre. Ben and Sophie have been an explosive onstage partnership in the past and I can’t wait to see them playing these iconic roles together in Nica Burns’ thrilling new auditorium @sohoplace.”

Design Vicki Mortimer
Lighting Neil Austin
Sound Gareth Fry

Produced by Fictionhouse Limited, Nica Burns and Kate Pakenham Productions

STATEMENT

MOTHER GOOSE – MEL GIEDROYC

ATG Productions and Mel Giedroyc today announce that, with great sadness, Mel will no longer be able to star as The Goose in the upcoming pantomime Mother Goose.

Mel Giedroyc said today “Due to personal reasons, I have made the difficult decision to withdraw from the forthcoming production of Mother Goose. I am thankful to the producers of the show for being so understanding and wish everyone involved in the production a fantastic tour throughout the UK and Ireland. Now, more than ever we all need a bit of joy, and I can’t wait to see it myself. I know it is going to be fantastic.”

Everyone in the show sends love and best wishes to Mel and her family. Casting for the role of The Goose will be announced soon.

Darlington Hippodrome – until Saturday 22 October 2022

5*****

Spike by Ian Hislop and Nick Newman is the rare gem of a show.  Clearly the best play that I have ever seen and now my benchmark to measure all other plays against.

Spike tells us the story of Spike Milligan.  The creator of The Goon Show, the major influence of most comedians since and quite frankly a genius.  Switching the story between the writing and recording of The Goon Show, his time in the war and the problems in his personal life.  To me, it seemed that Spike was always fighting a war – with the men in suits at the BBC, against Hitler and with his mental health as he faced up to injuries he sustained under fire and his constant need to be funny.

The BBC bosses hated The Goon Show but the listening public, the critics and even the Royal Family loved it.  They changed the schedule times, tried to control Spike with edits and Directors but Spike continued to write and perform leading to a nervous breakdown.

Robert Wilfort shines in the titular role, embodying the subversive, anarchic comic talent. With his co-stars, Harry Secombe (Jeremy Lloyd) and Peter Sellers (Patrick Warner), and Janet from the Sound Department (Margaret Cabourn-Smith) clearly having a ball while recording The Goons.  Lloyd captures Secombe’s happy and joyful persona, taking the mickey out of himself and his singing.  Warner is adept with his voices and impressions and womanising ways.  And a special mention must go to Cabourn-Smith, who almost steals every scene she is and to Ellie Morris, who plays Spike’s put-upon wife June.

Hislop and Newman have created a genius show about a genius man and all I can do is urge you all to go and see, what for me, is the best play ever

IMAGINE THEATRE CONFIRMS ALL STAR LINE-UP

FOR THIS YEAR’S PANTOMIME SEASON

Casting is complete for Imagine Theatre’s biggest panto season with an all-star line-up getting ready to bring 18 magical family pantomimes to audiences across England, Wales and Scotland.

Star casting includes TV star Vernon Kay, making his pantomime debut in Cinderella in High Wycombe, TV stars AJ Pritchard & Curtis Pritchard, Joe McFadden, Anne Hegerty, Louie Spence, Sue Holderness, X Factor finalists Amelia Lily and Andy Abraham, Coronation Street and television actor Jamie Kenna, CBeebies stars Justin Fletcher, Evie Pickerill and Rebecca Keatley, Channel 5Milkshake presenters Kiera-Nicole Brennan and Nathan Connor, comedian Jarred Christmas, comedian and social media star Parle Patel, Britain’s Got Talent finalists Jon Clegg, Matt Edwards and Paul Burling and The Voice’s Barbara Bryceland.

The season also offers panto favourites such as JP McCue, Sean Dodds, Iain Lauchlan, Craig Hollingsworth, Kev Johns, David Ashley, Ben Watson, Tim McArthur, Adam Stafford, Josh Benson, Malcolm Lord, Paul Morse, James Lusted, John Evans, Martin Ballard, Joe Pollard, Andrew Agnew, Greg Powrie, alongsideestablished musical theatre performers Amelia Atherton, Hayley Gallivan, Stefan Pejic, Nathan Routledge, Jonathan Alden, Joelle Moses, Aled Davies, Richard Locke, Peter Lawrence, Neil Moors, James Bisp, Roger Wright and many other talented industry professionals.

With titles including Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella, Jack and Beanstalk, Peter Pan, Sleeping Beauty and Snow White Imagine will produce shows in Coventry, Crewe, Falkirk, Glenrothes, Halifax, High Wycombe, Hastings, Hayes, Inverness, Kilmarnock, Leamington, Leicester, Llandudno, Porthcawl, Reading, Rotherham, Swansea and Swindon as well as touring three productions of Santa’s Christmas Rescue and will put on a total of 21 shows in different venues across the season with the curtain going up 905 times!

The Imagine panto warehouse is filled to the brim with more than 30,000 costumes (that’s a whole lot of sequins!) just waiting to be given a twirl and 200 professional performers are preparing to take to the stage in roles from Fairy Flutterby to Fleshcreep and Dame Dorothy Do It to Simon le Bon Bon.  They will perform alongside around 350 local children who have been cast via open auditions and a team of more than 25 office staff plus the creative teams and crew all there to help make the magic happen with the support of the amazing venue teams.

Imagine, who are proud to be a carbon neutral business, will also be presenting ground-breaking digital sets in two of their pantomimes, which utilise state of the art technology to create a magical and enchanting theatrical experience for theatre goers of all ages. These shows, which this year are being presented in High Wycombe (Cinderella) and Swansea (Beauty and the Beast) have all of the usual elements you’d expect to find in a traditional pantomime brought to life with LED animated scenes which change with each part of the story.

Steve Boden, Managing Director at Imagine says: “This year is an exciting year for Imagine, our biggest ever. We have amazing new scripts from some of the country’s best panto writers, whilst we also bring together some of your favourite panto land faces along with amazingly talented newcomers and of course some very exciting stars.

In a challenging season last year more than three hundred and twenty thousand panto goers still enjoyed coming to see us and this year we hope to break box office records to bring joy and cheer to our wonderful audiences once again.”

Laura Taylor, Head of Celebrity Casting for Imagine says:

“I am absolutely thrilled with our line-up for the 2022/23 pantomime season which brings together pantomime legends, a host of stars from all areas of the entertainment industry and Vernon Kay making his pantomime debut. Only in pantomime do you see West End performers rubbing shoulders with TV stars, pop stars and even game show hosts! 2022 has been a challenging year for so many reasons, but pantomime provides the perfect escape for the whole family to get out to their local theatre and enjoy the magic of live performance together in an exciting and welcoming environment and just have fun. It’s a privilege to be able to provide that opportunity in so many of the UK regions.”

With sparkle, slosh and laughs galore this season looks set to be the best ever. Find out more at imaginetheatre.co.uk and book your tickets for the best family Christmas treat now.

LISTINGS

Belgrade Theatre, Coventry –   Jack and the Beanstalk

Nov 23, 2022 – Jan 7, 2023

www.Belgrade.co.uk 

The Palace Theatre, Kilmarnock  – Snow White

Nov 25, 2022 – Dec 30, 2022

www.ealtonline.nslcrm.co.uk 

Rotherham Civic Theatre – Beauty and the Beast

Dec 1, 2022 – Jan 8, 2023

www.rotherhamtheatres.ticketsolve.com

Wyvern Theatre Swindon – Beauty and the Beast

Dec 3, 2022 – Jan 2, 2023

www.swindontheatres.co.uk

Rothes Hall, Glenrothes  – Cinderella

Dec 3, 2022 – Dec 24, 2022

www.onfife.com

The Royal Spa Centre and Town Hall, Leamington Spa – Cinderella

Dec 3, 2022 – Dec 31, 2022

www.warwickdc.ticketsolve.com 

The Hexagon, Reading –  Jack and the Beanstalk

Dec 3, 2022 – Jan 2, 2023

www.whatsonreading.com/

Eden Court Theatre , Inverness – Peter Pan

Dec 7, 2022 – Jan 8, 2023

www.eden-court.co.uk

Beck Theatre, Hayes – Cinderella

Dec 9, 2022 – Dec 31, 2022

www.becktheatre.org.uk

Wycombe Swan, High Wycombe – Cinderella

Dec 9, 2022 – Dec 31, 2022

www.wycombeswan.co.uk

FTH Theatre, Falkirk – Sleeping Beauty

Dec 9, 2022 – Dec 30, 2022

www.falkirkleisureandculture.org

De Montfort Hall. Leicester – Cinderella

Dec 10, 2022 – Jan 2, 2023

www.demontforthall.co.uk

Victoria Theatre, Halifax – Sleeping Beauty

Dec 10, 2022 – Jan 2, 2023

www.victoriatheatre.co.uk

Venue Cymru, Llandudno  – Beauty and the Beast

Dec 10, 2022 – Dec 31, 2022

www.venuecymru.co.uk

Grand Theatre – Swansea  – Beauty and the Beast

Dec 14, 2022 – Jan 15, 2023

www.swanseagrand.co.uk

White Rock Theatre, Hastings Beauty and the Beast

Dec 15, 2022 – Dec 31, 2022

www.whiterocktheatre.org.uk

Lyceum Theatre, Crewe – Aladdin

Dec 16, 2022 – Jan 8, 2023

www.crewelyceum.co.uk

The Grand Pavillion, Porthcawl – Jack and the Beanstalk

Dec 16, 2022 – Jan 8, 2023

www.awenboxoffice.com

OVO Theatre at The Maltings Theatre, St Albans

Reviewed by Ross McGregor

4****

Hot on the heels of his success with David Eldridge’s “Beginning” and “Middle”, Artistic Director Adam Nichols brings back Lucy Kirkwood’s “Mosquitoes”, another National Theatre revival that OVO produced earlier this year. Performing for one night before transferring up to Lancaster, the production was welcomed back to St Albans with a packed house, which the show more than deserved.

This reviewer hesitates to be confident in his abilities to fully encompass what the show is about – as “Mosquitoes” is a mass of ideas and cleverness, at times bursting at the seams with themes, opinions, topical relevance and scientific theories, but its true strength is in its characters.

“Mosquitoes” centres around two opposing sisters, Jenny and Alice. Alice is a physicist working on the Large Hadron Collider in Geneva, whilst Jenny lives in Luton selling medical insurance and taking care of their declining mother. Alice is fiercely intelligent, professionally successful and a force of rationalism, whilst Jenny is emotional, spiritual, chaotic and wracked with guilt over a family tragedy she (and the rest of the family) consider her fault.

And yet Alice, the darling daughter of their mother, struggles with emotional acuity, and is failing to connect with her gifted but problematic son Luke, whilst Jenny possesses a wealth of empathetic intelligence and a startling wit that leaps off the page and fires the heart of the play.

Much like the protons and electrons that concern Alice’s work on the boson particles, the sisters are opposing forces, bouncing off each other in a self-perpetuating chemical chain reaction, only to be forever pulled back together by the forces of love and attraction that hold their family together. They collide atomically with both each other and their opposing views on just about everything, as well as the other members of their family – Karen their elderly almost-Nobel-Prize-winning-scientist mother now in the beginning phases of dementia, and Luke, Alice’s environmentally-anxious teenage son who is struggling to navigate the consequences of sending illicit photos into unsafe hands, and his own frustrated anger as he combusts into the social media sidelines as a scorned pariah.

The numerous short scenes have a cinematic swiftness to them, suitably sci-fi-esque music and some forces-of-repulsion-and-attraction-based movement sequences sweep us from one into another, and if at first the wide lens of the playwright’s focus is overwhelming, the show soon beds down into the interplay between the sisters, and we find our through-line – “Mosquitoes” is about a family going through a sort of radioactive decay.

Simon Nicholas’s set is simple, with a white circle on the floor in the design of the collider itself as well as some multi-purpose white boxes that the cast manipulate and reposition with all the fervour of a Frantic Assembly weekend workshop. OVO have a history of melding technology with live performance, and Nicholas’s use of projection here is clever, at times disarmingly beautiful, and wonderfully well-managed – particularly in the moments when the actor are allowed to interact directly with it.

Emma Wright is at the top of her game as Alice, her performance is a masterpiece of subtlety and nuance – every word considered and perfectly placed. Having seen her performances in “Beginning” and “Middle” a few weeks ago, it was a pleasure to see her in a completely different kind of role, soaring through scenes with grace and honesty, Wright is an asset to the company, and I’m glad to see that she’ll be joining the theatre company next month for “Women of Whitechapel”. She’s similarly matched by Faith Turner’s Jenny, who brings an enormous amount of humour and heart to the role of the black sheep sister. Jenny has all the best jokes and lines, but it is a testament to Turner’s skill and generosity that she continually plays each scene organically working with her scene partner, knowing where to hit and where to push – she’s an incredibly watchable actor, capable of great emotional arches and heights, whilst handling the legion of punchlines Kirkwood has given her with the utmost of ease.

Will Pattle plays Luke with the frenzy of a wounded captured animal, impotent in his adolescence and yet keenly wanting more from both those around him and himself. Lyle Fulton is Henri, Alice’s Swiss scientist boyfriend that consistently gets called French. Whilst the male roles aren’t really Kirkwood’s focus, Fulton gives a nice dash of humour and moral stiffness, he handles his reformed alcoholic quaker character well without descending into parody, its a really tidy turn that gives a much needed change of colour and timbre to the long running time. Eloise Westwood, Jane Withers and Andy Margerison play secondary characters for the sisters and son to interact with, and whilst Margerison gets some blisteringly powerful speeches that cover some of the more scientific corners of the playwright’s brain, I was left feeling disappointed that the three clearly capable actors weren’t given more to do. Perhaps with the nature of the repertory nature of OVO, they can look forward to more of the limelight further along in the season. Regardless, they helped round out a very strong ensemble that was clearly committed to their show, working as a team to pull each scene in and out of its movement sequence sandwich structure, and everyone had their little moments of stage shine time. Margerison in particular did some powerful monologue work here, his is a voice rich and ripe for Shakespeare’s Histories.

Personally however, it was Annette Holland as the matriarch Karen that particularly stood out. Under her impeccable light touch, Karen’s idiosyncrasies and foibles were brought out, gently at first, with a few forgotten items or senior moments of going off to change her clothes but coming back unaltered, before inevitably decaying into a second childhood just seeking comfort in the face of the terrifying prospect of losing one’s own mind – the one thing Karen prizes above all else. Holland is an absolute maestra on stage, her concise delivery, a wonderful softness and lightness of touch but with a steely fortitude that betrays the cold guiding hand that has misshaped her two daughters – her portrayal of Karen is near perfection – every moment on stage with her was a gift – and Holland has clearly used her considerable talents to present a fascinatingly flawed pioneer seething in the shadows of greatness, stoically awaiting the oncoming storm of her own decline.

Having seen his “Beginning” and “Middle” a few weeks ago, after “Mosquitoes”, I’m beginning to get a sense of director Adam Nichols’s style. His theatre is a theatre of modernity. Of unfinished sentences and interruptions. Of quick cuts and quicker jokes. He moves fast, but his intent is always clear and precise. From working repeatedly with the same actors, Nichols is clearly able to bring out more from their shared ease and comfort, and it strengthens his command of the story, and the clarity of its telling. “Mosquitoes” could very easily be incomprehensible, it has a wealth of ideas and themes, and the characters are prickly and difficult, but Nichols has systematically worked his rehearsal room so that each layer and turning point, every revelation and declaration, every choice, triumph and failure are wonderfully realised, disarmingly honest and full to the back row with truth. The atomic shell of the show has a lot of electrons, but Nichols strips away each one for us to examine with the care and talent of a true scientist storyteller.

The show however is not perfect. For one thing, it’s far too long. Despite what the programme might claim about its run time – “Mosquitoes” clocked in at three hours and eight minutes including interval, which is about 30 minutes over what the script can hold. I’m no devotee of a stop-watch when it comes to theatre (nor clearly when it comes to short reviews), a story takes as long as it needs to, but unfortunately this particular story has a lot of filler and unfortunately does resolve itself numerous times before it eventually finishes. It suffers from a chronic case “Return-of-the-King” syndrome, and the two last scenes in particular are baffling in the choices that have been made, as they are clearly the wrong way round – causing the audience to applaud and reach for their coats at an inopportune moment before the play was finished – a cringeworthy moment that needs remedying, either swap them round, cut the black out, or direct Margerison to remove the “last line-ness” from his last line. The movement sequences too need further work. Despite having two movement directors assigned to them, Stephanie Allison and Amy Connery, they’re just not polished or tight enough – they need considerable honing in timing and slickness – as they bring a messiness to a play that is conspicuously clean and sharp in the delivery of its text sections. Whilst there is nothing wrong with their design or conception, this kind of movement language needs considerable time in the rehearsal room, and the production could benefit from a few more days running them through until they achieve a military like precision about where exactly those ever-mobile white boxes are placed. And finally, as just a personal preference about actors – shouting is always the least interesting choice you can make. The characters in “Mosquitoes” go through quite the chemical crucible, and whilst tempers fray and relationships combust violently, often the decisions made descended into raised voices and generic anger. And for a three hour play, this can tire the ear and muddy the clarity. They’re clearly talented actors, perhaps in the next iteration of the piece on tour, I’d suggest diversifying the choices made in moments of high emotion.

All in all, “Mosquitoes” is a challenging piece about family and science, slickly held together by a clever script, disarming technical prowess, powerful performances and some ambitious ensemble work. Kirkwood has crammed the ideas of three or four plays into a single script, and that might not always be to all tastes, but in the capable and sensitive hands of OVO Theatre, they have another powerhouse of a performance in their hands.

The production is due to transfer to The Dukes in Lancaster this week, running 19th – 22nd October. More details and tickets can be found at https://dukeslancaster.org/

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE’S
AS YOU LIKE IT
DIRECTED BY JOSIE ROURKE @SOHOPLACE
STARRING LEAH HARVEY, ROSE AYLING-ELLIS,
ALFRED ENOCH AND MARTHA PLIMPTON

• A new production of William Shakespeare’s As You Like It, directed by Josie Rourke, is to be the second production @sohoplace, the first new build West End theatre to open in 50 years.
• The first performance is on Tuesday 6 December 2022 for a limited season until 28 January
  2023.
• The production stars Leah Harvey (Foundation, The Wonderful World of Dissocia) as Rosalind, Rose Ayling-Ellis (EastEnders, Strictly Come Dancing 2021 winner) as Celia making her West End debut, Alfred Enoch (Harry Potter films, Red West End) as Orlando and Martha Plimpton (The Good Wife, Sweat West End) in the role of Jaques. Further casting to be announced.
• Tickets go on general sale on Monday 17 October.
  

Nica Burns today announces a new production of William Shakespeare’s As You Like It, directed by Josie Rourke, starring Leah Harvey as Rosalind, Rose Ayling-Ellis as Celia, Alfred Enoch as Orlando and with Martha Plimpton in the role of Jaques. As You Like It will be the second production @sohoplace with the first performance on Tuesday 6 December 2022, running until 28 January 2023.

Josie Rourke, Director, said: “Nica has built a beautiful and vibrant new theatre for London and I’m proud to be part of her opening session. When I saw the new auditorium, saying “yes” to directing on that wonderful stage was one of the quickest answers I’ve ever given. I remember well from opening the new Bush Theatre the peculiar struggles and challenges of opening the doors on a new theatre and I’m honoured to be part of this important endeavour. As things feel tough, Nica has doubled down on theatre’s future in the capital and I’m want to support her and her team’s courage by creating a joyful and celebratory show for one of theatre’s most and intimate, welcoming new homes, @sohoplace. “

Nica Burns, Producer, said: “Our brilliant director Josie Rourke has brought together an outstanding cast and creative team to realise her vision for one of Shakespeare’s most popular plays. I am a very lucky producer to be working with this wonderful company.”

Design Rob Jones
Lighting Howard Harrison
Sound John Leonard
Music Michael Bruce

SHAKESPEARE’S GLOBE AND HEADLONG ANNOUNCE CASTING FOR
HENRY V

Launching Shakespeare’s Globe’s Winter Season, Henry V opens in the candlelit Sam Wanamaker Playhouse on 10 November, running until 4 February. In a Shakespeare’s Globe and Headlong production with Leeds Playhouse and Royal & Derngate, Northampton, Henry V will be performed in the intimate, indoor Sam Wanamaker Playhouse for the first time, exploring the single-minded pursuit of Henry V, and what it means to be ‘English’.

Director Holly Race Roughan (Artistic Director, Headlong) says: “Shakespeare’s plays are packed with so many universal ideas, that they remain intriguingly relevant to contemporary society hundreds of years on. However, occasionally, one of his plays speaks to the present moment so directly, that it takes your breath away. Staging Henry V with the backdrop of the passing of Queen Elizabeth II, Brexit, and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, feels like one of these moments. This play that teems with the anxiety of royal succession, nationalism, war and imperialism, rips through the centuries and offers us a chance to reflect on our present moment in a powerfully heightened way. We were keen when we embarked on this production to not make a history play, but to treat the play as if it were a new piece of writing that is in conversation with our immediate experience. Our hope is that through this stripped back production, and lean edit, there is space for the audience to bring their imagination and question with us our present situation.”

The Globe’s winter season also includes the premiere of Hakawatis: Women of the Arabian Nights (1 December – 14 January) by Globe writer-in-residence Hannah Khalil. A Tamasha co-production directed by their Artistic Director Pooja Ghai. Hakawatis tells the story of a tyrant revenging his wife’s infidelity by wedding, bedding, and beheading a new bride every day. Years later, only five brides-in-waiting remain. From 15 – 31 December, The Fir Tree returns to the open-air Globe Theatre, directed by Artistic Director Michelle Terry and written by Hannah Khalil. This re-imagining of Hans Christian Andersen’s classic tale includes puppets, carol-singing, and tree decorating for families under the wintry star-lit sky.

In the new year, Shakespeare’s most deadly revenge tragedy Titus Andronicus will run from 19 January – 15 April, directed by Jude Christian. Betrayed by a nation, and with a family in ruins, Roman general Titus Andronicus seeks justice the only way he knows how: tooth for tooth and limb for limb. For the first time ever, audiences of The Winter’s Tale will traverse between both iconic theatres, journeying from aristocratic Sicilia in the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse to pastoral Bohemia in the Globe Theatre. Directed by Associate Artistic Director Sean Holmes, The Winter’s Tale (9 Feb – 16 April) marks the start of the Globe’s year-long Folio 400th Anniversary celebrations.

The cast of Henry V comprises Joséphine Callies as Katherine / Boy, James Cooney as Thomas / Orleans / Gower, Georgia Frost as Nym / Michael Williams / Rambures, Jon Furlong as Bardolph / John Bates / Constable of France, Joshua Griffin as Bedford / Fluellen, Eleanor Henderson as Queen of France / Prince Louis / Ambassador 1 / Le Fer, Oliver Johnstone as Henry V, Geoffrey Lumb as King of France / Erpingham / Governor of Harfleur /Ambassador 2, Helena Lymbery as Henry IV / Exeter and Dharmesh Patel as Scroop / Pistol / Montjoy / Officer. Full cast biographies are as follows:

Joséphine Callies will play Katherine / Boy. Joséphine trained at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and at the Conservatoire National Supérieur d’Art Dramatique in Paris. She was nominated as a finalist of the Spotlight Prize 2021. Work whilst training includes Bad Roads, The Bacchae, Hamlet, Anatomy of a Suicide, All My Sons, The Cherry Orchard (RCS), Les Frères Ennemis (CNSAD). Theatre credits include: Aglavaine et Sélysette (La Colline, CDN
Besançon, Comédie de Reims), A Christmas Carol (Théâtre de Nesle). Television credits include Super (FEMIS), Sam (TF1).  Film credits include:  À Fond (Chic Films). Short film credits include: Luna (ESRA), The Dog (RCS).

James Cooney will play Thomas / Orleans / Gower. James trained as an actor at The Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (LIPA) and recently gained a Masters in Actor Training and Coaching at Central School of Speech and Drama. He recently performed in The 47th and is well known for Bottleneck and work with The RSC. Theatre credits include: Around the World in 80 Days (Eastbourne Theatres); The 47th (Old Vic); The Taming of the Shrew, Measure for Measure, Troilus and Cressida, Hamlet, King Lear, Cymbeline (RSC); Hamlet (RSC – Hackney Empire/UK tour/Kennedy Center, Washington DC); Flare Path (UK tour); Plastic (Latitude); The Natives, 24 Hour Plays: Cinderland, The Bird and the Two-Ton Weight (Old Vic New Voices); Hamlet (Watermill, Newbury); Bottleneck (High Tide); Bottom Up (Southwark Playhouse); The Only Way is Chelsea’s (York Theatre Royal Newcastl/Soho); Apples/Thatcherwrite (Theatre503); Island (National Theatre). Television credits include: Andor, Casualty, The ABC Murders, Silent Witness, Doctors. Film includes: Strangeways Here We Come, Jester and Flora, Vic/Tim, Cushy, Etu. Radio credits include: The Verb: Sebastian (et Moi) / Brighter Later; Women in Love; Welcome to Medpatch; Stone; Elegies; Antic Hay; Emergency (All BBC Radio).

Georgia Frost will play Nym / Michael Williams / Rambures. Georgia trained at Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. Credits include Gaia (BBC + Breach Theatre), This Is Going To Hurt (BBC/ Sister Pictures), Death Drop (The Criterion Theatre), Placenta Pâté (Salisbury Productions), Europeana (RSC), Dead Dog In A Suitcase (Kneehigh/International tour), The Other One (BBC), Much Ado About Nothing (Tobacco Factory/ Wiltons Music Hall), A Monster Calls (The Old Vic), The Little Mermaid (The Egg, Theatre Royal Bath), Casualty (BBC).

Jon Furlong will play Bardolph / John Bates / Constable of France. Jon was most recently seen in Cyrano de Bergerac and is known for his work on All Creatures Great and Small. This is his debut at Shakespeare’s Globe. Theatre credits include Cyrano de Bergerac (Harold Pinter/ Glasgow Theatre Royal/ Brooklyn Academy of Music). Television credits include: The Last Kingdom (Netflix), All Creatures Great and Small (Channel 5), Ghosts (BBC). Other credits include: The Sandman: Act 2 (Audible), Mrs Lowry & Son, A Day in the Life.

Joshua Griffin will play Bedford / Fluellen. Joshua trained at Royal Central School of Speech & Drama. Theatre credits include Dear Elizabeth (Gate Theatre), The Mousetrap (West End), The Tempest (Wanamaker Festival), Fahrenheit 451 (Complicité ). Television credits include: Father Brown (BBC). Film credits include: Reach (LondonNew Wave), Magic Mike’s Last Dance (Warner Bros).

Eleanor Henderson will play Queen of France / Prince Louis / Ambassador 1 / Le Fer. Eleanor trained at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. Theatre credits includes: little scratch (Hampstead Theatre), The BlueWoman (Royal Opera House), Blood Wedding (Salisbury Playhouse), The New Romantic (VAULTS Festival), Deep in
the Garden of Light (The Yard), Gave Her The Eye, (Soho Theatre), Corialanus (Bard in the Botanics), Albee Vector the Sound Collector, (House/UK Tour). Film credits include Saviours (National Film and Television School), Where the Mountains Grow (Black Apron Entertainment), Seven Deadly Sins (Discovery Channel), All is Not Lost, (Affixius Films/Leicestershire Police).

Oliver Johnstone will play Henry V. Theatre credits include Antigone (Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre), Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (ETT), All My Sons (Old Vic), The Haystack (Hampstead Theatre), Imperium (RSC/Gielgud), Tribes (Crucible Theatre), King Lear (RSC/Barbican/BAM), Cymbeline (RSC/Barbican), Teddy Ferrara (Donmar Warehouse),
Oppenheimer (RSC), Spring Awakening (Headlong/WYP), Another Country (Chichester Festival Theatre). Film credits include: The Courier (42, FilmNation Entertainment, SunnyMarch), Open (Short Film) (Sunset Round); On Chesil Beach (Golan Films), The Inbetweeners 2 (Bwark Productions), Skyfall (Eon Productions). TV credits include:
Endeavour (ITV), Loaded (Hillbilly Films), Inspector George Gently (BBC), The Syndicate (BBC, Lewis (ITV), Whitechapel 3 (Carnival Films).

Geoffrey Lumb will play King of France / Erpingham / Governor of Harfleur / Ambassador 2. Geoffrey trained at Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. Theatre credits include: The Homecoming (Theatre Royal Bath/ UK Tour), The Mirror and the Light (Playful Productions/RSC/Gielgud Theatre), Much Ado About Nothing (STF/Wilton’s), Tartuffe (National Theatre), This House (NT Tour/Headlong), King Charles III (Almeida UK tour/STC Sydney Australia), Macbeth and Twelfth Night (Filter), Prophesy and Macbeth (Baz Theatre), Chekhov in Hell (Soho Theatre/Drum Plymouth), Romeo and Juliet (US Tour), His Dark Materials (Birmingham Rep/West Yorkshire Playhouse), Rendition Monologues (Bridewell Theatre/Queen Elizabeth Hall), The Changeling (ETT), A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Shrew, The American Pilot, The Comedy of Errors, Much Ado About Nothing, Romeo and Juliet, King John, Vice Versa, Coriolanus and Troilus and Cressida (RSC), Hansel & Gretel (Northampton Theatre Royal), Twelfth Night (ETT). Television credits include: Midsomer Murders (ITV), Vera (ITV), Holby City (BBC), 24: Live Another Day (Fox), Doctors (BBC), Hollyoaks (Channel 4) and Luther (BBC). Film credits include Paddington 2 (Warner Brothers).

Helena Lymbery will play Henry IV / Exeter. Theatre credits include: Measure For Measure (Shakespeare’s Globe); Britannicus (Lyric, Hammersmith); Run Sister Run (Soho Theatre/Sheffield Theatres/Paines Plough); Mr Gum and the Dancing Bear; Treasure Island; This House; The Cat in the Hat; …some trace of her; Women of Troy; Attempts on her
Life; Iphigenia at Aulis; His Dark Materials; Wicked Yaar; Henry V (National Theatre); Dear Elizabeth (Gate Theatre); Queen Margaret (Royal Exchange Theatre); Pity (Royal Court); Wolves Are Coming For You (Pentabus); Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (West End); We Want You To Watch (RashDash/National Theatre); The Secret Agent (Young Vic/Theatre O); After Dido (Young Vic/ENO); Sleeping Beauty (Young Vic); Coasting (Bristol Old Vic); Faith, Hope and Charity; (Southwark Playhouse); Think About Japan (Southwark Playhouse/Nabokov); Yerma (West Yorkshire Playhouse); Blackpool (Theatre 503); Light Shining in Buckinghamshire (Arcola Theatre); Al Gran Sole Carico D’Amore (Salzburg Festival); Hansel and Gretel (Catherine Wheels/Barbican); Mammals (Bush Theatre); Blue
Remembered Hills (New Victoria Theatre, Stoke). Television credits include: Doctor Foster (Series 1&2), Father Brown, Oliver Twist, Alastair McGowan’s Big Impression, The Inspector Lynley Mysteries, The Bill, Nietta’s Farm, Oranges and Lemons. Film credits include London Road.

Dharmesh Patel will play Scroop / Pistol / Montjoy / Officer. Dharmesh trained at Hope St Physical Theatre School. Previous work for Shakespeare’s Globe includes: The Captive Queen, Love’s Labour’s Lost, The Two Gentlemen of Verona, The Tempest and Cymbeline. Other theatre credits include: Groan Ups (Mischief Theatre), Romeo and Juliet (Creation Theatre), Duchess of Malfi (Creation Theatre), Wizard of Oz (Creation Theatre), Macbeth
(Big Telly Theatre), Alice in Wonderland (Creation Theatre), A Belly Full (Theatre at the Mill), Double Dealer (Orange Tree), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Lyric Theatre/Filter), Julius Caesar, Anthony and Cleopatra, Titus Andronicus, King Lear, Hamlet, Comedy of Errors, As You Like It, Romeo and Juliet (all RSC), East is East (National Tour), Fever Dream Southside (Citizens Theatre), Albion (Bush Theatre), England Away (National Tour), Too Clever by Half (Manchester Royal Exchange), The Snow Queen (Trestle), Happy and Married? (Freedom Studios), Satyagraha (Improbabl/New York), Beauty and the Beast (Lyric Hammersmith Theatre), Satygraha (Improbable/ENO), Coast (Contact, Manchester), Too Close to Home (Lyric Hammersmith Theatre/National Tour); Accidental Death of an Anarchist (Octagon, Bolton), Slow Time (National Theatre), Silent Cry (Red Ladder Theatre Co.), The Happy Prince (Leicester Haymarket Theatre). Television credits include: Vera (ITV), Casualty (BBC), Doctors (BBC), Ray’s Daze (BBC).

Henry V was cast by Becky Paris, Head of Casting at Shakespeare’s Globe.

Creative Team:
Mona Camille – Associate Designer
Naeem Hayat – Associate Director
Azusa Ono – Candle Consultant & Lighting Designer
Max Pappenheim – Composer & Sound Designer
Hattie Barsby – Costume Supervisor
Moi Tran – Designer
Holly Race Roughan – Director
Cordelia Lynn – Dramaturg
Kate Waters – Fight Director
Glynn MacDonald – Globe Associate – Movement
Tess Dignan – Head of Voice
Malik Nashad Sharpe – Movement Director
Katie Heath – Seasonal Voice Coach

CASTING ANNOUNCED AS REHEARSALS BEGIN FOR NEW MUSICAL

S A V I N G   G R A C E

AT THE RIVERSIDE STUDIOS

Producers Barney Wragg, Liz Murdoch, Xavier Marchand, Mark Crowdy and Craig Ferguson are delighted to announce casting today (18 October 2022) as rehearsals begin for the previously announced intimate first run of the new musical Saving Grace.

The cast comprises Dianne Pilkington (Grace), David Fynn (Matthew), Cat Simmons (Nicky), Gunnar Cauthery (Dr Bamford), Craig Ferguson (Charley), Ellen O’Grady (Morgelyn), Gay Soper (Posy), Wendy Somerville (Pam) and Tim Prottey-Jones (Shag) with Nathanael Campbell, Taite-Elliot Drew, Claire O’Leary, Anna MacLeod, Johan Munir, Tasha Sheridan, Madison Swan and Silas Wyatt-Barke.

Saving Grace will have twelve performances only at the Riverside Studios from Tuesday 22 November – Sunday 4 December 2022, with tickets from £30.

With book by April De Angelis and music and lyrics by KT Tunstall, Saving Grace is directed by Laurence Connor. Musical supervision and arrangements are by John Rigby with set and costume designs by Laura Hopkins, lighting by Bruno Poet, sound by Richard Brooker, orchestrations by KT Tunstall and John Rigby, choreography by Sophia McAvoy and casting by David Grindrod for Grindrod Burton Casting. The production is based upon the original Sky film Saving Grace, written by Craig Ferguson and Mark Crowdy, based on a story by Mark Crowdy.

Grace’s new joint venture makes the most of her skills as a gardener but stepping into the underworld was never part of the bargain. The sudden death of her husband leaves Grace alone and on the verge of bankruptcy. But can an unlikely friendship and a surprising idea for a business save the day? Discover how Grace reaches new “highs” in this hilarious and heart-warming adventure.

Saving Grace was originally released in 2000 as the British comedy film starring Brenda Blethyn and Craig Ferguson, was directed by Nigel Cole and premiered at the Sundance Film Festival where it won the World Cinema Audience Award. After the success of the film, two prequels were made which were eventually developed into the hit ITV series Doc Martin.

LISTINGS INFORMATION

Theatre:                             Riverside Studios, 101 Queen Caroline St, London W6 9BN

Dates:                                22 November – 4 December 2022

Performances:Tuesday – Saturday at 7.30pm, Sundays at 2pm

Box Office:                         020 8237 1010

Website:                            savinggracethemusical.com

Facebook:                           SavingGraceMusical

Twitter:                              @savinggrace_uk

Instagram:                          @savinggrace_uk

THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA

AT HER MAJESTY’S THEATRE

EXTENDS BOOKING UNTIL AUTUMN 2023

THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA at Her Majesty’s Theatre today announces a booking extension until Saturday 30 September 2023 and releases new production images.

THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA currently stars Killian Donnelly as The Phantom alongside Lucy St. Louis as Christine Daaé, Matt Blaker as Raoul and Kelly Glyptis as Carlotta, Matt Harrop as Monsieur Firmin, Adam Linstead as Monsieur André, Greg Castiglioni as Ubaldo Piangi, Francesca Ellis as Madame Giry and Ellie Young as Meg Giry. At certain performances the role of Christine Daaé is played by Holly-Anne Hull.

The cast is completed by Hollie Aires, Connor Carson, Corina Clark, Edward Court, Michelle Cornelius, Lily De-La-Haye, Hywel Dowsell, Serina Faull, James Gant, Eilish Harmon-Beglan, Emma Harris, Yukina Hasebe, Thomas Holdsworth, Olivia Holland-Rose, Jacob Hughes, Grace Hume, James Hume, Tim Morgan, Michael Robert-Lowe, Eve Shanu-Wilson, Tim Southgate, Anouk Van Laake, Jasmine Wallis, Ralph Watts, Skye Weiss, Simon Whitaker, Lizzie Wofford and Andrew York.

THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA is produced by Cameron Mackintosh and The Really Useful Group Ltd. Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, Lyrics by Charles Hart, and Additional Lyrics by Richard Stilgoe. Book by Richard Stilgoe and Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on the novel ‘Le Fantôme de l’Opera’ by Gaston Leroux, with Orchestrations by David Cullen and Andrew Lloyd Webber. Musical Supervision is by Simon Lee. The Production Design is by Maria Björnson and the Set Design is adapted by Matt Kinley with Associate Costume Design by Jill Parker, Lighting is by Andrew Bridge with Associate Lighting Design by Warren Letton, Sound is by Mick Potter. The Musical Staging and Choreography is by Gillian Lynne, recreated and adapted by Chrissie Cartwright. Originally Directed by Harold Prince, this production is Directed by Seth Sklar-Heyn.

Katy Lipson for Aria Entertainment

CLAUS THE MUSICAL

How the Boy became a Man. How the Man became a Legend

• CAST AND CREATIVE TEAM ANNOUNCED FOR WORLD PREMIERE OF CLAUS THE MUSICAL BASED ON THE L.FRANK BAUM CLASSIC
• NEW MUSIC VIDEOS RELEASED OF THE CAST SINGING ‘THE MIRACLE OF CHRISTMAS’ AND ‘THE CHILDREN’
• FROM THE WRITER OF ‘THE WONDERFUL WIZARD OF OZ’, THIS MAGICAL STORY OF SANTA CLAUS WILL RECEIVE ITS WORLD PREMIERE AT THE LOWRY, SALFORD FROM 14 DECEMBER 2022 – 8 JANUARY 2023
• TICKETS ON SALE NOW FROM WWW.THELOWRY.COM

Katy Lipson for Aria Entertainment is delighted to announce the casting for the world premiere of Claus The Musical which will run at The Lowry from 14 December 2022 – 8 January.

The cast includes Georgie Buckland who will play Necile, Junior Delius (AK), Chris Draper (Will Knook), Jazz Evans (Awgwa), Jessica Lim (Shiegra), Mari McGinlay (Zurline), Alwyne Taylor (Narrator), Corrine Priest (The Fairy Queen), Harry Winchester (Claus). Ensemble cast includes Emily George, Michael Kholwadia, Nic Cain, Emily Tang and Simon Oskarsson.

Directed by Kate Golledge, adapted for the stage by Simon Warne and with spellbinding music and lyrics from Andy Collyer, Claus The Musical brings the beloved L.Frank Baum children’s classic The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus to life in a show that will appeal to the child in everyone. 

New festive music videos have been released of the cast singing ‘The Miracle of Christmas’ and ‘The Children’ for the first time. These can be viewed here: The Children and The Miracle of Christmas (Please credit videographer Ben Hewis).

Further creative team includes Alex Beetschen (Musical Director), Stewart J Charlesworth (Set and Costume Design), Aaron Dootson (Lighting Design), Jane Deitch (Casting Director), Andrew Johnson (Sound Designer) and Lucinda Lawrence (Choreography).  Claus the Musical is Co-Produced by Jason Haigh-Ellery.

From the writer of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz comes the story of Santa Claus, the man who will be forever in our hearts and, on Christmas Eve, forever in our skies. Abandoned as a baby in the magical Forest of Burzee, he is gifted to Necile, a wood nymph, who showers him with love and names him Claus.  With a helping hand from the mystical inhabitants of the forest – Fairies, Knooks and Ryls – she teaches him that kindness is the most important lesson of all, a gift that Claus eventually shares with us, as he embarks on a journey to bring the miracle of Christmas to the whole world.