ADRIAN EDMONDSON CAST AS SCROOGE IN RSC’S “A CHRISTMAS CAROL”

Casting announced for A Christmas Carol, which plays in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre this winter.

Adrian Edmondson will play Ebenezer Scrooge in the Royal Shakespeare Company’s revival of David Edgar’s adaptation of Dickens’ much-loved classic story A Christmas Carol.  The production, directed by Rachel Kavanaugh, runs in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon between 26 October 2022 – 1 January 2023.

Talking about A Christmas Carol, Adrian Edmondson said:

“A Christmas Carol in an extraordinary book. It’s been in print continuously since 1843.  So it must be saying something very important that catches our imagination. A lot of people think it’s about Scrooge and ghosts, which of course it is, but at the heart of it, it’s about poverty and our individual reaction to it. So it couldn’t be more relevant today than it has been in the past 30-40 years. Not since rationing really. Actual poverty in our streets. People at food banks. That’s the driving force of it for Dickens.  He’d read a report on poverty and was considering writing this as a dry pamphlet, but wrote it as a story because he thought it would connect more. And, of course, it does. So it’s hard to find a play that’s more relevant, especially one you might enjoy.

“I’m really looking forward to playing Scrooge. Why, you might ask, would you watch a show about a really horrible person? You watch it because you’re cheering him on, urging him to become a better person. You’re on his side, you want him to turn. I think that makes him one of the most fundamentally interesting characters in literature, and a great part to play.”

Adrian returns to the RSC after making his debut as Malvolio in Twelfth Night in 2017.  His other theatre credits include: The Rocky Horror Show (Piccadilly Theatre), Waiting for Godot (Queens Theatre), Bits of Me Are Falling Apart (Soho Theatre), The Boy Friend (Menier Chocolate Factory) and Once Upon A Time in Nazi Occupied Tunisia (Almeida).

TV credits include: The Young Ones, The Comic Strip Presents…, Bottom, Blackadder, War & Peace, Bancroft, Save Me, Cheat, Out of Her Mind, Back To Life, Summer of Rockets, One of Us, Upstart Crow and A Spy Among Friends.  Film credits include: Supergrass, The Pope Must Die, Guesthouse Paradiso and Star Wars: The Last Jedi.

Joining Adrian is Sunetra Sarker who makes her RSC debut as The Ghost of Christmas Present.  Sunetra is a stalwart of British TV and is best known for a nearly ten year stint as Dr Zoe Hanna on BBC’s Casualty, three series of Channel Four’s No Angels, and currently as Kaneez Parach in Ackley Bridge, also for Channel Four. She reached the latter stages of Strictly Come Dancing in 2014, was the subject of Who Do You Think You Are? in 2017,and is currently a regular panellist on ITV’s Loose Women.

Sunetra’s other TV credits include: Desperate Measures, Sherwood, The Bay, Cold Feet, Informer, Hang Ups, Broadchurch, Safe House, Death in Paradise, Puppy Love, Doctor Who, Mobile, New Street Law, The Chase, Ideal, The Smoking Room, Eyes Down, City Life: Bloody Foreigners, Emmerdale, Streetlife, Playing The Field, Miller Shorts, Starting Out, London Bridge, Wing and A Prayer, Flight, Cracker, Bhangra Girls, Bread and Brookside.  Her stage credits include: House of the Sun, One Night (Stratford East), Tale of Two Cities (West Yorkshire Playhouse) and The God Botherers (Bush Theatre) 

David Edgar’s socially-conscious adaptation of Dickens’ classic fable opened in 2017 to critical acclaim in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, where it played to sell-out audiences. The production was revived the following year due to audience demand.

This festive tale of redemption and compassion follows cold-hearted businessman Ebenezer Scrooge, who – over the course of one ghostly Christmas night – learns to pity himself and to love his neighbour – but is that enough?

The full cast is: Beth Alsbury (Hinge), Lauren Arney (Belinda), Sally Cheng (Isabel), Eamonn Cox (Swing), Rachel Denning (Mrs Baldock), Adrian Edmondson (Ebenezer Scrooge), Gavin Fowler (Charles Dickens), Clive Hayward (Fezziwig), Jack Humphrey (Tim), Beruce Khan (John Forster), Rebecca Lacey (The Ghost of Christmas Past), Bethany Linsdell (Caroline), Michael Lyle (Father), Alexander Moneypenny (Swing), Conor O’Hara (Swing), Emma Pallant (Mrs Cratchit), Joseph Prowen (Fred), Sunetra Sarker (The Ghost of Christmas Present), Rachel Seirian (Swing), Oliver Senton (Uber), Mitesh Soni (Bob Cratchit), Liyah Summers (Fanny), Giles Taylor (Marley) and Georgie Westall (Swing).

David Edgar has been writing plays professionally since 1971. As one of the UK’s greatest living playwrights, David’s rich history with the RSC spans over four decades making him the company’s most produced living writer to date. 

His original plays for the RSC include: Destiny (1976); Maydays (1983, revived in a new version in 2018 directed by Owen Horsley); Pentecost (1994, transferring to the Young Vic, London, 1995); The Prisoner’s Dilemma (2001); Written on the Heart (2011, transferring to the Duchess Theatre, London, 2012); and A Christmas Carol, his first Dickens adaptation since the multi-award winning production of The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby in 1980, which premiered at the Aldwych Theatre before transferring to Broadway in 1981 where it went on to win The Society of West End Theatre and Tony award for ‘Best Play’. In 2019, David wrote and performed his one-man solo show Trying It On, which toured to the Birmingham Rep, the RSC’s The Other Place, the Royal Court Theatre Upstairs and the Traverse Theatre during the 2019 Edinburgh Festival, and on tour.

Talking about A Christmas Carol, David Edgar said:

“In 1843, Dickens read a parliamentary report on the conditions of children in the mines and factories of what was aptly called the Hungry Forties, and resolved to write an angry political pamphlet, to be published that Christmas, calling for reform. By the end of the year he’d produced not a tract but a universal story of how benevolence is stronger than greed. I wanted to put Dickens and his ambitions in the foreground of the adaptation. In Rachel Kavanaugh’s wonderful production – combining a glorious set with dazzling choreography and musical score – we see Dickens construct his story before our very eyes. 

“When we premiered the show in 2017, millions were already relying on food banks and beggars haunted city streets. Covid and the cost of living crisis have made economic inequality – and raw poverty – an even more pressing reality. And yet – in the way the nation came together around the NHS to combat the pandemic – we have been reminded of the selflessness and generosity of spirit which lies at the heart of Dickens’ enduringly optimistic story.”

A Christmas Carol is directed by Rachel Kavanaugh and designed by Stephen Brimson Lewis with lighting by Tim Mitchell. Music is by Catherine Jayes, Sound Design by Fergus O’Hare with Movement by Georgina Lamb.

HELLOOOO MANCHESTER!

NEW COMEDY MUSICAL

MRS. DOUBTFIRE

CONFIRMS CAST FOR UK PREMIERE AT MANCHESTER OPERA HOUSE IN SEPTEMBER 2022

Based on the Twentieth Century Studios motion picture

The cast will include Gabriel Vick, Laura Tebbutt, Carla Dixon Hernandez,

Cameron Blakely, Marcus Collins, Dominic Andersen, Vanessa Fisher,

Ian Talbot OBE and Aiesha Naomi Pease

Written by Wayne Kirkpatrick, Karey Kirkpatrick and John O’Farrell,

helmed by legendary, Tony Award-winning director Jerry Zaks

Tickets on sale www.mrsdoubtfiremusical.co.uk

Producers Kevin McCollum and Jamie Wilson are thrilled to announce the full cast for the UK premiere of Mrs. Doubtfire, the new comedy musical based on the iconic movie, which will run for a strictly limited season at the Manchester Opera House from Friday 2 September 2022 until Saturday 1 October.

Mrs. Doubtfirethe musical will introduce comic actor Gabriel Vick (Avenue Q) as Daniel Hillard, with Laura Tebbutt (School of Rock) as Miranda Hillard, Carla Dixon Hernandez (Matilda the Musical) as Lydia Hillard, Cameron Blakely (The Addams Family) as Frank Hillard, Marcus Collins (The X Factor) as Andre, Dominic Andersen (Heathers) as Stuart, Vanessa Fisher (Legally Blonde) as Wanda Sellner, Ian Talbot OBE (Hairspray, and Director of The Mousetrap) as Mr. Jolly and Aiesha Naomi Pease (Sister Act) as Janet Lundy.

The role of Christopher Hillard will alternate between young performers George Nearn Stuart, Charlie Tumbridge and Fred Wilcox, and the role of Natalie Hillard will alternate between Jessica Bowerman, Darcey Dean and Angelica Pearl Scott.

The full cast will include Aidan O’Neill, Joshua Dever, Samuel Wilson Freeman, Maria Garrett, Kiera Haynes, AJ Lewis, Adam Lyons, Lisa Mathieson, Ellie Mitchell, Matt Overfield, Tom Scanlon, Vicki Lee Taylor and Rebecca Donnelly, Effie Rae Dyson, Amy Everett, Travis Ross and Paulo Teixeira.

For cast & creative team information, please see www.mrsdoubtfiremusical.co.uk

A hilarious and heartfelt story about holding onto your loved ones against all odds, Mrs. Doubtfire is the musical comedy we need right now.

Out-of-work actor Daniel will do anything for his kids. After losing custody in a messy divorce, he creates the ​alter ego of Scottish nanny Euphegenia Doubtfire in a desperate attempt to stay in their lives. As his new character takes on a life of its own, Mrs. Doubtfire teaches Daniel more than he bargained for about how to be a father.

Mrs. Doubtfire has been created by a transatlantic team of award-winning artists, with a Book by Karey Kirkpatrick and John O’Farrell, Original Music and Lyrics by Wayne Kirkpatrick and Karey Kirkpatrick, (the Tony Award-nominated team behind Something Rotten!, along with O’Farrell), Direction by 4-time Tony winner Jerry Zaks (Hello, Dolly!), Choreography by Lorin Latarro (Waitress), and Music Supervision, Arrangements & Orchestrations by Ethan Popp (Tina: The Tina Turner Musical). Scenic design is by David Korins (Hamilton), Costume Design by Catherine Zuber (Moulin Rouge! The Musical), Lighting Design by Philip S. Rosenberg (Pretty Woman The Musical), Sound Design by Brian Ronan (Beautiful: The Carole King Musical), Hair Design by David Brian Brown (Frozen), Makeup & Prosthetics Design by Tommy Kurzman (The King and I), Casting by Stuart Burt (Caberet), and Musical Direction by Elliot Ware (Sunny Afternoon).

Mrs. Doubtfire is produced by Kevin McCollum and Jamie Wilson and is presented by special arrangement with Buena Vista Theatrical.

For further information, please see www.mrsdoubtfiremusical.co.uk

The Lyceum, Sheffield – until 23 July 2022

Reviewed by Sal E Marino

5***** 

After the last two days of heatwave weather, the song lyrics – ‘I’m singing in the rain … what a glorious feelin’ … I’m happy again!’ could not have been more apt as to what the whole nation was praying for on Wednesday (20 July) and the audience were enthusiastically hoping for – to get a ‘splash’ or two – at the beautiful, historic Lyceum theatre last night, where the spectacular Singin’ in the Rain was being performed.   Jubilantly uplifting, this effervescent musical elevated and enlivened the entire room as an aura of pure joy and delight embraced the whole room, giving rapturous applause throughout! Every dance sequence was flawless as this stunning performance that was delivered to us by a multi-talented cast was first-class and of a very high calibre.  

Singin’ in the Rain transports one back to the 1920s when the dazzling world of Hollywood was transitioning from silent movies to ‘talkies’.  This exciting period of time, that inspired many in the world of film, was faultlessly captured in the show due to being loaded with many moments of slapstick comedy, confusion and calamity that was once encapsulated by Gene Kelly and Debbie Reynolds in the classic 1952, ‘Singin’ in the Rain’ movie.  Jonathan Church and the creative team definitely delivered in adapting and producing the magic of this old-time classic that clearly has stood the test of time because it really was quality. 

Sam Lips (Don Lockwood) and Charlotte Gooch (Kathy Selden) were simply magnificent at making what must have been extremely challenging roles, due to the complex high-energy numbers, seem effortless as they floated and tapped across the stage .  Both note-perfect and foot-perfect – these two really did trip the light fantastic and it was a sight to behold and bliss to hear!   Supporting Sam and Charlotte were a phenomenal cast and crew who gave us jaw-dropping dance routines, iconic big-band tunes and slick, smooth choreography with excellent comic timing and witty quips.  

Credit must be given to Ross McLaren who played Don’s sidekick,Cosmos Brown, who in the number ‘Make em Laugh’ really showed us his genius skills in precision and timing when he had one of the trickiest scenes to perform that I’ve ever seen and I still don’t know how he did it!  Kudos must also be shared with Jenny Gayner playing Lina Lamont as her portrayal of a talentless ‘star’ provided many laughs and struck me that in a world of celebrity where the likes of the Kardashians are celebrated and fawned over  – has anything changed in Hollywood today, in 2022?  No, sadly not.  

If the main purpose and intention of going to the theatre is to lift one’s spirits and evoke a feeling of happiness then this production of Singin’ in the Rain has nailed it!  Whether your guests are five or one hundred and five, they will love this little interlude of fun!  

Website: www.sohoplace.org

Instagram: @atsohoplace

Twitter:  @atsohoplace

Facebook: @atsohoplace

FIRST NEW BUILD WEST END THEATRE IN 50 YEARS OPENS THIS AUTUMN

• The first new build West End theatre to open in 50 years
• Located in Soho Place, the first new street name in Soho for 72 years
• A state-of-the-art, new and flexible 602-seat auditorium with perfect sightlines and acoustics, opening configured ‘in the round’
• A creatives’ floor with rehearsal room, actors’ Green Room, bar and terrace
• A ground floor public restaurant and bar, open from midday to midnight
• Impressive screen show-signage including a double-sided 17m by 3m digital screen front of house sign on Charing Cross Road and a large screen in the centre of the front façade on Soho Place
• The theatre lies at the heart of Derwent London’s £300m regeneration project at the north east corner of Soho
• Derwent London picked a first class team to overcome the engineering challenges of building a theatre immediately above three tube lines and Crossrail’s large extractor fan to achieve perfect acoustics in the auditorium with no vibrations 

Leading West End producer and theatre owner, Nica Burns, today announces the opening of @sohoplace, the first new-build West End theatre in 50 years.  The culmination of a 12-year project, the theatre is owned by Nica Burns and operated by Nimax Theatres and will open this autumn with the first production to be announced soon.

The theatre is adjacent to the site of the old Astoria theatre which was demolished to build Crossrail. The auditorium sits directly above Crossrail’s new Elizabeth line and the existing Northern and Central lines at Tottenham Court Road station, a major transport hub. In addition, Crossrail’s huge ventilation fans extracting the hot air from the platform below and working full-time 365 days a year are also adjacent to the auditorium.  A challenging location to build a new modern theatre with state-of-the-art facilities!

The theatre @sohoplace is at the heart of property giant Derwent London’s visionary £300 million regeneration of a neglected corner of Soho.  Totalling 285,000 square feet it is a mixed development with the theatre at its heart, offices and retail and a fantastic new piazza, an ideal meeting place for Londoners to start their day or night out in the West End.

Nica Burns, Theatre ownersaid:

“I wanted to create a theatre which could add a different dimension to our vibrant West End landscape.  I asked our greatest theatre creatives two questions: If we could build a new theatre in the heart of the West End, what would you like it to be?  What additional facilities would be on your wish list? They dreamt of a flexible auditorium, perfect acoustics and audience / stage intimacy.  An ability to create on-site with the dream of a rehearsal room, a Green Room and a bar all in the same building.  So that’s what we built – with a few extras including an outside terrace.”

“The incredible team of engineers pulled off the greatest of structural feats, building over a major underground transport hub – a challenging place to build a theatre – achieving perfect acoustics and no vibrations”.

The auditorium has the following key qualities:

1. Wonderful acoustics
2. Perfect sightlines from every seat with no obscured views
3. Intimate actor/audience relationship: no seat further than 6 rows from the stage
4. Curved auditorium unifying both audience and actors (theatre term ‘the hug’)
5. The flexible auditorium can be transformed into a number of different configurations

The theatre interior was inspired by Nica’s visit to Epidaurus when young.  “I was standing on the stage of this great ancient theatre at 8 o’clock – show time – as the last rays of a golden sun were coming through the trees and the stars were starting to twinkle in an indigo sky. It was magic.  Epidaurus is one of the greatest theatres in the world and the plays of ancient Greece are still part of our theatre heritage today.  The interior of @sohoplace reflects these colours and when you walk through the theatre you walk under crystal star lights, laid out in constellations. When you pass the building, look up to the terrace and you will see the constellations shine.”

“I am incredibly privileged to be working with Derwent London who hand-picked the most outstanding team – all leaders and innovators in their sectors – to deliver this challenging build:

• Architect Simon Allford, founder of Allford Hall Monaghan Morris, one of London’s most significant international architectural practices.  Simon is currently President of RIBA.

• Arup, a brilliant worldwide engineering giant who make the impossible, possible.
• Laing O’Rourke, renowned global construction company, specialising in delivering the most difficult projects.

Finally, a very big thank you to all at Westminster Council.  We have had incredible support from every team member and we couldn’t have done it without you”.

Paul Williams, Chief Executive Derwent London said:

“Working alongside world-class architects and engineers, and in collaboration with Crossrail and our partner Nica Burns, we are delighted to have developed this new state-of-the-art theatre together with substantial public realm as part of a successful commercial regeneration project above the Elizabeth line.”

Simon Allford, Architect said:

“@sohoplace is undoubtedly the most complex and delightful project I have ever worked on: the highly engineered architecture and design of a Swiss watch but built on an urban scale”.

Joseph Rowntree Theatre – until Sunday 24th July 2022

Reviewed by Michelle Richardson

3 ½***

NE, a York am-dram group, is currently performing Priscilla Queen of the Desert at the cosy and welcoming Joseph Rowntree Theatre. I got to see the show on opening night, luckily on Wednesday, the day after the hottest day the UK has ever had.

It you don’t already know, or hasn’t seen the 1994 movie, as my companion hadn’t, Priscilla is a musical that follows the adventures of two drag queens and a transsexual, across the Australian outback. Tick/Mitzi (Finley Butler) persuades Bernadette (Steve Tearle) to go on a road trip after losing her beloved Trumpet. Along for the ride is the young and cocky upstart Adam/Felicia (Tom Henshaw).

Setting off on a bus they christen Priscilla, their final destination is Alice Springs and a promise of performing their drag act at a casino. Tick does have an ulterior motive though, unbeknownst to the other two he has a wife and a son at said casino. Along the way they have engine troubles, meet unforgiving locals, and get to sing the cult gay anthems we remember from the film, with even more Kylie thrown in.

Whilst on the road poor Priscilla breaks down in the back of beyond. They manage to put out a mayday, not knowing if anyone will come to their rescue, but a mechanic appears after their call. Bob (James O’Neill) befriends the girls and forms a special bond with Bernadette and ultimately joins them on their travels.

The flamboyant Miss Understanding (Jack Hambleton) starts off the show in towering heels. I was mesmerised and astounded that anyone could stand up in those heels, let alone walk and perform in them. Though Miss Understanding is only a minor character, Hambleton was very memorable in his performance with his physical comedy, and I would die for his posture.

Butler had a good voice, and I was very impressed with his vocals during his duet with Mathew Musk, who played his son Benji, with Elvis’s Always on My Mind. Also look out for the cake and subsequent number, so funny. Tearle is fabulous as the matriarch of the group. He has such a great stage presence and after forgetting his wig in one scene, was quick to react and ad-lib, a true professional. Henshaw is full of attitude and sass, and full of talent. He was truly at home as a drag artist and another one mesmerising to watch.

Priscilla uses three divas, (Perri Ann Barley, Aileen Stables and Julie Blackburn) throughout the show. They all looked fabulous in their glittering and feathery costumes, whilst belting out some of the disco greats in the show.

One hilarious scene that must get a mention is with Bob’s mail-order bride Cynthia (Ali Butler-Hind) at the local bar. Beware of the flying ping pongs is all I can say, even the Musical Director had a hard hat on.

I must say the costumes were something, no shortcuts here. They were just as sparkly and outrageous as you would expect from any Priscilla. Check out the cupcakes and paintbrushes, sequins and feathers, you will not be disappointed. It was also great to see Scott Phillips, the Musical Director, getting involved in the finale.

This production had a huge cast and at times was a bit chaotic with so many on stage, but they all worked so hard to put on a wonderful show. It is lovely to see that these am-dram productions give everyone a chance to shine.

A great evening of entertainment with some hilarious scenes and some wonderful music, what more could you ask?

Original Theatre and Riverside Studios present 

Originals 

The world premiere of three award-winning plays with star-studded casts, recorded live from Riverside Studios, available on demand  

Original Theatre and Riverside Studios are delighted to present Originals online on demand, featuring the world première play-readings of Tikkun Olam by Teunkie Van Der Sluij, The Fall by Drew Hewitt, and Miles by Eilidh Nurse – the winners of Original Theatre Company’s Originals Playwriting Award. 

The three plays were chosen from hundreds of submissions entered to Original Theatre Company’s nationwide competition to discover unproduced playwrights. It was judged by Mike Bartlett, Sarah Butcher, Angel Coulby, Jack Holden, Nick Marston, Dafydd Rogers, Abdul Shayek and Rachel Tackley. 

Recorded live from Riverside Studios, the productions can be booked as a triple package, or Tikkun Olam as a standalone production, available to watch from Thursday 21 July 2022, 7.30pm (captions available from 31 July) until 21 July 2023. The Fall and Miles will be available individually later this year. Visit: https://originaltheatreonline.com/productions/42/on-demand-originals-at-riverside-studios.  

Tikkun Olam, written by Teunkie Van Der Sluijs, is directed by Michael Boyd and stars Luke Thompson (Bridgerton), Diana Quick (Brideshead Revisited), Debbie Korley (King Lear) and Jake Fairbrother (National Theatre, Hamlet). tikkun olam: in everything you do, you must seek the opportunity to repair the world. Steve Alexander is preparing to stand as a Labour MP for the Westminster constituency. As part of his campaign, he is backing the building of a Holocaust memorial near Parliament Square. To help the campaign gain traction, Steve and his campaign manager Dan invite social influencer Leah on board as a one-woman focus group. As Dan, Steve and Leah try to persuade the divided community to back the memorial, their own motivations are challenged as the political and personal ties between them are tested to the very limit.  A powerful, funny, intelligent political drama that looks at the stark contrast in views and voices in and around our capital, the ever-growing divisions between the generations and the challenging task of mending, and learning to ensure we do – and are – better. 

Director Michael Boyd said of Tikkun Olam: “This particular play could not be more burningly topical about the state of labour party and the progressive left in the UK. Artists who dare to sit with the silent blank screen, or page, and sweat until they have a story and characters to tell it deserve every incentive we can give them. Directing the first reading of an original work is always a privileged and exciting moment of possibility and risk.”  

The Fall, written by Drew Hewitt, is directed by Charlotte Peters and stars Alex Kingston (ER, Doctor Who), Tyger Drew-Honey (Outnumbered), Sara Stewart (Transformers, Philomena) and Adrian Lukis (Original Theatre’s Being Mr Wickham). Janet and Liam are happily married until she stops talking to him. And everybody else. In an attempt to diagnose her loss of speech, she begins seeing a psychiatrist who starts to probe at a secret buried in the depths of Janet’s psyche, the revelation of which has profound and lasting implications not just for her but the entire family. This masterful play examines with wit, humour and searing honesty the complex ideas surrounding free will, love and the painful truths of existence. 

Miles, written by Eilidh Nurse, is directed by Amelia Sears and stars Gary Lewis (Billy Elliot, Gangs of New York), Hiftu Quasem (Ten Percent, Killing Eve), Cristian Ortega (Vigil) and Lewis Mackinnon (Young Wallander). ‘I feel like I’ve lost all this time.’ Somewhere in Scotland, miles from anywhere, Bobby’s Caravan Park is struggling, in fact it’s crumbling. Janie is the only employee and she’s been stuck out here for longer than she cares to admit – and she’s drinking more than she’s willing to admit, yet frankly who cares anymore? Ed can’t pass the Tesco quiz, he can’t go out in the rain without his cag in a bag, he can’t drive and he can’t help who he’s related to. But at least he’s got a new job… at Bobby’s Caravan park. Hopes, dreams and families collide in this searing, tender yet funny play that asks what it means to process our past and the traumas that lie within.  

One of the first companies to launch online versions of their plays, Original Theatre have produced 16 digital productions since March 2020 and streamed their work globally to 57 countries. This led to most recently winning a Critics’ Circle Award for an outstanding contribution to British Theatre. Their work has ranged from filming Sebastian Faulks’s Birdsong to Apollo 13 to an award-winning zombie short Viral shot on iPhones in locked-down Peckham. Over lockdown they employed over 200 freelancers. Their work has been widely praised and they have recently been credited with creating “an entirely new dramatic genre” (The Guardian).  In February 2022, the company won a One Off Award at this year’s OFFIES in recognition of its work over the past 18 months. 

Alastair Whatley, Artistic Director of Original Theatre Company, said: “The pandemic has made it harder than ever for writers to get their work on stage and so we wanted to make a big, bold and ambitious project that could harness our digital work to help discover what we hope might just be three modern classics. Three plays chosen from hundreds of entries, picked by our expert judges and put on stage by a group of brilliant creative people. My thanks to all the writers who submitted their plays and the small army of people working behind the scenes to bring these three plays to the stage.” 

      LISTINGS  

• Triple Bill Package: Tikkun Olam by Teunkie Van Der Sluij, The Fall by Drew Hewitt and Miles by Eilidh Nurse. £30 (Standard); £35 (Includes Originals digital programme); £100 (Premium. Includes signed script and Originals digital programme) 
• Tikkun Olam only: £15 (Early Bird, pre-order by 1 August); £17.50 (Includes Originals digital programme); £100 (Premium. Includes signed script and Originals digital programme). 
• Dates: available to watch from Thursday 21 July 2022, 7.30pm (captions available from 31 July) until 21 July 2023.  
• Booking Link: https://originaltheatreonline.com/productions/42/on-demand-originals-at-riverside-studios.  

SIMON LIPKIN TO STAR AS BUDDY &

GEORGINA CASTLE TO STAR AS JOVIE IN

ELF THE MUSICAL AT

LONDON’S DOMINION THEATRE

FOR A STRICTLY LIMITED 8-WEEK SEASON

FROM 14 NOVEMBER 2022

Simon Lipkin and Georgina Castle will be playing the much loved characters Buddy and Jovie in ELF, the smash hit musical, which returns to London in a new production at the Dominion Theatre for a strictly limited 8-week season.  ELF will begin previews on 14 November and open on 24 November 2022, with the season finishing on 7 January 2023.

Based on the beloved 2003 New Line Cinema hit starring Will Ferrell, ELF features a book by Tony Award-winners Thomas Meehan (Annie, The Producers, Hairspray) and Bob Martin (The Drowsy Chaperone), with songs by Tony Award nominees Matthew Sklar and Chad Beguelin (The Wedding Singer).

Simon Lipkin’s theatre credits include Brian & Roger (Menier Chocolate Factory), Nativity! (Eventim Apollo), The Wind in the Willows (West End), Guys and Dolls (West End), The Lorax (Old Vic Theatre), Assassins (Menier Chocolate Factory), Rock of Ages (West End), Spamalot (Original UK Tour), Avenue Q (West End) and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (West End).  His television and film credits include The Beaker Girls (CBBC), Unforgotten (ITV), Christmas on Mistletoe Farm, Silent Witness (BBC), Almost Never (CBBC) Nativity Rocks!, Show Dogs, Muppets Most Wanted, The Harry Hill Movie, The Puppet Game Show (BBC) and Nativity 3: Dude, Where’s My Donkey?!.

Georgina Castle’s theatre credits include Marie in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s recent production of Cinderella (Gillian Lynne Theatre), Doralee Rhodes in 9 to 5: The Musical (Savoy Theatre and UK & Ireland Tour), Sophie Sheridan in Mamma Mia! (Novello Theatre) and Lisa Houseman in Dirty Dancing (UK Tour).

The new production will be directed by Philip Wm. McKinley, with original set and costume design by Tim Goodchild, choreography by Liam Steel, lighting design by Patrick Woodroffe, sound by Gareth Owen, video design by Ian William Galloway and wig and hair design by Richard Mawbey.  Casting is by Grindrod Burton Casting.

ELF is the funny and charming tale of Buddy, who mistakenly crawls into Santa’s bag of gifts as a baby and is transported back to the North Pole and raised as an elf! Unaware that he is actually human, Buddy’s enormous size and poor toy-making abilities finally cause him to face the truth and realise he’ll never belong in the North Pole. With Santa’s permission, Buddy embarks on a journey to New York to find his birth father, discover his true identity and help New York remember the true meaning of Christmas.

Further casting is to be announced.

ELF the Musical is produced by Temple Live Entertainment.

Website: elflondon.com

Instagram: @elfmusicalLDN

Facebook: @elfmusicalLDN

Twitter: @elfmusicalLDN

TikTok: @elfmusicalLDN

LISTINGS INFORMATION

ELF the Musical

14 November 2022 to 7 January 2023

Dominion Theatre

268-269 Tottenham Court Road

London W1T 7AQ

Box Office:  0345 200 7982

Performances: Monday to Saturday at 7.30pm, Thursday & Saturday at 2.30pm

Running Time:  2 hours 25 minutes (including interval)

Chichester Festival Theatre – until 4 September 2022

Reviewed by Lorna Hancock

5*****

Adapted from the Gershwins’ 1930 musical Girl Crazy, Crazy For You opened on Broadway at the Shubert Theatre on 19 February, 1992. Declared the “new Gershwin musical comedy” with a book by renowned comedic playwright Ken Ludwig and a collection of the most beloved tunes of George and Ira Gershwin, it’s not surprising that the musical is still packing out theatres 30 years on.

In Crazy for You, stage-struck Bobby Child (Charlie Stemp) works as a banker for his overbearing mother, Lottie (Gay Soper) but he spends his free time dancing and dreaming of a life on stage. With Bobby’s showbiz career going nowhere, and his strident fiancée Irene Roth (Merryl Ansah) insisting that he name the date, when Lottie demands that he investigate a far-away customer who has defaulted on a mortgage, Bobby jumps at the chance to get out of town. Arriving in hot, quiet Deadrock, Nevada, Bobby quickly falls for Polly Baker (Carly Anderson), whose father happens to own the beautiful, but decaying, Gaiety Theatre, which he has been sent to seize. Now lovestruck, Bobby comes up with a plan; call in his friends, the Follies Girls, all the way from New York City, cast the locals, a bunch of rundown cowboys with unapparent musical talent, and put on a show to save the old building. 

Before the show even starts the upbeat music and stage lighting set the scene. As it begins we are soon introduced to Bobby and the difficult relationship with his overbearing mother and fiancée is apparent immediately. Gay Soper and Merryl Ansah both play these parts wonderfully, leaving you feeling very sorry for the poor hen-pecked Bobby. The show moves on quickly and the mood changes with a brilliant performance of ‘Bidin’ my Time’ accompanied with a simple but very effective tumbleweed prop rolling across the stage, it is very obvious that we are now far away from the bright lights of New York City.

There are too many brilliant musical numbers in this show to mention them all, from the delicate and touching performance of ‘Someone to Watch over Me” by Carly Anderson, to the exciting spectacle of ‘Slap that Bass” by Charlie Stemp and company. However, my favourite part of the show had to be ‘I got Rhythm’ by the full company, the whole stage was full of energy with an incredibly choreographed tap dance routine involving metal trays! I can’t remember the last time I saw a standing ovation from the whole audience at the end of the first act of a show.

The whole casts’ performance was nothing short of amazing. All of the singing and dancing from everyone, really was wonderful, but the stand out performer of the evening had to be Charlie Stemp. His portrayal of Bobby was absolutely flawless. He had us laughing all evening with his comic actions and expressive emotions, wowed us with his dancing and had us bopping along in our seats to his melodious voice.

I think every single member of the audience would have left with an uplifting feeling. A dazzling performance I would love to see again.

James L. Nederlander, Jamie Wilson, Hunter Arnold, Crossroads Live, Playful Productions and The English National Opera
present
the Lincoln Center Theater production of

LERNER & LOEWE’S
MY FAIR LADY
Book and Lyrics by ALAN JAY LERNER
Music by FREDERICK LOEWE
Directed by BARTLETT SHER

www.myfairladymusical.co.uk
@MyFairLadyUK

• LAST CHANCE TO SEE MY FAIR LADY AT THE LONDON COLISEUM AS THE LIMITED SUMMER SEASON ENTERS ITS FINAL WEEKS ON STAGE
   
• DIRECTED BY BARTLETT SHER, THE CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED, LAVISH AND MULTI AWARD WINNING PRODUCTION FEATURES A CAST OF 32 AND AND 36 MUSICIANS FROM THE ENGLISH NATIONAL OPERA’S AWARD-WINNING ORCHESTRA PLAYING FREDERICK LOEWE’S RAVISHING SCORE
   
• THE PRODUCTION MUST END ON 27 AUGUST. TICKETS ARE ON SALE NOW FROM WWW.MYFAIRLADYMUSICAL.CO.UK 

My Fair Lady, currently running at the London Coliseum, has entered its final weeks with its last performance on Saturday 27th August. Bartlett Sher’s glorious multi award-winning production of Lerner & Loewe’s much loved My Fair Lady is the first major West End revival of the show for 21 years. The season has been part of the ongoing celebrated tradition of summer musicals at the London Coliseum. The show will embark on a UK and Ireland tour from September 2022.

The company features Harry Hadden-Paton as Henry Higgins, Amara Okereke as Eliza Doolittle, Stephen K Amos as Alfred P Doolittle, Dame Vanessa Redgrave as Mrs Higgins, Malcolm Sinclair as Colonel Pickering, Maureen Beattie as Mrs Pearce, and Sharif Afifi as Freddy Eynsford-Hill. Tickets are on sale now from www.myfairladymusical.co.uk

Directed by Bartlett Sher, this sublime production, which premiered in the spring of 2018 at Lincoln Center’s Vivian Beaumont Theater, was the winner of the Tony Award for Best Costume Design,  5 Outer Critics’ Circle Awards including Best Musical Revival, the Drama League Award for Outstanding Musical Revival, and the Drama Desk Awards for Best Musical Revival and Costume Design. The London production features 36 musicians from the English National Opera’s award-winning orchestra playing Frederick Loewe’s ravishing score, making it the largest orchestra in the West End.

My Fair Lady tells the story of Eliza Doolittle, a young Cockney flower seller, and Henry Higgins, a linguistics professor who is determined to transform her into his idea of a “proper lady”. But who is really being transformed?

With a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe, MY FAIR LADYboasts a score including the classic songs “I Could Have Danced All Night,” “Get Me to the Church on Time,” “Wouldn’t It Be Loverly,” “On the Street Where You Live,” “The Rain in Spain,” and “I’ve Grown Accustomed to Her Face.” 

“Thrilling! Glorious and better than it ever was! A marvellous and transformative revival.”
New York Times

Adapted from George Bernard Shaw’s play and Gabriel Pascal’s motion picture Pygmalion, Lerner & Loewe’s MY FAIR LADY premiered on Broadway in March 1956, winning 6 Tony Awards including Best Musical, and becoming the longest-running musical in Broadway history at the time. Following this success, the production transferred to London in 1958, where it played in the West End for five and a half years. 

MY FAIR LADY has seen many notable revivals and adaptations, including the acclaimed 1964 film starring Audrey Hepburn and Rex Harrison, which won eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture. Most recently on the London stage, Cameron Mackintosh’s 2001 revival at Theatre Royal Drury Lane won three Olivier Awards, and later toured across the UK and Ireland in 2005.

James L. Nederlander, Jamie Wilson, Hunter Arnold, Crossroads Live, Playful Productions and the English National Opera present the Lincoln Center Theater production ofLerner & Loewe’s MY FAIR LADY. Book and Lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner, Music by Frederick Loewe, sets by Michael Yeargan, costumes by Catherine Zuber, lighting by Donald Holder, sound by Marc Salzberg, hair & wigs by Tom Watson, musical direction by Gareth Valentine, musical supervision by Ted Sperling, choreography by Christopher Gattelli, directed by Bartlett Sher.

New show footage has been released for SISTER ACT THE MUSICAL in London, which opened at the Eventim Apollo last night (Tuesday 19 July).

The production stars Jennifer Saunders as ‘Mother Superior’ alongside Beverley Knight as ‘Deloris Van Cartier’, Keala Settle as ‘Sister Mary Patrick’, Lesley Joseph as ‘Sister Mary Lazarus’, Clive Rowe as ‘Eddie Souther’ and Lizzie Bea as ‘Sister Mary Robert’. www.sisteractthemusical.co.uk

SISTER ACT has direction by Bill Buckhurst, choreography by Alistair David, Set and Costume Design by Morgan Large, Lighting Design by Tim Mitchell, Sound Design by Tom Marshall and Musical Supervision by Stephen Brooker. Casting is by Stuart Burt. 

SISTER ACT features original music by Tony® and 8-time Oscar® winner Alan Menken (Disney’s Aladdin, Enchanted), lyrics by Glenn Slater, book by Bill and Cheri Steinkellner with additional book material by Douglas Carter Beane. SISTER ACT is produced by Jamie Wilson and Whoopi Goldberg.