BE OUR GUEST! COVENT GARDEN WELCOMES A SERIES OF MAGICAL POP UPS THIS SUMMER

IN CELEBRATION OF DISNEY ON STAGE

• Covent Garden has partnered with Disney on Stage to bring family fun to the Piazza this Summer with the launch of the ‘Something Magical in Covent Garden’ campaign
• The partnership will be brought to life through a series of exciting experiences for visitors to enjoy, each celebrating a Disney West End production including Frozen, Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King and Mary Poppins
• Activity will include a ‘Leading Ladies of Disney on Stage’ costume showcase in Central Avenue, a romantic Beauty and the Beast swing seat, an interactive Olaf Holiday Postcard and The Lion King photo opportunity in front of iconic scenery from the production, plus a new Frozen Infinity Chamber
• The pop ups will run across the Summer holiday period, from 14th July until 4th September

This July, Covent Garden, the central London home of entertainment, dining and shopping, and Disney on Stage have joined forces to bring magic and wonder to visitors through a series of exclusive experiences inspired by spectacular West End productions including Frozen, The Lion King, Mary Poppins and newly launched Beauty and the Beast. The fourth year of the Disney on Stage and Covent Garden partnership, ‘Something Magical in Covent Garden with Disney on Stage,’ will bring the magic of theatre to life across the neighbourhood through five interactive pop-ups in various areas of the Covent Garden estate.

In celebration of the inspirational and noble female lead characters of Disney, a showcase of stunning costumes from the theatre productions will be on display in Covent Garden’s Central Avenue in the heart of the iconic Market Building. The ‘Leading Ladies of Disney on Stage’ showcase will feature emblematic costumes such as Belle from Beauty and the Beast; Elsa and Anna from Frozen; Rafiki and Nala from The Lion King and London’s own Mary Poppins. The display will offer visitors exclusive close up access to view the costumes which will be displayed on high plinths with some never seen before off-stage in London

Following the arrival of the beloved tale of Beauty and the Beast to the London Palladium last month, the passion of the critically-lauded production will come to the North Piazza with the unveiling of the most romantic seat in London. The Insta-famous Swing Seat will be transformed with enchanting lighting and charming decorations including teacups and candelabras from the show offering guests a truly magical photo moment that encapsulates the ‘tale as old as time’.

Visitors to the West Piazza will be transported to the heart of the African Pridelands with the launch of an interactive photo moment that re-creates The Lion King sunrise, inspired by the West End production. Guests will also have the opportunity to try on eye-catching theatrical masks and make up from the show through an exclusive Instagram lens which can be accessed at the pop up. The space will also feature props from the theatre production, highlighting the craftsmanship which helps to create the show. Now in its 23^rd year at Covent Garden’s Lyceum Theatre, The Lion King, an award-winning musical, continues to explode with glorious colours, stunning effects and enchanting music.

For Frozen fans, two pop-ups inspired by the enchanting story will land. Firstly, a larger than life Interactive Olaf Holiday Postcard will pop up on the North Piazza, offering families the chance to pose for a photo whilst listening to the sounds of Summer. Secondly, the Insta-famous Covent Garden Infinity Chamber will be taken over by Frozen. Visitors can walk through the tunnel and immerse themselves in Olaf’s ‘Dream Summer’, a key moment from the Disney stage production. Disney’s Frozencontinues to play at Theatre Royal Drury Lane, with incredible special effects, jaw-dropping scenery and an unforgettable score.

This interactive estate-wide takeover follows on from the hugely popular sell-out Summer 2021 Disney on Stage pop-up experience on Covent Garden’s Floral Street, which drew thousands of families throughout the Summer. It also follows the Christmas 2021 Frozen full estate takeover which saw areas across the estate ‘Frozen’, including the Infinity Chamber and Frozen Forest with hourly snowfall to the sounds of “Let it Go” creating buzz for families and visitors throughout the festive season.

Michelle McGrath, Executive Director, Capco Covent Garden said “We are delighted with our continued partnership with Disney who will bring their unique magic and excitement to Covent Garden this Summer. At Capco, we are committed to championing the West End’s theatre and arts, and what better way than bringing to life and celebrating world class theatre both on a larger scale and making them accessible to everyone.”

Fiona Pearce, Marketing Director for Disney Theatrical Productions said “Our partnership with Covent Garden goes from strength to strength, this summer bringing the magic of Disney on Stage across the Piazza. These fun and innovative installations from Beauty and the Beast, Frozen, Mary Poppins, and The Lion King offer something special for everyone to enjoy, and give an insight into the craft of realising these productions on stage.”

The ‘Something Magical in Covent Garden with Disney on Stage’ pop ups will be free to visit, and will be open to the public from 14th July to 4th September with printed maps and stickers available at a variety of Covent Garden store locations.

The campaign runs alongside a number of Summer activities across the Covent Garden estate, including the Good Food Festival taking place from 15th – 31st July, the Apple Summer Camp, the return of the much loved Ice-Cream Festival from 19th August – 4th September and artistic pop-ups such as rainbow bollards on Floral Street in celebration of Pride.

For further information on new openings, experiences, shopping and dining visit Coventgarden.london

The Grand, Leeds – until 23 July 2022

Reviewed by Kirsty Thomson

5*****

As a lover of musical theatre, I was beyond excited to see Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at The Grand in Leeds. After having watched the 1999 direct-to-video film version of the musical many times as well as a previous touring version, my expectations were high, but the show was everything that I thought it would be, and more.

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat is based on the story of Joseph from the Bible’s Book of Genesis. It is a story of Jacobs favourite son, Joseph, and his eleven brothers. After being given a multicoloured coat from Jacob, Joseph is sold by his angry and jealous brothers to be a slave. Joseph works for a rich Egyptian man named Potiphar but is thrown in jail after being caught in a compromising position with Potiphar’s wife after she tries to seduce him. While in jail, Joseph discovers his skill for interpreting dreams leading him to interpret the Pharaoh’s dreams. Consequently, he becomes Pharoah’s ‘number two’ and ends up reuniting with his family when they come begging for food in the famine.

The lyrics by Tim Rice and music by Andrew Lloyd Webber are well known by many and always guarantee to have you singing the songs all the way home. Laurence Connor’s version of the show is energetic and fun, incorporating more humour than previous versions. It also includes significantly more dance breaks, fantastically choreographed by Joann M. Hunter for a modern twist on the musical. I also noted that compared to the previous tour, where the children’s chorus have a more passive role and spend much time sat on steps on the stage, Laurence Connor had them playing principle roles such as Potipher, the baker and the butler, which are usually played by adults. I found this incredibly effective, and it certainly added another feature of humour.

Jac Yarrow was absolutely sensational as Joseph and his extreme raw talent and fantastic vocals make it clear as to why he was nominated for the 2020 Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical. Linzi Hately gave a huge amount of energy to her role as The Narrator, stringing together the whole performance and keeping the audience involved. A special mention must be made for Jason Donovan (the original Joseph) for his very fun Elvis inspired role as Pharoah.

One musical number that stuck with me was the fantastic rendition of Those Canaan Days where the drama and energy of the eleven brothers on stage was phenomenal.

At the end of the performance, the audience were on their feet clapping along to a final mega-mix, with streamers falling from the ceiling and not one audience member left without a huge grin on their face.

FULL CASTING ANNOUNCED FOR

SPIKE

IAN HISLOP AND NICK NEWMAN’S COMEDY TOURING THE UK THIS AUTUMN

GAVIN AND STACEY STAR ROBERT WILFORT TO PLAY ‘SPIKE’
MISCHIEF THEATRE’S PATRICK WARNER AND JEREMY LLOYD
TO PLAY ‘PETER SELLERS’ AND ‘HARRY SECOMBE’

WITH TV COMEDIENNE AND PODCASTER MARGARET CABOURN-SMITH AS ‘JANET’

TICKETS AVAILBLE NOW VIA WWW.SPIKETHEPLAY.CO.UK

@SPIKETHEPLAY (TWITTER, INSTA, FB)

Full casting has been announced for SPIKE – the comedy by Ian Hislop and Nick Newman that had its world premiere at The Watermill Theatre Newbury in January, and will be touring the UK from 6 September.

Robert Wilfort (Gavin and Stacey, Bridgerton) will take over the role of ‘Spike Milligan’, Patrick Warner (‘Peter Cook’ in The Crown, One Man, Two Guvnors and Play that Goes Wrong) will also join the production to play ‘Peter Sellers’, and Jeremy Lloyd (The Comedy About a Bank Robbery, Trial by Laughter) will return to his critically acclaimed role as ‘Harry Secombe’

TV comedienne and podcaster Margaret Cabourn-Smith (Motherland, Miranda, Buffering) will reprise her role as ‘Janet’, as will James Mack (The Watermill’s The Hound of the Baskervilles, The Rivals, Macbeth and Journey’s End) as ‘Denis Main-Wilson / Peter Eton’,  Ellie Morris (The Play That Goes Wrong, Mischief Movie Night, The Comedy About A Bank Robbery for Mischief Theatre company) as ‘June’, and Robert Mountford (The Habit of Art, The Haunting of Alice Bowles for Original Theatre Company, House and Garden for The Watermill) as ‘BBC Executive’.  Peter Dukes will join the company as ‘BBC Announcer’, as will Tesni Kujore as ‘Myra’, and Sam Ducane as ‘Doctor’.

Opening at the Cheltenham Everyman, and touring to Malvern, Guildford, Oxford, Salisbury, Brighton, Darlington, Aylesbury, Glasgow, Richmond, Blackpool and Cardiff, SPIKE will be directed by Watermill Artistic Director Paul Hart, with design by Katie Lias, lighting design by Rory Beaton. The Composer is Tayo Akinbode with sound design by Tom Marshall. Anjali Mehra is Movement Director and Ruth Sullivan is the Foley Sound Consultant.

“I’m not acting crazy. I’m the genuine article.”

It’s 1950s austerity Britain, and out of the gloom comes Goon mania as men, women and children across the country scramble to get their ear to a wireless for another instalment of The Goon Show. While Harry Secombe and Peter Sellers get down to the serious business of becoming overnight celebrities, fellow Goon and chief writer Spike finds himself pushing the boundaries of comedy, and testing the patience of the BBC.

Flanked by his fellow Goons and bolstered by the efforts of irrepressible sound assistant Janet, Spike takes a flourishing nosedive off the cliffs of respectability, and mashes up his haunted past to create the comedy of the future. His war with Hitler may be over, but his war with Auntie Beeb –  and ultimately himself –  has just begun.

Will Spike’s dogged obsession with finding the funny elevate The Goons to soaring new heights, or will the whole thing come crashing down with the stroke of a potato peeler?

Ian Hislop and Nick Newman said, “It’s a privilege to take ‘Spike’ on tour, exploring the genius of Britain’s most inspirational and ground-breaking comedian. And of course, it’s another chance to steal all his jokes and pass them off as our own. Spike Milligan may be Goon, but he’s not forgotten.”

The Watermill production of Spike is produced by Karl Sydow, Trademark Films, PW Productions and Anthology Theatre.

Claire-Louise Cordwell and Helena Antoniou
to star in Max Dickins’ Love Them To Death
Underbelly Cowgate (Big Belly), 66 Cowgate, Edinburgh, EH1 1JX
Thursday 4th – Sunday 28th August 2022 (not 15th), 15:30

Claire-Louise Cordwell (Casualty, BBC; Bodyguard, BBC; A Kind of People, Royal Court) and Helena Antoniou (Call The Midwife, BBC; The Snow Queen, Yvonne Arnaud Theatre) will star in Love Them To Death by Max Dickins (author of newly published Billy No-Mates).

The world premiere is directed by five times Fringe First award-winner Hannah Eidinow, with lighting design from Holly Ellis (Twenty-Eight, Theatre503; Instructions For A Teenage Armageddon, Southwark Playhouse; Bobby & Amy, Edinburgh Fringe and UK tour) and Michael Woods (Sound Designer – The Queen Of Hearts, Greenwich Theatre; Associate Sound Designer – Hymn, Almeida Theatre) as sound designer.

Inspired by real events, Love Them To Death explores Fabricated and Induced illness (previously known as ‘Munchausen’s syndrome by proxy’), a rare form of behaviour where care givers exaggerate, feign or induce illness in their children. Exploring who is telling the truth, how we come to that decision, and whether the truth even exists, most of the time, Love Them To Death is a dark and twisty tale set in the borderlands between love and violence.

FII is much more common than previously thought although is often under-reported; one reason for this is that it is hard to prove and this is the impossible dilemma for the likes of doctors and school workers: the line between fact and fiction is blurred. And there are other lines, too: between ‘normal’ and ‘abnormal’ parenting; between love and abuse; between illness and health. But where do we draw them? And who gets to decide?

Director Hannah Eidinow comments, I’m really excited to work with Max on his compelling and vital play, and explore the strength and confusion of unconditional love, and the extreme behaviours it can drive us to. Both women are driven by the power of their convictions to protect their child in the way they know best. Why do we do what we do? Can we trust ourselves? How do we know what’s right? It’s a truly relevant topic, and I can’t wait to mine this drama about the fundamental questions of the human psyche.

• Last year the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, launching new guidance, reported that the prevalence FII was considerably higher than previously believed. For further information, see: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2021/mar/fabricated-or-induced-illness-childrenhighlighted-new-guidance

Dr Adam Perchard’s BATHTIME FOR BRITAIN,

featuring the sensational bathroom diva lockdown star 

and queer cabaret legend’s sparkling songs,  

sassy story-telling and Liberace-level costumery  

will play National Theatre’s River Stage 2022: The Glory weekend on 16 July 

Wash away the last of the pandemic blues with a non-stop parade of big hits, belly laughs, and booming vocals from queer cabaret legend Dr Adam Perchard as they perform highlights from their fabulous new show Dr Adam Perchard’s BATHTIME FOR BRITAIN at National Theatre’s River Stage 2022: The Glory Weekend on Saturday 16 July from 1-1.30pm (free outdoor stage, no tickets required).

Cabaret icon Dr Adam Perchard lost all of their work almost overnight when the pandemic hit. Broken-hearted, they had to leave their wild, hedonistic London life and move back to their parents’ farmhouse in Jersey. As a teenager, Adam spent hours singing in their bathroom, dreaming of a life on stage. Now, that life they had built was gone, and here they were again. Adam walked back into the bathroom, took a deep breath, and started to sing. After posting videos of some of these bathtime songs online, Adam quickly became a sensation on the locked-down island. Jersey Arts Centre spotted them, and commissioned a live show. Everything snowballed from there. Adam has been able to step through their bathroom mirror back into the life they dreamed of – one epic pop hit at a time! 

David Bowie, Kate Bush, Queen and Whitney are among the host of stars given a glow-up in Dr Adam Perchard’s life-affirming journey through the imagination. Swings, showers of rose petals, camp deities, dancing cakes, and enough rhinestones to clad the Millennium Dome… all add up to one joyful realisation: that sometimes it can take a lockdown to unlock you.  

Dr Adam Perchard is a critically acclaimed, and proudly nonbinary, singer, comedian, playwright and poet. They’ve performed at the National Theatre, London Coliseum, Soho Theatre, Hackney Empire and on Channel 4. They were the lead writer and performer of hit queer comedy trio SEX SHELLS, and starred in Jonny Woo’s All-Star Brexit and The Courtney Act Show. A trained opera singer armed with a handy PhD in postcolonial literature and the ability to make a cloak out of anything, they’re a London nightlife legend, hosting notorious parties like The Men Who Fell To Earth. 

Dr Adam Perchard’s BATHTIME FOR BRITAIN is a wild night on the tiles for all party-lovers, pop-enthusiasts, theatre luvvies, comedy connoisseurs and members of the LGBT+ rainbow family.  A hot, foamy mixture of live singing, sassy story-telling, witty re-writes and Liberace-level costumery, this heart-warming extravaganza will leave you screaming for more.  

The Glory returns to kick-off the National Theatre’s River Stage for summer 2022, hosted and curated by The Glory’s veritable Grande-Dames of drag and performance, Jonny Woo and John Sizzle. Bringing favourites from previous years, including: highlights of their drag queen contest ‘LIPSYNC1000’; a classic Saturday night party with Glory DJ’s and performers and the esoteric afternoon sketching of ‘Drag Life Drawing’. The weekend will feature sing and dance-a-longs; a celebration of 50 Years of Gay Pride and star turns from leading Glory artists and DJ sets from our favourite club nights. For more information about The River Stage visit: https://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/shows/river-stage-2022 

COMPLICITÉ PRESENTS

A Complicité co-production with 

Barbican London, Belgrade Theatre Coventry, Bristol Old Vic, Holland Festival, Les Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg, L’Odéon-Théâtre de l’Europe, The Lowry, The National Theatre of Iceland, Oxford Playhouse, Ruhrfestspiele Recklinghausen and Theatre Royal Plymouth 

THE WORLD PREMIERE OF 

DRIVE YOUR PLOW OVER THE BONES OF THE DEAD
 

• Complicité presents a new work for the theatre based on Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead, by Nobel Prize winning author Olga Tokarczuk. 
• Tokarczuk’s controversial, violent, genre defying novel – part thriller, part comedy, and part blistering, poetic manifesto for the rights of animals and the environment – caused an uproar in its native Poland upon publication.
• Previewing at Theatre Royal Plymouth in December 2022, the production will run at the Barbican London, and a UK and international tour.
• The piece is conceived and directed by Simon McBurney in collaboration with Rae Smith (set and costumes), Paule Constable (lighting), Chris Shutt (sound), Dick Straker (video) and Laurence Cook and Sian Ejiwunmi-Le Berre (dramaturgs), together with Complicité’s Senior Producer Tim Bell and Executive Director Amber Massie-Blomfield.
•  An extraordinary cast to be announced shortly.

‘I see the Earth in eclipse. I see us moving about blindly in eternal Gloom, like May bugs trapped in a box by a cruel child. It’s easy to harm and injure us, to smash up our intricately assembled, bizarre existence… I see nothing but Catastrophes. But as the Fall is the beginning, can we possibly fall even lower?’– Janina Duszejko, Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead

‘The English theatre has a fine and honourable tradition. Simon McBurney and Complicité are not part of this; they have created their own tradition and this is why they are so special, so valuable.’ – Peter Brook

The international touring company Complicité presents a new work for the theatre Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead, directed by Simon McBurney. 

Based on Nobel Prize winning author Olga Tokarczuk’s novel of the same name, the darkly comic, anarchic noir caused a seismic reaction in Tokarczuk’s native Poland due to its defiant attack on authoritarian structures, with right-wing press branding the writer an ‘eco-terrorist’ and national traitor.  The 2017 film adaptation of Tokarczuk’s novel, Spoor, saw one Polish right-wing news agency describe the work as “a deeply anti-Christian film that promoted eco-terrorism”.

The storyunfolds through the eyes of 65 year-old local woman, Janina – itself a radical act in a society which seeks to render older women invisible. Janina is engaged in fierce resistance against the injustices around her, and refuses to be a prisoner of society and gender. Her actions ask questions both of the male world which surrounds her and of our deeper human intentions. What does it mean to be human and what does it mean to be animal, and can we separate the two? Why is the killing of animals sport and that of humans murder?

Collaborating with McBurney on the project are set and costume designer Rae Smith, lighting designer Paule Constable, sound designer Christopher Shutt, video designer Dick Straker and dramaturgs Sian Ejiwunmi-Le Berre and Laurence Cook, together with Complicité’s Senior Producer Tim Bell and Executive Director Amber Massie-Blomfield.

This work, supported by a pan-European network of co-producers, begins at Theatre Royal Plymouth (1-3 December 2022) ahead of a national opening – 24 January 2023 – and 3-week run at Bristol Old Vic. The production will then tour throughout 2023 with UK dates at Oxford Playhouse (1-4 March), the Barbican (15 March-1 April), Nottingham Playhouse (4-8 April), Belgrade Theatre Coventry (18-22 April) and The Lowry (25-29 April) before international dates in May and June 2023 including Les Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg, Theatre Amsterdam and L’Odéon-Théâtre de l’Europe, Paris. 

Drive Your Plow’s story begins in the depths of winter in a small community on a remote Polish mountainside near the Czech-Polish border. Men from the local hunting club are dying in mysterious circumstances and Janina Duszejko – an eccentric 65 year-old local woman, ex-engineer, environmentalist, amateur astronomer and enthusiastic translator of William Blake – has her suspicions. She has been watching the animals with whom the community shares their isolated, rural home, and she believes they are acting strangely…

A thought-provoking, wry and other worldly murder mystery, Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead is a love letter to the natural world and the poetry of Blake, the philosopher and poet preoccupied with respecting the natural world. It is also a scathing reproach of toxic masculinity, the treatment of the marginalised, and the hypocrisy of institutional power. At its heart the story asks us to consider what it means to live in harmony with the world around us, humankind’s place in our ecosystem, and the perilous consequences we all face if our connection to the natural world is lost. 

Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead is the latest in a series of Complicité projects that urgently address the destruction of the planet. Figures In Extinction [1.0], created with Canadian choreographer Crystal Pite and Nederlands Dans Theater in early 2022, focused on humans’ disregard for animal life, whilst Can I Live? a film conceived by and starring actor and climate justice activist Fehinti Balogun, co-directed by McBurney and Daniel Bailey (Associate Director of the Bush Theatre), highlighted the social injustices caused and inflamed by climate change. In November 2021, Complicité were invited to present Can I Live? as part of the official programme for COP26.  

“Olga Tokarczuk has created an extraordinary world that speaks to my deepest sense of the continuity between humankind and nature – a world where, like a mycelium web, all entities are connected deeply at the roots, unable to exist alone. Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead is a tale about the cosmos, poetry, and the limitations and possibilities of activism. Tokarczuk is a prophet for our times who understands us in all our hilarity, messiness, cruelty and animalism, and it is a great privilege to bring to the stage what is surely one of literature’s most urgent accounts of being alive today.” – Complicité Artistic Director, Simon McBurney

“I am truly delighted and honoured that Complicité has been inspired by my book. The book was born out of anger and powerlessness and in the absolute conviction that we must find new languages in order to be able to speak about deadly serious things. This is because we do not want to listen to those deadly serious things or speak them out. We are afraid of them, and we are afraid of the futures they may bring about. We turn on, then, a whole complex system of defence mechanisms, not to hear, not to see and not to talk about them. Theatre is a powerful and influential art; it is one of the most complex and refined forms of communication. It imprints on viewers deep sensations and gives them a meaningful intellectual insight. I share with Complicité a similar sensitivity and an outlook on the world. I believe that the show will enhance my text with dimensions which can come into existence only in direct contact with an audience.” – Author, Olga Tokarczuk

In early 2023, as Complicité begins the UK tour, the company will continue its award-winning  engagement work with secondary schools and community groups, using Drive Your Plow as a creative starting point. Complicité Associates will work with secondary schools in Brent and Camden with a high proportion of EAL (English as a foreign language) students, exploring ecological themes through the company’s trademark devising techniques. An in-depth free, online resource pack will also be made available globally. The community engagement programme will see the company work with older immigrant women experiencing social isolation, spotlighting their lives, stories and rich cultural roots, and celebrating the inherent wisdom of those who have lived long lives. 

Olga Tokarczuk  is a figure of considerable stature and controversy in her native Poland. An outspoken feminist and public intellectual, she has been castigated as a targowiczanin (traitor)by the Polish governing elite while being venerated by the country’s liberals and activists around the world. She is the recipient of the 2018 Nobel Prize in Literature, one of the most translated contemporary Polish authors, and the author of eight novels and three short story collections. Olga has twice won the most prestigious Polish literary prize, the Nike Award, for Flights (Bieguni) and for The Books of Jacob (Księgi Jakubowe). Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead (Prowadź Swój Pług Przez Kości Umarłych) was shortlisted for the 2019 and 2022 Man Booker International Award, and longlisted for the National Book Awards in Translated Literature, the Dublin Literary Award and the Warwick Prize.

Simon McBurney is one of the most innovative, mercurial and influential theatre-makers working today. In 1983 he co-founded the company Complicité, since when all his work has been made through a deeply researched and highly collaborative process which fuses a profound belief that all aspects of the theatre should challenge the limits of theatrical form. An active member of Stop Ecocide, much of Simon’s recent work focuses on the state of our planet and art’s responsibility in encouraging activism.

Complicité is an international touring theatre company in a constant state of reinvention. Working across art forms, the company believes that theatre, opera, film, installation, publication and participatory arts can all be sites for the collective act of imagination. Recent work includes Beware of Pity, The Encounter, The Master and Margarita, Shun-kin and A Disappearing Number. Complicité is a founding member of the Culture Declares Emergency initiative and is led by director Simon McBurney, in collaboration with Executive Director Amber Massie-Blomfield and Senior Producer Tim Bell, as well as a wide circle of associates.

MISCHIEF ANNOUNCE FULL CAST FOR OLIVIER AWARD NOMINATED IMPROV SHOW MISCHIEF MOVIE NIGHT AT THE 75^TH EDINBURGH FESTIVAL FRINGE

Mischief, the award-winning company behind The Play That Goes Wrong, Magic Goes Wrong and The Comedy About A Bank Robbery as well as BBC comedy series The Goes Wrong Show, today announces the full cast for the return of Mischief Movie Night, the improvised movie live on stage.

The production runs at the Pleasance at EICC (Pentland Theatre), 3 – 28 August.

The cast includes Rhyanna Alexander-Davis as Not Sure, Josh Elliott as TBC, Susan Harrison as No Idea, Dave Hearn as????, Harry Kershaw as Decide Later, Henry Lewis as Someone Else Charlie Russell as Don’t Know Yet, Lauren Shearing as Unknown, Jonathan Sayer as Figure it out on the night, and Henry Shields as Have a think and get back to me. They will be joined onstage by musician Ed Zanders.

Mischief also present Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer and Henry Shields’ brand new comedy Mind Mangler: Member of the Tragic Circle, starring Lewis and Sayer at Pleasance Courtyard (Beyond), 3 – 28 August. In addition Charlie Russell performs her new heart-warming show, Charlie Russell Aims To Please at Pleasance Courtyard (Below), 3 – 27 August.

Mischief was founded in 2008 by a group of acting graduates of LAMDA and began as an improvised comedy group performing annually at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe from 2009. This marks the company’s first month-long run back at the Festival since they presented The Play That Goes Wrong in 2013. The production went on to win an Olivier Award, and has since played to an audience of over two million with productions in over 30 countries. In August 2021 it became the longest running play at the Duchess Theatre (since the theatre opened in 1929), and is the longest running comedy in the West End. The company is owned and controlled by its original members and is led by a creative group and its directors Henry Lewis and Jonathan Sayer.

THE SMASH HIT CIRCUS 1903 WILL ‘ROLL UP’

INTO THE NEWLY REFURBISHED EVENTIM APOLLO IN HAMMERSMITH

FOR A LIMITED CHRISTMAS SEASON

FROM 15 DECEMBER TO 1 JANUARY 2023

PRESENTED BY THE WORKS ENTERTAINMENT

AND FIERY ANGEL ENTERTAINMENT

IN ASSOCIATION WITH SENBLA

4**** ‘ENTERTAINMENT TO DELIGHT ALL AGES THIS CHRISTMAS’ EVENING STANDARD

4**** ‘A FEAST OF JAW-DROPPING ACTS’ MAIL ON SUNDAY

ROLL UP! ROLL UP!

This Christmas, the marvellous Circus 1903 returns to London to the newly refurbished Eventim Apollo in Hammersmith. Experience all the thrills and daredevil entertainment of a turn-of-the-century circus. With sensational puppetry from the award-winning team behind War Horse, alongside a huge cast of the most unique, jaw-dropping and surprising acts from all four corners of the globe – this is the Christmas show not to be missed.

From contortionists, life size Elephant puppets, to acrobats, high wire and much more, Circus 1903 will astound, captivate, and transport audiences of all ages to the mesmerising Golden Age of circus. 

Hosted by the charismatic ringmaster David Williamson, Circus 1903 will feature many of the other incredible acts from previous years, with some brand-new acts to astound and excite audiences this festive season. The full line- up of these will be announced in due course.

Ringmaster David Williamson said “I’m beyond thrilled to be returning to London with Circus 1903 this holiday season. We will be bringing all of the pageantry and amusement to the fantastic Eventim Apollo, Hammersmith! I can’t wait to show off all of the new wonders we have in store!”

Producer Michael Stevens said: “Circus 1903 is the perfect holiday show for families and we’re excited to bring it back to London bigger, brighter and better than ever in one of London’s greatest entertainment venues, the Eventim Apollo. We’re looking forward to thrilling even more people this Christmas with one of the most extraordinary shows on earth.” 

ROYAL SHAKESPEARE COMPANY’S RICHARD III TO SCREEN IN UK CINEMAS FROM 28 SEPTEMBER

The Royal Shakespeare Company’s current production of Richard III will be broadcast to cinemas across the UK from 28 September 2022. 

Directed by Gregory Doran the production features Arthur Hughes in the title role and is the first time that the part of Richard III has been performed by a disabled actor in the RSC’s history. Arthur made his debut with the company in April this year playing the young Richard of Gloucester in Owen Horsley’s Henry VI: The Wars of the Roses. For full cinema listings visit onscreen.rsc.org.uk

Richard III will also be broadcast as live direct into UK classrooms for free on Thursday 24 November. This will include a supporting package of online resources which have been designed to give students a unique insight into the creative process and interpretive choices that directors and actors make as they prepare to stage a new production.

‘Hughes’ Richard…is a triumph’

Daily Telegraph ****

‘Arthur Hughes’ scintillating Richard…a glittering, magnetic, and nuanced performance’

Financial Times ****

Both parts of Henry VI: Rebellion and Wars of the Roses will also be available to watch on demand via the Royal Shakespeare Company website (rsc.org.uk) from Wednesday 13 July until Saturday 30 September 2022, with tickets £10 each.  

The productions were recorded live during their original run in Stratford-upon-Avon in April 2022 and, together with Henry VI Part One, chart the vivid and enthralling story of The Wars of the Roses and the brutal struggle for the English crown.

Erica Whyman, RSC Acting Artistic Director, said;

‘I am delighted that we will share this critically acclaimed Richard III on screen. Gregory Doran, Artistic Director Emeritus, has directed a vivid and imaginative production, in which Arthur Hughes is both terrifying and gloriously charismatic.

‘We remain deeply committed to making our work as accessible as possible so I am delighted that audiences in cinemas and at home, and students in their classrooms will be able to see this marvellous cast in Shakespeare’s shockingly timely play about tyranny. We have adapted all of our Shakespeare productions in this way since 2012, most recently Much Ado About Nothing and The Winter’s Tale on BBC iPlayer, part of our decade-long project to capture all of Shakespeare’s plays on screen.’

The full trilogy of Henry VI plays, which includes Gregory Doran and Owen Horsley’s epic collaboration; Henry VI: Part One Open Rehearsal Project, will be released on DVD in early 2023.  Further details to be announced.

TikTok £10 Tickets are also available for the RSC’s current production of Richard III in Stratford-upon-Avon for 14–25-year-olds, with a focus on increasing access to theatre regionally across the country and state school sector. The production runs until Saturday 8 October 2022.

Developed in consultation with the RSC’s Youth Advisory Board, the creative collaboration delivers unique creative and educational experiences for young people and students, with a specific focus on those communities most in need.

MULTI OLIVIER AWARD-WINNING

WEST END PRODUCTION OF

LIFE OF PI

RELEASES 100,000 TICKETS

FOR FINAL BOOKING PERIOD

NEW CAST STARTING ON 7 SEPTEMBER 2022

It was announced today that 100,000 new tickets have been released for the final booking period of the phenomenally successful West End production of Life of Pi.  

Lolita Chakrabarti’s dazzling stage adaption of Yann Martel’s award-winning book starring Oliver Award winning actor Hiran Abeysekera as Pi alongside a life-size Royal Bengal Tiger puppet has now been extended until 15 January 2023,the final performance of the show at Wyndham’s Theatre in London, where the production will have played almost 500 performances.

Nuwan Hugh Perera, who is currently the alternate Pi, will take over the title role on 7 September 2022 with Chirag Benedict Lobo joining the cast as the new alternate Pi.  Other new cast members joining in September are:  Davina Moon as Ma, Ameet Chana as Father, Tanvi Virmani as Rani, Saikat Ahamad as Mamaji/Pandit-Ji,  Sakuntala Ramanee as Mrs Biology Kumar/Zaida Khan, Kevin Shen as Mr Okamoto, Phyllis Ho as Lulu Chen, Kazeem Tosin Amore as Cook/Voice of Richard Parker, Owain Gwynn as Puppeteer and understudies Lilian Tsang and Mohit Mathur.  Original West End cast members remaining in the show from 7 September are: Tom Espiner (Father Martin/Commander Grant-Jones) and puppeteers:  Daisy Franks, Romina Hytten, Tom Larkin, Chris Milford and Tom Stacy.

Future plans for the show include a North American premiere in December 2022 through to January 2023 at the American Repertory Theatre, Cambridge, Massachusetts, as well as an anticipated transfer to Broadway, and separate productions in Asia, Australia and Mexico.

Producer Simon Friend said: ‘Our magical production of Life of Pi goes from strength to strength.  We are delighted to release 100,000 more tickets for our final booking period in the West End, and look forward to welcoming new cast members in September.  We are also thrilled to premiere the production in North America later this year.  The response to this show continues to be overwhelming and we look forward to welcoming audiences to witness Pi’s journey of a lifetime in the West End and beyond.’

Life of Pi was awarded its five Olivier Awards at a ceremony held at the Royal Albert Hall in London in April 2022.  As well as Best New Play, Hiran Abeysekera won Best Actor for his central performance as Pi, and – in an historic first for the Olivier Awards – the seven performers who play ‘Richard Parker’, the puppet tiger – Fred Davis, Daisy Franks, Romina Hytten, Tom Larkin, Habib Nasib Nader, Tom Stacy and Scarlet Wilderink – were collectively awarded Best Actor in a Supporting Role. The production also picked up awards for set (Tim Hatley, Nick Barnes and Finn Caldwell), and lighting design (Tim Lutkin and Andrzej Goulding).

The current cast will continue until 4 September 2022 with Hiran Abeysekera in the central role of Pi, Mina Anwar as Ma, Nicholas Khan as Father, Payal Mistry as Rani, Tom Espiner as Father Martin/Commander Grant-Jones, Raj Ghatak as Mamaji/Pandit-Ji, Syreeta Kumar as Mrs Biology Kumar/ZaidaKhan, David K.S. Tse as Mr Okamoto, Kirsten Foster as Lulu Chen, Habib Nasib Nader as Cook/Voice of Richard Parker.

The Tiger puppeteers are: Fred Davis (Tiger Head), Daisy Franks (Tiger Hind), Owain Gwynn (Tiger Head) Romina Hytten (Tiger Heart), Tom Larkin (Tiger Head), Tom Stacy (Tiger Hind), Chris Milford (Tiger Hind) and Scarlet Wilderink (Tiger Heart). Nuwan Hugh Perera is Pi alternate, and understudies are Alex Chang, Omar Khan and Deeivya Meir.

The production is directed by Max Webster, Set and Costume designer is Tim Hatley, the Puppet and Movement Director is Finn Caldwell, the Puppet Designers are Nick Barnes and Finn Caldwell, the Video Designer is Andrzej Goulding, the Lighting Designer is Tim Lutkin, theSound Designer is Carolyn Downing, the Composer is Andrew T Mackay, Dramaturgy is by Jack Bradley, the Casting Director is Polly Jerrold, the Associate Director is Leigh Toney, the Associate Set Designer is Ross Edwards, the Associate Puppet Designer is Caroline Bowman,  the Costume Supervisor is Sabrina Cuniberto and the Props Supervisor is Ryan O’Conner.

Based on one of the best-loved works of fiction – winner of the Man Booker Prize, selling over fifteen million copies worldwide – Life of Pi is a breath-taking new theatrical adaptation of an epic journey of endurance and hope.

After a cargo ship sinks in the middle of the vast Pacific Ocean, there are five survivors stranded on a single lifeboat – a hyena, a zebra, an orangutan, a sixteen year-old boy and a 450-pound Royal Bengal tiger. Time is against them, nature is harsh, who will survive?

Award winning writer Yann Martel’s works include The Facts Behind the Helsinki Roccamatios (1993), Self (1996), We Ate the Children Last (2004), Beatrice and Virgil (2010) – a New York Times Bestseller and a Financial Times Best Book, 101 Letters to a Prime Minister (2012) – a collection of letters to the prime minister of Canada; and The High Mountains of Portugal (2016).  

Lolita Chakrabarti OBE is an award-winning playwright and actress. Her writing credits include: Red Velvet which opened at the Tricycle Theatre in London in 2012, returning in 2014 before transferring to New York and the West End; Red Velvet was nominated for nine major awards including two Olivier Awards. Lolita won the Evening Standard Theatre Award for Most Promising Playwright, The Critics Circle Award for Most Promising Playwright and the AWA Award for Arts and Culture; She adapted Italo Calvino’s Invisible Cities for MIF in 2019 a collaboration with 59Productions and Rambert; her play Hymn was live streamed in February 2021 from the Almeida, before opening to audiences later in July; she was dramaturg on Message in a Bottle for ZooNation and Sadler’s Wells; she curated The Greatest Wealth for Old Vic, a series of monologues marking the 70th birthday of the NHS. Acting credits include: Vigil, The Casual Vacancy (BBC),  Riviera, Delicious (Sky), Born to Kill, My Mad Fat Diary (Ch4), Criminal (Netflix), Fanny and Alexander (The Old Vic), Hamlet (RADA). She can soon be seen in Showtrial for the BBC and Wheel of Time for Amazon Prime. 

Max Webster was the inaugural Baylis Director at the Old Vic and is now an Associate Director at the theatre where his work includes Fanny and Alexander, Cover My Tracks and Dr. Seuss’s The Lorax. Selected other stage work includes the forthcoming The Merry Widow (ENO), The Jungle Book (Northampton/Fiery Angel UK tour), The Winter’s Tale (Lyceum, Edinburgh), and King Lear (Royal and Derngate, Northampton/UK tour).

The extraordinary animals are brought to life by Puppet & Movement Director Finn Caldwell, who began his career in the original company of the National Theatre’s international phenomenon War Horse. He is the Artistic Director of his own company Gyre & Gimble, for whom work includes: co-director/puppet designer of The Four Seasons: A Reimagining (Shakespeare’s Globe), The Hartlepool Monkey (UK tour) and The Elephantom (National Theatre & West End). His other work includes: director of puppetry/movement for Angels in America (National Theatre & Broadway), The Light Princess (National Theatre), War Horse (West End & Internationally) and Groundhog Day (Old Vic & Broadway).

Life of Pi is produced by Simon Friend in association with Playing Field and Tulchin/Bartner.

Edwardian Hotels London is proud to be the official hotel partner of Life of Pi in the West End.