Boundless Theatre launch new drama club network for early career and young theatre makers across the UK If you’re starting out, start here!
Boundless Theatre have launched the Boundless Drama Club – an online membership-based creative community for 15–25-year-olds and early career creatives, with exclusive content, masterclasses, mentoring, work and funding opportunities alongside real time connections to the Boundless team and artists. The Boundless Drama Club will appeal to those interested in making theatre, offering a new and unprecedented level of support for early career theatre makers.
The Boundless Drama Club will introduce members to theatre making and creative skills; it offers a safe space for collaboration for young adults. Making the most of online learning, real time, digital experiences and creative commissions as well as financial support for work, the Boundless Drama Club will sit at the centre of the company’s artistic development and creative community work. The platform will be live and community-led, constantly evolving and developing based on the needs of its members, including in-time real world meet ups and resources to facilitate members setting up their own activities where they live.
At launch members can engage from home but eventually as part of the real-life clubs set up independently and around the UK. The Boundless Drama Club will show that theatre making can happen anywhere and at your own pace by taking part in self-guided creative challenges or making work that can then be shared around the country with other members in the network. Young adults will experience a new way of highly social theatre-making on their own terms, even in places with little or no existing theatre provision.
During the first year of the Boundless Drama Club, memberships will be offered free for young creatives to explore the platform as it develops and have a say in its direction and growth. After this point, individual memberships will cost £2 a month, with support for those who cannot afford to join. All memberships will be directly invested back into the Boundless Drama Club, paying for direct costs and to resource a creative fund.
Boundless Drama Club members will have access to exclusive guided creative challenges and resources; real-time online events and masterclasses; on demand content such as creative talks and articles; exclusive and early access to paid creative work, commissions and opportunities; networking with peers across the UK; and access to a creative fund for own work (paid for by membership fees). The first opportunity members have to apply for funding is the Boundless Accelerator fund, the scheme that was instrumental in developing Ryan Calais Cameron’s critically acclaimed For Black Boys Who Have Considered Suicide When The Hue Gets Too Heavy.
On launch, Boundless will concentrate on growing its community and learning how best to support diverse creatives around the UK with masterclasses, real time creative events and mentoring. The format will develop to offer more support for real life clubs, enabling individual members to form collectives and pre-existing groups to benefit from dedicated resources and creative challenges that act as starting points for productions or more complex projects. This will all culminate annually in a Boundless Summit for members, a hybrid digital and in person event to showcase creative work, discuss future support for 15–25-year-old creatives, and celebrate the creative community. The summit will be led by young people, discussing the industry and what needs to change, looking at lessons and achievements from the previous year.
Rob Drummer, Artistic Director of Boundless Theatre, comments, The team have been working hard on planning and getting ready to launch the Boundless Drama Club over the past two years. We’ve learnt so much from our existing creative community around the UK and wanted to create new ways to share space with them and others. The Boundless Drama Club is intended to be an evolving response to the amazing creativity young people demonstrate daily and will connect all of our commissioning, creative development and skills and training work. In time we’re excited to see physical clubs appear all over the UK and to get more money and other resources directed exactly where they’re needed, to those starting out.
AMY ADAMS WILL MAKE HER WEST END DEBUT IN THIS NEW REVIVAL OF TENNESSEE WILLIAMS’S CELEBRATED MEMORY PLAY, DIRECTED BY JEREMY HERRIN.
PAUL HILTON, TOM GLYNN-CARNEY, LIZZIE ANNIS AND VICTOR ALLI WILL ALSO STAR.
FIRST PREVIEW IS ON 23 MAY AND OFFICIAL OPENING ON 31 MAY
TICKETS ARE ON SALE NOW AND THE PRODUCTION WILL RUN AT THE DUKE OF YORK’S THEATRE UNTIL 27 AUGUST 2022 WWW.THEGLASSMENAGERIEWESTEND.COM
Second Half Productions has today released rehearsal images for The Glass Menagerie, a new production of Tennessee Williams’s celebrated memory play, directed by award-winning director Jeremy Herrin. The production will run for 14 weeks at The Duke of York’s Theatre from 23 May 2022 with Opening Night on 31 May 2022.
Credit: Johan Persson
Credit: Johan Persson
Credit: Johan Persson
Jeremy Herrin’s bold new staging explores the fragility and fallibility of memory in Tennessee Williams’s semi-autobiographical masterpiece. Six-time Academy Award nominated and two-time Golden Globe winning actress Amy Adams takes on the role of one of Williams’s most iconic matriarchs Amanda Wingfield, a former Southern Belle living precariously with her two children, Tom and Laura, in a space between past and present. Tony award-nominee Paul Hilton and Tom Glynn-Carney will both play Tom – at different stages of the character’s life – with Lizzie Annis and Victor Alli as Laura and Jim O’Connor.
Credit: Johan Persson
Credit: Johan Persson
Credit: Johan Persson
The Glass Menagerie is designed by Vicki Mortimer with lighting design by Paule Constable, video design by Ash J Woodward and is cast by Jessica Ronane CDG. Completing the creative team are costume designer Edward K. Gibbon, composer and sound designer Nick Powell, and design associate Choy-Ping Clarke-Ng.
Credit: Johan Persson
Credit: Johan Persson
Credit: Johan Persson
The Glass Menagerie is the debut production from Second Half Productions, a new entertainment company founded by Jeremy Herrin, Alan Stacey and Rob O’Rahilly, creating innovative work by world-leading artists for stage and screen, breathing new and unexpected life into classic stories and championing extraordinary writing from new and established voices.
It was announced yesterday at a special Royal Theatrical Support Trust (RTST) ceremony that the winner of the RTSTSir Peter Hall Director Award 2021, Denzel Westley-Sanderson, will direct a new production of Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest – in a co-production between English Touring Theatre (ETT), Leeds Playhouse and Rose Theatre.
Oscar Wilde’sgenius humour meets contemporary culture in this theatrical rollercoaster packed with chart-toppers, shade, wit, and plenty of gags.
Denzel Westley Sanderson, winner at The RTST Sir Peter Hall Director Awards. 08.05.2022
Award-winner Denzel Westley-Sanderson breathes fresh new life into Wilde’s sharpest and most outrageous comedy: The Importance of Being Earnest.
This vibrant retelling brings warmth, relevance, and unique insight to this classic satire about dysfunctional families, class, gender, and sexuality.
Denzel Westley-Sanderson’s production of The Importance of Being Earnest will tour in Autumn 2022, with dates and venues to be announced.
Richard Twyman, Artistic Director of ETT and Holly Gladwell, Executive Producer (Maternity Cover) of ETT, commented, “We’re extremely excited to begin work on Denzel Westley-Sanderson’s RTST Sir Peter Hall Director Award-winning production this Autumn. This is ETT’s fourth year collaborating with the Royal Theatrical Support Trust; an award which opens up national stages to a director at a crucial point in their career, giving them the opportunity to share work with audiences across the country. This is a unique award which has led to some of the most thrilling work we’ve made at ETT, and we’re delighted to be working with Denzel on his production, in partnership with Leeds Playhouse and the Rose Theatre. He’s an intuitive, playful, and visionary director and we can’t wait to see what he will do with this iconic text.”
Denzel Westley-Sanderson commented, “I’m honoured to have received the RTST Sir Peter Hall Director Award. Touring is such a vital part of the theatre industry, and I’m excited to be a part of that, and to open the season at Leeds Playhouse with The Importance of Being Earnest. Expect all the sass, shade, and wit this play has to offer.”
Denzel Westley-Sanderson is a Theatre Director and workshop facilitator based in London; Denzel trained at Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts on the MA theatre directing course graduating in 2017. After graduating, Denzel was a part of the Resident Directors’ pool at the Almeida Theatre in 2017-2018.
Denzel has worked across several different genres and styles of performance, working with new writing, musicals, opera, devising and dance theatre, working alongside the CTC Dance Company as the company’s director. In 2019, Denzel directed the show Identity, which won the award for ‘Exciting New Work’ at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Denzel has previously worked with the participation team at the Donmar Warehouse on a number of schools project across London. In 2020, Denzel co-directed Jesus Christ Superstar – The Concert at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre. In December 2020, Denzel was the Associate Director on Dick Whittington at the National Theatre and in 2022 he was Associate Director on Small Island, also at the National Theatre.
Sonia Friedman Productions received a BAFTA for Best Single Drama for its co-produced television drama Together starring James McAvoy and Sharon Horgan. Written by Dennis Kelly and co-directed by Stephen Daldry and Justin Martin, the piece was originally conceived for the stage but adapted for television during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. The drama beat stiff competition from Death of England: Face to Face, Help and I Am Victoria.
The one-off film from Shoebox Films, Sonia Friedman Productions and BBC Film broadcast on BBC Two in June 2021. It focuses on a family in the midst of the pandemic, like so many, who found a way to survive – together. It’s the hilarious and heartbreaking story of a husband and wife who are forced to re-evaluate themselves and their relationship through the reality of lockdown.
Collecting the award on behalf of the producers was scriptwriter and executive producer Dennis Kelly who read a letter from the campaign group Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice, calling for a public inquiry into the handling of the pandemic.
The letter included: “The government’s response has gone from strange to careless to negligent – our loved ones’ lives treated as expendable, collateral damage. The government was too busy partying to spare us a thought, even daring to tell us they were too busy to meet with us, or to start an inquiry promptly. We may never know how many of our loved ones’ lives could have been saved if things had been done differently, but we will not rest until we know that everything possible has been done to ensure others are spared this heartbreak and pain.”
The letter finished with a direct call to action for Boris Johnson: “Prime Minister, if you are listening, start the Covid inquiry now so we can learn lessons and save lives.”
Together is a Shoebox Films and Sonia Friedman Productions film for BBC Two and BBC Film. Executive producers are Dennis Kelly; Rose Garnett, director BBC Film; and Gaynor Holmes for the BBC. Deals were negotiated by Clare Hardwick of Grey Seal Media on behalf of production and Geraldine Atlee for the BBC.
This was one of two BAFTA nominations Sonia Friedman Productions received this year – the second was for Short Form Programme for its co-produced People You May Know.
James Beeny and Gina Georgio, the musical theatre writing and producing duo behind Toy Soldier Productions are delighted to present The Frontline Singers, who appeared on ITV’s Britain’s Got Talent on Saturday 7 May to the acclaim of both the audience and judges.
Created during the national lockdown, The Frontline Singers is a group of over 20 frontline workers from all backgrounds with a shared passion for music, brought together by James Beeny and Gina Georgio. James and Gina wrote an original song for the group, ‘Strange Old World’, which they recorded remotely with The Frontline Singers during the first national lockdown. The song raised funds for the NHS, doubling its fundraising target within its first week online. James and Gina recruited the members of the group through an online search, and by approaching frontline workers they knew personally, including Gina’s father Demi Georghiou, a Police Community Support Officer from Sussex. In the Autumn of 2021, the group sang together in person for the first time and are now thrilled to have performed on Britain’s Got Talent, receiving four ‘yes’ votes from the judging panel.
The Frontline Singers also includes West End performers Paul Wilkins, Sam O’Rourke and Devon-Elise Johnson who each adapted during the pandemic working night-shifts in supermarkets, volunteering in the community with vulnerable people and working in a pharmacy respectively.
James and Gina said, “It has been an honour to bring this talented group of frontline workers together to perform on Britain’s Got Talent. What they do for this country is heroic and inspirational, and we are incredibly proud of their journey as a vocal group.”
Toy Soldier Productions is a British production company, founded in 2020 by musical theatre partnership James Beeny and Gina Georgio to develop and produce new, original work. With a background in the music industry, guitarist James and pianist Gina made their theatre debut with new British musical The Dreamers, which was staged for four workshop performances at Abbey Road Studios in 2018. They are now developing their second musical Lady M, based on Shakespeare’s Macbeth. Lady M recently underwent a workshop in London featuring George Blagden, Kerry Ellis, Jamie Muscato, Maiya Quansah-Breed and Karl Queensborough.
PRODUCERS LAMBERT JACKSON ANNOUNCE A ONE-OFF CONCERT PRODUCTION OF TONY-AWARD WINNING MUSICAL THE SECRET GARDEN ON 28th AUGUST 2022 AT THE LONDON PALLADIUM
THE CAST WILL INCLUDE MARK FEEHILY (WESTLIFE), HADLEY FRASER (PIRATE QUEEN), MAIYA QUANSAH-BREED (SIX), ALEX THOMAS-SMITH (&JULIET), EMMA WILLIAMS (HALF A SIXPENCE) PLUS MANY OTHERS
TICKETS GO ON SALE ON FRIDAY 13TH MAY AT 10AM VIA LONDON PALLADIUM WEBSITE AND TICKETMASTER, WITH VENUE PRESALE ON THURSDAY 12TH MAY
Tony award-winning musical, The Secret Garden, based on the 1911 novel of the same name, returns to the West End for a one-night-only concert celebration.
In a lonely manor house on the Yorkshire Moors, Archibald Craven (Hadley Fraser) is stifled by his manipulative brother (Mark Feehily) and yearns for his beautiful, late wife (Emma Williams), all the while becoming more isolated and remote from his crippled son (Isaac Lancel-Watkinson). But their quiet routine is turned upside down when young Mary Lennox (Darcy Jacobs) is sent to live with them following the death of her parents in India. She finds a secret walled garden hidden in the grounds and with the help of a few friends (Alex Thomas-Smith and Maiya Quansah-Breed) releases the magic and adventure locked inside it, changing their lives forever.
Lambert Jackson said: “After two cancelled shows due to the pandemic, we’re thrilled to finally be bringing this beautiful concert musical to the London Palladium. The Secret Garden has a special place in many people’s hearts. Be it as a musical, a novel, or a film, the enduring story has a way of staying with you with the timely message to live life to the full.”
Based on the novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett with book and lyrics by Marsha Norman and music by Lucy Simon, this concert production will be directed by Nick Winston (Bonnie & Clyde, Rock of Ages, Beauty and the Beast) with music direction by Adam Hoskins (Doctor Zhivago, Camelot in Concert, Songs For A New World). Featuring an ensemble cast lead by Mark Feehily (Westlife), Hadley Fraser (The Pirate Queen), Maiya Quansah-Breed (Six), Alex Thomas-Smith (&Juliet), Emma Williams(Half a Sixpence), the show also features performances by Darcy Jacobs as Mary, Isaac Lancel-Watkinson as Colin, Michael Riseley as Captain Albert Lennox, Linda John-Pierre as Mrs Medlock, Grace Mouat as Alice, Aleyna Mohanraj as Ayah, Johndeep More as Fakir, Glain Rhys as Rose and Howard Scott Walker as Ben Weatherstaff with narration by Lucy Drever. Students from Trinity Laban Musical Theatre will be joining the cast as the ensemble.
Lambert Jackson are presenting this one-night-only concert with a creative team comprising Nick Winston (Director), Adam Hoskins (Musical Director), Jonny Dickie and Joshua Robins (Sound Design), Joseph Thomas (Lighting Design) and The Digi Creative (Social Media).
Juniper and Jules is a fast and funny show about queer relationships. Juniper (Stella Taylor) and Jules (Gabriella Schmidt) first encounter on a dancefloor is equal parts charming and cringeworthy, setting the tone for their relationship.
Juniper is a proud lesbian, happily declaring her hatred of men, while Jules has a boyfriend and “doesn’t even KNOW any lesbians.” After spending the night with Juniper, Jules is ecstatic about her sensations and feelings, and realises that her estate agent boyfriend is not enough. The pair begin a relationship, and we watch this evolve from the first delirious moments to dissatisfaction in short order. Stephanie Martin’s clever writing has the audience assuming Juniper is controlling and pulling all the strings at first, painting Jules as carefree and compliant as she explores her sexuality, unwilling to give herself a label. As the relationship continues, it is clear that Jules is not as compliant as she appears, convincing/manipulating Juniper into situations she might not be comfortable with in order to continue the relationship. Unable to follow the rules they have established without hurting each other, the power shifts feel natural and illuminate the characters’ fears and needs without becoming melodramatic until the couple eventually discover how to thrive in their open relationship.
Director Bethany Pitts’ dynamic approach keeps things pacy but allows the sensitive and soul-searching moments time to settle. The short scenes usually deal with preparation for, or the fallout from, encounters with other people, but they are never seen. The family backgrounds are mentioned briefly, but that is more than enough to explain each woman’s approach to life, but the rest of the world – their friends, work and families – are merely hinted at through jokes and anecdotes as the actors move around a pink platform, highlighting the intensity and focus of the relationship beautifully. Their arguments are invariably settled with a joke or a hug, which could be unsatisfactory were it not for the actors utterly convincing portrayal of the characters’ need for each other. Arguments by text are also read aloud, with punctuation used as a devastating weapon.
Gabriella Schmidt is bubbly and full of charm as Jules, but impressively shows her character’s steel between the smiles and daft jokes. Stella Taylor portrays Juniper’s vulnerability beneath her measured and confident mask skilfully, and the two actors have a sizzling chemistry on stage.
A sharp but sensitive portrayal of two vastly different queer women, Jules and Juniper is laugh out loud funny and a real treat.
Old Red Lion, Islington, London – until 14 May 2022
Reviewed by Debra Stottor
4****
Chekhov’s classic has been brought to the stage so many times it’s hard to know what could be added that’s genuinely new and exciting – are there any fresh takes left? It’s many years since I last saw a production, but what I recalled was a play delivered with a reverence for the original script, a bit of a museum piece. This is not that.
This new translation by Luba Hilman and Clémentine Pinet shows that Uncle Vanya is still as relevant as ever 120 years on, while highlighting its timeless humour. Director Kieran Bourne says that “plays must evolve in order to exist today”, and his twist is the cast are intentionally younger than in Chekhov’s original, so that they are shouldering the burden of the actions of the past – a theme that will resonate with a modern audience. Bourne adds: “Today, young people are more concerned with what they will accomplish by 30 instead of by retirement so we have reframed this as an inter-generational story and one dealing with the ‘quarter-life’ crisis. With many losing two years due to the pandemic, the frustrations and delusions of Chekhov’s characters are incredibly relevant yet also darkly humorous.” Bourne cites influences as diverse as Fritz Lang, Kendrick Lamar and films such as Lost in Translation and the recent Norwegian gem The Worst Person in the World.
Originally staged in 1899, Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya has more current resonance than ever: the isolation and boredom felt by Vanya (Jonathan George), Sonya (Faye Bennett), Yelena (Clémentine Pinet) et al will be familiar to the post-lockdown audience, that sense of powerlessness and frustration at a situation seemingly beyond their control. It’s a clarion call to us all to live life to the full. The performances are all strong, from the innocence of Sonya to the world-weariness of Vanya and the oblivious self-absorption of Serebryakov (David Whiting).
The staging is minimalist yet evocative of a rural home, the limited space of this small theatre well used, with the action revolving around the dining table (and the drinks cabinet). Being the upstairs room of a pub, it’s warm and slightly stuffy, and noise from the pub downstairs carried upstairs, intruding on the atmosphere.
This is a Candid Broads production, a company founded in 2020, with the aim of telling stories with a fresh perspective, bringing fierce and bold female characters to life. Their productions will always have at least 50-50 split of female-identifying cast and crew.
This entertaining and explosive portrayal will leave audiences feeling that despite the worst of times, our personalities and desires cannot be dimmed. Expect humour, music… and more than a little vodka
EMPIRE THEATRE, LIVERPOOL – UNTIL SATURDAY 7TH MAY 2022
REVIEWED BY MIA BOWEN
5****
On Wednesday evening at the Empire Theatre, the Welsh National Opera performed an exhilarating new production of Madam Butterfly. Australian director Lindy Hume replaced the company’s famous opera that premiered in 1978 and ran for more then 40 years, with an interpretation that is bold, contemporary and for the 21st century. As well as being relevant and taking risks, it is an emotional and beautiful production.
Puccini’s opera has always been shocking and although written in 1907 is relevant in today’s society, with a tale of sexual exploitation, abuse of power and the clash of cultures.
The opera starts with the ‘marriage broker’ Goro, reassuring American naval officer Pinkerton that his 999 year lease on a house and marriage contract have convenient exit clauses. He intends to leave his bride once he finds a proper American wife. His compatriot, the American consul, Sharpless warns him that the bride is taking the marriage seriously and Pinkerton should proceed with caution. The bride to be Cio-Cio-San (Butterfly) who is only 15 years old, has secretly converted to Christianity, adapting to Pinkerton’s American way of life and beliefs, in order to please him. On finding this out, her uninvited uncle, a Bonze comes to the house, curses her and orders all the guests to leave, which they do while renouncing her. Only her servant Suzuki remains loyal. Three years later and Butterfly, her young son and Suzuki is living in poverty and arguing about whether Pinkerton will ever return. Goro tries to arrange another marriage to Prince Yamadori. Even when Sharpless tries to convince Butterfly, that Pinkerton does not wish to see her again, she refuses to listen. She discovers that Pinkerton now has an American wife and they intend to adopt the child. Butterfly is left feeling heartbroken and commits suicide. Pinkerton discovers the blood soaked body.
This production is sung in Italian with English subtitles, which made following the opera, uncomplicated and easy. Puccini’s score is well known and was very well accomplished by the orchestra and gloriously conducted by James Southall.
The two performances that protruded the evening for me and gave ample emotion was Alexia Voulgaridou, who played the lead character of Butterfly and gave a compelling soprano performance and Gareth Brynmor John, who played the Consul Sharpless in his supporting role, giving a marvellous baritone execution performance.
The most moving scenes were the child painting flowers on the wall and Butterfly sitting on her bed waiting, absolutely heartbreaking.
I lived for art, I lived for love – Giocoma Puccini
Ambassador Theatre Group Productions today announce the full cast for the world première of Theresa Rebeck’s dark and funny new play Mad House. Joining the previously announced David Harbour and Bill Pullman are Hanako Footman, Akiya Henry, Sinead Matthews, Charlie Oscar and Stephen Wight. Directed by Moritz von Stuelpnagel, the production opens on 26 June at the Ambassadors Theatre, with previews from 15 June, and runs until 4 September.
The production reunites Rebeck and von Stuelpnagel following their collaborations on Bernhardt/Hamlet and Seared.
AMBASSADOR THEATRE GROUP PRODUCTIONS PRESENT
THE WORLD PREMIÈRE OF
MAD HOUSE
BY THERESA REBECK
Directed by Moritz von Stuelpnagel; Set Design by Frankie Bradshaw;
Costume Design by Tilly Grimes; Composed by Isobel Waller-Bridge;
Sound Design by Beth Duke for Autograph Sound
at the Ambassadors Theatre
15 June – 4 September
A family reunion. Time to pay your last disrespects.
In rural Pennsylvania, Michael (David Harbour) has returned to his childhood home to look after his dying father, Daniel (Bill Pullman). His siblings Nedward (Stephen Wight) and Pam (Sinead Matthews) soon arrive, determined to work out how much money Dad actually has left and how they’re getting their hands on it.
David Harbour and Bill Pullman return to the West End in the world première of Theresa Rebeck’s dark and funny new play. Directed by Moritz von Stuelpnagel, Mad House opens at the Ambassadors Theatre this June for a strictly limited season.
Hanako Footman plays Devon. Her theatre credits include Modern Love (Pleasance Theatre/Etcetera Theatre) and Thyestes (Courtyard Theatre). For television, her credits include Toast of Tinseltown, Stella Blómkvist, Defending the Guilty, Absentia, Dead Pixels and The Crown; and for film, her credits include Canyon Del Muerto, Official Secrets, Guns Akimbo, Slaughterhouse Rulez and An American Exorcism.
David Harbour plays Michael. His theatre work includes Cal in Camo (Rattlestick Theater), Glengarry Glen Ross (Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre), Romeo and Juliet (Delacorte Theatre 50th Anniversary reading), The Merchant of Venice (Broadhurst Theatre), The Coast of Utopia: Part 1 – Voyage, The Coast of Utopia: Part 2 – Shipwreck, The Coast of Utopia: Part 3 – Salvage (Vivian Beaumont Theatre), Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (Longacre Theater – Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actor in a Play – also Apollo Theatre in the West End), The Invention of Love (Lyceum Theatre), and The Rainmaker (Brooks Atkinson Theatre). For television his work includes as series regular Jim Hopper in Stranger Things – winner of SAG Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series and Critics Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series, and nominations for Emmy and Golden Globe Awards for Best Supporting Actor; Star Wars: Visions, Q-Force, Big City Greens, The Simpsons, Animals, Drunk History, Crisis in Six Scenes, Banshee, State of Affairs, Manhattan, Rake, Elementary, Blue, The Newsroom, Midnight Sun, Pam Am, Royal Pains, Lie to Me, Law & Order, The Unit and Hack; and for film, Violent Night, Black Widow, No Sudden Move, Extraction, Hellboy, Human Affairs, Sleepless, Suicide Squad, Black Mass, The Equalizer, A Walk Among the Tombstones, X/Y, Parkland, Snitch, Knife Fight, Between Us, End of Watch, The Green Hornet, Every Day, State of Play, Quantum of Solace, Revolutionary Road, Awake, The Wedding Weekend, War of the Worlds, Brokeback Mountain, Confess, and Kinsey.
Akiya Henry plays Lillian. Her theatre credits include Much Ado About Nothing (RSC), The Tragedy of Macbeth (Almeida Theatre – Olivier Award nomination for Best Actress in a Supporting Role), Dirty Crusty (The Yard Theatre), The Dark (Fuel Theatre), Medea, An Oak Tree, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Swallows and Amazons (Bristol Old Vic), The Little Matchgirl, Twelfth Night, Coriolanus, Under the Black Flag (Shakespeare’s Globe), Sense of an Ending, Cake and Congo (Theatre503), Deposit (Hampstead Theatre), The Nutcracker and The Mouse King (The Unicorn Theatre), Perseverance Drive (Bush Theatre), Ten Women (Oval House Theatre), Mottled Lines (Orange Tree Theatre), Swallows and Amazons (Vaudeville Theatre/UK tour), The Colored Museum (Talawa Theatre Company), The Beggar’s Opera, Hello Dolly, The Tempest (Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre), Much Ado About Nothing, Henry V (RSC New York), Carmen Jones (The Southbank Centre), Safe (West Yorkshire Playhouse), The Enchanted Pig, Skellig (Young Vic), Coram Boy, Once in a Lifetime, Anything Goes, Love’s Labour’s Lost (National Theatre), Just So, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Chichester Festival Theatre) and The Singing Group (Chelsea Theatre). For television, her credits include Obsession: Dark Desires, Silent Witness, Captain Mack and Little Britain; and for film, Macbeth, Rabbit Fever, The Best Man, Calcium Kid and De Lovely.
Sinead Matthews plays Pam. Her theatre work include The Antipodes, Absolute Hell, Hedda Gabler, Evening at the Talk House, Blurred Lines, Our Class, Women of Troy, The Mandate (National Theatre), The Starry Messenger (Wyndham’s Theatre), Loot (Park Theatre/The Watermill Theatre), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Royal Albert Hall), Giving, Wasp (Hampstead Theatre), The Hudsucker Proxy (Nuffield Theatre/Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse), Pests (Royal Exchange Theatre, Royal Court Theatre, UK tour), Trout Stanley (Southwark Playhouse), A Time to Reap (Royal Court Theatre), The Changeling, The Glass Menagerie (Young Vic), The Way of the World, The Crucible (Sheffield Theatres), The Master and Margarita (Barbican and tour), Ecstasy (Hampstead Theatre and West End), Lulu (Gate Theatre/Headlong), Eigengrau, The Ghostly Heart/Little Dolls (Bush Theatre), The Wild Duck (Donmar Warehouse – winner of the Ian Charleson Award), The Birthday Party (West End), and Spoonface Steinberg (GBS). For television, her work includes, Hullraisers, The Power, Sick of It, The Crown, Hang Ups, Chewing Gum, In the Dark, Toast of London, Inside No. 9, The Smoke, Way To Go, Black Mirror, Men are Wonderful, Half Broken Things, Ideal, Trial and Retribution, Who Gets the Dog, London, He Knew He Was Right and Viva Las Blackpool; and for film, Happy New Year Colin Burstead, Self Help: A Serial Killer’s Guide to Life, This Family, Jellyfish, Kaleidoscope, Daphne, Mr Turner, Wreckers, Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang, The Boat That Rocked, Spring of 41, Happy Go Lucky, Pride and Prejudice and Vera Drake.
Charlie Oscar plays Skylar. Her theatre credits include All’s Well That Ends Well (The Changeling Theatre). For television her credits include Doctor Who;and for film, Mothering Sunday.
Veteran of the stage and screen Bill Pullman returns to the London stage to play Daniel – he previously appeared in All My Sons at The Old Vic. His other theatre work includes The Other Place (Samuel J. Friedman Theatre), Oleanna, The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia? (John Golden Theatre), and Off-Broadway, The Jacksonian, Peter and Jerry – Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Play, and The Sad Lament of Pecos Bill on the Eve Killing His Wife Killer’s Head/Action. For television, his work includes The Sinner (as series regular Harry Ambrose), Halston, Ten X Ten, 1600 Penn, Innocent, Torchwood (as series regular Oswald Danes), Too Big to Fail, Nathan vs. Nurture, Revelations, American Masters, The Virginian, and Fallen Angels; and for film, his extensive work includes The High Note, Dark Waters, The Coldest Game, The Equalizer 2, Trouble, Battles of the Sexes, A Thousand Junkies, The Ballad of Lefty Brown, LBJ, Independence Day: Resurgence, American Ultra, The Equalizer, Peacock, The Killer Inside Me, Your Name Here, Surveillance, Phoebe in Wonderland, Bottle Shock, You Kill Me, Nobel Son, Dear Wendy, Igby Goes Down, Ignition, A Man is Mostly Water, Titan A.E., The Guilty, Brokedown Palace, Zero Effect, Lost Highway, Independence Day, Mr Wrong, Casper, While You Were Sleeping, Wyatt Earp, The Last Seduction, Malice, Sleepless in Seattle, Sommersby, Singles, A League of Their Own, Newsies, The Accidental Tourist, Rocket Gibraltar, The Serpent and the Rainbow, and Ruthless People.
Stephen Wight plays Nedward. His theatre work includes Europe, Don Juan in Soho (Donmar Warehouse), McQueen (St James Theatre and West End), The Ladykillers (Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse and West End), The Habit of Art (National Theatre), Dealer’s Choice (Menier Chocolate Factory and Trafalgar Studios), The Trestle at Pope Lick Creek (Royal Exchange Theatre), Sing Yer Heart Out for the Lads (National Theatre), and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (RSC). For television, his work includes Screw, Manhunt, I May Destroy You, Finding Joy, Flack, Informer, Maigret: Night at the Crossroads, Lovesick, Bluestone, The Escape Artist, The Paradise, Sherlock, Threesome, Scaredy Cat, The Great Outdoors, Whites, Coming of Age, FM, Misfits, Apparitions, Ashes to Ashes, Diamond Geezer, and Hex; and for film, Men in Black: International, Peterloo, Ashes, Weekender, Highlander and Wilderness.
Theresa Rebeck is a prolific and widely produced playwright, whose work has been staged across the globe. Her work on Broadway includes Bernhardt/Hamlet, Dead Accounts, Seminar and Mauritius. Other notable New York and regional plays include Seared (MCC), Downstairs (Primary Stages), The Scene, The Water’s Edge, Loose Knit, The Family of Mann and Spike Heels (Second Stage), Bad Dates, The Butterfly Collection and Our House (Playwrights Horizons), The Understudy (Roundabout), View of the Dome (NYTW), What We’re Up Against (Women’s Project), Omnium Gatherum (Pulitzer Prize finalist). As a director, her work has been seen at The Alley Theatre (Houston), the REP Company (Delaware), Dorset Theatre Festival, the Orchard Project and the Folger Theatre. Major film and television projects include Trouble – with Anjelica Huston, Bill Pullman and David Morse (writer and director), NYPD Blue, the NBC series Smash (creator), and the female spy thriller 355 (for Jessica Chastain’s production company). As a novelist, Rebeck’s books include Three Girls and Their Brother and I’m Glad About You. Rebeck is the recipient of the William Inge New Voices Playwriting Award, the PEN/Laura Pels Foundation Award, and a Lilly Award.
Moritz von Stuelpnagel directs. His work on Broadway includes Bernhardt/Hamlet (Roundabout Theatre Company), Present Laughter (St James Theatre), Hand to God (Booth Theater – nomination for Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play, and also in the West End at the Vaudeville Theatre). Off-Broadway, his credits include Seared (MCC Theatre, also at the Williamstown Theatre Festival); The Thanksgiving Play (Playwrights Horizons); Teenage Dick (The Public Theatre, also at Pasadena Playhouse, Huntington Theatre Company and Woolly Mammoth); Important Hats of the 20th Century (Manhattan Theatre Club); Verité (Lincoln Center Theatre/LCT3); Bike America (Ma-Yi, also at the Alliance Theatre); Love Song of the Albanian Sous Chef, The Bird and the 2-Ton Weight, and Turnabout (Ensemble Studio Theatre); Trevor, and Too Little Too Late (Lesser America); My Base and Scurvy Heart, Spacebar, and Historie of the Barber-Surgeons (Studio 42); Mel & El: Show & Tell (Ars Nova); Two Gentlemen of Verona, and As You Like It (poor tom); as well as extensive work regionally, including Found: A New Musical, Tell Me I’m Not Crazy, Tiger Style!, Romance Novels for Dummies, All Is Calm, Macbeth, Twelfth Night, As You Like It, and Much Ado About Nothing. He is the former artistic director of Studio 42.
Mad House is produced by Ambassador Theatre Group Productions and Gavin Kalin Productions.
ATG Productions is an international theatrical production company – dedicated to producing critically acclaimed, commercially successful and creatively ambitious work for the West End, Broadway and beyond.
Led by Adam Speers, Richard Darbourne and Zareen Walker, we are the in-house producers and general management arm of the world’s largest live theatre company (Ambassador Theatre Group) – and place partnerships and creative excellence at our core.
Current and upcoming productions include: the seven-time Olivier Award-winning Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club (West End); Pretty Woman the Musical (West End); Fatal Attraction (UK tour); the Olivier Award-winning Cyrano de Bergerac (West End, Glasgow and Brooklyn Academy of Music) and The Seagull (West End) via the Jamie Lloyd Company; The Doctor (West End); Mad House (West End); Hamlet (Park Avenue Armory); Oresteia (Park Avenue Armory); 9 to 5 the Musical (Australia) and Plaza Suite (Broadway).
Previous productions and co-productions include: 9 to 5 the Musical (West End and UK tours); Ian McKellen On Stage (West End, UK tour and Broadway); Betrayal (West End and Broadway); Sea Wall/A Life (Broadway); Sunday in the Park With George (Broadway); Touching The Void (West End); Ghost Stories (West End); Pretty Woman the Musical (Broadway and Hamburg); Pinter at the Pinter Season (West End); King Lear (West End); the Olivier Award-winning Caroline, or Change (West End and Broadway); the Tony Award-winning Oslo (West End); Glengarry Glen Ross (West End and UK tour); Baskerville (Beijing and Nanjing, China); Abigail’s Party (UK tour), Strangers on a Train (UK tour), Gaslight (UK tour), Buried Child (West End); Big Fish (West End); Hamlet (West End); The Maids (West End); The Homecoming (West End); Doctor Faustus (West End); Oresteia (West End); and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (West End and UK tour).
