Theatres Trust director Jon Morgan responds to the Prime Minister’s update on Step 4, the government’s plan for living with Covid and what it means for theatres:

The Prime Minister’s announcement today that capacity caps and the need for social distancing in theatres in England will be lifted as part of Step 4 of the reopening roadmap is very welcome news for a sector that has been hugely impacted by the pandemic. We hope that this will be followed by confirmation next week that Step 4 will indeed go ahead on 19 July.

Several shows that have recently reopened at reduced capacity have had to cancel suddenly when a cast or crew member has to self-isolate. We are encouraged that the Prime Minister mentioned that a different system would be introduced for people who are fully vaccinated, and look forward to hearing further details.

Following today’s Government announcement of plans for lifting restrictions from 19 July, SOLT & UK Theatre Chief Executive Julian Bird has released the following statement:

‘We welcome today’s confirmation that 19 July will see the lifting of remaining lockdown restrictions – meaning that theatres can open to full audiences for the first time in 16 months. This is a lifeline for our industry, essential for the survival of theatres across the country. We will be working closely with Government in the coming days on revising the performing arts guidelines, ensuring that our audiences and staff can feel safe and confident in returning.’

53two launch charity auction to continue their journey in supporting underserved artists & developing their accessible venue

HAMMERTIME AUCTION– Lots of fun!

In May, 53two opened the doors to its bar/café arts venue – a hub for creatives across Greater Manchester to meet, work and play together. At the end of June, their pop-up ‘Studio’ space was opened for theatrical and event bookings. The 60 seat studio space, designed to be a stop-gap, will house short-plays, new writing nights, intimate gigs and events until they can open their 150 seater venue early next year.

Whilst they are open and functioning, they still have some way to go to make the venue as brilliant and accessible as they possibly can. For this, they’re looking to you!

Manchester giants have donated auction items for you to view and bid on over the next couple of weeks. From Damon Albarn tickets at Manchester Central & Parklife Weekend VIP Passes, to Afternoon Tea in the arches & signed Steve Evets prints. Some of the lots also include a bespoke floor plate, designed by Manchester maker Liam Hopkins of Lazerian. These, inscribed with your personal message, will find a home in the floor of the venue to be there for ever – you can have one of just the 136 made.

Auction ends on ‘Freedom Day’ – Monday 19th July

Damon Albarn tickets must be sold by 12th July – concert is on 13th July.

To take a look at the auction lots, head to www.53two.com/hammertime

CONFIRMED DATES FOR

 PHILIP PULLMAN’S

T H E   B O O K   O F   D U S T   –   L A   B E L L E   S A U V A G E

IN A NEW STAGE ADAPTATION BY BRYONY LAVERY

Dates are now confirmed for Philip Pullman’s The Book of Dust – La Belle Sauvage at The Bridge.  Directed by Nicholas Hytner in Bryony Lavery’s new stage adaptation which takes place twelve years before Pullman’s epic His Dark Materials trilogy, performances are from 2 December 2021 – 19 February 2022 with opening night on 14 December 2021.  Priority booking opens today, with public booking opening at 10am on 7 July 2021. 

Designs are by Bob Crowley with puppetry by Barnaby Dixon, lighting design by Jon Clark, sound by Paul Arditti, video designs are by Luke Halls and Zakk Hein and music by Grant Olding. The associate directors are Emily Burns and James Cousins who is also movement director. Kate Waters is fight director.  Casting will be announced at a later date.  

Two young people and their dæmons, with everything at stake, find themselves at the centre of a terrifying manhunt. In their care is a tiny child called Lyra Belacqua, and in that child lies the fate of the future. And as the waters rise around them, powerful adversaries conspire for mastery of Dust: salvation to some, the source of infinite corruption to others.

La Belle Sauvage was published in 2017 and was followed by The Secret Commonwealth in 2019. His Dark Materials, a ground-breaking production sixteen years ago directed by Hytner at the National Theatre, was also adapted for broadcast on BBC1 in 2019 with the second series in 2020. Philip Pullman was knighted in 2019 for his services to literature.

For the stage Bryony Lavery’s work includes the internationally critically acclaimed Frozen as well as Stockholm, Kursk, Dirt and Beautiful Burnout. Last year her adaptation of David Walliams’ The Midnight Gang was presented at Chichester Festival Theatre where her previous adaptations The Hundred and One Dalmatians and A Christmas Carol were also seen.  The London premiere of her play, Last Easter, opens at the Orange Tree Theatre on 7 July 2021.

For the Bridge Theatre Nicholas Hytner has directed Young Marx, Julius Caesar, Allelujah!, Alys, Always, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Two Ladies, Beat the Devil, The Shrine, Bed Among the Lentils, A Christmas Carol and Bach & Sons.  Previously he was Director of the National Theatre from 2003 to 2015.

SUMMER AND AUTUMN AT THE BRIDGE

BACH & SONS continues its run at The Bridge until 11 September 2021.  Joining Simon Russell Beale, who plays Johann Sebastian Bach in the world premiere of Nina Raine’s play,are Samuel Blenkin as Carl, Pandora Colin as Maria Barbara, Ruth Lass as Katharina, Douggie McMeekin as Wilhelm, Racheal Ofori as Anna Magdalena and Pravessh Rana as Frederick the Great.  Directed by Nicholas Hytner, the associate director is James Cousins, with set designs by Vicki Mortimer, costumes designed by Khadija Raza, lighting by Jon Clark, sound by Gareth Fry and music supervised by George Fenton. 

WHITE NOISE by Suzan-Lori Parks will have its European premiere at the Bridge Theatre in a new production directed by Polly Findlay.   Performances are from 5 October – 13 November 2021 with opening night on 12 October 2021.  Set designs are by Lizzie Clachan with costumes by Natalie Pryce, lighting by Jackie Shemesh and sound by Donato Wharton.  Casting for White Noise will be announced at a later date. 

LISTINGS INFORMATION

Address:                  Bridge Theatre, 3 Potters Fields Park, London, SE1 2SG

Box Office:               0333 320 0051 or [email protected]

Access:                    0333 320 0051 or [email protected]

Website:                  www.bridgetheatre.co.uk

Twitter:                    @_bridgetheatre

Instagram:                _bridgetheatre

Facebook:                 facebook.com/bridgetheatrelondon

Casts announced for upcoming Young Vic shows

Klippies and AI

Priority Booking opens today 12noon

Public Booking opens Tuesday 6 July, 12noon

The Young Vic today announces the complete casts for Klippies, Jessica Sian’s acclaimed coming-of-age drama about an unlikely friendship and the intensity of first love set in modern day Johannesburg, and AI, a new play by Genesis Fellow and Young Vic Associate Director Jennifer Tang and Company, created using a deep-learning system to generate human-like dialogue and script.

Priority booking for both shows opens today, Monday 5 July at 12noon, with Public booking opening Tuesday 6 July at 12noon.

Klippies

By Jessica Siân

Directed by Genesis Future Directors Award recipient Diyan Zora

Maria Theatre

From 4 – 13 August 2021

Bola Akeju and Elizabeth Dulau take the roles of Thandi and Yolandi in Klippies, directed by Genesis Future Directors Award recipient Diyan Zora. Set in the twentieth year of South Africa’s democracy, two girls struggle to navigate their troubled past.

Yolandi is the rebel, Thandi the school swot. In the scorching heat of a Johannesburg summer, an unexpected bond is formed. Two girls battle their way through unfamiliar feelings and the guilt of their country’s legacy. 

Klippies is Written by Jessica Siân and Directed by Diyan Zora, with Set and Costume Design by Georgia Lowe, Lighting Design by Jess Bernberg, Sound Design by Tingying Dong, Casting by Isabella Odoffin CDG, Movement Direction by Georgina Makhubele and Voice and Dialect by Hazel Holder and Eleanor Manners.

The Genesis Future Directors Award provides an early-career director with an opportunity to explore and develop their craft by creating their first fully resourced production at the Young Vic, as part of the artistic programme. The award will provide Diyan Zora with mentoring and support from the theatre’s unique creative network, including Artistic Director Kwame Kwei-Armah, Associate Artistic Director Sue Emmas and Genesis Fellow and Associate Director Jennifer Tang. Established in 2012, previous Genesis Future Director Award recipients include Dadiow Lin, Caitriona Shoobridge, Lekan Lawal, Debbie Hannan, John R. Wilkinson, Nancy Medina, Leo J. Skilbeck, Bryony Shanahan, Ola Ince, Rikki Henry, Tinuke Craig, Finn Beames, Matthew Xia and Ben Kidd.

Due to the nature of the Genesis Future Directors Award, there will be no press night.

AI

Created by Genesis Fellow and YV Associate Director Jennifer Tang and Company

Developed by Chinonyerem Odimba and Nina Segal, written alongside GPT-3 OpenAI technology

Directed by Jennifer Tang

Main House

23 – 25 August 2021

The cast is today announced for AI, a new play developed by Chinonyerem Odimba and Nina Segal alongside artificial intelligence (AI). Cast members Waleed Akhtar, Tyrone Huggins and Simone Saunders will collaborate with Genesis Fellow and YV Associate Director Jennifer Tang to make a new work for the stage using the deep-learning system GPT-3 to generate human-like dialogue and script.

Recently heralded by David Chalmers, Professor of Philosophy and Neural Science at New York University, as ‘one of the most interesting and important AI systems ever produced’, GPT-3 has already demonstrated its ability to generate prose and news articles indistinguishable from those written by a human.

In this unique hybrid of research and performance, AI will see a new work created for the stage over a series of evenings, based upon a script prompted by writers and artists and produced by the GPT-3 system. Together with insights into how the artists collaborated with the system, AI asks us to consider the algorithms at work in the world around us, the nature of creativity and what technology can teach us about ourselves. 

AI is Created by Genesis Fellow and YV Associate Director Jennifer Tang and Company, and Developed by Chinonyerem Odimba and Nina Segal, written alongside GPT-3 OpenAI technology, and Directed by Jennifer Tang.

Each performance of AI can be seen as a single, standalone performance, or audiences can book into multiple evenings to see the creation of the play progress.

The Genesis Future Directors Award program and Genesis Fellow opportunity are made possible thanks to the Genesis Foundation.

Priority Booking opens today, Monday 5 July, 12noon.

Public booking opens Tuesday 6 July, 12noon.

THEATRE ROYAL PLYMOUTH ANNOUNCE

THE BRAND-NEW PRODUCTION OF NHS THE MUSICAL

On the 73^rd birthday of the NHS, Theatre Royal Plymouth today announce the brand-new production of NHS The Musicalby Nick Stimson and Jimmy Jewell, directed by Stephen Fletcher, will run 17 – 25 September in The Lyric at Theatre Royal Plymouth. Tickets are on public sale now, with discounted tickets available across the run for NHS staff.

Informed by first-hand accounts from NHS staff, NHS The Musicalgets under its skin, and celebrates the people who make its heart beat. Sharper than a scalpel, this fast-paced comedy show takes you from the surgical theatre to musical theatre, pumping with songs, satire, sass – and gas and air. But beware! This beloved institution may be the perfect tonic, but it can also be the bitterest pill. The UK’s largest employer and government’s biggest spender has its own ailments, that just never seem to be cured.

With a combined company of 7 cast and 7 band members live on stage, NHS The Musical will be a rousing celebration of the people who have cared for us and our families for more than 70 years.

Adrian Vinken, CEO of Theatre Royal Plymouth and Executive Producer of NHS The Musical, said today, “We commissioned the original show to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the health service.  Although essentially a love song to the NHS, audiences really loved its hard-hitting satire.  A couple of years ago, with the NHS under siege on many levels, we decided the time was right to update the show to reflect current circumstances but then Covid hit and the NHS was placed front and centre in the life of the whole nation.  The show is a timely celebration of what the NHS means to all of us.”

Philippa Charles, Director of the Garfield Weston Foundation, commented,: “The Weston Culture Fund honours the UK’s creative and cultural organisations which, while battling huge challenges of their own, endeavour to make life better for the rest of us. We’re therefore especially pleased to support this new production of NHS The Musical at the Theatre Royal Plymouth, as it pays tribute to the heroes seeing us all through the pandemic.”

NHS The Musical is made possible thanks to a grant from the Weston Culture Fund.

Nick Stimson is a freelance playwright and theatre director and Associate of Theatre Royal Plymouth. His theatre credits as a writer and director include A Winter’s Tale (Rose Theatre/UK tour – Offie Award for Best Off West End Musical), Sailors and Sweethearts (Theatre Royal Plymouth/The Venue), Korczak (Theatre Royal Plymouth/Rose Theatre Kingston/International tour) and The Day We Played Brazil (Exeter Northcott Theatre). His writing credits include Hello Mister Capello (Watford Palace Theatre), Promised Land (Red Ladder Theatre/The Carriage Works), Who Ate All The Pies? (Tristan Bates Theatre) and This Land (Theatre Royal Plymouth).

Jimmy Jewell is a composer and songwriter. His credits as composer include The Amazing Tour is Not On Fire (UK tour/international tour), The Tempest (Exeter Northcott Theatre), Peter Pan (UK tour), Walk With The Angels (Institute of Contemporary Arts/Soho Theatre), Theatre), Frankenstein (Cochrane Theatre), Who Ate All The Pies? (Theatre Royal Plymouth, Tristan Bates Theatre),and Solitary Confinement (King’s Head Theatre); and as a conductor, Evita (European tour), The Prince and the Pauper, Strike Up The Band!, Jesus Christ Super Star (US tour), All You Need is Love! (Queen’s Theatre) and Fiddler on the Roof (Exeter Northcott Theatre).

Stephen Fletcher directs and is an Associate Director of the Liverpool Playhouse and Everyman Theatres. His credits include A Life in the Theatre (The Actor’s Studio, Liverpool – also writer) and Mam! I’m ‘ere! (Royal Court Liverpool – also writer). He is Director and Producer of Life in Theatre Productions, producing, The Sunshine Boys and The Last 5 Years. As an actor his credits include The Perfect Murder (UK tour), Special Measures, Noises Off! (Royal Court Liverpool), A Streetcar Named Desire (Liverpool Playhouse), Dead Heavy Fantastic (Liverpool Everyman) and Mary Stuart (Donmar Warehouse/Apollo Theatre).

NHS THE MUSICAL

LISTINGS

Theatre Royal Plymouth – The Lyric Theatre

Royal Parade, Plymouth PL1 2TR

17 – 25 September 2021

Box Office

www.theatreroyal.com / 01752 267222

Tickets

General: From £18

NHS discount: £15 (Bands A, B and C)

“THE PRINCE OF EGYPT” RETURNS

TRIUMPHANTLY TO THE WEST END STAGE

HIT MUSICAL HAS RESUMED PERFORMANCES IN ACCORDANCE

WITH ‘STEP 3’ PROTOCOLS (SOCIALLY DISTANCED AUDIENCES)

THE PRINCE OF EGYPT, the “huge popular hit” (LBC) based on the classic DreamWorks Animation film, returned triumphantly to London’s Dominion Theatre on Thursday (1 July 2021), with standing ovations and an extended 14-minute curtain call.

Having been turned down by UK Government for a Culture Recovery Fund grant, producers Michael McCabe and Neil Laidlaw spoke of their long and difficult battle to bring the production back to the stage. With no insurance against any future COVID-related shutdowns and now at the mercy of the Contact Tracing rules – which could temporarily shut the production at any time – the future remains “fragile”.  They celebrated their “world class” UK company (whom they described as “resilient, viable and extraordinary”) their pride at mounting the show in London, employing UK businesses and supporting the UK economy and their subsequent shock at the Government’s failure to provide the production, which is one of the industry’s biggest single employers, with any direct support.

“Brought to life in truly epic fashion” (Daily Mirror), the Grammy® Award nominated musicalis now booking until Saturday 8 January 2022.Performances until Saturday 4 September 2021 are all currently expected to operate with socially distanced audiences and, thereafter, in accordance with Step 4 protocols (full capacity but in compliance with UK Government public health guidance). Should current restrictions be lifted earlier, the production will revert to full capacity as soon as practicably possible. The Dominion Theatre Box Office opens daily on performance days at 12 noon. Tickets are available now for all performances via www.ThePrinceofEgyptMusical.com

The “utterly stand-out cast” (WhatsOnStage) of 46 features Luke Brady (Moses), Liam Tamne (Ramses), Christine Allado (Tzipporah), Alexia Khadime (Miriam), Joe Dixon (Seti), Debbie Kurup (Tuya), Clive Rowe* (Jethro), Mercedesz Csampai (Yocheved), Adam Pearce (Hotep), Tanisha Spring** (Nefertari), Silas Wyatt-Barke (Aaron), Simbi Akande, Casey Al-Shaqsy, Joe Atkinson, Danny Becker, Felipe Bejarano, Pàje Campbell, Catherine Cornwall, Adam Filipe, Soophia Foroughi, Natalie Green, Jack Harrison-Cooper, Kalene Jeans, Christian Knight, Jessica Lee, Oliver Lidert, Daniel Luiz, Jay Marsh, Scott Maurice, Carly Miles, Alice Readie, Samuel Sarpong-Broni, Christopher Short, Molly Smith, Ricardo Walker, Danny Williams, Niko Wirachman and Sasha Woodward together with young performers Cian Eagle-Service, Maiya Eastmond, Jersey Blu Georgia, Taylor Jenkins, Mia Lakha, George Menezes Cutts, Iman Pabani and Vishal Soni. *Clive Rowe appears until 16 Oct 2021 / **Tanisha Spring appears until 18 Sept 2021

The orchestra is Dave Rose (Musical Director); Mark Collins (Associate Musical Director, Keyboards); Nina Foster/Fiona McCapra (job share), Sonya Fairbairn, Penny Ainscow, Sebastian Rudnicki (Violins); Fiona Davies (Viola); Magda Pietraszewska (Cello); Rory Dempsey (Bass); Rupert Widdows (Woodwind); Tony Cross (Trumpet, Flugelhorn); Duncan Fuller, David McQueen (Horns); John Gregson (Guitars); Murdoch MacDonald (Percussion) and Dan Ellis (Drums).

The Stage Management team is Anthony Field (Company Stage Manager); Dominique Pierre-Louis (Stage Manager); Ryan Quelch (Deputy Stage Manager); Nuri Chang, Charlotte Johnson (Assistant Stage Managers/Book Cover); Simon Humphris, Chrissie Huxford and Tracey Farrell (Assistant Stage Managers), who, together with a further 84 backstage staff, complete the production’s huge cast, orchestra and company of 154.

“This lavish stage adaptation” (The Guardian) of the classic DreamWorks Animation film features a cast and orchestra of more than 60 artists and Stephen Schwartz’s acclaimed score includes his Academy Award®-winning song When You Believe, which was a global hit for Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey, and the “spine-tingling” (Time Out) Deliver Us. The Original Cast Recording, released by Ghostlight Records, received a 2021 Grammy® Award nomination for `Best Musical Theatre Album’.

Journey through the wonders of Ancient Egypt as two young men, raised together as brothers in a kingdom of privilege, find themselves suddenly divided by a secret past. One must rule as Pharaoh, the other must rise up and free his true people; both face a destiny that will change history forever.

The Prince of Egypt has music and lyrics by multi-Grammy® and Academy Award®-winner Stephen Schwartz (Wicked, Godspell), a book by Philip LaZebnik (Mulan, Pocahontas) and features 10 new songs written by Stephen Schwartz together with 5 of his beloved songs from the DreamWorks Animation film (When You Believe, Deliver Us, All I Ever Wanted, Through Heaven’s Eyes and The Plagues).

The Prince of Egypt is directed by Scott Schwartz with choreography by Sean Cheesman;set designs by Kevin Depinet; costume designs by Ann Hould-Ward; lighting design by Mike Billings; sound design by Gareth Owen; projection designs by Jon Driscoll; illusions by Chris Fisher; wigs, hair and makeup design by Campbell Young Associates; orchestrations by August Eriksmoen; musical supervision and arrangements by Dominick Amendum; musical direction by Dave Rose; casting by Jim Arnold CDG and children’s casting by Verity Naughton CDG.

The Prince of Egypt is produced by DreamWorks Theatricals (a division of Universal Theatrical Group), Michael McCabe and Neil Laidlaw together with John Gore, Tom Smedes and Peter Stern, Ramin Sabi, The Araca Group, James L. Nederlander and Michael Park.

A milestone in cinematic achievement, the classic DreamWorks Animation film has been captivating audiences across the world for more than two decades. It has been hailed as “one of the greatest animated films of all time” (Evening Standard) and “a stunning film” (The Guardian).

Underbelly and Onyx Productions presents

THE WORLD WIDE SMASH HIT

PREMIERS IN LONDON

Summer bursts into life with the supercharged urban circus 360 ALLSTARS. The global sensation and magnificent, colourful and revolutionary production opens the big top at LONDON WONDERGROUND EARLS COURT from 17 July – 15 August 2021.

360 ALLSTARS is a phenomenal physical performance exploring all forms of rotation, connecting the street with the elite in 360 degrees!

360 ALLSTARS is a spectacular fusion of the extraordinary artistry that emerges from street culture. An adrenaline fuelled performance that will leave audiences dizzy with excitement. Replacing acrobats, jugglers and unicyclists, with break-dancers, a basketball freestyler and a BMX rider, 360 ALLSTARS is an electrifying and exhilarating reinvention of circus.

Boasting a stellar international cast of elite athletes and artists including: the two-time world champion BMX Flatlander Peter Sore, two champion break-dancers Bboy Chris and Bboy Daz, internationally acclaimed basketball freestyler Trickstar, and the world renowned cyr wheel artist Josh Curtis.

Add to this a stunning LIVE soundtrack delivered by Ball-Zee, the world champion and three-time UK champion beatboxer, alongside the award-winning master percussionist, Mikey Sorbello. Add incredible video projections and 360 ALLSTARS is as aurally exciting as it is visually astounding.

With jaw-dropping artistry guaranteed to blow audiences away, 360 ALLSTARS brings top family entertainment to the big top this summer.

A world-wide success with sell out seasons on Broadway, in Edinburgh and the Sydney Opera House; at last 360 ALLSTARS has its London premier in the BIG TOP at LONDON WONDERGROUND EARLS COURT.

360 ALLSTARS is THE summer show for everyone – and is the pure entertainment that London has seriously been waiting for.

“The most thrilling stage show ever” – Weekend Notes ★★★★★
“Blindingly talented. The energy is infectious” – Broadway Baby ★★★★★

“Freaking phenomenal performers” – Fritz Magazine ★★★★★
“Spectacular tricks and stunts” – The Pop Chronicles ★★★★★
“Dazzling, thrilling, and exceptionally good fun” – Kiddo Magazine ★★★★★
“Supercharged urban circus” – Scenestr ★★★★★

360 ALLSTARS

Listings Information

Dates: Saturday 17 July –  Sunday 15 August 2021

Venue: BIG TOP, LONDON WONDERGROUND EARLS COURT

Time: 7pm Tuesday – Saturday, 6pm (Sunday),

Matinees: 3pm (24 July and 31 July), 1pm (1 August)

Running time: 60 minutes of non-stop phenomenal physical performance with 360 ALLSTARS

Ticket Prices: Tickets from £12.00

Tickets: londonwonderground.co.uk

Tickets purchased through londonwonderground.co.uk are subject to a £1.50 booking fee.

LONDON WONDERGROUND EARLS COURT

Empress Place, Earls Court, London SW6 1TT

NICK OF TIME PRODUCTIONS LTD

IN ASSOCIATION WITH THE PLAYGROUND THEATRE PRESENTS

GRENFELL: VALUE ENGINEERING

SCENES FROM THE INQUIRY

EDITED BY RICHARD NORTON-TAYLOR

& DIRECTED BY NICOLAS KENT

RUNNING ON STAGE AT THE TABERNACLE FROM 13 OCT – 13 NOV

& BIRMINGHAM REP FROM 16-20 NOVEMBER 2021

“The Grenfell fire did not happen in a vacuum… it happened within a pocket of one of the smallest yet richest boroughs in London.”

Leslie Thomas QC in evidence to the Grenfell Tower Public Inquiry, July 2020

“It’s one thing to work out how the fire was caused, and how the deaths were caused; the bigger question is: why did this happen?”

Michael Mansfield QC at the Inquiry, March 2021

Grenfell: Value Engineering – Scenes From The Inquiry sets out to discover why the devastating fire of 14 June 2017 happened after the refurbishment of Grenfell Tower, and who was responsible for the deaths of 72 people.

The dramatic evidence, based entirely on the words of those involved in the current Grenfell Tower Inquiry, is brought to the stage by the creative team responsible for the dramatisation of The Colour of Justice – The Stephen Lawrence Inquiry at the Tricycle Theatre, the National Theatre, in the West End and on BBC TV, and the Olivier Award-winning Saville Inquiry play Bloody Sunday.

The not-for-profit production of Grenfell: Value Engineering – Scenes From The Inquiry is running from 13 October – 13 November at the recently renovated Tabernacle in Notting Hill and at Birmingham Rep from 16 – 20 November. The play is edited by Richard Norton-Taylor and directed by Nicolas Kent, with casting by Amy Ball at CDG.

Richard Norton-Taylor said: “Grenfell Tower, engulfed in flames in less than half an hour in the deadliest fire in a residential building since the Blitz, the worst loss of life in a single incident in London for more than 60 years, was still smouldering when survivors and families of the bereaved demanded a wide-ranging public inquiry into a disaster they had warned was waiting to happen. Their concerns about the risks of fire and obstacles in the way of evacuating the 24-storey building were dismissed by officials in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, one of the richest local authorities in Britain.

The inquiry, under a former appeal court judge who is unlikely to report his conclusions before well into next year, has said the principal reason why the fire spread so rapidly was the decision to wrap the tower in extremely flammable material in its recent refurbishment. The inquiry exposed what lay behind the decision that led to the fatal conflagration, what a lawyer for the survivors and bereaved described as “a chronic culture of neglect, of indifference and discrimination underpinned by a theme of dishonesty”, and another called an “epidemic level of incompetence”.

What has emerged from the inquiry is an extraordinary catalogue of greed, fraud, cheating and lying, secret fixing of fire tests on their products, subtle layers of corruption and racism, fatal cost-cutting, casual indifference, and practices which one young company executive called “completely unethical” and which some even joked about. It exposed fatal consequences of austerity and deregulation. The switch to cheaper, more combustible, material saved less than £300,000 on the £10m refurbishment. The cost was 72 lives and hundreds of bereaved relatives and friends. The cost to tenants and mortgage holders living in over 250 residential blocks clad with similar dangerous cladding – and to taxpayers – will amount to many hundreds of millions of pounds.

The evidence in the Grenfell Inquiry reflects many of the problems deeply embedded in contemporary British society. I believe that presenting it to a theatre audience will lead to a wider understanding of the story behind a fire whose repercussions will be felt for many years.”

Nicolas Kent, Producer, Nick of Time Productions said: “The Grenfell Tower Inquiry is vitally important in getting to the truth and holding to account those who were responsible for the disastrous refurbishment of the Tower. The resulting fire caused so many people to lose their lives, and so many others to endure such pain and trauma as well as the loss of their homes. We are grateful to The Tabernacle and The Playground Theatre for helping us bring this dramatisation of the Grenfell Inquiry to the local community. We are determined that people living around Grenfell Tower will be able to see this play for less than the price of a newspaper, and the rest of the country will be able to share the forensic work of the inquiry through this play and better understand the truth behind this avoidable tragedy.”

The Grenfell Inquiry is one of the most important public inquiries of the past two decades. It is a powerful example of the investigatory reach of the law and its ability to call people to account. It is of profound importance to the survivors of the tragedy and their families. The tragedy has also left an estimated 700,000 people still trapped in dangerous homes and has revealed hazardous construction problems going back many years that are now preventing three million others from selling their flats. The inquiry’s work has huge repercussions for present policy and better future regulation for millions of people living in social or private housing in the UK.

The inquiry has now been running for four years. This edited verbatim account of the inquiry is aimed at giving the public a clearer overview and access to the evidence.

Alongside the production The Playground Theatre is providing an important education programme. The programme, VALUED, will be available to local schools and the local community. It aims to provide schools with information about the production alongside the contemporary issues of importance that it addresses and the key links to the national curriculum and wider understanding of communities, social justice and human rights.

Major supporters of Grenfell: Value Engineering – Scenes From The Inquiryarethe Paul Hamlyn Foundation, the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust and Nimax Theatres.

The Crucible Theatre, Sheffield – until 24 July 2021

Reviewed by Sal E Marino

5*****

Do you remember a time when: you’d had bangers and mash followed by a desert of arctic roll for your tea, drank irn-bru pop, watched Giant Haystacks and Big Daddy wrestle in the morning and then later on – the whole family would settle down to watch ‘New Faces’ …?  Well Talent, written and first performed by Victoria Wood in 1978, will take you right back to that era – from the clothes, music, references of long forgotten popular minor celebrities and foods we used to eat –  to the less savoury and overtly sexist attitudes some had towards women.  

Although I doubt this play was written with the main intent of bringing feminist issues to light and was more simply an autobiographical account of Wood’s own experiences of life (when she was doing the rounds at talent shows), it does now (forty plus years later), highlight what times were like back in the 1970s for young working class women.  Through Julie (Lucie Shorthouse – originally performed by the fabulous Julie Walters) and her pal Maureen (Jamie-Rose Monk – originally played by Victoria Wood herself), we explore the hopes, dreams, confused (and in Julie’s case) reluctant acceptance of their sexual destinies; coupled with the sad bleak outlook that they’ll probably end up in their forties – ‘with a double chin’ and drinking a ‘bottle of gin’.  But, this play is not heavy and obviously themed throughout with serious issues in any sense or form and instead it’s laced wall-to-wall with Ms Wood’s unmistakable unique and stand-out humour!  She had a genius knack of really making you remember ‘what it’s like to be fourteen again’ and laugh at many of the foibles of life in a most heart-warming and nostalgic way. 

Directed by Paul Foster, Talent is set in the back stage dingy dressing room at Bunter’s nightclub, where Julie (a 24 year old secretary), is nervously awaiting her star turn at the talent show with her faithful and less confident pal Maureen.  With many of Wood’s comedies, she often played on the contrast of what were her own insecurities about her body size and low-self esteem against the smaller and more zestful Julie Walters and this is what we see in the characters of Julie and Maureen.  Within the relationship though things do unfold on a deeper level than just the surface comedy of their differences and as the plot unfolds, we learn that Julie, like Maureen,  has her issues and insecurities too that challenge her.  Simply being slimmer and more attractive doesn’t guarantee Julie a  life of success and happiness and it sometimes appears that Maureen is actually more content within her awkward and uncomfortable world.  

Throughout the sketches Julie and Maureen sing an array of light-hearted and very amusing songs that reflect their feelings and observations about life and it’s ups and downs.  We meet a few other characters along the way who really bring the humour home and had the audience laughing out loud.  One being in the form of Arthur, played by the brilliant Richard Cant, who is the lovable side-kick of George (the talented James Quinn) and who just in his opening line had your heart captured with his child-like enthusiasm for a pretty hopeless act fronted by his chum.  Together this duo really do bring back nostalgic memories of characters gone by with their very simple and so-bad-it’s-brilliant ensemble of magic, song and dance.  Arthur brings back to life the voice and disposition of the man from the Hovis bread ads back in the day and his fervour and belief in his pal’s talent, which he lets overshadow his own card tricks, is very touching.

Far less likeable characters come in the form of Mel (Jonathan Ojininaka), an arrogant ex boyfriend of Julie’s who works as a musician at the club.  Through him we learn of Julie’s school-girl pregnancy and the first very hard hurdle in life she was faced with.  Today, Mel would be viewed as being something much worse than what he was back then and as with the comedy hit ‘Rita, Sue and Bob too’, the older man going out with a young teen – not too uncommon back in the 70s –  is something that brings about uncomfortable questions and is totally unacceptable today.  The other oily and sleazy to the extreme character in the play is the compere (Daniel Crossley), who insults and bargains for sex with Julie by telling her she’s, ‘got a mediocre voice, a terrible Lancashire accent, no experience and no act’ – but if she sleeps with him then he’ll make her dreams come true … Five minutes later, he’s telling Maureen to get her girdle off and meet him in his car!  Crossley gives a great performance of this quick-talking slimeball making you feel disgusted by actions and praying that Maureen won’t fall for the obvious fake flattery due to her innocence and naivety. 

Thankfully, our two friends see sense – escape these two leches, Bunter’s (and it’s corrupt competition) and head for a night at the cinema together.  Female friendship and supporting each other wins through and one feels relieved that neither of the women ended up in a bad situation where they’d be used and abused.   Leaving the audience with a smile inside and out, the cast come together to celebrate and sing one last song that gave a wave of whimsical warmth across the theatre. Talent is a must see if you’re a Wood and Walters fan (which most of us are!) and if you want to see a play about a slice of life in a time gone-by, that will uplift your spirits with it’s joke-packed script and delightful, amusing songs then book now – you definitely won’t be disappointed!