THE 13-STOREY TREEHOUSE IS SET TO TAKE THE UK BY STORM AND CHILDREN EVERYWHERE WILL WANT TO BE THERE!
Kenny Wax Family Entertainment Presents a CDP Kids Production
The 13-Storey Treehouse
A play by RICHARD TULLOCH
based on the bestselling book by ANDY GRIFFITHS and TERRY DENTON
will premiere in the UK in 2020
Playing the iconic Alexandra Palace Theatre, London, from 30 July – 23 August 2020
followed by a UK Tour
Following sold out seasons at the Sydney Opera House and theatres across Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, The USA and The Netherlands, The 13-Storey Treehouse, a play by Richard Tulloch based on Andy Griffiths‘ and Terry Denton‘s best-selling children’s book will premiere in the UK this year.
The production will preview at the Capitol Theatre, Horsham (16-18 July) before making its London premiere at Alexandra Palace Theatre, London (30 July – 23 August; relaxed and BSL signed performance on 6 August at 2pm).
The Autumn 2020 tour will include King’s Theatre, Glasgow (1-3 October), Wycombe Swan (6-7 October), Rose Theatre Kingston (27 October – 1 November), New Victoria Theatre, Woking (10-12 November) and Theatre Royal Winchester (14-15 November). See your local Box Office for full tour details. A full list of venues is to be announced.
Adapted by Australian writer and playwright Richard Tulloch (The Book of Everything, Bananas in Pyjamas), this action-packed and hugely successful 60 minute play will be brought to life across the UK for children 5+ and their families by a seriously funny cast with magical moments of theatrical wizardry, physical comedy and a tree-load of imagination!
Enter the mad-cap, fun world of Andy and Terry! The one and only, super-famous, ultra-brilliant The 13-Storey Treehouse is now a stage show…there’s just one problem – Andy and Terry have forgotten to write it! Where will they find flying cats, a mermaid, a sea monster, an invasion of monkeys and a giant gorilla?
Andy Griffithssaid: “Terry and I have been thrilled and amazed to see the Treehouse series capture the imagination of children in more than 35 countries over the past decade. And now we are especially excited that The 13-Storey Treehouse stage show is coming to the UK. This rambunctious, joyfully silly production is very faithful to the spirit of the original book and we hope that this show about making a show about a book about making a book delights both adults and children in the UK as much as previous productions in Australia, New Zealand, USA, Singapore and The Netherlands.”
The cast and creative team for the show is to be announced.
THE NATIONAL THEATRE’S INTERNATIONALLY-ACCLAIMED PRODUCTION OF THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME EMBARKS ON A THIRD UK AND IRELAND TOUR THIS AUTUMN
TOUR INCLUDES A LIMITED SEVEN WEEK RUN AT THE TROUBADOUR WEMBLEY PARK THEATRE FROM WEDNESDAY 18 NOVEMBER 2020
Back by popular demand, the Olivier and Tony Award®-winning production of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time will tour the UK and Ireland this Autumn. Launching at The Lowry, Salford, Curious Incident will then go on to visit to Sunderland, Bristol, Birmingham, Plymouth, Southampton, Liverpool, Edinburgh, Dublin, Belfast, Nottingham and Oxford, with further venues to be announced. Curious Incident will also play for a limited run in London at Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre in Brent – London Borough of Culture 2020 – following the acclaimed run of War Horse in 2019.
Curious Incident has been seen by more than five million people worldwide, including two UK tours, two West End runs, a Broadway transfer, tours to the Netherlands, Canada, Hong Kong, Singapore, China, Australia and 30 cities across the USA.
Curious Incident is the winner of seven Olivier Awards including Best New Play, Best Director, Best Design, Best Lighting Design and Best Sound Design. Following its New York premiere in September 2014, it became the longest-running play on Broadway in over a decade, winning five Tony Awards® including Best Play, six Drama Desk Awards including Outstanding Play, five Outer Critics Circle Awards including Outstanding New Broadway Play and the Drama League Award for Outstanding Production of a Broadway or Off Broadway Play.
Curious Incident is adapted by Simon Stephens (Carmen Disruption, Sea Wall) from the novel by Mark Haddon, and directed by Olivier and Tony Award® winner Marianne Elliott (War Horse, Angels in America, Company).
The play tells the story of Christopher John Francis Boone, who is fifteen years old. He stands besides Mrs Shears’ dead dog, which has been speared with a garden fork, it is seven minutes after midnight and Christopher is under suspicion. He records each fact in a book he is writing to solve the mystery of who killed Wellington. He has an extraordinary brain and is exceptional at maths while ill-equipped to interpret everyday life. He has never ventured alone beyond the end of his road, he detests being touched and distrusts strangers. But his detective work, forbidden by his father, takes him on a frightening journey that upturns his world.
The production is designed by Bunny Christie, with lighting design by Paule Constable, and video design by Finn Ross. Movement is by Scott Graham and Steven Hoggett for Frantic Assembly, music by Adrian Sutton and sound by Ian Dickinson for Autograph. The Associate Director is Anna Marsland. Casting is by Jill Green CDG.
This tour of Curious Incident is presented by the National Theatre and Trafalgar Theatre Productions.
Mark Haddon’s novel The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time was published in 2003 and was the winner of more than 17 literary awards, including prizes in the US, Japan, Holland and Italy, as well as the prestigious Whitbread Book of the Year Award in the UK in 2004. The novel has been translated into 44 languages and sold more than 5.5 million copies world-wide. His other novels include A Spot of Bother and 2019’s The Porpoise.
Curious Incident visits Salford and Sunderland as part of Theatre Nation Partnerships, a multi-year collaboration between the National Theatre and six partner organisations with the aim to broaden and grow local audiences for drama in England through touring, working with schools, and creating theatre with local communities. Drawing on combined expertise, resources and each partner’s deep community links, the project has engaged with over 100,000 people since 2017. As part of TNP, Curious Incident recently completed a second schools tour, which saw a specially staged in-the-round 90 minute version play to 25,000 students in more than 100 schools in London and the NT’s Theatre Nation Partnership areas of Doncaster, Greater Manchester, Hornchurch, Sunderland, Wakefield and Wolverhampton.
National Theatre UK Touring is supported by The Thompson Family Charitable Trust, The Royal National Theatre Foundation, and Jacqueline and Richard Worswick.
· CAST AND CREATIVE TEAM ANNOUNCED FOR TENNESSEE WILLIAMS’ INNOVATIVE, AND PARTLY AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL WORK, THE TWO CHARACTER PLAY
· DAVID DAWSON AND LYNDSEY MARSHAL WILL PERFORM IN THIS NEW PRODUCTION WHICH ORIGINALLY PREMIERED AT THE THEATRE IN 1967
· AWARD WINNING DIRECTOR SAM YATES WILL MAKE A HIGHLY ANTICIPATED RETURN TO HAMPSTEAD THEATRE, FOLLOWING HIS OLIVIER-NOMINATED AND CRITICALLY-ACCLAIMED PRODUCTION OF THE PHLEBOTOMIST
· THE TWO CHARACTER PLAY WILL RUN FROM 24 APRIL UNTIL 23 MAY 2020
· IT IS PART OF HAMPSTEAD THEATRE’S CLASSICS SEASON WHICH SEEKS TO CELEBRATE 60 YEARS OF ORIGINAL THEATRE, THIS SPRING/SUMMER
· FOUR BOLD PLAYS FROM THE NEW WRITING THEATRE’S DIVERSE ARCHIVE WILL BE STAGED BY A VARIETY OF DISTINCTIVE BRITISH DIRECTORS
“A doctor once told me that we were the bravest people he knew. I said “Why, that’s absurd, my brother and I are terrified of our shadows.” And he said, “Yes, I know, and that’s why I admire your courage so much…”
Hampstead Theatre has announced the cast and creative team for Tennessee Williams’ innovative, and partly autobiographical work, The Two Character Play. Acclaimed stage and screen actors, David Dawson and Lyndsey Marshal, will perform in this unique two-hander which Williams called ‘My most beautiful play since Streetcar, the very heart of my life’. The production, directed by award-winning theatre and film artist, Sam Yates, will run from 24 April until 23 May 2020.
David Dawson is an acclaimed stage and screen actor. Recent television credits include playing Joseph Merrick (as The Elephant Man) in Channel 4’s Year of the Rabbit (2019) and starring in BBC espionage drama The Secret Agent alongside Toby Jones, Vicky McClure and Stephen Graham. Recent theatre credits include Fairview at the Young Vic and Casimir in Brian Friel’s Aristocrats at Donmar Warehouse.
Dawson will be joined by Lyndsey Marshal, best known for her performance in the psychological film The Hours, alongside Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman and Julianne Moore, and for her recurring roles in HBO’s Rome (as Cleopatra) and BBC period legal drama Garrow’s Law (as Lady Sarah Hill). Recent screen credits include Mike Barnett’s ITV drama Trauma and the BBC’s New Year hit Dracula by Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat. She was nominated for an Olivier and Evening Standard Award for her role in Phyllida Lloyd’s production of Boston Marriage at the Donmar Warehouse. Recent theatre credits include The Wild Duck;The Hypochondriac and Blood Wedding at the Almeida Theatre.
Sam Yates is making a highly anticipated return to Hampstead Theatre following his Olivier-nominated and critically acclaimed production of The Phlebotomist (2018, 2019). Recent credits include Incantata by Paul Muldoon, currently playing at the Irish Repertory Theatre (New York), Glengarry Glen Ross starring Christian Slater and The Starry Messenger starring Matthew Broderick and Elizabeth McGovern (London’s West End). He will be joined by designer, Rosanna Vize with lighting by Elliot Griggs, sound design by Dan Balfour and video design by Akhila Krishnan.
Tennessee Williams, one of the foremost playwrights of the twentieth-century, spent over ten years writing The Two Character Play. It was originally directed by Hampstead Theatre’s founding Artistic Director James Roose Evans and received its world premiere at Hampstead in 1967.
Fellow actors, brother and sister Felice and Clare have been on tour too long: every town looks increasingly the same until they feel they could be anywhere… Abandoned by the rest of the acting company, but faced with an audience expecting a performance, they must enact The Two Character Play. But as their gripping ‘play within a play’ unfolds, the line between reality and illusion becomes increasingly unclear; as their characters reach out to the outside world, the actors’ isolation and uncertainty grows…
“It seems to me his finest work for a decade, the most successful piece of sustained theatrical writing he has achieved since the first act of Sweet Bird of Youth. It is good to see the poet laureate of lost grip recover his own”
The Observer, Ronald Bryden (reviewing the original production)
“Very brave… A haunting play full of ghosts, memories and outcries” The New York Times (reviewing the original Broadway run)
Sam Yates, Director of The Two Character Play said: “I am honoured to bring together for the first time two of our finest actors, Lyndsey Marshal and David Dawson, to play brother and sister in Tennessee Williams’ daring experiment in form. I’m particularly excited to return to Hampstead with designer Rosanna Vize and an ambitious creative team.”
Roxana Silbert, Artistic Director ofHampstead Theatre,said, “The Two Character Play is one of Hampstead Theatre’s gems. Tennessee Williams was at the height of his career when he chose to offer the world premiere of this very personal play to the old theatre – a temporary pre-fab. This speaks volumes of Hampstead’s standing as an artistic space under its founder James Roose Evans. I look forward to sharing this unique play, by one of the greatest writers of the twentieth century with our audiences, revived by a wonderful group of artists.”
The Two Character Play is part of HampsteadClassics, the theatre’s spring/summer programme to mark its 60th anniversary and celebrate its ambitious history as a new writing theatre. Featuring four bold plays which all premiered at the theatre, the productions will be performed in chronological order and staged in the thrust, by a variety of distinctive British directors.
Harold Pinter’s The Dumb Waiterwill open Hampstead Classics with Alice Hamilton directing this 60th anniversary production. PhilipJackson and Harry Lloyd will star in this timeless black comedy from 19 March until 18 April. Sam Yates will make a highly anticipated return to Hampstead Theatre with Tennessee Williams’The Two Character Playfrom 24 April until 23 May; founder and former Artistic Director of Eclipse Theatre Company Dawn Walton will direct Alfred
Fagon’s remarkable tribute to the culture of London’s King’s Road in the 1970s, The Death of a Black Manrunning from 28 May until 27 June; and Roxana Silbert, Hampstead Theatre’s Artistic Director, will direct Marsha Norman’s ground-breaking ‘night, Mother running from 2 July until 1 August.
The Haystack is currently playing on the Main Stage at Hampstead Theatre. Roxana Silbert’s critically acclaimeddirecting debut as Hampstead Theatre’s Artistic Director has been extended until 12 March. The Haystack, a fast-paced, topical play, which delves into the intriguing world of GCHQ and examines the human impact of national surveillance, is Al Blyth’s first full-length play.
SWITCHFLICKER PRODUCTIONS AND SOHO THEATRE ANNOUNCE THE WORLD PREMIÈRE OF
DAVID HOYLE’S TEN COMMANDMENTS
Switchflicker Productions and Soho Theatre present
Ten Commandments
Devised by David Hoyle, Mark Whitelaw and Jayne Compton
Directed by Mark Whitelaw
Soho Theatre
19 May – 30 May
Following his smash-hit Diamond, David Hoyle returns to Soho Theatre with the world première of Ten Commandments, combining his captivating stage performance with lacerating social commentary. Olivier award-winning Mark Whitelaw directs David Hoyle in this one man show. The production opens at Soho Theatre on 20 May and runs until 30 May, with previews from 19 May, before embarking on a national tour in autumn.
Rioting the wrongs of contemporary Britain, Ten Commandments promises to rebalance all the inequities and injustices that surround us.
In this light-hearted antidote to the rat-infested dystopia in which we currently find ourselves, fireball of the cabaret apocalypse, David returns the Garden of Eden to its natural state free from nuclear weapons, landfills and perpetual burning forests.
We welcome the congregation to liberate themselves and others in a thermonuclear explosion of love and also hope for what remains of the 21st century.
David Hoyle’s previous performance credits include Unplugged, Merrie Hell, Diamond (Soho Theatre), The Ugly Spirit (Southbank Centre/UK tour), David Hoyle’s SOS (Soho Theatre/Manchester Royal Exchange), Magazine, Dave’s Drop In, David Hoyle’s Aural Assault, David Hoyle’s Licking Wounds, Slurry, David Hoyle’s Lives, David Hoyle’s Lives 2, David Hoyle’s Winter Warmer, Guiding Light and Heavenly Voices (Royal Vauxhall Tavern). For television his credits include The Divine David Presents, The Divine David Heals and Nathan Barley; and for film his credits include Velvet Goldmine, Uncle David, Uncle David 2 and Set the Thames on Fire.
Mark Whitelaw directs. Previous directing credits include Duckie’s C’est Barbican (Barbican Theatre, London) for which he won an Olivier Award for Best Entertainment, and Ursula Martinez’s Free Admission (Soho Theatre) and A Family Outing (Barbican Theatre, London).
& JULIET LEADS THE FIELD WITH 6 WINS FROM 13 NOMINATIONS, HOWEVER IT IS PIPPED TO THE POST FOR BEST NEW MUSICAL BY COME FROM AWAY
THE OLD VIC TAKES 3 TOP ACTING AWARDS – BEST ACTOR IN A PLAY FOR ANDREW SCOTT, BEST ACTRESS IN A PLAY FOR CLAIRE FOY AND BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A PLAY FOR SOPHIE THOMPSON
DIRECTOR JAMIE LLOYD CONTINUES A SUCCESSFUL YEAR RECEIVING THE BEST DIRECTION AWARD FOR EVITA AND BEST PLAY REVIVAL FOR BETRAYAL
LIFE OF PI WINS BEST NEW PLAY – THE FIRST TIME THE AWARD HAS BEEN WON BY A VENUE OUTSIDE LONDON
SIX THE MUSICAL WINS THE BBC RADIO 2 AUDIENCE AWARD FOR BEST MUSICAL
ERA 50:50 RECEIVES THE EQUITY AWARD FOR SERVICES TO THEATRE
At a ceremony tonight at the Prince of Wales Theatre hosted by Jodie Prenger and Tom Read Wilson, the winners of the 20th Annual WhatsOnStage Awards were announced – the only major theatre awards decided entirely by the theatregoers themselves. For the first time this year the event was broadcast live on BBC Radio 2 hosted by Elaine Paige and Paddy O’Connell.
WhatsOnStage’s Chief Operating Officer Sita McIntosh said today, “In our 20th year, we’d like to say a particular thank you to the audiences who are the lifeblood of our Awards, voting in their tens of thousands. Their support and championing of shows is what keeps our industry alive. It’s galvanising to see that a play that has never been staged in London has picked up the Best New Play Award, showing how the WhatsOnStage Awards really are decided by audiences across the nation. For Lolita Chakrabarti to win for Life of Pi is equally exciting, in a category dominated by diverse and cutting-edge voices. Working alongside BBC Radio 2 this year has taken the Awards onto a whole new level, and to have new kids on the block SIX the Musical pick up the inaugural Audience Award for Best Musical shows just how much West End theatregoers can welcome bold and brilliant shows with open arms.”
The big winner of the night was & Juliet with 6 awards from its 13 nominations, receiving Best Actress in a Musical for Miriam-Teak Lee, as well as Best Set Design (Soutra Gilmour), Best Costume Design (Paloma Young), Best Lighting Design (Howard Hudson), Best Video Design (Andrzej Goulding) and Best Graphic Design (Dewynters).
However the coveted Best New Musical Award went to Come From Away, which received 5 awards in total – additionally, Best Supporting Actress in a Musical for Rachel Tucker, Best Choreography (Kelly Devine), Best Musical Direction (Ian Eisendrath, Alan Berry & Team), and Best Sound Design (Gareth Owen).
Dear Evan Hansen received two awards – both in acting categories, with Sam Tutty winning Best Actor in a Musical, and Jack Loxton winning Best Supporting Actor in a Musical; and Mary Poppins won Best Musical Revival.
The Old Vic triumphed in the play categories, with Andrew Scott continuing his winning streak this awards season by taking Best Actor in a Play for his critically acclaimed performance in Present Laughter; with his co-star Sophie Thompson winning Best Supporting Actress in a Play. Making it a triple for the theatre, Claire Foy received the Best Actress in a Play Award for Lungs.
Also fresh from his Evening Standard and Critics’ Circle wins, Jamie Lloyd received the Best Direction Award for Evita at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre; and Best Play Revival for his production of Betrayal, part of his ambitious Pinter season.
In a first for a non-London venue, Sheffield Theatres won Best New Play for Lolita Chakrabarti’s adaptation of Yann Martel Booker Prize-winning Life of Pi – the play transfers to the West End later this year. The Bridge Theatre received their first WhatsOnStage Award with Hammed Animashaun winning Best Supporting Actor in a Play for A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
The BBC Radio 2 Audience Award for Best Musical went to the smash-hit Six the Musical. Elaine Paige presented the award to the current West End company; with Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss receiving their award via a video from New York, where they are currently opening the show on Broadway.
Musicals also triumphed in the Off-West End Production and Best Regional Production categories – with Falsettos (The Other Palace) and The Color Purple (Curve Leicester and Birmingham Hippodrome co-production) winning respectively.
The Equity Award for Services to Theatre was presented to ERA 50:50 – Equal Representation for Actresses. Maureen Beattie, President of Equity, presented the award to Denis Gough.
The awards were presented by Aimie Atkinson, Amy Booth-Steel, Amy Hart, Max Harwood, Tyrone Huntley, John Kani, Oti Mabusi, Danny Mac, Daniel Monks, Vinegar Strokes, Liam Tamne, Giles Terera, Faye Tozer and Susan Wokoma.
Each of the 5 nominated productions for Best New Musical performed live at the event – Bit of a Sort from Only Fools and Horses, You Will Be Found from Dear Evan Hansen, It’s My Life from & Juliet, Welcome to the Rock from Come From Away, and She Used to be Mine from Waitress. There was also a performance of I’m Here by the cast of Curve Leicester and Birmingham Hippodrome’s production of The Color Purple, which won the Best Regional Production category, as well as two further numbers specially created for the evening. The event was co-produced by Paul Taylor-Mills.
For the full list of nominations and winners, please see below.
JACQUELINE WILSON’S HETTY FEATHER TO BE SCREENED IN CINEMAS ACROSS THE UK
★★★★★
“Spellbinding”
Daily Mail
The critically acclaimed West End production of Jacqueline Wilson’s Hetty Feather will be screened in cinemas across the UK from 15 April,directed by Sally Cookson and adapted for the stage by Emma Reeves.
Filmed live atNuffield Southampton Theatres, and produced by BroadwayHD, the premier streaming service for live theatre, the full cast includes Matt Costain (Jem/Matron Bottomly), Sarah Goddard (Peg/Ida), Mark Kane (Gideon), Isaac Stanmore (Saul), Phoebe Thomas (Hetty Feather) and Nikki Warwick (Madame Adeline). Having premièred at Rose Theatre in Kingston the production enjoyed a sell-out run at the Vaudeville Theatre in 2014, followed by a run at Duke of York’s Theatre and UK tour in 2015. In 2020, the tale of plucky Hetty Feather is brought thrillingly back to life, captured live on stage for audiences across the UK.
Jaqueline Wilson today said “I absolutely loved the stage production of Hetty Feather. I went to see it many times! It’s so fantastic that I can now see this film and enjoy it all over again. It’s a play for everyone, boys as well as girls, and adults too. I hope everyone loves it as much as me!”
Tony and Olivier Award-winning producers and co-founders of streaming service BroadwayHD Bonnie Comley and Stewart F. Lane said, “Through our streaming service and movie releases, we are working towards making the best of live theatre more accessible to everyone. Hetty Feather is one of those amazing, not-to-be-missed shows that we are happy will be seen by many people who did not get to see it on the stage the first time around.”
★★★★★
“A strong case for the power of invention and the magic of storytelling”
The Independent
ROLL UP and join Hetty on her escape from the Foundling Hospital.
TREMBLE as she faces Matron Stinking Bottomly.
THRILL as she discovers the squirrel house and Tanglefields Travelling Circus.
GASP as she endures a night locked in the attic.
QUAKE as she braves the scary streets of Victorian London and
CHEER as she overcomes all in the search to find her real mother and a true family of her own.
Jacqueline Wilson is one of Britain’s most popular authors, selling over 38 million books in the UK alone, with her most successful and enduring creation being the Tracy Beaker series. In 2002 she was awarded the OBE for services to literacy in schools and in 2008 she became Dame Jacqueline Wilson, and in the same year she became the Foundling Museum’s first Coram Foundling Fellow. From 2005 to 2007 she was the Children’s Laureate. Her upcoming novel Love Frankie will be released in Spring 2020.
Emma Reeves’ theatre credits include Wave Me Goodbye (Theatr Clwyd), The Worst Witch (Vaudeville Theatre/UK tour), Carrie’s War (Apollo Theatre), Little Women (Duchess Theatre), Cool Hand Luke (Aldwych Theatre), The Snow Child (UK tour). Television credits include Hetty Feather, The Worst Witch, Eve, The Dumping Ground, Young Dracula, The Story of Tracey Beaker, Belonging, The Murder of Princess Diana and Spirit Warriors.
Sally Cookson’s credits include Wonder Boy (Bristol Old Vic), A Monster Calls (The Old Vic/ UK tour), The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe (Bridge Theatre/West Yorkshire Playhouse), Peter Pan, Jane Eyre (National Theatre), La Strada (The Other Palace), Cinderella: The Fairy Story (Tobacco Factory/UK tour), Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, One Hundred and One Dalmatians (Tobacco Factory), Romeo + Juliet (Rose Theatre Kingston), Varmints (Sadler’s Wells) and We’re Going on a Bear Hunt (Bristol Old Vic/Lyric Theatre/UK tour).
Opera North has announced its forthcoming season with an exciting line up of operas, concerts, and updates of their redevelopment project which will become the Howard Opera Centre. The centre is scheduled to open in 2021.
There are three operas lined up for the autumn season. Firstly Verdi’s La Traviata and this is then followed by an exciting double bill, celebrating the works of Leonard Bernstein, with Trouble in Tahiti and, in collaboration with Phoenix Dance Theatre, West Side Story Symphonic Dances. Thirdly, Jack the Ripper is a new opera, composed by Iain Bell and lyrics written by Emma Jenkins, is jointly commissioned and produced with English National Opera. The story fully focuses on the women of Whitechapel at the time of the killer’s terror.
The winter (2021) opens with Bizet’s Carmen and where Garry Walker, the newly appointed musical director, will make his debut. Handel’s Alcina will follow with its environmentally and responsibly unique production. This opera, for the first time, will recycle, re-use and use second hand materials for its staging, props and costumes. This is in support to join and commit to the plight in responding to the climate emergency. This is finally followed with Puccini’s The Girl of The Golden West which centres on the gold rush.
In addition to the opera there is their orchestral concert season, their audience and accessibility programmes, community engagement work and other project which ensures everyone and everywhere can access.
As usual and always, Opera North has an exciting line up and it continues to creatively and innovatively entertain, educate and address a wide range of issues that matter to one and all.
Award winning Poet Christopher Reid wrote two exceptional pieces of work in 2009: A Scattering and The Song of Lunch. Although written and often performed separately, they naturally came together in this piece. When writing them, Reid never imagined they would come to the stage to be performed. However, it seems a fitting tribute to the catalyst of the piece, his late wife and actress, Lucinda Gane.
In the first half Robert Bathurst delivers an elegant and intense performance, bringing to life the rhythm of The Scattering, with the tilt and flow of each part. The emotional intelligence and honesty springs off the page on to the stage. Rebecca Johnson as Lucinda, creates atmosphere, infusing a strong femininity that complements Bathurst.
The Song of Lunch is a great contrast. Bathurst weaves together the dark humour of unrealistic and boyish romantic hopes into an alcohol induced torpor. No mean feat and brilliantly done. Johnson brings strength, poise, anger and indignation, wrapped up in a woman of substance that had a bone to pick! The book of poems he had written based on their relationship is a one-sided fabrication and he needs to know that! Johnson has an emotional effervescence that needs little dialogue.
The use of animation is inspired. Firstly, it reflects the literary origins of the piece. Then, it acts as a silent narrator. This relieves some of the burden of narration from Bathurst and entwines beautifully with the poetry. Director Jason Morell brings distinctly different performance elements together, to create the perfect homage to Reid’s art.
“I was both one and zero, creator and destroyer, disease and cure, God and monster.” Written by Ciaran McConville and Directed by Lucy Morrell comes the retold story of Frankenstein.
When an unknown person boards a vessel talking of a living thing with superhuman powers and speed an unknown creature, that is of a threatening nature and going to attack! Captain Ralf Wile (Francis Redfern) who plays a serious part and has general concern for his cargo and all that is aboard. Tries to keep everything safe and begins to listen to a story that is revealed by the Creator (Eleanor Clark). A very clever scientist who was approached by Mr Kremp (Frankie Oldham) who wants nothing more for her to make a brain from scratch a Living creature! He comes across as quite a powerful man, over talkative and condescending at times but persuades her to start this experiment. Alongside him Mr Kirwin (Louis Mertens) who plays a peculiar man who is a little creepy and has a strangeness to him.
The Creator (Eleanor Clark) begins the process, it soon becomes clear that she becomes over obsessed no food, no sleep and she begins talking to herself regarding her developments. Hysteria soon kicks in as well as excitement and the creature is born. Is her creation something with a heart, something with compassion or is she playing with God!!! And how will things be once the creature has escaped into this world?
The Creature ( Anna Pryce) who has powers unknown, can be manipulating and can take control of others bringing to light the unravelling of a frightening and alarming story that has many twists throughout creating a spectacular production.
The cast all done an exceptional job. You could see that they had a strong connection through the whole of the show. Some of the movements in this production was done exceptionally well offering more depth to the show.
The Set was very detailed and experimental with lots of wiring, different objects hanging such as pieces of sheets, poles and pipes with smoke rising from the depths with the colour green illuminating the masterpiece that was the machine. Also with a deep voice- over being played, making the set very effective and remarkable to look at. The lighting was exceptional throughout while really highlighting some of the more dramatic scenes and bringing it all together making it a fascinating production to watch.
A Monster Calls, originally a novel by Partick Ness which was also adapted for the big screen, is a play that is all about being vulnerable yet strong in the face of adversity, and how a teenager walks life when his whole world is crumbling down.
The main theme is how teenager Conor is coping and supporting his mom who is going through cancer treatment, while at the same time being bullied at school. Conor seems to be able to stay strong for his mom, however, does not seem to have a safe space to be himself, neither at school, nor at home especially after his grandma’s coming to help support her daughter. With a dad who has moved abroad and started his life over, who does not meet the expectations of a father figure, Conor’s unconscious calls to a yew tree monster to help him understand his feelings and the pain that he has been bottling up.
Ammar Duffus is spectacular at portraying Conor’s teenage struggle, his awkwardness, his pride, and his will to believe that despite being 13, he is strong enough to support his mom. He manages to unveil the reality of when cancer becomes another part of someone’s life, and how him trying to stay strong isolates him from everyone other than his mom. Maria Omakinwa’s performance as the disease ridden mom, who is trying to stay strong and stay positive for her son, is heart breaking showing how parents trying to shelter their kids from the truth often has the opposite results, and how sometimes in order to keep hopeful people often lie even to themselves.
Finally, Keith Gillmore does an excellent job at creating a convincing monster, despite the lack of make-up, prosthetics and being just a man on the stage. His interpretation of being in Conor’s sub conscious and his story telling is impeccable, while his persona succeeds at giving intensity and depth to the character, who grows from a monster to a paternal figure.
Overall, a monster calls is a heart wrenching, emotional, raw play, that unfolds and builds up to a strong and honest finale that confronts with realism the aftermaths of cancer. The set and the visuals are absolutely stunning and accentuate the effect of each scene, while the live electronic
