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
Following the successes of a critically acclaimed American sitcom Friendsical brings a new lease of life with a parodic twist. The musical follows the original characters in a cleverly reworked story, of which we have all grown to know and love, with a perfectly musical twist.
Friendsical cleverly brings a fast pace twist to a storyline that many will already recognise, using interchangeable set pieces to recreate the iconic back drops in the cult classic. You get to know the cast of Friendsical in the much loved coffee shop, Central Perk, then are magically transported into Monica’s iconic flat, not to forget that there is the iconic picture frame on the door. This clever use of set and stage work is an unforgettable element to the show and really takes you yo all the truly iconic set locations from the tv show.
Cast and crew of the musical are immediately recognise-able, with Chandler Bing, Thomas Mitchells, being the spitting image of his on screen counterpart. The energy that Mitchells brought to the stage was quintessentially Bing and really brought home comforts from the original sitcom. Another stand-out member of the cast was Ally Retberg who brought both Phoebe and Janice to life with such a chaotic energy. Retberg felt like the perfect actor for the job at hand as she captures the quirkiness and embodies phoebe wonderfully – not to mention is the perfect Doppelgänger of Janice, whom absolutely nails the laugh.
Musical hit “Geology Rocks” was a personal favourite as this hit had the perfect balance of quirky comedy and on stage drama. The hit sees Ross Geller, Ewan Gillies, demonstrate his fantastic vocal skills with the very theatrical addition of two dinosaurs, the two dinosaurs brought a very comical twist and were just the light hearted joke the scene needed, prompting the audience (as the show is filmed in front of a live audience) to join in and give a very big laugh.
Overall Friendsical gave the perfect will-they-won’t-they reworking the original show, with comedy content and some of the musical hits from Phoebe, being just as good as the original show. Although she does have some strong competition from the rest of the cast in this adaption. Friendsical makes it very clear that they were never ‘ON A BREAK’!!
Lazarus Theatre open their 2020 season with a fiercely modern Macbeth that is instantly recognisable as a Lazarus production.
Director Ricky Dukes has made some very effective cuts and changes – no “comedy” porter, and the interminable messengers describing battles are absent making the progress from Macduff learning of the murder of his family to his showdown with Macbeth much more tense and immediate. Duncan is no longer the old worthy, but a young wide-eyed, almost child-like, king who we see crowned at the beginning of the play. Malcolm and Donalbain are his younger brothers. For me, this makes the Macbeths’ betrayal slightly less heinous, but an older character would seem out of place in this high energy production. The cast are in modern dress, smartly suited and booted – until the blood is spilt and the Macbeths’ men get filthier as their lord and lady get more violent and unhinged.
The Weird Sisters (David Clayton, Cameron Nelson and Hamish Somers) are exactly that – just weird and a little sad rather than supernatural. Wearing stained aprons and gloves and brandishing microphones, they speak their prophecies to Macbeth and Banquo with an almost detached manner, and after donning bizarre masks their muffled incantations around their cauldron have the intonation of voiceover artists speeding quickly through dodgy terms and conditions in adverts. I loved this humanising and weakening of their powers as it highlights the question of just how much of a push Jamie O’Neill’s Macbeth actually needed to make a murderous grab for the throne, and who is creating the apparitions that haunt him. O’Neill is full of simmering fury as Macbeth, and his naturalistic delivery creates a much more nuanced character than the norm. Alice Emery is a magnificent Lady Macbeth, full of frustrated ambition in a male dominated world, and the force of personality she exerts on Macbeth is palpable. In contrast, her sleepwalking scene is extremely understated, enhancing the shock of her vulnerability.
Ricky Dukes keeps the most successful elements from previous productions – gold confetti showers down on three very different kings as they are crowned, rather than battles, paper is strewn and chairs turned over s the cast scream and race around the theatre, haze and torchlight enhancing the jeopardy, and some inspired lighting design, and it all works together wonderfully. The impressive cast are all utterly convincing switching between roles and have a fantastic and exciting energy together onstage.
A fantastic start to the new season – this is a thrilling and powerful Macbeth full of invention and innovation.
Angel Theatre Company return to the Jack Studio Theatre with another trio of short Beckett plays. Directed by John Patterson, this is a fascinating and thought provoking hour full of powerful performances.
In Not I, Samantha Kamras takes on the role of Mouth, with just her spot lit mouth visible through a hole in a black panel. Stuttering and starting through a voiceless woman’s recollections of traumas, babbling repetitions and long pauses before forcing out the words, Kamras uses much more variety and musicality in her tone than other performances I have seen, creating more immediacy in a highly technical and mesmerising performance.
The second piece, Catastrophe, feels like the light relief in the programme, although it has a lot to say about agency and the whims of the powerful, as the director (Stephen Donald) gives not picking notes to his white coated assistant (Joanna Clarke) as she poses Louis Fox until the visuals finally meet with his approval. The tiny adjustments and the assistants reactions to the archetypal powerful director create laughter, but the final moment from Louis Fox brings the audience back down with a punch to the guts.
Throughout all this, Anna Bonnett sits motionless on stage under a washcloth until she is uncovered for Rockaby. I once heard someone say that Rockaby was Miss Havisham on downers playing a human metronome, and can’t fault that description. Instead of mourning her nuptials, this old woman seems to be searching for memories of her mother and signs and reassurances of life among the windows she sees from her own as her empty existence is measured out by each rock of her chair. Bennett sits motionless as she rocks, voicing few words as she asks for more from the voice that accompanies her rocking, but slowly and almost imperceptibly portraying the demise of the woman in a masterful performance. The voice-over is repetitive and cheeriness, intoned in a rhythm which works with the action onstage to create an unsettling yet soporific atmosphere that is uncomfortable to watch but well worth the effort.
This production will delight lovers of Samuel Beckett and also be an entertaining introduction to his work.
