Kings Head Theatre – 21st April 2019

Reviewed by Prachya van de Gevel

4****

Brawn is a one man play about a young man Christopher Wollaton, writer and actor of the play that delves into the dark world, of body Dis-morphia. Where I think it really did well was the acting and the set was simple, a chair and a pair of dumbbells and that was all that was needed to draw you in.

The acting, by and large, was superb with so many lines, there was a few times lines were misspoke and repeated, but I am just being picky and in reality it added to the tension of and the neurosis of the character. Now I do no know if the play was based on real life experience, but I did find it hard to believe that Christopher had been bullied in school, and that someones whole career and fall in grades would have resulted from jealousy of another guy dating a girl he felt he had a connection with. Now maybe I am being cynical by that, and it’s not something that I feel empathetic towards. Where he did create moments of lucidness was in his love of science and quantum theory and these were things that really drew me in, the stage lighting really did a great job of setting the scene and drawing you in.

There is a lot to be said about the perspective of self perception in today’s youth of appearance based on easy access to Social Media and Hollywood Stars, that can really perceive the reality of maintaining the perfect technique, and his youth and generation really shows in his style of speech he uses many profanities and colloquialisms. The character is not part of the LGBTQ community but yet showcases at a predominately LGBTQ venue is interesting to watch as many including myself made an assumption the character was gay, and that would have added a whole new dimension to the story as that is something that really hits the community.

Christopher is rightly the star of the show, but I think we could have delved deeper into the character’s motivations and gave him some redeeming qualities, but then with those in place maybe you would loose how messed up your mind can be when you can only see imperfections in your perfect body.

The Plaza, Stockport – until 22 April 2019

Reviewed by Carla Whittaker

4****

Regal Entertainments brings this year’s Easter pantomime of Beauty and the Beast to the Stockport Plaza, staring Kiera-Nicole Brennan from Channel 5’s Milkshake as Belle. I was really excited about this as Beauty and the Beast is my favourite, and so I was happy to be starting our Easter weekend with this magical fairy tale which was certainly delivered at Stockport’s Plaza!

The curtains lift and the show is opened with sparkle and glamour by the wonderful Sarah Walker as Fairy Rose. The story follows Belle in the French village of Petit Pois. Belle is pursued by the egotistic Garston played by the hilarious Philip McGuinness who storms around the stages determined to win the hand of Belle, with the audience eliciting boo’s throughout. However, Belle had her sights on the handsome Prince (James Lacey) which Madam Botox (Hannah Potts) takes it upon herself to sabotage this by giving the unknowing Prince a poison which turns him into a hideous beast with the intention that Belle will not fall for the beastly creature. Will Belle be able to see passed the unsightly exterior of the Prince or, will Belle live an intolerable life with Gaston and his wicked mother? With the help of the long standing duo Simon Foster as Potty Polly, Lewis Devine as French Frank and Fairy Rose the Prince is resurrected and Belle gets her dream of falling in love with the Prince, with the traditional ending of all panto’s of a glitzy wedding.

The acts of Potty Polly . . . . yooo’hooo are French Frank were hilarious and definitely stole the show for me. There were buckets of classic and modern comedy which created a lighthearted ambience and atmosphere that only a panto can conjure. My son was particularly fond of the scene when French Frank is turned into a frog, and a member of the audience has to help him back onto the wall multiple times – it was hilarious! The atmosphere was uplifting, and my son was laughing out loud throughout the whole performance.  The content was perfect for both adults and children, with plenty of audience participation making it the perfect must see performance.

Panto is definitely something which everyone should experience, which I really enjoy as does my son. Beauty and the Beast is running until Monday 22^nd April and I highly recommend if you have not got tickets that you go and get them for some traditional Easter entertainment!

AARON SIDWELL & LAUREN SAMUELS

LEAD THE CAST IN THE BARN THEATRE’S PRODUCTION OF

HENRY V

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE’S CLASSIC HISTORY

DIRECTED BY HAL CHAMBERS

RUNNING FROM 22 MAY – 22 JUNE

From musical theatre to Shakespeare, Aaron Sidwell (Wicked, American Idiot, Loserville, Ghost,EastEnders) and Lauren Samuels (Bend It Like Beckham, Romantics Anonymous, We Will Rock You,Grease, Water Babies, Over The Rainbow) will star as Henry and Katherine respectively, in The Barn Theatre’s (Best Fringe Theatre  – The Stage Awards 2019) upcoming production of the Bard’s timeless historical classic, Henry V.

The production runs at The Barn from 22 May – 22 June, with press night on Friday 24 May 2019.Henry V will be directed by Hal Chambers, with designs by Emily Leonard, fight direction by Christos Dante, movement direction by Kate Webster, composition by Harry Smith, projection designs byBenjamin Collins, sound design by Chris Cleal and lighting by Sam Rowcliffe Tanner.

Set in modern surroundings, this enduring classic of Shakespeare’s tale of war, its victors and victims, is cleverly brought up to date and explores the conflict between tradition and modernity in Britain through the lens of a nation at war.

The production will feature an atmospheric neon scenography to place the audience in the current moment, whilst maintaining the beauty of the text. This will be set alongside a beautiful original score to transform Shakespeare’s work into a modern, mesmerizing spectacle of tension and excitement.

The play hopes to cleverly preserve Shakespeare’s questioning of the symbolism of monarchy whilst investigating current British Nationalism and explores what it means to be a great leader.

The full cast comprises of: Matt Ray Brown (Exeter/Orleans), Alicia Charles (Bardolph/Williams), Elin Philips (Fluellen), Lauren Samuels (Katherine/Boy), Aaron Sidwell (Henry), Adam Sopp(Pistol/Constable), Sarah Waddell (Queen of France) and Jonathan Woolf (Nym/Dauphin).

Henry V follows The Butterfly Lion, which is currently running at The Barn until 4 May. The 2019 season then continues with a brand new production of the comic thriller, The 39 Steps (10 July – 10 August 2019), the award-winning musical Daddy Long Legs (2 October – 2 November 2019), and a reimagining of Charles Dickens’ festive masterpiece, A Christmas Carol (27 November 2019 – 4 January 2020). 

NEW PRODUCTIONS AND FURTHER CASTING ANNOUNCED FOR THEATRE ROYAL BATH’S SUMMER SEASON 2019
 

• JONATHAN CHURCH, ARTISTIC DIRECTOR OF THEATRE ROYAL BATH’S SUMMER SEASON, TODAY ANNOUNCES FURTHER PRODUCTIONS AND NEW CASTING FOR THE 2019 PROGRAMME
   
• KATHERINE PARKINSON, CLÉMENCE POÉSY, ANN MITCHELL, JOHN LIGHT, JOHN STANDING AND MARTY CRUICKSHANK TO JOIN RUPERT EVERETT IN THE CAST OF UNCLE VANYA WHICH HE ALSO DIRECTS
   
• JANIE DEE, MICHELLE ASANTE, AYSHA KALA AND LEWIS REEVES TO STAR IN THE TONY AWARD WINNING COMEDY VANYA AND SONIA AND MASHA AND SPIKE
   
• EMMA NAOMI, GEOFFREY STREATFEILD, SIMON COATES, LUCY ROBINSON AND ROSE WARDLAW TO JOIN THE PREVIOUSLY ANNOUNCED JENNIFER SAUNDERS AND LISA DILLON IN BLITHE SPIRIT
   
• VANESSA REDGRAVE WILL STAR IN VIENNA 1934 – MUNICH 1938 WHICH SHE WROTE AND DIRECTED, JOINED ON STAGE BY ROBERT BOULTER AND PAUL HILTON 
   
• DAVID EDGAR IN HIS PROFESSIONAL ON-STAGE DEBUT IN TRYING IT ON,DIRECTED BY CHRISTOPHER HAYDON
   
• THE MAN IN THE WHITE SUIT STARRING STEPHEN MANGAN AND KARA TOINTON TO PREVIEW IN BATH PRIOR TO THE WEST END 
   
• JAMES KETTLE’S THE LIFE I LEAD STARRING MILES JUPP TO PLAY IN THE MAIN HOUSE FOLLOWING A LONDON RUN
   
• TICKETS NOW ON SALE AT WWW.THEATREROYAL.ORG.UK 

Theatre Royal Bath today announces four additional productions – Vienna 1934-Munich 1938, The Life I Lead, Trying It On and The Man in the White Suit, to complete its Summer Season 2019 programme and further casting with Katherine Parkinson, Janie Dee as well as Vanessa Redgrave, Miles Jupp and David Edgar among the stars set to take to the stage in both treasured classics and acclaimed new works. 

The Summer Season runs from June through to September and will open with the UK premiere ofVanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike in the Ustinov Studio, starring Janie Dee (Follies),Michelle Asante (Our Lady of Kibeho), Aysha Kala (Obsession) and Lewis Reeves (My Night with Reg).

The production will be followed by Blithe Spirit, directed by Richard Eyre and starring Jennifer Saunders and Lisa Dillon as previously announced, with Emma Naomi (Pinter at the Pinter), Geoffrey Streatfeild (Spooks), Simon Coates (Richard III), Lucy Robinson (Cold Feet) andRose Wardlaw (Outlying Islands) completing the cast.

Further casting is also revealed for Uncle Vanya in which Rupert Everett makes his directorial debut and stars in the title role. He will be joined by Katherine Parkinson (Home, I’m Darling),Clémence Poésy (In Bruges, Harry Potter), Ann Mitchell (Widows, EastEnders), John Light(Mary Stuart), John Standing (The First Churchills) and Marty Cruickshank (Call the Midwife).

New plays added to Theatre Royal Bath’s Summer Season line-up will see Vanessa Redgrave’sVienna 1934 – Munich 1938, A Family Album in which she also stars alongside Robert Boulter and Paul Hilton, followed by Trying It On written by acclaimed dramatist David Edgarand which will mark his professional debut as a performer, directed by Christopher Haydon, both in the Ustinov Studio. Main House productions include The Life I Lead starring Miles Jupp and directed by Didi Hopkins and Selina Cadell, and The Man in the White Suit adapted by Sean Foley and starring Stephen Mangan and Kara Tointon immediately prior to a West End transfer.

As previously announced, the summer programme will also include William Boyd’s The Argument (7-24 August) starring Felicity Kendal, with further casting to be announced in due course.

Tickets for all productions are now on sale at www.theatreroyal.org.uk.


VANYA AND SONIA AND MASHA AND SPIKE
Thursday 6 June – Saturday 6 July
Press Night: Wednesday 12 June

Tony Award-winning Walter Bobbie directs Christopher Durang’s comedy Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike in the Ustinov Studio to open the Theatre Royal Bath’s Summer Season 2019 starring Janie Dee, Michelle Asante, Aysha Kala and Lewis Reeves. 

The original production premiered at the McCarter Theatre and Lincoln Center Theater in 2012 and after a successful run it transferred to Broadway where it received six Tony Award nominations and won the 2013 Tony Award for Best Play. 

Vanya and his sister Sonia live a quiet life in the Pennsylvania farmhouse where they grew up. But their sister Masha escaped many years ago and became a famous movie star. When Masha returns unannounced with her twenty-something boy toy, Spike, so begins a rollicking weekend of rivalry, regret and all-too true premonitions. 

Michelle Asante most recently performed on stage in Our Lady of Kibeho (Royal and Derngate) and previously in Things of Dry Hours (Young Vic), Welcome Home Captain Fox (Donmar), Ruined(Almeida) and Torn (Arcola). Michelle’s TV credits include Dr Who, Holby City, Casualty, Our Girl 2and Father Brown.

Janie Dee recently completed a critically acclaimed run in the title role of Linda (Manhattan Theatre Club), for which she was nominated for an Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play, and Follies (National Theatre), for which she was nominated for the Evening Standard Award for Best Musical Performance and the WhatsOnStage Award for Best Actress in a Musical. Janie has also appeared in Channel 4’s Chimerica and Crashing as well as the BBC’s The Murder Room andMidsomer Murders.

Aysha Kala was named BAFTA breakthrough Brit of 2015. She has performed on stage in An Adventure (Bush Theatre), Obsession (Barbican), Punkplay (Southwark Playhouse), Djinns of Eidgah(Royal Court) and Much Ado About Nothing (RSC). Television appearances include Channel 4’sIndian Summers and Shameless.

Lewis Reeves’ theatre credits include My Night with Reg (West End), Our Boys (Duchess Theatre) and The Wider Earth (The Dead Puppet Society). Television credits also include DC Jake Collier inUnforgotten, Crazyhead, and Misfits.

Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike is produced by special arrangement with Joey Parnes, Larry Hirschorn, Sue Wagner and John Johnson. 


BLITHE SPIRIT
Friday 14 June – Saturday 6 July
Press night: Wednesday 19 June

Jennifer Saunders, one of the UK’s most popular comic actors, makes her Theatre Royal Bath debut as the preposterous clairvoyant Madame Arcati in Noël Coward’s classic comedy Blithe Spirit. She is joined by Lisa Dillon as Ruth Condomine with Emma Naomi, Geoffrey Streatfeild, Simon Coates, Lucy Robinson and Rose Wardlaw completing the cast.

The production brings together a multi-award-winning creative team, directed by former National Theatre director Richard Eyre with design by Anthony Ward and lighting by Howard Harrison. 

Written in 1941, Coward’s inventive comedy proved light relief at the height of World War II when it was first staged. The show had a record-breaking run in the West End and on Broadway and remains one of the playwright’s most popular works.

Novelist Charles Condomine and his second wife Ruth are literally haunted by a past relationship when an eccentric medium inadvertently conjures up the ghost of his first wife, Elvira, at a séance. When she appears, visible only to Charles, and determined to sabotage his current marriage, life – and the afterlife – get complicated.

Simon Coates’s stage credits include Richard III (Almeida), 1984 (West End), The Cherry Orchard(Royal Exchange, Bristol Old Vic), King John (Shakespeare’s Globe). He has also toured the UK withRegeneration, The Misanthrope, Romeo & Juliet and The Hypochondriac.

Emma Naomi starred recently in Pinter at the Pinter (Jamie Lloyd Productions/ATG), Bread and Roses (Oldham Coliseum), The Cherry Orchard (Bristol Old Vic, Manchester Royal Exchange), Dead Don’t Floss (National Theatre), Don Juan in Soho (Wyndham’s Theatre) and, for television, Channel 4’s Chimerica. 

Lucy Robinson’s stage credits include Waste, The Hard Problem (National Theatre), Handbagged(Vaudeville), Sweet Bird of Youth (Old Vic), In the Next Room (Theatre Royal Bath). Her many TV credits include Cold Feet, Coronation Street, Call the Midwife, Doc Martin, Doctor and Pride and Prejudice.

Geoffrey Streatfeild has appeared on TV in Spooks, The Hollow Crown, The Thick of It and The Other Boleyn Girl, and on film in Making Noise Quietly, The Lady in the Van, Kinky Boots and A Royal Night Out. Stage credits include the Histories Cycle (RSC), Cell Mates (Hampstead), The Beaux Stratagem (National Theatre) and My Night with Reg (Donmar). 

Rose Wardlaw recently performed in Outlying Islands at the King’s Head. She has previously appeared in Eyam, The Winter’s Tale (Shakespeare’s Globe), Jubilee (Lyric Hammersmith) and Great Expectations (West Yorkshire Playhouse) and, for television, Call the Midwife and Doctors.

Blithe Spirit is presented by arrangement with Lee Dean.


VIENNA 1934 – MUNICH 1938, A FAMILY ALBUM
Thursday 11 July – Saturday 3 August

Theatre Royal Bath presents a Rose Theatre Kingston Production, Vienna 1934 – Munich 1938, A Family Album, written, directed by and starring Vanessa Redgrave in the Ustinov Studio. She will be joined on stage by Robert Boulter and Paul Hilton.

In the late 1930s, the illustrious actor Michael Redgrave became close friends with the celebrated poet Stephen Spender. Through their families’ notebooks, journals and memoirs, and Stephen’s poems, Vanessa Redgrave discovers the love affairs they remembered, and the hopes and fears of a generation that confronted the rise of fascism in Europe. Among these was the German writer Thomas Mann. As Stephen’s love and respect for a young American woman studying psychology in Vienna grew deeper, he and his secretary Tony Hyndman tried to assist her in obtaining false visas and passports for socialist Jews and their families to escape from fascist Austria.

Written and directed by Vanessa Redgrave, daughter of Michael Redgrave, the play highlights the affectionate and intimate thoughts of individuals during these years of political and social disaster.

Vanessa Redgrave is regarded as one of the greatest actors of her generation. She has won a plethora of awards including an Olivier Award for The Aspern Papers and a Tony Award for Long Day’s Journey into Night. She also received Tony nominations for The Year of Magical Thinking andDriving Miss Daisy. She is a is a six-time Oscar nominee, winning for Julia. Her narration of Call the Midwife has brought her voice to millions. She recently appeared in The Inheritance in the West End for which she was nominated for a 2019 Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role.

Robert Boulter most recently appeared in the multi-Olivier Award winning The Inheritance (Young Vic, Noël Coward) and previously in Revolt. She Said. Revolt Again (RSC), The Odyssey, Karamazoo(National Theatre) and How to Curse (Bush). Screen credits include Star Wars Episode IX, Star Wars Episode VII and TV series’ Evidence and Father Brown.

Paul Hilton has also recently performed in the four-times Olivier Award winning The Inheritance(Young Vic, Noël Coward) with other stage credits including Anatomy of a Suicide (Royal Court),Mosquitoes (National Theatre), The Cherry Orchard (Young Vic), A Mad World My Masters(Shakespeare’s Globe) and All New People (Duke of York’s). Television credits include The Crown, A Very English Scandal and Silent Witness.


UNCLE VANYA
Thursday 18 July – Saturday 3 August
Press Night: Wednesday 24 July

Rupert Everett returns to Theatre Royal Bath where he last appeared in The Judas Kiss in 2012 and which went on to transfer to the West End, and following recent critical acclaim as Oscar Wilde in The Happy Prince which he also wrote and directed. Everett will direct his first stage play and lead the cast in Anton Chekhov’s theatrical masterpiece Uncle Vanya, a playful story of unrequited love, loss and misplaced dreams, in a new version by the playwright and screenwriter David Hare. Further cast includes Katherine Parkinson, Clémence Poésy, Ann Mitchell, John Light, John Standingand Marty Cruickshank, with additional casting to be announced. 

It’s late summer, at the close of the nineteenth century. In the heart of the Russian countryside, Vanya and his niece Sonya have worked for years to manage the ramshackle estate on behalf of his brother-in-law, a retired professor. When the professor arrives with his stunningly beautiful young wife and announces his plan to sell the estate, all their lives are thrown into turmoil.

Marty Cruickshank’s television appearances include Catastrophe, Call the Midwife, Line of Dutyand Lewis. On stage she has performed in Richard II (RSC), London Wall (Finborough), Pygmalion(Garrick), The Tinkers Wedding (Southwark Playhouse) and Charley’s Aunt (Theatre Royal Bath and National Tour).

John Light was nominated for an Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his role inTaken at Midnight at Theatre Royal Haymarket. Theatre credits also include Mary Stuart (Almeida),The Winter’s Tale (Shakespeare’s Globe), The Blackest Black (Hampstead Theatre) and Luise Miller(Donmar). TV credits include Silk and Endeavour.

Ann Mitchell recently appeared in the film Farming, as well as Widows, Dragonfly and The Deep Blue Sea. Her many TV credits include Call the Midwife, Hetty Feather, EastEnders, Casualty, Gimme Gimme Gimme and Summer in the Suburbs. Previous stage credits include A View from Islington North (Arts Theatre), The Stock Da’wa (Hampstead Theatre), Innocence (Arcola) and a national tour of Angels in America.

Katherine Parkinson is a BAFTA-winning actress well known for starring in Channel 4’s The IT Crowd and the Olivier Award winning comedy Home, I’m Darling (National Theatre). Stage credits also include Dead Funny (Vaudeville Theatre), Before The Party (Almeida), Absent Friends (Harold Pinter Theatre), 66 Books (Bush Theatre), School For Scandal (Barbican Theatre), Season’s Greetings(National Theatre), Cock, The Seagull (Royal Court).

Clémence Poésy’s film credits include Fleur Delacour in the Harry Potter films, 127 Hours, In Bruges, Tito Il Piccolo, Final Portrait, The Ones Below and Mr Morgan’s Last Love. For TV, Clémence has also appeared in Gossip Girl, War and Peace, Birdsong and The Tunnel.

John Standing has performed extensively across theatre, television and film. TV credits include The First Churchills, Game of Thrones, NYPD Blue, In Deep and Murder She Wrote and V for Vendettafor film. Stage credits include Shadowlands (Wyndham’s), A Delicate Balance (Haymarket), Son of Man (RSC) and Plunder (National Theatre). 


THE LIFE I LEAD
Thursday 18 July – Saturday 3 August

The Life I Lead sees leading stand-up comedian Miles Jupp (Rev, The Thick of It, The News Quiz) bring to life the remarkable story of David Tomlinson, the actor best remembered for his performance as Mr Banks in the classic Disney film Mary Poppins. Didi Hopkins and Selina Cadell direct this richly comic and moving tale of fathers and sons across different generations.

David Tomlinson was renowned for playing the classic English gent, forthright, proper, and a loveable fool. His meeting with Walt Disney came to encapsulate his incredible life full of adventure and heartbreak. The man who portrayed one of cinema’s most famous patriarchs was defined by his relationship with his own father – a remote eccentric, who was hiding an extraordinary tragicomic secret.

Miles Jupp’s stage credits include Rules for Living and People (National Theatre) and Neville’s Island (Chichester Festival Theatre). He frequently performs stand-up comedy, including UK tours ofMiles Jupp is the Chap You’re Thinking of, Miles Jupp: Songs of Freedom, Miles Jupp: Fibber in the Heat. For television, Miles has been seen in Howards End, Outumbered and Watership Down.

Didi Hopkins has worked across film, theatre, television and radio. She is a senior member of the National Theatre’s Theatre Works team. She was consultant to Richard Bean on the award-winningOne Man Two Guvnors which ran in the West End and on Broadway. 

Selina Cadell directed the RSC in their first performance of Love for Love by William Congreve. She has performed extensively on stage including The Cherry Orchard (Old Vic, BAM New York), Twelfth Night (Donmar), A Monster Calls (Old Vic), The Dresser (Duke of York’s) and People (National Theatre). TV include Queens of Mystery and Doc Martin.


TRYING IT ON
Tuesday 3 September – Saturday 7 September

After 50 years of writing, Trying It On marks playwright and contemporary political commentatorDavid Edgar’s professional debut as a performer in this fascinating deliberation on how, why and whether our opinions change in the course of time. The production is directed by Christopher Haydon.

It’s 1968. David Edgar is 20 and in his second year at university. It is the height of the world-wide student revolt. The Vietnam war rages, Enoch Powell delivers his “rivers of blood” speech, Martin Luther King is assassinated. These events will define David’s politics and give focus to his writing. It’s 50 years on. The 70-year-old is confronted by the 20-year-old. Do they share the same beliefs? If not, is it the world that’s changed, or him? Why did his generation vote Brexit? Has he sold in or sold out?

David Edgar has been writing critically acclaimed plays since 1971. His name is synonymous with the Royal Shakespeare Company where he is the venue’s most performed living playwright and for whom his numerous plays include Destiny, winner of the John Whiting Award; The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, winner of a Tony Award and the Society of West End Theatres Best Play award; Maydays, winner of the Plays and Players Award for Best Play and Pentecost, winner of the Evening Standard Award for Best Play of the Year.

Christopher Haydon is the former Artistic Director of the Gate Theatre. His recent directing credits include the world premiere of The Remains of the Day, On The Exhale which won a Fringe First andGrounded, winner of the Off West End Best Production award.


THE MAN IN THE WHITE SUIT
Friday 6 September – Saturday 21 September

Stephen Mangan and Kara Tointon will star in the world premiere of the classic Ealing comedyThe Man in the White Suit which previews in Bath prior to a West End transfer, presented by Jenny King, Jonathan Church, Matthew Gale and Mark Goucher. It is adapted for the stage by Sean Foley, based on the play “The Flower Within the Bud” by Roger MacDougall and the screenplay by Roger MacDougall, John Dighton and Alexander Mackendrick, by special arrangement with STUDIO CANAL.

When Sidney Stratton invents a fabric that never gets dirty and never wears out, manufacturers and trades unions are terrified by the threat it poses to their industry and their jobs. Only Daphne the mill owner’s daughter, shows Sidney any support as his world gradually falls apart before he finds love. This fast-moving comedy reunites Stephen Mangan and Sean Foley who also created the Olivier award-winning production Jeeves and Wooster.

Stephen Mangan’s many stage appearances include The Birthday Party, Jeeves and Wooster andThe Norman Conquests, for which he received a Tony nomination. His many screen credits include the lead as Sean in Episodes for the BBC, and for the Bafta winning Green Wing.

Kara Tointon is best known for playing Dawn Swann in EastEnders, as the 2010 winner of Strictly Come Dancing and as Maria in ITV’s The Sound of Music Live. Her West End credits includePygmalion, Absent Friends and Relatively Speaking and she played Olivia in Twelfth Night for the RSC.

Sean Foley’s many productions include most recently in the West End, The Dresser, The Miser andThe Painkiller. He is a double Olivier Award winner and has recently been appointed as the next Artistic Director at Birmingham Rep. For The Man in the White Suit, he joins forces with designer Michael Taylor, with whom he also created The Ladykillers.

Showtime Challenge 48-Hour Musicals is BACK with a production of Singin’ in the Rain at the Adelphi Theatre on Sunday 13 October in aid of The Lewy Body Society.

Rehearsals for Singin’ in the Rain will begin in the evening of Friday 11 October, then after 48 intense, exhausting hours, the curtain will rise at the Adelphi Theatre at 7pm on Sunday 13 October and – ready or not – the show WILL go on!

Audition booking is now open to recruit a sensational cast made up of West End professionals and super-talented amateurs, with a 30-piece orchestra, production team and a celebrity host. Everyone involved with the fully-staged, costumed and choreographed show gives up their time for free in support of the chosen charity.

Auditions will take place on Saturday 1 and Sunday 2 June.
BOOK AN AUDITION SLOT

Tickets are on sale now, available from the Adelphi Theatre. \
BUY TICKETS

WEST SIDE STORY – BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND IN 2020

The Royal Exchange Theatre is thrilled to announce that their current smash-hit WEST SIDE STORY will return to the stage in 2020 due to unprecedented popular demand. Recognised as one of the world’s most iconic musicals, tickets for Sarah Frankcom’s reimagining of this Broadway classic, with new choreography by Aletta Collins, have been in high demand from the moment the production was originally announced and were close to selling out before the previews had even begun. Opening last week to critical acclaim and loved by Manchester audiences  the Exchange is delighted to confirm that this celebrated production will be back next year running from Saturday 18 April – Saturday 23 May 2020.

Royal Exchange Artistic Director Sarah Frankcom said…

West Side Story was such a radical piece of work when it was first staged and I’m delighted that our new production has caught the imagination of today’s audiences, and that the electricity of it all – the story, the music, the dance – is still so urgent in 2019. The demand for tickets has been incredible so to be able to bring the show back next year and give people another opportunity to see Leonard Bernstein’s masterpiece is fantastic. Our unique in-the-round theatre brings viewers right into the action and to be able to do that all over again with a new audience is really exciting.

Casting for the 2020 production is yet to be confirmed and will be announced in the autumn along with further details of the production and the Spring/Summer season in full. Tickets are on sale to members from today and the public from Tuesday 30 April 2019, it is a stand-alone production and will not form part of the Royal Exchange Spring/Summer 2020 season ticket package. 

LISTINGS

WEST SIDE STORY – Listings Information 
A Royal Exchange Theatre production  
WEST SIDE STORY 
Based on a conception of Jerome Robbins 
Book by Arthur Laurents 
Music by Leonard Bernstein 
Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim 
Directed by Sarah Frankcom 

Saturday 18 April – Saturday 23 May 2020 
Press Night: Wednesday 22 April 7.30pm – The Theatre  

Box Office: 0161 833 9833

Online: www.royalexchange.co.uk/whats-on-and-tickets/spring-2020-west-side-story 

ANDY MIENTUS, DECLAN BENNETT,

VICTORIA HAMILTON-BARRITT,

CEDRIC NEAL AND JOHN PARTRIDGE

TO STAR IN NEW MUSICAL

THE VIEW UPSTAIRS

AT SOHO THEATRE

FROM 18 JULY TO 24 AUGUST

Andy Mientus, Declan Bennett, Victoria Hamilton-Barritt, Cedric Neal and John Partridge will star as Patrick, Dale, Inez, Willie and Buddy respectively in the European premiere of new LGBTQ+ musical THE VIEW UPSTAIRS, which runs from 18 July to 24 August at Soho Theatre, with a press night on Tuesday 23 July.

Broadway and television actor and novelist, Andy Mientus will be making his UK theatre debut in THE VIEW UPSTAIRS. He has starred in numerous musicals including the roles of Marius in Les Misérables, and Hanschen in Deaf West Theater’s revival of Spring Awakening, which he also co-conceived with director Michael Arden. He played regular character Kyle Bishop on the TV show Smash opposite Debra Messing, Jack Davenport and Katharine McPhee. Andy can currently be seen in the new NBC/Universal/WGN America series Gone starring Chris Noth, as well as the upcoming anthology series Dolly Parton’s Heartstrings on Netflix.

John Partridge is well known for his extensive TV work, including the long-running and much-loved role of Christian Clarke in EastEnders (BBC), winning Celebrity MasterChef (BBC), participating in BBC1’s gymnastics show Tumble and being a judge on Over the Rainbow (BBC). John began his career at the age of 16 in the original UK tour of Cats and subsequently went on to star as Rum Tum Tugger in both the West End production and the film opposite Elaine Paige and John Mills. John’s other theatre credits include Zach in A Chorus Line (London Palladium), Robert Martin in The Drowsy Chaperone (Novello Theatre), The Fix (Donmar Warehouse) directed by Sam Mendes, Billy Flynn in Chicago (national tour), in Miss Saigon (national tour) and most recently Turai in Tom Stoppard’s Rough Crossing (national tour).

Actor and recording artist, Declan Bennett, is best known for playing the regular role of Charlie Cotton in EastEnders from 2014 to 2017. He was in boyband Point Break before beginning his career on stage, where he has starred in shows such as Jesus Christ Superstar (Open Air Theatre), Once (Phoenix Theatre), American Idiot (St. James Theatre/Broadway), Rent (Nederlander Theatre/Broadway/US National Tour), Fatherland (Lyric Hammersmith) and Kiss of the Spider Woman (Menier Chocolate Factory).

Victoria Hamilton-Barritt’s wide range of theatre credits include Kate in The Wild Party (The Other Palace), Joan in Miss Littlewood (RSC), Narrator in Murder Ballad (Arts Theatre), Daniella in In The Heights (Kings Cross Theatre/Southwark Playhouse), Diana Morales in A Chorus Line (London Palladium), Gypsy Rose Lee/Louise in Gypsy (Curve), Rizzo in Grease (Piccadilly Theatre) and Alex Owens in Flashdance (Shaftesbury theatre, No.1 Tour).

Cedric Neal was a semi-finalist in The Voice, 2019 on ITV1, as part of Team Tom. Cedric has starred in Motown the Musical (Shaftesbury Theatre), played alongside Audra McDonald in the 2012 Tony award-winning Broadway production of Porgy and Bess, and, most recently, performed as the Arbiter in Chess (London Coliseum).

Also in the cast are Carly Mercedes Dyer (Hadestown, Dreamgirls, Memphis) as Henri, Gary Lee (Flashdance, Ghost) as Freddy, Joseph Prouse (Hadestown, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, Jersey Boys) as Richard and Derek Hagen (The Twilight Zone, 20th Century Boy & Carousel) as Cops/Realtor. Casting for the role of Wes to be announced.

The musical opens in present day when Wes, a young fashion designer buys an abandoned space, not realising this had been the UpStairs Lounge, a vibrant ’70s gay bar in the French Quarter of New Orleans, which, in 1973, was burned down in an arson attack, killing 32 people, and making it the worst attack on the LGBTQ+ community until the 2016 shooting at The Pulse nightclub in Orlando. THE VIEW UPSTAIRS brings to life this forgotten community and takes the audience on an exhilarating journey of seduction and self-exploration, celebrating the lives of those forgotten, while featuring a soulful, rock and jazz score.

THE VIEW UPSTAIRS opened to rave reviews Off-Broadway in 2017, where Entertainment Weekly described it as “a moving homage to LGBT culture, past and present”, and the musical gained support from some of the LGBTQ+ community’s biggest advocates, including RuPaul. There is an original cast recording available on Broadway Records.

The London production of the musical is one of ten that have been and are being mounted around the world between 2017 and 2019. As well as a triumphant run Off-Broadway, THE VIEW UPSTAIRS has enjoyed multiple regional US productions and a recent Australian premiere.

The musical is written by young up-and-coming artist Max Vernon and will be directed in London by Jonathan O’Boyle (Aspects of Love, Pippin, Hair), with choreography by Fabian Aloise (Evita at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre in 2019, The Rink, Our House, Working). The show will have set and costume design by Lee Newby, lighting design by Nic Farman, sound design by Adam Fisher, with casting by Will Burton CDG.

THE VIEW UPSTAIRS is produced in London by Jack Maple & Brian Zeilinger for Take Two Theatricals and Ken Fakler, with Creative House Productions and Associate Producers Ben Lockwood and Sue Marks.

LISTINGS INFORMATION

18 July – 24 August

21 Dean St,

Soho,

London W1D 3NE

The Bunker Theatre – until 4 May 2019

Reviewed by Claire Roderick

5*****

Angelique is seventeen and her mother is in prison while her father (or “sperm donor”) has moved on with his new family and is uninterested. Stuck in the care system, but now with a decent and fair foster carer, the main focus of Angelique’s life is her college floristry course and her dreams of becoming a success, with her own little shop so that she and her mum can be comfortable. Angelique’s boyfriend Mickey owes money to his gang leader, Rampage, and wants Angelique to help him cover his debts.

Written and performed by Emma Dennis Edwards, Angelique’s story isn’t, sadly, that unusual, but is told in an extraordinarily powerful and intimate way that deserves a wider audience. Dennis Edwards is an incredible performer, slipping between prose and verse, and in and out of different characters effortlessly. She draws the audience in through the first part of the play with her bubbly, honest and funny introduction to Angelique. As things get darker, this results in the audience being much more vocal with their gasps and tuts than usual, as if they were sitting listening to a friend chatting.

In Edinburgh, the play was presented in a flat, with a tiny audience following Angelique from room to room. The constraints of a more traditional performance space, and larger audiences means that this intense intimacy isn’t possible in the Bunker, but director Rachel Nwokoro has used the available space sympathetically. The usual side seating areas become performance stage areas for Dennis Edwards to move through, and some of the remaining seating is replaced by cushions. Audience members are invited up to try flower arranging, as Dennis Edwards watches in amusing despair, and when the action moves to Mickey’s flat for a party, the audience are invited down to sit on the stage around a mattress. This creates a fantastic feeling of community that swiftly changes to an uncomfortable and unnerving sense of voyeurism and horror as the events of the night are described.

Dennis Edwards holds the audience in the palm of her hand, capturing the innocent joy and peace Angelique finds in her beloved flowers – one of the only sweet things in her life – and her reluctant admiration for the two strong women in her life – her college tutor and her foster carer. Angelique’s struggle to deal with becoming an adult, and the pressure from her peers is portrayed beautifully, as is the evil, selfish manipulation of her boyfriend Mickey. Her performance as Mickey is inspired – the body language and the vocals conjuring up sneers and intakes of breath from the audience as Mickey tries to manipulate Angelique. The depiction of sexual assault and the consequent shaming of the victim is unsensational and brutal, and Angelique’s inability to tell anyone about what happened, and her self-disgust, are heart-breaking and send a vital message to those who question why victims don’t come forward.

There is no happy ending for Angelique, just her survival and her dream, always brightened up by her connection with her flowers. The doubt that she may just be a hopeless dreamer like her mum is strong, but you become so invested in this character, even after such a short time, that you leave hoping she finds her sunlight.

Brilliantly staged, written and performed, Funeral Flowers is an incredible, important and unforgettable piece of theatre. Simply phenomenal.

King’s Head Theatre – until 11 May 2019

Reviewed by Claire Roderick

5*****

Charles Court Opera carry the audience away on waves of delight with their latest production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s H.M.S. Pinafore. With a talented cast of eight, the glorious silliness of the story doesn’t feel diminished, with the lack of a large chorus allowing the ridiculous characters to shine.

The H.M.S. Pinafore becomes a brightly coloured submarine, with Rachel Szmukler’s charming design feeling like a set from CBeebies. Captain Corcoran runs a tight ship and is thrilled when the First Lord of the Admiralty, Sir Joseph Porter, wishes to marry his daughter Josephine. Josephine is in love with a lowly able seaman, Ralph Rackstraw, but knows that she must marry a man of suitable station. When the couple finally declare their love for each other their plan to elope is thwarted by dastardly Dick Deadeye, but this leads to a typical last-minute G&S twist that sorts everything out for the protagonists so that it all ends on a jolly note. Fluffy nonsense of the highest order.

With only three able seamen, and Sir Joseph’s gaggle of female followers cut down to one sister, one cousin and an aunt (carried around in an urn and emoted to by the hilariously expressive Catrine Kirkman as Cousin Hebe), there is plenty of room onstage for Damian Czarnecki’s quirky choreography, handled with great humour by the cast and capturing the celebratory tone of the production.

As the young lovers Ralph and Josephine, Philip Lee and Alys Roberts are outstanding, with Roberts’ beautiful voice soaring in her emotional solos. Joseph Shovelton is a hoot as Sir Joseph, like the lovechild of David Brent and Leslie Phillips, acing the pompous comedy of the character and his undeserved rise to a position of clueless power. Matthew Palmer impresses as Captain Corcoran, and his scenes with the irrepressible Jennie Jacobs as Little Buttercup are fantastically awkward. The crew is rounded off by Matthew Kellett as Dick Deadeye (cartoon villainy of the highest order) and the wonderfully physical Hannah Crerar as Bobstay.

Accompanied only by David Eaton on piano, the cast’s voices work together magnificently. Energetic, uplifting and hilarious, this show is a visual and aural delight.

King’s Head Theatre – until 27 April 2019

Reviewed by Claire Roderick

4****

We’ve all looked for love in the wrong places, but Bobby (Linus Karp) is looking in pet shops and zoos. The excruciating morning-after conversations/monologues that Bobby has in his attempts to bond with his four-legged friends are painfully funny and sweet.

Rob Hayes’ script is so sensitive and unsensational, and Katherine Armitage’s direction so sympathetic, that poor Bobby’s neediness becomes (almost) understandable. You can’t help but like Bobby – even though you’d never ask him to cat sit.

Working his way through a dog, cat, goat, monkey and bear, Bobby’s reactions in the afterglow are exactly as you’d expect if there was a human in his bed. He plans their future, apologises for any comments that could be misconstrued as sexist (speciesist?) and anthropomorphises their imagined responses. Just as you begin to feel comfortable, a stark reminder of the species is thrown in – eliciting belly laughs and squirms alike. The scene with the monkey prostitute is especially well written, with Bobby imagining a grooming story for the creature that is in turns hysterical and horrifyingly familiar.

Linus Karp gives Bobby a pathetically defiant edge under the pitiful neediness and is wonderful in the moments when he thinks he has offended an animal. His body language when making gauche compliments is simply adorable. As Bobby’s past is gradually revealed, Karp becomes more and more fragile, until the final scene where the laughs dry up and the dark sadness that drives Bobby’s life is portrayed with understated but devastating skill – a simply brilliant performance that never loses its grip on the audience.

Awkward Conversations is quirky, funny and very, very moving – grab a ticket while you can.