THE UK’S LONGEST RUNNING IMMERSIVE PRODUCTION

THE GREAT GATSBY

TAKES LONDON INTO THE TWENTIES

AS IT EXTENDS ITS WEST END RUN AT IMMERSIVE LDN

NOW BOOKING UNTIL 26 JULY

The Guild of Misrule’s critically acclaimed THE GREAT GATSBY, created and directed by Alexander Wright, is currently wowing audiences in its new West End venue IMMERSIVE | LDN.

Jay Gatsby invites you to one of his infamous large parties.  While the champagne flows and the drama unfolds the man himself will be the perfect host. As invites go, this is the hottest in town – why would you want to be anywhere else?

Due to overwhelming demand, thousands of new tickets have been released – audiences can now book for the show and the recently launched dining experience through the summer until 26 July via  www.immersivegatsby.com. The Great Gatsby is currently the UK’s longest running immersive production and has become an international phenomenon, with productions across three continents, including South Korea, Belgium (currently playing in three different languages) and Moscow in 2020.

THE GREAT GATSBY allows audiences to fully immerse themselves into the world of Jay Gatsby – a world of red-hot rhythms, bootleg liquor and pure jazz age self-indulgence. With cocktails, dancing and scandal, this heart-racing adaptation of F Scott Fitzgerald’s seminal tale of the Roaring Twenties puts the audience at the heart of the action.

Audiences can opt to enjoy a bespoke fine dining experience before the show begins, designed by Immersive LDN catering partnersFlavourology. Hosted by F Scott Fitzgerald himself, along with his wife Zelda, audiences can begin their journey into the world of Jay Gatsby with an unforgettable edible adventure, with a menu that includes dishes inspired by The Great Gatsby: an amuse-bouche made of buttermilk fried chicken with champagne hollandaise and caviar ‘From St Louis to West Egg’, a main of bourbon cured salmon with celeriac puree and remoulade ‘Bootleg Bourbon Salmon’ and a pudding of spotted dick under a white chocolate dome with custard parfait and salted caramel source ‘Gatsby was an Oxford Man’ (all with vegan alternatives),

Olivier Award winning producers Louis Hartshorn and Brian Hook, who are currently co-producing the immersive production of DR WHO TIME FRACTURE – launched a new company in 2019, IMMERSIVE EVERYWHERE, entirely dedicated to developing and staging theatre-led immersive experiences, and IMMERSIVE | LDN is the newest of their network of venues, which will house cafes, bars and rehearsal and workshop spaces to help the development of new work.

Louis Hartshorn and Brian Hook said, “we are incredibly proud of our show and stunning new venue – and particularly that West End audiences can come and eat an opulent three course meal, drink and see a quality show for the average price of one stalls seat in a traditional theatre in Shaftesbury Avenue.”

IMMERSIVE | LDN is a 32,000sq ft historic building in the heart of Mayfair, which was home to the Queen Victoria’s Rifles Association until 2017. It includes three floors of immersive theatre and event spaces designated for performance, live gaming, events, escape rooms and private parties. For information about programming and venue hire visit www.immersiveldn.com

Directed and adapted by Alexander Wright, The Guild of Misrule’s THE GREAT GATSBY company features with cast members Oliver Towse as ‘Gatsby’, Lucinda Turner as ‘Daisy’, James Lawrence as ‘Nick’, Prince Plockey as ‘Tom’, Humphrey Sitima as ‘George’, Jessica Hern as ‘Jordan’, Hannah Edwards as ‘Myrtle’, Charlie Cassen as ‘Rosy Rosenthal’, Lizzie Grace as ‘Lucille’ and Louis Sparks as ‘Joey’.

First conceived in 2015 when director Alexander Wright and producer Brian Hook were running The Fleeting Arms – a pop arts and community pub in an abandoned building in York, the show then ran in York in 2016 with a parallel production in Sheffield in partnership with Theatre Deli. The Great Gatsby first came to London as part of VAULT Festival in 2017 and sold out before the show opened. Since then the show has run in Wales in co-production with Theatr Clwyd, at Halifax’s Square Chapel, and at Castle Howard in North Yorkshire. All the while the show has played night after night at Gatsby’s Drugstore in London SE1, inviting audiences into the hedonistic world of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s extraordinary tale, and in 2018 it became the UK’s longest running immersive production.

Amie Burns Walker and Oliver Tilney are Associate Directors and Fiona Kingwill is Resident Director. Choreography is by Holly Beasley-Garrigan, design by Casey Jay Andrews, sound design by Phil Grainger and lighting design by Rachel Sampley. The original production was created by Holly Beasley-Garrigan, Amie Burns Walker, Hannah Davies, Phil Grainger, Michael Lambourne, Thomas Maller and Oliver Tilney. This new production of The Guild of Misrule’s THE GREAT GATSBY is produced by Immersive Everywhere, with co-producers Gavin Kalin Productions and Glynis Henderson Productions, with Theatr Clwyd and We Culture Connects as Associate Producers.

VENUE SOCIAL @ldn_immersive

SHOW SOCIAL @immersivegatsby

www.immersivegatsby.com

Can I Help You?
The North Wall, South Parade, Oxford, OX2 7JN
Thursday 13th February 2020, 7.30pm
Omnibus Theatre, 1 Clapham Common Northside, London, SW4 0QW
Tuesday 3rd – Saturday 21st March 2020

Bringing to life their late co-founder Philip Osment’s final play, Playing ON will present the world premiere of Can I Help You? at The North Wall and Omnibus Theatre this spring. Susan Aderin (Guerrilla, Sky Atlantic; Peer Gynt, National Theatre) will appear as Fifi alongside Gabriel Vick (Les Misérables, BBC; Once, West End) as Francis in this poetic and uplifting examination of how race and gender intersect with issues of mental health.

An off-duty English policeman is about to throw himself off Beachy Head when he is met by a Ghanaian woman carrying a laundry bag and a cat box. Over the course of one night, two very different people learn what it truly means to be touched by the magic of hope. A nuanced and compassionate piece, it finds hope in the bleakest of circumstances.

Drawn from their community mental health programmes, the piece is partly inspired by characters created by service users and clinicians in a six-week theatre engagement programme with East London NHS Foundation Trust (ELFT) and Theatre Royal Stratford East, as well as
several interviews with members of the Ghanaian community. Playing ON looks to marry professional theatre and socially engaged practise, using theatre as a method for the powerless and the powerful to explore common issues and find insight into the others perspective.

Director Jim Pope comments, The most precious thing Philip gave to me was the understanding that the real way to engage a group is to listen, respect, honour who they are and treat their offerings as precious gifts. This leads to trust and the permission to interpret, challenge, question, and makes stories. Philip was a teacher, mentor, therapist and so many other things to me; he was a friend. His practise is the bedrock of our work which I take forward into every creative space we enter.

Playing ON will also host wraparound workshops and events across the run including an NHS night, panel discussions and an evening celebration of Philip Osment’s work. Can I Help You? will also embark on a community tour to take the work to the very people whose stories are represented in the play. This February it will go to Dragon Café – the flagship project of Mental Fight Club, We are Spotlight – a creative youth service, St Pancras Hospital, and Blackfriars Settlement – a community services centre

National Theatre and Penguin Live announce onstage talks with Booker Prize-winner Bernardine Evaristo and Michael Palin

The National Theatre and Penguin Live announce two events in March as celebrated authors Bernardine Evaristo and Michael Palin take to the Lyttelton stage.

Bernardine Evaristo on her Booker Prize-winning novel Girl, Woman, Other

Thursday 12 March

What can this new decade mean for writers and artists of colour in Britain? How can we ensure that the explosion of books and art by people, and particularly women, of colour aren’t a fad but are the foundations of our future? 

These are some of the themes that will be discussed by Bernardine Evaristo whose acclaimed novel Girl, Woman, Other has been described as ‘beautiful’, ‘triumphant’, ‘exceptional’ and a ‘novel of our times’ and was named by Barack Obama as one of his favourite books of 2019.

Bernardine will talk about Girl, Woman, Other, how it feels to be the first black woman to win the Booker Prize and why she considers it such an exciting time to be a black female writer.

Michael Palin: On North Korea and Other Travels

Tuesday 17 March

Michael will discuss his most recent travels into the notoriously secretive Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.  A land without internet or phone signal, where the countryside still operates as a peasant economy while the cities boast gleaming skyscrapers and luxurious underground commuter stations; a country that inspires fear and fascination in equal measure.

Michael Palin’s travels have taken him all around the world, and he will also regale us with tales of his personal journey from a life of comedy to adventurer and historian.

Tickets will be available via the National Theatre website with member booking from Monday 27 January, and public on sale on Tuesday 28 January.

THEATR CLWYD ANNOUNCES ARTIST RESIDENCIES

AS PART OF 2020 TYFU|GROW PROGRAMME

Theatr Clwyd today announces its Writers in Residence and Companies in Residence for 2020, as part of the TYFU|GROW Creative Development Programme.Writers’ residencies have been awarded to Hannah Daniel, Katie Elin-Salt, Jennifer Lunn, Wyn Mason, Lisa Parry, and Kristian Phillips. Companies’ residencies have been awarded to Archipelago, Francesca Goodridge and Dan Lloyd, PRIDD, and Signdance Collective.

The six 2020 Writers in Residence will be connected to Theatr Clwyd’s in-house productions of Milky Peaks, For The Grace of You Go I, and Project Hush, with two writers on attachment during each production. The residencies give writers the chance to build relationships with the company of each production and with the Theatr Clwyd team, to spend time observing rehearsals, and to develop ideas in a supportive environment. The writers’ programme is supported by Gladstone’s Library, in whose beautiful rooms the playwrights stay during their time in North Wales.

The Companies’ residencies include up to 2 weeks of rehearsal space, office space, one-to-one support from Theatr Clwyd’s Producing & Programming, Creative Engagement, Communications & Giving, Production and Finance teams, support with funding applications, and the opportunity to share work in progress at the end of each residency.

Tamara Harvey, Artistic Director of Theatr Clwyd today said “Some of the most exciting work we’ve produced has been introduced to us through our TYFU|GROW programme, including the brilliant Milky Peaks, premiering at Theatr Clwyd this spring. It’s exhilarating to share our home with writers and emerging companies so they can bounce around ideas and challenge us with new stories and new ways of telling them. I can’t wait to build relationships with these amazing artists over the coming year.”

WRITERS IN RESIDENCE

In connection with Milky Peaks by Seiriol Davies and devised by Seiriol Davies, Matthew Blake and Dylan Townley, 10-21 March

Katie Elin-Salt

Elin-Salt is an actor and writer from Bridgend, South Wales. Her debut play Sprinkles is currently being developed alongside Dirty Protest. She is also a member of the Royal Court New Writers Group and Chippy Lane’s Welsh female writers. Her acting credits include many productions at Theatr Clwyd including the Paines Plough Roundabout season, Educating Rita,and Jack and the Beanstalk.

Lisa Parry

Parry is a playwright based in Cardiff. Her play The Merthyr Stigmatist was recently shortlisted for Theatre Uncut’s Political Playwriting Award and will be staged at the Sherman Theatre in October 2020. Her other writing includes 2023. Her work has been staged by leading new writing companies in the UK and USA, including Dirty Protest, The Miniaturists and PopUp Theatrics, and has been produced at The Barbican, The Other Room, Wales Millennium Centre, and TACT Studio (Broadway, NYC), The Arches, Bridewell Theatre London and Martin E Segal Theatre (NYC) amongst others. In 2016, Parry co-founded Illumine Theatre Company with director Zoë Waterman. She co-founded Agent 160 Theatre Company in 2012 and produced work by female playwrights from across the UK.

In connection with For the Grace of You Go I by Alan Harris, 6 – 17 April
Jennifer Lunn

Lunn’s first full length play Es and Flo was shortlisted for the Verity Bargate Award and long listed for the Bruntwood Prize in 2017, and was commissioned by Wales Millennium Centre. Herother writing credits include Diaries of a Miserable Unicorn(UK tour), Dining with Copernicus(The Lab Collective & Polish Cultural Institute), Belief, Lockdown(The Other Room), and Imagine, Clash of the Cosmos (Dirty Protest). Lunn has worked extensively with new writing; co-founding the Write Now new writing festival at Brockley Jack Theatre; two years as Head of Projects and Events Production at the National Theatre in London; and the current Head of Production for Ellie Keel Productions. She also works as a Storyteller for Read For Good, a charity working with children and families in Hospitals across the UK. 

Wyn Mason

Mason’s previous writing credits include Rhith Gân / Song of Illusion (which was awarded the Drama Medal at the National Eisteddfod 2015), Gwlad yr Asyn / Donkeyland, and the forthcoming The Lady Speaks in Welsh, inspired by one of Shakespeare’s characters. He has recently established an independent theatre company Os Nad Nawr with playwright Branwen Davies.

In connection with Project Hush by Matthew Bulgo with Manon Wyn Jones and Yasuro Ito, 14-25 September
Hannah Daniel

Daniel is a writer and actor from Cardiff. In 2017, Daniel and Georgia Lee wrote and directed their first short film Destination, and last year were awarded Ffilm Cymru/BBC Wales’ Beacons Fund to shoot their second short film Burial/O Dad yn Deulu Dedwydd. She is currently developing original comedy-drama, Cardiff is the Capital of the World, with Vertigo Films. Her short play Eros (Cuntstruck) premièred at The Old Red Lion Theatre in March 2019. As an actor, her theatre credits include Road (Bloomsbury Theatre), and For All I Care (National Theatre Wales). And for television, Hinterland and Keeping Faith. She has improvised with The Groundlings and UCB Theatre in Los Angeles.

Kristian Phillips

Phillips is a writer/actor from Port Talbot. His debut play Drift was researched and developed under the Tyfu|Grow scheme at Theatr Clwyd and will head into full production in 2020.

ARTISTS AND COMPANIES IN RESIDENCE

Archipelago

Archipelago is a self-styled national theatre collective. Their work is about what it means to be a person living on this tiny island. The artists who are part of the collective are based all over the country. Their work crosses genres, styles, and art forms, but is united under the banner of new, live, political work that provides a great night out. They are committed to inclusivity, accessibility, and communities being embedded in the heart of their practice. The work is both local and national; in conversation with each other and the country.

Francesca Goodridge and Dan Lloyd

Francesca Goodridge is an actor, choreographer and director. She trained at Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (LIPA), is a recipient of the Theatr Clwyd Carne Traineeship for Directors in Wales and is the former Trainee Director of The Other Room Theatre in Cardiff. Her directing credits include The Crocodile (Cornerstone Theatre), BARK! The Musical (Edinburgh Festival Fringe), Adam, Eve and Steve (The Kings Head Theatre), Shout! The Mod Musical (The Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool) and Secret The Musical (Epstein Theatre). As Assistant Director at Theatr Clwyd, her credits include A Christmas Carol, Pavilion, Wave Me Goodbye, Dick Whittington and The Importance of Being Earnest.

Daniel Lloyd is an actor, director and musician. He was raised in Rhosllannerchrugog and trained at East 15 Acting School. As an actor, his theatre credits include Eye of the Storm (UK tour), The Commitments (Palace Theatre), Tom: The Tom Jones Musical (UK tour), As You Like It (Ludlow and Stafford Castle), Some Like It Hotter (UK tour), Mods and Rox (The New Wolsey Theatre), and Spring Awakening (Theatr Genedlaethol Cymru/Elen Bowman). For Theatr Clwyd, his acting credits include Little Shop of Horrors, The Hub, The Taming of the Shrew, Animal Farm, and twelve consecutive rock ‘n’ roll pantos. For television, his credits include the recurring character Aled in Rownd a Rownd, Asra, Dau Dŷ a Ni, Tipyn o Stad, and A470. His directing credits include The White Feather (Theatr na n’Og), and Shane (S4C). His credits as Musical Director include Rownd a Rownd Nadolig 2019, ASRA, Y Doniolis (S4C).

PRIDD

PRIDD (soil) is a new Welsh theatre company formed by Awen Blandford (RNCM) and Carys Jones (UEA). Having both grown up in Mold and left to study, they have now come together to celebrate their shared experience of being raised surrounded by Welsh folk culture. PRIDD’s aim is to tell bilingual stories that incorporate Welsh tradition, language and Music. As part of this residency, they will be developing their gig theatre piece Enya, a story inspired by the folk tale The Fire Bird.

Signdance Collective

Signdance Collective is a culturally diverse touring company established in 2001 with experienced Deaf & Disabled artists at the helm. Inclusion and diversity inform the artistic process. In 1987, Signdance Theatre trailblazed fusing sign-theatre, dance and live original music. Since 2001 they have also undertaken cultural exchange/international collaborative practice. Signdance Collective successfully produces and tours its works both nationally and internationally. The Turtle Trials is a new development in storytelling through their art form and immersive practice, engaging disabled and non-disabled Deaf and hearing children and their families.

Listings                                                                                                                                              Theatr Clwyd

Raikes Lane, Mold CH7 1YA

FULL CAST ANNOUNCED FOR THE CLAIM

AT SHOREDITCH TOWN HALL

THE CLAIM

By Tim Cowbury

Directed by Mark Maughan

Set Design: Emma Bailey; Sound Design: Lewis Gibson; Lighting Design: Joshua Pharo

Shoreditch Town Hall

Tuesday 18 February – Saturday 7 March 2020

The full cast is today announced for the return of Tim Cowbury’s The Claim at Shoreditch Town Hall following its debut sell-out run in 2018. Mark Maughan directs Nick Blakeley (A), Tonderai Munyevu (Serge) and Indra Ové (B). Theproduction opens on 20 February, with previews from 18 February and runs until 7 March. 

A comically absurd and quietly shattering journey to the heart of our tolerant and fair society.

Serge stands before us. He has a performance to give. But why is he here? What is he claiming has happened to him? And what has Willy Wonka got to do with it?

A bold, imaginative response to the stories of those seeking refuge in the UK, The Claim asks what happens when your life is at stake and all you have to save it are your words.

Writer Tim Cowbury, and director Mark Maughan today said, “The story of The Claim began here in London, gaining its first flash of attention in a packed room at Shoreditch Town Hall. It’s a story that has unfolded since 2015, with the help of hundreds of refugees helping us to capture the absurd circularity of the Home Office’s asylum interviews and it’s attached bureaucracy. These interviews happen daily, up and down the UK and The Claim aims to highlight the quotidian nature of these life changing interactions. We want to continue to create a more nuanced and compassionate response to the global migration crisis, following a decade that should have shaken the foundations of such a system.

“We return to Shoreditch with a brilliantly talented mixture of old and new cast members, and huge excitement for the resounding climax to this long journey we’ve been on.”

Tim Cowbury is a playwright and co-founder of Made In China. His credits include Get Stuff Break Free (National Theatre), Gym Party (Battersea Arts Centre/UK and international tour), Tonight I’m Gonna Be The New Me (Soho Theatre/UK tour) and Double Double Act (Unicorn Theatre).

Nick Blakeley returns to Shoreditch Town Hall to play A. His previous theatre credits include The Claim (Shoreditch Town Hall/Paines Plough Roundabout), Twelfth Night (Orange Tree Theatre), I Heart Catherine Pistachio (Soho Theatre/Yard Theatre), Brideshead Revisited (York Theatre Royal/UK tour), Hapgood (Hampstead Theatre), Comment Is Free, 24 Hour Plays (The Old Vic), The Last of the De Mullins (Jermyn St Theatre), Hard Feelings (Finborough Theatre), The Sunshine Boys (Savoy Theatre), 13 and A Woman Killed With Kindness (National Theatre).

Tonderai Munyevu plays Serge. His theatre credits include The Moors (Tara Theatre), Black Men Walking (Royal Court Theatre), Carmen (The Grange Festival), Treasure Island (Birmingham Repertory Theatre), DEvine Comedy (Soho Theatre), The Man Who Almost Killed Himself (Edinburgh Festival Fringe), Sizwe Banzi Is Dead (Young Vic) and ZHE [NOUN] UNDEFINED (Soho Theatre). He is the co-Artistic Director of Two Gents Productions, and his acting credits for the company include Kupenga KwaHamlet (Oval House/Watermill Theatre) and The Two Gentlemen of Verona (Shakespeare’s Globe/ international tour).

Indra Ové plays B. Her theatre credits include #WeAreArrested, Peer Gynt (Arcola Theatre),The Ugly One (Park Theatre), The Interrogation of Sandra Bland (Bush Theatre), Torn (Royal Court Theatre), The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (Gielgud Theatre), Yes, Prime Minister (UK tour), Ten Women (Ovalhouse), Twelve Angry Women (Gutted Theatre Company/Lion & Unicorn Theatre), Etta Jenks (Finborough Theatre), Under One Roof (King’s Theatre Glasgow/V&A/Soho Theatre), The Seagull (National Theatre Studio), Blinded by the Sun, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (National Theatre) and Timon of Athens (Young Vic). Her television credits include Good Omens, Unforgotten, Dark Heart, Marcella, Requiem, Glue, The Best Man and The New Worst Witch; and for film, Finding Your Feet, Second Spring, My One and Only, Club Le Monde, It’s All About Love, Resident Evil, The Fifth Element and Othello.

Mark Maughan is a director. His credits include The Claim (UK tour/Paines Plough Roundabout/Shoreditch Town Hall), Unwritten Letters (Bush Theatre), C’est La Vie (The Coronet Theatre), upcoming credits include Dan Daw Show (Sadler’s Wells). Credits as assistant director include Good With People (Òran Mór) and London (UK tour).

The Claim                                                                                                                                         Listings

Shoreditch Town Hall

380 Old Street, Hackney, London, EC1V 9LT

Tuesday 18 February – Saturday 7 March 2020

Box Office: 020 7739 6176

shoreditchtownhall.com

THE ICONIC TELEVISION SERIES RETURNS

Starring Multi Award-Winning Actress Katherine Parkinson

New Comedy adapted and directed by Jeremy Sams

World Premiere – Theatre Royal Bath, 4-20 June 2020

The Good Life – the iconic TV sitcom that delighted countless millions in the 1970s – is to be adapted for the stage and will make its World Premiere at Theatre Royal Bath as part of their 2020 Summer  Season.

Based on the television series by John Esmonde and Bob Larbey, Jeremy Sams’ play leads the much-loved characters (not forgetting Geraldine the goat) through various adventures, some old, some new, all hilarious and often, even today, worryingly familiar. The production will run from Thursday 4 June – Saturday 20 June.

Remember the Goods – Tom and Barbara, suburban eco-warriors?

And their next-door neighbours Margo and Jerry Leadbetter, desperately trying to maintain the Surbiton status quo?

Well, they’re back – and on stage for the first time in The Good Life, a theatrical reimagining of the much-loved TV series which won millions of ardent viewers. This new play celebrates a time when, whatever our differences, we still managed to get on with our neighbours.

Katherine Parkinson stars as Barbara Good. Best known for her roles in The IT Crowd, for which she received a British Comedy Best TV Actress Award and a BAFTA Television Award, Humans and Doc Martin, she returns to Bath following last year’s hugely acclaimed performances in Home, I’m Darling and Uncle Vanya.

Jeremy Sams’ directing credits include the National Theatre’s 2000 West End and Broadway revival of Noises Off, the West End musical Spend, Spend, Spend and the international tour of The Sound of Music. His translation of the award- winning French film and stage sensation What’s in a Name? (Le Prénom), is currently on tour across the UK and will be visiting the Theatre Royal in March.

All additional casting and further plans for the production to be announced.

The Good Life is produced by Fiery Angel.

BRIAN COX DIRECTS UK PREMIÈRE OF

JOSHUA SOBOL’S SINNERS – THE ENGLISH PROFESSOR

STARRING NICOLE ANSARI AND ADAM SINA

Camden Mews Productions, Nicole Ansari and Lawryn LaCroix present

SINNERS -THE ENGLISH PROFESSOR

Written by Joshua Sobol

Directed by Brian Cox

Set Designer: Ray Recht; Music: Veria Amiri

Choreographer and Costume Designer: Laya Torkaman

The Playground Theatre

25 February – 14 March 2020

Multi-Award winning Brian Cox directs the UK première of Sinners – The English Professor by Joshua Sobol, starring Nicole Ansari (Layla) and Adam Sina (Nur). The production opens at The Playground Theatre on 26 February, with previews from 25 February and runs until 14 March.

Sinners – The English Professor is a passionate love story about Layla, who is denounced for an affair with her student, Nur, and is awaiting to be stoned to death for adultery. The play examines both Layla’s and Nur’s choices for love and survival and the striving for freedom in a patriarchal culture. Nur can save his own life by throwing the first stone. What choice will he make?

Joshua Sobol is a novelist and playwright whose work has been translated into many languages and have been performed worldwide. His credits include Alice and Martin, Bereaved, Redundant People, The Marx Banquet, Ghetto – which won Evening Standard Award for Best Play and Critics’ Circle Award for Best Play, Silence and the forthcoming world première The Eternal Stranger. He has received the David’s Harp Award for Best Play in Israel five times, in addition he has received the Rosenblum Award for The Contribution to Israeli Theatre, The Israeli Theatre Award for a Life’s Achievement, and Golden Medal of the Land of Vienna for Meritorious Achievements.

Nicole Ansari plays Layla. Her theatre credits include Rock ‘n’ Roll (Royal Court Theatre/Duke of York’s Theatre/Bernard B. Jacobs Theater), When My Mama was a Hittite (Park Theatre), Daybreak (Beckett Theater), I am Antigone (Theater for the New City), Sinners (New Rep Boston/The Mirror Rep), Hamlet (The Mirror Rep), Irma la Douce, Much Ado About Nothing, Romy Schneider, Roxanne (Public Theatre, Vienna) and Alma (International Theatre Festival, Vienna/ Palazzo Zenobio, Venice). She was previously a member of the famed Theatre du Soleil in Paris and toured extensively under the direction of Ariane Mnouchkine. Her television credits include Deadwood, The Blacklist, The Mysteries of Laura, Alma – A Show biz ans Ende and the forthcoming Hollyhock and Little Voice. Her film credits as an actress include Side Effects, Son of the South, Remember Me, Die Liebe Deines Lebens, Last Moment of Clarity and Making the Day. She has also directed the forthcoming television series Messy; and co-produced films including As Good as Dead with Andy McDowell and Blumenthal with her husband Brian Cox.

Adam Sina plays Nur. His theatre credits include When My Mama was a Hittite (Park Theatre), Mercy (Clapham Fringe Festival), The Shawshank Redemption, Billy Liar (UK tours), War Horse (New London Theatre), Rutherford and Sons (Northern Stage), A Moon for the Misbegotton (The Old Vic) and The Filliting Machine (Live Theatre). His television credits include as series regular Colonel Maloof in Tyrant and Jesus: His Life; and for film, the forthcoming 400 Bullets.

Brian Cox directs. His theatre credits as a director include The Crucible (Moscow Art Academic Theatre), Richard III (Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre); and as an actor, , Titus Andronicus (RSC – Oliver Award for Actor of the Year in a Revival), King Lear, Richard III (National Theatre), Rock ‘n’ Roll (Duke of York’s Theatre/Bernard B. Jacobs Theater), Strange Interlude (Nederlander Theatre), Art (Royale Theater), The Great Society (Vivian Beaumont Theater) and That Championship Season (Bernard B. Jacobs Theater). His television credits include as series regular Logan Roy in Succession – Golden Globe Award for Actor in a Drama TV Series, and Nuremberg – Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie. His film credits include Braveheart, The Bourne Identity, The Bourne Supremacy, X2: X-Men United, Churchill, Troy, L.I.E. and The Escapist.

Lawryn LaCroix co-produces. She is the Executive Producer of Pinkhouse Productions founded in 2017. Her credits for the company include Your Alice (Ophelia Theatre/Arcola Theatre/Edinburgh Festival Fringe) and the forthcoming Field, Awakening (Finborough Theatre). As an actor, her credits for theatre include The Behaviour of Light (Scranton Shakespeare Festival). She is currently working on her Masters in Creative Producing at Mountview.

SINNERS: THE ENGLISH PROFESSOR                                                                                                        LISTINGS

Playground Theatre

8 Latimer Industrial Estate, Latimer Rd, London W10 6RQ

25 February – 14 March 2020

Press Night: Wednesday 26 February at 7.30pm

Box Office: 020 8960 0110 / https://theplaygroundtheatre.london/events/sinners/

Suitable for ages 16 +

PUBLIC BOOKING OPENS TOMORROW AT 10AM FOR

A DOLL’S HOUSE STARRING JESSICA CHASTAIN

The Jamie Lloyd Company presents

Henrik Ibsen’s

A Doll’s House

In a version by Frank McGuinness

Directed by Jamie Lloyd

Design: Soutra Gilmour

Playhouse Theatre

10 June – 5 September 2020

Public booking opens tomorrow, Tuesday 28 January at 10am via the ATG Tickets website for The Jamie Lloyd Company’s production of Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House, in a version by Frank McGuinness, and starring two-time Academy Award nominee and Golden Globe Award-winner Jessica Chastain. The Jamie Lloyd Company is the successful partnership between Ambassador Theatre Group, the UK’s leading theatre company, and artistic director Jamie Lloyd.

Priority booking is open now to ATG Theatre Card Members and British Airways Executive Club Members.

“I am a human being, just as much as you are.”

Nora seems to have it all – a successful husband, adorable children and a beautiful home. But her acceptance of the status quo is about to undergo a profound change. Is this picture perfect life anything more than an act? And what happens if she is no longer willing to play her role?

The season, in association with British Airways, opened last year with the critically acclaimed production of Edmond Rostand’s Cyrano de Bergerac, freely adapted by Martin Crimp, with James McAvoy – which runs until 29 February; and ahead of A Doll’s House Emilia Clarke in Anya Reiss’ adaptation of Anton Chekhov’s The Seagull, opening 18 March, with previews from 11 March,running until 30 May.

As part of its continued commitment to audience development, The Jamie Lloyd Company, supported by British Airways, are offering 15,000 free tickets to first time theatre-goers and 15,000 £15 tickets for under 30s, key workers and those receiving job seeker’s allowance and other government benefits across the season.

£15 tickets

For specific Monday evening and Thursday matinee performances across the season every seat in the house is £15. These tickets are exclusively for under 30s, key workers and those receiving government benefits.

The first four £15 performances of A Doll’s House will take place on Thursday 23 July (2.30pm), Monday 27 July (7.30pm), Thursday 6 August (2.30pm) and Monday 10 August (7.30pm) – and will go on sale on Monday 8 June at 12pm via atgtickets.com/adollshouse15 only.

For The Seagull these will take place on Monday 16March (7.30pm), Thursday 9 April (2.30pm), Monday 13April (7.30pm) and Thursday 23April (2.30pm) – and will go on sale on Monday 24 February at 12pm via atgtickets.com/seagull15 only.

Free tickets

A dedicated outreach manager is distributing these tickets amongst both secondary state schools and community organisations who otherwise would not have access to the theatre. If you work with a group who does not have the means or opportunity to visit the theatre, please register your interest here.

Two-time Academy Award nominee Jessica Chastain plays Nora in her UK stage debut. Her theatre credits include The Heiress (Walter Kerr Theater), Salome (Wadsworth Theater), and The Cherry Orchard and Rodney’s Wife (Williamstown Theatre Festival). Her film credits include It Chapter Two, X-Men: Dark Phoenix, Molly’s Game – for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama, Woman Walks Ahead, The Zookeeper’s Wife, Miss Sloane – for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama, A Most Violent Year – for which she received the National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actress, a Golden Globe nomination and Film Independent Spirit Award nomination, The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby, Miss Julie, Interstellar, Mama, Tree of Life, The Debt, Take Shelter, The Help – for which she was nominated for an Academy Award, Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild Award and Critics’ Choice Award for Best Supporting Actress, Zero Dark Thirty –  for which she won a Critics’ Choice Award and Golden Globe, and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress. She was honored with the first-ever Critics’ Choice MVP Award in recognition of the breadth of her accomplishments in 2014 and has received numerous global nominations and accolades for her work from the LA Film Critics, British Academy of Film and Television, Broadcast Film Critics, Hollywood Foreign Press Association, National Board of Review, Screen Actors Guild, Film Independent and the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences. In addition, Chastain launched Freckle Films, a New York based film and television production company, in 2016; forthcoming films include 355, Ava and The Eyes of Tammy Faye in which she will also star.

Frank McGuinness’ original plays include The Factory Girls (Abbey Theatre Dublin/Tricycle Theatre/Arcola Theatre), Baglady (Abbey Theatre, Dublin), Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme (Abbey Theatre Dublin/Hampstead Theatre – for which he received a London Evening Standard for Most Promising Playwright, the Rooney Prize for Irish Literature, Harvey’s Best Play Award, the Cheltenham Literary Prize Plays and Players Award, the Ewart- Briggs Peace Prize and the London Fringe Award), Innocence (Gate Theatre, Dublin), Carthaginians (Abbey Theatre, Dublin/Hampstead Theatre), Mary and Lizzie (RSC), The Bread Man (Gate Theatre, Dublin), The Bird Sanctuary (Abbey Theatre, Dublin), Mutabilitie (National Theatre), Someone Who’ll Watch Over Me (Hampstead Theatre/Vaudeville Theatre/New Ambassadors Theatre/Booth Theatre – he received the New York Critics’ Circle Award and Writers’ Guild Award for Best Play), Dolly West’s Kitchen (Abbey Theatre, Dublin/The Old Vic), Gates of Gold (Gate Theatre, Dublin), Speaking Like Magpies (RSC/Trafalgar Studios), There Came A Gypsy Riding (Almeida Theatre), Greta Garbo Came to Donegal (Tricycle Theatre), Crocodile (Sky Arts Live/Riverside Studios), The Match Box (Liverpool Playhouse), The Hanging Gardens (Abbey Theatre, Dublin) and Donegal – with music by Kevin Doherty (Abbey Theatre, Dublin).

Jamie Lloyd directs. His credits as Artistic Director of the company include Cyrano de Bergerac (Playhouse Theatre), Betrayal (Harold Pinter Theatre/Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre, Broadway), One For The Road, The New World Order, Mountain Language, The Lover, The Collection, Landscape, A Kind of Alaska, Monologue, Party Time, Celebration, A Slight Ache, The Dumb Waiter (Pinter at the Pinter, Harold Pinter Theatre), Doctor Faustus (Duke of York’s Theatre), The Maids, The Homecoming, The Ruling Class, Richard III, The Pride, The Hothouse, Macbeth (Trafalgar Studios). Other theatre credits include Evita (Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre – Evening Standard Award for Best Musical).

Season Listings                                                                                                                                                      

Playhouse Theatre

Northumberland Avenue, Charing Cross, London WC2N 5DE

CYRANO DE BERGERAC

Until 29 February 2020

THE SEAGULL

11 March – 30 May 2020

Press Night: Thursday 19 March, 7.30pm

A DOLL’S HOUSE

10 June – 5 September 2020

Press Night: Thursday 18 June, 7.30pm

Box Office: 0844 871 7631

https://www.atgtickets.com/venues/playhouse-theatre/

Please note £15 tickets must be booked via a special link on the ATG Tickets website and can only be picked up from the theatre box office 45 minutes prior to the show, and valid ID must be presented upon collection, or entry will be denied

thejamielloydcompany.com

Twitter: @JamieLloydCo

Instagram: @jamielloydco

DAVID IAN AND THE REALLY USEFUL GROUP

PRESENT THE FIRST EVER UK TOUR OF
ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER’S
LOVE NEVER DIES

THE SPELLBINDING SEQUEL TO

THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA
OPENING AT
CURVE, LEICESTER ON

26 SEPTEMBER 2020

David Ian and the Really Useful Group are delighted to announce the first ever UK tour of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s LOVE NEVER DIES. Following on from the sell-out North American tour, the spellbinding sequel to The Phantom of the Opera will open at Leicester Curve on Saturday 26 September 2020 where it will play until Saturday 10 October 2020. The show will then play Manchester Opera House from Wednesday 14 – Saturday 24 October 2020, with further venues and casting to be announced soon. On sale details below. www.loveneverdies.com/uktour

LOVE NEVER DIES has music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, lyrics by Glenn Slater, book by Ben Elton, based on The Phantom of Manhattan by Frederick Forsyth, additional lyrics by Charles Hart, orchestrations by David Cullen and Andrew Lloyd Webber.

This production of the show was first seen in Australia, before embarking on the hugely successful tour of North America and received acclaim from both audiences and critics alike. It is directed by Simon Phillips, with set and costume design by Gabriela Tylesova, choreography by Graeme Murphy and sound design by Mick Potter.

The year is 1907. It is 10 years after his disappearance from the Paris Opera House and the Phantom has escaped to a new life in New York where he lives amongst the screaming joy rides and freak shows of Coney Island. In this new, electrically charged world, he has finally found a place for his music to soar, but he has never stopped yearning for his one true love and musical protégée, Christine Daaé.

Now one of the world’s finest sopranos, Christine accepts an invitation to travel from Paris to New York to perform at a renowned opera house. Christine’s marriage to Raoul is suffering at the hands of his drinking and gambling and they desperately need the financial rewards that America can give them.

In a final bid to win back Christine’s love, The Phantom lures her, Raoul, and their young son Gustave, from Manhattan to the glittering and glorious world of Coney Island… not knowing what is in store for them….

LOVE NEVER DIES 2020 – LISTINGS

www.loveneverdies.com/uktour

SATURDAY 26 SEPTEMBER – SATURDAY 10 OCTOBER 2020

LEICESTER CURVE

curveonline.co.uk – Box Office: 0116 242 3595

On Sale 31 January 2020 at 10.00am

WEDNESDAY 14 – SATURDAY 24 OCTOBER 2020

MANCHESTER OPERA HOUSE

atgtickets.com/venues/opera-house-manchester – Box Office: 0844 871 3018

On Sale 31 January 2020 at 10.00am

FURTHER VENUES TO BE ANNOUNCED

FULL CAST ANNOUNCED FOR THE

EUROPEAN PREMIÈRE OF PAULA VOGEL’S INDECENT

With the critically acclaimed production of The Boy Friend currently running at the theatre, the Menier Chocolate Factory today announce the full company for the European première of Paula Vogel’s Tony Award-winning play Indecent. Rebecca Taichman directs Corey English – The Middle (Male); Beverley Klein – The Elder (Female); Finbar Lynch – The Stage Manager; Molly Osborne – The Ingenue (Female); Peter Polycarpou – The Elder (Male); Alexandra Silber – The Middle (Female); Joseph Timms – The Ingenue (Male); Merlin Shepherd – The Clarinettist; Anna Lowenstein – The Violinist, and Josh Middleton – The Accordionist.

Public booking for the production is now open.

The Menier Chocolate Factory presents

The European première of

INDECENT

By Paula Vogel

Director: Rebecca Taichman

13 March – 9 May

A seminal work of Jewish culture or an act of traitorous libel? Indecent explores the origins of the highly controversial play The God of Vengeance by Sholem Asch. We follow the path of the artists who risked their careers and lives to perform it in this deeply moving play accompanied by a small live klezmer band.

Indecent reunites Vogel and director Rebecca Taichman who co-created and directed the original production. Indecent had its world première production at Yale Repertory Theatre in October 2015. The play had its New York première Off-Broadway at the Vineyard Theatre in May 2016, and transferred to Broadway in April 2017. It was nominated for the Tony Award for Best New Play received the Tony Awards for Best Direction of a Play for Taichman and Best Lighting Design of a Play for Christopher Akerlind (who will also light the Menier production).

Corey English returns to the Menier to play The Middle (Male) – he previously appeared in She Loves Me. His recent theatre work includes Curtains (Wyndham’s Theatre), Young Frankenstein (Garrick Theatre), Guys and Dolls (Royal Albert Hall), Driving Miss Daisy (York Theatre Royal), Kiss Me Kate (Kilworth House), The Tempest (Bedouin Shakespeare Company), The Producers (Theatre Royal Drury Lane), Urinetown (St James Theatre and West End), Dream of Perfect Sleep (Finborough Theatre), Chicago (Adelphi Theatre), and on Broadway in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Hello Dolly!, Damn Yankees, Guys and Dolls, Home Play and Gypsy. For television, his work includes Mysti and Oz; and for film The Conjuring 2, Empire II and Mountainaire.

Beverley Klein plays The Elder (Female). Her stage work includes The Beggar’s Opera (Bouffes du Nord), In Basildon (Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch), Deathtrap (Salisbury Playhouse and UK tour), After October (Finborough Theatre), Young Chekhov Trilogy (National Theatre), Cornelius (Finborough Theatre and Brits Off Broadway), Sixty-Six Books (Bush Theatre), Restoration (Headlong), The Holy Terror (Duke of York’s Theatre), Camille (Lyric Theatre Hammersmith), Six Characters in Search of an Author (Young Vic), Romeo and Juliet, The Villain’s Opera and Summerfolk (National Theatre). For television, her work includes Liar, Mr Selfridge, Call the Midwife, Ripper Street, Down to Earth, Gimme Gimme Gimme and The Hello Girls; and for film, Swinging with the Finkels.

Finbar Lynch plays The Stage Manager. His extensive theatre work includes Girl From the North Country (Noel Coward Theatre, Gielgud Theatre and Toronto), The Lady From the Sea, Hecuba, To the Green Fields Beyond, Fool for Love, Translations (Donmar Warehouse), Richard III (Almeida Theatre), Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Antony and Cleopatra, Not About the Nightingales (National Theatre), Antigone (Barbican and world tour), Desire Under the Elms (Lyric Hammersmith), The Fairy Queen (Glyndebourne, Paris, New York), The Duchess of Malfi (The Old Vic), Faith Healer (Bristol Old Vic), The Big Fellah (Out of Joint), The Raggered Trousered Philanthropist (Chichester Festival Theatre), as well as for the RSC, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Measure for Measure, Amphibians, and A Woman Killed with Kindness. For television, his work includes Treasdstone, The Mallorca Files, The Feed, Foyle’s War, DCI Banks, Breathless, Game of Thrones, Silk and Proof; and for film, Adventures of a Mathematician, The World We Knew, Property of the State, Departure, Suffragette, To Kill a King and The Scold’s Bride.

Molly Osborne returns to the Menier Chocolate Factory to play The Ingenue (Female). She previously appeared in Fiddler on the Roof (also Playhouse Theatre).

Peter Polycarpou plays The Elder (Male). His theatre work includes A Very Expensive Poison (The Old Vic), Oslo (Harold Pinter Theatre), Ross, Guys and Dolls, The Pajama Game, Love Story (Chichester Festival Theatre), Sweeney Todd (Chichester Festival Theatre and Adelphi Theatre), Working (Southwark Playhouse), Mrs Henderson Presents (Toronto), The Magistrate (National Theatre), Anna in the Tropics (Hampstead Theatre), Les Miserables (25^th Anniversary at the O2, Dubai), Oliver! (Curve, Leicester), City of Angels (Donmar Warehouse), Imagine This (New London Theatre), Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (London Palladium) and Oklahoma! (National Theatre). For television, his work includes Riviera, Unforgotten, Tyrant, The Lost Honour of Christopher Jeffries, The Family Tree, Hustle, Empathy, and as series regular Chris in Birds of a Feather; and for film, Blue Iguana, Our Cyprus, Clean Skin, O Jerusalem, De-Lovely and Evita.

Alexandra Silber plays The Middle (Female). Her work for the stage in the UK includes Kiss Me Kate (BBC Proms), Carousel (Savoy Theatre – TMA for Best Performance in a Musical), Fiddler on the Roof (Sheffield Crucible and Savoy Theatre) and The Woman in White (Palace Theatre); and in the US, 50^th anniversary production of Fiddler on the Roof (Broadway), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Chicago Shakespeare Theatre), Camelot (Shakespeare Theatre in Washington DC), My Fair Lady (MUNY), Arlington (Vineyard Theater), Dum Dee Tweedle (Detroit), West Side Story (San Francisco Symphony. Grammy nomination for the critically acclaimed recording), She Loves Me (Caramoor Center for the Music and the Arts), Song of Norway (Carnegie Hall), Love Story the Musical (The Walnut Street Theatre), Hello Again (Transport Group) and Master Class (Kennedy Center, Manhattan Theatre Club). For television, her work includes Elementary, The Mysteries of Laura and Law and Order; and for film, 1408.

Joseph Timms plays The Ingenue (Male). His theatre work includes A Christmas Carol (RSC), The White Devil, The Taming of the Shrew, Henry IV Parts 1 &2, Bedlam (Shakespeare’s Globe), A Tale of Two Cities (Royal and Derngate), The Hudsucker Proxy (Nuffield Southampton Theatres and Liverpool Everyman), Twelfth Night and Richard III (Belasco Theatre, Broadway), Bracken More (Tricycle Theatre), Privates on Parade (Noel Coward Theatre), Richard II (Donmar Warehouse) and Twelfth Night (National Theatre). For television, his work includes Atlantis and Amerikan Kanibal.

Paula Vogel is a Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright whose other plays include How I Learned to Drive (Broadway production set for spring 2020; Pulitzer Prize for Drama, the Lortel Prize, OBIE Award, Drama Desk Award, Outer Critics Circle and New York Drama Critics Awards for Best Play), The Long Christmas Ride Home, The Mineola Twins, The Baltimore Waltz, Hot’n’Throbbing, Desdemona, And Baby Makes Seven, The Oldest Profession and A Civil War Christmas. Her plays have been produced across the US and worldwide.

Rebecca Taichman directs. Her credits include Sing Street (New York Theatre Workshop and forthcoming Broadway run at Lyceum Theatre), Time and the Conways (Roundabout Theatre Company at the American Airlines Theatre),  School Girls; Or, The Mean African Girls Play (MCC), This Flat Earth, Familiar, Stage Kiss, Milk Like Sugar (Playwrights Horizons), How To Transcend a Happy Marriage (Lincoln Center), Rappaccini’s Daughter, Dark Sisters (Gotham Chamber Opera), Luck of the Irish (LCT3), Orlando (Classic Stage Company), Orpheus (New York City Opera), The Scene (Second Stage), Menopausal Gentleman (The Ohio Theatre).

Indecent is being presented in association with Daryl Roth, Elizabeth I McCann and Cody Lassen.

LISTINGS INFORMATION                                                                                MENIER CHOCOLATE FACTORY

53 Southwark Street, London, SE1 1RU

INDECENT

13 March – 9 May

HABEAS CORPUS

15 May – 4 July

Box Office:                         020 7378 1713 (£2.50 transaction fee per booking)

Website:             www.menierchocolatefactory.com (£1.50 transaction fee per booking)

Tickets:                               Prices vary, as below from discounted preview tickets to premier seats. With the emphasis on ‘the sooner you book, the better the price’:

A meal deal ticket includes a 2-course meal from the pre-theatre menu in the Menier Restaurant as well as the theatre ticket.

MENIER ELSEWHERE:

THE WATSONS

Harold Pinter Theatre, Panton St, London SW1Y 4DN

Box Office: 0844 871 7622 / www.atgtickets.com

Tickets from £15

THE BOY FRIEND:

Tickets via www.mirvish.com. 

Tickets can also be purchased at the Princess of Wales Theatre during regular box office hours.  Group orders of 15 or more receive reduced rates.

31 March – 3 May

www.menierchocolatefactory.com

Twitter: @MenChocFactory

Instagram: @menierchocolatefactory