LAMBERT JACKSON PRODUCTIONS ANNOUNCE THIRD SEASON OF
MONDAY FAVOURITES AT THE OTHER PALACE
Due to the phenomenal success of the first two seasons of Sunday Favourites at The Other Palace, Lambert JacksonProductions today announce the line-up of their third season of intimate West End concerts. The line-up includes Divina de Campo (finalist of RuPaul’sDrag Race UK) on Monday 2nd March, Jordan Luke Gage (& Juliet, Bat Out of Hell) on 16th March, John Owen Jones (Les Miserables, The Phantom of the Opera) on 30th March, and Maiya Quansah-Breed (Six) on 20th April.
Monday Favourites is designed to bring musical theatre lovers closer to their favourite stars of the West End. With just over 300 seats, the main theatre of The Other Palace is a beautifully intimate concert space where every seat feels close to the stage and everyone has the perfect view to see these superstars perform an acoustic show of their favourite songs. Meet and greet options are available.
Jamie Lambert and Eliza Jackson today said “We have had such an amazing reaction to our first two season of Sunday Favourites at The Other Palace we just had to create another season. The line-up we have for this season is made up of some of the most talented and inspiring performers in the industry today, they are so diverse and interesting – from the finalist of the first season of RuPaul’s Drag Race Divina de Campo; to the legend that is John Owen-Jones; with the fresh, new energy of Jordan Luke Gage (currently in & Juliet as Romeo) and Maiya Quansah-Breed (currently in Six as Catherine Parr) we really do think this could be our best season yet.”
I had the opportunity to watch the opening night of Peter Pan Goes Wrong which is the most recent offering from the Mischief Theatre Company who are the company responsible for the smash hit production of The Play That Goes Wrong. It is probably right to say that, very few play directors want the production they are involved in to go wrong every night. But, Henry Lewis the man behind Peter Pan Goes Wrong wants exactly that! The Mischief Theatre Company play the members of Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society who are putting on a production of JM Barrie’s pantomime favourite Peter Pan which as you can imagine doesn’t go quite to plan.
From the moment you walk into the theatre audience participation is encouraged with the cast mingling and engaging with the audience resulting in mishaps as the cast search for the stage managers missing hammer. It is safe to stay that everything which could go wrong will go wrong thick and fast, sometimes predictable such as broken sets, broken legs, falls/slips but at other times not – technical glitches, forgotten lines and the sudden collapse of the children’s bunk beds crushing Michael and John leaves the audience in stitches with loud screams of laughter.
The show starts with multiple mis-starts with Katy Daghorn appearing on stage with an exaggerated and enthusiastic portrayal of Wendy/Sandra, which is then followed by Ciaran Kellgren in his portrayal as Jonathan/Peter who flies on to the stage; chaotically, resulting in a broken set and nearly breaking his neck. As the production goes on, the injuries and mishaps pile up with all cast members taking centre stage. Phoebe Ellabani was outstanding with versatility playing four amusing roles with quick costume changes.
The show has a low cost, low budget feel; a one-way dog door, Tinkerbell’s fairy light skirt with an extension lead which electrocutes her, the wonky pirate ship and hand made feel of the set. At times I felt, the show was too chaotic and ‘too much’ with the deliberate errors wearing thin towards the end but the audience seemed to love it; I have never heard so much laughter during a theatre production. The finale was a perfect conclusion with the cast chaotically trapped in the revolving stage whilst everything falls apart around them which adds to the mayhem. It was great to see the stage crew come on stage at the end for bows as for things to go purposely wrong is a work of art.
If you want some light hearted comedy and laughter get your tickets for Peter Pan Goes Wrong which is on at The Lowry until the 7th December.
It’s billed as the Greatest Panto on Earth, but it’s a statement that fails to live up to expectations – like the porridge of the original tale, the King’s panto feels a little undercooked at times.
Don’t get me wrong, a lot of the panto sticks the landing perfectly, and the King’s knows what its audience wants. Jokes, digs at unsuspecting members of the audience, a villain to boo, sets to astound and effects to amaze. And there they do not disappoint.
As was well publicised last year, beloved national treasure Andy Gray was ‘no very well’, but he’s back now, and the show is all the better for it. He’s re-introduced with a Chicago- styled tribute (‘Roxy’, but retitled ‘Andy’) and once he’s on, you don’t want him to leave. Welcome back sir.
It’s no doubt that Allan Stewart as May McReekie, owner of McReekie’s circus, is glad to have him back as well, although while Stewart’s energy can’t be faulted, some jokes led by the Dame-in-Residence felt laboured and dragged on for too long. I don’t know how many years the Songs-as-Speech gag has been going on for, but it felt tired and overlong this year, and the running gag of shameless self-promotion for his own book well outstayed its welcome. And when a Limmy Show sketch is performed word for word, it felt like a hasty last-minute addition to cover a scene change rather than provide some fresh material.
Elsewhere there’s a fresh face in Jordan Young’s circus clown Joey, featuring in the King’s panto after being nicked from Aberdeen. Young looks set to be a favourite here in Edinburgh – sorry Aberdeen, he might be here to stay. He more than proves his entertainment value not only in a high-wire act but also at the top of Act 2 – where he recounts the entirety of Act 1 to a bewildered Goldilocks (Gillian Parkhouse) and an audience sitting in the palm of his hand.
Of course, it’s a circus, and we have the Great Juggling Alfio and the Beserk Riders to add the extra wow factor. Alfio keeps us mesmerised with his tricks, causing me to completely disregard Baron von Vinklebottom (Grant Stott)’s big number, as Alfio casually stole the scene from him. I think the song was about Hibs. It usually is.
Of course, at some points the show didn’t even pretend that ‘Goldilocks…’ even had a plot. I’m not sure Parkhouse’s performance was even necessary. When the title suggests four characters, and the poster features Not A Single One Of Them, a not uncommon phenomenon mentioned by Simon Sladen in an excellent article in the Stage last month about gender imbalance in panto, something has to change.
As Jordan Young’s inclusion proved this year, a little shake-up can be good for an institution like the King’s – so why not go further? Then you’d have a show that was just right.
ViSiBLE TODAY ANNOUNCES THE WORLD PREMIÈRE OF FIVE CHARACTERS IN SEARCH OF A GOOD NIGHT’S SLEEP
ViSiBLE presents
FIVE CHARACTERS IN SEARCH OF A GOOD NIGHT’S SLEEP
Devised by Mike Alfreds and Sonja Linden with the Company
Directed by Mike Alfreds; Set Design: Agnes Treplin
Southwark Playhouse
29 April – 23 May 2020
ViSiBLE today announces the world première of Five Characters in Search of a Good Night’s Sleep devised by Mike Alfreds and Sonja Linden with the Company, the latter who also directs. Inspired by the wealth of talent among Britain’s older actors, ViSiBLE is a theatre company dedicated to creating work that throws fresh perspectives on later life and living longer. The production opens at Southwark Playhouse on 29 April and runs until 23 May.
Humour alternates with pathos as the five, all in their 60s and 70s, gradually reveal the reasons for their sleeplessness. The journey through the night delves into their inner lives, and the pursuit of not only a good night’s sleep but of answers to much bigger existential questions.
Sonja Linden said today, “Sleep is something everybody does, it’s universal, yet more and more of us are finding sleep elusive, particularly some of our older population. As a company dedicated to telling stories about later life, we went on a journey of exploration, consulting with sleep experts but also tapping into our own experiences and imagination and crucially the creativity of our actors to dream up – Five Characters in Search of a Good Night’s Sleep.”
Mike Alfreds is an award-winning theatre director, adapter, translator, teacher and previous Artistic Director and founder of theatre companies Shared Experience and Method and Madness. His previous credits as a director include Year of Wonders, The Tin Ring (The Lowry), Cymbeline (Shakespeare’s Globe), The Wandering Jew,The Black Dahlia, The Cherry Orchard – Winner of Critics’ Circle Theatre Award(National Theatre), A Handful of Dust, Jude The Obscure (Lyric Hammersmith), La Ronde, The Miser, Arabian Nights (UK tour) and Bleak House (Royal Court Theatre). His credits as an author include Different Every Night: Freeing The Actor (2007) and Then What Happens? Storytelling and Adapting for the Theatre (2013).
Sonja Linden is a writer.Her credits include Roundelay, Who Do We Think We Are? (Southwark Playhouse), Welcome to Ramallah (Arcola Theatre/York Theatre Royal), Crocodile Seeking Refuge (Lyric Hammersmith/UK tour), I Have Before me a Remarkable Document Given to me By a Young Lady from Rwanda (Finborough Theatre/UK tour), On A Clear Day You Can See Dover (Wilton’s Music Hall/UK tour), Asylum Monologues, Palestine Monologues (UK tour), Asylum Dialogues (Tricycle Theatre/UK tour), The Strange Passenger (Battersea Arts Centre/UK tour), The Jewish Daughter (New End Theatre) and Call Me Judas (Finborough Theatre).
FIVE CHARACTERS IN SEARCH OF A GOOD NIGHT’S SLEEP Listings
SMALL THINGS THEATRE ANNOUNCE WORLD PREMIERE OF CORDELIA O’NEILL’S NEW PLAY –
ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE IF YOU THINK ABOUT IT HARD ENOUGH
Director: Kate Budgen; Designer: Camilla Clarke; Lighting: Sally Ferguson; Sound: Beth Duke
Small Things Theatre today announce the world première of Anything Is Possible If You Think About It Hard Enough, a new play by Cordelia O’Neill at Southwark Playhouse. Director Kate Budgen’s production opens on 6 April, with previews from 1April, and runs until 25 April. The production renews the creative collaboration with O’Neill, Budgen and Small Things Theatre following No Place For A Woman (Theatre503).
Alex and Rupert aren’t a conventional match but a caffeinated meeting on the underground ignites a spark. Skip forward to them fighting over baby names, nursery colours and ways to save money. All the signs of a normal family in waiting.
Then Alex goes into labour, their baby is born still and their world implodes.
What follows is a window into how a couple find the strength to move forward, the will to stay together, and the determination to keep the memory of their child alive.
A play that takes us to the depth of grief to find hope, to the edge of insanity to find reason and finds humour in the most unexpected places.
Cordelia O’Neill is a writer, actress and co-founder of Small Things Theatre. She trained at Oxford School of Drama. Her plays include the sell-out show The Stolen Inches (Edinburgh Festival Fringe, 2015), No Place For A Woman (Theatre503, 2018 – The play has been optioned by Cannibal Films and she is currently writing the screenplay), and The Vote about women’s suffrage with E17 Puppet Theatre Company (tour in Summer 2018 and concluded at HighTide’s Walthamstow Festival). She also co-authored The Apologists at The Vaults 2019, which will be returning to Omnibus Theatre in 2020.
Kate Budgen directs. She trained at Birkbeck College and on the NT Studio Directors course. She has been a Creative Associate at the Bush Theatre and has worked as Assistant and Associate Director for The Gate Theatre, The Almeida, The Opera Group, Pentabus Theatre, the Bush Theatre, Opera North and for the Michael Grandage Company. She is regularly a Connections Director for the National Theatre Connections Festival and is co-artistic director of new writing company EQ Theatre. She is currently the Associate Director on Girl From The North Country.
Selected directing credits include: GUT (Guildhall School of Music and Drama), The Importance of Being Earnest (Watermill Theatre), No Place for a Woman (Theatre503), Strong Arm (Underbelly/Old Vic New Voices), The Hairy Ape (Southwark Playhouse), Rigor Mortis (Papatango/Finborough), Crossed Keys (Eastern Angles), Bedbound (Lion and Unicorn), Stoopud Fucken Animals (Traverse Theatre), There is a War (Arts Ed), Punk Rock (Guildford School of Acting), and Anne Boleyn (RWCMD).
SMALL THINGS THEATRE brings detailed, entertaining and socially thought-provoking work to the stage. They produce new plays, provide a platform for new artists in theatre, music, comedy and poetry, and have curated work to raise money for Grenfell survivors and the UN Women’s gender equality campaign.
They have collaborated with the Pleasance, Theatre503, The Vaults and now Southwark Playhouse to produce new work from Cordelia O’Neill, Tom Vallen and Jess Butcher. They were also commissioned by UN Women and Vaults to curate a special performance of new work supporting HeForShe arts week, with a worldwide call out for short plays to accompany new work from writers Simon Stephens and Tamsin Oglesby on theme of gender equality. Alongside, they hosted a discussion with Robert Webb, leading politicians and charities about what actually helps redress the balance between genders.
Past productions include No Place For A Woman (Theatre503), A Gym Thing (Pleasance Theatre, Edinburgh and London), Leaves (Caravanserail Bookshop), and The Stolen Inches (Edinburgh Festival Fringe).
Artistic Director of Sheffield Theatres, Robert Hastie, today announces the appointment of Chris Bush as Associate Artist – she begins her role with immediate effect. As part of her remit she will help mentor and support the inaugural artists at the company’s new creative hub, The Bank.
Chris Bush said today, “I’m absolutely thrilled to be joining the team at Sheffield Theatres as an Associate Artist. Sheffield will always be home, and the Crucible has long felt like my professional home too. This is where I watched my first shows as a child, and performed as part of the Sheffield Children’s Festival in my teens. It’s where I received my first full-scale commission, and where I’ve always felt most welcome. From first writing for the Sheffield People’s Theatre in 2013 to creating Standing at the Sky’s Edge earlier this year, I’m always incredibly proud to make work here, and I’m hugely excited about playing a greater role in the future of Sheffield Theatres.”
Robert Hastie commented “I’m delighted that Chris is joining our associate team. Chris’s writing is in the blood of Sheffield Theatres. Her work is equally at home in the Studio, where her ingenious two-hander Steel dissected contemporary politics, and the Crucible, where her book for Standing at the Sky’s Edge put a whole Sheffield community on stage. She’s mentored our local writers’ group, written scripts for our Learning team to use in schools and been a driving creative force in the work of Sheffield People’s Theatre. She’s a fantastic writer and a great asset to Sheffield Theatres, and I’m thrilled to get the chance to work with her even more closely as an Associate Artist.”
Chris Bush is a Sheffield born playwright, lyricist and theatre-maker. Her past work for Sheffield Theatres includes Standing at The Sky’s Edge (Best Musical Production at the UK Theatre Awards), Steel, What We Wished For, A Dream and The Sheffield Mysteries. Other work includes Pericles (National Theatre), The Assassination of Katie Hopkins (Theatr Clwyd), The Changing Room (NT Connections), Scenes From The End of The World (Yard Theatre/CSSD), Larksong (New Vic Theatre) and A Declaration From The People (National Theatre). In 2020 she will debut new work with Headlong, Paines Plough and the National Theatre.
The Nutcracker, Tchaikovsky’s world famous ballet, was brought to life at York’s Grand Opera House by The Vienna Festival Ballet.
The enchanting story tells the tale of a Christmas party, which includes a slightly tipsy grandmother, where Herr Drosselmeyer presents Clara with a nutcracker doll. In the middle of the night she wakes up and goes looking for the nutcracker. What follows is a fantasy adventure of battles against giant mice and the Mouse King, which sees her nutcracker coming to life as a real soldier. The journey doesn’t stop there as they carry on through to the Kingdom of Sweets and the Palace of the Sugar Plum Fairy. After the interval we are treated to dances, a celebration of sweets around the world, before Clara wakes up, back to the real world, clutching her nutcracker.
This is quite a small company with the dancers taking on several roles. The dancing was at times was quite stunning, especially some of the chorus pieces. Children from a local ballet school were used in the first act as the children at the party, this must be such a fabulous experience for them, performing to a packed audience, with an experienced ballet company. The costumes were just lovely, though I couldn’t quite work out why the mice had grey heads and brown bodies, just a niggle there.
It is such a shame that the dancers are not dancing to a live orchestra, as this would have been that extra sparkle and added to the experience, but the logistics and cost would just be too much and they did the absolute best with what they had. I did have a problem where I was sitting, in that I could not always see the dancers feet, which unfortunately did have an impact on my experience. It was still an enjoyable evening and so great to see a packed theatre thoroughly entranced.
This show is the perfect start to the Christmas season, a fairy tale brought to life.
Elf 30046 (Lladel Bryant) gets left behind by Santa and the Christmas fun begins for all at the Leeds Playhouse. Leeds Playhouse’s production of The Night Before Christmas is a delightful piece, full of fun and silliness, with moments of wonder and the chance for the children to interact with the cast.
Carol (Alexandra James) doesn’t like Christmas, she keeps telling us it is silly, she rejects the carol singer and then her neighbour Roger’s present of Christmas pudding and custard. But it is her house that Elf 30046 has landed in and their adventures trying to find Santa make her realise that Christmas is rather wonderful after all!
Elf 30046 of course only speaks some sort of Elfish and Carol is deaf so signs all the way through and her language is simple, which means that this is a very inclusive performance. The actors’ use of gesture and facial expressions and limited language make it ideal for young children and the youngsters who were in the theatre yesterday loved every minute of it and were enthralled from start to finish.
Lladel Bryant plays Roger and Elf 30046, but I don’t think the children in the audience realised this! He makes the most wonderful Elf, full of curiosity, mischief and fun and he had the children in the palm of his hands. This was a very visual performance and just what was needed, I was laughing as much as the children. I have to admit though, that when they hadn’t found Santa in time and I thought he was going to die, my heart was breaking!
Alexandra James is a super Carol, at the beginning it was oh so clear that she was a very lonely and unhappy lady and it was a delight to watch her have fun with Elf 30046, become his friend and to care for him. Again this was a very visual performance but the highlight was Alexandra’s wonderfully expressive face and eyes.
Leeds Playhouse recommends this for 3-7 year olds and they have pitched it absolutely right. The plot is simple to follow and very visual, it zips along at a good pace and there is lots of fun, oh and there are one or two bits for the grown-ups too! At just under an hour it is exactly the right length and would make a brilliant alternative to the traditional Christmas panto for younger families.
It was a treat to watch this performance and to listen to the youngsters guffawing with laughter, my Christmas has now begun!
It’s December, Panto season is upon us, so what better way to get into the festive spirit than a bit of gritty northern realism.
Kay Mellor’s Band of Gold, based on the TV series of the same name also penned by Mellor is very gritty, very northern but also very witty. I’ve not seen the TV series – something I will try and remedy now – but I was warned about pink marigolds (more of them later!). Mellor is a fabulous writer and gives life and depth to her characters. This is actually quite an empowering production.
Anita (Laurie Brett) is the Mother figure of the girls. Living in a flat paid for by her married lover George (Mark Sheals), she feels she’s not a prostitute. However, she allows the girls to use her flat for their clients and she stays close by to make sure the girls are always safe. Anita loves to belt out on the karaoke giving us a chance to hear Bretts amazing vocals. George visits every Tuesday and Thursday and wants Anita to use her contacts to get him a cleaning contract from Councillor Barraclough (Andrew Dunn).
Rose (Gaynor Faye) runs “The Lanes” where the girls tout for cars, always making sure if they go off in a punters car someone must know they are going and they’ve come back. Safety is paramount for these women.
Gina (Sascha Parkinson) has thrown out her abusive husband, Steve (Kieron Richardson), but finds herself in debt to a loan shark named Mr. Moore (Joe Mallalieu). She is starting up a round selling Avon while her mum Joyce (Olwen May) looks after her young daughter Sarah. Its inferred that Joyce is in an abusive marriage with second husband Bob, who is controlling and doesn’t like her looking after Sarah. Whilst out selling Avon, Gina meets Carol (Emma Osman), an OCD clean freak prostitute who keeps her home pristine because she doesn’t want her young daughter Emma to catch anything. With Mr Moore demanding interest on the loan and charging penalties for early payment, Gina realises that she will never earn enough from selling Avon and, with Rose’s permission starts to work “The Lanes”. Whilst all the time her mum believes she is building up her Avon round.
Inspector Newall (Shayne Ward) is an ex-vice now serious crime officer. He was a client of Carol before he moved departments. Carol also has a regular customer, Poultry factory owner Curly (Steve Garti) who likes her to wear stockings and heels and walk up and down in front of him whilst he “pleasures himself” in pink marigolds (A scene which was fascinatingly hilarious and horrendous in equal measure – such is the brilliance of Mellors writing). He is generous and harmless in that she just needs to walk and he literally “chokes the chicken”
With a who-dun-nit to solve Newall as his work cut out to solve the case with the women closing ranks against him.
Band of Gold is an amazing production, just over 2 hours of intense story line and humour. Mellors writing along with Janet Birds design, Yvonne Milnes costumes and Jason Taylors lighting places you back in the early 90’s in Bradford. Seeing how life was for girls and women who had bills to pay and sold their bodies as a last resort, they were strong and matter of fact about their lives but there was a camaraderie and safety was a priority for all. It’s certainly a show that makes you think.
Band of Gold is in Leeds until 14 December 2019 and on tour around the UK in 2020 for details see https://bandofgoldplay.com/
Ah panto! A genre that I just can’t help but love and in this instance a fun and silly night out, made all the more enjoyable as I was also watching through the eyes of my 4 year old daughter.
My little girl was captivated from the outset but I have to admit that I felt the show was a little slow to get going. ‘Back in the USSR’ was lacking the energy one usually expects from a panto opening number and left me feeling a little underwhelmed. I needn’t have worried though as my panto buzz came back with a vengeance with the appearance of the dame, Andrew Pollard’s ‘Tsarina Bertha’. It was at this point that I let my guard down and just sat back and enjoyed the show for what it was. Andrew is clearly an incredibly accomplished Dame, Bertha was delivered with perfect pitch to the audience and we loved watching as she suitably embarrassed one of the men in the audience with her giant ‘black pudding’. I loved Eli Caldwell’s Bjorn, the Swedish Au Pair but a favourite for me was Anthony Spargo who’s Rasputin reminded me of a cross between Rick Mayall and Captain Jack Sparrow. He had the audience laughing and ‘boo’ing with his great opening number and as a panto bad guy, he was spot on.
The show had plenty of memorable moments; the lead characters as babies and Bertha floating through space and Martin Johnston as Tsar Ivan chasing after her in his rocket and also some sweet moments, 525 600 minutes was beautifully sung by the ensemble.
It was a good way into the first half that we started picking up some of the traditional Sleeping Beauty storyline. Sleeping Beauty (Anastasia), played by Esme Bacalla-Hayes was a delight. She was just so lovely to watch. Strength and sweetness in equal measure and my 4 year old daughter said she was ‘beautiful’. Exactly what you want from a panto princess.
All in all, we had a great night. A feel good production and an evening to remind us that we shouldn’t take life too seriously and just let go once in a while and enjoy the theatre for what it is. Pure entertainment. Well done Greenwich!
But hey, the most important critic is my 4 year old and here is what she had to say, “I loved the bit when Sleeping Beauty came out the best, it was hilarious when they were babies, the aliens were funny and I loved throwing the moon puddings……Mummy, can we go back and see it again?” Enough said I think.
