Wilton’s Music Hall to Open with Social Distancing
From 19 January 2021
The much-loved and world’s oldest surviving grand music hall, Wilton’s Music Hall will reopen on 19th January 2021 for a season of socially distanced theatre, music and spoken word from a number of prestigious production companies. The reduced audience numbers, in line with current COVID-19 government regulations, will allow these shows to be fabulously intimate.
The line-up offers an expedient, entertaining and exciting selection of shows until the Hall can open to full capacity and allows London’s theatre lovers to return to live shows. The diverse programme includes everything from the Olivier Award-winning, cult cabaret band The Tiger Lillies as they rediscover the music of Cole Porter to a brand-new show from acclaimed comic actor Brendan Murphy; FRIEND (The One with Gunther), the entirety of adored sitcom Friends – all 236 episodes – in just one hour. Wilton’s also welcomes back internationally acclaimed singer Camille O’Sullivan – Live at Wilton’s, in her first live show since lockdown began, and Horse Country, “a profound yet hilarious interchange between two of the most brilliant idiots one has the pleasure of being forced to watch” (New York Herald) from CJ Hopkins and directed by Mark Bell of Mischief Theatre (‘The Play that Goes Wrong’, ‘Peter Pan Goes Wrong’, ‘The Comedy About A Bank Robbery’).
All shows will run straight through without an interval and with a seating capacity of just over 100, each audience member will effectively get their own exclusive performance. The comfort of brand-new customised seats installed during the lockdown period, along with improved acoustics will significantly enhance the audience’s experience and make the return to live performance at Wilton’s an even more special one.
Wilton’s CEO Holly Kendrick said: “We cannot wait to welcome you back to our magical East End building. Reopening at a reduced capacity means we will do so at a financial loss but we want to protect jobs and support performers and creativity and to do that we need, and want to bring people back into the building: our audiences, our artists and our staff. For over 160 years Wilton’s has inspired performers and public alike and we can only continue to do this by opening our doors for all of London and for everyone with a curious imagination. So please book at ticket or donate to Wilton’s to support us.”
Listings Information
Dates: 19 – 23 Jan
Christine Bovill presents
Christine Bovill’s Tonight You Belong To Me
Running time: 75 minutes, no interval
Times: 7.30pm, Sat matinee 2.30pm
Prices: £18 – £22 full price, £15.50 – £19.50 concessions
Following on from her success of “PIAF” and “PARIS” at Wilton’s, the award-winning, five-star Glaswegian chanteuse, Christine Bovill returns with a brand-new show. With her heart-melting, smoky, evocative voice, Christine selects some of the most celebrated songs and engrossing stories from the Jazz Age – the era of Prohibition, women’s suffrage, radio, flappers, vamps, F Scott Fitzgerald, Dorothy Parker, Charlie Chaplin, Charles Lindbergh and Bessie Smith. A decade of heroes and villains; of sex scandals; literary giants and criminal low lives – all beautifully bound in the seductive rhythms of jazz.
Nominated for best female vocalist Scottish Jazz Awards 2020
“She is becoming the stuff of Fringe legend” – BroadwayBaby.com
“Something that will stay with you for the rest of your life” – The Sunday Times
***** (Scotsman) ***** (Herald) ***** (Edinburghfest.Org) ***** (Belfast Telegraph)
Date: 26 – 27 Jan
Tom Carradine’s London Songbook
Running time: 75 minutes, no interval
Times: 7.45pm
Prices: £12 – £15 full price, £9.50 – £12.50 concessions
Join Tom Carradine for the socially-distanced launch of his brand new album ’Tom Carradine’s London Songbook’ and a celebration of his sixth year of sell-out shows since he launched himself at Wilton’s in 2014. Taking a break from his usual singalong format, Tom will entertain you in concert with songs and stories exploring the history and culture of London from the music hall to the modern day. As seen on The Apprentice (BBC One) and The Hairy Builder (BBC Two).
Dates: 28 January, 12 February, 30 March
VERYFINE presents
OneTrackMinds
Running time: 90 minutes, no interval
Times:7.30pm
Prices: £12 – 15 full prices, £10 – £13 concessions
Step into a live storytelling event celebrating the power of music: think Desert Island Discs meets The Moth Radio and TED talks. OneTrackMinds returns in 2021 with another vibrant selection of writers, thinkers, and musicians, each presenting a thought-provoking story about that one song that changed their life and is about to leave a lasting impact on yours. Previous guests have included Peter Tatchell, Dame Evelyn Glennie, Cariad Lloyd, Tulip Siddiq and Mark Thomas.
Date: 30 January
Martin and Bisi: it’s SHOWTIME!
Running time: 90 minutes, no interval
Time: 7.30pm
Prices: £15 – £18 full price, £12.50 – £15.50 concessions
A raucous evening of music, wine, and song, with Martin Prendergast and Bisi Alimi, featuring the incredible London Gay Men’s Chorus, vocalists Anne-Marie Cullum and Izzy Smith, singer-songwriter Lánre, students from RADA, with more artists to be announced. This show, a slight variation of the now-legendary cabarets, returns to Wilton’s for their fifth run bringing with them their eclectic and charming blend of jazz, classical, pop, comedy and showtunes. There may be audience participation, there will be music, and there will be singing. And did we mention the wine? Martin, Izzy, and Friends are a mix of professional and amateur musicians; please note that the line-up of performers may change, with more announcements to follow. All profits go to the Bisi Alimi Foundation, who advocate for the rights and dignity of LGBT people in Nigeria.
Dates: 1 – 6 February
Seabright Productions Ltd presents
FRIEND (The One with Gunther)
Running time: 70 minutes, no interval
Times: 7.45pm (Mon – Wed), 6.30pm & 8.30pm (Thu – Fri), 3pm & 7.45pm (Sat)
Prices: £20.50 – £25 full price, £18.50 – £23 concessions
Written and performed by Brendan Murphy and directed by Hamish MacDougall
One man, 10 seasons, one hour. The entirety of cult sitcom Friends – all 236 episodes – in just one hour! This new show from acclaimed comic actor Brendan Murphy reimagines the TV classic through the eyes of barista Gunther, who will welcome audiences to the premiere London dates of FRIEND (The One with Gunther) following its hit Edinburgh Fringe debut.
Settle down in Gunther’s café to hear the true insider story of what happened to Ross, Rachel, Phoebe, Chandler, Monica and Joey, from the Friends character who kept them caffeinated through all of the highs, lows, love affairs and failed auditions along the way.
Brendan Murphy’s recent credits include the Las Vegas season of Olivier Award-nominated global hit Potted Potter, Best of Edinburgh award-winning comedy parody The Crown Dual and improv comedy classic Battleacts.
Dates: 8 February
Poet in the City Presents
Forugh Farrokhzad
The Rebel Poet of Iran
Running times: 90 minutes, no interval
Times: 7.30pm
Prices: £13 – £16 full price, £11 – £14 concessions
An evening of poetry and discussion celebrating rebel poet Forugh Farrokhzad and her legacy on contemporary feminist movements. Hear from contemporary poets, activists, community organisers and cultural commentators who have been influenced by a poet that has come to represent the spirit of revolt against patriarchal and cultural norms in 1960s Iran. What is it like to be the first woman to write about women’s experiences in your country? During the 1960s, a time when literature and the arts, and most of the daily life in Iran, was dominated by men, poet Forugh Farrokhzad did exactly that. Now considered an iconic figure, Farrokhzad radically defied convention through her unapologetic storytelling of the reality of being a woman and has since captured the imaginations of generations of Iranians.
Dates: 29 March
Poet in the City Presents
Virgil’s Aeneid: Lessons on Fleeing, Hope and Resilience
Running times: 90 minutes, no interval
Times: 7.30pm
Prices: £13 – £16 full price, £11 – £14 concessions
Hear from contemporary poets, activists and community organisers who will share stories about refugees’ experiences throughout the ages, shine a light on current grassroots support initiatives, and consider lessons for the future. The plight of refugees is not a new phenomenon, yet global crises persist. Join us for an evening of poetry and discussion considering the lessons of Virgil’s Aeneid in the context of contemporary refugee emergencies. Virgil’s legendary Aeneid is an epic Latin poem written between 29 and 19 BC. It charts the story of Aeneas who fled from Troy, a city under siege in the East, and forged his way across the Mediterranean in search of safety. On arrival, Aeneas, and all those escaping the war are faced with a hostile rejection that breeds bitterness, resentment, and conflict towards the refugees. Over two centuries later, similar narratives can be found today. What lessons can Virgil’s Aeneid teach us about fleeing, hope and resilience?
Dates: 9 – 11 February
Jimmy Jewell presents Dietrich: Natural Duty
Running time: 60 minutes, no interval
Times: 19.45
Prices: £18 – £23.50 full price, £16 – £21.50 concessions
An intoxicating one (wo)man show revealing the life of a legend.
It is 1942. On the battlefields of North Africa in a gold sequin gown, Marlene Dietrich takes to the stage to fight the war her way; with an irresistible mix of songs, sex and sympathy.
This spectacular mixture of theatre, cabaret and drag returns to Wilton’s Music Hall following its international tour which commenced here in 2018, followed by the SoHo Playhouse in New York, the storytelling festival in Amsterdam, the Theatre de la Toison d’Or in Brussels and venues across the UK. Dietrich: Natural Duty enjoyed critically acclaimed runs at the 2018 Edinburgh Festival, the 2019 Brighton and Homotopia Festivals, the 2019 and 2020 Adelaide Festivals, a complete sell out run at the VAULT Festival London, and last year won pick of the World’s Fringe at the Soho Playhouse, the Amsterdam International Storytelling Festival, the Sunday Mail Best Cabaret Award and the Adelaide Critics’ Circle Weekly Award two years in a row.
Fall in love again with this Hollywood icon and her extraordinary commitment to duty.
Created and performed by Peter Groom
Dates: 16 – 20 February
Flying Bridge Theatre and Rive Productions presents
Horse Country Featuring Daniel Llewelyn-Williams and Michael Edwards.
Directed by Mark Bell (The Play that Goes Wrong, Peter Pan Goes Wrong, The Comedy About A Bank Robbery).
Running time: 100 minutes, no interval
Times: 7.30pm, 2.30pm Saturday matinee
Prices: £20 – £25 full price, £17.50 – £22.50 concessions
Two clowns shoot the breeze, drinking bourbon and playing cards. While hunting the elusive nine of diamonds, they casually dissect capitalism, sea-lions, western culture, fishing, genocide, you know… stuff like that. Sam and Bob are not so much waiting for Godot, nor are they waiting for the audience to keep up. Their window on the world is one of menace, hilarity, disappointment, and improbability, all delivered with a magnificent high-octane comic brio. Anarchic and surreal, this delightful and confusing satire surprises and provokes in spades… or the nine of diamonds…
Dates: 23 February – 6 March
Tiger Lillies – Love for Sale
Originally produced by Opera North projects
Running time: 60 minutes, no interval
Times: 6.45pm & 8.30pm each night
Prices: £20.50 – £25 full price, £18.50 – £23 concessions
Rediscover the music of Cole Porter with Olivier award winning, cult cabaret band The Tiger Lillies. The Grammy nominees uncover the dark, despair and delirium that lies beneath the surface of Porter’s more romantic and mysterious works in Love For Sale. Martyn Jacques and Adrian Stout return with a twisted, grimy cabaret that re-imagines some of Porter’s best loved classics including ‘My Heart Belongs to Daddy, Love For Sale and Miss Otis Regrets as well as hits from his most famous musicals. Jacques describes the project as “dragging Cole Porter down to our level”. But he also acknowledges that his own writing has more in common with Porter’s than might be expected. “The classic song as far as this collaboration goes is Miss Otis Regrets. As I’ve been recording the songs the engineer said to me that it is a Tiger Lillies song… it is very much in that dark gothic type world which is part of what we do.”
The world The Tiger Lillies creates on-stage is dark, peculiar, and varied, with moments of deep sadness, cruel black humour, and immense beauty. The Tiger Lillies music is a mixture of pre-war Berlin cabaret, anarchic opera, and gypsy music, echoing the voices of Bertolt Brecht and Jacques Brel, never ceasing to shock, surprise and entertain.
“Serious, humorous and blasphemous, leading one, unsuspecting, to an emotional climax that just reaches in and tears out your heart – a remarkable performance.” ***** The Independent “Fun, scintillating, impudent, heartless and achingly beautiful.” **** The Guardian
Dates: 9 – 13 March
Camille O’Sullivan – Live at Wilton’s
Running time: 60 minutes, no interval
Times: 6.45pm & 8.30pm each night
Prices: £20.50 – £25 full price, £18.50 – £23 concessions
These are Camille’s first live performances since lockdown began. The internationally acclaimed singer presents a stripped back evening with just piano, bringing her home to Wiltons stage and creating an intimate evening of songs with her long-time friend, musician Feargal Murray. Chameleon-like on stage, Camille will perform songs and stories of loss, love, joy light and darkness – some are hymnal and at other moments she will rock out, choosing music from her favourite writers Cave, Cohen, Bowie, Radiohead, Brel and Arcade Fire, along with some new originals. Queen of the Edinburgh Festival’ (BBC) and original star of Olivier Award-winning LaClique, Camille O’Sullivan enjoys a formidable reputation for her intensely dramatic interpretations of the songs of Brel, Cave, Waits, Bowie and more. The multi-award-winning singer has stunned audiences around the world with her 5-star sell-out performances, including Sydney Opera House, Royal Festival Hall, La Clique, Royal Albert Hall, Later with Jools Holland (BBC) and won the coveted Herald Angel award for her RSC solo performance ‘The Rape of Lucrece’. Dark, sexy, fierce, amusing and mesmerizing, Camille transforms each song she performs into an intense, emotional, and theatrical experience. Expect joy and pure passion. “She treats every song as an intense emotional journey…hypnotic… such an outpouring of passion you can’t resist being drawn into her web” ***** Independent “Ravishing, a superb performer and great singer… the star is her singing voice, a deep sultry instrument that might have been created to express desolate love” ***** Guardian “One of the top 25 performances ever on Later with Jools Holland, BBC” Daily Telegraph
Dates: 16 – 20 March
Opera della Luna presents
Curtain Raisers / Cox and Box Sullivan & Les Deux Aveugles Offenbach
Running Time: 90 minutes, no interval.
Times: Tues 5pm and 7.45, Weds – Sat 7.30pm, 2.30pm Thursday and Saturday matinees
Prices: £30 – £22 full price, no concessions
Special price of £27.50 – £19.50 for under 30s and job seekers
Opera della Luna return to Wilton’s with a brand new production: a double bill of two short operettas by Sullivan and Offenbach. Cox and Box was Sullivan’s first success, and predates his collaboration with Gilbert. It tells the farcical tale of an unscrupulous landlord who rents out the same room to two tenants – Cox, who works by day, and Box who works by night. The ruse works until one day, Cox is given the day off and they meet much to the horror of the landlord, Sergeant Bouncer. This little short operetta was a huge hit and its title has now passed into common parlance.
Les Deux Aveugles, the story of two separate con-men who are both pretending to be blind beggars and arrive one day at the same pitch on a Parisian bridge, was similarly Offenbach’s first major success. Although it only lasts 25 minutes, it made the composer enough money to build his first theatre, the Bouffes Parisiens.
Dates: 23 – 27 March
The Faction presents
Medea / My Ex-Duchess / Duende
Running Time: 90mins
Times: 7.30pm, Thursday and Saturday matinees 2.30pm
Prices: £18 – £23.50 full price, concessions £16 – £21.50
Award-winning theatre ensemble The Faction returns to Wilton’s Music Hall following successful runs of The Talented Mr. Ripley and A Midsummer Night’s Dream with a series of thrilling solo shows. MEDEA / MY EX-DUCHESS / DUENDE brings together the most daring names from world literature with exciting emerging writers. Emily Juniper’s Off West End nominated take on Euripides’ MEDEA tells the classic tale whilst giving voice to Medea’s wedding dress, while South African playwright Jessica Sian combines Browning’s poem MY LAST DUCHESS with the contemporary resonances of the Oscar Pistorius-Reeva Steenkamp murder trial. The cast includes Anna-Maria Nabirye (Macbeth, National Theatre; They Drink It In The Congo, Almeida) and Amelia Donkor (The Taming of the Shrew, Royal Shakespeare Company; What Shadows, Birmingham Rep) directed by The Faction’s Artistic Director Rachel Valentine Smith.
Date: 31 March
Latin Rediscovery presents
Marlene in Havana
Running time: 75mins, no interval
Time: 7.30pm
Prices: £20 – £24 full price, £17.50 – £21.50 concessions
The year is 1957 and Marlene Dietrich performs in Havana, Cuba, The nightclub capital of the world. Marlene’s film career is almost over, and she is beginning a new career, in cabaret, back where she started. In the club ‘Sans Soucis’, 1920’s Berlin meets 1950’s Cuba, on the cusp of a revolution which will have political repercussions right up to the present day with a bitter US embargo. The show highlights Latin music elements which were so important in films of the day, Cuban hits, and tangos along with classic Dietrich songs from the Weimar Republic and the Piaf songs Marlene also sang. Award-winning jazz tango violin virtuoso Omar Puente leads the band and opera singer Ann Liebeck plays Marlene, already in her late 50’s, with a script by multi award-winning author and broadcaster Brian Sibley, direction by James Norris and lighting design by Nigel Edwards. From the producers of Violetta’s Last Tango performed at Wilton’s in 2017 and sponsored by ACE England and La Linea London Latin Music Festival. Marlene in Havana premiered in Havana, Cuba at Habana Clásica festival. The show has also been performed at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2019, Pizza Express Jazz Club and the Purcell Room, Southbank Centre in September 2019.
Date: 1 April
The Marilyn Monroe Story
Running time: 60mins, no interval
Age recommendation: 10+
Twitter:@marilynbyjojo
Facebook: @marilynmonroebyjojo
Time: 6.45pm & 8.30pm
Prices: £16 – £20 full price, £13.50 – £17.50 concessions
Marilyn’s fascinating story – from beginning to her untimely end. A tragic death which is still clouded in mystery. Funny and sad, this show considers Marilyn’s childhood, career, influences, husbands, friends, and lovers. A real ‘rags to riches’ tale. Jojo Desmond relates her life through dialogue, dance and singing Marilyn’s iconic songs to illustrate keynote events and numerous fabulous costume changes – all accompanied by her band. Jojo is a professional singer, actress and dancer. She trained at Central School of Ballet, was a principal dancer in Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake and lead singer in BBC’s Dr Who Live (Arena) shows. She supported The Three Degrees on their 2015-16 UK Tours, with her debut album Studio 54. She performs regularly with her jazz musicians and is currently playing ‘Frieda’ with the Abba Mania UK show.