FORTHCOMING PRODUCTIONS
LONDON
WEST END (LARGE THEATRES)
LOVE STORY – Duchess Theatre; AN IDEAL HUSBAND –
Vaudeville Theatre;
WHEN WE ARE MARRIED – Garrick Theatre; SHREK – The Musical
– Theatre Royal, Drury Lane; BLITHE SPIRIT – Apollo
Theatre, Shaftesbury AVENUE;
YES, PRIME MINISTER – Gielgud Theatre; ONASSIS – Novello
Theatre; THE WIZARD OF
OZ – London Palladium; BIRDSONG –
Comedy Theatre; THE
PRISONER OF SECOND AVENUE – Vaudeville Theatre; DEATHTRAP – Noel
Coward Theatre; GHOST
STORIES – Duke of York’s Theatre; FLASHDANCE –
Shaftesbury Theatre;
REGENT'S PARK OPEN AIR THEATRE (The
New Shakespeare Company) - (2010 season)
(to find a specific production use the "find/search" facility on your Internet server, and enter the title or Theatre)
WEST END TRANSFER FOR
ERICH SEGAL’S
L O V E S
T O R Y
The Chichester Festival Theatre production of Love Story
will transfer to the West End previewing at the Duchess Theatre from 27
November, with press night on 6 December 2010. Love Story,
which is produced in the West End by Michael Ball – making his
producing debut, Adam Spiegel and Stephen Waley-Cohen,
is currently booking until 26 February 2011.
Oliver Barrett IV went to Harvard and
Jenny Cavilleri to Radcliffe. He was rich, she was
poor. He was sporty, she played music. But they fell in love. This is their
story.
Erich Segal’s best-selling novel, Love Story, became
one of the most romantic films of all time, has sold over 21 million copies
world-wide and has been published in 33 languages.
This new musical version of Love Story,
inspired by Erich Segal’s novel, is directed by Rachel Kavanaugh, with music by Howard Goodall,
book by Stephen Clark and lyrics by Stephen Clark and Howard Goodall. Love Story, which enjoyed a
run at The Chichester Festival Theatre earlier this year, is designed by Peter McKintosh with musical direction by Stephen Ridley. Casting
will be announced shortly.
Emmy, Brit and BAFTA
award-winning Howard Goodall is one of the
UK’s most versatile and distinguished composers having written choral
music, stage musicals, film and TV scores. Goodall
was appointed as England's first ever National Ambassador for Singing, he is
the Classical Brit Composer of the Year and Classic FM's
Composer-in-Residence and a highly respected broadcaster and an energetic
campaigner for music education. His extensive scores include Q.I.,
The Vicar of Dibley, The Gathering Storm,
The Borrowers, The Catherine Tate Show, Mr Bean, Bean: The Ultimate Disaster Movie, Mr Bean's Holiday
and Blackadder. Previously his musical
theatre compositions include The Hired Man, Girlfriends, Days of Hope,
Catwalk, The Kissing Dance and The Dreaming.
Stephen Clark’s work includes Mahabharata for Sadler’s Wells, The
Far Pavilions at the Shaftesbury Theatre, the Laurence Olivier
award-winning Martin Guerre at the Prince Edward Theatre, La Traviata for English National Opera and Zorro at
the Garrick Theatre and Folies Bergère,
Paris.
Love Story is directed by Rachel Kavanaugh,
Artistic Director of Birmingham Repertory Theatre where her many credits
include Hapgood, Peter Pan – A
Musical Adventure and Uncle Vanya as well
as David Hare’s Racing Demon,
Murmuring Judges and The Absence Of
War. Her other credits include The Music Man starring Brian Conley and
A Small Family Business for Chichester Festival Theatre, The Merry
Wives of Windsor and Alice in Wonderland for the Royal Shakespeare
Company, Hilda for Hampstead Theatre and The Rivals for Bristol
Old Vic.
Michael Ball makes his producing debut with Love Story. His many
West End credits include originating the role of Edna Turnblad
in Hairspray, produced by Adam Spiegel, and for which he won the
Laurence Olivier and Whatsonstage Awards for Best
Actor in a Musical. He can currently be seen on tour in the UK reprising
the role of Edna. His other theatre roles include Marius in Les Misérables, Giorgio in Stephen Sondheim’s Passion,
Raoul in The Phantom of the Opera, Alex
in Aspects of Love, Caractacus Potts in Chitty
Chitty Bang Bang and
Count Fosco in The Woman in White in the West
End and on Broadway. His made his English National Opera debut as
Hajj/Poet in Kismet and in 2005 he made his debut with the New York City
Opera as Reginald Bunthrone in Gilbert and
Sullivan’s Patience. As well as his Sunday Brunch for
BBC Radio, he will present a new series for ITV, The Michael Ball Show,
starting next month. His 15 solo albums have all achieved gold or
platinum status and his discography includes: Michael Ball, Always, One
Careful Owner, First Love, The Musicals, The Movies,
Music, One Voice and the superb homage to Burt Bacharach, Michael Ball
– Back To Bacharach.
Listings Information
LOVE STORY
Dates
27 November 2010 – 26 February 2011
Press Night 6 December 7pm
Address
Duchess Theatre, Catherine Street,
London WC2B 5 LA
Box
Office
0844 412 4659
Running
time
90 minutes
Performances
times
Monday – Saturday at 7.30pm
Wednesday and Saturday at 3pm
Ticket
prices
£25, £40,
£55
OSCAR WILDE’S CLASSIC
AN IDEAL HUSBAND
DIRECTED BY LINDSAY
POSNER
STARRING SAMANTHA BOND, ELLIOTT COWAN, ALEXANDER
HANSON AND RACHAEL STIRLING
OPENS IN LONDON
AT THE VAUDEVILLE THEATRE, THE STRAND
ON 10 NOVEMBER 2010
WITH PREVIEWS FROM 4
NOVEMBER 2010
Oscar Wilde’s much loved play, An Ideal Husband returns to the West End for the first time in over 10 years. Directed by Lindsay Posner and starring Samantha Bond, Elliott Cowan, Alexander Hanson and Rachael Stirling, An Ideal Husband will open at the Vaudeville Theatre for previews from 4 November 2010.
Sir Robert Chiltern (Alexander Hanson) is a
successful Government minister, well-off and with a loving wife (Rachael Stirling). All this is threatened when Mrs
Cheveley (Samantha Bond) appears in London with
damning evidence of a past misdeed. Sir Robert turns for help to his friend
Lord Goring (Elliot Cowan), an apparently idle philanderer and the despair of
his family. For the next 48 hours
all their lives will be turned upside down.
An Ideal Husband, written in 1895, is a stylish critique of politicians and social
morality, portrayed with tremendous humour and elegant
style. Last performed on the London stage in Peter Hall’s acclaimed 1996
production, An Ideal Husband soon
after transferred to Broadway and has since completed various UK tours. In 1999
the play was made into a film starring Rupert Everett, Cate
Blanchett and Julianne Moore.
Samantha Bond is best known for her role as ‘Miss Moneypenny’ in the James Bond films starring Pierce Brosnan. She has appeared in many
television series, including the ITV drama-comedy Distant Shores, Outnumbered (BBC), Mansfield Park, Emma, Rumpole of the Bailey and Agatha Christie's Poirot. On stage, Bond starred opposite
Dame Judi Dench in David Hare's award-winning play Amy's View at the National
Theatre, for which she was nominated for a Tony Award. Recent West End stage roles
include Michael Frayn's Donkey's Years (Comedy Theatre), Oscar Wilde’s A Woman of No Importance (Theatre Royal Haymarket) and Tom Stoppard's Arcadia (Duke of York's Theatre).
Elliott Cowan played the title role in Lucy Bailey’s production of Macbeth at The Globe earlier this year and the role of Stanley Kowalski in the acclaimed version of A Streetcar Named Desire at the Donmar Warehouse in 2009. Other stage credits include Michael Grandage’s Frost/Nixon (Donmar & West End) and Don Carlos (Sheffield Crucible & West End). Cowan’s film credits include The Golden Compass, Happy Go Lucky and Alexander. He is also a familiar face from television having recently appeared in The Fixer (Kudos), Blood and Oil (BBC) and Lost in Austen with Jemima Rooper.
Alexander Hanson most recently starred in Sondheim’s A Little Night Music (West End, Broadway) for which he was nominated for an Olivier Award for ‘Best Actor in a Musical’. Other credits include Marguerite (Theatre Royal Haymarket) for which he was also nominated for an Olivier Award; ‘Captain Georg Von Trapp’ in The Sound of Music (West End); Sunset Boulevard (Adelphi Theatre); The Merchant of Venice; Troilus and Cressida both for Trevor Nunn at the National Theatre and Tom Stoppard’s Arcadia at the Theatre Royal Haymarket. Television credits include Six Characters in Search of an Author (BBC) and Auf Wiedersehn Pet (BBC).
Rachael Stirling was recently in Peter Hall’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Rose Theatre, Kingston with Judi Dench. Other stage credits include The Priory (Royal Court), Pygmalion (Theatre Royal & Japan) and Theatre of Blood (National Theatre). Stirling’s television credits include Women in Love (BBC), Minder (Talkback Thames), Boy Meets Girl (ITV) and Lewis (ITV). Film credits include Centurion and The Young Victoria with Emily Blunt and Rupert Friend.
Full cast includes: Caroline Blakiston (A Woman of No Importance, Theatre Royal Haymarket), Samantha Bond, Fiona Button (Madame de Sade, Rock ‘n’ Roll), Elliott Cowan, Alexander Hanson, Charles Kay (Amadeus – the film and at the Old Vic, Kenneth Branagh's Henry V and at the RSC, Julius Caesar, The Merchant of Venice, The Comedy of Errors and Hamlet) and Rachael Stirling.
Director Lindsay Posner received rave reviews for his production of A View from the Bridge starring Ken Stott, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio and Hayley Atwell at the Duke of York’s Theatre in 2009. Previously, he directed the critically acclaimed productions of Carousel starring Lesley Garrett and Fiddler on the Roof starring Henry Goodman (both Savoy Theatre). Other credits include David Mamet’s A Life in The Theatre with Patrick Stewart and Oleanna with Julia Stiles and Aaron Eckhart, Sam Shepherd’s Fool For Love with Juliette Lewis (all West End), and Tom and Viv at the Almeida Theatre. Stephen Brimson Lewis will design and Peter Mumford will light the production.
An Ideal Husband is produced by Kim Poster for Stanhope Productions.
BOOKING INFORMATION
Vaudeville Box
Office 0844 412 4663
Thursday 4th November 2010 – Saturday 19th February 2011
Monday – Saturday at 7.30pm
Wednesday & Saturday at 2.30pm (except Wednesday 10th November)
No performances on Friday 24th December at 7.30pm, Saturday 25th December at 2.30pm and 7.30pm
Additional
performances on Friday 24th December at 2.30pm, Friday 31st
December at 2.30pm
Nica Burns & Max Weitzenhoffer for Nimax Theatres and Duncan C. Weldon & Paul Elliot in
association with
WHEN WE ARE MARRIED, JB
PRIESTLEY’S TIMELESS COMEDY
WHEN WE ARE MARRIED, JB Priestley’s gloriously
timeless traditional British comedy about class and hypocrisy opens at the
Garrick Theatre on the 19th October starring a fine ensemble of
Set in 1908 in Clecklewyke
in the heart of Northern England, three well-to-do
Disaster strikes with the shocking revelation that the
vicar who married them wasn’t actually licensed – these pillars of
the church and the community, aren’t as respectably married as they
thought they were!
Home truths fly like confetti, an old flame returns
and other uninvited guests start to call. With a photographer from the local
paper due to arrive, a missing housekeeper and a doorbell that wont stop ringing, can the three couples keep a lid on
their embarrassing secret or will the neighbours find
out, destroying their standing in the community.
Roy Hudd says: “When We Are Married was the very first play I ever saw at the Grand
Theatre Croydon when I was about thirteen. I'd seen lots of variety
but no "legit". There and then I vowed if I ever became an
actor (I'm still working on it!) the photographer is the part I'd love to
play. Now, sixty years later, I'm getting the chance. Yippee!”
Nica Burns says: “This
is an utterly delightful classic comedy by J.B. Priestley, one of our greatest
and most loved playwrights. This fine acting ensemble will relish doing J.B.
justice.”
The production stars Olivier Award Nominated Rosemary
Ashe (Witches of Eastwick, Phantom of the Opera),
Lynda Baron (Open All Hours, Fat Friends), Susie Blake (Coronation Street,
Victoria Wood), Michele Dotrice (Some Mothers Do Have
‘Em), David Horovitch
(Bedroom Farce, Taking Sides & Collaboration), Roy Hudd
(Coronation Street, BBC Radio 2), Sam Kelly (‘Allo
‘Allo), Olivier Award winning Maureen Lipman (A Little Night Music, Glorious) and Simon Rouse
(The Bill).
Director Christopher
Luscombe’s directing credits include The
Shakespeare Revue (Vaudeville), Star Quality (Apollo), Home and
Beauty (Lyric), One Last Flutter (Comedy), The Rocky Horror Show
(Playhouse), The Comedy of Errors and The Merry Wives of Windsor
(Shakespeare’s Globe), A Midsummer Night’s Dream
(Regent’s Park), Enjoy (Gielgud) and Alphabetical Order
(Hampstead). Other directing credits include Masterpieces (Birmingham
Rep), Little Shop of Horrors (West Yorkshire Playhouse), Things We Do
for Love (Harrogate), Candida (Oxford Stage Company), The Likes
of Us (Sydmonton), Arms and the Man
(Salisbury), A Small Family Business (Watford) and tours of The
Importance of Being Earnest, Tell Me on a Sunday, The Lady in the Van, Lord
Arthur Savile’s Crime and Single Spies.
He currently has two other productions on tour: The History Boy, The Rocky Horror Show and Spamalot.
The production is
designed by Simon Higlett (Yes, Prime Minister,
Collaboration and Taking Sides, Chichester & West End),
Lighting by Olivier Award winning designer Mark Henderson and Sound Design by
Jason Barnes (Enjoy).
When We Are Married
is produced by Nica Burns & Max Weitzenhoffer for Nimax Theatres
and Duncan C. Weldon & Paul Elliot in association with
Listings
Information:
Theatre: Garrick
Theatre,
Booking Period: 19th
October 2010 - 26th February 2011
PN: Wednesday 27th
October at 7pm
Times: Mon- Sat 7.30pm;
Thurs & Sat @ 2.30pm
Ticket Prices: £19.50 -
£49.50. Price includes £1 restoration levy.
Box Office: 0844 412 4661
Christmas Schedule:
24 Dec – no
show
25 Dec – no
show
26 Dec – no
show
27 Dec –
2.30pm & 7.30pm
28 Dec –
2.30pm & 7.30pm
29 Dec –
7.30-pm
30 Dec –
2.30pm & 7.30pm
31 Dec –
7.30pm
01 Jan –
2.30pm & 7.30pm
SHREK THE MUSICAL
THEATRE ROYAL, DRURY LANE, LONDON
MAY 2011
DreamWorks
Theatricals and Neal Street Productions announced today that SHREK THE MUSICAL® will open
at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in May 2011, with a press night on June 7,
2011. The new stage musical is based on the story and characters from
William Steig’s book Shrek! and the Oscar-winning DreamWorks
Animation feature film Shrek, the
first chapter in the series of irreverent fairy tales.
The
Anglo-American creative team is led by directors Jason Moore and Rob Ashford
and includes David Lindsay-Abaire (Book and Lyrics),
Jeanine Tesori (Music), Tim Hatley
(Scenic, Costume and Puppet Design), Hugh Vanstone (Lighting Design), Peter Hylenski (Sound Design), and Josh Prince (Choreography).
Casting, performance
dates, and box office details will be released soon.
Tickets will go on sale
to the general public on October 1, 2010.
Register for priority
booking and sign-up for our newsletter at www.shrekthemusical.co.uk
Amanda Holden will play Princess
Fiona.
Richard Blackwood will play Donkey.
SHREK THE MUSICAL® will open at the
Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in May 2011.
Tickets will go on sale to the general public on October 1, 2010. The new stage musical will be booking
until February 19, 2012.
Amanda Holden played the title role
in the West End production of Thoroughly
Modern Millie in 2003, for which she was nominated for the Laurence Olivier
Award for Best Actress in a Musical.
As Princess Fiona in SHREK THE
MUSICAL® she will be reunited with director Rob Ashford and composer Jeanine Tesori.
Among her varied television roles are Mel in the BBC’s Kiss Me Kate, Mia Bevan in the
BBC’s Cutting It and Sarah Trevanion
in ITV1’s Wild at Heart. Amanda is a judge on ITV1’s Britain's Got Talent, and the UK
correspondent for CBS America’s The
Early Show.
A
regular on the comedy circuit, Richard
Blackwood recently performed in Cat
on a Hot Tin Roof at the Novello Theatre alongside James Earl Jones and Phylicia Rashad. In 2007 Richard
became the host of ‘RB’s Sunday School’ on Choice FM. He has
a range of TV credits including Anton in ITV’s Britannia High, BBC1’s Dani’s House and his own show on Channel 4, The Richard Blackwood Show. Stage credits
include national tours of Roy Williams’ Angel House and The
Unexpected Guest, and The Brothers
at the Hackney Empire.
SHREK THE MUSICAL® is based on the story
and characters from William Steig’s book Shrek! and the
Oscar-winning DreamWorks Animation feature film Shrek, the first chapter in the series of irreverent fairy tales.
The
Anglo-American creative team is led by directors Jason Moore and Rob Ashford
and includes David Lindsay-Abaire (Book and Lyrics),
Jeanine Tesori (Music), Tim Hatley
(Scenic, Costume and Puppet Design), Hugh Vanstone (Lighting Design), Peter Hylenski (Sound Design), and Josh Prince (Choreography).
Register
for priority booking and sign-up for our newsletter at www.shrekthemusical.co.uk
SHREK THE MUSICAL® tells the story, loved
by people of all ages, of the swamp-dwelling ogre who, in a faraway kingdom,
embarks on a life-changing adventure in order to reclaim the deed to his land.
Joined by a wise-cracking donkey who won’t shut
up, this unlikely hero - not a handsome prince - fights a fearsome dragon,
rescues the feisty Princess Fiona and learns that real friendship and true love
aren’t only found in fairy tales. With all-new songs, and an old favourite in I’m
a Believer, this spectacular stage musical brings to life the film’s
cast of dysfunctional characters and the accompanying subversive fun.
SHREK THE MUSICAL® played on Broadway from
December 2008 to January 2010 and was nominated for eight Tony Awards; winning
Tim Hatley the Tony for Best Costume Design of a
Musical. The original creative team has now re-assembled to stage the production
with new songs and additional scenes. Currently in rehearsal, this production
will tour 60 cities in the United States beginning in July 2010. The UK
production will start rehearsals in London in early 2011.
SHREK THE MUSICAL® is
DreamWorks Animation’s first theatre venture. The production was
initiated when Sam Mendes, a fan of
the first Shrek film, suggested the
idea of creating a musical to DreamWorks Animation’s Jeffrey Katzenberg around the time that the second film (Shrek 2) was in production. The musical
is produced by DreamWorks Theatricals (Bill
Damaschke, president) and London-based Neal
Street Productions (Caro Newling, producer).
David Lindsay-Abaire (Book and Lyrics) won the Pulitzer Prize in 2007 for
his play Rabbit Hole, which also
attracted five Tony nominations. He recently wrote the screenplay for a film
version which stars Nicole Kidman (currently in post-production).
Jeanine Tesori (Music) won the Olivier Award for Caroline, or Change when it transferred to the National Theatre in London.
The production received a Tony nomination for Best Musical; one of three
‘Best Musical’ nominations for Tesori. She has written numerous songs for
films which include Shrek The Third.
Jason Moore (Director) directed Avenue Q in London. His Broadway credits
include Avenue Q, Steel Magnolias and Jerry Springer: The Opera. He has also
directed TV episodes of Dawson’s
Creek, One Tree Hill and Brothers and Sisters.
Rob Ashford (Director) is an
Associate Director of the Donmar Warehouse and recently directed A Streetcar Named Desire at the London
venue. He choreographed Guys and Dolls,
Evita and Thoroughly Modern Millie in the West End and his production of Promises, Promises is currently running
on Broadway.
Tim Hatley (Set & Costume
Design) won the 2009 Tony Award for Shrek
The Musical on Broadway and the 2002 Olivier Award
for Humble Boy and Private Lives in the West End. He
designed the Broadway and West End productions of Spamalot and his film credits
include Stage Beauty, Closer and Notes on a Scandal.
Hugh Vanstone (Lighting Design) has
won three Olivier Awards for his work. He designed the lighting for God of Carnage, Mary Stuart, Boeing-Boeing,
Spamalot
and Bombay Dreams amongst other
plays, musicals and operas in London, New York and around the world.
Peter Hylenski (Sound Design) was
nominated for an Olivier Award for his sound design on Ragtime in the West End in 2003. He created the sound design for Walking With
Dinosaurs and on Broadway he has worked on The Wedding Singer, Sweet
Charity and Little Women.
Josh Prince (Choreographer) made
his Broadway debut as a Choreographer on Shrek
The Musical and worked on movement for The Bridge
Project productions at Brooklyn Academy of Music and the Old Vic.
The final chapter in the
feature film series, Shrek Forever After,
is on general release in cinemas now and opens in the UK on July 2, 2010. www.shrek.com
·
PRESS REPRESENTATIVE
The
Corner Shop PR
·
DREAMWORKS THEATRICALS –
PRODUCER
DreamWorks Theatricals was established in 2007 by
DreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc. (Nasdaq:
DWA) to produce stage productions based on its films and other original adapted
works. DWA is devoted to producing high quality family entertainment though the
use of computer-generated animation. DWA’s current and upcoming film
slate includes Shrek Forever After, Megamind, Kung Fu Panda: The Kaboom of Doom
and Puss In Boots. Past titles include How to Train Your Dragon, the
Shrek and Madagascar film series,
Monsters vs. Aliens and Kung Fu Panda. Shrek was the winner of the first-ever Academy Award for Best
Animated Feature. Jeffrey Katzenberg serves as DWA’s CEO and was a
co-founder of DreamWorks Studios in 1994. Bill Damaschke
serves as president of DreamWorks Theatricals.
·
BILL DAMASCHKE – PRODUCER
Bill Damaschke is president
of DreamWorks Theatricals and co-president of production at DreamWorks
Animation SKG, Inc. He joined DreamWorks Studios in 1995 and has served in a
variety of roles at the animation studio, including head of creative production
and head of development. Damaschke served as producer
of Shark Tale (nominated for Best
Animated Feature Academy Award in 2004) and executive producer of Over The Hedge
and Kung Fu Panda. He oversees the
creative development of DWA’s film slate from inception to screen.
·
NEAL STREET PRODUCTIONS –
PRODUCER, CARO NEWLING
Formed in 2003 by Sam Mendes, Caro Newling and Pippa Harris to
produce film and theatre. Currently: The
Bridge Project, Enron (West
End), Red (Broadway). In development: Charlie and the
Chocolate Factory with Warner Brothers Theatre Ventures Inc. Previously: Three
Days of Rain (director Jamie Lloyd), The Vertical Hour (director Sam
Mendes). Commissioned projects and premieres also include: The House of
Special Purpose (director Howard Davies), All About
My Mother (director Tom Cairns), The Hound of the Baskervilles (director
Orla O’Loughlin), Days
of Wine and Roses (director Peter Gill), Anna in the Tropics (director
Indhu Rubasingham), Fuddy Meers (director
Angus Jackson). West End/Broadway transfers 2006-9: Hamlet (director
Michael Grandage), Mary Stuart (director Phyllida Lloyd) - from the Donmar Warehouse; Sunday
in the Park with George (director Sam Buntrock) -
from the Menier Chocolate Factory. Films: Stuart: A Life
Backwards, Starter for Ten, Things We Lost in the Fire, Jarhead,
Revolutionary Road, Away We Go.
Sam Mendes and Caro Newling
established and ran the Donmar Warehouse from 1992 to 2002, originating
some 70 productions including The Blue Room, Electra, True
West, and Tony Award winners Cabaret, The Real Thing, Take
Me Out. For more information, go to www.nealstreetproductions.com
·
WILLIAM STEIG – AUTHOR OF SHREK!
Named the ‘King of Cartoons’ by Newsweek, William Steig
remains The New Yorker’s
longest-running contributor with more than 1600 drawings and 117 covers to his
name. He began writing and illustrating books for children at the age of 60.
His work Sylvester and the Magic Pebble
earned him the Caldecott Medal, the highest honour
bestowed on children’s picture books, but it was the 1990 fairy tale Shrek! that
ultimately brought him his largest audience by inspiring one of the most
successful film franchises in motion picture history. William Steig wrote and illustrated children’s books up until
the last year of his life and died in 2003 at the age of 95.
Theatre
Royal Bath Productions presents
ALISON
STEADMAN IN BLITHE SPIRIT
By Noel
Coward
Directed
by Thea Sharrock
Designed by
Hildegard Bechtler, Lighting Design by Mark Henderson
Wednesday
2nd March – Saturday 18th June, 2011
Apollo
Theatre,
“A
classic of high English comedy…addictively entertaining” Daily
Telegraph
Blithe
Spirit opened in 1941 when it played for over
2,000 performances. It has been one of the world’s favourite comedies
ever since.
Novelist
Charles Condomine and his second wife Ruth are
literally haunted by a past relationship when an eccentric medium manages to
conjure up the ghost of Charles’s neurotic first wife, Elvira, at a seance.
They
have assumed the preposterous Madame Arcati is a
fraud who will simply entertain their dinner guests with a little chicanery and
supply Charles with material for his forthcoming novel. But when Elvira
appears, visible only to Charles, and is determined to sabotage his current
marriage, life – and the afterlife – begin
to get complicated.
Alison
Steadman plays the improbable clairvoyant, one
of theatre’s most hilarious comic creations. Alison is one of our
best-loved and most prolific actresses who recently enjoyed a
Thea
Sharrock
is an award-winning director who has previously worked with Daniel Radcliffe, Keira Knightley, Derek Jacobi,
John Hurt, Ken Stott, Richard Griffiths and Damian Lewis in the
Tickets go on sale on 30th
June 2010.
Further casting details will be
announced shortly.
YES, PRIME MINISTER
TRANSFERS TO THE WEST END ON 17th SEPTEMBER 2010
AFTER BREAKING BOX OFFICE RECORDS AT
CHICHESTER FESTIVAL THEATRE
PUBLIC BOOKING OPENS AT THE GIELGUD THEATRE ON MONDAY JUNE 21st
at 10am
The world premiere of Jonathan Lynn and Antony Jay’s play Yes, Prime Minister will open at the
Gielgud Theatre, London on 17th September 2010, following a
record-breaking run at Chichester Festival Theatre. The production will retain
original cast members Henry Goodman as Sir Humphrey Appleby and David Haig as
Prime Minister Jim Hacker.
Antony Jay and Jonathan Lynn, the original writers of the classic TV series Yes, Minister and Yes, Prime
Minister have reunited for this anniversary
production.
Prime Minister Jim Hacker and Cabinet Secretary Sir Humphrey
Appleby face a country in financial meltdown. The only prospect of salvation comes
from morally dubious allies – leading to deliciously comic
consequences.
Sir Humphrey Appleby is played by Henry Goodman whose recent theatre credits include Duet For One, Fiddler on the Roof and Feelgood.
He received Olivier Awards for Best Actor in 1993 for Assassins, and in 2000 for Trevor Nunn’s production of The Merchant of Venice. Recent screen
credits include the films The Damned
United and the Ang Lee comedy Taking Woodstock.
Prime Minister Jim Hacker is played by David Haig who recently featured in the latest series of the
award-winning BBC political comedy The
Thick of It. His other screen
credits include Mo, My Boy Jack (which he also wrote,
originally for the stage), The Thin Blue
Line and Four Weddings and a Funeral.
Haig’s theatre credits include West End productions of Donkey’s Years, Mary Poppins and Hitchcock Blonde. He
won an Olivier Award in 1988 for Actor of the Year in a New Play for Our Country’s Good.
Antony Jay has enjoyed a
distinguished career as writer, broadcaster and producer. He was founder and
editor of the BBC’s legendary Tonight
programme, is the editor of The Oxford Dictionary of Political Quotations,
and author of Elizabeth R and two acclaimed documentaries on the Royal
Family. He is a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order.
Jonathan Lynn’s prolific career
spans more than four decades as a director, screenwriter, producer and actor in
films, television and theatre, as well as best-selling author and
novelist. As well as co-writing, he
will be directing this stage version of
Yes, Prime Minister. His film credits as director include Wild Target (due for release this
Spring), The Whole Nine Yards, The Fighting Temptations, The Distinguished
Gentleman, My Cousin Vinny and Nuns on the Run (which
he also wrote).
Jay and Lynn’s BAFTA award-winning political comedy Yes, Minister first aired on BBC2 in
1980 and ran until 1984. The sequel, Yes,
Prime Minister ran from 1986 until 1988.
Lynn and Jay also wrote three novels, The Complete Yes,
Minister and Yes, Prime Minister, Volumes 1 and 2,
which cumulatively sold more than a million copies in hardback, were on the
British top-ten bestseller list for three years and have been translated into
numerous languages.
The production is designed by Simon
Higlett, Associate Designer at Chichester, where
his previous work includes The Circle,
Taking Sides/Collaboration (which
transferred to the West End) and The Life
and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby (which also
transferred to the West End and toured nationally and internationally). Lighting Design is by Tim Mitchell, Associate Lighting Designer
at Chichester, who has previously lit Oklahoma!,
The Grapes of Wrath, Cyrano de Bergerac and A Small Family Business for Chichester.
The West End
transfer of the Chichester Festival Theatre production of Yes, Prime Minister is produced by Mark Goucher,
Wimpole Theatre and Matthew Byam Shaw for Playful
Productions.
For further
information please contact The Corner Shop PR on 020 7494 3665 or email stephen@thecornershoppr.com or ben@thecornershoppr.com
Creative Team:
Jonathan Lynn Director
Simon Higlett Designer
Tim Mitchell Lighting
Designer
John Leonard Sound
Consultant
Gabrielle Dawes CDG Casting
Director
Yes, Prime Minister
Written by Antony Jay and Jonathan Lynn
Gielgud Theatre, 39-45
Shaftesbury Avenue London W1D 6LA
Box Office 0844 482 5130
Public Booking opens at 10am on Monday
June 21st.
First preview: Friday September 17th
at 7.30pm
Press previews: September 23rd,
24th and 25th at 7.30pm
Gala performance: Monday September 27th
at 7.30pm
Performances: Monday – Saturday at
7.30pm; Wednesday and Saturdays at 3pm
Booking until: Saturday January 15th
2011
Tickets £20 - £52.50
www.yesprimeminister.co.uk
ROBERT LINDSAY RETURNS TO THE WEST END STAGE
TO STAR IN THE TITLE ROLE
OF MARTIN SHERMAN’S NEW PLAY
“ONASSIS”
OPENING AT THE NOVELLO THEATRE ON
TUESDAY 12 OCTOBER
Robert Lindsay will return to the West End
stage to star in the title role of Martin Sherman’s new play
“ONASSIS”, which will be directed by Nancy Meckler.
“ONASSIS” will open at the Novello Theatre on Tuesday 12 October
2010, following previews from Thursday 30 September 2010. The limited London
season will finish on Saturday 5 February 2011. “ONASSIS” will also
feature Lydia Leonard as Jackie Kennedy and Anna Francolini
as Maria Callas.
“ONASSIS” is the story of the
last years in the life of Aristotle Onassis, and of his passionate and
interwoven relationships with Jackie Kennedy and Maria Callas, and his son Alexandros. Based on material from Peter Evans’ book
“Nemesis”, “ONASSIS” is an explosive account of how
those in positions of enormous power and wealth often live lives detached from
the realities and moral codes of everyday existence.
Robert Lindsay has a distinguished career
including on television “Citizen Smith”, “Jake’s
Progress” and “GBH”, for which he won a BAFTA Award for Best
Actor. His films include “Divorcing Jack”, “Genghis
Cohn” and “Remember Me”. His award-winning theatre includes
“The Entertainer”, “Richard III”,
“Oliver!”, for which he won the Olivier Award for Best Actor in a
Musical and “Me and My Girl”, for which he won the Olivier Award
for Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Musical and, when it transferred
to Broadway, the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical. Robert Lindsay can
currently be seen in the hugely successful BBC television series “My
Family” with Zoë Wanamaker.
The cast will also
include Tom Austen, Liz Crowther, Ben Grove, Robert
Hastie, John Hodgkinson, Sue Kelvin, Graeme Taylor
and Gawn Grainger.
Martin Sherman has written plays including
“Bent” and “When She Danced”, the book for the musical
“The Boy from Oz” and the screenplays for “Alive and
Kicking” and “Mrs Henderson Presents”. Nancy Meckler recently
directed the RSC productions of “The Comedy of Errors” and
“Romeo & Juliet” and she is an artistic director of Shared
Experience. “ONASSIS” will be designed by Katrina Lindsay, with
lighting by Ben Ormerod, music by Ilona
Sekacz, sound by John Leonard, video and projection
design by Lorna Heavey, choreography by Lizzi Gee and casting by Gabrielle Dawes CDG.
Lydia Leonard playing Jackie Kennedy has an
extensive television career, recently including “Ashes to Ashes”,
“Casualty 1907”, “The Long Walk to Finchley” and
“The 39 Steps” her
stage credits include “Frost/Nixon” at the Donmar Warehouse and she has
appeared on stage at both the RSC and the National Theatre. Anna Francolini playing Maria Callas has appeared in many West
End productions including “Merrily We Roll Along” and
“Company”, both at the Donmar Warehouse and “Caroline or
Change” at the National Theatre, whilst her television work includes
“This is Dom Joly” and “Jonathan
Creek”.
Performance times at the Novello Theatre will
be Mondays-Saturdays at 7.30pm, with Wednesday and Saturday matinees at 2.30pm.
Tickets, priced from £10.00 to £49.50, are available from the
Novello Theatre Box Office on 0844 482 5170 or at www.onassistheplay.com. Prior to
London, “ONASSIS” will play the Derby Theatre from 9-25 September
2010.
The Chichester Festival Theatre production in
association with Derby Live of “ONASSIS” will be presented in
London by Aukin/Vogel for DAP Ltd, Playful
Productions, Act Productions and Bob Bartner.
We’re off to see The Wizard of Oz!
The most magical adventure of them all
Tickets now on sale !
Follow the yellow brick road, over the rainbow and into The London
Palladium for a fun packed night of family entertainment.
Today,
Saturday 8th May, 2010, tickets go on sale for Andrew Lloyd
Webber’s much anticipated West End adaptation of The Wizard of Oz.
There’ll be no place like The London Palladium, the capital’s home
of the family musical, where the brand new show will premiere in early 2011,
with tickets going on sale today for performances from 29th March
2011.
Developed
from the ever popular 1939 MGM screenplay, The Wizard of Oz is an
enchanting adaptation of the all time classic, totally reconceived for the
stage by the award-winning creative team who delighted audiences of all ages
with their recent London Palladium revival of The Sound of Music.
This new production contains all the much-loved songs from the Oscar winning
movie score including; Somewhere Over the Rainbow,
Follow the Yellow Brick Road, If I Only Had a Heart and We’re
Off to See the Wizard. All the favourite characters and iconic moments will
be there, plus a few surprises along the way - not just “lions and tigers
and bears” but some new songs by Andrew Lloyd Webber adding extra colour
to the story as it moves from film to stage. The entire family will be
captivated as The London Palladium is transformed into the mythical Emerald
City with breathtaking special effects and scenery to re-tell the real story of
Oz.
The
London Palladium, arguably the world’s most famous theatre, is a great
favourite with performers and audiences alike and has a very rich entertainment
history presenting variety, pantomime and spectacular family musicals. Just one
aspect of the elaborate stage design for The Wizard of Oz will be a
restoration of the legendary revolving stage which was the main feature in the
finale of Television’s Sunday Night at the London Palladium.
Andrew
Lloyd Webber said, “We are incredibly excited to be adapting The Wizard
of Oz for the stage and re-telling this all time classic family
story. I have long been a huge fan of the original movie, the songs and
characters and am really looking forward to bringing it to life again.”
Click
your heels together and join Scarecrow, Tin Man, Lion, Dorothy and her little
dog Toto, as they journey through the magical land, helped and hindered by the
Witches of Oz, to meet the Wizard and obtain their heart’s desires.
Performances
of The Wizard of Oz at The London Palladium will be Wednesday - Saturday
at 7.30pm, Tuesday at 7pm, with matinees on Wednesday and Saturday at 2.30pm
and Sunday at 3pm. Tickets, priced from £25.00 – £62.50 (to
include 75p theatre restoration levy and inclusive of booking fees if booked
through the website or phone number), are available from The London Palladium
Box Office on 0844 412 2957 or online from www.wizardofozthemusical.com.
SEBASTIAN FAULKS’S BIRDSONG,
IN A VERSION FOR THE
STAGE BY RACHEL WAGSTAFF,
OPENS AT THE COMEDY
THEATRE ON SEPTEMBER 18, 2010
DIRECTED BY TREVOR NUNN
Sebastian Faulks’s 1993 novel is one of
Britain’s best-loved books. It has sold more than two million copies in
the United Kingdom and more than three million worldwide; and still regularly
appears in the best-seller lists.
In September 2010 a stage version
by Rachel Wagstaff, directed by Trevor Nunn, will
open at the Comedy Theatre, London running until January 2011. This will be the
first stage production of one of Faulks’s works
and has been developed by the playwright Rachel Wagstaff
whose previous work has included The
Soldier and Only The
Brave. Wagstaff is a participant of Old Vic New
Voices and her work has been performed at the annual 24 Hour Plays. She has
previously adapted Faulks’s The Girl at Lion d’Or for BBC
Radio 4.
The play tells the story
of one man’s journey through an all-consuming love affair and into
the horror of the First World War:
While staying as the guest of a factory owner in pre-First
World War France, Stephen Wraysford embarks on a
passionate affair with Isabelle, the wife of his host. The affair changes them
both for ever. A few years later
Stephen finds himself back in the same part of France, but this time as a
soldier at the Battle of the Somme, the bloodiest encounter in British military
history. As his men die around him, Stephen turns to his enduring love
for Isabelle for the strength to continue and to save something for future
generations.
For the first
time, this beautiful and terrible story about love, courage and the endurance
of the human spirit is brought to the stage in a version by Rachel Wagstaff.
The world premiere of this
production is directed by Trevor Nunn.
Casting will be announced
soon.
www.birdsongtheplay.co.uk
Box Office: 0844 871 2118
Public on-sale: Friday 28 May 2010
SEBASTIAN
FAULKS’S
BIRDSONG
IN A STAGE VERSION BY RACHEL WAGSTAFF
DIRECTED BY TREVOR NUNN
COMEDY THEATRE, Panton Street,
London SW1Y 4DN
On sale from Friday 28 May 2010
Box Office: 0844 871 2118
website: www.birdsongtheplay.co.uk
Previews: Saturday 18 September
2010
Press Night: Tuesday 28 September 2010
Booking to Saturday 15 January 2011
Evenings: Monday – Saturday
at 7.30pm
Matinees: Thursday & Saturday at 2.30pm
No matinee performances on Saturday 18 September, Thursday 23 September
TICKET
PRICES
Previews
to 28th Sep: Stalls
£39.50, £29.50, £25
Royal
Circle £39.50, £25
Upper
Circle £25, £15
Balcony
£15, £10
Boxes
£29.50
From 29th
Sep: Stalls
£49.50, £39.50, £35
Royal
Circle £49.50, £35
Upper
Circle £35, £25
Balcony
£25, £20
Boxes
£39.50
All ticket
prices are inclusive of a £1 restoration levy
Groups
(10+): £35
(Monday – Thursday)
School
groups (10+): £22.50, free teacher
with every 10 (Monday – Wednesday)
Balcony/Upper
Circle schools rate (10+): £15 (Monday to Wednesday)
Concessions On
the day for OAP, NUS & Unwaged – best available @ £25
All
subject to availability
Available
in advance for Thursday matinee
·
Sebastian Faulks
Author (novel)
Sebastian Faulks is one of Britain's best-loved novelists. Birdsong
is regularly voted one of the country's favourite novels and is widely taught
in schools and universities. His 2005 novel Human Traces was described
by Sir Trevor Nunn in The Independent
as 'a masterpiece of this or any other century'. Faulks
was appointed CBE for services to Literature in 2002 and is a Fellow of the
Royal Society of Literature. His other novels include Charlotte Gray
(filmed with Cate Blanchett
in the title role) and most recently the controversial A Week in December,
currently in development as a Channel 4 mini-series. He is a regular panellist
on the BBC Radio 4 quiz show The Write
Stuff and has just completed a four-part series about characters in novels
for BBC 2 called Faulks on Fiction, due to be shown in January
2011. In 2008, at the invitation of the Fleming family, he wrote Devil
May Care, a new James Bond novel, to celebrate the centenary of Ian
Fleming's birth. Faulks was awarded an honorary
doctorate by the Tavistock Clinic for his
contribution to the understanding of psychiatry in Human Traces and is
an Honorary Fellow of Emmanuel College, Cambridge.
·
Rachel Wagstaff
Author (play)
Rachel Wagstaff recently adapted Sebastian Faulks’
novel The Girl at the Lion D’or for BBC Radio 4 as a five-part series for Woman’s Hour. She is
currently working on a full-length musical of Only the Brave, the
smash-hit from the Edinburgh Festival 2008, and co-writing the musical Moonshadow with Yusuf Islam (formerly Cat
Stevens). Rachel's first play, The Soldier, received five-star
reviews at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2004, before a sell-out transfer to
RADA. Her second play, Night Sky, was performed in 2005 at the Old Vic
for Index on Censorship, starring Christopher Eccleston,
Saffron Burrows, David Warner and David Baddiel.
Rachel adapted Paulo Coehlo's Veronika
Decides to Die for the Hobbs Factory, which transferred to the Arcola, as
part of their Shortcuts Festival. Her play for Y Touring, Full Time,
toured in 2007 and 2008, and she is currently commissioned to write a new play
for them, inspired by Susie Orbach’s book Bodies.
·
Trevor
Nunn
Director
From 1968 to
1986 he was the longest-serving Artistic Director and Chief Executive of the
RSC. During that time he directed most of the Shakespeare canon, as well as Nicholas
Nickleby (5 Tony Awards) and Les Misérables, the longest-running musical in the
world. He recently returned to the RSC to direct King Lear and The
Seagull. From 1997 to 2003 he was director of the National Theatre, where
his 21 productions included award-winning revivals of Troilus and Cressida,
The Merchant of Venice, Summerfolk and The
Cherry Orchard, as well as Oklahoma!, My Fair Lady, and Anything
Goes. He has directed the world premieres of Arcadia, Every Good
Boy Deserves Favour, The Coast of Utopia and Rock ‘n’
Roll by Tom Stoppard, and of Cats, Starlight Express, Aspects
of Love, Sunset Boulevard and The Woman in White by Andrew Lloyd Webber. More recent
theatre work includes Hamlet, Richard II (Old Vic); Timon of Athens, Skellig
(Young Vic); The Lady From the Sea (Almeida); Scenes
from a Marriage (Belgrade, Coventry); A Little Night Music (Menier Chocolate Factory, West End and
Broadway); Cyrano de Bergerac (Chichester Festival Theatre), and Inherit
the Wind (Old Vic). Opera includes Idomeneo,
Porgy and Bess, Cosi Fan Tutte, Peter Grimes (Glyndebourne); Katya Kabanova, and
Sophie’s Choice (Royal Opera House). Television includes Antony
and Cleopatra, The Comedy of Errors, Macbeth, Three
Sisters, Othello and King Lear. Film includes Hedda, Lady Jane and Twelfth Night.
·
CMP
Limited Lead
Producer and General Manager
Birdsong is produced and general managed by
Creative Management and Productions (CMP) who are theatre
producers Nick Frankfort and Tobias Round. Formed in
2006, the company is committed to commissioning and
presenting high quality plays and musicals, as well as delivering management
services for a select group of performing arts practitioners and
organisations.
Nick Frankfort was formerly Executive Producer of the Donmar
Warehouse and has over 20 years of experience in the theatre
industry. Tobias Round worked at IMG and Adventures in Motion Pictures
before joining the Donmar Warehouse as General Manager in 2003. During this
time, plays they produced include Caligula, After Miss Julie, Schiller’s
Mary Stuart, A Voyage Round My Father and
Frost/Nixon- as well as the musicals Grand Hotel and Guys and
Dolls.
CMP’s recent work includes co-producing The Hound of the
Baskervilles at the Duchess Theatre, commissioning and producing Swimming with Sharks starring Matt Smith
and Christian Slater at the Vaudeville Theatre, co-producing Year of the Rat at the West Yorkshire
Playhouse, transferring the sell-out Donmar production of Piaf (Vaudeville), producing Three
Days of Rain (Olivier Award nomination) starring James McAvoy,
Nigel Harman and Lyndsey Marshal (Apollo) and
producing the West End premiere of Douglas Carter Beane’s
The Little Dog Laughed starring Tamsin Greig, Rupert Friend, Gemma Arterton and Harry
Lloyd.
·
Becky
Barber Productions Ltd Producer
Birdsong is produced
by Becky Barber who is Assistant Producer at Old Vic Productions where she
works with Chief Executive Sally Greene and Executive Producer Joseph Smith.
Old Vic Productions is an independent commercial producer that works in
association with The Old Vic Theatre Company as well as producing in the West
End and co-producing the multi award-winning Billy Elliot the Musical worldwide (with Universal Stage
Productions and Working Title Films).
Prior to
working at Old Vic Productions, Becky spent two years at Cameron Mackintosh,
where her work included the opening of Avenue
Q, the 20th Anniversary of The
Phantom of the Opera and 21st Anniversary of Les Misérables.
Independent
work includes Associate Producer on Only
the Brave (Edinburgh Festival).
Birdsong marks
Becky’s West End debut as an independent Producer.
Becky is proudly
supported by the Stage One Start-Up Fund for Outstanding New Producers. To find
out more about Stage One and other training schemes for new producers please
visit www.stageone.uk.com
SIMON RUSSELL BEALE TO STAR AS ‘SIDNEY BRUHL’
IRA LEVIN’S STAGE THRILLER
“DEATHTRAP”
TO OPEN AT THE NOËL COWARD THEATRE
ON TUESDAY 7 SEPTEMBER
CO-STARRING ANNA MASSEY AS ‘HELGA TEN DORPE’
AND INTRODUCING “GLEE” STAR JONATHAN GROFF AS
‘CLIFFORD ANDERSON’
Simon Russell Beale, usually referred to as
‘Britain’s greatest stage actor’, will star in a new
production of the Ira Levin thriller “DEATHTRAP”, which will be
directed by Matthew Warchus. “DEATHTRAP”
will open in London on at the Noël Coward Theatre on Tuesday 7 September,
following previews from 21 August. Anna Massey returns to the West End stage
after a twelve year absence to co-star opposite Simon Russell Beale and
“DEATHTRAP” will introduce “Glee” television star
Jonathan Groff to both to the West End stage and the British public.
Simon Russell Beale, currently starring in the National
Theatre’s sell-out production of Dion
Boucicault’s “London Assurance” directed by Nicholas Hytner, will play ‘Sidney Bruhl’
and multi-award winning actress Anna Massey will play ‘Helga Ten Dorpe’. Jonathan Groff, award-winning Broadway
musical star of “Spring Awakening” and new leading man and star of
American television series “Glee”, will star as ‘Clifford
Anderson’ opposite Simon Russell Beale. Prolific author and playwright
Ira Levin, who is probably best-known for the Roman Polanski film
“Rosemary’s Baby”, is also the author of “The Stepford Wives” and “The Boys From Brazil”.
This will be the first London revival of
“DEATHTRAP” since its original production in 1978 when the play
opened to rave reviews and smash-hit business, subsequently running for two and
a half years at the Garrick Theatre. “DEATHTRAP was then filmed by Sidney
Lumet with Michael Caine and Christopher Reeve in the
starring roles.
With design by Rob Howell, lighting by Hugh
Vanstone, sound by Simon Baker and original music by Gary Yershon,
“DEATHTRAP” will be directed by Matthew Warchus,
whose more recent credits include “Art” and “God of
Carnage”, both by Yasmina Reza and both produced by David Pugh
and Dafydd Rogers. “DEATHTRAP” will
preview from 21 August and will open on Tuesday 7 September at the Noël Coward Theatre.
“DEATHTRAP” will be produced by David Pugh & Dafydd Rogers.
Performance times at the Noël Coward Theatre will be
Tuesdays-Saturdays at 7.30pm, with Thursday, Saturday and Sunday matinees at
3.00pm. Tickets, priced from £19.50 - £49.50, with preview tickets
priced from £15.00 - £35.00, with no booking fee whatsoever, are available from the Noël Coward
Theatre Box Office on 0844 482 5140.
F L A S H D A N
C E T H E M U S I C A L
OPENS IN WEST
END AUTUMN 2010
Flashdance The
Musical will open in the West End at the Shaftesbury Theatre this
autumn. Previewing from 24 September 2010 with press night on 14 October,
Flashdance The
Musical is currently booking until 26 February 2011.
Written by Tom Hedley and
Robert Cary, with music by Robbie Roth, lyrics by Robert Cary and Robbie Roth, Flashdance The Musical
will be directed at the Shaftesbury Theatre by Nikolai Foster with choreography
by Arlene Phillips and orchestrations and musical supervision by Phil Edwards.
Casting will be announced shortly.
Flashdance The
Musical,
based on the Paramount Pictures film (screenplay by Tom Hedley and Joe Eszterhas, story by Tom Hedley), is produced in the West
End by Christopher Malcolm, David Ian, The Baruch Viertel
Routh Frankel Group, and Transamerica.
Set in Pittsburgh, USA, Flashdance The Musical tells
the story of 18-year old Alex, a welder by day and ‘flashdancer’
by night, whose dream is to obtain a place at the prestigious Shipley Dance
Academy. This musical about holding on to your dreams and love against all the
odds features an iconic score including Maniac, Manhunt, Gloria,
I Love Rock and Roll and the Academy award-winning title track Flashdance -What a Feeling.
Nikolai Foster’s recent directing
credits include Noel Coward’s Hay Fever for Chichester Festival Theatre, the national tour of The
Witches of Eastwick, Charles Dickens’ A
Christmas Carol, adapted by Bryony Lavery
and Jason Carr for Birmingham Rep, Orwell’s Animal Farm at West
Yorkshire Playhouse and Barry Hines’ Kes, adapted by Lawrence Till for the
Liverpool Playhouse and the Touring Consortium.
He has been director on attachment at the Sheffield Crucible, the Royal Court
and the National Theatre Studio
Multi award-winning
choreographer Arlene Phillips has choreographed the West End musicals Grease,
We Will Rock You, Starlight Express and most recently, The Sound of
Music. As director and choreographer her credits include Starlight
Express – The Tour, Saturday Night Fever and EFX at the MGM
Grand. In 2002 she was awarded the OBE
for Services to Dance. She was a judge on BBC1’s hugely popular Strictly Come
Dancing for six series, continuing her role on Strictly Come Dancing
– The Live Tour. Most recently she has
been seen on our screens as a judge for BBC1’s So You Think You Can
Dance.
Christopher Malcolm is a producer of West
End plays and musicals includingThe Rocky
Horror Show, which he also directed and managed throughout the world from
1990 till 2004. As an actor, as well as appearing in many stage
productions and films, he played Saffy’s father
Justin in the BBC comedy series Absolutely Fabulous.
David Ian is a producer of West End musicals
including Grease, La Cage Aux Folles, The King and
I, Saturday Night Fever, Guys and Dolls, The Producers andThe Sound of Music.
American producers
Steven Baruch, Tom Viertel, Marc Routh
and Richard Frankel have produced and general managed a wide range of
plays and musicals on and off-Broadway, in London and on tour for over
twenty-four years including Hairspray, A Little Night Music, Stomp,
Young Frankenstein, Porgy and Bess, The Producers, Company, Little Shop of
Horrors, The Sound of Music and Smokey Joe's
Café.
LISTINGS INFORMATION
Dates:
24 September 2010 – 26 February 2011
Press
Night:
14 October at 7pm
Performances:
Previews 24 September – 13 October 2010:
Monday – Saturday at 7.30pm
Saturday matinee at
3pm
From 14 October:
Mondays – Thursday and Saturday at 7.30pm
Friday at 5.00pm and 8.30pm
Saturday matinees at 3pm
Christmas schedule to be announced
Theatre:
Shaftesbury Theatre, 210 Shaftesbury Avenue, London WC2H 8DP
Tickets:
Preview prices £20.00 - £45.00
Then £20.00 - £55.00
Day
Seats - a limited number day seats at £25 will go on sale on the day of
performance at 10am and can purchased from the Shaftesbury Theatre Box Office
in person
All ticket prices are subject to an additional £1 theatre
restoration levy
Box
Office:
020 7379 5399
Website:
www.flashdancethemusical.com
THE OLD VIC ANNOUNCES ITS NEW SEASON
• Anthony Page to direct Noël Coward’s Design for Living
• Richard Eyre to direct A Flea In Her Ear
• Thea Sharrock to direct Terence Rattigan’s final play Cause Célèbre
The Old Vic today announced three new productions, marking
the seventh season of work under Kevin Spacey’s
tenure as Artistic Director. This new season continues The Old Vic’s
tradition as a great actors’ theatre, championing both established and
young talent under the guidance of some of the greatest theatre directors in
Britain.
In September, Anthony Page will direct Noël
Coward’s provocative and unconventional romantic comedy, Design For Living, for the first time on the London stage in over
15 years. Coward focuses on three egotistical, beguiling and self-absorbed
characters – Gilda, Otto, and Leo – who challenge the moral
boundaries of relationships. Anthony Page’s production for The Old Vic
will star Tom Burke, Lisa Dillon and Andrew Scott.
Design For Living is a
co-production with Nica Burns and Max Weitzenhoffer.
Director Anthony Page said: “I love this play for the
miraculous lightness of the dialogue which contains a huge range of passions.
The central relationship ‐ the
involvement of two bisexuals and a girl ‐ is no longer shocking as it was the 30s,
when it had to be presented in a somewhat coded fashion for the play to be
performed. But Noel Coward’s unsentimental clarity in his analysis of
their passion for each other and for success ‐and the way this brings them pain and
ecstasy over the years‐ has the
brilliance of a classic dark comedy.”
In December, Richard Eyre will direct John Mortimer’s
version of Georges Feydeau’s 1907 classic farce
A Flea In Her Ear, last performed on The Old Vic stage
for the National Theatre in 1966. Starring Tom Hollander and Lisa Dillon, A
Flea In Her Ear, is a comedy of errors set against a
backdrop of jealousy, misunderstandings and confrontation. When Raymonde (Dillon) suspects her husband Victor (Hollander)
of infidelity, she enlists the help of a friend to set a trap resulting in
mistaken identities, bruised egos and comic disaster. A Flea In
Her Ear is a co-production with Sonia Friedman Productions.
Richard Eyre commented: “I really admire what Kevin
Spacey has done at The Old Vic and am thrilled to be working there for the
first time since I directed Comedians in 1974.”
Terence Rattigan’s final play Cause
Célèbre will be staged at The Old Vic in March 2011, celebrating
the centenary of his birth. Directed by Thea Sharrock, Cause Célèbre is based on the true
story of Alma Rattenbury who went on trial with her
18-year-old lover for the murder of her husband. Condemned by the public more
for her seduction of a young boy than for any involvement she may have had in
her husband’s death, Alma’s fate is left in the hands of the
socially and sexually repressed jury forewoman, Edith.
Thea Sharrock said: "Having just
directed Terence Rattigan's second play, After The
Dance, I am thrilled now to be part of his centenary celebrations next year
with his last play, Cause Célèbre. And I can't think of a better
stage for it than the historic Old Vic, a first for me as well as for
him."
The Old Vic also announced that Bank of America Merrill
Lynch is to sponsor the new season.
Bank of America Merrill Lynch has been in
partnership with The Old Vic for the past two years as sponsors of The Bridge
Project, Sam Mendes’ transatlantic company, which is currently staging As
You Like It and The Tempest.
Kevin Spacey, Artistic Director of The Old Vic commented:
“It’s hard to believe that we are now preparing to open our seventh
season at The Old Vic. These are three great plays that all rather brilliantly
explore the attitudes of their time and offer wonderful roles to actors. I am
delighted to welcome Lisa Dillon, such a compelling and exciting young actress,
to our stage in two productions, alongside Tom Burke, whose work I’ve
admired since we acted together in the movie Telstar, and Tom Hollander, one of
the finest and funniest leading actors of his generation. It is of course a
huge thrill to welcome Anthony Page and Richard Eyre, both supremely talented
directors, to The Old Vic. We are also delighted to be part of the centenary
celebrations for Terence Rattigan and I can’t wait to see Thea Sharrock translate his work
to the stage. I would like to thank Bank of America Merrill Lynch for their
support and partnership. These are tough times for corporate sponsorship and I
applaud them for stepping up and showing their commitment to the arts and
culture.”
Rena DeSisto, Global Arts &
Heritage Executive at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, said: “The Old Vic
delivers bold, innovative programmes that showcase some of the top emerging and
established talents on the stage today. And this new season is certainly no
exception. The three plays selected are broad in their vision but united in
their ability to challenge and enhance our understanding of the human
experience. Bank of America Merrill Lynch is immensely proud to help bring this
exciting new season to stage.”
The 24 Hour Plays Gala returns to The Old Vic on 21
November for the seventh year running. 40 internationally renowned actors,
directors and writers join forces to test their talents to the limit and create
six short plays in just 24 hours. Past participants have included Gael Garçia Bernal, Jim Broadbent, Joseph Fiennes, Josh
Hartnett, Tom Hollander, James Nesbitt, Rosamund
Pike, Rufus Sewell, Brooke Shields, Kevin Spacey, Catherine Tate and Vince
Vaughn.
Outside of the main house, The Old Vic Tunnels, an
innovative performance space under Waterloo Station, has this year staged a
number of events and productions aimed at providing a platform for new talent
and new work. The UK Premiere of the international hit play Scorched, by
award-winning playwright Wajdi Mouawad,
directed by Patricia Benecke and co-produced by
Dialogue Productions, will open at The Old Vic Tunnels on 6 September.
Following the death of their Mother, twins Simon and Janine
are called to the family solicitor, Henry Bell for the reading of her will.
They are shocked to find that their father is still alive, that they have a
brother they knew nothing of, and that their legacy is to deliver letters to
them both. This takes them on an emotional journey into the past, back to their
mother's previous life and her middle-eastern homeland - a country caught up in
civil war.
Sam Mendes’ The Bridge Project is currently playing
at The Old Vic with The Tempest and As You Like It,
starring Stephen Dillane, Christian Camargo and Juliet Rylance. On 13
July The Old Vic opens its first West End production
as Jeff Goldblum and Mercedes Ruehl
star in Neil Simon’s The Prisoner of Second Avenue at the Vaudeville
Theatre.
The Old Vic 2010/11 Season
BOX OFFICE INFORMATION
0844 871 7628
www.oldvictheatre.com
The Old Vic, The Cut, London SE1
8NB
Design for Living
NOEL COWARD
3 September – 27 November 2010
Previews: Fri 3 Sept – Tue 14 Sept;
Press Performance: Wed 15 Sept at 7pm
Mon – Sat 7.30pm; Sat & Wed 2.30pm
[Please note there are no matinee performances on Sat 4 Sept,
Wed 8 Sept or Wed 15 Sept]
TICKETS £10, £15, £20, £27.50,
£38.50, £48.50
A Flea in her Ear
Georges Feydeau
Translation by John Mortimer
4 December 2010 - 5 March 2011
Previews: Sat 4 Dec – Mon 13 Dec;
Press Performance: Tue 14 Dec at 7pm
Mon – Sat 7.30pm; Sat & Wed 2.30pm
[Please note there are no matinee performances on Sat 4
Dec, Wed 8 Dec or Wed 15 Dec. There is a matinee performance on Thu 16 Dec at
2.30pm]
Christmas & New Year schedule as follows:
Fri 24 Dec – 2.30pm only; Sat 25 Dec – No Performance;
Sun 26 Dec – No Performance
Mon 27 – Thu 30 Dec – 7.30pm; Wed 29 Dec -
2.30pm
Fri 31 Dec – 2.30pm only; Sat 1 Jan – 2.30pm
& 7.30pm
TICKETS £10, £15, £20, £27.50,
£38.50, £48.50
Cause Célèbre
Terence Rattigan
17 March – 11 June 2011
Previews: Thu 17 – Mon 28 March 2011;
Press Performance: Tue 29 March 2011 at 7pm
Mon – Sat 7.30pm; Sat & Wed 2.30pm
[Please note there are no matinee performances on Sat 19
Mar, Wed 23 Mar or Wed 30 Mar. There is a matinee performance on Thu 31 Mar at
2.30pm]
TICKETS £10, £15, £20, £27.50,
£38.50, £48.50
CONCESSIONS FOR DESIGN FOR LIVING, A FLEA IN HER EAR &
Cause Célèbre
The Aditya Mittal
tickets Under 25s Tickets
100 £12 tickets at all performances. Bookable in advance for the under 25s but
tickets must be collected in person from the Box Office with proof of age.
Senior Citizens: Best available seats for £25 Wed,
Thu & Sat matinees.
Groups 10+: £10 off top 3 prices for Mon - Wed eves
& Wed & Thu matinees
School Groups 10+: £10 for Mon - Wed evenings and Wed
& Thu matinees
Disabled Patrons: Top 3 prices reduced to £21 for all
performances
Previews: £5 off top 3 prices (Old Vic Friends
£7.50 off)
All concessions are limited and subject to availability.
All 2010/11 ticket prices (apart from Aditya Mittal under 25s tickets
& schools tickets) include a £1 restoration levy.
Also Showing in The Old Vic
Tunnels
Scorched
Wajdi Mouawad
3 September – 2 October 2010
Press Performance: Mon 6 Sept at 7pm
Mon – Sat 7.45pm; Thu & Sat 2.30pm
[Please note there is no matinee performance on Sat 4 Sept]
TICKETS £25, £20
Concessions for Scorched
The Aditya Mittal
tickets Under 25s Tickets
£12 tickets at all performances. Bookable in advance
for the under 25s but tickets must be collected
in person from the Box Office with proof of age.
Senior Citizens & Groups of 10+: £5 off
£20/£25 tickets for all performances
Disabled Patrons: £15 for all performances
All concessions are limited and subject to availability.
All tickets for Scorched in The Old Vic Tunnels include a £1 levy,
which will be donated to The Railway Children charity
· Shakespeare's Globe Trust is
a registered charity No.266916.
Shakespeare’s
Globe presents plans for 2010 theatre season
23
April – 3 October 2010
Shakespeare’s
Globe confirms further details of the 2010 Kings and Rogues theatre season,
following a record-breaking 2009 which achieved the highest attendance figures
ever in its 13 year history, as well as seeing the Globe reach new
audiences all over the
Shakespeare’s
masterpieces Henry IV Parts 1 and 2 will premiere at the new Globe, as will
the rarely performed Henry VIII, which was responsible
for burning down the original Globe. Henry VIII will be played by Dominic Rowan who is currently
performing in the west-end production of The
Misanthrope, following his celebrated performance as Touchstone in the
Globe’s 2009 production of As You
Like It. Henry VIII will be
directed by Mark Rosenblatt (Holding Fire! at Shakespeare’s
Globe) and composed by Nigel Hess (Romeo and Juliet and The Merry Wives of Windsor at Shakespeare’s Globe).
Artistic
Director of the Globe, Dominic Dromgoole, will direct
Jamie Parker as Prince Hal and William Gaunt as
Launching
the season on Shakespeare’s birthday, 23 April, will be Lucy Bailey’s production of Macbeth
with Elliot Cowan. Cowan recently
played Stanley Kowalski in the Donmar’s
award-winning A Streetcar Named Desire, and
his screen credits include Mr Darcy in the TV drama series Lost in Austen and Ptolemy in the film Alexander. Bailey’s previous credits at the Globe include Timon of Athens and Titus Andronicus and she now returns to collaborate with the
mischievous Venezuelan choreographer Javier
De Frutos. De Frutos
received the Olivier Award for ‘Best Theatre Choreographer’ for Cabaret, and
last year he premiered a sensational new work at Sadler’s Wells for the
Diaghilev centenary. Lady Macbeth will be played by Laura Rogers, who received critical acclaim for her performance as
Celia in the Globe’s 2009 production of As You Like It. Orlando Gough is composing with design by Katrina Lindsay.
Christopher Luscombe’s
charming and exuberant production of The Merry Wives of Windsor returns
in 2010, following its triumphant 2008 Globe premiere. The Merry Wives of
New
writing remains at the core of Dromgoole’s
vision for Shakespeare’s Globe and the 2010 season hosts two world premieres. Award-winning playwright Howard Brenton
presents his new play Anne Boleyn which dramatises the
life and legacy of Henry VIII’s notorious second wife as both a sexually
ambitious woman and a religious reformer. Anne
Boleyn will re-unite Brenton with director John Dove following their successful
partnership on In Extremis at the
Globe.
Bedlam by Nell Leyshon marks the Globe’s
first ever staging of a known female playwright in its entire history, which
will be directed by Jessica Swale,
who recently scored a big hit with The
Rivals at Southwark Playhouse. Leyshon's new play
is a fictional portrayal of a
In
2009, both new plays – Helen by
Euripides in a new version by Frank McGuinness and A New World by Trevor Griffiths –
smashed their targets and played to packed audiences, indicating the growing
audience for new writing at Shakespeare’s Globe.
In
addition to its main-stage programme, Shakespeare’s Globe will revive its
2009 touring productions of A Midsummer Night’s Dream
directed by Raz Shaw and The Comedy of Errors
directed by Rebecca Gatward. Approximately 35,000
people, at over 30 beautiful venues across the
Dominic
Dromgoole, Artistic Director of Shakespeare’s
Globe commented:
“Our building continues to
embrace the most democratic audience in the world – all of us a rogue and
a king in our own way – much like William Shakespeare. The 2010 theatre
season offers a flavour of some of his wild, warm, violent and virtuous kings
and rogues – plus new creations from two of our most rousing,
contemporary playwrights. We are proud to continue our national and
international touring, reaching out to new audiences for the Globe.”
Public
booking for the theatre season opens today – 15 February 2010. Tickets
are available through the box office: 020 7901 9919 / 020 7087 7398 or online: www.shakespeares-globe.org.
Shakespeare’s
Globe 2010 Theatre Diary
Macbeth by
William Shakespeare
23 April – 27 June
Directed by Lucy Bailey; Designed by Katrina Lindsay;
Composed by
Press night: Thursday 29 April
Henry
VIII by William Shakespeare
15 May – 21 August
Directed by Mark Rosenblatt; Designed by Angela Davies;
Composed by Nigel Hess
Press night: Monday 24 May
Henry
IV Parts 1 and 2 by William Shakespeare
Part 1: 6 June – 2 October
Part 2: 3 July – 3 October
Directed by Dominic Dromgoole; Designed
by Jonathan Fensom; Composed by Claire van Kampen
Press nights: 2pm and 7.30pm on Wednesday 14 July
Anne
Boleyn by Howard Brenton WORLD PREMIERE
24 July – 21 August
Directed by John Dove; Designed by Michael Taylor
Press night: Wednesday 28 July
The
Merry Wives of
14 August – 2 October
Directed by Christopher Luscombe;
Designed by Janet Bird; Composed by Nigel Hess
Press night: Thursday 19 August
Bedlam by
Nell Leyshon WORLD PREMIERE
5 September – 1 October
Press night: Thursday 9 September
Directed by
Jessica Swale
· Shakespeare’s Globe on film - Three productions
from Shakespeare’s Globe’s 2009 theatre season will be screened in
cinemas and available on DVD and Blu-ray this spring
and summer, as part of its new partnership with Opus Arte. For more information
visit www.shakespeares-globe.org/onfilm
·
Globe Education presents a programme
of workshops, lectures, events and staged readings all year round. For general
enquires about Globe Education please call 020 7902 1430 or visit www.globe-education.org
·
Shakespeare’s
Globe Exhibition
is open daily – Oct to Apr from 10am to 5pm. May to Sep 9am – 5pm.
Admission includes a guided tour of the Theatre. For further information,
telephone 020 7902 1500.
·
Shakespeare's Globe
Shop
stocks a variety of products, including season specific merchandise. Items can
be bought at the on-site shop or on-line at www.globe-shop.com.
·
Capital Campaign –
Shakespeare’s Globe is currently fundraising for a major
development project. The first part of the campaign – to develop a Globe
Education and Rehearsal Centre – is underway. To find out more visit www.shakespeares-globe.org/thesecondstage
·
The Shakespeare Globe
Trust is a registered charity No.266916. The Globe receives no public subsidy.
Box Office Fax: (020) 7452 3030
NATIONAL
THEATRE: JULY – OCTOBER 2010
The Travelex £10 Tickets season
culminates in the Olivier with HAMLET,
directed by by Nicholas Hytner,
with Rory Kinnear in the title role
A new play by J T Rogers, BLOOD AND GIFTS, opens in the Lyttelton
directed by Howard Davies
Neil Bartlett and Handspring Puppet
Company collaborate on OR YOU COULD KISS
ME in the Cottesloe
Josie Rourke
directs MEN SHOULD WEEP by Ena Lamont Stewart in the Lyttelton
NATIONAL THEATRE LIVE continues with Hamlet, Fela!,
Frankenstein, The Cherry Orchard and Complicite’s A Disappearing Number
from Plymouth
Discover: Prince of Denmark, a
new play by Michael Lesslie
Watch This Space and Square2
continue; Platforms and Exhibitions
BLOOD AND GIFTS Lyttelton
Theatre
Previews from 7 September, press
night 14 September, continuing in repertoire
Howard Davies directs a new play by J T Rogers, BLOOD AND GIFTS, opening in the
Lyttelton Theatre on 14 September.
The cast includes Philip Arditti, Danny Ashok,
Nick Barber, Kammy Darweish,
Ian Drysdale, Robert Gilbert, Mark Healy, Adam James,
Simon Kunz, Gerald Kyd, Katie Lightfoot, Matthew Marsh, Lloyd Owen, Jessica Regan and Nabil Stuart. The production will be designed by Ultz, with lighting by Paul Anderson, music by Marc Teitler and sound by Paul Arditti.
1981. As the
Soviet army burns its way through Afghanistan and toward the critical Pakistani
border, CIA operative Jim Warnock is sent to try and halt its bloody
progress. Joining forces with a
larger than life Afghan warlord, and with the Pakistani and British secret services,
Jim spearheads the covert struggle.
The ferociously dedicated group of men are tied together by a
common enemy but, as the brutal chaos escalates, clear
political action becomes impossible in the face of mutual suspicion and
shifting loyalties.
BLOOD AND GIFTS is an epic political thriller shot
through with mad humour that sweeps from refugee camps to mountainous tribal
regions to the corridors of power in Washington DC.
J T Rogers' The Overwhelming premiered at
the Cottesloe in 2006 and was subsequently produced at the Roundabout Theatre,
New York. His other plays include Madagascar (recently
produced at Theatre 503) and White People (recently
produced Off Broadway). Part of BLOOD AND GIFTS was seen
at the Tricycle Theatre in 2009 as part of the 12-play cycle, ‘The Great
Game: Afghanistan’.
Lloyd Owen, who plays Jim Warnock, last appeared at the
National in Howard Brenton’s Paul; theatre work also includes Closer (West End), The York Realist (Royal Court/West End), Clouds (UK tour), Julius
Caesar (Young Vic), Iphigenia and
Edward II (Sheffield Crucible) and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (Almeida).
His screen work includes The Innocence
Project, The Monarch of the Glen, Miss Potter, Hearts
and Bones and The Young Indiana Jones.
Howard Davies is an Associate Director at the NT, where his
recent productions include The White
Guard, Burnt by the Sun, Gethsemane, Her Naked Skin, Never So Good, Philistines, The Life of Galileo, The House of Bernarda
Alba and Mourning Becomes Electra. His production of All My Sons is currently running in the West End.
BLOOD AND GIFTS was commissioned by Lincoln Center
Theater, New York City.
OR YOU COULD KISS ME Cottesloe
Theatre
Previews from 28 September, press night
5 October, continuing in repertoire
OR YOU COULD KISS ME, a new play by Neil Bartlett and
Handspring Puppet Company, will open in the Cottesloe on 5 October. Directed by Neil Bartlett and designed
by Rae Smith, with puppet design and fabrication by Adrian Kohler, lighting
design by Chris Davey, sound by Christopher Shutt and
music by Marcus Tilt, the production is presented in association with
Handspring Puppet Company. The cast is: Adjoa Andoh, Finn Caldwell, Basil Jones, Adrian Kohler, Craig
Leo, Tommy Luther and Mervyn Millar.
In the winter of 2036, in a shabby apartment in Port
Elizabeth, two old men search for a way to say goodbye after a lifetime spent
together. In the perfect summer of 1971, in a very different South Africa,
their handsome younger selves search for the courage to fall in love. And poised halfway between these two
stories – one imagined, one remembered – their real-life
counterparts bear witness to both the beginning and ending of an incredible
journey.
Neil Bartlett returns to the National in collaboration with
Handspring Puppet Company and designer Rae Smith to create a fierce and tender
meditation on love, memory and the power of the unspoken. Using a bare stage, a
handful of domestic props and the astonishing puppetry that is
Handspring’s trademark, OR YOU
COULD KISS ME is an intimate history of two very private lives, lived in
extraordinary times.
From 1994 to 2005, Neil Bartlett was the Artistic Director of
the Lyric Theatre Hammersmith where his work included collaborations with
Improbable and Robert Lepage as well as 27 classical
plays and five Christmas shows; his recent work includes The Maids (Brighton Festival), The Pianist (Manchester International
Festival), Romeo and Juliet (RSC), Everybody Loves a Winner (Manchester International Theatre) and The Turn of the Screw (Aldeburgh Festival).
Handspring
Puppet Company was founded in Cape Town in 1981 by Basil Jones and Adrian
Kohler. The NT production of WAR HORSE, for which they and Rae Smith
won the Evening Standard, Critics’ Circle and Laurence Olivier Awards for
set design, is currently running at the New London Theatre and will open in New
York in March 2011. Several of
Handspring’s productions have toured internationally, including Starbrites, Woyzeck on the Highveld, Ubu and the Truth Commission and Tall
Horse.
OR YOU COULD KISS ME is sponsored by Neptune Investment
Management.
HAMLET Travelex
£10 Tickets, Olivier Theatre
Previews from 30 September, press
night 7 October, continuing in repertoire
The production will be designed by Vicki Mortimer, with
lighting by Jon Clark, sound by Paul Groothuis and
fight direction by Kate Waters.
Rory Kinnear plays Hamlet, following
his acclaimed performances at the National in Burnt by the Sun, The Revenger’s
Tragedy, Philistines and The Man of
Mode (which won him an Olivier Award and the 2007 Ian Charleson
Award). His stage work also
includes Measure for Measure at the
Almeida; The Taming of the Shrew, The Tamer
Tamed and Cymbeline for the RSC; Mary Stuart at the Donmar
and the Apollo; and Festen at the Lyric. His
screen work includes Quantum of Solace,
Margaret Thatcher – The Long Walk to Finchley, Mansfield Park, Lennon
Naked, Cranford and The Thick of It.
Since he became Director of the National in April 2003,
Nicholas Hytner has directed Henry V, His Dark Materials, The
History Boys, Stuff Happens, Henry IV, Southwark Fair, The Alchemist, The Man of Mode, The Rose Tattoo (with Stephen Pimlott),
Rafta, Rafta…
, Much Ado About Nothing, Major Barbara, England People Very Nice,
Phèdre, The Habit of Art and London
Assurance.
HAMLET will be broadcast to cinemas across the
UK and worldwide on 9 December as part of the second season of National Theatre
Live.
Half of all the tickets for the Travelex £10 shows in
the Olivier Theatre are £10 (the rest are £15 and £30). Media Partner of
Travelex £10 Tickets: The Times
MEN SHOULD WEEP Lyttelton
Theatre
Previews
from 18 October, press night 26 October, continuing in repertoire
Josie Rourke will direct MEN SHOULD WEEP by Ena Lamont Stewart, opening in the Lyttelton Theatre on 26
October, with a cast including Karen Dunbar and Sharon Small. The production
will be designed by Bunny Christie, with lighting design by James Farncombe.
Ena Lamont Stewart’s moving and funny portrayal of impoverished 1930s Glasgow, a raw
salute to the human spirit, was written in 1947; it was voted one of the top hundred
plays of the 20th century in the NT2000 millennium poll.
Despite
cramped tenement living and the turmoil of seven children, there is laughter
and strength in the Morrison family. Tough and tender mother Maggie, one of the
great stage roles for women, just about holds together her unruly brood against
wretched poverty. But sniping neighbours, the flight of daughter Jenny, and the
unexpected return to their overcrowded quarters of Maggie’s son and his
sexually restless wife erode her spirit.
And then,
just as temporary employment for beloved husband John affords a decent
Christmas, wayward Jenny returns with new-found wealth, offering them the
chance of escape and one big moral dilemma.
Sharon
Small plays Maggie;
her theatre work includes Spur
of the Moment (Royal Court), Life is
a Dream (Donmar Warehouse), Insignificance
(Chichester) and The London Cuckolds (NT). Her screen credits include six series of
The Inspector Lynley
Mysteries, Mistresses and Glasgow
Kiss,
Josie Rourke is Artistic Director
of The Bush Theatre, where her productions have included Like a Fishbone and 2000 Feet Away by
Anthony Weigh, Apologia by Alexei Kaye-Campbell, and If There Is I
Haven’t Found It Yet by Nick Payne; she was formerly Associate Director
of Sheffield Theatres. Other directing includes Loyal Women by Gary
Mitchell (Royal Court), Believe
What You Will and King John for the RSC; 24 Hour Plays
at the Old Vic Theatre and in New York; and The Cryptogram by David
Mamet at the Donmar. This is her NT
debut.
NATIONAL THEATRE
LIVE
A second season of NATIONAL
THEATRE LIVE, the National Theatre’s initiative to broadcast live
performances to cinemas worldwide, will launch in autumn 2010. The first season, which began in June
2009, was seen by 150,000 people on 320 screens in 22 countries.
For the first time, NT Live will collaborate with another
company outside London by broadcasting Complicite’s
multi award-winning production A
Disappearing Number live from the Theatre Royal, Plymouth on 14 October.
Back at the National, Shakespeare’s HAMLET, directed by
TOURING, PRODUCTION AND CASTING
UPDATES
THE HABIT OF ART returns to the Lyttelton and tours the UK
The cast for
Alan Bennett’s The Habit of Art, returning to the Lyttelton repertoire
from 15 July* prior to a UK tour, is led by Desmond Barrit
(as WH Auden), Malcolm Sinclair (as Benjamin Britten) and Selina
Cadell (as Kay); they are joined by Tom Attwood,
Simon Bubb, Danny Burns, Martin Chamberlain, Philip
Childs, Matthew Cottle, Barbara Kirby, Joss Littler,
Luke Norris, Leighton Pugh, Matthew Shilling and Aaron Wetheridge.
*Please note
that the first performance will take place on 15 July, not 14 July as
originally announced.
DANTON’S DEATH
The full
cast for
EARTHQUAKES IN LONDON
Mike
Bartlett’s new play EARTHQUAKES IN
LONDON opens at the Cottesloe on
4 August, directed by Rupert Goold, in a
co-production with Headlong Theatre. The full cast is: Gary Carr, Brian Ferguson, Polly Frame,
Tom Godwin, Tom Goodman-Hill, Michael Gould, Bryony Hannah, Clive Hayward, Anne
Lacey, Syrus Lowe, Anna Madeley, Bill Paterson, Jessica Raine,
Maggie Service, Geoffrey Streatfeild and Lia Williams.
FELA!
In Bill T Jones’s production of
FELA!, opening in the Olivier Theatre
on 16 November, Sahr Ngaujah
will recreate his Broadway role as Fela Anikulapo-Kuti; he will be joined by a new cast for the London
production, which will include Paulette Ivory and Melanie Marshall and, in the
ensemble, Lydie Alberto, Cindy Belliot,
Nandi Bhebhe, Ricardo Coke Thomas, Scarlette Douglas, Jacqui Dubois, Poundo
Gomis, Jazmine Jarret Thorpe, Aisha Jawando, Wanjiru Kamuyu, Nyron Levy, Ira Mandela Siobhan, Shelley-Ann Maxwell,
Tamara McKoy Patterson, Catia
Moto da Cruz, Pamela Okoroafor,
Jermaine Rowe and Craig Stein.
PRINCE OF DENMARK
Cottesloe Theatre, 14 – 26
October at 11.15am and/or 1.30pm; 60 minutes
With a company
of teenage actors drawn from the National Youth Theatre and a technical team
from local FE colleges, talented young theatre-makers have been paired with
experienced NT practitioners to produce this specially commissioned new play by
Michael Lesslie, for audiences aged 10 and above.
In royal
Elsinore, the teenage Hamlet, Ophelia and Laertes
rage against the roles handed down by their parents. Set a decade before the
action in Shakespeare’s Hamlet,
this new play is a terrific first introduction to Shakespeare’s
anti-hero.
PRINCE OF DENMARK will be directed by
Workshops
exploring the play and its connections to Shakespeare’s original will be
available to both schools and family audiences before the morning performances.
Tickets: £5/£7.50 with workshop (for
KS 3/4 or ages 10years plus)
Schools
workshops: 14, 15, 22 October, 10am (1 hour)
Family
workshops: 25, 26 October, 10am (1 hour)
WATCH THIS
SPAce
The National
Theatre’s annual outdoor festival Watch This Space continues in
Theatre Square until September.
Join us on the Astroturf in Theatre Square for a rich variety of
theatre, dance, music, family events and exhilarating world class
entertainment. Highlights include:
Flights of Fantasy week, 28 July – 1 August: a
week of fun, adventure and circus treats for all the family.
Motionhouse Dance Theatre week,
18 – 22 August: award-winning
contemporary dance and workshops.
Thames Festival Weekend, 10 – 12 September: fabulous entertainment culminating in an
exploding pyrotechnic fountain (waterproofs optional).
A full
schedule is available at www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/wts
SQUARE 2: International Theatre
Square 2
– located on the riverside next to the National’s
Domini Pύblic 20
– 25 July
Roger Bernat (Spain) presented in association with The Gate
Theatre
Chez Cocotte 27
– 31 July
Compagnie Carabosse (France)
FIB 3
– 8 August
metro-boulot-dodo (UK)
For further
details see www.nationaltheatre.org.uk
or
contact:
www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/platforms
6pm (45 mins),
£3·50/£2·50 unless stated; *
= Platform followed by booksigning
Mike Bradwell:
Adventures in Alternative Theatre* 16 July, Cottesloe
The former
Artistic Director of the Bush Theatre discusses The Reluctant Escapologist, his unofficial history of alternative
theatre. Chaired
by Aleks Sierz.
Louise Rennison
* 20 July,
Cottesloe
The UK’s Queen of Teen talks
about Withering Tights, her new book set in a performing arts college,
following the dramatic antics of Tallulah and her mates – boys, snogging and bad acting guaranteed.
Women in War: Ancient and Modern 28 July,
Lyttelton
Welcome to Thebes concerns a woman leading a fragile
government after a civil war. Playwright Moira Buffini,
classicist Edith Hall and academic Nicola Pratt look at the effects of
democratic autonomy and financial dependence on women in post-conflict
situations.
Howard Brenton
and Ruth Scurr * 30 July,
Lyttelton
Howard Brenton,
whose version of Danton’s Death is playing in the Olivier, is
joined by Ruth Scurr, author of Fatal Purity,
to talk about Danton, Robespierre and the French Revolution.
Mike Bartlett and Rupert Goold on Earthquakes in London 10 Aug,
Cottesloe
Writer Mike Bartlett and director
Rupert Goold discuss this new play.
Moira Buffini
and Richard Eyre on Welcome to Thebes 3 Sept, Olivier
The playwright joins her director to
talk about her new play.
40 Years of The
Young Vic 10 Sept,
Cottesloe
In September 1970, Frank Dunlop
founded The Young Vic as an off-shoot of the National
Theatre at The Old Vic. Conceived as a new kind of informal and affordable
theatre, the inaugural production was Molière’s
Scapino. To celebrate the 40th anniversary,
Dunlop is joined by original company members Anna Carteret and Jim Dale, the
theatre critic Michael Billington, and the current
Artistic Director, David Lan.
The Roald
Dahl Funny Prize with Michael Rosen and Philip Ardagh
*
11 Sept, 10.30am (1hr), Olivier
This annual award for
children’s books that make us laugh was the brainchild of former
Children’s Laureate and poet Michael Rosen. He is joined by Philip Ardagh, winner for Grubtown
Tales: Stinking Rich and Just Plain Stinky in 2009, plus special
guests, for a morning of side-splitting stories and a few great giggles!
J T Rogers on Blood and Gifts 15
Sept, Cottesloe
The playwright talks about his new
play, set in a country facing an emerging war – Afghanistan in 1981.
John Simpson 23 Sept,
Lyttelton
John Simpson, the BBC’s World
Affairs Editor, has been covering the biggest news stories of the day for
almost 40 years, including the invasion of Afghanistan and the conflict in
Kosovo. In Unreliable Sources, he focuses on the way the British
press has reported key moments in our history and charts the development of the
reporter’s art over the course of the last 100 years.
Neil Bartlett, Basil Jones and Adrian
Kohler on Or You Could Kiss Me
18 Oct, Post-show, Cottesloe
The founders of the South African
puppet company Handspring, creators of the celebrated War Horse puppets,
discuss this new play with their director and collaborator, Neil Bartlett.
Craig Brown: The Lost Diaries with Eleanor Bron
and Edward Fox*
9
Oct, Cottesloe
Private Eye’s Craig Brown and guests read from The
Lost Diaries, prying into the intimate daily comings and goings of such
celebrated diarists as Virginia Woolf, Heather Mills McCartney, Harold Pinter,
Kenneth Tynan and Nigella
Lawson.
The National’s current
Director, like his predecessors Olivier in 1963, Hall in 1976 and Eyre in 1989,
has now directed this iconic play; he talks about the production.
Josie Rourke
on Men Should Weep 28 Oct,
Lyttelton
The Artistic Director of the Bush
discusses her NT production of Ena Lamont
Stewart’s play, set in Glasgow in the 1930s depression.
Steven Berkoff
* 29 Oct,
Cottesloe
In Diary of a Juvenile Delinquent,
the actor, director, writer and playwright paints a startling portrait of his
East End childhood and the beginnings of a career that would range from Decadence
and The Trial on stage to the films A Clockwork Orange and
Beverly Hills Cop.
The Art of Revolution 18 Sept,
10.30am (1hr 30mins), £10, Olivier
The French Revolution of 1789 has
inspired artists, writers and composers to create provocative and stirring
works for successive generations; from Danton’s Death (1835) and The
Tale of Two Cities (1859) to The Scarlet Pimpernel (1903), alongside
the inspiring paintings of Jacques-Louis David and the flippancy of (Carry
On) Don’t Lose Your Head. This extended
Platform is an opportunity to discover how this rich political episode has been
manipulated and adapted into a variety of European art forms that say as much
about their own times as they do about the upheavals in 18th-century France.
In Conversation with…
3pm (1hr),
£5/4 Cottesloe
A series of informal afternoon Platforms with members of the company
talking about their work and answering questions from the audience. Chaired by Al Senter.
Toby Stephens 13
August
Lia Williams 31
August
David Harewood 3 September
Bill Paterson 10
September
EXHIBITIONS
www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/exhibitions
Stage by Stage,
a permanent exhibition on the National’s history is in the Olivier
Circle, plus a changing programme throughout the year, FREE to attend.
The Press
Photographer’s Year 2010 12
July – 12 September
The Press
Photographer’s Year is unique: the only competition that showcases the
outstanding photography commissioned for and used in the UK media. Designed by
photographers for photographers, and judged by their peers, it celebrates the
unsung art of seeing through the chaos to capture that one still moment which
defines an entire news event. With a thought-provoking collection of images
from 2009, The Press Photographer’s
Year returns to the NT for a fifth successive year and is held in
association with The British Press Photographers’ Association and
sponsored by Canon cameras.
SE1 9PX: Hidden Corners, National
Theatre 19 August
– 19 September
The public areas of the National
Theatre occupy no more than a third of the total site, and some of the more
obscure areas of the building are known to very few people.
With the aid of the technicians,
actors and craftspeople who inhabit them, Miriam Nabarro has sought out these secret spaces and presents
them in an exhibition of photographs that will surprise and intrigue. Miriam Nabarro has worked as a designer on projects at the NT
since 2007.
Ralph Koltai
– Stage 2 Metal Collage 2002 – 2010 27 September – 14
November
Ralph Koltai
is Britain’s senior and celebrated theatre designer. He has embarked on a
new challenge, returning to his roots as a 3-dimensional artist, creating a
series of metal collages, mostly made from found objects on farms near his
studio in France. Koltai selects panels or pieces,
predominantly metal, and dissects them in a compositional form. Not in
themselves narrative, many spring from his former theatre designs, and have
evolved from his life-time approach to his theatre work. A sheet of rusty metal
became a wall in Simon Boccanegra; a dish and
sphere the entrance to Caliban’s cave in The
Tempest.
A London Bestiary 23 September – 31
October
Four sea-lions entwine themselves
against a red brick wall, a plasterwork bat props up an empty pediment, while
Landseer’s famous lions guard Nelson’s column.
London displays a veritable menagerie
of animals: some attached to famous landmarks, others perched in all but
invisible gravity-defying positions, with many testifying to the heraldic
symbolism that adorns our civic spaces. Photographer Ianthe
Ruthven has beautifully captured the creatures of the city in an exhibition
that pays tribute to the imagination and humour of generations of architects
and sculptors. Some may be familiar, others completely unknown.
Discover: National Theatre
A programme of events and activities for people of all ages to discover
more about the National Theatre.
Backstage
insights
21
September, 5, 19 October and 2 November, 6pm (1 hour)
Four sessions giving insight into how current NT productions have been
made, by the people who make them. www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/backstageinsights
Theatreskills for families
25 – 29 October; suitable for ages 8 – 12. Further details
available nearer the time. www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/families
On tour: The Habit of Art
A series
of events accompanying the UK tour of Alan Bennett’s The Habit of Art.
Workshops: a participatory open rehearsal session led by the
NT company (suitable for 16 years plus); all venues.
Examining
Auden and Britten: an
illustrated pre-show discussion with the National’s Head of Music,
Matthew Scott, examining the life, work and relationships of the poet and
composer; some venues.
Playwriting: a chance
for local playwrights to work with NT writers, directors and actors to create a
piece of original theatre, culminating in a rehearsed reading, some venues.
Discover: Mobile is
supported by The Dorset Foundation.
For venue details visit www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/mobile
Theatreworks Open Courses
Providing
communication-skills training for adults, Theatreworks
draws on techniques used by actors and directors to encourage confident and
creative communication.
Personal
Impact: 8 September, 20 October, 1 December
Advanced
Personal Impact: 4 November
Influence
and Rapport: 2 December
Theatreworks Short Season: 21 July, 4 & 18 August, 7pm (2 hours)
A series of fun and challenging evening sessions offering personal and
professional development.
www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/theatreworks
For schools
Workshops are available
throughout the year, suitable for KS3-5, exploring aspects of current
theatre practice, using a current NT production as a reference point. Topics
may include textual analysis, performance technique, directing or design.
Q&A sessions offer students a unique opportunity to meet a key member of
the creative team before seeing a show.
A two-day workshop for teachers on ‘Directing Shakespeare’
(12-13 November) will provide a toolkit of active methods for introducing
Shakespeare in class and collaborative approaches to directing his plays. www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/discover/forschools.
For further details on all Discover activities
– which also include Theatreworks courses for
teachers – and to view short films about selected NT productions, an
Online Tour of the NT, and the Making Theatre section visit www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/discover
Audio-described, touch tour and
captioned performances
The National
programmes audio-described
performances and touch tours for visually impaired people and captioned
performances for deaf or partially hearing visitors.
For full
details and dates, visit http://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/access.
Public Information:
Public
phone/online booking for new productions in the July - October season opens on
20 July.
Book tickets
online at www.nationaltheatre.org.uk
Box
Office: 020 7452 3000, open 9.30am
– 8pm Fax: 020 7452 3030
Information: 020 7452 3400
THE NATIONAL’S SPONSORS
Travelex £10 Tickets TRAVELEX worldwide
money
The National
Theatre would appreciate an acknowledgement in the body of the text and/or as a
separate footnote following editorial copy, for example:
‘Hamlet, a Travelex £10 Ticket show’
Media
Partner of Travelex £10 Tickets
THE TIMES
Innovation
at the National Theatre, including the production of War Horse, is sponsored by Accenture
The National
Theatre’s Cottesloe Partner is Neptune
Investment Management
Philips and
the National Theatre are working in partnership to reduce energy consumption.
The
National Theatre’s airline partner is American Airlines.
NT
Connections is supported by Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
The
National Theatre is working in creative partnership with Corbis on photographs
for its 2010 season.
Danton’s Death is supported by The Laura Pels Foundation.
The Habit of Art is supported by a group of
individual donors.
The National
Theatre would like to acknowledge the support of US partner
Bob Boyett.
The
National Theatre is supported by Arts
Council England.
Box
Office Fax: (020) 7452 3030
THE OPEN AIR
THEATRE, REGENT'S PARK
Web
Site: www.open-air-theatre.org.uk
AS REGENT’S PARK
OPEN AIR THEATRE COMPLETES ANOTHER RECORD-BREAKING SEASON, ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
TIMOTHY SHEADER ANNOUNCES THE LINE-UP FOR 2010:
THE CRUCIBLE; A COMEDY OF ERRORS; MACBETH; INTO THE WOODS
The Regent’s Park Open Air
Theatre production of Hello, Dolly!, directed
by Timothy Sheader, has become not only one of the
critically acclaimed successes of the year, but also the highest grossing
production in the history of the theatre.
The production runs until this Saturday, 12 September.
This triumphant close to another
record-breaking season under the artistic directorship of Timothy Sheader follows productions of Much Ado About
Nothing, Liam Steel’s robust and enchanting production of The
Tempest – re-imagined for ages 6 and above, and The
Importance of Being Earnest. As the first non-Shakespeare play to be
programmed at the park in recent history, Irina Brown’s production of
Wilde’s classic played to 96.5% of capacity, breaking all attendance
records at the 1240 seat venue. Additionally, 2009 has seen over 13,500 school
children introduced to the works of Shakespeare and Wilde in the magical
surroundings of the park.
The Open Air Theatre team has
already started work on the 2010 season and announces today the productions
that will make up Sheader’s third season at the
park – one of witches, woods and mistaken identity. As part of the
ongoing expansion of the venue’s repertoire, and capitalising on the
park’s unique environment, The Crucible will be the first
production, playing from 24 May to 19 June, 2010. Sheader
will direct Arthur Miller’s thriller, based on the events that led to the
Salem witch trials.
Families and school children will
be transported to Burnham wood as Macbeth is re-imagined for audiences
aged 6 and over. The Scottish play will be performed in rep for 4 weeks from 3
July, 2010 including two performances on Sundays.
Making a welcome return to the
Open Air Theatre after 14 years is Shakespeare’s most hilarious play A
Comedy of Errors, which will be performed from 24 June to 31 July,
2010.
Ending the season will be Sheader’s production of Stephen Sondheim’s
musical Into The Woods, playing from 5 August
to 11 September, 2010.
Priority booking opens on 10
November 2009 for Members; public bookings open on 1 December
2009. Join the Members scheme
now from £15 at www.openairtheatre.com.
·
Regent’s
Park Open Air Theatre, at 1240 seats, is one of London’s largest
playhouses and welcomes over 130,000 people to its four annual productions of
three plays and one musical. Although famed for its productions of
Shakespeare’s work the Company has committed to expanding the repertoire
to include plays by other writers. The theatre’s outdoor setting, and the
scale and ambition of its four annual productions, make it unique in the
London, and British, theatre landscape.
ROYAL FESTIVAL HALL /
HAYWARD GALLERY
Box Office: (South Bank Centre) 020 7960 4242
for complete information or to book
on-line
(OCCASIONAL)
For more details or individual advice/help - email: GPowner@aol.com