Paul Downham, Author at North West End UK

West End superstars heading to Milton Keynes for 1 night only!

7Feb

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

NEWS

West End superstars heading to Milton Keynes for 1 night only!

West End superstars: Lucie Jones, Ben Forster, Matt Henry MBE and Louise Dearman are part of the stunning cast line-up of this musical spectacular of the year, performing alongside a musical theatre orchestra conducted by the phenomenal John Quirk. This vibrant West End spectacular will cover the breadth of musical theatre from classic hits to ground-breaking new musicals including Chicago, Wicked, Cats, The Lion King, Waitress, Jesus Christ Superstar, Les Misérables, The Greatest Showman, The Phantom of the Opera and many more! As a prolific supporter of the West End for several years, the Alpha Family are thrilled to be bringing their uplifting and celebratory show direct from the best theatre district in the world to their home-city of Milton Keynes, showcasing the biggest, best and mos...

New play Animal to premiere at Hope Mill Theatre

6Feb

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NEWS

New play Animal to premiere at Hope Mill Theatre

Winner of the inaugural Through the Mill Prize and shortlisted for the Papatango Prize, Park Theatre and Hope Mill Theatre present brand-new play ANIMAL, exploring how disability, sexuality and lust co-exist for people who require round the clock assistance. Written by Jon Bradfield (Ghosted: Another F***ing Christmas Carol, The Other Palace Theatre; Missing Alice, BBC4) and developed by disability activist and equality trainer Josh Hepple, ANIMAL is an authentic, hilarious, and heart-breaking look at hook-up culture, navigating relationships and how they intersect with practical needs and social barriers for disabled people. The play tours to Hope Mill Theatre in Manchester, the Tobacco Factory in Bristol and Park Theatre in London. Christopher John-Slater (All of Us, National Theatre;...

2Feb

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NEWS

North West End UK are recruiting NOW!

From its launch locally in Manchester back in 2014, North West End UK has grown year on year (including during the pandemic when they diversified to review online theatre) and 2023 sees no sign of that growth stopping as they continue to cover more and more of the UK. Live theatre is more important than ever today and North West End UK strive to promote and review all forms of theatre performed from the smallest community hall up to the biggest arenas in the UK. To feed the appetite of producers, venues and PR’s, North West End UK is undertaking a huge recruitment drive and seeks new reviewers across the UK, and they need you! No experience is necessary, all that they ask is that you have a love for theatre, can commit to a deadline and write a balanced and honest review. Many of the...

First full scale production to play new ‘Southwark Playhouse Elephant’

1Feb

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NEWS

First full scale production to play new ‘Southwark Playhouse Elephant’

It's eleven o'clock in the morning in a council flat on the Walworth Road in London. In two hours' time, as is normal, three Irish men will have consumed six cans of Harp, fifteen crackers with spreadable cheese, ten pink biscuit wafers and one oven-cooked chicken with a strange blue sauce. In two hours’ time, as is normal, five people will have been killed. In a little over two hours' time, as is less normal, a further two will have met their maker. Southwark Playhouse is delighted to announce the full cast for its first major production to run at its brand new space in Elephant and Castle. The new space - Southwark Playhouse Elephant, is welcoming a revival of Enda Walsh's award winning The Walworth Farce as its debut full scale production, held in its 310-seat main auditorium. ...

<strong>There’s a New Doc in Town!</strong>

31Jan

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NEWS

There’s a New Doc in Town!

Lead producer Colin Ingram, together with Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale, the creators of the Back To The Future film trilogy, are delighted to announce that celebrated theatre actor, Cory English, will join the cast of BACK TO THE FUTURE The Musical at the Adelphi Theatre, playing the role of ‘Doctor Emmett Brown’. The show will also extend its booking period until Sunday 22nd October 2023. Tickets for the new booking period are on sale now. The critically acclaimed Olivier, WhatsOnStage and Broadway World Award-winning Best New Musical had its opening night in London on Monday 13th September 2021 and recently broke box office records at the Adelphi Theatre for the highest gross sales in one week. BACK TO THE FUTURE The Musical is nominated for three WhatsOnStage Awards in 2023 including...

The National Lottery’s Big Night of Musicals Returns to Manchester

25Jan

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NEWS

The National Lottery’s Big Night of Musicals Returns to Manchester

For the second year running, The National Lottery is shining a light on the magic of musical theatre by hosting a musical extravaganza at the AO Arena, Manchester, on Monday 27th February. Hosted by Jason Manford, The National Lottery’s Big Night of Musicals will feature performances from best-selling West End musicals and touring shows including We Will Rock You the Musical, Wicked, The Royal Shakespeare Company’s Matilda The Musical and Aspects of Love featuring Michael Ball The show serves as a special thank you to National Lottery players who have helped tens of thousands of arts projects across the UK and supported over 2,000 theatres through the Covid crisis After the huge success of its first musicals extravaganza last year, on Monday 27th February The National Lottery is o...

<strong>First major revival in 20 years of Neil Labute’s The Shape of Things</strong>

24Jan

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NEWS

First major revival in 20 years of Neil Labute’s The Shape of Things

Trish Wadley Productions, in association with Park Theatre, today announce a major revival of Neil LaBute’s acclaimed play The Shape of Things in Park200. Nicky Allpress directs, with set and costume design by Peter Butler. Casting is to be announced. The production opens on 30 May, with previews from 24th May, and runs until 1st July. From the producers of Clybourne Park, this will be the first major revival of The Shape of Things since 2004 – a dark comedy about the drama of human relationships and the nature of love and art. How far would you go for love? For art? What would you be willing to change? What price might you pay? Adam, a geeky young student, works part-time in an art museum and video store to pay his way through college. When he meets post-grad art student Evelyn, his...

<strong>Voice over artists announced for Idiots Assemble – Spitting Image Saves the World at Birmingham Rep</strong>

24Jan

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NEWS

Voice over artists announced for Idiots Assemble – Spitting Image Saves the World at Birmingham Rep

Twelve voice-over artists, a mix of actors, impressionists and comedians have just started work on recording voices for over one hundred Spitting Image characters for the World Premiere of the stage show, Idiots Assemble: Spitting Image Saves the World which previews at Birmingham Rep from 1st February. They are: Al Murray (The Royal Variety Performance, Al Murray’s Happy Hour, Why Does Everyone Hate the English? We Have Ways of Making You Talk), Debra Stephenson (The Impressions Show, Dead Ringers, Rich Hall’s Election Breakdown, Newzoids, Coronation Street and Bad Girls), Jess Robinson (Spitting Image, The Last Leg, Stars in Their Ears, and The Rise and Fall of Little Voice and Britain’s Got Talent, Jojo Lin (Spitting Image Puppeteer), Jason Forbes (The Tracy Ullman Show, The Ma...

<strong>Coming of age tale Pick n Mix gets London Premiere at Pleasance Islington</strong>

16Jan

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NEWS

Coming of age tale Pick n Mix gets London Premiere at Pleasance Islington

Pick n Mix is a coming of age story of sisterhood, sex ed, sanitary pads and the fierce friendship between teenagers in Bradford making its London debut at Pleasance Islington. It’s the raucous and moving debut play from Kat Rose-Martin, who is a Kay Mellor Fellow, and comes to London after a sold out run across West Yorkshire later last year. Olivia, her sister Kim, and best friend Alisha all fall for the same lad, and not surprisingly chaos ensues as lies are told and their lifelong friendships are on the verge of breakdown. The young women’s Lives are about to change forever as Rose-Martin muses on just how much you can mess up before your mates hate you, and how exactly do you put a condom on one-handed? Pick n Mix is a frank and funny work touching sensitively on issues inclu...

<strong>Rebecca Ferrin comes back home as Les Mis comes to Leeds Grand</strong>

23Nov

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Interviews

Rebecca Ferrin comes back home as Les Mis comes to Leeds Grand

Les Misérables is a musical juggernaut smashing record after record for more three decades and now the UK tour of this epic tale of betrayal, obsession, revolution, and redemption is heading to Leeds Grand Theatre. Rebecca Ferrin first trod the boards at the Grands as a child and how she’s coming back to her hometown theatre in an epic tale of the battle between Jean Valjean and his nemesis Javert that has played to over 130 million people worldwide. Ferrin who trained at Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts battled her way through one of the toughest auditions for any show and tells our Features Editor Paul Clarke why winning a place onstage is a dream come true. Is this the full West End version that's coming to Leeds? Yes, it's almost identical in every single aspect. We've had...