Wednesday, November 13

NEWS

National Theatre pantomime Dick Whittington available to watch for free in December
NEWS

National Theatre pantomime Dick Whittington available to watch for free in December

The National Theatre is to stream Dick Whittington, for free via the National Theatre and The Shows Must Go On YouTube channels on the 23rd December at 3pm GMT. The stream will then be available on demand until midnight on 27th December. The production will be filmed live during the performance in the Olivier theatre on the 19th December, in front of a socially distanced audience. Following the limited-window YouTube streams, it will then be made available on the newly launched National Theatre at Home platform from the 11th January for six weeks. At a time when many theatres across the country have sadly been forced to cancel or postpone their pantomimes, the National Theatre is celebrating panto’s place at the heart of British theatre. The free stream of Jude Christian and Cariad Lloy...
Andrew Lancel In One Man Comedy By Jonathan Harvey Touring England In February
NEWS

Andrew Lancel In One Man Comedy By Jonathan Harvey Touring England In February

Following its critically acclaimed sell-out premiere at Liverpool Theatre Festival in September, Swan Song, a revised comedy by acclaimed playwright Jonathan Harvey, is heading out on tour in February to coincide with LGBT History Month. Swan Song, a one-man play starring TV and stage actor Andrew Lancel, is directed by BAFTA award-winning director Noreen Kershaw and produced by Bill Elms. The play will open at Liverpool’s Unity Theatre for six performances over three nights, this will be the first live performances at the theatre since closing in March. The show then moves on to The Atkinson Southport, Lighthouse Poole, Swan Theatre Worcester, Belgrade Coventry, Dukes Lancaster, City Varieties Leeds, and Capitol Horsham. All venue will present to socially distanced audiences and mor...
ROH Winter Programme to open with Tosca in January 2021
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ROH Winter Programme to open with Tosca in January 2021

The Royal Opera House is delighted to announce that The Royal Opera’s Winter 2020/21 Programme will open with 12 performances of Puccini's Tosca. The revival of Jonathan Kent’s 2006 production will see one of the most captivating opera singers of our time, Anna Netrebko, return to the stage at Covent Garden. Puccini’s operatic thriller – one of the great opera experiences – will be the first fully staged production of an opera at Covent Garden since lockdown in March 2020. Running from Wednesday 13th January to Saturday 13th March, the production will also be live streamed for audiences across the globe on Friday 22nd January. Opening on 13th January, Dan Ettinger will conduct the star cast including Anna Netrebko, leading tenor Yusif Eyvazov and world-renowned bass-baritone Gerald F...
Musical Theatre under the Stars in Liverpool
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Musical Theatre under the Stars in Liverpool

At last, a chance to get out and enjoy a good singsong in the centre of Liverpool. St Luke’s Bombed Out Church at the top of Bold Street is hosting a musical theatre concert on December 17th starting at 7.30pm. Doors open 7.00pm The event, “Musical Theatre under the Stars” is designed to raise money for the local Fringe Theatre group Make it Write. The group will use the money to give people on low-income access to playwriting and theatre activities. “As a performer myself I was keen to get a show going and to help theatres and groups hit by the pandemic”, said Laura Smith, the main driver of the show being arranged by Make it Write. It could be a chilly night so the team is suggesting that people should dress warm and bring a blanket for the event expected to last about...
Theatr Clwyd Announces Christmas Productions For 2020
NEWS

Theatr Clwyd Announces Christmas Productions For 2020

Tamara Harvey, Artistic Director of Theatr Clwyd today announces the company’s reimagined Christmas season. Commencing on 5th December, the season includes the immersive family experience Once Upon A Christmas; Christian Patterson’s The Panto That Nearly Never Was! directed by Harvey; and the bilingual family show Gwrach yr Iâ / The Ice Witch, in co-production with Pontio Arts, written and directed by Emyr John. If theatres in Wales continue to be unable to open under Covid restrictions, The Panto That Nearly Never Was and The Ice Witch will be streamed into audiences’ homes, whilst Once Upon A Christmas – three brand new pre-recorded Christmas stories told in three immersive worlds – is able to take place under such restrictions. Tamara Harvey today said, “Despite the obvious challenge...
Musical Powerhouse  Marisha Wallace Announces 2021 UK Tour
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Musical Powerhouse Marisha Wallace Announces 2021 UK Tour

West End and Broadway sensation Marisha Wallace is delighted to announce an all-new UK tour for 2021. The musical powerhouse – who has dazzled both the Royal Variety Performance and Strictly Come Dancing in recent days – is heading out on a six-date tour next autumn. The announcement follows the release of Marisha’s stunning new album ‘Tomorrow’. Named BBC Radio 2 Album of the Week, ‘Tomorrow’ is a wonderful collection of uplifting show songs and sing-along pop classics delivered by one of the most instantly recognisable and beloved voices of a generation. Marisha, the star of such smash-hit stage shows as Dreamgirls, Waitress, Aladdin and The Book of Mormon, will play these unmissable dates: Friday 24th SeptemberIlkley – King’s HallMonday 27th SeptemberLondon – Arts TheatreThu...
Strictly Does Musicals
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Strictly Does Musicals

It is our favourite week of the year, Strictly Come Dancing's Musical Week! We've put together all the performances from the Saturday night for you plus Sunday's appearance from the &Juliet West End cast. Who was your favourite? First up was a stunning opening number from the professionals with a mega-mix from Priscilla Queen of the Desert! https://www.youtube.com/embed/TdPbyupc-y0 Maisie Smith and Gorka Marquez Jive to Little Shop of Horrors from Little Shop of Horrors. https://www.youtube.com/embed/-e68uG83MCA Bill Bailey and Oti Mabuse Argentine Tango to Phantom of the Opera from Phantom of the Opera. https://www.youtube.com/embed/GxcbH3-BmFA Ranvir Singh and Giovanni Pernice Viennese Waltz to She Used To Be Mine from Waitress. https://www.youtu...
Unity announce first Open Call Programme & new Commission for Local Artists
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Unity announce first Open Call Programme & new Commission for Local Artists

The Unity Theatre, Liverpool announce their first ever Open Call Programme. Running from February – May 2021, Unity are looking for local creatives to submit work for programming as their reopening season, celebrating the resilience, talent, and quality of Liverpool’s creative community. The call-out is open to a wide range of people and practices including theatre companies, performers, community practitioners, musicians, devisers, comedians, puppeteers, digital artists and spoken word artists. If you have a performance or creative experience you would love to share with audiences or participants, Unity are keen to hear from you. Unity knows that as a consequence of Covid-19 some D/deaf, neurodivergent and disabled artists face unique and unprecedented additional challenges in maint...
Cast announced for A Christmas Carol at Bolton Octagon
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Cast announced for A Christmas Carol at Bolton Octagon

Casting has been announced for a festive broadcast reading of Charles Dickens’ classic novel A Christmas Carol at Bolton Octagon on Sunday 20th December. The classic redemptive tale old miser Ebenezer Scrooge who is visited on Christmas Eve by three spirits will be read aloud by a team of actors, and broadcast from various locations inside the new theatre. It will also give audiences a sneak peek at the newly refurbished and redesigned town centre venue ahead of its opening in early 2021. The cast includes Coronation Street’s Susan Hilton, John Afzal, Brianna Douglas, Brassic’s Neil Ashton, Colin Meredith, Purvi Parmar, Natalie Amber and Sam Black. “I’m delighted to be working with this fantastic cast of talented actors, all of whom are based locally to the Octagon,”, says the...
Northern Chamber Orchestra launch ‘Seat Out’ fundraising campaign
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Northern Chamber Orchestra launch ‘Seat Out’ fundraising campaign

For every socially distanced seat sold at the NCO’s Macclesfield concerts, an average of four seats must be taken off sale. The COVID-19 pandemic has been catastrophic for the arts, and the Northern Chamber Orchestra is no exception. While we have been able to stage some incredible, socially distanced concerts, for every seat we sell we must take four seats off sale. This is financially unviable, and we can’t continue this way for much longer. We are therefore asking our supporters to consider donating to our ‘Seat Out’ campaign, to help the NCO – the North West’s oldest professional chamber orchestra – remain afloat into 2021 and beyond. Charlie Rowley, NCO’s General Manager, said: “Your support is invaluable to us. For anyone making their living in professional music, the events...