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<strong>Othello – Lyric Hammersmith</strong>

25Jan

By Alice RoseNo Comments

London

Othello – Lyric Hammersmith

Frantic Assembly bring back their widely celebrated production of Othello adapted and directed by Scott Graham at the Lyric Theatre in Hammersmith. This modernised show follows Othello (Michael Akinsulire), the leader of a gang in a pub setting. They protect this area of land through violence shown in a series of movement pieces and dances. Desdemona (Chanel Waddock), daughter of gang member meets Othello in a montage hitting it off straight away, exuding with sexual connection and quite quickly becoming the metaphorical king and queen of the pack. In the background, Iago (Joe Layton) looks at this relationship as a threat and therefore creates his plan of revenge. The revenge? I’m not too sure- it could be the rumours that he has slept with his wife, Emilia (Kirsty Stuart) or simply just ...

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

24Jan

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

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

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

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>imitating the dog take on the Bard with a high-tech version of Macbeth</strong>

24Jan

By Paul ClarkeNo Comments

Interviews

imitating the dog take on the Bard with a high-tech version of Macbeth

imitating the dog built their reputation reinventing some of our biggest cultural moments, so it seemed inevitable that they would eventually turn their attention to Shakespeare. And not just any Shakespeare as they are taking on Macbeth, and this tragic tale of the terrible cost of the lust for power seems perfect for their unique blend of theatrical daring and high-tech trickery. Our Yorkshire Editor Paul Clarke caught with their Co-Artistic Director Andrew Quick during rehearsals to find out more about how they are reimagining a classic work. Any self-respecting theatre fan will have seen Macbeth at least once so why should they come along to your version? Hopefully they’ll have never seen anything like it before. Our version only has five actors in it, so we ha...

<strong>Cast announced for Of Mice and Men at Leeds Playhouse</strong>

24Jan

By Paul ClarkeNo Comments

NEWS

Cast announced for Of Mice and Men at Leeds Playhouse

Tom McCall and William Young take on the roles of friends George and Lennie battling to survive in tough times in a new stage adaptation of John Steinbeck’s classic novel Of Mice and Men at Leeds Playhouse. This version of the classic tale of doomed friendship is directed by Iqbal Khan, who was in charge of the impressive multi-genre Opening Ceremony for the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, and the show is a co-production between the Playhouse, Birmingham Rep and Fiery Angel. “I'm ecstatic to be playing Lennie again,” says William Young. “I played him in Chapter, Cardiff in 2017 with August 012 Theatre Company. He reminds me of Roald Dahl's BFG. “I was born with a rare brain condition called Agenesis of the Corpus Callosum, which means I find it easy to ...

<strong>The Elephant Song – Park Theatre</strong>

24Jan

By Riana HowarthNo Comments

London

The Elephant Song – Park Theatre

When a psychiatrist misses work unexpectedly the head of the hospital, Doctor Greenberg (Jon Osbaldeston) covers for him. One of the patients, Michael (Gwithian Evans) claims to know Doctor Lawrence’s whereabouts but will only cooperate if he gets something in return. Nicolas Billon’s cleverly plotted script teems with intrigue, as two mysteries unravel throughout the play; Doctor Lawrence’s disappearance and Michael’s past related to his peculiar obsession with elephants. As he saunters in singing with abandon, we hear him before we see him, which already establishes the notion of prejudice in the play. Evans’ portrayal of Michael is immaculate, from his jerky movements to the playful yet calculating gaze. His sharp delivery indicates a disregard for social norms and Evans gives us a s...

<strong>Richard O’Briens Rocky Horror Show – Sheffield Lyceum</strong>

24Jan

By Tracey BellNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Richard O’Briens Rocky Horror Show – Sheffield Lyceum

It was with growing anti……….. pation I waited for the show to start. With an audience full of sparkly tailcoats and top hats, green surgical gowns, heavy rocker leather jackets and more basques, corsets and suspenders than you can find in Ann Summers, it seemed that this was predominately, no virgin audience, on the opening night of Richard O’Briens Rocky Horror Show at the Sheffield Lyceum, let the shouts outs begin! Having seen the show many, many times before I was wondering if this production would fill me with the amazement my first encounter did, as an innocent 14 year old schoolgirl some 42 years previous! The music teacher; who took our school trip; certainly didn’t do his homework first and was horrified he may lose his job when parents heard about the show. And as for me? I was i...

<strong>Hamlet – Southwark Playhouse</strong>

22Jan

By Caroline WorswickNo Comments

London

Hamlet – Southwark Playhouse

Lazarus Theatre Company offer a different approach to producing a Shakespeare production. Reimagining the classics is their game, collaborating with their artists, they have an emphasis on ensemble work, which was in evidence in this Hamlet production. Lazarus have co-produced this show with Southwark Playhouse’s Shakespeare for Schools Project, and the youthful cast encouraged a younger audience to come along to watch. Hamlet was a reluctant choice for Artistic Director Ricky Dukes, as he felt that it has been exhausted, and there can be an issue of what can we add to a production, but they need not have worried, this production packs a punch and enables Shakespeare’s language to work within this ensemble framework. The opening scene is a case in point, The Voice (...

<strong>You Are My Sunshine – Unity Theatre</strong>

22Jan

By Hannah EsnoufNo Comments

North West

You Are My Sunshine – Unity Theatre

Izzy Campbell took on the daunting task of writing and starring in her own work. You are my Sunshine shines a light on the difficult conversations that families have about mental health. With only two performers, the task was big, and they made a large effort to try and make it succeed. It begins with music, a common device for the bringing on of characters, but in this case, it went on for too long and the dialogue got lost. Faye Donnellan chose a simple setting of a living room set-up which worked for the intimacy of the conversations that followed. Yet, the yellow balloons, the same ones on the poster, were rid of in the first scene, perhaps they could have had a bit more relevance throughout the performance to be deemed necessary to have onstage. The character of Emily, played by...

<strong>35 DAYS TO SAVE THE KING’S!</strong>

21Jan

By Caroline WorswickNo Comments

NEWS

35 DAYS TO SAVE THE KING’S!

AS EDINBURGH LOSES OUT ON UK GOVERNMENT’S LEVELLING UP FUNDING, CAPITAL THEATRES IS WORKING WITH THE SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT, CITY OF EDINBURGH COUNCIL AND THE UK GOVERNMENT TO ENSURE THE KING’S THEATRE DOESN’T CLOSE ITS DOORS FOREVER • City of Edinburgh Council’s bid to the UK Government’s Levelling Up Fund has been unsuccessful. This grant would have been a crucial contribution towards the funding gap for the King’s Redevelopment project caused by inflation, global conflict and changing trade routes. • Capital Theatres, the charity which runs the King’s, has already raised £26m and must find the remaining £8.9m in the next 35 days, in time to sign over the building to the contractors, stay on track with the project, and avoid spiralling costs. • The King’s is vital for the UK’s cult...