Latest Articles - Page 580 of 666

11Jun

By Donna M DayNo Comments

South East

Sleeping Beauties – Brighton Fringe

The Storytelling Choir’s Sleeping Beauties is a magical combination of song, storytelling and stunning visuals, which brings new life to an old tale by going back to its ancient roots embracing all corners of the world. The Storytelling Choir question why fairy tales have been reduced to one, accepted version, and aim to bring storytelling back to the communities where they started. Discussing their views on the Sleeping Beauty story, the choir, comprised of Marina Evans, Sophie Gibson, Joanna Gilar, Fleur Shorthouse Hemmings and Nana Tomova, it is clear that over the year this performance is put together, a lot of consideration has been given to the themes of the story and the message those themes convey. Medieval style song is then combined with poetry and beautiful paintings of sl...

Full Casting Announced for The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber

10Jun

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

NEWS

Full Casting Announced for The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber

Leicester’s Curve theatre has today announced the full cast and production team for its Made at Curve production of The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber, a celebratory reopening concert featuring the songs that made the musicals and memories from the extraordinary life and career of Andrew Lloyd Webber. Running 7th to 19th June in Curve’s transformed auditorium as part of the theatre’s upcoming socially distanced season, the production will be directed by Curve’s Artistic Director Nikolai Foster. Bringing Andrew Lloyd Webber’s songs to life will be Madalena Alberto (Evita, Dominion Theatre), Jessica Daley (An Officer and a Gentleman, Curve and UK tour, Over The Rainbow, BBC), Tim Howar (The Phantom of the Opera, Her Majesty’s Theatre), Shem Omari James (Songs For A New World, London Palladi...

Full Casting Announced for World Premiere of Looking Good Dead

10Jun

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

NEWS

Full Casting Announced for World Premiere of Looking Good Dead

As rehearsals begin this week, Peter James and producer Joshua Andrews are delighted to announce full casting for the World Premiere stage production of the Peter James best-selling novel “LOOKING GOOD DEAD”. Joining the previously announced award-winning EastEnders star Adam Woodyatt as Tom Bryce and TV and Stage star Gaynor Faye as Kellie Bryce will be Harry Long as Roy Grace, Ian Houghton as Jonas, Leon Stewart as Branson, Gemma Stroyan as Bella, Luke Ward-Wilkinson as Max Bryce, Mylo McDonald as Mick and Natalie Boakye as Janie. With rescheduled dates confirmed, “LOOKING GOOD DEAD” is now set to open at the Leicester Curve on 1st July 2021 ahead of a major UK tour. www.peterjames.com Adam Woodyatt is the longest serving cast member in “EastEnders” having appeared continuously...

New musical From Here stars SIX’s Grace Mouat

10Jun

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

NEWS

New musical From Here stars SIX’s Grace Mouat

Grace Mouat (Six, Arts Theatre; & Juliet, Shaftesbury Theatre; Hair, Turbine Theatre) and Andrew Patrick-Walker (Bat Out of Hell, London Coliseum; Brooklyn, Greenwich Theatre; Hair, Hope Mill Theatre) will bring From Here: A New British Musical to life at Chiswick Playhouse. They’ll be joined by Nicola Espallardo (The Pirate Queen, London Coliseum; Les Misérables, Gielgud Theatre; Working, Southwark Playhouse), and Aidan Harkins (The Pirate Queen, London Coliseum; The Importance of Being Earnest, Barn Theatre & Turbine Theatre; Closer to Heaven, Above The Stag), directed by Annabelle Hollingdale (Resident Director: Spring Awakening, The Hope Mill Theatre; Assistant Director: Heathers, The Other Palace). This incredible world premiere considers where we might just find ourselves in ...

9Jun

By Zoё MeeresNo Comments

London

HEMATOMA – Lion & Unicorn Theatre

I’ve never been to the Lion and Unicorn Theatre which as a born and bred north Londoner is, I know, disgraceful. I was met by a very polite and welcoming front of house who was clearly as pleased to be back to live performances as I was and directed through to my seat. It’s a simple black box auditorium, intimate but with one of the better seating setups I’ve seen in this kind of venue, all Covid-compliant, spacious and clean. Hematoma bills itself as a ‘road play’ - like a road movie, but on the stage. I wasn’t sure what to expect and I wasn’t sure if one man and his thoughts would be the return to being in a live audience that I wanted, but I definitely needn’t have worried. This felt to me like a true coming of age piece, and I spent an hour utterly engrossed in writer and performer ...

Casting announced for Dracula: The Untold Story

9Jun

By Paul ClarkeNo Comments

NEWS

Casting announced for Dracula: The Untold Story

Leeds Playhouse and imitating the dog have announced the casting for their premiere of Dracula: The Untold Story. It’s a typically radical new adaptation of Bram Stoker’s classic gothic horror novel told from the perspective of Mina Harker, the novel’s heroine. Leona Allen will play Mina Harker joined by Matt Prendergast and Adela Rajnović who play all the other roles. Just before midnight on New Year's Eve in 1965, as revellers in London celebrate the beginning of another year, a young woman enters Marylebone Police Station and confesses to a brutal murder. She claims to be Mina Harker, the last living survivor of the intrepid group that brought about Count Dracula’s destruction some 70 years before. But Mina Harker has not been seen since 1901. And if she were alive, she woul...

Slung Low and Freedom Studios team up to premiere new short plays for radio

9Jun

By Paul ClarkeNo Comments

NEWS

Slung Low and Freedom Studios team up to premiere new short plays for radio

Two of Yorkshire’s best known theatre companies are staging an afternoon of new short plays written for radio to be performed in front of a live audience. For the past decade Leeds based Slung Low have been running 15 Minutes Live and this time they will partner with acclaimed Bradford theatre company Freedom Studios. They’ve commissioned six playwrights to write an original short play to be recorded in front of a live audience at The Holbeck venue in Leeds on Saturday 10th July at 2pm. This year’s line-up of writers is Tom Wells, Aina J Khan, Ben Tagoe, Leeds based actor-musician Claire-Marie Seddon, Rani Moorthy and Ray Sesay. 15 Minutes Live includes on-stage sound effects, audience participation and live music woven into the performance. The audience will be guided thro...

8Jun

By Gaurav SinghNo Comments

REVIEWS

Theatre For Two – We Are Kilter

Theatre for Two is a new interactive experience by collaborative theatre company We Are Kilter. Consisting of an anthology of four micro plays that are part-scripted and part-improvised, the show invites the audience to interact with the performers and shape the story as they play out. Centered around the themes of isolation and loneliness, the show relies on direct audience address and an innovative stage design to create a warm and intimate experience for, as the name suggests, two audience members at a time, which makes it an excellent choice for a date night or, as I experienced it, a lovely night out alone when you are simply tired of staring at screens craving some human connection. Each of the four 10-12 minute pieces are written by different writers, namely ‘Reptile’ by Macadie ...

Showstopper! The Improvised Musical – Garrick Theatre

8Jun

By Carole GordonNo Comments

London

Showstopper! The Improvised Musical – Garrick Theatre

As the theatres gradually re-open, audiences are like kids in a toy shop, wide-eyed, rushing around not sure what to see first. Well it's a no-brainer. Book tickets for Showstopper! It sounds absolutely crazy - a musical improvised on the fly with suggestions of setting, musical styles and show title provided by the audience - but it has been running to incredible and well-deserved success since 2008. After a long stint at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the show had two West End runs and a series on BBC Radio 4. And along the way they picked up an Olivier award. It's funny, clever, interactive and unique, each night becoming a completely different show full of references to styles the audience can recognise. A bit of Shakespeare here, a Hamilton-esque sequence there, an homage to ...

8Jun

By Donna M DayNo Comments

South East

The Great Gatsby – Brighton Fringe

The Wardrobe Ensemble’s The Great Gatsby, directed by Tom Brennan with assistance from Frazer Meakin, is a unique reimagining of Fitzgerald’s Great American Novel. A two woman show, performed by Tamsin Hurtado Clarke and Jesse Meadows, this brilliant reinterpretation blends the 1920s story with modern themes and references to create a special and entertaining piece of theatre which breathes new life into a familiar cast of characters. The piece opens with images of fireworks and scenes of partying from various eras. The hedonistic events shown feel so long ago in today’s world, and when we see Meadows, lying alone on the stage with clothes and wine bottles strewn around, the loneliness of our recent isolation is brought to the fore. As Meadows gets up and begins cleaning up the alcoh...