Mamma Mia Archives - North West End UK

MAMMA MIA! Announces Relaxed Performance

20Feb

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

NEWS

MAMMA MIA! Announces Relaxed Performance

Producer Judy Craymer is delighted to announce a relaxed performance of MAMMA MIA! at the Novello Theatre on Wednesday 8th March. The performance, which will begin at 6.30pm, will be staged in consultation with Mousetrap Theatre Projects (MTP). Relaxed performances are designed to provide an opportunity for people with autism, learning difficulties or other sensory and communication needs who require a more relaxed environment. Judy Craymer said, “I am very proud that MAMMA MIA! has always been a musical for everyone. I was overwhelmed by the wonderful audience response we had to the previous relaxed performances held in 2013 and 2016 and we are delighted to stage another this March. Theatre has always been and must continue to be inclusive for all. MAMMA MIA!’s heart-warming story ...

2Feb

By Grace AnnabelNo Comments

North West

Mamma Mia – Opera House, Manchester

Mamma Mia! The smash hit jukebox musical opened tonight to a raving full house of ABBA fanatics and theatre enthusiasts, all head- bopping to the renowned hits from the overture to finale. As soon as the band began taking us through a medley of ABBA’s greatest hits during the overture, I could feel the electric energy and could tell this would be an unforgettable night of musical theatre. The creative team is comprised of highly acclaimed and accomplished theatre professionals. Directed by Phyllida Lloyd, choreographed by Anthony Van Laast and musically directed by Carlton Edwards - this collective is a powerhouse, creating a truly triple-theatre piece of theatre right from the get-go. During the show we were greeted by a simplistic set. This was used to created a multitude of...

First look at new West End cast of Mamma Mia!

25Oct

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

NEWS

First look at new West End cast of Mamma Mia!

Producer Judy Craymer is delighted to announce the new cast of the global smash hit musical MAMMA MIA! from Monday 10th October 2022 and the extension of its booking period to Saturday 30th September 2023 at London’s Novello Theatre, with ticket prices frozen and now on sale. The London cast will continue to star Mazz Murray as Donna, Josie Benson as Tanya, Gemma Goggin as Rosie and Stephen Beckett as Bill. They will be joined on Monday 10th October by Norman Bowman (Marius in Les Misérables, Sky Masterson in Guys & Dolls and Pat Denning in 42nd Street in the West End) as Sam, Christopher Dickins (Witness for the Prosecution, Oklahoma! at Chichester Festival Theatre) as Harry, Meg Hateley (making her West End debut) as Sophie, Miles Henderson (making his West End debut) as Sky, Nat...

MAMMA MIA! The Party Extends Booking Period to February 2023

20Jul

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

NEWS

MAMMA MIA! The Party Extends Booking Period to February 2023

MAMMA MIA! THE PARTY, London’s premier dining experience, has extended its booking period due to extraordinary demand and is now playing to Sunday 26th February 2023. Tickets for the new booking period at The O2 London are on sale this Friday 22nd July. Created by ABBA’s Björn Ulvaeus, MAMMA MIA! THE PARTY is a unique and magical experience in a class of its own, bringing all ABBA’s hits to life more vividly than ever before: over the course of four glittering hours, guests can immerse themselves in a spectacular musical extravaganza, a four-course Greek feast and an ABBA disco, all in one unforgettable evening of dancing, dining and singing! MAMMA MIA! THE PARTY is set in a taverna on the beautiful Greek island of Skopelos, where most exteriors of the first MAMMA MIA! film were sho...

5May

By Peter KinnockNo Comments

West Midlands

Mamma Mia – Birmingham Hippodrome

Stephen Fry once compared ABBA to a bottle of coke. It wasn’t because their bubbling pop music was sweet and saccharine. It was because the original glass bottle was so well designed - becoming a design classic - it could withstand a hundred times more pressure from its contents than it needed to. A case of over-design. Just like ABBA. Their work is so well designed, so perfectly engineered and far, far better made than it ever needs to be - that they too have become classics. If Benny and Bjorn had created songs half as good they would still be some of the most outstanding pop music in the world. And “Mamma Mia”, that staggeringly successful stage show, stands testimony to the words and music of those talented Swedes and their well-designed pop classics. The auditorium of the Birmingh...

31Mar

By Anne PritchardNo Comments

North West

Mamma Mia! – Liverpool Empire

Everyone is familiar with the ‘Mamma Mia!’ films but not everyone has seen the stage show upon which they’re based; I’m lucky enough to have seen it many times, the first time being the London premier in 1999 when I was blown away by the production, the songs and the energy of the cast. Based around the songs of Swedish pop legends ABBA, ‘Mamma Mia!’ is now a box-office worldwide musical phenomenon. The feel-good musical is presently playing in both the West End and Broadway and has countless touring versions performing world-wide. The show was originally conceived by English producer, Judy Craymer and written by Catherine Johnson, with director Phyllida Lloyd, these being the collaborative creative force behind what was to become an unprecedented commercial success; it premie...

10Feb

By Jackie FoottitNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Mamma Mia – Hull New Theatre

Those of a nervous disposition at the Hull New Theatre on Wednesday evening were warned, just before curtain up, that platform shoes and white satin trousers would be much in evidence on the stage, as feel-good musical Mamma Mia! came to town. Talented musicians got a packed theatre into the right mood, pre-show, by playing several of Abba’s hits, the Swedish super-group whose music is the backbone of this energetic production. As the curtain rose, we were all eager to hear the words “I do, I do, I do, I do, I do, I do”. Set on a beautiful Greek island, Mamma Mia! tells the story of taverna owner Donna Sheridan (Sara Poyzer), her 20-year-old daughter Sophie (Jena Pandya), and Sophie’s upcoming marriage to Sky (Toby Miles), to be held on the island. Sophie intrigued all of her lif...

17Aug

By Paul ClarkeNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Mamma Mia! – Harewood House

This was my daughter’s fourth time seeing this perennial blockbuster, but it was certainly the most unusual with the audience sitting in a windy field near Leeds. This was the very first time the team behind the Mamma Mia! juggernaut have opted for an open-air production and given how protective they are of the brand they threw everything at it – live band, massive lighting rig, pin sharp sound plus the full set and cast. And to make extra sure it would work for a near capacity crowd, including Olympic champion Jonny Brownlee, they packed the cast with Mamma Mia veterans who were clearly enjoying the challenge of this new format. It would be easy for performers who know this show backwards to coast through it, but they were really trying to project their performances to the people a...

Lucy May Barker stars in a unique staging of Mamma Mia at Harewood House

12Aug

By Paul ClarkeNo Comments

Interviews

Lucy May Barker stars in a unique staging of Mamma Mia at Harewood House

Lucy May Barker has travelled the globe playing Sophie Sheridan searching for her long-lost dad in smash hit musical Mamma Mia and she rejoins the show for its first ever open-air production at Harwood House near Leeds. This show has been seen by over 65 million people in 50 productions in 16 different languages, plus two blockbusting movies. Lucy played Sophie in the West End and joins a cast full of Mamma Mia veterans for this run until 30th August. The pandemic forced Lucy off the stage so she took a job with the NHS HR Peoples Services Team organising the redeployment of emergency staff, but she is now raring to get back onstage under the stars. Our Yorkshire Editor Paul Clarke caught up with Lucy as she finished a demanding week of technical rehearsals for a version of Mamma...

Mamma Mia! goes open air for the first time at historic Harewood House

27Jul

By Paul ClarkeNo Comments

NEWS

Mamma Mia! goes open air for the first time at historic Harewood House

Mamma Mia! fans have their only chance to see the record breaking show outside London at the first ever open air production at Harewood House . Casting has been announced for the ‘Mamma Mia! Under the stars’ shows from 13th to 20th August at the historic venue near Leeds. and it’s full of veterans of the London and touring shows, which have has seen by over 65 million people in 50 productions in 16 different languages. Sara Poyzer plays Donna Sheridan, Nicky Swift is Rosie and Helen Anker returns as Tanya. The trio of possible dads are Richard Standing playing Sam Carmichael joined by Phil Corbitt as Bill Austin and Daniel Crowder is Harry Bright. Younger cast members include Lucy May Barker as Sophie Sheridan with Toby Miles as love interest Sky and Jasmine Shen as A...