Emily Hardy

Emily studied english and performed professionally before training as a multi-media journalist at the Press Association, and subsequently writing across a broad range of titles in the health, education and entertainment sectors. Her flair for theatre journalism stems from a life-long interest in the versatility and force of the form and a desire to make a positive contribution to the arts.

Obama-ology writer returns to the Finborough with Don’t Smoke in Bed

News, Off West End
Don't Smoke In Bed in Finborough Theatre

Following the success of last year’s production of Obama-ology, multi-award-winning African-American playwright Aurin Squire returns to the Finborough Theatre with another world premiere – Don’t Smoke In Bed, opening 6 March 2016. Don’t Smoke In Bed is a exploration of social and racial perception in contemporary America. Jamaican-American Richard and White-American Sheryl are starting a family together. When they agree to a series of ‘bedroom interviews’, they believe that their interracial relationship is the focus of the article. As both play up to what they believe are the expectations of the interviewer, they embark on a journey that challenges their relationship to the core as the barriers between psychological and social, sexual and political, public and private, melt and dissolve. Writer Aurin Squire’s play Obama-ology received its world premiere at the 2014, and was subsequently produced at RADA. Squire is a New York journalist and playwright who graduated from The … Read more

Baz Luhrmann’s Strictly Ballroom to cha cha into the UK for Christmas 2016

News, Regional
Strictly Ballroom at West Yorkshire Playhouse

A new production, directed and choreographed by Drew McOnie, begins previews at the West Yorkshire Playhouse on Wednesday 30 November. The first UK staging of Strictly Ballroom The Musical, based on the much loved film, runs until 21 January 2017. Drew McOnie (In The Heights, Hairspray) will direct and choreograph the production, which is based on the original Australian musical created by Baz Luhrmann and Catherine Martin. Terry Johnson joins the creative team to adapt the original book. McOnie said: “The film Strictly Ballroom has had such a huge impact on me. It inspired me as an 8-year-old dancer to follow my choreographic instinct and gave me the desire to explore the many different ways of communicating ideas through dance. The opportunity to bring that passion and personal connection to the next stage of Strictly Ballroom’s journey means the world to me; and having Baz Luhrmann’s support is a dream … Read more

Five-star Show Boat sails into the West End

News, West End
Show Boat at the New London Theatre

Daniel Evans’ five star production of Show Boat will transfer from Sheffield to the West End this spring. Based on the novel by Edna Ferber, Show Boat, with music by Jerome Kern and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, is currently booking to 7 January 2017. One of the most romantic musicals of all time, set against the backdrop of America’s Deep South at the turn of the 20th Century, Show Boat tells a powerful story of freedom, loyalty and, above all love. Spanning 40 pivotal years in American history, this epic musical follows the lives and loves of three generations aboard the Cotton Blossom show boat as it plies the Mississippi River, and features the timeless songs Ol’ Man River, Make Believe and Can’t Help Lovin’ Dat Man. Evans’ sell-out production opened at the Crucible in Sheffield on 10 December last year and, after being hailed by audiences and critics alike, extended … Read more

Fifteen minutes with …Philip Olivier

Features, Interviews, News, Regional
Ale House at the Dome Theatre Liverpool

Liverpool lad Philip Olivier – best known for his role as Tim O’Leary in Channel 4’s Brookside, not to mention a killer set of abs – spills the beans on his directorial debut: a site-specific production of The Ale House opening next week at The Dome in Grand Central, Liverpool. Tell us a bit about The Ale House It was written by Tony Furlong and Jimmy Power back in 1995 and it went down a storm even back then in Liverpool. It’s about your local boozer, with lots of Liverpool jokes and the caricatured characters you’d expect to find in your typical Liverpool ale house. Would you say the play works best in Liverpool then? Yes. It’s got the same sort of comedy angle as Mrs Brown’s Boys, and we’ve brought it right up-to-date. The writers brought the play back in October last year for a run at St Helens … Read more

The Bodyguard and Beverley back in the West End

News, West End
The Bodyguard starring Beverley Knight at the Dominion Theatre. Tickets now on sale.

International hit musical The Bodyguard will return to the West End for a limited six month run with Beverley Knight once again as the lead. Public booking will open on 12 February 2016 for performances beginning at the Dominion Theatre on 15 July 2016. This strictly limited season ends on 7 January 2017. Based on Lawrence Kasdan’s 1992 Oscar nominated Warner Bros. film, Thea Sharrock’s production of The Bodyguard has book by Alex Dinelaris, choreography is by Karen Bruce, orchestrations by Chris Egan and is produced by Michael Harrison and David Ian. A romantic thriller, The Bodyguard features a whole host of irresistible classics including Queen of the Night, So Emotional, One Moment in Time, Saving All My Love, I’m Your Baby Tonight, Run to You, I Have Nothing, I Wanna Dance With Somebody and one of the greatest hit songs of all time – I Will Always Love You. … Read more

Celebrate spring with Ayckbourn’s comedy of matrimonial mishaps

News, West End
How The Other Half Loves at Theatre Royal Haymarket by Alan Ayckbourn. Tickets Now On Sale

Alan Ayckbourn’s farcical tale of marital manners, How The Other Half Loves will appear in the West End this spring. The 1969 classic – the first of Ayckbourn’s plays to be staged on Broadway – returns to London to play the Theatre Royal Haymarket from 23 March – 25 June and is produced by Bill Kenwright. Ayckbourn’s tale of social graces and personal misunderstanding remains one of the celebrated writer’s most famous comedies. An extraordinary success on opening in the West End in 1970 at the Lyric Theatre, How The Other Half Loves ran for a staggering 869 performances, delighting critics and audiences alike. How The Other Half Loves is directed by theatre director and biographer Alan Strachan. Alan has directed plays in New York, Copenhagen and Amsterdam, but the majority of his work has been in London. He was Artistic Director of the Greenwich Theatre in London for over … Read more