Douglas Mayo

Douglas Mayo has had a life long love affair with musical theatre. He has authored several books on publicity and marketing for amateur theatre groups. He is in the process of developing a musical based on his original story concept.

Rodgers And Hammerstein’s Allegro Gets European Premiere

News, Off West End
Book now for Rodgers and Hammerstein's Allegro at Southwark Playhouse

Rodgers and Hammerstein’s musical Allegro is to get its European premiere a mere 70 years after it opened on Broadway. In 1905 in a small Midwestern town, the wife of a local doctor gives birth to a baby boy, Joseph Taylor Jr. Allegro chronicles nearly four decades in the life of this average Joe – through his childhood, from college dorm to marriage altar, and on to his own medical career; from the tranquility of his hometown to the hectic din of big city life and a mid-life discovery of who he is and what his life is truly about, ultimately learning the most important lessons of all – the value of family, that money isn’t everything and that home really is where the heart is. Written after Oklahoma!, Carousel and the film of State Fair, Allegro opened on Broadway with the biggest box office advance in Broadway history. This … Read more

FIRST LOOK: Kenneth Branagh In The Entertainer

News, West End
Book Now for Kenneth Branagh in The Entertainer at the Garrick Theatre

BritishTheatre.com are pleased to bring you this first look at Kenneth Branagh in The Entertainer. Set against the backdrop of post-war Britain, John Osborneʼs modern classic conjures the seedy glamour of the old music halls for an examination of public masks and private torment. John Hurt will return to the London stage for the first time in a decade as patriarch Billy Rice opposite Kenneth Branagh, who as previously announced, will play Archie Rice in Rob Ashford’s production. Also joining the company will be Phil Dunster (Graham), Jonah Hauer-King (Frank Rice), Pip Jordan (dancer), Crispin Letts (Brother Bill), Sophie McShera (Jean Rice), Greta Scacchi (Phoebe Rice) and Kate Tydman (dancer). The Entertainer will be the final production in the Plays At The Garrick season presented by the Kenneth Branagh Theatre Company. BOOK NOW FOR THE ENTERTAINER

The Boys In The Band UK Tour

News, Off West End, Touring
The Boys In The Band Tour

UPDATE: The Boys In The Band Tour has now concluded. The show will transfer to London’s Vaudeville Theatre for a two-week run in February 2017. More information can be found here. There’s a party about to commence when nine men gather in a New York apartment for a birthday celebration. Harold, a self-confessed ‘Jew fairy’, receives a surprise birthday gift – a beautiful male hustler dubbed Cowboy. Meanwhile, party host Michael gets an unwanted surprise of his own in the shape of a figure from his past. As the booze is drunk and the dope smoked, the mood swings from hilarity to heart-break. Olivier Award winner Mark Gatiss will star alongside his husband Ian Hallard in this eagerly anticipated production, which sees the pair playing ‘Harold’ and ‘Michael’. Mark Gatiss and Ian Hallard said, “We are thrilled to be a part of this production, which will bring this seminal gay … Read more

FIRST LOOK: The Buskers Opera at Park Theatre

Features, Gallery, Off West End
Book now for The Buskers Opera by Dougal Irvine at Park Theatre London

Last night saw the opening night of Dougal Irvine’s new musical The Buskers Opera at The Park Theatre. London 2012. The world is watching. Can the city deliver the greatest Olympics ever? Pulling the strings is a media mogul, broadcaster and puppet master, Jeremiah Peachum. Together with his star of the show, Lockitt, the Mayor of London, they are perfectly placed to capitalise on Team GB’s gold and drive their political agenda across the finish line. Enter satirical street busker Macheath and his gang of dissenters ‘The Ninety Nine Percenters’… We hope that you enjoy these great production images by Simon Annand. BOOK NOW FOR THE BUSKERS OPERA

Youth Based Secret Garden To Open In The West End

News, West End
The Secret Garden Ambassadors Theatre

To celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the Tony award-winning musical The Secret Garden, a special youth oriented production is heading to the Ambassadors Theatre for a limited summer Season. The show will run from 27 July to 31 August 2016. The musical, based on the 1911 novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett, with a script and lyrics by Pulitzer prize and Tony award-winning winner Marsha Norman and music by Grammy award-winner Lucy Simon. Orphaned while living in India, 10 year-old Mary Lennox returns to Yorkshire, England to live with her embittered, reclusive uncle Archibald, whom she has never met. There, the ill-tempered and lonely Mary meets Martha, a chambermaid, who tells her of a secret garden which belonged to her aunt Lily before she died. Mary’s search for the garden introduces her to a slew of other characters including Dickon (Martha’s brother), Ben (the head gardener), Neville (her other uncle), and … Read more

FIRST LOOK – Lawrence After Arabia at Hampstead Theatre

Features, Gallery, Off West End
Lawrence After Arabia Hampstead Theatre

The world premiere of Howard Brenton’s Lawrence After Arabia opens tonight at the Hampstead Theatre directed by John Dove. We are pleased to bring you these great images of the production. August, 1922. The most famous man in England has vanished without a trace: T.E. Lawrence has completely disappeared. But in the idyllic calm of the village of Ayot St Lawrence, on the top floor of the home of Mr and Mrs Bernard Shaw, the ‘uncrowned King of Arabia’ is hiding – with slabs of homemade carrot cake for comfort. Wearied by his romanticised persona and worldwide fame, disgusted with his country and himself, Lawrence is craving normality. But when you’re a brilliant archaeologist, scholar, linguist, writer and diplomat – as well as a legendary desert warrior – how can you ever be normal? And beyond the Shaws’ garden wall, nobody cares how he feels: England just wants its hero … Read more

Casting Announced For Through The Mill

News, Off West End
Through The Mill at London Theatre Workshop

Producers have announced that the three actresses from the original season at London Theatre Workshop will reprise their roles in the upcoming Southwark Playhouse season. The show will run at Southwark Playhouse from 6 July – 30 July 2016 Helen Sheals (CBS Judy), Belinda Wollaston (Palace Judy) and Lucy Penrose (Young Judy) will be joined by a further cast of nine actor-musicians, playing a variety of historical figures who featured heavily in Garland’s biography. The rest of the cast (also transferring from the original production) are Don Cotter, Rob Carter, Amanda Bailey, Joe Shefer, Tom Reade, Harry Anton, Carmelia Brown, Chris McGuigan and Perry Meadowcroft. Set primarily during the filming of ‘The Judy Garland Show’ in 1963, Through the Mill chronicles the production difficulties behind the scenes, intercut with the young Judy Garland’s rise to fame through MGM in the 1930s, and her triumphant sell-out concert engagement at the Palace … Read more