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.

Charlie And The Chocolate Factory To Close After Four Years

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory the Musical, News, West End
Charlie and The Chocolate Factory at Theatre Royal Drury Lane

Producers of the hit musical Charlie And The Chocolate Factory have announced that the production will close during it’s fourth year in London’s West End. The official closing date has yet to be announced. Roald Dahl has been breaking box office records at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane, where it has been seen by 1.8 million people since it’s opening in 2013. It currently ranks in the top three longest-running shows at the venue alongside 42nd Street and Miss Saigon. A Broadway production will open in the 2016-17 season and tickets for a UK tour will go on sale next year. Jonathan Slinger continues in the role of Willy Wonka, as do the principal cast members: Barry James as Grandpa Joe, Ross Dawes as Mr Salt, Josefina Gabrielle as Mrs Teavee, Jasna Ivir as Mrs Gloop, Paul J Medford as Mr Beauregarde, Claire Carrie as Grandma Josephine, Lara Denning as … Read more

First Look at Uzo Aduba in The Maids

News, West End
Uzo Aduba in The Maids for the Jamie Lloyd Theatre Company at Trafalgar Studios

In a luxurious bedroom, two maids fantasise about killing their employer, playing out dangerous and sadistic scenarios as they plan her violent death. An intense psychological thriller seething with unique theatricality and brimming with intrigue, The Maids is a vicious analysis of the class system, and a provocative exploration of gender and sexuality. Uzo Aduba and Zawe Ashton play the maids, Solange and Claire. Laura Carmichael plays Mistress. The production is designed by Soutra Gilmour. This translation, by Benedict Andrews and Andrew Upton, was first performed at Sydney Theatre Company in 2014. This is the first time it has been seen in the UK. The Maids runs at Trafalgar Studios from 20th February to 21 May 2016. Save up to 43% if you book before 29th February 2016.

Casting Announced for X at the Royal Court Theatre

News, Off West End
X at the Royal Court Theatre

Rudi Dharmalingam, Darrell D’Silva, James Harkness, Jessica Raine and Ria Zmitrowicz are to appear in X at the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs. Royal Court Artistic Director Vicky Featherstone directs Alistair McDowall’s new play set in a space station on Pluto. “It’s a tax write-off. This is where they send the new, the underqualified, the old. And most of all the British. Mars is full of blonde Americans. It’s like they’re building the master race out there.” Billions of miles from home, the lone research base on Pluto has lost contact with Earth. Unable to leave or send for help, the skeleton crew sit waiting. Waiting. Waiting long enough for time to start eating away at them. To lose all sense of it. To start seeing things in the dark outside. With design by Merle Hensel, lighting by Lee Curran, composition and sound by Nick Powell and video by Tal Rosner. X … Read more

First Look at Lisa Maxwell in End Of the Rainbow

Gallery, Touring
End of the Rainbow Uk Tour

We are pleased to bring you these first look production photos of Lisa Maxwell playing Judy Garland in End Of The Rainbow. It’s 1968 and Judy Garland, a once-glittering star, is in London to make her explosive comeback. But off stage, holed up in her hotel room, Judy is battling with her young new fiancé, her devoted accompanist, and her destructive addictions. Will she be able to conquer her demons and reclaim her crown as one of history’s great musical icons? Featuring Garland’s most memorable songs The Man That Got Away, Come Rain Or Come Shine, The Trolley Song and of course Somewhere Over The Rainbow, End of the Rainbow is a fiercely funny and emotionally charged musical play filled with Garland’s legendary tenacity, razor-sharp wit and once-in-a-generation voice. Lisa appears with Gary Wilmot and Sam Attwater in Peter Quilter’s play which took the West End and Broadway by storm. … Read more

The Diary Of A Hounslow Girl UK Tour

News, Off West End, Touring
The Diary Of A Hounslow Girl UK Tour

An acerbic comedy told through the sharp, straight-talking voice of an aspirational 16 year old British Muslim girl, this original work uncovers the typical life of a “Hounslow Girl” – young Muslim women who wear big hooped earrings along with their headscarves. Ambreen Razia’s witty debut challenges stereotypes of young British Muslim women, exploring the demands of a traditional Muslim upbringing in the face of London’s temptations. Ambreen Razia offers an astute take on negotiating the hurdles of conservative family values alongside the challenges of teenage life in West London, retelling her experiences from traditional Pakistani weddings to teenage romance with a fast-paced narrative, The Diary of a Hounslow Girl’s humorous approach seeks to upturn stereotypes and bridge generational rifts with a comic yet resonant approach to present-day dilemmas in the face of age-old tradition. Speaking about the show, Ambreen said “As a British Pakistani writer and actress my aim … Read more

Run Explores Human Face Of Investment Banking Industry

News, Off West End
Run at New Diorama Theatre

Run, the startling and profoundly human drama about the banking industry by Engineer Theatre Collective, will begin its first full-length run at New Diorama Theatre on March 15 2016. Run tells the exhilarating story of four investment bank interns in desperate pursuit of a career in the city, delving into the humanity and everyday problems often obscured by the glitz and the grind of the square mile. Although entirely fictional, Run was inspired by the tragedy of Moritz Erhardt, the 21 year-old intern who died of an epileptic seizure at his London flat after reportedly working 72 hours straight. Run has been developed in conversation with the freshest financial minds; the people who will be running our banks, trading our stocks and managing our pensions in 15-20 years’ time. Using striking physicality, sound and contemporary design, award winning theatre company Engineer Theatre Collective give an authentic voice to these young … Read more