Editorial Staff

James Dreyfus To Star In New Production Of Harvey

Touring
James Dreyfus to star in Harvey

James Dreyfus will star as Elwood P. Dowd in a new production of Mary Chase’s Pulitzer Prize-winning comedy Harvey, which will open at Birmingham Repertory Theatre on 6 February, running until 21 February, prior to a UK Tour and the West End. The production will be directed by Lindsay Posner. Elwood P. Dowd has only one character flaw: an unwavering friendship with a six-foot tall, invisible rabbit named Harvey.  In order to save the family’s reputation, Elwood’s sister Veta takes him to see psychiatrist Dr William Chumley.  But when the doctor mistakenly commits anxiety-ridden Veta instead of her brother, it sets off an hilarious whirlwind of confusion and chaos as everyone tries to catch a man and his invisible rabbit. This new production of Harvey is produced by Don Gregory, who produced the play on Broadway in 2012 with Jim Parsons as Elwood P. Dowd. He also produced a television … Read more

Ian McDiarmid To Play Shylock At Almeida

News, Off West End
Ian McDiarmid to play Shylock in The Merchant Of Venice

Full casting is today announced for Rupert Goold’s The Merchant of Venice at the Almeida Theatre. Former Almeida Artistic Director Ian McDiarmid will play Shylock alongside Susannah Fielding and Scott Handy, who reprise their roles as Portia and Antonio. The company includes Vinta Morgan, Vincenzo Nicoli, Finlay Robertson, Raphael Sowole, Tim Steed, Jonathan Tafler, Anthony Welsh, Tom Weston-Jones and original RSC cast members Jamie Beamish, Rebecca Brewer, Caroline Martin and Emily Plumtree. Almeida Artistic Director Rupert Goold relocates one of Shakespeare’s most controversial plays to the bright lights of Las Vegas in a whirlwind of glitter, gambling and greenbacks. The Merchant of Venice, originally produced by the Royal Shakespeare Company, is designed by Tom Scutt, with lighting by Rick Fisher, music by Adam Cork, sound by Gregory Clarke, choreography by Scott Ambler and orchestrations by Alex Baranowski They are joined at the Almeida by Casting Director Ginny Schiller, Associate Director … Read more

Lenny Henry Joins Company For The Listening Space

Events, News
Lenny Henry joins company for The Listening Space

Lenny Henry will join the company of actors taking part in The Listening Space – a special one off performance on 8 Nov, led by actor and theatre-maker Simon McBurney, composer Nitin Sawhney and pianist Cassie Yukawa. Henry will join a group of Britain’s foremost actors including Tom Hollander, Samuel West, Kathryn Hunter and Saskia Reeves in an evening of music and poetry – to help raise £10,000 for the restoration of the Nave in the church at the heart of St. Paul’s Steiner School, Islington. They are joined by leading violinist Diana Yukawa and musicians Rebecca Allen and Christopher Allen. With music, poetry and voices they have created an event that employs the numinous space and special atmosphere of the nineteenth-century Nave of St. Paul’s Church. It will be an evening of creative quiet that we rarely have the opportunity for, in which the audience is invited to simply … Read more

Paines Plough’s Every Brilliant Thing Transfers To New York

Broadway, News
Paines Plough's Every Briliant Thing

Paines Plough Artistic Directors James Grieve and George Perrin, and Pentabus Theatre Company Artistic Director Elizabeth Freestone have announced that, following a critically acclaimed run at the Edinburgh Fringe and a UK tour, their production of Duncan Macmillan’s Every Brilliant Thing will transfer to Barrow Street Theatre in New York for a limited sixteen week run. A young boy attempts to ease his mother’s depression by creating a list of all the best things in the world. Everything worth living for. Through adulthood, as the list grows, he learns the deep significance it has on his own life. 1. Ice cream 2. Water fights 3. Things with stripes 4. Christopher Walken’s voice 5. Rollercoasters. A new play about depression and the lengths we will go for those we love. The production, directed by George Perrin and starring Jonny Donahoe, will open on 14 December, with previews from 5 December and … Read more

Cast Announced For The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe at Rose Theatre

News, Off West End
The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe at Rose Theatre Kingston

The Rose Theatre Kingston announced the casting for its Christmas production of C S Lewis’s masterpiece The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, adapted for the stage by Theresa Heskins. The Rose’s Director of Learning and Participation, Ciaran McConville, directs Richard Pryal as Aslan and Kate Tydman as The White Witch and they will be joined by Tomm Coles, James Gillan, Daniel Goode and Katy Secombe, as well as a number of actors from the Rose Youth Theatre. The Rose also announces that Richard Pinner, Vice President of the Magic Circle, will be joining the creative team as Illusions Consultant. This new production of The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe promises a spectacular world of mythical creatures, sparkling spells and an epic battle between good and evil as C S Lewis’ classic story is brought to life. The Pevensie children, Lucy, Edmund, Susan and Peter, are evacuated from their … Read more

Bend It Like Beckham The Musical Announced

News, West End
Bend It Like Beckham The Musical opens in 2015 at the Phoenix Theatre

Gurinder Chadha will direct the world premiere of the new British stage musical Bend It Like Beckham. With original music by Howard Goodall and lyrics by Charles Hart, Bend It Like Beckham will have a new book by Paul Mayeda Berges and Gurinder Chadha; choreography and musical staging by Aletta Collins; set design by Miriam Buether; costume design by Katrina Lindsay; lighting design by Neil Austin; sound design by Richard Brooker; musical direction by Nigel Lilley and orchestrations by Howard Goodall and Kuljit Bhamra. Bend It Like Beckham is being produced by Sonia Freidman. Jess needs extra time. She is facing the most important decision of her life; live up to family expectations of university, career and marriage, or follow in the footsteps of her hero David Beckham. When the talented teenage footballer is spotted playing football in Southall, a world of opportunities opens up before her. But as the … Read more

Kristen Scott Thomas Plays Queen In Audience Revival

News, West End
Kristen Scott Thomas to play The Queen in The Audience

Kristin Scott Thomas will play the Queen in a new version of Peter Morgan’s The Audience which will preview at the Apollo Theatre from April 12, 2015. For sixty years Elizabeth II has met each of her twelve Prime Ministers in a weekly audience at Buckingham Palace. Both parties have an unspoken agreement never to repeat what is said, not even to their spouses. The Audience imagines a series of pivotal meetings between the Downing Street incumbents and their Queen. From Churchill to Cameron, each Prime Minister uses these private conversations as a sounding board and a confessional – sometimes intimate, sometimes explosive. In turn, the Queen can’t help but reveal her own self as she advises, consoles and, on occasion, teases. These private audiences chart the arc of the second Elizabethan Age, from the beginning of Elizabeth II’s reign to today. Politicians come and go through the revolving door … Read more

Richard Armitage In The Crucible Hits Cinemas

Events, News, West End
Richard Armitage

Digital Theatre have announced that special cinema screenings of the recent Old Vic production of Arthur Miller’s The Crucible starring Richard Armitage will take place on December 4 and 7. The screenings will take place in the UK and Ireland with international screenings to follow. For more information visit www.thecrucibleonscreen.com