Features

INTERVIEW: Mikhail Baryshnikov on Brodsky Baryshnikov

Features, Interviews
Book tickets for Brodsky Baryshnikov at the Apollo Theatre

Brodsky/Baryshnikov is a one-man show, performed by legendary dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov, based on the poems of Nobel laureate Joseph Brodsky. The production is an emotional journey deep into the poet’s visceral and complex compositions. Baryshnikov walks onto the stage unmasked and unguarded and tells us the story of their 22-year friendship that began in 1972 in an unnerving expose. Brodsky/Baryshnikov is Baryshnikov’s nostalgic tribute to his once dear friend. We managed to catch up with Mikhail Baryshnikov as he started his London performances and spoke about this new show:- Why are Brodsky’s poems so important to you? It was more than 50 years ago when I first read Joseph Brodsky’s poems and they hit me hard. Truth and grace in words and his works are extraordinarily relevant to the present. I try to be truthful to myself and to be as truthful as I can to my friend. Yes, it’s … Read more

INTERVIEW: Claybourne Elder

Features, News, West End
Claybourne Elder - You and Me and Sondheim

American comedian and musician Claybourn Elder brings his one-man show You and Me and Sondheim to London for one very special performance on April 30, 2017, at 7.30pm at the Arts Theatre London. Drama Desk and Lucille Lortel award-nominee Claybourne Elder comes to London direct from Sunday in the Park with George on Broadway starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Claybourne shares it all from growing up as a gay Mormon to becoming a modern interpreter of Sondheim. Get intimate with one of New York’s favourite theatre personalities in this hilarious and heartfelt show. Joining Claybourne will be a few, special, surprise guests. We took a few moments to speak to Claybourne prior to his arrival in London. Book Tickets for Claybourne Elder BT: Tell me a bit about your background? CE: I grew up in Utah as the youngest of 8 children and most of my siblings are psychologists, so I always … Read more

Fringe festivals plan global day of celebration

Features, News, Off West End
World Fringe Day

The organisers of Edinburgh Festival Fringe have announced plans for an international day celebrating the fringe movement. More than 200 fringe festivals from across the world will join together on World Fringe Day on Tuesday July 11. It marks the 70th anniversary of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the world’s first fringe, which takes place in August. Performers, creatives, theatre companies and other fringe participants and audiences are invited to take part on July 11 by sharing their love for all things fringe on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society’s chief executive Shona McCarthy said: “We can’t wait to join with our sister fringes across the world to celebrate the wonder and joy of fringe festivals in this auspicious year. This is an incredible opportunity for fringe organisers, venues, participants and audiences to take part in a truly international celebration of creativity that will transcend national boundaries, demonstrating the … Read more

Further casting announced for Annie in West End

Features, News, West End
Book now for Annie at Piccadilly Theatre

Alex Bourne will be Daddy Warbucks with Holly Dale Spencer as Grace Farrell alongside Miranda Hart as part of further casting announced for the new West End production of Annie. The pair, who have both appeared in the UK tour of the musical, will be joined in the show at Piccadilly Theatre by Jonny Fines as Rooster and Djalenga Scott as Lily. Today’s casting news follows the previously announced Hart as iconic villain Miss Hannigan. The title role of Annie will be shared by Madeleine Haynes, aged 13 from Hadley Wood, Barnet in north London, Lola Moxom, aged 12 from Rochester in Kent, and Ruby Stokes, aged 12 from Hampshire. They will be joined by three teams of young performers who will play the girls in Miss Hannigan’s orphanage (see below). Completing the company will be ensemble members Keisha Atwell, Sophie Ayers, Bobby Delaney, Nic Gibney, Patrick Harper, Ben Harrold, George Ioannides, Megan Louch, Benjamin Mundy, Ben Oliver, Heather Scott-Martin, Anne Smith, Kate Somerset How, Katie Warsop and Russell Wilcox.  Amber, a four-year-old Labradoodle, will play Annie’s dog, Sandy. Rehearsals … Read more

FIRST LOOK: The Braille Legacy at Charing Cross Theatre

Features, Gallery, West End
The Braille Legacy at Charing Cross Theatre

“The Braille Legacy” is the story of a revolution and an heroic fight for independence, with the themes of difference, freedom, hope and love and the triumph of human values over adversity. This new musical is now enjoying its world premiere at London’s Charing Cross Theatre and we are pleased to bring you these great production images by Scott Rylander. In Paris in the 19th century, blind people were victims of profound discrimination. Louis Braille, a bright young mind with a mad dream, arrives at the Royal Institute of Blind Youth, searching for the same chance as everyone else: to be free and independent. But he soon discovers that people and things aren’t always what they first seem. By sheer determination and courage he stumbles upon something revolutionary: a simple idea, a genius invention, a legacy. Two hundred years ago, Louis Braille changed the world by inventing the tactile system … Read more

FIRST LOOK: The Whisper House at The Other Palace

Features, Gallery, West End
The Whisper House at The Other

The Whisper House is a dark and thrilling musical ghost story which opens tonight at The Other Palace in London from the Tony Award-winning composer of Spring Awakening and American Psycho. An eerie lighthouse stands on the remote East Coast of America at the height of World War II. When Christopher’s father’s plane is shot down, he is sent to live with his Aunt Lily and her mysterious Japanese housekeeper. It isn’t long before he starts to hear strange music seeping through the walls… but is his imagination getting the better of him, or are the ghosts warning of real danger? Soon the whispers become something louder. Starring Simon Bailey, Nicholas Goh, Simon Lipkin, Niamh Perry, Dianne Pilkington and a seven-piece on-stage band, Whisper House combines a thrillingly original rock score with an unforgettable story about learning to embrace the unknown. Music and lyrics by Duncan Sheik (Spring Awakening, American … Read more

FIRST LOOK: F Murray Abraham in The Mentor in Bath

Features, Gallery, News, Regional
The Mentor starring F Murray Abraham

We are pleased to bring you these great production images by Simon Annand of F Murray Abraham in Daniel Kehlmann’s comedy The Mentor which plays at Theatre Royal Bath’s Ustinov Studio until Saturday 6 May 2017. The play stars Academy Award-winner F Murray Abraham with Daniel Weyman, Naomi Frederick and Jonathan Cullen and is directed by Ustinov Studio’s artistic director Laurence Boswell. With a translation by leading playwright Christopher Hampton, this marks the first time a Kehlmann play has been performed outside of Germany. He previously translated Florian Zeller’s play The Father for the Ustinov Studio, launching its international success. The original production of The Mentor in German opened in Vienna in 2014. In a dilapidated art nouveau villa, somewhere in the German countryside, two massive egos are set on a collision course in this perceptive and compelling comedy about art and artists and the legacy of fame. BOOK TICKETS … Read more