News

Jamie Lloyd To Direct Assassins at the Menier Chocolate Factory

News, Off West End
Jamie Lloyd

Jamie Lloyd is to direct Stephen Sondheim’s Assassins at the Menier Chocolate Factory this Christmas. The show forms part of the venue’s winter season, which also includes Buyer and Cellar, by Jonathan Tolins, and An Evening with Joan Plowright. Fresh off his success with the Trafalgar Transformed season, and his productions of The Commitments and Urinteown which is now set to transfer to The Apollo Theatre, Jamie Lloyd is continuing to build a stellar reputation as a director of musical theatre. Assassins is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by John Weidman, based on an idea by Charles Gilbert Jnr.  It uses the premise of a murderous carnival game to produce a -style portrayal of men and women who attempted (successfully or not) to assassinate Presidents of the United States. The musical first opened Off-Broadway in 1990, and the 2004 Broadway production won five Tony … Read more

Meet The Altar Boyz

News, Off West End
Altar Boyz Greenwich Theatre

Hallelujah! Spread the good news, as the five boyz who will make the band lineup for the UK Premiere of Alater Boyz have today been revealed! Playing band members Matthew, Mark, Luke, Juan and Abraham will be Liam Doyle, Jonny Fines, Jamie-Ray Hartshorne, Faisal Khodabukus and Alex Jordan-Mills. Liam Doyle is currently starring as Fiyero in Wicked (UK Tour). Other recent credits include Link Larkin in Hairspray (UK Tour) and Troy in High School Musical. Jonny Fines’ credits include Lift (Soho Theatre), Avenue Q (UK Tour) and The Sound of Music (UK Tour). Jamie-Ray Hartshorne has appeared in the premiere of new musical The Prodigals (Belgrade Theatre) and The History Boys (National Theatre). Faisal Khodabukus’ recent credits include I Can’t Sing (London Palladium), Dirty Dancing (UK Tour) and La Cage Aux Folles (Playhouse Theatre). Alex Jordan-Mills played Billy in the 2013 revival of Taboo (Brixton Clubhouse), and most recently played … Read more

The West End Goes Ice Bucket Mad

News, West End
Judi Dench Ice Bucket Challenge

The Ice Bucket Challenge has become a viral fund-raising phenomenon being taken up by people around the world and the great and the good of the West End are no exception. Take a look at the casts and theatrical greats who have contributed. To support the challenge visit the Motor Neurone Disease Association’s Just Giving page or by texting ICED55 £5 (or any other amount) to 70070 (UK only). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vm_XXA3K0gM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ju5VxyM3S4o  

Miss Saigon 25th Anniversary Gala Sells Out

News, West End
Miss Saigon London

The Gala Performance to celebrate 25 years of Boublil and Schönberg’s “MISS SAIGON” on Monday 22 September, has sold out within minutes of tickets going on sale this morning, Tuesday 26 August. Over 18,000 people tried to buy tickets when booking opened at 10.00am; an unprecedented amount for a single performance in a theatre with just over 1700 seats. Fans who queued around the block at the Prince Edward Theatre managed to secure tickets at the original 1989 prices. Online demand was so overwhelming that it crashed the box office ticket system at 10.10am and the entire Delfont Mackintosh Theatre website shortly afterwards. The technical team restored the system as quickly as possible and the performance was sold out within minutes. The Gala Performance was announced last week to salute 25 years since the musical originally premiered. To celebrate this milestone the cast of the new production will be joined … Read more

Teaser trailer for Into The Woods Movie Released

News, Video
Into The Woods movie

Walt Disney Pictures have just released the first teaser trailer for the highly anticipated movie adaptation of Into The Woods  directed by Rob Marshall, which arrives in cinemas on Christmas Day this year. The films stars Meryle Streep, Johnny Depp, Emily Blunt, James Corden, Chris Pine, Anna Kendrick, Lilla Crawford, Daniel Huttlestone, Tracey Ullman, Christine Baranski, Billy Magnussen, Tammy Blanchard, Lucy Punch, MacKenzie Mauzy, Richard Glover, Frances De La Tour, Simon Russell Beale, Joanna Riding and Annette Crosby. Enjoy!

Bakersfield Mist Announces Early Closure

News, West End
Bakersfield Mist Duchess Theatre Kathleen Turner Ian McDiarmid

Bakersfield Mist which stars Kathleen Turner, currently playing at the Duchess Theatre is to close three week earlier due to poor ticket sales. The show will now close on August 9. In a statement, the producers said: ” the show did well until the school holidays, however it seems we haven’t captured the tourist audience, so we have decided to finish at 13 weeks instead of 16 and not play the tricky August weeks.” “We would like to thank all of the production team, and Kathleen Turner and Ian McDiarmid for their acclaimed performances.” Book tickets now for the remainder of the season at the Duchess Theatre.

John Kander receives National Medal Of Arts

News, West End
John Kander President Barrack Obama National Medal of Arts

Congratulations to Broadway composer John Kander who yesterday was awarded the National Medal of Arts by President Barrack Obama in a White House Ceremony. As one half of the dynamic writing duo with Fred Ebb, John Kander is the composer of classic Broadway musicals including Cabaret, Chicago, Woman Of The Year, Steel Pier and Kiss Of The Spider Woman. The duo also wrote an enormous amount of material for film and television including the song New York, New York, immortalised by Frank Sinatra. Following a sell-out season last year at London’s Young Vic their show The Scottsboro Boys will open at the Garrick Theatre on 4th October 2014. Tickets are onsale now.  

Forbidden Broadway announces West End Transfer

News, West End
Forbidden Broadway

Following a sell-out run at the Menier Chocolate Factory, the latest production of Forbidden Broadway will transfer to the Vaudeville Theatre for a limited 11 week run from September 9th. A hilarious spoof on some of the biggest theatre stars and the shows they perform in, Forbidden Broadway has become an institution in New York where it has been performed at various venues since 1982. Three of the current cast members, Anna-Jane Casey, Damian Humbley and Ben Lewis will transfer with the production where they will be joined by Christina Bianco.  Bianco has appeared in the US production of the show but is perhaps better known for her You Tube videos which have become an online sensation having been seen by over 10 million people. Menier artistic Director David Babani said he was “delighted and overwhelmed” with the critical response and “speed at which tickets had been sold out for … Read more