Jack Weir

Full cast announced for Salad Days at the Union Theatre

News, Off West End
Salad Days Casting Union Theatre

  Julian Slade and Dorothy Reynolds’ classic British musical Salad Days will be presented at London’s Union Theatre from 16 August to 9 September 2017, sixty three years after its first London production. The cast of Salad Days will be led by Lowri Hamer as Jane and Laurie Denman as Tim. Both are making their professional debut having recently graduated from Guildford School of Acting. They will be joined by Maeve Byrne as Asphynxia, Darrie Gardner as Mrs Dawes, James Gulliford as Nigel, Emma Lloyd as Rowena, Lewis McBean as Tom/Fosdyke, Sophie Millett as Lady Raeburn, Karl Moffatt as Uncle Clam, Tom Norman as Boot, Stephen Patrick as The Inspector, Francesca Pim as Fiona, James Seickell as Troppo, Tom Self as The Tramp and Ashlee Young as Marguerite. Salad Days is the delightful story of recent graduates Tim and Jane in the midst of a sunny summer in 1954. Glum … Read more

Dust gives suicide a caustic comedic treatment

Edinburgh Fringe
Dust written and performed by Millie Thomas comes to Edinburgh Festival.

  Dust a play by Millie Thomas that is a refreshing, caustic and comedic treatment of one woman’s depression, suicide and everything that happens afterwards comes to the Edinburgh Festival 2017. A woman. A suicide. A choice. A fly on the wall. A funeral. A Bakewell tart. A life. A lie. A truth. An ending. Of sorts. Alice thinks that life isn’t worth living. So she kills herself. Sort of. She is stuck, a fly on the wall. Forced to watch the aftermath of her suicide and its ripple effect on her family and friends, Alice quickly learns that death changes people. And that death is not the change she hoped for. Milly Thomas said “I’m fascinated by the way we eulogise people once they’ve died. The way we rewrite whole lives to suit our own narratives and the use of euphemism as a masking tool of the dead never … Read more

Out Of Order UK Tour

News, Touring
Out Of Order Uk Tour

The UK’s master of farce Ray Cooney will direct a new production of his Olivier Award-winning comedy Out Of Order on tour around the UK in 2017. The cast of Out Of Order will include Arthur Bostrom, best known for his iconic role as ‘Officer Crabtree’ in sitcom classic ‘Allo ‘Allo as the Hotel Manager, Shaun Williamson (EastEnders, Extras) as George Pigden; Sue Holderness (Only Fools & Horses, Green Green Grass) as Mrs Willey; Andrew Hall (Butterflies, Coronation Street) as Richard Willey; Susie Amy (Footballers’ Wives) as Jane Worthington; James Holmes (Miranda) as the Waiter; Elizabeth Elvin as Nurse Foster; Jules Brown as Ronnie Worthington, and David Warwick as The Body. Completing the cast are Raphael Bar, Simon Murray, and Kate Sawyer. When Tory Junior Minister Richard Willey tries to spend the evening with Jane, one of the Opposition’s secretaries, in the Westminster Hotel, things don’t exactly go according to … Read more

Arthur Miller’s First Play No Villain Transfer To Trafalgar 2

News, Off West End
No Villain by Arthur Miller at Trafalgar Studios 2

Following it’s critically acclaimed sell-out world premiere at The Old Red Lion Theatre last year, Arthur Miller’s first ever play No Villain will transfer to Trafalgar Studios 2 in London’s West End playing from 14 June – 9 July 2016. Over six days during spring break 1936 at the University of Michigan, a twenty year old college sophomore wrote his first play, No Villain. His aim was to win the prestigious Avery Hopwood award and, more importantly, the $250 prize he needed in order to return to college the following year. Miller won the award, and the subsequent one, but the play was never produced. My first attempt at a play, rather inevitably, had been about industrial action and a father and his two sons, the most autobiographical dramatic work I would ever write. – Arthur Miller No Villain tells the story of a garment industry strike that sets a … Read more

REVIEW: Stitching, White Bear Theatre ✭✭✭

Off West End, Reviews
Stitching at the White Bear Theatre

Stitching is an interesting and challenging play, undermined by a late twist, but still engaging. There are a number of moments which will take some people aback, and one or two lines will court controversy, which is unsurprising given the play’s chequered performance history. Nevertheless, the strong cast and superb staging are enough to justify giving it a go, though there is no doubt the play will elicit a wide range of reactions.

REVIEW: The Spitfire Grill, Union Theatre ✭✭✭✭✭

Off West End, Reviews
The Spitfire Grill at the Union Theatre

The Spitfire Grill is a musical treat. James Valco’s score is richly rewarding and creates a genuinely engaging musical atmosphere which helps shape and drive the narrative. He creates a true musical world for the characters and, within that world, each character has tunes and phrases which assist in illuminating them and their part in the story. It does not feel like a Sondheim score, but it has a similar effect. The songs are derived from the situation, the place, the pulse of the narrative; they are not grafted on as afterthoughts or fancy trimming.