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With a new awards model in place, OffWestEnd has adopted the slogan Let’s Show Off, as a reflection of their ongoing work to celebrate London’s Off West End theatre sector. And that is precisely what they did at Central Hall Westminster, a rather odd choice of venue, where more than 50 awards across ten areas were made to people working across more than 30 productions in front of an audience of some 900.The ceremony was introduced by Denholm Spurr, Director of OffWestEnd, who said: “The Offies exist to champion the extraordinary creativity, ambition and resilience of the independent theatre sector. This year’s winners represent the very best of OffWestEnd, and it was a privilege to celebrate their work in a ceremony that could also be shared with audiences watching online.” The event was broadcast live for the first time in collaboration with The Theatre Channel and ChewBoy Productions. Also live were featured performances from Divina De Campo, Ilan Evans, Martin Kaspar Orkestar, Gerel Falconer, Jordan Luke Gage and Daniel Krikler, as well as nominees from A Brief Case of Crazy.The Offies have a long history of recognising exceptional work before it reaches wider mainstream acclaim, with past winners including Baby Reindeer, Fleabag and Operation Mincemeat. This year’s winners continue that tradition, reflecting the extraordinary range of work being created.Since 2025, the Offies have operated a streamlined awards model across a set of broad and flexible Areas of Exceptional Contribution, allowing the awards to respond more accurately to how theatre is made and experienced across the independent sector. Throughout the year, Offies assessors reviewed thousands of potential nominees across over 500 productions at over 100 venues.OffWestEnd Awards 2026 WinnersProduction● Brixton Calling / Southwark Playhouse Borough / Kick It Anywhere● L’Elisir d’Amore / St. Paul’s Church, SW4 / St Paul’s Opera● Letters From Max / Hampstead Theatre / Hampstead Theatre● Mama Goose / Stratford East / Stratford East● One Man Musical / Underbelly Boulevard / Flo & Joan And Avalon● Scenes from the Climate Era / Playground Theatre / Gate Theatre● The Mystery of Irma Vep - a Penny Dreadful / Jack Studio Theatre / Jack Studio Theatre● The Paper Dolls / Little Angel Theatre / Little Angel Theatre, Polka Theatre● When the World Turns / Southbank Centre / Oily CartStaging● Rowan Armitt-brewster / A Brief Case of Crazy / Riverside StudiosAshley Pearson / L’Incoronazione di Poppea / Jacksons LaneTim Supple / The Passenger / Finborough Theatre● Jamie Hale, Marcella Rick, Claire Beerjeraz / Transpose Pit Party: SUBVERSE / BarbicanPerformance● The Cast / After Sunday / Bush TheatreSamuel Barnett, Victoria Yeates / Ben and Imo / Orange Tree TheatreRochelle Rose / Black Power Desk / Brixton HousePaul Keating / Clive / Arcola TheatreBen J Packer / Dick Whittington Pantomime / Harrow Arts CentreTheano Papadaki / L’Incoronazione di Poppea / Jacksons LaneAnthony Spargo, Louise Cielecki / Peter Pan: A Pantomime Adventure / Greenwich TheatreRachael Bellis / The Sea Horse by Edward J. Moore / Golden Goose● Julia Mcdermott / Weather Girl / Soho TheatreDesign● David Shields / Beauty and the Beast: A Horny Love Story / Charing Cross TheatreDerek Anderson / Brixton Calling / Southwark Playhouse BoroughIsabella Van Braeckel / Die Rheinnixen / Battersea Arts CentreMydd Pharo, Cheng Keng / Loop / Theatre503Design Creative Team / Not A Word / BarbicanOliver Hymans, Dan Southwell / Overheard in a Towerblock / Little Angel TheatreKatie Scott, Eve Oakley / Period Parrrty / Soho TheatreAnisha Fields, Jonathan Chan, Maia Kirkman-richards / The Firework Maker’s Daughter / Polka TheatreMona Camille / The Meat Kings! (Inc.) of Brooklyn Heights / Park Theatre● Karl Swinyard, Kate Bannister / The Mystery of Irma Vep - a Penny Dreadful / Jack Studio TheatreSound and Music● Max Pappenheim, Tendai Humphrey Sitma, Max Runham / Brixton Calling / Southwark Playhouse BoroughThe Band & Ashton Moore / Cry-Baby, The Musical / Arcola TheatreABH Beatbox (alexander Belgarion Hackett) / Dracapella / Park TheatreJohn Patrick Elliott, Giles Thomas / KENREX / Southwark Playhouse BoroughJonathan Darbourne And The Band / La Cenerentola / Jacksons LaneEstelle Charlier, Martin Kaspar Orkestar / La Manékine / BarbicanLeo Geyer / The Elixir of Love (Re-imagined) / Arcola Theatre● Gerel Falconer, 3D Williams / Tones - A Hip-Hop Opera / Brixton HouseCreation● Diane Samuels, Titania Krimpas / As Long As We Are Breathing / Arcola TheatreDavid Javerbaum, Adam Schlessinger / Cry-Baby, The Musical / Arcola TheatreJack Holden, Ed Stambollouian / KENREX / Southwark Playhouse BoroughKatsiaryna Snytsina / KS6: Small Forward / BarbicanMegan Prescott / Really Good Exposure / Soho Theatre● Phillip Ridley / Tarantula / Arcola TheatreInnovation● Malakaï Sargeant, Khadija Raza, Will Monks / …blackbird hour / Bush TheatreKhadija Raza, Malakaï Sargeant / …blackbird hour / Bush Theatre● Oli Savage / The Lost Library of Leake Street / The GlitchIndustry & Inclusion● Futures Theatre / Argos Archives / OmnibusLiam Holmes / Mr Jones / Finborough TheatreGeorgia Brenchley, Louis Edwards, Alex Marshall, Giada Rocca / Peter Pan: A Pantomime Adventure / Greenwich TheatreJoanna Turner, Baseless Fabric / The Elixir of Love (Re-imagined) / Arcola TheatreAlexandra O’neill / Too Many Books / Upstairs at the Gatehouse● Oily Cart / When the World Turns / Southbank CentreOffFestOffFest (BRIGHTON FRINGE) | Electra / BN1 Arts Centre / The Conor Baum CompanyOffFest (CAMDEN FRINGE) | Spin Cycle / Etcetera Theatre / Berserk TheatreOffFest (EDINBRUGH FRINGE) | ALTAR / Underbelly, George Square, The Wee Coo. / Presented by Extraterrestrial. Produced by Em Tambree. Production Management by Kyra Ryan.OffFest (EDINBRUGH FRINGE) | Ohio / Assembly Roxy Upstairs / Francesca Moody ProductionsOffFest (EDINBRUGH FRINGE) | Small Town Boys / Zoo Southside Main House / Company: Shaper/CaperOffFest (VOILA!) | Naran Ja / The Playground Theatre / logica picnic

theSpaceUK has announced the first tranche of shows on sale for the 2026 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, offering an early look at a programme that leans heavily into new writing, solo performance and formally hybrid work across theatre, cabaret and musicals.Music-led storytelling opens the list with #SHORN, a new piece from Elsa Jean McTaggart marking 15 years of touring. Performed alongside long-time collaborator Gary Lister, the show combines original songs with spoken reflection, positioning itself as both a personal stocktake and an artistic reset. Elsewhere, Triple Lutz Productions’ Dear Michelle Kwan places a darkly comic coming-of-age story within the insular world of teenage figure skating, where devotion, ritual and adolescent intensity slip into something more unsettling.Solo work features prominently. Tom Nemec’s A Cat in a Box draws on autobiographical material to examine love, trauma and survival within a dysfunctional family. Raising Cain Productions’ The Night Ali Died reconstructs a single night of escalating violence through overlapping perspectives, blending thriller mechanics with intimate character study. Julie Flower returns following a five-star Fringe run with Grandma’s Shop, a multi-character solo show set in a Sheffield second-hand clothes shop in the late 1980s, using local and personal history to explore community, counterculture and care.Darker ensemble work appears in Minotaur Theatre Company’s And The Little One Said, a black comedy set in the late 1990s in which a summer holiday collapses into moral compromise. Political satire arrives via January 6th The Musical, where two aspiring performers attempt to sing and dance their way out of alleged involvement in the US Capitol insurrection. From Italy, Action Theatre’s Democrazy uses physical theatre and Balinese mask to examine populism and dictatorship, framing contemporary political unease through a chance encounter and dedicating the work to Alexei Navalny.Cabaret and musical theatre are also represented. Canada’s The Cheesecake Burlesque Revue, celebrating 20 years and recently named Best Large Group at the 2024 Burlesque Hall of Fame Awards, brings a body-positive variety show to Edinburgh. Vocal trio The Sundaes return with Diva Las Vegas, a short-run cabaret built around diva anthems, while Thank You for the Muesli offers an ABBA-inspired musical comedy that leans unapologetically into camp and wordplay.Musical theatre entries include Music & Murder By…, in which a writers’ retreat turns lethal, and Spraywatch: A Beautiful Rescue, an unauthorised, 1990s-inflected seaside musical comedy from Low Fat Productions. Completing the announcement is I Made You a Mixtape by Response Theatre Company, a movement-led dance theatre piece set at a 1990s dorm party, with performers responding live to popular music so that no two performances are quite the same.It is an exciting and relevant mix for theSpaceUK, continuing a well-established programming approach.

Eight months ago, we enthusiastically reported that Theatre 118 had opened in the heart of Glasgow. They have now abruptly lost their venue and are busily looking for somewhere that can accommodate them.This is a devastating blow to the many who would have benefited from the theatre’s facilities and support, which the company quickly established as being highly accessible. They issued the following statement to clarify the situation and point out the impact they had already made:“Unfortunately, due to the sudden loss of our space, Theatre 118 is now closed for rehearsals, workshops and performances. We received just 7 days’ notice to quit and clear out the space, which we managed to do thanks to the incredible efforts of 12 volunteers."In less than a year, Theatre 118 has supported over 400 artists, welcomed more than 1,500 audience members, and hosted over 50 public events, all supported by volunteers and a commitment to keep making theatre accessible for grassroots artists in Glasgow."We have secured storage for our equipment and are actively searching for a new home. Theatre 118 isn’t finished, we’re just between buildings."To every artist, volunteer, supporter and audience member who has been part of this journey so far: thank you. We are so proud of this community and grateful for all your contributions. We’ll see you soon."We’ll share updates as soon as we have them.”Artistic director David Hewitson and the team are now committed to looking for a new location and promise to return as soon as possible with renewed enthusiasm and commitment to serving the artistic community and people of Glasgow.

Pitlochry Festival Theatre leaps into the new year with Out in the Hills, a brand new festival that celebrates all things LGBTQIA+. Devised by its Artistic Director Alan Cumming and curated by award-winning playwright and lecturer Lewis Hetherington, it marks a vibrant departure from the theatre’s traditional programming. Hailed as “a bold, inclusive celebration of queer voices and creative expression that is set to bring light, colour, and connection to the Highlands”, the three-day weekend event promises something for everyone in its mixture of theatre, music, film, dance, exhibitions and workshops.The Festival has attracted some big names. Award-winning screenwriter and television producer Russell T Davies will be in conversation with the acclaimed novelist and poet Jackie Kay. Davies has always been an advocate for the LGBTQIA+ community, to which his groundbreaking series Queer as Folk (1999–2000) was testament. Speaking of his participation in the event, Davies said: “It’s my delight to attend this great new Scottish festival and come out of the closet as a fully-fledged Welshman. Let the controversy begin!”That’s the sort of gusto to expect at the Festival. In that spirit is the rehearsed reading by legendary screen and stage actor Ian McKellen of Equinox, a new one-man play by Laurie Slade. In the same vein is the unique performance by author and acclaimed Scottish artist Juano Diaz and world-renowned solo percussionist and composer Evelyn Glennie. Reading from his powerful memoir Slum Boy, his words will meld into improvised immersive sounds and visuals to create a bold, sensory journey. Currently, these shows have no availability, along with a brand new stage adaptation by Neil Bartlett of Noel Coward’s 1964 short story Me and the Girls, with Alan Cumming leading the cast, having also appeared in conversation with the celebrated chat show host Graham Norton at another sold-out event. Similarly, no places remain at Finlay Wilson’s Kilted Yoga and the Murder, She Wrote conversation with Val McDermid and Louise Welsh.Ticket sales for those events are a measure of how well the Festival is being received. However, there is still availability for the remaining items on the programme. On Friday it’s possible to enjoy Resol String Quartet in a celebration of classical music by queer composers across history. There is also a showing and discussion of Who Will Be Remembered Here, a film by Lewis Hetherington, CJ Mahony and Michael Sherrington that connects queer voices across centuries of Scottish history. The film invites four queer writers to reimagine historic sites in their own languages: Robert Softley Gale (English), Harry Josephine Giles (Scots), Robbie MacLeòid (Gaelic) and Bea Webster (BSL). Woven together, their performances provide a hauntingly beautiful exploration of memory, absence and belonging. You can then round off the day in traditional Highland style with Queer as Folk! of Equinox: a big gay ceilidh with the Malin Lewis Trio, hosted by cabaret star Chris Wilson.Saturday features Match of the Gay, with a panel of voices who are reshaping the pitch, hosted by Scotland’s first openly gay professional footballer, Zander Murray, who will guide an open and honest conversation about courage, visibility and inclusion in the beautiful game. He is joined by Amy McDonald (former Scotland National Team), Coinneach MacLeod (known as the Hebridean Baker, with years of experience at FIFA and UEFA) and LEAP Sports.Expect sapphic love and the oral traditions of Skye as archivist and tradition-bearer Catherine McPhee enters into conversation with historian Ashley Douglas, whose groundbreaking research opens up the life and works of Marie Maitland, Scotland’s little-known 16th-century poet, in Whose History Is It Anyway?Another conversation follows as international best-selling author Coinneach MacLeod shares his rarely told story of growing up gay on the Isle of Lewis, with Radio Scotland presenter Tony Kearney, who grew up on the Isle of Barra. Meanwhile, if you're looking for a hands-on experience, there’s a drop-in art session: Colour Outside the Lines: Keith Haring (for young people and families), and another the next day inspired by Frida Kahlo.To round off the day there is a delightfully irreverent retelling of the Arthurian legend from Scottish Indian, non-binary, neurodiverse storyteller Niall Moorjani, performing The Green Knight (but it’s gay), followed by a joyful, high-energy dance party with Glasgow-based DJ, artist and photographer Junglehussi (Matthew Arthur Williams), running till midnight.On Sunday, Mhairi Black, one of the youngest MPs ever elected, reflects on her life, career and identity in conversation with Gemma Cairney, known for her work on BBC Radio 1 and 6 Music, her acclaimed books and her advocacy for young people. Later, comedian Kim Blythe and playwright Jo Clifford, with her daughter, journalist Catriona Innes, will come together for Family Pride, a moving conversation about queerness, family and love. The event will close with the sell-out Glasgow International Comedy Festival show Kim Blythe: Cowboy, not the rugged, western kind but more the questionable tradesman.Though that’s not quite the end. Exhibitions over the weekend feature Camp Trans Scotland, curated by filmmaker and photographer Jules Lacave-Fontourcy and activist and author Tam Omond, who, via photographs and the new film The River and The Glen, lead us into a time and space built on and by nature, community care and trans ancestry.Portraits of an LGBTI+ Generation: The Coming Back Out Ball, conceived by Lewis Hetherington, pairs photographic portraits taken by Tiu Makkonnen with short films created in close collaboration with each participant.Football v Homophobia Scotland’s Oral History Archive showcases snapshots of longer oral history interviews with players, fans and officials at all levels of the beautiful game, conducted between March and June 2025.In the words of the organisers, “Be curious, be entertained and be connected”, and enjoy your weekend at Out in the Hills, out in the hills.

Eight shortlisted drama students sat anxiously on the front row of the Lyric Hammersmith this week awaiting the result of the seventh annual Luke Westlake Scholarship.The eponymous actor’s parents, Lee and Bridgette Westlake, were present to commemorate their son and draw attention to the way in which JAM, the company behind the awards, and its directors Liam McLaughlin and Kristian Wall, have honoured his memory with the scholarship and done so much to help aspiring actors from working-class backgrounds. In a heartfelt speech, Lee recognised the challenges these young people face, the complexities of their backgrounds and the drive they need in order to achieve their dreams.Videos of previous winners talking about the process of applying and the impact of the scholarship on their careers opened the evening, before comedian and presenter Stephen Bailey, in a stunning mottled pink suit, took up his role as compère. Welcomes done, he explained the scholarship and introduced the short video clips from each of the actors’ performances, to which they had added a commentary on their background and what winning the scholarship would mean to them, all interspersed with camp humour and lively banter with some singled-out audience members.As the tension mounted, musical interludes were provided by singers David Hunter and Chelsea Halfpenny, with musical director Jon Ranger accompanying on the piano. Lee Westlake ended his speech with a reminder to all nominees of the sacrifices made by their "nearest and dearest”.The rigorous selection process shortlisted Ashleigh Alana (Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama), Kyle Casey (Guildhall School of Music and Drama), Annabel Gray (LAMDA), Simrita Khela (Guildhall School of Music and Drama), Thomas Mac Diarmada (LAMDA), Jasmine MacGregor (Royal Conservatoire of Scotland), Sarah Jane Mulgrew (RADA) and Alana Ruddy (Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama) as the finalists from a field of 129 applications from 22 drama schools and universities across the UK.It was down to Bridgette Westlake to open the envelope, and she was delighted to announce Simrita Khela as the winner of the 2025 Luke Westlake Scholarship. The annual award, sponsored this year by Act On This – The TV Actors Network, provides over £6,000 in financial and career development support to a working-class actor in the final stages of professional training.Commenting on the result, Dr David Linton, Head of Acting and Programme Leader for the BA (Hons) Acting degree at Guildhall School of Music and Drama, said, “The Luke Westlake Scholarship is a wonderful initiative that plays an important role in opening doors. We are so grateful for this support and delighted that Simrita will benefit from this opportunity.”Photo: Lee Westlake, Simrita Khela and Bridgette Westlake

Broadway Baby has launched its largest Black Friday promotion to date, offering massive savings on major West End titles and a wide range of tickets available from £15.The sale covers performances from November through February, with some holiday weeks excluded. Many shows include both standout low prices and what Broadway Baby describes as the chance to “see the show in style” with significant reductions on top tier seats.Headline deals include The Snowman, with prices reduced from £15 with great seats from £31. Savings vary depending on the performance date and can reach up to 51 per cent. Stranger Things: The First Shadow is available from £20 or just £37 for great seats, offering up to 45 per cent off. The production has its best availability on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday shows across January, February and March.Just For One Day drops from £20 with savings of up to 67 per cent. Weekend and some holiday dates are excluded. Family favourite Bluey’s Big Play is available from just £12.75, saving up to 41 per cent depending on performance dates.Big hitters are also included in the promotion. Hamilton starts at £85 with savings of up to £36. Les Misérables offers tickets from £50, saving up to £44, and is valid on performances from November to February with some holiday exclusions. Oliver! is reduced from £115 to £85 with savings of up to £36, and Starlight Express drops from £146 to £65 with savings of up to £81. Both run under similar date restrictions.With Christmas approaching, it’s the chance to give a gift that will last a lifetime.

Brighton’s first all-alternative comedy festival, Swans, Not Scones, will feature 13 shows over the weekend of 14 to 16 November at Sweet@The Yellow Book. It celebrates all comedy outside of stand-up, including sketch, physical, character and musical comedy, clowning, improv and anything that is just a bit different.The festival is a three-way joint venture between Brighton-based alt-comedy performers and promoters Rebekka Turner (Clogg Comedy) and Simon Topping (Extra Topping Comedy), with producer and Sweet Venues founder and director JD Henshaw.The programme presents award winners, mavericks, innovators and Brighton comedy institutions. It is arranged in three genres. In Musical Comedy, JoJo Maberly, whose accolades, in addition to being on BBC One, BBC Three and BBC Radio 4, include Bristol Comedy Comp Winner 2025, BBC New Comedy Awards heat winner 2024 and Musical Comedy Awards Best Newcomer 2023, performs her debut full show, Angst and Angstability, an innocently unhinged show of intense infatuations.For the Clowning category, Loz Dodd has created This Can’t Be It, a show that delights in losing its own thread, derailed by distractions, tangents and spontaneous song that blends the unpredictability of performance art with the openness of contemporary clowning.Leslie Bloom can usually be found hosting Sweet@The Yellow Book’s monthly alternative night, Extra Topping, but for this festival, in Character Comedy, he presents Leslie Bloom Solves a Murder, an hour of joyful laughter that celebrates the detective in us all, a combination of crafted comedy, pure silliness and whimsical improv.Speaking about the inaugural Swans, Not Scones, festival co-organiser Simon Topping said: “We are delighted to realise our vision of bringing a selection of the finest up-and-coming local alternative comedy talent to Sweet Venues@The Yellow Book. With a constant barrage of dystopian news and a cost-of-living crisis, people want to embrace a bit of respite. This is where Swans, Not Scones comes in. In their own uniquely different ways, our acts provide silly, joyous and profound ways to distract from everyday life. Expect plenty of laughter, fabulously skewed ways to see the world, and comedy aplenty that will refresh the soul.”JD Henshaw, artistic director of Sweet Productions, said: “We are so excited to be bringing this weekend of ‘the different’ to Brighton. Here at Sweet Venues, we have always been huge supporters and believers in alternative comedy. We specialise in bringing our audiences the new, the challenging and the joyous, and the acts we have lined up for Swans, Not Scones are all that and more. We are so lucky to be welcoming back some brilliant performers alongside staging artists who have not graced our venue before. Swans, Not Scones is a weekend of comedy that will be a firm favourite every November and will keep the flag flying for all the strangest and best things that make Brighton the fresh, creative and comedy-filled city that we all love.”

Writer and performer Quaz Degraft is the proud recipient of the third Broadway Baby Bobby Award at the Edinburgh Fringe for In the Black from Baffin Productions, produced by Leslie Sanchez in a debut Fringe appearance at theSpace at Surgeons Hall.Quaz, a first-generation Ghanaian American, was inspired by his background in finance to explore the tension between ambition and morality in that environment. Kofi, the story’s protagonist, introduces a cast of characters including his childhood best friend, his co-workers, those involved in a secret office romance, and his ever-present father, whose approval he is constantly chasing.Quoting reviewer Roger Kay, Editor-in-Chief Richard Beck praised Quaz’s powerful performance, the gripping storyline and the adept and sharp writing that introduces layers of conflict and turmoil. He went on to observe that Degraft is an extremely talented and charismatic performer whose consummate storytelling holds sway. “He embodies myriad emotions: dignity, ambition, shame, guilt. It’s all very impressive. He sings beautifully and turns his hand to guitar for good measure, but it is his understated yet powerful performance that is truly gripping. It is a fine piece of solo theatre and Degraft is marked as a star of the future.”Quaz Degraft is a recent MFA acting graduate from the University of Southern California, following a sharp career pivot from finance to the arts. He previously had a sold-out two-show run at the Hollywood Fringe festival with this production. “I’m so pleased to receive this award,” he said. “It means so much to me and the company to have our work recognised and it will really help us to take this work forward.”

Broadway Baby has presented a prestigious Bobby Award at the Edinburgh Fringe to all involved at Creative Expressions for their powerful production of Insiders, staged at St John’s Church. The accolade recognises not only artistic merit but also the depth of research, collaboration and social purpose that underpins the company’s work.Part of Bethany Christian Trust’s homelessness prevention stream of services, Creative Expressions provides opportunities for prisoners “to express themselves through the creative arts in communities across Scotland.” Within that remit, Insiders stands out as both gripping theatre and an extraordinary act of social engagement.First devised during the Covid-19 pandemic through video links with 14 Scottish prisoners, the play was shaped by Sam Rowe (coordinator), Neil Leiper and Garry Sweeney. It went on to tour 11 of Scotland’s 13 male prisons before arriving in Edinburgh, where it was staged with stark simplicity on the chancel steps.The result is not only engrossing theatre but also a profound vehicle for revealing prisoners as people – their fears, humour, tensions and humanity. It embodies Creative Expressions’ commitment to recovery, reflection and rehabilitation.Receiving the award on behalf of the company, Sam Rowe said: “We are thrilled to receive the Bobby Award in recognition not just of Insiders but of the work we do with prisoners across Scotland. It really means a lot to us and will help us to further what we do.”

Kaddish (How to be a Sanctuary), written and performed by Sam Sherman and directed by Lila Weitzner, has been awarded the prestigious Bobby Award from Broadway Baby – one of the rarest accolades at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, reserved for the very best productions seen each year.The award follows Broadway Baby’s five-star review praising the work’s profound writing, imaginative staging, and precision in performance. Editor-in-Chief Richard Beck said, “It ticked every box – directing, writing, and performance – all combined into a sublime message. Sensitively directed, beautifully written, well-staged, and superbly performed, it handles issues from the Middle East while embedding them in the wider context of Judaism over the last 100 years.”While dealing with weighty themes, Kaddish weaves in humour and warmth, echoing the wisdom, wit, and defiance of Saul’s voice. Beck’s review noted that Sherman knows “exactly when to bail out of the depths of despondency and lighten the tone” and praised the production’s ability to “invite us to listen to the moral inheritance of our ancestors” while remaining theatrically engaging.This marks the first collaboration for Sherman and Weitzner under their company Self Friend Productions, though their creative relationship stretches back to childhood. Their long-standing friendship and shared commitment to politically engaged theatre underpin the production’s blend of intimate storytelling and urgent political discourse.Launched in 2011, the Bobby Award recognises shows that stand out even among Broadway Baby’s five-star selections. With thousands of performances across the Fringe, only a handful of productions receive the honour each year, making it one of the festival’s most selective distinctions.Sherman and Weitzner join a small group of Fringe artists whose work has been judged by Broadway Baby’s panel to be truly exceptional – not just in execution, but in leaving a lasting impression on audiences and critics alike.

Fringe veteran Paul Andrew Perez had written just three songs for a new teenage pop-rock musical for the Edinburgh Fringe when he died suddenly in April.The director and theatre department head from Florida, along with his Infinity Repertory Theatre Company, had been working with 15 to 17-year-old students from St John’s Country Day School, Jacksonville, on The Idiot’s Guide To Breaking Your Own Heart. Flights, accommodation and the Greenside, Riddles Court venue had already been paid for – but there was only the bare beginning of a show. It looked as if the project would have to be cancelled.But after the initial shock had subsided, the students and teacher Todd Twining realised how much Paul would have wanted the show to go on – and it will.Todd said: “Paul’s death was such a shock. He was so liked and admired by the students. Without Paul it felt that there could be no show. But we realised we had to finish what he’d started. Paul adored the Fringe and loved giving young people the unique experience of performing there and being part of the world’s greatest performing arts festival. The students, their parents and everyone else have worked flat out to get the show finished and audience-ready. And the support we’ve had from people in Edinburgh, especially our venue, has been amazing.”Darren Neale, Greenside Venues' director, said: “Getting The Idiot’s Guide to Breaking Your Own Heart on stage this year has been nothing short of extraordinary. In the face of heartbreak and uncertainty, these young performers and their creative team have shown remarkable resilience and dedication. Paul Perez was a passionate advocate for the transformative power of theatre, and this production is a beautiful tribute to his legacy. We’re honoured to host a show that so clearly embodies the spirit of the Fringe.”The result is true to Paul’s spirit. It follows the story of Simon Walker, whose school assignment is to write a manual on How to Be You, to demonstrate whether you are a product of nature or nurture. The final part of the project is to answer two questions:What do you contribute to society?Does your life have meaning?Todd said: “Paul was an endlessly enthusiastic champion of young people and the ability of the performing arts to express dreams and fears and to change lives and society for the better. This musical is all about the issues and pressures confronting young people: the need to fit in, look perfect, get straight As, go to the right parties, fulfil their parents’ dreams – in short, to ‘live their best lives’ every minute of the day, while feeling they need to know where their life is headed when they are still growing, developing and getting to know who they are.”

Two Jewish comedians have had their Edinburgh Festival Fringe shows cancelled, prompting a wave of criticism and renewed concern over antisemitism in the British arts scene.Rachel Creeger and Philip Simon were both due to perform at Whistlebinkies, a venue that is part of the PBH Free Fringe. Creeger’s show Ultimate Jewish Mother and Simon’s Jewish comedy line-up Jew-O-Rama were dropped last week. Simon’s solo show Shall I Compere Thee in a Funny Way?, scheduled for the Banshee Labyrinth, was also later cancelled.The venues said their decisions were based on staff safety concerns and Simon’s social media activity. According to a statement given to comedy site Chortle, Banshee Labyrinth said it withdrew Simon’s show following a “routine” review of public posts that they claim “align with the rhetoric and symbology of groups associated with humanitarian violations”. The venue cited Simon’s tweets that questioned why pro-Palestinian voices were not also acknowledging Israeli hostages and criticised celebrity support for Gaza without mention of the October 7 Hamas attacks.Simon rejected the accusations, writing on Facebook that he has “never expressed support for anything other than freeing the hostages and finding a way for peace”. He added, “As a Jewish person living in Britain it is possible, and increasingly common, to have a love for Israel without supporting the actions of the government.” He said he was “still processing the concept that in 2025 I can be cancelled just for being Jewish”.UK Lawyers for Israel claimed the cancellations were illegal under the Equality Act and described them as “a racist move that echoes 1930s Nazi Germany”. The group said it had written to Whistlebinkies asserting that the comedians were dropped because of their Jewish identity.Oi Va Voi, a British Jewish band, also responded online, calling the cancellations part of a broader pattern. “This experience is all too familiar,” they wrote on Facebook. “The censorship and cancelling of Jewish performers in the British arts scene must stop.”Luke Meredith, CEO of the PBH Free Fringe, told Chortle that the decisions were made by the venues independently. He cited a rise in political graffiti and staff concerns over police notices from last year.A Chortle reader poll found that 75 percent of respondents believed it was wrong for the venues to cancel the shows.Simon is still due to appear at the Fringe in a children’s show and said he was exploring alternative spaces for his cancelled performances. He urged audiences not to boycott the venues, adding that he wanted other acts “to have a productive and safe month”.

Last year’s festival marriage in south London between the Bridge House Theatre, Penge, and the Jack Studio Theatre, Crofton Park (otherwise known as the Brockley Jack), is all set to celebrate its first anniversary.The two pioneering theatres joined forces in 2024 to create SE Fest, a local festival designed to promote and celebrate new writing in south-east London – a venture that further enhances their award-winning reputations as key champions of original plays and debut performances.The collaborative event will see all productions performed at both venues over the festival fortnight, giving companies and audiences the opportunity to enjoy the full programme in both locations – an innovative approach that benefits all involved.Productions range from intense family dramas to queer love stories, drawing on lived experience, interrogating the conflict between thought and reality, and exploring what it means to find your way in the world.The 21 shows will be staged over two weeks, from Tuesday 2 to Saturday 13 September 2025. Bookings can be made through the respective theatre websites.

This year, Broadway Baby turns 21. From modest beginnings at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2004, we’ve grown into one of the UK’s largest independent arts publications, and we’re marking the milestone with a redesigned site and a renewed sense of purpose.Over the past two decades, we’ve published tens of thousands of reviews, interviews and features from festivals across the UK and beyond. In that time, the digital landscape – and indeed the theatre world itself – has changed dramatically. So it felt like the right time to update both our look and the way readers navigate and engage with the site.The new Broadway Baby introduces streamlined navigation with expanded menus, making it easier to find everything from the latest reviews to ticket deals and festival listings. We’ve added a links section pointing readers to other platforms, venues and partners – a small way to reflect the collaborative spirit of the arts community.We’re also pleased to offer a new dark mode option. It’s designed to be easier on the eyes – and on battery life – for those reading on the move or late at night.In terms of content, we’re welcoming a new regular columnist, Gloria. She brings decades of experience in the theatre world and will be offering her candid reflections on performances, trends and the state of the industry. It’s fair to say she’s not one to pull punches.Elsewhere, we’ve decluttered the homepage to better highlight what’s on now and what’s coming up next. New show trailers and a dynamic listings section will help readers discover performances at the Fringe and beyond, without the need for leaflets or flyers.We look forward to the next 21 years – and to continuing to support the brilliant work happening across the UK’s stages.

Broadway Baby will now prioritise Bluesky for its latest news and reviews. The platform’s new handle is @broadwaybaby.com. While some content will continue to appear on Twitter (X) only new reviews will be posted there and eventually turned off once users have had a chance to make the switch. Broader coverage, including updates and wider editorial material, will be concentrated on Bluesky.Publisher, Pete Shaw, stated “The decision reflects a growing migration among media organisations and cultural platforms in response to Twitter’s diminishing stability and reach.” He went on to say “The move aligns with a wider trend of arts and media institutions diversifying their social media output in light of ongoing concerns around platform management and engagement.”Bluesky, originally developed under the guidance of Twitter co-founder and former CEO Jack Dorsey, has gained traction since its public release. The platform’s structure as a decentralised social network appeals to users looking for alternatives to corporate-run platforms. Although Dorsey exited the company in 2024, Bluesky now operates as a public benefit corporation, a status that suggests a long-term commitment to open access.While Bluesky has yet to match the user scale of X or Instagram, it is carving out a niche that may suit theatre fans tired of algorithmic noise. For now, Broadway Baby’s readers can expect coverage to land in a new feed – one that may prove better tuned to the rhythms of the theatre world than the shouty timelines of old.

Brass Bands England is bringing its national celebration of all things brass back for a second year. From 5 to 13 July 2025, more than 100 bands are expected to take part in Brass Band Week, a UK-wide programme of performances designed to put the country’s vibrant brass tradition centre stage.The week follows on from last year’s inaugural event, which saw 168 registered performances. In 2025, the initiative returns with a packed line-up that stretches from Cornwall to Glasgow. Each event shares a common mission: to amplify the role of brass bands in building community, inspiring creativity and connecting generations.In the lead-up to the main week, Brass Bands England will present Youth Fest at artsdepot in North London on 4 July. The non-competitive gathering will see around 200 children aged five to eleven from seven local bands take part in workshops and two public performances. The focus is on collaboration rather than competition, offering a low-pressure entry point into brass music and the social experience that comes with playing it.Running alongside both events is Proms in the Playground, an initiative now in its fourth year that links local bands with nearby schools. From 30 June to 18 July, young audiences across the country will be treated to performances in their school playgrounds, supported by free Key Stage 2 resources. The programme not only introduces children to brass music but also encourages longer-term involvement by making the connection to local ensembles explicit.Participants in Brass Band Week can sign up to host any event that features brass playing. According to the release, organisers will have access to learning materials, promotional support and the opportunity to win awards for community impact, innovation and artistic excellence.Among this year’s confirmed highlights are Brassed On! in Barnsley, which features the Grimethorpe Colliery Band, the Scottish International Tuba Festival in Glasgow, and a free open-air concert from Callington Town Band in Cornwall. There are also events planned at Llandudno North Shore Bandstand in Wales and a series of concerts from Southampton Youth Concert, coinciding with its 60th anniversary.Brass Bands England, which began life as the British Federation of Brass Bands in 1968, continues to act as a national support organisation for brass music. Backed by Arts Council England, BBE is one of the council’s Investment Principles Support Organisations. It supports bands with resources and advocacy, while working with partners across the sector to grow participation and strengthen community ties.“Imagine a UK-wide festival of exciting brass band events for people of different ages, backgrounds and interests,” said BBE chair Michael Kilroy, describing the ambition behind the initiative. Darren Henley, Chief Executive of Arts Council England, added that brass bands continue to play a vital role in national musical life, praising both the joy and the musicianship they bring to audiences.While the week is framed as a celebration, its underlying aim is serious: to ensure brass music remains accessible and alive in schools, parks and town squares across the country. In an age of shrinking arts budgets and cultural consolidation, Brass Band Week is staking a claim for grassroots music-making as something essential, not optional.

A pioneering theatrical venture and a production company have made a significant contribution to a charity that helps women and children who are victims of domestic violence.Writer/director Mark Ravenhill’s ten new plays were recently given rehearsed readings over two days at Wilton’s Music Hall by a team of some 85 actors. The event was organised by Charlie MacGechan and his production company, Run at it Shouting. Five plays in the cycle, entitled Run at it Laughing, were performed each day from midday to 9.30 pm.This theatrical treat took us back to the days of the Commedia dell’arte, with inspiration for the plays drawn from a set of synopses written in 1611 by the Italian actor and manager Flaminio Scala. Originally, the stimulus for improvised pieces featuring the stereotypes of the genre, Ravenhill took each description and turned it into a continuous 90-minute script for ten or so actors.With no set, movement, or costumes, the focus was entirely on delivery, and the numerous actors did not fall short in creating an array of distinctive characters full of life, energy, and humour. There were twisted plots, much scheming, a great deal of deceit, an abundance of humour, and the joy of watching actors revelling in a fast-paced hybrid theatrical genre that gave them the chance to portray eccentric characters with affected accents and a wealth of bawdy wit and innuendo. Think along the lines of the Carry On films with a hint of Restoration Comedy. For those who saw more than one play, there was the added opportunity to become familiar with some key characters who appeared in each play, much like a soap opera or a character-sketch series.Run at it Laughing was a joyous two-day event with the air of a festival and much excitement, but there was also a fundraising aspect to it. Project Nia is a local support group endorsed by Run at it Shouting that helps women and children who are victims of domestic violence. To that end, all actors volunteered their services.Run at It Shouting Founder Charlie MacGechan explains: “In September 2020, RAIS raised £2,250 with our rehearsed reading of Harold Pinter's The Dwarfs and now, with Run at it Laughing, we’ve raised another £2,275. Total: £4,525. Whoop!”Mark Ravenhill commented: “I’m so proud of the achievement of everyone involved with Run at it Laughing, all of whom donated their time and talent. As well as the money, I hope it will raise awareness of the vital work of Project Nia to end violence against women and girls.”The charity’s Chief Executive, Jodie Woodward, says: “We are incredibly grateful to everyone involved in this event and especially to Run at It Shouting for their ongoing support of our charity. Every year we work with over 1,000 women and girls who have experienced domestic and sexual violence. Raising enough funds to run these vital services is a struggle year on year. This donation will support us in the delivery of our specialist women-led services.”LinksProject Nia: https://project-nia.org/RAIS: https://runatitshouting.co.uk/

A live vocal tribute to Celine Dion is heading to the West End this June, and it is all coming back – live vocals, glitter, and one queen centre stage. Moira Less brings My Heart Will Go On: A Drag Celebration of Celine Dion to Seven Dials Playhouse for two nights only, forming part of the venue’s Pride Season programme.Moira Less will deliver the full force of Dion’s discography with her own voice, covering chart-toppers including It’s All Coming Back to Me Now, The Power of Love and, of course, the Titanic ballad My Heart Will Go On.The show is pitched as more than a tribute and more than a drag act. Audiences can expect “pure vocal talent” rather than camp parody or impersonation. Moira Less, whose name is already on the radar after winning The Crown in 2022, appearing as a Pride’s Got Talent finalist in 2023, and reaching the Drag Idol semi-finals in 2024, will front the evening solo. Her credits confirm a background in live singing and theatrical performance, positioning this as a hybrid cabaret-concert with drag at its centre.Seven Dials Playhouse, which continues to position itself as a hub for contemporary and queer performance, is hosting the production as part of its Pride Season. The venue sits just off Shaftesbury Avenue and has become known for showcasing fringe-scale work that doesn’t shy away from identity-led storytelling.Described as a night of “drag excellence and vocal expertise,” the performance promises to blend comedy, charisma and vocal range. While there are plenty of drag tribute shows in circulation, few offer live renditions of such technically demanding material. Dion’s hits are famously difficult to deliver without studio production – yet Moira Less is taking them on in real time, from a London stage.Whether that draws in loyal Celine Dion fans or the late-night cabaret crowd, this production is positioning itself for both. There’s no indication of a wider tour or additional dates, so this two-night run may be the only chance to catch it.My Heart Will Go On: A Drag Celebration of Celine Dion runs 19 and 20 June at Seven Dials Playhouse, London. Tickets available via the venue website or box office.

This summer at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Pleasance will host the premiere of In the Land of Eagles, a new solo show by writer and performer Alex Reynolds. Running from 30 July to 25 August, the production offers an intimate exploration of Albanian history and family legacy.In the Land of Eagles traces Reynolds’ relationship with her Albanian grandfather as she journeys through the little-known past of his homeland. The narrative unfolds through poetry and humour, revealing unexpected stories of identity and resistance against oppression. As Reynolds’ character navigates her grandfather’s experiences before he settled in England, the play also reflects on themes of national identity and power, grounded in a universal story of family connection and loss.The piece promises to offer audiences a compelling, poetic journey through history and personal memory, shedding light on an often overlooked national narrative while centring the intimate bond between granddaughter and grandfather.The show marks Alex Reynolds’ solo debut at the Fringe and arrives with a creative team noted for its strong female leadership and impressive credentials within contemporary UK theatre. The production is positioned to be a standout addition to this year’s festival programme.

Soho Theatre has announced the return of My English Persian Kitchen, Hannah Khalil’s acclaimed play inspired by the life of best-selling cookery writer Atoosa Sepehr. Following sold-out performances at the 2024 Edinburgh Fringe and Soho Theatre’s studio space, the show returns this autumn with an expanded UK and Ireland tour, running from 30 September to 25 October. The new tour includes performances in London, Bristol, Dublin, and Belfast.Directed by Chris White, My English Persian Kitchen is a life-affirming tale of memory, identity, and survival, all told through the evocative medium of food. At its core is a woman who, after being forced to flee her homeland, begins to rebuild her life by recreating the traditional dishes of her Iranian childhood. The show blends live theatre with on-stage cooking, filling the theatre with the aroma of Ash-e Reshteh, a rich Persian soup served to audiences post-performance.The production was originally co-produced by Soho Theatre and Traverse Theatre and now graduates to Soho’s Main House stage. It will then head to Bristol Old Vic where Khalil is Writer in Residence, before performances at Dublin’s Pavilion Theatre and a final stop at the Lyric Theatre Belfast as part of the 63rd Belfast International Arts Festival.Playwright Hannah Khalil said, “To have this as my first play at Bristol Old Vic, where I am currently writer in residence, feels incredibly fitting... And then Ireland! Where I have never had a play before: a homecoming for me.”Atoosa Sepehr, whose true story inspired the play, reflects: “Even in our lowest moments life sometimes offers a way out… Culture truly has no borders and when we migrate, we take with us aspects of our homeland that contribute to a rich multi-cultural society.”Audiences can expect a multi-sensory theatrical experience; 70 minutes of story, followed by the opportunity to stay and share a taste of the food featured onstage.

London Clown Festival is back for 2025 with its largest edition to date, promising a collision of physical comedy, theatrical innovation and unpredictable absurdity across two of the city’s key performance venues. Running from 16 June to 4 July, the festival returns to Soho Theatre and Jacksons Lane with a packed programme of contemporary clowning and physical theatre from both UK-based and international artists.This year’s programme builds on the festival’s reputation as a home for eclectic, genre-defying performances. Since its founding in 2016, the event has aimed to push the public perception of clowning far beyond red noses and slapstick. The 2025 edition continues this mission with a broad lineup of acts that experiment with form and embrace risk. The addition of physical theatre to the official programming signals a widening scope, reflecting the close ties between clown technique and broader movement-based performance.Among the standout shows is The Weight of Shadow by Sasha Krohn, a wordless piece that fuses mime, dance and aerial work to portray a psychiatric patient’s internal tumult over the course of a single day. Our pals at Fringe Review described it as “a tormenting and beautiful portrayal of the human condition.” Also featured is Red Bastard, a master of the Bouffon tradition, whose confrontational performance style and audience interaction return to London for the first time in eight years.Comedy meets cabaret in Otto & Astrid: The Stage Tour, a chaotic blend of Europop and punk energy from Berlin’s dysfunctional sibling band. Lachlan Werner, a ventriloquist known for his surreal stage presence, brings Wondertwunk, described in past Guardian coverage as a brilliantly strange blend of puppetry and physical comedy. Meanwhile, Dirty Work by Jessica Barton arrives fresh from Melbourne, combining song, dance and domestic grime in what the Australian Arts Review calls a “quadruple threat” debut.The festival also continues to celebrate ensemble and cabaret formats. The Opening Cabaret kicks off the run at Soho Theatre on 16 June, offering a curated showcase of acts. A Night of Drama invites audiences to pelt a clown cast with banana peels during a live-directed period piece. The festival ends with Naughty Cabaret, a high-energy closing night featuring a queer feminist mix of clown, circus, music, burlesque and character comedy.Performances span from early evening slots to late-night specials, with individual shows running around 60 minutes. Ticket prices range from £13 to £27, with full details and booking available at the festival’s official website.London Clown Festival 2025 may be the most ambitious yet, not just in scale but in its invitation to rethink what clowning means today. From polished solo shows to anarchic cabarets, it offers a rare chance to experience the unpredictable art of physical comedy in all its forms. Just watch out for the flying peels.

The Arcola Theatre will host the world premiere of Clive, a new play by Olivier and BAFTA award-winning writer Michael Wynne, from 30 July to 23 August. Directed by Lucy Bailey, the production stars two-time Olivier Award nominee Paul Keating in the title role.Clive centres on Thomas, a man who relishes the solitude of working from home. His days are shaped by routines and conversations with Clive - a very large cactus. As the boundaries between work and personal life begin to collapse, Thomas’s grip on reality falters and his dependence on the spiky houseplant deepens.Described as both funny and moving, Clive examines the contradictions of hyper-connected modern life. It explores themes of emotional isolation, technological over-reliance and the human need for meaningful connection.Paul Keating reunites with director Lucy Bailey at the Arcola Theatre following their critically acclaimed collaboration on Kenny Morgan. Keating’s extensive theatre career includes two Olivier nominations and numerous West End appearances. His role in Clive follows a recent turn in Bailey’s UK touring production of Murder on the Orient Express.Lucy Bailey’s previous directing credits include Witness for the Prosecution, Titus Andronicus at Shakespeare’s Globe and Baby Doll at the National Theatre. Her work has attracted large audiences both in the UK and internationally.Michael Wynne’s credits include The Priory at the Royal Court Theatre, which won the Olivier Award for Best Comedy. His work in television and film includes Lapland, Sugar Rush and My Summer of Love, which won the BAFTA for Best British Film.Clive runs from 30 July to 23 August at the Arcola Theatre, London. Booking information is available through the venue’s official website.

On Sunday 25 May 2025, Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre will host Shakespeare for Every Day of the Year – Live!, an evening celebrating the enduring power of Shakespeare’s work. The event, presented by former actress and bestselling poetry anthologist Allie Esiri, will feature a cast of award-winning actors including Damian Lewis, Tony Robinson, Olivia Williams, James Phoon, Indira Varma, Hugh Ross, Kate Fleetwood, Danny Sapani, Samantha Spiro and Susan Wokoma.The performance will draw on Esiri’s bestselling anthology Shakespeare for Every Day of the Year, which collects 365 poems, speeches and scenes from across Shakespeare’s plays. The actors will read selections that span the familiar and lesser-known moments of the Bard’s oeuvre, accompanied by introductions illuminating the texts.The venue itself holds special significance for some performers. Damian Lewis, who starred in the television series Homeland, has previously played Hamlet at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre. Samantha Spiro, an Olivier Award winner, has performed there in Much Ado About Nothing and Hello Dolly!. The event promises an evening of poetry, drama, and wit performed in the theatre’s unique open-air setting.Tickets start at £25 and are available through the Open Air Theatre website. Signed copies of Allie Esiri’s poetry anthologies will also be sold at the event.Shakespeare for Every Day of the Year – Live! is scheduled to begin at 7.30pm. Attendees are advised to check the theatre’s website for any updates on the cast line-up as appearances are subject to availability.Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre, established in 1932, is one of London’s largest and most distinctive theatres, with a capacity of 1,304 and a summer season attracting over 150,000 visitors annually.For further details and booking visit openairtheatre.com.

Scottish Opera has won the coveted Classical:NEXT Innovation Award for its groundbreaking Breath Cycle initiative, a project that uses singing and songwriting to support people with lung conditions, including those with Long Covid.Beating global competition, the project was recognised at the Classical:NEXT ceremony in Berlin on 14 May for its pioneering work in blending artistic excellence with therapeutic impact.Initially launched in 2012 in partnership with Gartnavel General Hospital Cystic Fibrosis Service in Glasgow, Breath Cycle uses classical singing techniques and songwriting workshops to help participants improve their breathing, physical health and mental wellbeing.The initiative was reimagined during the pandemic to address the effects of Long Covid, leading to the creation of The Covid Composers Songbook and a series of emotive performances in 2023 and 2025.Jane Davidson MBE, Director of Outreach & Education at Scottish Opera, said: “Your voice is yours and yours alone, and to lose control over it can be devastating. We’ve learnt so much about how loss of voice through lung conditions can lead to profound loneliness and isolation. Breath Cycle has been about helping participants regain their self-worth through song.”Composer Gareth Williams and Davidson accepted the award in Berlin, where Breath Cycle was recognised alongside other standout projects, OPERA APERTA from Ukraine and Clásica No Convencional from Chile.Breath Cycle will continue throughout the 2025-2026 season with support from the Scottish Government and other charitable foundations.For more information about the project, visit scottishopera.org.uk.

After a successful first run, Bluey’s Big Play is returning to stages across the UK and Ireland from October 2025 through to August 2026. The stage show, based on the Emmy-winning children’s TV series, will feature 32 venues including London’s Royal Festival Hall over the festive season, where it will run from 18 December 2025 to 11 January 2026.Featuring larger-than-life puppets, original music, and the beloved voices of Dave McCormack and Melanie Zanetti as Dad and Mum, the show brings the animated world of Bluey to life with a new story written by series creator Joe Brumm. Composer Joff Bush provides fresh music for the stage adaptation.Produced by Andrew Kay, Cuffe & Taylor, and Windmill Theatre Co for BBC Studios, the show has already delighted audiences globally, including fans in Australia, the US, and Europe. Natasha Spence, Events Director for Live Entertainment at BBC Studios, said, 'The last tour was met with overwhelming enthusiasm. We can't wait for more families to experience Bluey live on stage.'Ben Hatton, Senior Vice President at Cuffe & Taylor, added, 'The response from audiences was nothing short of magical. We are thrilled to bring Bluey back to the UK.'The tour will kick off at Wycombe Swan on 25 October and will visit major cities including Glasgow, Birmingham, Liverpool, and Dublin. For full tour dates and ticket information, visit blueylive.com.Bluey’s Big Play is more than just a children’s show – it is a family event packed with music, laughter, and the unforgettable antics of Bluey, Bingo, Mum, and Dad.

The National Theatre is reopening its Dorfman Theatre after extensive government-funded capital works, and it is doing so in style. The highly anticipated National Theatre Connections Festival will run from 24th to 28th June 2025, spotlighting youth theatre groups from across the UK as they perform ten plays specially commissioned for the festival’s 30th anniversary.Connections, the National Theatre’s annual nationwide youth theatre festival, has spent the past three months showcasing over 5,000 young people from more than 270 companies and schools. Now, ten groups have been selected to take their productions to the stage at the National Theatre, including performances by youth theatres from London, Manchester, Leeds, Nottingham, Wolverhampton, Belfast, Glasgow, Ramsgate, and Cardiff.Each night of the festival will feature two performances, ranging from the exuberant comedy Ravers by Rikki Beadle-Blair to the poignant Their Name is Joy by May Sumbwanyambe. Audiences will see emerging young talent take centre stage as the National Theatre’s festival continues its legacy of providing a platform for youth theatre for three decades.Indhu Rubasingham, Director and Co-Chief Executive of the National Theatre, emphasised the importance of the event, stating, "Everyone should have the opportunity to experience the power of theatre-making. I look forward to celebrating the extraordinary energy and creative vision these young performers will bring to our stages this June."Tickets for the festival go on sale on Tuesday, 20th May, with all performances captioned to ensure accessibility for all audiences. For further information and booking details, visit the National Theatre’s website.

Vital Xposure, a disabled-led theatre company, is shaking up the stage with its latest research into creative captioning. The findings from VX Labs, a three-year Arts Council England-supported programme, suggest that captioning shouldn’t just be an afterthought or a basic add-on for niche audiences. Instead, it can transform theatre storytelling and engage a far broader, more diverse crowd.The VX Labs programme explores how captioning can be integrated into theatre productions as an essential creative element, alongside lighting and sound. Dr Mandy Precious, who leads the project, points out that captioning often gets relegated to “reductive and limited” use. But with technology now more accessible, Vital Xposure asked how captions could enrich storytelling rather than just serve as functional text.Why does this matter? Around 18 million UK adults are d/Deaf or hard of hearing, and research shows younger audiences - especially Gen Z and Millennials - prefer subtitles. Captioning also opens doors for non-native English speakers, neurodiverse viewers, and others who benefit from clearer communication. The Labs put this theory to the test by staging rehearsed readings of plays with bilingual captions in English, Punjabi, Hindi, and Urdu.The research uncovered some game-changing ideas. Captions that use colour, style, and thoughtful translation can elevate the audience experience. The best captioning is planned from the start and integrated with other production elements. The balance between creativity and accessibility is key, especially for bilingual shows where clarity and cultural sensitivity matter.Josh Elliott, Artistic Director of Vital Xposure, sums it up: “Captioning isn't just access - it’s art.” By placing captions on equal footing with traditional theatrical design, the company believes theatre can become more inclusive and more engaging for everyone in the audience.Supported by Arts Council England, the VX Labs continue into 2025 with projects focusing on decolonising disability and reimagining children’s theatre accessibility.For theatre-makers and audiences alike, Vital Xposure’s research points to a future where captions are a vital, vibrant part of live performance, not an afterthought.

If you’ve ever wanted to feel truly noticed, seen, heard and felt, then Tennessee Williams’ Orpheus Descending might just be the ticket. This classic American play opens at London’s Cockpit Theatre on 25 June 2025, brought to life by Conjure Productions in their debut show.The story revolves around Val, a mysterious and charismatic drifter, who meets Lady, a storekeeper trapped in the grey and ashen world of a mid-century Southern American town. Val’s arrival sparks a swirl of passion, desire and chaos - though whether the pair find salvation or just more trouble is something audiences will have to discover.Directed by Anna Barkan, this production is performed by recent graduates from LAMDA and promises an expressionistic and poetic approach to the material. Conjure Productions is a new theatre company focused on staging modern classics through ensemble and movement, aiming to give fresh life to well-known works.Williams, an acclaimed playwright of the 20th century, has long been celebrated for his lyrical dramas and his portraits of lost souls. His career highlights include A Streetcar Named Desire and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, both Pulitzer Prize winners, as well as a slew of other notable plays.Anna Barkan brings a wealth of experience from her work across Russia and the UK, including directing several productions at LAMDA where she also teaches acting. Her speciality in the Michael Chekhov technique underpins the artistic vision for this show.If you fancy witnessing a classic with a new voice, keep an eye out for Orpheus Descending at the Cockpit Theatre from 25 June, with press nights on 26 and 27 June.

Love going to the theatre but also enjoy a good soap opera? The team at The Bridge House Theatre, Penge, might have the answer in their latest theatrical venture, Penge West - A Continuing Drama.Claiming to be ‘London’s first live soap opera for the stage’, the series is a three-week run of live performances in the soap opera genre, running in June and July. The production promises to deliver ‘eight fast-paced, emotionally charged episodes’ in ‘a never-before-seen hybrid of classic soap opera tropes, theatrical storytelling and audience interactivity’.Few people seem to know exactly where Penge is located, beyond “somewhere in south London”. Yet it has two railway stations. This saga might put it more firmly on the map, with a storyline that delves into the secrets and relationships of a diverse group of local residents.The structure of the production is intriguing. Writer Tim Connery and directors John Handscombe and Luke Adamson explain: “Each performance will include two shows in one evening: the main soap episode and A Continuing Drama - a meta, behind-the-scenes story chronicling the fictional creation of the very soap the audience is about to watch. The result is a self-aware, often hilarious theatrical double-bill that blurs the lines between satire, drama and community theatre.”Performances will be script-in-hand in a format that ‘allows for spontaneity and evolution, with audience feedback actively shaping future episodes’. The episodes will be presented by a talented ensemble of actors from Good Wolf People, Stage D’or and The Bridge House Theatre, many of whom will be familiar to regular audiences.Tickets will be sold on a Pay What You Decide basis to encourage repeat visits and the chance to follow and influence the ongoing storyline.By that time of year, there might be some signs of summer, and The Bridge House is one of the best places to enjoy an outdoor drink and some food in the grounds. What more could you want?

Durham Fringe Festival is back and bigger than ever with its fifth annual celebration of performing arts set to take over Durham City Centre from 23rd to 27th July 2025. With over 110 acts delivering more than 270 performances across nine diverse venues, this year's lineup promises to be its most exciting yet.Among the standout acts is Durham-based magician Tom Bolton, a returning favourite whose 2024 sell-out show made him a local sensation. Meanwhile, 18-year-old singer-songwriter Isabel Maria, named BBC Introducing’s 'One to Watch for 2025' and last year’s North East Culture Award winner, will also grace the stage.Comedy is in no short supply with 19 stand-up acts, including BBC New Comedy Award Finalist Jake Donaldson and Phil Green, after back-to-back sell-out shows at Edinburgh Fringe. Fans of sketch comedy can catch Cal Halbert of The Mimic Men - known for his appearances on Britain’s Got Talent and Good Morning Britain - performing across all five days of the festival.For theatre enthusiasts, there are 26 productions ranging from adaptations of classics to contemporary works. Highlights include a modern-verse take on Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew on Palace Green and a stage adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Bodysnatcher at The City Theatre. Original works are also in focus, with productions like Queen of the Quack by Night-Light Theatre CIC, VANILLA by Fur Coat No Knickers Theatre, and The Rubbish Puppets by 92 Beats.Families are well catered for with 42 family-friendly acts and 14 children’s shows, with a family ticket deal offering four tickets for just £24. Individual tickets remain accessible at £10 or less, with further discounts available through the festival’s 'discover offer' - three shows for £24.Dr Stephen Cronin, Director of Durham Fringe CIC, emphasises the festival’s vital role in supporting the arts amid funding challenges: "It’s never been more important to support your local cultural venue and take a chance on new creative experiences. As audiences, we get so much from performing arts – wellbeing, education, and time to switch off."Durham Fringe Festival is run by the not-for-profit Durham Fringe CIC, which channels 70% of ticket sales directly to performers while keeping ticket prices low to ensure accessibility. For the full programme and to book tickets, visit durhamfringe.co.uk/events.

A woman’s right to choose, coercive relationships and the complexity of female friendship are at the heart of Jumper Bumps, the debut play by Amelia Rodger, premiering at this year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe.Running from 30 July to 25 August at the Gilded Balloon’s Appleton Tower venue, the 60-minute two-hander explores the shifting dynamic between best friends Eris and Atlanta. Eris wants a baby. Atlanta does not. When Eris finds herself pregnant and stuck in an emotionally abusive relationship, their friendship is tested in unexpected and painful ways.Described as “approachable drama” with “a powerful exploration of serious themes”, Jumper Bumps uses naturalistic dialogue and comedic elements to unpack the tension between autonomy and expectation. The show invites audiences to reflect on motherhood, vulnerability and support systems, and asks what it means to make the right choice in the face of social pressure.The play is produced and directed by Emma Ruse, co-founder and CEO of Framework Theatre Company, which supports emerging artists across Scotland. Ruse has worked with Stellar Quines, Play, Pie & a Pint, and Wonder Fools, and was named in Young Women Scot’s 30 under 30 list in 2024.Amelia Rodger, who also performs the role of Eris, is an early-career artist from Perth. She trained at Performing Arts Studio Scotland and was the first mentee on The Ten, a UK talent development scheme. She appeared in last year’s five-star Fringe show Pals by Mirren Wilson. Casting for the role of Atlanta is yet to be announced.Jumper Bumps will run daily at 16:20 at the Gilded Balloon Appleton Tower, Ruby, from 30 July to 25 August 2025.

The White Chip, the critically acclaimed Off-Broadway hit by Sean Daniels, is set to make its UK premiere at Southwark Playhouse Borough from 9 July to 16 August 2025. Directed by Matt Ryan and produced by Danielle Tarento and Tony Award-winning actress Annaleigh Ashford, the autobiographical play lands in London following its successful US run, where it earned a New York Times Critics’ Pick.Starring Ed Coleman (I Am Hannah, Channel 4), Mara Allen (Macbeth, Shakespeare’s Globe), and Ashlee Irish (Hello, Dolly!, London Palladium), The White Chip dives headfirst into the chaos and comedy of addiction and recovery. Coleman plays Steven McAlister, a man who’s checked every box - college, career, marriage - while barely holding it all together through a haze of alcohol. When his balancing act collapses, what follows is a raw and funny journey toward recovery.The UK creative team includes designer Lee Newby, lighting designer Jamie Platt, sound designer Max Pappenheim, and co-producer Danielle Tarento doubling up as casting director.This production partners with Performing Recovery, the public face of the Addiction Recovery Arts Network, a nonprofit supporting creativity in recovery. A portion of ticket sales will go directly to the organisation. After every performance, Leon Clowes, co-founder of the network, will offer audiences a light-hearted “Alcoholic’s Tarot” reading, as well as space for discussion and reflection.Clowes commented “Performing Recovery is delighted that Tarento Productions is the first major sponsor of our network and magazine... To be supported and partnered with one of London’s top theatre producers and to have the opportunity to work alongside her on The White Chip is game changing for us.”Club Soda and Everleaf are also supporting the production. Club Soda, a leader in mindful drinking, emphasises the value of alcohol-free options in arts venues. Everleaf will offer a range of non-alcoholic aperitifs throughout the run.The show’s commitment to conversation continues with post-show talkbacks on Thursday 17 July: “What Happens If I Don’t Want to Drink Anymore?” with Lucy Rocca (Soberistas) and Brie Barros (Alcohol Change UK) and Wednesday 6 August: “Is Addiction a Disability?” with Waithera Sebatindira (Through an Addict’s Looking-Glass) and Paul Bonham, hosted by Leon Clowes.Playwright Sean Daniels, who describes the piece as a comedy about recovery, said “When you write a comedy about recovery, you hope it finds the right people - people who get your dark sense of humour… and how lucky am I that it has.”The White Chip originally premiered at 59E59 Theaters in New York and was later produced at MCC Theater’s Susan & Ronald Frankel Theater. That production was backed by Ashford along with Hank Azaria, Jason Biggs, and John Larroquette.Tickets are available now at Southwark Playhouse.

A new play exploring fractured friendships and post-conflict identity in Northern Ireland is set to premiere at Theatre503 this May. Derry Boys, written by Niall McCarthy and directed by Andy McLeod, will run from 20 May to 7 June 2025.Presented by Iona Bremner Productions and Theatre503, Derry Boys was developed through Theatre503’s Rapid Write Response programme. The play follows the lives of Paddy and Mick, two boys from Derry who are separated in childhood and later reunite as adults in London. As their stories unfold over two decades, spanning Derry and London, the pair discover just how differently their lives have turned out - shaped by class, education and personal choices.Derry Boys examines themes of youth, masculinity, identity and survival in a politically complex world. Through intercut timelines and sharply drawn dialogue, the play considers what it means to inherit conflict and how far friendship can stretch across ideological divides. The production uses humour and emotional depth to depict the impact of sectarianism and economic struggle, particularly in the context of post-Troubles Northern Ireland.The cast includes Eoin Sweeney as Paddy, Matthew Blaney as Mick and Catherine Rees as Aoife. Sweeney’s previous credits include Mercy Falls and Die Trying. Blaney’s stage work includes The Lieutenant of Inishmore and Under the Black Rock, and Rees has appeared in The Mousetrap, Blue Lights and Hope Street.The production is directed by Andy McLeod, whose film credits include Strange Waters and The Day of the Sun Dog. McLeod previously directed the original short version of Derry Boys as part of Theatre503’s Rapid Write Response series. The show is produced by Iona Bremner, whose recent production Diary of a Gay Disaster won the WhatsOnStage Award for Best Studio Production in 2025.Derry Boys is McCarthy’s full-length debut. His earlier work includes Die Trying, which was nominated for the 2024 Kenneth Branagh Award, and Together in the End, which is scheduled to be performed at Camden Fringe in August 2025.Tickets for Derry Boys start at £12 and are available at theatre503.com.

Today theSpaceUK announces its 2019 Edinburgh Fringe Season with over 400 shows and the biggest new-writing programme at the Fringe. There are household names to hunt down an autograph from, award-winners with their eyes on another prize, up-and-coming companies back to make their mark, and plenty of debut performances too.With an eye on new writing, here's a look at some of the shows that are fresh to Edinburgh this year, and could be causing quite a stir. Will any of these win a coveted Broadway Bobby Award? Let's wait until August to find out. Back with a brand-new show, award-winning writer Glenn Chandler (Taggart, Kids Play) returns with The Good Scout, the true story of 1930s British Boy scouts playing host to the cycling parties of Hitler Youth.Can lightning strike twice? The company behind SIX is back with Rust, a moving and life-affirming original new musical about addiction and mental health services. Are you looking for a lesson that will change your life? Following on from his smash-hit Canoe in 2018, Matthew Roberts is back with Teach. Telling the tale of Winifred Baxter, the first Englishwoman to enter an air race, Clouds is a new play from Time & Again Theatre, who aim to make women in STEM a talking point. Last year their debut show, Greyhounds was a sleeper hit so they’re hoping to build on its success this year. Looking for a bit more weight to your drama? 10:31, MCR is a sombre and poignant piece set at the Manchester Arena on 22 May, 2017 10:31pm, and follows the devastating results of the attack and the need to make sense of it all. Another compelling and timely piece is new comic/tragic physical theatre from Nth Degree Productions, The Words are There delves into the lesser known side of domestic abuse.Despite only being recently written, Christopher Tajah (incredibly, a fishmonger by day) has already picked up an Offie nomination for his superb performance in Dream of a King, which is set on the night of Martin Luther King’s assassination in a Tennessee motel room. Another performance that will take you back in time is Section 28: The Legacy of a Homophobic Law. Set in the 1980s, it approaches the struggles of sexuality at the time of the Local Governments Act.There’s the wild new comedy, Noir Hamlet, which has already picked up the Boston Globe Critic’s Pick earlier this year and transforms Hamlet into a wise-cracking 1940s detective up to his neck in a comedic case that has more twists that a gallows tie. If you're looking to laugh, then new comedy-theatre from Bodily Functions and Where to Find Them discusses everything from peeing in public to dealing with bulimia.Hopefully not based on a true story, a delusional woman deals with her adventures pursuing Sue Perkins with In PurSUEt. Another interesting concept, box. is a new funny solo performance about one man's struggle to traverse the toll road of middle age... all using just a single cardboard box.Prepare for a nerdgasm with plenty of Sci-Fi themed shows this year. Conscious explores a world where the rich replace the working class with humanoid AIs in an all too possible future. Chaika: First Woman in Space is the true story of Valentina Tereshkova, a young textile worker who was plucked from obscurity to lead the Soviet Union’s race to the stars. 24 candidates remain for the Mars Mission Programme in the reality TV show in If I Die on Mars. On the verge of a natural disaster, an artificial intelligence named Sally joins the team in futuristic Auto-Nation.Inspired by China’s social credit system, Level Up explores a near-future utopia where real love is impossible to measure. Or discover the story of the first man in space, who is back on Earth and facing new temptations. Fame, fortune, alcohol, nostalgic space anthems and sex - find out if he'll resist temptation in a brand-new musical, Space Junk: A Soviet Musical from Slipshod Theatre.Charles Pamment, Director of theSpaceUK, said 'It's our 25th year of presenting work at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and at a time when the Fringe is undergoing much change we are very proud that we continue to offer the most diverse programme in Edinburgh as well as the largest platform for new and original work with over 400 shows across our venues this August. Above all, we are very excited to be able to offer reviewers and the wider media a selection of work that crosses all genres with particular focus on the social and topical issues that our programme has become known for. We urge you to step away from the herd and explore by the far the most diverse and original programme at the modern festival.’Photograph: Gareth Hughes

The Old Market are excited to announce that they have managed to raise a fantastic £1,057 for Brighton Women’s Centre, who have been supporting self-identifying women in Sussex for over 40 years. They help women from all backgrounds, facing all kinds of issues, to live happier lives.Back in March, we reported on The Old Market's 'Reigning Women' programme put some of the country's most talented women on centre stage, with the end of season coinciding with International Women's Day. Alongside their outstanding programme of events and performances, The Old Market collaborated with Brighton Women's Centre to produce charity tote bags, filled with goodies contributed by a number of local and national companies, including The Body Shop, Lewes Football Club, Choc-Chick, Brighton Gin, Cult Hero and Infinity Foods. The bags were available to visitors of all the ‘Reigning Women’ events by donation. Mark Gordon, Marketing Manager for The Old Market said they were 'beyond delighted to have raised so much money for Brighton Women’s Centre. The work they do for our community is immeasurable. A massive thank you must go out to all of the artists who performed during the season, the volunteers and staff at Brighton Women’s Centre and The Old Market, but most importantly, a big thank you to everyone who visited and donated.'Lisa Dando, Director of Brighton Women’s Centre, said that the Brighton Women’s Centre was 'overwhelmed by the amount of money raised by The Old Market and the artists who supported the Reigning Women season. We are especially delighted to have come together as part of our International Women’s Day celebrations to mark gender equality. Brighton Women’s Centre is very dependent on the good will and generosity of our local community and we are delighted that visitors to TOM have supported us in this way.'The ‘Reigning Women’ season at The Old Market ran throughout February and March, and featured performers including Rachel Parris, Dolly Alderton, Kiri Pritchard-McLean, The Hiccup Project, Jessie Cave, Koko Brown and Rosy Carrick. We're delighted to hear that the season will return in Spring 2020.

As we approach the end of the year, many thoughts are already turning to Brighton Fringe. The first big announcement of the Fringe is that our friends from the Otherplace team are relocating their hugely popular venue The Warren to Victoria Gardens for 2019.Artistic director Nicola Haydn says, ‘We’re really pleased to have inched closer to the heart of the city. Victoria Gardens offers more space for us to play with and we have exciting plans in the pipeline that will make The Warren 2019 even bigger, better and more exciting for our audiences. We’re looking forward to welcoming old friends and new faces as we embark on a new chapter.’The move is not slowing them down, as the first shows in their 2019 programme will go on sale on 14th December 2018 and their brochure will be out as usual next March.We’re really excited to see how The Warren bring their magic to the new venue: bring on Brighton Fringe 2019!

Kinky Boots, the winner of every major Best Musical award, today celebrates its 1000th performance and has now received its 1,000,000th customer in the West End. The production is also pleased to announce the opening of a new booking period, with tickets now available until Saturday 30 June 2018.Kinky Boots at the Adelphi Theatre has become a favourite with UK theatregoers having won three Olivier Awards for Best New Musical, Best Costume Design and Best Actor in a Musical for Matt Henry who previously played Lola. Kinky Boots also won the London Evening Standard BBC Radio 2 Audience Award for Best Musical as well as three WhatsOnStage Awards for Best New Musical, Best Actor in a Musical and Best Choreography.With a book by Broadway legend and four-time Tony® Award-winner Harvey Fierstein (La Cage aux Folles), and songs by Grammy® and Tony® winning pop icon Cyndi Lauper, this joyous musical celebration is about the friendships we discover, and the belief that you can change the world when you change your mind.

Visit Westminster Abbey this half term and celebrate the Commonwealth during a week of special events for families.Join the Abbey and the Royal Commonwealth Society to explore art and culture from across this unique partnership of 52 countries, which together represent a third of the world’s people.Activities for children aged 3 - 13 start on Monday 12th February and culminate with a special Family Day on Friday 16th February. All activities are included with entry to the Abbey.

Sweet Werks (formerly the Brighton Media Centre) and Sweet @ The Wellie (The Duke of Wellington pub near Brighton Station) join Sweet Dukebox and Sweet St Andrews to bring a total of five spaces for the 2018 Brighton Fringe.Whilst Sweet’s output has usually been of the highest order, they’ve lacked the hub status of the Warren or Spiegeltent in recent years so it would make sense to aim for a venue that can act as a multi-faceted hub. Multi-space venues are the way forward (particularly if you can include a bar) and Sweet Werks provides 2 spaces, along with a café/bar & outdoor garden. As The Werks already has an established venue for performing arts, along with a regular audience, this could be smart move for Sweet. Sweet already host a year long venue, Sweet Dukebox at the Southern Belle pub (formerly the Iron Duke Pub), and Sweet @ The Wellie will join as a year long venue. With plenty of small theatre companies and creative talent, Brighton has been crying out for long-term smaller venues outside of Brighton Fringe and another venue running under Sweet management will be welcome. According to Sweet, it should be up-and-running in time for the excellent Hove Grown festival in March.Credit has to go to the Sweet team for building a successful brand in Brighton. By supporting local artists and companies, they’ve created an enviable reputation of helping develop performing arts in Brighton alongside hosting festivals such as Hove Grown & Brighton HorrorFest and being a major player at Brighton Fringe. It will be interesting what the next few years bring, and what routes Sweet will take to grow further. 

Former Roxy Music frontman Bryan Ferry heads to the London Palladium for one night only in May 2018.Look up the word 'style' in the dictionary and you'll find the definition 'Bryan Ferry'.Upbeat and punky in the 70s, heartfelt and poppy in the 80s, his smooth and distinctive vocal sound made Roxy Music a worldwide success.Now solo, Ferry's flair for touching the romantic in everyone (now replete with jazz-tinged influences) is as powerful as ever.Tickets from £36.50

The Rolls-Royce of English comedies, Oscar Wilde’s An Ideal Husband, brings an act of political sin into the heart of the English home.An ambitious government minister, Sir Robert Chiltern’s smooth ascent to the top seems assured. Until Mrs Cheveley appears in London with damning proof of his previous financial chicanery.Classic Spring is a new theatre company, formed by Dominic Dromgoole (former Artistic Director of Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre) to celebrate the bold and ground breaking work of proscenium playwrights in the architecture for which they wrote.‘Launched with a flourish’ (The Sunday Times), Classic Spring’s Oscar Wilde Season promises to cast new light on Wilde’s ground-breaking work, showing how more than a century on, he still strikes to the heart of social scandal.

The world’s longest running American musical, the multi award-winning Chicago, returns to London’s West End after a 5½ year absence. Following a successful UK and international tour, Chicago will be transferring into London, with performances at the Phoenix Theatre from Monday 26 March 2018. Tickets will go on sale at 10.00am tomorrow, Wednesday 20th December 2017.Barry Weissler, who, along with his wife Fran, has produced the show in New York, London and around the world, said, "This year we celebrated the production's 21st Anniversary and had our most successful year to date. Chicago is as relevant and timely as the day we opened. After spending the last several years touring throughout the UK it feels like we never really left, but we are thrilled to bring the Razzle Dazzle back to the West End.”Casting for Chicago at the Phoenix Theatre is to be announced. Chicago originally ran in London for 15 years, making it the West End’s longest running revival. It first opened at the Adelphi Theatre on 18 November 1997 to rave reviews and immediately became a sell-out hit. Chicago won the 1998 Laurence Olivier Award for 'Outstanding Musical Production' as well as the 1998 Critics Circle Drama Award for 'Best Musical'. Chicago transferred from the Adelphi Theatre to the Cambridge Theatre in April 2006, where it ran for five years until 27th August 2011. The show then opened at the Garrick Theatre on 7th November 2011, where it ran until 1st September 2012. Since it opened in New York in 1996, Chicago has played in 36 countries worldwide, and been performed in English, Dutch, German, Swedish, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, Italian, French, Danish, Japanese and Korean. It has grossed over $1.5 billion worldwide and has played over 30,000 performances worldwide, with an estimated 31 million people around the world having seen Chicago.Chicago continues to play on Broadway, where it recently celebrated its 21st birthday, and around the world in multiple languages. Chicago, which is based on the play by Maurine Dallas Watkins, has a book by Fred Ebb and Bob Fosse, music by John Kander and lyrics by Fred Ebb.The 1996 Broadway revival of Chicago was choreographed by Ann Reinking in the style of Bob Fosse, directed by Walter Bobbie, and produced by Barry and Fran Weissler. 

All this week we've got some fantastic offers on your favourite West End shows. Check back daily for the latest offers.https://broadwaybaby.entstix.com/london-theatre/bl...

Tipped to be London’s theatrical event of 2018, the multi-award winning and critically acclaimed Lincoln Center Theater’s production of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s The King And I comes to London's iconic Palladium in Spring 2018.Starring the original Broadway stars; reprising her Tony Award-winning performance, Kelli O’Hara and Tony and Oscar nominee Ken Watanabe. Fresh from London's critical smash hit production of Oslo, director Bartlett Sher reunites the original creative team of Catherine Zuber (Tony Award winner for Best Costume), set designer Michael Yeargan, lighting designer Donald Holder, sound designer Scott Lehrer and choreography by Christopher Gattelli based on the original choreography by Jerome Robbins. Set in 1860’s Bangkok, the musical tells the story of the unconventional and tempestuous relationship that develops between the King of Siam and Anna, a British schoolteacher whom the modernist King, in an imperialistic world, brings to Siam to teach his many wives and children. With a superior score of treasured songs including; Whistle a Happy Tune, Getting to Know You and Shall We Dance, and featuring a company of over 50 world-class performers, The King and I is a testament to the lavish heritage of gloriously romantic musical theatre. The greatest musical from the golden age of theatre. A once in a life time opportunity – limited engagement booking until 4 August 2018.

The debut novel from McFly star and bestselling children's author Tom Fletcher The Christmasaurus comes to the London stage for a special Christmas spectacular in December. Starring Tom Fletcher, Harry Judd, Matt Willis, Giovanna Fletcher and Carrie Hope Fletcher. Featuring brand new songs from the imagination of Tom Fletcher.The show will take place at the Eventim Apollo London on Friday December 22nd 2017, featuring music, animation, magic and some very special guests (to be announced). This is a show for all the family and especially for children who believe in Santa Claus and are on the nice list! Tom Fletcher will be joined on stage by the biggest star in the world; Santa Claus, accompanied by his singing and dancing Elves and of course, The Christmasaurus! Tom has written new original songs for The Christmasaurus Live which makes him the first ever bestselling author to bring theirbook to life through music. Based on the novel of the same name, The Christmasaurus is set on Christmas Eve, a story about the magical adventures of a boy named William Trundle and a most unusual dinosaur called the Christmasaurus. There are sleigh bells and singing elves, Santa Claus and flying reindeer, music magic. It’s a tale about adventure, family, friendship and discovering that the impossible might just be possible…

Barry Humphries is our masterfully seasoned emcee and cabaret diva Meow Meow our chanteuse in this risqué, sophisticated and seductive tribute to the jazz-infused music of the Weimar Republic.Some describe it as cabaret’s golden age: the remarkable period in 1920s and 30s’ Berlin when hedonistic partying and social revolution turned nightclubs into hotbeds of decadent entertainment. Reawakening that spirit in this revelatory concert, our hosts acquaint us with the oft-forgotten composers of the time, many Jewish, whose art would soon be condemned as ‘degenerate’ by the Nazis, dancing as it did on the edge of a precipice.  Best known as Dame Edna Everage, Humphries sets aside his alter ego to share his personal passion for a period that has long fascinated him, his witty anecdotes and irreverent asides providing interludes to a treasure trove of songs and instrumentals. With Meow Meow giving us Kurt Weill standards alongside rarities from Friedrich Hollaender, Ernst Krenek and Erwin Schulhoff, both world-renowned Australian artists are accompanied live onstage by London’s trailblazing Aurora Orchestra.

Platinum selling music icon Ronan Keating leads a star-studded line-up - for one sensational night only - of songs, laughter and variety, at the Phoenix Theatre on 19 November at 7:30pm, for the Mane Chance West End Charity Gala Spectacular.  Offer details:Save up to 72% - Price Band A,B,C & D Tickets: Now £18.00 Save 65% - Premium Tickets: Was £85.00 Now £30.00 Valid on Sunday 19 November 2017.

Booking for Matilda has been extended until 19th February 2019.Matilda The Musical is the multi-award winning musical from the Royal Shakespeare Company, inspired by the beloved book by the incomparable Roald Dahl. With book by Dennis Kelly and original songs by Tim Minchin, Matilda The Musical is the story of an extraordinary little girl who, armed with a vivid imagination and a sharp mind, dares to take a stand and change her own destiny. Winner of over 85 international awards, including 16 for Best Musical, Matilda continues to delight audiences of all ages and will embark on its first UK & Ireland Tour in March 2018.

There’s Murder in the West End this Halloween as an ancient curse turns cast members of London’s leading shows into method-acting murderers! The curtain has fallen on unsuspecting cast, crew and front of house, meeting their maker in ghoulish fashion. Be it strangled by a lasso, bumped off by a dustbin lid or smothered by a chocolate gateaux..Escaping through the stage door, the cursed cast celebrate by throwing the most theatrical, horror fuelled post-show party of all time at their favourite late night haunt, The Phoenix Artist Club. Originally the haunted rehearsal rooms of the Phoenix Theatre, the bar’s ghosts and ghouls leak delectable party details, with rumours of potion cocktail-making and hauntingly good performances from West End stars. Wicked tricks, tainted treats and a halloween disco with excessive special effects have also been whispered backstage and in the foyers.But be quick, because the guest list is close to bursting! Only limited spaces remain. Those who dare to attend must follow the dress code, arriving as their favourite West End character, alive or dead. Those that don’t make a spectre of themselves will fall victim to the ‘ usher’s curse’ and be doomed to sell programmes and sweets ’til the end of time.Murder in the West End is running from 27th to 29th of October from 10:30pm 'til late.Tickets are now on sale via: https://murderinthewestend.eventbrite.co.uk

Tickets go on sale at 12pm today for the world premiere of TINA - The Tina Turner Musical, which opens at London's Aldwych next Spring.From humble beginnings in Nutbush, Tennessee, to her transformation into the global Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll, Tina Turner didn’t just break the rules, she rewrote them. This new stage musical, presented in association with Tina Turner herself, reveals the untold story of a woman who dared to defy the bounds of her age, gender and race.One of the world’s best-selling artists of all time, Tina Turner has won 11 Grammy Awards and her live shows have been seen by millions, with more concert tickets sold than any other solo performer in music history. Featuring her much loved songs, TINA - The Tina Turner Musical is written by Olivier Award-winning playwright Katori Hall and directed by the internationally acclaimed Phyllida Lloyd.Book from 12pm today (22nd September) at http://tickets.broadwaybaby.com/tickets/tina-the-...

Sondheim’s musical comes to the West End starring Rosalie Craig and Patti LuPone at the Gielgud Theatre for a strictly limited season next year, and you can get your hand on tickets in our 48-hour priority sale from 3pm today.Marianne Elliott directs Company, Stephen Sondheim and George Furth’s musical about life, love and marriage. Elliott & Harper Productions present this iconic musical comedy with the lead role of “Bobby” re-imagined for the first time in the West End as a woman.At Bobbi’s 35th birthday party all her friends are wondering why isn’t she married? Why can’t she find the right partner? Why doesn't she settle down and have a family? One thing is for certain; you will fall in love with Company.Starring Rosalie Craig as Bobbi and Tony and Olivier award-winner Patti LuPone as Joanne, this musical masterpiece opens in September 2018 at the Gielgud Theatre. Tickets will be available at http://tickets.broadwaybaby.com/tickets/company from 3pm today (22nd September).

Rehearsal photos released of Julian Clary and James Nelson-Joyce in the world première of the two-handed black comedy, Le Grand Mort.Le Grand Mort was written specially for Julian Clary by four-time Olivier Award nominated writer Stephen Clark (Martin Guerre, Zorro, Love Story, and the play Stripped, which won him a Stephen Jefferson Award), who died at the age of 55 last October. Directed by Christopher Renshaw, Le Grand Mort will première at Trafalgar Studios from Wednesday 20 September - Saturday 28 October In his super stylish, sterilely beautiful Notting Hill kitchen, Michael is preparing dinner for two. As he meticulously cuts the vegetables with almost a surgeon’s precision, he talks, with knife-like wit, about cases in history where the human body has continued to prove useful even after death. As he slices and chops, one wonders who is coming for dinner and what the main course might be. When Tim, his young guest arrives, they engage in a series of funny, thrilling but searingly dangerous mind games, as they try to unravel the reasons why they are both there. Only when the games turn deadly do they catch a glimpse of the sadness and loss within each of them, that enables them to at least begin to connect with the truth, using whatever damaged shreds of humanity they still have left. The creative team is: Director Christopher Renshaw. Production Designer Justin Nardella. Lighting Designer Jamie Platt. Sound Designer Edward Lewis. Producer & Casting Director Danielle Tarento.More details and book tickets here: http://broadwaybaby.com/shows/le-grand-mort/72375...

The second Bobby of EdFringe 2017 has been scooped by Middle Child for All We Ever Wanted Was Everything. Broadway Baby's Editor, Bennett Bonci surprised the company after their show yesterday to present the trophy.It’s weird to be so excited about a show that preaches so adamantly against the concept of aspiration. But All We Ever Wanted Was Everything has what Italia Conti’s production of The Laramie Project, which won this year’s first Bobby, has: momentum. In this case, that refers to the feeling that the beginning of the show inevitably leads to its end, with every step along the way a pit stop necessary to reaching our final destination. In AWEWWE (a useful abbreviation for a verbose title), the momentum starts with the near constant presence of music. Utilised correctly, music can create the emotion to accompany storytelling, and here it is used perfectly. AWEWWE starts with music, provided by the onstage band. As the lead singer/MC starts to spin his tale, the band seamlessly transforms into the acting troupe. Generically, the songs change as the story progresses from 1987 to 2017, but are connected by its root in British music and its rebellious attitude.Beneath the chords is a story of parallel lives, missed opportunities and dissatisfaction. Two children are born on the same day in Hull. One is rich, one is poor, both will endure hardship, and neither is aware of the asteroid hurtling towards earth. They dream big, but when unable to realise those dreams, their personal relationships and self-esteem suffer. They remain obsessed with the future, unaware that there won’t be one, as the asteroid draws closer. At the end, the music finally stops. All that’s left is the words of the MC, whose cool and collected demeanor is now replaced with an impassioned rage. “Live your life!” he exclaims. AWEWWE is idealistic; it’s just a different type of idealism. And those ideas are presented through a show that blurs the line between theatre and musical theatre in a way that is entirely its own. The innovation and flawless execution are more than just effective; this show is exciting in its affirmation of the endless possibilities of Fringe theatre. And so I am ecstatic to announce that All We Ever Wanted Was Everything is the winner of a 2017 Bobby Award.

West End and Broadway sensation Rachel Tucker makes her debut at this year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe in two intimate concerts at the Pleasance. Fresh from her first UK Tour, Rachel brings her fabulous voice and charm to Scotland for the first time in this intimate evening packed with her favourite songs. Expect an unforgettable night from one of the UK’s leading entertainers as never before.Rachel is best known to theatre fans for playing the lead role of Elphaba in hit musical Wicked, a role she played longer than any other actress, winning huge critical acclaim including the 2011 Whatsonstage.com Award for ‘Best Takeover in a Role’. After playing over 900 performances in London’s West End, Rachel transferred to Broadway to reprise the role at the Gershwin Theatre winning the Broadway.com Audience award for ‘Best Female Replacement’. In 2016, Rachel returned to the West End production to play the lead as part of the special 10th Anniversary cast.Rachel has just been awarded a fellowship from the Royal Academy of Music, where she originally trained. Since first coming to the public’s eye on Andrew Lloyd Webber’s BBC show I’d Do Anything, she has performed in numerous musicals and plays including We Will Rock You (Dominion), Communicated Doors (Menier Chocolate Factory) and a leading role alongside Michael Esper and Jimmy Nail in Sting’s musical The Last Ship (Broadway). She recently performed in Two (Bridge House Theatre) where she is co-Artistic Director and in Songs and Solidarity, a star-studded concert at Trafalgar Studios in aid of those affected by the Grenfell Tower fire. On Television she has sung on BBC Last Night of the Proms, ITV’s Dancing on Ice, West End Live, The Olivier Awards and BBC Children in NeedThese one-off intimate concerts provide a rare chance to see Rachel up close and personal and give fans the opportunity for a unique evening with the acclaimed singer and actress. Directed by husband Guy Retallack, the award winning actress and singer takes the stage with Kris Rawlinson at the pianoFollowing her sell-out first solo tour, Rachel Tucker: Live in Concert, Rachel received countless requests to bring the tour to Scotland. She’s delighted to come to Edinburgh saying ‘we’ve been trying for months to be able to get to Scotland. I’m absolutely thrilled to be performing two concerts at the world famous Edinburgh Fringe and it’s going to be an unforgettable evening.’Rachel Tucker: Unplugged is produced by 21 theatre in association with Climar productions. 21 theatre has, over the past 3 years, become one of leading producers of music at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. From producing a single show in 2014, 21 theatre is now producing or co-producing six shows at this year’s festival.

Let Me Go is a feature film based on the true life of Helga Schneider (Juliet Stevenson) - whose mother was a Nazi war criminal. The film deals with intergenerational trauma, mother-daughter relationships, and the revelation of truth. Broadway Baby’s James T. Harding met the writer-director Polly Steele after the European premiere in Edinburgh to talk about adding fictional characters to real-life stories, the influence of therapeutic techniques on her work, and women in film.Although the central story of Let Me Go is adapted from Helga Schneider’s memoire of the same name, Polly Steele’s film version gives Helga a totally fictional daughter (Jodhi May) and granddaughter (Lucy Boynton)—with the blessing of Helga Schneider, of course, who has a son but no daughters in real life.The granddaughter, Emily, has a romantic fling with an older man (Stanley Weber) - a frivolous story compared to the others.‘A lot of people have said to me, why have you put Emily in the story? Three is a better number than four. Why four generations? Three would be simpler, more linear, less paraphernalia round the edges,’ says Steele. ‘But I was absolutely determined to keep Emily in the story because she is light and hope at the end of the trauma. She is a bit frivolous because she's twenty and she didn't live through the War.This optimism comes from time Steele spent away from the film industry training as a NLP therapist and life coach, and then working with young people aged 18-24. ‘Eventually a younger generation comes along and can be free of that guilt and shame and whatever else.’Steele’s time as a therapist influenced her directing process also, inspiring her to get the actresses together to workshop the story of the film using Family Constellations Therapy. ‘Basically you work in a group and other people partake in your story as pawns. They can represent quite big topics: somebody might be the War, somebody the guilt you feel towards your mother.’ The objective distance this lends gives you a ‘lightbulb moment’ where you see the story outside yourself.‘It was established by Bert Hellinger, a German man, after the second World War to try and help both sides to rid themselves of guilt and shame. It felt very relevant to Let Me Go.Traudi (Karin Bertling), the now-aged Nazi concentration camp guard, ‘could be perceived as an utterly monstrous, purely evil character. In this workshop, we brought in her parents. Suddenly, you understand where she's come from.’ After the First World War many Germans were literally starving. ‘You get this emotionally driven perspective on history.’Actors Jodhi May and Juliet Stevenson ‘were very sceptical for the first hour or so, but they will tell you they had an extraordinary day.‘Juliet talks about how in that moment she suddenly had empathy for this character. In a second, it drops into your body. You feel it all over. It gives you a depth of understanding, on a cellular level.Steele’s passion for Helga Schneider’s story was similarly cellular. ‘We unconsciously pick up stories that are relevant to us and that we need to mirror ourselves in some way. There was a story of abandonment in my family - that’s why I'd picked it up’ initially.The main characters of Let Me Go are all women, a politically driven choice ‘in an industry where there are not that many stories about women being told centre stage.’‘For many years, I thought the best thing I could do is just get on with my work. I left the industry for a while because I was frustrated, I didn't seem to be able to get the stories out there that I wanted to tell. I didn't want to become bitter and twisted.’Working outside the film industry for a while was hugely refreshing, giving Steele more time to work on her own writing and video art. Nonetheless, the script for Let Me Go ended up sitting in a filing cabinet for two years.But then Steele went to a Directors UK event announcing new statistics about women in film and television. ‘I was so shocked by the figures. I was in a room of 250 other women and I realised: I'm not on my own. This is a systemic problem. It's not just me.’‘It made me feel a lot better, actually, and made me feel impassioned to come back and carry on. I knew’ Let Me Go ‘was worth telling, so I just went and found people who believed in it’ to raise the production costs.Steele is currently working with Irish writer Niall Williams on an adaptation of his novel Four Letters of Love. It’s ‘an utterly beautify love story, and he's the most exquisite writer,’ she says, her enthusiasm attesting to the fact that, now revitalised, her passion for filmmaking is going nowhere.

Another stellar year of entertainment at Brighton Fringe has once again made choosing the winner of the coveted Broadway Bobby incredibly difficult. From monologues to improv, there was a fantastic range of five-star performances to choose from, proving beyond any doubt that Brighton Fringe is a major international hub for new talent and quality performances.Our eventual winner was described by our reviewer as "a delightful array of wonderful, wacky and original character sketches interjected with honest, eye-watering monologues" and we were thoroughly impressed by their "witty impersonations and sharp-tongued one liners". A&E Comedy's Enter the Dragons provided a hilarious and unique take on the complexities of aging, with star performances from Emma Edwards and Abigail Dooley transforming the ridiculous into the sublime. In a year when we all need a little more to smile about, their playful attitude saw sold-out shows filled to the brim with audience laughter. A well deserved win for a show that brought unrelenting positivity and fun to the Fringe, without ever shying away from sensitive topics or sacrificing their sincerity.

May Bank Holiday weekend can only mean one thing; Brighton Fringe is almost upon us. With a plethora of shows to see, let Broadway Baby help plan your opening weekend from Thursday 4 until Sunday 7 May, and you won’t go wrong.Thursday 4 MayWith the star attraction being the fireworks display at St Peter’s Church, the evening is best spent at The Warren. 10 Steps To Happiness (18:30, Warren Studio 3) from Brighton based company Happenings is sold out on this night but catch them again 22-24 May. So get another drink and wait for Pick of the Fringe Launch Night Special (19:30, Warren Main House) - likely to have a strong opening night to kick-start their run. After that make your way to the Brighton Fringe Launch Night Fireworks (Viewing Area) where the fireworks start at 21:45.Friday 6 MayAfter an evening at The Warren, why not spend some time at two of the other big-hitters from Brighton Fringe, Sweet & The Rialto?Network Diagnostics (14:30, Sweet Dukebox) is part of Brighton Fringe Window programme, which supports & develops emerging artists. Next is Passpawt(16:00, Sweet Dukebox), a potential delight about the perils of cat ownership and featured on our Top 10 Hidden Gems. Finish the afternoon with Get Fit With Bruce Willis(17:30, Sweet Dukebox) where an ageing Jimmy Somerville impersonator sells his soul to the devil.After dinner, see another from our Top 10 Hidden Gems, Stones (19:30, The Rialto) from writer Katy Matthews. To close off the evening, You Give Me Fever, the Phaedra Cabaret(23:00, Broadway Lounge) with actress and singer Pippa Winslow (The Sound of Music, The Phantom of the Opera), it won’t disappoint.Saturday 6 MayCoffee, croissants and children’s shows. A good start to Saturday is Dr Zeiffal, Dr Zeigal and the Hippo That Can Never be Caught! (10:00, The Warren:Studio 2) the hugely popular family comedy appearing for its 2nd year at Brighton Fringe. Fringe City opens at 13:00 and opening weekend is usually manic. A mini version of Edinburgh’s Royal Mile and, unlike Edinburgh, locals make a beeline for it. For the afternoon, They Built It. No One Came. (14:30, The Warren: Studio 2) Fledgling Theatre Company, returns after much success at Edinburgh Fringe. Then, head to Komedia for a night of Musical Bingo (Komedia, 20:30) – it’s as entertaining as it sounds.Griffin and Jones have two shows at the fringe this year, and we’ve picked Talking to the Dead (22:10, Sweet Dukebox) for a spot of late night entertainment. We’ve had our eye on these guys for a while, and they promise to live up to expectation.Sunday 7 MayThe last day of the opening weekend, you deserve a drink! Deep in The Heart of Me (13:00, Sweet Waterfront 2) is the pick of the afternoon. Described as a Shirley Valentine for the 21st Century, this show returns to Brighton Fringe. Yuriko Kotani (20:00, The Warren: Studio 3) has been excellent in short slots so we are excited to see what she brings to a full set. Another that stands out includes Rap Guide to Consciousness (21:30, The Warren: Studio 2). Baba Brinkman has several other hit shows under his belt and never fails to deliver.

Greenwich Theatre is set to have an unprecedented profile at this year’s Brighton Fringe, with no less than eight productions heading for The Warren either co-produced or supported by the South London venue.Having established a reputation as one of the country’s leading supporters of emerging theatre, offering up to 15 companies at a time anything from mentoring and company development to rehearsal space and marketing support, the theatre has championed the Brighton Fringe and the opportunities it brings to its many supported companies. This year, The Warren on York Place will host Greenwich-supported productions by CultureClash Theatre, Paper Tiger Productions, Familia de la Noche, The Human Zoo Theatre Company, White Slate Theatre Company, Scratchworks Theatre and Witt ‘n’ Camp.The line-up begins with Paper Tiger Productions’ Octopus by Afsaneh Gray, playing on 9, 10 & 12 May. Co-produced by Greenwich Theatre and supported by Arts Council England, Octopus is an anarchic new comedy about Britishness and asks whether anybody knows what it actually is. Staged against the backdrop of Brexit, the refugee crisis and fears about terrorism, and with a healthy dose of laugh-out-loud comedy, Octopus is set in a dystopian world of bureaucratic box ticking and absurd interviews.Next up, from 10-14 May, is Kent-based White Slate Theatre with Re:Production. Developed and rehearsed at Greenwich Theatre and the Gulbenkian Theatre in Canterbury, White Slate Theatre’s new show follows a scientist on the cusp of a new IVF discovery who is faced with difficult decisions about her own fertility. Through this intimate story, the award-winning company explores the choices and options women have in contemporary society when weighing up careers, motherhood, and where self-worth is found. From 11-14 May, all-female ensemble Scratchworks Theatre Company presents their Great Train Robbery. In the early hours of Thursday 8th August 1963, the heist of the century is under way. Signals are scrambled, phone lines cut and millions of pounds of cash – stolen. Five days later the first clues are found, the gang is busted and the rest is history. But what about the ones that got away? Join the four forgotten females as they leave behind their kitchen-sink lives and embark on a madcap adventure of mischief and mayhem. Using a raucous combination of physical theatre, live music and clowning, Scratchworks will unfold the untold tale of the unlikely female four.The first of two productions by The Human Zoo Theatre Company comes next when the magical tale of The Girl Who Fell In Love With The Moon plays from 12-14 May. Audiences around the country have already fallen in love with this Tim Burton style patchwork of puppetry, poetry, movement and live music stitched together with The Human Zoo’s explosive visual imagination.The acclaimed cabaret duo Witt ‘n’ Camp bring their outrageous musical cabaret to the Warren from 14-16 May. Featuring hip Opera stars Wittundra & Deborah, the battery hens with big dreams Bridget & Braun and much more, Charlie Howitt and Holly Campbell’s acclaimed comedy double act was last seen onstage with James McAvoy at the Wifi4Refugees Fundraiser and at The Giants Gala hosted by David Schwimmer.From 19-21 May, CultureClash Theatre’s Under My Thumb, co-produced by Greenwich Theatre and directed by the venue’s artistic director James Haddrell, is a dark, dystopian tale of women imprisoned for crimes against society, and the impact of a new inmate who may not be all that she seems. Shortlisted for the inaugural RED Women’s Theatre Award, Cassiah Joski-Jethi’s acclaimed drama appears at The Warren before transferring first to the Incoming Festival in London and then to Assembly Roxy at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.The Human Zoo Theatre Company returns from 23-25 May with their second show, the hugely ambitious Giant. The company’s biggest show to date, Giant is a glimpse into the life of 22 year old Tommy and his family, performed by a group of horribly honest clowns. They’ve all learnt to ignore the strange things that nan says over dinner, and the bizarre rumblings coming from the attic, but could Tommy’s nan know more than meets the eye?The programme comes to an end with Familia de la Noche’s The Greatest Liar In All The World, playing from 30 May-4 June. Familia de la Noche is one of Greenwich Theatre’s newest supported companies. A mixture of actors, dancers, puppeteers, clowns and musicians, they make theatre that is hilarious, heartbreaking and raucously entertaining. The Greatest Liar In All The World is the company’s darkly comic take on Pinocchio, based around a broken down, two-bit mentalist act who has reached the end of his tether and threatens to end it all. His company of glamorous and not so glamorous assistants manage to distract him from his imminent demise and convince him to tell the story of his infamous origins.James Haddrell, artistic director of Greenwich Theatre, said “the Brighton Fringe is one of the most significant showcase opportunities for emerging theatre companies in this country, and we are delighted to be able to work with so many of the UK’s most exciting companies for this year’s festival. Audiences can expect a huge range of work from these seven companies, from comedy hip-hop opera to dark new writing and theatrical clowning, but they are all high quality shows that we hope people will enjoy watching as much as we have enjoyed supporting.”

Karen and Katy Koren are thrilled to announce that Gilded Balloon will expand into the heart of Edinburgh’s New Town, as they embark upon an exciting new partnership with the Rose Theatre. This Fringe, Gilded Balloon at Rose Theatre will open its doors to present an eclectic programme of over 40 productions, from acclaimed musical theatre, through drama, comedy and cabaret, to Edinburgh’s very own panto kings and Scottish-American star of screen, stage, and radio – Craig Ferguson.Karen Karen, Artistic Director of Gilded Balloon said “Gilded Balloon is looking forward to working with Peter Schaufuss and the extraordinary Rose Theatre during the 70th year of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. We are all incredibly excited to be bringing the Fringe to the West End, expanding into a brand-new home that’s a stone’s throw away from the Book Festival. I first worked with Craig Ferguson in 1985, and I am so pleased that he is headlining our programme at the Rose Theatre. We can’t wait to welcome him – and his American audience! – to the 70th year of the Fringe”Returning to the Fringe for the first time in 24 years, cherished Scot Craig Ferguson will headline the inaugural Gilded Balloon at Rose Theatre programme with The Craig Ferguson Show. Boasting celebrity guests, discussions on (and dissections of) current events, and your favourite acts from across the full festival, each edition of The Craig Ferguson Show will also be broadcast LIVE to the US on Sirius XM Satellite Radio.Ferguson explained “I finally made enough money in America so I can afford to work for Karen again. As long it’s only two weeks and she lets me sell snacks at intermission”The Rose Theatre was founded by esteemed ballet dancer and director Peter Schaufuss. The completed venue will bring four brand-new, mid-scale theatre spaces to Edinburgh’s city centre, with its Main Theatre space housing 300 seats. Of the partnership with Gilded Balloon, Peter said:“I am delighted with this development at Rose Theatre Edinburgh and am looking forward to developing a successful partnership with Gilded Balloon”To mark the 70th year of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Gilded Balloon will house more than 170 shows across three venues: Gilded Balloon Teviot, Gilded Balloon at the Museum, and Gilded Balloon at Rose Theatre.The full programme, including The Craig Ferguson Show, will go on sale May 11th 2017.

With Easter on the horizon it’s time to bring attention to Brighton Fringe with a look at some shows that are likely to sell out. Book early – you have been warned. Lemons, Lemons, Lemons, Lemons, Lemons What would happen if the Government introduced a daily limit of 140 words per person? If you’ve not yet had the chance to see the excellent Lemons, Lemons, Lemons, Lemons, Lemons (read our EdFringe review here) then take the opportunity at the Marlborough Theatre. Only 20-21 May. The Accidental Adventures of Sherlock Holmes Tobacco Tea Company regularly fill 200+ seats a day in Edinburgh and bring their centrepiece show to The Warren: Studio 2. A good, solid hour of entertainment that will suit families over half-term. 1-4 June. Hurricane Michael Fresh from a four star review, Hurricane Michael (featuring Michael Fish), heads to The Warren: Studio 3 for 6 nights. This ‘blast of a production’ is in a limited capacity theatre so expect tickets to be snapped up. 18-21 May and 3-4 June. Open Sky present Scorched Awards have piled up in the past for Open Sky & Turtle Key Arts – so the Rialto will be delighted to host them. Scorched, a new piece from Open Sky is inspired by true WW2 stories and their blend of physical theatre with compelling storyline is sure to garner rave reviews. 9-13 May. Rap Guide to Consciousness Having once seen Baba Brinkman purely by accident when turning right instead of left in an Edinburgh Festival Fringe venue, I sat entranced as the literary master rapped about the Canterbury Tales, Gilgamesh and much more. Do yourself a favour, turn right as well and pick up tickets for this astonishing artist. 7-11 May (not 10). Trainspotting Sweet Venues have expanded to the King Alfred centre in Hove to bring this acclaimed show to Brighton Fringe. It’s a brutal recreation of the story set to a blistering 90s soundtrack. "Shocked, and I wrote the f*cking thing!" was Irvine Welsh’s reaction when he saw it in Edinburgh. 16-21 May. Urinetown This musical that started life at FringeNYC back in 2004 had a long life off-broadway but never quite replicated its success in the UK. Nevertheless, it’s an excellent production that’s worth seeing when possible. At Brighton Little Theatre from 13-20 May. Revan and Fennell: Fan Club When Broadway Baby reviewed the comedic duo back in 2015, they scored a coveted 5 stars (here).The new French & Saunders? Our reviewer thought they might be. Revan and Fennell are just one highlight from a strong comedy line-up at Komedia. 28 May only. Shit-Faced Showtime/Shakespeare Still going strong, or at least managing to make it through their hangovers each morning, Shit-Faced will be high on ‘must-see’ lists. Perfect for a fringe audience. 14-29 May. The Girl From Mars When an alien space-ship lands behind a rural pub… you might struggle to follow the rest of the plot. Last year had aliens, a dominatrix, robots, Saffron from Republica suddenly appearing on stage?! 90s nostalgia at its finest and a live band playing plenty of Britpop classics. Jaw-dropping! 4 June only.

Are you excited about Brighton Fringe yet? We are! And with 988 Brighton Fringe shows and events now listed on Broadway Baby you've found the right place for the best coverage of the festival.Our team will be across the city seeking out the best this year's Fringe has to offer - from the tiny pop-up venues in a backroom to the sprawling campus multi-venues with their own shopping arcades. And if you want to be part of the action and think you have what it takes to review some of the most thrilling work on the planet, get in touch. Take a look at our recruitment page for more details.In the meantime, have a browse through the Brighton Fringe 2017 listings and start planning your May.

Celebrated actor, Ian Lindsay (Men Behaving Badly, Benidorm) directs the world première of his play Chinese Whispers at the Greenwich Theatre from July 13th-23rd.Chinese Whispers is based on the bizarre life of Sir Edmund Backhouse, a confidence trickster of the Victorian age who pulled off audacious swindles against entire nations. Linday’s script is a highly-comic look at the notorious exploits of a man who claimed to have salacious affairs with everyone from Oscar Wilde to the Empress Dowager Cixi of China. Amongst his stings, Backhouse tricked the British Government over an arms deal, John Brown’s Shipyard over a large quantity of battleships and the American Banknote Company regarding an order for printing one hundred million banknotes.Co-author Jeremy Cantwell, scholar and ex-BBC librarian, had access to the Bodleian Library in Oxford in order to research the story. Between 1913 and 1923 the Bodleian was in receipt of over eight tons of Chinese manuscripts from Sir Edmund in an attempt by him to receive a professorship in return, however it is widely believed the documents were forgeries by Backhouse, much like the rest of his fantastic life.Lindsay explained “A clever fraudster and fantasist is generally a more appealing character in drama than some noble, upright well-meaning gentleman. I read a biography of Edmund Backhouse and was fascinated by his story; the more so when I discovered the wicked man was an ancestor of mine – he had never been mentioned in the family.”Best known for his appearances in Men Behaving Badly as George, Ian Lindsay has had a career on stage and screen stretching back five decades. He has played roles in TV favourites such as Z Cars, Boon, Forever Green, Casualty, Peak Practice, EastEnders, Coronation Street, Benidorm and many more. On the big screen Ian appeared in Mike Bassett: England Manager, The Tall Guy and Little Dorrit. He is the best selling author of How to Kill a Yob, and this is his second play following the Arts Council award-winning Lasagne Verdi.Jeremy Cantwell originally trained as a Legal Executive, but left the profession to pursue a career in TV media. He spent 26 years at the BBC, latterly in managerial and business development capacities for the BBC’s commercial arm, BBC Worldwide.Chinese Whispers runs in the main house of Greenwich Theatre from 13th – 23rd July, with press night on 14thJuly. Casting for Chinese Whispers will be announced shortly. Authors Ian Lindsay and Jeremy Cantwell are both local residents of Greenwich.

The world’s favourite family musical Annie makes its long-awaited return to London this May, starring comedy superstar Miranda Hart – and it's on sale now.The award-winning writer and star of smash-hit TV shows Miranda and Call the Midwife makes her West End debut as the tyrannical Miss Hannigan in this stunning new production.Set in 1930s New York during The Great Depression, brave young Annie is forced to live a life of misery at Miss Hannigan’s orphanage. Her luck soon changes when she's chosen to spend a fairytale Christmas with famous billionaire, Oliver Warbucks. Meanwhile, spiteful Miss Hannigan has other ideas and hatches a plan to spoil Annie’s search for her true family…With its Tony® award-winning book and score, including the unforgettable songs It’s The Hard-Knock Life, Easy Street and Tomorrow – this is a show not to be missed!Get your tickets now http://tickets.broadwaybaby.com/tickets/annie

Self-proclaimed ‘comedian, magician, psychopath’ Sadowitz brings his no-holds-barred darkly humorous magic to Brighton Fringe. The new king of silent comedy, Trygve Wakensha, is likely to be one of the most talked about acts this year with his brand new show Odjo: King of the Ocean, as well as the 2016 Edinburgh Comedy Award-nominated show Nautilus. Punk band, U.K. Subs have a reputation as the hardest-gigging punk band of all and, whilst front-man Charlie Harper may be 73 years old, it’s unlikely to slow him down as the Radio 6 Music audience-voted ‘punk rock World Cup winners’ bring a raw, exciting and untamed show to town.Building on the success of 2016, Brighton Fringe promises to be bigger and better than ever with a record-breaking 970 events, including more than 300 world premieres. Winner of last year’s coveted Broadway Baby Bobby award for the hit show Groomed, Patrick Sandford is back with the world premiere of Blooming. Inspired by cult US writer David Foster Wallace, Focus Group is part of this year’s WINDOW programme, in which industry experts have picked ten shows to showcase. Also in WINDOW is Shell Shock, adapted from a novel by Iraq veteran Neil Watkin, and which is supported by the Sussex Armed Forces Network and Help for Heroes.Other potential highlights include Circled in the Radio Times from comedy writer John Osborne (creator of John Peel’s Shed and Sky 1’s After Hours) and We are Ian, a tribute to the acid house scene, which won the Brighton Fringe Award for Excellence at last year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Sweet Venues have scored a huge hit in Trainspotting, making its Brighton debut. Edinburgh Festival Fringe stalwart Dave Benson Phillips is bringing new shows for kids and grown-ups alike, proving it’s not just about the gunge of Get Your Own Back.Artistic Director of Sweet Venues, JD Henshaw, is confident about this year’s season, saying "We at Sweet Venues are delighted to once again be bringing the best in Fringe creativity to Brighton. With established and new venues, plus a new outdoor stage in Bartholomew Square to bring you a taste of everything the Fringe has to offer, we're proud to make a home in Brighton”.Award winners continue as Scott Gibson, winner of the 2016 Edinburgh Comedy Award for Best Newcomer, presents Life after Death, a dark account of living through a brain haemorrhage, and the winner of the Cape Town Fringe Festival’s Audience Choice Award, the horror-comedy Dangled, makes its UK premiere.Cirque du Cabaret make their Brighton Fringe debut, bringing their trademark circus and burlesque to Brighton. ARCO features a stunning acrobatic display suspended beneath a 12 metre-high illuminated arch. As part of their international programme, a special Dutch season, funded by the Dutch Embassy and Dutch Performing Arts Fund, will see acclaimed shows form the Netherlands coming to Brighton.Managing Director of Brighton Fringe, Julian Caddy, said “I’m delighted to see that Brighton Fringe is larger than ever but it’s important to understand why, and why it’s relevant to you… in the end, it’s about having a good time; so, whatever you’re into, you are likely to find it at Brighton Fringe. It’s your festival and I can’t wait to experience it with you.”If there’s something that’s caught your eye and you’re planning on booking, please share it with us at Broadway Baby. We’ll be providing the largest coverage at the Brighton Fringe in 2017 and we’d love to hear your tips at [email protected] Fringe runs 5 May to 4 June. Tickets go on sale to Friends of Brighton Fringe at from 22 February and on general sale from 3 March. Visit www.brightonfringe.org to book.

The Shoreditch Improv Festival is organised in its second year by London improv group City Impro. City Impro formed in 2013 after some of their members met on a beginner’s improv course. They've come a long way since then and now perform regularly in London, the UK and at international festivals. In 2014, the group started hosting a fortnightly Sunday show at the Water Poet in Shoreditch, each night performing with different guest groups from London and beyond. Every show has the aim to bring excitement back into comedy and introduce the audience to an under-promoted form of comedy whilst never becoming repetitive or stale.In the last two years, improv comedy has experienced a surge of popularity around London with great new groups popping up on the scene. With so many talented comedians, City Impro decided that a fortnightly event was not sufficient to showcase everything that improv has to offer and thus the Shoreditch Improv Festival was born. Created with the express mission statement of “promot[ing] Improvised Comedy in London and the UK by making as many people laugh as much as possible in as short a space of time as possible”, the festival is set up slightly differently than other comedy festivals. Over the space of three days, 30 groups will be performing short sets in shows put together specifically to showcase a wide variety of improvisation forms to the audience. A one hour show can thus include everything from an improvised musical to a Shakespearian play with some short games and scenes thrown in for good measure. City Impro don’t consider any of the festival acts to be headliners. The Shoreditch Improv Festival instead seeks to introduce audiences to this less well-known form of comedy without judgment as to the relative merits of the many different forms it can take. The performing groups have been chosen very purposefully to promote as many improv and sketch styles as possible. All acts are united by the fact that they feature fantastic performers and great comedic talents (some of which are just waiting to be discovered by the mainstream).This difference in approach is reflected in the line-up which includes veteran Edinburgh groups such as Ten Thousand Million Love Stories and Music Box performing with new up-and-comers The Coaterie (who blend sketches with improvisation like never seen before) and the Human Machine (where one of the performers is a custom-built robot A.I.). City Impro also want to take improv to the streets, which is why the Shoreditch Improv Festival features an improvised tour of Shoreditch, where the audience can take part in an immersive tour of local street art facts made up on the spot based on their suggestions. Finally, audiences will also have the chance to try out this comedic form for the first time themselves at a special beginner workshop. One of the best moments of the festival last year was to see audiences experience their first improv show on a Friday night and then signing up for the workshop that ran the next day. City Impro would be delighted to discuss the festival with any reviewers in advance or to welcome them to the performances. Please get in touch at [email protected] for press tickets. On 12th February at 7pm, City Impro will also be hosting its last pre-festival show at the Water Poet and are available for interviews on that date.The festival runs from the 17th until the 19th of February at the Water Poet in Shoreditch (11 Folgate Street E1 6BX). 

Fresh from a sell-out 2016 UK Tour, Edward Fox is to return to the West End in the celebrated one-man play exploring the life and work of John Betjeman, Sand in the Sandwiches, for a strictly limited London run. A journey through memory and verse, the play collates the work of the twentieth century’s most treasured poet. Written by Hugh Whitemore and directed by Gareth Armstrong, it will visit Northampton before its London premiere at Theatre Royal Haymarket between May 30th and June 3rd 2017, followed by an extended UK tour visiting Cambridge, Malvern, Woking, Brighton and Bath. Edward Fox said “It is lovely to be returning to one of the great theatres of the world and to the role of John Betjeman, even now at the age of 80. All of us involved are working to magnify the voice of one of the greatest minds in England. Betjeman once said that 'poetry is life', and I agree. You can't live without it.” John Betjeman was the nation’s favourite poet. Sand in the Sandwiches celebrates a man famous not only for light verse and laughter, but for his passions, his sense of purpose and his unforgettable poetry. Through boyhood, his adolescence, to life as Britain’s Poet Laureate, Sand in the Sandwiches presents a hugely entertaining insight into the world of this much-loved irreverent writer. Triple BAFTA winner Edward Fox (OBE) stars in this new one-man play, bringing Betjeman’s poetry and vivacious personality to life. Edward Fox’s distinguished career counts iconic British films including the Oscar winning Ghandi, The Day of the Jackal, A Bridge Too Far, Oh! What a Lovely War, The Dresser, The Go-Between, A Doll’s House, Pride and Prejudice, Robin Hood, Nicholas Nickleby, Force 10 from Navarone and James Bond’s Never Say Never Again. His stage credits include: The Audience, Four Quartets, Hamlet, An Evening with Anthony Trollope, Letter of Resignation and many more. His film credits have won him three BAFTA Awards and in 2003 he was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire for his contribution to stage and cinema.Hugh Whitemore, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, is an award-winning writer whose work spans stage and screen. Theatre credits include: As you Desire Me, Stevie, Pack of Lies (which won Judi Dench the Olivier Award for Best Female Actor), The Best of Friends, Breaking the Code, God Only Knows, Disposing of the Body, The Last Cigarette playing at acclaimed theatre across the UK and internationally. His films credits include: Jane Eyre (1996), 84 Charing Cross Road, Stevie, The Return of the Soldier, Bluebird, Man at the Top, and All Neat in Black Stockings. With over 70 television credits, Whitemore has written for broadcasters in both the UK and USA, winning two Writers Guild of Great Britain Awards and two Emmy Awards. Director Gareth Armstrong specialises in solo performance and has helped to create a dozen such theatre pieces, including Hugh Whitemore’s My Darling Clemmie starring Rohan McCulloch as Winston Churchill’s wife, and his own dramatisation of Oscar Wilde’s De Profundis, called Wilde Without the Boy. As an Associate Artist at Salisbury Playhouse under the Directorship of Jonathan Church, he premiered his own one-man show, Shylock. The play toured for over a decade to more than forty countries and has been translated and performed in Spanish, Italian, Romanian, Hungarian and Mandarin Chinese. Armstrong also co-founded The Made in Wales Theatre Company to premiere new plays and was Artistic Director of Cardiff’s Sherman Theatre. Sand in the Sandwiches will play at Theatre Royal Haymarket between Tuesday May 30th and Saturday June 3rd. This week is available at the theatre due to a pre-contractual, prior engagement, which means that Damian Lewis is unavailable to perform in Edward Albee’s The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia? The producers took the decision to suspend the run of The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia? for that week. The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia? will recommence performances on 5 June. Sand in the Sandwiches by Hugh Whitemore is directed by Gareth Armstrong with designs by BAFTA award-winning Fotini Dimou, lighting by double Olivier award-winning Howard Harrison and sound by Olivier award & Ivor Novello award nominated composer Simon Slater. Sand in the Sandwiches is produced by Jonathan Church, Oliver Mackwood Productions and Oxford Playhouse.  Tickets available now http://tickets.broadwaybaby.com/tickets/sand-in-the-sandwiches

After the short run at the Royal Court Theatre sold out in just one day, Jez Butterworth’s epic, new play The Ferryman will transfer to the West End. Multi award-winning actor, director and writer Paddy Considine will be joined by Laura Donnelly and Genevieve O’Reilly in the production directed by Sam Mendes. The cast will also include Bríd Brennan, Turlough Convery, Fra Fee, Tom Glynn-Carney, Stuart Graham, Gerard Horan, Carla Langley, Des McAleer, Conor MacNeill, Rob Malone, Dearbhla Molloy, Eugene O’Hare and Niall Wright with further casting to be announced.Developed by Sonia Friedman Productions, the premiere of The Ferryman is co-produced with Neal Street Productions and Royal Court Theatre Productions. The West End production will follow the run at the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs which begins 24 April 2017, with an opening night on 3 May. Jez Butterworth, whose plays include Jerusalem, Mojo and The River, previously collaborated with Sam Mendes on the scripts for Spectre and Skyfall from the Bond franchise. The Ferryman is the sixth of Butterworth’s plays premiered at the Royal Court Theatre and marks his fourth collaboration with Sonia Friedman Productions. Sonia Friedman, on behalf of Sonia Friedman Productions, Neal Street Productions and Royal Court Theatre Productions said: "We are delighted that we have made it possible to transfer Jez Butterworth's new play The Ferryman, which will move to the Gielgud Theatre almost immediately after its run at the Royal Court Theatre finishes. When it first went on sale at the Court, it sold out in record time. It became clear to us even then that there was a far larger demand to see the play than the Court run could ever accommodate. We have therefore worked at speed to find the production another home as quickly as possible, which is no mean feat, and we are very grateful to the company for helping us make this happen. It is thrilling to know that wider audiences will now have a chance to see this extraordinary new work from one of our most important writers. The scope, scale and ambition of Jez’s new play deserves this opportunity and I am delighted that together with Royal Court Theatre Productions and Neal Street Productions we are in the privileged position to make it happen.” The Ferryman is directed by Sam Mendes, designed by Rob Howell, with lighting by Peter Mumford, and music and sound by Nick Powell. 

Romola Garai will star as Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough alongside Emma Cunniffe as the eponymous monarch in the Royal Shakespeare Company’s production of Queen Anne. After originally opening at the Swan Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon in November 2015, Queen Anne will transfer to Theatre Royal Haymarket for a thirteen week limited run from 30 June until 30 September, with a press night on 10 July.Priority booking for RSC Patrons and Members will open on 6 February and RSC Members priority booking will open on 9 February. Tickets will be on general sale from 13 February at http://www.RSCQueenAnne.com.Written by Helen Edmundson (The Heresy of Love, RSC) and directed by Natalie Abrahami (Happy Days, Young Vic), this gripping new play explores the life of one of England’s little-known sovereigns and her intimate friendship with her childhood confidante Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough.1702. William III is on the throne and England is on the verge of war. Princess Anne is soon to become Queen, and her advisors vie for influence over the future monarch. Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough, a close friend with whom Anne has an intensely personal relationship, begins to exert increasing pressure as she pursues her own designs on power.Contending with deceit and blackmail, Anne must decide where her allegiances lie, and whether to sacrifice her closest relationships for the sake of the country.Romola Garai will play Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough. Romola is best known for appearing in films such as Amazing Grace, Atonement, Vanity Fair, Inside I'm Dancing, Glorious 39 and Suffragette, and in BBC series such as Emma, The Hour and The Crimson Petal and the White. She has been nominated for a BAFTA and twice for a Golden Globe Award.In addition to her work on screen Romola’s theatre credits include Calico (West End; Evening Standard Theatre Award Outstanding Newcomer nomination), King Lear and The Seagull (RSC), The Village Bike (Royal Court), Three Sisters (Lyric Hammersmith), and Measure for Measure (Young Vic).Emma Cunniffe will play Queen Anne. On stage, Emma won the UK Theatre Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for her performance in The Master Builder in 2000. Her other stage work includes Tales from Hollywood (Donmar), Losing Louis (Hampstead/West End), Women Beware Women (RSC), Proof (Menier Chocolate Factory), The Entertainer (Old Vic), Conquest of the South Pole (Arcola), A Doll’s House (The Lowry), Edward II, Three Sisters, Major Barbara, Twelfth Night (Royal Exchange), Amongst Friends, The Glass Room (Hampstead). She was nominated for a WhatsOnStage Award in 2011 for her role as Elizabeth Proctor in The Crucible at the Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre.Emma has numerous TV credits including Unforgotten, Lewis, Midsomer Murders, George Gently, Waterloo Road, Father Brown, Coronation Street, Moving On, Southcliffe, Good Cop, The Other Child, Doctor Who, Poirot, A Place of Execution, The Genius of Mozart, Clocking Off, All The King’s Men, Great Expectations, and The Lakes.Helen Edmundson’s plays include The Clearing, (Bush Theatre), Mother Teresa is Dead, (Royal Court), Mary Shelley,(Shared Experience at The Tricycle and on tour), and The Heresy of Love (RSC). Her other work includes Coram Boy (National Theatre and on Broadway), a new version of Calderon’s Life is a Dream (Donmar), a musical adaptation of Swallows and Amazons, written with composer Neil Hannon, (Bristol Old Vic, West End and on tour) and Thérèse Raquin (Bath Theatre Royal and on tour). She has written a number of adaptations for Shared Experience Theatre including Anna Karenina and Mill on the Floss, which toured nationally and internationally, and War and Peace, first staged at the National Theatre.Helen has recently completed screenplays for See Saw Films and Potboiler Productions and her episodes of the Hat Trick television drama The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher were seen on ITV, as well as the film adaptation of An Inspector Calls on BBC television. Helen is currently working on a new play, commissioned by the National Theatre. She has been the recipient of several awards, including the prestigious Windham Campbell Prize for drama 2015, a John Whiting Award for The Clearing, a TMA Award for Anna Karenina and Time Out Awards for Mill on the Floss and Coram Boy. She is an Associate Artist of Bristol Old Vic, and the Royal Shakespeare Company.Natalie Abrahami is a former Genesis Fellow and Associate Director at the Young Vic. Her Young Vic credits include Happy Days, After Miss Julie and Ah, Wilderness! and the short films MAYDAY, The Roof and Life's a Pitch. As former Artistic Director of the Gate Theatre, London, Natalie's productions include Vanya and The Kreutzer Sonata which later transferred to La MaMa, New York. Other credits include: Queen Anne (RSC), How the Whale Became and Other Tales (Royal Opera House), The Eleventh Capital (Royal Court), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Headlong) and Pericles (Regent's Park Open Air Theatre). Natalie was also an Associate Artist at the Nuffield Theatre, Southampton between 2013 and 2015 and Associate Director at Hull Truck in 2012 where she directed Yerma and Hitchcock Blonde. Natalie won the James Menzies-Kitchin Award for Directors in 2005 for her double-bill of Play and Not I (Battersea Arts Centre).

Internationally acclaimed choreographer Russell Maliphant has today announced the programme for maliphantworks, featuring world-renowned collaborators and works spanning his hugely celebrated 25 year career. Maliphant will make his Print Room at the Coronet debut with a site-responsive return to some of his early work, inspired by the intimate Victorian theatre in Notting Hill. Maliphant himself will perform one piece. maliphantworks will also feature the return of some of his original dancers. A community outreach programme will run in conjunction, supported by DanceWest.Print Room at the Coronet is one of very few venues in West London to produce and present dance work. This co-production with Russell Maliphant Company sees the venue’s regular spring dance slot being filled by one of the world’s most acclaimed choreographers.Opening on 28 February, maliphantworks will include modern dance classic Two; Afterlight (Part One); The Wall Duet from The Rodin Project and Unspoken. It will be restaged and performed by a host of Maliphant’s past and present collaborators, reunited from across the globe. Maliphant will perform in Unspoken a duet with James de Maria, 20 years after the pair first danced the piece and marking de Maria’s return to the stage after 16 years. Daniel Proietto will once again dance Afterlight (Part One), for which he was Olivier Award-nominated in 2010. The international award-winning Dana Fouras will dance the electrifying Two, which Maliphant choreographed for her in 1997; Olivier Award- nominated Tommy Franzen will bring his eclectic dance style to the duet The Wall, with Dickson Mbi renowned for his strength and incredible popping style.Other major, longstanding collaborators of Maliphant will translate his signature works from their usual larger stages and spaces to this unique, intimate venue. Michael Hulls will work closely with Maliphant on the lighting design for the programme, alongside Stevie Stewart who will lead on costume design. Es Devlin’s original set design for The Rodin Project and Jan Urbanowski’s animation for Afterlight (Part One) will be remounted for this production.Print Room at the Coronet and Russell Maliphant Company have partnered with DanceWest to increase audience access and diversity for this and future dance productions. DanceWest, the community dance organisation for West London, supports new audiences to connect to dance by providing access to classes, projects and performances. The organisation will coordinate a series of workshops, led by Dickson Mbi, for young people and emerging artists. In addition to these workshops, young local audiences, many from disadvantaged backgrounds, will be given access to a world-class and truly unique evening of performance.Maliphant will continue his research into anatomy, biology and biomechanics with a lecture on his movement practice, his approach to collaboration and his aesthetic, with details to be announced shortly.Following this presentation of world-renowned contemporary choreography, Print Room at the Coronet will continue to work with emerging and established artists and companies, cementing its reputation for producing and presenting dance as an integral part of an eclectic, cross-discipline programme.

For the 2017 Edinburgh Fringe free shows will return to The Counting House venue on West Nicolson Street, following a one year hiatus with the venue being programmed under a paid show format. The Free Festival had built up the Counting House as a Fringe venue from 2007 until 2015, making it one of the Fringe’s leading show hubs, with the venue hosting a number of high profile shows for free over the years, including: Luisa Omielan, Richard Gadd, Joel Dommett, Janey Godley, East End Cabaret, Cariad Lloyd, Austentatious, The Malcolm Hardee Awards, Cabaret Whore, Rachael Parris and many more. With the return of this venue to free programming, this brings the four performances spaces of the Counting House back to be being spaces that performers are not charged to use, and are also free for audiences to watch shows ­ with a collection at the end. Alongside the Counting House rooms, the ground floor Pear Tree venue is being refurbished to take over the area that had previously been the Blind Poet Bar, giving a further ground floor performance space for shows, alongside the famous Pear Tree’s free Courtyard music stage. Free Festival director Alex Petty says: “This is fantastic news for us and Fringe performers, and in 2017 the Counting House will be better than ever. In partnership with the venue owners and manager Brian Dobie, we had already improved what could be offered to free show performers and audiences, and we certainly plan to do even more now in 2017. With the Counting House now alongside its owners other venue, The City Café, and our fantastic hub venues at The Three Sisters, Cabaret Voltaire and Espionage – with more new venues for 2017 at The Golf Tavern, Cuckoo’s Nest and Joker & Thief ­ we will really be able push things forward for free performers and audiences at all of the venues, and include many more shows. I think the 2017 Fringe is looking like it’ll be an exciting year.” 

At the end of a remarkable year for the Northampton venue, Royal & Derngate’s Artistic Director James Dacre today announced details of Made in Northampton 2017.The 2017 season will include eleven brand new productions, seven world premieres, three major revivals and a site-specific collaboration with Northampton Town Football Club. Royal & Derngate’s season is set to welcome some of the country's finest writers, composers, actors and creatives to Northampton as well as taking work Made in Northampton to over 40 theatres nationwide, championing the brightest emerging artists and companies alongside the most celebrated. Introducing the season, Dacre said: “Our Made in Northampton 2017 season again aims to present plays that question the most important issues of our time. 2016 has been a year of seismic social and political change and our new season reflects this. With this season we hope to understand the worker who feels abandoned by his country, the refugee evicted from their home, the generation that feels disenfranchised from politics and the households which have forgotten how to be families. It’s as ambitious a season as we’ve ever produced and is shaped by a belief that the art of storytelling is as important a way of making sense of our lives in the internet age, as it was for the ancient Greeks, one of whose iconic tales we are dramatising. We have programmed a mixture of new commissions, literary adaptations, classic plays and devised works, which explore our need to belong to a family, place or country and offer life-affirming tales of characters who possess heroism, hope and humanity. Over the past ten years more than 1.1 million people have seen a Made in Northampton production either here in these remarkable theatres or on tour nationally and internationally. Our success over the last decade is testament to the extraordinary team of people who work here and our partners and supporters, locally and nationally, with whom we will deliver this exciting season of work.” Beginning in Spring 2017, the season launches with two major revivals. The first, in April, will be a touring revival of Arthur Miller’s Pulitzer Prize-winning masterpiece Death of a Salesman. Widely considered to be one of the greatest plays of the twentieth century, and as relevant now as when it was first written, the piece looks at the cost of not being able to let go of the American Dream. Produced to coincide with the start of a new political era for America, this new production will be directed by Abigail Graham and will star 2016 Tony and Olivier Award nominee Tim Pigott-Smith (King Charles III), who will play the iconic role of Willy. Death of a Salesman will then tour to Cambridge, Bath, Malvern, Exeter, Canterbury, Portsmouth, Edinburgh and Truro, until Saturday 1 July 2017.Directed by Abbey Wright and designed by Laura Hopkins, the second major revival of the 2017 season is John Steinbeck’s powerful exploration of migration and community, The Grapes Of Wrath, adapted by Frank Galati. A moving story of hope and survival, this timely production will examine human resilience in the face of catastrophe and will feature a large community chorus with live music from Matt Regan (Greater Belfast).In a European premiere next June, Artistic Director James Dacre collaborates again with composer Orlando Gough (King John) on a bold new Obie and Lucille Lortell award-winning version of An Iliad that has been adapted by Lisa Peterson and Denis O’Hare from a translation by Robert Fagles of Homer’s chronicle, transposed to our own age. A visionary piece of storytelling, An Iliad casts the Poet as a refugee evicted from his country, with his poem an account of humanity’s addiction to violence, retribution and chaos. Relating the tale through the prism of our own time, the production will pose the question, has anything really changed since the Trojan War?Also next Summer, a world premiere brings to the season a new kind of collaboration, between the theatre, Fermynwoods Contemporary Art and Northampton Town Football Club. Devised by Seven Sisters Group, The Twelfth Player will use interactive technology to portray the experience of Cobblers fans across seventy years of the club’s extraordinary history, of which 2015/16 was arguably their most precarious and euphoric season. The Cobblers fought off relegation and narrowly escaped financial disaster, but through the dedication of staff, players and their fans - the team’s twelfth player - they made a remarkable recovery, welcoming a takeover, bouncing back into League 1 and winning the Club’s first League title for 29 years. The collaboration will see audiences go on a tour around Sixfields Stadium which will blend site-specific performance and handheld video technology, moving the audience seamlessly between characters inspired by real fans and placing them at the heart of the sporting action.In September, the venue welcomes back Simon Godwin (Regeneration) to direct the regional premiere of Sam Holcroft’s hilarious comedy Rules for Living which follows what happens when an extended family gathers in the kitchen for a traditional Christmas and each of them rigidly follows their own ‘rules for living’. This darkly funny play is produced by Royal & Derngate in collaboration English Touring Theatre and Rose Theatre Kingston, reuniting the producing team who recently won the 2016 UK Theatre Award for Best Touring Production for The Herbal Bed. Another major touring revival sees Lucy Bailey direct Love from a Stranger by Agatha Christie and Frank Vosper in a vivid new interpretation of Britain’s greatest crime writer’s work. This bold reimagination of an edge-of-your-seat thriller follows Bailey’s acclaimed work on last year’s Gaslight at Royal & Derngate and will tour the UK in 2018.Following collaborations in recent years with Kneehigh, Peeoplykus, Spymonkey, Told by an Idiot and Frantic Assembly, in 2017 Royal & Derngate will champion the work of two emerging devising companies – The Wardrobe Ensemble and simple8 – with both ensembles making their mainstage debuts.In October The Wardrobe Ensemble will premiere Education, Education, Education, charting the rise of New Labour through the lens of a secondary school staff room in 1997 and exploring the key policies and personalities that have shaped our recent political history. The company won critical acclaim and The Stage Award for their 2015 production of 1972: The Future Of Sex. They will be directed by Royal & Derngate’s RTYDS director Jesse Jones. simple8 is an award-winning ensemble company acclaimed for their ability to create richly imagined worlds out of nothing but a bare stage. They will premiere their vibrant new adaptation of E.M. Forster’s A Passage to India as the 70h anniversary of Indian Independence is remembered. Reimagining the novel for contemporary Britain, the production poses a question that is even more urgent today than when it was first asked: how can we love one another in a world divided by culture and belief?Furthering their commitment to making work for young audiences in their Underground Studio, Royal & Derngate collaborates with Little Angel Theatre on the world premiere of Julia Donaldson and Lydia Monks’ The Singing Mermaid, adapted by director Samantha Lane and composer Barb Jungr for under 7s and their families.In addition, Royal & Derngate’s Young Company will also produce the world premiere of The Blue Road by Laura Lomas, continuing the venue’s commitment to inviting groundbreaking playwrights to work with young people.Finally, Royal & Derngate will also shortly announce their world premiere production in the Royal for Christmas 2017.Martin Sutherland, Chief Executive said: “We are pleased to be announcing another ambitious season of Made in Northampton productions, all of which are inspired by and aim to speak to Northampton. This season provides further opportunity for us to consider the purpose of this theatre in one of the UK’s fastest growing towns. Last month we revealed a five year vision that included our plans to take a radical approach to creative and cultural education by establishing a free school in Northampton; to support the development of contemporary music theatre and opera over the coming years; and to collaborate with a neighbouring town to develop a new boutique cinema, inspired by our hugely successful Errol Flynn Filmhouse. These announcements, coupled with our exciting artistic plans for 2017, further demonstrate the scale of ambition and commitment of all our team to ensuring that the theatres and our town continue to thrive”.For more information about any of the Made in Northampton productions, visit www.royalandderngate.co.uk. Shows can be booked online or by calling Box Office on 01604 624811.

Our Winter Sale promotion is now live and we have a number of amazing deals & offers. Offers include:La Soireeat the Christmas in Leicester SquareWinter Sale - Ringside Tickets: Now £29.50, save up to 44%Valid on 6, 7, 19, and 20 December and on 10.00pm performances on 9, 16, 22 and 23 December 2016.Santa's New Sleighat the Above the Arts Studio TheatreSpecial Offer: Was £17.00 Now £12.99, saving 24%Valid on all performances until 10 December 2016.Book by 9 December 2016. Mr Popper's Penguinsat the Criterion TheatreWinter Sale - Premium Tickets: Was £22.50 Now £15.00, saving 33%Valid on Tuesday - Thursday performances from 15 - 29 December 2016 and Friday 16 December 2016. Excludes 29 December 12.30pm.Book by 15 December 2016.The Dresserat the Duke of York's TheatreWinter Sale - Price Band A Tickets: Was £65.00 Now £32.50, saving 50%Winter Sale - Price Band B Tickets: Was £45.00 Now £22.50, saving 50%Winter Sale - Price Band C Tickets: Was £35.00 Now £17.50, saving 50%Winter Sale – Price Band D Tickets: Was £25.00 Now £10.00, saving 60%Valid on Monday - Friday performances until 30 December 2016.Kinky Boots at the Adelphi TheatreNo Booking Fee Offer - Includes a 20CL Bottle of Bottega Gold Prosecco: From £29.50Valid on Monday - Friday performances between 3 January and 31 March 2017. Excludes 14 February 2017.Book by 31 January 2017. No Booking Fee Offer: From £29.50Valid Monday - Friday performances until 10 February 2017. No Booking Fee Offer - Includes a 20CL Bottle of Bottega Gold Prosecco: from £29.50Valid on Monday - Wednesday performances from 5 - 21 December 2016.Roald Dahl's Fantastic Mr Fox at the Lyric HammersmithNo Booking Fee Offer: From £25.00Valid on 28 January, 31 January, 1 - 3 February, 8 February and 10 February 2017. Book now at http://tickets.broadwaybaby.com/london-theatre/win...

Audiences have only six weeks left to see the critically acclaimed West End production of Sir Ronald Harwood’s The Dresser which brings together a multi award-winning cast and creative team in a five-star revival – and with the Broadway Baby Winter Theatre Seat Sale, you can pick up a ticket from just a tenner. Starring Ken Stott, Reece Shearsmith, Selina Cadell and Harriet Thorpe, this notable production opened in October and now enters its final weeks in a strictly limited season at the Duke of York’s Theatre, London which must end on 14 January, 2017. The production will transfer to Chichester Festival Theatre in the New Year from 25 January to 4 February, 2017.The Dresser tells the heart-breaking story of an ageing actor-manager and his long- suffering dresser as they struggle to keep the show on the road against the backdrop of a down-at-heel regional theatre in wartime. Renowned as Ronald Harwood’s greatest play, The Dresser was first performed in 1980 in the West End and on Broadway, adapted into a multi award-winning film starring Albert Finney and Tom Courtenay in 1983, and a BBC television film starring Ian McKellen and Anthony Hopkins last year.The production brings together a star cast including four times Best Actor Olivier Award nominee Ken Stott, seen at the National Theatre and in the West End in The Recruiting Officer and Broken Glass, and on screen in The Hobbit, Charlie Wilson’s War, BBC series The Missing and crime drama Rebus; and Reece Shearsmith who recently appeared in the Olivier and South Bank Award-winning Hangmen at the Royal Court and is best known for his roles in the multi-award-winning cult television series The League of Gentlemen.They are joined by Selina Cadell, seen in the BBC television film The Lady Vanishes and the comedy drama series Doc Martin, and whose stage work includes Sam Mendes’ productions of The Cherry Orchard on Broadway and Twelfth Night at the Donmar Warehouse; and Harriet Thorpe, best known for playing Carol in the BBC sitcom The Brittas Empire, Fleur in the BBC series and film adaptation of Absolutely Fabulous, and on stage in Twelfth Night at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre, Wicked at the Apollo Theatre and Gary Barlow’s The Girls. Anthony Hoggard, Adam Jackson-Smith, Rhys Jennings, Sarah Lambie, Simon Markey, Simon Rouse and Phoebe Sparrow complete the cast. Ronald Harwood is an Academy Award, Palme d’Or and BAFTA-winning screenwriter and playwright, whose films include The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, The Pianist, Quartet and Love in the Time of Cholera. His plays include The Dresser, Taking Sides, Quartet, Mahler’s Conversion, An English Tragedy and Collaboration and Degenerate Art.

Tickets on sale now for Rodgers & Hammerstein’s iconic musical Carousel at the London Coliseum, starring Alfie Boe and Katherine Jenkins on stage together for the very first time. They will be joined by members of ENO’s award-winning Orchestra and Chorus.Fifteen years after getting caught up in an armed robbery and taking his own life, the charming carousel barker Billy Bigelow gets a chance to return to earth and make amends. Discovering that his daughter Louise has grown into a lonely, troubled teenager, haunted by her father’s legacy, Billy vows to restore pride to his family in the musical voted by Time as the greatest of the 20th Century.Carousel will be the third production in our musical theatre partnership with the Grade Linnit Company. The partnership has produced highly acclaimed runs of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2015) and Sunset Boulevard (2016), as well as presenting us with a fantastic opportunity to share our work at the London Coliseum with the widest possible audience. Alfie Boe and Katherine Jenkins will perform the roles of Billy Bigelow and Julie Jordan in this semi-staged production.

The internationally celebrated dance company BalletBoyz have announced that they will be taking part in ‘The Big Give Christmas Challenge’ from noon on Tuesday 29 November to noon on Friday 2 December to raise money for their Parkinson’s CAN Dance class. The Big Give, a 72 hour fundraising initiative across the country, will match all donations made during this time, effectively doubling the value of each one.BalleyBoyz are hoping to raise £10,000, in order to secure £20,000 to run a second Parkinson’s CAN Dance class in 2017. Research and practice has shown that dance improves well-being and physical health for people living with Parkinson’s. BalletBoyz run weekly classes which open up the fun and the art of dancing to people with Parkinson’s at the same time as providing exercise and an enjoyable social event. A class participant said: ‘Dance gives me confidence to walk the streets without fear of falling’. 
BalletBoyz are grateful for any donations that people are able to make. Donations can only be made online here and are kindly being doubled by BalletBoyz key supporters and the Big Give’s philanthropic partner, People’s Postcode Lottery. People can also show their support by sharing the campaign video with their social networks. 

Sonia Friedman Productions has today released brand new production photography for the long-awaited UK premiere of Dreamgirls. Preview performances are currently running at the Savoy Theatre with Opening Night on Wednesday 14 December 2016.American actress and singer Amber Riley stars as ‘Effie White’ and is joined in Dreamgirlsby Liisi LaFontaine as Deena Jones and Ibinabo Jack as Lorrell Robinson making up the soulful singing trio The Dreams. Joe Aaron Reid plays Curtis Taylor Jr, Adam J. Bernard plays Jimmy Early, Tyrone Huntley plays C.C. White, Nicholas Bailey plays Marty and Lily Frazer plays Michelle Morris with Ruth Brown and Karen Mav alternating the role of Effie White at performances when Amber Riley is not scheduled to perform.The cast of Dreamgirlsalso includes Michael Afemaré, Jocasta Almgill, Callum Aylott, Hugo Batista, Samara Casteallo, Chloe Chambers, Carly Mercedes Dyer, Joelle Dyson, Kimmy Edwards, Candace Furbert, Nathan Graham, Ashley Luke Lloyd, Gabriel Mokake, Siân Nathaniel-James, Sean Parkins, Kirk Patterson, Ryan Reid, Rohan Richards, Noel Samuels, Durone Stokes and Tosh Wanogho-Maud.Full information on performance schedules can be found on the official website http://Dreamgirlswestend.comDreamgirlsis Directed and Choreographed by Olivier and Tony Award®-winning Casey Nicholaw (The Book of Mormon, Disney’s Aladdin and Something Rotten!), with Set Design by Tim Hatley, Costume Design by Gregg Barnes, Lighting Design by Hugh Vanstone, Sound Design by Richard Brooker and Hair Design by Josh Marquette. The Musical Supervisor is Nick Finlow, the Orchestrator is Harold Wheeler, with Additional Material by Willie Reale.Swarovski is delighted to be the Set and Costume Design partner for Dreamgirls, bringing to life the incredible visions of Tim Hatley and Gregg Barnes. Over one million Swarovski crystals have been incorporated into the production, adorning 275 costumes and 3 crystal curtains.Dreamgirlstransports you to a revolutionary time in American music history. Dreamgirlscharts the tumultuous journey of a young female singing trio from Chicago, Illinois called The Dreams, as they learn the hard lesson that show business is as tough as it is fabulous, and features the classic songs And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going, I Am Changing, Listen and One Night Only.With Book and Lyrics by Tom Eyen and Music by Henry Krieger, the original Broadway production of Dreamgirls, Directed and Choreographed by Michael Bennett opened in 1981 and subsequently won six Tony Awards®. The original cast recording won two Grammy awards for Best Musical Album and Best Vocal Performance for Jennifer Holliday’s And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going. In 2006 it was adapted into an Oscar winning motion picture starring Beyoncé Knowles, Jennifer Hudson, Eddie Murphy and Jamie Foxx.Liisi LaFontaine is appearing with the support of UK Equity, incorporating the Variety Artistes’ Federation, pursuant to an exchange program between American Equity and UK Equity. (l-r) Amber Riley and Lily Frazer in Dreamgirls at the Savoy Theatre. Credit Brinkhoff Mögenburg (l-r) Amber Riley, Tyrone Huntley, Liisi LaFontaine, Ibinabo Jack in Dreamgirls at the Savoy Theatre. Credit Brinkhoff Mögenburg Adam J. Bernard and Ibinabo Jack in Dreamgirls at the Savoy Theatre. Credit Brinkhoff Mögenburg. Amber Riley in Dreamgirls at the Savoy Theatre. Credit Brinkhoff Mögenburg Cast of Dreamgirls at the Savoy Theatre. Credit Brinkhoff Mögenburg Joe Aaron Reid and Liisi LaFontaine in Dreamgirls at the Savoy Theatre. Credit Brinkhoff Mögenburg Joe Aaron Reid, centre, and cast in Dreamgirls at the Savoy Theatre. Credit Brinkhoff Mögenburg

Former Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls, sports presenter Ore Oduba and actress Lesley Joseph are the latest celebrities announced to appear on the Strictly Come Dancing Live UK Tour, which kicks off in Birmingham on 20 January 2017.Ed, Ore and Lesley will join fellow celebrities Louise Redknapp, Danny Mac and Daisy Lowe on the 10th anniversary tour, alongside tour host Anita Rani, and the new tour judging panel of Len Goodman, Craig Revel Horwood and Karen Hardy.

Alfie Boe and Katherine Jenkins will star for the first time together in the West End as Billy Bigelow and Julie Jordan in Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Carousel, the third production in the partnership between English National Opera (ENO) and the GradeLinnit Company.Lonny Price will direct the strictly limited run of 41 performances at ENO’s London Coliseum. Beginning on 7 April 2017, with press night on 11 April 2017 at 7pm, the final performance in this strictly limited five week run takes place on 13 May 2017. ENO award-winning 40-piece orchestra and chorus will accompany the cast in this semi-staged production. Further casting will be announced shortly.  

David Tennant,who plays the title role in Patrick Marber’s Don Juan in Soho,will be joined by Adrian Scarborough as Stan and Gawn Grainger as Louis. The production will preview at Wyndham’s Theatre from 17 March 2017, with press night on 28 March 2017. Don Juan in Soho will complete its strictly limited eleven week run on 10 June 2017.Direction is by Patrick Marber with set and costume designs by Anna Fleischle, lighting by Mark Henderson and sound and music by Adam Cork.Final casting will be announced at a later date.

In the first of three sets of Charlie Gray’s Harry Potter and the Cursed Child portraits, joining the previously announced Jamie Parker as Harry Potter are Poppy Miller who will play Ginny Potter and Sam Clemmett who will play Albus Potter.Previews for Part One of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child will begin on 7 June with previews of Part Two starting 9 June 2016. The Official Opening performances of Part One and Part Two will take place on Saturday 30 July 2016. Based on an original new story by J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne and John Tiffany, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is a new play by Jack Thorne, directed by John Tiffany. It will receive its world premiere in London’s West End at the Palace Theatre this summer and is the eighth story in the Harry Potter series and the first official Harry Potter story to be presented on stage.  Harry Potter (Jamie Parker) Ginny Potter (Poppy Miller) Albus Potter (Sam Clemmett) Harry Potter and the Cursed Child has movement by Steven Hoggett, set by Christine Jones, costumes by Katrina Lindsay, music by Imogen Heap, lighting by Neil Austin, sound by Gareth Fry, special effects by Jeremy Chernick, illusions by Jamie Harrison, music supervision by Martin Lowe and casting by Julia Horan. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is produced by Sonia Friedman Productions, Colin Callender and Harry Potter Theatrical Productions.

Public booking will open on 25 May 2016 for Andrew Lloyd Webber’s West End production of School of Rock - The Musical. Previewing at the New London Theatre from 24 October 2016 with opening night on 14 November 2016, School of Rock - The Musical is initially booking to 12 February 2017.Based on the smash hit 2003 film of the same title, School of Rock features music from the movie, as well as new music written by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyricist Glenn Slater and a book by Julian Fellowes. School of Rock - The Musical is directed by Laurence Connor with choreography by JoAnn M. Hunter, set and costume designs by Anna Louizos, lighting design by Natasha Katz, sound design by Mick Potter and music supervision by John Rigby. The nationwide search is underway to find the three teams of thirteen young performers who will join the cast to rock out live on stage each night.Down-on-his-luck wannabe rock star Dewey Finn poses as a substitute teacher at a prestigious prep school to make ends meet. When he discovers his students’ musical talents, he enlists his fifth-graders to form a rock group and conquer the Battle of the Bands.School of Rock –The Musical received its world premiere at the Winter Garden Theatre in November last year and has subsequently garnered 20 Broadway Theatre Awards nominations including four Tony nominations - Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical, Best Original Score and Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical. At the Broadway opening guests included Mick Fleetwood and Stevie Nicks, Helen Mirren, Sting as well as the complete “kids” cast from the original School of Rock film. Earlier this month Jack Black who played the role of Dewey in the original film School of Rock, met with the US cast and declared the show “a Broadway masterpiece.” In October last year School of Rock – The Musical released a 360° music video, shot in a real NYC classroom and featuring the song You’re In The Band, that generated over 1 million views in three days on YouTube and Facebook combined, the fastest Broadway video ever to reach 1 million views. Over the 2015 holiday period School of Rock – The Musical twice broke the house record at the Winter Garden Theatre, previously home to Cats and Mamma Mia! In April Grammy Award-winning Fleetwood Mac singer Stevie Nicks made her Broadway debut at School of Rock – The Musical when she surprised the audience by taking to the stage and singing Rhiannon with the musical’s kid band. School of Rock – The Musical was the first original British musical ever to premiere on Broadway.The Broadway opening was accompanied by another US first, when Andrew Lloyd Webber also launched a nationwide release of the rights for schools and youth groups to create their own productions of School of Rock – The Musical using the exact same score as the Broadway show. Here in the UK, plans are well advanced to replicate that success ensuring that schools, colleges and youth groups can look forward to being able to license School of Rock – The Musical very soon.Produced by Paramount Pictures, the 2003 hit film School of Rock was directed by Richard Linklater and starred Jack Black in a career-defining performance.The Broadway production of School of Rock - The Musical continues at the Winter Garden Theatre, currently booking to 5 February 2017 and a national Company will launch a US Tour in the Autumn of 2017, playing coast-to-coast engagements across America.

Final casting is announced today for the return of the multi award-winning production of the Broadway musical Titanic, first seen at Southwark Playhouse, which is coming back to London with director Thom Southerland once again at the helm.Titanic will set sail for a 10-week season at Charing Cross Theatre from Saturday 28 May - Saturday 6 August, produced by Danielle Tarento, Steven M. Levy, Sean Sweeney and Vaughan Williams.Titanic became one of the hottest must-see shows in 2013, winning a clutch of Best Musical awards, four and five star rave reviews across the board and and it was Critics Choice in many national newspapers.In the cast of 20, eight of the originals are back aboard: Scarlett Courtney, Matthew Crowe, Sion Lloyd, Shane McDaid, Philip Rham, Dudley Rogers, Victoria Serra and Judith Street. They are joined by: David Bardsley, Alistair Barron, Helena Blackman, Scott Cripps, James Gant, Luke George, Douglas Hansell, Rob Houchen, Claire Machin, Jessica Paul, Peter Prentice, Dom Simpson.Titanic is the first production in a major season of musicals - including the European premiere of Titanic composer Maury Yeston’s Death Takes a Holiday - announced last month by Southerland on his appointment as Artistic Director of Charing Cross Theatre.Southerland, a fast rising star director who has enjoyed considerable acclaim and success with a string of striking Off West End revivals and premieres of major Broadway musicals, including the recent sold-out European premiere of Grey Gardens, said: “I am incredibly excited that Titanic will set sail for London again and will open our new season of Musical Theatre at Charing Cross Theatre. Having created the production in the intimate setting of Southwark Playhouse, it will be wonderful to see Maury Yeston’s epic musical at such close proximity again. Having opened productions of the show in major theatres in Japan and Canada, it really feels like the show is coming home.”In the final hour of 14 April 1912 the RMS Titanic, on her maiden voyage from Southampton to New York, collided with an iceberg and ‘the unsinkable ship’ slowly sank. It was one of the most tragic disasters of the 20th Century. 1517 men, women and children lost their lives. Based on actual characters aboard the greatest ship in the world, Maury Yeston (Nine, Grand Hotel) and Peter Stone’s stunning musical focuses on their hopes and aspirations. Unaware of the fate that awaits them, the Third Class immigrants dream of a better life in America, the newly-enfranchised Second Class dream of achieving the lifestyles of the rich and famous, and the millionaire Barons of the First Class dream of their hegemony lasting forever.Creative team: Director Thom Southerland, Musical Staging Cressida Carré, Musical Director Mark Aspinall, Set & Costume Designer David Woodhead, Lighting Designer Howard Hudson, Sound Designer Andrew Johnson

Hit musical comedy Little Shop of Horrors is back, and bringing everyone’s favourite carnivorous plant to theatres across the UK in a brand new tour for 2016, opening at Bournemouth Pavilion on Thursday 4 August 2016. Rhydian will play The Dentist, Orin Scrivello. Rhydian rose to fame as a runaway success on ITV’s X Factor and has sold in excess of a million albums worldwide. He has released 6 albums and duetted and performed with some of the biggest names in the music industry including Michael Bublé, Taylor Swift, Enrique Iglesias, Celine Dion and Nicole Scherzinger. Rhydian’s many theatre credits include Grease, We Will Rock You, The War Of The Worlds, Jesus Christ Superstar and the 40th Anniversary Tour of The Rocky Horror Show. Rhydian has just completed his third solo UK tour and is a Classical Brit Award nominee.A charming, kooky and hilarious 1950s musical comedy, Little Shop of Horrors tells the story of Seymour, the assistant at Mushnik's Flower Shop in downtrodden Skid Row, who becomes an overnight sensation when he discovers a strange and exotic plant. He names it Audrey Two in order to impress glamorous Audrey, the shop assistant he’s secretly in love with. But Audrey Two has a mind of its own, and soon grows into a bad-tempered, foul-mouthed carnivore with an appetite that can’t be satisfied. Seymour must keep the meals coming to stop his prized plant from wilting, but how far is he willing to go to get the girl of his dreams?Little Shop of Horrors originally opened Off-Off-Broadway in 1982 before moving to the Orpheum Theatre Off-Broadway later that year, where it ran for five years and won numerous awards including the New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Musical and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Musical. It opened in the West End the following year, and in 1986 was adapted into the now iconic cult film starring Rick Moranis, Ellen Greene and Steve Martin. Other notable stage productions include the 2006 London revival at the Menier Chocolate Factory and in the West End, starring Sheridan Smith as Audrey.Little Shop of Horrors features music by legendary composer Alan Menken, best known for his iconic Walt Disney film scores including The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and Pocahontas, all of which have earned him Academy Awards.Little Shop of Horrors is directed by Tara Wilkinson (Associate Director of Motown the Musical, Memphis and Sunday in the Park With George, all in the West End) with choreography by Matthew Cole (Footloose The Musical UK Tour). The Musical Supervisor is Mark Crossland. It is presented by Sell a Door Theatre Company and Damien Tracey Productions. Sell a Door Theatre Company have previously toured critically acclaimed productions of Avenue Q, The History Boys, American Idiot and Seussical the Musical.2016 UK TOURThursday 4 – Saturday 13 August 2016BOURNEMOUTH Pavilion TheatreBox Office www.thespabridlington.com | 01262 678258Tuesday 16 – Saturday 20 August 2016LLANDUDNO, Venue CymruBox Office www.venuecymru.co.uk | 01492 872000Monday 22 – Saturday 27 August 2016WIMBLEDON New TheatrePress night: Tuesday 23 August, 7.30pmBox Office www.atgtickets.com/venues/new-wimbledon-theatre | 020 8545 7900Tuesday 30 August – Saturday 4 September 2016BELFAST OPERA HOUSEBox Office www.goh.co.uk | 028 9024 1919Tuesday 6 – Saturday 10 September 2016WOKING New Victoria TheatreBox Office www.atgtickets.com/venues/new-victoria-theatre | 0844 871 7645Tuesday 13 – Saturday 17 September 2016AYLESBURY Waterside TheatreBox Office www.atgtickets.com/venues/aylesbury-waterside-theatre | 0844 871 7607Tuesday 20 – Saturday 24 September 2016LICHFIELD Garrick TheatreBox Office www.lichfieldgarrick.com | 01543 412121Tuesday 27 September – Saturday 1 October 2016BIRMINGHAM Alexandra TheatreBox Office www.atgtickets.com/venues/new-alexandra-theatre-birmingham | 0844 871 3011Monday 3 – Saturday 8 October 2016CARDIFF New TheatreBox Office www.newtheatrecardiff.co.uk | 029 2087 8889ON SALE SOONTuesday 11 – Saturday 15 October 2016BRIDLINGTON SpaBox Office www.thespabridlington.com | 01262 678258Monday 17 – Saturday 22 October 2016CHELTENHAM Everyman TheatreBox Office www.everymantheatre.org.uk | 01242 572573Wednesday 26 – Saturday 29 October 2016COVENTRY Belgrade TheatreBox Office www.belgrade.co.uk | 024 7655 3055ON SALE SOONMonday 31 October – Saturday 5 November 2016MANCHESTER Palace TheatreBox Office www.atgtickets.com/venues/palace-theatre-manchester | 0161 245 6600Monday 14 – Saturday 19 November 2016GLASGOW King’s TheatreBox Office www.atgtickets.com/venues/kings-theatre | 0844 871 7648Tuesday 22 – Saturday 26 November 2016BLACKPOOL Grand TheatreBox Office www.blackpoolgrand.co.uk | 01253 290190

Broadway Baby, one of the longest-established theatre sites on the internet, has named Bethan Troakes as its Brighton Editor. Troakes brings years of experience to the role as both reviewer and sub-editor for Broadway Baby in previous Fringe festivals. Troakes also has practical knowledge of working with an arts company and produced shows herself. Talking of the appointment, Troakes said “I am delighted to be appointed the Brighton Editor of Broadway Baby and am extremely excited to be a part of the flourishing arts scene in Brighton, starting with the Fringe in May. With its unique cultural scene and the largest arts festival in the UK, Brighton is a leading centre for theatre, comedy, dance and much more.” She continued “Broadway Baby is committed to supporting Brighton artists as the leading reviewer in the city and with our team of skilled reviewers and editors we aim to present the best of Brighton to our audiences in May and throughout the year.” Troakes was appointed by Broadway Baby’s Brighton Publisher, Nick Abrams. He commented “Beth was the star candidate from a strong line up of potential editors. She is an experienced arts journalist who has shown herself to be deeply committed to the Brighton theatre scene. “Having been a part of the Broadway Baby team previously, and combined with Beth’s producing credits, she is the ideal person to lead Broadway Baby as we expand in Brighton. 2016 is going to be Broadway Baby’s biggest year so far and Beth, along with the stellar team already in place, will be playing a huge role in our wonderfully ambitious plans.”

Sonia Friedman Productions announces today that tickets for the long awaited UK premiere of Tony Award-winning musical Dreamgirls go on sale this week. The brand new production begins preview performances at the Savoy Theatre from 19 November with Opening Night on Wednesday 14 December 2016.As previously confirmed, American actress and singer Amber Riley will make her West End debut playing soulful singer ‘Effie White’ in the production, which will be Directed and Choreographed by Olivier and Tony Award-winning Casey Nicholaw (The Book of Mormon, Disney’s Aladdin and Something Rotten!). Dreamgirls will have Set Design by Tim Hatley, Costume Design by Gregg Barnes, Lighting Design by Hugh Vanstone, Sound Design by Richard Brooker and Hair Design by Josh Marquette. The Musical Supervisor will be Nick Finlow, the Orchestrator will be Harold Wheeler, with Additional Material by Willie Reale.Inspired by R&B music acts in 1960s America, Dreamgirls transports you to a revolutionary time in American music history. Dreamgirls charts the tumultuous journey of a young female singing trio, from Chicago, Illinois called The Dreams, as they learn the hard lesson that show business is as tough as it is fabulous, and features the classic songs And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going, I Am Changing, Listen and One Night Only.With Book and Lyrics by Tom Eyen and Music by Henry Krieger, the original Broadway production of Dreamgirls, Directed and Choreographed by Michael Bennett opened in 1981 and subsequently won six Tony Awards. The original cast recording won two Grammy awards for Best Musical Album and Best Vocal Performance for Jennifer Holliday’s And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going. In 2006 it was adapted into an Oscar winning motion picture starring Beyoncé Knowles, Jennifer Hudson, Eddie Murphy and Jamie Foxx.Tickets are now on sale to priority bookers with tickets going on general sale at 12 noon on Friday 1 April.www.dreamgirlswestend.com

A theatre company nominated for an Olivier Award will open the ninth annual Greenwich Children’s Theatre Festival at Greenwich Theatre on Good Friday, March 26.Les Enfants Terribles – nominated alongside the likes of Benedict Cumberbatch and Nicole Kidman for their show Alice Underground – will present their “weird and wonderful” The Marvellous Imaginary Menagerie as the festival starts at the theatre in Crooms Hill.“We’re absolutely thrilled with the nomination,” said producer James Seager. “We almost didn’t go to the announcement of the nominations but we were persuaded to go, if only to meet people and do some networking.“It was a real shock when we heard we had been nominated for the family theatre award. It was very humbling, too. We were whisked off to be interviewed by the press and radio, so suddenly it was all very exciting.”Les Enfants have a long association with Greenwich Theatre and have developed a special rapport with the audience. “It’s a special place for us because it’s a beautiful theatre that suits our shows so well. We do immerse ourselves and our audiences in weird and wonderful shows but the storytelling is at the heart of it.“We are always thinking of what to do next and pushing ourselves to find new ways of telling stories. What pleases us most is that we attract ages from seven to 77. We heard from one man in his seventies who said three generations of his family attended one show and they all loved it.”The Marvellous Imaginary Menagerie tells the story of a character called Dr Longitude, who captures people to capture animals for his imaginary menagerie. “It’s very silly but great fun,” said James, “and we love the fact that Greenwich audiences are so quick to get the point and join in the spirit of our shows.”This year’s Greenwich Children’s Theatre Festival – started by James Haddrell when he became artistic and executive director at Greenwich Theatre in 2007 - has become so big that the programme has had to be split in two.Working in collaboration with Greenwich Council and Greenwich & Lewisham Young People’s Theatre, the festival will comprise two weeks of professional shows for families at Greenwich Theatre in the two weeks of the Easter holiday, then a week of professional theatre, workshops and activities in Woolwich and around the borough during the May half term holiday.“Having Les Enfants Terrible opening the programme is perfect,” said James Haddrell. “They are so visually creative and capture the audience immediately. They invariably include some sort of puppetry, their costumes are always larger than life and even when they’re telling a children’s story there’s always a dark tinge to it.“They really are the ideal company to launch our family festival programme. Their aesthetic is so strong that you know when you are seeing a Les Enfants show, and we’re now seeing the emergence of a whole range of new companies influenced by their work.”Other highlights include Tucked In’s Leaper: A Fish Tale, which follows one fish’s magical quest against natural and man-made monsters in our seas, Make Do and Mend’s At The End Of Everything Else, a fairy story about the search for a friend with all the actors on bicycles, a new stage adaptation of Emma Yarlett’s Orion and the Dark which will be followed by a book signing, and the return of the hugely popular Comedy Club 4 Kids.“Every school holiday you can look to Greenwich Theatre for these types of shows and other activities,” said James. “We’re very aware that theatre is under threat across the country with funding cuts and that people have to make more careful choices about spending their money.“As clichéd as it sounds, the future of theatre lies with children and our job is to get them coming to theatre at the age of four, then seven, 10 and 17. You can lose generations of children if you don’t attract them, and that’s why we work so hard to make this festival more ambitious year on year.”Find the full festival programme and ticket prices at http://www.greenwichtheatre.org.uk

The cast of Thriller Live celebrated in style last night as the show marked its 3,000th performance in the West End with a spectacular cake and an American-themed party at Planet Hollywood.  Thriller Live opened to critical acclaim at the Lyric Theatre in the West End on January 26, 2009 and this week played its 3,000th record-breaking performance there! The cast and creative team celebrated the news with a 3-tier cake topped with a figure of Michael Jackson himself. Producers Paul Walden & Derek Nicol said: “We are thrilled that Thriller Live continues to rock the West End, delighting audiences of all nationalitites in its 8th record-breaking year at the Lyric Theatre.” Thriller Live is unlike other West End musicals. There is no script or story, it is instead a eye-popping spectacular concert celebration of Michael Jackson’s music and dance legacy, bringing to life on stage his distinctive high-energy dancing and the pulsating sound of many of pop’s greatest hits. The show changes each year with new numbers added, and features specially created video footage and effects and dazzling choreography by the show’s award-winning director, Gary Lloyd.  Thriller Live recently passed Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Evita, which opened in 1978, to become the 17th Longest Running West End Musical of all time. It has now been been seen by over three million people worldwide and is currently touring the UK. Thriller Live has taken more than $150 million at the global box office and continues to set and break records and visit new territories. To date it has now performed to standing ovations in 32 countries from South Korea to Norway, and South America to China.  In London, Thriller Live is also the longest-running production in the Lyric Theatre’s 125-year history. It moonwalked into the West End after three acclaimed UK tours. When Michael Jackson died, the Lyric became a focus for fans from all over the world, who created a massive shrine of flowers, candles, and tributes.

Playwright Brad Birch received the 2016 Pinter Commission yesterday (Tuesday 15 March) – an award given annually by Lady Antonia Fraser, Harold Pinter’s widow, to support a new commission at the Royal Court Theatre. The Pinter Commission is now in its fifth year and is given annually to support a playwright to write a new play for the Royal Court Theatre. There are no restrictions on the award, which can be given to any playwright from a first time, unpublished writer to one already established. Brad Birch has taken part in several writing groups at the Royal Court. In 2011 the Royal Court Theatre produced Brad’s short play Permafrost as part of the Rough Cut Season of work. His play Where The Shot Rabbits Lay was produced as a performed reading as part of the Young Writers Festival 2012. In 2013, as part of Open Court, Brad was one of the contributing writers on Peckham: The Soap Opera. He also took part in Playwright At Your Table where he read his plays Light Arrested Between The Curtain and The Glass. Brad recently led an Introduction to Playwrighting group at the Royal Court. Brad’s other credits include Protest for Old Vic, Selfie: The Modern Day Dorian Gray for National Youth Theatre at Ambassadors Theatre, Tender Bolus for Manchester Royal Exchange and Schauspielhaus (Hamburg) and Gardening: For The Unfulfilled and Alienated for Edinburgh Festival and Latitude Festival. He currently has work in development with Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, The Orange Tree theatre, the Royal Shakespeare Company and Nadia Latif. His play, The Brink, written on attachment at The Royal Court, will shortly be produced at The Orange Tree Theatre. Brad Birch, Playwright said: “I hope to write a play that stands up to the great names of the Royal Court and Harold Pinter.” Vicky Featherstone, Artistic Director of the Royal Court said: “I am thrilled to be announcing Brad Birch as the fifth recipient of our prestigious Pinter Commission. Brad is a courageous writer, tackling complex ideas with a wit and deftness and challenging our notion of the stories which make us feel comfortable and I am delighted that this enables us to commission him. Pinter was not only recognised as an extraordinary playwright and thinker, but was also a vigorous and passionate supporter of new talent, understanding deeply the highs and lows of building a career in theatre. Lady Antonia’s generosity and vision in creating this award ensures his legacy influences long into our future“. Lady Antonia Fraser said: “I believe that the Pinter Commission is exactly what Harold would have wanted. Because he had experienced the devastating rejection of his early work, he knew the true value of encouragement. New writing was always intensely important to Harold and Brad Birch is a welcome recipient of the 2016 Award.”

Universal Arts announced this week that they are thrilled to be bringing BBC Radio 4 star Lach on board to produce and programme shows at the New Town Theatre (96 George St) for The Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2016. Universal Arts programmes and manages two prestigious Fringe venues located in the heart of the city – the New Town Theatre and the Hill Street Theatre. Over the last twenty-seven festivals, UA has introduced literally thousands of artists from around the world to UK audiences winning the Herald Archangel Award in 2009 a 20-year track record of top international theatre at the Fringe.  Lach is the writer and star of the hit BBC Radio 4 comedy series The Lach Chronicles. Now in its third season, the show has earned Top Radio Pick Hit from every major UK paper including The Times, The Observer, The Telegraph, The Daily Mail and Radio Times. Lach is also the founder of the Antifolk music and arts movement that has been cited as a major inspiration for such diverse performers as Suzanne Vega, Beck, Jeff Buckley, Regina Spektor and countless others. Additionally, Lach hosted New York City’s longest running open stage, The Antihoot, and was the executive producer of NYC’s largest nightclub, Webster Hall before moving to Edinburgh in 2011. “I became involved with UA through a series of amazing coincidences that would make a Fringe show in and of itself!” Lach says. “The New Town Theatre is a true champion of what has become regarded as “classic Fringe”; international touring theatrical productions. They have that nailed down so I’ll be concentrating on putting together a performances featuring some friends, some legends and a lot of surprises. We will be featuring lots of well-known names but it’s the Fringe, so they’re going to be doing something a little unexpected. My motto for 2016 is ‘classic Fringe made modern’." Tomek Borkowy, Universal Arts CEO and Artistic Director, says, “We’re incredibly excited to be working with Lach, his vision and contact-book will bring something new and exciting to the Fringe. We will begin revealing our programme over the coming weeks on the website – universalartsfestival.com – and via Facebook and Twitter where you’ll be the first to know.”

Producer Mark Goucher has confirmed that following the phenomenal success of the current UK tour, the new production of Hairspray will return at the end of summer 2017 to once again tour the UK. This second tour of the smash hit musical will visit venues across the country until the spring of 2018. Casting, dates and locations for the 2017/18 tour will be announced in due course.The producer of Hairspray Mark Goucher said: “I am delighted that after seeing this new production of Hairspray, Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman have personally extended the rights to the show, in order for us to embark upon a second UK tour. This next tour of Hairspray will give us the opportunity to bring the show to new venues which we were unable to visit in 2015/16 and also to return to theatres which welcomed the show during its current tour.” This new production of Hairspray embarked on a major UK tour in 2015 beginning at the Curve Theatre, Leicester and continues across the UK until May 2016. The production has enjoyed huge success on the road having been seen by just under quarter of a million people with nine venues still to visit. Hairspray is directed by Paul Kerryson, with choreography by Drew McOnie and musical direction by Ben Atkinson. The show has music and lyrics by Academy Award, Tony and Emmy winning duo Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman. The current UK tour sees Matt Rixon (The Producers, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang) play Edna alongside TV and stage actress and presenter Claire Sweeney (Educating Rita, Guys and Dolls) as Velma Von Tussle, Olivier Award nominated actor and much-loved Blue Peter presenter Peter Duncan (BBC1 Tumble) as Wilbur Turnblad and British singer and West End performer Brenda Edwards (Chicago, We Will Rock You, The X Factor) as Motormouth Maybelle. It’s Baltimore 1962, where Tracy Turnblad, a big girl with big hair and an even bigger heart, is on a mission to follow her dreams and dance her way onto national TV. Tracy’s audition makes her a local star and soon she is using her new-found fame to fight for equality, bagging local heartthrob Link Larkin along the way.Hairspray is a musical based on the 1988 film of the same name which starred Divine and Ricki Lake by cult filmmaker John Waters. With music and lyrics by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman and book by Mark O’Donnell and Thomas Meehan, Hairspray originally opened to rave reviews on Broadway in 2002 and subsequently won eight Tony Awards. The production opened in London at the Shaftesbury Theatre in 2007 and won four Laurence Olivier Awards including Best New Musical. Proving to be an international success, Hairspray has also opened in South Africa, Japan, South Korea, China and Dubai. Following the musical’s phenomenal success on stage, a film of the musical was released in 2007 which starred John Travolta, Michelle Pfeiffer and James Marsden.Hairspray is produced by Mark Goucher and Laurence Myers, Tom O'Connell Productions Ltd., Just for Laughs Theatricals, Gale King Productions, Gary Brown and Curve theatre, Leicester. 

Just 3 weeks ago comic Kai Humphries issued a rallying cry to the legion of followers who support Punch-Drunk Comedy – a South East Northumberland comedy club with a difference. He asked 100 people to step up and pledge to raise £1000 each to enable 3 year-old Kian Musgrove from Newcastle to travel to New York for lifesaving cancer treatment. As of today the merry band of fundraisers – mainly based in Blyth but with some members scattered much further afield - have collectively raised over £40,000 and have played their part in a storyline where Kian now has enough money to travel to the US and begin his treatment – something which looked unlikely just 2 short months ago when his fund sat at just half of the required £500k!Kian’s fundraising - which had already been hugely successful, raising almost £250,000 in the 18 months since he was first diagnosed with the aggressive form of childhood cancer – gained momentum in early February when 800 people came together in Blyth, Northumberland for Fight for Kian; an evening of amateur boxing between 20 top comedians, hosted by Blyth-based Punch-Drunk Comedy, the baby of Kai Humphries and his brother Gav. With the involvement of a cross-section of the UK comedy industry including host Rhod Gilbert, the event developed into a carnival and raised another £30,000 towards the £500,000 total that Kian needed in order to begin treatment in New York.Since this event a dramatic influx of donations including a second £40,000 from a supporter in Luxembourg and £25,000 from Simon Cowell has seen Kian’s initial £500,000 target reached, meaning that he will definitely be going to America for treatment!He still needs people’s help, though – as any complications or unexpected hospital admissions (which could happen as a result of anything from a common cold) – will cost thousands of pounds more.So this is why the 100 Heroes are not done yet!Throughout this month they’re suffering through long-distance bike rides, head-shaves and even a sponsored aeroplane flight for one particular hero who has an extreme fear of flying – to raise their phenomenal combined target of £100,000.Huge comedy fan Jen Hamilton even put herself through a spot on Red Raw at The Edinburgh Stand – with absolutely no experience - to raise money towards her pal Jojo Sutherland’s collection!Punch-Drunk plans to celebrate the news that Kian will get his treatment and the incredible ongoing work of the 100 Heroes at their March gigs in Blyth, Bedlington & Ashington on the 21st, 22nd & 23rd - where none other than Gary Delaney, Jarred Christmas and Damien Clark will be providing the entertainment!You’ll find all of the details about the events by searching ‘Punch-Drunk Comedy – Blyth’ on Facebook and you can reserve tickets for payment on the door, by calling or texting 07738663379.If you’d like to make a contribution to Kian’s treatment fund, you can do that, right here – www.kapipal.com./caringforkian

Ben Richards will join previously announced Beverley Knight in the international hit musical The Bodyguard when it returns to the West End for a limited six month run in July this year. Richards will play Frank Farmer, Rachel Marron’s bodyguard, alongside Beverley Knight in the leading role of the Oscar-nominated superstar Marron. Performances begin at the Dominion Theatre on 15 July 2016 for this strictly limited season to 7 January 2017.Ben Richards can currently be seen in Hollyoaks playing Sergeant Ben Bradley, a role he has been playing for just over a year. Previously on television he played Nate Roberts in The Bill, Bruno Milligan in Footballer’s Wives as well as roles in Doctors and Holby City. His many leading roles in musical theatre include Sky Masterson in Guys and Dolls on tour and in the West End, Danny Zuko in Grease at the Victoria Palace Theatre and on tour, Tony Manero in Saturday Night Fever at the London Palladium and on tour, Jerry Lukowski in The Full Monty at the Prince of Wales Theatre, Tick in Priscilla Queen of the Desert the Musical at the Palace Theatre, Bill Sykes in Oliver at Sheffield Crucible as well as Franklyn Hart in 9-5 and Stacee Jaxx in Rock of Ages, both on tour.Thea Sharrock’s production of The Bodyguard received its world premiere at the Adelphi Theatre in November 2012 where it opened to critical acclaim with Heather Headley as Rachel Marron and due to public demand the show’s run was extended. In 2013 Beverley Knight joined the cast and took over the lead role. The show continued to play to packed houses and released a further 300,000 tickets for sale. Alexandra Burke followed Knight as Rachel Marron in June 2014 who continues to play the role inthe show’s UK and Ireland sell-out tour which completes its hit run in June this year.The cast comprises Beverley Knight (Rachel Marron), Ben Richards (The Bodyguard), Rachel John (Nicki Marron), Carole Stennett (alternate Rachel Marron), Mark Holden (Bill Devaney), Alex Andreas (Tony), Dominic Taylor (Sy Spector), Matthew Stathers (Stalker) and Glen Fox (Ray Court). Ensemble members are Omari Bernard, Faye Best, Pablo Ceresuela Torres, Carlos Ugarriza Crespo, Lisa Darnell, Charles Hagerty, Emma Joy Hopkins, Ibinabo Jack,Christopher Jeffers, Verity Jones, Annie Kitchen, Phoebe Liberty, Raul Naranjo Garcia, Mary Lynn Tiep, Michael Wade-Peters, Matthew Wesley, Emmy Willow and Mark Willshire. The young boys who will alternate the role of Fletcher will be announced shortly.

Broadway Baby, the largest reviewing publication at the Edinburgh Fringe, has named Henry St Leger as the Editor for this year’s festival.Henry St Leger, who originally joined the Broadway Baby team in 2014 as a reviewer and last year co-edited the Theatre section said he was “delighted to take up the challenge of steering Broadway Baby this year.“As the festival grows ever larger and traditional media coverage gets even thinner, it’s up to publications like Broadway Baby to come up with more creative ways of navigating the Fringe.“2016 will see a massive increase in our preview coverage and a highly proactive approach to social media, meaning we plan to uncover the festival gems prior to August and help them create a pre-Fringe buzz.”Broadway Baby Publisher, Pete Shaw said “I’m thrilled Henry has accepted the role of Editor this year. His enthusiasm and knowledge are going to prove invaluable in ramping up our reporting of the largest arts festival in the world.”Broadway Baby was established at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2004, and since 2011 a new Editor has taken the reigns each year in order to keep the publication fresh and innovative. Joining Henry St Leger on the senior editorial team are Comedy Editor, Martin Walker – who has years of experience at the festival as Editor of ScotsGay’s Fringe supplement – and Cabaret Editor, Frodo McDaniel, described by the press as "The Godfather of Scottish cabaret". Applications for other senior editorial and reviewer positions are now being accepted at http://www.broadwaybaby.com/recruitment.php

Award-winning theatre director Thom Southerland has been appointed Artistic Director of London’s Charing Cross Theatre.Southerland, a fast rising star director who has enjoyed great success with a string of striking Off West End revivals and premieres of major Broadway musicals, including the recent sold-out European premiere of Grey Gardens , will launch a season of musicals with the return of the multi award-winning Southwark Playhouse production of Titanic for a 10-week run from Saturday May 28.Titanic was produced by Danielle Tarento at Southwark Playhouse. Tarento and Southerland will continue their successful long-time collaboration at Charing Cross Theatre, where she will co-produce the entire season with Steven M. Levy and Sean Sweeney.Following Titanic (Saturday 28 May - Saturday 6 August) with music and lyrics by Maury Yeston and book by Peter Stone, the three other productions are:Radio Times (Saturday 20 August - Saturday 1 October) music by Noel Gay and book by Abi Grant with additional material from Alex Armitage.Ragtime (Saturday 8 October - Saturday 26 November) music by Stephen Flaherty, lyrics by Lynn Ahrens and book by Terrence McNally.Death Takes a Holiday (Saturday 3 December - Saturday 21 January, 2017) music and lyrics by Maury Yeston and book by Peter Stone and Thomas Meehan, the European premiere of the follow-up to Titanic by its Tony Award-winning composers.Thom Southerland will direct all the shows apart from Radio TImes, which will be directed by Ben Woolf.In a joint statement, Steven M. Levy and Sean Sweeney said: “Thom Southerland’s appoinment marks the start of an exciting, fabulous new chapter in the history of our theatre. As we turn into a full-time producing house we are thrilled to announce the appointment of Thom as Artistic Director and to welcome Danielle Tarento as our season co-producer.”Thom Southerland, speaking from Japan, where he’s directing a new version of his London hit, Grand Hotel, said: “Having directed The Mikado at Charing Cross Theatre, I am thrilled to have been appointed Artistic Director. It’s doubly exciting to be able to premiere Titanic composer Maury Yeston’s Death Takes a Holiday to round off this first season.”

Summer Days – the UK’s newest boutique music and food festival – has unveiled a trio of post-punk legends to bolster an already incredible and eclectic line-up.Joining the bill on Wednesday 6 July, ex-New Order bass hero Peter Hook and his band The Light will be performing a Joy Division/New Order set full of seminal hits including Love Will Tear Us Apart, Transmission, Ceremony, Blue Monday and True Faith and many others from two of the UK’s most influential bands of the last four decades. Appearing on Friday’s bill is singer-songwriter, broadcaster and activist Tom Robinson and his band. After achieving fame and critical acclaim for hits 2-4-6-8 Motorway, Glad to be Gay and War Baby. Tom has latterly been renowned for a glittering career in national radio and has just released his first album in almost 20 years Only The Now. Don’t imagine for a minute that his performance will be anything less than an exuberant romp though some of the most influential records of the new-wave era.Also featuring on the Friday line-up is punk survivor and founding member of The Stranglers, Hugh Cornwell (pictured), with his full band. As the original guitarist, singer and main songwriter in The Stranglers, he enjoyed massive success with 10 hit albums and 21 Top Forty singles, etching himself into Europe and the USA's musical psyche with classic songs, including Peaches, No More Heroes, Golden Brown andAlways the Sun. Expect an exciting show chock full of hits and anthems from the heady days of ‘76 right up to the here and now.Summer Days is a three-day boutique music and food festival in the grounds of Clitheroe Castle - one of the North’s most beautiful and unique locations. With two live stages featuring more than 30 artists, a locally sourced gourmet food village and a dedicated real ale area there is much, much more still to be announced.Summer Days Festival will announce a final headline act and a full supporting bill in the coming weeks as well as a full festival programme.General access tickets are available from £59.50 per day. A limited number of daily VIP tickets will be available at £149 each.For full details and to purchase tickets please visit:www.summerdaysfestival.com

Further casting has been announced for The Entertainer, the final production in the Kenneth Branagh Theatre Company’s Plays at the Garrick season. John Hurt will return to the London stage for the first time in a decade as legendary patriarch Billy Rice opposite Kenneth Branagh, who as previously announced, will play the unforgettable Archie Rice in Rob Ashford’s production. Also joining the company will be Jonah Hauer-King as Frank Rice, Sophie McShera as Jean Rice and Greta Scacchi as Phoebe Rice. The Entertainer will play at the Garrick Theatre from Saturday 20 August until Saturday 12 November. Set against the backdrop of post-war Britain, John Osborneʼs modern classic conjures the seedy glamour of the old music halls for an explosive examination of public masks and private torment.In partnership with Picturehouse Entertainment, The Entertainer will be broadcast live to cinemas worldwide in the autumn. The date of the broadcast will be announced soon. Participating cinemas and further information about Branagh Theatre Live can be found at branaghtheatrelive.com Rob Ashford said: "I am really looking forward to working on this play. I find The Entertainer riveting and in my opinion there is no better group of actors to bring it to life.”John Hurt said: “I am thrilled to be invited to play Billy Rice in this production of what I believe to be one of the great plays of the twentieth century. This has been a wonderfully successful season for Ken Branagh and his company, and I feel proud and privileged to be joining them.” Greta Scacchi said: “I am thrilled to be working opposite Ken at last! I have known him since the start of our careers 30-something years ago and, although we played husband and wife in a radio play 5 years ago, this will be the first time we are on stage together.” The cinema broadcast of The Entertainer will be directed by Benjamin Caron, who has previously directed the broadcast of the Kenneth Branagh Theatre Company’s production of The Winter’s Tale, and will be directing the broadcast of Romeo and Juliet, starring Lily James, Richard Madden, Derek Jacobi and Meera Syal, on 7 July. Caron has also collaborated with Kenneth Branagh on the forthcoming series of Wallander, due to be broadcast on the BBC in 2016. The Winter’s Tale, Harlequinade / All On Her Own, Red Velvet, The Painkiller, Romeo and Juliet and The Entertainer make up the seven-play season of work for the Kenneth Branagh Theatre Company. For more information please see branaghtheatre.com

Sonia Friedman Productions is today celebrating as the full Olivier Awards Nominations list included 20 potential winners for productions the company is behind.Sonia Friedman said: “It is extraordinary. I want to take the chance to congratulate all the writers, performers, composers, directors, designers, lighting designers, sound designers, musicians, co-producers, investors and of course my team at SFP. I also want to say a very big thank you to all the immensely talented artists involved in all the productions we produced and co-produced in 2015 /2016. Today I am feeling very proud.”Full list of SFP nominees:Best Revival Hamlet at Barbican TheatreBest New Comedy A Christmas Carol at Noel Coward TheatreVirgin Atlantic Best New Play Farinelli and the King at Duke of York’s TheatreMastercard Best New Musical Bend It Like Beckham at Phoenix TheatreBest Actor Benedict Cumberbatch for Hamlet at Barbican TheatreBest Actor Mark Rylance for Farinelli and the King at Duke of York’s TheatreBest Actress Lia Williams for Oresteia at Almeida TheatreBest Director Robert Icke for Oresteia at AlmeidaBest Actress in a Musical Natalie Dew for Bend It Like Beckham at Phoenix TheatreBest Actress in a Supporting Role Melody Grove for Farinelli and the King at Duke of York’s TheatreBest Actress in a Supporting Role in a Musical Preeya Kalidas for Bend It Like Beckham at Phoenix TheatreBest Costume Design Jonathan Fensom for Farinelli and the King at Duke of York’s TheatreKatrina Lindsay for Bend It Like Beckham at Phoenix TheatreBlue-I Theatre Technology Award for Best Set Design Hildegard Bechtler for Oresteia at Almeida TheatreEs Devlin for Hamlet at Barbican TheatreJonathan Fensom for Farinelli and the King at Duke of York’s TheatreWhite Light Award for Best Lighting Design Natasha Chivers for Oresteia at Almeida TheatreBest Sound Design Christopher Shutt for Hamlet at Barbican TheatreAutograph Sound Award for Outstanding Achievement in Music Bend It Like Beckham – Music by Howard Goodall, Lyrics by Charles Hart and Orchestrations by Howard Goodall and Kuljit Bhamra at Phoenix TheatreFarinelli and the King – Claire van Kampen for Musical Arrangements, the Musicians and Iestyn Davies and the singers who alternated the singing role of Farinelli at Duke of York’s TheatreSonia Friedman ProductionsSonia Friedman Productions (SFP) is a West End and Broadway production company responsible for some of the most successful theatre productions in London and New York. Since 1990, SFP has developed, initiated and produced over 140 new productions and has won numerous Olivier and Tony Awards, winning 6 at the 2015 Olivier Awards - including Best New Musical and Best New Play - and a record-breaking 14 at the 2014 Olivier Awards, including the quartet of Best New Musical, Best New Play, Best Revival of a Musical and Best Revival of a Play.West End and Broadway productions include the UK premiere of The Book of Mormon, Funny Girl at the Menier Chocolate Factory, A Christmas Carol starring Jim Broadbent, Farinelli and the King, Oresteia, Hamlet starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Sunny Afternoon, Bend It Like Beckham, The Nether, The River, Electra, King Charles III, Shakespeare in Love, 1984,Ghosts, Mojo, Chimerica, Merrily We Roll Along, Old Times, Twelfth Night and Richard III, A Chorus of Disapproval, The Sunshine Boys, Hay Fever, Absent Friends, Top Girls, Betrayal,Much Ado About Nothing, Clybourne Park, The Children’s Hour, A Flea in Her Ear, La Bête, All My Sons, Private Lives, Jerusalem, A Little Night Music, Legally Blonde, Othello,Arcadia, The Mountaintop, The Norman Conquests, A View from the Bridge, Dancing at Lughnasa, Maria Friedman: Re-Arranged, La Cage aux Folles, No Man’s Land, The Seagull,Under The Blue Sky, That Face, Dealer’s Choice, Hergé’s Adventures of Tintin, In Celebration, Boeing-Boeing, The Dumb Waiter, Rock ’n’ Roll, Love Song, Faith Healer, Bent, Eh Joe,Donkeys’ Years, Otherwise Engaged, Celebration, Shoot The Crow, As You Like It, The Home Place, Whose Life Is It Anyway?, By the Bog of Cats, The Woman in White, Guantánamo,Endgame, Jumpers, See You Next Tuesday, Hitchcock Blonde, Absolutely! {Perhaps}, Sexual Perversity in Chicago, Ragtime, Macbeth, What the Night Is For, Afterplay, Up For Grabs, A Day in the Death of Joe Egg, Noises Off, On An Average Day, A Servant to Two Masters, Port Authority, Spoonface Steinberg and Speed-The-Plow.Forthcoming productions include Funny Girl at the Savoy Theatre, the UK tour of Sunny Afternoon and, with her co-producing partner, Colin Callender, collaborating with J.K. Rowling on Harry Potter and the Cursed Child and Dreamgirls at the Savoy Theatre.

On Sunday 7th February, the UK comedy industry lead by Rhod Gilbert descended on Blyth - an unassuming but passionately community-driven town in Northumberland - for the first ever UK Comics Boxing. The show had been dedicated to raising funds for Kian Musgrove, a 3 year-old boy from Newcastle who’s battle with an aggressive childhood cancer called Neuroblastoma has left him out of treatment options in the UK after doctors confirmed the dreaded relapse late last year. Kian’s only chance now is an experimental treatment in the US which can increase his chances of survival from 0% to 80%but will cost at least £555,000 - a sum that he must have in the bank in full before the treatment can start.The UK Comics Boxing: Fight for Kian saw 20 top comics come together to compete in amateur boxing bouts and over the weeks prior to the Sunday night showdown; sold out to its 800-capacity and developed into a carnival – in the end raising a phenomenal £30,000 towards Kian’s treatment. Since that night, awareness of Kian’s plight has increased exponentially and donations have gained pace with it, with the fundraising total soaring from £250,000 to £413,000 in a matter of weeks. There is still a long way to go though and the seemingly unlikely team of Blyth and the comedy industry en-masse has refused to rest until Kian is flying across the Atlantic with the treatment waiting for him on the other side. That’s where Kian’s 100 Heroes come in!Since 800 people filed out of Blyth Sports Centre on Sunday 7th after the final fight of the night between brothers Gav and Kai Humphries, the guys behind Punch-Drunk Comedy and the UK Comics Boxing – people have been clamouring for ways to help Kian collect the rest of the money that he needs. Much has been discussed about the financial position that professional footballers or TV stars find themselves in and whether they should be stepping up to pay for Kian’s treatment. But Kai and Gav have different ideas. They think that the money can be raised just as quickly by all of us.So they’ve called upon those around them who are following Kian’s story to step forward as everyday heroes. To pledge to raise £1,000 each by any means necessary - by selling a skill or talent; being sponsored for a challenge; doing something out of the comfort zone or getting their friends together on a large scale for something that can be monetised.So far over 80 individuals have signed up from all walks of life, including a number of comedians. Marcus Brigstocke, Ben Crompton, Carl Hutchinson, Matt Reed, Nicola Mantalios-Lovett and Colin Manford are all on board and dreaming up innovative ways to pull together £1,000 in double-time. One interesting avenue is Colin Manford’s live online telethon which will take place on Wednesday 2nd March and will involve a whole host of comedians – those involved in Fight for Kian and many others - in a marathon broadcast geared towards collecting online donations for Kian’s fund.If you want to find out more about Kian and his journey you can by searching ‘Caring For Kian’ on Facebook or simply Google ‘Kian Musgrove’.You can donate to Kian’s treatment fund at www.kapipal.com/caringforkian and if you think you might want to become one of Kian’s 100 Heroes, just email [email protected] or give the Punch-Drunk team a call on 07545167763!

Comedian Norman Pace will be joining the cast of the smash hit musical Rocky Horror Show next month. He will join fellow comedian Steve Punt and Coronation Street star Charlie Condou to share the legendary role of The Narrator on the UK tour which is currently smashing box office records in venues from Brighton to Liverpool, Birmingham to Sunderland.Following critically acclaimed performances on the tour earlier this year, Steve Punt will reprise the role in Cardiff, Sunderland, Southampton, Wimbledon, York, Aylesbury, Nottingham, Richmond, Malvern and Stoke. In Bradford - back by popular demand - following his hilarious performance in Manchester, Charlie Condou will be slipping his suspenders back on for two performances on Friday 18th March.Norman Pace will make his Rocky Horror Show debut in Torquay, and will then perform in Bradford, Edinburgh, Belfast, Dartford, Wolverhampton, Sheffield, Woking, Leicester, Watford, Bristol, Milton Keynes, Canterbury, Glasgow, Southend and Bournemouth. The unique show also stars Diana Vickers, Ben Freeman and Liam Tamne.Steve Punt has been half of Punt and Dennis for many years and has co-hosted The Now Show on Radio 4 since its inception in 1998. Steve also presents the university quiz The Third Degree and the light-hearted investigative show Punt PI for Radio 4. Steve’s TV writing and performing credits include Canned Carrott, The Mary Whitehouse Experience, Punt and Dennis, Mock the Week and Horrible Histories. In 2011 Steve played Eric Idle in BBC4's Holy Flying Circus.Norman Pace, one half of comedy duo Hale and Pace, has become an accomplished actor in his own right, with guest lead roles in BBC’s Casualty and ITV’s The Last Detective. He made his West End debut as ‘Amos Hart’ in Chicago in 1999 and has since gone on to perform in the UK tours of Honk, A Slice Of Saturday Night, Much Ado About Nothing, Twelfth Night, Satin ‘N’ Steel, Breakfast With Johnny Wilkinson, Donkeys Ears, Our Man In Havana, Dry Rot, Charley’s Aunt, Annie Get Your Gun and most recently One Man Two Guvnors.Charlie Condou is best known for playing Marcus Dent in Coronation Street for four years and his successful column ‘The Three of Us’ in The Guardian. Charlie’s other television credits include Me, You, and The Apocalypse, The Impressionists and Midsomer Murders. On the silver screen, Charlie has starred in Good, Fred Claus and Charlotte Grey, while some of his theatre roles include Next Fall (Southwark Playhouse), Dying for It (The Almeida), The Changeling (Southwark Playhouse) and Shopping and F***king (UK Tour).Since its first appearance at the Royal Court Theatre in June 1973, Richard O’Brien’s The Rocky Horror Show has become the world’s favourite Rock N’ Roll musical. It has been performed worldwide for over 40 years in over 30 countries, selling out in Australia, Germany, Switzerland, Japan and Austria, and has been translated into more than 20 languages. Director Christopher Luscombe created a stunning new production to celebrate the 40th Anniversary, which famously combines science-fiction, horror, comedy and music and encourages audience participation. This critically acclaimed version of the classic show, which tells the story of Brad and his fiancée Janet – two squeaky clean college kids who meet Dr Frank’n’Furter by chance when their car breaks down outside his house – is back by popular demand, embarking on a year-long national adventure.This musical extravaganza features all of its famous musical classics including Science Fiction/Double Feature, Dammit Janet and of course, the timeless floor-filler, The Time-Warp.Many stars, including Russell Crowe, Tim Curry, Jerry Springer and Meatloaf have appeared in The Rocky Horror Show over the past four decades. Ready to thrill you with fun and naughty moments, O’Brien’s Rocky Horror Show is the boldest bash of them all. Be warned, this show has rude parts!Tour Info:08 – 13 February 2016 Cardiff: New Theatre15 – 20 February 2016 Sunderland: Empire Theatre 22 – 27 February 2016 Southampton: Mayflower 29 February – 5 March 2016 Wimbledon: New Wimbledon Theatre 07 – 12 March 2016 Torquay: Princess Theatre 14 – 19 March 2016 Bradford: Alhambra 28 March – 2 April 2016 Edinburgh: Playhouse Theatre 4 – 9 April 2016 Belfast: Grand Opera House 11 – 16 April 2016 York: Opera House 18 – 23 April 2016 Aylesbury: Waterside Theatre 25 – 30 April 2016 Nottingham: Theatre Royal 02 – 07 May 2016 Richmond: Richmond Theatre 09 – 14 May 2016 Malvern: Malvern Theatres 23 – 28 May 2016 Stoke: Regent Theatre 6 – 11 June 2016 Dartford: Orchard 13 – 18 June 2016 Wolverhampton: Wolverhampton Grand 20 – 25 June 2016 Sheffield: Sheffield Lyceum 27 June – 3 July 2016 Woking: New Victoria Theatre 4 – 9 July 2016 Leicester: Curve 11 – 16 July 2016 Watford: Watford Colosseum 18 – 24 July 2016 Bristol: Hippodrome 25 – 30 July 2016 Milton Keynes: Milton Keynes Theatre 1 – 6 August 2016 Canterbury: Marlowe Theatre 8 – 13 August 2016 Glasgow: King’s Theatre 15-20 August 2016 Southend: Cliffs Pavillion 22 – 27 August 2016 Bournemouth: Pavilion 05 – 10 September 2016 Aberdeen: His Majesty’s Theatre 12 – 17 September 2016 Norwich: Theatre Royal 19 – 24 September 2016 Eastbourne: Congress Theatre 26 Sept – 1 October 2016 Oxford: New Theatre 3 – 8 October 2016 Dublin: Bord Gais Energy 10 – 15 October 2016 Birmingham: New Alexandra Theatre