Wilton's Music Hall Announces April-July 2016 Season

Wilton's Music Hall, today announces its exciting new season reflecting its music hall tradition with an imaginative and diverse programme of music, theatre, opera, literature and dance.

Award-winning songwriter Christine Bovill's Piaf (12-16 April) will kick-start the season with a compelling, show-stopping performance singing about life's triumphs and tragedies, in a powerful homage to one of France's most endearing icons. No gimmicks, nothing but a voice re-living the remarkable journey of Edith Piaf through the world of French song.

A riotous and unsettling drama with lyrics by Simon Armitage, I Am Thomas (20-30 April) is a wildly comic and provocatively subversive piece of music theatre performed with an original live score.

A rich vein of black humour runs through this account of the last person in Britain to be executed for blasphemy and we glimpse into Edinburgh's dark past to reveal a true story with universal resonance. A co-production between Told by an Idiot, the National Theatre of Scotland and Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh in association with Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse.

Wilton's Strike! (3-5 May) free dance festival returns in 2016, once more commissioning and showcasing work from promising choreographers. Applicants will submit a proposal for a new piece of choreography on the theme of memory. Six choreographers will be selected to develop their piece to be performed in the Wilton's auditorium as well as live streamed online.

For music, London based singer-songwriter Shapla Salique (6 May) and her Jazz band return to Wilton's, this time performing tracks from her eagerly anticipated new album, No Boundaries.

Shapla mixes traditional Bengali music with jazz and funk influences to create what she describes as the perfect blend of east and west. One of the world's number one percussion talents, Manu Delago (10 May) will deliver a one-off acoustic performance in lieu of his famed electronics.

After a phenomenal few years including appearances at the London Olympics Closing Ceremony 2012, MOBO's, Brit and Mercury Awards, the Hackney Colliery Band + Special Guests (12-13 May) will burst onto the East End scene to re-invent the brass-band for the 21st century with a dazzling array of guest performers.

Angela Carter: Unveiling the Unicorn (11 May) will celebrate the life and work of the grand Dame of fairy tales, feminism and myth. Combining live poetry readings with discussion on Carter's life and projections of artwork depicting her poetic mythology, join us as we bring magic to the music hall.

Bringing you an unforgettable evening of music and storytelling, OneTrackMinds (19-20 May) will showcase 12 stories from a handpicked selection of writers, artists, thinkers and musicians, each introducing a transformational piece of music that made a difference to their lives and work.

Peter Sheppard Sk?rved (violin) and Daniel-Ben Pienaar (piano) continue their exploration of Mozart's sonatas in The Mozart Salons for Concert Three (21 May Matinee), which premieres a new work by composer Paul Pellayand, Concert Four (21 May, Evening) which introduces a new work by David Matthews and Concert Five: Mozart, Salzburg & Johann Michael Haydn (26 July) which begins the move towards Mozart's concertante and serenade-like works exploring the influence of his friendship with Johann Michael Haydn.

Sir John Falstaff spends his days conning his mates into emptying their purses to feed his insatiable appetite. He begrudgingly attempts to seduce two local ladies, Meg Page and Alice Ford, but they have a rather different idea; creating a delightful mash of sparkling comedy, deceit, retaliation and romance. Keel Watson and his cronies are back in Falstaff (23, 26-28 May), bringing the energy and wit of this rip-roaring comedy to a perfect, giggling last order.

For dizzying heights of grand opera, expect a big bag of opera tricks, ranging from songs to improvised opera and sketch comedy in A Night Out (24 May).

Shakespeare Untold (31 May-4 June), presented by Shakespeare's Globe and Seabright Productions, is a double bill honouring the stories you know from the characters you don't. In Romeo Untold, the story of Shakespeare's star-crossed lovers Romeo and Juliet is retold through the eyes of the Capulet Ball's party planner. Titus Untold retells Shakespeare's goriest tragedy, Titus Andronicus, as seen from the kitchen of Titus's pie-maker. They have perfected the art of transformation, premiering to critical acclaim at the Edinburgh Fringe and are now touring internationally.

Following two sell-out gigs at the National Theatre, Martin, Izzy and Friends Midsummer Cabaret (17 June) will be making our legs swing with their unique and fun blend of jazz, classics, pop and show tunes.

For its tenth anniversary, the acclaimed Babel Literary Festival (18 June) journeys from its Swiss home to East London for a jam-packed day featuring eye-opening readings from writers and translators spanning China, Mexico, Poland, Bosnia and the USA. This unique border-crossing event is a celebration of voices, rhythms, linguistic diversity and hybridisation.

Purcell's magical semi-opera - a combination of myth, allegory and English history - is given a radical makeover in Spitalfields Music presents King Arthur (14-15 June) as part of this year's Spitalfields Music Summer Festival. Reinterpreted and rearranged, Club Inégales fuse sumptuous orchestration and freewheeling improvisation to create a re-imagining of Purcell's masterpiece like no other.

Transforming Wilton's into a vintage paradise, the Pop Up Vintage Fair (16 June) will be brimming with an eclectic mix of vintage fashion from the 1920s to the 1980s, exquisite jewellery and accessories, alongside mid-century homeware, antiques, collectables, curiosities and so much more.

A theatrical celebration of cinematic nostalgia, Dinosaur Park (21 June-2 July) is an award-winning spin on Spielberg's Jurassic Park. Superbolt Theatre's five-star production is an epic adventure of spine-tingling theatrics and megalithic mayhem. Direct from a sell-out London season, the show tours the UK for the first time.

Tricity Vogue (7-10 June) is back with her signature three-piece suit and homburg, trusty ukulele and trademark wit, treating you to an hour of catchy, funny and original songs examining gender politics.

A 1922 adaption of Bram Stoker's Dracula, Nosferatu Live (6-7 July) promises striking imagery and an innate sense of the sinister. Composer and pianist, Dmytro Morykit, has now added more layers of drama and depth with this haunting new score for a sensational evening of image and sound.

Not only is this concert part of Wigmore Hall's first programme of concerts to be staged away

from its west-end home, Wigmore at Wilton's: Magdalena Kožená, Ond?ej Havelka and his Melody Makers (8-9 July) is an extremely rare appearance by Sir Simon Rattle on piano, accompanying his wife, mezzo-soprano Magalena Kožená. One in a series of five concerts, the couple's exceptional acoustics will lend their own particular magic to a programme of classic songs from the 1930s and 1940s.

Combining song, poetry and film footage to commemorate the centenary of the Battle of the Somme, Songs of the Somme (11-13 July) is a fascinating dramatic experience exploring the artistic legacy of the battle through the works of those who fought and died there. We hear the words of Siegfried Sassoon, the poetry and songs of Ivor Gurney, and the songs of George Butterworth.

Film footage has been selected in partnership with the Imperial War Museum.

In collaboration with director James Burke-Dunsmore, the Trad Academy Sea Shanty Choir make a welcome return to Wilton's Music Hall with Rime (14-15 July for a unique musical interpretation of Coleridge's classic poem 'The Rime of the Ancient Mariner' . Using voices, music and movement, they'll be transporting the audience on an epic voyage through the freezing stormy southern ocean to the heat of the doldrums and back again.

The latest work from Lost Dog company brings you the highlights of Milton's epic poem Paradise Lost (19-23 July) combines theatre, comedy and movement to take the audience on a journey through the story of creation condensed into just 75 minutes long. A show for anyone who has ever created anything and then watched that wonderful thing spiral out of control.

Largely improvised comedy show Bricking It (26-27 July) will see 73 year old builder Pat swapping jobs with his daughter, a 29 year old writer- performer. Comedy-virgin Pat will learn how to be a comedian while Joanna will build the stage (brick by brick) for his first time in the spotlight. Warning: Will contain white vans, wolf whistling and dad gags!

Presented by with Wings Le Bossu (28 July) is a heartfelt and playful adaptation of Victor Hugo's The Hunchback of Notre Dame. The set breathes life into a bygone time and space, live original music scores the passionate plot and the bodies and voices of this enchanting ensemble want to tell you this story with their hearts on their sleeves.

END

Images: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/1r3qzxr92ejpdh6/AABDa745BkoMat2yfQ3Y9axUa?dl=0

Address & directions: https://www.wiltons.org.uk/visit

LISTINGS INFORMATION

APRIL 2016

Christine Bovill's Piaf

Dates: 12-16 April

Times: 8pm

Prices: £20 table seat, £17.50 standard seating, £15 benches (restricted), £10 concessions

I Am Thomas

Dates: 20-30 April

Times: Evenings 7.30pm, matinees 2.30pm

Prices: £28 standard seating, £23 standard seating concession, £20 restricted view, £15 restricted view concession

Age recommendation: 14+

MAY 2016

Wilton's Strike! Dance Festival

Dates: 3-5 May

Times: 8pm

Prices: Free (available from 4th April)

Shapla Salique - No Boundaries

Dates: 6 May

Times: 8pm

Prices: £15 standard seating, £13 standard seating concessions, £12 restricted view, £10 restricted view concessions

Manu Delago

Dates: 10 May

Times: 7.30pm

Prices: £16.50 early bird, £19.50 advance

Angela Carter: Unveiling the Unicorn

Dates: 11 May

Times: 7.30pm to 9pm

Prices: £12 standard seating, £10 standard seating concessions, £10 restricted view, £8 restricted view concessions

Hackney Colliery Band + special guests

Dates: 12-13 May

Times: Doors 7pm, music from 7.30pm

Prices: £25 full price

OneTrackMinds

Dates: 19-20 May

Times: 7.30pm

Prices: £12 full price, £10 concessions, £10 restricted view, £8 restricted view concessions

Mozart Salons: Concert 3

Dates: 21 May

Times: 3.30pm pre-concert talk, 4pm concert

Prices: £12.50 full price, £6 concession, £20 for matinee and evening combined ticket, £10 for matinee and evening combined concession

Mozart Salons: Concert 4

Dates: 21 May

Times: 7.30pm pre-concert talk, 8pm concert

Prices: £12.50 full price, £6 concession, £20 for matinee and evening combined ticket, £10 for matinee and evening combined concession

Falstaff

Dates: 23, 26, 27, 28 May

Times: 7.30pm

Prices: £23 standard seating, £18 standard seating concession, £17 restricted view, £12 restricted view concession

A Night Out

Dates: 24 May

Times: 7.30pm

Prices: £12 standard seating, £10 standard seating concessions, £10 restricted view, £8 restricted view concessions

MAY/JUNE 2016

Shakespeare Untold

Dates: 31 May-4 June

Times: 2pm, 7pm

Prices: £15 full price, £12.50 restricted view, £12.50 concessions, £50 family ticket for four people

JUNE 2016

Tricity Vogue

Dates: 7-10 June

Times: 9pm to 10pm in the cocktail bar

Prices: £10 full price, £7.50 concession

Spitalfields Music presents King Arthur

Dates: 14 and 15 June

Times: 6.30pm

Prices: £15 unreserved

Tickets available from spitalfieldsmusic.org.uk

Pop Up Vintage Fairs London

Dates: 16 June

Times: 4.30pm to 9.30pm

Prices: £3 adults, £2 NUS (no advance bookings)

Martin, Izzy & Friends Midsummer Cabaret

Dates: 17 June

Times: 7pm to 9.30pm

Prices: £20 table seats, £15 standard seating, £10 restricted view

All profits go to the Save the Children's Child Refugee Crisis Appeal

Babel Literary Festival - Day Events

Dates: 18 June

Times: 11am to 7.45pm

Prices: £4 individual events, £12 day pass

Babel Literary Festival - Evening Gig with Pussywarmer

Dates: 18 June

Times: 9pm

Prices: £12 stalls, £10 balcony, £10 stalls if purchased a day pass

JUNE/JULY 2016

Dinosaur Park (The Jurassic Parody)

Dates: 21 June to 2 July

Times: 7:30pm & 3pm matinees on 25 June & 2 July

Prices: £25 table seats (£20 concession), £20 standard seating (£15 concession), £15 restricted view

JULY 2016

Nosferatu Live

Dates: 6-7 July

Times: 7.30pm

Prices: £10 full price, £8 concessions and restricted view seats

Wigmore at Wilton's :
Magdalene Kožená mezzo soprano; Ond?ej Havelka and his Melody Makers

Dates: 8-9 July

Times: 7.30pm

Prices: £50 full price, £35 partially restricted view, £15 restricted view

Tickets are available from wigmore-hall.org.uk

Songs of the Somme

Dates: 11-13 July

Times: 8pm

Prices: £16 standard seating, £12 standard seating concession, £10 restricted view, £6 restricted view concession

Rime

Dates: 14-15 July

Times: 7.30pm

Prices: £12 standard seating, £10 restricted view, £8 concessions

Paradise Lost (lies unopened beside me)

Dates: 19-23 July

Times: 7.30pm

Prices: £15 standard seating, £10 standard seating concession, £10 restricted view, £8 restricted view concession

Age recommendation: 14+

Mozart Salons: Concert 5

Dates: 26 July

Times: 7pm pre-concert talk, 7:30pm concert

Prices: £12.50 full price, £6 concession

Bricking It

Dates: 26-27 July

Times: 8pm in the Cocktail Bar

Prices: £7.50, £5 concession

Le Bossu

Dates: 28 July

Times: 7.30pm

Prices: £15 standard seating, £10 standard seating concession, £10 restricted view, £8 restricted view concession

NOTES TO EDITORS

WILTON'S MUSIC HALL

Wilton's Music Hall offer a vibrant blend of culture, heritage, learning and participation through a programme of imaginative productions and activities, produced in house. They give opportunities to emerging artists and present a year round programme that includes theatre (new commissions and classics), opera, dance, magic, music, cinema, circus, traditional music hall, comedy, puppetry and other art forms.

As an independent charity, Wilton's Music Hall receive no core funding and survive through an entrepreneurial spirit, raising funds from donations, box office and bar sales and hires. Collaboratively they deliver their mission to bring artists and audiences from diverse disciplines and cultures together in our unique historic building, positioning Wilton's as a landmark music hall for the modern day.

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