Marianka Swain - Page 48

Leo Bill's work includes Laura Wade's Posh, Light Shining in Buckinghamshire at the National, the Benedict Cumberbatch-starring Hamlet at the Barbican, and, on screen, Mike Leigh's Vera Drake and TV series Taboo. He's currently playing Bottom in Joe Hill-Gibbins's dark production of A Midsummer Night's Dream, which begins previews at the Young Vic on 11 February.

London is never short of theatre temptations, whether splashy West End shows, epic dramas or bold fringe offerings. From a major Albee revival to starry Shakespeare and a steamy musical, here are some of this month's most eye-catching openings. Don't forget to check back for BroadwayWorld's reviews...

As part of Hull UK City of Culture, the Back to Ours festival transforms local venues - including schools, shopping centres and social clubs - into performance spaces for everything from theatre, music and comedy to dance and cabaret. In order to give all residents an opportunity to see the work, ticket prices begin from as little as £2.50. Three participants give us a sneak preview.

American actor Brian J Smith's diverse credits include independent film Hate Crime, TV series Sense8, and, on stage, John Tiffany's acclaimed production of Tennessee Williams's The Glass Menagerie. The latter was a hit on Broadway and in Edinburgh, and is now playing in the West End at the Duke of York's Theatre.

Actor Ian Bartholomew's work ranges from Mrs Henderson Presents and Shakespeare in Love to Radio Times and Into the Woods. He's currently starring as eccentric playwright Chitterlow in West End hit Half a Sixpence.

Frances Ruffelle is perhaps best known for originating the role of Eponine in Les Miserables. She's since done numerous other stage roles, produced several albums and represented the UK in the Eurovision Song Contest, and will soon star as Queenie in The Wild Party, the opening musical of Andrew Lloyd Webber's revamped The Other Palace; the show begins previews on 13 February.

Actress Claire Machin's numerous West End credits include Memphis, The Pajama Game, Betty Blue Eyes and Les Miserables. She's currently starring in Gary Barlow and Tim Firth's new musical version of the Calendar Girls story, based on the real life story of a group of WI members creating a memorable charity calendar. The Girls, which debuted at the Grand Theatre in Leeds last year, begins its West End run at the Phoenix Theatre later this month.

New Eponine Hollie O'Donoghue talks Les Mis

Matthew Bourne's acclaimed new production of THE RED SHOES had its Sadler's Wells press night this week and a special gala performance last night. The show runs until 29 January, 2017.

Tom Parker rose to fame as a member of band The Wanted. He's now taking on his first theatrical role, starring as Danny Zuko in the UK tour of musical Grease, along with Danielle Hope, Louise Lytton and Darren Day. The tour kicks off in Manchester in March 2017.

To celebrate the festive season, the Royal Albert Hall has recreated the world's first ever commercial Christmas card - designed by Sir Henry Cole, instrumental in creating the iconic venue - using 14 stars from its glittering past.

Lin-Manuel Miranda is currently in London filming MARY POPPINS. He and Trevor Dion Nicholas, currently playing the Genie in the West End production of ALADDIN, chat Disney, unexpected stairs on public transport, and British baby food... Watch the exclusive video below!

One of the big theatre stories of 2016 is women reclaiming Shakespeare, from Gillian Bevan's Cymbeline and Michelle Terry's Henry V to Glenda Jackson's Lear and Phyllida Lloyd's landmark all-female trilogy starring Harriet Walter.

For those seeking festive revelry, but with an equally seasonal undertow of quiet melancholy, She Loves Me is the blissful solution. Joe Masteroff, Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick's 1963 musical adaptation of Miklos Laszlo's play Parfumerie, which also inspired the Tom Hanks/Meg Ryan vehicle You've Got Mail, is a sparkling Christmas bauble of a show that shone on Broadway earlier this year, and now comes to us in delectable intimate form in the small but mighty musicals powerhouse that is the Menier.

London is never short of theatre temptations, whether splashy West End shows, epic dramas or bold fringe offerings. From a visionary Tennessee Williams revival to Wayne McGregor and a Dahl musical adaptation, here are some of this month's most eye-catching openings. Don't forget to check back for BroadwayWorld's reviews...

This revival of Sam Shepard's apocalyptic 1978 play has gained resonance since 2016's most apocalyptic political development - namely, Donald Trump cynically harnessing Midwestern anger and disillusionment. The latter is on display in heightened, American Gothic form in this Pulitzer Prize-winning piece, teeming with tragic mysteries, family skeletons and a (literally) buried past.

Alexia Khadime made her West End debut in The Lion King aged 17, and went on to play Nala. Her other West End leads include Wicked, Les Miserables and The Book of Mormon, and this Christmas she stars as Princess Tahlia in Hackney Empire's Sleeping Beauty.

London is never short of theatre temptations, whether splashy West End shows, epic dramas or bold fringe offerings. From a big musical revival to starry panto and Matthew Bourne's latest, here are some of this month's most eye-catching openings. Don't forget to check back for BroadwayWorld's reviews…

Actress Lisa Dillon's numerous stage credits include King John at Rose Theatre, Kingston, Hapgood at Hampstead Theatre, Design for Living at the Old Vic, The Knot of the Heart at the Almeida, and The Taming of the Shrew for the RSC. She's back with the RSC playing Rosaline and Beatrice in Love's Labour's Lost and Much Ado About Nothing respectively. The acclaimed double bill, set either side of the First World War, begins previews at Theatre Royal Haymarket on 9 December.

The Hospital Club is auctioning two tickets to HARRY POTTER AND THE CURSED CHILD Parts One and Two at the Palace Theatre in London's West End. Between the shows the winner will experience a dinner at the restaurant in private members' club The Hospital Club, where they will also be given an overnight stay in a premier suite and take home a copy of the special rehearsal edition script book signed by J.K. Rowling.