Marianka Swain - Page 54

Following her success on The Voice, singer and actress Lucy O'Byrne took on the iconic role of Maria Von Trapp in the UK tour of Rodgers and Hammerstein's indelible The Sound of Music; she's since performed the show more than 250 times. Next week, it makes a London stop at New Wimbledon Theatre.

Renowned playwright Howard Brenton's work ranges from The Romans in Britain and Pravda to 55 Days and Drawing the Line. Now, his eerily resonant 1973 play Magnificence - featuring idealistic squatters, police brutality, slippery politicians and radicalisation - is being revived at Finborough Theatre, previewing from 25 October.

How do you make a musical about cancer? This latest work from Bryony Kimmings isn't just theatre, but metatheatre. Her voiceovers and the emails published in the programme detail the at times highly personal development process, and a gut punch of a last 15 minutes strip away the comfort of fictional distance. It could be self-indulgent; instead, it becomes an effective method for making us confront that other, bigger question: how do we talk about, prepare for and deal with illness?

Aged just 21, Jonah Hauer-King has appeared in Punk Rock at Lyric Belfast and is currently making his West End debut in the Kenneth Branagh-starring revival of The Entertainer at Garrick Theatre - all while juggling his university studies. The production plays until 12 November, and will be broadcast in cinemas on 27 October.

Lucie Jones rose to fame on The X Factor, and has since built up a strong list of theatre credits, including Les Miserables in the West End, American Psycho at the Almeida and Legally Blonde at Leicester Curve. She's now playing Maureen in the 20th anniversary UK tour of Jonathan Larson's Rent, which begins at Theatr Clywd on 21 October and plays at London's St James Theatre on 8 December-28 January, 2017.

Ben Forster became a household name when he won Andrew Lloyd Webber's Superstar TV competition and went on to lead the UK arena tour of Jesus Christ Superstar. His West End work includes Evita and Elf: The Musical, and he's currently starring as the Phantom in The Phantom of the Opera, which recently celebrated its 30th anniversary.

It was a dark and stormy night. Two couples are caught in a snowstorm on their way back from a party. Three of them arrive at a remote Connecticut farmhouse. One disappears. There's a definite pleasure in this familiar story, immaculately told in David Hare's adaptation of Georges Simenon's novel La Main. The noir thriller tropes are all in place, from femme fatales and gnawing jealousy to paranoia about what lies beneath.

You have to admire the grand scope of Ella Hickson's long-gestating new play, which grapples with urgent ideas about this vital but declining resource amidst audacious magic realist time travel. Stretching from 19th-century Cornwall to a dystopian future, it's DH Lawrence meets Black Mirror, by way of David Hare - anchored by insightful deconstruction of the mother/daughter relationship. If it becomes unwieldy in places, it's still a rich and absorbing piece of work, and an all-too-rare female odyssey.

Choreographer Drew McOnie's recent work includes Jekyll & Hyde at the Old Vic, Jesus Christ Superstar at Regent's Park Open Air Theatre, Bugsy Malone at Lyric Hammersmith, and In the Heights at King's Cross Theatre, for which he won an Olivier Award. He's currently directing and choreographing the UK premiere of Strictly Ballroom The Musical, which begins previews at West Yorkshire Playhouse on 30 November.

'I shook up the world.' So says young gun and new heavyweight champion Cassius Clay (shortly to become Muhammad Ali) in those heady moments after his shock defeat of Sonny Liston in February 1964. But a meeting that same night with three African-American friends of equivalent status - superstar crooner Sam Cooke, NFL hero Jim Brown and controversial preacher Malcolm X - leads to soul-searching about the definition of success, and how best men like Clay can represent their community in a divided nation.

Actor Alistair Brammer played the lead role of Chris in the acclaimed West End revival of Miss Saigon. During his run, the show celebrated its 25th anniversary with a gala performance recently broadcast in the US, and appearing in UK cinemas for one night only on 16 October.

Actresses Louise Dearman and Laura Pitt-Pulford have an impressive musical haul between them, with Louise the first actress to star as both Glinda and Elphaba in Wicked, as well as starring in Guys and Dolls and Kiss Me, Kate, while Laura's recent credits include Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Flowers for Mrs Harris and Oliver! They're now playing conjoined twins Daisy and Violet Hilton in the UK premiere of Side Show, by Dreamgirls composer Henry Krieger and Bill Russell, which opens at Southwark Playhouse next week.

Ken Stott and Reece Shearsmith star in a prestigious revival of Ronald Harwood's THE DRESSER. The production, which also features Harriet Thorpe and Selina Cadell, is currently in previews at the Duke of York's Theatre, running until 14 January, 2017.

Yesterday UK Theatre gave out awards to leading talents in performing, producing and theatre management throughout the United Kingdom. Sheffield Theatres' SHOW BOAT and FLOWERS FOR MRS HARRIS together took Best Musical Production, while Clare Burt picked up a performance award for the former and Rebecca Trehearn for the latter. Charlene James won Best New Play for CUTTIN' IT, and Paapa Essiedu Best Performance In A Play for the Royal Shakespeare Company's HAMLET.

As Michael John LaChiusa's The Wild Party will receive its first major London production at The Other Palace, playing from Saturday 11 February to Saturday 1 April 2017, with a press night on Monday 20 February. Directed and choreographed by 2016 Olivier Award winner Drew McOnie and starring Tony Award winner Frances Ruffelle, The Wild Party will be the inaugural production at The Other Palace, formerly St. James Theatre, when it reopens in February 2017 as the newest addition to The Really Useful Theatres Group and a home for new musical theatre.

Andrew Lloyd Webber today announces plans for The Other Palace, the newest addition to The Really Useful Theatres Group. The Other Palace is situated less than 100 yards from Buckingham Palace and close to the Victoria Palace, hence its name.

American actor Adam Rothenberg is best known to British audiences as forensic expert Captain Homer Jackson in Ripper Street. He's also done extensive stage work, and now makes his UK debut in Sam Shepard's Fool for Love at Found111, where he's reunited with Ripper Street co-star Lydia Wilson.

Actress Ophelia Lovibond has done a range of screen roles, from beleaguered Izzy in W1A to Elementary, Guardians of the Galaxy and new Sky 1 series Hooten & The Lady. Now, she's making her West End debut, playing 17th-century actress Elizabeth Barry in The Libertine opposite Dominic Cooper as the infamous Earl of Rochester.

Actor Adam Gillen's credits include A Taste of Honey at the Royal Exchange Theatre, The School for Scandal at the Barbican and the RSC's Wendy and Peter, as well as TV hits Fresh Meat and Benidorm. He's currently starring as Mozart, opposite Lucian Msamati as rival composer Salieri, in the National Theatre revival of Peter Shaffer's Amadeus, which begins previews later this month.

David Birrell's extensive stage work ranges from An Enemy of the People at Octagon Theatre, Bolton, to Spamalot in the West End, as well as several years with the RSC. He's currently playing Badger in the highly anticipated new musical version of The Wind in the Willows, which features a book by Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowees and an original score by George Stiles and Anthony Drewe. The production begins previews at Theatre Royal, Plymouth on 8 October.