Mark Iles

Growing up, amateur productions of musicals were pretty much the only theatre that I got to see or participate in with serious regularity. There was the Bilston Operatic society, the Tettenhall Operatic Society, Punch Theatre, Central Youth Theatre and hundreds of others. The 1990s West Midlands was a hotbed of brilliant musical theatre endeavour, and I spent every spare minute living and breathing musicals.

Cautionary Tale, an exciting new British musical, was deep in development when the Covid-19 pandemic struck and the workshop performances had to be cancelled.  Now, the writers don't want its incredible journey to come to an end so are giving people the opportunity to stage it in their own homes and share their recordings online. 

The smash hit musical ELF has already broken several box office records during its current 10-week run at the Dominion Theatre in London, where performances began on 24 October. The show has broken the box office record three times for the highest selling show since the Dominion Theatre opened, and has also beaten the Dominion's box office record for the highest grossing week ever.

The full cast for the London premiere of the smash hit musical ELF has been announced.  The company is led by Ben Forster as Buddy, Kimberley Walsh as Jovie, Joe McGann as Walter Hobbs and Jessica Martin as Emily Hobbs, with Jennie Dale as Deb, Mark McKerracher as Santa and Graham Lappin as Store Manager.  Also in the cast are Katie Bradley, Charlie Bull, Nicola Coates, Alex Fobbester, Anton Fosh, Charlotte Gale, Francis Haugen, Matt Holland, Tash Holway, Paul Hutton, Mark Iles, Ceili O'Connor, Debbie Paul, Joanna Rennie, Barnaby Thompson and Ed White.  Harry Collett, Ilan Galkoff, Noah Key and Ewan Rutherford will alternate the role of Michael.  BroadwayWorld has a first look at the opening night below!

Check out footage from the show and from the opening night celebration!

ELF opened at London's Dominion Theatre on 5 November for a strictly limited 10-week season until 2 January 2016.

The full cast for the London premiere of the smash hit musical ELF has been announced.  The company is led by Ben Forster as Buddy, Kimberley Walsh as Jovie, Joe McGann as Walter Hobbs and Jessica Martin as Emily Hobbs, with Jennie Dale as Deb, Mark McKerracher as Santa and Graham Lappin as Store Manager.  Also in the cast are Katie Bradley, Charlie Bull, Nicola Coates, Alex Fobbester, Anton Fosh, Charlotte Gale, Francis Haugen, Matt Holland, Tash Holway, Paul Hutton, Mark Iles, Ceili O'Connor, Debbie Paul, Joanna Rennie, Barnaby Thompson and Ed White.  Harry Collett, Ilan Galkoff, Noah Key and Ewan Rutherford will alternate the role of Michael.  BroadwayWorld brings you a first look at highlights of the show below!

The full cast for the London premiere of the smash hit musical ELF has been announced.  The company is led by Ben Forster as Buddy, Kimberley Walsh as Jovie, Joe McGann as Walter Hobbs and Jessica Martin as Emily Hobbs, with Jennie Dale as Deb, Mark McKerracher as Santa and Graham Lappin as Store Manager.  Also in the cast are Katie Bradley, Charlie Bull, Nicola Coates, Alex Fobbester, Anton Fosh, Charlotte Gale, Francis Haugen, Matt Holland, Tash Holway, Paul Hutton, Mark Iles, Ceili O'Connor, Debbie Paul, Joanna Rennie, Barnaby Thompson and Ed White.  Harry Collett, Ilan Galkoff, Noah Key and Ewan Rutherford will alternate the role of Michael.  BroadwayWorld has a first look below!

Click below to watch extended behind-the-scenes footage from the ELF Original London Cast Soundtrack recording session! The album is available now on Silva Screen Records.

The London premiere of the smash hit musical ELF is led by Ben Forster as Buddy, Kimberley Walsh as Jovie, Joe McGann as Walter Hobbs and Jessica Martin as Emily Hobbs, with Jennie Dale as Deb, Mark McKerracher as Santa and Graham Lappin as Store Manager. ELF will run at London's Dominion Theatre for a strictly limited 10-week season from 24 October 2015 to 2 January 2016. The Gala Opening Night on Thursday 5 November will be in aid of Alzheimer's Society. Scroll down for a first look at the cast in action!

In an unprecedented move, the producers of the smash hit musical ELF, opening at the newly refurbished Dominion Theatre in the heart of London's West End, have bowed to overwhelming public and social media demand to introduce a more affordable ticket price to broaden the already wide demographic the show is attracting.  The new price brand of £30 for a limited number of tickets through the run becomes available at the Dominion box office by telephone and via the website from Sunday 6 September.  

The full cast for the London premiere of the smash hit musical ELF has been announced. The company is led by Ben Forster as Buddy, Kimberley Walsh as Jovie, Joe McGann as Walter Hobbs and Jessica Martin as Emily Hobbs, with Jennie Dale as Deb, Mark McKerracher as Santa and Graham Lappin as Store Manager. Also in the cast are Katie Bradley, Charlie Bull, Nicola Coates, Alex Fobbester, Anton Fosh, Charlotte Gale, Francis Haugen, Matt Holland, Tash Holway, Paul Hutton, Mark Iles, Ceili O'Connor, Debbie Paul, Joanna Rennie, Barnaby Thompson and Ed White. Harry Collett, Ilan Galkoff, Noah Key and Ewan Rutherford will alternate the role of Michael.

The hit West End production of Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, directed by Sam Mendes, announced today that it has extended its booking period by six months until 1 November 2014. The show had previously been booking until 31 May 2014. The production, which has so far been seen by almost 300,000 people since it began previews in May 2013, is extending its run due to popular demand, releasing almost 400,000 extra tickets.

CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY, the highly anticipated West End musical starring Olivier and Tony Award winner Douglas Hodge as Willy Wonka, begins tonight, May 22, 2013. Opening night is set for June 25.

CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY, the highly anticipated West End musical starring Olivier and Tony Award winner Douglas Hodge as Willy Wonka, has been postponed. The first two previews - scheduled for May 17 and 18, respectively - have been cancelled and performances will now begin May 22 instead of May 23.

According to the Daily Mail, Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory will begin previews on May 17 instead of May 18 at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane. Opening night is still set for June 25. Directed by Academy Award winner Sam Mendes, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory will star Olivier and Tony Award-winning Douglas Hodge as Willy Wonka. Featuring ingenious stagecraft, the story is brought to life with music by Marc Shaiman and lyrics by Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman (Grammy winners for Hairspray; Smash), with a book by award-winning playwright and adaptor David Greig (The Bacchae; Tintin In Tibet).

Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory opens at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane on 25 June 2013. Directed by Academy Award winner Sam Mendes, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory will star Olivier and Tony Award-winning Douglas Hodge as Willy Wonka. Featuring ingenious stagecraft, the story is brought to life with music by Marc Shaiman and lyrics by Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman (Grammy winners for Hairspray; Smash), with a book by award-winning playwright and adaptor David Greig (The Bacchae; Tintin In Tibet). Click below to watch the show's creative team talk about the writing process!