Ben Allen News

Hampstead Theatre has announced the full cast and creative team for the world premiere of Alexis Zegerman's vivid, new play, The Fever Syndrome.  Directed by Roxana Silbert,  The Fever Syndrome will run from 19 March until 23 April 2022.

Playwright Nell Leyshon has crafted a delicate narrative that quietly unpicks our ideas of music, class, and family. 

Though hardly an ideal start to the new theatrical year, we want to applaud all of the incredible casts, creatives, backstage and front-of-house staff who are working so hard to keep shows on. If you can support productions, please do – whether revisiting an amazing long-running show or checking out something new. And speaking of which: here are some of the most intriguing London additions for this month. Keep checking back for our reviews, interviews and features!

Hampstead Theatre has announced the full cast and creative team for the world premiere of Florian Zeller's new play, The Forest. Running from 5 February until 12 March 2022, The Forest is translated by Zeller's long-time collaborator Christopher Hampton, and directed by Jonathan Kent, who re-unites with Zeller after his critically acclaimed production of The Height of the Storm.

Katie Mitchell will direct Miriam Battye's compelling adaptation of little scratch.  Adapted from Rebecca Watson's debut novel, little scratch is a fearless and exhilarating account of a woman's consciousness over the course of 24 hours.  Moronkẹ Akinola, Eleanor Henderson, Eve Ponsonby and Ragevan Vasan will perform in this production from 5 November until 11 December. 

The new production of Shakespeare's Hamlet, directed by Sean Mathias with Ian McKellen in an age-blind interpretation of the young Prince, is set to begin performances 21 June at Theatre Royal Windsor.

The new production of Shakespeare's Hamlet, directed by Sean Mathias with Ian McKellen in an age-blind interpretation, is set to begin performances 21 June at Theatre Royal Windsor.

SB 805, entitled, “Save The Performing Arts Act of 2021,” is the first bill in the nation that will create a critical funding infrastructure to help assist Small Nonprofit Performing Arts Companies (SNPAC) with average adjusted gross revenues equal to, or less than $1.4 million, to be adjusted every five years based on the California Consumer Price Index.

Ian McKellen is set to play Hamlet at Theatre Royal Windsor later this year. The age-blind production is notable because the role is usually played by an actor under 40.

Sir Ian McKellen will join a company of talented actors for runs in Hamlet and Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard in 2021 at Theatre Royal Windsor.

Emily Simoness, the Co-Founder and Executive Director of SPACE on Ryder Farm, has made the decision to step down from the executive leadership role in September 2021. For 11 years, her visionary leadership has grown the organization into one of the most sought-after residency programs in the country.

Holocaust Museum LA, the first survivor-founded museum in the U.S., has assembled a dazzling array of internationally known celebrities for its first livestream benefit gala, "45 Minutes of Inspiration," Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2020, at 5:45 p.m. (PDT). The proceeds will go toward the museum's wide-reaching education programs.

Tiler Peck, the renowned New York City Ballet Principal, actress, choreographer, designer, curator, and now children's book author, offered to support Westside School of Ballet by hosting their online 'Dance Talks' series -- scheduled for Saturday, June 6 @2pm Pacific Time. The Q&A will be hosted on Zoom at $5 and will host up to 300 guests.

For forty-seven years, Westside Ballet of Santa Monica's Biannual Spring Performances and Nutcracker Seasons have delighted Los Angeles audiences and served as a premier pre-professional performance outlet for young ballerinas.

Over the course of the past few years, Denmark has unleashed a torrent of phenomenal singer-songwriters and artists on the world, but none stick out from the pack more than Soleima. Today sees the release of Soleima's new single “Roses,” which showcases the unparalleled alternative-pop artists' unique voice and songwriting style more than ever before. Out today via Big Beat/Atlantic Records, the single treads the line of undeniable singer-songwriter wit in the lyrics and is backed by stellar laid-back production, featuring trap percussion and a whimsical, hook-laden chorus.

The Atlanta-based Yacht Rock Revue has debuted their new single 'Bad Tequila,' the third song released from YRR's first album of original music HOT DADS in TIGHT JEANS (out February 21st). American Songwriter premiered the song and praised the album, saying 'HOT DADS fuses everything YRR is in disco-rock funk beats and typical cheeky humor, all wrapped in old-school, radio countdown tracks.'

Deep in the Alaska wilderness, the Dakota boys are back and risking it all to unearth millions in gold. But after mining together for 10 years, the father and son team of Fred and Dustin Hurt are splitting up and working on separate claims to double their chances of striking it rich. The race is on as they uncover more gold than any other season before. From the producers of GOLD RUSH, Discovery's #1-rated show, GOLD RUSH: WHITE WATER returns for its third season on Friday, November 8 at 10 PM ET/PT on Discovery.

It's 1985 in Hawkins, Indiana, and summer's heating up. School's out, there's a brand new mall in town, and the Hawkins crew are on the cusp of adulthood. Romance blossoms and complicates the group's dynamic, and they'll have to figure out how to grow up without growing apart. Meanwhile, danger looms. When the town's threatened by enemies old and new, Eleven and her friends are reminded that evil never ends; it evolves. Now they'll have to band together to survive, and remember that friendship is always stronger than fear.

This passionate new play by Olivier and Tony Award nominee Martin Sherman makes its UK debut 40 years after his celebrated modern classic Bent, which subsequently became a major film directed by Olivier and Tony Award nominee Sean Mathias, who directs this production of Gently Down The Stream, marking Martin Sherman's 80th birthday.

Robert Fox and Alex Turner, in association with Park Theatre and King's Head Theatre, today announce the full cast for the UK premiere of Martin Sherman's new play Gently Down The Stream, following a critically acclaimed run at the Public Theater in New York. Sean Mathias directs Jonathan Hyde, Ben Allen and Harry Lawtey. The production opens at Park Theatre on 18 February 2019, with previews from 13 February, running until 16 March.