Bronagh Lagan News

Written and performed by Jack Holden (War Horse, West End; Ink, Almeida Theatre), CRUISE  is an urgent, moving and inspirational new play with live music and spoken word. Bringing to life 1980’s Soho, this one-man show is a celebration of queer culture; a kaleidoscopic musical and spoken word tribute to the veterans of the AIDs crisis.

Based on a true story Jack was told whilst volunteering for Switchboard, the LGBTQ+ Listening Service, this new play pays tribute to a generation decimated by HIV and AIDs.

As an actor, Jack Holden has appared onstage in such hit plays as War Horse and Ink and has now written a new solo venture for himself to perform: Cruise, which tells of a young man called Michael who is diagnosed with HIV in 1984 and told he has four years to live at most. Directed by Bronagh Lagan, the play will reopen the Duchess Theatre, preceded by a streamed film version of the material online.

Images taken during the filming of the world premiere of CRUISE  have been released today. Written and performed by Jack Holden (War Horse, West End; Ink, Almeida Theatre), CRUISE  is an urgent, moving and inspirational new play with live music and spoken word.

The film will be available to watch from 15 April – 25 April at Stream.Theatre before the show reopens the Duchess Theatre in the West End from 18 May – 13 June.

Aria Entertainment and Lambert Jackson have announced that the world premiere of CRUISE will open at the Duchess Theatre from 18 May – 13 June 2021. Written and performed by Jack Holden (War Horse, West End; Ink, Almeida Theatre), CRUISE is an urgent, moving and inspirational new play with live music and spoken word.

Today Aria Entertainment and WEF Productions have announced that the critically-acclaimed UK premiere of C-o-n-t-a-c-t will run for six weeks from Tuesday 18 May - 29 June 2021 (as  opposed to the previously announced dates of 19 January – 28 February 2020).  

Written and performed by Jack Holden (War Horse, West End; Ink, Almeida Theatre), CRUISE  is an urgent, moving and inspirational new play with live music and spoken word.

Following the critically-acclaimed UK premiere of C-o-n-t-a-c-t, this immersive, two-hander outdoor performance featuring a captivating 3D sound design will run in partnership with The Lowry in two locations - Salford Quays and central Manchester for six weeks from 19 January 2021. Casting will be announced in due course. 

Aria Entertainment and WEF Productions have today announced a six-week extension for the UK premiere of C-o-n-t-a-c-t, the immersive outdoor performance featuring a captivating 3D sound design. Now playing until 22nd November 2020, the production is adding St. Paul's to the list of locations where the show can now be experienced.  

Aria Entertainment and WEF Productions have announced full casting for the UK premiere of C-o-n-t-a-c-t, an immersive outdoor performance with a 3D sound design which audiences will listen to on their own headphones, opening on Monday 31st August 2020.

GHOSTLIGHT RECORDS has announced that Rags - The Musical: Original London Cast Recording is available on CD online and in stories today, Friday, July 17.

Tomorrow, May 15, GHOSTLIGHT RECORDS will release Rags - The Musical: Original London Cast Recording in digital and streaming formats. A physical CD will be available later this year. The new album - based on the revised London production that played to sold out houses earlier this year - is the first recording of this new version of the ravishing score. Customers who pre-order the digital album will immediately receive a download of the first single, 'Children of the Wind.'

Rags a?" The Musical: Original London Cast Recording will be released in digital and streaming formats on Friday, May 15. 

There will be a cast recording of their production of RAGS The Musical which is currently playing to sold out houses at Park Theatre, London, running until tomorrow, Saturday 8 February. This will be the first recording of the show since Sony's 1991 album with the Broadway cast.

The London transfer of Hope Mill Theatre's RAGS opened at Park Theatre, London on 9 January and runs until 8 February 2020.

Rags the Musical was a flop when it first opened on Broadway in 1986. Which is why, one suspects, it kept on receiving a series of revisions over the subsequent decades. The most recent of these is now on display in Bronagh Lagan's assured production at the Park Theatre, first performed at Manchester's Hope Mill Theatre in March 2019. David Thompson's revised book, Stephen Schwartz' poignant lyrics, and Charles Strouse's eclectic music (with echoes of ragtime and jazz) join forces to present a fluent rags-to-riches story, but even this reimagined version remains far too formulaic in its portrayal of a group of Jewish immigrants in the 1910's New York.

Carolyn Maitland, Dave Willetts and Sam Attwater will star as Rebecca, Avram and Bronfman respectively in RAGS The Musical at Park Theatre, London. The show will run for a limited season from 9 January to 8 February 2020, with a press night on 14 January. RAGS The Musical has a book by Joseph Stein (Fiddler on the Roof), revised book by David Thompson, lyrics by Stephen Schwartz (Wicked) and music by Charles Strouse (Annie).

West End stars Alice Fearn and Emma Hatton will, for one night only, star in The Spark of Creation, a Gala Fundraiser celebrating the work of Stephen Schwartz, at Park Theatre, London on Sunday 19 January. Both actresses are known for playing the role of Elphaba in Schwartz's smash-hit musical Wicked. The evening is presented by Aria Entertainment and Hope Mill Theatre, while their production of RAGS The Musical (book by Joseph Stein, revised book by David Thompson, lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and music by Charles Strouse, directed by Bronagh Lagan) performs at Park Theatre, London from 9 January to 8 February 2020.

Photos have been released of the cast of the London transfer of Hope Mill Theatre's RAGS in rehearsal. The show opens at Park Theatre, London on 9 January running until 8 February 2020 with a press night on 14 January.