Deka Walmsley News

A new play with its heart and soul placed firmly in the north-west of England will open at the Bush Theatre. Heart Wall is by Manchester writer and Bush Writers' Group alum, Kit Withington, and directed by Katie Greenall.

Gary Owen’s new play, a contemporary reimagining of Ibsen’s classic, is directed by Artistic Director Rachel O’Riordan, reuniting the team behind the critically acclaimed Iphigenia in Splott, Romeo and Julie and Killology.

Victoria Smurfit and Callum Scott Howells are the tragic mother-son duo in an exciting, tense, suspenseful adaptation. Owen shifts the script and makes this classic all about domestic abuse and the power of upper-class disdain. Rachel O’Riordan’s production is a masterclass in distilling tension and concentrating it without frills or games. It’s an emotionally challenging experience, pure theatre.

The Lyric Hammersmith Theatre has released production images for their upcoming production of Ghosts, which runs at the venue until 10 May 2025. Take a look at them here!

Ghosts at Lyric Hammersmith Theatre is currently in rehearsals! Get a first look at photos of the cast in rehearsals and see how to purchase tickets to the production.

Lyric Hammersmith Theatre has announced cast and creatives for their upcoming production of Ghosts which runs at the venue in April and May. Learn more here!

Arnold Wesker’s Roots, directed by Diyan Zora, and John Osborne’s Look Back in Anger, directed by Atri Banerjee will now run until Saturday 30 January.  

Star of stage and screen Susie Blake (Mrs Brown's Boys, Bev Unwin in Coronation Street, Nativity 3, Miss Marple in The Mirror Crack'd, Mrs Fisher in Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em) joins the company as pub landlady Maggie, alongside Parisa Shahmir (The Last Ship) as Alwyn, Deborah Tracey (Standing At The Sky's Edge) as record label manager Leah and Georgia Bruce (Malory Towers) as Sally.

Shakespeare's Globe has announced the full cast for Globe on Tour, directed by Brendan O'Hea. The company of eight actors will once again offer audiences around the world a trio of plays, which this year explore the relationship between humankind and Mother Nature. Audiences will cast their votes for either A Midsummer Night's Dream, As You Like It or The Tempest, each of which explores the natural world and its great potential for abundance and transformation.

Nottingham Playhouse has unveiled the latest updates for its autumn/winter season, including the announcement of Pinocchio as the Neville Studio Christmas show.

Scottish actor Michael Nardone (BBC One's The Night Manager and Rellik, HBO's Rome) will play the title role in National Theatre Director Rufus Norris' touring production of MACBETH, with Kirsty Besterman (Genesis Inc. at Hampstead Theatre, They Drink It in The Congo at the Almeida Theatre, and BBC One's Father Brown) joining the cast as Lady Macbeth.

Michael Nardone (BBC One's The Night Manager and Rellik, HBO's Rome) will play the title role in Rufus Norris' touring production of Macbeth, with Kirsty Besterman (Genesis Inc. at Hampstead Theatre, They Drink It in The Congo at the Almeida Theatre, and BBC One's Father Brown) joining the cast as Lady Macbeth.

Nottingham Playhouse Theatre Company confirms full cast of Adam Penford's first show as Artistic Director, Wonderland including local actors Chris Ashby who previously played the lead in the National Theatre production of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time and was cast through the Playhouse open auditions, and Joshua Glenister who was a member of Nottingham Playhouse Youth Theatre.

Fatherland (Original Music from the Stage Show) is a collection of recordings by Underworld's Karl Hyde and producer/artist Matthew Herbert. The songs are based on extracts from the script for Fatherland, a play conceived and written in collaboration by Karl, playwright Simon Stephens (Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Punk Rock) and Frantic Assembly's Scott Graham. Premiering at Manchester International Festival this July.

The cast for Scott Graham, Karl Hyde and Simon Stephens' new production Fatherland has today been announced. The world premiere of this intensely physical production will be performed by a 13-strong cast, transforming the Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester, from 1st July.

Last night, Saturday 9 April 2016, after 4,600 performances and prior to the theatre's previously announced refurbishment programme, the final Victoria Palace Theatre performance of Billy Elliot The Musical took place in front of a packed house with guests including past and present Billy Elliots, original cast members and members of the show's creative team.  The over 1530 strong audience rose to their feet for the curtain call to join the Company in celebrating a very special evening and a phenomenal eleven year run in the West End.  Director Stephen Daldry, writer Lee Hall and composer Elton John joined the company on stage accompanied by 32 past and present Billy Elliots (the most Billy Elliots to ever appear on stage together), 24 past Michaels and 18 past Debbies as well as several adult members of the original Company. 

The producers of Billy Elliot the Musical are delighted to announce that the show will play its final London performance in support of East Durham Trust, a charity based in Easington, Co. Durham, a former mining town and the setting for Billy Elliot's iconic story.  Tickets for the final performance will be released for sale today (Tuesday 1 March 2016, 2pm) via the Victoria Palace Theatre box office, with all proceeds from ticket sales for this performance being donated to East Durham Trust.

Universal Stage Productions, Working Title Films and Old Vic Productions today (10 December 2015) announce that after 4,600 performances, due to the theatre's previously announced refurbishment programme, the multi award-winning West End production ofBilly Elliot the Musical will play its final performance at the Victoria Palace Theatre on 9 April 2016 as the production celebrates its eleventh birthday. The show has been seen to date by over 5.25 million people in London and nearly 11 million people worldwide, has grossed over $800 million worldwide and is the winner of over 80 theatre awards internationally.

Billy Elliot the Musical today (16 November 2015) welcomes Euan Garrett, 12 years old from East Lothian, Scotland, who will make his West End stage debut at the Victoria Palace Theatre as the forty-second boy to play the title role in the iconic British musical in London.  Also joining the cast today is Matthew Seadon-Young who will play Billy's older brother Tony.

Elton John and Lee Hall's adaptation of the acclaimed 2000 film, written by Hall and directed by Stephen Daldry, won multiple awards on both sides of the Atlantic, including 10 TONY AWARDS Billy Elliot THE MUSICAL LIVE, the long-running hit both on Broadway and in London's West End (where it is still playing), comes to THIRTEEN's GREAT PERFORMANCES tonight, October 23 at 9 p.m. on PBS. (Check local listings.)