James Ellison News

This week's list includes a new limited edition orange vinyl of the 2017 revival cast recording of Once on This Island, as well as a purple vinyl edition of the 1964 cast recording of My Fair Lady. Plus, the latest volume of The Untold Stories of Broadway by Jennifer Ashley Tepper is now available!

Southwark Playhouse announces three new “encore” on-demand video streams of musicals performed from the theatre during lockdown.

Greg Barnett is going from performing on the stage to producing (and hosting) his own show at The Apollo. We chats to him about producing in a pandemic, the rise of online theatre and why From Now On is such an anthem for modern times.

Alex James Ellison, co-writer of the award-nominated show Fiver, chats about its online revival and what's next for this smash-hit show.

Are you a budding musical theatre performer aged 6 to 21? Do you dream of performing in London on a West End stage? The talent competition, West End Calling is back and they want to see YOU!

The Southwark Playhouse has made a name for itself in featuring new musicals and inventive revivals. It's a venue that provides a platform for productions that are lesser-known, but have the potential to go further and I suspect with Fiver, they have an uncontested hit on their hands.

British musical FIVER gets its world premiere at Southwark Playhouse from Wednesday 3 July to Saturday 20 July.

Final casting is today announced for the new British musical FIVER, which gets its world premiere at Southwark Playhouse from Wednesday 3 July to Saturday 20 July.

FIVER follows the story of a humble £5 note as it passes through the hands and pockets of different people in London. Often unnoticed and obviously unaware, the fiver is present for significant moments in each person's life - from an appreciation of their skills as a street performer, the start or end of relationships to the simple realisation that they can afford a bed for the night.

After sold out shows in April 2018 and May 2017, lyricist Robert Gould will return to the Union Theatre at 7.30pm on October 21 with A LONELY VOICE, a concert of songs with his lyrics performed by a cast of West End and Off-West End musical theatre performers (from the casts of shows such as Tina The Musical, Little Shop Of Horrors and Wicked). The concert will feature a showcase of songs from "Cleopatra", a brand new musical-in-development by Robert Gould and Lyndon Samuel, as well as an eclectic mix of musical theatre, indie pop and folk/rock numbers with music penned by composers from the UK, USA, Sweden, Israel and the Netherlands, including Tristan Bons, Alex James Ellison, Alexander Engstrom, Dean Heller, Ty Kroll, Omri Lahav, Ben Messenger, Christopher J. Orton, Joe Sterling, Dylan Wynford and Bo Wastesson. (a composer from Sweden, whose works include the musicals "The Brothers Lionheart", "The Blacksmith's Daughter" and "Gerda")

Actor/singer/songwriter Alex James Ellison, who supported Samantha Barks on her UK concert tour in 2016, will launch his new single, 'Yours', with a concert at the West End's Above The Arts studio theatre on Sunday, 3 June.

Librettist/lyricist Robert Gould will return to the Union Theatre on Sunday April 29 with Once Upon A Time, a concert of songs with his lyrics performed by a cast of West End and Off-West End musical theatre performers. The songs will include an eclectic mix of musical theatre, indie pop, folk/rock and swing with music penned by composers from the UK, USA, Sweden and the Netherlands, including Bo Wastesson (a highly renowned composer from Sweden, whose works include the musicals "The Brothers Lionheart", "The Blacksmith's Daughter" and "Gerda") as well as Tristan Bons, Rob Eyles, Alex James Ellison, Christopher J. Orton, Joe Sterling, Robert Thomson, and Dylan Wynford.

Casting has been announced for the Barn Theatre Cirencester's inaugural professional production of  The Secret Garden, which will run from March 16 to April 15. The cast will include: David Haydn (Archibald Craven), Jaimie Pruden (Lily Craven), Minal Patel (Neville Craven), Celeste De Veazey (Colin Craven), Daniella Piper (Mary), Jenny O'Leary (Martha), Alex James Ellison (Dickon), Sue Appleby (Musical Director, Ensemble), Steffan Rizzi (Ensemble), Jamie Ross (Ensemble), Celia Cruwys Finnigan (Ensemble), Ben Boskovic (Ensemble).

Stars are lining up to take part in the Footlight Singer Showcase at Leicester Square Theatre tonight. Amy Lennox (Kinky Boots) and Michael Auger (Collabro) will join Oscar Conlon-Morrey as his special guests tonight. Amy and Oscar will be joined by a stellar line-up of fellow guests: Alex James Ellison (on piano), David Bulley, Sinead Wall, Michael Mather, Izzy Bates, Rebecca Charlotte Gilliland, Tom Blackmore, Ryan Alexander Full, Max Panks and the show's producers Jonny Rust and Justin Williams. Don't miss out!

Footlight Singer Showcase is delighted to announce that West End star Amy Lennox will join Oscar Conlon-Morrey as his special guest at Leicester Square Theatre Showcase, on 30th January. Amy played Lauren in the original West End cast of Kinky Boots and was nominated for both the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Musical and the Whatsonstage.com Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Musical.

The next Footlight Singer Showcase bounds into the New Year with its hit evening of live music returning to Leicester Square Theatre on 30th January...

The latest production from New. Theatre Company is a song cycle from Alex James Ellison and Tom Lees; as with last month's The Dysfunctional Guide to Being a Third Wheel it is playing in the cabaret space Live at Zedel. Directed once again by Jordan Murphy, it boasts a talented cast of four: Sabrina Aloueche, Joe Kerry, Jodie Steele and Daniel Buckley.

An all star cast has been announced for the world premiere production of Fiver: A New Musical by Tom Lees and Alex James Ellison.

West End Big Busk (in association with Joel Marvin)  will  present a charity gala evening at The Ambassadors Theatre in London's West End on Tuesday April 11 featuring stars of the West End and other special guests in aid of  the Passage Charity who support the homeless in London.

Fascinating and dramatically compelling, this play depicts the supposed meeting of Malcolm X and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Differing in their philosophies, but alike in their mutual respect, the two men debate their approaches to the same social problems, both prepared to die for their beliefs.