'Everybody Say Yeah' because this month BroadwayHD, the premiere streaming service for theater fans, is gearing up to add more electrifying performances including the record-breaking Broadway and West End hit, Kinky Boots. The Tony-Award winning Kinky Boots, from pop icon Cyndi Lauper and legendary playwright Harvey Fierstein, which was filmed at London's Adelphi Theater last year, will be arriving on the service on July 15th.
A new production of Joe Penhall's critically-acclaimed play, Blue/Orange opens at Birmingham Repertory Theatre on 1 February (press night 5 February). Directed by Daniel Bailey, the cast will feature Richard Lintern, Thomas Coombes and Ivan Oyik.
Lloyd Hutchinson, Nancy Meckler and Stephen Rea will curate an afternoon to celebrate the great American playwright and actor Sam Shepard who passed away in July last year. The event will take place on Monday 12 November at 3pm in the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs.
Ever wondered what goes into creating your favourite productions? Those moments of magic (or macabre) where you go 'How did they do that?!' In our new Special Effects series, we'll be discovering how the worlds on stage come to life by exploring the worlds off stage, talking to the creatives and crews from some of the UK's biggest shows and theatre companies.
This month, we're looking at stage blood and effects in two infamously bloody shows. We spoke to the Company Stage Manager on Michael Grandage's The Lieutenant of Inishmore and the Designer of the Royal Shakespeare Company's Tamburlaine, who shared their practices (and a few secrets).
Daniel Schumann, Lee Dean and Cambridge Arts Theatre in association with Birmingham Repertory Theatre today announce John Stahl (Big Ger Cafferty) and Cathy Tyson (Siobhan Clarke) will join Charles Lawson (John Rebus) in Rebus: Long Shadows, a brand new Rebus story written exclusively for the stage by author of the original novels, Ian Rankin and playwright Rona Munro. Further casting to be announced shortly.
Everybody's Talking About Jamie, the award-winning feel good new musical sensation, is pleased to announce that Rebecca McKinnis will be stepping into the role of Margaret New and Lee Ross will be joining the cast to play Hugo from 16 July.
After 'sealing the deal' with critics and audiences alike during its smash hit West End run, Sam Yates' unmissable production of one of David Mamet's greatest and most lauded plays, Glengarry Glen Ross will embark on a nationwide tour from 14 February 2019 opening at the New Victoria Theatre, Woking. The hard-nosed sales team in this darkly funny classic will then visit Birmingham, Manchester, Milton Keynes, Glasgow, Richmond, Brighton and Cardiff with further tour dates to be announced shortly.
After 'sealing the deal' with critics and audiences alike during its smash hit West End run, Sam Yates' unmissable production of one of David Mamet's greatest and most lauded plays, Glengarry Glen Ross will embark on a nationwide tour from 14 February 2019 opening at the New Victoria Theatre, Woking. The hard-nosed sales team in this darkly funny classic will then visit Birmingham, Manchester, Milton Keynes, Glasgow, Richmond, Brighton and Cardiff with further tour dates to be announced shortly.
The series follows ambitious FBI agent Holden Ford (Jonathan Groff) as he struggles to comprehend incarcerated killers, so that he might use this knowledge to catch others. He's teamed with experienced agent Bill Tench (Holt McCallany) in the Behavioral Science Unit and will work with his sometimes reluctant partner to find new methods of investigation. Together they will meet some of America's gravest killers, including Edmund Kemper (played by a mesmerizing Cameron Britton) – and face the cynicism and scorn of the tradition-bound hierarchy of the 1970s' Federal Bureau of Investigation. Ford will risk empathizing with 'evil' in order to save lives. But, as Tench says, when arguing the case for their work: “How do we get ahead of crazy if we don't know how crazy thinks?”
Nominated for six Naledi Awards When Swallows Cry interweaves three stories set in Africa, or about African migrants and refugees. One story features a Canadian teacher - initially assumed to be an American - who is captured by a group of bandits in a West African country. He is held for ransom to generate the funds required to develop the region in which he is held. A second story features two Zimbabwean teachers who flee the economic hardships of their country in a boat heading to Fiji where they will not require visas for at least three months. However, the boat ventures into Australian waters and they are held at a detention centre for illegal immigrants, and are threatened with immediate deportation to Zimbabwe. The third story tells of a Somalian who leaves his war-torn country for South Africa, only to experience brutal xenophobic violence that obliges him to seek refuge in America. He obtains a legitimate US visa but is hounded at the port of entry; one of his tormentors is an African America official, a descendant of African slaves, but whose job it is to prevent "undesirables" entering America, and threatening their security. These stories, featuring three actors playing contrasting characters in the three different playlets, are multi-layered and raise numerous themes about contemporary mobility. The stories comment on each other, not necessarily in sequence, but as a whole.
Gendered power dynamics, the commodification of art, and abuse in the creative industries: Joe Penhall's new play certainly feels of the moment, and there's a particular frisson in seeing such subject matter explored at the Old Vic, which is dealing with the legacy of Kevin Spacey. Yet a potent topic remains stubbornly discursive in this rather circular piece.
London is never short of temptations, whether splashy West End shows, epic dramas or bold fringe offerings. From meaty revivals to the open-air theatres opening their doors, here are some of this month's most eye-catching openings. Don't forget to check back for BroadwayWorld reviews, interviews and features!
Music is medication. Behind its seductive and glamourous veneer, the music industry has a dark side. Whether it's bitter legal battles fought by the likes of George Michael, Kesha and Tulisa, or the lost lives of Amy Winehouse and Chris Cornell, the price of fame and success can be brutal.
Rhys Ifans stars in MOOD MUSIC at London's Old Vic, which previews from 21 April. It's a sly, wry exploration of the dark side of the music industry by the writer of Sunny Afternoon Joe Penhall, and directed by Roger Michell. Book tickets here from £30!
Rhys Ifans is to star in Mood Music which previews from 21 April 2018 with a press night on 2 May 2018. 'Music is medication. The elixir of life. It's for injecting into the blood stream to take away the pain...to promote euphoria...to adrenalise us and give us courage and fortitude.'
Cleveland Play House (CPH) is proud to bring George Brant's Marie and Rosetta to the Allen Theatre stage. Marie and Rosetta chronicles the story of 2018 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Early Influence Inductee Sister Rosetta Tharpe and her counterpart Marie Knight as they changed the landscape of modern music. Miche Braden will make her return to Cleveland Play House as Sister Rosetta Tharpe alongside CPH newcomer Chaz Hodges as Marie Knight. Directed by Neil Pepe, Marie and Rosetta runs January 20 through February 11, 2018 in the Allen Theatre at Playhouse Square.
