John Leader News

Berkeley Repertory Theatre has announced the full cast and creative team for the West Coast premiere of Emma Rice’s critically acclaimed Wuthering Heights, a reimagined version of Emily Brontë’s gothic masterpiece. Performances begin Friday, November 18 and continue through Sunday, January 1, 2023.

Central School of Ballet, the world-leading professional dance training organisation and part of the renowned Conservatoire for Dance and Drama, announced today, 27th February 2020, that its new bespoke premises in Paris Garden in the London Borough of Southwark, part of the South Bank arts community, will be named after the school's Royal Patron, HRH The Countess of Wessex. The Countess visited Paris Garden during the morning of 27th February, met students, staff and supporters, and unveiled a plaque for the new building which will now be known as a?oeThe Countess of Wessex Studiosa??. This reflects Central's sincere gratitude for the continued interest and support provided by Her Royal Highness for the project and its broad objectives for exemplary dance industry training and benefit to the local community.

Central School of Ballet, the world-leading professional dance training organisation and part of the renowned Conservatoire for Dance and Drama, will announce on 27th February 2020 that its new bespoke premises in Paris Garden in the London Borough of Southwark, part of the South Bank arts community, will be named after the school's Royal Patron, HRH The Countess of Wessex. The Countess will visit Paris Garden during the morning of 27th February, meet with students, staff and supporters, and unveil a plaque for the new building which will now be known as a?oeThe Countess of Wessex Studiosa??. This reflects Central's sincere gratitude for the continued interest and support provided by Her Royal Highness for the project and its broad objectives for exemplary dance industry training and benefit to the local community.

Based on the novel by C. S. Lewis and directed by Sally Cookson, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is now playing at the Bridge Theatre running to 2 February 2020.

Copies of C. S. Lewis's The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe have decorated children's bookshelves since its publication in 1950, and the image of a solitary gas lamppost amidst a blanket of white snow has become iconic. Following a successful run at the Leeds Playhouse in 2017, Sally Cookson's adaptation of Lewis's novel is now at the Bridge Theatre, and proves a perfect tonic to the theatrical soul, with impeccable design and innovative scenic effects.

Based on the novel by C. S. Lewis and directed by Sally Cookson, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is now playing at the Bridge Theatre running to 2 February 2020.  Full details of the performance schedule, including Sunday matinees, are available on the Bridge website. 

Based on the novel by C. S. Lewis and directed by Sally Cookson, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe will have its first performance at the Bridge Theatre on 9 November 2019. Today (16 October 2019) rehearsal images are released on the 69th anniversary of the publication of the novel. Opening night is on 18 November and the production runs until 2 February 2020. Full details of the performance schedule, including Sunday matinees, are available on the Bridge website.

The London Theatre Company by special arrangement with Elliott & Harper Productions and Catherine Schreiber, presents the much-celebrated Leeds Playhouse production of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe over the 2019/20 festive season at the Bridge.

Central School of Ballet, the world-leading professional dance training organisation and part of the renowned Conservatoire for Dance and Drama, today announces the commencement of works for the bespoke fit-out of their new premises in London's flourishing arts community on the South Bank in Southwark following a successful fundraising campaign.

Shakespeare's Globe is delighted to announce the Summer Season 2019. Celebrating and interrogating our 'sceptred isle' through Shakespeare's history plays, a year-long journey begins with Richard II, opening 22 February in the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, continuing into the Globe Theatre this summer with Henry IV Parts 1 and 2, and Henry V. The season also includes A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Ben Jonson's Bartholomew Fair, and the return of 2018's As You Like It. Robin Hood tales will form the core of the Read Not Dead series this year, and festivals throughout the summer include Women & Power and Poland is Hamlet. This year's Playing Shakespeare with Deutsche Bank production will be Romeo and Juliet, opening on 28 February, with 20,000 free tickets available to state secondary schools. The Shakespeare's Globe Touring Ensemble will once again present a trio of plays for the audience to choose from: The Comedy of Errors, Pericles, and Twelfth Night.

In the intimate candle-lit Sam Wanamaker Playhouse at the Globe, Christopher Marlowe's Doctor Faustus has once again been brought to life on the London stage. In this version however, director Paulette Randall has switched the lead's gender, with Jocelyn Jee Esien taking on the role of the ambitious and knowledgeable Faustus.

London is never short of temptations, whether splashy West End shows, epic dramas or bold fringe offerings. We've already posted our Christmas picks, and now here are some of this month's most eye-catching openings (sans tinsel). Don't forget to check back for BroadwayWorld reviews, interviews and features!

Shakespeare's Globe is delighted to announce the full cast of Paulette Randall's Doctor Faustus, opening in the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse on Saturday 1 December.

Hamilton's Olivier Award-winning actor Giles Terera will present his new play The Meaning of Zong on Bristol Old Vic's stage this Thursday (11 Oct) for a one-night-only workshop performance. The piece examines the massacre aboard the slave ship Zong in 1781 and the repercussions of these events, which influenced the growing abolition movement in the UK. This rehearsed reading will be followed by a free post-show talk with Giles Terera, Tom Morris and the cast.

After being turned into a film, Patrick Ness' award-winning novel A Monster Calls becomes a visceral stage play. It analysed the depths of grief and loss in a teen, Conor (Matthew Tennyson), who's slowly losing his mum to cancer. He's visited by a Monster (Stuart Goodwin) who tells him stories and explains the complications of being human.

Patricia Cumper, renowned playwright and former Artistic Director of Talawa Theatre, draws inspiration from personal and historical stories in her latest play, set in a rum bar by the docks in Kingston, Jamaica 1914.

All children, except one, grow up...

Director Sally Cookson brings her wondrously inventive Peter Pan to the National Theatre after a sell-out, critically acclaimed run at Bristol Old Vic Theatre. Peter Pan will open in the Olivier Theatre tonight 17 November, with press night on Friday 2 December. BroadwayWorld has a sneak peek at the company in rehearsal below!

Director Sally Cookson brings her wondrously inventive Peter Pan to the National Theatre after a sell-out, critically acclaimed run at Bristol Old Vic Theatre. Peter Pan will open in the Olivier Theatre on Thursday 17 November, with press night on Friday 2 December. BroadwayWorld has a sneak peek at the company in rehearsal below!

Devised by the Companies, based on the works of JM Barrie Previews from 16 November, Press Night 23 November, final performance 4 February.  Sophie Thompson has had to withdraw from the cast of Peter Pan, the National Theatre's Christmas show, due to a broken wrist. Anna Francolini, last seen at the NT in wonder.land, will take over the role of Captain Hook/ Mrs Darling. The NT is delighted that Anna was available to step into the role, and wishes Sophie a speedy recovery.