Marc Brenner News

Gary Naylor sees a relationship swell and suffer over 20 years in two plays lit up by linguistic excess.

Following a brief Off-Broadway foray in 2013, Murder Ballad makes its UK premiere at the Arts Theatre featuring an all-star cast of seasoned musical theatre performers. It is a 90-minute, sung-through rock musical with dangerous intentions.

Actor Adam Gillen's credits include A Taste of Honey at the Royal Exchange Theatre, The School for Scandal at the Barbican and the RSC's Wendy and Peter, as well as TV hits Fresh Meat and Benidorm. He's currently starring as Mozart, opposite Lucian Msamati as rival composer Salieri, in the National Theatre revival of Peter Shaffer's Amadeus, which begins previews later this month.

David Birrell's extensive stage work ranges from An Enemy of the People at Octagon Theatre, Bolton, to Spamalot in the West End, as well as several years with the RSC. He's currently playing Badger in the highly anticipated new musical version of The Wind in the Willows, which features a book by Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowees and an original score by George Stiles and Anthony Drewe. The production begins previews at Theatre Royal, Plymouth on 8 October.

London is never short of theatre temptations, whether splashy West End shows, epic dramas or bold fringe offerings. From Amadeus and a starry Stoppard revival to exciting new musicals, here are some of this month's most eye-catching openings. Don't forget to check back for BroadwayWorld's reviews…

As an actor, Nigel Harman's numerous credits include EastEnders, Guys and Dolls, Downton Abbey and Shrek The Musical, the latter of which he also directed. He's now helming the revival of a Steven Berkoff double bill: Lunch, about an abortive one-night stand, and The Bow of Ulysses, revisiting the couple after 20 years of marriage. The plays star Shaun Dooley and Emily Bruni, and begin at Trafalgar Studios on 6 October.

Tony and Olivier Award-winning director Michael Grandage and Tony and Olivier Award-winning scenic and costume designer Christopher Oram are confirmed for the creative team of Frozen, a new musical based on Disney's Academy Award-winning musical film, slated to open at Broadway's St. James Theatre in spring 2018.  

Director Nigel Harman and actors Emily Bruni and Shaun Dooley are captured by photographer Marc Brenner on the first day of rehearsals for the West End Steven Berkoff double bill, LUNCH and THE BOW OF ULYSSES.

Directed by Oli Rose, Britten in Brooklyn will play for a strictly limited season of 21 performances from 31 August - 17 September. 

First premiering at the Edinburgh Traverse two years ago, Owen McCafferty's play Unfaithful has a new cast and a new home at the Found111 on Charing Cross Road.  Tom (Sean Campion), a plumber, and Joan (Niamh Cusack), a supervisory dinner lady, are a fifty-something married couple who have been together for 30 years. One night Tom returns home, telling Joan he's slept with someone else – a young woman he met at the pub. Seeking revenge, Joan hires a male escort and meets him at the same hotel where her husband frequently drinks.

Gary Naylor sees a play that promises more than it delivers in a venue that looks great but provides unique challenges to cast and creatives.

Rehearsals have begun for the highly anticipated major new musical theatre adaptation of THE WIND IN THE WILLOWS, created by Julian Fellowes, George Stiles and Anthony Drewe. Premiering at Theatre Royal Plymouth from 8 October 2016, the production will then open at The Lowry in Salford and Mayflower Theatre in Southampton, prior to London's West End.

Following the critically acclaimed, sold out productions of The Dazzle and Bug at Found111, Emily Dobbs Productions is thrilled to present the London premiere of UNFAITHFUL, a blackly comic new play starring Sean Campion (The Borgias, Stones in his Pockets), Niamh Cusack (Heartbeat, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time), Ruta Gedmintas (The Strain, The Tudors) and Matthew Lewis (Harry Potter film series, The Syndicate), and directed by Adam Penford (Watership Down, A Small Family Business).

How long does it take to cover the complex problems in the Congo, AKA the most dangerous place in the world? Adam Brace's play has a semi-joking educational sequence that attempts it in four and a half minutes - putting to bed the ubiquitous Um Bongo jingle - but the morass of conflicting information presents a dramatic problem that this witty, engaging but messily sprawling piece can't quite overcome.

The second instalment of LET THERE BE LIGHT, our new series showcasing some of Britain's best theatrical lighting designers, focuses on Neil Austin. His diverse body of work ranges from productions at National Theatre and collaborations with directors like Howard Davies and Michael Grandage to Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.

Following the critically acclaimed, sold out productions of The Dazzle and Bug at Found111, Emily Dobbs Productions is thrilled to pesent the London premiere of Unfaithful, a blackly comic new play starring Sean Campion (The Borgias, Stones in his Pockets), Niamh Cusack (Heartbeat, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time), Ruta Gedmintas (The Strain, The Tudors) and Matthew Lewis (Harry Potter film series, The Syndicate). BroadwayWorld has a sneak peek at Lewis & Gedmintas in rehearsal below!

Matthew Lewis is beloved by millions as Neville Longbottom in the Harry Potter films, but since his wizarding days he's taken on a range of projects, including Ripper Street and Happy Valley on TV, Me Before You on the big screen, and Our Boys in the West End. He's currently in rehearsal for Owen McCafferty's Unfaithful, which also features Sean Campion, Niamh Cusask and Ruta Gedmintas. The play has its London premiere at pop-up venue Found111 on 25 August, running until 8 October.

Mike Bartlett's taught and darkly-black workplace satire is an assured directorial debut for Lisa Blair, with two commanding lead performances.