Neal Street Productions News

The first season of the critically-acclaimed hit SHOWTIME® drama series PENNY DREADFUL is now available for purchase

September will be a month to remember for the record-breaking and award-winning West End production of Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, directed by Sam Mendes. In the month that sees the book mark its 50th anniversary, and Roald Dahl Day celebrate Dahl's work, life and legacy, the production has sold its one millionth ticket, and today producers have announced an extension to its booking period, until 31 October 2015.

The UK and Ireland tour of SHREK THE MUSICAL® premiered Wednesday 30 July at the Grand Theatre in Leeds then launches in Bristol, Nottingham, Belfast, Dublin, Oxford, Manchester, Aberdeen, Canterbury, Newcastle, Birmingham, Glasgow, Sheffield, Norwich, Southampton, Plymouth and Milton Keynes with further venues still to be announced. Check out a first look at the brand new trailer below!

The world premiere of Alecky Blythe's new play inspired by the 2011 London riots, directed by Joe Hill-Gibbins, LITTLE REVOLUTION, will play the Almeida Theatre. This is Alecky's first new London production after the success of London Road at the National Theatre.

Casting is announced for Our Town at the Almeida Theatre. Award-winning US actor-director David Cromer will direct and perform in this intimate version of Thornton Wilder's iconic American play. The cast will also include Michael Ajao, Paul Bigley, Arthur Byrne, Sidney Cole, Kate Dickie, Laura Elsworthy, Anna Francolini, Matthew Jacobs-Morgan, Daniel Kendrick, Simon Lennon, Jessica Lester, Richard Lumsden, Annette McLaughlin, Christopher Staines, Rhashan Stoneand David Walmsley.

The UK and Ireland tour of SHREK THE MUSICAL® premieres tonight, Wednesday 30 July at the Grand Theatre in Leeds before 'taking ogre' Bristol, Nottingham, Belfast, Dublin, Oxford, Manchester, Aberdeen, Canterbury, Newcastle, Birmingham, Glasgow, Sheffield, Norwich, Southampton, Plymouth and Milton Keynes with further venues still to be announced. Check out a first look below!

BBC Worldwide North America Sales & Co-productions, PBS and Neal Street Productions announced today at the PBS portion of the Television Critics Association Press Tour that the hit British drama CALL THE MIDWIFE will return to PBS for a fourth season.

Today at the Television Critics Association Press Tour, PBS announced updates to its fall schedule and new programs for 2015. A brief synopsis of each program is listed below.

Casting is announced for the world premiere of Alecky Blythe's new play inspired by the 2011 London riots, directed by Joe Hill-Gibbins. This is Alecky's first new London production after the success of London Road at the National Theatre.

Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, directed by Sam Mendes, last night marked the first anniversary of its opening at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane with a gala performance and party for cast, crew and special guests. Check out a first look at cast members on the red carpet below!

Society of London Theatre (SOLT) today has announced that Caro Newling has been appointed as its new President. Caro has been a producer in the West End, on Broadway and internationally since the early 1990s.

The Almeida Theatre's acclaimed production of King Charles III will transfer to the Wyndham's Theatre for a limited season previewing from Tuesday 2 September with a press performance on Thursday 11 September. Tim Pigott-Smith will once again play Charles. The cast also includes Richard Goulding, Nyasha Hatendi, Adam James, Margot Leicester, Tom Robertson, Nicholas Rowe, Tafline Steen and Lydia Wilson. Further casting is to be announced.

The Almeida Theatre today announces its body of work for the autumn: a World Premiere of a new work by Alecky Blythe will be directed by Joe Hill-Gibbins and the London Premiere of David Cromer's acclaimed production of Thornton Wilder's Our Town.

'Call the Midwife,' the acclaimed BBC/PBS series by Emmy-nominated screenwriter and playwright Heidi Thomas, began airing its third season on March 30, 2014 on PBS in the US and continues through May 18, 2014. The period drama, which follows the midwives and nuns of a convent in the poor East End of London in the 1950s, first premiered to record ratings on BBC One in the UK in January, 2012 and began airing in the US in fall of 2012 on PBS, earning ecstatic reviews from television writers. It is currently the BBC's top-rated drama, earning 10.5 million viewers per episode and has been sold to 197 territories worldwide. 'Call the Midwife' is produced by Neal Street Productions, a film, television and stage production company, founded and run by Sam Mendes, Pippa Harris and Caro Newling.

The West End is getting a new Willy Wonka. Taking over for Olivier and Tony Award-winning actor Douglas Hodge in Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory will be fellow Olivier-winner Alex Jennings, according to the Daily Mail. Directed by Sam Mendes, the production opened at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane on 25 June 2013 and recently extended through May 20, 2015. Hodge's last performance is set for May 17, with Jennings taking over May 19, 2014.

The producers of the first ever tour of the UK and Ireland of SHREK THE MUSICAL® just announced its brand new company. Coming direct from London, where it was seen live on stage by nearly a million people, the UK and Ireland tour of the Theatre Royal Drury Lane production of SHREK THE MUSICAL® will star Dean Chisnall as beloved swamp-dwelling ogre 'Shrek', the role he previously played in the West End, Faye Brookes as damsel in distress 'Princess Fiona', Idriss Kargbo as Shrek's wisecracking sidekick 'Donkey' and Gerard Carey as pint-sized villain 'Lord Farquaad'.

Rupert Goold, The Almeida Theatre's Artistic Director, directs the World Premiere of American Psycho, a new musical thriller with book by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and music and lyrics by Duncan Sheik, based on the novel by Bret Easton Ellis. The production ends its acclaimed run today, 1 Feb in the West End.

Applications are now open for five 'Golden Ticket' week-long, paid work experience placements on Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, which will provide five people with a unique insight into the working world of theatre. What's more, at the end of the week, the most promising candidate will be rewarded with a life-changing three-month paid placement as production intern, working alongside some of the most experienced people in the business.

Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory today announced that it is extending its run at Theatre Royal Drury Lane until 20 May 2015. The new booking period will go on sale on 7 February 2014.

West End's MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG, which was broadcast in cinemas across the United States earlier this fall, is now available for download over on Digital Theatre.