Peter Brook News

Toronto's innovative Why Not Theatre (Founding Artistic Director Ravi Jain; Managing Director Owais Lightwala; Executive Producer Kelly Read) will produce a new stage adaptation of the epic Sanskrit poem, Mahabharata, commissioned and presented by the prestigious Shaw Festival.

The York Theatre Company (James Morgan, Producing Artistic Director; Evans Haile, Executive Director), dedicated to the development of new musicals and rediscovery of musical gems from the past, as part of its 50th Anniversary season, has announced the cast for the York Legacy Concerts of the 1969 Broadway musical Celebration, written by the revered songwriting team of Harvey Schmidt and Tom Jones.

Out of Joint, Cast, Doncaster and Kiln Theatre, London today announced the full cast for their national tour and London run of The Glee Club. Joining Bill Ward who plays Bant, will be Joshua Hayes (Breakneck Bronco a?" Soho Theatre, A Wondrous Place - Sheffield Theatres/Royal Exchange/Northern Spirit) as Walt Hemmings, Robert Jackson (She Ventures and He Wins a?" The Young Vic, Kiss Me Kate a?" The Watermill Theatre) as Scobie, Linford Johnson (The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe a?" Bridge Theatre, Much Ado About Nothing a?" Northern Broadsides) as Colin Shuttleworth, Kai Owen (Torchwood a?" BBC TV, The Full Monty a?" UK tour) as Jack Horsfall and Eamonn Riley (Martha, Josie and The Chinese Elvis a?" Stephen Joseph Theatre, Our Town a?" The Royal Exchange) as Phil Newsome. This new production of Richard Cameron's play is directed by Out Of Joint's artistic director Kate Wasserberg.

The York Theatre Company (James Morgan, Producing Artistic Director; Evans Haile, Executive Director), dedicated to the development of new musicals and rediscovery of musical gems from the past, as part of its 50th Anniversary season celebration, will present two special events during the month of January: A York Chat: '50 Years of The York,' first in a series of panel discussions, and a staged concert of the 1969 Broadway musical Celebration written by the legendary songwriting team Harvey Schmidt and Tom Jones. Both special events will take place at The York Theatre Company at Saint Peter's (entrance on East 54th Street, just east of Lexington Avenue).

Theatre for a New Audience (TFANA; Jeffrey Horowitz, Founding Artistic Director) presents William Shakespeare's Timon of Athens, a co-production with Shakespeare Theatre Company in association with the Royal Shakespeare Company. Director Simon Godwin (Measure for Measure) returns to TFANA with a reimagining of his vibrant staging of Timon of Athens, which premiered at the Royal Shakespeare Company in 2018 - the first time the play had been staged with a female lead.

Deadline reports that 'Matilda: The Musical' star Karen Aldridge has joined the cast of the fourth season of 'Fargo' on FX.

La MaMa, in association with Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre and NODA・MAP, presents the U.S. Premiere of One Green Bottle from February 29 through March 8, 2020 at The Ellen Stewart Theatre, La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club, 66 E. 4th Street, NYC. Performances: Mon and Wed-Sat at 7pm, Sun at 5pm. Tickets are $35 ($30 for students and seniors) plus a $1 facility fee, and are available online at www.lamama.org, by phone at 212-352-3101.

Paper Mill Playhouse (Mark S. Hoebee-Producing Artistic Director, Michael Stotts- Managing Director), recipient of the Regional Theatre Tony Award, begins the new year with the world premiere Unmasked: The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and written with Richard Curtis. Unmasked: The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber begins performances Thursday, January 30, 2020, and will continue through Sunday, March 1, 2020 at Paper Mill Playhouse (22 Brookside Drive, Millburn, NJ). JPMorgan Chase & Co. is the major sponsor of Unmasked: The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber. Paper Mill Playhouse's 2019-2020 season is proudly sponsored by Investors Bank. Opening Night is Sunday evening, February 9, 2020 at 7:00pm.

La MaMa, in association with the Polish Cultural Institute and Komuna//Warszawa, is proud to present the U.S. premiere of Cezary Goes to War, a musically-driven queer fantasia on masculinity, nationalism, and the culture of war. Conceived and directed by Cezary Tomaszewski, a rising star of the Eastern European avant-garde, Cezary Goes to War draws on Tomaszewski's personal experiences with Poland's military draft and its archaic system of male classification. Weaving text from military evaluations of manliness, choreography inspired by army drills, and the patriotic songs by Stanisław Moniuszko, the father of Polish national opera, Cezary Goes to War offers a witty critique of military recruitment, national pride, and the vulnerability of male identity.

The winners of the 2019 Evening Standard Theatre Awards, in association with Michael Kors, were revealed at a ceremony tonight at the London Coliseum.

Tony Award-winning La MaMa is currently presenting the world premiere of VIRGO STAR, an intimate interactive performance, written and devised by the Pioneers Go East Collective - Gian Marco Riccardo Lo Forte and Daniel Diaz, in collaboration with Philip Treviño, Anabella Lenzu and Agosto Machado, and directed by Gian Marco Riccardo Lo Forte.

In honor of the centenary of the birth of La MaMa founder Ellen Stewart, the La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club has announced a $1 million challenge grant by The Diamonstein-Spielvogel Foundation toward the restoration and renewal of La MaMa's original home at 74A East 4th Street.

Check out photos for the all-women clown troupe Clowns Ex Machina in the world premiere of THE BAD'UNS: CLOWN ACTS OF CONTAGION, created and directed by Kendall Cornell in collaboration with the ensemble, running November 7 - 17, 2019 at La MaMa's Downstairs Theatre, located at 66 East 4th Street in New York City.

Returning to the spectacular Middle Temple Hall, where Charles Dickens himself studied law, Antic Disposition's acclaimed adaptation of A Christmas Carol is back for a fifth magical season this December. One of London's most heart-warming festive treats, the production combines the ghostly tale of Ebenezer Scrooge with original songs inspired by traditional Victorian Christmas carols.

Tony Award-winning La MaMa presents the world premiere of VIRGO STAR, an intimate interactive performance, written and devised by the Pioneers Go East Collective - Gian Marco Riccardo Lo Forte and Daniel Diaz, in collaboration with Philip Treviño, Anabella Lenzu and Agosto Machado, and directed by Gian Marco Riccardo Lo Forte.

Tony Award-winning La MaMa presents the all-women clown troupe Clowns Ex Machina in the world premiere of THE BAD'UNS: CLOWN ACTS OF CONTAGION, created and directed by Kendall Cornell in collaboration with the ensemble, running November 7 - 17, 2019 at La MaMa's Downstairs Theatre, located at 66 East 4th Street between 2nd Avenue and the Bowery in New York City. Previews begin November 7 for a November 9 opening.

Following its acclaimed national tour, the acclaimed Truth To Power Café comes to London this autumn as part of The Bloomsbury Festival. With more dates added the new leg of the tour will play at Conway Hall on October 20th as well as hitting more cities across the country.

The Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment, in partnership with SHOW- SCORE.COM, recently launched ALL NEW YORK'S A STAGE, the first-ever campaign dedicated to raising the visibility of our vibrant local theater industry, which is made up of small venues, companies and related organizations throughout the five boroughs.