Rachel Kavanaugh News

Chichester Festival Theatre's Festival 2020 has today been unveiled by Artistic Director Daniel Evans and Executive Director Kathy Bourne.

In what has become an annual ritual, a total of 40 established and emerging composers, lyricists, and librettists will converge on the Goodspeed campus from mid-January through mid-February 2020 to participate in the Johnny Mercer Foundation Writers Colony at Goodspeed Musicals. The writing teams, representing 15 new musicals, will populate the campus, creating a truly exciting environment for discovery and inspiration.

Michael Harrison and David Ian are delighted to announce the world premiere of MY BEST FRIEND'S WEDDING THE MUSICAL opening at Plymouth Theatre Royal on 16 September 2020 ahead of a UK and Ireland tour. Full tour schedule below. The show will star Alexandra Burke as Julianne Potter with further casting to be announced soon. www.bestfriendsweddingmusical.com

Opening night of Witches of Eastwick at Cirkus, Stockholm, Sweden 19th of September 2019

Liz White will make her Chichester debut as Joy Gresham, opposite Hugh Bonneville as C.S. Lewis, in William Nicholson's award-winning play Shadowlands, directed in the Festival Theatre by Rachel Kavanaugh and running from 26 April - 26 May (press night: 2 May). They are joined by Sally Cheng, Giles Coram, Emilio Doorgasingh, Lauren Hall, Andrew Havill, Beruce Khan and Timothy Watson, with Ruari Finnegan and Eddie Martin sharing the role of Joy Gresham's young son.

'The Witches of Eastwick' is a novel by John Updike, which was filmed in the 80s and became one of the decade's greatest cult films of the same name. The story was rebuilt into musical and was first put on London's West End. We can now proudly present the 'Witches in Eastwick' on Circus this fall which is something very unique in its kind, never before has this award-winning musical been made in Sweden. The premiere is on September 19th at Circus in Stockholm.

Chichester Festival Theatre's Festival 2019 has been announced today by Artistic Director Daniel Evans, offering the colourful variety of work for which Chichester is renowned. New for 2019 is The Spiegeltent, a unique venue for an eclectic range of events.

Bill Kenwright presents the long-awaited return of Rough Crossing written by Academy, Tony and Olivier award-winning writer Tom Stoppard (Shakespeare in Love, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, The Real Thing, Arcadia) and directed by acclaimed director Rachel Kavanaugh (The Wind in the Willows, Half a Sixpence).

Jasmyn Banks and Tom England will join the previously announced Caroline Langrishe, Aden Gillett, James Sutton and Elizabeth Boag in the 2019 national tour of Torben Betts's biting comedy, CAROLINE'S KITCHEN, beginning on 24 January 2019 at Derby Theatre, running through to 13 April 2019 at the Mercury Theatre, Colchester. This will be followed by an off-Broadway season in New York Spring 2019. There will be a national press night at Cambridge Arts Theatre on Tuesday 29 January 2019.

Having recently worked on a number of musicals (including the acclaimed Half a Sixpence), Rachel Kavanaugh returns to the RSC for a play which has some ghosts of the past and present. Sharing some of her earliest experiences with theatre, Rachel reveals what it's like to work alongside a figure from then, and what audiences can expect from this show now.

Torben Betts's biting comedy, CAROLINE'S KITCHEN, was staged earlier this year on tour and at Park Theatre, London, under the title Monogamy, starring Janie Dee. Betts and his producers, Original Theatre Company, under the Artistic Direction of Alastair Whatley, have reworked the play and, with a new cast led by Caroline Langrishe, Aden Gillett, James Sutton and Elizabeth Boag (further casting to be announced), will begin a new national tour on 24 January 2019 at Derby Theatre, running through to 13 April 2019 at the Mercury Theatre, Colchester. This will be followed by an off-Broadway season in New York Spring 2019.

On the face of it, a play based upon a 13-year-old boy being expelled from his naval college for allegedly stealing a five-shilling postal order does not sound like the stuff of captivating drama. However, in the masterly hands of Terence Rattigan, this story does indeed enthral and quietly impress.

The classic family drama stars Tessa Peake-Jones (Only Fools And Horses), Aden Gillen (House Of Eliott, Holby City), and Timothy Watson (BBC Radio 4's The Archers).

How much are we willing to sacrifice for the pursuit of truth and justice? Terence Rattigan's The Winslow Boy explores this thorny question.

Following a strictly limited summer season at the London Palladium, The Wind in the Willows: The New Musical is set to delight audiences of all ages, as it is screened in cinemas across the UK & Ireland over the Easter period. The multi-camera production of the much-loved musical adventure will be screened in stunning surround sound and in breathtaking high definition, bringing one of the highlights of London's West End to local multiplexes and giving everyone the best seat in the house. Participating cinemas and booking links can be found at www.willowsmusical.com

Following a strictly limited summer season at the London Palladium, The Wind in the Willows: The New Musical is set to delight audiences of all ages, as it is screened in cinemas across the UK & Ireland over the Easter period. The multi-camera production of the much-loved musical adventure will be screened in stunning surround sound and in breathtaking high definition, bringing one of the highlights of London's West End to local multiplexes and giving everyone the best seat in the house. Participating cinemas and booking links can be found at www.willowsmusical.com

RSC Artistic Director, Gregory Doran, announces the RSC's winter 2018 season, a nationwide schools' tour and a new 10 ticket offer for first time visitors.

Having been expelled from the Royal Navy College for stealing a five-shilling postal order, young cadet Ronnie Winslow's entire family are pulled apart by the repercussions of this charge. Set against the values of 1910 Edwardian London, the Winslow family fight to clear his name or face social ostracism as the case becomes a national scandal. Based on a real-life event, The Winslow Boy is a courageous and often delicately humorous window into the class and political hypocrisy of the time. This highly-charged moral drama will have audiences gripped by the heart-tugging decisions faced by each of The Winslow Family. Where will their sacrifices leave them and what is really at stake?

Written as a 'narrative for voices' by Alan Ayckbourn and brought to The Old Vic stage by Old Vic Baylis Director Annabel Bolton following its premiere at the Edinburgh International Festival, The Divide unfolds in a dystopian society of repression and seething insurrection.

Timothy Watson, best known for his role as the villainous Rob Titchener in BBC Radio 4's long-running dramatic favourite, The Archers, is to join the cast of The Winslow Boy which opens at Birmingham Repertory Theatre on 21 February 2018.