It wouldn't be Christmas without Birmingham Repertory Theatre's family favourite The Snowman, now in its 22nd consecutive year. This beloved dance adaptation of Raymond Briggs' tale returns to Sadler's Wells' Peacock Theatre this week as part of its UK tour. Martin Fenton talks to BroadwayWorld about taking on the all-important title role.
The theatrical phenomenon that is The Woman In Black began in 1987, when Stephen Mallatratt adapted Susan Hill's spine-chilling work of gothic fiction for the stage. Over thirty years and countless terrified audiences later the production is still going strong.
The first mixed bill of the season sees the Royal Ballet celebrate a diverse cross-section of 1960s productions - from the clean and tightly choreographed Concerto, to the luscious opulence of Raymonda Act III (so commonly seen as a standalone piece). The two are separated by some picture-perfect Ashtonian charm with Enigma Variations.
What a year for theatre 2019 has been! Remembering all of the amazing shows as part of the build-up to the BroadwayWorld UK Awards has been a complete joy, and it is my pleasure to present some thoughts about the shows that have left a distinct impression on my stagey mind.
There are possibly no four words more chilling to the avid theatre-goer than The Woman in Black. Having taken the West End by storm, Stephen Mallatratt's adaptation of Susan Hill's classic ghost story is now haunting theatres around the UK on its tour, after celebrating its thirtieth birthday this year.
Why are religious musicals experiencing a comeback in the West End? BroadwayWorld spoke to London performers about stories of faith and how their personal outlook on life connects with the material.
I'm a Pheonix, Bitch is an autobiographical piece which chronicles a deeply horrendous time in Bryony Kimmings' life through the years 2015-16 with the loss of her relationship, her mental health, and, nearly, her child.
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, which is in the midst of a limited 11-week season at the London Palladium, might be heading to Broadway! According to the Daily Mail's Baz Bamigboye, Broadway producers are already eying a transfer.
Oh Lord! The second Biblical Andrew Lloyd Webber opening of the week (taking his current London production total up to a whopping five from next month) is his early collaboration with Tim Rice, celebrating 50 years since its original concept album, and back home at the Palladium. But a joyfully fresh staging makes this a Joseph for 2019 - and a family-friendly summer hit.
Lighter than a macaron and every bit as deliciously Gallic, Donizetti's La fille du regiment swaps the composer's signature brand of robust, Italian comedy for something frothier, more melt-in-the-mouth. Add to that director Laurent Pelly - go-to Frenchman for whimsy and colour - and you have a classic operatic amuse-bouche.
JoAnn M Hunter has choreographed for Broadway and West End shows like School of Rock, Disaster and On A Clear Day You Can See Forever. Her current project is the London Palladium revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, starring Jac Yarrow, Jason Donovan and Sheridan Smith.
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat plays a strictly limited 11-week season at the London Palladium, directed by Laurence Connor (School of Rock, Miss Saigon). See production photographs by Tristram Kenton!
Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream seems to be this season's go-to comedy and, from Nicholas Hytner's lightly immersive offering at the Bridge Theatre to the smaller productions dotted around London, it's delighting audiences young and old.
Don't let the abundance of cuteness fool you. Isabella Rossellini's LINK LINK CIRCUS is one of the brainiest shows in town.
The Print Room at The Coronet is hosting a slick and melancholic bilingual revival of Henrik Ibsen's The Lady From The Sea produced by the venue in their first collaboration with The Norwegian Ibsen Company.
Musical Director Joel Fram joins us once again to dissect 'The Ladies Who Lunch', Marianne Elliott's staging of it, and the 'complex set of causes and effects' that result from this reworking.
In a rare piece of programming from the Royal Opera House, audiences have the opportunity, for a limited run, to watch the Royal Ballet School's talent of tomorrow and the main company's talent of today together in a mixed programme of animal-based stories. It features new work from Artist in Residence Liam Scarlett and Frederick Ashton's popular Two Pigeons, seen previously this year alongside Scarlett's Asphodel Meadows. The former First Artist certainly seems to be making his mark on the company repertoire.
What a bizarre year 2018 has been. In the months that saw too much Trump, devastating Californian wildfires, an escalation in the refugee crisis, not to mention the dreaded 'B' word, it makes me more grateful than ever for the pure escapism that live theatre so often provides.
It's been a decade since the Lyric Hammersmith theatre first brought a panto to their local faithful. Following plucky young hero Dick Whittington, Londoners can expect a heartwarming story that is as funny as it is clever.
Chatting to the teams at the Prince Edward Theatre (Aladdin) and the Theatre Royal Haymarket (Heathers the Musical), both explained how being 'a people person' is so key to the role. In addition to being the eyes and ears of the theatre, in a way they're the heart of it too, a sentiment echoed by others in the buildings...
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