Yvonne Arnaud News

Written and directed by Jim Cartwright, the Olivier Award-winning THE RISE AND FALL OF LITTLE VOICE will begin a national tour at the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre on Friday 31 August, with opening night on Tuesday 4 September. The show stars Beverley Callard as 'Mari Hoff', Ray Quinn as 'Billy', Joe McGann as 'Ray Say', Duggie Brown as 'Mr Boo' and Jess Robinson as 'Little Voice'.

Thelma Holt and Bill Kenwright previously announced that their production of Noel Coward's VOLCANO, starring Jenny Seagrove, Dawn Steele and Jason Durr, opens at Theatre Royal, Windsor tonight, 21 May. Tour dates are confirmed until August this year, with more to be announced.

A statement from the producers said: “Two years ago, originating producer Michael Alden was ready to put the play on and the film came along and blocked its path. At the start of this year, we believed that enough time had passed between the film and our opening. This clearly was not the case. We are extremely proud of what we have accomplished. It is a production of genuine quality that has been critically and publicly acclaimed across the board.'

Casting has been announced for Alan Plater's CLOSE THE COALHOUSE DOOR, which is being revived by Northern Stage and Live Theatre in Newcastle Upon Tyne. Directed by Samuel West, with additional material by Lee Hall, the production will open at Northern Stage on Wednesday 18 April, with previews from Friday 13 April and will then tour the UK until June 2012.

West End star Kerry Ellis recently wrote article for the Huffington Pst, in which she urges tourists to see a show while in London for the 2012 Olympics. Ellis writes: 'Theatre is part of the city's lifeblood and I know I'm not alone when I say that the Olympic Games this summer is a wonderful opportunity to introduce many of the fantastic shows currently being performed in the capital to the thousands of people visiting the city in July, most for the first time.'

THE KING'S SPEECH opened on the 22nd March at Wyndham's Theatre featuring Charles Edwards as King George VI, Jonathan Hyde as Lionel Logue, Emma Fielding as Queen Elizabeth, Ian McNeice as Winston Churchill, Michael Feast as Cosmo Lang, and Joss Ackland as King George V.

THE KING'S SPEECH opened on the 22nd March at Wyndham's Theatre. Check out these pictures of the cast taking their bow on the press night, plus the after-show party featuring Charles Edwards as King George VI, Jonathan Hyde as Lionel Logue, Emma Fielding as Queen Elizabeth, Ian McNeice as Winston Churchill, Michael Feast as Cosmo Lang, and Joss Ackland as King George V.

THE KING'S SPEECH opened on the 22nd March at Wyndham's Theatre. Check out these pictures of the cast in action, featuring Charles Edwards as King George VI, Jonathan Hyde as Lionel Logue, Emma Fielding as Queen Elizabeth, Ian McNeice as Winston Churchill, Michael Feast as Cosmo Lang, and Joss Ackland as King George V.

As Playful Productions and Michael Alden previously announced, THE KING'S SPEECH will open tonight, 27 March, at Wyndham's Theatre.

Thelma Holt and Bill Kenwright have announced that their production of Noel Coward's VOLCANO, starring Jenny Seagrove, Dawn Steele and Jason Durr, will open at Theatre Royal, Windsor on Monday 21 May. Tour dates are confirmed until August this year, with more to be announced.

Casting has been announced for Alan Plater's CLOSE THE COALHOUSE DOOR, which is being revived by Northern Stage and Live Theatre in Newcastle Upon Tyne. Directed by Samuel West, with additional material by Lee Hall, the production will open at Northern Stage on Wednesday 18 April, with previews from Friday 13 April and will then tour the UK until June 2012.

The Finborough Theatre's 'Celebrating British Music Theatre' series follows Perchance to Dream with Ivor Novello's last musical.

Playful Productions and Michael Alden have announced that the of UK tour of THE KING'S SPEECH will transfer to Wyndham's Theatre on 22 March, with an opening night on 27 March. This announcement confirms rumours reported on Broadway World over the past two weeks. The production will also be opening on Broadway in Fall 2012. The world premier production of the original play by David Seidler took place on Friday 10 February at Guildford's Yvonne Arnaud Theatre and continues on tour around the UK until 17 March.

Playful Productions and Michael Alden Productions present the world premier production of the original play of The King's Speech by David Seidler, who wrote The King's Speech as a play before it became a film for which he won both the Academy Award© and BAFTA for Best Screenplay. The production is currently touring the UK.

The Finborough Theatre's 'Celebrating British Music Theatre' series follows Perchance to Dream with Ivor Novello's last musical.

As we exclusively reported on Friday, Russell Grant is to take over as The Wizard of Oz at the London Palladium after Michael Crawford's departure next month.

The Wizard of Oz's latest newsletter tells us that Michael Crawford's replacement will be announced shortly but until that time the casting is 'strictly confidential' - so does that mean the Strictly Come Dancing star is in the frame to take over?