Nottingham Playhouse Presents JACK AND THE BEANSTALK

Nottingham Playhouse has announced that its production of Jack and the Beanstalk will go ahead this year and has revealed the members of its two-hander cast.

This lively retelling of a classic fairy tale will follow a curious young lad named Jack as he ventures to the top of a giant beanstalk - what lays in wait amongst the clouds? Who knows!

Nottingham Playhouse's annual festive family show is created to dazzle and excite younger children. Filled with music and original songs, dancing and plenty of opportunities to join in, this charming family show is the perfect introduction to live theatre. It is usually performed in the venue's Neville Studio, whilst pantomime plays in the theatre auditorium. However, Jack and the Beanstalk will now also move into the theatre auditorium, with a new schedule of performances, in order to maintain Covid-secure measures. Customers who have already booked tickets will be contacted by Nottingham Playhouse with options for their bookings.

Adam Penford, Artistic Director of Nottingham Playhouse, said:

"I am so delighted that we're still able to produce Jack and the Beanstalk this year, alongside the pantomime. The studio Christmas production always receives wonderful feedback from young children and their families, as well as schools and other youth groups. By moving the show to the main stage, we're able to ensure social distancing for both the audience and actors. Naomi's brand new version is really energetic and witty, I'm sure everyone will love it."

Jack and the Beanstalk will showcase some of the best creatives from across the East Midlands. This includes its newly-announced cast, in which Jack will be played by Danny Hendrix (War Horse - UK & International Tour, Gangsta Granny - Birmingham Stage Company) from Derbyshire. Meanwhile Ebony Feare (Treasure Island - Bolton Octagon Theatre, The Winter's Tale - National Theatre) from Leicester will be playing Jack's Mum, along with a variety of other vibrant characters.

The play was written by Loughborough talent Naomi Obeng, who entered the script for Jack and the Beanstalk as part of an open callout to playwrights. Entries were made anonymously, and her play was selected by judges from Nottingham Playhouse. The production will be directed by Trina Haldar, artistic director of Mashi Theatre, following an open callout. Trina has a long-standing relationship with Nottingham Playhouse where she took part in the First Stage ACE programme. The designer for the production is Gemma Caseley-Kirk, a graduate of Nottingham Trent University who won the opportunity to design the set as part of the annual Playhouse Prize competition (a collaboration with the NTU Theatre Design course).

The announcement comes hot the heels of the news that Nottingham Playhouse's pantomime will also go ahead this year, with a socially distanced production of Cinderella - creating a full, fun and thriving festive season for the people of Nottingham to enjoy.

Nottingham Playhouse will be recording one of the performances of Jack and the Beanstalk to make available on demand for audiences to watch from home, with further details to be released soon.

Full details of Covid-secure measures are detailed below and can be found on the Nottingham Playhouse website. There's also a money back guarantee; if Government guidance changes closer to the time of the performances and they are unable to proceed, then ticket holders will be offered a full refund.

Performances run Wednesday 9 December 2020 to Saturday 2 January 2021.

Audio Described performances - Monday 14 December 20220 at 11.30am, Tues 22 December 2020 at 11.30am, Saturday 26 December 2020 at 11.30am

BSL Interpreted performances - Tuesday 15 December 2020 at 11.30am, Saturday 19 December 2020 at 9am, Wednesday 23 December at 11.30am, Thursday 31 December 2020 at 11am

All performances are relaxed and feature creative captioning.