Wilton's Music Hall Sets January-April 2016 Season

Wilton's Music Hall, the world's oldest surviving grand music hall, has announced its exciting 2016 season programme with a variety of music, dance, theatre and a host of activities running from January to April, after its four-year long transformation.

Holly Kendrick, Executive Director at Wilton's, said: "After the sell-out success of Roy Hudd's pantomime this Christmas, we're very excited for our Spring season, with a spectacular array of cabaret, theatre, dance and music, as well as regular dance classes, workshops and history tours. The arts programme will take place alongside a spectacular range of learning and participation events including special projects for schools and community groups and half-term family activities."

Kicking off January is The Mozart Salons: Concert One (8 January), an international project exploring the most prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. Join Pater Sheppard Skaeverd on a journey of intricate sonatas through to his muchly celebrated concertante works for violin, viola and piano. Nashville-based polymath Michael Alec Rose will present the exclusive world premiere of a series of violin pieces inspired by intimate walks across Dartmoor, whilst exploring its rich history along the way. Pianist Daniel-Ben Pienaar will join Peter as well as composer David Lancaster in Concert Two (14 February).

The Faction - Transformations (12-15 January) completely revolutionises and adapts three classic stories into three fresh, contemporary solo performances. Directed and produced by Rachel Valentine Smith and Mark Leipacher, expect a dynamic and energetic execution throughout Cervantes' Dialogue, Goethes Faust and Kafka's The Metamorphosis.

Wilton's will welcome back Lucky Dog Picture House (16 January) for a razzle-dazzle classic accompanied with a live musical to transport you back to the rambunctious 1920s. The first ever film noir, 'Piccadilly' sees a young aspiring girl propelled to star attraction, with a fateful chain of events leading to murder and themes of desire and jealousy that follow. Directed by E.A Dupont, it's a sumptuous feast for the eyes and one of the truly great British silent films.

Time-travelling, Victorian magic duo Morgan & West (19-21 January, 23 January) revisit their roots with the critically acclaimed Parlour Tricks - a show jam-packed with jaw-dropping illusion and flabbergasting impossibility, served with a side of wit and panache. Wholehearted, family-fun entertainment at its best.

Celebrate Celtic and Balkan traditions and sounds at Firefly Music's Burns Night with The John Langan Band (22 January) who are boundlessly inventive and have reformed gypsy swing, roma and flamenco with a twist of punk. They've even bought Dila V & The Odd Beats along for the ride with their hip-shimmying Turkish gypsy folk from faraway lands.

Join world-class British sculptor Sir Henry Moore on his quest to conquer the world alongside gutsy heroine and old school friend Barbara Hepworth in Springtime for Henry (and Barbara) (26-27 Jan), Described as an "animated academic essay full of high camp", Barbara languishes in Henry's shadow and yearns to chisel a niche of her own. Heart-wrenching power ballads and toe-tapping swing-alongs meet a rigorous historiographical examination of the modernist legacy.

For a glorious celebration of myths, legends, folk and fairy tales, Wilton's Music Hall will host an eclectic variety show inspired by Shakespeare's Fairy Tales. Wonderful Beast presents Bottom's Dream (28 January) Wonderful Beast presents Bottom's Dream (28 January) a feast of acts, monologues, poems, prose, drag, sketches, dance and music, presided over by cabaret royalty Iestyn Edwards playing Madam Galina.

John Standing Channels Noel and Cole (9-10 Feb) sees the forever popular actor and veteran West End star John Standing return to Wilton's with his amiable and witty interpretations of The Anglo-American Songbook. In his own incomparable style, John presents some of the greatest songs of the twentieth century from the pens of Noel Coward and Cole Porter, from 'Mad Dogs and Englishmen' to 'You're the Top'.

Former music hall singer Ida Barr will tread the boards once more in Artificial Hip-hop with her brand new album Get Old or Die Tryin' (11-13 February), incorporating a fusion of 'artificial hip-hop' and 'slipped disco'; two cutting-edge genres she has recently coined herself. Join her for an old fashioned, new wave sing-a-long mash-up of everyone and anyone from Rhianna, Noel Coward, Marie Lloyd and Eminem. Ida Barr is the creation of Olivier-award winner Christopher Green also known for BBC Radio 4 favourite Tina C.

The Mark Bruce Company that brought the multi award-winning production of Dracula to Wilton's in a sell-out run in 2013, return with their brand new show The Odyssey (23 February-19 March). It will see the extraordinary dance theatre group perform a dramatic, rich re-telling of Homer's epic poem written over two thousand years ago, following the journey undertaken by Odysseus after the fall of Troy.

The epic, inquisitive and original Out of Joint will transform All That Fall by Samuel Beckett (22 March-9 April) into a rare 360° live sonic experience. "It is a text written to come out of the dark" said Samuel Beckett of his mysterious, tragicomic first radio play 'All That Fall'. Directed by internationally acclaimed Max Stafford-Clark, audiences will be blindfolded as the cast move about them in the auditorium, their voices joined by a surround-sound design.

Award-winning songwriter Christine Bovill's Piaf (12-16 April) will burst onto the scene with a compelling, show-stopping performance singing of life's triumphs and tragedies, in a powerful homage to one of France's most endearing icons. No gimmicks, nothing but a voice re-living the remarkable journey of Edith Piaf through the world of French song.

Explore the magic behind Wilton's Music Hall with their History Tours (Mondays 6pm-7pm, £6) devised exclusively by their in-house researcher and historian. Hear how a Victorian sailor's pub transformed into an exciting theatre venue, and the longest standing building of its kind, after surviving the notorious London Blitz. Try your hand at their family-friendly Weekly Craft sessions (Thursdays 10.30am-12.30pm, free); flex those creative muscles, with an array of equipment and materials provided to make anything from bunting to show props.

Discover hidden spaces around Tower Hill with a variety of routes and mingle with locals at their Keep Active Weekly Walks (Fridays 9.30am - 11am). Get into the swing of things and learn from the best in the business with Wilton's Swing Patrol Dance Classes (Mondays 7pm-8pm, £10 per class, packages available). With beginner-friendly sessions in Wilton's brand new studio, it's a perfect opportunity to meet new faces while learning a brand-new skill, especially at their dedicated Swing Patrol nights (9 January, 30th January).

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