STEFAN AND FRIENDS, CECIL BEATON'S DIARIES & More Set for Jermyn Street Theatre Summer Programming

Jermyn Street Theatre has revealed an eclectic programme of summer visitors. Running over a two-month period from 4 July to 2 September, the West End studio theatre is filled with an exciting mix of music, drama and comedy to fill the Summer evenings and afternoons.
 
Kicking off the programme, on 4 July ‘The King of Cabaret’ Stefan Bednarczyk, takes to the stage with STEFAN AND FRIENDS - a series of evenings in which he is joined by his friends Jenny Galloway, Anne Reid, Rae Baker and Duncan Wisbey, as they embrace the songs of Tom Lehrer, the American classics and the golden age of Hollywood.  This is followed by Richard Stirling’s critically hailed performance as the celebrated photographer and designer Cecil Beaton in Cecil Beaton’S DIARIES, his adaptation of the great photographer and fashion designer’s frank and often hilariously forthright journals.  Fresh from winning the ‘Outstanding Theatre Award’ at the Brighton Fringe, in the second half of July comes Giles Cole’s bittersweet comedy about the passing of time, memory love and last chances, AFTER ALL THESE YEARS, starring Jeffrey Holland and Judy Buxton.  Then in August comes Abigail Hood’s hit SPIRAL – an exploration of the human need to cling to another person, no matter what the cost.   Rounding off the season, at the end of August is a live staging of a radio classic in HANCOCK’S HALF HOUR: THE LOST EPISODES.
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Jermyn Street Theatre welcomes the first of its of summer visitors with six nights of spectacle and song hosted by “the King of Cabaret”  himself Stefan Bednarczyk.  STEFAN AND FRIENDS comprises –
 
The Elements of Tom Lehrer: Tuesday 4 July 7.30pm
Whether you’re poisoning pigeons in the park, doing the Vatican rag, or remembering your periodic table, there’s no situation in life that can’t be made better by the great American songwriter Tom Lehrer. Catchy tunes and pin-sharp lyrics combine in this perennially popular show.
 
Whose Oscar is it Anyway? Wednesday 5 & Friday 7 July, 7.30pm
Time travel to the Golden age of Hollywood and enjoy an evening of songs, stories, and soundtracks. Alongside Stefan, Rae Baker and Duncan Wisbey will dish the dirt on Charlie Chaplin, Cary Grant, and all Tinseltown’s finest and richest!
 
Turned Out Nice Again: Guest starring Anne Reid: Thursday 6 July, 7:30pm
Following the success of their recent show Just in Time in tribute to Comden & Green, Stefan reunites with celebrated actress Anne Reid (The Last Tango in Halifax, Sanditon) for their latest show Turned Out Nice Again – a celebration of songs and stories inspired by the weather featuring Irving Berlin’s It’s a lovely day, and Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer’s Come Rain or Come Shine.
 
An Afternoon of Flanders and Swann: Saturday 8 July, 3.00pm
Michael Flanders and Donald Swann were celebrated for their hilarious comic songs, moving audiences with their poignancy. Their humour lives on in Stefan’s excellent musical timing as he performs a spectacular evening of their songs. Originally commissioned by the widows of Flanders and Swann, the show toured to places all over the world including Australia, USA, the Caribbean, France, India, Monaco and Bahrain.
 
Pirate Jenny: Saturday 8 July, 7.30pm
Stefan accompanies two-time Olivier award-winning actress Jenny Galloway (Mary Poppins, Mamma Mia, Les Miserables) in her solo performance of Pirate Jenny. A hilarious and dramatic song cycle with one of our most-loved musical theatre actresses.
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From 10 to 15 July, direct from Brits Off Broadway, Richard Stirling brings the journals of the UK’s most celebrated photographer and designer to the London stage for the first time, in Cecil Beaton’S DIARIES.  Cecil Beaton’s photographs showed his versatility; his diaries exposed the cost. Blisteringly funny, with appearances ranging from the Queen Mother and Elizabeth Taylor to Churchill and Truman Capote, the diaries paint a self-portrait of the 20th century’s most compelling dandy.

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Exploring the passing of time, love and last chances comes Giles Cole’s bittersweet comedy AFTER ALL THESE YEARS, from 17 to 29 July.  Relationships can be a delicate balance of hope, desire, memory and regret, especially when two former showbiz couples think they know all they can about each other. But what secrets are silently waiting for their cue, ready to change the course of the couple’s lives forever? Starring Jeffrey Holland and Judy Buxton, Graham Poutney’s production has just enjoyed a critically acclaimed run at the Brighton Fringe where it won the Fringe Review Award for ‘Outstanding Theatre’.

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After a critically acclaimed run at Park Theatre, Abigail Hood’s play SPIRAL makes a transfer to Jermyn Street Theatre from 2 to 19 August.

A bedsit. A young woman in trouble. A bridge. A missing teenager – and parents searching for answers. Struggling to cope with the disappearance of their teenage daughter, Tom and Gill’s marriage is left in tatters. In an attempt to numb his pain, Tom makes a decision that has an irrecoverable and unexpected impact on their lives and the lives of those closest to them.  This thrilling contemporary play explores the human need to cling to another person, no matter what the cost. What happens when trust breaks down? Can other people save us? Or must we save ourselves?

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Radio comedy live on stage rounds off the summer visitors season as HANCOCK’S HALF HOUR – THE LOST EPISODES comes to Jermyn Street Theatre from 28 August to 2 September

In 1954, Tony Hancock burst onto the airwaves with a comedy show unlike any other. Playing a less successful version of himself and surrounded by fellow comedy greats, Hancock’s Half Hour was one of the first programmes in the genre we now know as sitcom. Directed by Tim ~Astley and produced by the critically acclaimed producers of Round the Horne and The Goon Show, Apollo Theatre Company, this is classic radio comedy live on stage. Written by young up-and-comers Galton and Simpson, Hancock’s Half Hour redefined radio comedy and has had people laughing non-stop for the past 65 years. So. take a trip to 23 Railway Cuttings, East Cheam to join ‘the lad himself’ for three classic episodes of this hilarious show.

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Speaking about the summer shows, Stella Powell-Jones and David Doyle said:

“After the wettest Spring on record, Summer is finally here! And our Summer Visitors — a mixture of new friends and beloved Jermyn Street Theatre veterans — will host a suitably sunny set of theatrical delights.”

Full listings of the summer visitors season can be found on Jermyn Street Theatre’s website: www.jermynstreettheatre.co.uk/

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