Santa Claus and the Christmas Adventure at the Ambassadors Theatre
October 24, 2011
A magical Christmas adventure comes to the West End this year for children aged 2-8 years, with illusions by the magician Paul Daniels. Santa Claus and the Christmas Adventure takes place in Santa’s HQ in the North Pole. Santa needs your help, and in return the children will get to meet him after the show and receive a present.
Paul Daniels adds festive magic to Santa Claus and the Christmas Adventure
September 1, 2011
Legendary magician Paul Daniels adds a touch of festive magic to Santa Claus and the Christmas Adventure
29 November – 31 December 2011, Ambassadors Theatre, West Street, London, WC2H 9ND
Santa Claus will have a very special helper this Christmas as Britain’s most popular magician, Paul Daniels, joins the creative team for SANTA CLAUS AND THE CHRISTMAS ADVENTURE at the Ambassadors Theatre. Running from 29 November to 31 December, Paul will help create illusions for an all-new festive experience, which combines a live interactive Christmas show with a traditional ‘grotto’ experience.
The adventure takes place at Santa’s HQ in the North Pole, The Reindeer Sat Nav is programmed and the toys are piled high on the sleigh, then…chaos strikes! Rudolph is missing and the Elves are misbehaving… will Santa ever deliver the presents to all the boys and girls?!
Santa will need the audience’s help to find Rudolph, and in return the children will get to meet him after the show and even receive a present. Parents are encouraged to bring their cameras in order to capture the magic moment their little ones meet Father Christmas for the very first time.
Paul Daniels is without doubt one of the most accomplished magicians in the world, and certainly one of the most exciting. His fame and achievements are not confined to the UK where he is a household name. The USA, Canada, New Zealand, Germany, Spain, and Japan have all recognised him as a world-class entertainer. Amongst his numerous achievements, he has starred in his own hugely successful West End Theatre Show, headlined in Las Vegas and Broadway, as well as performing more unique magic on TV than any other magician in history.
Paul has entertained The Royal Family including princes William and Harry, The Sultan of Brunei, The Sultan of Oman, Prince Rainier of Monaco, Barry White, as well as former Prime Minister John Major.
Written by Paul Elliott, with direction by Carole Todd and music by Griff Johnson, SANTA CLAUS AND THE CHRISTMAS ADVENTURE will also play at Fairfield Hall in Croydon from 2 December to 30 December and the Epsom Playhouse from 7 December to 31 December. www.santaclauseonstage.com
Release issued by: Target Live
LINKS
The Broadway, West End And International Sensation Stomp Celebrates Its 20th Birthday – And Enters Its 10th Year In The West End!
July 28, 2011
STOMP – the multi-award winning, international hit show – celebrates its 20th birthday this autumn with special events throughout London on Monday 14th November, culminating in a thrilling and unique performance of the show. For one night only, a number of high-profile comedian friends of STOMP will take part in a special routine, joining co-creator Luke Cresswell on stage to celebrate this milestone.
STOMP is also turning 10 in the West End – and to mark the occasion on November 14th there will be a series of special events at each of the venues it has played in London, before returning to its current home, The Ambassadors Theatre, for this 20th Birthday Gala Special. Names and further details to be announced.
Since its premiere at the Edinburgh Festival in 1991, Stomp has become a global phenomenon, showcasing a universal language of rhythm, theatre, comedy and dance that has resonated with audiences throughout the world. Eight performers use everything from Zippo lighters and plastic bags to bin lids and even the kitchen sink to hammer out an explosively feel-good rhythm.
STOMP has toured the globe almost continuously for 20 years, setting feet stamping, fingers drumming and adrenalin rushing for over 15 million people in 48 countries across 5 continents. It is currently playing in the UK, US, throughout Europe and South America.
From a single drum hanging around Luke Cresswell’s neck back in 1991, STOMP has taken on a life of its own. Creators and co-directors Cresswell and Steve McNicholas developed a pulsating, witty, utterly irresistible theatrical event that has become a worldwide phenomenon.
At its heart is a show that continues to evolve – inspired by the large-scale Las Vegas version, Stomp Out Loud, new music and choreography now join a fresh array of ordinarily mundane objects, onto which the cast work their musical magic. Huge ribbed tubes, previously used for recycling fluorescent lights, are themselves recycled into outsized Guiros, a Latin American percussion instrument, played by scraping the ridged sides with a stick. Stomp is fresher, faster and funnier than ever before.
Together they received an Oscar nomination for the film BROOMS, performing at the 1996 ceremony, and an Emmy nomination for the HBO special Stomp Out Loud. Their work in Imax films is extensive: they co-directed the award winning giant-screen films, Pulse: a Stomp Odyssey and Wild Ocean 3D as well as the Stomp inspired feature Vacuums. Cresswell has also received a special achievement award from the Chicago Human Rhythm Project.
Luke and Steve created and composed the Lost and Found Orchestra, which explores found sound on an orchestral level. They recently purchased The Old Market in Brighton, which they have transformed into a thriving venue for the use of fellow artists and to support emerging local talent as a performance, workshop, recording and exhibition space, in the heart of Brighton and Hove’s Brunswick town.
Over the last 20 years, Stomp has garnered truly diverse recognition; from an Olivier Award and the headline-grabbing performance at the 1996 Oscars to the City of New York celebrating its 10th birthday at the Orpheum Theatre by renaming 2nd Avenue at 8th Street ‘Stomp Avenue’! Now, in 2011, with an
international community of performers totaling more than 100 over five companies, the ‘dustbin dance’ marks its new milestone in its characteristic show of joyous explosion!
Release issued by: Target Live
LINKS
SPECIAL OFFER: Book tickets to STOMP at the Ambassadors Theatre in London
In the West End This Week: Wicked, Oliviers
February 7, 2011
What’s coming up in the West End this week, including The Wizard of Oz, Wicked, Shoes, the Olivier Awards and The Children’s Hour.
Monday 7 February 2011
Mark Evans in Wicked
A new cast joins Wicked at the Apollo Victoria Theatre. Lee Mead said farewell to the company on Saturday night, and a number of new cast members join the show tonight including Mark Evans as Fiyero, Zoë Rainey as Nessarose and Ben Stott as Boq, alongside current stars Rachel Tucker as Elphaba and Louise Dearman as Glinda.
The Olivier Award nominations will be announced today at 11am at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane. This year’s awards – which will be presented on 13 March at Drury Lane – promise to have upped the star and glamour quotient and will be televised by the BBC.
The Wizard of Oz starts previews tonight. This mega new production at the London Palladium, rebooted by Jeremy Sams and produced by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Bill Kenwright, sees Over The Rainbow star Danielle Hope join Michael Crawford and Hannah Waddingham.
Tuesday 8 February 2011
A big theatre day! Shoes – the hugely successful Sadler’s Wells show – opens tonight at the Peacock Theatre to give the show a much deserved West End airing.
Million Dollar Quartet, the musical that recreates the historic day when Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins and Jerry Lee Lewis all made music together, starts previews at the Noel Coward Theatre on Tuesday.
Also much deserving is Clybourne Park, which gets its official opening at the Wyndhams Theatre starring Sophie Thompson and Stephen Campbell Moore. Bruce Norris’ satirical comedy, directed by Dominic Cooke for the Royal Court, has been sweeping the boards at various awards including the recent South Bank Sky Arts Awards and the Critics’ Circle Theatre Awards.
Also on Tuesday, Showstopper the Improvised Musical begins at the Ambassadors Theatre in London with the the all-singing, all-dancing cast creating a brand new musical from scratch every night in this award-winning production. Plus, the Southwark Playhouse opens its new production of Sondheim’s Company directed by Joe Fredericks.
Wednesday 9 February 2011
Elisabeth Moss in The Children's Hour
The Children’s Hour gets its official opening night at the Comedy Theatre tonight, starring Elisabeth Moss (Mad Men), Keira Knightley and Ellen Burstyn in Lillian Hellman’s controversial play.
Friday 11 February 2011
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee starts previews as the Donmar Warehouse.
And coming up
Next week sees The Woman in Black celebrate its 23rd birthday, having opened in the West End on 15 February 1989. 2011 promises to be a big year for the show, with a brand new movie version of Susan Hill’s classic horror story opening in cinemas starring Daniel Radcliffe.
Showstopper! The Improvised Musical: Ambassadors Theatre Dates Spring 2011
February 5, 2011
As their BBC Radio 4 series hits the airwaves, Showstopper! plays the West End.
Following regular residencies on the London Fringe and the launch of their BBC Radio 4 series,
Showstopper! plays Tuesday nights at the Ambassadors Theatre this spring.
Showstopper! is entirely improvised: a brand new musical is created at every performance. A writer has
just one night to create a hit show to impress his producer. Stuck for ideas, he takes audience
suggestions for a title, storylines and musical styles that they’d like to see in the show. The
Showstoppers then create a musical from scratch based around that structure. Utterly unpredictable,
frequently side‐splittingly funny and featuring dazzling dance routines and catchy melodies.
Showstopper! tours nationally, plays regular London residencies and has enjoyed three sell‐out
Edinburgh Fringe seasons in 2008, 2009 and 2010. On 16 March last year they made their BBC Radio 4
debut with a special 30 minute edition of an improvised musical and you can hear their new BBC Radio
4 series every Wednesday at 6.30 pm from January 19, 2011 until the end of February. The company
consistently win critical and popular acclaim and audiences return to see them again and again because
every show is as different as it is brilliant. Recent review quotes include:
“Glorious… Showstopper! simply shouldn’t stop.” The Observer
“The show makes your jaw drop in impressed amazement and your ribs ache with laughter…
Mail On Sunday *****
“A professionally staged and brilliantly executed piece of work that is a shining example of how good
improv can be.” Chortle ****
This format was created by Sticking Place Artistic Director Adam Meggido and veteran improviser
Dylan Emery, both of whom worked closely with the late, great theatre maverick, Ken Campbell. This
collaboration resulted in Shall We Shog? (Shakespeare’s Globe 2005); Décor Without Production (for
The Royal Court Theatre 50th anniversary celebrations); In Pursuit Of Cardenio (Edinburgh Festival
2006); and the extraordinary, annual 50‐hour Improvathon – the only event of its kind in Europe.
The Showstoppers are: Chris Ash, Duncan Walsh Atkins, Ruth Bratt, Julie Clare, Dylan Emery, Pippa
Evans, James Lovelock, Sean McCann, Adam Meggido, Philip Pellew, Nigel Pilkington, Oliver Senton,
Lucy Trodd and Sarah Louise Young. Created by Dylan Emery and Adam Meggido. Produced by Adam
Meggido, Dylan Emery and Keith Strachan. General manager is James Seabright.
Release issued by: Seabright Productions
LINKS
Book tickets to Showstopper! The Improvised Musical at the Ambassadors Theatre
Showstopper! The Improvised Musical tickets at the Ambassadors Theatre
January 24, 2011
Every Tuesday night at the Ambassadors Theatre will be a guaranteed riot as the all-singing, all-dancing cast create a brand new musical from scratch in this award-winning production, as heard on BBC Radio 4.
Opening this week: Love Story, Potted Panto
December 6, 2010
This week’s West End openings include romantic new show Love Story, Christmas treats with Potted Panto, The Night Before Christmas and The Nutcracker, plus Derek Jacobi in King Lear.
Emma Williams and Michael Xavier in Love Story
Love Story
Love Story gets its official opening night at the Duchess starring Emma Williams and Michael Xavier on 6 December. Erich Segal’s best-selling novel Love Story, which was famously turned into a film starring Ali MacGraw and Ryan O’Neal, has been given the musicals treatment by Howard Goodall and Stephen Clark.
The show had its premiere earlier this year at the Chichester Festival Theatre and was well received by critics, with The Stage calling it a “gorgeous new chamber musical”. The producers of the show include West End star Michael Ball, Adam Spiegel and Stephen Waley-Cohen and it is directed by Rachel Kavanaugh, with design by Peter McKintosh and musical direction by Stephen Ridley. Read our interview with Michael Ball. Book tickets to Love Story at the Duchess Theatre.
King Lear at the Donmar
Derek Jacobi gives his King Lear at the Donmar Warehouse, opening on 7 December in a new production by Michael Grandage. Also starring Gina McKee. Book tickets.
The Night Before Christmas
Magical family show The Night Before Christmas opens at the Ambassadors Theatre on 8 December. Meet Father Christmas and see a wonderful story come to life in this brand new show, full of songs, poems and stories. Book tickets.
Potted Panto
Those CBBC rascals Dan and Jeff bring Pantomime mayhem to the Vaudeville with Edinburgh family hit Potted Panto on 10 December. CBBC’s Dan and Jeff, the masterminds behind Potted Potter and Potted Pirates, turn their attentions to that much loved British institution, the pantomime. Potted Panto crams seven much-loved pantomimes into one show. Dan and Jeff career through Cinderella in 3D, dazzle with a Dick Whittington featuring Jeff as the Mayor of London and struggle to work out how two people can play seven dwarves and which of them will make the prettiest princess. From conventions and costume to heroes and villains, the dastardly double act explores all the elements of the art form we both love and loathe as a nation. Book tickets to Potted Panto at the Vaudeville Theatre.
English National Ballet’s The Nutcracker
On the same night English National Ballet open their seasonal production of The Nutcracker at the London Coliseum in a sumptuous new production by Artistic Director Wayne Eagling to celebrate the Company’s 60th birthday. Book tickets.
COMING SOON
And next week… A Flear in her Ear opens on 14 December at the Old Vic starring Tom Hollander, Lisa Dillon and Jonathan Cake.
Christmas shows in the West End
December 4, 2010
London’s West End is always a fun place to be at Christmas – whether it’s for the Christmas lights along Regent’s Street and Oxford Street, ice-skating at Somerset House, shopping in a very festive Covent Garden or seeing Santa at Selfridges.
The Snowman returns to the Peacock Theatre
And this year’s London theatre scene is more festive than ever before, with a range of seasonal shows for children, families and adults. Here’s our selection of some of the West End’s Christmas theatre highlights.
Children-friendly family favourites this Christmas include a revival of the critically acclaimed production of Dickens’ classic tale A Christmas Carol at the Trafalgar Studios (from 21 Dec to 8 Jan). It’s also your last Christmas to enjoy the wildly successful production of The Railway Children in the ingenious setting of Waterloo Station, featuring a real steam train. E. Nesbit’s classic children’s story has thrilled audiences from the moment it opened in London, and must close on 2 January.
Making a welcome return to the Peacock Theatre this Christmas is The Snowman, the magical stage version of Raymond Briggs’ much-loved children’s book. Suitable for children aged two and upwards, this is a captivating mix of dance, stagecraft and music – including Howard Blake’s beautiful “Walking in the air”, and featuring a live orchestra.
There’s also Panto fun this year in the West End as CBBC presenters Dan and Jeff take a madcap ride through the best-loved panto stories in Potted Panto at the Vaudeville Theatre (10 Dec to 9 Jan). This funny new family show, that went down a storm in Edinburgh in the Summer, speeds through an incredible seven classic pantomimes.
Matthew Bourne's Cinderella
For a bit of Glee-inspired fun then The Go! Go! Go! Show at the Leicester Square Theatre (until 30 Dec) promises lots of laughs and audience interaction for kids of all ages, in a story that sees five new pop stars battling it out, singing a series of brand new pop songs. Plus the intriguing sounding, sock-stealing ‘Fluffalope’ makes a guest appearance.
Much-loved cartoon characters are also making guest appearances in Theatreland this Christmas, notably The Gruffalo, who follows his monster-hit show last year with a run at the Garrick Theatre, featuring more songs, laughs and scary fun for children aged 3 and up (until 16 Jan). Also the chance to meet Santa Claus in a West End theatre comes in the shape of magical family show The Night Before Christmas at the Ambassadors Theatre, as his story comes to life in a new musical featuring songs, poems and story-telling (7 – 24 Dec).
If you fancy a great big Christmas sing-along this year then they don’t come much bigger than the Christmas Spectacular at the O2, which sees Myleene Klass present a rousing night of carols, traditional tunes and some cracking Christmas number ones on 23 December at the O2 Arena.
La Soiree at the Southbank Big Top
A wealth of dance productions promise to get you and your family into the festive spirit this year, including a brand new production of Matthew Bourne’s dazzling ballet Cinderella at Sadler’s Wells Theatre, set in London during the Second World War and played against Prokofiev’s haunting score (until 23 Jan). Also English National Ballet present a sumptuous new production of The Nutcracker at the Coliseum, created by Artistic Director Wayne Eagling to celebrate the Company’s 60th birthday (12 – 30 Dec).
Adult shows include a Christmas season for comedian Bill Bailey at the Wyndham’s Theatre, in his acclaimed show Dandelion Mind (until 8 Jan). Plus the stars of La Clique return to London with some new friends for La Soiree at the fabulously opulent new Southbank Big Top. Sexy and funny, this new show is full of awe-inspiring, spine-tingling, jaw-dropping and death-defying acts of circus and magic (until 30 Jan).
MORE INFORMATION
Listing of Christmas shows in the West End
Drama and comedy this Christmas
AND DON’T FORGET
- See the Oxford Street and Regent’s Street Christmas lights
- Go ice skating in central London at the London Eye Ice Rink, Somerset House Ice Rink, Winter Wonderland Hyde Park Ice Rink,
- Natural History Museum Ice Rink, Tower of London Ice Rink or the Broadgate Ice Rink.
- See the Trafalgar Square Christmas tree, donated every year by Norway.
- Visit Santa in his grotto and shop at the same time at the Harrods Christmas Grotto and the Selfridges Santa Express.
- Enjoy a traditional German Christmas market in London at the Cologne Christmas Market on the Southbank until 23 December.
The Night Before Christmas
November 18, 2010
The magical Christmas show for all the family. Meet Father Christmas and see a wonderful story come to life in this brand new show, full of songs, poems and stories.
VIDEO: STOMP at the Ambassadors Theatre
November 2, 2010
The internationally renowned, explosive and energetic combination of theatre, dance, comedy and percussion.
Book tickets to STOMP
More information about the show
More information about the Ambassadors Theatre
VIDEO
STOMP at the Ambassadors Theatre
LINKS
Watch more videos on West End Theatre TV
