Photos: Ghost the Musical starring Richard Fleeshman and Caissie Levy

Photos of Ghost The Musical, which starts previews at the Piccadilly Theatre in London in just over a month’s time.

Major new West End show Ghost the Musical, based on the Oscar-winning movie, starts previews on 24 June 2011 at the Piccadilly Theatre in London.

Currently playing at Manchester’s Opera House until 14 May, the show stars Richard Fleeshman (Legally Blonde, Coronation Street) as Sam, originally played on screen by the late Patrick Swayze, and hot Broadway starlet Caissie Levy (Hair, Wicked) as Molly, originally played by Demi Moore.

Joining Fleeshman and Levy is West End star Sharon D Clarke as Oda Mae Brown, played in the movie by Whoopi Goldberg, and Andrew Langtree as Carl.

Ghost The Musical is directed by Matthew Warchus (Deathtrap, La Bete), with music and lyrics by legendary pop and rock writers Dave Stewart (Eurythmics) and Glen Ballard (writer of Michael Jackson’s Man in the Mirror). The show will also feature the classic song from the movie, Unchained Melody.

Ghost The Musical will be designed by Rob Howell, with illusions and stage effects by Paul Kieve (Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban) and a script by the original Oscar-winning screenplay writer Bruce Joel Rubin.

Ghost is about Sam, who is trapped as a ghost between this world and the next trying to communicate with girlfriend Molly through a phoney psychic, in the hope of saving her from his murderer.

All photos from the Manchester production.

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Rehearsal photos of Ghost the Musical at the Piccadilly Theatre starring Richard Fleeshman and Caissie Levy

Behind-the-scenes photos of rehearsals for Ghost The Musical at the Piccadilly Theatre starring Richard Fleeshman and Caissie Levy.

Major new West End show Ghost the Musical, based on the Oscar-winning movie, opens on 24 June 2011 at the Piccadilly Theatre.

The show stars Richard Fleeshman (Legally Blonde, Coronation Street) as Sam, originally played on screen by the late Patrick Swayze, and hot Broadway starlet Caissie Levy (Hair, Wicked) as Molly, originally played by Demi Moore.

Joining Fleeshman and Levy is West End star Sharon D Clarke as Oda Mae Brown, played in the movie by Whoopi Goldberg, and Andrew Langtree as Carl.

Ghost The Musical is directed by Matthew Warchus (Deathtrap, La Bete), with music and lyrics by legendary pop and rock writers Dave Stewart (Eurythmics) and Glen Ballard (writer of Michael Jackson’s Man in the Mirror). The show will also feature the classic song from the movie, Unchained Melody.

Ghost The Musical will be designed by Rob Howell, with illusions and stage effects by Paul Kieve (Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban) and a script by the original Oscar-winning screenplay writer Bruce Joel Rubin.

Ghost is about Sam, who is trapped as a ghost between this world and the next trying to communicate with girlfriend Molly through a phoney psychic, in the hope of saving her from his murderer.

The opening night for the show is set for Tuesday 19 July. The show will try out first at the Opera House, Manchester from 28 March to 14 May 2011. Other cast members include Ivan de Freitas, Adebayo Bolaji, Mark Pearce, Lisa Davina Phillip and Jenny Fitzpatrick.

Grease is currently playing at the Piccadilly Theatre, closing on 30 April 2011 to make way for Ghost The Musical.

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Book tickets to Ghost the Musical at the Piccadilly Theatre

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Evening Standard Theatre Awards – Shortlist 2010

Awards announced: Sunday 28 November 2010, Savoy Hotel London

BEST ACTOR
Roger Allam Henry IV Parts One and Two (Shakespeare’s Globe)
Rory Kinnear Hamlet (National’s Olivier)/Measure For Measure (Almeida)
David Suchet All My Sons (Apollo)

THE NATASHA RICHARDSON AWARD FOR BEST ACTRESS
Nancy Carroll After The Dance (National Lyttelton)
Elena Roger Passion (Donmar Warehouse)
Sheridan Smith Legally Blonde (Savoy)
Sophie Thompson Clybourne Park (Royal Court)

BEST PLAY
Mike Bartlett Cock (Royal Court)
Bruce Norris Clybourne Park (Royal Court)
Roy Williams Sucker Punch (Royal Court)

THE NED SHERRIN AWARD FOR BEST MUSICAL
Legally Blonde Savoy Theatre
Les Misérables Cameron Mackintosh 2010 production at Barbican Theatre
Passion Donmar Warehouse

BEST DIRECTOR
Howard Davies The White Guard (National Lyttelton)/All My Sons (Apollo)
Nicholas Hytner The Habit Of Art (National Lyttelton)/London Assurance (National Olivier)/Hamlet (National Olivier)
Laurie Sansom Beyond The Horizon and Spring Storm (National Cottesloe)
Thea Sharrock After The Dance (National Lyttelton)

BEST DESIGN
Miriam Buether Sucker Punch (Royal Court)/Earthquakes In London (National Cottesloe)
Bunny Christie The White Guard (National Lyttelton)
Christopher Oram Passion (Donmar Warehouse)/Red (Donmar Warehouse)

CHARLES WINTOUR AWARD FOR MOST PROMISING PLAYWRIGHT
DC Moore The Empire (Royal Court)
Nick Payne If There Is I Haven’t Found It Yet (Bush)/Wanderlust (Royal Court)
Anya Reiss Spur Of The Moment (Royal Court)

THE MILTON SHULMAN AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING NEWCOMER
Melanie Chisholm for her performance in Blood Brothers (Phoenix)
Daniel Kaluuya for his performance in Sucker Punch (Royal Court)
Isabella Laughland for her performance in Wanderlust (Royal Court)
Shannon Tarbet for her performance in Spur Of The Moment (Royal Court)
You Me Bum Bum Train created by Kate Bond and Morgan Lloyd (LEB Building, E2)

THE GOLDEN SEAGULL AWARD
Presented on behalf of Moscow Art Theatre.

THE LEBEDEV SPECIAL AWARD
For outstanding contribution to theatre.

Richard Fleeshman to star in Ghost

Casting announced for Ghost the Musical: Richard Fleeshman and Caissie Levy to join Sharon D Clarke at the Piccadilly Theatre

Major new West End show Ghost the Musical, based on the Oscar-winning movie, has announced its full cast line-up.

Fresh from playing Warner in Legally Blonde at the Savoy Theatre, Richard Fleeshman (Coronation Street) is to take the lead as Sam in the musical, originally played on screen in the Oscar-winning  movie by the late Patrick Swayze.

Playing the Demi Moore role of Molly will be hot Broadway starlet Caissie Levy, who recently appeared in Hair in London and in New York and has also featured in Hairspray, Rent and Wicked.

The show, which opens at the Piccadilly Theatre from 22 June 2011, will be directed by Matthew Warchus, who is enjoying current success in London with his new production of Deathtrap, and on Broadway with La Bete.

Joining Fleeshman and Levy will be West End star Sharon D Clarke as Oda Mae Brown, played in the movie by Whoopi Goldberg, and Andrew Langtree as Carl.

Music and lyrics for the show have been composed by legendary pop and rock writers Dave Stewart (Eurythmics) and Glen Ballard (writer of Michael Jackson’s Man in the Mirror). The show will also feature the classic song from the movie, Unchained Melody. Ghost The Musical will be designed by Rob Howell, with illusions and stage effects by Paul Kieve (Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban) and a script by the original Oscar-winning screenplay writer Bruce Joel Rubin.

Ghost is about Sam, who is trapped as a ghost between this world and the next trying to communicate with girlfriend Molly through a phoney psychic, in the hope of saving her from his murderer.

The opening night for the show is set for Tuesday 19 July. The show will try out first at the Opera House, Manchester from 28 March to 14 May 2011. Other cast members include Ivan de Freitas, Adebayo Bolaji, Mark Pearce, Lisa Davina Phillip and Jenny Fitzpatrick.

Grease is currently playing at the Piccadilly Theatre, closing on 30 April 2011 to make way for Ghost The Musical.

VIDEO: Watch a trailer for Ghost The Musical

BOOK TICKETS to see Ghost The Musical at the Piccadilly Theatre in London

MORE ABOUT THE CAST

Richard Fleeshman
Richard has most recently been seen on stage playing Warner Huntington III opposite Sheridan Smith in Legally Blonde The Musical. He is best known on television for his roles in Coronation Street in which he played Craig Harris for four years and, more recently, Debbie Horsfield’s All the Small Things for the BBC. As a musician Fleeshman was the youngest contestant to win ITV’s Stars in Their Eyes Celebrity Special. Later, in 2006, he won ITV’s Soapstar Superstar. In 2008 he accompanied Elton John on his Summer Stadium and Red Piano tours. His album Neon was released in 2007 followed by singles Coming Down, Hold Me Close, Back Here and Can You Hear Me?

Caissie Levy
Caissie has most recently been seen on stage on Broadway and in the West End in the leading role of Sheila in the New York Public Theatre Cameron Mackintosh production of Hair. Levy made her Broadway debut as Penny Pingleton in Hairspray, a role she recreated on tour in the US. She went on to play Maureen Johnson in the US tour of Rent and in 2008 starred as Elphaba in the Los Angeles production of Wicked.

Sharon D Clarke
Sharon has most recently been seen on stage in the West End as Motormouth Maybelle in Hairspray at the Shaftesbury Theatre. She has played Charity in Mother Goose at the Hackney Empire, Mama Morton in Chicago at the Adelphi Theatre, Killer Queen in We Will Rock You at the Dominion Theatre and Rafiki in The Lion King at the Lyceum Theatre as well as roles in The Vagina Monologues at the Hackney Empire and Once on This Island for Nottingham Playhouse, Birmingham Rep and the Hackney Empire. Clarke was a judge on the BBC’s The Last Choir Standing and has performed regularly as Lola Griffin on Holby City also for the BBC.

Andrew Langtree
Andrew has previously been seen on stage in the leading role of Sky in the original London production of Mamma Mia! He has worked extensively at Manchester’s Royal Exchange Theatre in productions including The Glass Menagerie, London Assurance and Six Degrees of Separation. At the National Theatre he has been seen in The Rose Tattoo, at Glasgow Citizens Theatre in The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui and in the West End in Blood Brothers and Fame. On television his credits include Doctors, Heartbeat, Cutting It and Coronation Street and he has most recently been seen playing Justin Gallagher on Emmerdale. On film he has been seen in De Lovely.

BOOK TICKETS to see Ghost The Musical at the Piccadilly Theatre in London

Evening Standard nominees announced

This year’s London Evening Standard Theatre Awards long-list of nominees has been announced.

The nominees cover some of the most high-profile of this year’s West End shows with a starry list of performers, directors and playwrights alongside some serious new talent. The Royal Court scores particularly highly with a range of acting and creative nods – including four nominations for Clybourne Park.

See the full list of London Evening Standard Theatre Awards 2010 nominees here

The shortlist of nominees will be announced a week prior to the awards ceremony, which will be held this year on 28 November at the newly reopened Savoy Hotel. The judging panel for the awards includes theatre critics Henry Hitchings of the Standard, Charles Spencer of the Telegraph, Susannah Clapp of the Observer, Georgina Brown of the Mail on Sunday and Matt Wolf of the Herald Tribune. Chair will be Evgeny Lebedev, who is chairman of the Standard and also the son of the proprietor Alexander Lebedev.

In terms of musicals it’s a good list for Sir Cameron Mackintosh who sees his 25th anniversary production of Les Misérables tapped, plus his West End transfer of Broadway hit of Hair – which closed after a relatively short run at the Gielgud Theatre. Also listed is the Menier’s Sweet Charity at the Theatre Royal Haymarket, which is about to close on 6 November, alongside long-runner Legally Blonde at the Savoy and current critical success Passion at the Donmar Warehouse.

In the Best Actor category up-and-coming stars such as Benedict Cumberbatch and Rory Kinnear are matched alongside established heavy-weights, from Roger Allam and Jonathan Pryce to David Suchet and Simon Russell Beale, the later for his turns in the National’s London Assurance and current West End hit Deathtrap. Alfred Molina also gets a nod for the Donmar’s Red after losing out at the Tony’s to co-star Eddie Redmayne.

Best Actress nominees feature a range of talent from high-profile crowd-pleasers that will guarantee plenty of red carpet coverage (Keira Knightley, Gemma Arterton, Sheridan Smith) to hard-hitters Judi Dench, Zoe Wannamaker and Fiona Shaw.

Best Plays feature both boxing shows to have played in London this year – Beautiful Burnout by Bryony Lavery at the York Hall and Sucker Punch by Roy Williams at the Royal Court. It’s a big awards for the Court who also get nods for Cock by Mike Bartlett, Clybourne Park by Mike Bartlett and Posh by Laura Wade.

Director nods feature a who’s who of current hitmakers, ticking pretty much every director box including Howard Davies, Rupert Goold, Michael Grandage, Nicholas Hytner, and director of the moment Thea Sharrock. Also Dominic Cooke gets a well-deserved nod for Clybourne Park, which transfers from the Royal Court to the West End in January.

Lez Brotherston is a notable inclusion in the Designer category with four of his productions credited: The Rise and Fall of Little Voice at the Vaudeville, Measure for Measure at the Almeida, Women Beware Women at the National and Design for Living at the Old Vic.

Most Promising Playwright nominees pay tribute to the Royal Court’s progressive programme of nurturing new writing talent, with 3 playwrights nominated: DC Moore for The Empire, Anya Reiss for Spur of the Moment and Nick Payne for Wanderlust. Equally impressive is the Bush, which is once again proving to punch well above its weight, with James Graham for The Whisky Taster, Nick Payne (again) for If There Is I Haven’t Found It Yet and Penelope Skinner for Eigengrau all nominated.

The Outstanding Newcomer category is dominated by onstage talent, with a surprise nod to the Spice Girls’ Melanie Chrisholm for her much-praised stint in Blood Brothers, alongside upstarts including Laura Dos Santos for Educating Rita, Henry Lloyd-Hughes for Rope and Posh, and Simon Godwin for his direction, and Isabella Laughland and James Musgrave for their performances, in the Royal Court’s Wanderlust.

See the full list of London Evening Standard Theatre Awards 2010 nominees here

Evening Standard Theatre Awards – Nominees 2010

Awards announced: 28 November 2010

BEST ACTOR

Roger Allam: Henry IV Parts One and Two (Shakespeare’s Globe)
Bertie Carvel: Rope (Almeida)
Benedict Cumberbatch: After the Dance (National’s Lyttelton)
Martin Freeman: Clybourne Park (Royal Court)
Alex Jennings: The Habit of Art (National’s Lyttelton)
Rory Kinnear: Measure for Measure (Almeida)/ Hamlet (National’s Olivier)
Adrian Lester: Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Novello)
Alfred Molina: Red (Donmar Warehouse)
Jonathan Pryce: The Caretaker (Trafalgar Studios)
Simon Russell Beale: London Assurance (National’s Olivier)/ Deathtrap (Noël Coward)
Adrian Scarborough: After the Dance (National’s Lyttelton)
David Suchet: All My Sons (Apollo)

THE NATASHA RICHARDSON AWARD FOR BEST ACTRESS

Gemma Arterton: The Little Dog Laughed (Garrick)
Nancy Carroll: After the Dance (National’s Lyttelton)
Judi Dench: A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Rose, Kingston)
Tamsin Greig: The Little Dog Laughed (Garrick)
Jenny Jules: Ruined (Almeida)
Keira Knightley: The Misanthrope (Comedy Theatre)
Amanda Lawrence: Jiggery Pokery (BAC)/ Henry VIII (Shakespeare’s Globe)
Rosaleen Linehan: The Beauty Queen of Leenane (Young Vic)
Helen McCrory: The Late Middle Classes (Donmar Warehouse)
Lesley Manville: Six Degrees of Separation (Old Vic)
Anna Maxwell Martin: Measure for Measure (Almeida)
Elena Roger: Passion (Donmar Warehouse)
Fiona Shaw: London Assurance (National’s Olivier)
Sheridan Smith: Legally Blonde (Savoy)
Sophie Thompson: Clybourne Park (Royal Court)
Zoë Wanamaker: All My Sons (Apollo)

BEST PLAY

Cock by Mike Bartlett (Royal Court)
The Big Fellah by Richard Bean (Lyric Hammersmith)
The Habit of Art by Alan Bennett (National’s Lyttelton)
Beautiful Burnout by Bryony Lavery (York Hall)
Clybourne Park by Bruce Norris (Royal Court)
Ruined by Lynn Nottage (Almeida)
Posh by Laura Wade (Royal Court)
Sucker Punch by Roy Williams (Royal Court)

THE NED SHERRIN AWARD FOR BEST MUSICAL

Hair – Gielgud Theatre
The Human Comedy - A Young Vic/The Opera Group production co-produced with Watford Palace Theatre
Legally Blonde - Savoy Theatre
Les Misérables (2010) - Cameron Mackintosh production at Barbican Theatre
Passion - Donmar Warehouse
Sweet Charity - Menier Chocolate Factory; transferred to Theatre Royal Haymarket

BEST DIRECTOR

Dominic Cooke: Clybourne Park (Royal Court)
Howard Davies: The White Guard (National’s Lyttelton)/ All My Sons (Apollo)
Rupert Goold: Romeo and Juliet (RSC Stratford)/Earthquakes in London (National’s Cottesloe)
Michael Grandage: Red (Donmar Warehouse)/ Danton’s Death (National’s Olivier)
Jeremy Herrin: Spur of the Moment (Royal Court)
Joe Hill-Gibbins: The Beauty Queen of Leenane (Young Vic)
Nicholas Hytner: The Habit of Art (National’s Lyttelton/London Assurance (National’s Olivier)/Hamlet (National’s Olivier)
James MacDonald: Cock (Royal Court)
Roger Michell: Rope (Almeida)
Laurie Sansom: Beyond the Horizon and Spring Storm (National’s Cottesloe)
Thea Sharrock: After the Dance (National’s Lyttelton)
Lyndsey Turner: Posh (Royal Court)

BEST DESIGN

Lez Brotherston: The Rise and Fall of Little Voice (Vaudeville)/Measure for Measure (Almeida)/Women Beware Women (National’s Olivier)/Design for Living (Old Vic)
Miriam Buether: Sucker Punch (Royal Court)/Earthquakes in London (National’s Cottesloe)
Bunny Christie: The White Guard (National’s Lyttelton)
Rob Howell: Private Lives (Vaudeville)/Deathtrap (Noël Coward)
Vicki Mortimer: The Cat in the Hat (National’s Cottesloe; transferred to Young Vic)
Christopher Oram: Passion (Donmar Warehouse)/Red (Donmar Warehouse)
Mark Thompson: London Assurance (National’s Olivier)

THE CHARLES WINTOUR AWARD FOR MOST PROMISING PLAYWRIGHT

James Graham: The Whisky Taster (Bush)/The Man (Finborough)
DC Moore: The Empire (Royal Court)
Nick Payne: If There Is I Haven’t Found It Yet (Bush)/Wanderlust (Royal Court)
Anya Reiss: Spur of the Moment (Royal Court)
Atiha Sen Gupta: What Fatima Did (Hampstead)
Penelope Skinner: Eigengrau (Bush)

THE MILTON SHULMAN AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING NEWCOMER

You Me Bum Bum Train created by Kate Bond and Morgan Lloyd (LEB Building, E2)
Melanie Chisholm for her performance in Blood Brothers (Phoenix)
Laura Dos Santos for her performance in Educating Rita (Menier Chocolate Factory, transferred to Trafalgar Studios)
Simon Godwin for his direction of Wanderlust (Royal Court)
Daniel Kaluuya for his performance in Sucker Punch (Royal Court)
Isabella Laughland for her performance in Wanderlust (Royal Court)
Henry Lloyd-Hughes for his performances in Rope (Almeida) and Posh (Royal Court)
James Mcardle for his performance in Spur of the Moment (Royal Court)
James Musgrave for his performance in Wanderlust (Royal Court)
Nikesh Patel for his performance in Disconnect (Royal Court)
Shannon Tarbet for her performance in Spur of the Moment (Royal Court)

THE GOLDEN SEAGULL AWARD
Presented on behalf of Moscow Art Theatre.

THE LEBEDEV SPECIAL AWARD
For outstanding contribution to theatre.

Sharon D Clarke to star in Ghost the Musical

New show Ghost The Musical, based on the Oscar winning film, is set to make its West End debut next year; Sharon D Clarke to play Whoopi Goldberg role of Oda Mae Brown.

A major new musical adaptation of the multi-award winning movie Ghost will premiere next summer in the West End.

Ghost The Musical, which will try out at the Opera House in Manchester in March 2011, will start previews at the Piccadilly Theatre in London on 22 June 2011, with its opening night on 19 July.

Casting so far includes musicals star Sharon D. Clarke as Oda Mae Brown, in a part originally played by Whoopi Goldberg in the movie.  No further casting details have been announced.

Based on the movie starring Patrick Swayze, Demi Moore and Whoopi Goldberg, Ghost is about Sam, who is trapped as a ghost between this world and the next trying to communicate with girlfriend Molly through a phoney psychic, in the hope of saving her from his murderer.

The romantic musical features a heavy-weight creative team including direction by Matthew Warchus (Deathtrap, La Bete) and music and lyrics by legendary pop and rock writers Dave Stewart (Eurythmics) and Glen Ballard (writer of Michael Jackson’s Man in the Mirror). The show will also feature the classic song penned for the movie, Unchained Melody. Ghost The Musical will be designed by Rob Howell, with illusions and stage effects by Paul Kieve (Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban) and a script by the original Oscar-winning screenplay writer Bruce Joel Rubin.

Grease is currently playing at the Piccadilly Theatre, closing on 30 April 2011 to make way for Ghost The Musical.

Book tickets to Ghost the Musical at the Piccadilly Theatre in London

The Prisoner of Second Avenue – Review

Like Alan Ayckbourn, Neil Simon’s reputation has been built on a solid foundation of enduring comedies only a handful of which have successfully crossed the Atlantic.

For Americans, Ayckbourn’s humour is too British, and for the Brits Simon’s witty one-liners are too American. Also, what both writers have in common is that after initially establishing themselves with plays that made no concession to profundity, they set out, with varying degrees of success, to blend laughter with domestic angst as their comic horizons widened to take in some of the graver aspects of the human condition.

Simon’s The Prisoner of Second Avenue, produced in 1971 was the first of his plays with a serious undercurrent at its heart. It’s about the day to day travails of 47 year-old Mel Edison (Jeff Goldblum) and his wife Edna (Mercedes Ruehl) as they attempt to fend off the frustrations imposed on them simply by being middle-class New Yorkers, living in a middle-class part of Manhattan, in a middle-class apartment Mel describes as ‘an egg box that leaks.’

The paper-thin walls are cracked, the air-conditioner doesn’t work, the window in their bedroom doesn’t open and the toilet won’t stop flushing unless it’s jiggled. Noise is also a problem. At 2.30 in the morning, ‘there’s one car driving round in Jackson Heights and we can hear it,’ Mel complains, not to mention the noise of the subway, barking dogs and inconsiderately loud neighbours. On top of that, it’s sweltering hot, the garbage stinks – and we’re still only in the first scene!

In scene two, their apartment is burgled and Mel announces that he and a handful of his colleagues at work have been fired.

Inevitably, as this Job-like scenario continues to unfurl, Mel suffers a mini breakdown necessitating Edna finding an office job herself. But even that doesn’t last and, after a visit from his four siblings, who tentatively offer to help the couple financially, the play ends with Mel surfacing from his breakdown and Edna heading towards one of her own.

Though some of Simon’s plays have a dated quality to them, the financial crisis we’re currently in the midst of makes a revival of Prisoner fortuitous. And because there’s no feel-good, happy-ever-after ending, there’s an edge to the piece absent from most mainstream Simon.

The structure, however, isn’t all that satisfactory. The Edison’s two collegegoing daughters are barely mentioned so that what should really have been a two-hander is compromised by the unnecessary appearance of his brothers and sisters in a scene that contributes little, if anything, to the play other than adding four additional salaries to the paylist.

As Mel, Jeff Goldblum, terrific in the recent revival of David Mamet’s Speed the Plow, gives the role a pretty good shot, but is basically miscast. His trademark physical shtick is predictably engaging but its very effectiveness draws attention away from the pain engendered by the character’s mid-life crisis. What we’re looking at is a funny performance from a delightfully quirky actor rather than an honest portrait of a man in deep despair.

Mercedes Ruehl, on the other hand, is always believable as the long-suffering Edna, which makes her own mini-crisis all the more affecting.

Totally believable too is Lionel Haft as Mel’s older brother Harry. Believable but unnecessary. Terry Johnson directs with his usual flair for comedy, and Rob Howell’s set is spot-on.

Vaudeville Theatre

CLIVE HIRSCHHORN. Courtesy of This Is London.

Book tickets to The Prisoner of Second Avenue at the Vaudeville Theatre

OLIVIER AWARDS – Best Set and Design Winners

OLIVIER AWARDS – Best Set and Design Winners

Best Set Design

2011 The White Guard designed by Bunny Christie
2010 Jerusalem designed by Ultz
2009 August: Osage County designed by Todd Rosenthal
2008 Rae Smith and the Handspring Puppet Company for War Horse
2007 Sunday In The Park With George, designed by David Farley and Timothy Bird
2006 Hedda Gabler designed by Rob Howell
2005 His Dark Materials designed by Giles Cadle
2004 Hitchcock Blonde designed by William Dudley
2003 A Streetcar Named Desire designed by Bunny Christie

Best Set Designer

2002 Tim Hatley for Humble Boy and Private Lives
2001 William Dudley for All My Sons
2000 Rob Howell for Richard III, Troilus and Cressida and Vassa
1999 Anthony Ward for Oklahoma!
1998 Tim Goodchild for Three Hours After Marriage
1997 Tim Hatley for Stanley
1996 John Napier for Burning Blue
1995 Stephen Brimson Lewis for Design for Living and Les Parents Terribles
1994 Mark Thompson for Hysteria
1993 Ian MacNeil for An Inspector Calls
1992 Mark Thompson for The Comedy Of Errors
1991 Mark Thompson for The Wind In The Willows

Designer of the Year

1989/90Bob Crowley for Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Hedda Gabler, Ghetto and The Plantagenets
1988 Richard Hudson for his season at The Old Vic
1987 Lucio Fanti (with Design Team) for The Hairy Ape
1986 William Dudley for Futurists, Kafka’s Dick and The Merry Wives Of Windsor
1985 William Dudley for The Mysteries and The Critics
1984 John Gunter for Wild Honey
1983 Ralph Koltai for Cyrano De Bergerac
1982 John Gunter for Guys And Dolls
1981 Carl Toms for The Provok’d Wife
1980 John Napier and Dermot Hayes for Nicholas Nickleby
1979 William Dudley for Undiscovered Country
1978 Ralph Koltai for Brand
1977 John Napier for King Lear
1976 Farrah for Henry IV (Parts 1 and 2) and Henry V