Production photos of Matilda The Musical at the Cambridge Theatre in London

Production photos of Matilda The Musical at the Cambridge Theatre in London

The Royal Shakespeare Company’s acclaimed production of Roald Dahl’s Matilda The Musical is heading to London this Autumn.

The show transfers into the West End to play at the Cambridge Theatre in London from 18 October 2011.

The cast includes TMA Theatre Awards 2011 nominee Bertie Carvel as Miss Trunchbull, Paul Kaye as Mr Wormwood,  Josie Walker as Mrs Wormwood and Lauren Ward as Miss Honey, alongside Marc Antolin, Verity Bentham, Peter Howe, Michael Kent, Melanie La Barrie, Matthew Malthouse, Alastair Parker, Nick Searle and Emily Shaw.

Matilda The Musical played to sold-out audiences at the RSC’s The Courtyard Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon and tells Roald Dahl’s magical story about a girl with extraordinary powers.

The show is written by Dennis Kelly, with music and lyrics by Australian comedian, musician and composer Tim Minchin, and direction by Matthew Warchus.

Photos from the original RSC production.

LINKS

Book tickets to Matilda The Musical at the Cambridge Theatre in London

Casting Announced For The Royal Shakespeare Company’s Production Of Matilda The Musical

• Casting announced for the Royal Shakespeare Company’s world premiere production of Roald Dahl’s Matilda The Musical

The Royal Shakespeare Company’s world premiere production of Roald Dahl’s Matilda The Musical will transfer to London’s Cambridge Theatre, previewing from Tuesday 18 October.

Bertie Carvel (Miss Trunchbull), Paul Kaye (Mr Wormwood) Josie Walker (Mrs Wormwood) and Lauren Ward (Miss Honey) will reprise their roles alongside Marc Antolin, Verity Bentham, Peter Howe, Michael Kent, Melanie La Barrie, Matthew Malthouse, Alastair Parker, Nick Searle and Emily Shaw who also appeared in the original production in Stratford.

Further adult casting includes: Matthew Clark, Leanne Pinder, Rachel Moran, Lucy Thatcher, Tim Walton and Gary Watson.

The four young actresses playing the role of Matilda will be announced on Dahl Day on Tuesday 13 September.

The three teams of eight young performers who will recreate the roles of Bruce, Lavender, Amanda, Nigel, Eric and the other pupils at Crunchem Hall Primary School are:

Thomas Atkinson, Jake Bailey, James Beesley, Ruby Bridle, Oonagh Cox, Jemima Eaton, Alicia Gould, Zachary Harris, Callum Henderson, Fleur Houdijk, Jamie Kaye, William Keeler, Lily Laight, Katie Lee, Isobelle Molloy, Jemima Morgan, Toby Murray, Alfie Manser, Lucy May Pollard, Annabel Parsons, Ellie Simons, Louis Suc, Jaydon Vijn and Ted Wilson.

Matilda The Musical played to sold-out audiences at the RSC’s The Courtyard Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon for twelve weeks from November 2010 to January 2011. Roald Dahl’s magical story about a girl with extraordinary powers has been a favourite novel for millions of people across the world since it was published in 1988.

The new stage musical, which captured the imagination of young and old alike during its short run, is written by the highly acclaimed playwright Dennis Kelly, with music and lyrics by the anarchic Australian comedian, musician and composer Tim Minchin, and direction by Matthew Warchus.

The production is designed by Rob Howell, with choreography by Peter Darling, orchestrations, additional music and musical supervision by Christopher Nightingale, lighting by Hugh Vanstone, sound by Simon Baker and special effects and illusions are by Paul Kieve.

The entire creative team will reassemble to create the London production.

Matilda The Musical is produced in the West End by the Royal Shakespeare Company with André Ptaszynski as Executive Producer.

This production was developed with the support of Company Dramaturg Jeanie O’Hare and the RSC Literary Department.

For the initial booking period tickets are available for performances up to and including Sunday 12 February 2012.

Release issued by: The Corner Shop PR

LINKS

Book tickets to Matilda The Musical at the Cambridge Theatre in London

RSC’s production of Roald Dahl’s Matilda The Musical transfers to the Cambridge Theatre

• The Royal Shakespeare Company’s world premiere production of Roald Dahl’s Matilda The Musical will preview at the Cambridge Theatre in London’s West End from Tuesday 18 October 2011

• Tickets go on sale to RSC Members on Friday 20 May at 9am

• Tickets go on sale to the public on Saturday 21 May at 9am

The Royal Shakespeare Company’s world premiere production of Roald Dahl’s Matilda The Musical will transfer to London’s Cambridge Theatre on Tuesday 18 October.

Priority booking for RSC Members opens at 9am on Friday 20 May. General booking opens on the following day, Saturday 21 May, at 9am. For the initial booking period tickets are available for performances up to and including Sunday 12 February 2012.

Matilda The Musical played to sold-out audiences at the RSC’s The Courtyard Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon for twelve weeks from November 2010 to January 2011. Roald Dahl’s magical story about a girl with extraordinary powers has been a favourite novel for millions of people across the world since it was published in 1988.

The new stage musical, which captured the imagination of young and old alike during its short run, is written by the highly acclaimed playwright Dennis Kelly, with music and lyrics by the anarchic Australian comedian, musician and composer Tim Minchin, and direction by Matthew Warchus.

The production is designed by Rob Howell, with choreography by Peter Darling, musical supervision and orchestration by Christopher Nightingale, lighting by Hugh Vanstone, sound by Simon Baker and special effects and illusions are by Paul Kieve.

The entire creative team will reassemble to create the London production.

Many adult cast members from the original production will reprise their roles at the Cambridge Theatre: Marc Antolin, Verity Bentham, Bertie Carvel (Miss Trunchbull), Paul Kaye (Mr Wormwood) Michael Kent, Melanie La Barrie, Matthew Malthouse, Alastair Parker, Nick Searle, Emily Shaw, Josie Walker (Mrs Wormwood) and Lauren Ward (Miss Honey). Further casting will be announced soon.

The casting process is currently under way to find the four young actresses who will play the role of Matilda and three teams of nine young performers who will re-create the roles of Bruce, Lavender, Amanda, Nigel, Eric and the other pupils at Crunchem Hall Primary School.

Matilda The Musical is produced in the West End by the Royal Shakespeare Company with André Ptaszynski as Executive Producer.

This production was developed with the support of Company Dramaturg Jeanie O’Hare and the RSC Literary Department.

Release issued by: RSC

LINKS

RSC website

Matilda West End Transfer

The Royal Shakespeare Company world premiere production of Roald Dahl’s Matilda, A Musical will transfer to the West End in autumn 2011 for an open-ended run.

Tickets go on sale in May when performance dates, casting and venue will be announced.

The Royal Shakespeare Company’s world premiere production of Roald Dahl’s Matilda, A Musical will transfer to London’s West End in the autumn of 2011. Tickets go on sale in May when details of the performances dates, venue and casting will also be announced.

Matilda, A Musical played to sold-out audiences at the RSC’s Courtyard Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon for twelve weeks from November 2010 to January 2011. Dahl’s magical story about a girl with extraordinary powers has been a favourite novel for millions of people across the world since it was published in 1988.

The new stage musical, which captured the imagination of young and old alike during its short run, is directed by Matthew Warchus; the script is by playwright Dennis Kelly, and the music and lyrics are by the anarchic Australian comedian, musician and composer Tim Minchin.

The production is designed by Rob Howell with choreography by Peter Darling, lighting by Hugh Vanstone, musical supervision and orchestration by Christopher Nightingale, sound by Simon Baker and special effects and illusions are by Paul Kieve.

No further announcements will be made until full production details are available.

Release issued by: RSC press office

LINKS

Sign up to our News Alerts service to hear about tickets for Matilda in the West End

Royal Shakespeare Company Announces Winter Season Artistic Programme – October 2011 – March 2012

HIGHLIGHTS
• RSC 50th birthday celebrations continue – including more play readings and events exploring the Company’s back catalogue of new work
• The Heart of Robin Hood, first family show on the new Royal Shakespeare Theatre stage – written by RSC Associate Director David Farr and directed by Gisli Örn Gardarsson for Christmas 2011
• The Taming of the Shrew, directed by Lucy Bailey, opens in Stratford then tours nationwide
• World Premiere of David Edgar’s new play, Written on the Heart – directed by RSC Chief Associate Director, Gregory Doran, as part of 400th anniversary of the King James Bible
• World Premiere of The Heresy of Love – by Helen Edmundson, directed by Nancy Meckler, inspired by the life of Spanish Golden Age playwright Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz
• Measure for Measure, directed by RSC Associate Director Roxana Silbert in her first Shakespeare production for the RSC
• New small scale touring model – Young People’s Shakespeare production of Hamlet tours schools and local venues, with day and evening performances through the autumn

The Royal Shakespeare Company continues its 50th birthday celebrations with world premieres of three new plays, two new Shakespeare productions, a major events programme exploring the legacy of the last five decades, and two national tours – one to large scale theatres and one to schools and local venues, playing to children in the daytime and their families in the evenings.

Royal Shakespeare Theatre
The first large-scale family show in the new Royal Shakespeare Theatre (RST) is The Heart of Robin Hood, written by RSC Associate Director David Farr and directed by Gisli Örn Gardarsson, co-founder of Iceland’s Vesturport Theatre. This swashbuckling new production opens in November 2011 and plays in a straight run over Christmas (17 November – 7 January 2012). It tells the tale of the notorious Robin Hood and his band of outlaws, who rob from the rich, but fail to share with the poor. It is down to Marion to convince Robin to listen to his heart if they are to save the country from the wicked King John who plots to steal his brother’s crown.
The Taming of the Shrew opens on the RST stage in January (19 January – 18 February 2012) before embarking on a six week national UK tour. Lucy Bailey, whose acclaimed production of Julius Caesar joins the repertoire at the RSC’s residency in New York this summer, directs this sometimes controversial romantic comedy, exploring love and sexual politics through Petruchio’s attempts to tame Katharina to a submissive life of domesticity. Other venues and dates to be announced later this spring.

Swan Theatre
Meanwhile, in the Swan Theatre from October, award-winning playwright David Edgar’s play Written on the Heart has its world premiere (27 October 2011 – 10 March 2012). A powerful examination of the story behind the King James Bible, which celebrates its 400th anniversary this year, the play explores the legacy of the earliest translators who died for their wish to see a ploughboy read the word of God and the dilemma of Lancelot Andrewes, King James’s leading translator, as he confronts the betrayal of his youthful religious ideals for the sake of preferment and peace in a divided society. RSC Chief Associate, Greg Doran, directs, following his production of Cardenio, Shakespeare’s lost play ‘re-imagined’, which plays the Swan Theatre this spring. Written on the Heart plays in repertoire with Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure and The Heresy of Love until March 2011.
Measure for Measure is RSC Associate Director, Roxana Silbert’s first Shakespeare production for the RSC (17 November 2011 – 10 March 2012), following her critically acclaimed production of Dunsinane by David Greig in 2010, shortly to be performed in the Swan Theatre as part of a National Theatre of Scotland tour, and Little Eagles by Rona Munro which premieres at Hampstead Theatre this spring. In this darkly fascinating tale which puts moral and religious double standards on trial, Deputy Antonio is given free reign over Vienna and launches a crusade against loose morals, but makes an indecent proposal of his own when a condemned man’s sister pleads for a pardon.
The Heresy of Love completes the season (2 February – 9 March 2012). Nancy Meckler directs the premiere of Helen Edmundson’s new play, inspired by the life of Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz, the writer of House of Desires, which Nancy directed as part of the RSC’s Spanish Golden Age season in 2004. Sor Juana’s gift for writing is celebrated by the court, but her success creates fear and jealousy within the church. Her life of faith and learning crumbles around her as the things she holds dear are cruelly destroyed. Helen Edmundson adapted Coram Boy for the National Theatre and has written extensively for Shared Experience. Nancy Meckler’s most recent work for the RSC includes her production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream which opens in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre this summer.
Song of Songs – inspired by the rich and erotic verse of Song of Solomon in the King James Bible and devised by RSC Head of Movement Struan Leslie, this piece will be created with members of the ensemble on the Swan Theatre stage for three performances only in February 2012.
All casting details to be announced.

RSC 50 events
The rolling programme of RSC 50 play readings, talks and special events continues. Further highlights include an on stage discussion with Willy Russell on Educating Rita, a celebration of the RSC’s musicals, past and present, Howard Davies in conversation about the creation of the Warehouse, a screening of Peter Brook’s production of US, a celebration of Nicholas Nickleby as well as David Edgar’s original work and a birthday party for Harold Pinter.
Playwrights Tanika Gupta and Mark Ravenhill each host a weekend exploring the RSC’s back catalogue of plays and there will be a play reading of Christopher Hampton’s Les Liaisons Dangereuses.

Young People’s Shakespeare tour
From September 2011, the RSC’s current ensemble will take its YPS Shakespeare production of Hamlet, adapted by Tarell Alvin McCraney and Bijan Shebani and directed by Tarell, on a six week tour to schools and local theatre venues, who will work together to programme a mixture of daytime and evening performances.
Since 2008, through its Young People’s Shakespeare series, the RSC has invited directors and writers to make surprising, challenging and entertaining work for children aged 8 and over, giving them a great first experience of Shakespeare. The productions have proved enormously popular and have played in Stratford, London, Newcastle and in local schools in the Midlands and outer London boroughs, which are part of the RSC’s 400 strong Learning and Performance Network (LPN). The tour is the culmination of a long held ambition by the RSC to develop and deepen its relationships with schools by touring work into them, playing to children and young people during the daytime and their families in the evening.
The tour will include:
w/c 5 September West Midlands – daytime performances in Learning and Performance Networkhub and cluster schools across the West Midlands and in The Clore Learning Centre
w/c 12 September Cornwall – Hall for Cornwall in partnership with Brannell School
w/c 19 September – RIO in collaboration with Theatre Royal Plymouth
w/c 26 September Newcastle –Newcastle Theatre Royal in collaboration with schools and venues in the North East
w/c 3 October Rotherham – Inspire Rotherham are promoting the tour to local primary schools and Magna Science and Adventure Centre
w/c 10 October Liverpool – Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse in collaboration with local schools

Michael Boyd, RSC Artistic Director, said:
“It’s been an extraordinary first few months in our new home. Actors and audiences alike have warmed to the new spaces in ways we had hardly dared dream of. We’re looking forward to the first new productions designed specifically for the new Royal Shakespeare Theatre and improved Swan Theatre stages which open our 50th Birthday Season.
“The celebrations continue throughout the year with our winter season which we announce today. I’m especially proud that we’ve been able to put new work at its heart – by revealing hidden riches of our back catalogue and by new commissions. Great writers and directors have always been at the core of the company, shaping our future while being inspired by the classical repertoire, and this season is no exception.
“Our Christmas family show The Heart of Robin Hood is written by RSC Associate Director, David Farr. His dark and witty take on the legend of Robin Hood turns the tables on Robin and puts Marion centre stage. Gisli Örn Gardarsson directs for us for the first time. We follow up with The Taming of the Shrew, directed by Lucy Bailey, whose production of Julius Caesar made such an impact in Stratford and at the Roundhouse.
We explore themes of faith and passion in the Swan with two world premieres and Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure, directed by RSC Associate Director, Roxana Silbert, whose extraordinary production of David Greig’s Dunsinane won such acclaim last year.
“RSC Chief Associate, Greg Doran, will direct David Edgar’s new play Written on the Heart, which concludes the 400th birthday year celebrations for the King James Bible by exploring the politics of religion and the complex story behind the Bible’s translation into English. David’s long history of work for the Company includes Pentecost, Destiny, Maydays and his unequalled adaptation of Nicholas Nickleby.
“Helen Edmundson has been inspired by the Spanish Golden Age nun and playwright Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz, to write The Heresy of Love, which explores devotion and jealousy deep in the church and court in 17th century Mexico. Nancy Meckler directs, following her production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream for us this summer.
“Beyond Stratford, we will take The Taming of the Shrew on a national tour and we are also putting young people at the centre of our ambitions for the future with plans to take our Young People’s Shakespeare (YPS) production of Hamlet to schools and regional theatres in a unique new touring model.
“We understand, better than anyone, the power of live Shakespeare to inspire young minds. This new collaboration with some of our Learning and Performance Network schools and regional theatres gives young people up and down the country the chance to watch live theatre during school hours and bring their families to enjoy performances in the evening.
“In these challenging times, collaboration is more important than ever. We will continue to share skills and expertise wherever we can with the amateur sector and other smaller companies and we will support artists’ R&D through our RSC Studio projects, as we plan one of the biggest collaborations in our history, the World Shakespeare Festival, in 2012.”

Vikki Heywood, RSC Executive Director, said:
“The extraordinary public and private investment in our new home is already paying dividends. We have had a great response to the new building and the box office advance for our summer season has been the busiest ever at the RSC. We took over £2.5m in advance bookings during our priority booking period and our advance now stands at £3.6m.
“We have already welcomed 160,000 day visitors through our doors since November and 53,000 people have enjoyed one of our re-opening events or returning productions. We have served over 15,500 people in our restaurant and sold tickets for over 23,000 tower visits and 10,000 theatre tours.
“We will continue to keep ourselves in good shape for the future, offering something for people to enjoy throughout the day seven days a week.
“Our summer residency in New York, presented by Lincoln Center Festival and Park Avenue Armory, in association with The Ohio State University, gives us a golden opportunity to show potential visitors and investors the high quality of work they can expect from British arts organisations and allows us to fly the flag for the international cultural collaborations we are planning with the World Shakespeare Festival.”

PRODUCTION INFORMATION

Royal Shakespeare Theatre
The Heart of Robin Hood
By RSC Associate Director David Farr
Directed by Gisli Örn Gardarsson
Previews from 18 November 2011
Press Night: Thursday 1 December 2011, 7pm
Last performance 7 January 2011

The Taming of the Shrew
By William Shakespeare
Directed by Lucy Bailey
Previews from 19 January 2012
Press Night: Wednesday 25 January 2012, 7pm
Last performance 18 February 2012

Swan Theatre

Written on the Heart
An RSC Commission and world premiere
By David Edgar
Directed by RSC Chief Associate Director Gregory Doran
Previews from 27 October 2011
Press Night: Wednesday 2 November, 7pm
Last performance 10 March 2012

Measure for Measure
By William Shakespeare
Directed by RSC Associate Director Roxana Silbert
Previews from 17 November 2011
Press Night: Wednesday 23 November 2011, 7pm
Last performance 10 March 2012

The Heresy of Love
An RSC Commission and world premiere
By Helen Edmundson
Directed by Nancy Meckler
Previews from 2 February 2012
Press Night: Wednesday 8 February 2012, 7pm
Last performance 9 March 2012

BIOGRAPHIES

DAVID EDGAR
David Edgar has been writing professionally for the theatre since 1972. He began his long-term relationship with the RSC in 1976 with his award-winning play about the rise of the National Front, Destiny, which transferred from The Other Place to the Aldwych. His other work for the Company includes The Jail Diary of Albie Sachs, Maydays, Pentecost and The Prisoner’s Dilemma. His multi-award winning adaptation of Nicholas Nickleby was performed at the Aldwych in 1980 and on Broadway in 1981, and was televised by Channel Four.
He has also written extensively for the National Theatre (Entertaining Strangers, The Shape of the Table, Albert Speer and Playing with Fire) and for many repertory theatres, as well as for television, radio and film. He founded Britain’s first postgraduate course in playwriting studies and is President of the Writers’ Guild. He is an honorary associate artist of the RSC.

HELEN EDMUNDSON
Helen Edmundson’s work for the theatre has included: The Clearing, first performed at the Bush Theatre, Mother Teresa is Dead, at the Royal Court Theatre; and five stage adaptations for Shared Experience Theatre – Anna Karenina and Mill on the Floss, both of which toured nationally and internationally, War and Peace, which was produced at the National Theatre in 1996 and again on tour in 2008, Gone to Earth, which was seen on tour and at the Lyric Hammersmith in 2003, and Orestes, at The Tricycle and on tour in 2006.

Helen’s adaptation of Jamila Gavin’s novel Coram Boy premiered at the National Theatre in November 2005 and was revived the following year before moving to Broadway. Her new version of Calderon’s Life is a Dream was produced at the Donmar Warehouse in 2009, and most recently her adaptation of Arthur Ransome’s Swallows and Amazons premiered at Bristol Old Vic in December 2010.

The Clearing received the John Whiting Award for best new play, as well as a Time Out Award. She also won TMA and Time Out Awards for The Mill on the Floss, Anna Karenina and most recently, a Time Out Award for Coram Boy.

Helen has written two short films for television: One Day for BBC2 and Stella for Channel 4. She has undertaken a number of adaptations for BBC Radio, including Virginia Woolf’s The Voyage Out, Hardy’s The Mayor of Casterbridge, and Arnold Bennett’s Anna of the Five Towns which can be heard next year.

She is currently under commission with the RSC, Shared Experience Theatre and the Donmar Warehouse.

DAVID FARR, RSC Associate Director
From 2005 to 2008, David was the Artistic Director of the Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith. He was joint Artistic Director of Bristol Old Vic from 2002 to 2005 and Artistic Director of the Gate Theatre, London, from 1995 to 1998. He has also worked at the Almeida Opera, the National Theatre of Czech Republic and Gavella Theatre in Zagreb.
Previous productions directed for the RSC include King Lear, The Winter’s Tale, Julius Caesar, Silence, Coriolanus, Night of the Soul, Silence (RSC in association with Filter).
Other productions include: The Odyssey, Metamorphosis, Water (Filter), The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui, The Birthday Party (Lyric Hammersmith); Tamburlaine (Barbican); The UN Inspector (National Theatre); Paradise Lost, Twelfth Night, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (TMA Best Director Award. Bristol Old Vic).
Playwriting includes: The Nativity (Young Vic); The Danny Crowe Show (Bush); Elton John’s Glasses (Watford Palace/West End); Crime and Punishment in Dalston (Arcola); Night of the Soul; The Queen Must Die, Ruckus in the Garden (National Theatre Connections).
Television: David writes regularly for the television series Spooks.

GISLI ÖRN GARDARSSON
Gisli trained as an actor at the Icelandic Academy of the Arts. He works as an actor and director and has adapted and produced various productions.
RSC work includes the title role in Don John (in association with Kneehigh Theatre Company).
Other theatre (as actor): A Matter of Life and Death, National Theatre of England/Kneehigh, Metamorphosis, Nights at the Circus, Lyric Hammersmith, Rambo 7, National Theatre of Iceland, Brim (Surf), Titus Andronicus, Vesturport, Romeo and Juliet, West End / Young Vic / Reykjavik, Like Water for Chocolate, Kristnihald Undir Jokli Reykjavik City Theatre.
Other theatre work(as director): Metamorphosis (also adaptation), Love the Musical (also writer), Kommunan (also adaptation), Woyzeck (also adaptation), Faust (also writer) Romeo and Juliet (also adaptation).
Film (as actor): Brim, Zik Zak and Vesturport, Prince of Persia, Disney, Kings Road, Mystery, Country Wedding, Mystery, Children, Vesturport Films, Beowulf and Grendel.
TV series: I Hunt Men, RUV.

NANCY MECKLER
Nancy has been joint Artistic Director of Shared Experience since 1987. Previously she was a founder member of the Freehold Theatre and an Associate Director for Hampstead Theatre and the Leicester Haymarket.
Previous RSC Productions: Romeo and Juliet, The Comedy of Errors and House of Desires.
Other theatre: A Passage to India, Mill on the Floss, The Tempest, Gone To Earth, Mother Courage and Her Children (Shared Experience), ID (Written by and starring Anthony Sher, Almeida), War and Peace, Rose (Royal National Theatre), Anna Karenina (Tricycle).
Film includes: Alive and Kicking (won an Audience Award at the London Film Festival 1996), Sister My Sister (starring Julie Walters, 1995).

ROXANA SILBERT, RSC Associate Director
Roxana Silbert is an Associate Director for the RSC. She was previously Artistic Director of Paines Plough (2005-2009), Literary Director at the Traverse Theatre (2001-2004) and Associate Director, Royal Court (1998-2000).
RSC: Brixton Stories, Dunsinane, Such Tweet Sorrow, Little Eagles.
Theatre includes: The Comedy of Errors (Manchester Royal Exchange), Orphans by Dennis Kelly (Traverse/Birmingham Rep/Soho), Roaring Trade by Steve Thompson (Paines Plough/Soho) and Dallas Sweetman by Sebastian Barry (Paines Plough/Canterbury Cathedral), Long Time Dead (Paines Plough/Plymouth Theatre Royal/ Traverse Theatre), Strawberries in January (Paines Plough for Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh Festival), Under The Black Flag (Globe), After The End (Paines Plough/Bush Theatre/Traverse, Edinburgh Festival 2005, 59e59, international tour), Whistle in the Dark (Citizens Theatre, Glasgow), Blonde Bombshells (West Yorkshire Playhouse), Damages (Bush Theatre), The People Next Door (Traverse Theatre/Theatre Royal, Stratford East); Iron (Traverse Theatre/Royal Court).
Radio includes: Hysteria by Terry Johnson, The Good Father by Christian O’Reilly (for BBC Radio 4); Brace Position by Rona Munro for BBC Radio Scotland and BBC Radio version of the RSC’s production of Dunsinane.

BOOKING INFORMATION

Priority Plus Booking for Supporters’ Ensemble opens 9am Monday 11 April 2011
Full Members’ web booking opens 9am Wednesday 13 April 2011
Full Members’ telephone booking opens 9am Friday 15 April 2011
Associate Members’ web booking opens 9am Wednesday 4 May 2011
Associate Members’ telephone booking opens 9am Friday 6 May 2011
Public booking opens 9am Friday 13 May 2011
Box Office 0844 800 1110 and www.rsc.org.uk

Release issued by: RSC press office

LINKS

RSC website

 

The Royal Shakespeare Company Counts Down To ‘RSC Open Stages’ The Uk’s Biggest Amateur Theatre Project

• Only six weeks to go before the 31 March deadline for amateur theatre companies to sign up to this unique project
• Amateur theatre groups from Edinburgh to Penzance have already submitted proposals for a huge variety of Shakespeare themed productions

As the RSC’s 50th birthday season kicks off in Stratford upon Avon, amateur theatre companies from across the UK are preparing their own Shakespeare themed productions for the RSC’s Open Stages project, beginning a journey that for some may lead to them performing at the RSC next year.

This unprecedented collaboration with eight regional/national theatres and organisations representing amateurs from across the UK, has seen applications from all corners of the country, with groups from across the UK – and even the USA and Germany – proposing an awe inspiring array of imaginative takes on Shakespeare.

This huge range of projects already entered includes a production of The Tempest performed in a Sea Fort in Weymouth Harbour, a Star Wars inspired Twelfth Night in Huddersfield, a flash mob version of Romeo and Juliet in Whitley Bay, a performance of Shakespeare inspired new plays at the Dirty Duck pub in Stratford, an all female Hamlet in Milton Keynes, and the Royal Navy’s own theatre group choosing to perform the very apt Much Ado About Nothing on their base in Portsmouth – just a tiny taste of the programme of productions in the pipeline.

Groups from England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland and New York will all be working on productions to be performed as part of RSC Open Stages and will be supported by skill sharing and advice from the RSC and its partner theatres in the project.

Ian Wainwright, Producer for RSC Open Stages, said; “We are really surprised and delighted by the extent of applications from all corners of the UK from village halls to ruined castles, from community centres to disused swimming pools the innovation, commitment and ambition of the entries so far is incredible. Some of the amateur companies involved have a great tradition of performing Shakespeare dating back before the founding RSC itself. Others are using the project as an opportunity to try performing Shakespeare for the first time”.

The 9 regional theatres involved will each showcase productions, with Open Stages culminating in a national celebration of amateur Shakespeare when a selection of participants are invited to perform their productions at the RSC in Stratford-upon-Avon as part of the World Shakespeare Festival, performing alongside the Company’s own festival productions and those from theatre companies from around the world.

A full list of all RSC Open Stages participants will be announced at the end of March 2011

RSC Open Stages is generously supported by the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation.

Release issued by: RSC press office

LINKS

RSC Open Stages website

New shows this Winter

Winter in the West End is always a vibrant time, with countless new shows opening throughout London. This year is no exception with a bewildering array of new and classic plays, hefty revivals, Broadway musicals and a high star count.

STARS

Stars are out in force as producers pull out all of the stops to ensure that theatregoers are getting their money’s worth. Keira Knightley continues her successful run in Molière’s classic play The Misanthrope, Rupert Friend plays gay in Broadway satire The Little Dog Laughed, Kim Cattrall of Sex and the City fame gives us her Amanda in Richard Eyre’s new production of Noel Coward’s Private Lives,  Jonathan Pyrce brings his acclaimed performance in Pinter’s The Caretaker to the West End, and David Suchet and Zoe Wanamaker promise to give award-winning performances in Arthur Miller’s powerful play All My Sons. Plus Waiting for Godot returns to the Haymarket Theatre Royal with Ian McKellen reprising his role as Estragon.

BROADWAY

Brits are doing rather well on Broadway at the moment, but the traffic is not all one way as the Broadway productions of Cat On A Hot Tin Roof and Legally Blonde have opened in London to great success. Cat On A Hot Tin Roof sees James Earl Jones revive his original role as Big Daddy, joined by our very own Adrian Lester, and directed by Debbie Allen. A complete contrast is the pink and fluffy musical Legally Blonde, a success in New York, and now given a lavish new production at the Savoy Theatre starring Sheridan Smith and Duncan James. Also on its way from a sell-out, Tony-award winning success on Broadway is Hair, for which Cameron Mackintosh is bringing over the entire Broadway company.

MUSICALS

Other musical openings range from the small-scale to the gigantic – with everything in between.  At one end the intimate Arts Theatre hosts comedy musical Nunsense A-Men from 25 January, clearly cashing in on the current trend for nuns (see Sister Act) but spicing it up with men playing the sisters! And at the other, Andrew Lloyd Webber aims for world domination with the sequel to The Phantom of the Opera, Love Never Dies, this time set on Coney Island in New York. Also David Essex brings his fairground-set musical All The Fun Of The Fair to the Garrick Theatre featuring all of his hit songs.

NEW PLAYS

In terms of new plays, the Royal Court is dominating the drama landscape at the moment, transferring two wild successes into town: Jez Butterworth’s Jerusalem starring Mark Rylance, and Lucy Prebble’s Enron, directed by man of the moment Rupert Goold.

REVIVALS

Revivals are also key to this winter’s schedule, with the RSC bringing in its production of Twelfth Night from Stratford starring Richard Wilson as Malvolio, the Old Vic resurrecting John Guare’s Six Degrees of Separation starring Anthony Head and Lesley Manville, andIbsen’s Ghosts coming to the Duchess Theatre starring Lesley Sharp and Iain Glen.

KIDS

At the National they follow their War Horse and His Dark Materials successes with Mark Ravenhill’s new adaptation of Terry Pratchett’s fantasy novel Nation.

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