Articles – Page 2 – The Theatre Playbook

Kumiko Mendl steps away from New Earth Theatre

Kumiko Mendl, a founding member of British East and South East Asian (BESEA) theatre company New Earth Theatre, is stepping from her role as artistic director of the company.

She will leave the position in 2024 after 11 years.

New Earth Theatre, in Deptford, London, was founded in 1995 by Mendl, David KS Tse, Tom Wu, Veronica Needa and Kwong Loke under the name Yellow Earth Theatre.

Since becoming the artistic director in 2011, Mendl has championed the work of British East and South East Asian artists and communities; spearheaded a rebranding to New Earth and established strong creative support systems for BESEA artistic and community networks.

Mendl said: “It has been an incredible privilege to have worked in what has been, an exhilarating, joyful and at times challenging space. But I have always felt secure in the knowledge that what we have created and achieved has been meaningful, necessary and true to purpose. We can and have made a difference to the stories that are being told and being heard on our stages and one of the greatest pleasures has been to witness the growth of our sector into a flourishing, confident and diverse one.

“I hold great hope and confidence in a bold and exciting future both for New Earth and our sector and look forward to seeing the next chapter unfold.”

Park Theatre hosts Emanuele Aldrovandi’s Sorry We Didn’t Die at Sea

Park Theatre will host the first translation of Sorry We Didn’t Die at Sea, Italian playwright Emanuele Aldrovandi’s satirical, absurdist play about Europe’s migration crisis.

Set in a not-too-distant future, the continent’s economies have collapsed and three travellers find that the tables have turned as they are forced to flee the very countries which had once closed their borders to migrants. Placing their lives at the mercy of a mysterious people-smuggler, they embark on a journey in a claustrophobic shipping container in the hopes of a better life.

The cast will feature Yasmine Haller (Comédie-Française), Felix Garcia Guyer (Lift), Will Bishop (Entropy) and Marco Young (Another America). Aldrovandi’s play is translated by Marco Young and directed by Daniel Emery.

Aldrovandi is an Italian playwright with multiple awards in his home country. His plays have been translated, performed and published in English, German, French, Spanish, Polish, Slovenian, Czech, Catalan and Arabic, and the plays he has translated into Italian include Trainspotting, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time and The Laramie Project.

The production comes from Riva Theatre and The Playwright’s Laboratory in association with Park Theatre.

Sorry We Didn’t Die at Sea will run at Park Theatre’s Park90 from September 13-30, 2023.

The Young Vic adds The Homecoming and Nachtland for 2023/24

The Young Vic has announced two new plays, The Homecoming and Nachtland, for 2023/24.

Matthew Dunster will direct Harold Pinter’s The Homecoming from November 27, 2023 – January 27, 2024. The designer is Moi Tran.

Max. Sam. Lennie. Joey. Teddy.
And Ruth.

In a small house in East London lives a family of butchers, boxers and brutes. When academic son Teddy returns home from America, with a wife his family have never met, a strange and carnal power struggle between man, wife and in-laws ensues.

Pinter’s unnerving modern classic and Tony Award-winning play, The Homecoming, is described as thrillingly re-explored in a new production by Dunster.

Nachtland, a satire by Marius von Mayenburg, translated by Maja Zade and directed by Patrick Marber, runs from February 20 – April 20, 2024. Young Vic associate artist Anna Fleischle will design.

‘Do you want this hanging over your kitchen table to remind you of your Daddy?’ Modern day Germany. Nicola and Philipp argue as they clear out their late father’s house. When they find an old painting stashed in the attic, things get savage. The painting is a quaint street scene from 1920s Vienna; the work of a failed artist who abandoned his original vocation for Nazism… Nicola wants to sell it. Philipp wants to keep it. His wife Judith wants to burn it.

Nachtland* is a mordant satire about marriage, legacy, the rise of the new right, and terrible impulses buried deep. The UK premiere is directed by Marber, who recently won the 2023 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play and the Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Director of a Play for Leopoldstadt.

*Nachtland is an invented German word. It suggests a place of eternal darkness.

Cast announced for The Father and the Assassin’s return to National Theatre

The full cast for the return of Anupama Chandrasekhar’s The Father and the Assassin to the National Theatre has been revealed.

Mahatma Gandhi: lawyer, champion of non-violence, beloved leader. Nathuram Godse: journalist, nationalist – and the man who murdered Gandhi. The gripping play traces Godse’s life over 30 years during India’s fight for independence: from a devout follower of Gandhi, through to his radicalisation and their tragic final encounter in Delhi in 1948.

Directed by the Kiln Theatre’s artistic director, Indhu Rubasingham, the play by one of India’s most exciting playwrights returns to the National’s Olivier Theatre from September 8.

Joining the previously announced cast is Marc Elliott (She Loves Me), Sasha Ghoshal (Bend it Like Beckham the Musical), Aysha Kala (The Motive and the Cue), Johndeep More (The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar) and Aryana Ramkhalawon (Exodus).

Hiran Abeysekera (Life of Pi) will play the role of Nathuram Godse with Paul Bazely (Cruella) reprising his role as Mahatma Gandhi.

The cast also includes Azan Ahmed (The Tempest), Ravi Aujla (The Lehman Trilogy), Ayesha Dharker (Chasing Hares), Ravin J Ganatra (When Winston went to War with the Wireless), Raj Ghatak (The Kite Runner), Halema Hussain (Does My Bomb Look Big In This?), Nadeem Islam (Antigone), Tony Jayawardena (East is East), Nicholas Khan (Life of Pi), Raj Khera, Hari Mackinnon (The Cherry Orchard), Sid Sagar (Cabaret) and Akshay Shah (Kabul Goes Pop).

Director Rubasingham reunites with writer Chandrasekhar for this exploration of oppression and extremism. They are joined by set and costume designer Rajha Shakiry, lighting designer Oliver Fenwick, movement director Lucy Cullingford, composer Siddhartha Khosla, additional music by David Shrubsole, sound designer Alexander Caplen, fight director Kate Waters, casting director Alastair Coomer, associate set and costume designer Khadija Raza and staff director John Young.

Tickets: nationaltheatre.org.uk

Temptations show Ain’t Too Proud to end Prince Edward Theatre run

Temptations musical Ain’t Too Proud will play its final performance at the Prince Edward Theatre in September.

The producers of the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical revealed the news after ending its limited run earlier than planned on Sunday, September 17, 2023.

Ain’t Too Proud – The Life and Times of The Temptations, which won the 2019 Tony Award for Best Choreography, is pitched as the electrifying new musical that follows the remarkable journey of the group from the streets of Detroit to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

With their signature dance moves and unmistakable harmonies, The Temptations rose to the top of the charts creating an amazing 42 Top Ten Hits with 14 reaching number one. The rest is history – how they met, how they rose, the ground-breaking heights they hit, and how personal and political conflicts threatened to tear the group apart as the United States fell into civil unrest. The thrilling story of brotherhood, family, loyalty and betrayal is set to the beat of the group’s Grammy Award-winning music including the hits My Girl, Just My Imagination, Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone, Get Ready, Ain’t Too Proud to Beg and so many more.

Ain’t Too Proud stars Cameron Bernard Jones as Melvin Franklin, Kyle Cox as Paul Williams, Sifiso Mazibuko as Otis Williams, Tosh Wanogho-Maud as David Ruffin and Mitchell Zhangazha as Eddie Kendricks.

The company is completed by Evonnee Bentley-Holder, Natalia Brown, Ryan Carter, Hannah Fairclough, Christopher Gopaul, Daniel Haswell, Naomi Katiyo, Akmed Junior Khemalai, Holly Liburd, Darnell Mathew-James, Simeon Montague, Posi Morakinyo, Sadie-Jean Shirley, Michael James Stewart, Toyan Thomas-Browne, Dylan Turner and Kevin Yates.

Ain’t Too Proud has a book by playwright Dominique Morisseau and reunites director Des McAnuff with choreographer Sergio Trujilio, whose previous collaborations include Jersey Boys.

It has scenic design by Robert Brill with costume design by Paul Tazewell. Lighting designer Howell Binkley and sound designer Steve Canyon Kennedy also reunited following their success working together on Jersey Boys.

Projection design is by Peter Nigrini, hair and wig design by Charles G LaPointe. Music supervision and arrangements are by Kenny Seymour, orchestrations by Harold Wheeler, music direction by Matt Smith and casting by Pippa Ailion and Natalie Gallacher.

Ain’t Too Proud is produced in the West End by Ira Pittelman, Tom Hulce, Stephen Gabriel and Jamie Wilson.

More information: ainttooproudmusical.co.uk

Felicity Kendal to lead Noises Off at Theatre Royal Haymarket

Noises Off is returning to the West End, with Felicity Kendal set to star in the production at Theatre Royal Haymarket.

Kendal (The Good Life) will play Dotty, with Jonathan Coy as Frederick Fellows and Alexander Hanson as Lloyd Dallas. Further casting is to be announced.

This celebrated 40^th anniversary production of Michael Frayn’s farce is directed by Lindsay Posner (God of Carnage). It opened to critical acclaim at Theatre Royal Bath in Autumn 2022 before transferring for its initial West End run to the Phoenix Theatre in January this year.

The play serves up a riotous double bill – a play within a play. Hurtling along at breakneck speed, Noises Off follows the on and off-stage antics of a touring theatre company as they stumble their way through the fictional farce, Nothing On. From the shambolic final rehearsals before opening night in Weston-super-Mare, to a disastrous matinee in Ashton-Under-Lyme seen entirely, and hilariously silently, from backstage, before we share their final, brilliantly catastrophic performance in Stockton-on-Tees.

The creative team for this production includes Simon Higlett (designer), Paul Pyant (lighting designer), Greg Clarke (sound designer), Will Stuart (composer), Ruth Cooper-Brown (movement and fight director), George Jibson (associate director) and Ginny Schiller (casting director).

Noises Off will run for a 12-week season at the Theatre Royal Haymarket from September 27, 2023. Tickets: www.trh.co.uk

Matilda the Musical lines up new cast

The new cast of the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Matilda the Musical has been unveiled as the show continues in its 12th year at the Cambridge Theatre.

Estella Evans, Selena Karir and Arabella Stanton will join Sophia Goodman in the title role of Matilda, with their first performances from September 12.

Kieran Hill will join the company in the role of Miss Trunchbull alongside Lydia White as Miss Honey. Rakesh Boury and Amy Ellen Richardson will continue in the roles of Mr and Mrs Wormwood.

Nolan Edwards, Sean Lopeman, Ruairidh McDonald, Kane Oliver Parry, Deborah Tracey, Esme Bacalla-Hayes, Ronan Burns, Ella Caldwell, Stan Doughty, Karina Hind, Roan Pronk, Gabrielle Davina Smith and Lauren Varnham will join the existing adult cast, which also includes Thea Bunting, Aaron Jenkins and Sam Lathwood.

The other young performers who will join the London company in the roles of Bruce, Lavender, Nigel and the rest of the pupils at Crunchem Hall are: Sidhant Anand, Charlie Cox, Jack Dennis, Megan Donovan, Rosy Drury, Jake Durant, Phoebe Easom, Jaydon Eastman, Benjamin El Refaie, Jax Fenner, Max Garlick, Lilia Guinoubi, Gina Harris-Sullivan, Coco-Lili Hodder, Elliott Marsden, Sophia McAlister, Charlotte Mellington, Kanon Narumi, Toryn O’Callaghan, Zarian Marcel Obatarhe, Kristiano Ricardo, Harriet Rogers, Azalea-Belle Sharp, Archie Smith and Joshua Wahab.

Written by Dennis Kelly, with music and lyrics by Tim Minchin and developed and directed 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 by Paul Kieve.

Since the production opened in London, the British musical has won 101 international awards including 24 for Best Musical and has been seen by 11 million people across more than 90 cities worldwide.

It is now booking through to December 15, 2024: www.matildathemusical.com

dodie joins Punchdrunk’s The Burnt City

Singer-songwriter dodie joined Punchdrunk’s The Burnt City in a one-off sold out performance.

dodie performed an acoustic set in The Burnt City’s very own speakeasy, Peep, featuring covers of David Bowie’s Life on Mars? and Alison Moyet’s All Cried Out.

Following 18 months in London, the final performance of The Burnt City will take place on September 24.

Opening in March 2022, the production has sold more than 200,000 tickets. More than 600 people have worked on the show, making it the largest project in Punchdrunk’s history.

The epic retelling of the end of the Trojan war, set between the neon-drenched backstreets of downtown Troy and the menacing but opulent shadow of Greece, is played out across two vast warehouse buildings. Part of the old Woolwich Arsenal, these buildings provide Punchdrunk with its first permanent home in London.

Punchdrunk will announce news of future projects will follow later this year.

The Burnt City tickets: www.theburntcity.com

The full cast has been announced for Torben Betts’s thriller Murder in the Dark, which is visiting Richmond Theatre in 2024.

Joining the previously announced Tom Chambers as Danny will be Susie Blake as Mrs Bateman, Rebecca Charles as Rebecca, Jonny Green as Jake, Owen Oakeshott as William and Laura White as Sarah.

Murder in the Dark comes to Richmond Theatre from Tuesday, March 19 – Saturday, March 23, 2024.

New Year’s Eve. A car crash on a lonely road brings famous but troubled singer Danny Sierra and his extended family to an isolated holiday cottage in rural England. From the moment they arrive, a sequence of inexplicable events begins to occur… and then the lights go out.

Murder in the Dark will be directed by Philip Franks (The Mirror Crack’d) and designed by Simon Kenny, with lighting design by Paul Pyant, original music and sound design by Max Pappenheim, sound associate Johnny Edwards and assistant director Bethany West.

Franks said: “Horror films have been my guilty pleasure since I was a morbid child. Now is the time to find out whether many years’ worth of jump scares and terrible nightmares can be put to good use. We’ll also see whether my more adult theory – that horror often puts its finger on what worries us most as a society at any given time – will also hold true.”

The show’s UK & Ireland Tour will be produced by Alastair Whatley and Tom Hackney for Original Theatre with Trafalgar Theatre Productions and JAS Theatricals.

Royal Court Theatre names David Byrne new artistic director

David Byrne, the founding artistic director of London theatre New Diorama, has been named the new artistic director of the Royal Court Theatre.

Known for his innovative and ground-breaking approach to working with artists, Byrne has supported thousands of playwrights, theatre-makers and artists over the past decade. Launched in the wake of the COVID pandemic, one of David’s most recent projects, NDT Broadgate, has provided a revolutionary free rehearsal space for more than 8,000 creatives.

Byrne’s plays have been performed across the UK winning multiple Off-West End awards. His recent productions include a radical adaptation of George Orwell’s Down and Out in Paris and London, The Incident Room co-written with Olivia Hirst, and Secret Life of Humans, both played to sold out audiences at the Edinburgh Festival as well as in London, before off-Broadway and international transfers.

Byrne said: “At its founding, George Devine imagined the Royal Court to be where ‘the experimentalists of the modern era could be seen’, often ‘in advance of public taste’. For over a decade at New Diorama, I’ve embraced those ideals, seeking out and supporting the boldest and most exhilarating artists so that, together, we could re-write the theatre rule book.

“In this new role, I’m excited to continue working in service of the playwrights and artists raring to take big swings. Together, we’ll shape a rejuvenating culture from which the experimentalists of this new era are safe to take risks, can gamble like they’re never going to lose, and where audiences can glimpse the future of theatre, today.”

David Byrne will take over from Vicky Featherstone at the start of 2024 when she steps down after a decade in the position.