Articles – Page 8 – The Theatre Playbook

The Mongol Khan sets UK creative team for London Coliseum run

The Mongol Khan, which tells an epic historical story through music, theatre, dance and puppetry, has unveiled the creative team for its UK shows ahead of its London Coliseum run this November.

Working alongside Mongolian director Hero Baatar are playwright Timberlake Wertenbaker (Our Country’s Good), who will adapt a new translation by historian and Mongolian history expert John Man.

Nick Barnes (Life of Pi, The Lorax) will design and create new puppets specifically for the UK production including a fire-breathing dragon. Mike Roberston (Charlie & The Chocolate Factory) joins the team to redesign the lighting for the vast Coliseum stage and David Gregory (King John) is the sound designer.

Mongolia 2,000 years ago. A brutal succession battle threatens the very stability of the Empire. As the great Khan struggles to maintain his supremacy, a plot hatches that will forever alter the balance of power.

This epic production, featuring more than 70 performers, has run for more than 100 performances in Mongolia. Based on historical events, the show explores Mongolian culture and history through music, dance, dialogue and puppetry, with elaborate sets and costumes, all inspired by traditional nomadic culture and tradition.

The Mongol Khan was written in 1998 by renowned Mongolian writer and poet Lkhagvasuren Bavuu and was revived in April 2022 at the Mongolian State Academic Theatre of Drama, directed by Baatar.

The production has taken inspiration from historical events, archaeological findings, traditional nomadic dances, and the music of the ancient Hun culture of Central Asia from the Hunnu Empire period, and is produced by Hero Entertainment, Wild Yak Productions and Maktub Productions.

Arriving to mark the 60th annivesary of Anglo-Mongolian relations, performances will run from November 17-December 3.

Tickets: www.themongolkhan.com

Donmar Warehouse names Tim Sheader new artistic director

The Donmar Warehouse has a new artistic director.

Tim Sheader will take on the role, and that of joint chief executive alongside executive director Henny Finch.

He will take up the role in March 2024, replacing Michael Longhurst and joining from Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre where he has been artistic director since 2007.

Sheader has directed more 20 productions at Regent’s Park, including the Olivier and Evening Standard Award-winning musicals Into the Woods, Hello Dolly, Crazy For You and Jesus Christ Superstar.

He said: “What an absolute honour to follow in the footsteps of theatre giants and be asked to lead this remarkable theatre. The invitation live performance offers to share a moment in time together has never been more important, and I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to invite as many different audiences as possible to experience the life enhancing feeling of being in that unparalleled space, where our imaginations can soar and magic happen.

“As the Donmar continues on its path as a financially independent theatre I am very much looking forward to meeting and working with its many loyal members and supporters to create inclusive, accessible and must-see work on and beyond the stage.”

Drop the Dead Donkey reunites for The Reawakening, opening at Richmond Theatre

The original cast and writers of TV comedy Drop the Dead Donkey are reuniting for a new stage adaptation.

Drop the Dead Donkey: The Reawakening! – by Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin – will star Stephen Tompkinson, Neil Pearson, Susannah Doyle, Robert Duncan, Ingrid Lacey, Jeff Rawle and Victoria Wicks.

The reunion comes 30 years after the launch of the trailblazing series, with the team performing on stage for the very first time. Directed by Lindsay Posner, the production opens at Richmond Theatre in 2024.

Drop The Dead Donkey: The Reawakening! exposes the underside of the broadcasting industry in all its riotous glory. Whether you’re one of the legions of die-hard fans of the TV sitcom that was watched by millions, or a British comedy fanatic, come and experience this hilarious revival of an all-time comedy classic.

Produced by Hat Trick and Simon Friend Entertainment, it is written by Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin, directed by Lindsay Posner and designed by Peter McIntosh, with lighting designs by Peter Mumford.

The show will run at Richmond Theatre from January 30-February 3, 2024.

For tickets, visit https://www.atgtickets.com/shows/drop-the-dead-donkey/richmond-theatre/

Norman Jay brings Good Times Soundsystem to Alexandra Palace

Norman Jay is bringing his world-famous Good Times Soundsystem bus to Alexandra Palace, as part of the historic London venue’s 150th anniversary celebrations.

Jay will park his bus on the Palace’s terrace on Sunday, August 27 for an open-air, all day Bank Holiday party from 2-7.30pm.

For more than 25 years, the Good Times Soundsystem was an institution, often the face of Carnival and it now finds a new bank holiday weekend home in North London. With the iconic red Routemaster bus stage set against Ally Pally’s panoramic London skyline views, Norman and friends will be at the helm all-day-long to take you on a musical journey through house, rare groove, jazz, disco, hip-hop, and drum & bass.

Capacity will be limited. For full information and tickets visit alexandrapalace.com/whats-on/good-times/

Andrew Scott to star in Vanya at the Duke of York’s Theatre

Sherlock and Fleabag star Andrew Scott will headline Vanya, a new adaptation of Anton Chekhov’s masterpiece by Simon Stephens.

Directed by Andrew Yates and designed by Rosanna Vize, it will be performed at the Duke of York’s Theatre between September 15-October 21, following previews at Richmond Theatre between August 28-September 2..

Presented by Wessex Grove, Gavin Kalin Productions and Kater Gordon, the production reunites Scott and Stephens, who previously partnered on Sea Wall and Birdland; and Scott with Yates following their work together on the short film, The Hope Rooms.

Producers Benjamin Lowy and Emily Vaughan-Barratt from Wessex Grove also worked with Scott on Sea Wall and Hamlet, respectively.

Scott said: “Heartbreaking, hilarious, sexy, devastating- the genius and extraordinary humanity of Mr Chekhov just knocks me out. It’s a genuine honour and a singular challenge to bring this giant of a play to life in the West End in this new way and I’m so excited to be doing it alongside such brilliant, playful and talented people.”

For information and tickets, visit www.vanyaonstage.com

Rehearsals begin at the Young Vic for Beneatha’s Place

Take a look at the rehearsals of Beneatha’s Place, a satire written and directed by Kwame Kwei-Armah that will have its UK premiere at the Young Vic.

Inspired by the groundbreaking civil rights drama A Raisin in the Sun, Beneatha’s Place is about the power of knowing your history and the cost of letting it go.

1959. The first wave of independence is sweeping across Africa and Beneatha has left the prejudice of 1950s America for a brighter future with her Nigerian husband in Lagos. But on the day they move into their new house in the white suburbs, it doesn’t take long for cracks to appear, changing the course of the rest of their lives.

Present day. Now a renowned Dean whose colleagues are questioning the role of African American studies for future generations, Beneatha returns to the same house in search of answers.

Cherrelle Skeete (Harry Potter and the Cursed Child) stars in the title role as Beneatha Younger, with Zackary Momoh (Seven Seconds) as Joseph Asagai/Wale Oguns, Sebastian Armesto (Leopoldstadt) as Daniel Barnes/Prof Mark Bond, Jumoké Fashola (The High Table) as Prof Shirley Jones/Aunty Fola, Tom Godwin (Best of Enemies) as Mr Nelson/Prof Gary Jacobs and Nia Gwynne (Tolkien) as Mrs Nelson/Dr Harriet Banks.

Set and costume design is by Debbie Duru, lighting design by Mark Henderson, sound design by Tony Gayle, voice and dialect coach Esi Acquaah-Harrison, casting director Heather Basten, Jerwood assistant director Ellis and Jerwood trainee assistant director Tia-zakura Camilleri.

Written and directed by Kwei-Armah, the Young Vic Theatre Artistic Director, it plays in the Young Vic Main House from June 27-August 5.

More information and tickets: www.youngvic.org

Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick bring Plaza Suite to London’s Savoy Theatre

Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick will bring Broadway smash Plaza Suite to London for a strictly limited season at the Savoy Theatre.

Written by Neil Simon and directed by John Benjamin Hickey, Plaza Suite will run from January 15-March 31, 2024. Tickets go on sale in September.

The show sees these both actors play three different couples in one famous hotel room. Broderick plays Sam Nash/Jesse Kiplinger/Roy Hubley and Parker plays Karen Nash/Muriel Tate/Norma Hubley.

Karen and Sam are a long-married pair whose relationship may be headed for an early checkout. Muriel and Jesse are former high school sweethearts who seem destined for an extended stay. And Norma and Roy are the mother and father of the bride, ready to celebrate their daughter’s nuptials – if only they can get her out of the bathroom.

Plaza Suite marks Broderick’s return to the West End stage following his acclaimed run in The Starry Messenger in 2019. Meanwhile, the show will be Parker’s West End debut.

The creative team includes John Lee Beatty (set design), Jane Greenwood (costume design), Brian MacDevitt (lighting design), Scott Lehrer (sound design), Marc Shaiman (incidental music) and Jim Carnahan (casting director).

In New York, Plaza Suite played to sold-out houses and shattered multiple box-office records at the Hudson Theatre, becoming the third-highest grossing play revival in Broadway history during its limited 19-week engagement.

Plaza Suite is produced by Ambassador Theatre Group Productions, Gavin Kalin Productions, Hal Luftig, with James L Nederlander, Douglas L Meyer, Elizabeth Armstrong, Hunter Arnold, Caitlin Clements, Eilene Davidson Productions, Jeffrey Finn, Terry Schnuck, Smith and Brant Theatricals, Sherry and Kirk Wright and Mike Isaacson.

Kiell Smith-Bynoe and Ed MacArthur bring String V SPITTA to the Soho Theatre

Ghosts star Kiell Smith-Bynoe and Ed MacArthur (Bad Education) will bring their stage show String V SPITTA to the Soho Theatre before a run of shows at the Edinburgh Festival.

String V SPITTA stars Smith-Bynoe as SPITTA, a Grime bar spitting maverick from East London who’s shaken up the kids entertainment scene. Meanwhile, every kid within a five-mile radius of the Kings Road wants charming classical musician, Silly String (MacArthur) and his Silly Songs.

In String V SPITTA , these two big hitters of the children’s entertainment circuit are forced to put aside their rivalry, swallow their pride and perform as a double act in a once in a lifetime booking: little Anastasia’s sixth birthday party. And everyone’s invited.

From Country Mile Productions and director George Chilcott, the show is running from August 1-10 at the Soho Theatre, before moving to the Pleasance in Edinburgh later the same month.

For tickets, visit sohotheatre.com

Cast set for Alice in Wonderland at Kew Gardens

Elsie Bridgwood will take the lead in Alice in Wonderland, which will be staged at Kew Gardens from July 22-August 28.

Bridgwood plays Alice in the specially commissioned adaptation by Sixteenfeet Productions. Other cast members include Lucy Ford as the White Rabbit, Ian Crowe as the Mad Hatter, David Monteith as the Cheshire Cat, Loren O’Dair as the Queen of Hearts, Steve McCourt is the King of Hearts and Paul Hazel in the role of the March Hare.

Adapted by Bradley Cole with original music by Guy Holden, Alice in Wonderland is directed by Francesca Murray-Fuentes with set and costume design by Hazel McIntosh.

Join Alice as she heads down the rabbit hole to Wonderland at Theatre on Kew this summer. Enter a fantastical world inhabited by increasingly curiouser and curiouser characters including the disappearing Cheshire Cat, the beautifully dressed Mad Hatter, and the bad-tempered Queen of Hearts. Lewis Caroll’s much-loved story is brought to life by a cast of talented actor-musicians within the unique setting of Kew Gardens.

Twice-daily performances Wednesday to Sunday at 11am and 2pm with a finale on Bank Holiday Monday (August 28).

For tickets, which include admission to Kew Gardens on the day, visit theatreonkew.co.uk

Hampstead Theatre adds new dates for Dickie Beau’s Re-Member Me

Dickie Beau’s Re-Member Me has had its run extended at Hampstead Theatre.

Originally due to finish on June 17, the show will now continue until Saturday, June 24.

The master of lip-sync, in Re-Member Me he conjures many celebrated actors that have played Shakespeare’s tragic prince Hamlet such as Sir John Gielgud and Sir Ian McKellen.

The epic one-man show, directed by Jan Willem Van Den Bosch, is also a reflection on memory and mortality and includes exclusive recordings of interviews with some of theatre’s most illustrious personalities – all lip-synced by Beau.

Re-Member Me is described as part documentary theatre, part 21st century séance, and a unique theatrical eulogy to one of the greatest Hamlet’s almost never seen.

Opening at Hampstead Theatre on May 25, Sir Ian McKellen took guests to the first performance as part of his 84^th birthday celebrations. Other star theatre-goers have included Benedict Cumberbatch, Ruby Wax, Fiona Shaw, Gyles Brandreth, Indira Varma, Anoushka Shankar, Denise Gough, Liz Carr, Martin Sherman and Paul Gambaccini.

Giles Terera (Hamilton) will join Beau on Thursday, June 22 for a post-show Q&A.

Tickets available at hampsteadtheatre.com