UK Roundup - Michael Ball, Joanna Riding, Henry Goodman

The best news of the week rests with Lloyd Webber's The Woman in White. Not only has Michael Ball stepped into Michael Crawford's fat-suit a week earlier than planned (and is now unrecognisable, click here for a link) but the Daily Mail reports that when Maria Friedman leaves to play Gypsy in Texas, the fantastic Joanna Riding will assume the role of Marian. Riding's career has seen her play leading roles in Carousel (Olivier win), Guys and Dolls (Olivier nom), My Fair Lady (Olivier win) and The Witches of Eastwick (Olivier nom) but she has recently returned to straight plays, currently appearing in Blithe Spirit at the Savoy Theatre. An official announcement with dates is expected soon.

Despite it being a month away from opening, the Birmingham Rep's production of The Birthday Party by Harold Pinter has announced London transfer dates. With Henry Goodman and Eileen Atkins leading the six-strong cast, Pinter's first full-length play, about an unemployed musician's peculiar birthday party, is heading back to the capital. Director Lindsay Posner is currently represented in the West End by A Life in the Theatre, but also directed Julia Stiles in Oleanna and Matthew Perry in Sexual Peversity in Chicago. The versatile actor Henry Goodman has appeared in works ranging from Shakespeare to Sondheim whilst Eileen Atkins was Tony nominated for Best Actress in 2004. It opens in Birmingham on March 11th and at the Duchess Theatre in London on April 25th.

Two years after its new building opened The Hampstead Theatre at last has the hit it has been waiting for. Simon Mendes de Costa's Losing Louis, a comedy about a family reunion starring Alison Steadman and Lynda Bellingham, is to transfer to the West End. With a fully booked season at the Hampstead until February 19th, it will then open with the original cast intact at the Trafalgar Studios on the 23rd. Steadman is, of course, best known for her role as the hostess Beverly in Mike Leigh's Abigail's Party, but is a regular stage and screen face. After Losing Louis the Hampstead will present the transfer of Primo - with Sir Antony Sher, - from The National Theatre. It is already sold out for its entire month-long run.

Lots of shows have added short extensions to their runs. A Life in the Theatre – with Patrick Stewart and Joshua Jackson – adds a week, now until April 30th, Festen adds another week prior to Broadway, now until April 16th, and Acorn Antiques - the new Victoria Wood musical - adds six weeks taking it to April 23rd. With £65 tickets, Acorn Antiques had largely negative reviews - 'tedious beyond belief' (Mail on Sunday), 'an interminable shambles' (Daily Telegraph) and 'scandalously overpriced' (Guardian). Despite such negative criticism, it's apparently a hit with the paying public.

And finally - another year, another price hike. Or, in the case of Mary Poppins, another month another price hike. On the back of successful reviews in December, they've decided to raise their £49 ($92) tickets to £55 ($104), £42.50 to £45 and £37.50 to £39. Now I'm no mathematician, but £49 to £55 is a hike of 12.2%. Wouldn't it be nice if our wages did the same..?