Marianka Swain - Page 28

Yesterday UK Theatre gave out awards to leading talents in performing, producing and theatre management throughout the United Kingdom. Sheffield Theatres' SHOW BOAT and FLOWERS FOR MRS HARRIS together took Best Musical Production, while Clare Burt picked up a performance award for the former and Rebecca Trehearn for the latter. Charlene James won Best New Play for CUTTIN' IT, and Paapa Essiedu Best Performance In A Play for the Royal Shakespeare Company's HAMLET.

As Michael John LaChiusa's The Wild Party will receive its first major London production at The Other Palace, playing from Saturday 11 February to Saturday 1 April 2017, with a press night on Monday 20 February. Directed and choreographed by 2016 Olivier Award winner Drew McOnie and starring Tony Award winner Frances Ruffelle, The Wild Party will be the inaugural production at The Other Palace, formerly St. James Theatre, when it reopens in February 2017 as the newest addition to The Really Useful Theatres Group and a home for new musical theatre.

Andrew Lloyd Webber today announces plans for The Other Palace, the newest addition to The Really Useful Theatres Group. The Other Palace is situated less than 100 yards from Buckingham Palace and close to the Victoria Palace, hence its name.

American actor Adam Rothenberg is best known to British audiences as forensic expert Captain Homer Jackson in Ripper Street. He's also done extensive stage work, and now makes his UK debut in Sam Shepard's Fool for Love at Found111, where he's reunited with Ripper Street co-star Lydia Wilson.

Actress Ophelia Lovibond has done a range of screen roles, from beleaguered Izzy in W1A to Elementary, Guardians of the Galaxy and new Sky 1 series Hooten & The Lady. Now, she's making her West End debut, playing 17th-century actress Elizabeth Barry in The Libertine opposite Dominic Cooper as the infamous Earl of Rochester.

Actor Adam Gillen's credits include A Taste of Honey at the Royal Exchange Theatre, The School for Scandal at the Barbican and the RSC's Wendy and Peter, as well as TV hits Fresh Meat and Benidorm. He's currently starring as Mozart, opposite Lucian Msamati as rival composer Salieri, in the National Theatre revival of Peter Shaffer's Amadeus, which begins previews later this month.

David Birrell's extensive stage work ranges from An Enemy of the People at Octagon Theatre, Bolton, to Spamalot in the West End, as well as several years with the RSC. He's currently playing Badger in the highly anticipated new musical version of The Wind in the Willows, which features a book by Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowees and an original score by George Stiles and Anthony Drewe. The production begins previews at Theatre Royal, Plymouth on 8 October.

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When Mart Crowley's The Boys in the Band premiered Off Broadway in 1968, a year before the Stonewall Riots, it was groundbreaking in its depiction of a community of gay men. The work - later adapted into a film - has since fallen in and out of favour, its frank emphasis on self-loathing and catty, camp one-liners at odds with some positive image-focussed equal rights campaigners.

Wilde, Joyce, Shakespeare, Lenin, memory, the morality of war, social systems, and the meaning and purpose of art: Stoppard's dazzlingly intellectual 1974 play really is a life, the universe and everything affair. Thankfully, Patrick Marber's fleet-footed revival is equally attuned to its wit and skittish strangeness, offering a lifeline to audience members who may be nodding fervently at the line 'I'm finding this conversation extremely hard to follow'.

Last night, Patrick Marber's highly anticipated revival of Tom Stoppard's TRAVESTIES opened at Menier Chocolate Factory. The cast features Tom Hollander, Freddie Fox, Clare Foster, Peter McDonald, Amy Morgan, Forbes Masson, Tim Wallers and Sarah Quist, and the play runs until 19 November.

The all-star cast of Kerry Ellis, Ramin Karimloo,Victoria Hamilton-Barritt and Norman Bowman, directed by Sam Yates, have brought hit American musical MURDER BALLAD to the Arts Theatre. The show is now in previews, with a West End premiere on 5 October.

Harriet Thorpe's diverse career ranges from hit musicals Les Miserables, Wicked, Mamma Mia! and Crazy For You to Absolutely Fabulous and extensive work with the National. She's currently starring in The Dresser, alongside Ken Stott and Reece Shearsmith, which begins previews at Duke of York's Theatre on 5 October.

As we get closer to the opening of my production, From Ibiza to the Norfolk Broads, I have begun to re-examine David Bowie and his relationship with theatre. It's a curious and fascinating subject to explore. The usual lazy headlines about Bowie tend to focus on bisexuality, drugs, reinvention, promiscuity, and more recently dreadful and invasive rumours about his passing. However, those that love him know David was so much more - a writer, painter, auteur, and innovator. The best pop star the world has ever seen.

London is never short of theatre temptations, whether splashy West End shows, epic dramas or bold fringe offerings. From Amadeus and a starry Stoppard revival to exciting new musicals, here are some of this month's most eye-catching openings. Don't forget to check back for BroadwayWorld's reviews…

Miss Saigon: The 25th Anniversary Performance celebrates a milestone of the legendary musical with a special performance, recorded live in London's West End, featuring Jon Jon Briones as The Engineer, Eva Noblezada as Kim, Alistair Brammer as Chris, Hugh Maynard as John,Tamsin Carroll as Ellen and Rachelle Ann Go as Gigi - plus special appearances from original cast members Jonathan Pryce, Lea Salonga and Simon Bowman. The UK screening takes place on 16 October and is available on DVD from 24 October. www.misssaigon25th.co.uk Watch an exclusive bonus feature below, 'Finding Kim'

Miss Saigon: The 25th Anniversary Performance celebrates a milestone of the legendary musical with a special performance, recorded live in London's West End, featuring Jon Jon Briones as The Engineer, Eva Noblezada as Kim, Alistair Brammer as Chris, Hugh Maynard as John, Tamsin Carroll as Ellen and Rachelle Ann Go as Gigi - plus special appearances from original cast members Jonathan Pryce, Lea Salonga and Simon Bowman. The UK screening takes place on 16 October and is on DVD 24 October. Watch an exclusive bonus feature from the screening below, 'Asian Influences', featuring Jon Jon Briones

Watch the trailer for the West End premiere of MURDER BALLAD

With pristine timing, just as Strictly takes to the floor, the third - and final - touring show from former pros Vincent Simone and Flavia Cacace makes a stop in the West End. The 'last' of the title is more pertinent than the 'tango', as this is more of a medley of styles: the ballroom and Latin numbers reminding viewers that the pair were accomplished Ten Dancer competitors as well as Argentine tango show champions.

Leah Harvey has just graduated from LAMDA, and is now making her professional debut in Phyllida Lloyd's all-female Donmar Shakespeare Trilogy: three plays staged in a 13-week repertory season at King's Cross Theatre. The Tempest is currently playing, with Julius Caesar beginning on 27 October and Henry IV on 17 November.