Marianka Swain - Page 39

Why are animals the way they are? A long time ago, Rudyard Kipling wrote the Just So Stories for his own children - stories about where he imagined animals' trunks and humps and throats and other things came from.

Jude Akuwudike, Franc Ashman and Martins Imhangbe will join the cast of THE ROYALE, alongside Nicholas Pinnock, who plays Jay 'The Sport' Jackson - the first black heavyweight boxing champion of the world.

Menier Chocolate Factory has announced further casting for its major revival of Tom Stoppard's TRAVESTIES. Joining Tom Hollander are: Clare Foster (Cecily), Freddie Fox (Tristan Tzara), Forbes Masson (Lenin), Peter McDonald (James Joyce), Amy Morgan (Gwendolen) and Sarah Quist (Nadya). Patrick Marber directs, and the production opens on 4 October, with previews from 22 September and runs until 19 November. Public booking opens today.

London is never short of theatre temptations, whether splashy West End shows, epic dramas or bold fringe offerings. From a magical mega-hit and musical revivals to plays with strong political resonance, here are some of this month's most eye-catching openings. Don't forget to check back for BroadwayWorld's reviews…

Enter for the chance to win a pair of free tickets to rock n roll stand-up and Glastonbury regulars MIK ARTISTIK'S EGO TRIP at Warrington's Pyramid arts centre on Saturday 9 July.

This autumn Nottingham Playhouse and New Perspectives join forces with acclaimed novelist John Harvey to bring his most famous creation, jazz-loving detective Charlie Resnick, to the stage for the very first time. DARKNESS DARKNESS, which is Harvey's own adaptation of his bestselling novel, runs from September 30 to October 15. The production is part of the Playhouse's Sweet Vengeance season, which explores the themes of revenge, justice and resentments buried deep, in a series of work that also includes Peter Shaffer's Sleuth (September) and Thomas Middleton's The Revenger's Tragedy (November).

Celebrating 100 years of Roald Dahl, Les Enfants Terribles (The Trench), ebp (Alice's Adventures Underground), gastronomic wunderkinds Bompas & Parr and creative wranglers Creature of London present gloriously gruesome interactive theatrical dining experience DINNER AT THE TWITS at The Vaults, Waterloo.

Hot on the heels of a record-breaking, critically acclaimed West End run, this new production of FUNNY GIRL embarks on a major national tour in 2017. The five-star production opens at Manchester Palace, where it runs for a week from 20 February, before touring to venues including Milton Keynes Theatre, Liverpool Empire, Bristol Hippodrome, Stoke Regent Theatre, His Majesty's Theatre Aberdeen, Edinburgh Playhouse, New Victoria Theatre Woking, Marlowe Theatre Canterbury, Birmingham Hippodrome, Newcastle Theatre Royal, Mayflower Theatre Southampton, King's Theatre Glasgow, Nottingham Theatre Royal and Southend Cliffs Pavilion. Further tour dates and casting yet to be announced.

The RSC's hugely acclaimed 2014 pairing of Love's Labour's Lost and Much Ado About Nothing (or Love's Labour's Won) arrives in London this Christmas, following runs at Chichester Festival Theatre and Manchester Opera House. From 9 December 2016 to 18 March 2017, Edward Bennett and Lisa Dillon will delight audiences at the Theatre Royal Haymarket in Christopher Luscombe's elegant, effervescent productions.

Rehearsal images have been released for EXPOSURE THE MUSICAL - LIFE THROUGH A LENS, which features David Albury (Jimmy), Natalie Anderson (Tara), Andy Barke (Ensemble), Rhiannon Duncan (Lust/Ensemble), Zeph Gould (CEO/Sloth/Ensemble), Michael Greco (Miles Mason), Kurt Kansley (Jimmy's Father/Envy/Ensemble), Stevie Mahoney (Ensemble), Niamh Perry (Pandora), Cassie Rogers (Ensemble), Lauren Stroud (Ensemble), Jahrel Thomas (Aid Worker/Gluttony/Ensemble), Manny Tsakanika (Ensemble) and Ella-Rose Whitehouse (Ensemble).

PROMISES, PROMISES, the hit Broadway musical based on the multi Oscar-winning 1960 film The Apartment, with music by Burt Bacharach, lyrics by Hal David and book by Neil Simon, is to get its first London production since its 1969 West End premiere.

Following the narrow Referendum decision to leave the EU, the Chair of the National Campaign for the Arts (NCA), actor and director Samuel West, has warned of dangers for the arts and audiences in the UK that must be considered in future negotiations.

Artistic Director of the Gate Theatre Christopher Haydon today announces the full cast for the world premiere DIARY OF A MADMAN. Haydon directs Deborah Arnott (Mavra Sheeran), Liam Brennan (Pop Sheeran), Lois Chimimba (Mel McCloud), Guy Clark (Matthew White) and Louise McMenemy (Sophie Sheeran). Following the success of the Gate Theatre's recent Fringe First winning The Christians and Grounded, Diary of a Madman marks the Gate Theatre's third visit to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

Michael Head's new play THE GREATER GAME tells the fascinating true story of the 41 men who swapped the football fields of London for the battlefields of the Somme in 1916. East London football club Leyton Orient, then known as Clapton Orient, was the first team to sign up its players, staff and supporters to fight in the Great War. Forty-one men volunteered in all. Three of them never returned.

Full casting and creative team are announced today for the eagerly awaited professional European premiere of Rodgers & Hammerstein's ALLEGRO, which opened on Broadway in 1947, and was their third collaboration for the stage following Oklahoma! and Carousel.

In a new production commissioned by the Finborough Theatre, the European premiere of controversial Canadian play PROUD by Michael Healey runs at the Finborough Theatre, playing Sunday and Monday evenings and Tuesday matinees from Sunday, 17 July 2016 (Press Night: Monday, 18 July 2016 at 7.30pm).

Northern Broadsides and York Theatre Royal will be joining forces in September to stage J.B.Priestley's much loved and rarely toured classic comedy WHEN WE ARE MARRIED. Directed by and featuring Northern Broadsides artistic director Barrie Rutter, the production will open at York Theatre Royal from the 9-24 September and then go on a national tour until 10 December 2016.

English Touring Theatre today announces the appointment of Richard Twyman as the company's new Artistic Director. Twyman takes up the position in November 2016, taking over from Rachel Tackley who leaves the company to join Chichester Festival Theatre.

The cast has been announced for the European premiere of heart-warming chamber musical THE BURNT PART BOYS at Park Theatre, which runs from 10 August to 3 September. This is the first musical to be staged in PARK90, and British director Matthew Illife directs a brand new cast in this premiere. Press Night is Thursday 11 August, 7pm.  

Wilton's Music Hall today announces its exciting new season programme, which sees the world's oldest surviving grand music hall welcome a diverse range of work, shining a spotlight on live music and bespoke theatre productions. Highlights include Sadie Frost starring as Gypsy Rose Lee in world premiere BRITTEN IN BROOKLYN and musical FLOYD COLLINS, which tells the story of a 1920s Kentucky cave explorer.