Marianka Swain - Page 52

Coinciding with the Season 6 premiere of Game of Thrones, Kit Harington opened in the title role of DOCTOR FAUSTUS at Duke of York's Theatre in the West End last night. Jamie Lloyd's contemporary take on Marlowe's play features modern additions by Colin Teevan, replacing the contested middle section, designs by Soutra Kilmour, sound design by Ben and Max Ringham, and movement by Polly Bennett. The cast also includes Jenna Russell as Mephistopheles, Jade Anouka (Wagner), Tom Edden (Good Angel), Danielle Flett (Valdes), Brian Gilligan (Cornelius), Forbes Masson (Lucifer) and Craig Stein (Evil Angel) and ensemble member Gabby Wong.

Details have been announced today for Park Theatre's Autumn-Winter 2016 Season. Mark Gatiss, who recently won an Olivier Award for Three Days in the Country at the National Theatre, will join forces with husband Ian Hallard for a revival of THE BOYS IN THE BAND, Golden Globe winner Anne Archer stars in the London premiere of THE TRIAL OF JANE FONDA, and there's new work from Jonathan Maitland and Peter Quilter, as well as a major JB Priestley revival.

From August 3, Claire Sweeney will play the role of Baroness Bomburst in Music & Lyrics and West Yorkshire Playhouse's production of the much-loved Sherman Brothers musical CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG. The production is touring across the UK and Ireland until February 2017. Michelle Collins, who currently plays Baroness Bomburst, leaves the production on July 30.

Last night, the Sheridan Smith-starring revival of FUNNY GIRL opened at the Savoy Theatre in the West End. The transfer follows a sold-out run at the Menier Chocolate Factory, and the show is booking until October 8. Smith takes on Barbra Streisand's iconic role of Fanny Brice, the Brooklyn singer and comedienne who became a Broadway sensation under producer Florenz Ziegfeld. The cast also features Darius Campbell as Nicky Arnstein, Marilyn Cutts as Mrs Brice, Maurice Lane as Mr Keeney, Valda Aviks as Mrs Meeker, Gay Soper as Mrs Strakosh, Natasha J Barnes as Emma/Mrs Nadler, Bruce Montague as Florenz Ziegfeld, and Joel Montague as Eddie Ryan.

Developing Artists, Refuge Productions and the Young Vic have united to bring QUEENS OF SYRIA to the UK. The play, an adaptation of Euripides' great anti-war treatise Trojan Women, was first staged in Amman in 2013 and became the subject of an award-winning documentary. The all-female cast of Syrian refugees will open at the Young Vic in July before embarking on a three-week UK tour, with stops including Oxford, Brighton, Liverpool, Leeds and Edinburgh.

The Quiet House, Gareth Farr's blistering and honest new play about a couple's journey to start a family, will play at Park Theatre from June 7 to July 9, with a press night on June 8, following its world premiere at Birmingham Repertory Theatre next month. It was inspired by Gareth's own experience, and is his second play following his 2014 Bruntwood Prize-winning debut, Britannia Waves The Rules.

Casting has been announced for a new UK and Ireland touring production of DIRTY DANCING. Lewis Griffiths (Jersey Boys, Ghost and Legally Blonde tours, Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Rent and Whistle Down the Wind in the West End) will star as Johnny Castle, while recent Central graduate Katie Hartland makes her professional musical theatre debut as Baby Houseman. Carlie Milner, who began as part of the Dirty Dancing ensemble in 2014 and subsequently took over the role of Penny, reprises her performance.

Barbara Flynn, Nina Sosanya and Zoe Wanamaker star in Nick Payne's new play ELEGY at the Donmar Warehouse, directed by Artistic Director Josie Rourke. The show runs April 21-June 18. 

Jon Brittain and Matt Tedford's MARGARET THATCHER QUEEN OF SOHO, which gives the Iron Lady a Soho awakening on the eve of the Section 28 vote, has had a remarkable evolution over the past few years. From 10-minute short at Theatre503 to fully-fledged cabaret-cum-theatre show, it's enjoyed runs at the Edinburgh Festival, Brighton Comedy Festival and Leicester Square Theatre, and now has three dates at the Udderbelly Festival on the South Bank as part of a national tour. Jon talks mixing styles, gay rights and the ongoing process of development.

Casting has been announced for George Bernard Shaw's THE PHILANDERER at the Orange Tree Theatre. Rupert Young (High Society at the Old Vic, Sir Leon in BBC's Merlin) plays Leonard Charteris, the philanderer of the title. He's joined by Helen Bradbury, Joe Idris-Roberts, Michael Lumsden, Dorothea Myer-Bennett, Christopher Staines, Mark Tandy and Paksie Vernon.

Following a sold-out Menier Chocolate Factory run, Sheridan Smith leads Michael Mayer's production of FUNNY GIRL into the West End. The Broadway classic is now playing at the Savoy Theatre, booking until October 8. As well as Smith's Fanny Brice, it features Darius Campbell as Nicky Arnstein, Marilyn Cutts as Mrs Brice, Maurice Lane as Mr Keeney, Valda Aviks as Mrs Meeker, Gay Soper as Mrs Strakosh, Natasha J Barnes as Emma/Mrs Nadler, Bruce Montague as Florenz Ziegfeld, and Joel Montague as Eddie Ryan.

The Royal Shakespeare Company has announced new details of its 2016 London season. The Alchemist and Doctor Faustus will transfer directly from the Swan Theatre to the Barbican, playing in rep for a four-week run from August, with the same cast directed by Polly Findlay and Maria Aberg respectively. They will be followed by Cymbeline and King Lear, transferring from the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, playing an eight-week run in rep from late October, directed by Melly Still and Gregory Doran respectively. In addition, following their Chichester Festival Theatre run, Love's Labours Lost and Much Ado About Nothing will travel to the West End's Theatre Royal Haymarket in December.

Tony Award-winning actor Owen Teale will play Briggs in Sean Mathias's production of Harold Pinter's NO MAN'S LAND, which tours the UK in August, finishing with a limited run at Wyndham's Theatre in the West End from September. Teale joins theatrical legends Ian McKellan and Patrick Stewart, with further casting still to be announced.

Following an acclaimed premiere at London Theatre Workshop last December, Ray Rackham's Judy Garland musical drama THROUGH THE MILL will transfer to London's Southwark Playhouse in July. It features musical supervision and arrangement by Simon Holt, musical direction by Jordan Li Smith, choreography by Chris Whittaker, set design by Johnson Williams and sound design by Ed Shaw.

An epic tale of lust, jealousy and revenge, DIAOCHAN: THE RISE OF THE COURTESAN finishes its UK tour with a three-week run at the Arts Theatre in the West End this May. The production comes courtesy of British East Asian theatre company Red Dragonfly. Ross Ericson has adapted for the stage The Romance of the Three Kingdoms - one of China's oldest tales, and often referred to as a Chinese Macbeth.

London is never short of theatre temptations, whether splashy West End shows, epic dramas or bold fringe offerings. From Kit Harington's Faustus and Glenn Close's Norma Desmond to Annie Baker's Pulitzer Prize-winner and a heist farce, here are some of this month's most eye-catching openings. Don't forget to check back for BroadwayWorld's reviews…

As expected, the 40th anniversary Olivier Awards showered trophies on the sensational Gypsy. Imelda Staunton and Lara Pulver's performances and Mark Henderson's lighting were recognised, and the production took Best Musical Revival. But there were surprises elsewhere, with starry shows like Benedict Cumberbatch's Hamlet going home empty-handed, Nicole Kidman losing out in the Best Actress race, and an underdog win for Pat Kinevane and Fishamble's Silent at Soho Theatre - all welcome given concerns that changes to the Oliviers voting process might favour long-running West End shows and/or A-listers Here are some of the night's major hits and misses.

The Almeida has announced its 2016/17 season, which is bookended by Shakespeare. It kicks off with the Rupert Goold-directed RICHARD III, starring Ralph Fiennes and Vanessa Redgrave, and closes with Andrew Scott's Almeida debut in the title role of HAMLET. The season also includes a world premiere from Ella Hickson and the West End return of Robert Icke and Duncan Macmillan's adaptation of George Orwell's 1984, followed by an international tour.

Full casting has been announced for RICHARD II at the House of Commons and Arcola Theatre. Jack Gamble and Quentin Beroud's production relocates the action to 21st-century Westminster, where it opens on the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death. This is the first ever performance of a Shakespeare play in the Palace of Westminster, with only 100 tickets available for the one-off performance on St George's Day (April 23).

Jonathan Kent's triumphant revival of GYPSY, starring Imelda Staunton as an indelible Momma Rose, leads the way at this Sunday's Olivier Awards with eight nominations. Staunton is hot favourite to pick up Best Actress in a Musical for her lauded performance, which fuelled hit runs at Chichester Festival Theatre and London's Savoy, as well as a BBC broadcast. Gypsy also scored Olivier nominations for Best Musical Revival, Kent's direction, Stephen Mear's choreography, Mark Henderson's lighting, and Lara Pulver, Dan Burton and Peter Davison in supporting roles.