Glasgow theatre season preview!

The Theatre Royal Glasgow played host to an audience of press and ATG members to give an exciting preview of what is coming up at both the Theatre Royal and Glasgow King's Theatre. Hosted by comedian Des Clarke the show was well formatted and made for a very entertaining evening!

Kicking off the show we had a performance from Avenue Q which stops off at The King's Theatre in August. They performed a clean version of Schadenfreude but warned not to be fooled by the puppets - this show is not for kids!

Des Clarke was then joined by cast members from East is East who were discussing the play making its Scottish premiere at the Theatre Royal this August. While it originated as a play, East is East is best known as a film so it was interesting to hear about its return to the stage.

Choreographer Matthew Bourne was then interviewed onstage about his upcoming tour of Sleeping Beauty. He explained that he has been bringing touring shows to Glasgow for 10-15 years and he loves it as the audience trusts him to do something a bit different with classic stories. He did let slip about another production he has in the works for next year but I don't think I'm allowed to say what it is!

Another play for the Theatre Royal this year is The Importance of Being Earnest. Des Clarke did broach the subject of the age of the actors and Nigel Havers explained that he did the play 30 years ago and was desperate to do it again. They have gotten around the technicalities by making this a play within a play, performed by an amateur dramatics society so they were able to cast actors who were older than the Oscar Wilde characters!

We were treated to live performances from Jesus Christ Superstar and the marvellous Michael Praed did a number from Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. Dirty Rotten Scoundrels comes to the King's Theatre in June and I'm so disappointed that I am on holiday that week and won't be able to see it as tonight's preview was excellent! Praed says he is so confident people will love it that if they don't, he's willing to buy them a drink after the show.

The King's Theatre panto is legendary and although this is the 51st year of pantomime at the venue, this is only the second time they have performed Snow White. It has been 30 years since Gregor Fisher has done panto and he admits to being a little bit scared about it! After the success of last years relaxed performance, they are holding another one on January 8th. Designed for those on the autistic spectrum, the lighting and sound is adjusted to ensure the performance is enjoyable for everyone.

Tickets are now onsale for all these shows and more at both the Theatre Royal and King's Theatre websites!

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