City Stories is a new type of cabaret drama, a sequence of interwoven love stories and a love letter to London. Written and directed by award winning playwright James Phillips (The Rubenstein Kiss, Hidden in the Sand) and with original music composed by singer-songwriter Rosabella Gregory (winner of New York Songwriter's Circle Song Contest), City Stories is a magical journey through a magical city.
City Stories has announce a year-long residency at St. James Studio. As well as the two upcoming dates, 01 and 02 May, there will be bi-monthly performances from September 2014, with a new, fluid company of different actors taking different roles over the course of the project.
Members of this company include: Gary Kemp, Sally Dexter, Julian Ovenden, Alex Hansen, Sarah Quintrell, Louisa Clein, Daphne Alexander, Phoebe Sparrow, Tom Gordon Gill, Yolanda Vazquez, Scott Handy, Karina Fernandez and Peter Bradley.
City Stories is designed by Olivier Award Winner David Farley, and produced by Kirsten Turner for City Stories Productions, in association with St. James Theatre.
City Stories began with two nights featuring three stories, Narcissi, The Great Secret and Lullaby. During the course of the St. James residency it will grow to nine interwoven narratives, all suffused with live music, performed by members of the company but also introducing special guest singers for certain performances.
Writer and director James Phillips' critically acclaimed first play, The Rubenstein Kiss, won both the John Whiting Award and the TMA Award for Best Play. Phillips' other theatre includes Hidden in the Sand (Trafalgar Studios) Mapping the City (Slung Low), The Little Fir Tree, Macbeth (both Sheffield Crucible), Observe the Sons of Ulster (Pleasance London), and Touched (Soho). His first TV drama, If We Dead Awaken, for Touchpaper/Channel 4, was broadcast last year.
City Stories is singer-songwriter Rosabella Gregory's first theatre collaboration; as well as composing the score she also performs as part of the cast. Gregory has performed her music in New York, Paris, Barcelona and throughout the UK, including supporting legendary band leader and broadcaster Jools Holland. She has performed in session on BBC Radio2 with Bob Harris and can be heard on Delilah's debut album From the Roots Up. Her theatrical endeavors are set to continue as she has been commissioned by Broadway producers to write songs for a new musical.
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