Martin Neely & Gareth Bretherton Star in THE VERB, 'TO LOVE', Beginning Tonight at the Old Red Lion

This May, Katy Lipson of Aria Entertainment presents the world premiere of a new musical The Verb, 'To Love' by Andy Collyer.

Directed by Jonathan O'Boyle (Bash Latterday Plays (Trafalgar Studios), Made in Britain (Old Red Lion) and Assistant Director of The Scottsboro Boys), The Verb, 'To Love' is an intimate new LGBTQ musical exploring the complications of changing relationships, and the power of different kinds of love; 'The verb 'to love' has so many meanings...'

The production will run at the Old Red Lion Theatre, 418 St John Street, London EC1V 4NJ, tonight 29th April - Saturday 23rd May 2015. Press night: Friday 1st May.

Playing the role of Simon will be Martin Neely. No stranger to stage or screen, Neely is about to star on the West End in Kingmaker (St. James Theatre) and spent two years in London's Les Miserables (Queen's Theatre), as well as appearing in blockbuster films such as Stardust and Shakespeare in Love.

Sharing the stage as Ben will be Gareth Bretherton. Bretherton has spent several years starring as Electra in the German production of Starlight Express (Bochum). A man of many talents, he is an accomplished Musical Director and Pianist as well as a talented singer-songwriter. Bretherton will also act as Musical Director for the musical.

Simon is lost, abandoned by his partner of twenty-three years. He is alone for the first time, until he finds Ben, the great love of his life, a young man seventeen years his junior, and finds himself rejuvenated and fulfilled in a way he never knew possible. They share the complications of falling in love, undergoing upheavals and experiencing change, until it all falls apart. But does it?

The Verb, 'To Love' is supported by Grant for the Arts and is part of a double-bill at the Old Red Lion with a revival of the renowned Portia Coughlan by Marina Carr.

DETAILS:

The Verb, 'To Love' - a new musical by Andy Collyer
Wednesday 29th April - Saturday 23rd May 2015
Tuesday to Saturday, 7pm & Saturday and Sunday matinees, 2pm
Runtime: 1 hour
Old Red Lion Theatre, 418 St John Street, London EC1V 4NJ - The nearest underground station is Angel (on the Bank branch of the Northern line). The nearest rail station is Kings Cross St Pancras.
Tickets are available priced £14/12 - Available from Old Red Lion Theatre Box Office and www.oldredliontheatre.co.uk or 0844 412 4307.

Aria Entertainment was founded in 2011 by Katy Lipson and most recently produced a critically acclaimed production of Jerry's Girls at The St James Studio starring Anna-Jane Casey, Ria Jones and Sarah-Louise Young, The Return Of The Soldier at the Jermyn Street Theatre supported by Grant For The Arts, Marry Me A Little at the St. James Studio, RAGS The Musical at The Lyric Theatre, West End, and the UK premiere of Off-Broadway musical See Rock City And Other Destinations. Katy has produced two festivals of new musical theatre entitled From Page To Stage which was supported by Grant For The Arts in 2014. Other recent credits include the revival of British musical Free As Air at the Finborough Theatre and The Green Bay Tree. Katy was also Associate Producer on a triple bill of Howard Goodall musicals at The Union Theatre.

Previous Productions include: The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas, the West End charity Gala performance of Children Of Eden, starring Gareth Gates, Russell Grant and Kerry Ellis, Prince of Wales Theatre, the West End revival of The Mystery of Edwin Drood at The Arts Theatre, Edward Reid: Living The Dream One Song at a Time, Edinburgh Fringe and Scottish Tour, The Secret Garden, UK Tour, World Premiere of new musical Sleeping Arrangements, based on the novel by Sophie Kinsella, the off-Broadway musical The Road To Qatar, When Midnight Strikes, Upstairs At The Gatehouse, and UK Tours of both The Jewish Legacy and The Jewish Legend which are shows commissioned and devised and managed by Aria Entertainment. www.aria-entertainment.com

Jonathan O'Boyle - Directing credits include Made In Britain (Old Red Lion), All The Ways To Say Goodbye (Young Vic, 5 Plays Project), Bash Latterday Plays (Trafalgar Studios), Water Under the Board (Theatre503), Bash Latterday Plays (Old Red Lion), Last Online Today and Guinea Pigs (Crucible New Writers' Project, Sheffield Crucible Studio), The Good, The Bad and the Broken Hearted (Ronnie Scott's), The Monster Bride (Tristan Bates Theatre). Associate Director credits include Bull (Young Vic/Sheffield Crucible/59E59 Theatre, New York), This Is My Family (Sheffield Lyceum/UK Tour 2014). Assistant Director credits include Amadeus (Chichester Festival Theatre), The Scottsboro Boys (Young Vic), Manon (Royal Opera House), My Fair Lady, The Village Bike and This Is My Family (Sheffield Crucible), Someone Who'll Watch Over Me (Southwark Playhouse). Jonathan was Resident Director at Sheffield Crucible (2012-13). He trained at The Central School of Speech and Drama and has an MFA in Theatre Directing from Birkbeck, University of London.

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