Sheffield Theatres Announces Full Autumn Season For 2013

Sheffield Theatres today unveils its full autumn season of produced and touring work taking place from September 2013 - January 2014, alongside the news that Phil Davis (Whitechapel and Quadrophenia) will star as Fagin in the company's Christmas musical, Oliver! and Daniel Lapaine (Muriel's Wedding) will lead the cast of The Winter's Tale as Leontes.

In the Studio, the theatre will present the world premiére of Robin Hooper's new play Love Your Soldiers from Thursday 31 October - Saturday 23 November. Associate Director Richard Wilson will direct this intensely moving drama about two soldiers and the girl they both love and asks the question: when those you love are halfway across the world, how impossible is it to tell the truth?

Earlier in the season two co-productions open on the Lyceum and Studio stages respectively. A Passionate Woman, written and directed by Kay Mellor and starring Lynda Bellingham (Loose Women, ITV), Christopher Timothy (BBC's All Creatures Great and Small), multi-award winning Polish film star Mateusz Dami?cki and Peter McMillan (Emmerdale) takes to the Lyceum stage fromTuesday 10 - Saturday 21 September. This is followed by a collaboration between Sheffield Theatres and double Fringe Festival winners HighTide Festival Theatre on Alexander Masters' Stuart: A Life Backwards written by BAFTA award-winning playwright and screenwriter Jack Thorne (Skins and This Is England '86) and on stage from Wednesday 11 - Saturday 28 September. Mark Rosenblatt (Associate Director at the West Yorkshire Playhouse) directs this world premiére production, with design by Jon Bausor,movement from Lucy Hind (This Is My Family) and casting by Hayley Kaimakliotis.

The Crucible Theatre opens with a new production of The Winter's Tale from Wednesday 2 October - Saturday 2 November. Directed by Associate Director, Paul Miller, alongside the Creative Team behind The Daughter-in-Law, Daniel Lapaine will lead the cast as Leontes. Lapaine will be recognisable to audiences as the swimmer Muriel marries in P .J. Hogan's 1994 film, Muriel's Wedding.

Rounding off the autumn season are the company's three Christmas shows. A new production of Lionel Bart's multi award-winning musical masterpiece Oliver!, directed by Daniel Evans and starring Phil Davis (Whitechapel and Quadrophenia) as Fagin will take to the Crucible stage from Friday 29 November 2013 - Saturday 25 January 2014. The Lyceum Theatre welcomes DamIan Williamsback in the role of Dame alongside Ian H Watkins (Steps) in this year's family pantomime, Jack and the Beanstalk (Fri 6 Dec 2013 - Sun 5 Jan 2014) and tutti frutti return to the Studio Theatre with their latest wintery treat for youngsters aged 3+, The Boy Who Cried Wolf (Wed 11 Dec 2013 - Sat 4 Jan 2014).

The Lyceum Theatre continues to present a packed programme of musicals, drama, children's shows and comedy from across the country.

In September, direct from the USA, comes New Jersey Nights, which follows the musical journey of The Four Seasons, and includes greatest hits such as Sherry, Big Girls Don't Cry and Walk Like A Man (Tue 24 - Sat 28 Sep) and Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber's sparkling family musical, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat returns in November (Tue 26 - Sat 30 Nov). Other musical highlights include the sensational dancing and distinctive sound of Michael and the Jackson 5 in Thriller Live! (Mon 21 - Sat 26 October) and Priscilla Queen of the Desert (Tue 29 October - Sat 2 November), the feel-good international hit sensation, stars Noel Sullivan (Hear Say).

In October, Oliver Cotton's funny and mysterious play, Daytona, directed by David Grindley (Copenhagen) and starring Maureen Lipman (The Pianist) opens from Tuesday 1 - Saturday 5 October. Stunning choreography and live video animation of Associate Artist of Sadler's Wells, Jasmin Vardimon is showcased in Yesterday (Tue 8 October) and Sheffield-based international innovators, Forced Entertainment, return to the Studio with their latest performance, Tomorrow's Parties (Thu 3 & Fri 4 Oct). Northern Ballet return in November with their heart-warming and hugely popular adaptation of Charles Dickens' classic tale, A Christmas Carol (Tue 5 - Sat 9 November) and the critically acclaimed, fully staged concert production ofRent, starring Natasha Hamilton (Atomic Kitten) and Superstar runner-up Rory Taylor will wow audiences on Monday 18 November.

For younger audiences, Room on the Broom, the magical, musical adventure from the creators of The Gruffalo flies in from Thursday 10 - Saturday 12 October and Dinosaur Zoo brings pre-historic creatures to the stage in an entertaining and imaginative live show (Fri 18 - Sat 19 October). The family fun continues with Slava's Snow Show from Wednesday 20 - Sunday 24 November; a funny, poignant and spectacular show that has delighted and exhilarated audiences around the world.

The Theatre will also play host to some well-known city festivals during the autumn. Off the Shelf Festival of Words returns once more, this time with the acclaimed poetry in performance production Being Human (Mon 7 October). The Last Laugh Comedy Festival also returns in October with a series of events from some of the biggest and brightest names on the comedy circuit including Edinburgh Comedy Award Nominee Carl Donnelly (Tue 8 October), multi award-winning Tony Law (Wed 9 October), Russell Kane(Fri 11 October), BBC Radio Sheffield's award-winning breakfast DJ Toby Foster (Fri 18 October) and Sheffield's The Everly Pregnant Brothers return for a third riotous year (Sat 19 October).

Artistic Director Daniel Evans said today, 'I'm so proud that during these challenging times that we are able to produce more world premières in the Studio Theatre alongside major revivals of works from the classical and musical theatre canon on the Crucible stage. I'm also thrilled to welcome renowned writer Kay Mellor to the theatre as she opens the autumn season directing her own poignant play A Passionate Woman; and that Phil Davis, an actor I have long held in high esteem, will lead the company of Oliver! this Christmas. Finally, I'm so pleased that we continue to welcome some of the best productions currently on tour to the Lyceum stage so that our audiences can enjoy the full variety of drama, dance and musicals this autumn.'

The full autumn season will go on sale to members on Saturday 15 June and to the public on Saturday 22 June from 10.00am. For more details and to book tickets call the Box Office on 0114 249 6000 or visit sheffieldtheatres.co.uk.

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