THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG, Saint Petersburg Classic Ballet and More Set for Spring 2018 at Storyhouse Chester

Storyhouse Chester has revealed the final programme for its very first Spring Season - with a line-up packed with showstopping entertainment promising audiences a fantastic start to 2018.

The £37million new Chester arts venue is bringing a whole host of big names in comedy and dance and must-see shows to the city's cultural hub during Spring 2018.

The New Year of entertainment at Storyhouse Chester starts on Monday 29 January when the hilarious The Play That Goes Wrong pays its first visit to the city. The multi award-winning West End and Broadway smash hit is a slapstick delight which promises to leave its audiences in stitches. The show runs until Saturday 3 February.

Dance theatre company Motionhouse brings its incredible new multi-media dance circus production Charge to Storyhouse Chester for one night only on Tuesday 6 February. This unique collaboration between art and science sees six performers use dance and acrobatics to delve deep in to the human body, telling the important story of energy in our lives.

Andy Kirkpatrick is one of the world's most accomplished mountaineers, big wall climbers and Winter expedition specialists. Now he's written a book about his adventures and is heading for Chester. Join him on Wednesday 14 February for Andy Kirkpatrick - Psychovertical: A Higher Education, when Andy will be sharing tales of his daring ascents in locations where other climbers fear to tread.

Dance enthusiasts will be thrilled to see a stunning double bill from the Saint Petersburg Classic Ballet. Firstly, on Friday 16 February they present Giselle, one of the few 19th Century romantic ballets to survive intact, the quintessential story of unrequited love. Then on Saturday and Sunday (17 and 18 February), the company present Swan Lake, Tchaikovsky's masterpiece, a tragic tale of love and betrayal with an instantly recognisable score.

Get ready to set sail on Tuesday 20 February for a pirate adventure with Captain Flinn and the Pirate Dinosaurs 2: The Magic Cutlass. Flinn, Pearl and Tom are in the middle of their school play when their old nemesis, Mr T the T-Rex, appears and kidnaps the children forcing them to hunt for the secretive Magic Cutlass - a sword that grants the holder any wish.

Comedy fans are in for a triple treat with the appearance of three household favourites in mid-February.

First up is Sarah Millican on Thursday 22 February with her show Control Enthusiast. She is followed by writer and comedian David Baddiel, who presents his Olivier Award-nominated show, My Family: Not the Sitcom, on Friday 23 February. And it's a return to Storyhouse Chester for 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown star Jon Richardson on Saturday 24 February with The Old Man tour.

Demand has been huge for the three comedians, and tickets for Sarah Millican, David Baddiel and Jon Richardson are now sold out.

The life of Liverpool songbird Cilla Black is celebrated with Cilla - The Musical from Tuesday 6 March to Saturday 10 March. The acclaimed musical stars Kara Lily Hayworth as the Scottie Road songstress Priscilla White, and soap favourite Andrew Lancel as Brian Epstein.

TV historian Dr Lucy Worsley pays a visit on Thursday 15 March to take listeners on a journey into the life of one of the greats of English literature. At Home With Jane Austen coincides with the publication of a new biography by Worsley of the author of Pride and Prejudice and Emma.

Dust off those dancing shoes and ballgowns when Strictly Come Dancing professional Brendan Cole brings his own sizzling touring production All Night Long to Storyhouse Chester on Saturday 17 March. A matinee show has now also been added.

Opera fans have two shows they won't want to miss this Spring at Storyhouse Chester. A fantastic double bill from the English Touring Opera will see the company firstly present an energetic new production of one of the world's most beloved operas, Mozart: The Marriage of Figaro on Tuesday March 20. This will be followed on Wednesday 21 March by Puccini's one act operas Il tabarro and Gianni Schicchi. There will be pre-show talks at 6.30pm ahead of each performance.

Comedian Russell Kane and Friends heads for Chester on Saturday 24 March for one night only for an evening of sterling stand-up. Award-winning comic Russell Kane has become a favourite on the comedy circuit with appearances on BBC's Live At The Appollo, BBC3's Stupid Man, Smart Phone, and BBC3's Live At The Electric.

MIchelle Gayle and Alice Barlow lead the cast for the heart-warming new musical Son of a Preacher Man, which features a host of songs made famous by the late, great Dusty Springfield. The show runs from Tuesday 27 March to Saturday 31 March.

Edinburgh Fringe favourites and Ireland's top comedy trio Foil, Arms & Hogg bring their sketch show Oink to Chester on Friday 6 April. Expect fast-paced gags and plenty of energy from the team, who boast more than 50 million YouTube views to their name. Aimed at aged 14 and above.

Dinosaur World Live is a new interactive show for all the family and it's roaring into Storyhouse Chester for two days of prehistoric fun on Saturday 7 April and Sunday 8 April. Grab your compass and join our intrepid explorer across unchartered territory to discover a pre-historic world of astonishing inhabitants.

Another family favourite visits in April with the arrival of Birmingham Stage Company's David Walliams' brilliant Gangsta Granny from Wednesday 11 April to Saturday 14 April. It's Friday night and Ben knows that means only one thing - staying with Granny! There will be cabbage soup, cabbage pie and cabbage cake to eat and Ben knows one thing for sure - it's going to be so boring. But what Ben doesn't know is that Granny has a secret, and Friday nights are about to get more exciting than he could possibly imagine.

Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's hit musical Evita will move and entertain Chester audiences from Tuesday 17 April to Saturday 21 April. Returning to the role of Eva Perón is Madalena Alberto, who is considered as one of the West End's prominent leading ladies. Fresh from the recent West End production in July 2017, Madalena is joined by leading Italian performer Gian Marco Schiaretti as Che, a character who reflects the voice of the Argentine people. The show features a host of memorable songs, from Oh What a Circus and Another Suitcase in Another Hall to the famous Don't Cry For Me Argentina.

And rounding off an exciting Spring Season are the Grumpy Old Women 2018, starring Jenny Eclair, Dillie Keane and Lizzie Roper on Monday 23 April. The Grumpy Old Women have put their knobbly old feet up in glorious retirement, free at last to practise their extreme colouring-in, ukulele orchestra and novelty fudge-making. Join them for 90 minutes of brand new comedy from the mistresses of grump.

Storyhouse Artistic Director Alex Clifton said: "We've had an amazing response to our Autumn season - audiences are loving the theatre space and the amazing public spaces we offer too. So I'm really proud of the calibre of performers and must-see shows we're attracting to Storyhouse, ensuring the Spring Season 2018 is equally exciting, with a brilliant mix of big stage musicals, household comedy names, family favourites, pioneering contemporary dance and fascinating human tales."

Storyhouse has a dynamic pricing policy on the majority of shows, ensuring the earlier you book your tickets, guarantees the best seats at the lowest price.

For tickets, go online at www.storyhouse.com, call 01244 409 113, or visit the Ticket Kiosks At Storyhouse, Hunter Street, Chester, CH1 2AR.

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SPRING 2018 LINEUP:

THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG

Monday 29 January - Saturday 3 February

Tickets from £16.50

MOTIONHOUSE: CHARGE

Tuesday 6 February

Tickets from £16.50

ANDY KIRKPATRICK - PSYCHOVERTICAL: A HIGHER EDUCATION

Tuesday 14 February

Tickets £17

SAINT PETERSBURG CLASSIC BALLET - GISELLE

Friday 16 February

Tickets from £20.50

(Book both Saint Petersburg Classic Ballet shows and save £5 on each ticket)

SAINT PETERSBURG CLASSIC BALLET - SWAN LAKE

Saturday 17 February - Sunday 18 February

Tickets from £20.50

(Book both Saint Petersburg Classic Ballet shows and save £5 on each ticket)

CAPTAIN FLINN AND THE PIRATE DINOSAURS 2: THE MAGIC CUTLASS

Tuesday 20 February

Tickets £11.50

SARAH MILLICAN - CONTROL ENTHUSIAST

Thursday 22 February

SOLD OUT

David Baddiel - MY FAMILY: NOT THE SITCOM

Friday 23 February

SOLD OUT

JON RICHARDSON - OLD MAN TOUR

Saturday 24 February

SOLD OUT

CILLA THE MUSICAL

Monday 6 March - Saturday 10 March

Tickets from £20.50

LUCY WORSLEY: AT HOME WITH Jane Austen

Thursday 15 March

Tickets £24.50

Brendan Cole: ALL NIGHT LONG

Saturday 17 March

Tickets £39

ENGLISH TOURING OPERA - MOZART: THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO

Tuesday 20 March - pre-show talk at 6.30pm

Tickets from £19.50

Sung in English with surtitles

ENGLISH TOURING OPERA PUCCINI: IL TABARRO & GIANNI SCHICCHI

Wednesday 21 March - pre-show talk at 6.30pm

Tickets from £19.50

Sung in English with surtitles

Russell Kane AND FRIENDS

Saturday 24 March

Tickets £21

SON OF A PREACHER MAN

Tuesday 27 March - Saturday 31 March

Tickets from £20.50

FOIL, ARMS & HOGG: OINK

Friday 6 April

Tickets: £16.50

DINOSAUR WORLD LIVE

Saturday 7 April - Sunday 8 April

Tickets from £14.50

GANSTA GRANNY

Wednesday 11 April - Saturday 14 April

Tickets from £16.50

EVITA

Tuesday 17 April - Saturday 21 April

Tickets from £20.50

GRUMPY OLD WOMEN

Monday 23 April

Tickets: £26.50

(Booking Fees may apply)

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Storyhouse is a new public attraction - a theatre, library and cinema, home to a year-round programme of home-made and touring theatre, film along with a host of activities across its considerable public spaces. Designed by Bennetts Associates and featuring an 800/500 seat-theatre; a 100-seat cinema; a 150-seat flexible Studio Theatre; library spaces; digital production and broadcast facilities; a café bar and restaurant. Storyhouse is carved from the Grade II listed art deco 1936 Odeon cinema and a brand-new state of the art glass extension. Storyhouse is predicted to receive 600,000 visits per year, it brings cinema and theatre back to Chester city centre after a decade long absence. Cheshire West and Chester council has committed an inspirational £32.5million to fund the creation of Storyhouse.

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