Wilton's Music Hall Announces January-April 2017 Season

Wilton's Music Hall today announces its sensational new season programme, which sees the oldest grand music hall in the world boasting a variety of independent theatre productions, live music, opera and cabaret.

Kicking off the 2017 season with a bang is Dame Nature - The Magnificent Bearded Lady (10 - 14 January) - an evening with the 8th wonder of East Anglia, who has been looking after her facial furniture for as long as she can remember. A poignant, off-kilter show for people who don't like to judge a woman by her beard, join Dame Nature as she recounts tales from her extraordinary life and shares her brilliant and bearded outlook on the world.

The cream of the improv crop will descend on Wilton's Music Hall for a four night festival as 2016 Olivier Award winners, The Showstoppers, in association with Extempore Theatre & Something for the Weekend present The 2017 London Jam (16-19 January). With a stellar line-up of home-grown spontaneous talent from Chortle Award-winning Austentatious: An Improvised Jane Austen Novel, The Glenda J Collective and members of The Showstoppers themselves, plus world class improv from The Sufferettes, Almost Ibsen and The Dungeons & Dragons Show, this is an uproarious season perfect for comedy fans and improv newbies alike.

It's comedy athleticism at its finest as Lord of Thrones (20 - 22 January) - the 10th annual 50 hour London Improvathon takes over Wilton's Music Hall for a weekend of Tolkein meets GEORGE RR MARTIN from some of the world's funniest performers. One throne to rule them all. Fifty hours to find it! For those wanting to enjoy a few hours of fun, audiences can buy tickets to each 'episode' or for the hardcore improvathon fans, there's the opportunity to get a festival pass, allowing you access for the full fifty hours.

Grab your dancing shoes and dance with The Devil as Wilton's presents Closer: The Devil's Violin & Burns Night Ceilidh (24 & 25 January), a musical journey taking audiences from the American South to Italy to Scotland to Argentina, all performed by City of London Sinfonia's leader Alexandra Wood. The evening finishes with a raucous and rollicking Burns Night Ceilidh.

Morgan & West: Parlour Tricks (26 & 27 January) is back for 2017 as The Time Travelling Magicians make a triumphant return to Wilton's with their mind-boggling, jaw-dropping, brain-burstingly brilliant feats of magic. Defying the laws of physics and time, this dashing duo offer up an evening of illusion and impossibility, all served with wit, charm and panache aplenty.

Wilton's is thrilled to be welcoming the extraordinary genius that is The Depraved Appetite of Tarrare the Freak by Wattle & Daub (30 January - 18 February) a phenomenal puppet opera based on the monstrous true story of Tarrare the Freak, an 18th century French revolutionary whose only dream is to be human in a world that sees him as a monster. This is opera as you've never seen it before, featuring over twenty puppets, a male soprano, virtuosic musicians and a thrilling original score by internationally renowned pianist and composer Tom Poster. Macabre, witty and oddly beautiful, The Depraved Appetite of Tarrare the Freak is a unique and affecting show from one of the country's most distinctive and talented new puppetry companies.

Tom Poster, the musical genius behind The Depraved Appetite of Tarrare the Freak, is also an internationally celebrated pianist and has put together a series of three contrasting concerts to run alongside Tarrare, each drawing on themes from the opera. Chamber Concerts: Tom Poster and Friends (2, 9 &16 February) brings together a number of celebrated classical musicians for three nights only taking inspiration from some of Europe's greats.

Everyone's favourite time travelling magicians are back for more with Morgan & West's Utterly Spiffing Spectacular Magic Show for Kids (and Childish Grown Ups!) (16 & 17 February) - their fabulous, fun-filled, mind-frying magic extravaganza for kids and adults alike! Mixing spectacular illusion with good old fashioned tomfoolery, Morgan & West present a show for all the family.

A gender-bending evening of seductive and provocative dance, Ham and Passion (21-22 February) is an exhilarating and filmic spectacle that promises to subvert the senses and ignite a passion in audiences as they are taken on a journey through the bloody Spanish Civil War through to 1950's Seville. Presented by DeNada Dance Theatre and choreographed by Carlos Pons Guerra, this is dance as never seen before; funny, flamboyant, intoxicating and downright unmissable.

In an extraordinary evening combining music and storytelling, OneTrackMinds makes a welcome return to Wilton's on 24 & 25 February as a selection of writers, artists, musicians and thinkers present stories about a transformational piece of music that has made a difference to their life. An evening that is a fascinating fusion of Desert Island Discs, The Moth Radio Hour and TED Talks; past guests have included poet and playwright Lemm Sissay, comedy writer David Quantick and novelist Joe Dunthorne.

It's time for some sensational, swashbuckling fun as the Sailortown Sea Shanty Festival (25 & 26 February) sails into town for the weekend, celebrating traditional maritime work songs as well as contemporary songs of the sea. Curated by The Trad Academy following their sold out show Rime at Wilton's earlier this year, this community-led festival is jam-packed full of music, art and history, featuring some of the finest international performers of maritime music. With delicious seafood, nautical cocktails and marine-themed beers available, this promises to be a fine weekend for one and all!

Twentieth century femme fatale, composer and loved and despised in equal measures, the life of Alma Mahler is a fascinating and passionate one. In Art Sung - Alma Mahler (28 February), her extraordinary story is explored through music; her own songs, the works of her famous husband, her teacher and lover Zemlinksy and those of the great Germanic composers, Wagner, Schumann and Beethoven. These are interwoven with excerpts from her (often scandalous) diary and artwork by famous Viennese artists projected onto a backdrop, making this a true multi-media glimpse into the life of one of the 20th century's most fascinating women.....

Wilton's pays tribute to a cultural king with Langston Hughes: Dreams Deferred (1 March); an exhilarating evening of poetry, music and dance celebrating an iconic Harlem poet. Presented by Poet in the City in collaboration with East London Dance, and brass and wood wind ensemble Kinetika Bloco providing a musical backdrop, this is an exploration of the remarkable voice of Langston Hughes, a man whose powerful, urgent poetry inspired and empowered a generation of new writers that is still as poignant today as it was then. Featuring poetry performed by acclaimed actor Paapa Essiedu, fresh from starring in Lear at the Barbican and Hamlet with the Royal Shakespeare Company.

The maestros of swing, Step Out With Swing Patrol (2 March) are back with their usual taster class at 7pm, followed by fun and friendly social dancing until 10:30pm. Open to everyone, from complete beginners to old timers, this is guaranteed to be a great evening full of old-fashioned fun and frolics.

Dark, dynamic and downright brilliant, No Angel Uncensored (3 & 4 March) is an evening of debauchery and devilish delights as Charlie Bicknell, Louise Innes and Richard Casemore entwine anarchy, wit and comic ingenuity with aerial acrobatics and a jockey...Prepare to be unprepared!

One of the greatest gothic tales of all time comes to life in an electrifying new production of Mary Shelley's gothic tale Frankenstein (7 - 18 March). A transfer from the award winning, internationally renowned Watermill Theatre, Tristan Bernays' vision tells the story of Frankenstein, a young scientist who brings a gruesome body to life and is horrified by what he has made as the creature threatens to destroy his creator and the lives of everyone he loves. This take on a powerful and dark masterpiece explores the timeless relationship between parent and child, isolation, prejudice and revenge and is simply unmissable.

Based on true stories from the 1984 miners' strikes, Undermined (21 - 25 March) tells the epic story of the brave men and women who stood up and fought up what they believed in. Written and performed by Danny Mellor, this is a deeply powerful and human story, bringing together the personal and the political in a way that will have audiences laughing, crying and shaking with anger.

Fresh from a critically acclaimed run in Edinburgh comes The Reduced Shakespeare Company's William Shakespeare's Long Lost First Play (abridged) (28 March - 1 April), a breathtakingly hilarious celebration of our cultural heritage - as seen through the eyes of three Americans wearing trainers. In a better-late-than-never nod to the Bard's 400th anniversary, the bad boys of abridgement present this 'new' play by the man himself, as discovered in a Leicester car park!

Join performance poet Ivy Davies as she sets off on her magical journey through time and space with Play Ground (29-31 March), weaving spoken word and song together in this one woman show. Set in the intimate atmosphere of Wilton's Cocktail Bar, Ivy takes audiences on a magical, musical adventure.

It's fun for all the family as Silver Electra (4 & 5 April) flies into Wilton's - an exhilarating and fun packed family show telling the story of Amelia Earhart, her mysterious disappearance and an incredible globe-trotting adventure taking audiences from the Australian Outback to America and back again. Presented by English Touring Opera and performed by a cast of four singers accompanied by a live band, this is fantastic kids' entertainment at its very best. Aimed at children aged 7-14.

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