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22/06/2021

Preiew: Wonder With Grimm at Newcastle Jesmond Dene

 

Heartbreak Productions are Back on the Road…

 

Wonder With Grimm

Newcastle Jesmond Dene -  Coleman's Field | Newcastle NE7 7BQ 

Thursday 24th & Friday 25th June 2021 @ 6.30pm

Come rain or shine, Heartbreak Productions have been touring unique, award-winning outdoor experiences from their base in Leamington Spa for 30 years. Four teams are now on a national tour that will perform at more venues than ever before throughout the summer.


Wonder with Grimm is Heartbreak Productions’ brand-new, inventive re-telling of some favourite fairy tales - with a modern twist! With music, song, puppetry and an injection of Heartbreak’s unique, inventive and interactive style, this fantastical tale of magical storytelling is on the road. What if Rapunzel escaped her tower? Or Snow White didn’t wake up?...

 

Age 8+

Running Time 2 hours

 

Online details and ticket inks: https://www.heartbreakproductions.co.uk/show/wonder-with-grimm/

 

 

21/06/2021

News: The Customs House Wins £1,000 Movement For Good Award

 The Customs House Wins £1,000 Movement For Good Award

 

The Customs House Charity has won a £1,000 Movement for Good award from Ecclesiastical Insurance Group thanks to nominations from the public.  The South Tyneside arts centre are one of 500 winners in specialist insurer Ecclesiastical's Movement for Good awards, which is giving £1million to charities this summer.

 Members of the public were invited to nominate causes close to their hearts, with 500 gifts of £1,000 available for donation. Over 13,000 charities were nominated by more than 210,000 members of the public.

 Development Officer Marie Campbell commented “We are absolutely delighted to hear that we have won a Movement for Good Award. Once again, our brilliant supporters have shown just how incredible they are by nominating The Customs House in their droves. We would like to thank each and everyone of them. This money will help us to continue the work we do across South Tyneside”

 Executive Director Ray Spencer added “A lovely contribution that will help us to continue working with some of the most vulnerable and under represented people in the borough. We would like to thank everyone who voted for us.”

 Mark Hews, Group Chief Executive of Ecclesiastical Insurance Group, says: “We would like to thank every single person who took the time to nominate a good cause as part of our Movement for Good awards. Ecclesiastical, the fourth largest corporate donor in the UK, is a unique financial services group. We are owned by a charity which means all available profits can be given to the good causes that are so important to our customers. As a company whose purpose is to contribute to the greater good of society, charitable giving is at the heart of our business. We know that £1,000 can make a huge difference to the incredible work that charities do and we’re looking forward to seeing how this financial boost will change lives for the better.”

News: Newcastle’s Live Theatre Announce Season

 Back to Live!

 

Newcastle’s Live Theatre Announce Season: September to December 2021 

Shine, Thursday 2 to Saturday 18 September  

Your Voice: North East, Thursday 23 to Sunday 26 September  

Braids + Cheer Up Slug, Thursday 7 to Saturday 23 October 

Redcoat, Wednesday 27 to Sat 30 October 

The Offing, Wednesday 3 to Saturday 27 November 

Bonnie & Fanny’s Christmas Spectacular, Wednesday 1 to Thursday 23 December 


Live Theatre, Newcastle upon Tyne has announced it’s reopening its doors and welcoming audiences back into the theatre in September 2021 with an exclusive season of Live Theatre productions. 

 


The season kicks off on Thursday 2 September with the return of Kema Sikazwe’s ground-breaking debut play Shine. Actor, rapper, singer, rising star and Live Theatre Associate Artist Kema performs a new updated version of this critically acclaimed bittersweet coming of age story which features an electrifying soundtrack and heartfelt words.  

 

Your Voice North East, from Thursday 23 to Sunday 26 September, is an unique collection of seven ten-minute short plays by writers and artists new to Live Theatre that reflect the contemporary life in our region. A great opportunity to experience work by new voices and the theatre talent of the future. 

 

Braids and Cheer Up Slug from Thursday 7 to Saturday 23 October is a double bill of debut plays reflecting young female experience in the North East. Braids, written by Live Associate Artist Oliva Hannah is about a new friendship that ignites a search for belonging and Cheer Up Slug by Tamsin Daisy Rees, another Associate Artist, is about boundaries and behaviour. 

 


Lewis Jobson returns to Live Theatre from Wednesday 27 to Saturday 30 October to entertain us once again in Redcoat. First performed as a work-in-progress show as part of Elevator Festival 2020, Redcoat, produced in association with Six Twenty, is an hilarious, honest and human show featuring banging tunes, dance routines, balloon modelling and that extra special Redcoat sparkle.  

 


Running from Wednesday 3 to Saturday 27 November, is a brand-new adaptation of Benjamin Myers’ best-selling book The Offing, by award winning playwright Janice Okoh. Paul Robinson directs this unforgettable story of a friendship that conquers the barriers of age, gender and class. The Offing is a Live Theatre co-production with Stephen Joseph Theatre. 

 


2021 rounds off with the much-anticipated return of the sell-out hit Bonnie & Fanny’s Christmas Spectacular - updated and with added glitter for the perfect Christmas night out! Starring side splitting sketch troupe Your Aunt Fanny and foot-stomping, pant-wetting drag trio Bonnie and The Bonnettes, this celebration of all things cabaret and comedy is a calamitous Christmas knees up packed full of sketches, songs, lip synchs and dances.  

 


Graeme Thompson, Interim Executive Producer said: “Being able to open our doors again to audiences is a truly emotional moment. Live Theatre is so much more than just a building. It’s a place where people share stories that matter to them and connect with one another. It’s people that make this theatre what it is, and that is why it is so important to be able to get Back to Live.”   

 

Every performance will have full safety measures in place so audiences can enjoy the thrill of a live interaction with confidence. Only 50% of the seating capacity is on release and additional seats will only be released when social distancing restrictions are lifted. Understandably, some guests may be concerned about venturing into theatres and public spaces so a number of permanently socially distanced shows will be offered across the season, even if social distancing rules change. 

 

Tickets:

The new season of shows and events at Live Theatre are now on sale. To book online and for more information on all the shows this season visit www.live.org.uk  

 

Live Theatre’s Box Office will also be open for in person and telephone bookings on (0191) 232 1232 from Monday 21 to Friday 25 June between 12noon and 4pm. Here’s to getting Back To Live. 


19/06/2021

Preview: Dick Whittington – Adults Only! at Hartlepool Borough Hall

 

Adults-only panto frolics as Dick Whittington heads to Hartlepool

 

Dick Whittington – Adults Only!

Hartlepool Borough Hall

Thursday 26th to Sunday 29th August 2021

 


The heat is rising this summer as adult pantomime Dick Whittington – Adults Only! comes to Hartlepool Borough Hall.

Britain’s Got talent impressionist Danny Posthill plays the amorous Dick, Steph Aird is Phannie his cat and Davey Hopper plays Jack Swallox in a side-splitting show by theatre company AJ Productions that’s strictly for the over-18s.

It’s on from Thursday 26th to Sunday 29th August at 7.30pm and tickets are on sale now.

“With stunning costumes, lavish sets, sparkling special effects and a live band that will have you dancing in the aisles to your favourite party hits, this saucy show is not to be missed,” says Susan French of Hartlepool Council’s Cultural Services Team. “It’s raunchy, hilarious, strictly for adults only and definitely not for those who are easily offended!”

Tickets:

Tickets cost £18 per person. Book at www.hartlepoolboroughhall.com or call 01429 890000.

Preview: Hello and Goodbye online from Northern School of Art, Hartlepool,

 

North East theatre company’s audience grows from dozens to potentially thousands thanks to latest live streamed production

 

A theatre company’s latest live stream production will see it broadcast to potentially thousands of people worldwide – including the play’s writer 8,500 miles away. 

Only four years ago Elysium Theatre Company, which is based in Durham, was putting on its first play in front of just dozens of people at the city’s Assembly Rooms.


But its latest offering – Hello and Goodbye, by South Africa’s leading playwright Athol Fugard – will be filmed and streamed across the internet for the world to see, when it is performed at Northern School of Art, Hartlepool, at 7.30pm on Wednesday 23rd June.

Students from the school’s Film & TV Production Design course will set up and manage the live streaming of the show, which has been co-produced by Queen’s Hall Arts Centre, Hexham.  The show’s director Jake Murray said: “It is amazing to think that Athol Fugard could be watching one of his own plays online for the very first time, thousands of miles away from where it is being performed.

“I would love it if he does get to watch, it would mean the world to me and the company. He’s one of the world’s great playwrights and a living legend. We wanted to broadcast the show online, instead of embarking on a tour, so that if we were in lockdown we could still do it as planned. This collaboration between ourselves, the Queen’s Hall and the Northern School of Art in Hartlepool truly brings together the best of the North East. Expect more to come!”

Featuring just two characters - Johnnie and Hester Smits – Hello and Goodbye is set in the 1960s in Apartheid South Africa. It is a funny, moving drama about families, siblings, love, regret and the debts we owe each other, emotional as well as financial.

It is the seventh production from four-year-old Elysium. Almost all of its plays have toured theatres across the North East including Queen’s Hall Arts Centre, Hexham; The Exchange in North Shields; Gala Theatre and City Theatre, Durham; and The Majestic Theatre, Darlington.

 

Hello and Goodbye stars Jake’s co-founders Danny Solomon and Hannah Ellis Ryan. Hannah shot to stardom after appearing in Coronation Street in 2018 as ‘baddie’ Hannah Gilmore, the lover of Jim McDonald and impersonator of his late daughter Katie.

The Australian has lived in the UK for eight years, and is excited to perform for her family who will be able to watch the show from thousands of miles away thanks to cameras on the night.

She said: “I am so excited! Even my mum in Brisbane will be able to watch me for the first time in years. I can send my whole family a link for them to watch me from thousands of miles away, and that’s something that is so special, and something I have to be grateful for.”

She added: “We want to give the audience the feeling of an authentic theatre experience, even though they aren’t in the room. Acting for theatre and camera is very different, so it will be a challenge to act for both! In a theatre, it is all about reaching to the back of the room, whereas for something like Coronation Street, it can be about even the smallest of eyebrow movements.”

Danny, who has never acted for camera before, added: “The live aspect can be quite scary, and it will be different to just playing to a seated audience, but I am looking forward to getting a couple of run-throughs under my belt to be ready for the real thing. It is great that the play can be available to so many people at once, without them having to leave their home. It is a wonderful idea and I imagine we will be doing more live-streaming in future.”

Tickets:

Tickets for the show can be purchased for £5 (£3.50 concessions) here: https://www.queenshall.co.uk/events/hello-and-goodbye

Ticket holders will be given a link and a password, and can then watch the play live on Wednesday 23rd June or ‘catch-up’ from June 25th until July 1.

Preview: Bedknobs and Broomsticks at Newcastle Theatre Royal

 

Cast Announced For Stage Production Of

Disney’s Classic Movie Bedknobs and Broomsticks

 

Bedknobs and Broomsticks

Newcastle Theatre Royal

Saturday 14th – Saturday 21st August 2021

Casting has been announced for Disney’s Bedknobs and Broomsticks, which will make its world premiere as an exciting new stage musical at Newcastle Theatre Royal in August before embarking upon on a major UK & Ireland Tour.

Dianne Pilkington will star as Miss Eglantine Price, the mysterious lady that the three orphaned Rawlins children are evacuated from wartime London to live with. Dianne’s West End credits include Les Miserables, Wicked, Mamma Mia and Mel Brooks’ Young Frankenstein.

Charles Brunton will play Emelius Browne. Charles starred in the iconic role of Miss Trunchbull in Matilda both in the West End and on Broadway. Other credits include Love Never Dies, Chess and Scrooge.

The rest of the company includes Mark Anderson, Jessica Aubrey, Georgie Buckland, Kayla Carter, Jonathan Cobb, Jacqui Dubois, Matthew Elliot-Campbell, Sam Lupton, Rob Madge, Vinnie Monachello, Nathaniel Morrison, Conor O’Hara, Sadie-Jean Shirley, Robin Simoes Da Silva, Emma Thornett and Susannah Van Den Berg.

The Rawlins children will be played by Dexter Barry, Izabella Bucknell, Haydn Court, Poppy Houghton, Evie Lightman and Aidan Oti.

Enter a world of magic and fantasy with Disney’s classic movie Bedknobs and Broomsticks. With the original songs by the legendary Sherman Brothers (Mary Poppins, The Jungle Book, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang), including Portobello Road, The Age Of Not Believing, The Beautiful Briny and new music and lyrics by Neil Bartram and book by Brian HillBedknobs and Broomsticks will be brought to life by award-winning theatre-makers Candice Edmunds and Jamie Harrison.

When the three orphaned Rawlins children are reluctantly evacuated from wartime London to live with the mysterious Eglantine Price, they have no idea what adventures lie ahead. Upon discovering Eglantine to be a trainee witch, they join forces to search for a secret spell that will defeat the enemy once and for all. Armed with an enchanted bedknob, a bewitched broomstick and a magical flying bed, they encounter surprising new friendships on their journey from Portobello Road to the depths of the beautiful briny sea.

Tickets:

Bedknobs and Broomsticks is produced by Michael Harrison by special arrangement with Disney Theatrical Productions.

Bedknobs and Broomsticks  plays at Newcastle Theatre Royal from Sat 14 – Sat 21 Aug 2021. Tickets are priced from £15.00 and can be purchased at www.theatreroyal.co.uk or from the Theatre Royal Box Office on 08448 11 21 21 (calls cost 7ppm plus your phone company’s access charge).

 

 

NEWS:: 2021 at Northern Stage: new outdoor venues & reopening plans

Northern Stage Artistic Director 
Natalie Ibu - Photo: Christopher Owens

2
021 at Northern Stage: new outdoor venues & reopening plans

 

Free Neighbourhood events across the North East throughout June

• Two pop-up venues in Newcastle city centre and Byker in July and August

• Housewarming season starts 25 August, tickets from £10 on general sale 1 July

 

As it prepares to reopen for the first time since March 2020, Northern Stage plans to reunite audiences and artists through a bold, inclusive programme that celebrates connection and community. Free events in local neighbourhoods across the North East throughout June will be followed by two new pop-up venues in July and August, before reopening the theatre from 25 August with a Housewarming programme that opens with a new Unfolding Theatre show co-created with children, and includes the first production Artistic Director Natalie Ibu will direct for Northern Stage.

GAZE by Sarah Gonnet

Having started as Northern Stage Artistic Director and Joint Chief Executive in the middle of the pandemic, in January 2021 Natalie Ibu pledged to bring audiences stories no matter what, meeting them wherever they were, and at every step of the recovery roadmap. Following the success of Northern Stage’s first ever digital programme, Can We Come In, and building on a commitment to working with freelancers and the independent sector in Out on the Toon, Housewarming is Natalie Ibu’s debut season in the building. Audiences and artists will be welcomed back into the theatre with a programme that reflects diverse stories and communities. Housewarming celebrates local freelance artists, independent companies and Northern Stage’s own team coming together to make work in the North East, about the North East, with North East artists, for North East audiences, with productions that reach beyond the ordinary, and where nobody is left behind.


Natalie says, “The pandemic has affected us all in different ways but the one thing that cuts across all our experiences is the sense of isolation and disconnection. To me, theatre is about stories that help us make sense of ourselves, each other and the world. Theatre can help us to process trauma, collectively, so live theatre is essential as we make our way into recovery. Our job is to stand with our community and make space for that to happen, which is why we can’t wait to meet audiences and artists in their local neighbourhoods this summer before welcoming everyone back to ours with a Housewarming programme where all are welcome. I have been met with such warmth in the region and I’m thrilled to be able to return the favour, throwing a season long party with some incredible local female artists breathing life back into our auditoria.”


The Ballad of Johnny Longstaff by the Young'uns
Photo: Pamela Raith Photography
Shows include Free School Meals (25-28 Aug) - a Northern Stage co-production with Unfolding Theatre, co-created with children; the return of the Young‘uns’ critically acclaimed tale of a working class hero, The Ballad of Johnny Longstaff (7-18 Sept); a new production of Jim Cartwright’s Road (8-30 Oct) in its 35th year, directed by Natalie Ibu; a new adaptation of magical family favourite The Sorcerer’s Apprentice (27 Nov - 31 Dec), written by Laura Lindow and directed by Maria Crocker; plus new work from homegrown theatre makers who are Northern Stage Associates, BEYOND and NORTH supported artists.

3. Hi Vis at Monument -
Photo: Mark Savage Photography

On directing her first Northern Stage show, Artistic Director Natalie Ibu says, “Road is so perfectly fitted to the spirit of our Housewarming season and is the perfect post-pandemic celebration of community and resilience - the narrator introduces us to residents on the road, who then make their way out of their own houses to their local pub. It’s the dream play for me to direct as my first show for Northern Stage - I directed a scene when I was at university and it has really stayed with me for 17 years. It’s with Road that I found my vision as a director. It helped me articulate that I wanted to tell stories about the blood, sweat and tears it takes to live life, and that I wanted to fill stages with loud, vivid expressions of what it means to be alive. Originally set in Lancashire, we’re relocating it to a small town in the North East - a working class community dealing with poverty, unemployment, disappointment and a thirst for change whilst also making the most of who and what they have. It is about what it is to live, in all of its complexities. There’s an incredible resilience in this community, a charm; they’re a hoot to be around.” The creative team includes Designer Amelia Jane Hankin, Lighting Designer Zoe Spurr and Movement Director Nadia Iftkhar; casting will be announced in early September.

Unfolding Theatre Artistic Director Annie Rigby will direct Free School Meals in a co-production with Northern Stage. Annie says, “We’re so proud to be co-producing the show that will welcome audiences back to Northern Stage. Bringing people together is what Unfolding Theatre is all about. It's especially exciting to be reopening the theatre with a show made with children. Free School Meals puts children in charge. Audiences will be welcomed into a restaurant run by children - taking them on a journey that reflects on power, inequality and hope for change.” Free School Meals will be written by Luca Rutherford, with music by rapper Kay Greyson.

Before reopening the building, Northern Stage is inviting people to get Out on the Toon, starting with free outdoor events to reconnect artists and audiences in their local neighbourhoods throughout June. In July,

Northern Stage and English Touring Theatre present Trailer Story - designed by Jon Bausor and Tina Torbey, this pop-up venue in Newcastle city centre will offer audiences a free taster of the kinds of shows they can expect to see at Northern Stage. Whilst the programme is still to be announced, ETT’s Artistic Director Richard Twyman and Executive Producer Sophie Scull explain, “We want to provide a safe and joyful space to come together and celebrate the return of live arts, and the immense diversity and talent of our country's artists. We hope to make Trailer Story a platform for national and local theatre-makers, performance artists and musicians to share their work with audiences outdoors - empowering communities and celebrating imagination.”

Impro Pantso - Suggestibles

Then from 12-15 August, Paines Plough’s Roundabout comes to Byker as part of Northern Stage’s ongoing work with the local community. Opening with Welcome to Byker - a live version of Northern Stage Young Company’s Byker Audio Stories inspired by people living on the Byker Wall estate, the programme will also include Roundabout’s first ever musical, Black Love by Chinonyerem Odimba; Really Big and Really Loud by award-winning family playwright Phoebe Eclair-Powell; Hungry - a new play about food, love, class and grief by Chris Bush; Drag Me to Love by North East drag cabaret trio Bonnie & the Bonnettes; a rehearsed reading of Curious Monkey's HERE by Lindsay Rodden - set in Byker, it’s about finding sanctuary in the unlikeliest of places and was originally due to open at Northern Stage in March 2020; What’s In the Box? - a make up your own adventure show for families from improv company The Suggestibles; and Byker Best Summer Ever – a free summer activity programme developed with and for young people. Free tickets for all Roundabout shows will be available for local residents via community partners.

Tales from the Smog by Scott Turnbull

Earlier this year, Northern Stage worked with Vici Wreford-Sinnott from disabled-led theatre company Little Cog to make its programme as accessible as possible, including captions, audio description, BSL at live events, content warnings and relaxed approaches to the programme and time frames for workshops. As well as continuing to make its work more accessible, Northern Stage understands that coming to see a show in person isn’t always possible, so will continue to offer digital access to its shows. Northern Stage at Home will mean that people can watch Northern Stage productions at a time or place that better suits them. There will also be a number of socially distanced performances across the season for audiences who would prefer some space, even if social distancing is no longer legally required.

Georgina Lance - Photo:  Mark Slater

Alongside work on stage, the participation offer will include an extension of Northern Stage’s UK Theatre award-winning work experience programme introducing young people to non-acting careers in theatre, virtual tours made with and by young people aimed at both primary and secondary schools, Young Company attending the European Youth Theatre Festival in July, and the launch of Cultural Encounters - a yearlong programme to develop a community programmers group in Byker, where Northern Stage has continued to work with the local community throughout the pandemic.

Roundabout at the
Edinburgh Fringe in 2019

And the team at Northern Stage is continuing to hold conversations with artists to build on its talent development programme, including So Good to Zoom You (Artistic Director Natalie Ibu Zooms a different artist every day in 2021 to try and make up for the ways 2020 kept people apart), Round Tables and Open Auditions, following on from hosting a region-wide Devoted & Disgruntled event to discuss the future of talent development in the North East in February 2021.

 

Tickets for shows start from £10 and go on general sale from 1 July, with pre-sale tickets available to Northern Stage members and supporters from 24 June. For more details and full listings visit www.northernstage.co.uk  


16/06/2021

News: Sunderland Songbook Set To Strike A Chord Across The City

 Sunderland Songbook Set To Strike A Chord Across The City

Sunderland Empire is alive with the sound of music this month as the theatre in collaboration with Sunderland Music Hub get tuned up to deliver an extra special version of the city’s Big Sing event for 2021.


For the past four years Sunderland Music Hub have hosted the Big Sing event, working with local schools to create a spectacular celebration of music. Last year’s event took place online and was streamed directly into over 20 schools and homes across the region engaging thousands of children.

This year the Big Sing 2021 will remain online and thanks to funding received from the Cultural Recovery Fund and continued support that the Music Education Hub receive through the Department for Education and Arts Council England, Sunderland Empire and Sunderland Music Hub have an extra treat in store for school children across the city. The twist to this year’s event is that all the songs performed at the Big Sing 2021 will celebrate Sunderland and some of the amazing artists and professional musicians to come from the city including popular post punk four-piece, The Futureheads.

Lizzie Nixon, Music Hub Manager, Sunderland Music Hub said “The Big Sing is one of the key events in our calendar and we’re pleased to be working in partnership with Sunderland Empire this year to make sure a really special digital version of the event can go ahead.

As well as providing an uplifting, fun and engaging event for children after they have experienced such a challenging year, we hope that by engaging musicians and songwriters from Sunderland we are able to demonstrate how musical our city is and raise the aspirations of our young musicians to show they too can perform on the Empire’s iconic stage one day.”

Anthony Hope, Creative Learning and Community Partnerships Manager, Sunderland Empire explained “In previous years, in partnership with Sunderland Music Hub, we have filled our auditorium with the voices of 2000 young people from across the city singing along with performers live on stage, and for many being their first time stepping into our theatre.

At this current time we realise it’s more important than ever that young people still have opportunities to be creative and have fun. So we are thrilled to have the support of locally based Motorhouse Studios who will record and stream these fabulous performances directly into schools, so that the fun can still take place in the classroom! We would like to extend our thanks to Arts Council England and DCMS for supporting this event through the Cultural Recovery Fund.”

Sunderland themed song favourites the Lambton Worm, Jack He was a Sunderland Lad and The Rigs of Sunderland Fair will be taking centre stage and ahead of the streamed event a range of  in-school and virtual workshops will be taking place so children (and adults!) are fully prepped and ready to sing along.

The line-up of Sunderland artists including Picnic, Field Music, Bigfatbig, Faye Fanntarrow, and The Futureheads will record the special Sunderland themed songs throughout June and within the backdrop of the magnificent Sunderland Empire. All performances will be available to be streamed into schools and households on Wednesday 30th June at 2pm via YouTube and Facebook.

Jane Boyd, Music Teacher, Hill View Infant Academy & St. Paul’s C.E. Primary added “The staff and children at school are very excited to take part in The Big Sing once again. Last year’s event was so uplifting and gave us all a sense of being together, when we had to stay apart. This year promises to be even bigger and better; we’re really enjoying learning the fun and engaging songs that have geographic and historical links to our hometown of Sunderland.”

An online toolkit including the lyrics and a backing track to support learning the songs is available with everything participants need to be ready for the big day. To find out more and to get involved please visit https://sunderlandmusichub.org.uk/project/bigsing2021/

Photos: David Wood

10/06/2021

Preview: Rock of Ages at Sunderland Empire

 

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Cast Announced for musical Rock Of Ages which arrives in Sunderland in September

 

Rock of Ages

Sunderland Empire

Tuesday 6th - Saturday 10th September 2022

Tickets: https://prf.hn/l/rwNWk4G

Rock of Ages 2018 tour shot - Photo: Richard Davenport

Following a sell-out tour in 2018/2019, the producers of the smash-hit Rock Of Ages are delighted to announce the cast for the UK tour which arrives in our region when it comes to Sunderland Empire in September 2022.

The producers of Rock Of Ages are thrilled to announce full casting and new dates for the UK and Ireland tour, including the return of Coronation Street star Kevin Kennedy as ‘Dennis Dupree’, a role he previously played to huge acclaim in 2018.

Kevin Kennedy

The cast also includes Sam Turrell as ‘Drew’, Gabriella Williams as ‘Sherrie’, Vicki Manser as ‘Regina’ and Kellie Rhianne as ‘Justice’, as well as returning cast members Joe Gash as ‘Lonny’, Vas Constanti as ‘Hertz Klinemann’, Andrew Carthy as ‘Franz Klinenmann’ and Erin Bell as ‘Constance’.

Kevin Kennedy 'Dennis Dupree'.
Photo Richard Davenport

The full cast of Rock Of Ages is completed by Billy Roberts, Scott Hayward, Darius James, Siobhan James, Hollie-Ann Lowe, Phoebe Samuel-Gray and Morgan Scott.

Kevin Kennedy is best known for his portrayal of ‘Curly Watts’ in “Coronation Street”. His West End theatre credits include ‘Amos’ in “Chicago” at the Adelphi Theatre and “We Will Rock You” at the Dominion Theatre. Kevin has played both ‘Caractacus Potts’ and ‘The Child Catcher’ in the hit musical “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang”, becoming the first actor to have played both roles. He appeared as ‘Dennis Dupree’ in the 2018 UK Tour of “Rock of Ages” and has also appeared in the national tours of the musicals “The Rocky Horror Show”, “The Commitments” and Kay Mellor’s “Fat Friends”.

Photo: TheOtherRichard

Sam Turrell returns to “Rock of Ages” and the role of ‘Drew’ having performed the show around the world on the NCL Breakaway cruise ship.

Gabriella Williams theatre credits include ‘Sophie’ in “Mamma Mia!” at the Novello Theatre, “Eugenius!” at the London Palladium, “Carrie The Musical” at the Southwark Playhouse and “Miss Saigon” and “Grease”, both on a UK tour.

Photo: TheOtherRichard

Vicki Manser’s theatre credits include ‘Katherine Howard’ in “Six” both at the Arts Theatre and on a UK tour, “Beautiful the Carole King Musical” at the Aldwych Theatre and on a UK tour, “Bat Out of Hell” at the Dominion Theatre and “Sunny Afternoon” at the Harold Pinter Theatre.

Joe Gash’s theatrical credits include entertainment for P&O Cruises Australia and ‘Kenickie’ in “Grease” for Royal Caribbean’s Harmony of the Seas. Most recently Joe appeared as ‘Freddie Mercury’ on ITV1’s new show “Starstruck”.

Photo: TheOtherRichard

Rock Of Ages is the hilarious musical comedy lavished with over 25 classic rock anthems, including ‘Don’t Stop Believin’, ‘We Built This City’, ‘The Final Countdown’, ‘Wanted Dead or Alive’, ‘Here I Go Again’, ‘Can’t Fight this Feeling’ and ‘I Want To Know What Love Is’, played loud and proud by an awesome live band. Leave it all behind and lose yourself in a city and a time where the dreams are as big as the hair, and yes, they can come true!

Now a global smash with hit seasons on Broadway, London’s West End and Las Vegas and a star-studded Hollywood movie version this show promises you the best party night out around.

Rock Of Ages has a book by Chris D’Arienzo and arrangements and orchestrations by Ethan Popp.

Photo: TheOtherRichard

The full creative team includes Nick Winston  (“Chess”, “Mame” and “Cats”) who will Direct and Choreograph the show, Set and Costume design by Morgan Large (“The Woman in White”, “Joseph and the Technicolour Dreamcoat” and “Tell Me On A Sunday”), Lighting Design by Ben Cracknell (“Sunset Boulevard”, “Pantoland at the Palladium”, “Priscilla Queen of the Desert”), Sound Design by Ben Harrison (“Mame”, “Priscilla Queen of the Desert” and “Fame”) and Video and Projection design by  Duncan McLean (“The Car Man, Nutcracker! and Magic Goes Wrong”). Casting Director is Jim Arnold CDG, Associate Director is Victoria Gimby, Associate Choreographer is Ryan-Lee Seager and Associate Lighting Designer is Chris Vaughan. Costume Supervision by Lee Tassie and Production Management by Phil McCandlish. 


Tickets:

Tickets are available direct from the theatre box office and online from ATG Tickets: https://prf.hn/l/rwNWk4G