Preview: And She

Bonnie and The Bonnettes presents

And She

Newcastle Northern Stage - Friday 6^th - Saturday 7^th September 2019

Stockton ARC – Thursday 7^th November 2019 

After a national tour from Autumn 2017 - Autumn 2018 of their debut show, Drag Me to Love, and alongside their cabaret night The BonBons Cabaret, Bonnie and The Bonnettes return with their second show, And She. 

Advice taken and ignored, tellings off, pep talks, and tales of her past. We were always scared of sounding just like her but maybe she was right about some things.

Part gig. Part their Mums’ living rooms. Bonnie and The Bonnettes delve into motherhood, womanhood, and femininity through conversations with their Mums, armed with three microphones, music, and a bottle of prosecco.

They are a tribe of women that have shown us the way and it’s time to celebrate so put on a buffet and crack open the bubbly because they are our Mum’s and it’s about time we chant it.

Cast and Creatives:

Created and performed by Hattie Eason, Cameron Sharp, and Rebecca Glendenning

Sound Designer: MXYM

Technical Stage Manager and Lighting Designer: Sophie Teesdale 

Costume Design: Sam Fisher 

Creative Mentorship: RASHDASH and Tamsin Daisy Rees

Tickets:

Northern Stage - https://www.northernstage.co.uk/Event/and-she

Stockton ARC - http://arconline.co.uk/whats-on/theatre-dance/and-she

This performance will be BSL interpreted

Running time: 1hr 10mins

Recommended age: 14+

Preview: The Lady Vanishes at Darlington Hippodrome

Cast Announced For The Lady Vanishes At Darlington Hippodrome

The Lady Vanishes

Darlington Hippodrome

Tuesday 15 to Saturday 19 October 2019

After the hugely successful first tour of The Classic Thriller Theatre Company’s stage adaption of Alfred Hitchcock’s The Lady Vanishes, the enjoyable adaptation is extending into the autumn, with a brand-new cast.

Building on the phenomenal decade-long success of The Agatha Christie Theatre Company, The Classic Thriller Theatre Company presents a quick-witted, devilishly fun filled thriller - based on the Hitchcock classic, ranked one of the Best British Films of all time.

Photo: Paul Coltas

When Socialite Iris’ travelling companion disappears, she’s bewildered to find fellow passengers deny ever having seen her. But with the help of musician Max, she turns detective, and together they resolve to solve this perplexing mystery.

Photo: Paul Coltas

Gwen Taylor

The cast is led by BAFTA-nominated actress Gwen Taylor, who for decades was one of Britain’s most celebrated TV stars, including her role as Anne Foster in Coronation Street. Gwen’s other on-screen credits include the title role in ITV’s Barbara, Duty Free, A Bit of a Do and Heartbeat. 

Andrew Lancel

Joining her is her Coronation Street son and ‘Villain of the Year Award’ winner Andrew Lancel, whose theatrical credits include Twelve Angry Men, The Small Hand and Cilla the Musical.

Mark Wynter, Nicholas Audsley, Scarlett Archer

The show will also feature Denis Lill, star of the highly acclaimed TV drama The Royal and Alan Parry in Only Fools and Horses; Call the Midwife actress Scarlett Archer; theatre and British Hit Parade star Mark Wynter; Nicholas Audsley, best known as the Duke of Monmouth in smash hit TV series Victoria and Ben Nealon who’s credits include Soldier Soldier.

Photo: Paul Coltas

Tickets:

The Lady Vanishes runs at Darlington Hippodrome from Tuesday 15 to Saturday 19 October. For more information or to book call 01325 405405 or visit www.darlingtonhippodrome.co.uk.

Photo: Paul Coltas

Preview: Hold On Let Go at Edinburgh Summerhall

Unfolding Theatre in association with LittleMighty:

Hold On Let Go

Edinburgh Summerhall

31 July - 25 August 2019

A brand new show about memory from the company the Guardian calls

‘thrillingly talented’ with original songs by Paul Smith (Maxïmo Park),

choreography by Liv Lorent MBE and dramaturgy by Selina Thompson (salt.)

Last seen at Summerhall in 2016 with their critically acclaimed Putting The Band Back Together, Unfolding Theatre return to the Edinburgh Fringe with a new show about memory and what we pass on.

Alex is 56. Luca is half his age. Alex has an encyclopedia in his head. Luca has one on her phone. Most of us forget most things, most of the time. What if we forget something important? Something that might make the world a better place? In a world of information overload, Hold On Let Go invites audiences to discover a new kind of memory champion. One that admits how much they’ve forgotten. One that bakes bread, dances on tables and might possibly get sucked into a black hole...

Director Annie Rigby explains, “I wanted to make a show that holds up how fragmentary and partial our memories are – both as individuals and as a society. To ask questions about how we might behave right now, if we are more conscious of how little we are holding in our memories. It’s a show that takes you on a journey that starts in a kitchen and travels to the farthest reaches of our entire universe.”

Paul Smith has written original songs for Hold On Let Go - his first theatre collaboration. He says, “Music and memory is something I’ve been thinking about for a long time. We called the first Maxïmo Park album, A Certain Trigger because of how music can be an emotional trigger, taking you to places and memories. In Hold On Let Go, we’re playing with how a radio broadcast of songs and words, played within the show, can build an emotional connection with audiences.”

The creative team also includes dramaturg Selina Thompson (salt.), choreographer Liv Lorent MBE (balletLORENT), writer/performer Luca Rutherford (Learning How to Die), and sound design by Mariam Rezaei (Beats North, Curious Monkey).

Led by Annie Rigby, Unfolding Theatre brings people together to experience stimulating new work that’s thoughtful, unexpected and playful. Over the last decade, the company has built a reputation for working with all sorts of people from different walks of life to make theatre with a wild sense of humour and strength of character.  2017 saw the company’s biggest national tour to date with Putting the Band Back

Together which premiered at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2016, “Fantastic - funny, big-hearted, moving and truthful.” The Guardian

As with all of Unfolding Theatre’s work, participation drives the creative process. For Hold On Let Go Annie and the team led workshops with parents and newborn babies and elderly people to explore how to capture the things that are usually forgotten in day to day life. 

Some of their stories feature in the show as listeners’ messages sent into Paul Smith’s radio station, Too Much Information FM. We hear about Jude who can’t remember what it feels like to be carried, Mary who remembers the sound of sea ice cracking, heard in the middle of a night in the hard winter of 1963. Alex bakes sourdough bread during each show. The sourdough starter is activated by the natural yeasts in the air of each performance. A piece of freshly baked bread is offered to the

audience at the end of the show, as a tiny feast of now.

Cast and creative team

Director: Annie Rigby (Putting The Band Back Together)

Writer & Performer: Luca Rutherford (Luca Rutherford’s Political Party)

Performer: Alex Elliott (Putting the Band Back Together, Best in the World)

Songwriter: Paul Smith (Maxïmo Park)

Sounds: Mariam Rezaei (Beats North, Curious Monkey)

Choreographer: Liv Lorent (balletLORENT)

Dramaturg: Selina Thompson (salt.)

Photos: The Other Richard

Suitability: 12+

Tickets:

Tickets are £10 / £8 concessions and go on sale on 16 May. Visit www.summerhall.co.uk or call 0131 560 1581 to book. Hold On Let Go will tour in Spring 2020 after its Edinburgh Fringe run.

Preview: The People’s Boat at Edinburgh Greenside Venues

Moaning Toad Productions present

The People’s Boat

Edinburgh Greenside Venues (Olive Studio)

Friday 2nd – Saturday 24th August 2019  

Written. Directed & Performed by Luke Bateman, Jack Hilton, Chris Whyte, & Elliott Williams 

One dinghy. Lost at sea. Four disillusioned Brits. Join the country’s most dysfunctional quartet as they attempt the impossible mission of towing the UK away from the continent.    “We’re about to become a 1950s nostalgia theme park floating in the Atlantic Ocean” Alexander Betts, Professor of Forced Migration and International Affairs, University of Oxford.

The People’s Boat, an absurd new comedy, follows some intrepid but ignorant explorers as they grapple with life all alone on the ocean. On a crusade to somewhere sunny, they encounter rough winds, soggy pasties and trouble with their neighbours. After weeks and weeks of parlour games and pissing overboard, food is running out and patience is wearing thin. Wherever it is they're headed, they're taking Britain with them…     As the disillusioned boatmen drift aimlessly on their homemade raft, doubts begin to surface about the integrity of their leader as well as the validity of their task. While the limitations of their blind patriotism are exposed, the lines start blurring between the performance on-stage and the processes also occurring off-stage. Characters are seen seeping out of the narrative and into the writer’s room, whilst the actors begin to feature more and more prominently aboard the boat...

The People’s Boat, making its Edinburgh Fringe debut, is the second venture from Moaning Toad Productions following Puncture, a sold-out production at Northern Stage (Newcastle) in March 2019. Originally established in Newcastle Upon Tyne, Moaning Toad Productions comprises of Luke Bateman, Jack Hilton, Chris Whyte, and Elliott Williams. Between them, they have experience with the National Youth Theatre, connections to LIVE Theatre, Alphabetti, Northern Stage, and The Phoenix, and have performed at The Yvonne Arnaud, The Nuffield, The Anvil, The Harlequin, The Shaw, Sadler’s Wells, RADA, The Leicester Square Theatre, The Comedy Store, and the Edinburgh Fringe in a show that received five-stars from Broadway Baby.

On The Web:

Twitter: @toadmoaning

Suitability: 14+

Tickets:

Box Office Details Tickets are available from: https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/people-s-boat

0131 226 0000

Previews: £5 Rest of Run: £8 (£6 Concessions)

Friends of the Fringe Verified Show 

Preview: New season at Dance City

Newcastle’s Dance City Theatre Announces New Seats And New Season

This Autumn Dance City is launching its brand new theatre seats with a vibrant program of professional dance performances.

The new seats, being installed over summer thanks to a very successful crowdfunder campaign and generous support from the Community Foundation, will ensure comfortable viewing of a diverse season of performances spanning ballet, tap, contemporary and circus, with something for all ages.

Ballet Crymu

Families are in for a treat as the 250 seat theatre will be visited by Highly Sprung’s cloud hopping show Up, up and Away followed by Ballet Wales’ beautiful retelling of Romeo A Juliet, before Protein Dance bring Antoine de Saint-Exupery’s classic children’s tale to life in The Little Prince. Tap enthusiasts will also be thrilled by the return of Old Kent Road with their latest offering ‘OSCiLLATE’ while circus fans can enjoy Joli Vyann’s Anima. This Season truly is a celebration of local talent with Dance Edits, Twilight Dances, DOVES and HELM showing off some of the most exciting artists and companies working in the region.

Thursday 26 September 2019| Dance Edits

Kicking off the season is Dance Edits, a chance to see some of the most exciting new work being created in the North East from Dance City commissioned and associated artists.

Audiences can enjoy short performances from Igor Tavarez, Patrick Ziza and Mathieu Geffre (ex National Dance Company Wales)and more, as well as a film piece from emerging screen dance artist Greta Heath.

This annual show provides a wonderful insight into some of the incredible dance and choreographic talent we have based here in the region and promises an enjoyable evening of dance encompassing a range of styles and mediums.

Thursday 3 October 2019 | Anima – Joli Vyann

In October, dance circus company Joli Vyann arrive with their latest show’ Anima, exploring the delicate connection between two people.

With the company’s unique blend of dance and acrobatics, two performers push themselves to the limits of their physicality. Featuring a live musician, voice and wind instruments their breath becomes the soundscape for the performance.

Joli Vyann’s work is athletic, technical, exciting, emotive, sensitive and relevant, challenging audienceswith innovative ways of integrating dance and circus and blending the two genres in theatrical scenarios, with relatable character and intention.

“Joli Vyann pushes aside the boundaries between acrobatics and dance with intelligence and impressive skill.”  The Guardian.

Thursday 17 October 2019 | Twilight Dances – Fertile Ground

On October 17, audiences can enjoy a new work from North East based graduate company Fertile Ground. Created by Artistic Directors and former Rambert dancers Renaud Weiser and Malgorzata Dzierzon, four dancers are accompanied by a live performance of Schubert’s beautiful Death and the Maiden performed by international string quartet Quatuor Voxpopuli.

2019 marks Fertile Ground’s first season under the artistic directorship of these established choreographers. Together Weiser and Dzierzon’s ambition is to produce work of the highest quality that is inspiring and unexpected.

‘Audiences can expect to be transported by the beauty of the music and by the performance of the dancers and musicians’ – Renaud Weiser

Opening the evening is a new film commission by celebrated movement and theatre artist Wendy Houstoun.

Saturday 19 October 2019 - Up Up and Away – Highly Sprung

The first of the season’s family shows will be the beautiful, uplifting and inspiring Up up and Away a new piece of children’s physical theatre by Highly Sprung, perfect for ages 5-11years.

Everyone says Joe is ‘different’, that he doesn’t fit in. So when Joe is given the chance to float away into the sky above he doesn’t hesitate to go. What awaits him in the sky are wonderful experiences and new friends that delight and inspire him... But more importantly Joe finds out about himself, how his differences make him more special than he ever imagined. Joe learns to believe in himself and that just being yourself makes you the best you can be!

Up, Up and Away brings together innovative and playful design in costume, puppetry, and set with the introduction of a unique flying machine that allows the action to take place right above your head!

“Leaving every child feeling treasured and with a beautiful moral to the story, it will awaken the magic in everyone.” ★★★★★ The Reviews Hub

Friday 25 – Saturday 26 October 2019 | Romeo a Juliet – Ballet Wales

In their third production performed on the Dance City stage, Critics’ Circle Award winning company, Ballet Wales, presents a beautiful adaptation of Shakespeare’s iconic love story.

Sword fighting, passionate duets and universal themes echo through dramatic and lyrical choreography. Exquisite costumes and video projections create a world of danger and excitement where two young lovers are caught in an age old feud.

Ballet Wales is a vital young company of dancers who are pushing the boundries of classical ballet. This is a fantastic way to discover ballet and enjoy Prokofiev’s stunning music.

‘It’s a knockout performance.’ The Guardian(on Danila Marzilli as Juliet.)

Thursday 7 November 2019 | DOVES – State of Grace

In November, North East based dance theatre company State of Grace will be bringing their unique physicality and dynamic storytelling back to Dance City as they take you on a journey with their new piece DOVES.

Part road movie, part 1980s noir and part fantasy, DOVES charts the rite of passage of two very different young women from the US Deep South – a journey full of desire, of change, of becoming and their need to see a completely new world.

Set against a filmic cyclorama (Adam Goodwin) and wrapped in a musical soundscape (Jamie Cook), two sisters (Cora-Jay Williams and Alice Henry) fight for survival and an understanding of who they really are.

Saturday 16 November 2019 | OSCiLLATE – Old Kent Road

Old Kent Road will be making their much anticipated return to Dance City this autumn after their debut performance of Fall Out last year.

The company’s latest show OSCiLLATE is an energetic tap dance performance that explores human interaction and the effects of miscommunication in relationships. Fusing high energy tap and beautiful contemporary dance, OSCiLLATE is refreshing, moving and fulfilling.

This is a fantastic way to discover tap dance with an exhilarating show by a company of passionate young dancers who are raising the bar of the UK tap scene.

Saturday 30 November 2019 | HELM –Talent Hub

Co-Produced by TIN Arts and Yorkshire Dance

Diving into dreamscapes and acting out fantastical ways of being, choreographer Theo Clinkard and a nine-strong cast unleash their imaginations to construct a world of alter egos, rock stars, curious souls and fierce goddesses.

HELM is a new piece of dance work to come from Yorkshire Dance and TIN Arts’ pioneering Talent Hub project, a professional development programme for dance artists from the North East of England and Yorkshire with a learning disability or autism.

Thursday 5 – Saturday 7 December 2019 | The Little Prince – Luca Silvestrini’s Protein

Dance City will be closing the season with a gorgeous festive family show perfect for all ages. Dive into the world of The Little Prince in this magical dance adventure by Luca Silvestrini’s Protein Dance.

The Little Prince invites us to look at the world through our hearts and to reconnect with our inner child.

A story for everyone to enjoy by Antoine de Saint-Exupery, the world famous children’s book is brought to life using Protein’s award-winning mix of dance, humour and spoken word.

“Luca Silvestrini is the sharpest of comic choreographers” The Guardian.

Tickets:

www.dancecity.co.uk/performances

Box office:  0191 261 0505

Preview: Pride and Prejudice* (*sort of) at Newcastle Northern Stage

Full Cast Announced

Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh, Tron Theatre Company and Blood of the Young present

Pride and Prejudice* (*sort of)

Newcastle Northern Stage

Wednesday 2– Saturday 12 October 2019

Written by Isobel McArthur after Jane Austen

Directed by Paul Brotherston

The Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh along with partners Birmingham Repertory Theatre, Bristol Old Vic, Northern Stage, Nuffield Southampton Theatres, Oxford Playhouse, and new partners Leeds Playhouse, are delighted to announce the cast for the remount of the critically-acclaimed Pride and Prejudice* (*sort of), presented in close collaboration with partners of the original production, Tron Theatre and Blood of the Young.

Tori Burgess, Isobel McArthur, Hannah Jarrett-Scott,
Christina Gordon & Meghan Tyler

Playing multiple characters in this rip-roaring and irreverent all-female adaptation, Pride and Prejudice* (*sort of) brings together again the exceptional original cast, including: Tori Burgess (Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, The Lyceum; Bear Pit, Blood of the Young; Secret Show 1, Blood of the Young & Tron Theatre; Margaret Saves Scotland, Oran Mor, Traverse, Lemon Tree, Marilyn Imrie), Christina Gordon (Glory on Earth, The Lyceum; The Cheviot, The Stag and the Black, Black Oil, National Theatre of Scotland, Dundee Rep; Mancub, Cumbernauld Theatre; Rocket Post, National Theatre of Scotland), 

 Meghan Tyler, Hannah Jarrett-Scott and Isobel McArthur

Hannah Jarrett-Scott (Glory on Earth, The Lyceum; The Taming of the Shrew, Sherman Theatre, Tron Theatre; The Wolves, Theatre Royal Stratford east; A Bottle of Wine and Patsy Cline, Gilded Baloon), Isobel McArthur (Wendy and Peter Pan, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, The Lyceum; Cyrano de Bergerac, The Lyceum, National Theatre of Scotland, Citizens Theatre; Daphne Oram’s Wonderful World of Sound, Blood of the Young, Tron Theatre, Scottish Tour; Robin Hood, Manhattan Children’s Thaetre; Avoidable Climbing, Take Me Somewhere, Citizens Theatre), and Meghan Tyler (A Streetcar Named Desire, Lyric Theatre Belfast; Medicine, Off the Middle with The Hope Theatre; The Persians, Oran Mor, Traverse Theatre; Look Back in Anger, Cumbernauld Theatre; Two Gentlemen of Verona, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Guilford Shakespeare Company; Shetland, BBC). They are joined by newcomer Felixe Forde, making her professional debut.

Having first opened at Tron Theatre to an overwhelming audience response in Summer 2018, the production will tour to UK venues over Autumn 2019 and Spring 2020.

Hannah Jarrett-Scott, Christina Gordon and Isobel McArthur 

This is an adaptation like no other. Drawing on over two-hundred years of romantic pop history is Blood of the Young’s unique take on a beloved novel - the hugely acclaimed Pride and Prejudice* (*sort of).

Six young women have a story to tell. You might have seen them, emptying the chamber pots and sweeping ash from the grate; the overlooked and the undervalued making sure those above stairs find their happy ending. Of course, they’ve always been running the show - after all ‘You can’t have a whirlwind romance without clean bedding’ – but tonight, the servants are also playing every part.

Hannah Jarrett-Scott, Christina Gordon, Tori Burgess

Men, money and microphones will be fought over in this loving and irreverent all-female adaptation of Jane Austen’s unrivalled literary classic. Let the ruthless match-making begin.

The Lyceum’s Artistic Director, David Greig, said: “Blood of the Young are a brilliant young voice of Scottish Theatre, and their below-stairs take on Pride and Prejudice is a pitch-perfect blend of reverent homage and mischievous send up. I could not be more delighted to be working with them to bring this show to The Lyceum stage, and out to our partners across the UK.”

Photos: Mihaela Bodlovic

Meghan Taylor, Hannah Jarrett-Scott, Tori Burgess, Isobel McArthur

Tickets:

The show comes to Northern Stage from 2-12 October. Tickets from £10 are available from the box office on 0191 230 5151 or book online at www.northernstage.co.uk