Stars! Not so much in the darkness but out in the spotlight for all to see! From mega pop stars to comedy legends, kid stars to authors, we have news about them all this week.
The Band announced a gala performance
The brand-new musical based on the songs of Take That is coming to London this winter… which is pretty exciting news in itself. But the heat was turned up this week because there will be a gala dinner performance on Tuesday 4 December at the Theatre Royal Haymarket. The stalls will be cleared to make way for dining tables and there will be a live performance from Take That themselves who are reuniting with Robbie Williams for this special night. All proceeds will go to The Elton John AIDS Foundation.
Matilda The Musical turns seven!
It’s been seven years since the record-breaking musical opened in the West End. And to celebrate, Matilda The Musical released a plethora of new production images. See Hayden Tee, Rob Compton, Holly Dale Spencer, Gina Beck, and Isobel Hubble, Francesca McKeown, Sara Munday, and Olivia Wells as Matilda.
Psychological thriller Switzerland transfers to the West End
Following the announcement of The Price – starring David Suchet and Brendan Coyle – transferring to the West End in February next year, Theatre Royal Bath have announced that a second production is winging its way to London. Psychological thriller Switzerland, starring Phyllis Logan as author Patricia Highsmith – the brain behind the Talents Mr Ripley series – will head to Ambassadors Theatre in November this year!
Operation Ouch gets an adult makeover
The twin doctors are famed for their children’s show, Operation Ouch!, but Dr Chris and Dr Xand van Tulleken are about to make doctors and nurses a bit more grown-up with an adult-only show on Sunday 9 December 2018 and Sunday 6 January 2019 at the Apollo Theatre. During the show, pleasure and danger will be linked in this exploration of temptation and addiction.
Everybody’s Talking About… Layton Williams!
West End starlet, Layton Williams, will be taking over the role of Jamie New in Everybody’s Talking About Jamie in January 2019. He’ll be replacing John McCrea who originated the role in Sheffield before reprising the role for its West End run.
Where are they now? 10 child stars of the West End
Speaking of Layton Williams, we featured him in our retrospect of child West End stars. We looked back at the career of 10 successful performers that started their life in the spotlight on a London stage. We took a look at Carrie Hope Fletcher, Tom Fletcher, Tom Holland and more.
Production shots of Lee Evans, Tamsin Greig and other stars in Pinter Three released
The highly-anticipated return of Lee Evans to the public eye happened this week when Pinter Three opened at the Harold Pinter Theatre. As part of the epic Pinter At The Pinter season – a celebration of the short plays written by Nobel Prize-winning British playwright Harold Pinter – Lee along with Tamsin Greig, Keith Allen, Meera Syal, and Tom Edden will perform short plays and sketches Landscape, A Kind Of Alaska, Monologue, and Apart From That. Get a look at them in action.
A Hundred Words For Snow is coming to Trafalgar Studios 2
Tatty Hennessy’s award-winning one-woman show, A Hundred Words For Snow, has received a West End transfer. The show which received rave reviews and the Origin’s Award for outstanding work at Vault Festival 2018 will be playing for four weeks only in March.
Menier announces full Fiddler On The Roof casting
The Menier‘s merry revival of Fiddler On The Roof has announced full casting, with Andy Nyman starring as Teyve. In a new staging by Trevor Nunn, Andy will be joined by Harriet Bunton (Hodel), Dermot Canavan (Lazar Wolf), Stewart Clarke (Perchik), Matt Corner (Fyedka), Joshua Gannon (Motel), Judy Kuhn (Golde), Louise Gold (Yente), Kirsty Maclaren (Chava), and Molly Osborne (Tzeitel).
Theatre Spot Test: Complete the Company lyrics
Marianne Elliott and Company were the toast of the West End when the radical revival opened to rave reviews and news of a huge extension earlier this month. To celebrate, we’re putting your knowledge of the classic Sondheim musical to the test. See how many Company lyrics you can complete.
There was plenty of other news this week. To see what else you missed, click here.