The Lowry, Salford
21 – 26 Jul 2008

The abdication of King Edward VIII in 1936 to enable himself to marry twice divorced Wallis Simpson less than a year after succeeding his father to the throne sent shockwaves through both the Royal Family of the time and the general public. Furthermore, the event provided the gossiping foreign press with a wealth of material for attention-grabbing headlines.

Little, it would seem, has changed and with the modern day Royal Family used to scandal this revival of Royce Ryton’s ‘Crown Matrimonial’ makes efforts to demonstrate the relevance of the writers work to a modern day audience. (more…)

To maintain the momentum of a year in which Box Office records were broken, a new programme of depth, quality and fun is announced at the Bolton Octagon.

This multi-award-winning theatre has just celebrated its 40th anniversary season, with audiences and critics alike loving the productions: And Did Those Feet won the MEN award for Best New Play and audience figures were up 25%.

The Octagon is proud to announce the four plays that make up the new season, including Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice, Carlo Goldoni’s commedia dell’arte classic The Venetian Twins, a return to the much-loved, award-winning Roald Dahl adaptations with Danny the Champion of the World, and Up Against the Wall, a co-production with Britain’s leading black musical theatre company, Nitro.

A look forward to the Spring / Summer 09 season sees Harold Pinter’s masterpiece The Caretaker on the Octagon stage.

For futher details, visit www.octagonbolton.co.uk

This competition is now closed and the winners are Alison Veasey, Kathryn Doyle and Suzanne Bundock. Enjoy the show!

For the first time ever, Fifi and the Flowertots will be appearing live on stage at the Opera House from 6th-7th August

THE SHOW:
In this brand new story, ‘The Fairy and the Flowertots’, it’s a stormy day in Flowertot garden and a magical fairy has been blown in on the breeze! But wait – her wand has been swept away in the wind and the lost fairy has to get it back to return home. Who better to help her than everybody’s favourite Flowertot – Fifi Forget-Me-Not and her Flowertot friends!

Follow Fifi and Clairy as they set off on their adventure meeting some familiar faces along the way. But watch out….let’s hope Stingo & Slugsy don’t get in the way with their latest madcap and mischievous scheme. Perhaps Bumble will lend a hand along with Violet & Primrose.

Will Fifi and the Fairy find the wand? Will they make it back in time for Fifi’s ‘special day’ party? Will Flowertot garden survive the storm?

Come along and join in the fun as we take you on a marvellous, magical, musical journey in this brand new production, featuring these much-loved characters. Join Fifi Live in ‘The Fairy and the Flowertots!’ – be part of the magic… (more…)

With theatre fans currently mourning the hit TV talent search I’d Do Anything, the box office for Oliver! is set to be as big as the Lee Mead and Connie Fisher led hits, Joseph and The Sound Of Music.

Sales of the Joseph tour which starred both Craig Chalmers and Keith Jack also outstripped predictions in Manchester, earlier this year. Therefore, Bill Kenwright is bringing the show back for one more week in the autumn. The show opens at the Palace Theatre on Monday, 27th October and plays for another week.

Kenwright’s Cabaret also visits Manchester in October, as previously reported, it is set to star Wayne Sleep, following the show’s closure in the West End in June and opens at the Palace on Monday, 6th October.

Opera soprano Lesley Garrett (pictured), who made her musical theatre debut in 2006 playing the Mother Abbess in The Sound of Music, will return to the West End stage later this year. She’ll star in another Rodgers and Hammerstein classic, Carousel, but the musical visits Manchester directly before London, on 10 November 2008 at the Opera House, where it runs until 15 November as part of a six-week tour prior to a London transfer, to the Savoy.

Since the height of her operatic career with English National Opera, the Royal Opera House and others, Lesley Garrett has performed in operas and concerts around the world, released 11 solo CDs and regularly appeared on TV on programmes including her own series The Lesley Garrett Show. Garrett was awarded a CBE in the 2002 for Services to Music. For The Sound of Music, she was nominated for a Whatsonstage.com Theatregoers’ Choice Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Musical. (more…)