Opening: Scissorhands, Sunday, Boys, CelebrationDate: 28 November 2005
Amongst the major shows opening in London this week are:
OPENING TONIGHT, Monday 28 November 2005 (previews from 24 November), Nicolas Kent directs Abram Hill’s Walk Hard, the first of three British premieres in the African-American season at north London’s Tricycle Theatre (See News, 29 Jul 2005). Written in 1938, the play was originally seen on Broadway in 1942 and follows the rise and fall of a black boxer.
OPENING TUESDAY, 29 November 2005 (previews from 18 November), at Southwark’s 150-seat Menier Chocolate Factory, Stephen Sondheim’s Sunday in the Park with George receives its first major London production since the National staged the musical’s UK premiere in 1990 (See News, 21 Oct 2005). Daniel Evans plays impressionist painter Georges Seurat and Anna-Jane Casey is his mistress and muse. Sam Buntrock directs the production, which continues until 18 February 2006.
** DON’T MISS the chance to see Sunday in the Park with George for just £15! – offer ends 3 December 2005 - click here for more details! **
OPENING WEDNESDAY, 30 November 2005 (previews from 23 November), director-choreographer Matthew Bourne premieres his latest full-length dance work, Edward Scissorhands, based on the Tim Burton film of the same name at Sadler’s Wells for a run to 5 February 2006, prior to a UK tour (See News, 24 Jun 2005).
ALSO ON WEDNESDAY, Dominic Hill directs Alfred Jarry’s Ubu the King in a new version by David Greig at the Barbican’s Pit Theatre for a run to 10 December 2005 (See News, 17 Jun 2005).
OPENING THURSDAY, 1 December 2005, Harold Pinter’s 2000 play Celebration is staged for three nights only at the West End’s Albery Theatre to celebrate his 75th birthday and Nobel Prize win (See News, 18 Nov 2005). The stellar cast are: Michael Gambon, Janie Dee, Jeremy Irons, Sinead Cusack, Charles Dance, Penelope Wilton and Kenneth Cranham.
ALSO ON THURSDAY (previews from 29 November), Brian Friel’s The Freedom of the City, inspired by the events of Bloody Sunday, is revived at the Finborough Theatre for a limited season to 23 December 2005.
ALSO ON THURSDAY (previews from 29 November), Jermyn Street Theatre presents a Christmas show with a difference with Jack the Ripper, a musical about the notorious mass-murderer that takes a music hall romp through Victorian London. It continues until 22 December 2005.
ALSO ON THURSDAY (previews from 29 November), Pravesh Kumar’s The Deranged Marriage, about Asian wedding traditions being maintained in Britain, comes to Riverside Studios at the end of a national tour. Its London season runs until 24 December 2005.
ALSO ON THURSDAY (previews from 25 November), BAC’s Christmas show The Ratcatcher of Hamelin, running until 14 January 2006, retells the story of the Pied Piper with music and songs.
OPENING FRIDAY, 2 December 2005, Alan Bennett’s The History Boys returns to the National’s Lyttelton Theatre until 1 February 2006 at the conclusion of its regional tour, with a cast that is now led by Desmond Barrit (See News, 10 Nov 2005).
ALSO ON FRIDAY (previews from 30 November), Mick Gordon’s production of On Ego, inspired by neuro psychologist Paul Broks’ book Into the Silent Land, is at the Soho Theatre for a run to 7 January 2006.
ALSO ON FRIDAY, north London’s Pleasance Theatre celebrates its tenth birthday with a new version of the classic Arabian nights tale, Aladdin, with a score by Alexander S Bermange and original script by Charlie Hartill.
ALSO ON FRIDAY, The War Plays - a double-bill of two one-act plays by James Landsdale Hodson and Arthur Conan Doyle that have not been performed in the UK for many years - is presented at the Finborough Theatre until 19 December 2005.
- by Caroline Ansdell
