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Off-West End Announcements – 14 Dec 2009

Susannah York to star at Leicester Square Theatre

Oscar-nominated actress Susannah York will lead a cast of six actor-musicians to present South African playwright Reza de Wet’s Miracle in the basement of the Leicester Square Theatre from 7 to 25 January. Set in the Great Depression, the play recounts the journey taken by a troupe of actors to find a venue for their production of Everyman. Linnie Reedman, a member of the Young Vic Genesis Project, directs. There will be five special Christmas previews of the show in the crypt of St Andrews Church, Holborn, from 15 to 19 December.

Survivors of First Arab-Israeli Conflict Speak Through New Play

Plan D, a new play by Palestinian Irish playwright, Hannah Khalil, is premiering at the Tristan Bates Theatre from 25 January to 13 February 2010. The drama takes its name from the first Israeli military operation – active between 1947 and 1951 – that used force to expel native Palestinians from land required for the creation of an Israeli nation state. Directed by Chris White, Plan D is inspired by first-hand accounts of Palestinians who lived through the war collected by award-winning Isreali documentary maker Eyal Sivan.

Forecast Good for Climate Change Theatre

Opening at the Greenwich Playhouse just a few weeks after this month’s historic Copenhagen climate change discussions, The Forecast, “an entertaining journey” through the complex issues surrounding global warming, will surely find its reception affected by whatever decision is reached in the Danish capital. Theatre company Marvin and the Cats will draw on their L’Ecole de Jacques Lecoq training to present set pieces that aim to examine current affairs and provoke public debate. The production runs from 19 January to 7 February.

And finally…

This week sees the return of the infamous Portabello Panto, the West London Christmas tradition started in the 1980s by Anna Chancellor and Kevin Allen, brother to Keith and uncle to Lily. Back since 2006, this year is a chance for Lily’s little brother Alfie Allen, an actor by trade, to try his hand at directing. The show, an adaptation of Aladdin called A Lad in the Grove, runs from 14 to 19 December and will feature the likes of Stephen Fry, Jamie Oliver, Neneh Cherry and James Cordon.

- by Jo Caird - Theatregoer Reporter

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