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Off-West End Announcements – 11 Jan 2010

Cock Extends La Bohème
Blame the weather but Kilburn crowds obviously can’t get enough of La Bohème at the Cock Tavern Theatre. Originally scheduled to close on 23 January, this chamber staging of Puccini’s greatest opera has now been extended for a second time until 20 March. Director Robin Norton-Hale has won ace reviews for the production, which relocates the famous cafe scene downstairs in the pub. There’s clearly something in the aria ‘Your Tiny Hand is Frozen’ that audiences can relate to.

Further Progress At The Union
Talking of NW1, Kilburn is the setting for the next production at Southwark’s Union Theatre, Doug Lucie’s Progress, following the news that last autumn’s A Man of No Importance is transferring to the West End. Richard Crawley plays Will, a thirtysomething struggling to cohabit with his wife’s lesbian lover in this 1980s satire of liberal values and middle-class hypocrisy. Silver Thread Productions return to the Union after their sell-out with The Dice House.

Plan D for Eastenders Legend
Leonard Fenton, the 84 year-old actor best known for playing Walford legend, Dr Legg from 1984-2007 is returning to the stage to appear in Plan D at the Tristan Bates Theatre. Fenton is the latest casting confirmation for this new play, written by Palestinian Irish writer Hannah Khalil and based on oral testimonies from those who lived through the Israeli Plan D military operation in 1947-8.Chris White directs the production, which runs from 25 January to 13 February.

Sound Of Silence At The Stag
Chianti at the ready for Silence! The Musical, the European premiere of Christopher Gattelli’s unauthorised parody of The Silence of the Lambs. Direct from the New York Fringe, this show wears its bad taste badge with pride, boasting singing serial killers, songs with unprintable titles and a chorus of tap dancing lambs. Featuring Oliver award-winner Miles Western as Hannibal and Broadway’s Tory Ross as Clarice, the production runs at Above the Stage from 19 January to 28 February.

And Finally...
We all know the Thomas Middleton bloodfest A Revenger’s Tragedy. Add some extra ‘eee by gum’and you’ve got his lesser known work A Yorkshire Tragedy, which opened at Kennington’s White Bear Theatre this week in a rare revival directed by Andy Brunskill. Based on the real life scandal of Walter Calverley, executed in 1605 for murdering two of his children and stabbing his wife, the play is eerily echoed by recent newspaper headlines and runs until 24 January.

- by Nancy Groves - Theatregoer Reporter

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