Theatre News

WOS Backs New Live in the Delfont Room Series

Continuing our association with the address where we held our second inaugural Whatsonstage.com Awards Concert in front of a capacity 1,225-strong audience in the main auditorium this past February (See WOS TV, 18 Feb 2009), we return to the West End’s beautiful Prince of Wales Theatre for a much more intimate affair that’s already becoming a firm Theatreland fixture: the LIVE IN THE DELFONT ROOM cabaret series.

Whatsonstage.com has come on board as the official media partner for the new season of late-night concerts in the Prince of Wales’ lovingly restored Delfont Room bar, where some of the West End’s most sophisticated musical leading ladies will be turning up the heat this summer, starting with this month’s return of Hannah Waddingham. Waddingham, a Whatsonstage.com and Olivier nominee for her diva performance as the Lady of the Lake in Monty Python’s Spamalot, comes to the Delfont Room direct from her performance earlier in the evening at the Garrick Theatre in Trevor Nunn’s acclaimed revival of Sondheim’s A Little Night Music.

The new season of four monthly dates, presented in association with Whatsonstage.com, follows recent sell-out cabaret nights with Elena Roger and Waddingham. The quality of the performances combined with the intimate and sophisticated surroundings of the Delfont Room has made the Prince of Wales one of the most sought-after destinations for late-night cabaret. Doors open at 10.30pm with performances commencing at 11pm.

Speaking about the new media partnership, Whatsonstage.com editorial director Terri Paddock said: “Everyone at Whatsonstage.com fell in love with the splendour of Prince of Wales and the intimacy of the Delfont Room during our experience with the Whatsonstage.com Awards, and we love what the team there are doing with the ongoing success of the LIVE IN THE DELFONT ROOM so we are really thrilled to be a part of it.”

The full LIVE IN THE DELFONT ROOM summer season comprises:

  • Hannah Waddingham – Saturday 27 June 2009 – The season launches with the return of West End star Hannah Waddingham, who wowed the audience last month with a sensational performance that included a four-piece band. Hannah, star of Spamalot and currently A Little Night Music, will return to perform another great selection of songs. Waddingham’s other West End credits include Tonight’s the Night, The Beautiful Game and Saucy Jack and the Space Vixens.
  • Lisa Donmall – Thursday 30 July 2009Lisa Donmall has performed around the world as murderess Velma Kelly in Kander and Ebb’s ever-popular musical Chicago, including a season in the West End. She has performed in many other musicals including The Producers, Crazy for You and Cats.
  • Janie Dee – Saturday 29 August 2009Janie Dee is one of our most celebrated actresses, regularly switching between plays and musicals. Most recently seen in the West End in Woman in Mind and Shadowlands, she won a host of best actress prizes, including an Olivier, for Alan Ayckbourn’s Comic Potential. Her many musical credits include Carousel (which won her another Olivier), My One and Only, Oklahoma!, The Sound of Music, South Pacific and Mack and Mabel.
  • Gina Murray & Anna-Jane Casey – Saturday 26 September 2009Gina Murray and Anna-Jane Casey make for a truly exciting double bill. Both ladies have played the leads in Chicago. Appearing at the Menier Chocolate Factory this summer in Forbidden Broadway, Anna-Jane’s many other credits include Sweet Charity, Sunday in the Park with George, Mack and Mabel, Sweet Charity and West Side Story, while Gina’s include The Full Monty, Fame, One Touch of Venus and Alfie.

Tickets for LIVE IN THE DELFONT ROOM are priced at £20 for limited table seating and £15 for general admission standing room, and can be booked via the Prince of Wales box office on 0844 482 5111 or online at www.delfontmackintosh.co.uk.

As part of the Whatsonstage.com media partnership, however, members of the Whatsonstage.com Theatre Club can take advantage of a special value-added package for all four concerts: a signed poster of the evening’s star plus two free drinks to enjoy before or during the performance. Annual Club membership starts from just £10 – click here for more info on how to join the Club!