In a year, or two, that has had a significant impact on the industry, I took my seat with excited trepidation, after what seemed an age since I had enjoyed any live entertainment. The front cover of the programme shares ‘Welcome back to Junior Musicality 2021’, and I am reminded that the children and young adults about to enter on stage have not performed to an audience since early 2020. If I felt nervous for them, they must be feeling it tenfold.
But, by goodness you would not have known it! The 70+ cast hit us with a bang, in perfect harmony, for the Newsies opening medley, strong, confident and ready to show the audience what we had all been longing for, pure musical theatre indulgence. As the first act progressed, I had to pinch myself to remind me this was not a show, rehearsed and fine tuned for months. The cast, aged between 8 and 18 years old, had put this together in just five days and credit must go to all of the performers and production team for the high standards achieved.
With over 33 brilliant, fully harmonised and choreographed numbers, it would simply be too difficult to cover all of them, but particular highlights include 38 Planes from Come from Away, Right Hand Man from Something Rotten, My New Philosophy from You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown and Run Freedom Run from Urinetown. The younger performers impressed with their energy and precise moves in Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious from Mary Poppins and had the house roaring with laughter with their brilliant characterisation in Life’s a Happy Song from The Muppets. I try to avoid picking out individuals, as every performer contributed so well, however I am compelled to mention Lara Nunns for her beautifully sung and played So Big/So Small from Dear Evan Hansen and Sophie Williams’ With You from Ghost. Both of which had me in tears. This was remedied by the hilarious characterisation of Noah Dawson as Beetlejuice in That Beautiful Sound and the whole cast in their foot tapping, life affirming rendition of the Rocketman finale, which sent us away joyous and ready to watch it all over again.
Sadly, I’ll have to wait for the next Ariel production but, at last, it might be something we don’t have to wait quite so long for again.
An outstanding job by all involved, thank you for sharing it with me.
Stage and screen actress Dame Penelope Keith will collaborate once again with director Alan Strachan and designer Simon Higlett for Two Cigarettes in the Dark, a brand new play by Stephen Wyatt, produced by Jonathan Church Theatre Productions and Cambridge Arts Theatre.
Bright, witty, and fiercely independent, Isabel is not ready to let go just yet.
In a series of encounters with an old friend and her two sons, by turns funny, startling and poignant, home truths are exchanged, and her past begins to emerge. As Isabel confronts her own hidden regrets and family secrets, we learn what hides below the surface of this proud mother, wife, and friend. Finally, Isabel is able to make peace with her life and say goodbye.
Dame Penelope Keith said: “Following this difficult period for regional theatres I am delighted to be bringing this new play to a group of theatres and audiences who have been important to me over the years. When I read Stephen’s touching and amusing play which has at its centre a (rare to find) role for an actress of a certain age, I knew immediately I wanted to play the part and bring this play to audiences across the country.”
Dame Penelope Keith is renowned for her many acclaimed roles on stage and screen, most notably in the iconic British sitcoms The Good Life and To The Manor Born. Her recent theatre credits include The Chalk Garden, Mrs Pat, The Way of the World and Entertaining Angels (all Chichester Festival Theatre). Her most recent television appearances include Penelope Keith’s Hidden Villages and Penelope Keith’s Coastal Villages on Channel 4. She was appointed Dame Commander of the British Empire in the new year honours 2014.
THE DRESSER – Norman (Julian Clary) & Sir (Matthew Kelly). Photo: Alastair Muir
Theatre Royal Bath Productions and Everyman Theatre Productions are delighted to announce the full tour dates for Ronald Harwood’s highly acclaimed drama The Dresser starring the much loved UK entertainer Julian Clary as Norman and Olivier Award winner Matthew Kelly as ‘Sir’.
Directed by Olivier Award-winning Terry Johnson, The Dresser will run at Theatre Royal Bath from 9 September 2021, before dates at Cheltenham Everyman Theatre, Theatre Royal Brighton, Norwich Theatre Royal, Cambridge Arts Theatre, Theatre Royal Plymouth, Richmond Theatre, Malvern Festival Theatre, Oxford Playhouse, Marlowe Theatre in Canterbury and newly announced– the Alhambra Theatre in Bradford and the King’s Theatre in Edinburgh where the tour finishes in February 2022.
Joining Julian Clary and Matthew Kelly in the cast are: Emma Amos as Her Ladyship, Rebecca Charles as Madge, Natalie Servat as Irene, Pip Donaghy as Geoffrey Thornton, Samuel Holmes as Mr Oxenby, Robert ShawCameron as Kent, Peter Yapp as Gloucester, Stephen Cavanagh as Albany, with Claire Jeater and Michaela Bennison in the ensemble.
Inspired by memories of working as Donald Wolfit’s dresser as a young man, Ronald Harwood’s evocative, affectionate and hilarious portrait of backstage life is regarded as one of the most acclaimed dramas of modern theatre.
It is 1942 and in a war-torn provincial theatre an aging actor-manager, known to his loyal acting company as ‘Sir’, is struggling to cling on to his sanity and complete his 227th performance of King Lear. For 16 years Norman, Sir’s devoted dresser, has been there to fix Sir’s wig, massage his ego, remind him of his opening lines and provide the sound effects in the storm scene. It is down to Norman to ensure that in spite of everything, the show goes on.
Julian Clary has performed across the world and is renowned for his many successes across television, radio, film, writing and stand-up comedy. His roles on stage include Leigh Bowery in Boy George’s Taboo (West End and national tour), the Emcee in Rufus Norris’s Olivier Award winning production of Cabaret (West End), and Le Grand Mort (Trafalgar Studios). Julian also regularly performs in panto and will return to the London Palladium this Christmas. His many TV credits include Trick or Treat, Saturday Night Live, Sticky Moments, Terry and Julian, All Rise, Strictly Come Dancing, Have I Got News For You and QI. He toured the UK earlier this year with his latest one-man comedy show Born To Mince.
Matthew Kelly is an Olivier Award winning actor who is also well known for presenting the television series Stars in their Eyes and You Bet!. Matthew Kelly’s West End credits include Waiting For Godot with Ian McKellen and Roger Rees, BigThe Musical (Dominion), Funny Peculiar, Sign of the Times, Lend Me A Tenor!, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and as Lennie in Of Mice and Men (Savoy) for which he received the Olivier Award for Best Actor. Other recent theatre credits include Alan Bennett’s The Habit of Art, Pride & Prejudice (Regents Park & UK Tour), and Troilus and Cressida (Shakespeare’s Globe). His many television credits include the award-winning Cold Blood, Benidorm, Bleak House and Moving On.
Ronald Harwood was an Academy Award, Palme d’Or and BAFTA-winning screenwriter and playwright. His plays include Taking Sides, Equally Divided and Quartet. His screenplay for the film of The Dresser received five Academy Award nominations, including Best Screenplay. His films include the Academy Award winning The Pianist, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly and Love in the Time of Cholera.
Terry Johnson is a dramatist and director who has won numerous theatre awards including two Olivier Awards as a playwright for Best Comedy and a Tony Award for Best Director of a Musical for La Cage Aux Folles. Other West End credits include The Libertine, End of the Rainbow, The Rise and Fall of Little Voice, The Duck House, Whipping It Up and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. He recently directed Uncle Vanya at the Hampstead Theatre and has previously directed Mrs. Henderson Presents, Hysteria and The Libertine at Bath.
Theatre Royal Bath Productions and Everyman Theatre Productions present… Julian Clary and Matthew Kelly in THE DRESSER
By Ronald Harwood
Directed by Terry Johnson
Designed by Tim Shortall
9 September to 18 September 2021 Theatre Royal Bath
Box Office: 01225 448844 theatreroyal.org.uk
21 September to 25 September 2021 Cheltenham Everyman Theatre
Box office: 01242 572573 everymantheatreorg.uk
The true story of Britain’s strangest ever house haunting, that became a worldwide podcast hit through an 8-part series on BBC Radio Four, is coming to theatres across the UK.
‘The Battersea Poltergeist’ was a multi-million download, genre-busting phenomenon, mixing documentary and drama to tell the incredible and terrifying true story of the 1956 haunting of the
Hitchings family at the hands of a poltergeist they nicknamed Donald.
Now at this exclusive live event, you will meet the show’s creator, writer and journalist Danny Robins – who is currently making his West End writing debut with ‘2:22: A Ghost Story’ at the Noel Coward Theatre, starring Lily Allen, Julia Chan, Hadley Fraser and Jake Wood – and other guest experts from the podcast.
Together they’ll delve deeper into this paranormal cold case, bringing the investigation to life on stage, sharing exclusive footage of Shirley Hitchings and other witnesses, and revealing some stunning (and chilling) new evidence.
London date: ‘The Battersea Poltergeist – Live’ at Clapham Grand, on Halloween, October 31, 2021 at 7.30pm (doors at 6.30pm)
Clapham Grand is located just minutes from the site of the actual haunting at 63 Wycliffe Road.
Dubbed Britain’s strangest ever haunting; it was a poltergeist case that spanned an incredible 12-year period. At its height, became a major national news story, with newspaper headlines about strange noises, flying objects, exorcisms and ghostly communication. An attempt was even made to contact the poltergeist on live prime-time TV on the BBC and it was discussed by the Home Secretary in the House of Commons.
At ‘The Battersea Poltergeist – Live’ there will be a Q&A so you can put your questions about the case and the making of the series to Danny and his team of experts!
Are you #TeamSceptic or #TeamBeliever? Be part of the investigation that’s spurred millions of listeners worldwide to become supernatural sleuths.
Produced by James Seabright.
Danny Robins at Wycliffe Road, Battersea – where the haunting happened. Photo: Simon Barnard
Critically acclaimed and Olivier Award-nominated for their uncanny portrayal of the legendary comedy duo, Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise, IAN ASHPITEL & JONTY STEPHENS as ‘ERIC & ERN’ is touring the UK from Tuesday 5 October, 2021 (full tour dates attached).
A festive version of the show, IAN ASHPITEL & JONTY STEPHENS as ERIC & ERN AT CHRISTMAS, will play Plymouth Theatre Royal on 27 November and a week-long season at The Lowry in Salford, 6 – 12 December.
Crammed full of renditions of those famous comedy sketches, and coupled with contemporary references in their unique style, the show evokes memories of times when whole families would huddle around the telly on Sunday evenings to share in the much-loved antics of Britain’s national treasures.
As seen on BBC One’s The One Show and ITV1’s The Alan Titchmarsh Show, the performances contain some of the first new writing in the style of Morecambe & Wise material in over thirty years.
Ian Ashpitel and Jonty Stephens have been performing and writing as Eric and Ern for more than five years. The research into their subjects is there for all to see in their staggeringly accurate portrayal of the most successful and much loved British comedy duo of all time. The performers themselves have a wonderful relationship with the families and estates of Morecambe & Wise – with all scripts given the families’ seal of approval before being performed.
“I have been fascinated with Eric Morecambe for as long as I can remember,” says Jonty. “I took on his persona at school and it never really left me. He was the funniest and loveliest of men. We both feel it’s a privilege to play Eric and Ernie and some people have said it’s like we’re channeling them – some nights it does feel like that.”
Ian said: “We do treasure the relationship we have with each other – as did Eric and Ernie – and I think it’s obvious that we love performing the comedy of Morecambe and Wise.”
Ian and Jonty met at drama school over 30 years ago and continued their friendship playing golf together at The Stage Golf Society in Richmond. When Jonty was asked to play Eric at a charity show he knew that with his short fat hairy legs Ian would be the perfect Ernie Wise. Having brought the house down the two then wrote some ‘bespoke’ material for their friends at the golf club.
It was these performances which set them off on an incredible journey, with rave reviews at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, an acclaimed West End season at the Vaudeville Theatre, and an Olivier Award nomination for ‘the play wot we wrote’ – ‘Eric and Little Ern’.
Jonty said: “More importantly, the audiences love watching it – which is always handy. But it’s more than just watching a comedy show – there’s a real emotional connection, because we all remember watching it together. The audience reaction has been amazing.
Creative team:
Director: Daniel Clarkson
Choreographer: Nicola Keen
Set Design: Louie Whitemore
Lighting Design: Zoe Spurr
Marketing: Karen Benstead
Producers: Ian Ashpitel, Jonty Stephens, Martin Clarkson
Associate Producer: Joshua Beaumont
“I never thought I’d See Morecambe and Wise live. I think I just have!” Ben Elton
“Wonderfully affectionate performances. They were both absolutely brilliant” Lord Grade, former agent to Morecambe and Wise, who negotiated the duo’s move from ATV to BBC2 in 1968
RADLETT – Radlett Centre
Tuesday 5 October at 7.30pm
01923 859 291 radlettcentre.co.uk
The 12-day programme features 16 productions, some of which are being premiered at the festival, while others are coming to Liverpool for the very first time. The line-up includes comedy, music, dance, drama, and children’s shows.
Liverpool Theatre Festival was first staged in September 2020. It was created by Liverpool theatre producer Bill Elms in response to an ongoing need for live entertainment during Covid-19, while also supporting the creative arts professionals in the city during the pandemic.
Liverpool Theatre Festival runs between Wednesday 1 September and Sunday 12 September 2021, and the live outdoor event is being staged at St Luke’s Bombed Out Church in the heart of the city centre.
THE SHOWS:
DATE
SHOW
Wednesday 1 September 2021
Performance time 8pm
2Gorgeous4U
Thursday 2 September 2021
Performance time 7.30pm
Perfectly Frank
Friday 3 September 2021
Performance times 5pm / 8pm
The Last Five Years
Saturday 4 September 2021
Performance time 11.30am
When Another Dragon Roars
Saturday 4 September 2021
Performance times 6pm / 8.30pm
Everybody’s Talking About Musicals
Sunday 5 September 2021
Performance time 11.30am
Boing…Meow! The Musical
Sunday 5 September 2021
Performance times 4pm / 8pm
Electric Dreams
Monday 6 September 2021
Performance time 7.30pm
An Evening Without Kate Bush
Tuesday 7 September 2021
Performance time 7.30pm
Twice Nightly
Wednesday 8 September 2021
Performance time 7.30pm
Swan Song
Thursday 9 September 2021
Performance time 7.30pm
Opera Beneath The Stars
Friday 10 September 2021 Performance times 6pm / 8.30pm
Broken Biscuits
Saturday 11 September 2021
Performance time 1pm
Twelfth Night By William Shakespeare
Saturday 11 September 2021 Performance times 6pm / 8.30pm
Laughterhouse Comedy
Sunday 12 September 2021
Performance time 1pm
Goldilocks And The Fab 4
Sunday 12 September 2021
Performance time 8pm
Something About George – The George Harrison Story
Sonia Friedman Productions and the Royal Court Theatre today confirm the return of Ian Rickson’s production of Jez Butterworth’s Jerusalem to London’s West End for a strictly limited 16-week engagement. Mark Rylance and Mackenzie Crook will reprise their celebrated roles as Johnny “Rooster” Byron and Ginger respectively, with further casting to be announced at a later date.
Previewing at the Apollo Theatre from 16 April 2022 with the opening night on 28 April 2022, Jerusalem will run until 6 August 2022. There will be over 800 seats at £15 or under each week across the house throughout the run with additional education rates of £25 per student ticket. Sign-up is open today (29 July 2021) for priority booking at www.jerusalemtheplay.co.uk from 10am with exclusive priority booking for those who have signed up by 10am Monday 9 August 2021. Tickets will go on general sale Monday 16 August 2021 at 10am.
The original creative team will return for this 2022 production – designer Ultz, lighting designer Mimi Jordan Sherin, composer Stephen Warbeck, sound designer Ian Dickinson for Autograph and casting director Amy Ball CDG.
Jez Butterworth’s award-winning play, which premiered at the Royal Court in 2009, returns to the West End following record-breaking sold-out runs at the Royal Court and the Apollo Theatres in 2009, 2010 and 2011 as well the Music Box Theater on Broadway in 2011.
On St George’s Day, the morning of the local county fair, Johnny Byron is a wanted man. The Council officials want to serve him an eviction notice, his son wants his dad to take him to the fair, Troy Whitworth wants to wreak his revenge and a motley crew of mates wants his ample supply of drugs and alcohol.
Dial M for Murder is to resume UK tour dates this autumn with The X Factor songstress – now renowned for her acting roles – Diana Vickers joining the production alongside Tom Chambers, Christopher Harper and Michael Salami as they resume their roles in the genre-defining thriller.
Performances begin on Tuesday 31 August at Leicester’s Curve Theatre. The show then plays at the Theatre Severn, Shrewsbury; Playhouse Theatre, Liverpool; Churchill Theatre, Bromley; Theatre Clwyd, Mold; Everyman Theatre, Cheltenham; Lyceum Theatre, Sheffield, Milton Keynes Theatre; New Theatre, Cardiff; Palace Theatre, Southend; The Lowry, Salford before concluding its run at the Malvern Theatre in December.
The new production of Frederick Knott’s stage and screenplay – made world-famous by Hitchcock’s iconic 1954 film – is directed by Anthony Banks and began performances at the Richmond Theatre on Tuesday 14 January 2020.
TV and stage favourite, Tom Chambers, (Top Hat, Strictly Come Dancing) stars as the charismatic and manipulative Tony Wendice, a jaded ex-tennis pro who has given it all up for his wife Margot, played by Diana Vickers. When he discovers she has been unfaithful his mind turns to revenge and the pursuit of the ‘perfect crime’. Christopher Harper(Coronation Street, Strangers on a Train) performs in the dual roles of Captain Lesgate and Inspector Hubbard and Michael Salami (Hollyoaks) as Max Halliday, Margot’s lover.
Tom Chambers plays Tony Wendice. Tom’s theatre credits include: Crazy For You (UK tour); Private Lives (UK tour); White Christmas (Dominion); Top Hat (Aldwych); White Christmas (Sunderland Empire); The Rover (Young Vic Studio); Journey’s End (Courtyard Theatre); Bloody Poetry (Brockley Jack Theatre); Pendragon (City Theatre Broadway NYMT and Sadler’s Wells); October’s Children (NYMT and Hammersmith Lyric); Cyrano De Bergerac and Macbeth (Derby Rep Theatre); Damn Yankees (Yvonne Arnaud Theatre); The Innocents (Derby Playhouse) and Stepping Out (Electric GSA). Film includes: Fakers and Great in Britain: the Movie. Television includes: Midsomer Murders, Emmerdale, Casualty, Father Brown, The Great Train Robbery, Waterloo Road and Holby City. Radio includes: Mellow Magic every Saturday 10am-1pm.
Diana Vickers appears as Margot Wendice. Diana first came to public attention as a semi-finalist on The X Factor in 2008 and is remembered for her heart-felt, barefoot performances. Her theatre credits include: The Entertainer(dir. Sean O’Connor); Little Voice (West End); I Wish My Life Were Like A Musical, Myth (dir. Arlene Philips); Son of A Preacher Man (dir. Craig Revel-Howood); Big (Theatre Royal Plymouth); The Rocky Horror Show (ATG tour) and The Duck House (dir Terry Johnson). Film includes: Awaiting (dir. Mark Murphy); To Dream (dir. Nicole Albarelli)and The Perfect Wave (dir. Bruce MacDonald). Television work includes: Josh (BBC3), Top Coppers and Give out Girls.
Christopher Harper performs as Captian Lesgate and Inspector Hubbard. Christopher’s theatre credits include: Strangers on a Train (UK tour); Much Ado About Nothing (Shakespeare’s’ Globe); Slipping (Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough); The Wind in the Willows,Man of the Moment and Private Fears in Public Places (Royal & Derngate); I Know How I Feel About Eve (Hampstead Downstairs); The Night Before Christmas (Different Breed); The Village Bike (Sheffield Crucible Studio); A Kid Like Jake (Old Vic New Voices); OurCountry’s Good and Journey’s End (Original Theatre Company); Persuasion, After Miss Julie and People at Sea (Salisbury Playhouse); Saturn Returns (Finborough Theatre); Light Shining in Buckinghamshire and Lie of the Land (Arcola). Television includes: Holby City, Endeavour, Coronation Street, The Suspicions of Mr Whicher, Doctors, Upstairs Downstairs, The Bill, Heartbeat, The Roman Mysteries, Housewife 49,Life on Mars and Rosemary and Thyme. Chris also produced and voiced the award-winning charity animation The Mouse.
Michael Salami is Max Halliday. Michael Salami is a multi-award-winning actor. Born in America and raised in London, Salami discovered his passion for acting in 2007. Salami made his first on-stage appearance at Oval Theatre in 2010 and has since then performed at The Old Vic, Soho Theatre, Lyric Hammersmith, Southwark Playhouse and Theatre503. Salami studied at Stella Adler Studio of Acting in New York graduating in 2016 and since then has appeared in Hollyoaks; Catastrophe; The Temple and Magic Hour. His leading role in Just A Couple has landed him a number of nominations and awards such as a Screen Nation Award for Best Actor. Just A Couple is now in full development with Channel 4.
During lockdown Tom Chambers, Christopher Harper and Michael Salami continued their theatrical collaboration, starring together in Apollo 13: The Dark Side of the Moon, an online dramatization of the troubled 1970 lunar mission which won celebrated reviews.
Anthony Banks directs Frederick Knott’s Dial M For Murder,adding to credits that recently includeGaslight andStrangers on a Train. His production of the hit thriller, Girl on a Train, continues to tour the UK. The creative team is completed by David Woodhead, Designer; Katy Osborne, Resident Director; Lizzie Powell, Lighting Designer; Ben & Max Ringham, Sound Design; Betty Marini, Wigs Supervisor; Siobhan Boyd, Costume Supervisor, Luke Child as Production Manager and Alison de Burgh as Fight Director.
Dial M For Murder is produced by Simon Friend and Gavin Kalin.
DIAL M FOR MURDER 2021 TOUR DATES
Curve Theatre, Leicester / Box Office: 0116 242 3595 / Tue 31 Aug – Sat 4 Sept / www.curveonline.co.uk
By Eddie Redfern, Little Theatre Guild’s National Liaison Officer
Eddie Redfern
As we come out of lockdown and start to return to rehearsals and putting on plays, have you considered what effect the last 15 months has had on your members both Onstage, Backstage and Front of House? Have all volunteers and workers been fully briefed on the new COVID secure environment training and systems? Are you asking cast, crew, set builders, technicians and all volunteers to take regular lateral flow tests, during rehearsals and performances? These are free and available from Pharmacies or direct from the NHS. Has everyone been briefed that ‘The Show Must Go On’ syndrome is no longer a realistic and valid reason for turning up if they have any COVID symptoms, irrespective of their role?
Onstage and Backstage:
We might recognise that some cast members will be apprehensive about returning and rehearsing. But have we considered the lack of muscle memory for speaking out loud and projecting their voices. If you don’t do it already in rehearsals, is it worth doing vocal warm-ups and some warm-up exercises to get our actors rehearsal ready? This will assist them to get back to full performance readiness.
What about our set builders, the majority of whom are retired and have not built any sets for 15 months? I know at my own theatre the team dismantling the previous, unused set, was knackered far sooner than they expected. Again lack of exercise and muscle memory; do they need longer to build the set than 15 months ago? Have they been reminded of the health and Safety requirements? Have they had any refresher training on use of equipment, for example electric saws.
Has the Stage Manager and crew been briefed on COVID secure working, are they fit enough to move props and scenery. Are props being sanitized before and after use? Do they need additional assistance to get back to normal? What about our lighting and sound technicians. Have they been reminded of health and safety practices, especially lighting technicians who may not have been up high ladders for 15 months or more.
Front of House:
In this I include FoH manager, Stewards, Bar staff, Box Office and Tea and Coffee teams. Are they comfortable to return? Are they comfortable with the COVID secure procedures, with the likelihood of additional cleaning requirements, such as door handles and touch points once audience are in the auditorium? Have the bar staff been briefed to minimize the handling of glasses and increased hand sanitation during bar service? Is the preparation and service of ‘interval drinks’ any different? Box Office, have you moved to electronic ticketing? How will you manage manual tickets to avoid excess handling? Have you placed a screen between Box Office and customers, if you did not already have one? (My own theatre has installed a bank-style two-way communications system, and electronic ticketing. This stops people putting their heads through the box office hatch!!). Have you amended your first-aid procedures to ensure safety of both first aiders and the person needing assistance?
Is your theatre really covid secure?
Have you ensured additional ventilation? Have you adjusted your cleaning routine, with a higher frequency, or level of cleaning? Have you taken steps to mitigate contamination of auditorium seating? Do you have one-way systems in place, for as long as they are needed within the regulations? How are you ensuring dressing rooms, green room and kitchen areas backstage are clean?
Finally, I look forward to hearing how you have all managed as you re-open and pray that your audiences return in droves, so that we can do what we do best and produce live, entertaining, educational drama and theatre!
Perry and Croft’s classic BBC sitcom is brought gloriously to life in three episodes of the hugely popular television series hilariously and lovingly enacted by two master performers.
David Benson (‘Goodnight Sweetheart’ and ‘One Man, Two Guvnors’) and Jack Lane (‘Wisdom of a Fool’ and ‘7 Days’) transport the audience right back to Walmington, working from original radio scripts – complete with sound effects, vintage music and all of Perry and Croft’s beloved characters and catchphrases. Highly acclaimed by critics and by audiences of all ages.
Featuring three episodes newly adapted for stage:
‘When You’ve Got To Go’
Prviate Pike passes his call-up medical A1 (in spite of his chronically bad chest, his painful sinuses, his weak ankles and recently acquired nervous twitch). At the evening’s parade, Mainwaring and the platoon decide to celebrate Private Pike’s departure with a dinner in his honor at the local fish and chip restaurant.
‘My Brother and I’
Just as Captain Mainwaring gives the go-ahead for a sherry party with local dignitaries, his drunken brother, Barry, turns up to spoil the occasion.
‘Never Too Old’
The final ever episode of ‘Dad’s Army’, originally broadcast on Sunday 13 November 1977. The wedding reception of Lance Corporal Jones and Mrs Fox is interrupted as the platoon are put on full invasion alert.
Jack Lane said, “We love ‘Dad’s Army’ as much our audiences do and it is a privilege for us to have the opportunity to share our delight in our nation’s best-loved sit-com with audience’s all over the UK, Our aim has always been to be as true to the original, in finding the voices and mannerisms of the characters, as possible. No messing about it with it or trying to be ‘cleverer than it was’ by sending it up.”
Sound Designer Daniel Barnes. Original Production directed by Owen Lewis. Produced by Engine Shed and Something For The Weekend.
David Benson
Best-known for his performance as Noel Coward in the BBC’s classic war-time comedy ‘Goodnight Sweetheart’. David exploded onto the theatre scene with his first solo show ‘Think No Evil of Us: My Life With Kenneth Williams’, in 1996. The show became an instant classic, winning praises from audiences, critics and Dames Maggie Smith and Barbara Windsor for the accuracy of his portrayal as the ‘Carry On’ star. He followed this with a succession of solo shows on a wide variety of subjects, including Frankie Howerd, Dr. Johnson, the death of Diana Princess of Wales and an award-winning examination of the Lockerbie bombing.
David was a member of the National Theatre’s smash hit comedy ‘One Man, Two Guvnors’ with James Corden, playing 1,015 performances of the show. He appears in the film ‘Blade Runner 2049’ as a hologram of Liberace!
David was nominated for a BBC Audio Best Actor Award for his portrayal as Frankie Howerd in ‘Frankie Takes a Trip’.
David describes Dad’s Army Radio Show as “the best idea I ever had” and inviting Jack Lane to perform it with him, “the second best idea I ever had!”
Jack Lane
Jack founded Engine Shed Theatre Company in 2010. He soon adapted three episodes and two Christmas specials of the classic BBC sitcom ‘Steptoe and Son’ receiving approval from the original writers Ray Galton and Alan Simpson. In 2015 Jack premiered ‘Wisdom of a Fool’, a self-penned one-man play based on the life and career of comedy icon, Norman Widsom. The play opened to critical acclaim and was endorsed by Wisdom’s estate before embarking on an extensive tour.
Theatre includes: ‘A Christmas Carol’, ‘Dad’s Army Radio Show’ (Edinburgh Festival/National Tour), ‘Wisdom of a Fool’ (National Tour), ‘The Ambassadress’ (workshop), ‘Great Britain’ (ASM, Theatre Royal Haymarket), ‘Gretel and Hansel,’ ‘Cue for a Song’, ‘Steptoe & Son’, ‘From Turner To Houston’, ‘National Theatre Connections’, ‘Steptoe & Son Christmas Special’, ‘The Wizard of Oz’, ‘Aladdin’, ‘Peter Pan’, ‘Saucy Jack and the Space Vixens’, ‘Confusions’, ‘Annie’, ‘That’s
Entertainment’ (The Capitol, Horsham) and as Max Bialystock in ‘The Producers’ (The Hawth).
Film includes: ‘7 Days’ (Pixel Revolution Films)
TV includes: ‘Twirlywoos’ (BBC/Ragdoll)
Radio includes: ‘Casting the Runes ‘(Bafflegab Productions) and ‘Barbara Windsor Celebrates’ (BBC Radio 2)
Cast: David Benson (@DavidBensonSays)
Jack Lane (@RealJackLane)