Ambassador Theatre Group
KING IN CLOSE-UP Martin Freeman
BEST IN SHOW Jason Donovan Emma Williams
Fops, flappers & tomfoolery JEEVES & WOOSTER
hotlist! Martin Jarvis & Nigel Havers Riviera chic Jersey Boys
gold dust Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
Summer 2014
summer
of the best
goodwood revival Experience the glamour of historic motor racing at this unique meeting with competitors and spectators dressed in period style together with pre-1966 live music & entertainment. 12 - 14 September 2014 www.goodwood.com
wedding dresses 1775 - 2014 Prepare to sigh over the most romantic and extravagant wedding dresses from the V&A’s superb collection in this fascinating exhibition with gowns from Worth, Hartnell, Galliano, Lacroix and Vivienne Westwood. www.vam.ac.uk
jersey boys Winner of 54 major awards worldwide including the 2009 Olivier award for Best New Musical. Watch the crowd go wild for Jersey Boys at the Piccadilly Theatre in London’s West End and on a UK tour from September. atgtickets.com
ANNIE GET YOUR GUN Bull’s-eye! The Tony award-winning version of Irving Berlin’s musical masterpiece features an explosive collection of Broadway classics including There’s No Business Like Showbusiness & Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better - on tour this summer starring Jason Donovan, Emma Williams and Norman Pace. atgtickets.com
martin freeman Star of Sherlock, Fargo and The Office, the intriguing Martin Freeman returns to the stage for the first time since 2010 to play Shakespeare’s Richard III as part of the Trafalgar Transformed season directed by Jamie Lloyd. atgtickets.com
summer style Orange, white and taupe pin-tuck shirt from One Season £125 olivierslounge.co.uk
contents
1 RIVIERA ROMANCE ‘Glamorous, sexy, funny, irreverent’ Samantha Bond from Downton to Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
3
CLOSE UP TO A KING
Martin Freeman stars as Shakespeare’s ‘damaged and
self-doubting’ king in Richard III
5
AN ABSOLUTE BLAST
hit the spot in Annie Get Your Gun
7
ATG TICKETS
Jason Donovan & Emma Williams
Cue the hottest summer season ever Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
9 OH WHAT A NIGHT!
The timeless appeal of Jersey Boys
10 GET READY TO ROCK Air guitars optional - win a night
out with friends at Rock of Ages
11 PERFECT GENTLEMEN Bertie finds himself ‘knee-deep in
the bisque’ as Jeeves & Wooster
wows the West End
13 RETURN TO THE WILDE
The funniest play ever - Martin Jarvis
and Nigel Havers on The Importance
of Being Earnest
15 cannes do Rock of Ages
Jersey Boys
We’re crazy about Côte d’Azur style
this summer
17 DREAM DAYS
Where painters met poets Ambassador Group productions / Ambassador Theatre Group LONDON Theatres Apollo Victoria 0844 871 7615 Donmar Warehouse 0844 871 7624 Duke of York’s Theatre 0844 871 7623 Fortune Theatre 0844 871 7626 The Harold Pinter Theatre 0844 871 7622 Lyceum Theatre 0844 871 7615 Phoenix Theatre 0844 871 7629 Piccadilly Theatre 0844 871 7630 Playhouse Theatre 0844 871 7631 Savoy Theatre 0844 871 7687 Trafalgar Studios 0844 871 7632 Ambassador Theatre Group REGIONAL Theatres Aylesbury Waterside Theatre 0844 871 7607 New Alexandra Theatre, Birmingham 0844 871 3011 Theatre Royal Brighton 0844 871 7650 Bristol Hippodrome 0844 871 3012 Churchill Theatre Bromley 0844 871 7620 Edinburgh Playhouse 0844 871 3014 Leas Cliff Hall Folkestone 0844 871 3015 Kings Theatre Glasgow 0844 871 7648 Theatre Royal Glasgow 0844 871 7647 Grimsby Auditorium 0844 871 3016 Empire Theatre Liverpool 0844 871 3017 Palace Theatre & Opera House Manchester 0844 871 3019 Milton Keynes Theatre 0844 871 7652 New Theatre Oxford 0844 871 3020 Richmond Theatre 0844 871 7651 Southport Theatre & Convention Centre 0844 871 3021 Regent Theatre & Victoria Hall Stoke-on-Trent 0844 871 7649 Sunderland Empire 0844 871 3022 Princess Theatre Torquay 0844 871 3023 New Wimbledon Theatre & New Wimbledon Studio 0844 871 7646 Ambassadors Cinemas Woking 0844 871 7643 New Victoria Theatre & Rhoda McGaw Theatre Woking 0844 871 7645 York Grand Opera House 0844 871 3024 Online booking at atgtickets.com Broadway Theatres The Lyric Theatre (formerly Foxwoods) Jessamy Hadley Editor Pat Westwell, Nancy Groves, Benedict Nightingale, Chrissy Iley, Victoria Kingston, Al Senter, Mark Bouman, Jo Caird, David Bradbury, Laura O’Toole Contributors Shaun Webb Design Design and Art Direction John Good Ltd Print The Ambassador Theatre Group Ltd 39 - 41 Charing Cross Road, London WC2H OAR
The views expressed in this magazine are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the Ambassador Theatre Group Ltd. Cover photograph by Jay Brooks
inspirational ways to spend time
this summer
Interview
Samantha Bond
RIVIERA
Romance
Samantha Bond falls for London’s big, new hit the hugely entertaining Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
W
ho wouldn’t want to spend their days
Well, perhaps hot-footed isn’t the word. ‘Every
at Downton Abbey & their evenings
night I climb into a car that’s waiting outside the
on the French Riviera? Such is
Savoy stage door,’ Bond confesses. ‘I have a sandwich
Samantha Bond’s enviable lifestyle,
and a bag of crisps and they drive me down to
as nightly she takes to the stage in Jerry Mitchell’s
Interview by Nancy Groves
Photography by Johan Persson 1
Newbury to what is a very quiet hotel because all
sizzling, star-studded Côte d’Azur-set musical, Dirty
the other members of the cast are fast asleep.’ Even
Rotten Scoundrels, but not before having hot-footed
Maggie Smith? ‘Even Maggie Smith. And then, when
it from Hampshire’s imposing Highclere Castle where
we’ve finished filming the next day, another car
she is currently filming Downton’s fifth series.
arrives and whisks me back to London.’
Rufus Hound and Robert Lindsay
★★★★★ The former Ms. Moneypenny, eating a bag of
heiress (Katherine Kingsley). ‘Robert and Rufus have
Monster Munch? But we’ll allow it, as what sounds
the most amazing bromance you’ve ever seen, on
positively Hollywood-esque (limos, hotels, legendary
stage and off,’ reports Bond. ‘Their chemistry is
co-stars) is in reality rather hard work. And plus ça
electrifying.’ As, according to reviews, is her own with
change for the 52-year-old actress, who’s barely
John Marquez, who plays the flamboyant French chief
stopped since she graduated from Bristol Old Vic
of police to her buttoned up English tourist in the
theatre school: on stage (a young Juliet opposite
show’s romantic subplot.
Kenneth Branagh’s Romeo); on television (from
‘Since I was a little girl, I’ve loved Ginger Rogers,’
Rumpole of the Bailey to Auntie Angela in
she says. ‘And there’s this great moment when John
Outnumbered), and, of course, on the big screen
and I do this full-out Fred and Ginger number. Standing
opposite Pierce Brosnan in four James Bond films.
on stage, it feels so thrilling.’ Bond is at pains to point
musical. ‘It’s true! I haven’t sung in public since I was in panto at Bristol Old Vic and I hadn’t really danced since I was 15 in dance class. So when someone said to
sunday telegraph
★★★★
daily telegraph | Sunday Times the Guardian | Evening Standard Mail on Sunday
out that Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
Yet somehow, incredibly, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels is her first
A stonking great hit!
‘a masterclass in how to put on a musical’ Daily mail
has got what it takes to take the West End by storm. ‘It’s out and out glamorous, sexy, funny, irreverent. And the numbers! Our dancers are second to none. Those kids are out there kicking their legs over their
my agent, ‘Why don’t we meet Sam for the part?’ it was the most terrifying audition
shoulders and singing the most fabulous songs at the
I’d ever been in. I felt about six-years-old.’
same time. Jerry has worked them all very hard. Each
On stage, the glamorous Bond more than holds her
step, each arm movement is what he meant it to be.’
own. A 2004 hit on Broadway, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
Albeit a long way from Julian Fellowes’s world of
is based on the 1988 Michael Caine and Steve Martin
Downton Abbey, in which Bond plays another aunt.
savoy theatre
movie of the same name. Only here it’s three time
‘From glorious Broadway glamour to a very restrained
Olivier and Tony award-winner Robert Lindsay and
post-Edwardian drawing room!’ she laughs. ‘But
comedy legend Rufus Hound playing suave conman
actually, it’s lovely to do both.’ Sophisticated, suave
dirty rotten scoundrels
Lawrence Jameson and his buckstart young rival
and seductive - it’s no wonder Samantha has
Freddy Benson, out to see who can fleece an American
fallen for the stage. ■
EXCLUSIVE CHAMPAGNE PREMIUM PACKAGE for READERs BOOK TICKETS TODAY TO BE UPGRADED TO A PREMIUM SEAT AT £67.50 and A COMPLIMENTARY GLASS OF PERRIER-JOUET CHAMPAGNE
Starring Robert Lindsay, Rufus Hound, Katherine Kingsley Samantha Bond and John Marquez Box Office 0844 871 7687 Online booking at atgtickets.com Supported by
Normally valued at £100.50. Valid Mon - Fri until 18 July. Please quote Mail01 at time of booking. Subject to availability. No cash alternative. Soft drink alternative available. Alcohol will only be served to those over the age of 18+.
ATG Magazine / 2
Interview
King A Close Up to a
Director Jamie Lloyd on Martin Freeman in Richard III
lways expect the
This promises to be unexpected too.
unexpected with Jamie Lloyd.
Shakespeare’s play won’t come with ruffs or jerkins.
He’s affable and unpretentious but
It occurs in an alternative England, an imaginary and
this is a boy who went paddling with
somewhat dystopian place where a military coup has
pythons in a swimming pool, and, at 33, he’s the man
brought Edward to power and then seen him replaced
who has become Britain’s most exciting young director.
by what Lloyd calls ‘the runt of the litter, a man who
Last year he created a season at Trafalgar Studios whose
is not a natural ruler and, once he’s got to the top,
highlight was the brilliantly inventive Macbeth that
sees it all dismantled very quickly’.
brought James McAvoy into a weird, fractured, futuristic
That’s an unorthodox view of a Richard usually
Interview by Benedict Nightingale
Scotland - and this year he’s likely to thrill us again with
played, as Lloyd says, as ‘big, grandstanding, showy,
his second Trafalgar Transformed season with Martin
obnoxious, and seriously impressive’. But maybe he’s
Johan Persson
Freeman as Richard III.
a damaged, self-doubting man, rejected by his mother,
Photography by Jay Brooks and
3
who ‘is almost trying to be king to prove he can be
mother divorced before marrying a guitarist. Before
king’. For Lloyd, there’s psychological depth here,
that, she ran a fancy dress shop in Poole, hiring out
meaning an opportunity to ‘get into the mind of a
costumes of Bugs Bunny or Marilyn Monroe, and had
dictator who does great evil’. And who better to
a lodger who was a snake charmer - and took Jamie
embody that than Freeman, the unshowy actor whose
paddling with his slithery pets.
roles have included Watson to Benedict Cumberbatch’s
Though Jamie put on plays with his cousins, and
Holmes and Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit?
played a flying monkey and a Lost Boy in Poole
‘He’s a stunning performer,’ says Lloyd. ‘He can
productions of The Wizard of Oz and Peter Pan, he
say so much by doing very little and always gives
didn’t become a serious theatregoer until he was 17,
you a sense of a rich inner life. There’s a feeling that
when he saw a revival of Othello at the National. There
everything is bottled up: volcanic emotion put in a
followed study at Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts
jar with the lid tightly in place. It’s lurking beneath
and a career whose successes have been as different
the surface even if it rarely explodes. That’s very,
as She Stoops to Conquer at the National, Cyrano on
very compelling.’
Broadway and Urinetown and The Commitments in the
Lloyd never forgets that Trafalgar Studios are in
West End. Next year he’ll be adding a musical version
Whitehall, only yards from the centre of British power.
of Back to the Future to his work at Trafalgar Studios.
That’s one reason why his regime specialises in plays
There, he’s made important changes. On Mondays
with a political dimension, like last year’s productions
every seat is £15, bringing in huge numbers of first-time
of Pinter’s The Hothouse, set in a crazed state asylum,
playgoers. Elsewhere, too, he has reached out to
and Alexi Campbell’s The Pride, a play about sexual evolution that coincided with the debate about gay marriage. And later this year he’ll stage a revival of Ayub Khan Din’s East Is East starring Jane Horrocks, with the author playing the character he based on his
‘He’s a stunning performer. There’s a feeling that everything is bottled up: volcanic emotion put in a jar with the lid tightly in place.That’s very, very compelling’
own father: Zahir ‘Genghis’ Khan, who dominates a
Jamie Lloyd
audiences as theatrically deprived as he once was, for instance by reconfiguring the main studio to make it more intimate, less like a conventional West End theatre. The audience is now closer to the actors,
trafalgar studios Jamie lloyd productions presents
some of it seated at the
back of the stage, meaning (says Lloyd) that some must
dysfunctional Salford family.
have felt McAvoy’s sweat, even got splashed with his
‘For me plays must chime with the times,’ says Lloyd.
blood, as that bold, brave actor’s Macbeth met his end.
‘Not dry political plays, not worthy plays aimed at
So it will surely be with Martin Freeman’s Richard III,
earnest people, but plays that not only entertain but
since the theatre is now especially friendly to actors
in some way analyse the psyche of our age. Plays that
accustomed to the screen’s close-ups, subtleties,
richard iii
enter into a conversation with their audiences.’
and ruthless exposure of emotional falsity. ‘Yes, I
Lloyd himself wasn’t originally much of an audience
hope there’ll be danger and tension and the sense that
Starring Martin Freeman 1 July - 27 September
member, though there was entertainment galore in a
everyone’s got a secret, everyone’s looking over their
distinctly bizarre childhood. His father was a truckdriver
shoulders,’ says Lloyd. ‘There’s something visceral
and a drummer who managed a tribute band called
about the space.’ ■
east is east
Shadivarius. The stepfather who succeeded him was a
Starring Jane Horrocks 4 October - 3 January Box Office 0844 871 7632
children’s entertainer called Uncle Funny, whom his
Online booking at atgtickets.com ATG Magazine / 4
interview
An Absolute
Blast A sharpshooting, gun-toting humdinger of a show - ANNIE GET YOUR GUN rolls into town
5
T
here is a feeling of excitement, an urgency.
an incredible musical - there are lots of great songs
I am downstairs in the caverns of an old
that people will recognise but not necessarily realise
church in North London. Above we hear
come from this show, so it will be good to show
dancing feet and the familiar tune There’s
audiences how they tie in to the story of Annie Get
No Business Like Show Business, from the Irving
Your Gun.’
Berlin classic Annie Get Your Gun.
And there are plenty of dance numbers in the show,
It’s a major new six month UK tour of the Tony
meaning that Jason will be dancing as well as singing,
award-winning show - from the producers of Dirty
which doesn’t faze him as much as it would have done
Rotten Scoundrels, West Side Story and South Pacific
in the past. ‘I am more relaxed about choreography
- based on the true story of Annie Oakley, an incredible
than I’ve ever been thanks to Strictly!’
sharpshooter, and her romance with rival marksman
How does Jason find working with Emma Williams?
Frank Butler. They both worked for Buffalo Bill’s Wild
‘It’s all about good chemistry as performers. You know,
West Circus. Buffalo Bill was a soldier, bison hunter
we get along in abundance. I do think that a good
and the ultimate showman. Hence the song.
emotional performance comes from the acting and
Annie, who sings Anything You Can Do I Can
that is the basis for me, and the chemistry. And yes,
Do Better, was a 19th century proto-feminist.
also the fact that she has an incredible voice and an
She is played by the equally gutsy two-time Olivier nominee Emma Williams. Frank Butler is played by Jason Donovan. ‘The characters have a special
incredible talent make it a joy working with her.’ Buffalo Bill is played by comedian Norman Pace, half of the successful TV comedy duo
chemistry,’ Emma says.
Hale and Pace. Director Ian
‘We have been having
Talbot confirms he is an absolute perfectionist.
an absolute blast. I have
Norman laughs it off;
an array of weaponry in the show - rifles,
‘My biggest
pistols and I’m having
contribution to the
a whale of a time
entire show is that
playing with them.
I’ve managed to grow
I don’t know if I’d
my own facial hair for
trust myself with any
the part. I’ve got one of those moustaches
real ammo.’ ‘Annie was a real trick
that you have to twiddle
shot. She used to shoot
at the end and a long thin
over her shoulder using a mirror and she could hit things without looking. She does this amazing trick and unfortunately it’s the one thing that may make her lose Frank,
beard that is somewhere down to my knees.’ The original Buffalo Bill was a war hero and King of the Wild West. To train for Buffalo Bill did he have to shoot
the love of her life, when she thinks it’s going to be
deer or pigeon? ‘No animals were killed during the
the thing that will make him fall at her feet.’
making of this show. I don’t do any shooting. I’m in
Emma is excited to be working with Jason Donovan.
charge of the Wild West show and I make other people
‘On the first day of rehearsals we were doing a duet
shoot on my behalf. At the time of the show - and it
from the show. It’s glorious. There’s this amazing swell
is based on real life - my shooting days as a character
in the music, then the director said, ‘This is where you
are over. I am an impresario.’
kiss.’ Bear in mind I have known him for four hours at
‘I do sing There’s No Business Like Show Business.
this point and I am thinking, ‘Jason Donovan is kissing
It’s when they try to persuade Annie to join them.
me!’ I was supposed to come back in but I forgot what
They sing to her to say you’re going to have a great
I was supposed to say. Getting to work with someone
time, this is what happens in show business.’
who is as lovely as Jason is an absolute privilege and
It sounds as if he could put his heart and soul into
pleasure.’
that song. ‘Well I can because I spent the last 35 years
Jason is excited too. He’s now a musical theatre
doing it, so I have no trouble in believing the truth
veteran, from Joseph to Priscilla and he’s keen to point
of it. It’s been a great journey for me.’ ■
Starring Jason Donovan alongside West End leading lady Emma Williams with Norman Pace edinburgh playhouse 17 - 21 June Box Office 0844 871 3014 new theatre oxford 24 - 28 June Box Office 0844 871 3020 new alexandra THEATRE birmingham 1- 5 July Box Office 0844 871 3011 churchill THEATRE bromley 15 -19 July Box Office 0844 871 7620 aylesbury waterside THEATRE 22- 26 July Box Office 0844 871 7607 empire THEATRE liverpool 5 - 9 August Box Office 0844 871 3017 new victoria THEATRE woking 12- 16 August Box Office 0844 871 7645 THEATRE royal brighton 26 - 30 August Box Office 0844 871 7650 THEATRE royal glasgow 2 - 6 September Box Office 0844 871 7647 new wimbledon THEATRE 9 - 13 September Box Office 0844 871 7646 princess THEATRE torquay 30 September - 4 October Box Office 0844 871 3023 Online booking at atgtickets.com Jonathan Wilkes will star instead of Jason Donovan in Bromley and on the following dates: 14, 20, 21 June, 5 July, 2, 16 August
out the timeless appeal of Irving Berlin’s writing. ‘It’s
Interview by Chrissy Iley Production photography by Alistair Muir ATG Magazine / 6
atg ti
A SPARKLING SEASON OF LIVE THEATRE ACROSS THE UK THIS Summer ROCK OF AGES Get ready to salute the gods of rock in this 80’s themed hilarious smash-hit direct from the West End. ‘A sexy smasher that will have you laughing and rocking in equal measure’ Daily Star
DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS
★★★★‘A master class in how to put on a musical’ Daily Mail
★★★★‘Slick, funny and beautifully staged entertainment’ Daily Express
ANNIE GET YOUR GUN From the producers behind the Barbican revival of South Pacific & the return of West Side Story to Sadlers Wells comes this glorious gun-toting Irving Berlin classic starring Jason Donovan, Emma Williams & Norman Pace.
WAR HORSE An unforgettable theatrical experience, the National Theatre’s internationally acclaimed production of War Horse comes to Stoke’s Regent Theatre in September. ‘A landmark theatre event’ Time
Playhouse Theatre 0844 871 7631
1984 ‘This production turns Orwell’s dystopian head games into a powerful, visually audacious multimedia production’ S. Times
WICKED ON TOUR Casting a magical spell over Liverpool and Edinburgh later this year, Wicked promises technical wizardry, bewitching costumes and a show-stopping score. ‘A wicked and wonderful vision of Oz’ Evening Standard
Duchess Theatre 0844 871 7615
BAKERSFIELD MIST Kathleen Turner & Ian McDiarmid star in Stephen Sachs’ play asking vital questions about what makes art and people truly authentic.
Book your tickets online 7
ickets Apollo Victoria 0844 871 7615
Savoy Theatre 0844 871 7687
Wicked
dirty ROTTEN
There has never been a better time to experience ‘the hit musical with brains, heart and courage’ (Sunday Telegraph) as it flies into its seventh spellbinding year.
SCOUNDRELS Olivier Award-winning actor Robert Lindsay stars alongside Rufus Hound, Olivier Award nominee Katherine Kingsley & Downton Abbey’s Samantha Bond in this brand new musical comedy.
Trafalgar Studio 1 0844 871 7632 Trafalgar Transformed Season 2
Richard III BAFTA Award-winning Martin Freeman and Gina McKee star in the opening production.
EAST IS EAST
Jane Horrocks stars in this modern comedy classic about growing up in multi-racial England.
Harold Pinter Theatre 0844 871 7622
the importance of being earnest Starring Rosalind Ayres, Niall Buggy, Nigel Havers, Martin Jarvis
Piccadilly Theatre 0844 871 7630
Lyceum Theatre 0844 871 7615 Disney’s
jersey boys
The Lion King
Worldwide smash-hit musical about Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons.
With a cast of over 40 actors, singers and dancers. ‘A beautiful dazzle of invention and imagination’ Evening Standard
Noel Coward Theatre 0844 871 7615
shakespeare in love This romantic comedy is teeming with vibrant colours, characters, music and life.
Phoenix Theatre 0844 871 7629
once - a new musical Based on the Oscar-winning film, an extraordinary joyous celebration of love, friendship and music.
Donmar Warehouse Theatre 0844 871 7624
The Prince of Wales Theatre 0844 871 7615
Fortune Theatre 0844 871 7626
fathers & sons
the book of mormon
Lyndsey Turner returns to direct Brian Friel’s thrilling dramatisation of Turgenev’s masterpiece.
The hilarious 5-star Broadway musical from South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone.
One of the most exciting and gripping theatre events ever staged. ‘A truly nerve-shredding experience’ Daily Mail
the woman in black
at atgtickets.com Your One Stop Shop *Studio 2 has been made possible by a generous donation from Christina Smith
ATG Magazine / 8
news
jersey boys The worldwide smash-hit musical. Winner of 54 major awards world wide including the 2009 Olivier award for Best New Musical! piccadilly theatre Box Office 0844 871 7630 palace theatre manchester 4 September - 4 October Box Office 0844 871 3019 edinburgh playhouse 8 - 25 October Box Office 0844 871 3014 regent theatre stoke-on-trent 28 October - 8 November Box Office 0844 871 7649 sunderland empire 25 November - 6 December Box Office 0844 871 3022 NEW ALEXANDRA THEATRE, BIRMINGHAM 9 December - 3 January 2015 Box Office 0844 871 3011
Oh I
what a night! why jersey boys ticks all the boxes
t’s no surprise that Jersey Boys is still one of the
of a runaway success with a unique sound.
West End’s hottest tickets. Since it moved to
How do you tell their story, warts and all, when
London’s Piccadilly Theatre in March, where it
they’re still in the public eye and looking over your
celebrated its sixth birthday, it has continued to
shoulder, I ask him? How do you keep everyone
enjoy phenomenal success. Winner of 54 awards, it
happy but also keep artistic freedom intact? ‘This
has now been seen by 19 million people worldwide -
was very much in our minds,’ he admits. ‘Frankie is
and from September it will tour the UK for the first time.
very closely involved with the show and so is Bob
The true story of 60’s megastars Frankie Valli and the
Gaudio, the principal songwriter for the group. They
Four Seasons, Jersey Boys is brimming with their hits,
had very strict approvals, so whatever Marshall and
instantly recognisable even if you weren’t around then:
I wrote, they had to see it first. It wasn’t easy. We
Walk Like a Man, Can’t Take My Eyes off You, Big Girls
always needed their yes vote. But we were all happy
Don’t Cry - these are now part of rock and roll legend.
with the result. It’s a ripping yarn and their input gave it more truth, more authenticity.’
sheer musical razzmatazz! s. express
The cast is young and energetic, the songs are infectious, it’s a show full of nostalgia and joy. But it’s more than that. It’s also an incredible story about reaching the heights of success, even when you have nothing to start with, even when all the odds
Written by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice, the
are against you. ‘People have sat around camp fires
show tells the gritty story of four New Jersey lads
in caves for centuries, listening to stories that kept
who found their way to stardom in spite of coming
them enraptured,’ says Rick. ‘This story is like that.’
Online booking at atgtickets.com
from the wrong side of the tracks. They grew up
Wonderful story, wonderful songs. What more
among gangsters, did time in prison and could easily,
could you want from a night at the theatre? ■
Photography by Brinkhoff & Mîgenburg
as Rick tells me, have become ‘two-bit thugs’ instead
Feature by Victoria Kingston
9
Rock
get ready to
competition
with this incredible prize
A
fter five air guitar-ing, mullet-shaking
the best seats in the house at the ATG venue
years on Broadway and a further three
of their choice, along with the full VIP treatment
years of hell-raising in London’s West
including champagne, ice-cream and programmes.
End, the now legendary Rock of Ages
To get your hands on this great prize simply answer
is heading to a venue near you! Whip out those fishnet
the following question:
stockings, don those leather jackets, and prepare to rock the night away on this fierce ride through some of the most well-loved anthems of the 1980s including Don’t Stop Believin’, We Built This City, Wanted Dead or Alive & The Final Countdown. Starring Ben Richards (9to5 The Musical, Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Guys & Dolls), Noel Sullivan (Priscilla Queen of the Desert, We Will Rock You), and Cordelia Farnworth (Rock of Ages West End,
A sexy smasher that will have you laughing & rocking in equal measure Daily Star
What is the missing word from this famous anthem title, released by ‘Foreigner’ in 1984? I want to know what is? a rock b love c soul Please return your answer, not forgetting your name, address and telephone number/ email to Laura O’Toole, The Ambassador Theatre Group Ltd., 39 - 41 Charing Cross Road, London WC2H 0AR before Friday 4 July 2014 ■
Mamma Mia!), Rock of Ages follows the story of full-time dreamer Drew, and small-town girl Sherrie as they embark on the journey of a lifetime to L.A.’s Sunset Strip, determined to see their names in lights. In a classic tale of big-time dreaming and the power of love, this hilarious musical will be sure to have you laughing and rocking in equal measure! We’re offering one lucky reader plus three friends
Terms & conditions One winner will be drawn at random after the closing date. The prize includes four tickets (Mon - Thu performances only) to see Rock of Ages at the ATG venue of your choice, plus one bottle of champagne, 4 house programmes and 4 ice creams. Prize is subject to availability, non-transferable and non-redeemable for a cash value. Not open to employees of Ambassador Theatre Group Ltd. Editor’s decision is final.
Still rocking after 5 years on Broadway and following 3 years of ovation-inducing performances in London’s West End, the legendary Rock of Ages now heads out on a UK Tour. churchill theatre bromley 16 - 21 June Box Office 0844 871 7620 aylesbury waterside theatre 30 June - 5 July Box Office 0844 871 7607 bristol hippodrome 7 - 12 July Box Office 0844 871 3012 regent theatre, stoke-on-trent 14 - 19 July Box Office 0844 871 7649 empire theatre liverpool 21 - 26 July Box Office 0844 871 3017 sunderland empire 28 July- 2 August Box Office 0844 871 3022 king’s THEATRE GLASGOW 4 - 9 August Box Office 0844 871 7648 THEATRE royal brighton 11 - 16 August Box Office 0844 871 7650 milton keynes theatre 18 - 23 August Box Office 0844 871 7652 new victoria theatre, woking 25 - 30 August Box Office 0844 871 7645 york grand opera house 1 - 6 September Box Office 0844 871 3024 new theatre oxford 20 - 25 October Box Office 0844 871 3020 new wimbledon theatre 17 - 22 November Box Office 0844 871 7646 Online booking at atgtickets.com Photography by Manual Harlan
ATG Magazine / 10
Interview
Perfect Gentlemen Characters, cow creamers and assorted hare-brained schemes - it’s Jeeves and Wooster in perfect nonsense
A
Interview by Al Senter
Photography by Uli Weber 11
t the Drones’ Club they can talk of little
show at the Duke of York’s.
else. Who would have thought that Bertie
The success of Perfect Nonsense underlines the
Wooster of all people would have had the
extraordinary durability of the characters created
brains to put himself, his man Jeeves and
by PG Wodehouse nearly a century ago. Jeeves and
a bevy of assorted notables on the West End stage?
Wooster feature in eleven novels and more than thirty
It was jolly clever of him and the public are queuing
short stories and yet they have not aged in almost
in their droves to see the Olivier award-winning
a hundred years: Wodehouse’s world of deranged
aristocrats, simpering flappers, gorgonesque aunts
‘I remember hearing about a young actor in a play
and silly young asses has scarcely aged (Made in
who had only one line - something like may I have a
Chelsea anyone?). The characters and the language
cup of tea,’ begins Lance. ‘Oh no. Not another
may speak of long-distant decades but the realm they
theatrical anecdote,’ groans Sinclair in mock horror.
inhabit has achieved a timeless quality, appealing to
Lance ignores him. He continues: ‘He was terribly
new generations who savour the wit while yielding
nervous and on the first night when he said his line,
to the charm.
there was a huge laugh from the audience. But on the
Although it must be a daunting task to measure up
second night when he said his line, there was complete
to the public expectations of such iconic characters,
silence. The same thing happened on the next night
actors are keen to take up the challenge (most
and the next. So he asked an old actor in the company
★★★★
daily mail | Daily telegraph evening standard financial times | Independent daily express
An inventive evening of bonkers comedy Daily mail
Wodehouse’s world of deranged aristocrats, simpering flappers, gorgonesque aunts and silly young asses has scarcely aged. recently Matthew Macfadyen/Stephen Mangan and
for his advice. And this is what he said to him. The first
Mark Heap/Robert Webb). The latest duo is James
time you asked for a cup of tea: the next time you
Lance as Bertie and John Gordon Sinclair as Jeeves.
asked for a laugh,’ Do Messrs Lance and Sinclair have
‘I was peripherally aware of Fry and Laurie as Jeeves
any similar thoughts for the audience? ‘Help!’ cries
and Wooster but I hadn’t read any of the books so
the latter. ‘Could each member of the audience bring
I’ve been making up for lost time’ says Lance. ‘They
a copy of the script with them, please’ requests Lance.
are incredibly witty, of course, but what I also like is
‘But if I do forget my lines, I shall simply turn to
the friendship which the two men have - it’s an early
Gordon and ask - what happens now, Jeeves?’ ■
A too-rare, 22-carat demonstration of silliness as one of the great English virtues financial Times
bromance and it is just delightful. It was once said of Wodehouse that whenever he had a negative feeling, he wished it away, and Bertie Wooster doesn’t dwell on any feelings of negativity or resentment either. It comes down to light and dark and in Wodehouse’s world, the light will always win out over the darkness, even over Spode, the Darth Vader figure.’ For Sinclair, Wodehouse has been something of a closed book - until now. ‘It might have been due to my growing up in Scotland but he wasn’t really on my radar. Now that word has spread about my playing Jeeves, all these people have come out of the woodwork to say how much they are fans of his wit, of his humour. One guy told me that he always takes a Wodehouse with him on the train journey into work. It seems that Wodehouse can even take the horror out of commuting.’ Lance and Sinclair, strangers to each other before they were brought together for Perfect Nonsense, have quickly developed an amiable, bantering relationship that bodes very well for the health of the show. ‘I’m very much a method actor and so already John has started to run my bath,’ reveals Lance, straight-faced. ‘I’d love to have a gentleman’s gentleman. Apparently Churchill couldn’t dress himself without the help of his valet and his man would always put Churchill’s tea-cup on the windowledge so that it would collect the softer rainwater for Churchill’s tea. I’m hoping that Gordon will do the same for me.’ ‘Then don’t be surprised if it turns rather a yellow colour at times,’ retorts Sinclair. ‘I’d be very uncomfortable with a butler. I’m far too working class. Even having a cleaner makes me feel like a class traitor.’ Lance and Sinclair compare notes about learning the lines: ‘If we can crack it, it will be fantastic, a riot and I don’t mean the audience demanding their money back,’ says Sinclair. ‘You can’t help but do it, despite the challenges, ’adds Lance. ‘It’s such a treat to be able to bask in Wodehouse’s humour.’
duke of york’s theatre
jeeves & wooster in perfect nonsense Starring James Lance & John Gordon Sinclair. The world premiere of the new stage play featuring P.G. Wodehouse’s iconic double act. Until September 2014 Box Office 0844 871 7623 Online booking at atgtickets.com ATG Magazine / 12
backstage
13
Return Wilde to the
Martin Jarvis and Nigel Havers revisit the ultimate ‘trivial comedy for serious people’
W
ilde is timeless,’ asserts Martin Jarvis.
the audience are not. Gielgud used to say, ‘I cry quite
‘Some of the lines in The Importance
easily on stage, but I find the more I cry, the less the
of Being Earnest could have been
audience cry.’ He had to be very careful - he cried at
written yesterday. No matter how
the drop of a hat!’
many times you’ve seen the play, you still laugh.’ I
Martin Jarvis OBE is a well-known and much loved
agree; I’ve seen the play perhaps a dozen times over
actor/director, whose work encompasses every aspect
the years - but this production has a new twist. The
of the industry: films and television, radio drama, audio
cast is to die for: Martin Jarvis, Nigel Havers, Rosalind
book recording, voiceovers. He and his wife Rosalind
Ayres, Siân Phillips, Cherie Lunghi - only you find
Ayres run the highly successful Jarvis and Ayres
yourself wondering who is going to play the young
Productions which has produced many award-winning
leads: Algernon and John, Gwendoline and Cecily.
plays for BBC Radio, National Public Radio in America
Martin has the answer. It all began in 1982, when
and international audio books. His Just William
he and Nigel played John and Algernon at the National
recordings are worldwide bestsellers. Recently, he has
Theatre. ‘It was regarded as a kind of revelation on
enthralled audiences with BBC radio productions of
how to approach Wilde’ recalls Martin. ‘We threw
Shaw, Mamet and Ayckbourn - also Ian Fleming and
out previous approaches where the actor is being clever and witty in a knowing way - the more seriously you say the lines, the funnier it is.’ The two young leads remained good friends and so when Nigel rang Martin last autumn to suggest doing the play again, Martin was sure he would be asked to play Canon Chasuble. No, no, Nigel insisted - reprising
Martin Jarvis Nigel Havers
many PG Wodehouse
‘The thing I have learned from playing Wilde so early in my career is that tightening the screws of the seriousness, tightens the brilliance of the comedy. If the actors are laughing, quite often the audience are not’
their old parts.
adaptations in which he plays the perfect Jeeves. Recently, he has been on screen in Endeavour, Miss Marple, Poirot, Law and Order and Stargate. His first major role was as Jon in the ground-breaking BBC television series The Forsyte Saga, and in the years that followed he was sought after for the classics: The Pallisers, Nicholas Nickleby,
An eccentric idea, but the more they discussed
Little Women, The Moonstone. He confesses, with
it, the more appeal it had. ‘I remember suggesting,’
a grin, that many years ago, he played an insect in
Martin says, ‘that we should be The Bunbury Company,
Doctor Who.
an amateur dramatic group, who have been doing the
He has been called the man of a thousand voices
play for 30 years or have perhaps played it once and
- and it’s absolutely true. His voice is part of the fabric
have never been able to get our diaries together in
of our lives in TV commercials, documentary
order to play it again - something like that. So now we
voiceovers and children’s programmes. There is
are determined to do it, even though it’s 30 years on.
nothing more pleasant than to sit back, enjoying his
The play is being dress rehearsed in the great drawing
theatrical anecdotes, complete with the voices of Edith
room of the lady playing Lady Bracknell - which will
Evans, John Gielgud, Richard Burton, Laurence Olivier
be Siân Phillips. The scenario I favour is that we did the
- and even Nigel Havers, I discover. He slips effortlessly
play once and now we want to do it again. We may be
from one voice and one character, to another: small
too old, but we shall press on and give it our best shot.
children, American directors, pompous men, posh
the importance of being earnest Oscar Wilde’s much loved and brilliantly witty masterpiece starring The Bunbury Company of Players comprising Rosalind Ayres, Niall Buggy, Patrick Godfrey, Nigel Havers, Martin Jarvis, Christine Kavanagh, Cherie Lunghi and Siân Phillips. Directed by Lucy Bailey the harold pinter theatre From 27 June Box Office 0844 871 7622 theatre royal brighton 29 September - 4 October Box Office 0844 871 7650 aylesbury waterside theatre 6 - 11 October Box Office 0844 871 7607 richmond theatre 13 - 18 October Box Office 0844 871 7651
So that’s the runway we are launching it from. The
ladies, menacing villains. ‘I’ve always had this
important thing to note is that we won’t be sending
imagination,’ he says. ‘And if I believe myself to be
the play up - I think that joke would get quite stale
the character, I think the audience will too.’
after 15 minutes.’
What then, in Martin’s view, is the secret of Wilde’s
‘The thing I have learned,’ he tells me, ‘from playing
comedy? He considers this. ‘Well, he’s a great observer
new alexandra theatre birmingham 20 -25 October Box Office 0844 871 3011
Wilde so early in my career - and from directing
of course. His timing is sensational. Even if you’ve heard
Online booking at atgtickets.com
Wodehouse and other Wilde plays - is that tightening
those lines many times, it’s as if they’re newly minted.
the screws of the seriousness, tightens the brilliance
The lines seem spontaneous and natural. It’s as if the
of the comedy. If the actors are laughing, quite often
words have never been said before.’ ■
Interview by Victoria Kingston Nigel Havers photograph courtesy of Rex Features ATG Magazine / 14
style
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Feature by Mark Bouman
canne 15
es do
savoy theatre
dirty rotten scoundrels Starring Robert Lindsay, Rufus Hound, Katherine Kingsley Samantha Bond and John Marquez Box Office 0844 871 7687 Online booking at atgtickets.com
ATG Magazine / 16
going out Immerse yourself in art, crafts and literature on a day out inspired by some of the UK’s greatest artists and cultural movements. Take a tour of locations that made it into some of our best loved works of art, visit artists’ homes and kick back at their favourite pubs. From Wedgwood to Woolf and Robert Burns to Burne-Jones, there’s enough to keep you busy all summer long.
Dream Monks House - the writing lodge East Sussex
days
scotland
Get to know Scotland’s National Bard, Robert Burns,
on a walking tour of locations that appear in Lowry’s
with a visit to the poet’s hometown and the locations
works (14 August; private tours also available on
that inspired his works. The Robert Burns Birthplace
request), or recreate a day in the painter’s life by
Museum in Alloway is set over 10 acres and includes
watching his beloved Manchester City play.
the humble Burns Cottage, where the writer of Auld Lang Syne was born, the ruins of Alloway Auld Kirk, where Burns set his 1790 poem Tam O’Shanter and
stoke-on-trent
a modern museum dedicated to his life and work
As the centre of the UK’s pottery industry since the
where performances of song and poetry take place
18th century, Stoke-on-Trent offers a great day out
hourly. Burns learnt to dance, founded a debating
for craft fans. The most famous name in these parts
club and became a Freemason at the Bachelors’
is Josiah Wedgwood - learn about him and the
Club, in nearby Tarbolton - the property is now run
company he founded in 1759 at the Wedgwood
by the National Trust of Scotland. See the chair
Museum, or take a tour of the factory to get an insight
and desk where he wrote his last works at Robert
into the making process. A more modern take is on
Burns House in Dumfries, and have a pint at
offer at the Emma Bridgewater Factory, where tours
the poet’s favourite pub, the Globe Inn.
run Monday to Friday. The Potteries Museum & Art Gallery and the Gladstone Pottery Museum provide
manchester L.S. Lowry lived and worked in Manchester all his
a broader view of the development of the pottery industry in the area and together hold an enormous collection of local, British and international ceramics.
life and the city is home to the largest collection of his paintings and drawings in the world. The gallery that bears his name has a collection of over 400
Gladstone Pottery Museum Stoke-on-Trent 17
birmingham
works, including seven of the artist’s rare ‘mannequin’
Birmingham may not look like the sort of place to
sketches, which show a darker, erotic side to the UK’s
incubate an artistic movement, but that’s exactly what
greatest ever painter of industrial and urban life. Put
happened in the second half of the 19th century when
your visit in context by joining local expert Ed Glinert
Edward Burne-Jones and fellow artists from the area
Birmingham Cathedral Birmingham Duncan Grant’s studio, Charleston farmhouse East Sussex
Gladstone Pottery Museum Stoke-on-Trent Berwick Church East Sussex Robert Burns House Scotland The Potteries Museum & Art Gallery Stoke-on-Trent
joined forces with William Morris to create the Arts
some beautiful frescoes by Vanessa Bell and
and Crafts Movement. The Birmingham Museum
Duncan Grant.
and Art Gallery holds the largest public collection of pre-Raphaelite works in the world and currently
kent
has around 35 paintings, sculptures, watercolours
burnsmuseum.org.uk nts.org.uk/Property/Bachelors-Club dumgal.gov.uk globeinndumfries.co.uk
and applied works on display in two dedicated galleries.
Charles Dickens lived most of his life in London but
You can see stained glass by Edward Burne-Jones
it was on the Kent coast that he spent some of his
thelowry.com/exhibitions
in Birmingham Cathedral and the Royal Birmingham
happiest times. Gad’s Hill Place, the country house
newmanchesterwalks.com
Society of Artists is presenting an exhibition on the
outside Rochester where he lived from 1857 until his
pre-Raphaelites in October.
death, is now a school, but the building is open to the
wedgwoodmuseum.org.uk
public on selected dates throughout the summer. In
emmabridgewaterfactory.co.uk
east sussex
Rochester itself you’ll find Restoration House, the fine
The Bloomsbury Group artists Vanessa Bell and
for Satis House in Great Expectations. Dickens tours
Duncan Grant moved to Charleston, a pretty
take place regularly at the Historic Dockyard Chatham
17th-century farmhouse near Lewes in East Sussex
nearby, offering insights into the writer’s relationship
in 1916. It soon became an important meeting place
with the place from the days when his father worked
for their literary and artistic circle, attracting the
there while along the coast in Broadstairs, the Dickens
likes of Virginia and Leonard Woolf, Clive Bell and
House Museum is located in the cottage that inspired
E.M. Forster. Charleston has been restored and you
Betsy Trotwood’s house in David Copperfield. ■
late 16th-century mansion that served as the inspiration
can tour the house to see a huge amount of work
stokemuseums.org.uk bmag.org.uk birminghamcathedral.com rbsa.org.uk charleston.org.uk nationaltrust.org.uk/monks-house berwickchurch.org.uk
by the Bloomsbury Group, including murals, painted furniture, ceramics, paintings and textiles. Also in
the perfect finale Continue the cultural theme
restorationhouse.co.uk
the area is Monks House, where the Woolfs lived
with the best plays, musicals, opera & ballet at ATG’s
thedockyard.co.uk
from 1919. As well as paintings by Bloomsbury
theatres in Glasgow, Manchester, Stoke-on-Trent,
artists including Roger Fry, you can see Virginia’s
Birmingham, Brighton & Folkestone, Kent. For full
writing desk. Visit nearby Berwick Church for
details of what’s on visit atgtickets.com
dickensfellowship.org/broadstairs Feature by Jo Caird ATG Magazine / 18