Ambassador Theatre Group
Fairest of them all JERRY HALL PRISCILLA PRESLEY
‘I just love this job!’ RUFUS HOUND
TAMSIN GREIG Almodóvar Heroine
Winter 2014
Family matters EAST IS EAST
hotlist! red carpet style london must-sees stoppard’s wise & witty arcadia
winter
of the best ronan keating - once Hugely successful recording artist and singer-songwriter Ronan Keating (ex-Boyzone) joins the West End cast of Olivier award-winning musical Once this November. atgtickets.com
Destination Edinburgh Breathtaking at any time of the year, Edinburgh comes into its own in winter and is the perfect destination for a festive break. Hogmanay celebrations are the highlight of the year and well worth a trip - kilts optional. edinburghshogmanay.org
UK ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR 2014
Tax breaks for theatre
Co-founder and Joint Chief Executive of Ambassador Theatre Group, Rosemary Squire OBE was named EY UK Entrepreneur of the Year 2014 this October - the first woman in the UK to win the prestigious award. She now goes on to represent the UK at the World Entrepreneur of the Year awards in June 2015.
Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rt. Hon. George Osborne MP visited Theatre Royal Brighton recently to announce the new theatre tax relief initiative. Among the first new productions to benefit will be Tom Stoppard’s Arcadia - a joint production by Theatre Royal Brighton Productions and English Touring Theatre opening in Brighton in January 2015.
atgtickets.com
atgtickets.com
on the town ‘New York, New York - it’s a helluva town!’. A new production of the Broadway musical that inspired a film starring Frank Sinatra and Gene Kelly, On the Town opens at the Lyric Theatre, Broadway this October. ticketmaster.com
Nights at the Museum From the atmospheric rooms of the Sir John Soane’s Museum by candlelight to the grisly medical curiosities of the Wellcome Collection many of the capital’s most eyecatching museums have occasional late-night opening this Autumn. soane.org wellcomecollection.org
contents
1 ALMODÓVAR’S WOMEN A great actress for a great role -
Tamsin Greig in Women on the Verge
of a Nervous Breakdown - The Musical
3
player king
Rufus Hound’s musical journey
5
paradise found
Stoppard’s masterpiece Arcadia
7
hear ye! hear ye!
8
For readers
offer for ATG Theatre Card holders
From stand-up to song and dance -
One of the nation’s Top Five plays -
Spamalot returns to unite the nation
East is East
Win tickets to Jersey Boys plus a special
9 femmes fatales
Magic mirror? Poison apple? Killer
heels? Jerry Hall and Priscilla Presley
glam it up in Snow White
11 atg tickets
Inspired evenings out this season
13 east is east goes west
Household tensions erupt in the modern comedy classic East is East
starring Jane Horrocks and
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
Chelsea Physic Garden
Ayub Khan Din
15
opening night
17
christmas cheer
for Christmas in the capital
Chic evening looks for the red carpet
Mulled wine and mistletoe - cosy up 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 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 Jessamy Hadley Editor Pat Westwell, Nancy Groves, Lucy Johnston, Benedict Nightingale, Victoria Kingston, Al Senter, Mark Bouman, Olivier Lievre, Jo Caird, David Bradbury, Nicole Logan 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
Interview
Women
Almodóvar’s
Interview by Nancy Groves Photography by Jay Brooks 1
Gutsy, funny, sexy, surprising
W
e’re used to hearing actors thank
Olivier and Critics Circle awards for Best Actress in
their agents at award dos, usually
Much Ado about Nothing and her roles in King John
in that bit where the orchestral
(also RSC), The Little Dog Laughed, God of Carnage
music starts playing to get them
at the Gielgud, Gethsemane at the National and
off stage. But if Tamsin Greig wins an Olivier for
William Boyd’s Longing at Hampstead. Her films
Women on a Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (and
include Tamara Drewe and she recently finished
with the versatile and multi-talented Greig, that’s
filming on The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel 2 and
always a possibility), her gratitude will be sincere.
Breaking the Bank with Kelsey Grammar.
‘I tried to say no,’ she says of her musical theatre
Undoubtedly the surprising, sexy Pepa is a breakout
debut in the fiery, funny stage adaptation of Pedro
role for her and in all her years on stage, TV and film
Almodóvar’s Oscar-winning film. ‘To start in a
she’s never done anything like it. Her excitement is
completely new arena doing something utterly
shared by the creative team: ‘I knew she was an
unknown to me fills me with a thrilling terror which
experienced and popular actor in England,’ says
makes it hard to rush at things.’ But her agent insisted.
Director Bart Sher, ‘but she is perhaps the single
So did the producers ATG whose award-winning
most talented actor I have ever worked with. She
transfer of Jumpy from The Royal Court had Greig
can turn from inexplicable glee and humour to
as its stand-out star and fortunately for audiences
heartbreaking pathos in a split second - and her
she was persuaded to take the leap.
skill and dexterity are unmatched. We have found
In the show, written by David Yazbek and
a great actress for a great role. She is unquestionably
Jeffrey Lane of Dirty Rotten
an Almodóvar heroine
Scoundrels fame, Greig
and up to the heights
plays Pepa Marcos, a successful actress whose life begins to unravel when she is unceremoniously dumped by her lover, Ivan (‘Eebaan it sounds so much more alluring in Spanish!’). There’s also a wife in the picture, of course, not to
‘We have found a great actress for a great role. She is unquestionably an Almodóvar heroine and up to the heights of humour and heart demanded by his work’
demanded by his work.’
But is her career a
conscious work in progress or a series of happy accidents? ‘Someone said life is not lived forward like you’re in a car or train. Life is like you’re in a rowing boat. All
mention Pepa’s best friend, a model who is dating a terrorist.
of humour and heart
you can see is what you’re leaving behind. You think:
Pepa was played in the 1988 film by the great
‘Wow, look at what we’ve been through’. You don’t
Carmen Maura, who also appeared in Almodóvar’s
know what’s coming so you just keep pulling the oars’.
2006 hit Volver, a film Greig very much admired.
Her boat has wobbled, she says. ‘When I got
‘Volver stuck with me in the way that a lot of films
pregnant with my first child, I was doing a lot of voice
don’t - it got under my skin. He asks the audience
work. I thought, ‘this is great, I can carry on and let
to respond with their guts. And he’s so interested
my body recover’. Then for no apparent reason, it
in women. She reaches for the right words: ‘I love
all dried up. My storyline in The Archers went quiet;
the way that he investigates the guts of gutsy women!’
the narrations and voiceovers weren’t being made.
No wonder Greig was offered the part. No-one
I thought: ‘what are we going to do here?’ Until her
does mild hysteria as perfectly. Playing gutsy if flailing
husband, fellow actor turned writer Richard Leaf,
women is well-trodden ground for her on TV and
stepped in.
radio from Debbie Aldridge in The Archers through to
‘He said, ‘How about I look after us for a while?’
Dr Caroline Todd in Green Wing, screenwriter Beverly
Greig laughs in wonder at the memory. ‘It was the
Lincoln in the transatlantic hit Episodes and Jackie in
most beautiful thing to say because I had been
Friday Night Dinner. Other roles she has particularly
brought up to think you should always look after
relished: David Renwick’s Love Soup (produced by
yourself. And he did. And that’s what we’ve been
the legendary Verity Lambert) White Heat, Miss
doing ever since: teamwork. Nobody does this alone.
Bates in Emma, Edith Frank in The Diary of Anne Frank
You should be interviewing 10 other people around
and most recently DCI Maggie Brand in The Guilty.
me , never mind this show, and especially my agent!
Her versatility is widely recognised - witness her
I pull the oars with gratitude.’ ■
playhouse theatre Tamsin Greig in Pedro Almodóvar’s
women on the verge of a nervous breakdownTHE MUSICAL From 18 December 2014 Box Office 0844 871 7631 Online booking at atgtickets.com ATG Magazine / 2
Interview
‘Richly original, damnably charming, a scandalous delight’ Sunday Times
★★★★
daily telegraph | Sunday Times | the Guardian Evening Standard | Mail on Sunday
3
player
King I
rufus hound loves every showstopping minute of dirty rotten scoundrels
t’s a slow-paced, late afternoon in
He certainly looks as if he’s enjoying every minute.
the West End, and I’m perched on a bench
‘I grew up wanting to be a theatre actor, so it feels
outside the stage door of the Savoy Theatre. The
really good to be here doing this now. I am very aware
air-conditioning units are creating a tepid breeze
that there are serious hours involved in learning the
and the grey sky and closely packed buildings create
craft -I have so much respect for actors, and the way
a moody atmosphere that feels more like Broadway
they can tell such incredible stories about our world
than the Strand. At an open window just above, the
- but at least on some days I feel I am starting to get
energised beat of some unrecognisable electronic
somewhere with it!’
music is wafting. I sit wondering who might be in
Getting somewhere he certainly is, and fast. Having
that room, just as three time Olivier and Tony award-winner Robert Lindsay sweeps
earned his stripes as a stand-up comedian - both on stage and TV - it came to a point a couple of years ago where he
out of the stage door, to perch on
needed a change of scene.
the adjacent bench and make
‘I did stand-up for a long
a phone call.
time but eventually I
A few minutes later
got so angry with it
the company manager
all. I lost sight of
ushers me up the
what made it good.
stairs and down a rabbit warren lined
I realised I was
with doors until
writing polemic
we reach - I realise
rather than jokes,
a little too slowly
so I had to walk
to play it cool - the
away. I just felt
room with the
there had to be
open window. ‘Oh,
something new out there for me.’
it’s you!’ I blurt,
That something
inexplicably, as I
new was musical
tumble into the
theatre which he found
dressing room of
incredibly fulfilling. One
acclaimed comedian and
role led to another and in late
actor Rufus Hound.
2012 he made waves in the West
Rufus is currently starring alongside Lindsay in London’s big new hit,
End when he took on the lead role in
the riotous musical comedy Dirty Rotten Scoundrels,
One Man Two Guvnors. Learning the finely honed
in which they play a pair of seasoned con artists trying
skills of the Commedia dell’Arte style of showmanship,
to trick an American heiress out of her millions. When I
combined with his natural comedic flair, stood him
pay my visit, Rufus has just been put through his paces
in perfect stead for nimbly slipping into the shoes of
in a full rehearsal, ahead of the evening performance.
con artist Freddie.
‘They are certainly keeping us on our toes,’ he grins,
‘I’ve been back-to-back with theatre work for over
‘which is good. For a show like this it needs to be sharp
two years now, and it’s been incredible. You obviously
and keep the pace up. If the audience don’t go away
need a bit of a break every so often - a holiday just long
savoy theatre
feeling like they’ve been on a two-and-a-half-hour
enough to go sit in a quiet room, rocking, until you
holiday to the South of France, then we haven’t done
feel human again!’ he winks, ‘but I wouldn’t change
our jobs properly!’
all this for anything else. I love being part of a Proper,
dirty rotten scoundrels
He and Lindsay have been in the show since March
Big Show,’ he stresses the words as if in capital letters.
but are signed to do the whole year-long run and with
And who has been his inspiration in wanting to do
eight shows a week, this is no small undertaking for
live theatre? I ask, expecting him to reel off a few
Starring Robert Lindsay, Rufus Hound & Katherine Kingsley Box Office 0844 871 7687
its stars.
luminaries of the acting world.
Online booking at atgtickets.com
‘It is a big ask, there’s no denying it, and it’s really
‘I think my greatest inspiration was the Muppet
Supported by
taught me the importance of looking after myself,
Show,’ he shares, sincerely, but with a twinkle. ‘The
but you know what? I just love this job!’ Another big
concept that whatever happens the show must go
grin lights up his face. ‘Confucius was right, you know
on, and everyone has to throw themselves into
- if you choose a job you love, you’ll never do a day’s
making it happen. I love that attitude!’ ■
work in your life. So true!’
Interview by Lucy Johnston
Photography by Johan Persson ATG Magazine / 4
Interview
Voted One of the Nation’s Top 5 Plays (ETT My Favourite Play)
FOUND britain’s greatest living playwright, tom stoppard meets new british director blanche mcintyre in arcadia
A
s a director she’s as far removed from
And more is to come. In January, at Brighton’s
arrogance as the Moon is from Saturn.
Theatre Royal, McIntyre opens a revival of Tom
She is, she admits, a very shy person who
Stoppard’s Olivier award-winning comedy Arcadia
forces herself to adopt a more assured
which she’ll then send on national tour. For me, it’s
persona in the rehearsal room. She’s ‘terrified’ before
one of the finest plays of our era, a brilliantly witty and
first nights. She’s afraid that one day her talent may
emotionally absorbing portrait of two generations of an
‘just go’. And she recalls the night she stood watching
aristocratic family whose interests extend from maths
a dodgy preview ‘biting my knuckles so badly the tooth
to poetry, landscape gardening to computer science.
marks didn’t leave them for days afterwards’ - and being
For McIntyre, it’s a play that’s been ‘under my skin’ since
clearly amazed when the major critic in the audience
she staged the first non-professional production of
gave her production four stars.
Stoppard’s A.E. Housman play The Invention of Love
She’s Blanche McIntyre, the unaffectedly modest
as an Oxford undergraduate 13 years ago.
34-year-old who is also one of the great hopes of
The daughter of sculptor Grant McIntyre and Helen
Interview by Benedict Nightingale & Courtesy of Glenn Copus /
the British theatre, having already won several coveted
Fraser, formerly managing director of Penguin Books,
Photography by Dominic Parkes
awards, including four for her revival of Accolade,
Blanche talks in her self-effacing way about luck,
Emlyn Williams’s 1950 play about a Jekyll-and-Hyde
privilege and the supportive family who immersed her
Evening Standard / Rex
novelist.
in the arts. She was only six when, beside her four-
5
Blanche McIntyre
‘Tom Stoppard’s dazzling masterpiece’
‘One of the most exquisite plays of the 20th century’
Daily Telegraph
Independent on Sunday
year-old sister, she sat through The Messiah.
notably Chekhov’s Seagull and a revival of Coward’s
At nine her father was covering her eyes at erotic
Tonight at 8.30 presented by English Touring Theatre,
moments in Aristophanes’s Lysistrata and then doing
the company joining ATG’s Theatre Royal Brighton
the same at a Don Giovanni towards whose ending
Productions in reviving Arcadia. Having also staged
the chorus stripped off, became statuary and was
a lively Comedy of Errors at the Globe this year,
spray-painted grey. But could she become an actress,
McIntyre has clearly arrived, though she’s not one to
as she clearly hoped?
take success for granted: ‘I think a certain amount of
No, because she became ‘stiff as a plank’ in school
fear is healthy. The day you walk and say ‘I know how
plays and, she adds, learned at first hand how brave
to do this’ is the day you make terrible work. Being
actors have to be. So, aged 14 and inspired by Katie
complacent makes bad theatre.’ As a director, she believes
Mitchell’s ‘terrific’ production of Henry VI Part Three, she got together with friends and began to direct, boldly staging the 15th-century morality play Everyman: ‘It was as exciting as acting. And I could put together a whole world instead of one character. So I started accidentally, did another show accidentally -
‘Directing was as exciting as acting. And I could put together a whole world instead of one character. So I started accidentally, did another show accidentally and that ‘accidentally’ has never stopped’
in listening to actors, encouraging their confidence and creativity, accepting their better ideas, and gently though decisively steering them in what she and they will have jointly discovered to be the best direction. That’s the credo she’ll bring to Arcadia, a play she thinks
and that ‘accidentally’ has never stopped.’
‘credits its audiences with being clever, curious and
At Oxford, Blanche staged plays ‘in sheds and
naturally interested in the world around them’, but not
cupboards, college rooms and a squash court’, herself
one that’s overintellectual. On the contrary, she finds it
coming up with the bundles of £25 that financed
‘incredibly moving’, a wise comedy which emphasises
Stoppard and Frisch, Aeschylus’s Prometheus Bound,
that Stoppard is ‘one of the most emotionally truthful
and a Hamlet she prefers to forget. And after
and touching playwrights there is’. What next? She’d
postgraduate study at London’s Drama Studio, she
like to have a crack at the Greek dramatists, ‘partly
spent ten years honing her skills on the Fringe, living
because they’re so difficult, with audiences so different
cheaply, sometimes getting props from skips,
from what they originally were’. But nothing is yet fixed
assembling casts that worked for plenty of love but no
except her determination to keep directing. ‘Yes, it’s an
money, and ‘learning that when hierarchies are so
addiction. I don’t know a better word for something
shallow you can’t be a dictatorial director’.
you’re compulsively drawn to. There’s an adrenalin
National recognition came in 2011 with Accolade,
about it and a camaraderie that’s very seductive and
followed by rave reviews for several other productions,
hard to get away from - especially if you’re shy.’ ■
ARCADIA First premiered at the National Theatre, Tom Stoppard’s undisputed masterpiece is an exciting new collaboration between Theatre Royal Brighton Productions (Dandy Dick, Blue Orange) and English Touring Theatre (Ghosts, The Misanthrope) THEATRE ROYAL BRIGHTON 30 January - 7 February 2015 Box Office 0844 871 7650 churchill THEATRE bromley 16 -21 February 2015 Box Office 0844 871 7620 new victoria theatre woking 23 -28 February 2015 Box Office 0844 871 7645 aylesbury waterside theatre 2 -7 March 2015 Box Office 0844 871 7607 new alexandra theatre, birmingham 23 -28 March 2015 Box Office 0844 871 3011 Online booking at atgtickets.com
TRB P Theatre Royal Brighton Productions
ATG Magazine / 6
news sunday telegraph daily star sunday
‘Book yourself a ticket to Spamalotin these dark days it will help you look on the bright side of life’ Charles Spencer, Daily Telegraph
Hear Ye!Hear Ye!
ust off your coconuts, polish your
pleased as punch to be back in the role. He won
chainmail and adjust your helmet - after
the part having entranced Bonnie Langford in ITV1’s
three excessively silly years in London’s
Dancing on Ice - she invited him to see her in Spamalot
West End, Monty Python’s Spamalot will
and suggested to its producers that he’d make a
be unleashed on an unsuspecting nation for the
great King Arthur. They’re big breeches to fill - a host
second time from January next year.
of famous King Arthurs have sat on the throne before
Spamalot tells the legendary tale of King Arthur
him including Marcus Brigstocke, Jon Culshaw,
and the (rather naughty) Knights of the Round Table
Stephen Tompkinson and Les Dennis. ‘I loved my
and features a bevy (or possibly a brace) of beautiful
time as King Arthur in the West End production’ says
showgirls, witchburnings (cancelled due to Health
Joe. ‘I’ll be joining a fantastic Spamalot cast including
opera house manchester 15 - 24 January 2015 Box Office 0844 871 3019
& Safety) not to mention cows, killer rabbits and
Bonnie Langford and Todd Carty and can’t wait to
French people.
get back on my invisible horse as we search the
‘Lovingly reformed’ from the 1975 film Monty
kingdom for the Holy Grail.’
richmond theatre 26 - 31 January 2015 Box Office 0844 871 7651
Python and the Holy Grail the Tony award-winning
The latest tour follows hot on the heels of the
musical by Eric Idle and John DuPrez delivers Python
Python’s incredible 10 night sell-out run at London’s
in-jokes galore from the French who throw insults at
O2 Arena and Eric Idle’s acclaimed performance of
new alexandra theatre birmingham 2 - 7 February 2015 Box Office 0844 871 3011
the invading British (always a good one) to the grim
the nation’s Favourite Comedy Song Always Look on
knight who dismisses the loss of his limbs as ‘a flesh
the Bright Side of Life at the 2012 Olympic Closing
wound’. It’s zany and silly and full of comic ad-libs
Ceremony - the world sang along then - and Spamalot
new theatre oxford 9 - 14 February 2015 Box Office 0844 871 3020
and punchy one-liners - the perfect pick-me-up.
audiences can look forward to delivering a rousing
Having first played the king in a successful West
rendition again when the show hits the road
End run last summer, comedian Joe Pasquale is
next year. ■
monty python’s
spamalot
grand opera house york 16 - 21 February 2015 Box Office 0844 871 3024
Voted Funniest Musical in Britain
new victoria theatre woking 9 - 14 March 2015 Box Office 0844 871 7645 edinburgh playhouse 16 - 21 March 2015 Box Office 0844 871 3014 regent theatre stoke-on-trent 23 - 28 March 2015 Box Office 0844 871 7649 theatre royal brighton 30 March - 4 April 2015 Box Office 0844 871 7650 aylesbury waterside theatre 13 - 18 April 2015 Box Office 0844 871 7607 churchill theatre bromley 20 - 25 April 2015 Box Office 0844 871 7620 liverpool empire 11 - 16 May 2015 Box Office 0844 871 3017 sunderland empire 18 - 23 May 2015 Box Office 0844 871 3022 king’s theatre glasgow 1 - 6 June 2015 Box Office 0844 871 7648 new wimbledon theatre 8 - 13 June 2015 Box Office 0844 871 7646 milton keynes theatre 15 - 20 June 2015 Box Office 0844 871 7652 For full casting details by venue see atgtickets.com 7
evening standard
exclusive offer
competition
for readers on the town lyric theatre broadway Now booking until 15 March 2015 Online booking at ticketmaster.com on the town Terms & conditions ATG Theatre Card benefits are subject to availability, please check with the venue or call 0844 871 7633. Members can purchase up to 4 tickets at the offer price per performance. Additional booking fees may apply on selected Broadway, music, comedy & named act events. Cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer. ATG reserves the right to withdraw benefits or related offers & without notice. Theatre Card price is valid until 30/10/2015. For full Terms & Conditions please visit atgtickets.com/theatrecard.
jersey boys
orchestra on Broadway and a 30-member cast
J
of New York’s most talented singers and dancers,
and the streets are a turbulent mix of crime bosses,
On the Town tells the story of three sailors on a
loan sharks and police. Against this dynamic
whirlwind musical tour of the city that never sleeps.
backdrop, follow four young boys from the wrong
With just 24 hours of shore leave, they’re eager to
side of the tracks, who have nothing to lose and
experience all that New York City has to offer
who would go on to become rock ‘n’ roll legends
including a chance to discover love with the girl
and one of the world’s biggest selling bands.
of their dreams.
We’re offering one lucky reader plus three friends
Directed by Tony® winner John Rando
the best seats in the house at an ATG venue of your
(Urinetown, A Christmas Story) and choreographed
choosing, along with the full VIP treatment
by Emmy® winner Joshua Bergasse (Smash), this
including champagne, ice-cream and programmes.
big, brassy musical comedy features a beloved
To get your hands on this great prize simply answer
Leonard Bernstein score, lyrics by Comden and
the following question:
T
his fall, one of America’s greatest musical
comedies is docking at Broadway’s
beautifully restored Lyric Theatre in the
heart of Times Square! With the biggest
ersey Boys, the worldwide hit musical, tells
the remarkable rise to stardom of one of
the most iconic groups in pop history, the
Four Seasons. It’s 1962 in New Jersey, New
York. The air is filled with the sounds of rock ‘n’ roll
Green, and breathtaking dancing inspired by the original Jerome Robbins choreography. Arriving on Broadway following a critically acclaimed out-oftown run, On the Town is ‘one of those rare revivals that remind us what a hit show was originally all about’ (The New York Times). Come see what all the buzz is about, and spend a spectacular evening on the town!
theatrecard offer: ATG Theatre Card
What is the missing word from this legendary hit song, released by The Four Seasons in 1963 ‘I’m gonna walk like a a lady b man c egyptian
The worldwide smash-hit musical. Winner of 54 major awards worldwide including the 2009 Olivier award for Best New Musical! piccadilly theatre Box Office 0844 871 7630 edinburgh playhouse 8 - 25 October 2014 Box Office 0844 871 3014 regent theatre stoke-on-trent 28 October - 8 November 2014 Box Office 0844 871 7649 sunderland empire 25 November - 6 December 2014 Box Office 0844 871 3022 NEW ALEXANDRA THEATRE, BIRMINGHAM 9 December 2014 - 4 January 2015 Box Office 0844 871 3011 milton keynes THEATRE 3 - 14 February 2015 Box Office 0844 871 7652 NEW VICTORIA THEATRE, woking 17 - 28 March 2015 Box Office 0844 871 7645 new THEATRE oxford 12 - 23 May 2015 Box Office 0844 871 3020 Online booking at atgtickets.com
members get best available seats to On the Town for the exclusive price of £108.25. Terms and
Please return your answer on a postcard, not
conditions apply. Please quote code 4LYRIC
forgetting your name, postal address and email, to;
when booking at ticketmaster.com/On-the-Town-
Nicole Logan, The Ambassador Theatre Group Ltd,
tickets/artist/980244
39 - 41 Charing Cross Road, London, WC2H 0AR before Friday 7 November 2014.
jersey boys competition Terms & conditions One winner will be drawn at random after the closing date. The prize includes 4 tickets (Mon - Thu performances only) to see Jersey Boys at the ATG venue of your choice, plus 1 bottle of champagne, 4 house programmes & 4 ice creams. Prize is subject to availability, non-transferable & non-redeemable for a cash value. Not open to employees of Ambassador Theatre Group Ltd. Editor’s decision is final.
ATG Magazine / 8
Interview
Femmes fatales Casting a uniquely glamorous spell this CHRISTMAS - JERRY HALL AND PRISCILLA PRESLEY
Aylesbury Waterside Theatre
cinderella Starring Suzanne Shaw, Russell Grant, Andy Collins & Holly Brewer 12 December 2014 - 4 January 2015 Box Office 0844 871 7607 bristol hippodrome
dick whittington Starring Ashleigh & Pudsey, Ben Faulks & Andy Ford 6 December 2014 - 4 January 2015 Box Office 0844 871 3012 King’s Theatre, Glasgow
PETER PAN
Russell Grant Ashleigh & Pudsey Wayne Sleep Below: Warwick Davis & Bradley Walsh
Starring Greg McHugh, Gavin Mitchell & Des Clarke 6 December 2014 - 11 January 2015 Box Office 0844 871 7648 liverpool empire Theatre
ALADDIN
I
’m having a cup of tea with two beautiful women
I am lucky -I get on well with Mick’s other families.
Starring Ray Quinn, Claire Sweeney, Pete Price, Leanne Campbell & Roy Brandon 13 December 2014 - 4 January 2015 Box Office 0844 871 3017
who have a lot in common. Both were married to
We were married for 23 years and we had our ups
rock icons - Elvis Presley and Mick Jagger - both
and downs but there was a lot of fun. And we have
are Americans who love English tradition and
four beautiful children.’ Indeed, Mick is bringing all
both are starring as the Wicked Queen in productions
the children - from all the families - to Jerry’s first
of Snow White this pantomime season.
night. ‘I’m so excited. They’re going to scream and
opera house manchester
‘I love England,’ says Priscilla Presley. ‘I love the
boo a lot. I said to Mick - please don’t throw anything!’
snow white
people - I love the pubs! My daughter (Lisa-Marie) has
Both women agree that playing a baddie is more
a home here - so I’m visiting a lot.’ Jerry Hall has lived
fun than a goodie. ‘I can let loose all the badness in
here for 23 years in the Richmond family home, with
me,’ Jerry laughs. ‘I shall revel in it. And the noisiness
Starring Priscilla Presley & Warwick Davis 5 December 2014- 4 January 2015 Box Office 0844 871 3019
Mick living close by. ‘Our children are British - they
is no problem. Coming from Texas - we do a lot of
were born here - and I plan on staying,’ she asserts.
shouting.’ Jerry is enthralled by her splendid
Milton Keynes Theatre
It was Mick who took Jerry to her first panto - way
costumes. There’s a fabulous red dress, split to the
back in 1977. ‘I was amazed because people were
thigh. ‘I love my red horns,’ she laughs. ‘And they’re
peter pan
throwing tomatoes at the stage! I thought - oh my
pretty comfortable too.’ Priscilla agrees about
God, I’ve never seen anything like this,’ she laughs.
baddies. ‘When I was a little girl, I loved the Wicked
Did she think England must be a crazy country?
Queen in Snow White. She was so evil, but also so
‘Oh yes, goll-ee! But I’m used to British
pretty. It is fun to play that combination, and my
humour now and I love it.’ Both ladies agree that it’s a fine tradition. ‘It’s a wonderful introduction to theatre for children and for family gatherings. I think it’s brilliant - and I am so happy the tradition is kept up,’ says Priscilla. ‘When I played the Wicked Queen in Wimbledon, it took me a few weeks to get
‘Mick is bringing all the children - from all the families - to Jerry’s first night. ‘I’m so excited. They’re going to scream and boo a lot. I said to Mick - please don’t throw anything!’
costumes are unbelievable.’ The natural progression for beautiful women, as they reach middle age, seems to be to play wicked women. Can we sympathise at all with this queen? Every day the mirror tells her there is a younger, prettier girl nearby. ‘Yes, and telling you - hey, guess what - you’re getting
used to all that shouting out - and I had to learn
too old,’ adds Priscilla. ‘You have to retire! And as for
how not to get into trouble by saying something back
that pretty girl in the forest, we have to do something
and forgetting my next line. I didn’t expect to have
about her, that’s for sure!’
so much fun because I was so petrifyingly nervous.
Jerry, tongue firmly in cheek,
Anyway, my whole family came to see me - and they’re
adds, ‘I’m used to it. Just think
coming this year - so I’ve got to go through with it
of the counselling I need to
even if I am frightened and nervous before it starts!
live with two supermodel
Once it begins, I go out there and have fun with it.’
daughters! But truly, I
This is Jerry’s first role in panto - but she’s no
wouldn’t want to be 20
stranger to theatre (besides being a supermodel for
again. It’s fine to be
four decades!). She delighted audiences as sexy
approaching the crone
Mrs Robinson in The Graduate. She is a patron of
years - and getting old is
Richmond Theatre - and I tell her that I have seen her
the new cool. And as for
many times in the panto audience, with her children,
looking in the mirror - the
shouting out and joining in the spirit of mayhem and
trick is not to put your
madness. ‘We love it,’ she laughs. ‘I think the
glasses on. You look
interaction with the children is the best part of it.
fabulous then.’ ■
Starring Bradley Walsh & Flawless 5 December 2014 - 11 January 2015 Box Office 0844 871 7652 richmond theatre
snow white Starring Jerry Hall, Chris Jarvis & Aimie Atkinson 5 December 2014 - 11 January 2015 Box Office 0844 871 7651 regent theatre, stoke-on-trent
DICK WHITTINGTON Starring Jonathan Wilkes, Christian Patterson & Louise Dearman 28 November 2014- 4 January 2015 Box Office 0844 871 7649 New Wimbledon Theatre
cinderella Starring Matthew Kelly, Wayne Sleep & Tim Vine 5 December 2014 - 11 January 2015 Box Office 0844 871 7646 New Victoria Theatre Woking
aladdin Starring Justin Fletcher, Ben Adams & Steven Arnold 6 December 2014 - 10 January 2015 Box Office 0844 871 7645 For full casting details and online booking for all pantos across ATG venues this year visit atgtickets.com Interview by Victoria Kingston ATG Magazine / 10
atg ti
Make time for theatre in your diary this winter - it’ll set you up for the season Women on the Verge of a nervous breakdown - the musical Turning heads this December is Olivier Award winner Tamsin Greig in the new musical adaptation of Pedro Almodóvar’s Oscar-nominated film.
Neville’s Island Starring Adrian Edmondson, Miles Jupp, Neil Morrissey and Robert Webb this all-star hit comedy from the multiaward-winning writer of Calendar Girls features the worst team-building day ever.
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels Sophisticated and suave with a good dash of mischief Dirty Rotten Scoundrels the Musical is the finest night out of 2014. ‘Richly original, damnably charming, a scandalous delight’ Sunday Times
Dirty Dancing The fastest selling West End show in history is out on the road this Autumn. With songs including Hungry Eyes, Hey Baby and I’ve Had The Time of My Life it also features some seriously sensational dancing - of course! ★★★★ ‘Magnificent’ Mail on Sunday
Apollo Victoria 0844 871 7615
Wicked Experience ‘the hit musical with brains, heart & courage’ (Sunday Telegraph) as it flies into its seventh spellbinding year.
Spamalot Following three excessively silly years in the West End, Monty Python’s Spamalot is unleashed on an unsuspecting nation (again) from early 2015.
Duke of York’s Theatre 0844 871 7623
neville’s island Adrian Edmondson, Miles Jupp, Neil Morrissey & Robert Webb star in this tale of misadventure.
Book your tickets online 11
ickets Trafalgar Studio 1 0844 871 7632 Trafalgar Transformed Season 2
Savoy Theatre 0844 871 7687
dirty ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS
east is east
One of the best British comedies ever returns to the London stage, starring stage and screen icon Jane Horrocks (The Rise and Fall of Little Voice, Absolutely Fabulous) and award winning playwright and actor Ayub Khan Din.
Olivier Award-winning actor Robert Lindsay stars alongside Rufus Hound and Olivier Award nominee Katherine Kingsley in this hit musical comedy about sun, sea and swindling.
women on the verge of a nervous breakdown the musical
The critically acclaimed production.
★★★★ ‘This is a great,
very British musical about a great, very British band’ The Times
Piccadilly Theatre 0844 871 7630
The Prince of Wales Theatre 0844 871 7615
jersey boys
once - a new musical Based on the Oscar-winning film, an extraordinary joyous celebration of love, friendship and music.
This brilliantly satirical portrayal of Hollywood by David Mamet, starring Lindsay Lohan, Richard Schiff and Nigel Lindsay.
SUNNY AFTERNOON
Olivier Award winner Tamsin Greig (Episodes, Green Wing, Jumpy) makes her musical theatre debut, with Olivier & Tony Award nominee Haydn Gwynne.
Phoenix Theatre 0844 871 7629
SPEED-THE-PLOW
Harold Pinter Theatre 0844 871 7622
Playhouse Theatre 0844 871 7631
Worldwide smash-hit musical about Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. ‘This true life mega-hit story of the Four Seasons is an utterly wonderful show of vitality, pace and power. Oh what a night of magical memories’ Daily Express
Playhouse Theatre 0844 871 7631
the book of mormon The hilarious 5-star Broadway musical from South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone.
Noel Coward Theatre 0844 871 7615
shakespeare in love This romantic comedy is teeming with vibrant colours, characters, music and life.
Donmar Warehouse Theatre 0844 871 7624
city of angels A witty & glorious celebration of film noir.
Lyceum Theatre 0844 871 7615
Fortune Theatre 0844 871 7626
Disney’s The Lion King With a cast of over 40 actors, singers and dancers. ‘A beautiful dazzle of invention & imagination’ Evening Standard
the woman in black One of the most exciting and gripping theatre events ever staged. ‘A truly nerve-shredding experience’ Daily Mail
at atgtickets.com Your One Stop Shop *Studio 2 has been made possible by a generous donation from Christina Smith
ATG Magazine / 12
Interview
goes west
13
I
n a rare and unmissable venture into the West
to my mother.’
End, the multi award-winning stage and screen
Khan Din was also keen to write a play that would
star Jane Horrocks (The Rise and Fall of Little
counter some of the clichés that had attached
Voice, Absolutely Fabulous) is back on the
themselves to Asian characters in the media. ‘Asians
boards this autumn starring in one of the best British
were invariably represented as victims, being beaten
comedies ever - East is East at the Trafalgar Studios.
up or running corner shops or objecting to arranged
And in an intriguing twist, she will appear opposite
marriages. But rather than Asian girls refusing to
the playwright himself, who returns to his acting
marry the men selected by their parents, in East
roots after a long absence from the stage.
is East, it is Asian boys preferring not to marry
It must be slightly odd to revisit the piece that
Pakistani girls.’
made your name after a gap of fifteen years. Such
How have his fellow-actors reacted to having the
a sensation is currently coursing through the veins
writer at such close proximity? ‘Last week, which
of Ayub Khan Din. And with the passage of time,
was the first week of rehearsal, I was the writer in
Khan Din has reached the optimum age for playing
the room,’ Khan Din replies. ‘This week, I’m an actor
George Khan - ‘Genghis’ to his kids - the domestic tyrant who attempts to
and a member of the company. Although I don’t allow actors to improvise, at the same time you have to
impose his traditional values
enable each actor to go
upon his British wife and
through their own
their brood of seven
process.’ But the
children. And adding to
immediate impact
the piquancy of the experience, Khan Din
of East is East took
is playing a thinly-
them all by surprise.
veiled version of his
‘I may have been
own father in this
writing specifically
wise and witty piece
about a mixed race
set against the
family but the patriarchal father,
unforgiving backdrop
the strong mother
of 1970s Salford.
holding the family
Had the passage of
together, the sibling
time caused Khan Din to
We had no idea how well the play
lived in Spain now for seven years,
the other side. Whether it’s British expats in Spain or
would cross cultural barriers; in fact, it reached all audiences.’ The success of the play and the equally warm
Indians and Irish in Britain, immigrants all tend to live
reception given to the film version made Khan Din
together, they speak their own language and eat their
a hot property. Now he can please himself about
own food and watch television programmes from
what he chooses to do. He has a healthy number of
home. As an expat Brit in Spain, I think that I now
plays and screenplays on their way to production.
have a better understanding of my father’s attitudes.’
‘I have the impression that there are not many
East is East was an instant hit when it opened in
Asian people who don’t have a copy of East is East
the humble Birmingham Rep Studio in the autumn of
or West is West on their bookshelves,’ he says. ‘It was
1996 and it went on to fill much larger venues on its
undoubtedly a breakthrough play and a breakthrough
way to becoming an equally successful film. However,
movie. I think that things are improving slowly for
it had undergone a long gestation period, as Khan
Asians in the business with more writers and more
Din explains.
integrated casting.’
‘I completed the first draft in 1982 when I was at
Khan Din hotly denies that his life in Spain is all sun
drama school. My mother had been diagnosed with
and sangria, although he has acquired a taste for one
early Alzheimer’s and since it is usually the mother
local custom. ‘Once I’ve driven the children to school,
who is the fount of all knowledge about her family,
I come home and get down to work,’ he protests.
I wrote the play partly to preserve some of these
‘I do take a siesta, however, even if nobody in this
memories. It’s often said that your first play is a kind
country understands the idea of the siesta.’ ■
of therapy and East is East is as much a memorial
The patriarchal father, the strong mother holding the family together, the sibling rivalry are experiences common to virtually all of us. We had no idea how well the play would cross cultural barriers; in fact, it reached all audiences.
common to virtually all of us.
went back to the play? ‘Having
immigrant experience, having witnessed it from
Ayub Khan Din
rivalry - are experiences
reassess his father when he
I think that I understand more about the
Jane Horrocks
trafalgar studios Jamie lloyd productions presents
east is east Starring Jane Horrocks and Ayub Khan Din By Ayub Khan Din Directed by Sam Yates 4 October 2014 - 3 January 2015 Box Office 0844 871 7632 Online booking at atgtickets.com Interview by Al Senter
Photography by Jay Brooks and Marc Brenner
ATG Magazine / 14
style
Night
opening
Couple a dramatic red carpet look with the perfect first night gift a delightful theatrical tradition outfit 1 Dinner suit From Ted Baker tedbaker.com Blazer £249 Trousers £115
HALTER-NECK TOP From Zara zara.com Zip FOLD clutch Bag From Unisa
£29.99
cavells.co.uk £90
Shoe Boots From Kennel Schmenger at Olivier’s Lounge olivierslounge.co.uk £225
outfit 2 printed silk dress From Sana C £199 flower necklace £45 gold lizard-print clutch From Abro gold sandals From Lola Cruz £179 All at Olivier’s Lounge
outfit 3 lace dress From Diane von Furstenberg selfridges.com £300
black leather clutch bag From Abro abro.de/en/Collection/Bags £120
satin shoes From Ted Baker
£115
first night gifts Gold Bracelet From Olivier’s Lounge amber / samphire perfume
£29
From Laboratory Perfumes laboratoryperfumes.com £55
silver chain bracelet As before panama note books From Smythson smythson.com £45
scented candle From Twist and Tango twisttango.com £15 All prices quoted are given as a guide only and may be subject to change by individual retailers
Feature by Mark Bouman and Olivier Lievre
15
£29
£125
going out Make merry in London this winter with an extraordinary list of things to see and do From festive shopping in unlikely locations to unusual exhibitions celebrating the joys of Christmas past, we’ve got the season of goodwill all wrapped up.
Cheer
CHRISTMAS
Chelsea Physic Garden
chelsea physic garden
London’s oldest botanic garden may technically be
into a museum for his extraordinary collection of art
closed until springtime but those in the know can
and antiquities after his death and the place has been
explore this beautiful place on a handful of frosty
open to the public since the early 19th century. It’s
days this winter. On 29 - 30 November a Christmas
at its eclectic best on the monthly evening opening
Fair takes place in heated marquees on the lawn at
(first Tuesday of each month), when Soane’s treasures
the heart of the garden (admission £5). Plants,
are lit by candlelight. Be sure to arrive early as entry
jewellery, silverware, chocolates, clothing and
is limited to the first 200 people.
garden objects will be on sale at over 80 stalls, and the lovely Tangerine Dream Café will be serving a
fortnum & mason beauty rooms
seasonal menu. The garden is also open (with no charge for entry) on 2 - 5 and 8 - 12 December,
Shopping is a tiring business at the best of times,
when the Book & Gift Shop will be selling Christmas
but it’s positively exhausting when the festive season
cards and gifts. ‘Hidden gem’ is much overused but the phrase is spot on as far as this place is concerned: what opened as the Apothecaries’ Garden in 1673 with the aim of training apprentices in identifying plants is still
a visit to ATG’s London theatres makes the perfect festive treat. Christmas highlights include traditional panto magic with Cinderella at the New Wimbledon Theatre, the sparkling song and dance musical Dirty Rotten Scoundrels at the Savoy or for ghostly thrills try Woman in Black at the Fortune Theatre. atgtickets.com 17
comes round. So take a break with the Flagging Shopper pampering package at the Beauty Rooms at Fortnum & Mason (£50). The 50-minute treatment includes a reviving foot refresher and a back massage, working on the areas of your body most affected by
a fascinating spot to learn about the
pavement pounding and lugging heavy shopping
medical and other uses of thousands
bags. And when you’re done, have a stroll around
of everyday and unusual plants.
the historic store to stock up on luxury festive tidbits like teas and confectionery.
sir john soane’s museum geffrye museum This building, really three 18th-century houses gradually demolished and rebuilt
Located within a set of beautiful 18th-century
over a period of 30 years, was the home of
almshouses in East London, this museum explores
celebrated architect and parliamentarian Sir
English domestic life from the 1600s to the present
John Soane. He arranged for it to be turned
day through a series of carefully dressed period
The Blue Anchor Charles Dickens Museum Chelsea Physic Garden The Holly Bush
St Paul’s Cathedral
interiors and gardens. It’s a delight to visit at any
A Christmas Carol was enormously influential in
time of year, but there’s an added incentive in
terms of creating our modern idea of Christmas, from
wintertime when the museum is transformed by
snowy street scenes to decorated trees. You can learn
Christmas Past: 400 Years of Seasonal Traditions
about his life at one of London’s most charming house
in English Homes (from 25 November to 4 January).
museums, the terraced property in Bloomsbury where
This exhibition sees each of the Geffrye’s 11 period
Dickens lived with his growing family between 1837
living rooms decorated in the traditional style of the
and 1839. Full of letters, portraits and antique furniture
era, and is accompanied by a programme of events
(some of it owned by the author himself), the house
exploring Georgian Christmas traditions.
is decorated in the early Victorian style, as it might have been in Dickens’ day. From the end of November
warming drinks
until Twelfth Night (6 January) the museum will be dressed for Christmas, with costumed tours and
chelseaphysicgarden.co.uk/
When it comes to getting into the Christmas spirit,
candlelit evening openings taking place throughout
special-events/christmas-fair/
there’s nowhere better than a traditional London
the festive period.
boozer and nothing better than a glass of mulled wine or cup of hot, spiced cider. We love The Holly
carol services
Bush in Hampstead, a place full of nooks and crannies that feels like it hasn’t changed at all since the 19th
Whatever your faith, there’s something very
century. It’s the perfect spot to warm up after a
special about Christmas carol services, particularly
wintry walk on Hampstead Heath. Other favourites
those that take place in London’s great churches.
are The Blue Anchor in Hammersmith, with its river
St Martin-in-the-Fields on Trafalgar Square hosts a
views and boating paraphernalia, and the cosy
Christmas Concert with Audience Carols, including
Cross Keys in Covent Garden.
works by Handel, Vivaldi and Bach, on 6 December, plus a number of other festive concerts. Meanwhile,
charles dickens museum
Benjamin Britten’s Ceremony of Carols is just one of a large number of Christmas and Advent concerts
We have 19th-century novelist Charles Dickens to thank for Christmas as we know it - his 1843 story
and services at St Paul’s Cathedral (19 December). ■
soane.org fortnumandmason.com geffrye-museum.org.uk hollybushhampstead.co.uk blueanchorlondon.com crosskeyscoventgarden.com dickensmuseum.com stmartin-in-the-fields.org stpauls.co.uk Feature by Jo Caird ATG Magazine / 18