The Ambassador Theatre Group
Ferociously funny Kris Marshall in Fat Pig Youthful exuberance West Side Story at 50 Grease is the word!
Catherine Tate A lesson in love Summer 2008 Things to do,people to see
HOTLIST! Alfresco style Take That tunes First night fun Off the beaten track
www.theambassadors.com
6 ▲
best Former manager of Take That, Nigel Martin Smith parties with chatshow host Paul O’Grady at the sparkling first night gala for the musical Never Forget
▲ 50 years on, it’s still thrilling. West Side Story celebrates its landmark birthday with a national tour having wowed audiences across the world from Paris to Beijing.
Comedian Robert Webb from Peep Show and That Mitchell & Webb Look jets into the Trafalgar Studios this summer for a starring role in Neil LaBute’s Fat Pig.
▲ Jewelled sandal by Bou Bou des Colonies £78 at Olivier’s Lounge, Battersea 020 7924 4321.
▲
1
▲
of the
Sandals on? Picnic hamper packed and ready to go? Strike out for Osterley Park for fabulous views, Morden Hall Park for refreshing wide open spaces or the magnificent Ashridge Estate (pictured) on the Bucks/Herts border. www.nationaltrust.org.uk
▲ With over 3000 graduate artists and the latest in design, photography, art and interiors Free Range 2008 is a platform for the best UK talent and a byword for cutting edge. Tomorrow’s talent - at today’s prices. www.free-range.org.uk
The Ambassador Theatre Group
2 1 3
1 West Side Story 2 Grease 3 Never Forget
Electric Blue
1
Catherine Tate in
Competition
8
Noises Off
A-List in Attendance
14
Funky first nights
Under the Blue Sky
Body Image
3
It’s Got To Be Grease
9
Catch the rockin’ new cast
Alfresco Chic
15
The great outdoors - in style
Can a fat girl find love? Find out in Fat Pig
Fifty Years On
Back for Good 5
11
One Step Ahead
17
Itineraries for the curious
Where Take That are the inspiration
West Side Story - every moment a dance step
Group Leaders What’s On in London
7
13
Bring a friend - or twenty!
AMBASSADOR GROUP PRODUCTIONS
AMBASSADOR THEATRE GROUP REGIONAL THEATRES Theatre Royal Brighton 08700 606 650 Churchill Theatre Bromley 0870 060 6620 Kings Theatre Glasgow 0870 060 6648 Theatre Royal Glasgow 0870 060 6647 Milton Keynes Theatre 0870 060 6652 Richmond Theatre 0870 060 6651 Regent Theatre & Victoria Hall Stoke-on-Trent 0870 060 6649 New Wimbledon Theatre & New Wimbledon Studio 0870 060 6646 Ambassadors Cinemas Woking 01483 545945 New Victoria Theatre & Rhoda McGaw Theatre Woking 0870 060 6645 Online booking at www.theambassadors.com Jessamy Hadley Editor Pat Westwell, Jasper Rees, Benedict Nightingale, Mark Shenton, Kirsty Woodfield, Al Senter, Robin Stringer, Dan Hadley, Mark Bouman, David Bradbury, Melissa Gerbaldi Contributors SWD Design and Art Direction John Good 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 photography courtesy of Rex Features
AMBASSADOR THEATRE GROUP LONDON THEATRES Comedy Theatre 0870 060 6637 Donmar Warehouse 0870 060 6624 Duke of York’s Theatre 0870 060 6623 Fortune Theatre 0870 060 6626 Phoenix Theatre 0870 060 6629 Piccadilly Theatre 0844 412 6666 Playhouse Theatre 0870 060 6631 Savoy Theatre 0870 164 8787 Trafalgar Studios 0870 060 6632
Interview
Electric Blue Anna Mackmin directs Catherine Tate and Francesca Annis in an intriguing ensemble piece
There is nothing unusual in a
sister, a dancer, set up a design
direct it.’ Sure enough, in 1997
director starting out as an actor.
company making womenswear,
Mackmin directed Airswimming
Michael Grandage trod the
and she joined her. Mackmin
at the Battersea Arts Centre,
boards. So did Jonathan Kent
thrived on the adrenalin of
then taking the unusual step of
and, once upon a time, Richard
running a business so much that
commissioning Jones’s next two
Eyre. But Anna Mackmin, who
she turned down such acting jobs
plays. ‘I thought, ‘Charlotte is
directs the West End revival of
as percolated through to her.
somebody who has to be paid
David Eldridge’s Under The Blue
‘One day,’ she says, ‘I discovered
to write plays.’ We set up a
Sky, took a more scenic route
I wasn’t an actress.’ That day was
company, raised enough money
than most.
when she read the first play of
to pay her for In Flame, then out
Charlotte Jones, who was also
of my own pocket I paid for
‘didn’t have the self-belief or
having a fallow period as an
Humble Boy.’ The first went from
talent’ and jobs were hard to
actress and had come to work
the Bush to the West End, the
come by. But she didn’t
for the company.
second was mounted in the
She trained at Central, but Interview by Jasper Rees Photography by 1 7
Johan Persson
immediately swap acting for telling actors what to do. Her
‘I read it and literally sat up in bed and thought, I know how to
Cottesloe - though not by Mackmin.
‘I wasn’t experienced enough to direct Simon Russell Beale at the National,’ she concedes. But having directed at the Donmar, the Bush, the Almeida and the Gate, her apprenticeship was evidently considered complete when three years ago the National handed her the huge responsibility of mounting Burn, Citizenship, Chatroom, a trio of very different plays all focusing on teenage characters and aimed at first-time audiences. ‘There was a huge amount of teaching, if I’m honest about it, as well as directing.’ She had access to a cast of young unknowns among whom it was instantly obvious that Andrea
Anna Mackmin
Riseborough and Andrew Garfield were destined for
four minutes of meeting him.
also very keen to work with
bigger things. ‘They had more
At the first preview the whole
Anna, so when the opportunity
to do than a lot of other people
company was leaning out of the
arose to work with them both
so they got to show off more.
upper windows of the Duke of
I was delighted.’ The play’s
It was a fantastic moment when
York’s thinking, ‘Look at that!
structure calls for tight
they came in and auditioned.
Mackmin returns to the West
directorial control, as there are
As the director you’re thinking,
End with Under The Blue Sky,
three scenes, each featuring a
‘I got there first!’
another favourite play first seen
pair of characters - all of them
‘
teachers - whose stories of failed
It’s incredibly pure and actually it’s fantastically layered. That’s what you’re always looking for as a director. It has the potential to have an enormous impact.
Mackmin also got there first
’
love are intriguingly interwoven. ‘It grabs you by stealth, this play,’ says Mackmin. ‘David has done vast acres of work which he then condensed down to make this apparently very simple play. It’s incredibly pure and actually it’s fantastically layered. That’s
at the Royal Court Theatre
what you’re always looking for
with Orlando Bloom, whom she
Upstairs in 2000 which gets its
as a director. It has the potential
directed in a revival of David
chance in the limelight thanks to
to have an enormous impact.’
Storey’s In Celebration in the
a cast led by Catherine Tate and
West End. ‘He came to me and
Francesca Annis. ‘I love the play,’
said, ‘I’m 30 this year, I’ve spent
says Tate. ‘I have been a fan of
the last decade being an elf and
David’s for a long time and was
a pirate and I need to grow into myself as an actor and the only way to do that is to feel the fear.’ That’s an extraordinary starting place for somebody who has absolutely no need to put himself though the strain of working onstage for the first time. His profile allowed me
Duke of York’s Theatre
to choose a play that I’ve
Under the Blue Sky
always loved.’ One side effect of working with the star of Lord of the Rings and Pirates of the Caribbean was an air of stage-door frenzy not seen in the West End since
David Eldridge’s awardwinning play - three subtly connected love stories. Booking until 20 Sep 2008 Box Office 0870 060 6623
Madonna was in Up for Grabs. It rather took Mackmin by surprise. ‘I have to say this was incredibly
It’s cheaper to book online www.theambassadors.com
naive of me. You totally forget that he’s Orlando Bloom after
2
Interview
Body Image Super-size and sassy - Kris Marshall on Fat Pig
Interview by Benedict Nightingale Photography by Alistair Muir and 3
Stephen Cummiskey
Less than three weeks before
image’ may be surprised at what
weird mix of giraffe and elastic
he was due to start previews
happened next. The hapless nerd
band, and you’ve the tall,
in Neil LaBute’s Fat Pig at the
from the sitcom My Family, the
skinny Marshall as he saunters,
Trafalgar Studios, Kris Marshall
ditsy toyboy who features in
shimmies, lolls, twists and turns
was struck by a car during a
TV ads for BT, the genial bloke
in a memorable display of
night out in Bristol, spending
from Love Actually was back
mischief-making.
two days in intensive care: ‘I had
in rehearsals within a week.
a collapsed lung and staples in
Getting up in the morning, he
dim or, indeed, nice about Carter,
my head but no bleeding on the
says, was still painful. In a
who plays the office buddy of
brain. It was very worrying for a
moment of dizziness he once
the young American executive
time and I slurred my words after
missed the sofa he was supposed
who falls for a plump woman,
I came out of sedation, but I
to sit on and landed on the floor.
and tries to mock and josh him
was fine.’
But I’ve seen him play Carter in
out of a relationship he thinks is
Fat Pig and give a performance
embarrassing. The effect isn’t as
35-year-old Marshall with (one
that wasn’t only sharp and funny
cruel as was the case in LaBute’s
tabloid’s words) ‘his geeky
but physically adroit. Imagine a
film, In The Company of Men,
Those who identify the
Yes, there’s nothing geeky,
where two embittered yuppies
Christopher Hampton’s
attempt to destroy a deaf
Treats, the wild,
secretary. Helen, as the ‘fat pig’
promiscuous journalist
is called, is more self-sufficient
who abuses the sweet young
and less easily victimised. But,
interpreter played by Billie Piper.
Vaclav Havel and the
as Marshall says, the play has
He’s too interesting an actor to
Capek brothers, that he got the
some tough moments and
be typecast. Indeed, his next two
acting bug. Indeed, it infected
ferocious lines as it exposes
film roles are a sinister butler
him so badly he neglected his
a common prejudice:
(‘a sort of lying, low bigamist’)
work and, by mutual agreement
in the screen version of Noël
with a despairing school, left
fast, modern, funny, acerbic,
Coward’s Easy Virtue and a naive
just before A-levels: ‘I don’t
dangerous at times. And when
backpacker looking for seasonal
blame them. I was 17 and an
I read the script I wanted very
work in Hotel Caledonia, a
idiot, lazy and silly. I thought I
much to play Carter. He’s not
weird blend of Psycho and
was the dog’s bollocks, I hated
‘I love Neil’s writing. It’s
institutions, and I wanted my
‘
Imagine a weird mix of giraffe and elastic band, and you’ve the tall, skinny Marshall as he saunters, shimmies, lolls, twists and turns in a memorable display of mischief-making.
malignant, though other people might call him cruel but he’s
Fawlty Towers.
’
My Family means that Marshall
freedom’. And after a year at stage school, he joined a rep company that toured thrillers, painting sets in the morning and playing one of the two leads in Sleuth in theatres as large and demanding as the King’s, Edinburgh, and the Royal, Nottingham. And so to London,
certainly fattist. If he lacks
is now so recognisable a face
where his career was seriously
anything, it’s a filter between his
that, he says, he sometimes gets
launched when he played an
brains and his mouth. And he has
crowded by strangers and has to
impressionable First World War
the laissez-faire attitude and the
point out that, no, he’s not really
subaltern in Journey’s End at
Trafalgar Studios 1
gumption to say exactly what
Nick Harper. So, for him, stage
the King’s Head.
other people are thinking. The
acting is a relief and more: ‘it’s
Fat Pig
fault is really Western society
the fundamental basis of what
a trip to Hollywood to suss out
with its magazines and media
I do: the preparation, the
the acting scene there. But I
saying that being fat is unhealthy
interaction with the audience,
don’t think he’ll be lost either
or a drain on the state.’
the scary build-up to opening
to England or the theatre,
night, the remembering two
because he clearly loves the first
several other roles that could
hours of dialogue without
as much as the second. And he’s
hardly be called soft, among
falling over the furniture.’
a strong, versatile stage actor -
Marshall’s career has included
And next? Well, he’s planning
them the terrifying title role in
It was as a boarder at Wells
as witness his joky, mocking
Middleton’s Revenger’s Tragedy
Cathedral School, which staged
yet inwardly troubled Carter
and, in the 2007 revival of
dramatists as unconventional as
in Fat Pig.
Starring Kris Marshall, Joanna Page, Ella Smith and Robert Webb Until 6 September Box Office 0870 060 6632 It’s cheaper to book online www.theambassadors.com 4
Profile
Fifty Years on Joey McKneely recreates Jerome Robbins’ groundbreaking work in West Side Story
Just as Ann Reinking - a long-
of the Broadway classics he had
Story choreography but also
time Bob Fosse dancer, provided
worked on. This resulted in the
learning how he actually looked
a direct link to recreating Fosse’s
Tony-winning hit, Jerome
at dance and processed it - seeing
unique style in Chicago, so Joey
Robbins’ Broadway.
how he chose the dancers and
McKneely provides a unique
Interview by Mark Shenton Photography by 5
Nilz Böhme
‘I was 20 years old at the time,
put them in the features he did.
route to channelling the genius
and came on board at the very
He would keep trying different
of the late Jerome Robbins,
beginning, doing pre-production
dancers for different features.
who conceived, directed and
with him when he was
It taught me how to interpret
choreographed the original
reconstructing old material to
choreography.’
production of West Side Story. As
put together for the show,’ says
a young Broadway dancer, Joey
Joey, speaking from his lakeside
good stead, and after appearing
was involved in a remarkable
home outside New York. ‘What
in one more Broadway show
project nearly twenty years ago,
was amazing about it was being
She Loves Me, McKneely
when Robbins assembled a group
able to spend that much time
switched sides and became a
of performers to work on
with him, and it wasn’t just
choreographer himself: ‘It’s
recreating material from some
about learning the West Side
because of Robbins that I
The training stood him in
became a choreographer. We had a company of 60 in Jerome
at hand.’ For McKneely, ‘The story
Robbins’ Broadway, and we were
of the show is told through
the best dancers there - but I
choreography - it’s the best ever
looked around and there was
seen on a Broadway stage, hands
nobody left to dance for! Fosse
down!’ So he’s delighted to bring
had gone and Michael Bennett
it back to the stage in a record-
(A Chorus Line) had gone; there
breaking production that has
was no one bubbling up who
sold out in Paris, Tokyo and
inspired me to continue dancing
Beijing: ‘If you don’t use the
on Broadway, and I felt that I
same choreography, it isn’t West
needed to inspire kids who,
Side Story! It would be like
like me, had a passion to
changing the lyrics or the music.’
dance there.’
He has drawn on several sources
Robbins, who died in 1998,
to maintain its integrity: ‘There’s
was a famously tough taskmaster
a choreographic manual that was
- but he also invented a new kind
done in the 1970s. Then there’s
of dance theatre for Broadway
the movie version, and also a
with West Side Story. As critic
videotape of a revival of the
Martin Gottfried notes in his
show that Robbins did on
book Broadway Musicals,
Broadway in 1980. And then
‘Robbins’s wall-to-wall
there’s the work we did on
‘
expose the emotion and
The story of the show is told through choreography - it’s the best ever seen on a Broadway stage, hands down! If you don’t use the same choreography, it isn’t West Side Story! It would be like changing the lyrics or the music.
’
environment and intensity and youthfulness of it’. The dance is paramount, but McKneely also attributes the enduring appeal of the show to three other factors: ‘Number one there‘s the music, which still captures everyone’s hearts; two is the love story, which is just so
choreography set a new standard
Jerome Robbins’ Broadway;
innocent and reminds everyone
for the musical theatre, for not
he kept changing things himself,
of when they first fell in love;
only were his dances extensive
so I’ve taken the best of all of it
and three is how relevant the
and exciting but it seemed as
for this production.’
story still is to our society. This
if every step taken by every
He’s been able to preside over
still happens today, all over the
character during every moment
a make-over of the show in other
world. The fact that the authors
of the show was a dance step:
important respects: ‘What I’ve
were able to tell a story that is
mambos in the gym, stately
done is erase the museum quality
so specific to this locale and the
ballets, and young toughs finger-
- the old sets and old costumes,
world of these two gangs, the
snapping down the street. Here
which are clunky and dated and
Jets and the Sharks, and yet
was a musical that was musical
very musical comedy, have gone.
make it so universal as
throughout, and not merely
My intent has been to strip it
a reflection of society, is
when a song or dance was
down to its essentials, and
remarkable.’
Sadler’s Wells 22 Jul - 31 Aug 2008 Box Office 0844 412 4300
New Victoria Theatre, Woking 2 - 13 Sep 2008 Box Office 0870 060 6645
Milton Keynes Theatre 16 - 27 Sep 2008 Box Office 0870 060 6652
New Wimbledon Theatre 14 Oct - 1 Nov 2008 Box Office 0870 060 6646
Theatre Royal, Glasgow 11 - 29 Nov 2008 Box Office 0870 060 6648
The Original 1957 Broadway production of West Side Story courtesy of Museum of the City of New York
Online booking at www.theambassadors.com 6
What’s What’s OnOn
Buy West End tickets with the Ambassador Group COMEDY THEATRE 0870 060 6637
PLAYHOUSE THEATRE 0870 060 6631
Dickens Unplugged
The Harder They Come
An extraordinary journey through
Based on the iconic seventies
the life and works of Charles
film that launched reggae
Dickens from the founders of the
star Jimmy Cliff onto the
Reduced Shakespeare Company
world stage
DUKE OF YORK’S THEATRE 0870 060 6623
SAVOY THEATRE 0870 164 8787
Under The Blue Sky
Never Forget
By David Eldridge
This great big romantic comedy of
Cast includes Francesca Annis, Lisa
a musical is the ultimate feel-good
Dillon, Chris O’Dowd, Nigel Lindsay,
night out! Featuring your favourite
Dominic Rowan and Catherine Tate
Take That hits - Could It Be Magic,
C
Relight My Fire and Never Forget.
DONMAR WAREHOUSE 0870 060 6624
TRAFALGAR STUDIO 1 0870 060 6632
The Chalk Garden
Fat Pig A new comedy
By Edith Bagnold
Written and directed by Neil LaBute
Cast includes Penelope Wilton
Cast includes Kris Marshall, Joanna Page, Ella Smith and Robert Webb ‘Induces waves of laughter’
C FORTUNE THEATRE 0870 060 6626
Evening Standard
TRAFALGAR STUDIO 2 0870 060 6632
The Woman in Black
In My Name By Steven Hevey
‘A brilliant spine-chiller’
From 1 - 19 July Full season details;
The Guardian
theambassadors.com/trafalgarstudios Studio 2 has been made possible by a generous donation from Christina Smith
OLD VIC 0870 060 6628
APOLLO VICTORIA 0870 060 6615
The Norman Conquests
Wicked
Table Manners, Living Together
‘Wicked is spellbinding’
and Round & Round The Garden
Sunday Telegraph
By Alan Ayckbourn Cast includes Amelia Bullmore, Jessica Hynes, Stephen Mangan and Paul Ritter
PHOENIX THEATRE 0870 060 6629
HAMMERSMITH APOLLO 0870 060 6615
Willy Russell’s
High School Musical
Blood Brothers
7
C - it’s cheaper to book online
Disney’s stage show follows the
‘Brings the audience to its
much-loved story of the movie,
feet and roaring its approval’
featuring all your favourite
Daily Mail
characters and songs.
PICCADILLY THEATRE 0844 412 6666
SHAFTESBURY THEATRE 0870 060 6615
Grease
Hairspray
London’s high octane
The smash hit musical comedy
rock’n’roll party - it’s electrifying!
starring Michael Ball continues
Now starring Danny Bayne as
to play to standing ovations
Danny and Ray Quinn as Doody
every night.
Book your tickets online at www.theambassadors.com
Competition
Noises Off Star cast to be announced
Theatre Royal, Brighton
‘The funniest comedy ever written.’ New York Time Out
4 - 13 Sep 2008 Box Office 0870 606 6650
King’s Theatre, Glasgow 22 - 27 Sep 2008 Box Office 0870 060 6648
New Victoria Theatre, Woking 6 - 11 Oct 2008 Box Office 0870 060 6645
Churchill Theatre, Bromley
Excess all areas Win tickets for the worldwide smash hit comedy Over a million people have wept
rehearsal and the ensuing
with laughter at Michael Frayn’s
disastrous tour. Watch as
sharp and witty multi-award
the actors make their exits
winning comedy so don’t miss
from one play, only to find
the chance to get your hands
themselves making entrances
on the hottest tickets in town!
into the other - and back
Noises Off will tour Ambassador Group venues
17 - 22 Oct 2008 Box Office 0870 060 6620
Milton Keynes Theatre 10 - 15 Nov 2008 Box Office 0870 060 6652
Regent Theatre, Stoke-on-Trent 23 - 28 Feb 2009 Box Office 0870 060 6649 Online booking at www.theambassadors.com
again! To win a pair of tickets
throughout the UK this Autumn
for Noises Off, plus free
and we have tickets to give away
programmes and interval
for all of them - a pair each for
drinks at the ATG venue
Theatre Royal Brighton, King’s
of your choice, simply
Theatre Glasgow, New Victoria
answer the following
random after the closing date.
Theatre Woking, Milton Keynes
question:
Each prize includes a pair of
TERMS AND CONDITIONS Six winners will be drawn at
tickets for Noises Off (Monday -
Theatre, The Churchill in Bromley and Regent Theatre, Stoke-on-
Q: Who wrote
Thursday performances) plus two
Trent. We also throw in
Noises Off?
programmes and two interval drinks at Theatre Royal Brighton,
programmes and interval drinks to make it a perfect night out.
King’s Theatre Glasgow, New
Please return your
Victoria Theatre Woking, Milton
answer, not forgetting
Keynes Theatre, The Churchill
Noises Off is a glorious comic
your name, address,
in Bromley and Regent Theatre,
romp, which offers two plays for
telephone number and
Stoke-on-Trent. Winners will be
the price of one. Whilst the
preferred venue to Kirsty
notified by Friday 22 August
traditional British comedy
Woodfield, The Ambassador
Nothing On is being performed,
Theatre Group Ltd, 24 Neal
value. Not open to employees of
a real life charade unfolds
Street, London, WC2H 9QW
Ambassador Theatre Group Ltd.
backstage during the show’s final
before Monday 4 August 2008.
Editor’s decision is final.
Michael Frayn’s masterpiece
2008. Prize is non-transferable and non-redeemable for a cash
8
Interview
It’s got to be Grease The X Factor’s Ray Quinn joins the electrifying new cast
Feature by Al Senter Photography by Alessandro Pinna 9 7
and Simon Turtle
It’s all change at the Piccadilly
from his teenage years into a
love doing what I do but it takes
Theatre. The class of Grease ’07
vigorous young manhood. He
a lot of energy to bring the
has graduated from Rydell High
seems taller and more muscular
audience to the point where
and a new intake of students has
and broad-shouldered, a tribute
they’re cheering and clapping.
arrived including Nicola Brazil
to the hours spent in the gym
That’s why Grease needs a young
as Sandy and The X Factor’s Ray
and to the rigours of playing the
cast with a lot of testosterone.
Quinn as Doody. But fans of
lead in a West End musical eight
But you also need discipline.
hunky Danny Bayne need not
times a week. In his comfortably
That’s what has struck me about
despair. Young Mr. B is staying
cluttered dressing-room, Danny
doing this show. College can
behind in class to welcome the
reflects on the year that has
prepare you but it’s only by
newcomers and to strut his stuff
elapsed since he first took on
doing the job that you really
as his namesake Danny Zuko in
the role.
learn.’
front of another six months of
‘It’s certainly been hard work’
Yorkshire lass Nicola Brazil
packed, enthusiastic houses.
says Danny with feeling. ‘But I
dons Sandy’s halo fresh from a
believe that any worthwhile job
year in the Ensemble in Wicked.
you do should be hard work. I
She’s taken an unusual route to
In the twelve months since we last met, Danny Bayne has passed
carpet-fitting business - Ray has known he wanted to be a performer since the age of four when he seized a microphone and started to sing. The pleasure he takes in what he does is palpable. ‘I still don’t think of it as a job’ he remarks. ‘I never say to people that I’m off to work. I simply don’t think of it in that the musical theatre, having, at
nineteen, was outpointed only
way. I love to go on stage and
the tender age of sixteen, built
by the chart-topping Leona
make an audience laugh. If I
a promising career as a solo
Lewis in the 2006 series of
can put a smile on people’s
Country and Western artist, even
The X Factor. Since then he
faces then I feel I’ve succeeded.’
recording a well-received album
has recorded Doing It My Way,
in Nashville itself. But she
an album full of such Sinatra
‘
Ray is a proud Scouser. ‘Liverpool is with me wherever I am. We tend to be a bit in-yer-
I was in my dressing room at the Apollo Victoria with the other Wicked girls when my agent rang. ‘Do you have something to hold on to?’ she said. ‘They want you to play Sandy.’
face but in a friendly and not in an aggressive way. On the other hand, I’m usually very happy wherever I am and I’m very
’
excited being in London. I love saying to people that I’m off to catch the Tube. And being
turned her back on bluegrass
standards as Fly Me To The
in Grease is a dream come
and returned to the stage. It’s
Moon and New York New York
true for me: it’s a real honour.’
a gamble that has certainly
and toured extensively. Now he
paid off.
realises yet another dream by
Piccadilly Theatre
appearing in a West End
Grease
‘I was in my dressing-room at the Apollo Victoria with the
production of Grease. Devotees
other Wicked girls before a
of Brookside will know Ray
matinee when my agent rang.
from his years playing
‘Do you have something to hold
Anthony Murray on the
on to?’ she said. ‘They want you
Channel 4 soap so he
to play Sandy.’ I screamed and
already had an
the other girls screamed and we
established career when
all jumped up and down. It was
he was tempted to enter
all very exciting.’
the lists for The X Factor.
When we meet there are still three weeks of tough rehearsals to go plus Wicked performances
Was it a bruising experience? ‘It completely
to fit into Nicola’s crowded
transformed
schedule. But she is thriving on
my life for the
it. She admits that she feels a
better’ says Ray,
little apprehensive as D-Day
unequivocally.
approaches.
‘The programme
‘Strangely enough, I’ve never
gave me a great
felt frustrated only being part
opportunity
of the Ensemble in Wicked,
to show what
although I’d love to play Glinda
I could do.
one day, the ditsy witch who is
And I didn’t
such good fun. It’ll be harder
mind what
for me to walk on that stage as
the judges
Sandy, knowing that all eyes
said about
will be focused on me. No
me. I’m not
wonder somebody said
perfect and
to me at the photo-shoot with
when Simon
Danny yesterday that I looked
(Cowell) said
a bit like a rabbit caught in the
that I’d let
headlights!’
myself down, I
Like Nicola, Ray Quinn has also taken a somewhat circuitous
Starring Danny Bayne, Nicola Brazil and Ray Quinn Box Office 0844 412 6666 Online booking at www.theambassadors.com
agreed with him.’ From an ordinary
route to the Piccadilly Theatre
Liverpool family - his
and Grease. The young
father and two elder
Liverpudlian, a fresh-faced
brothers are in the
10
Backstage
Back for Good Having a ball with the songs of Take That
The trophies are beginning to
‘Not at all,’ agrees Dean’s co-star, Craige Els. ‘They are
Not that he minds. They
pair of knickers that arrived
remind him of the reception
having so much fun out there
unsolicited on stage. Then there
the show has been getting both
and you are having so much fun
was the pink feather boa that
in London and on its previous
on stage. It’s an amazing show
now decorates a mirror in a
tour around the country. ‘The
energy-wise.’
dressing room at the Savoy
feedback we have had so far has
Theatre.
blown us all away,’ says Dean.
Dean and Craige, who play two members of a would-be Take
‘A Million Love Songs at the
That tribute band in the show,
Chisnall, star of Never Forget,
end often gets the whole 1000
won their roles in competition
the new musical built around
people in the theatre singing.
with a reputed 3,000 applicants
the songs of the archetypal boy
It makes it difficult to keep the
for the five roles in the band.
band, Take That. ‘There was a
song going, but it means that
hen party in the front row and
the show works, that people
back to audition six or seven
Photography by
they made me take it away,’ he
want to get involved and that’s
times over the space of five or
Tristram Kenton
protests, ‘They wouldn’t let me
brilliant. Can’t argue with that.’
six weeks,’ recalls Dean, ‘and I
The room belongs to Dean
Interview by Robin Stringer
11 7
leave without it!’
accumulate. There was the
It was no easy ride. ‘I went
didn’t know I was to play Ash
on the songs of Take That, it
Lancashire lads who came late
(the lead character in the show
does not pretend to tell the story
to the stage. Neither did much
and the tribute band’s Gary
of the five working class lads
before college largely because
Barlow) until the final audition.’
from the north-west who hit the
there were no opportunities,
Craige, who has been with
big time in 1992 and reigned as
although both knew from an
the show since the earliest
the nation’s princes of pop for
early age that they wanted to
workshops, suspected that his
the next four frenetic years until
be actors.
‘
Once the audience realises that we are not playing the actual Take That boys and we have our own quirks, they get behind us as characters so that by the end, they are half cheering for Take That and half cheering for the five boys they have seen throughout the show.
’
character, Jake, was the Robbie
the baby of the group, Robbie
Craige admits he was always
Williams figure even though he
Williams, got frustrated and left,
intrigued by actors on TV and
doesn’t get to sing any Robbie
causing its break-up in 1996.
film, Al Pacino being a special
Williams numbers.
Instead, the show tells a
hero. As a kid, he used to mimic
story with Take That overtones
stars like Laurel and Hardy for
the Take That songs, but
of another five Northern lads
his nan and mum but clammed
‘when we walked into the
who set out to win a Take That
up when asked to show his tricks
rehearsal room last June and
tribute band contest. It has a
to other people. ‘I was the shyest
choreographer Karen Bruce
villainess in the seductive shape
kid in the world,’ he says.
showed us what she wanted,’
of a record company executive
All that has changed. Since
says Dean, ‘we just looked at
who threatens to break up the
leaving college, both have been
each other and virtually cried.’
band and destroy a romance, for
busy in musicals; Dean in The
which she is regularly booed by
Woman in White and Evita, and
amounted to a Restoration
the audience. ‘Once the audience
Craige, notably in Mamma Mia
movement class at drama school.
realises that we are not playing
and Spamalot. Now they are
Dean, although he had spent
the actual Take That boys and
having a ball in Never Forget.
three years at musical theatre
we have our own quirks,’ says
Dean sums up their feelings:
school, realised that Karen was
Craige, ‘they get behind us as
‘We know thousands of people
asking for something ‘way
characters so that by the end,
walk out of this building every
beyond’ his expectations. ‘But
during the iconic Take That
night on a high. We are giving
we got there in the end,’ says
moments, they are half cheering
people a good night out and
Dean. ‘Karen is a phenomenal
for Take That and half cheering
that’s exactly what we intended
choreographer,’ adds Craige.
for the five boys they have seen
to do.’
‘She gets results out of people.’
throughout the show.’
Both of them already knew
Craige’s dance experience
Although the show is based
Both Dean and Craige are
Dean Chisnall and Craige Els
Savoy Theatre
Never Forget Written by BAFTA nominated Danny Brocklehurst, Guy Jones and Ed Curtis Booking until 25 October Box Office 0870 164 8787 Online booking at www.theambassadors.com 12
News
Group Leaders Ambassador Group Sales - the dream team for group visitors
Hats off, please, for the group
of the achievement: ‘the people
the most of ATG’s venues, to
organisers: the unsung heroes
that are doing the outings are
enhance the audience’s visit. A
of theatre. Getting a group to a
making the nominations: so it’s
post-show question and answer
show before curtain-up, making
nice to have been recognised
might be arranged, or in some
sure they are fed, watered, and
in that way.’
cases, a whole theatre might be
crucially, in the right theatre: this
given over to host a corporate
is a feat that few of us would
two years of expansion and
tackle. Yet all over the country,
rethinking, which has seen the
group organisers are in action,
Ambassador Theatre Group
West End, (last year was the
and Barry Grant and his team
revolutionise what it can provide
most successful yet for
at Ambassador Group Sales are
for group bookers: ‘We can now
Ambassador Group Sales) and
dedicated to helping them
book any show in town, we can
Grant has a theory why theatre
achieve their goal.
book dinner for them, we can
is still a popular draw for groups.
organise programmes in advance.
‘It’s the shared experience,’ he
way, we will,’ says Grant.
That’s the kind of thing that has
says. ‘It’s easy to break the ice -
Grant manages the Group Sales
made the difference.’ Now fifty
a fifteen minute interval is a nice
operation, finding the best seats
ladies can be seated for a two-
environment to be in.’ In other
for clients in theatres all over
course lunch at the right time,
words, you don’t have to small-
the capital. This year, the team
in the knowledge that the
talk for hours: you can just enjoy
are up for the Group Travel
theatre is a short walk around
the show, and there’s always
Sales Hotline
Organiser Magazine award for
the corner. ‘We do more than
something to discuss afterwards.
on 0870 060 6644
Group Ticketing Agency of the
just give them a ticket,’ says
year: you may not have heard of
Grant. ‘We look after them, and
organising a group visit is
it, but it’s the industry equivalent
give them that little bit extra.’
something you should consider!
Team leader Barry Grant
‘If we can help them in any
For help in arranging your group outing, for corporate, education or social groups, call the Ambassador Group
13
This recognition comes after
Feature by Dan Hadley
of a BAFTA, and Grant is proud
Some of these extras make
event. Anything’s possible. It’s a blossoming time in the
With Grant’s help, perhaps
▲
First Nights
Never Forget party (Clockwise from top left)
Gaby Roslin Ross Kemp Denise Van Outen Natasha Kaplinsky Arlene Phillips Elaine Paige
▲
Fat Pig party
(Clockwise from top left)
David Mitchell Joanna Page and Kris Marshall Mackenzie Crook Alison Steadman Rob Brydon Ella Smith
A-List In Attendance Glamour galore at the hottest parties of the season Former manager of Take That,
LaBute’s new comedy Fat Pig
Mackenzie Crook from The Office,
Nigel Martin Smith enjoyed a
the theatre to Covent Garden
was held at Stanza, Shaftesbury
Ruth Jones, Joanna Page and
nostalgia trip this May at the
where the red carpet welcomed
Avenue. A hip crowd from the
Alison Steadman from Gavin and
sparkling gala night of Never
entertainment giants such as
worlds of TV and film drank
Stacey and Kris Marshall from
Forget - the new musical inspired
Paul O’Grady, Elaine Paige and
cocktails until the early hours -
Our Family and Love Actually.
by the songs of Take That
Arlene Phillips.
comedians Rob Brydon, David
Photography by Dan Wooller
Mitchell and Robert Webb,
and Paul Clapp
(see 6 of the Best).
Crowds lined the route from
The aftershow party for Neil
14
Style
Feature by Mark Bouman Model Leticia Basgal Farrer Photography by Shaun Webb
Alfresco chic Turning your picnic into a glamorous affair
Brighton summer hamper From £99 johnlewis.com
Picnic food From £2.45 at Waitrose
Blanket and throw £79 and £49
Cushions From £8 at zarahome.com
Italian Rice plates and bowls From £11.95 at Liberty’s liberty.co.uk Leticia wears:
Essential floral dress £265 at Lilli Diva, Battersea 020 7801 9600
Hat made to order by Edwina Ibbotson 0207 498 5390
Bourne jewelled sandals £100 at Olivier’s Lounge, Battersea 020 7924 4321
Rodeo Luxe purple shopper £345 at Longchamp 020 7493 5515
Willow cashmere wrap £135 at Olivier’s Lounge (as before) Flying Cushion (top)
Angela Flanders perfume £45 at Precious, Spitalfields 020 7377 6668 precious-london.com Flying Cushion (middle)
Rococo chocolate lips Gift boxes from £7.95 rococochocolates.com Flying Cushion (bottom)
Floral hair clip £9 at Olivier’s Lounge (as before) Outfit (left)
Milly of New York green print dress £365 Precious (as before) Outfit (right)
See by Chloe Blouse £155 at Lilli Diva (as before)
MiH Jean Shorts £125 at Lilli Diva (as before)
All prices quoted are given as a guide only and may be subject to change by individual retailers.
Going Out
Charleston House
Tenement House
One Step Ahead Best kept secrets of three theatre cities Every town has its undiscovered
to be arranged in advance: it is
India rises far above the usual,
corners, its hidden gems. You
still a working college. The tour
and it offers pre-theatre menus.
can be certain they are there,
leads to one of the most beautiful
but actually finding them can
libraries in the world. Intimate,
be extremely trying: somehow
woody, deliciously Art Nouveau,
you find yourself exactly where
the library floats in its space.
everyone else has wound up.
Glasgow School of Art gsa.ac.uk The Tenement House nts.org.uk Mother India motherindia.co.uk
chips and hot dogs down at the
away from them all. Nose around
Barras. This legendary weekend
Glasgow, Brighton, or Milton
fleamarket is the most bustling,
Keynes, have a meal, and see
slightly disreputable,
a show. What could be more
disorientating purveyor of stuff
satisfying - especially if the
anywhere in the British Isles.
Joneses are somewhere else
While I don’t suppose you can
altogether.
buy everything in the Barras, you
Glasgow Charles Rennie Mackintosh
Whelks and a doughnut anyone? The Barras probably hasn’t
Milton Keynes A child of the sixties, MK is
changed much in fifty years.
now looking well-established
Glasgow, but it is the Glasgow
The Tenement House, owned by
and comfortable. But there is
School of Art which is
the National Trust for Scotland,
still something undeniably quirky
Mackintosh’s finest work of
is even more of a time capsule.
going on. Take its concrete cows.
architecture, and here visits have
Here you wander through gaslit
Created in 1978 as part of a
rooms, each one left exactly as
community art project, the cows
it was when the previous owner
have dug their hooves in and
locked up in 1911. Just the
stayed put in their field ever
slightest bit spooky.
since. They have been beheaded,
Museum and Gardens mkheritage.co.uk/cnm/ Brasserie Blanc, MK:Hub
The King’s Theatre, Glasgow,
brasserieblanc.com Yellowave yellowave.co.uk Charleston charleston.org.uk Sevendials sevendialsrestaurant.co.uk
can have a good time trying.
The King’s Theatre, Glasgow
is firmly on the visitor trail in
Cowper and Newton
17
Swap this for the scent of
Well, this is a guide to getting
Mackintosh library
repainted, ridden upon, theorised
is one of Scotland’s most historic
about. They have even been
theatres. Combine a visit here
kidnapped and held to ransom.
with a meal at Mother India,
And their success has spawned a
half a mile away down Berkeley
tradition of art work in the town
Street. It has been the Indian
which puts it in the Premier
restaurant of choice in Glasgow
League of outdoor sculpture.
for over ten years, and is still
Over 200 works can be seen on
attracting good notices. Mother
a trail which starts close to the
Yellowave
Charleston House
Milton Keynes Theatre - stop
new Brasseries Blancs, serving
of the group’s artwork, but it
off here later to catch a show.
high quality food in informal
is also an artwork in itself,
surroundings.
with every surface decorated
Twenty minutes outside Milton Keynes is the village of Olney,
by the owners and guests. For
where you will find the Cowper
Brighton
and Newton Museum and
Brighton’s greatest asset must
interior design, Charleston
Gardens. If you’ve ever sung
surely be its beach. It’s where a
is hard to beat.
hymns, there’s a good chance
metropolitan centre meets the
you’ll have sung one by William
traditional British seaside, where
Cowper - and Newton wrote
families with ice creams mix with
Amazing Grace. This museum
shoppers pausing for a break.
tells the story of both men, and
Which is fine as far as it goes,
the garden is a wonderful place
but don’t you sometimes feel
to get a perspective on a real
a bit self-conscious, gingerly
eighteenth century cottage
nestling your best trousers onto
garden - the kind of garden
the pebbles? Time to change into
people used to live with,
something more comfortable,
and from.
and have the real beach holiday
atmosphere, and inspiring
experience at Yellowave, Brighton’s beach sports venue. At Yellowave you can brush up
Brighton’s Theatre Royal is
your beach volleyball skills, or if
situated in the centre of town.
there’s a whole team of you, hire
Over at Seven Dials, towards
a court for beach soccer, frisbee,
Hove, is the Sevendials
or handball. It’s all on sand -
Restaurant, recommended for
a true Brighton rarity.
either lunch or dinner. At the
Not sure you could volley
Cowper and Newton Garden For lunch or dinner in MK
Brighton’s Theatre Royal
top end of Brighton’s eateries,
anything anywhere? Never
Sevendials consistently gets
fear - half an hour to the East
good reviews, with a frequently
For details of what’s on
of Brighton is a hidden treasure
changing seasonal menu.
at King’s Theatre, Glasgow,
that requires much less effort. Charleston is a small house in
Have fun - and just don’t tell anyone else.
Milton Keynes Theatre and Theatre Royal Brighton, see www.theambassadors.com
it is worth checking out the
the country that was the home
development at Hub:MK, in the
of Vanessa and Clive Bell and
heart of the town. Here you will
a retreat for many Bloomsbury
Feature by
find one of Raymond Blanc’s
Group artists. The house is full
Dan Hadley
18
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Photography: Hugo Glendinning.
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