ATG Magazine Summer 2008

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.

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1

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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

LIVE LIVE IN LONDON THIS SUMMER!

O ALS ING M Y 4P A L P AYS D SUN

Photography: Hugo Glendinning.

F HALICE PR ETS TICK A NEW MUSICAL BASED ON THE SMASH-HIT DISNEY CHANNEL ORIGINAL MOVIE

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To book call 0870 060 6615 V www.theambassadors.com/london

10 WEEKS ONLY FROM 15 JULY DUKE OF YORK’S TH TRE, LONDON WC2 0870 060 6623 UNDEA ERTH EBLUESKY.CO.UK

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Evening Standard

shall Kris Mar d e y la ‘p tion’ to perfecocm

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LIMITED SEASON

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Trafalgar Studios Whitehall, London SW1

0870 060 6632

24hrs bkg fee

www.fatpigtheplay.com

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