www.mousetrap.org.uk
StageDirections Issue 60 Nov/Dec/Jan 14-15
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory @ Theatre Royal, Drury Lane
Welcome to Issue 60 of StageDirections, our penultimate issue! This quarter has something to offer everyone...comedy, farce, pastiche, musical, thriller, love stories, new writing, dance, mime, puppetry and more. We are delighted to invite you to our special TPC event with Shakespeare in Love at the Noel Coward Theatre on Monday 17th November. The tickets for this are only £25 and include the ticket, a drinks, a programme and a post-show Q&A with members of the cast and crew. Furthermore, the production has just launched an excellent education programme - you can find out more on Page 8. Please remember that the Teachers Preview Club will finish, in it’s current form, on 30th April 2015. There will be three more issues (including this one) 1. 2.
SD60: SD61:
November 2014 – January 2015 February – April 2015
In April 2015 we will be producing a comprehensive list of alternative memberships, clubs and wesbites that will help you continue to go to the theatre at redced preices. If you have any questions about your membership or the closure of the Teachers’ Preview Club, please contact Tracy or Katherine on 020 7240 1248. Happy theatregoing! Katherine & The Teachers Preview Club Team
HOW TO BOOK • You are entitled to book two tickets per membership to preview productions. • All offers are subject to availability. • When booking your tickets, and often when collecting them at the box office, you will be asked for your TPC membership card. Tickets cannot be bought on behalf of others or transferred to them. • Please make sure we have your current email address so we can send any changes or new offers. • To log on to the website, you will need your username (firstname.surname) and a password. • To request offers in hard copy, please email tpc@mousetrap.org.uk with a PAPER POST TPC in the title, with your full name, membership number and postal address.
Front Cover Image: The Play That Goes Wrong, Duchess Theatre (Offer on Page 6)
Tickets Days Dates Ages To Book
£20 (Booking fee applies) Monday - Thursdays @ 7.30pm 3rd November - 29th January Excludes period 15th December - 5th January 5+ 0844 412 4650 and quote Teachers Preview Club Please have your TPC Membership No. on hand when booking
A chocolate garden, an army of squirrels and the curiously peculiar Oompa-Loompas must be believed to be seen in this gigantic new Olivier Award-winning musical.
Memphis
@ Shaftesbury Theatre
Tickets
£25 (+ £2 booking fee per ticket & £1.50 transaction fee)
No booking fees apply when you book in person
Days Dates Ages To Book
Monday – Thursday performances 3rd November - 29th January 11+ 0207 379 5399 quote Teachers Preview Club
In the underground nightclubs of 1950s Memphis, Tennessee, the soul of a new era is dawning as the first incredible sounds of rock ‘n’ roll, blues and gospel are emerging into the mainstream. Starring the Queen of British Soul, Beverley Knight (The Bodyguard) and West End star Killian Donnelly (The Commitments), with original songs by GRAMMY winner and Bon Jovi co-founder David Bryan, and a gripping true-life inspired story from writer Joe DiPietro, Memphis will leave you exhilarated by its explosive blend of electrifying music, soaring emotion and roof-raising energy.
Once
@ Phoenix Theatre
Tickets Days Dates Ages To Book
£20 (Bands A, B and C) Monday - Friday @ 7.30pm 3rd November - 14th November 11+ 0844 871 7629 quote Teachers Preview Club www.atgtickets.com use code TPCONCE
Based on the much-loved Oscar-winning film, Once is an extraordinary, original and irresistibly joyous celebration of love, friendship and music.
West End
Dear Teachers,
The 39 Steps
@ Her Majesty’s Theatre
Tickets Days Dates Ages To Book
Tickets Days Dates Ages To Book
£20 (Usually £41) Monday - Thursday @ 7.30pm Thursdays @ 2.30pm 3rd November - 29th January Exclusions: 19th December 2014 – 3rd January 2015
7+ 01159 051 217 Quote Teachers Preview Club Offer
Seen by over 100 million people worldwide, Cameron Mackintosh’s Brilliant Original: The Phantom of the Opera is the highest grossing musical of all time. Now in its 29th record-breaking year, this multi-award winning musical continues to captivate audiences at Her Majesty’s Theatre. Andrew Lloyd Webber’s mesmerising score along with jaw-dropping scenery and breathtaking special effects, magically combine to bring this tragic love story to life each night. Study Guide available to download on www.thephantomoftheopera.com
Shakespeare In Love
Follow the incredible adventures of our handsome hero Richard Hannay, complete with stiff-upper-lip, British gung-ho and pencil moustache as he encounters dastardly murders, double-crossing secret agents, and, of course, devastatingly beautiful women. Post show Q&As, Education pack and Theatre Workout Workshop.
@ Noël Coward Theatre
The Commitments
Promising young playwright Will Shakespeare is tormented by writer’s block until he finds his muse in the form of passionate noblewoman, Viola De Lesseps. Their forbidden love draws many others, including Queen Elizabeth, into the drama and inspires Will to write the greatest love story of all time, Romeo and Juliet. Based on the Oscar-winning screenplay by Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard, Shakespeare in Love has been adapted for the stage by Lee Hall (Billy Elliot). The production is directed by Declan Donnellan and designed by Nick Ormerod, the driving force behind the world-renowned theatre company, Cheek by Jowl. Featuring a company of 28 actors and musicians, this sweeping romantic comedy will transport you back to Shakespeare’s London, teeming with vibrant colours, characters, music and life. Oh, and there’s a bit with a dog!
Tickets Days Dates Ages To Book
@ Ambassadors Theatre £20 (£2.50 booking fee applies) Monday & Thursday @ 8.00pm Sundays @ 3.00pm 3rd November - 29th January Excludes: 15th December - 4th January 8+ 0844 8112 334 quote Teacher Preview Club Valid Membership ID required when collecting tickets.
£15 (+£2.50 Booking fee and £1.95 telephone transaction fee) Monday – Thursday @ 8pm, Wednesday @ 3pm 3rd November - 29th January KS3+ Coming soon...
Take a daring leap into the world of espionage, high drama and rip-roaring comedy with The 39 Steps. The wonderfully inventive Olivier Award winning show is a brilliant stage recreation of Alfred Hitchcock’s classic spy thriller and features just four fearless actors playing 139 roles in 100 minutes of fast-paced fun and thrilling action.
Tickets £20 (Face Value £30) Days Monday - Thursday @ 7.30pm Wednesdays @ 2.30pm Dates 3rd - 27th November and 5th - 29th January Ages 12+ To Book 08444 825165 quote MOU (Booking Line open 9 - 6, Mon - Fri)
STOMP
@ Criterion Theatre
Tickets Days Dates Ages To Book
@ Palace Theatre
£22.50 (Best Available) Tuesdays & Wednesdays @ 7.30pm 3rd November - 24th February All 0844 482 9676 and quote TPC Offer Online at www.thecommitments.london and enter code TPC
The Commitments, London’s five-star smash-hit musical is now in its second ‘sublime’ (Daily Telegraph) year! After a sensational World Premiere at the Palace Theatre in London’s West End, this multi-million pound production continues to play to packed houses, garnering rave reviews and proving to be Theatre land’s hottest ticket! A fabulous fun night out for all the family featuring over 20 great soul classics including: Night Train, Try A Little Tenderness, River Deep, Mountain High, In The Midnight Hour, Papa Was A Rolling Stone, Save Me, Mustang Sally, I Heard It Through The Grapevine, Thin Line Between Love and Hate, Reach Out, Uptight, Knock On Wood, I Can’t Turn You Loose AND MANY MORE. The show has been adapted from the novel by Booker prize winning author Roddy Doyle himself and is directed by award winning Jamie Lloyd (Macbeth starring James McAvoy, Urinetown and Richard III starring Martin Freeman.
The multi-award winning show has a unviersal language of rhythm, theatre, comedy and dance. Eight performers use everything from Zippo lighters, plastic bags, bin lids and even the kitchen sink to hammer out an explosively feel good rhythm.
West West End End
West West End End
The Phantom of the Opera
Wicked
Tickets Days Dates Ages To Book
Tickets Days Dates Ages To Book
£25 for Top Price Tickets Wednesday – Saturday @ 7.30pm Thursday and Saturday @ 2.30pm Sundays @ 3.00pm and 7.00pm 3rd November - 24th December 8+ 0844 412 4659 or online at nimaxtheatres.com Use code TPC
The Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society attempt to put on a 1920s’ murder mystery, but as the title suggests, everything that can go wrong… does, as the accident prone thespians battle on against all the odds to get to their final curtain call.
The Woman In Black @ Fortune Theatre
Workshops can be arranged, subject to availability by contacting Kezia Lock at Kenny Wax Ltd on 020 7437 1736
Tickets Days Dates Ages To Book
£20 for Band B Monday – Thursday @ 7.45pm Thursday @ 3.00pm 3rd November - 22nd January Excluding 19th December – 4th January 12+ 0844 412 4658 or online at nimaxtheatres.com Use code TPC
The ripples of revolution have now reached the shores of the West End! Urinetown, the satirical musical comedy that was a sold out splash hit at the St James Theatre is now playing in the West End at the Apollo Theatre. Award-winner, Jamie Lloyd (Richard III, The Commitments) directs this sharp-witted rampant riot of a show that tells the tale of a town fit to burst; where the privilege to pee has become a punishable offence. Make sure you catch this truly hilarious and critically acclaimed audience favourite when you’re in town. ***** ‘Go, and Go Now’ Sunday Telegraph **** ‘Laugh out Loud Funny’ The Guardian
£20 (Booking fee & Transcation Charges apply) Tuesday & Wednesday @ 7.30pm Wednesdays @ 2.30pm 3rd November - 29th January Excludes 22nd December - 5th January 7+ 0844 871 3001 and quote Teachers Preview Club
Packed with thrilling wizardry, dazzling costumes, an ingenious witty story and show-stopping songs, Wicked is an unforgettable, enchanting experience that is not to be missed.
This brilliant new laugh out loud comedy performed by Mischief Theatre Company has enjoyed two successful runs in the West End and was the sell out smash hit of the Edinburgh Festival with its sensational reviews, numerous accolades and awards. The Play That Goes Wrong is guaranteed to leave you aching with laughter!
Urinetown @ Apollo Theatre
@ Apollo Victoria
Tickets Days Dates Ages To Book
£20 (Upper Circle) Tuesdays - Thursdays 4th November - 29th January 14+ 0844 871 7626 quote TPC www.atgtickets.com use code TPC
Now celebrating 25 Years of Horror in the West End with over 7 million people having lived to tell the tale, The Woman in Black is of one of the most exciting, gripping and successful theatre events ever staged.
West End
West End
The Play That Goes Wrong @ Duchess Theatre
Show Date Time Theatre Tickets Ages To Book
Shakespeare in Love Monday 17th November 7.30 pm Noël Coward Theatre £25 Includes programme, drink and post show Q&A Educational resources are available to download at shakespeareinloveeducation.com 12+ Email katherine@mousetrap.org.uk Tickets are limited to so get in touch! Booking deadline Monday 10th November
Shakespeare in Love Launches Education Programme Adapted from the Academy-Award winning 1998 film, Shakespeare in Love tells the imaginary story of how a young William Shakespeare was inspired to write the greatest love story of all time, Romeo and Juliet. In addition to transporting audiences to Elizabethan London and the famous Rose Theatre, the story also brings to life real-life historic and literary figures including Queen Elizabeth, Christopher Marlowe, Richard Burbage and Edmund Tilney.
Chickenshed Tube To Book
Peter Pan Tickets Dates Ages
‘Shakespeare in Love is perfect for students following Drama and Theatre Studies courses at all levels, as well as those studying drama in the English classroom; it enables them to study ensemble work, physicality and design whilst simultaneously, and joyfully, prising open the world of Elizabethan Theatre, its language, character and robustness. The abundant educational material helped focus students’ learning and briefed teachers thoroughly prior to attending the show.’ Peter Jolly, Director of Drama, Dulwich College The Education Resource Pack is available from shakespeareinloveeducation.com Special education group prices are available for groups of 10 or more for term-time Tuesday evening, Wednesday evening and Wednesday matinee performances. For more information visit www.shakespeareinlove.com or contact the Education box office on 0844 482 5100 or email groupsales@delfontmackintosh.co.uk Photos © Disney
2 free teacher tickets Wednesday 26 November – Friday 12 December Times vary, please see website 5+
Chickenshed’s highly acclaimed work uses the stage to celebrate diversity, and performance as a vehicle to tackle topical social issues. We believe that our version of Peter Pan suitable fits this criteria. Our production marks the stunning finale to our 40th Festival Year and will be the perfect Christmas adventure for children – and adults who never grew up! Wendy Darling loves telling her brothers bedtime stories of the dastardly pirate Captain Hook and the heroic Peter Pan, and the children’s imaginations become reality when Peter flies into their nursery one starry night. Chickenshed’s famously large and amazingly diverse cast will tell this much-loved favourite with infectious music, song and dance that will captivate everyone aged 5 and above.
Finborough Theatre Tube To Book
West Brompton, Earl’s Court 0844 847 1652 or book online at www.finboroughtheatre.co.uk
Coolatully
By Fiona Doyle, directed By David Mercatali The World Premiere of the winner of the 2014 Papatango Prize
To further enrich the educational experience for schools attending the production, an Education Programme has been released to accompany the show. Designed for Key Stage 3 and 4 teaching, the Education Programme consists of curriculum-linked Education Resource Pack, with lesson plans and pupil worksheets, including links to English, Drama and History. The programme aims to ignite pupil’s imaginations and provide an unforgettable way to learn about the life and times of William Shakespeare.
Cockfosters or Oakwood 020 8292 9222 and quote Teacher Preview Offer Or email bookings@chickenshed.org.uk
Tickets Ages
£12 seat at previews 28th & 29th October 12+
“Life isn’t easy Kilian Óg. It tests us. Always has, always will. And not everyone gets a pass. Leave Coolatully boy. Before it’s too late.” Kilian was once Coolatully’s pride and joy, its champion on the hurling field. Now the village can’t muster a team, the country’s shutting down, and Eilish wants to leave for a new life across the ocean. And this is 2014. As Irish history repeats itself, Kilian must confront the demons of the past and decide whether to stay or go forever. The winner of the sixth Papatango New Writing Prize, Coolatully shines a light on modern rural Ireland, where suicide rates among young men are the fourth highest in the world, asking whether a generation can be saved. Since the country’s plunge into recession, Ireland has experienced levels of emigration and suicide unparalleled in Europe, with young men particularly affected. Lyrical, compassionate and urgent, Fiona Doyle’s first play is an astonishing insight into the links between the economy, masculinity and society in the modern world. Coolatully was chosen as winner of the Papatango New Writing Prize from more than 500 entries by a panel including the four members of Papatango – George Turvey, Matt Roberts, Sam Donovan and Chris Foxon – together with Neil McPherson, Artistic Director of the Finborough Theatre. All scripts were judged anonymously. The script will be published by Nick Hern Books. Other Offers
£10 for under 30’s - Tuesday to Sunday of the first week when booked online. £12 for residents of the Borough of Kensington & Chelsea on the first Sat of the run only.
Off West End & Around Town
Special Event
We invite you join us at the Noël Coward Theatre for our next Teachers Preview Club Special Event...
Off West End & Around Town
The World Premiere By Eve Leigh, directed By Tom MansfieldTickets Tickets Ages
£12 seats at previews (25 & 26 November) 12+
“And there is another planet, like ours. They can’t see the sky, on that planet. Because their atmosphere is like a mirror. They look into the sky and see only themselves and the things they’ve made. So everything in their world can easily be understood. All they want is to be safe and comfortable. They fatten themselves on poison food. And when they look into the sky, they are struck dumb. By the greatness of their works.” The world premiere of a first play by an exciting new playwright. At the height of the Cold War, dissident writer Gavriil is detained in a Soviet mental prison as a punishment for protesting against the government. His only escape is the prison library, a treasure store of banned literature available to the patients, but off-limits to the prison staff. His interrogator, Yurchak, offers to protect him from torture in exchange for sharing the forbidden stories. Their agreement will help them both find a kind of freedom, at the risk of their lives. Inspired by an incident in the life of writer, activist and neurophysiologist Vladimir Bukovsky, Silent Planet is a love story about our love of stories, a passionate and poetic fable about the power of literature in a world in which the wrong words can get you killed. Silent Planet is Eve Leigh’s first full length play. It is directed by Tom Mansfield, Artistic Director of Upstart and director of the critically acclaimed The Situation Room and Oh Well Never Mind Bye. Other Offers
£10 for under 30’s - Tuesday to Sunday of the first week when booked online. £12 for residents of the Borough of Kensington & Chelsea on the first Sat of the run only.
The Grand Tour
Music and Lyrics by Jerry Herman, Book by Michael Stewart and Mark Bramble Based on the play Jacobowsky and The Colonel by Franz Werfel as adapted by S. N. Behrman Tickets Ages
£14 at previews, 1st - 4th January 12+
The European première of Jerry Herman’s multi Tony Award Nominated Broadway musical - from the same creative team as Titanic, Parade, Mack & Mabel and Victor/Victoria Opening on Broadway in 1979, The Grand Tour marked Jerry Herman’s long-awaited return to Broadway after almost a decade away. It finally gets its European première, directed by Thom Southerland, as part of the Finborough Theatre’s 20 Premières Season. France, 1940. Jacobowsky, a Polish Jewish intellectual, has been one step ahead of the Nazis for years. Stjerbinsky, an aristocratic, anti-semitic Polish colonel, is desperately trying to get to England. Jacobowsky has purchased a car, but he doesn’t know how to drive. The Colonel knows how to drive, but has no car. When the two meet at a Paris hotel, they agree to join forces in order to escape the approaching Nazis. Together with the Colonel’s girlfriend, Marianne, they begin their perilous journey on the road to freedom. Featuring one of Jerry Herman’s most engrossing and heartfelt scores, The Grand Tour finds beauty, light and humour in one of history’s darkest hours. Other Offers
£10 for under 30’s - Tuesday to Sunday of the first week when booked online. £12 for residents of the Borough of Kensington & Chelsea on the first Sat of the run only.
Tickets Dates Ages
£4 Sunday, 2 November – Thursday, 20 November 2014 Sunday and Monday evenings at 7.30pm. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday matinees at 3.00pm 12+
This year’s festival features 15 staged readings of new works by 15 UK and international playwrights, discovered, developed or championed by the Finborough Theatre.As always, Vibrant 2014 – A Festival of Finborough Playwrights offers an eclectic idiosyncratic selection of new plays from both established writers and first time writers, aged from their 20s to their 70s, including dramatists from Australia, the United States, Canada, and from throughout England including Cornwall, the North East, the East Midlands and Earl’s Court itself. This festival also includes more female playwrights than ever before, work from South Asian, East Asian, British-Lebanese and Australian Aboriginal playwrights, work from our local community, and new plays from our Channel 4 Playwright-in-Residence and all three of our Playwrights-on-Attachment. Concentrated solely on full length works for the stage, Vibrant 2014 – A Festival of Finborough Playwrights continues to introduce you to some of the fascinating diverse vibrant voices we have nurtured. A unique opportunity to see behind the scenes at one of the UK’s most exciting theatres as we continue to discover and develop tomorrow’s plays today, brought to life by some of the UK’s most talented actors and directors. As West London’s original new writing festival, our Vibrant festivals have included 79 new plays, 21 of which have gone on to be produced in full productions at the Finborough Theatre including Mirror Teeth by Nick Gill, The Man by James, Graham, And I And Silence by Naomi Wallace, Black Jesus by Anders Lustgarten, Carthage by Chris Thompson and Nona Shepphard and Craig Adams’ musical version of Thérèse Raquin. Despite remaining completely unsubsidised, the Finborough Theatre has an unparalleled track record of discovering new playwrights who go on to become leading voices in British theatre. Under Artistic Director Neil McPherson, it has discovered some of the UK’s most exciting new playwrights including Laura Wade, James Graham, Mike Bartlett, Sarah Grochala, Chris Thompson, Jack Thorne, Simon Vinnicombe, Alexandra Wood, Al Smith, Nicholas de Jongh and Anders Lustgarten. It is the only theatre without public funding to be awarded the prestigious Pearson Playwriting Award bursary for writers not once, but eight times: Chris Lee in 2000, Laura Wade in 2005 (who also went on to win the Critics’ Circle Theatre Award for Most Promising Playwright, the George Devine Award and an Olivier Award nomination), James Graham in 2006 (also subsequently nominated for an Olivier Award), Al Smith in 2007, Anders Lustgarten in 2009, Simon Vinnicombe in 2010, Shamser Sinha in 2012 and Chris Thompson in 2013. Three bursary holders (Laura Wade, James Graham and Anders Lustgarten) have also won the Catherine Johnson Award for Best Play written by a bursary holder. Vibrant 2014 – A Festival of Finborough Playwrights is again curated by Finborough Theatre Artistic Director Neil McPherson, winner of The Writers’ Guild Award for the Encouragement of New Writing, and twice winner of the OffWestEnd Award for Best Artistic Director.
Off West End & Around Town
Vibrant 2014 A FESTIVAL OF FINBOROUGH PLAYWRIGHTS
Silent Planet
Tube To Book
Kings Cross or St Pancras 0844 871 7604 and quote MOUSETRAP
Polka Theatre Train To Book
The Railway Children Tickets Dates Ages
Set in a new, purpose built 1,000 seat venue complete with state of the art heating system, this breathtaking show features a stage built around a real train track, and a beautiful 60-tonne locomotive that steams into the theatre to delight all ages. A truly unique theatrical experience, The Railway Children returns to London after winning the Olivier Award for BEST ENTERTAINMENT and sell-out seasons in its previous home at Waterloo. Don’t miss your chance to join Bobbie, Peter and Phyllis on the adventure of a lifetime as they tell the story of how they became The Railway Children.
Leicester Square Theatre Tube To Book
Leicester Square 08448 733433 and use code TP
Siro-A
Tickets Dates Days Ages
£12.50 3rd November – 11th January Tuesday - Sunday (Times vary, please check website) All
Through dance, mime and puppetry, the company of six Siro-performers interact with technology in a way never seen before. Featuring spectacular video projection, light animation, stunning laser effects and a pulsating techno beat, SIRO-A is family entertainment like no other. www.siro-a.co.uk
Holborn 0844 412 4322 quote “Mousetrap” offer
The Snowman Tickets Days Ages
Tickets Dates Ages
2 free teacher tickets (Bookable once only, subject to availability) 21st – 30th November (Performance times vary, check with Box Office) KS1 & KS2
For this year’s Polka winter show, JM Barrie’s classic takes flight in a stunning show created especially for Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 students. Get ready for one of the greatest stories in children’s literature, bursting with original songs, puppetry, swashbuckling fun and fairy dust. Free teacher’s resource pack available to download. Show-linked workshops at your school also available.
Royal Court Tube To Book
Sloane Square 020 7565 5000 or www.royalcourttheatre.com, use code TEACHERS15
2071 Tickets Dates Ages
£15 Wednesday 5th November @ 7.45pm 14 +
An urgent new piece of theatre that puts climate science centre stage. Themes: climate change.
God Bless The Child Tickets Dates Ages
£15 Wendesday 12th – Tuesday 18th November (excludes Monday 17th) 14 +
After years working in the classroom, Molly Davies imagines a mutiny of eight year olds who try and bring down the educational regime designed to pacify them.
Peacock Theatre Tube To Book
020 8543 4888 and use code Teacher’s Preview Offer
Peter Pan
£20 (A,B & C areas) Tue 6th – Thu 8th Jan 2+
ALL ABOARD! The stunning adaptation of E. Nesbit’s classic novel The Railway Children arrives at London King’s Cross Theatre.
South Wimbledon & Wimbledon
£10 (Usually £35) Wed 26 Nov, Thu 27 Nov & Tue 2 Dec at 7pm 2+
When a young boy’s snowman magically comes to life, the two set off on a starryskied adventure. Watch spellbound as the Snowman flies through the night sky above you in this heart-warming stage show based on Raymond Briggs’ much-loved book and featuring Howard Blake’s timeless classic Walking In The Air. * Offer valid for selected dates only. Subject to allocation availability. Not available retrospectively or in conjunction with any other offer. £2.50 transaction fee applies for telephone bookings.
Themes: future of education, relationships between adults and children, role of children in society. For show specific articel and further offer, see Page 14
Hope Tickets Dates Ages
£15 Wednesday 26th – Saturday 29th November 14 +
How do you save 22 million pounds? Mark and Hilary, the leaders of the Council are about to find out. Following the success of Let The Right One In and This is England ’86, Jack Thorne has written an urgent political play, a funny and scathing fable attacking the squeeze on local government. Themes: local politics, austerity cuts, democracy
Off West End & Around Town
Off West End & Around Town
King’s Cross Theatre
Molly Davies new play imagines a revolution in the classroom. “When he was small and his parents told him if he was good he would get a sweet, the boy knew it was not true. Getting the sweet had nothing to do with being good.” After years working in the schools system as a Teaching Assistant, writer Molly Davies imagines a mutiny of eight year olds in this new play about government schemes and their place in the education system. Through the new ‘Badger Do Best’ behavioural initiative the production examines what educational tools we use to teach our children and who takes ultimate responsibility in a bureaucratic education system.
Photo by: Johan Persson
Molly Davies’ first play A Miracle was produced in 2009 at the Royal Court Theatre as part of the Young Writers Festival. Her other credits include Shooting Truth for National Theatre Connections and Orpheus & Eurydice for National Youth Theatre and Old Vic Tunnels.
The cast includes Amanda Abbington (best known as Mary Morstan in the BBC’s Sherlock); Ian Nikki Amuka-Bird (Birdland at Royal Court) Julie Hesmondhalgh (best known as Hayley Patterson in Coronation Street) and Ony Uhiara (known for her work at the Royal Shakespeare Company, Young Vic and Bush Theatre). Set in the classroom of 4N, the cast will be joined by two groups of eight year old actors. Special Offer for Teachers Preview Club Members - See Page 11
Education Event @ Arcola Theatre Tube To Book
Dalston Junction or Dalston Kingsland Email Laura@arcolatheatre.com
London Schools Hydrogen Challenge Theatre - Arcola Energy Now in its third year in London, Arcola Energy has already delivered workshops to over 40 London Secondary Schools. This year, the Challenge is bigger and better than ever, and we would love your school to take part! “It was fantastic! The whole lesson/workshop was engaging and fun. The workshop taught us about efficiency and construction” Student, City Academy The Hydrogen Challenge is a 1.5 hour workshop delivered in your school to a group of 30 students (approx.) in a hall space or similar, which teaches pupils about renewable energy, hydrogen fuel cells, scientific enquiry and mechanics. Workshops are designed for Key Stages 3 + 4. Winning teams from each school will be invited to a Final, competing with teams from across London to win prizes for their school. Price: Offer Valid: To Book: Use Code:
£80 + VAT per workshop (MTP offer only, usually £100 + VAT per workshop) 1st December 2014 - 27th February 2014 www.londonschoolshydrogenchallenge.com OR call Laura on 0207 503 1386 H2Mousetrap
£15 TICKETS (usually £20) using promo code ‘TEACHER’ at the Box Office or Online The Big Idea Alongside God Bless The Child the Royal Court are presenting a series of FREE events exploring its themes. ‘Imagination & institutions: how should we inspire our children?’ • Saturday 22nd Nov @ 1pm • Teachers, students, writers and other experts come together to discuss. • £5 or Free with a ticket to God Bless the Child Post Show Discussion: In conversation with Molly Davies • Wednesday 3 December • Free with a ticket to that evening’s performance, 7pm Carpet Time: stories by eight-year-olds. • Saturday 6 December, 1pm and 1.30pm. • A new performance for adults, in which carpet time is turned on its head. Instead of the children listening to stories told by adults, we join children on the carpet, around the building to listen to the stories they want to tell us.
• Free (but ticketed. Limited capacity). • To book call 020 7565 5000 or visit royalcourttheatre.com
Book great low prices at over 5000 hotels and discounts on a full range of London theatre and event breaks. To see the huge range of options available please visit www.superbreak.com To book call 0871 221 1199
Arts Education Events
Show Focus
God Bless The Child