THE SMASH HIT WEST END MUSICAL

LINNIE

Live On Stage

Five years after a record-breaking run in London’s West End and a subsequent sell-out tour, The Commitments is back! Based on the BAFTA award-winning film classic, join us for a five-star fantastically feel-good celebration of soul that will have you up on your feet dancing!

Adapted from the iconic novel by Booker prize-winning author Roddy Doyle himself, and directed by Andrew Linnie, this smash hit production stars

Coronation Street legend Nigel Pivaro. With over 20 soul classics performed live on stage 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 more!

Come and see the West End smash hit spectacular that is a guaranteed “fabulously fun night out” (Daily Mail) you will simply never forget.

Mon 10 – Sat 15 April

Eves 7.30pm

Wed & Sat Matinees 2.30pm

DERNGATE

Tickets from £11

Concessions, Groups and Stage & Screen Members discounts

Sign Language Interpreted

Audio Described

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“We don’t in general take to foreigners here… unless they take to us first”

With characteristic humour, passion and pathos, Inspector Sands offer a fresh take on the infamous love story of doomed heroes Catherine and Heathcliff, with its devastating impact across several generations.

Channelling Emily Brontë’s piercing wit and intense emotion, Inspector Sands will throw the classic novel into sharp contemporary focus, exploring the way violence generates violence and the relationship between social alienation and radical behaviour.

Wuthering Heights will contain violence, passion, peril, social awkwardness, high winds, heavy rain, loud music and mud.

Inspector Sands’ work is highly accessible and entertaining whilst also pushing the boundaries of form, a combination the company are thrilled to be bringing to a larger canvas. Finely crafted physical performances and fearless comedy have been at the heart of Inspector Sands’ work, allowing them to create an intimate relationship with a broad range of audiences.

“THEY ARE BRILLIANT AND RECKLESS, PRECISE AND INVENTIVE, INTELLIGENT AND FRANK” NEW YORK THEATRE GUIDE ON INSPECTOR SANDS

A Royal & Derngate, Northampton, China Plate, Inspector Sands and Oxford Playhouse co-production

Mon 24 April – Sat 6 May

Eves 7.30pm (Fri 28 April 7pm)

Thu 27 April, Sat 29 April & Wed 3 May Matinees 2.30pm

ROYAL

Tickets from £13

Concessions, Groups and Stage & Screen Members discounts

Sign Language Interpreted

Audio Described

Captioned

Recommended for ages 14+

Contains strong language Subscribe & Save! - See page 28

Created by Inspector Sands

Adaptation conceived & developed by Lucinka Eisler and Ben Lewis

Writer Ben Lewis

Director Lucinka Eisler

Associate Director Chris Yarnell

Design Jamie Vartan

Costume Design Johanna Mårtensson

Lighting Design Ben Ormerod

Sound Design Elena Peña & Dan Balfour

Casting Annelie Powell CDG and Hayley Kaimakliotis

Artistic Associate Giulia Innocenti

Times vary, see website for details

BBC HeadFest is back, bigger and better for 2023. We’ve lived through some extraordinary times, with challenges to both our physical and mental health, and we want to do something to help. BBC HeadFest 23 is here to support you. We’ll bring useful tools together under one single roof. You’ll be able to access services, discussions and answers in an informal friendly environment to support your mental health.

This action-packed weeklong festival by BBC Radio Northampton brings together services from NHS Northamptonshire in a series of talks, workshops and comedy. Most events are free and guests are welcome to drop in for a cuppa or to talk to our roaming mental health first-aiders.

There’s lots to choose from, including High Performance – the podcast sensation featuring duo Jake Humphrey and Professor Damian Hughes and Joe Tracini’s lively but frank account of living with a personality disorder. There’s also comedy including the hilarious Simon Brodkin in his show Screwed-Up. For more details please see pages 38-40. For the full festival schedule, including relaxation sessions, masterclasses, workshops and talks, see our website at www.royaladnderngate.co.uk/headfest23

Based on the Sunday Times bestseller which inspired one of this century’s most treasured films, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel takes us on a journey to India with an eclectic group of British retirees as they embark on a new life. The luxury residence is far from the opulence they were promised, but as their lives begin to intertwine, they are charmed in unexpected and life-changing ways.

Starring Belinda Lang (2 Point 4 Children, Oklahoma!), Paul Nicholas (Jesus Christ Superstar, Just Good Friends, EastEnders), Tessa Peake-Jones (Only Fools And Horses) and Graham Seed (The Archers, The Mousetrap). Also featuring Rekha John-Cheriyan (Four Weddings And A Funeral, Tomb Raider, Hollyoaks), Nishad More (King Lear, My Mother’s Wedding) and Marlene Sidaway (Coronation Street, Pride And Prejudice).

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel is a joyous comedy about taking risks, finding love and embracing second chances, even in the most surprising of places. Get ready for the journey of a lifetime!

Tue 9 – Sat 13 May

Eves 7.30pm

Wed & Sat Matinees 2.30pm

DERNGATE

Tickets from £13

Concessions, Groups and Stage & Screen Members discounts

Sign Language Interpreted

Audio Described

Touch Tour

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Direct from the West End, the Olivier Awardnominated smash hit show, The Tiger Who Came To Tea returns to Royal & Derngate!

The doorbell rings just as Sophie and her mummy are sitting down to tea. Who could it possibly be? What they certainly don’t expect to see at the door is a big, stripy tiger!

Join the tea-guzzling tiger in this delightful family show; packed with oodles of magic, sing-a-long songs and clumsy chaos! A stunning stage adaptation of the classic tale of teatime mayhem… expect to be surprised!

HHHH “THIS TIGER IS THE CAT’S MEOW”

The Times

HHHH “A RARE AND GRRREAT ACHIEVEMENT”

Mail On Sunday

Fri 2 – Sun 4 June 11.30am & 2.30pm

DERNGATE

Tickets from £15

Recommended for ages 3+

Large in size and keen in nature, Zog is eager to win a golden star at Madam Dragon’s school, where dragons learn all the things that dragons need to know. Zog tries so very hard, perhaps too hard, and he bumps, burns and roars his way through years one, two and three. Luckily, the plucky Princess Pearl patches him up ready to face his biggest challenge yet… a duel with knight, Sir Gadabout the Great!

The smash-hit stage adaptation from Freckle Productions (the team behind Zog And The Flying Doctors and Stick Man) is back and promises to be bigger, brighter and more roar-some than ever before!

With lively songs from Joe Stilgoe and directed by Emma Kilbey, Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler’s much-loved Zog is a magical production for all ages.

Thu 29 June – Sat 1 July Thu 4.30pm, Fri 10.30am, 1.30pm & 4.30pm, Sat 10.30am, 1.30pm & 3.30pm

DERNGATE

Tickets from £16

For all ages