Riot Act – tour starts 6 June
Marking the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots, new LGBTQ play Riot Act embarks on a Pride season tour.
Written and performed by Alexis Gregory, this verbatim theatre piece is based on interviews with Michael-Anthony Nozzi, one of the few remaining Stonewall survivors, Lavinia Co-op, a 1970s London radical-drag artist, and AIDS activist Paul Burston.
Covering six decades of queer history, this solo work looks at queerness, sexuality, activism, addiction, family, childhood, love, sex, drag, community, togetherness, conflict, identity, youth and ageing.
Riot Act played London's Kings Head Theatre Queer Season. It is directed by Rikki Beadle-Blair MBE and produced by Alexis Gregory, Team Angelica, Arcola Theatre (Arcola dates) and Emmerson & Ward Productions and is published by Oberon Books.
It visits The Old Joint Stock Theatre Birmingham, Arcola Theatre London, Crewe Lyceum, Norwich Theatre Royal, Wardrobe Theatre Bristol, Oldham Coliseum and Marlborough Theatre Brighton with more dates to be confirmed.
Grease – tour starts 19 June
The first new production of musical Grease in 25 years tours the UK and Ireland.
Dan Partridge will play Danny, Martha Kirby will make her professional début as Sandy, Louis Gaunt will play Kenickie and Rhianne-Louise McCaulsky will play Rizzo.
Peter Andre will play Teen Angel at most performances. They are joined by Jordan Abey, Ryan Anderson, Damian Buhagiar, Eloise Davies, Natalie Woods, Tara Sweeting, Dale White, Jessica Croll, Corinna Powlesland, Abigail Climer, Darren Bennett and Will Haswell.
Completing the cast are Thea Bunting, Emily Beth Harrington, Jonathan Hermosa Lopez, Dom Hutcheson, Ruby May Martinwood and Lindsay McAllister.
Grease is directed by Nikolai Foster, artistic director of Curve Leicester where the production was first seen in 2016; the choreographer is Arlene Philips and orchestrations and musical supervision are by Sarah Travis.
The show was first seen on stage in Chicago in 1971, being made into a film starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton John in 1978. Songs in the show include "Summer Nights", "Greased Lightnin’", "Hopelessly Devoted To You" and "You’re The One That I Want".
Grease is produced by Colin Ingram for InTheatre Productions, Donovan Mannato, William Sinclair, Ricardo Marques, Hunter Arnold and Curve.
Grease visits Leeds Grand Theatre, Cliffs Pavilion Southend, Sunderland Empire, Birmingham Hippodrome, King's Theatre Glasgow, Curve Leicester, Bord Gáis Energy Theatre Dublin, New Theatre Oxford, Churchill Theatre and Wales Millennium Centre Cardiff.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream – tour starts 19 June
Shakespeare in the Squares' annual production is A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
Directed by Tatty Hennessy Shakespeare’s play of love and magic has been reset to 1920s Britain and tours London's squares and parks visiting Leinster Square W2, St James’s Gardens W11, Norland Square W11, Queen's Park NW6, Camden Square NW1, Arundel and Ladbroke Gardens W11, Paulton’s Square SW3, St James’s Square SW1, Paddington Street W1, Little Wormwood Scrubs Park W10, Ladbroke Square W11, Cornwall Gardens SW7, Connaught Square W2, Elgin and Arundel Gardens W11, Bedford Square WC1 as part of the Bedford Square Festival, St Peter’s Square W6, The Courtyard at le Gothique Royal Victoria Patriotic Building, Formosa Gardens W9 and Cleveland Square W2.
Roundabout – tour starts 29 June
Paines Plough's award-winning "pop up" theatre Roundabout is home to three new plays.
Presented in rep the world premières will star Charlotte Bate, Charlotte O’leary and Toyin Omari-Kinch.
The three are:
On The Other Hand, We’re Happy by Daf James
In award-winning writer, composer and performer James's new play, a single Dad meets his adopted daughter for the first time and then her birth mother. A hopeful play about being a mum when your name is Dad.
Dexter And Winter’s Detective Agency by Nathan Bryon
This is a mad-cap adventure story for family audiences in which Dexter and Winter turn detective to get Dexter’s mum out of gaol after she is accused of a jewellery robbery.
Daughterhood by Charley Miles
This plays sees two sisters reunited in their childhood home: one having stayed at home to care for their father and the other leaving to ‘make a difference’.
They are all directed by Stef O’Driscoll with movement by Annie-Lunnette Deakin-Foster, and assistant direction from Janisè Sadik. Paines Plough and Theatr Clwyd are the producers.
Roundabout visits Mold with Theatr Clwyd, Salford with The Lowry, Ramsgate with Creative Civic Change, Doncaster with CAST, Bournemouth with The Lighthouse Poole and Lincoln with Lincoln Performing Arts Centre with summer dates to be announced.
Check web sites for information regarding post–show Q&As, captioned, signed and relaxed performances, the use of smoke/haze and flashing lights, and age suitability. At the time of going to press, some dates may not yet be on sale.