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Dateline: 29th August, 2010 News from the Midlands
Actors re-live shop horrors in new REP productionA new production of science-fiction spoof musical Little Shop of Horrors which is "packed full of surprises" opens at Birmingham REP this week. The show contains a new set, man-eating puppets and a cast of actor-musicians who sing, dance and play instruments to a rock 'n' roll and doo wop-inspired musical score made famous in the 1986 film. Little Shop of Horrors will be directed by Peter Rowe, artistic director of the New Wolsey Theatre who will be making his debut at the REP. He also directed the New Wolsey's 2008 production of the musical and is again working alongside James Haggie and Shirley Darroch who reprise their roles of Seymour and Audrey. Shirley Darroch trained at the Birmingham School of Acting and previously performed at The REP as part of the Transmissions Festival. Harry Myers makes his Birmingham theatrical debut as Mr Mushnik while Sean Kingsley plays sadistic dentist Orin. Raquel Jones, Tania Mathurin and Emi Wokoma, who've all appeared in Hairspray in the West End, play the doo-wop girls Chiffon, Crystal and Ronnette. Brian Herring, who began his career working on Spitting Image and has also worked on Muppet Treasure Island provides the action behind man-eating Audrey II. Design is by Mark Walters, musical direction by Ben Goddard, choreography by Francesca James, lighting design by James Farncombe and sound design by Sebastian Frost. Little Shop of Horrors runs from Wednesday (September 1st) until Saturday, September 18th. An exhibition of the past, present and future of Birmingham REP will be on display in the foyer. It marks the REP's forthcoming temporary move away from Centenary Square while work on the joint REP/Library of Birmingham development takes place. Meanwhile a new comedy about awkward office romance, D C Jackson's My Romantic History, opens this week in the REP's studio space The Door. The play is a "a real 21st century love story, bringing a fresh uncompromising energy to the timeless theme of finding a soul-mate and presenting the modern challenges faced by young singles, with wry humour and straight-talking, upbeat realism." The play, which has just been performed in Edinburgh, features Iain Robertson as Tom and Rosalind Sydney as Amy. Lyndsey Turner, an associate director at Sheffield Theatres and London's Gate Theatre, directs. My Romantic History runs from Wednesday (September 1st) until Saturday, September 11th.
Playhouse hopes to conquer Goldsmith classic againFor the fifth time in its history Nottingham Playhouse is staging Oliver Goldsmith's classic She Stoops to Conquer - but it's the first time the theatre has produced it in 35 years. Full of romance and saucy mirth, She Stoops to Conquer, subtitled The Mistakes of a Night, is a boisterous tale of courtship complicated by class-consciousness and practical jokes. The play marks the return to the Playhouse of Lucy Pitman-Wallace who previously directed Macbeth in 2008 and The Burial at Thebes the previous year. The lead couple of Charles and Kate are played by Edmund Kingsley and Ellie Beaven, previously cast opposite each other by director Lucy Pitman-Wallace in The Importance of Being Earnest at Salisbury Playhouse. Mike Burnside as Mr Hardcastle and Thomas Eyre as his blundering servant Diggory are also new to Nottingham. The other cast members will be familiar to Playhouse audiences. Playing the mischief-making Tony Lumpkin is Chris Nayak, who appeared in A Passage to India in 2004 and most recently as George in Arthur and George. Rina Mahoney has waited more than a decade for her return after being in Cinderella in 1999. Joan Moon, who was also in The Burial at Thebes, had parts in both Blithe Spirit and The Families of Lockerbie recently. She's playing Mrs Hardcastle in her third encounter with She Stoops to Conquer. Peter Basham (Hastings) appears on the big screen in the current film Inception while Maxwell Hutcheon also returns from The Burial at Thebes to play Charles Marlow's indulgent father Sir Charles. She Stoops to Conquer runs from Friday (September 3rd) until Saturday, September 18th.
Youngsters wanted to play king's children and Derby dancersYoung people are being given the chance to appear on stage alongside Janie Dee in a production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's The King and I at Leicester's Curve this Christmas. Director Paul Kerryson will be holding open auditions for the roles of the king's children and is looking for a total of about 60 children who look between five and 16 and preferably have dark hair. Said Kerryson, "No previous acting experience is required - just the ability to sing and dance with lots of enthusiasm." Those chosen will form three groups who will rotate performances during the run from Friday, December 3rd until Saturday, January 15th. The closing date for applications for five- to ten-year-olds will be Wednesday, September 8th, with auditions being held at Curve on Saturday, September 11th. Eleven- to 15-year-olds have until Wednesday, September 15th to apply; auditions will be held on Tuesday, September 21st. Young people interested in auditioning can register their interest by emailing kingandicasting@curvetheatre.co.uk with details of their date of birth, height and school. They will then be invited to attend auditions on the above dates. Meanwhile, Derby LIVE will be holding dance auditions at the Assembly Rooms next Sunday (September 5th) for trained dancers for this year's pantomime Aladdin which stars Neil Morrissey. The producers are looking for trained girl dancers aged eight to 12 to portray an array of colourful characters. All dancers must live within half an hour's travelling distance of the Assembly Rooms and must be able to commit to rehearsals from Friday, November 26th until the end of the run on Sunday, January 9th. Auditions will be held in the Darwin Suite at the Assembly Rooms, Market Place, Derby DE1 3AH. Registration opens at 9.30am. For further details contact dance co-ordinator Fiona Watson on 07769 626617 or fwatson0705@yahoo.co.uk.
What's on this week
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