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Dateline:
14th July, 2002
Cabaret
Director Walks Out
The director of Chichester Festival's production of Cabaret,
Lucy Bailey, has walked out of the production due to "artistic
differences". According to press reports, the Festival management
were unhappy about certain scenes which they thought were too "charged"
and asked her to tone them down. She refused and left. She has been
replaced by Roger Redfarn who directed 2000's musical Song of Singapore.
The Kander and Ebb musical opens on 31st July (previews from 25th)
and runs until 5th October.
Lighting Company in
Administration
The Lighting Technology Group, a national supplier of theatre and entertainment
lighting with offices in London, Corby, Manchester, Newcastle and New
Malden, has gone into administration. The company has recently expanded,
taking over, for example, Sound Electronics in Newcastle-upon-Tyne which
is the regional distributor for, for example, Strand, Pulsar and most
major lighting and sound manufacturers.
The company blames a failed joint venture and problems with a Millennium
Dome-related project for the cash flow problems which have caused the
directors to call in administrators Price Waterhouse-Cooper. The administrators,
Bob Bailey and David Langton, say that their aim is to find a buyer
who will take over the company as a going concern. Meanwhile LT, which
employs 87 staff, continues to work as usual.
Cattle Auction
Mart Converts to Theatre
North Yorkshire's Skipton auction mart is spending £100,000 to
install lighting and stage equipment and build dressing rooms so that
it can be used as a theatre in an attempt to keep it afloat after being
very badly hit by the foot and mouth crisis.
A pilot production of Macbeth by Northern Broadsides was a commercial
success and diretcor Barry Rutter is enthusiastic about the venue, although
he does warn the mart managers not to make the venue too "nice".
Now a country and western concert will replace the normal August Bank
Holiday auction.
Auctions will still be held and the partial theatre conversion is an
attempt by the 550 famers and dealers who use the ring to enable them
to continue.
Brenda Blethyn
Returns to the Stage
Actress Brenda Blethyn makes her return to the stage in October in a
production by Sir Peter Hall of Shaw's Mrs Warren's Profession.
The play opens at the Strand on 10th October (previews from 2nd).
Kiss Me, Kate
to Close
The Broadway import production of Kiss Me, Kate, starring Rachel
York, Brent Barrett, Nancy Anderson and Michael Beresse, is to close
on 24th August when the US stars' contracts expire. There is a possibility
of a tour but with an all-British cast.
Travels With
My Aunt Travels with Wilmot
and Francis
Graham Greene's Travels With My Aunt is to go on a nationwide
tour from August to November, in a revived production starring Gary
Wilmot and Clive Francis. It opens at the Nottingham Playhouse on 19th
August and then tours to Brighton, Cambridge, Bromley, Coventry, Guildford,
Wolverhampton, Eastbourne, Manchester, Darlington, Plymouth and Richmond.
Also in the cast are Jeffrey Holland and Andrew Greenough, and the director
is Richard Baron.
Up for Grabs
on Film?
There are rumours that a film version of Madonna's stage debut Up
for Grabs may become a film. According to the "Daily Mail",
Madonna is keen to star in any film but other names, including Nicole
Kidman, Cate Blanchett and Julia Roberts, have been linked to it.
Stones
on Tour
Marie Jones' hit comedy Stones in his Pockets begins a nationwide
tour next month. It opens at Birmingham Rep on 19th August and then
goes on to Richmond, Manchester, Lincoln, Brighton, Sheffield, Nottingham,
Southend, Coventry, Wycombe, Cardiff, Malvern, Cambridge, Newcastle
and Bath, ending on 7th December. The West End production at the Duke
of York's will continue.
Suzman Joins The Hollow Crown
Janet Suzman will replace Diana Rigg in the only UK performances of
The Hollow Crown at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford,
from 16th to 20th July. Derek Jacobi, Donald Sinden and Ian Richardson
remain in the cast.
Derby Playhouse
Director Moves On
Mark Clements, the artistic director of the Derby Playhouse, is to leave
the theatre after ten years when his contract expires at the end of
December. The parting, he says, is amicable and he simply wants to pursue
other things which he cannot do whilst running a theatre full time.
Window Celebrates
Marlowe
Christopher Marlowe has been commemorated by the installation of a stained
glass window in Poets' Corner in Westminster Abbey. The window was unveiled
on Thursday, 11th July.
Noël and
Gertie
Sheridan Morley's play about Noël Coward and Gertrude Lawrence,
Noël and Gertie, directed by Morley himself and starring
Annabel Leventon and John Watts, will play at the Jermyn Street Theatre
from 19th August to 7th September.
Damsels
at the Duchess
Alan Ayckbourn's latest trilogy, Damsels in Distress, will transfer
to the Duchess Theatre after a regional tour on 7th September (previews
from 4th). Prior to that, the theatre will host the revival of David
Hare's one-man show Via Dolorosa (from 18th July to 31st August:
previews from 16th).
Corpse!
on Tour
Comedy thriller Corspe! by Gerald Moon is to go on a nationwide
tour from Augsut to December, calling at Bath, Woking, Ipswich, Cheltenham,
Peterborough, Darlington, Salford, Bromley, Edinburgh, Richmond, Poole,
Coventry, Brighton and Milton Keynes. The play stars Mark McGann, Colin
Baker and Louise Jameson. It opens at the Theatre Royal Northampton
on 15th August.
American Exploits
at New End
London Fringe's New End Theatre is to hold its own American theatre
season, American Exploits, from 16th July to 24th November. The season
includes Lanie Robinson's Lady Day at Emmerson's Bar and Grill,
a Derby Playhouse production (6th July to 8th September); Benchmark
by Michael Rudman and Bud Shrake (11th September to 20th October), directed
by Rudman and starring Jerry Hall; and Snatches, an Edinburgh
Fringe transfer (29th September to 7th October). The season ends with
More Lies About Jerzy (22nd October to 24th November), an off-Broadway
hit by Davey Holmes and directed by Guy Retallack.
Umoja
to Transfer
South African dance show Umoja is to transfer from the Queen's,
Shaftesbury Avenue, to the New London on 2nd September, when Cats
finally moves out.
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