Othello, The Crucible, Funny Girl
Othello – tour starts 16 February
Bristol-based international touring ensemble Shakespeare at the Tobacco Factory is touring Othello in a co-production with English Touring Theatre.
This is the first play in Richard Twyman's inaugural season as artistic director of English Touring Theatre.
The play, directed by Twyman, will play Bristol as part of the Shakespeare at the Tobacco Factory new season which includes Tartuffe, prior to touring to Exeter Northcott Theatre and Wilton’s Music Hall London and then Germany.
Abraham Popoola will play the title role with Norah Lopez Holden as Desdemona, Mark Lockyer as Iago and Katy Stephens as Emilia.
Alongside them are Brian Lonsdale, Ghazwan Alsafadi, Hayat Kamille and Piers Hampton.
The Crucible - tour starts 17 February
Arthur Miller's The Crucible is to tour the UK and Luxembourg.
Coronation Street's Charlie Condou will play the witch-hunter, Reverend Hale; Douglas Rintoul, artistic director of the Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch, will direct this classic American drama with a Brechtian twist.
The Crucible is co-produced by the award-winning Sell A Door Theatre Company and The Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch in association with Les Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg.
The Crucible opens at Hornchurch Queen’s Theatre and then visits Dartford Orchard Theatre, Cheltenham Everyman Theatre, Aberdeen His Majesty’s Theatre, Luxembourg Les Théâtres De La Ville De Luxembourg, Richmond Theatre, Brighton Theatre Royal, Manchester Opera House, Cardiff New Theatre, Birmingham New Alexandra Theatre and Glasgow Theatre Royal.
Funny Girl - tour starts 18 February
Funny Girl which has recently had a record breaking West End run starts its tour at Manchester Palace in February.
The show has music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Bob Merrill, a book by Isobel Lennart from her original story, and a revised book by Harvey Fierstein.
This story of Broadway star Fanny Brice features the iconic songs "People" and "Don’t Rain On My Parade". Funny Girl is directed by Michael Mayer.
There are two sets of leads for the tour of Funny Girl: Sheridan Smith will play Brice with Chris Peluso as Nick Arnstein in Manchester, Milton Keynes, Liverpool, Bristol, Edinburgh, Birmingham, Newcastle, Southampton, Bradford, Southend, Cardiff and Dublin, with Natasha J Barnes (alternate to Sheridan Smith during the West End run) playing Brice and Darius Campbell as Nick Arnstein at other venues.
The rest of the cast is made up of Nigel Barber, Zoë Ann Bown, Martin Callaghan, Jennifer Harding, Rachel Izen, Joshua Lay and Myra Sands, with Rhianne Alleyne, Kit Benjamin, Lloyd Davies, Flora Dawson, Joseph Dockree, Abigayle Honeywill, Brontë Lavine, David Mcintosh, Peter Nash, Gillian Parkhouse, Tom Partridge, Nova Skipp, Alexandra Waite-Roberts, Sam Wingfield and Alexandra Wright.
Funny Girl opens at Manchester Palace then visits Milton Keynes Theatre, Liverpool Empire, Bristol Hippodrome, Stoke Regent Theatre, His Majesty's Aberdeen, Edinburgh Playhouse, New Victoria Woking, Marlowe Theatre Canterbury, Birmingham Hippodrome, Newcastle Theatre Royal, Mayflower Theatre Southampton, King’s Theatre Glasgow, Bradford Alhambra Theatre, Nottingham Theatre Royal, Southend Cliffs Pavilion, Norwich Theatre Royal, Wales Millennium Centre Cardiff, Bord Gais Dublin, Venue Cymru, Llandudno, Wolverhampton Grand and Theatre Royal Plymouth.