This House, Chip Shop Chips, Love from a Stranger, Dancing Club
This House - tour starts 23 February
James Graham’s political drama about the UK's 1974 hung parliament tours from next month.
The cast is made up of Ian Barritt, William Chubb, Giles Cooper, Stephen Critchlow, James Gaddas, Natalie Grady, Ian Houghton, David Hounslow, Marcus Hutton, Harry Kershaw, Louise Ludgate, Geoffrey Lumb, Nicholas Lumley, Martin Marquez, Matthew Pidgeon, Miles Richardson, Tony Turner, Orlando Wells and Charlotte Worthing.
Ian Houghton, David Hounslow, Matthew Pidgeon, Tony Turner and Orlando Wells return to This House having previously appeared in the West End production.
Jeremy Herrin directs with Jonathan O’Boyle, the music is by Stephen Warbeck and the choreography is by Scott Ambler.
The tour of This House is produced by Jonathan Church Productions and Headlong.
This House opens at West Yorkshire Playhouse Leeds then tours to Cambridge Arts Theatre, Theatre Royal Bath, Edinburgh Festival Theatre, Nottingham Theatre Royal, Birmingham Repertory Theatre, The Lowry Salford, Theatre Royal Plymouth, Norwich Theatre Royal, Malvern Theatres, Yvonne Arnaud Theatre Guildford and Lyceum Theatre Sheffield.
Chip Shop Chips - tour starts 23 February
Becky Prestwich’s Chip Shop Chips, a nostalgic tale of love over fish and chips set to a soundtrack of Northern Soul, tours with Josh Moran, Julie Edwards, Jessica Forrest and Mark Newsome in the cast.
The tour is presented by Box of Tricks who take the play to a number of unusual spaces where it is served up with a fish and chip supper.
Joint Box of Tricks artistic director and co-founder Adam Quayle directs.
Chip Shop Chips opens at The Dukes Lancaster then visits The Platform Morecambe, Rural Arts North Yorkshire, Stahl Theatre Oundle School, St Mary’s Creative Space Chester, Arts Out West Cumbria, Wilbraham St Ninian’s URC (Chorlton Good Neighbours), Stephen Joseph Theatre Scarborough, Rural Arts North Yorkshire, Creative Scene Kirklees, Arts Out West Cumbria, Parr Library St Helens, Night Out Wales, Pocklington Arts Centre, Black Country Touring, The Wightman Shrewsbury, The Y Leicester, Grimsby Central Hall, Oldham Library, Spot On Lancashire, Touchstones Rochdale, Northwich Memorial Hall and The Edge Manchester.
Love From A Stranger - tour starts 23 February
Love From A Stranger is a thriller which sees Cecily Harrington swept off her feet by a handsome and charming stranger but in this edge-of-your-seat story, life for the newlywed in the remote countryside is no happy ever after.
Love From A Stranger is written by Agatha Christie and Frank Vosper. Christie is a global brand but Vosper is less well-known.
Born at the turn of the previous century, he had a career as a theatre and film actor prior to writing and his credits include the hugely successful Murder on the Second Floor. Vosper died in 1937 in a drowning accident.
For Love From A Stranger Lucy Bailey directs Justin Avoth, Helen Bradbury, Sam Frenchum, Alice Haig, Molly Logan, Crispin Redman, Nicola Sanderson and Gareth Williams.
Love From A Stranger is presented by Fiery Angel in association with Royal & Derngate, Northampton. After opening there the tour visits Oxford Playhouse, Yvonne Arnaud Theatre Guildford, The Marlowe Theatre Canterbury, New Theatre Cardiff, Liverpool Playhouse, Richmond Theatre, Curve Leicester, New Alexandra Theatre Birmingham, Cambridge Arts Theatre, Theatre Royal Plymouth, Edinburgh King’s Theatre, Theatre Royal Newcastle, Everyman Theatre Cheltenham, Theatre Royal Glasgow, Milton Keynes Theatre, The Lowry Salford and Theatre Royal Norwich.
The Dancing Club - tour starts 28 February
The Dancing Club is a new play, written and directed by Caroline Jester, featuring original music by Jon Bates, a special recording from the Kidderminster Male Choir and choreography by Steve Elias.
It is based on the true story of Frank and Wynn Freeman who for decades after WWII inspired a town to dance and of whom Strictly Come Dancing's Len Goodman said, "I think people underestimate the value of dance schools and how important they are to the social wellbeing of towns. I wanted to run my dance studio just like Frank ran his."
Caroline Jester interviewed over 100 Kidderminster residents to develop The Dancing Club and is a former dance pupil of Frank and Wynn.
Jester directs a cast made up of Mark Jardine as Frank, Ali Belbin as Wynn with Laurence Saunders and Emma Clayton.
The show visits community owned spaces, school and village halls, libraries, arts centres and theatres, premièring at Kidderminster College in the town where Frank and Wynn had their original Dancing Club.
The Dancing Club is produced by Pippa Frith. It opens at Kidderminster College Market Street then visits Clungunford Parish Hall Shropshire, St George’s Hall Bewdley, Malvern Cube, Artrix Bromsgrove, Thimblemill Library Smethwick West Midlands, Newhampton Arts Centre, The Angel Centre Worcester, The Kirkgate Centre Cockermouth and Ewanrigg and Netherton Community Centre Maryport.
Check web sites for information regarding post–show Q&As, captioned, signed and relaxed performances and age suitability. At the time of going to press, some dates may not yet be on sale.