Crimes On The Nile, Ghost, Abigail’s Party, Glasgow Girls
Crimes On The Nile – tour starts 7 January
New whodunnit Crimes On The Nile is inspired by Christie, Coward and classic Ealing comedies.
A cast of four take on all the roles in this 1935-set comic murder mystery where Belgian detective Artemis Arinae's cruise along the Nile is interrupted and there's work to be done to find the murderer as the body count builds up.
The cast comprises Heather Westwell, Feargus Woods Dunlop, Kirsty Cox and Fergus Leatham.
Crimes On The Nile has music and sound by Guy Hughes and Fred Riding; it is directed by James Farrell, the assistant director is Lara Lawman and movement director is Gary Sefton. It is presented by New Old Friends.
The show visits The Ustinov Theatre Royal Bath, The Barn Cirencester, The Dukes Lancaster, Middlesbrough Theatre, Queen’s Hall Arts Centre Hexham, The Theatre Chipping Norton, Eden Court Inverness, Gala theatre Durham, Tacchi-Morris Arts Centre Taunton, Wyvern Theatre Swindon, The Hawth, Theatre Royal Margate, The Hazlitt Theatre Maidstone, The Core at Corby Cube, Nottingham Lakeside Arts Djanogly Theatre, Old Laundry Theatre Bowness-on-Windermere, Queen’s Theatre Barnstable, Lichfield Garrick, Torch Theatre Pembrokeshire, Theatr Clwyd Mold, Palace Theatre Southend and Haymarket Theatre Basingstoke.
Ghost – The Musical - tour starts 8 January
Rebekah Lowings, whose credits include Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and Jesus Christ Superstar, and Niall Sheehy, whose credits include Titanic The Musical, Miss Saigon, Les Misérables and Wicked take the roles of Molly and Sam in this screen-to-stage adaptation.
Based on double Academy Award-winning film Ghost starring Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore, Ghost—The Musical recreates the film's iconic scene performed to The Righteous Brothers' "Unchained Melody".
Jacqui Dubois, whose recent credits include People, Places and Things, takes the part played in the film by Whoopi Goldberg, Oda Mae Brown.
Joining them are Sergio Pasquariello, Jules Brown, James Earl Adair, Lovonne Richards, Jochebel Ohene Maccarthy and Sadie-Jean Shirley with Chanelle Anthony, Josh Andrews, Samantha Noel, Charlotte-Kate Warren, Kage Dougl and Michael Ward completing the cast.
Ghost—The Musical has book and lyrics by Bruce Joel Rubin and music and lyrics by Dave Stewart and Glen Ballard. Bob Tomson directs, choreography is by Alistair David and the producer is Bill Kenwright.
The tour opens at Churchill Theatre Bromley and then visits Lyceum Theatre Sheffield, Grand Theatre Wolverhampton, Curve Theatre Leicester, New Victoria Theatre Woking, Millennium Forum Londonderry, Theatre Royal Brighton, Edinburgh Festival Theatre, Chester Storyhouse, Sunderland Empire, New Theatre Cardiff, Kings Theatre Glasgow, The Sands Centre Carlisle, Grand Opera House Belfast, Palace Theatre Manchester, Liverpool Empire and Alhambra Theatre Bradford.
Abigail’s Party - tour starts 10 January
Jodie Prenger leads the cast as Beverly in Mike Leigh’s 1970s classic comedy, Abigail’s Party.
Daniel Casey plays her husband Lawrence, Vicky Binns and Calum Callaghan play Angela and Tony, the guests of honour at their party, and Rose Keegan plays highly strung Susan, who takes refuge there having been banished from the party of her teenage daughter Abigail.
But, over drinks, disco and cheese and pineapple sticks, tensions rise and tempers flare with potentially disastrous consequences.
Abigail’s Party is directed by Sarah Esdaile and is a co-production between ATG Productions and Smith and Brant Theatricals by arrangement with Theatre Royal Bath.
The show visits Theatre Royal Brighton, Alexandra Theatre Birmingham, York Grand Opera House, Theatre Royal Glasgow, Nuffield Southampton Theatres, Regent Theatre Stoke-on-Trent, New Victoria Theatre Woking, Royal & Derngate Northampton, Grand Theatre Blackpool, Aylesbury Waterside Theatre, Liverpool Playhouse, Orchard Theatre Dartford, Manchester Opera House and King’s Theatre Edinburgh.
Glasgow Girls – tour starts 15 January
This hit show is based on the true story of seven teenagers from Drumchapel who inspired a whole community to make a stand when their school friend and her asylum-seeking family were forcibly taken from their home to be deported.
The cast is made up of Callum Cuthbertson, Chiara Sparkes, Sophia Lewis, Terry Neason, Stephanie McGregor, Patricia Panther, Shannon Swan, Kara Swinney, Aryana Ramkhalawon, Laura Jane Wilkie.
Glasgow Girls is directed and devised by Cora Bisset and written by David Greig. The composers are Cora Bissett, Kielty Brothers, MC SoomT and Patricia Panther with musical arrangements by Hilary Brooks and Mikey J Asante and musical direction by Gavin Whitworth. The choreographer is Natasha Gilmore and the associate choreographer is Jade Adamason. The producers are Raw Material.
It premièred at Citizens Theatre, Glasgow in 2012 and subsequently won the Offie for Best New Musical and the Amnesty International Freedom of Expression Award.
Glasgow Girls visits King’s Theatre Glasgow, King’s Theatre Edinburgh, Perth Theatre, Eden Court Inverness and Abbey Theatre Dublin.