<img src='' title='Event Category: Theatre' alt='' id='templ_icon_' width='' height='' /> Event Category: Theatre

Do I Love You? by john godber

Join twenty somethings Sally, Nat and Kyle in this hilarious comedy as they develop a love for, and the people involved with, Northern Soul. What started as a College project has grown into a passion, but the dance steps are exhausting. Far beyond their home city of Hull our trio find excitement, purpose and the tribe they’ve been looking for. Now they can’t get enough; from Bridlington Spa to Stoke, from London to the Blackpool Tower Ballroom our young soulies are determined to keep the faith!

This is Northern Soul for a new generation, but with rising costs, unemployment, and small town blues, has anything really changed? Is this England 1976 or 2026? The pubs are closing, hospitality has gone, and strikes are everywhere; but when you’re out on the floor …

So spread the talc and grab your loafers, our trio are heading for a weekender!

From the writer of the legendary Bouncers …

It’ll never be over for us!

“Another little dramatic gem from the pen of John Godber” — British Theatre Guide

“Infectious and exhilarating” — The Times

“Outstanding” — The Guardian

“A celebration of Northern Soul” — Blackpool Social Club

 

2024 Broadway World Award nominations for: 

BEST REGIONAL/TOURING PRODUCTION

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A PLAY
Emilio Encinoso-Gil
Chloe McDonald

BEST CHOREOGRAPHY 

Dead Poets Live: Wallace Stevens

Wallace Stevens was born in Pennsylvania in 1879, married once, had one child, lived most of his life in the same place, where he worked as a lawyer in the same insurance firm. He died in 1955. His biography, compared to the lives of other poets, is supremely prosaic. His poetry, by contrast, is abstract, fantastical, speculative, artificial, strange and preoccupied, self-referentially, with its own medium. And yet no poet of the twentieth century made a more brilliant case for abstraction, fantasy, speculation, artifice, strangeness and above all poetry as the medium in which we really exist. For Stevens more than almost any other poet, poetry was, quite literally, life. 

‘The poem’, according to Stevens, ‘must resist the intelligence / Almost successfully’. In the spirit of that ‘almost’, Dead Poets Live return to Wilton’s to help Stevens’s great poems yield up some of their beautiful mystery, and in so doing present the case for ‘the best and most representative poet of our time’ (Harold Bloom), author of ‘the greatest American poem of the twentieth century’ (Yvor Winters), a phrasemaker, an astonishing observer of scene and landscape, a passionate poet of many moods, whimsical, austere, comical, bleak, always delightful and, when least expected, profoundly moving. 

Photo credit: ©AP/Alamy 

Debate: Baldwin vs Buckley

The Historic 1965 Cambridge Union Debate, Reimagined 

Following critically acclaimed runs in New York City, London, Chicago and Los Angeles, the american vicarious’ radically staged production of the historic debate between James Baldwin and William F. Buckley Jr. is reenacted at Wilton’s Music Hall. 

 

The Debate 

“Is The American Dream At The Expense Of The American Negro?” 

This was the question on February 18, 1965, when an overflow crowd packed the Cambridge Union to witness a historic televised debate between James Baldwin — the leading literary voice of the civil rights movement — and William F. Buckley Jr., America’s most prominent conservative intellectual. 

The stage was set for an extraordinary confrontation: Baldwin’s call for a moral revolution in race relations against Buckley’s defence of the American establishment. Their exchange laid bare the deep divisions at the heart of American democracy — divisions whose echoes continue to shape our present. 

In restaging this debate, the american vicarious returns Baldwin and Buckley’s words to public conversation through the voices of contemporary artists. Sixty years later, the arguments remain piercing, the stakes undiminished, the questions still demanding our attention.

 

Website: www.theamericanvicarious.org
Instagram: @theamericanvicarious

The Waste Land

Presented by Pull Yourself Together Ltd

The Waste Land, probably T.S. Eliot’s most famous poem, was published in 1922.  “I very much hope you like the poem, as it seems to me the best I have ever done.”  

Full of classical and cultural references, this poem can be viewed as a hymn to the desolation and loss in the aftermath of WWI, but it has great humour and brings a sense of promise and hope to the bleakest of images. The evening will include a contextual preamble to The Waste Land and T.S. Eliot with Nat and director Giles Taylor. 

Nathaniel Parker reads The Waste Land and The Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock. “I was lucky enough to read the Waste Land at the Cheltenham Literary Festival a while back and fell in love with it. The complexities and characters are thrilling to navigate.” He also performed Four Quartets at Charleston and now reads poetry (almost daily) on his Instagram, @nathanielparker84.   

Giles Taylor, actor, director, author, choir master and classicist! Giles and Nat have appeared together on stage in Stratford, Chichester, London and on Broadway. Giles will lead the discussion about the poem, giving the audience an insight into many of the references that the poem is built around.  

 

A Beautiful Thread: Thomas Hardy in Words and Music

Performed by Anton Lesser, Lucia Bonbright, and Orchestra of the Swan.  

Starring Anton Lesser, A Beautiful Thread weaves Hardy’s life – dramatic as any of his books – with his beautiful poetry and great novels, including Far From the Madding Crowd, Tess of the d’Urbervilles, and Jude the Obscure. Hardy put more music into his work than any other writer, and Orchestra of the Swan’s Artistic Director, David Le Page has devised a musical programme of shimmering beauty – a Mellstock folk band style, that combines West Gallery music with Holst, Warlock and contemporary folk. Adapted by Deirdre Shields, Hardy’s extraordinary writing shines bright as ever.     

Anton Lesser and Lucia Bonbright bring a hugely varied cast to dazzling life: from Hardy, his mother, Jemima and his wives, Emma and Florence, to George Bernard Shaw, and Virginia Woolf, along with the immortal characters from his novels. The show also highlights Hardy’s humour (often overlooked!), his modernity, the astonishing time-span he lived through, and his global reach, from Hollywood to Japan.   

Anton Lesser says: ‘Words and Music is a kind of unique genre, neither pure reading, nor acting, but with an immediacy that comes from the huge emotional impact the music has upon the words, and vice versa, and the interplay we as actors enjoy with the musicians on-stage. Quite simply, it’s the most enjoyable thing I’ve ever done!’ 

Narrators Anton Lesser, Lucia Bonbright with Orchestra of the Swan 
Director Judy Reaves 
Music Director David Le Page
Producer Hambletts 

 

Red Sky at Sunrise: Laurie Lee in Words and Music

Laurie Lee’s extraordinary story, told in a captivating weave of music and his own words.. 

 

Red Sky at Sunrise follows Laurie Lee through his much-loved Cider with Rosie trilogy – Cider with Rosie, As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning, A Moment of War – , when he famously walked out of the Slad valley one summer morning, and ended up fighting with the International Brigades against Franco’s forces in the Spanish Civil War. 

Anton Lesser (Game of Thrones, Wolf Hall, Endeavour) and, Charlie Hamblett (Missing You, Killing Eve, Ghosts) [Mon 15th] and James Northcote (Inspector Linley, The Last Kingdom) [Tue 16th & Wed 17th] play the role of Laurie Lee older and younger, along with a rich array of other characters. Together, they celebrate Lee’s engaging humour, as well as his darker side, in a performance that has startling resonance with modern events. 

A ‘breathtaking’ musical programme by Orchestra of the Swan weaves around Lee’s writing, from the lush Gloucestershire countryside made famous in Cider With Rosie, to the arid landscapes of Spain. Featuring music from Vaughan Williams, Britten, Turina and de Falla, with guitarist Mark Ashford performing Albéniz and Spanish Romance. 

‘Altogether, it’s a lovely thing.  If you can catch it, do.’
Libby Purves TheatreCat, 5 MICE, Wilton’s 09/24 

Following sell-out ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ performances at RSC and Oxford

‘The two actors and their orchestra encompass Lee’s life completely. The unique use of Orchestra of the Swan is a brilliant and novel device. Red Sky is a triumph, its understated theatricality allowing this musically accompanied autobiography to truly resonate. It leaves us aching for the pastoral wonderland of Lee’s childhood, both the music and the words still echoing around my brain, reminding us of the beauty of life itself.’  
Ox in a Box 

Plum: Homage to Happiness

Sir Stephen Fry hosts a Theatrical Tribute in honour of Sir P.G. Wodehouse, on the 50thAnniversary of the celebrated author leaving us for the greatest clubhouse in the sky.

Join a host of stars, including Alexander Armstrong, Stephen Mangan and Miss Baby Sol, for a glamorous night of Words, Laughter, Glamour and Song from the master behind Jeeves and Bertie and a cavalcade of beloved characters.

The Simon Beck Quartet lead us through glorious songs with Lyrics by Wodehouse and Music by Gershwin, Cole Porter, Kern and Novello.

Devised by Piers Torday and directed by Amy Lane. This sparkling soirée promises to be a night to remember.

Don’t dither—snap up a ticket before Aunt Agatha commandeers the lot!

In aid of the National Literacy Trust

Run At It Laughing – Weekend Pass

Run At It Shouting presents

RUN AT IT LAUGHING - 10 new comedies by Mark Ravenhill

A world where everyone is a fool. Identities are mistaken and swapped. Misunderstandings
abound. Sex and money are on everyone’s mind. And somehow everything works out for
the best.

Bawdy, farcical and humane, Run At It Laughing is an epic celebration of comedy and our
shared humanity.

Based on scenarios first published in Italy in 1611, Run At It Laughing is a cycle of 10 90-minute comedies presented as rehearsed readings over two days.

Each play can be enjoyed by itself or as part of the sequence.

Playwright Mark Ravenhill (whose work has been produced by the RSC, National Theatre
and Royal Court) has written all 10 new plays and directs over 100 actors, as part of
Run At It Shouting’s professional actor development.

All profits from this event will be donated to the Nia Project, which delivers cutting edge
services to end violence against women and children.

To book for individual performances click HERE.

 

Friday 9 May

12:00 – Run At It Horny
14:00 – Run At It Babies
16:00 – Run At It Backstage (all female)
18:00 – Run At It Toothless (all female)
20:00 – Run At It With A Plan (all female)

Saturday 10 May

12:00 – Run At It Twins
14:00 – Run At It In Disguise
16:00 – Run At It Feuding
18:00 – Run At It In The Countryside
20:00 – Run At It With A Vengeance

Run At It Laughing

Run At It Shouting presents

RUN AT IT LAUGHING - 10 new comedies by Mark Ravenhill

A world where everyone is a fool. Identities are mistaken and swapped. Misunderstandings
abound. Sex and money are on everyone’s mind. And somehow everything works out for
the best.

Bawdy, farcical and humane, Run At It Laughing is an epic celebration of comedy and our
shared humanity.

Based on scenarios first published in Italy in 1611, Run At It Laughing is a cycle of 10 90-minute comedies presented as rehearsed readings over two days.

Each play can be enjoyed by itself or as part of the sequence.

Playwright Mark Ravenhill (whose work has been produced by the RSC, National Theatre
and Royal Court) has written all 10 new plays and directs over 100 actors, as part of
Run At It Shouting’s professional actor development.

All profits from this event will be donated to the Nia Project, which delivers cutting edge
services to end violence against women and children.

To book a Weekend Pass to all performances click HERE.

Your Full Price e-ticket for any Run At It Laughing performance will display a discount code that will allow you to book subsequent tickets at the discounted rate of £8. You will also be emailed a discount code the following day.
Or you can book by phoning the Box Office on 020 7702 278

Performance Schedule

Friday 9 May

12:00 – Run At It Horny
14:00 – Run At It Babies
16:00 – Run At It Backstage (all female)
18:00 – Run At It Toothless (all female)
20:00 – Run At It With A Plan (all female)

Saturday 10 May

12:00 – Run At It Twins
14:00 – Run At It In Disguise
16:00 – Run At It Feuding
18:00 – Run At It In The Countryside
20:00 – Run At It With A Vengeance

Romeo and Juliet

Flabbergast Theatre return to Wilton’s with their award-winning approach to the classics. Romeo and Juliet is brought to life with a fresh and innovative outlook, embracing physicality whilst celebrating the verse and bringing musicality and simplicity to the storytelling. This is a tragedy with laughter and tears, beautiful poetry, bawdy jokes and some impressive swashbuckling to boot: expect live music, clowning, mask work and a thoroughly enjoyable evening.

‘Shakespeare’s words wrung into new shapes through raw physical movement” ★★★★ The Telegraph (on Macbeth)

‘If you like your Bard brought thoroughly up to date with muscular direction and full-blooded commitment from those on stage then this will give you much pleasure.’ ★★★★ Fairy Powered Productions

‘Romeo and Juliet as you have never seen them before’ ★★★★ A View From the Stalls

‘An excellent production… innovative and moving’ ★★★★★ Behind The Arras

 

Creative Team 

Director – Henry Maynard
Assistant Director – Nadav Burstein
Musical Consultant – Nick Hart 
Lighting Design – Rachel Shipp
Design & Costume – Henry Maynard 
Choreography – Briony O’Callaghan 
Associate Directors – Briony O’Callaghan & Simon Gleave 
Movement Consultant – Matej Matejka 

Cast

Nadav Burstein – Tybalt
Daniel Chrisotomou – Duke/Friar Lawrence/Peter
Vyte Garriga – Nurse
Simon Gleave – Mercutio
Lennie Longworth – Juliet
Henry Maynard – Lord Capulet/Benvolio
Kyll Thomas-Cole – Romeo

www.flabbergasttheatre.co.uk
Instagram: FLABBERGAST_THEATRE
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