Published: 14 May 2014
The hugely successful Almeida Theatre production of Ghosts, which won the Best Revival Award at this year’s Olivier Awards with MasterCard, is to be screened in cinemas across the UK… Read More
Published: 13 May 2014
As the summer theatre season gets into full swing – regardless of any watery droplets hanging around in the air – the Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre has released the… Read More
Downton Abbey’s Michael Cochrane will lead the cast of Wonderland, Beth Steel’s miners’ strike drama that plays at the Hampstead Theatre in the 30th anniversary year of the infamous 1980s… Read More
Published: 12 May 2014
Tonight’s performance of Billy Elliot The Musical will mark the show’s ninth birthday in the West End and the first time new cast members Matteo Zecca and Kyria Cooper take… Read More
Jill Winternitz is going from one epic love affair to the next at the moment. First, the RADA graduate made her West End debut as Baby in one of the… Read More
The world premiere of a new play by Claire Van Kampen, two plays by John Ford and the return of The Knight Of The Burning Pestle are among the shows… Read More
What’s it all about? That moment when you intervene in a situation and question whether it would have not been better to turn a blind eye instead. Bruntwood Prize-winning writer… Read More
Damian Humbley, Summer Strallen and Caroline O’Connor will join Andrew Lippa for a series of concerts to celebrate the work of the Tony Award nominated composer at the Menier Chocolate… Read More
Published: 9 May 2014
A host of musical theatre stars including The Book Of Mormon’s Alexia Khadime, From Here To Eternity’s Robert Lonsdale and Olivier Award winner Leanne Jones will perform in a special… Read More
Short of new born pandas and colleagues’ children, no photos have elicited quite so many beaming smiles and coos in the Official London Theatre office as those sent to us… Read More
Sadler’s Wells has lots in store for families this autumn with the return of two much-loved shows – The Snowman and Edward Scissorhands – over the festive period. Back at… Read More
What’s it all about? This Olivier Award nominated production gives George Orwell’s novel about government surveillance a unique twist, playing with notions of time and reality to create an ambiguous… Read More
Hugh Jackman will star opposite British actresses Laura Donnelly and Cush Jumbo when the Royal Court production of Jez Butterworth’s The River debuts on Broadway in October. The X-Men star,… Read More
Applications for one of the strangest jobs ever to be advertised in the West End have opened following the news that Ghost Stories is seeking a night watchman as a… Read More
Vincent Simone and Flavia Cacace will return to the West End this autumn, bringing their new show Dance ‘Til Dawn to the Aldwych Theatre for a limited 10-week season. The… Read More
Vanessa Kirby will join Gillian Anderson in the Young Vic’s highly anticipated production of A Streetcar Named Desire this summer alongside American screen actor Ben Foster in his London stage… Read More
Stage and screen star Jane Horrocks will return to London theatre in a revival of East Is East to be staged at the Trafalgar Studio 1 from 4 October. Ayub… Read More
Published: 8 May 2014
The return of Sylvie Guillem and Russell Maliphant’s Olivier Award-winning show Push, a string of works celebrating Nordic dance culture and the world premiere of BalletBoyz’s Young Men are among… Read More
The heat is officially on at the Prince Edward Theatre where the Sunlight to musical theatre’s Moon has landed. Yes, Miss Saigon is back and, from these stunning first production… Read More
What’s it all about? Mary, mother of Jesus, speaks relatively few words in The Gospels, so author Colm Toíbín has given her a voice, first in a Man Booker Prize… Read More
Juliette Binoche will take the lead role in a new production of Antigone, directed by Ivo Van Hove, which opens at the Barbican Theatre next March. BAFTA and Academy Award… Read More
Rising musical theatre stars David Hunter and Jill Winternitz have been announced as Olivier Award-winning musical Once’s new leading pair. Taking the baton from current cast members Arthur Darvill and… Read More
Published: 7 May 2014
As Michael Xavier and The Pajama Game cast start previews, the West End star lets us in on tech week, Sitzprobe and what staging a musical has to do with… Read More
Olivier Award nominated actress Gina McKee will star alongside The Hobbit’s Martin Freeman in Jamie Lloyd’s much-anticipated production of Richard III this summer. Opening the much in demand director’s second… Read More
Published: 6 May 2014
After more than a decade, Mark Strong has returned to the London stage. His last live performances came 12 years ago alongside Simon Russell Beale, David Bradley and Helen McCrory… Read More
Published: 2 May 2014
West End LIVE in association with MasterCard will return to Trafalgar Square this year on 21 and 22 June for an incredible 10 year anniversary celebration of the hugely popular… Read More
What’s it all about? A definitive guide to The Kinks’ rise to fame against a backdrop of swinging 60s London, World Cup hopes and fractious social politics. Based on an… Read More
1001 Nights promises tantalising transformations of saucepans into crowns, old pipes into telescopes and mops into magic carpets. So, naturally, we were intrigued at how preparations for the show were… Read More
What’s it all about? It’s never a good sign when on entering the Globe’s auditorium you can see the stage is stained red with blood from previous performances. But then… Read More
There’s a chill on the breeze and rain in the air… which must mean summer’s here! Of course, when the cast of Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre’s first production of… Read More
Published: 1 May 2014
Neil Morrissey will return to the West End later this month to star in 1950s romp Relative Values, taking over the comedy baton from Rory Bremner who finishes his limited… Read More
Published: 30 April 2014
A stage adaptation of Aliens Love Underpants will receive its London premiere this summer when the family show arrives at the Leicester Square Theatre on 19 July following a national… Read More
One of Britain’s best loved actors Bob Hoskins has passed away at the age of 71. The actor died on Tuesday after suffering from pneumonia. The Golden Globe Award winner… Read More
The Royal Court has announced a season of short summer runs for its intimate Jerwood Theatre Upstairs space including Nick Payne’s one-man show The Art Of Dying and four new… Read More
Danielle Hope, Joanna Riding and Daniel Boys will perform a series of intimate concerts when Live In The Delfont Room: An Evening With… returns to the Prince of Wales Theatre’s… Read More
Musical theatre stars Anna-Jane Casey, Sophie-Louise Dann, Damian Humbley and Ben Lewis will star in the return of satirical favourite Forbidden Broadway at the Menier Chocolate Factory this June.The four… Read More
Published: 29 April 2014
The Young Vic’s Olivier Award nominated production of The Scottsboro Boys will transfer to the West End this autumn, playing a strictly limited season at the Garrick Theatre from 4… Read More
A wealth of British talent is celebrated in this year’s Tony Award nominations with Shakespeare’s Globe’s hugely successful all-male Twelfth Night leading the way with an impressive seven nods. The… Read More
With the first preview just days away, Michael Xavier is struck down with a virus and a voice like a squeaky toy. Find out what happened in week three of… Read More
The Young Vic will welcome two new children’s shows into its Maria Studio this winter, with the return of Fevered Sleep and a brand new opera for children by English… Read More
A musical adaptation of David Baddiel’s comedy film The Infidel will be staged at the Theatre Royal Stratford East this autumn after members of the public put their hands in… Read More
Hit musical Jersey Boys has recruited a new leading man in the form of West End regular Michael Watson who will officially take on the starring role as Frankie Valli… Read More
Acclaimed film and theatre director Mike Leigh will make his operatic directing debut at the London Coliseum next year, presenting Gilbert and Sullivan’s classic comedy The Pirates Of Penzance as… Read More
The Royal Opera House will give opera fans worldwide the opportunity to see La Traviata streamed live on its website next month. Marking the first time the iconic venue has… Read More
Published: 28 April 2014
After more than six years on the West End stage, Jersey Boys star Ryan Molloy has swapped his jazzy red blazer for some rather less glamorous jogging bottoms. Panic not,… Read More
Jonathan O’Boyle’s acclaimed production of Neil LaBute’s 1999 trilogy Bash Latterday Plays will transfer into the West End next month following its success at the Old Red Lion Theatre earlier… Read More
Olivier Award-winning actress Jenna Russell will star in Mr Burns when it receives its European premiere at the Almeida Theatre in June. Anne Washburn’s critically acclaimed tale, which imagines the… Read More
After a hugely successful year-long run, Punchdrunk’s The Drowned Man: A Hollywood Fable has announced it will close on 6 July after more than 340 performances of the epic show.… Read More
What’s it all about? A child has died. We don’t know why and we don’t know how, but throughout the course of Bryony Lavery’s compelling play we find out how,… Read More
Frantic Assembly will revive its UK Theatre Award-winning production of Othello later this year, bringing the show to the Lyric Hammersmith for a four-week run in January 2015 following a… Read More
Harry Hill’s surreal musical hit I Can’t Sing! will end its run at the London Palladium on 10 May following just over two months in the West End. The musical… Read More
Published: 25 April 2014
Before Blithe Spirit was confirmed as the smash hit of the West End spring, we caught up with leading ladies Janie Dee and Jemima Rooper. Despite trying to discuss other… Read More
Pantaloons Theatre Company will entertain audiences on the Southbank this summer with an inventive history-based show that plays as part of the 12th annual More London Free Festival. The Pantaloons’… Read More
This week we are celebrating the 450th anniversary of the world’s greatest ever playwright and after almost half a millennium the appetite for William Shakespeare’s passionate, hilarious, violent, historical and… Read More
Miss Trunchbull will continue her reign of terror at the Cambridge Theatre for at least another year with the news that Matilda The Musical has extended its booking period until… Read More
If, like us, you’ve been enjoying Michael Xavier’s weekly blog about life working on The Pajama Game, you’ll no doubt be similarly delighted to take a look inside the show’s… Read More
Published: 24 April 2014
What’s more exciting than one acclaimed, near-legendary actor performing in the UK premiere of a new play? Two acclaimed, near-legendary actors… While both Kathleen Turner and Ian McDiarmid might be… Read More
What’s it all about? War and the devastating effects it has upon on the minds and bodies of those thrown into its path provides the harrowing storyline of Sean O’Casey’s… Read More
Leading London theatre stars Lucie Jones, Jerome Pradon and Helen Hobson will star in Scott Evan Davis’ song cycle Picture Perfect: A New Musical when it receives its London premiere… Read More
Mischief Theatre’s acclaimed production of comedy farce The Play That Goes Wrong will transfer to the Duchess Theatre this September following its current national tour. The hit show, which premiered… Read More
Published: 23 April 2014
Stella and What Remains star Denise Gough will return to the London stage later this year to star alongside Amelda Brown, Brian Ferguson and Rachel Redford in the Royal Court’s… Read More
Fitness regimes, tiredness and nuns; Michael Xavier lets us in on a busy week of choreography work at The Pajama Game: My family love to rib me about what an… Read More
Rebecca Lock, Alasdair Harvey and Charles Daish will join Dianne Pilkington in the cast of hit ABBA musical Mamma Mia! at the Novello Theatre from June. Lock, whose West End… Read More
Ever fancied yourself a bit of a Romeo? Often accused of behaving puckishly? Celebrate Shakespeare’s 450th birthday by finding out which of the Bard’s characters you have most in common… Read More
What’s it all about? Sssh. I can’t tell you. It’s private… except with social media, club cards, smart phones and questionable governmental monitoring little really is any more, which is… Read More
Anna Carteret will follow in the Oscar-winning footsteps of Dame Judi Dench, playing Queen Elizabeth in Shakespeare In Love when the stage adaptation of the hit film opens in London… Read More
Published: 22 April 2014
David Hare’s tale of a former war reporter whose steadfast views are challenged, The Vertical Hour, is to receive its first London revival at the Park Theatre this autumn. Directed… Read More
For any of us who’ve ever seen the video for festive classic Band Aid (or Band Aid II… or Band Aid 20), the inside of a recording studio is no… Read More
Published: 17 April 2014
If you’ve ever freaked out about a milestone birthday, spare a thought for poor old Will Shakespeare for whom 2014 marks the 450th anniversary of his birth. It certainly puts… Read More
Finborough Theatre’s acclaimed world premiere musical version of Thérèse Raquin is to play at the Park Theatre this summer. Based on Émile Zola’s classic novel, the production, which features music… Read More
It’s the UK greatest and most illustrious annual celebration of theatre so it will come as no surprise to learn that many of London’s most popular family productions played a… Read More
Coinciding with a week of celebrations for its namesake’s 450th birthday, Shakespeare’s Globe’s 2014 season opens this week bringing a packed season of The Bard’s work to its famous outdoor… Read More
Seth Numrich (pictured with Kim Cattrall), who won the 2013 Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Newcomer, will return to the London stage to star as Bazarov in Fathers And… Read More
Published: 16 April 2014
Director and choreographer Will Tuckett has described the experience of collecting an Olivier Award as “bonkers” after his family production of The Wind In The Willows took home the award… Read More
Between preparing The Pajama Game and hosting the Olivier Awards ITV Stage, Michael Xavier found time to shine a light on goings on at the first week of rehearsals for… Read More