The snow may not be falling yet, and our Christmas trees may already be losing half its pines, but we’re still feeling festive in Theatreland. With pantomimes opening their doors, new faces entering the West End and Christmas present ideas a flowing, it’s hard not to get all excited about Christmas arriving in the West End!
So warm up your vocals for some classic, “oh yes, it is!”, get cosy in your Christmas jumper and prepare for some festive cheer, courtesy of our weekly round-up.
First look at Snow White, the all-star London Palladium panto
It wouldn’t be Christmas without a visit to the panto, and The London Palladium are really spoiling us this year with their all-start cast of Snow White. (oh no they aren’t, oh yes they are!” etc etc).
The Palladium’s last panto won an Olivier Award for Best Entertainment and Family earlier this year, and Charlie Stemp (Prince Harry of Hampstead), Julian Clary (The Man in the Mirror), Nigel Havers (The Understudy), Gary Wilmot (Mrs Nora Crumble) and Paul Zerdin (Muddles), are all returning for another year. Joining them are Dawn French (Queen Dragonella), Danielle Hope (Snow White) and Vincent and Flavia (The King and The Queen).
Take a look at what you’ve got in store with these production photos!
National Theatre reveals full Follies casting
With 10 Olivier Award nominations (with 2 wins including Best Musical Revival) – the National Theatre are bringing back their 2017 production of Stephen Sondheim’s musical masterpiece Follies to the excitement of many theatre fans.
And if that wasn’t exciting enough, they’ve just announced the brand-new cast who will be joining the returning Tracie Bennett, Janie Dee (both Olivier nominated for their roles) and Peter Forbes.
Waitress to hold cast album karaoke night
If the news of Waitress arriving into the Adelphi Theatre next February wasn’t exciting enough, they’ve only gone and announced a special cast album karaoke night on 19 February and 18 March! If you’re keen to tread the boards and sing your favourite song from the show, here’s what you need to know…
Giles Terera joins the cast of The American Clock at The Old Vic
Olivier Award-winner Giles Terera’s next role will be as Robertson and Moe 3 in the production of The American Clock at The Old Vic. Receiving critical acclaim for his portrayal of Aaron Burr in Hamilton, you may also recognise Giles from his roles in Avenue Q, Hamlet and the TV show Horrible Histories. The show opens on 13 February with previews from 4 February 2019.
Two-week festival of new musical theatre hits The Other Palace
Re-owned theatre producer Paul Taylor-Mills has announced a two-week festival of new musical theatre at The Other Palace. MT Fest UK will showcase eight new musicals, from reworked Broadway shows to completely new productions, each lasting 45-minutes. There will also be talks, informal late-night performances and one-off events throughout the festival. The festival will run from 11 to 23 February 2019 and tickets go on sale on Wednesday 19 December at midday.
Emilia transfers to the Vaudeville Theatre
It’s always nice when a show transfers to the West End, and this is especially the case with Emilia, which after only 11 performances at the Globe, is moving to the Vaudeville Theatre for an extended run between 8 March – 15 June. The show is all about Emilia Bassano; the first published female poet and apparent muse of Shakespeare!
In rehearsal: Celia Imrie, John Simm and more in Pinter Six
With the Pinter plays well underway, it’s time for the cast of Pinter Six to step onto the stage on 20 December. Starring an incredible cast that includes Celia Imrie, John Simm and Ron Cook, we’ve taken a sneaky peek into their rehearsals to find out how it’s going…