London Theatre News Today: Friday 9 July

Full cast announced for Get Up! Stand Up! The Bob Marley Musical

Producers have today announced the full cast for Get Up, Stand Up! The Bob Marley Musical, they join Arinzé Kene who has already been announced in the title role. With unlimited access to Marley’s magical, revolutionary songs and a book by award-winning Lee Hall, acclaimed director Clint Dyer channels the creative quest and spiritual power of a universally embraced icon. The production brings a dynamic company of performers that fuse with the finest reggae musicians to bring this exhilarating story of struggle, freedom and transformation from Trenchtown to the West End.

The explosive new production celebrates the immense life and timely message of Jamaican soul rebel Bob Marley – from a life of poverty to visionary international superstar. Crucial fellow soul rebels in the cast include the sensational Rita Marley and the I Three and his inspiring brothers in arms, Peter Tosh, Bunny Wailer and Lee ‘Scratch Perry’.The World Premiere musical begins performances at the Lyric Theatre on 1 October 2021 with an opening night on 20 October.

Arinzé Kene (Bob Marley), Gabrielle Brooks (Rita Marley), Shanay Holmes (Cindy Breakspeare), Sophia Mackay (Judy Mowatt), Melissa Brown-Taylor (Marcia Griffiths), Jacade Simpson (Bunny Wailer), Natey Jones (Peter Tosh), Daniel Bailey, Craig Blake, Charles Blyth, Maxwell Cole, Athena Collins, Michael Duke, Kimmy Edwards, Raphael Estavia, Henry Faber, Cannon Hay, Savanna Jeffrey, Rohan Pinnock-Hamilton, Cleopatra Rey, Julene Robinson, Nate Simpson, Archie Smith, Declan Spaine, Jaime Tait, Teddy Wills.

‘It’s not all that glitters is gold, half the story has never been told’

From the hills of rural Jamaica, armed only with his overwhelming talent and righteous beliefs, Bob Marley applied himself with resolute determination to achieve international acclaim for his prophetic musical message – a gospel of love and unity.

Lose yourself to the rhythm of ‘Exodus’, ‘No Woman No Cry’, ‘Waiting in Vain’, ‘Three Little Birds’, ‘I Shot the Sheriff’, ‘Could You Be Loved’, ‘Redemption Song’ and many more.

To prepare for rehearsals starting next month, the cast visited landmarks of Bob Marley’s life in London. Check out their trip below and book your tickets to see this highly anticipated show below.

First look: Royal family portraits from The Windsors: Endgame

As final cast members Eliza Butterworth (Eugenie) and Sophie-Louise Dann (Fergie) are announced, a series of (un)suitably hilarious Royal portraits of The Windsors: Endgame characters are revealed today.

With rehearsals underway, the company posed for character portraits, in full costume, and the results offer a glimpse into how hilarious the show is going to be. A soap opera style parody of the lives of the monarchy, there’s just four weeks to go until the first preview at the most appropriate of venues, The Prince of Wales Theatre.

Eliza Butterworth and Sophie-Louise Dann join the rest of the monarch-company: Harry Enfield (Charles); Crystal Condie (Meghan); Matthew Cottle (Edward); Tom Durant-Pritchard (Harry); Tracy-Ann Oberman (Camilla); Ciarán Owens (Wills); Jenny Rainsford (Beatrice); Kara Tointon (Kate) and Tim Wallers (Andrew).

 Written by the creators of the TV series, George Jeffrie and Bert Tyler-Moore, directed by Michael Fentiman (Amelie), and featuring songs, sword fights and snogging competitions, this show has everything you need.

The World Premiere of The Windsors: Endgame will open on 2 August, playing until 9 October. Grab your tickets to see this riotous comedy now!

The enchanting world of CBeebies’ hit animated series Sarah & Duck comes to London this Summer! Featuring a host of wonderful characters from the BAFTA Award-winning TV show, Sarah & Duck’s Big Top Birthday will play 4 performances only at Leicester Square Theatre on Tuesday 17 and Wednesday 18 August and we’ve got Kids Week tickets for all the family!

Told through a fantastic blend of inventive puppetry, charming storytelling and toe-tapping music, Sarah & Duck’s Big Top Birthday will take families on a magical theatrical adventure featuring all the familiar voices from the CBeebies series.

Sarah & Duck’s Big Top Birthday sees Sarah and Duck joined by all their favourite friends including The Ribbon Sisters, The Shallots, Flamingo and Umbrella, as they plan a circus-themed birthday party for Scarf Lady in their garden. But when the weather turns windy and the big top is blown away, will Sarah and Duck be able to save the day?

Following the gentle adventures of a wide-eyed, 7-year-old girl and her feathered best friend, Sarah & Duck has been a huge hit since its debut in 2013, winning a BAFTA for ‘Best Pre-School Animation’ in 2014 and regularly appearing in CBeebies’ Top Ten programmes for viewers aged 4-15. Now on its 120^th episode, it is shown in over 100 counties around the world.

Sarah & Duck’s Big Top Birthday is written by Polka Theatre’s artistic director Peter Glanville and Sarah & Duck co-creator Sarah Gomes Harris. It is directed by Roman Stefanski with set and puppet design by Laura McEwen. It is presented by MEI Theatrical in association with Polka Theatre. Sarah & Duck is a Karrot Entertainment production for CBeebies UK and BBC Studios.

Grab your half-price family tickets to see this show below!

Everyone’s Talking About Jamie announces plans for Autumn and beyond

Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, the award-winning feel good musical sensation, announces plans for Autumn 2021 and beyond. In the West End, where the show has recently celebrated its 1000th performance, Everybody’s Talking About Jamie will be extending for a month playing until 26 September before taking a pause and returning to the West End in 2022.

The UK Tour will recommence its travels around the country, opening at The Lowry from 1 September and visiting 24 venues including a four-week Christmas season in Brighton. The tour will also pause for six weeks in January as the show opens in Los Angeles for a run at the prestigious Ahmanson Theatre. The UK tour will then recommence playing to end May 2022. A second UK tour is planned for 2023.

Everybody’s Talking About Jamie is also going global! It opens in Japan in August 2021, returns to South Korea in 2022 and productions are planned for South America, Australia, Italy, Holland and other European countries.

Since opening in the West End in November 2017, the show has launched the careers of many young] talented performers who, having made their professional or West End stage debuts in the production, have gone on to exciting new roles in theatre, TV and film. The creators and producers of Everybody’Talking About Jamie look forward to discovering many more talented young performers as the show continues its journey.

The major new film Everybody’s Talking About Jamie made by New Regency, Film4 and Warp Films starring Max Harwood, Sarah Lancashire, Lauren Patel, Shobna Gulati, Ralph Ineson, Adeel Akhtar, Samuel Bottomley, with Sharon Horgan and Richard E. Grant, will be released globally on Amazon Prime on 17 September 2021.

Nica Burns, Producer of Everybody’s Talking About Jamie said: “Everybody’s Talking About Jamie has come a long way from its debut in Sheffield in 2017! We are delighted to be taking our story round the world and continuing to bring fun and joy and a great night out for audiences in London and across the UK for many years to come.”

The musical is based on the true story of a teenage boy who despite being bullied, shares his secret with the world and makes his dreams comes true. It’s a real tale of bravery, adversary and fabulousness and it’s the perfect tonic for your return back to Theatreland. When I went to see the show, I recall feeling so happy, energetic and above all, inspired to take on the world!

Check out our vlog series with the show below and grab your tickets to see this showstopping show today.