Showbiz November 2017

November 2017 | Showbiz 77 Welcome to the November edition of ShowBiz, your Corporate Club e-magazine. This is a bumper edition, packed with exciting news and insights into the latest shows.This latest brochure has yet another wonderful array of shows on offer. Whether you are a dance lover, crazy about comedy, a musical aficionado or opera buff there is something for everyone. The highly-acclaimed musical, Cilla, is arriving in Norwich next year. A heart-warming musical adaptation of the critically acclaimed ITV mini-series based on the early life of Cilla Black, it will open in April 2018. And as if that wasn’t enough for the musical lovers amongst you, we are also delighted to be welcoming back Jersey Boys to the theatre in 2018.

Dance lovers will be excited to learn that international dance icon Carlos Acosta will be bringing his new young company, Acosta Danza to Norwich and Matthew Bourne’s Cinderella makes a welcome return to our stage.

Comedy also features strongly this season, with visits from Stewart Lee, Jon Richardson, David Baddiel, Danny Baker and Ross Noble who will all provide food for thought as well as plenty of laughs.

Other not to be missed performances this season include the thrilling Cirque Berserk with their jaw dropping spectacular show - perfect for all the family, and the award winning master of illusion and mind control Derren Brown, who returns with his Greatest Hits show. And for one night only we are delighted to have actress and musical performer Sheridan Smith visiting as part of her debut UK tour, following the release of her new self-titled album Sheridan.

These are just a few of the highlights of this brochure but rest assured you will also find the usual mix of dance, opera, comedy and drama within its pages. If you would like a further insight into the shows please join us for our exclusive Inside Story event on Thursday 23rd November 2017 where Mark Hazell, Marketing Director, illuminates the content of our new brochure. Starting at 12.30pm it is free to attend and provides a fascinating introduction to the new shows on offer. For more information or to book your place please email me: j.cook@theatreroyalnorwich.co.uk We also have two shows that have been added to our programme since the last what’s on brochure was published. For those shows which went on sale before now, seats have been held back until all of you were notified. Booking in person, by phone and online for these two shows opens 9.30am on Friday 17th November.

Sunday 22 April 2018 – Sheridan in Concert Sunday 18 November 2018 – Deacon Blue Booking for all the new shows opens for Corporate Club Members at 9.30am on Monday 20th November 2017 and your dedicated booking number is 01603 598696. Please note tickets go on sale to Friends and the public on the following dates: Mon 27th November - Friends In Person & Phone Fri 1st December - Public Online Tues 5th December - Public In Person & Phone And please note separate booking dates for Daniel O’Donnell’s shows: Thur 23rd November – On sale to Corporate Club members Fri 24th November - On sale to Friends Sat 25th November - On sale to Public And, finally, booking for Hofesh Shechter, Ladysmith Black Mambazo and Ben Folds (Norfolk & Norwich Festival 2018) opens 9.30am Thursday 23rd November.

We look forward to welcoming you to Norwich Theatre Royal again soon!

Welcome

This season we’re welcoming artists from all over the world to our stage in Norwich. From Cuba, South Africa, North America, Europe, Siberia, Brazil and the Philippines, performers and companies will visit our beautiful city and county. We’re often told by visitors what a surprise it is – the history, architecture, coastline, countryside, culture and people all impress them.

It’s been almost a year since I arrived here and I remain inspired, as I was when I first visited, by the huge potential Norwich and Norfolk possesses to blend the old and the new into something unique that has the power to attract visitors, businesses and residents, help develop the local economy, provide opportunities for all our communities, and connect us all more closely.

The Theatre Royal, Norwich Playhouse and Stage Two are all testament to the ambition the Theatre Royal Trustees and I share to make the fullest possible contribution to developing that potential.

And that ambition is, and will continue to be, reflected in our artistic programme. I’m particularly thrilled that Carlos Acosta’s new company, Acosta Danza, will be visiting us in the spring. As you’ll know, Carlos is a global dance superstar who rose to fame with the Royal Ballet, and we’re especially pleased that he’ll be making an appearance on stage alongside his company of younger Cuban dancers, mixing classical and contemporary dance styles.

Successful partnerships are essential to making sure we achieve more together, and our partnership with Norfolk & Norwich Festival remains a central part of our annual programme. This year, we’re delighted to welcome back Hofesh Shechter and his company with their latest work Grand Finale, alongside other fantastic artists in Ladysmith Black Mamabzo and alternative-rock singer-songwriter Ben Folds. We are very much looking forward to working with the new Artistic Director for the Festival, Daniel Brine, who takes up his post at the start of 2018.

Alongside other partners in the cultural sector, we want to maintain and develop Norwich and Norfolk’s reputation as a national and international destination for art and culture. It’s never been more important for the arts to remain international in their outlook.

But home-grown talent is important to us as well and through our growing range of work in Stage Two, we’ll be offering more opportunities for people of all ages to explore and develop their creative potential. Our second season of Creative Matters arrives in January, themed around men’s mental health, and in partnership with Norfolk County Council. One of our aims for Creative Matters is to engage with people who don’t traditionally see us or the arts as being for them. I know that our Corporate Club members are passionate and enthusiastic about our programme but I’d encourage you to encourage others to take a look at what we’re doing off the stage as well as on it.

With all best wishes Stephen

Stephen Crocker Chief Executive

The Spirit Of Cilla Credit: Matt Martin

The legendary Cilla Black brought a ‘lorra lorra laughs’ into the lives of so many during her long and varied career in the music and light entertainment industries that her sudden death in August 2015 rocked the nation.

Less than a year earlier, an ITV mini-series had charted her rise from teenage girlhood friendships with the Beatles, singing in The Cavern in Liverpool and achieving her first No. 1 hit at the age of 21, to becoming one of prime-time television’s most successful female entertainers with shows such as Blind Date and Surprise Surprise.

Now that TV drama has been turned into a musical which comes to the Theatre Royal stage from April 17-21 next year. Circle spoke to the show’s executive producer, and Cilla’s eldest son (and for the last 16 years of her life her agent and manager), Robert Willis.

“I knew it could be good. I knew we had all the ingredients, but you can never be totally sure until you see it all come together,” Robert said.

He is talking about the launch of Cilla The Musical which opened in Cilla’s home town of Liverpool at the beginning of September and is now touring the UK with the eventual aim of bringing it into the West End. “We’re very pleased with the show and excited at how it has all come together. It’s been quite an experience!”

The Spirit Of Cilla...

It was Robert who found Cilla when she suffered a tragic accident in her Spanish holiday home two years ago. One of three sons, he had been her agent and manager after his father Bobby Willis died in 1999, guiding her career and then acting as executive producer on the acclaimed 2014 TV drama which starred Sheridan Smith.

Transferring the television production, written by the BAFTA Award-winning Jeff Pope (The Moorside, Philomena, From The Cradle To The Grave, Mrs Biggs), to the stage was not without its challenges. “When you take it to the stage you have to cut elements of the characters,” Robert said. “But there are also other things you can do live on stage - the songs, the variety of the bands, there are some great moments. The performance and the songs marry so well with the drama. They emotionally lift you. You get the full gamut of emotions and you see it in the audience each night, and not just in Liverpool where we opened.

It was important to get it right in Liverpool– but thank god we got it right!”

The musical score is the ultimate soundtrack to the 60s and includes Cilla’s own greatest hits such as Anyone Who Had a Heart, Alfie and Something Tells Me, to Twist and Shout by the Beatles, California Dreamin’ by The Mamas and The Papas, and many more.

“The Beatles songs are great – there was a tremendous energy about at that time. The songs were sung in very confined spaces, like The Cavern, and you get the feel of that in the show. Things were very black and white then, it was post-war and then that generation came along and attitudes to music and fashion were transformed.

“We have aimed high with the show – it’s a wonderful cast, the script is so brilliant, the sets are beautiful, the lighting, the orchestration, the dancing are all fantastic – the actor/musicians are incredibly enthusiastic. It’s such a talented young company.”

The production team decided to put the lead role out to public audition, a decision which Robert feels has paid dividends in uncovering a star in the making in Kara Lily Haworth, who fought off thousands of other hopefuls to step into Cilla’s shoes.

Kara queued for four hours at London’s Dominion Theatre to audition in the first rounds, making it through to the final 30 before being chosen to do her final audition at the Cavern Club itself in Liverpool.

The Spirit Of Cilla...

“Kara is incredible. I’m so happy we found her,” Robert said. “It is a very big role but she really captures what Mum was all about. Mum had a determination - she wasn’t there for her looks, although she was pretty, but it was her spirit that people liked.

“Kara proved herself in audition. She stood out immediately. Physically, in terms of her height she is very similar to Mum. She’s physically very different to Sheridan, but I certainly wanted to have a distinct difference between the musical and the TV show. I think Kara is very similar to how my mum was in the 60s. There’s something about her and it is an interpretation, not an impersonation. She does capture my mum.”

He’s thrilled with the rest of the cast too. He knows Andrew Lancel, who plays Brian Epstein, as Robert’s daughter performed as Gretel with Andrew in the UK tour of the Sound of Music which visited Norwich in October 2016. “We live in Cambridgeshire so we came to Norwich to see her in the show, so I am glad we have Andrew with us as Brian.”

Robert took over as Cilla’s manager and agent on the death of his father, Bobby, in 1999, and had been used to seeing his mum perform from being a young child.

“Throughout my life I was always able to step back and give her an honest opinion. So for me I was used to seeing her as a performer, whereas my dad was just my dad. Carl Au, who plays him in the show, sings beautifully and I find watching him very powerful. He captures my dad. My parents were very much equals. They complimented each other. They were in their mid-20s when she got famous and she had her first No. 1 at 21, and Carl gets that balance of the fun they had.”

There are moments in the show which Robert finds particularly poignant. “Anyone Who Had A Heart is very powerful and uplifting. I like Liverpool Lullaby because she used to sing it to us when we were kids and it was the last song she sang on The One And Only, so it gets me every time.

“I think I speak for my brothers Ben and Jack too when I say that it has caught the spirit of both of them, and I’m grateful, humbled and satisfied that we have managed to do that - to capture their spirit and you see that from the reaction of the audiences who have seen the show so far.”

“As a family-run independent department store, Jarrold is at the heart of the community in a similar way to the Norwich Theatre Royal, therefore it has always been a natural decision for us to be a long term supporter of the theatre,” says brand manager Emma Harrowing. “The theatre is at the hub of the community bringing a diverse range of shows to Norwich, but also supporting up and coming talent, we are honoured to support this work by being a member of the Corporate Club”.

For an unique shopping experience independent department store Jarrold is the place to discover carefully sourced products and brands, some of which are exclusive in Norfolk/East Anglia. With a programme of events throughout the year, and five places to eat, drink and relax, the family run department store really does give you a shopping experience with a difference.

Three events not to miss:

Come and see Father Christmas (Until Christmas Eve) He arrived at the end of November, and the one and only Father Christmas is calling Jarrold his home up until Christmas Eve (as then he has a big job to do!) Come and meet him in the Jarrold Wonderland!

Grotto tickets are £4 per child. Tickets are available from the toy department or our Christmas shop on the third floor.

Elly Griffiths book launch - Thursday February 8 2018 She’s one of our best-selling authors whose thrilling novels will have you on the edge of your seat. The newest instalment in her Norfolk-set crime series is The Dark Angel, published on February 8. We will be celebrating the book’s launch with Elly at two events that afternoon and evening at Jarrold. Tickets are yet to go on sale, but this is one date to put in your diary now! Tickets will go on sale shortly at www.jarrold.co.uk/events

Under Pressure James Graham in Rehearsal for This House

Photo Credit: Johan Persson

Most would agree we are living in politically interesting times in the UK – the upheaval of Brexit, divisions amongst the parties, plotting and scheming to topple leaders, weekly calls for resignations, Uturns at every corner.

Yet turn back the clock to 1974 and the House of Commons was ringing with the sound of infighting and backbiting as power dangled by a thread and Britain’s political parties battled to change the future of the nation.

The political shenanigans of the hung parliament of 1974 to 1979 are the subject of This House, an energetic and critically-acclaimed play directed by James Herrin (Wolf Hall) which, following sell-out runs at the National Theatre and in the West End, visits the Theatre Royal from May 8-12 next year.

It was written by a young British playwright, television writer and one-time actor James Graham, who was 30 when This House opened in 2012. His latest political thriller, Labour of Love, also directed by Herrin, dives into the maelstrom of current party politics and recently opened in the West End on September 27 for a limited run, starring Martin Freeman and Tamsin Greig.

So what interested a young writer in the battles going on in the dry and dusty, smoke-filled corridors of Westminster before he was even born?

“I wanted to look at the Houses of Parliament under the most strain it has ever been under in the history of modern Britain and that was absolutely the Parliament of 1974 to 1979,” James said. “It was a government with not enough people to pass its laws. It was a country in absolute turmoil - economically, socially, politically.”

Under Pressure...

He loved researching the period, describing it as “the fun part of doing a political play. For me, politics was never something that was alienating or strange. I think if you are going to lock people in a room for two hours and talk to them, then I feel it has to be important and I feel you’ve got to leave having talked and really engaged with stuff that is important - and political issues do that.

“I think the default with younger writers is that we ‘don’t have the right or the tools to write these big political plays and we should just write small plays about our own stuff’ and I’ve just never believed that’s true.”

This House certainly pulls back the curtain and shines a light on the more human aspect of relationships in the corridors of power. James explained: “I always wanted to write a play about Westminster and demystify it. I find it quite scary and I think most people find it quite intimidating and confusing – and actually it’s not. You have this really grand old building and when you strip it down, it’s lots of people running around, sometimes carrying drunk people, sometimes helping sick people, sometimes there are fights and I wanted to capture that sense of farce. I just think, by its very definition, politics in the 1970s is quite funny.

“No party had an overall majority so that meant all parties had to work and negotiate with each other to pass laws - which meant everything went out of the window. There was loads of blackmailing, loads of bribing, loads of games, loads of tricks, and it seemed a good opportunity to get under the skin of that building when it was at its most pressured and most stressful.”

In an atmosphere of chaos, fist fights break out in the parliamentary bars, high-stake tricks and games are played, while sick or dying MPs are carried through the lobby to register their crucial votes.

Just as today, the 1970s had its own social and economic problems such as the oil crisis, the threeday week and rising inflation. There were moments of high drama, such as one heated exchange across the floor of The Commons when Welsh Labour MPs started to sing the Red Flag and Michael Heseltine, leading the Conservative opposition, became so incensed he famously seized the Mace which symbolises the royal authority by which Parliament meets, and held it over his head.

Under Pressure...

Yet instead of featuring the famous big players of the period - Ted Heath, Harold Wilson, Jim Callaghan, Margaret Thatcher – James’s play focusses on the ordinary men and women who make up the Whips Office, the MPs whose job it is to get their party members into the lobby to vote either for or against the legislation.

“I wanted to forget Downing Street, to forget Whitehall, to forget anywhere where the decisions were made and look at the engine room. And when you have a hung parliament and you don’t as a government have enough members in the chamber to pass your laws, suddenly everything becomes focussed on the Whips Offices. They are the guys who have to get that law onto the statute books and so the Whips become the most important people in politics.”

He says the play is not intimidating for audiences. “It’s not about legislation, it’s not about foreign or domestic policies. It’s about people who are struggling. Yes, it’s set in Westminster, but it could be set in an office, in a call centre. It could be set in a school, in anyone’s work place – essentially the rules are the same. It’s about friendship, loyalty, rivalry and power. So it’s about human beings, and yet it feels bigger and grander because it is set against the backdrop of something really serious which is the changing nature of our politics and Britain at an absolute crossroads of our history.”

There was a hugely rich vein of material to draw from: “The good thing about this parliament is it was so crazy, people who were there testify to it being the most dramatic and most intense parliament that there has been in modern British history, so I had to invent hardly anything. The hardest thing was picking which crazy stories, which votes that were won or lost by one, to dramatise.”

He cites the MP John Stonehouse and Liberal leader Jeremy Thorpe as examples of reality providing far more exciting stories than you could possibly invent: “When the government has got just about enough majority to start passing laws, John Stonehouse fakes his own death and allegedly throws himself into the sea off Miami Beach; and then you have stories like Jeremy Thorpe, the leader of the Liberal party, who was accused of attempted murder. Cleared of all charges it has to be said, but he was accused of murdering his male lover. I look at it and go ‘God, how am I going to fit that into this?’ That’s one story of 25!

“It sounds really niche but I am so glad a play about politics in the 1970s, about people who aren’t famous beyond Westminster, has caught imaginations in a way that it caught mine, because I do find it exciting and I do find it moving and touching and funny and oddly beautiful. So it is great that people have got behind it and that people want to learn more about it.”

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Local Adventurer Reece Causton

The incredibly inventive and emotionally uplifting transformation of a classic fairy-tale into a wartime setting has made Matthew Bourne’s Cinderella a must-see.

Its return to Norwich Theatre Royal from 27 February – 3 March will be particularly important for cast member Reece Causton as it means he can perform on home turf.

Set during the Second World War, it tells the story of a whirlwind romance set among the bombs and blasts of the Blitz as an RAF pilot enjoys a chance meeting with Cinderella.

They fall in love at first sight but find themselves parted by the horrors of the attacks on the capital.

And this mix of Prokofiev’s moving score, the touching tale and some stunning sets are going to make this a feast of dance and emotion.

As well as an undoubted treat for the audience, it is also going to mark a return to home turf for dancer Reece Causton, who was brought up near King’s Lynn.

He said: “I am so excited about Cinderella. It is a massive production. I remember seeing it years ago and it was such a great piece.”

Reece is no stranger to Matthew Bourne’s New Adventures company having appeared in Swan Lake in 2013 which came to Norwich and also appeared in the UK tour of Early Adventures which showcased some of the choreographer’s older work.

For Reece, being part of the company is fantastic. He explained: “New Adventures is just like a family unit.

You are looked after very well, you always feel welcome and it is a happy environment to work in.

“I also think Matthew’s choreographic style and the way he incorporates acting into his dancing really plays to my strengths. It is what I enjoy doing and it is how I started off back in the day. His humour and the storytelling in general is just so smart and intelligent. He is somebody I have always wanted to work for.”

Local Adventurer...

So how did Reece end up being part of this world-renowned dance company?

It all started when he was about 11 years old and joined Footlights Performing Arts in King’s Lynn. He had seen his aunt perform and decided he wanted to follow in her footsteps, although he says he did come to dance quite late. Reece explained: “I did drama for three to four years and then I started with the ballet. I don’t know what made me start really. I think I just developed the courage to give it a go. I was 16, studying at sixth form, people were a bit more mature and I started doing ballet and contemporary classes.”

Two great influences in his performing life were Miss Tina and Miss Karen from Footlights who helped propel him to success giving him extra private lessons as well as the all-important push to help him to succeed.

But it paid off and he got a place at the Central School of Ballet in London in 2010 soaking up all the learning opportunities and coming out of it straight into New Adventures and the Swan Lake company. “It was quite hard for me as I started relatively late. It was pretty difficult to master ballet techniques but I worked really hard and I came out the other side.”

Getting that part in Matthew’s production of Swan Lake really helped him get his career into gear although he admits being a part of Matthew Bourne’s company was a long-held ambition. He laughed: “Joining New Adventures was always something I had borne in mind. The stars just aligned for me. It was great.”

Since his previous visit to the Theatre Royal, Reece has been involved in a wide range of projects including two productions for Grange Park Opera (“one of those was a production of Fiddler On The Roof which was performed as part of the Proms which was a bit of a coup”), the Yorke Dance Project performing work by Sir Kenneth MacMillan, and tours with the Rosie Kay Dance Company performing a piece called Five Soldiers which was recorded by the BBC for broadcast.

Outside of performing, Reece has also enjoyed the opportunity to share his skills and work with the local community as part of Re:Bourne, the education arm of New Adventures. He said: “It is such a great thing to do especially when you go to places where people have not had the opportunity to do much dance. It is great to go into different environments, teach choreography from shows and open up minds. I would have loved to have done something like that when I was at school.”

Local Adventurer...

Meanwhile Reece is looking forward to bringing Matthew Bourne’s Cinderella to Norwich Theatre Royal and having the opportunity to perform on home turf. He said: “I can’t wait. I have got a huge group of family and friends coming to see it one evening. I am just so excited to be back and performing in my local theatre.”

If Reece’s excitement levels are anything to go by, this re-imagined fairy-tale feast of emotion and poignancy is set to be a 2018 must see.