#Garrick Vaughan

[perry-tannenbaum]

A Jamaican Fantasy With a Reggae Beat

A Jamaican Fantasy With a Reggae Beat

Review: Bob Marley’s Three Little Birds By Perry Tannenbaum

  Reggae lovers and mavens are flocking – I repeat, flocking! – to Bob Marley’s Three Little Birds, an eye-popping, shoulder-dipping new musical at ImaginOn. Studded with golden favorites from the Marley songbook and adapted by Michael J. Bobbitt from a story by the reggae king’s daughter, Cedella Marley, this Children’s Theatre of…

[d2kvirus]

Dickheads of the Month: November 2021

As it seems that there are people who say or do things that are remarkably dickheaded yet somehow people try to make excuses for them or pretend it never happened, here is a collection of some of the dickheaded actions we saw in the month of November 2021 to make sure that they are never forgotten.

Just when you thought the Tory government couldn’t get any more corrupt and self-serving, a group of 59 Tory MPs band together to force an amendment so that Owen Paterson wouldn’t be suspended for breach of lobbying rules to line the pockets of two companies he was doing paid consultancy for.  I’m sure it's a complete coincidence that either 14 or 26 (depending on who you ask) of those MPs happen to have previously been judged to have broken parliamentary standards

...and then came Jacob Rees-Mogg to make the thing even scummier by trying to weaponise the suicide of Paterson's wife, in Parliament, as a reason why Paterson shouldn't be suspended as if that somehow erases the breaking of parliamentary conduct

...a while this was going on Kwasi Kwarteng focused on what was really important, namely threatening Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards Kathryn Stone by suggesting she should consider her position, because that’s how Tory brains work: breaking the rules if it benefits them is fine, but investigating somebody for breaking the rules is a hanging offence.  Coincidentally, Kathryn Stone now needs police protection after receiving threats which can be directly linked to Kwarteng using her name to rile up the mob

It wasn't the best look when the COP26 organisers hosting an event on climate change, yet outside the venue the street had been turned into a car park of various presidential and ministerial limousines clogging up the street, several of which were idling

...although at least that prevented proven liar Boris Johnson from driving home while clearly shitfaced, as he was when stumbling so badly during the photo call that Emmanuel macron had to help him up the steps as well as falling asleep during one of the speeches (while maskless, of course)

...and this wasn't the only person that COP26 organisers left having problems with stairs, as Israeli energy minister Karine Elharrar couldn’t even get into the building due to it being inaccessible to those with wheelchairs

...but then proven liar Boris Johnson sobered up in time to undermine the whole thing so he could catch a private jet back from Glasgow so he could have dinner with Charles Moore at the Garrick Club, which of course had no bearing on Moore being one of the spineless twits who voted to try and change the parliamentary rules to get Owen Paterson off the hook a day later

So the best defence Kyle Rittenhouse could conjure up when he went on a small-scale shooting rampage with an AR-15 was that he wasn’t on a shooting spree but was, in fact, offering first aid to people which he said with as straight a face as somebody can manage when not unconvincingly trying to look like they're crying at five minute intervals.  First aid which apparently comes from the barrel of an AR-15

...which somehow the cretinous jury of the Rittenhouse trial believed, acquitting him on all charges including the ones involving carrying an assault weapon across state borders in spite him clearly carrying an AR-15 across state borders under the impression it was a first aid kit

Not only did Yorkshire County Cricket Club drag their feet over the investigation into their players racially abusing Azeem Rafiq, but when the board discussed it they tried to pass off one of their players using a racist slur against Rafiq as “banter”

...which also brought to light Michael Vaughan being racist both behind the scenes and, much harder to deny, on his Twitter feed - and, oh boy, he really has a lot of things to say about Sri Lankans in particular, doesn’t he?

Smirking bully Priti Patel really didn’t understand that, as Home Secretary, it’s a good look to actually try to show concern for a situation before trying to twist it to your agenda and instead responded to the Liverpool Women’s Hospital bombing by not giving a syllable of support to the people of Liverpool and instead blathered on about migration, and then a few days later when a dinghy capsized in the Channel claimed to be expressing sorrow when once again blowing on that same dogwhistle while also repeatedly using the phrase French waters to imply it was France’s fault as their waves conspired to murder 27 people

The Streisand Effect needs to be explained to Eric Trump when his response to reports that he was in contact with organisers of the January 6th Capitol riots via burner phone was to immediately threaten legal action against anybody who suggests that Eric Trump was in contact with the organisers of the January 6th Capitol riots via a burner phone, meaning that there is extra reason to talk about how Eric Trump was in contact with the organisers of the January 6th Capitol riots via a burner phone

We can thank George Eustace for creating a new euphemism, as donating £3m to the Tory party and just so happening to get a peerage as sixteen chairmen of the party did is now called “philanthropy”

It’s not even a surprise at this point to see proven liar Boris Johnson stomping around Hexham hospital without a mask but instead with his sleeves rolled up and tie tucked into his shirt as if that protects from an airborne virus, nor is it a surprise that various Tory mouthpieces offered the exact same boilerplate defence of his following the regulations in spite the fact that, a.) Hexham hospital’s regulations say wear a fucking mask you imbecile, and b.) He was asked to wear a mask on three occasions but refused

...and a few weeks later proven liar Boris Johnson was seen on the tube not bothering to wear a mask

...and shortly after that proven liar Boris Johnson was seen not wearing a mask during (while also talking loudly throughout) a production of Macbeth at the Almeida Theatre, somehow missing the fact that a play about somebody who would kill to be king only to prove that he was utterly shite at it even with his wife pulling the strings sounds an awful lot like a biography

...all of which gave anti-mask and anti-lockdown weirdos plenty of ammunition when, as the omicron variant started to be detected in the UK, each and every one of these grifters started posting photos of the clueless dickhead running the country repeatedly not wearing a mask in public to “prove” that there is no such thing as Covid and it's all a government hoax

The fact that Visa realised that, because the UK is no longer tied to EU regulations about raising credit card charges, that means they could raise credit card charges really doesn't reflect that well on them - and Amazon agreed, as they immediately dropped Visa credit cards as payment options for Amazon UK

...although it doesn't reflect well on the BBC in that, when covering this story, the just so happened to forget to mention the teeny tiny detail of Visa raising their charges entirely because the UK opted out of EU regulations stopping Visa from doing so

Warning signs were there when the Tory government claimed that part of Yorkshire were getting a brand new railway line without mention of HS2, and a couple of days later it was revealed why - because they were no longer getting HS2, instead getting the bare minimum while it was being dressed up as a boost to efficiency - which, the last time I checked, isn't an example of “levelling up”

In the eyes of Activision Blizzard it doesn't matter that they have mass staff walkouts, a petition signed by over 1200 employees demanding the resignation of Bobby Kotick for allowing and enabling those conditions, or the fact both Sony and Microsoft have publicly condemned Kotick’s behaviour, and yet the ActiBlizz board are still standing by Kotick because...why?  Why are they doing that?

Of course it was Christopher Chope who objected to the motion that would have passed a motion on investigating Owen Paterson’s dodgy dealings, because unnecessarily dragging out votes just because he can due to being a miserable twat is what Christopher Chope does

Not a good look that Paul Nickerson responded to the Liverpool bombing by tweeting a Photoshopped picture of Jeremy Corbyn laying a wreath at the bombsite - and Corbyn certainly agreed, taking Nickerson to the cleaners to get both an apology and a sizable sum as compensation, a sum which Corbyn donated to charity while Nickerson was left whining he was broke just before Christmas as if there wasn’t one way he could have avoided going broke just before Christmas, which was not tweeting like a dickhead

Billionaire manchild Elon Musk responded to Bernie Sanders suggesting he do this strange and unusual thing called “paying taxes occasionally” by calling Sanders a socialist, which is quite the odd position for the tax dodging cult leader to take considering how many government subsidies he happily accepted to get Tesla off the ground

Unifying force Keir Starmer decided the absolute best time to announce a shadow cabinet reshuffle was the moment Angela Rayner was taking to the stage to deliver a speech about Tory corruption (sorry, “sleaze”) which just so happened to completely undermine Rayner’s speech as every question she was asked afterwards was about the reshuffle she had not been briefed on, and what a reshuffle it was where yet more names prominently featured in Labour Leaks got cushy jobs 

Convicted criminal Darren Grimes tried to convince his followers that the Kool Aid is supposed to taste bitter by making out that Shell moving their offices to the UK from the Netherlands proves that leaving the EU isn't a complete disaster, rather than a UK-registered company moving to the UK because they can’t comply with EU emissions standards but do comply with those of the UK

Blithering idiot Nadine Dorries decided to regurgitate the old chestnut of people being unable to say things on social media for fear of being quote-unquote cancelled, somehow forgetting that blithering idiot Nadine Dorries has decided that her role as Culture Secretary allows her to police journalists who report news that she doesn't like on Twitter

The transformation of Rockstar Games into Bethesda seems to be continuing apace judging by their handling of the GTA: The Trilogy where not only did they yank the original version of GTA3, GTA: Vice City and GTA: San Andreas from online storefronts so the only way to play those games if you didn’t have them already was to play the buggy as hell and clearly rushed remasters, but PC players couldn’t even do that as the Rockstar Games Launcher spluttered into being unusable the day of the trilogy’s launch, meaning that the only way any PC player could play those games is if they previously downloaded the non-remastered versions

...and then Rockstar Games made it worse by revealing that the original games are still available by giving them away free as a make good to anyone who pre-ordered the mess, but only those who pre-ordered the mess on the Rockstar Games Launcher - but if you pre-ordered it from Steam or on console, you get no make good and the originals are still verboten

The blithering idiocy of Lara Logan comparing Anthony Fauci to Josef Mengele during a Fox News Primetime discussion (feel free to insert inverted commas around that last word if you wish) sums up a lot of things, starting with the fact that Logan actually said something so moronic on air and wasn’t immediately shut down by any cohosts for doing so, but also sums up the level of batshittery that Fox News has to lean into at this point to attract viewers 

Bonehead messiah Tommy Robinson is so irrelevant that not only is directing his followers to ruining a chicken shop’s Google ratings the height of his powers at this point, but as it's been suggested he knew he was already banned from the place before he showed up to film his temper tantrum he’s also the sort of piece of shit who drags his kids along to his grifts and tries to use them as a human shield when kicking off

I am sure that Steve Baker must have thought his comment about leading people to heaven if they took of their face masks sounded really clever, but what it actually sounded like was yet another reason to not listen to Forrest Twunt

This month’s batshittery from antivaxxers is their mass postulating about how they will boycott Tesco because Tesco’s Christmas advert features Santa Claus showing his Covid passport at checkout.  Yes, you read that sentence

...while their fecal-rummaging pied piper Gillian McKeith decided that the most sensible thing she could shriek about was how antivaxxers can charge more for their sperm samples as if people haggle about the value of their pot of jizz at a sperm bank

Blithering idiot Nadine Dorries had the perfect response to allegations of the fountainhead of the UK’s demise Stanley Johnson thinking that he can slap the arses of any female he wants with impunity, and that is to claim that as she never had her backside slapped by Papa De Pfeffel that means nobody had their arses slapped by Papa De Pfeffel

On whichever planet Nick Fletcher lives on the cause of all youth crime is that most harrowing of experiences, having a female Doctor Who.  Nothing to do with a decade of austerity, youth service funding being cut to the marrow, overcrowded schools or anything else that can be attributed to the Tories’ eleven years of nastiness, but because a fictional character is played by a woman

Walking insignificance David Kurten summed up the Heritage Party more succinctly than he realised when tweeting about how lions don’t need Covid passports, in spite the fact that tigers and snow leopards have both tested positive for Covid so yes they do, which not only outed the fact that the Heritage Party are so insignificant they have to lean into antivaxxers to try and get their deposit back but also exposing that he hasn’t quite thought through the fact that, if you're face-to-face with a lion, its vaccination status is the least of your worries

Employer of the year WWE demonstrated just how much they care about their employees’ “independent contractors’” contributions to the company when, during their latest round of mass releases, they not only informed the talent of their release by email instead of a face-to-face conversation, but also showed just how much they care by spelling Oney Lorcan’s name “Oney Lorkan” in the release email in spite him working for the company since 2015

Okay, seriously, when you have QAnon dullards awaiting the imminent arrival of JFK Jr (in spite him being dead since 1999) at Dealey Plaza (where his father was murdered), and when he returned he would endorse Donald Trump’s presidency (you know, the presidency which ended after he lost an election last year...) that’s the point where police need to consider not firing tear gas and instead something a little more soothing

[londontheatre]

Maureen Lipman photo Elliott Franks

Acclaimed actress and writer Maureen Lipman is to direct the world stage premiere of Jack Rosenthal’s The Knowledge.

The Knowledge is based on the iconic 1979 TV film comedy. Maureen not only played a leading role in the film, but is also Jack Rosenthal’s widow.

Set against the backdrop of the harsh economic times of 1979, the play follows the hilarious struggles of four Londoners as they attempt to better themselves by attempting the fearsome “Knowledge” – the process of becoming a London black cab taxi driver. Standing between them and the coveted Green Badge is the eccentric Mr. Burgess, the examiner. Also known as “The Vampire”, he is on an obsessive mission to maintain standards.”

The Knowledge will preview at Charing Cross Theatre from Monday 4 September and run 10 weeks to Saturday 11 November. Press night is Monday 11 September at 7.30pm.

Maureen said: “It is 13 years since I lost my husband, the unassuming genius Jack Rosenthal. The Knowledge is perhaps Jack’s best realised play – a hymn to the London that he came to love. It shows the years of pain, strain and sacrifice that London cabbies have to endure to acquire The Knowledge, pass the world’s toughest and most terrifying taxi examinations and earn the right to wear the Green Badge. 38 years since The Knowledge was first screened on ITV, London’s finest cab drivers face challenges from UBER and their sat navs, bike lanes, road works and terror. But they represent the unique excellence and expertise that has made London the great city we are all so proud of and they deserve our support … because they, and we, are worth it. This is my 50th year in the acting business and, having acted in the original film, I was thrilled to be asked to make The Knowledge the next show I direct. Simon Block has created a wonderful stage adaptation that preserves all the best of Jack’s original writing, and I am really excited to be involved.”

The Knowledge was nominated for a BAFTA as Best Single Play. In 1995, film historian Geoff Phillips declared it “certainly the best TV play Britain has ever produced”. In 2000, the BFI voted it as one of the TV 100 – the 100 greatest television programmes, of any genre, ever screened.

Casting to be announced.

Creative team: Director Maureen Lipman. Set Design Nicolai Hart-Hansen. Costume Design Jonathan Lipman. Sound Design Andrew Johnson.

The Knowledge is produced by Vaughan Williams and Steven M. Levy.

The Knowledge To qualify as a Licensed London Taxi Driver a candidate (a “Knowledge boy/girl”) must first commit to memory the Blue Book. It is not blue, but does contain 320 “runs“ or point-to-point journeys within six miles of Charing Cross. The first run is Manor House to Gibson Square. Once a candidate has passed a written exam on the runs, they then begin their Appearances: a series of one-on-one oral examinations where the examiner can ask them to “call” the shortest route between any two points “within the six”. A point can be any public building, restaurant, cinema, theatre, shop, museum, tourist attraction, park, pub, station … the range is limited only by the fertility of the examiner’s imagination. “Kinky Boots to Leather Lane via Shoe Lane” would be a standard question type. Regarded as the most difficult taxi exam in the world, and equivalent to any professional qualification, The Knowledge has a dropout rate of 70%. The elite few who make it take an average of four years, in which they must live, eat and breathe central London’s 25,000 streets and (they say) 100,000 points. It has been said that comparing a black cab driver with a minicab driver is like comparing a consultant surgeon with an aromatherapist who’s got a Dr Google app. Who would you rather trust with your loved ones’ lives?

Jack Rosenthal (Writer) Jack Morris Rosenthal CBE (8 September 1931 – 29 May 2004) wrote 129 early episodes of the ITV soap Coronation Street and over 150 screenplays, including original TV plays, feature films and adaptations. He wrote the 1986 TV film London’s Burning, which proved so successful that it was adapted into a TV series of the same name, which ran from 1988 until 2002. He won three BAFTA awards for Bar Mitzvah Boy, The Evacuees (based on his own wartime evacuation) and Spend, Spend, Spend (about Viv Nicholson who won £152,319 – equivalent to £3,167,827.29 adjusted for inflation – on the football pools in 1961). In 1983 he co-wrote the film Yentl with Barbra Streisand. He did uncredited work on the screenplay of Chicken Run. He also wrote the book for the musical version of Bar Mitzvah Boy, with music by Jule Styne. He married Maureen Lipman in 1974 and was awarded the CBE in 1994.

Simon Block (Adaptor) Simon Block is a BAFTA-nominated leading writer working in both stage and TV. He is best known for his work on The Physician, Home Fires, Hotel Babylon, Wire in the Blood, Inspector Lewis and The Eichmann Show.

Maureen Lipman (Director) Maureen Lipman was born in Hull, trained at LAMDA and learned her trade in Laurence Olivier’s Company at the Old Vic. She is well-known for playing Joyce Grenfell in the biographical show Re:Joyce! on stage and on TV and for Beattie in a long-running series of award-winning TV commercials for British Telecom. Maureen’s 19 West End productions include Wonderful Town, See How They Run (Olivier Award), Oklahoma! (Olivier nomination), Peggy For You, Lost In Yonkers, The Sisters Roseneweig, Florence Foster Jenkins in Glorious, and her one-woman show Alive and Kicking. In 2012, Maureen directed and appeared in a successful tour of Barefoot in the Park and in 2013 she appeared in Sarah Wooley’s Old Money at Hampstead Theatre. At the Garrick she played Clara in Chris Luscombe’s production of Priestley’s When We Are Married and Mme Armfeldt in Trevor Nunn’s A Little Night Music. At the Theatre Royal Haymarket she played Ellie in Oliver Cotton’s Daytona and Vita in Harvey. Last year Maureen starred in an acclaimed production of My Mother Said I Never Should at the St James Theatre. Earlier this year she starred in Trevor Nunn’s Lettice and Lovage at the Menier Chocolate Factory. Maureen’s multitude of TV credits range from playing the landlady of The Rover’s Return in Coronation Street, The Wire in Doctor Who and the Princess of France in Love’s Labours Lost to Smiley’s People, He Kills Coppers, Holby City and Midsummer Murders. Film work includes Educating Rita and the mother in Polanski’s The Pianist. Maureen’s own TV shows include Agony, Agony Again, About Face, Ladies of Letters, Plebs, Bull and the award-winning The Evacuees, The Knowledge and Eskimo Days by her late husband Jack Rosenthal. Maureen is also a prolific writer, covering a wide range from autobiography to politics. She was awarded a CBE in 1999.

Nicolai Hart-Hansen (Set Design) Nicolai trained as a set and costume designer at The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama (BA) and The Slade School of Fine Art (MFA), and has worked in the UK. Europe and the US. Selected work includes: La Traviata (Stand Moutier, Switzerland), The Window (Rambert Dance Company) The Divided Laing (Arcola Theatre), Cock/Bull (Aalborg Teater, Denmark), The Lilly of The Valley (ROH2), Nordost (Salisbury Playhouse), Fanciulla del West (Opera Up Close), Vieux Carre (Kings Head/ Charing Cross Theatre), Playing the Victim (Royal Court Theatre, Told by An Idiot).

Jonathan Lipman (Costume Design) Selected theatre credits include: Ragtime, Death Takes A Holiday, The Braille Legacy (Charing Cross Theatre), Grey Gardens, Allegro (Southwark Playhouse), a US tour of Peter Pan, The Country Girl, directed by Rufus Norris (West End & UK tour), and the UK tours of Larkrise to Candleford and Jekyll & Hyde – The Musical.

Andrew Johnson (Sound Design) Andrew’s recent credits include the Olivier Award-winning smash hit The Play That Goes Wrong (West End and Broadway), Titanic, Ragtime, Death Takes a Holiday (Charing Cross), Grey Gardens, The Toxic Avenger – The Musical, Grand Hotel, Dogfight, Victor/Victoria (Southwark Playhouse), Calamity Jane (UK tour), Let It Be (UK tour, Moscow, Japan), The Rise and Fall of Little Voice (UK tour), Midnight Tango (West End & UK tour), Top Hat (UK tour), A Clockwork Orange (Theatre Royal, Stratford East).

Vaughan Williams (Producer) Vaughan has for almost 20 years lived in Islington, 30 yards from Gibson Square, and he has a serious black cab habit. Vaughan was a founder shareholder in and is Chairman of the Charing Cross Theatre, where he has been a regular producer. Following an English Literature degree at London University, Vaughan enjoyed a long career in the City of London. Initially qualifying as a Chartered Accountant with Deloitte, he then joined merchant bankers Morgan Grenfell & Co., where he was appointed to the main Board in 1993. Following the merger with Deutsche Bank, he was appointed a Managing Director in Deutsche’s Investment Bank. Since retiring from banking in 2012, Vaughan divides his time between the theatre and property industries. His theatre productions include: Death Takes A Holiday, Christina Bianco: O Come All Ye Divas!, Ragtime (Offie Award for Best Musical), Titanic, 6 Actors In Search of A Director; the UK premiere of Jerry Herman’s Dear World, the Olivier Award-winning production of La Bohème, In the Bar of A Tokyo Hotel, by Tennessee Williams, and a number of shows currently in development. Vaughan has also recently fulfilled a long-held ambition to appear as lead guitarist in a rock and roll band.

Steven M. Levy (Producer) Steven has spent the past 30 years as a theatrical producer, general manager and theatre owner in both New York and London. Broadway includes: Whoopi – The 20th Anniversary Show, Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All starring Ellen Burstyn, Our Town starring Paul Newman, I’m Not Rappaport starring Judd Hirsch and Ben Vereen, Dame Edna: The Royal Tour; The Beauty Queen Of Leenane, The Lonesome West, Waiting In The Wings starring Lauren Bacall. West End includes: Titanic, Ragtime, Death Takes a Holiday, In The Bar Of A Tokyo Hotel, Piaf, The Mikado, Jacques Brel Is Alive And Well And Living In Paris, Long Story Short, Finian’s Rainbow, Ushers: The Front Of House Musical, Jerry Herman’s Dear World, the Olivier Award-winning La Bohème, 6 Actors In Search Of A Director (written and directed by Steven Berkoff), Fascinating Aïda – Cheap Flights, The Man On Her Mind, John Leguizamo – Ghetto Klown, Patricia Routledge – Facing The Music, Thrill Me (Charing Cross), Singular Sensations, Tom Stoppard’s The Invention Of Love (Theatre Royal, Haymarket), Nixon’s Nixon (Comedy), Gross Indecency (Gielgud), The Boys In The Band (Aldwych). Film includes: Our Town starring Paul Newman, Whoopi (HBO, starring Whoopi Goldberg), The Man On Her Mind (The Talking Pictures Company). Steven’s productions have been the recipients of 14 Tony Award nominations, 5 Tony Awards, as well as the recipients of the Drama Desk, Lucille Lortel, Outer Critics Circle and OBIE Awards.

LISTINGS INFO Vaughan Williams and Steven M. Levy present The Knowledge by Jack Rosenthal adapted by Simon Block directed by Maureen Lipman Monday 4 September – Saturday 11 November. Press night Monday 11 September at 7.30pm.

Charing Cross Theatre The Arches Villiers Street London WC2N 6NL http://ift.tt/HQ6NWc

http://ift.tt/2tamzcA LondonTheatre1.com

[londontheatre]

Producer Jamie Hendry announced this morning that Denise Welch, Gary Wilmot, Craig Mather and Simon Lipkin will join Rufus Hound and Neil McDermott in the major new musical THE WIND IN THE WILLOWS, which will open at the world-famous London Palladium. He also announced that previews would begin ahead of schedule on Friday 16th June, with opening night on Thursday 29th June. Hendry also unveiled a ticketing initiative where children can see THE WIND IN THE WILLOWS for free at 80 performances over the summer.

Comedian and presenter Rufus Hound will reprise his Manchester Theatre Award-winning performance as the amazing Mr Toad. He will be joined by West End stars Simon Lipkin as Rat and Craig Mather as Mole, EastEnders actor Neil McDermott as Chief Weasel, with Coronation Street and Boy Meets Girl star Denise Welch as Mrs Otter and West End legend Gary Wilmot as Badger.

The confirmed company also includes: Chris Aukett, Joel Baylis, Jenna Boyd, Abigail Brodie, Abigail Climer, Jorell Coiffic-Kamall, Nicole Deon, Emilie du Leslay, Joshua Gannon, James Gant, Evan James, Michael Larcombe, Bethany Linsdell, Ryan Pidgen, Adam Vaughan, Georgie Westall and Natalie Woods.

Based on Kenneth Grahame’s treasured novel which has captivated generations of readers for over a century, THE WIND IN THE WILLOWS has been adapted for the stage with a book by Academy Award-winning screenwriter and Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes and Olivier Award-winning composer and lyricist duo George Stiles and Anthony Drewe.

This riotous comedy follows the impulsive Mr Toad whose insatiable need for speed lands him in serious trouble. With his beloved home under threat from the notorious Chief Weasel and his gang of sinister Wild Wooders, Toad must attempt a daring escape leading to a series of misadventures and a heroic battle to recapture Toad Hall.

Featuring eye-poppingly beautiful design, exuberant choreography and a gloriously British score, The Wind in the Willows brings an explosion of anarchy, humour and heart to the world-famous London Palladium.

Rufus Hound is one of the UK’s leading actors, presenters and comedians, most recently seen on stage in What The Butler Saw (UK Tour), Don Quixote (Royal Shakespeare Company) and as Freddy in the original West End production of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (Savoy Theatre). His other theatre credits include The Wars of the Roses (Rose Theatre), Neville’s Island (Chichester Festival Theatre) and One Man, Two Guvnors (Theatre Royal Haymarket). Television credits include Doctor Who (BBC), Cucumber (Channel 4), Drunk History (Comedy Central) and A Touch of Cloth (SKY). He is also a regular guest on comedy panel shows such as Never Mind the Buzzcocks (BBC), Would I Lie To You? (BBC), and 8 Out Of 10 Cats (Channel 4).

Simon Lipkin most recently starred in the UK Premiere of Honeymoon in Vegas at the London Palladium. His numerous other theatre credits include Avenue Q (Noël Coward), Rock of Ages (Shaftesbury/Garrick), I Can’t Sing! (London Palladium), The Lorax (Old Vic), Spamalot (UK and International Tour), The Wedding Singer (UK Tour), Footloose (UK Tour) and Assassins (Menier Chocolate Factory).

Craig Mather’s theatre credits include Marius in Les Misérables (West End), Melchior in the German premiere of Spring Awakening, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street at Harrington’s Pie Shop (West End) and the UK tour of Tonight’s The Night.

Neil McDermott is best known for portraying Ryan Malloy in EastEnders (BBC). His stage credits include Lord Farquaad in Shrek The Musical (Theatre Royal, Drury Lane), Jean-Michel in La Cage Aux Folles (Menier Chocolate Factory) and Rolf Gruber in The Sound of Music (London Palladium). Further television credits include The Royal (ITV), Casualty (BBC) and Doctor Who: The Next Doctor (BBC).

Denise Welch is best known for her television roles which include Natalie Barnes in Coronation Street (ITV), Steph Haydock in Waterloo Road (BBC), Pam McDonald in Boy Meets Girl (BBC) and Marsha Stubbs in Soldier Soldier (ITV). Theatre credits include Smack Family Robinson (Rose Theatre, Kingston), Steel Magnolias (UK Tour) and The Rise and Fall of Little Voice (Royal Exchange).

Gary Wilmot first rose to fame as a contestant on New Faces, with presenting credits since then including Showstoppers and So You Want To Be Top. His extensive musical theatre credits include Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (Savoy Theatre and UK Tour), Oklahoma! (UK Tour), The Pajama Game (Shaftesbury Theatre), Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (London Palladium) and Big (Theatre Royal Plymouth / Ireland).

Tickets will be available from £15, with reduced price preview performances. Kids go free on Monday to Friday performances for tickets booked by 31 May, terms and conditions apply. No additional booking fees or charges are applied to tickets booked via http://ift.tt/2kaYgWS.

Produced by Jamie Hendry, MJE Productions and Josh Gilinski, in association with Theatre Royal Plymouth, THE WIND IN THE WILLOWS is directed by Rachel Kavanaugh with choreography by Aletta Collins, set and costume design by Peter McKintosh, lighting design by Howard Harrison, sound design by Gareth Owen, wig and makeup design by Linda McKnight, orchestrations by Chris Jahnke and David Shrubsole and musical supervision by Simon Lee.

THE WIND IN THE WILLOWS The London Palladium Argyll Street, London W1F 7TF

First Preview: Friday 16 June 2017 Opening Performance: Thursday 29 June 2017 Booking Until: Saturday 9 September 2017 BOOK TICKETS FOR THE WIND IN THE WILLOWS

http://ift.tt/2kt8H5n LondonTheatre1.com