News: REHEARSAL IMAGES RELEASED FOR RICHARD, MY RICHARD - NOVELIST PHILIPPA GREGORY'S PLAYWRIGHTING DEBUT

 REHEARSAL IMAGES RELEASED FOR

RICHARD, MY RICHARD

NOVELIST PHILIPPA GREGORY’S PLAYWRIGHTING DEBUT

OPENING AT SHAKESPEARE NORTH PLAYHOUSE ON 8 MARCH UNTIL 30 MARCH

THEN PLAYING AT THEATRE ROYAL BURY ST EDMUNDS 11 – 27 APRIL

The full cast has today been announced for best-selling historical author Philippa Gregory’s playwright debut Richard, My Richard. This world premiere – a co-production between Shakespeare North Playhouse and Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds - is an innovative new stage play. Inspired by the real life of Richard III; which challenges the reputation of one of history’s most enigmatic characters: a passionate, tender portrait of the man in his time, and the women who determine his fate.

 

Richard, My Richard, directed by Katie Posner, will launch at Shakespeare North Playhouse in Prescot 8 – 30 March, and then play from 11 – 27 April at Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds.






Photo credit: Meg Terezza 

With an explosion of tarmac, a Leicester Car park erupts and Richard III crashes from his lost tomb to meet the character who has ruined his reputation: History – the record keeper who doesn’t always have his mind on the task.

 

Richard believes he has risen from the grave to heaven with an unstained conscience, and History has the awkward task of telling the Undead King that he is remembered as one of the greatest villains. History admits- he has his own doubts. He is far from a reliable narrator: his perspective is skewed, he has his favorites, some people he completely ignores. History overlooks people and stories.

 

Funny, poignant, and underpinned by research, Richard’s secrets have not died with him, he rises up to tell us the story, his story, History.


The full cast are Kyle Rowe (The Devil’s Hour - Amazon Prime, Sexy Beast - Paramount+) as ‘Richard’, Tom Kanji (Julius Caesar - Royal Shakespeare Theatre/UK Tour, Private Peaceful - UK Tour) as ‘History’, Tyler Dobbs (A Midsummer Night’s Dream - Shakespeare North Playhouse, Tom’s Midnight Garden - Theatre By The Lake) as ‘George/Buckingham’, Jennifer Matter (Arthur & Merlin: Knights of Camelot - Picture Perfect, Villain - Greenville Media) as ‘Queen’, Olivier Award nominee Tori Burgess (Tony! [The Tony Blair Rock Opera] - UK Tour, Pride & Prejudice* (*Sort Of) - Tron Theatre, West End & UK Tour) as ‘Anne’, Laura Smithers (First Encounters: Twelfth Night - RSC’s The Other Place & UK Tour, Clarion - Arcola Theatre) as ‘Margaret’, Matt Concannon (Lazarus Project- SKY, The Girl on the Train- UK Tour) as ‘Edward/ Thomas Stanley’ and Mary Savage (Who the F—k is Shakespeare - 20 Stories High,  as ‘Elizabeth’. [The Tony Blair Rock Opera] - UK Tour, Pride & Prejudice* (*Sort Of) - Tron Theatre, West End & UK Tour) as ‘Anne’, Laura Smithers (First Encounters: Twelfth Night - RSC’s The Other Place & UK Tour, Clarion - Arcola Theatre) as ‘Margaret’, Matt Concannon (Lazarus Project- SKY, The Girl on the Train- UK Tour) as ‘Edward/ Thomas Stanley’ and Mary Savage (Who the F—k is Shakespeare - 20 Stories High) as ‘Elizabeth’.


Shakespeare North Playhouse BOX OFFICE: 0151 433 7156/ www.shakespearenorthplayhouse.co.uk


 Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds BOX OFFICE: 01284 769505 / www.theatreroyal.org

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Review: REBECCA at The Charing Cross Theatre, London

Image
  Tickets: Gifted Date: 18th September 2023 Seat: G3 Rating: 3 Stars From the first chilling note to the final fiery scene, Rebecca is an all-out melodrama, complete with sinister plots, a soaring score, and characters that wouldn’t look out of place in a panto – but that’s all part of its charm. It’s an over-the-top, entirely gorgeous piece of outlandish theatre, and I absolutely loved it. Although, that’s not to say there aren’t a few issues.  One of the biggest problems with Rebecca is that something seems to have been a little lost in translation. The story still makes sense (although perhaps knowing the Daphne du Maurier novel or the 1940 Hitchcock adaptation with Laurence Olivier and Joan Fontaine does help with that), but some of the lyrics just seem too on the nose, or just not clever enough to be memorable. Perhaps the original German gives a different feeling, but in English, there are a few moments that get lost and aren’t as strong as they might be.  Plus, this musical is
Read more

Review: BRONCO BILLY at The Charing Cross Theatre, London

Image
Photo credit: The Other Richard Date: 31st January 2024 Seat: M6 (Stalls) Tickets: Gifted Rating: 3 Stars  Adapting older movies into musicals seems to be a trend these days, some with better results than others, and Bronco Billy , with a book by Dennis Hackin and music and lyrics by Chip Rosenbloom and John Torres (with additional lyrics by Michele Brourman), is one of the better ones – if anything, it’s improved the film and made it a lot more enjoyable for everyone, which is something every audience member is sure to appreciate.  The main word that can be used to describe Bronco Billy is fun. It’s wild and wacky and loud and bright, and there are some wonderful characters and some lovely songs, but really when you leave, it’s the fun you’ve had that stays with you, and that’s no bad thing – if you’re feeling a bit down because January lasted for sixty billion months and you need a quick pick-me-up, Bronco Billy might just do the trick.  The story is about a travelling circus of mi
Read more

Review: SLEEPING BEAUTY at The Hawth, Crawley

Image
Date: 9th December 2023  Seat: L3 (Stalls) Tickets: Gifted Rating: 5 Stars  You can’t get much more classic than Sleeping Beauty when it comes to the annual panto, and at The Hawth in Crawley this year, it’s this story that takes centre stage – but don’t worry if you think you’ve seen it all before; there are some fantastic surprises in store, including some rather impressive prehistoric pets, fire performers, and plenty of musical theatre references throughout.  Why musical theatre? Because two of the panto’s stars are West End performers with some notable credits to their names – that’s Carrie Hope Fletcher (who plays Carrie-Bosse) from such shows as Les Miserables and Heathers , and Scott Paige (The Good Spirit Moonbeam), who’s starred in The Great British Bake Off Musical and The Addams Family . Add to that some wholesomeness from Andy Day, a CBeebies presenter every child (and parent) in the audience is sure to know, and you’ve got the ingredients for a fantastic show.  Fletcher
Read more