Minerva Theatre News

Following the COVID-19 lockdown until 2 December, Chichester Festival Theatre has had to cancel or postpone some of the shows in the Autumn season.

Every episode of It's the Day of the Show Y'all is your chance to learn about musicals that you may may not know yet, but always wanted to. The series, which airs every Tuesday hosted by Spencer Glass, is an ode to musical underdogs that deserve air-time- the perfect must-watch for the little theatre nerd within all of us. This week's episode was all about Caroline, Or Change.

Nottingham Playhouse has released the first three episodes of a new podcast series that will explore the careers, processes and lockdown experiences of nationally and internationally renowned artists.

At its height in the late 90s, Who Wants to be a Millionaire was must-see television. Hosted by Chris Tarrant, the show premiered in 1998 and was an overnight ratings sensation. After an unwavering run of success, controversy reared its head in 2001. Major Charles Ingram bagged the big prize, only to later be exposed as a cheat thanks to an accomplice who coughed to signal each correct answer. The show's life went on, but in many ways its once bright light had been irrevocably dimmed.

Chichester Festival Theatre has released the following statement regarding upcoming performances:

Robert Bathurst returns to the stage with Love, Loss & Chianti, an exciting double-bill from award-winning British poet Christopher Reid. This is part of the highly anticipated relaunch of Riverside Studios in Hammersmith.

James Graham's critically acclaimed smash hit comedy, Quiz, will embark on a 20-week UK and Ireland tour from August 2020.

Jane Austen's House in Chawton, Hampshire, has announced that Laura Wade, Olivier Award-winning playwright and screenwriter and her partner, actor and theatre director Samuel West will be its joint Ambassadors for 2020.

With the critically acclaimed production of The Boy Friend currently running at the theatre, the Menier Chocolate Factory today announce the forthcoming two productions a?" the European première of Paula Vogel's Tony Award-winning play Indecent, directed by Rebecca Taichman; and Alan Bennett's Habeas Corpus directed by Patrick Marber, who returns to the Menier following his smash-hit production of Tom Stoppard's Travesties.

Robert Bathurst (Cold Feet, ITV; Downton Abbey, ITV; Dad's Army: The Lost Episodes, BBC) returns to the stage with Love, Loss & Chianti, an exciting double-bill from award-winning British poet Christopher Reid. This is part of the highly anticipated relaunch of Riverside Studios in Hammersmith.

Following sold-out runs at both Chichester Festival Theatre and the Menier Chocolate Factory, Laura Wade's The Watsons transfers to the West End in 2020. The production opens at the Harold Pinter Theatre on 19 May, with previews from 8 May, and runs until 26 September. Public booking opens on 15 November, priority booking is open now.

Hedda Tesman transports one of theatre's great roles into the present day, but Cordelia Lynn's script never quite lands.

The Butterfly Lion by Michael Morpurgo, in a new adaptation by Anna Ledwich, will premiere at Chichester's Minerva Theatre from 5 October a?" 15 November, directed by Dale Rooks.

Chichester Festival Theatre and Menier Chocolate Factory today announce the full cast for the London première of Olivier Award-winner Laura Wade's The Watsons at the Menier. Samuel West directs original cast members Sam Alexander (Robert Watson), Sally Bankes (Nanny), Joe Bannister (Lord Osborne), Jane Booker (Lady Osborne), Elaine Claxton (Mrs Edwards), Tim Delap (Mr Howard), Sophie Duval (Mrs Robert), Louise Ford (Laura), John Wilson Goddard (Mr Watson), Grace Molony (Emma Watson), Elander Moore (Bertie), Paksie Vernon (Elizabeth Watson), Cat White (Miss Osborne) and Laurence Ubong Williams (Tom Musgrave), who are joined by Rhianna McGreevy (Margaret Watson), with Isaac Forward, Sonny Fowler and Teddy Probets sharing the role of Charles Howard for the run at the Menier. The Watsons played to critical acclaim at Chichester Festival Theatre in 2018. The production opens at the Menier on 30 September, with previews from 20 September, and runs until 16 November.

Nicholas Wright's new play, set on the road in wartime America, examines the relationships between Paul Robeson and his Othello co-stars, José Ferrer and Uta Hagen. It does not waste that wonderful set up.

The second production housed at the Minerva Theatre in Chichester's 2019 line-up is Terence Rattigan's The Deep Blue Sea. Written after the writer lost his lover Kenny Morgan to suicide, the play details the day that follows Hester Collyer's attempted one. When her nosy neighbours find her unconscious body, they contact her husband Bill - a judge and established member of London's high society - whom she left ten months prior to jump head-first in a passionate affair with Freddie Page, an ex-RAF pilot who's now unemployed and struggling.

Pandora Colin, Ben Cura, Tory Kittles and Emma Paetz will make their Chichester debuts in Nicholas Wright's new play 8 Hotels, which Richard Eyre directs at the Minerva Theatre from 1 - 24 August (press night: 7 August).

Haydn Gwynne will make her Chichester debut in the title role of HEDDA TESMAN by Cordelia Lynn, after Henrik Ibsen. Holly Race Roughan directs this co-production with Headlong and The Lowry, running at the Minerva Theatre from 30 August - 28 September.

The full cast is announced for the Theatr Clwyd and Menier Chocolate Factory co-production of Tennessee Williams' Orpheus Descending. Theatr Clwyd's Artistic Director Tamara Harvey directs Catrin Aaron (Beulah Binnings), Michael Geary (Pee Wee Binnings), Valentine Hanson (Uncle Pleasant), Jenny Livsey (Eva Temple / Woman), Laura Jane Matthewson (Dolly Hamma), Mark Meadows (Jabe Torrance), Ifan Meredith (David Cutrere / Dog Hamma), Hattie Morahan (Lady Torrance), Seth Numrich (Val Xavier), Ian Porter (Sheriff Talbott), Jemima Rooper (Carol Cutrere), Carol Royle (Vee Talbott) and Carrie Quinlan (Sister / Nurse Porter). Public booking for the Menier Chocolate Factory dates opens at 9am today.

English Touring Theatre and Theatre Royal Stratford East today announce the full cast for Ned Bennett's bold new production of Peter Shaffer's critically-acclaimed classic, psychological thriller Equus. Bennett directs Robert Finch (Frank Strang/Horse), Keith Gilmore (Harry Dalton/Nurse/Horse), Ethan Kai (Alan Strang), Syreeta Kumar (Dora Strang/Horse), Norah Lopez Holden (Jill Mason/Horse), Ruth Lass (Hester Salomon/Horse), Ira Mandela Siobhan (Young Horseman/Nugget) and Zubin Varla (Martin Dysart) completes the cast. The production opens at Theatre Royal Stratford East on 21 February, with previews from 15 February and runs until 23 March prior to embarking on a UK tour to Cambridge Arts Theatre, Theatre Royal Bath, Bristol Old Vic, The Lowry, Northern Stage and Yvonne Arnaud Theatre.