It’s that time of year again… Olivier time! We’ve got a link to the nominations announcement video below, plus more news you won’t want to miss. Happy Friday!
Jason Manford (pictured above) will host the 2019 Olivier Awards. The comedian/actor/singer hosted the Awards in 2017, and will return for this year’s ceremony on 7 April.
And speaking of the Olivier Awards, have you seen the full list of nominations yet? Company and Come From Away are leading the pack with nine nominations each. But The Inheritance is close behind, with eight nominations. If you haven’t gotten a chance to yet, you can watch the full nominations announcement below.
Everybody’s Talking About Jamie has extended through 2020. The show is now booking until next January.
Barbra Streisand will headline the British Summer Time series in Hyde Park. Streisand will perform on July 7 with a cast of special guests… soon to be announced. Public tickets are on sale 14 March.
Heathers the Musical will return to London. Dates have yet to be announced, but the show’s producer, Paul Taylor-Mills, has confirmed that Heathers will return to London before embarking on a UK tour. The news came after Heathers released its full West End cast recording and won the WhatsOnStage Awards for Best New Musical and Best Actress in a Musical (Carrie Hope Fletcher).
Mischief Theatre announce their new production: Magic Goes Wrong. Created in conjunction with legendary magician comedians Penn & Teller, Magic Goes Wrong will make up the second show in Mischief Theatre’s year-long residency at the Vaudeville Theatre. Tickets go on sale Sunday. Helping to produce the show will be J.J. Abrams and Kevin McCollum.
Matthew Bourne’s The Red Shoes will return to London this Christmas. As part of its national tour, the Olivier Award-winning production returns to Sadler’s Wells from 3 December to 19 January.
Hamilton star Giles Terera joins the cast of Rosmersholm at the Duke of York’s Theatre. Henrik Ibsen’s play, adapted by Duncan Macmillan, will also star Tom Burke, Hayley Atwell, Lucy Briers, Jake Fairbrother and Peter Wight. Rosmersholm plays the Duke of York’s Theatre from 24 April to 20 July.
Australian comedian Felicity Ward will make her UK theatre debut in Kill Climate Deniers. Written by David Finnigan, the play premiered in Syndey, Australia in 2018, and will run at London’s Pleasance Theatre this summer, from 4 to 28 June. Felicity Ward has appeared on TV shows like Mock the Week, Live at the BBC and Russell Howard’s Good News.
Only Fools and Horses is having a heyday at the Box Office. The new musical based on the TV show has taken in more than £8 million–selling more than 150,000 tickets. That makes it the year’s biggest West End opening. To top it all off, it’s the fastest selling show in Theatre Royal Haymarket’s history. The show has now extended until the end of August.
Fiver–a new musical about a humble £5 note that passes through the hands and pockets of different Londoners–announces casting. Written by Alex James Ellison and Tom Lees, the production will star Daniel Buckley, Hiba Elchikhe and Kayleigh McKnight. Further casting will be announced later. The show runs at Southwark Playhouse from 3 to 20 July.
Magic at the Musicals will return to the Royal Albert Hall on 10 May. Hosted by Ruthie Henshall and Trevor Dion (Aladdin), the show features a 60-piece orchestra and a cast of West End stars. Tickets are now on sale.
The Bunker Theatre announces full casting for My White Best Friend and Other Letters Left Unsaid. This week long festival features performers blind-reading letters that ask questions about race, identity and culture. The rotating 13-member cast is: Phoebe Fox, Cherelle Skeete, Danny Lee Wynter, Rosie Day, Ben Bailey Smith, Inès de Clercq, Zainab Hasan, Nick Holder, George MacKay, Shvorne Marks, Tom Moutchi, Chris Sonnex and Ria Zmitrowicz. Performances begin 18 March.
Happy International Women’s Day! Sounds like a great excuse to go see a West End show with a female-led creative team…. In fact, the creative team and female cast members of Waitress posed for a photo to celebrate the day. The musical had something else to celebrate this week, too… Happy opening!!!! Waitress is now booking to 19 October.
