New Alexandra Theatre, Birmingham - Arcadia - 23.03.15 - 28.03.15

The New Alexandra Theatre, Birmingham

Presents:

TOM STOPPARD’S

ARCADIA

BY ENGLISH TOURING THEATRE & THEATRE ROYAL BRIGHTON PRODUCTIONS

Directed by Blanche McIntyre

Monday 23rd to Saturday 28th March 2015

Arcadia is a wonderfully written play that goes backwards and forwards in time and questions the things we think we know about history and how we can sometimes get things wrong.

All of the action is set in Sidley Park, a Derbyshire Country house in both 1809/1812 and 1993 which has been depicted with a large wooden table, plain walls and large windows. It is extremely effective and has a lovely warming yellow light throughout, which is heightened or dimmed depending on the time of day. The use of shadows coming through the windows makes it extremely homely and has been well thought out by Lighting Designer Johanna Town and Lighting Assistant Jenny Roxburgh.

The play starts in 1809 and we see the daughter of the house Thomasina Coverly and her tutor Septimus Hodge studying. She is extremely intelligent and well ahead of her time. Septimus is one for the ladies and is infatuated by Thomasina's mother Lady Croom. 

In 1993 we have professor Bernard Nightingale who arrives at Sidley Park to try and discover if Lord Byron (friends with Septimus Hodge) killed Ezra Chater, a guest at the Park back in 1809. WE also have Hannah Jarvis who is a writer looking into the Sidley Park Hermit that resided in the hermitage in the grounds.

As the play unfolds and the truth starts to come out we see that it is not Lord Byron that is supposed to duel Ezra Chater but Septimus but the duel never materialises and the hermit ends up being Septimus who, after Thomasina's tragic death the night before her 17th Birthday shuts himself away to try and apply "honest English algebra" to the question of the universe's future which she was trying to discover.

It is extremely interesting how things that appear to be are not always the case and how a lot of research is needed to hunt out the real truth of any Historical event as evidence can be lost or placed in the wrong place.

Throughout the play we have one constant in the form of a tortoise that knows the truth and keeps calm in all the mayhem.

This production is full of pace and Blanche McIntyre's staging and movement is not only fast paced but extremely interesting in this very wordy play. The transitions between the old and new is captured wonderfully and diction is pitch perfect and could be heard right at the back of the theatre.

The end of the play sees Thomasina and Septimus and Hannah and Gus dancing to the waltz  bringing the 2 periods together in a wonderful climax.

This whole production was stylised and full of interest. There was not a weak link and each character was individual and extremely well played.

For any theatre lover, this play is a must see.

THEATRE NOTES: 

English Touring Theatre and Theatre Royal Brighton Productions bring a new touring production of Tom Stoppard’s comedy masterpiece, Arcadia to the New Alexandra Theatre this month in its first major national tour since 1993.

Dakota Blue Richards will make her stage debut as Thomasina, with other cast including Kirsty Besterman, Robert Cavanah, Tom Greaves, Nakay Kpaka, Ed MacArthur, Charlie Manton, David Mara, Flora Montgomery, Wilf Scolding, Larrington Walker and Ria Zmitrowitz.

In a stately home in 19th century rural Derbyshire , secret desires and professional rivalries take hold of the residents of Sidley Park. The daughter of the house, Thomasina Coverly, is a bright and talented pupil tutored by Byron's friend  Septimus Hodge, who makes a startling discovery well ahead of her time. In the present day, academics Hannah Jarvis and Bernard Nightingale attempt to piece together the fragments of truth that tell her story. Arcadia explores the delicate relationship between past and present, and is a witty and absorbing portrait of two generations of an aristocratic family as the focus moves from 1809 to now, and back to the past.

First premiered at the National Theatre in 1993 directed by Sir Trevor Nunn, Tom Stoppard’s Arcadia is considered one of the greatest plays of the last century, winning countless awards including the 1993 Olivier and Evening Standard Awards for Best New Play. Arcadia has twice been produced on Broadway, winning the 1995 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Play, and the 2011 Tony Award for Best Revival of Play. This production sees a new collaboration between English Touring Theatre (Translations, Ghosts, The Misanthrope)and Theatre Royal Brighton Productions (Dandy Dick, Blue Orange). Arcadia marks English Touring Theatre's second time working with director Blanche McIntyre this year, following the tour of Noel Coward's Tonight at 8.30.

Tom Stoppard said: ‘I’m delighted that a new tour of Arcadia, directed by the young, visionary Blanche McIntrye, is to take place next year reaching audiences across the UK. The current challenges for regional theatre in the UK mean that a production of this scale and quality are very rarely toured.'

Dakota Blue Richards plays Thomasina Coverly which will mark her professional stage debut. Film credits include:Chicklit, The Fold, The Golden Compass, The Secret of Moonacre and Five Miles Out. Television credits include:Lightfields, Skins (Series 5 & 6) and Dustbin Baby.

Kirsty Besterman plays Lady Croom. Theatre credits include: Tonight at 8.30 (Nuffield Theatre and English Touring Theatre); Private Lives (Royal Lyceum Theatre);  Playhouse Creatures (Chichester); The Importance of Being Earnest(Rose Theatre, Kingston); Liberty, Much Ado About Nothing, The Merchant of Venice and Holding Fire (Shakespeare’s Globe); and The Rivals (Bath and Tour); Television credits include: Father Brown, Silent Witness; Doctors and Foyle’s War. Film credits include: Chicken.

Robert Cavanah plays Bernard Nightingale.  Theatre credits include: Men Should Weep (National); Julius Caesar (Young Vic); Kill The Dead Torture Their Young (Traverse Theatre); Love For Love (Chichester); Tartuffe (Edinburgh Lyceum) andTroy (Traverse). Television credits include: Emmerdale, Waterloo Road, DCI Banks, Silent Witness, Father Brown,Hustle, River City, Rebus, The Royal, Doctors, Casualty, Rose And Maloney, Murder In Mind, Blue Dove, Highlander: The Raven, Wuthering Heights, Kavanagh QC, Cracker, The Governor and Cadfael. Film credits include: Sahara, Tomb Raider II, Talk Of The Devil, Billy & Zorba, Hanu, Saving Grace, Jonny Loves Susie and Being Human.

Tom Greaves plays Captain Brice. Theatre credits include: Agatha (Yard); The Last Days Of Juda Iscariot (Shoreditch Church); Four Knights In Knaresborough and Henry V (Southwark Playhouse); Visions Of Kerouac (Half Moon); This Is How It Goes and Two Tales (King’s Head, Islington); Romeo And Juliet (Chocolate Factory) and Freesia (BAC).

Nakay Kpaka plays Ezra. Theatre credits include: Rachel (Finborough).Television credits include: Broadchurch 2,Grantchester and Whitechapel.

Ed MacArthur plays Valentine Coverly. Ed graduated from Bristol Old Vic Theatre School in 2014. Theatre credits include: Inheritance Blues (DugOut), Stackard Banks is Self-Discovered (Edinburgh Festival) and The Life Of Stuart: Backwards (HighTide).

Charlie Manton plays Augustus / Gus Coverly. Theatre credits include: Burn (Guildhall); Love Never Dies (Really Useful Group); The Magic Flute (ENO, Opera Holland Park, Royal Opera House); Tosca (Richmond); The Turn of The Screw(ENO, Opera Bari, Opera Leipzig, Glyndebourne, Guildhall) and Galileo (National). Television credits include: Diana: last Days Of A Princess. Film credits include:  The Man In The Box, The Imitation Game. Radio credits include: The Hedge Of Thorns and Three Men In A Boat.

David Mara plays Jellaby. Theatre credits include: The James Plays and The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night Time (National); Pocket Henry V (Propeller); Oliver (Sheffield); The Second Mrs Tanqueray and Treasure Island (Rose Kingston);  Othello (Donmar); The Tempest (Old Vic); Julius Caesar, King John, As You Like It, The Comedy Of Errorsand La Lupa (RSC); Adam Geist (Royal Exchange Manchester); Antony and Cleopatra and As You Like It (English Shakespeare Company). Television credits include: Casualty, Murder In Mind, Taggart, Dig It All and Doctors. Film credits include: Memorabilis.

Flora Montgomery plays Hannah. Theatre credits include: Good Grief, In The Next Room and The Good Soldier (Theatre Royal Bath, and St James, London); The Heart Of Robin Hood (RSC); Uncle Vanya and The Four Alice Bakers (Birmingham Rep); How Many Miles To Basra (West Yorkshire Playhouse);  Hard (Tricycle);  The Shape Of Things and Bash (Gate, Dublin) and Miss Julie (Lyric, Belfast - Irish Times Best Actress). Television credits include: Granchester,  Wodehouse in Exile,  Father And Son, Midsomer Murders,  Monarch of The Glen,  Poirot, An Unsuitable Job For A Woman,  Heat Of The Sun,  Mosley, The Perfect Blue and The Governor. Film credits include: Basic Instinct 2, Risk Addiction, After, Man To Man,  Goldfish Memory( Best Actress Monte Carlo Film Festival, Shooting Star Berlin Film Festival) and When Brendan Met Trudy (Best Actress Las Palmas Film Festival).

Wilf Scolding  plays Septimus Hodge. Theatre credits include: Strange Interlude (National). Television credits include:The Passing Bells, Borgia III, Doctors and Skins. Film credits include: Put Down. Radio credits include: The Golden Years: Friedrichstrasse, BBC Radio Rep and Direct Red.

Larrington Walker plays Richard Noakes. Theatre credits include: As You Like It, American Trade, Antony And Cleopatra, King Lear, Julius Caesar, The Winter’s Tale, The Taming Of The Shrew, The Tragedy Of Thomas Hobbes andThe Merchant Of Venice (RSC); Daddy Cool (Shaftesbury); Playboy Of The West Indies (Tricycle/Nottingham); Stuff Happens (National); Blues For Mr Charlie (Wolsey/Tricycle); The Merchant Of Venice (West Yorkshire Playhouse); The Beggars Opera and Guys And Dolls (National); and Jesus Christ Superstar (Palace). Television credits include: Vicious,Doctors, The Mill, Holby City, Second Coming, Casualty, Peak Practice, Inspector Morse, Thin Air, Drums Along Balmoral Drive, Moon Over Soho, Black On Black, Minder and The Chinese Detective. Film credits include: Happy Toys,Second Coming, Human Traffic, Lamb, Burning Illusion and Yanks. 

Ria Zmitrowitz plays Chloe Coverly. Theatre credits include: Four Minutes Twelve Seconds (Hampstead); God’s Property (Soho/Talawa); Chapel Street (Underbelly/ Bush); Cortae (Talawa); Tits/Teeth (Soho/NYT) and The Site (Roundhouse).Television credits include: Mr Selfridge, Nightshift, Youngers, The Midnight Beast, Casualty, Murder On The Home Front, Whitechapel. Film credits include: Kill Your Friends, Some Candid Observations, Two Seas.

Blanche McIntyre directs. Recent credits include Accolade (St James' Theatre and Finborough Theatre). She was named Best Director at the 2013 TMA UK Theatre Awards (for The Seagull), was the winner of the Critics’ Circle Award for Most Promising Newcomer and the Off West End Theatre Award for Best Director in 2012, and the inaugural winner of the Leverhulme Bursary for Emerging Theatre Directors in 2009.  She is currently Associate Director at Nuffield and was previously Associate Director at Out of Joint in 2010, and Director in Residence at the National Theatre Studio and the Finborough Theatre in 2009. Directing credits include The Comedy of Errors (Shakespeare’s Globe), Tonight at 8.30(English Touting Theatre UK Tour), The Nutcracker (Nuffield), Ciphers (Out Of Joint UK Tour), The Birthday Party(Manchester Royal Exchange), The Seagull (Headlong UK Tour/Nuffield), Liar Liar (Unicorn Theatre), The Only True History of Lizzie Finn (Southwark Playhouse), The Seven Year Itch (Salisbury Playhouse), Repentance/Behind The Lines(ANGLE at the Bush Theatre), Foxfinder, Accolade, Molière or the League of Hypocrites (Finborough Theatre), and When Did You Last See My Mother? (Trafalgar Studios).

Tom Stoppard is a playwright and screenwriter, and is one of the most internationally performed dramatists of his generation. He has written prolifically for stage, film, television and radio, and his best known plays include The Coast of Utopia, Every Good Boy Deserves Favour, The Real Thing, and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead. He co-wrote the screenplays for the films Brazil, Shakespeare in Love and The Russia House, and he has received an Academy Award and four Tony Awards. He was knighted in 1997.

Arcadia was recently voted one of the nation’s top five plays in English Touring Theatre’s ‘My Favourite Play’ poll, which was conducted to mark the company’s 21^st Birthday celebrations.

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About English Touring Theatre

English Touring Theatre is one of the UK’s most successful and exciting production companies, widely regarded as England's National Theatre of Touring. Led by Director Rachel Tackley, the company works with leading artists to stage an eclectic mix of new and classic work for audiences throughout the UK and overseas; theatre that is thrilling, popular and, above all, entertaining.

About Brighton Theatre Royal Productions

Theatre Royal Brighton Productions, a partnership between Ambassador Theatre Group (ATG) and Theatre Royal Brighton, was launched in 2011. Theatre Royal Brighton, with a rich and varied history spanning over 200 years, is one of the country’s best loved and oldest working theatres. Each production presented by the company opens at the Theatre Royal Brighton prior to a nationwide tour. Previous Theatre Royal Brighton Productions include Dandy Dick starring Patricia Hodge and Nicholas Le Prevost and Blue/Orange starring Robert Bathurst (Brighton, UK tour and London). Current and recent ATG co-productions include Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown starring Tamsin Greig (London), East is East starring Jane Horrocks (London), Richard III starring Martin Freeman (London), Dirty Rotten Scoundrels starring Robert Lindsay (London and UK Tour) and Jersey Boys (London and UK Tour).

Designed by Jonathan Fensom; Lighting Design by Johanna Town; Sound Design by Gregory Clarke

English Touring Theatre and Theatre Royal Brighton Productions today announced casting for a new touring production of Tom Stoppard’s comedy masterpiece, Arcadia, which will be the first major national tour since 1993, and over 20 years since the play has been seen by audiences around the UK. Directed by Blanche McIntyre, Arcadia will open at theTheatre Royal Brighton on 30 January 2015 before touring the UK to Bath, Bromley, Woking, Aylesbury, Truro, Birmingham, Cambridge, Malvern and Oxford until April 2015.

Dakota Blue Richards will make her stage debut as Thomasina, with other cast including Kirsty Besterman, Robert Cavanah, Tom Greaves, Nakay Kpaka, Ed MacArthur, Charlie Manton, David Mara, Flora Montgomery, Wilf Scolding, Larrington Walker and Ria Zmitrowitz.

In a stately home in 19th century rural Derbyshire , secret desires and professional rivalries take hold of the residents of Sidley Park. The daughter of the house, Thomasina Coverly, is a bright and talented pupil tutored by Byron's friend  Septimus Hodge, who makes a startling discovery well ahead of her time. In the present day, academics Hannah Jarvis and Bernard Nightingale attempt to piece together the fragments of truth that tell her story. Arcadia explores the delicate relationship between past and present, and is a witty and absorbing portrait of two generations of an aristocratic family as the focus moves from 1809 to now, and back to the past.

First premiered at the National Theatre in 1993 directed by Sir Trevor Nunn, Tom Stoppard’s Arcadia is considered one of the greatest plays of the last century, winning countless awards including the 1993 Olivier and Evening Standard Awards for Best New Play. Arcadia has twice been produced on Broadway, winning the 1995 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Play, and the 2011 Tony Award for Best Revival of Play. This production sees a new collaboration between English Touring Theatre (Translations, Ghosts, The Misanthrope)and Theatre Royal Brighton Productions (Dandy Dick, Blue Orange). Arcadia marks English Touring Theatre's second time working with director Blanche McIntyre this year, following the tour of Noel Coward's Tonight at 8.30.

Tom Stoppard said: ‘I’m delighted that a new tour of Arcadia, directed by the young, visionary Blanche McIntrye, is to take place next year reaching audiences across the UK. The current challenges for regional theatre in the UK mean that a production of this scale and quality are very rarely toured.'

Dakota Blue Richards plays Thomasina Coverly which will mark her professional stage debut. Film credits include:Chicklit, The Fold, The Golden Compass, The Secret of Moonacre and Five Miles Out. Television credits include:Lightfields, Skins (Series 5 & 6) and Dustbin Baby.

Kirsty Besterman plays Lady Croom. Theatre credits include: Tonight at 8.30 (Nuffield Theatre and English Touring Theatre); Private Lives (Royal Lyceum Theatre);  Playhouse Creatures (Chichester); The Importance of Being Earnest(Rose Theatre, Kingston); Liberty, Much Ado About Nothing, The Merchant of Venice and Holding Fire (Shakespeare’s Globe); and The Rivals (Bath and Tour); Television credits include: Father Brown, Silent Witness; Doctors and Foyle’s War. Film credits include: Chicken.

Robert Cavanah plays Bernard Nightingale.  Theatre credits include: Men Should Weep (National); Julius Caesar (Young Vic); Kill The Dead Torture Their Young (Traverse Theatre); Love For Love (Chichester); Tartuffe (Edinburgh Lyceum) andTroy (Traverse). Television credits include: Emmerdale, Waterloo Road, DCI Banks, Silent Witness, Father Brown,Hustle, River City, Rebus, The Royal, Doctors, Casualty, Rose And Maloney, Murder In Mind, Blue Dove, Highlander: The Raven, Wuthering Heights, Kavanagh QC, Cracker, The Governor and Cadfael. Film credits include: Sahara, Tomb Raider II, Talk Of The Devil, Billy & Zorba, Hanu, Saving Grace, Jonny Loves Susie and Being Human.

Tom Greaves plays Captain Brice. Theatre credits include: Agatha (Yard); The Last Days Of Juda Iscariot (Shoreditch Church); Four Knights In Knaresborough and Henry V (Southwark Playhouse); Visions Of Kerouac (Half Moon); This Is How It Goes and Two Tales (King’s Head, Islington); Romeo And Juliet (Chocolate Factory) and Freesia (BAC).

Nakay Kpaka plays Ezra. Theatre credits include: Rachel (Finborough).Television credits include: Broadchurch 2,Grantchester and Whitechapel.

Ed MacArthur plays Valentine Coverly. Ed graduated from Bristol Old Vic Theatre School in 2014. Theatre credits include: Inheritance Blues (DugOut), Stackard Banks is Self-Discovered (Edinburgh Festival) and The Life Of Stuart: Backwards (HighTide).

Charlie Manton plays Augustus / Gus Coverly. Theatre credits include: Burn (Guildhall); Love Never Dies (Really Useful Group); The Magic Flute (ENO, Opera Holland Park, Royal Opera House); Tosca (Richmond); The Turn of The Screw(ENO, Opera Bari, Opera Leipzig, Glyndebourne, Guildhall) and Galileo (National). Television credits include: Diana: last Days Of A Princess. Film credits include:  The Man In The Box, The Imitation Game. Radio credits include: The Hedge Of Thorns and Three Men In A Boat.

David Mara plays Jellaby. Theatre credits include: The James Plays and The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night Time (National); Pocket Henry V (Propeller); Oliver (Sheffield); The Second Mrs Tanqueray and Treasure Island (Rose Kingston);  Othello (Donmar); The Tempest (Old Vic); Julius Caesar, King John, As You Like It, The Comedy Of Errorsand La Lupa (RSC); Adam Geist (Royal Exchange Manchester); Antony and Cleopatra and As You Like It (English Shakespeare Company). Television credits include: Casualty, Murder In Mind, Taggart, Dig It All and Doctors. Film credits include: Memorabilis.

Flora Montgomery plays Hannah. Theatre credits include: Good Grief, In The Next Room and The Good Soldier (Theatre Royal Bath, and St James, London); The Heart Of Robin Hood (RSC); Uncle Vanya and The Four Alice Bakers (Birmingham Rep); How Many Miles To Basra (West Yorkshire Playhouse);  Hard (Tricycle);  The Shape Of Things and Bash (Gate, Dublin) and Miss Julie (Lyric, Belfast - Irish Times Best Actress). Television credits include: Granchester,  Wodehouse in Exile,  Father And Son, Midsomer Murders,  Monarch of The Glen,  Poirot, An Unsuitable Job For A Woman,  Heat Of The Sun,  Mosley, The Perfect Blue and The Governor. Film credits include: Basic Instinct 2, Risk Addiction, After, Man To Man,  Goldfish Memory( Best Actress Monte Carlo Film Festival, Shooting Star Berlin Film Festival) and When Brendan Met Trudy (Best Actress Las Palmas Film Festival).

Wilf Scolding  plays Septimus Hodge. Theatre credits include: Strange Interlude (National). Television credits include:The Passing Bells, Borgia III, Doctors and Skins. Film credits include: Put Down. Radio credits include: The Golden Years: Friedrichstrasse, BBC Radio Rep and Direct Red.

Larrington Walker plays Richard Noakes. Theatre credits include: As You Like It, American Trade, Antony And Cleopatra, King Lear, Julius Caesar, The Winter’s Tale, The Taming Of The Shrew, The Tragedy Of Thomas Hobbes andThe Merchant Of Venice (RSC); Daddy Cool (Shaftesbury); Playboy Of The West Indies (Tricycle/Nottingham); Stuff Happens (National); Blues For Mr Charlie (Wolsey/Tricycle); The Merchant Of Venice (West Yorkshire Playhouse); The Beggars Opera and Guys And Dolls (National); and Jesus Christ Superstar (Palace). Television credits include: Vicious,Doctors, The Mill, Holby City, Second Coming, Casualty, Peak Practice, Inspector Morse, Thin Air, Drums Along Balmoral Drive, Moon Over Soho, Black On Black, Minder and The Chinese Detective. Film credits include: Happy Toys,Second Coming, Human Traffic, Lamb, Burning Illusion and Yanks. 

Ria Zmitrowitz plays Chloe Coverly. Theatre credits include: Four Minutes Twelve Seconds (Hampstead); God’s Property (Soho/Talawa); Chapel Street (Underbelly/ Bush); Cortae (Talawa); Tits/Teeth (Soho/NYT) and The Site (Roundhouse).Television credits include: Mr Selfridge, Nightshift, Youngers, The Midnight Beast, Casualty, Murder On The Home Front, Whitechapel. Film credits include: Kill Your Friends, Some Candid Observations, Two Seas.

Blanche McIntyre directs. Recent credits include Accolade (St James' Theatre and Finborough Theatre). She was named Best Director at the 2013 TMA UK Theatre Awards (for The Seagull), was the winner of the Critics’ Circle Award for Most Promising Newcomer and the Off West End Theatre Award for Best Director in 2012, and the inaugural winner of the Leverhulme Bursary for Emerging Theatre Directors in 2009.  She is currently Associate Director at Nuffield and was previously Associate Director at Out of Joint in 2010, and Director in Residence at the National Theatre Studio and the Finborough Theatre in 2009. Directing credits include The Comedy of Errors (Shakespeare’s Globe), Tonight at 8.30(English Touting Theatre UK Tour), The Nutcracker (Nuffield), Ciphers (Out Of Joint UK Tour), The Birthday Party(Manchester Royal Exchange), The Seagull (Headlong UK Tour/Nuffield), Liar Liar (Unicorn Theatre), The Only True History of Lizzie Finn (Southwark Playhouse), The Seven Year Itch (Salisbury Playhouse), Repentance/Behind The Lines(ANGLE at the Bush Theatre), Foxfinder, Accolade, Molière or the League of Hypocrites (Finborough Theatre), and When Did You Last See My Mother? (Trafalgar Studios).

Tom Stoppard is a playwright and screenwriter, and is one of the most internationally performed dramatists of his generation. He has written prolifically for stage, film, television and radio, and his best known plays include The Coast of Utopia, Every Good Boy Deserves Favour, The Real Thing, and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead. He co-wrote the screenplays for the films Brazil, Shakespeare in Love and The Russia House, and he has received an Academy Award and four Tony Awards. He was knighted in 1997.

Arcadia was recently voted one of the nation’s top five plays in English Touring Theatre’s ‘My Favourite Play’ poll, which was conducted to mark the company’s 21^st Birthday celebrations.

23 - 28 March 2015

New Alexandra Theatre

Station Street, Birmingham B5 4DS

www.atgtickets.com/birmingham

Tel: 0844 871 3011

New Alexandra Theatre, Birmingham - Saturday Night Fever - 17.03.15-23.03.15

The New Alexandra Theatre, Birmingham

Presents:

Saturday Night Fever

Tuesday 17th - Saturday 23rd March 2014

It would have been so easy to have made Saturday Night fever into a Bee Gees tribute night of disco nostalgia and cheesy dance routines. Ryan McBryde, however, has creatively directed the musical with the focus on the dark reality youngsters had to face of living in the 1970s USA recession with disco offering the only escape. 

The musical revolves around the protagonist Tony Manero’s (Danny Bayne) struggle to come to terms with his identity and purpose as he continues to hold down his dead end job at the paint store, support his family and hang around the streets of Brooklyn with his gang. Disco is Tony’s savior, he lives for the thrill of the dance floor at the Odyssey Club and sweeps everyone off their feet with his immense talent and confidence (the ladies even more so). Meeting the driven and intellectual fellow dancer Stephanie (Naomi Slights) changes Tony’s perception on where his life should lead for the better and he comes to terms with disco being an illusion. The path to self progression and enlightenment for Tony means leaving his old life behind, a big step to take for any youngster.

For those that are fans of the original film have no fear as most of the dialogue and characters from the film has been kept the same to stay true to the film’s original charm. In addition to this, the lyrics and music from the Bee Gees’ hit songs do narrate the musical and are accompanied by energetic contemporary choreography by Andrew Wright with some of those familiar night fever moves effortlessly incorporated. It must be noted that the songs are arranged so uniquely that often some phrases are unrecognisable from their original versions but this works incredibly well to achieve strong emotional scenes. Short phrases of the popular hit “Stayin Alive”, for instance, are used throughout between scene changes to depict the gritty atmosphere of the scenes of Tony’s home and work life. The multi-talented cast perform songs accappella and with full instrumentation as they themselves are the band! For example,“Jive Talkin’” is performed by Tony and his gang with an acoustic guitar, cajon and rhythmic dancing to provide the music in one scene, in contrast to the full band (most of whom are dancing complex routines at the same time) complete with flawless vocals from the club singer (Cici Howells) at the Odyssey Club. 

The staging of this musical is to be highly praised with its slick scene changes with minimal set to really allow the focus on the story and keep up the pace. Visually stunning lighting perfectly set the mood throughout and projected onto the set to give it the detail needed for: naturalistic scenery, the signage for each place setting, creative scene transitions (train window animation for example) and of course to set the disco party atmosphere full of energy and excitement. 

Danny Bayne’s portrayal of Tony Manero is well rehearsed having just returned from the US tour of Saturday Night Fever and it really shows. He renders a convincing male chauvinistic character with all the confidence of Travolta and yet has an underlying vulnerability that is very endearing to watch. His skill as a dancer is completely engaging, flawless and very exciting to watch. 

The balance of light and shade in the story is staged perfectly as the audience can really understand Tony’s struggle as well as enjoy the attention grabbing variety of music throughout performed by a magnificent cast. Although some scenes dipped a little in pace, this was more than made up for in the disco/dance scenes which required a high voltage of energy where the cast truly excelled. The explosive disco medley finale finishes off the show in style getting the majority of the audience on their feet to join in. In conclusion, this show provides a very enjoyable evening for all and you will be guaranteed to be dancing your way out of the theatre (and even practicing the moves at home!).

Review by Nathalie Colen

SHOW NOTES:

Produced by Theatre Royal Bath Productions in association with the Robert Stigwood Organisation this brand new production of one of the most loved dance stories of all time. It features a twenty-strong cast of hugely talented actor-musicians and is packed full of legendary hits from the Bee Gees including the classics Stayin’ Alive, Night Fever, Jive Talking, How Deep is Your Love? and You Should Be Dancing.

The date is 1976 and in New York, Tony Manero, a young man from a tough Brooklyn neighbourhood with a dead-end job and an extraordinary ability to dance, has only one ambition in life - to become the disco king.  Every Saturday night, Tony dons his flares and hits the dance floor, creating a stir as he wows the crowds with his phenomenal moves and routines. When he meets Stephanie, who also dreams of a world beyond Brooklyn, and they decide to train together for a dance competition, their lives begin to change forever.

The smash hit 1977 film of Saturday Night Fever starring Oscar-nominee John Travolta inspired the definitive soundtrack by the Bee Gees and popularised disco around the world. The multi Grammy Award-winning music behind the film, combined with its gripping storyline captured the imagination of millions.

The role of Tony Manero is played by Danny Bayne, who made his West End debut as Danny Zuko in the musical Grease at London’s Piccadilly Theatre after winning ITV’s Grease is the Word. He starred in the West End for two years and performed the role on tour. He returns to the role of Tony Manero after touring the US in Saturday Night Fever. A talented dancer, he has achieved the status of British Champion in Freestyle, Hip Hop, Latin American and Rock ‘n’ Roll.

Naomi Slights plays the role of Stephanie. Her credits include Mamma Mia! in the West End, 20^th Century Boy on UK Tour, Thank You For The Music at Hyde Park, and she returns to the role of Stephanie after starring in Saturday Night Fever at Frankfurt’s English Theatre.   

Andrew Wright won Best Choreographer at the WhatsOnStage Awards 2013 for his choreography of the West End production of Singin’ in the Rain. He was also nominated for Best Choreographer at the 2012 Olivier Awards and the 2011 Broadway World Awards.  Earlier this year, he choreographed the UK Tour of Barnum starring Brian Conley, and the UK tour of Betty Blue Eyes. He co-choreographed Guys and Dolls at Chichester alongside Carlos Acosta; and his award-winning choreography on Singin' In The Rain has been seen nationwide on tour.

Director Ryan McBryde has worked extensively in the UK and Europe. His previous productions range from the RSC’s 50^th Anniversary Gala to the German premieres of the musicals Spring Awakening and The Full Monty.  He directed Saturday Night Fever for Frankfurt’s English Theatre.  He also directed the European tour of The Who’s Tommy; he was Resident Director for the West End musical Billy Elliot; and his production of Hamlet! The Musical at Northampton’s Royal and Derngate and Richmond Theatre, won the WhatsOnStage Theatregoers' Choice Award.

Co-producer Robert Stigwood is one of the world’s leading impresarios and entertainment entrepreneurs, whose stage shows have included Hair, Evita and Jesus Christ Superstar, and whose phenomenally successful films have included Grease and Saturday Night Fever.

In 2011, Theatre Royal Bath Productions (TRBP) presented the Tony Award-winning musical comedy Avenue Q on its first UK tour, in collaboration with Cameron Mackintosh. This Autumn TRBP have produced Hay Fever starring Felicity Kendal, currently on tour in Australia and Lindsay Lohan’s West End debut in Speed-the-Plow.

Tickets are available on www.atgtickets.com.birmingham or on 0844 871 3011