til_7-4-17

Friday 7 April, 2017

3 

CONTENTS 

Events 4 

Tall Ships Festival Greenwich 

Houses of Parliament Tours 

London Stadium Tours 

Music 10 

Brussels Philharmonic Orchestra 

Hertfordshire Chorus at St John’s 

Exhibitions 16 

Emirates Stadium Tours 

Easter at the ArcelorMittal Orbit 

Theatre 20 

Curious Incident to Leave London 

Wicked extends Booking Period 

Proprietor Julie Jones 

Publishing Consultant Terry Mansfield CBE 

Associate Publisher Beth Jones 

Editorial Clive Hirschhorn Sue Webster 

© This is London Magazine Limited 

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Telephone: 020 7434 1281 

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www.thisislondonmagazine.com 

Welcome to London 

THE PASSION OF JESUS 

On Good Friday, Friday 14 April, the renowned Wintershall Players return 

to Trafalgar Square with their awe-inspiring full scale re-enactment of The 

Passion of Jesus, performed in the shadow of the National Gallery. 

The story commemorating the day Jesus is believed to have been arrested, 

tried and crucified by the Romans, two days before miraculously rising from the 

dead on Easter Sunday, is brought to life by a cast of over a hundred, all in 

resplendent costumes, along with horses, doves and donkeys. 

The Passion of Jesus has grown since the players first came to Trafalgar 

Square in 2010. Since then, it has become a highly anticipated fixture of 

Holy Week, attracting more than 20,000 people to its performances. 

Whilst every care is taken in the preparation of this 

magazine and in the handling of all the material 

supplied, neither the Publishers nor their agents 

accept responsibility for any damage, errors or 

omissions, however these may be caused. 

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4 

EASTER AFTERNOON TEA AT 

LANCASTER LONDON 

This Easter, visitors will be able to 

enjoy an ‘egg-stra’ special afternoon tea 

or sumptuous Easter Sunday Roast at 

one of London’s best park-side hotels, 

Lancaster London. Easter is the time for 

family fun, so what better way to keep 

the children clucking with joy than with 

egg-decorating. 

The Easter Afternoon Tea will offer a 

parade of indulgent delights including a 

carrot cupcake, a rhubarb, honey and 

egg custard tart, and a chocolate nest 

pavlova, a sure favourite for little and big 

chicks alike. Traditional savoury bites 

such as Lancaster London's homesmoked 

salmon granary pinwheels will 

be joined by a variety of 'egg-centric' 

additions including mini lamb scotch 

eggs and prawn cocktail tartlets topped 

with caviar. 

The Easter Afternoon Tea and Island 

Grill’s Easter Set Menu will be available 

from Wednesday 5 April until Monday 

17 April. The Lancaster London is close 

to Paddington station, and only a very 

short walk from the beautiful Hyde Park. 

SPRING INTO HAMLEYS WITH 

BUNNY BEAR 

For more than 250 years, Hamleys 

has continued to leave its mark on 

London as the Finest Toy Shop in the 

World. Greeted by model airplanes 

circling overhead and shiny new train 

sets underfoot, the store welcomes 

millions of visitors from around the 

world each year. 

Today, the majestic flagship building 

at 188-196 Regent Street spans seven 

floors and is filled to the brim with more 

than 40,000 kinds of toys, books, games 

and sweets. 

From 0 to 99, guests of all ages are 

in for a magical experience upon 

entering the doors. Rows of grand doll 

houses, brand new colouring books, 

miniature cars and shiny action figures 

will leave children wide-eyed and 

gasping in wonder, while bins of 

colourful marbles and time-honoured 

Lego sets take mums and dads back to 

their own childhood. 

Hamleys Birthday Parties can be 

booked Monday to Friday and the 

popular Themed Parties, which include 

Pirates and Princesses, Superhero and 

Safari Explorers, are available every day. 

The Hamleys Dream Sleepover Party is 

bookable on Saturday nights only – 

what could be more fun. 

Hop along to Hamleys with a spring 

in your step and fun at your fingertips 

during the Easter Holidays. 

With chocolates, sweet treats, 

candyfloss and popcorn, visitors will 

have a Scrumpalicous time at Hamleys 

this Easter. Visitors are invited into the 

store every day to say hello to Bunny 

Bear. Some of your little ones’ favourite 

characters will also be making an 

appearance during the holidays. 

Hamleys customers may expect 

queues at the free events, so should 

arrive early to avoid disappointment. 

Waiting will be cut to ensure events 

finish on time. Hamleys is a short walk 

from Oxford Circus and Piccadilly. Visit 

the website at www.hamleys.com/explore 

for details. 


6 

TALL SHIPS FESTIVAL IN 

GREENWICH AND WOOLWICH 

Over the Easter weekend, a fleet of 

international Tall Ships will arrive in 

Greenwich, London for the Rendez-Vous 

Tall Ships Regatta. The Tall Ships Festival 

is a visual maritime feast over the Easter 

weekend from 13 – 16 April, which will see 

30 Tall Ships set sail for Quebec in Canada 

from the Royal Borough of Greenwich. 

On land, there will be an amazing Tall 

Ships Festival taking place at two sites, 

one in Maritime Greenwich and one in 

Royal Arsenal Woolwich, bringing music 

performances, have-a-go activities, 

roving street entertainers, sea shanties, 

re-enactors, puppet shows and plenty to 

eat and drink. The last Tall Ships event 

in 2014 saw 1 million people visit the 

Royal Borough to see the Tall Ships on 

the river, generating over £17 million of 

spend locally. In Royal Greenwich, local 

businesses big and small are gearing up 

for the event with a programme of 

entertainment in venues across the 

borough, ensuring their businesses are 

well stocked with food and beverages in 

plentiful supply, to cope with the huge 

extra numbers expected to attend both 

festival sites. 

There will be an opening night 

spectacular in Woolwich on Thursday 

evening (13 April), including an 

appearance by Squeeze’s frontman, Glenn 

Tilbrook and shows by Spark! and Avanti’s 

Hydromania. 

Visitors will be able to board some of 

the magnificent Tall Ships in Greenwich 

and Woolwich throughout the four day 

Festival. Ship visits are free in Woolwich 

and can be accessed directly from the 

pier. Tickets for shuttle boats out to visit 

ships in the river near Greenwich can be 

purchased on the day at the tourist desk 

in the visitor centre at the Old Royal 

Naval College in Greenwich. 

Public Tall Ship cruises along the 

river will run throughout the event and 

tickets can be purchased at 

www.sailroyalgreenwich.co.uk 

The farewell firework display will take 

place in Woolwich on Saturday evening 

at 21.45 and on the Sunday there will be 

a spectacular Parade of Sail climax to 

the festival as the vessels head out to 

open sea, which departs at 17.00 from 

Greenwich and 18.00 from Woolwich. 

TOUR THE LONDON STADIUM 

(FORMER OLYMPIC STADIUM) 

The London Stadium tour in Queen 

Elizabeth Olympic Park takes visitors 

behind the scenes of the iconic venue. 

The stadium has been transformed into a 

superb multi-use venue and is now 

home to West Ham United and UK 

Athletics. In addition, in the summer of 

2017 it will host concerts by Robbie 

Williams, Guns N’Roses and Depeche 

Mode and more history will be made at 

the World Athletics and World Para 

Athletics Championships. 

The tour gives exclusive access to 

usually private areas of the stadium, 

superstar interviews and unique photo 

opportunities. Visitors will be able to reimagine 

the success of the Super 

Saturday athletes as they made their 

preparations from the competitors’ 

entrance to the warm up track and out to 

the main arena where the roar of the 

crowds spurred them on to gold. And 

fans of the stadium’s newest residents, 

West Ham United, will not be left 

disappointed as they follow in the 

footsteps of their heroes. 

The stadium comes alive through a 

75 minute interactive multimedia tour 

that has been specifically developed 

for the venue. The tours starts and 

ends in the Stadium Store, where a 

complimentary personalised certificate 

can be collected. 

The London Stadium is a short walk 

from Stratford station which is on the 

Central, Jubilee, over ground and DLR 

lines. www.london-stadium.com 


8 

WEMBLEY STADIUM TOURS 

This Easter holiday, go behind-thescenes 

of the UK’s largest sports and 

music venue. Wembley Stadium Tour 

takes visitors deep into the heart of the 

stadium and into areas usually reserved 

for the biggest and best names in sport 

and music such as Beckham, Messi, 

Ronaldo, Tom Brady, Anthony Joshua, 

Ed Sheeran and Beyonce. The awardwinning, 

75 minute, guided tour 

includes access to the Dressing Rooms, 

Press Room, Players’ Tunnel, Pitchside 

and the iconic Royal Box to have a 

photograph taken with a replica of the 

world-famous FA Cup. 

Wembley is the perfect location for 

families and visitors of all ages. With 

multiple accessible train routes, ample 

parking, a café, plentiful restroom 

facilities and the London Designer Outlet 

shopping centre next door, the Wembley 

Tour caters for all visitor needs. 

Wembley Stadium Tour is open 12 

months a year and 7 days a week with 

the exception of certain event dates in 

the calendar. Tours depart at 10:00, 

11:00, 12:00, 13:00, 14:00 and 15:00 

with pre-booking advised. 

The Stadium is easily accessible via 

any of these stations; Wembley Park via 

Metropolitan and Jubilee Lines, 

Wembley Stadium Station via Chiltern 

Line and Wembley Central Station via 

Bakerloo Line, London Overground and 

National Rail. All tours are conducted in 

English. Printed translation guides are 

available in 9 languages. 

Book your Tour now by visiting 

www.wembleystadium.com/tours or 

calling 0800 169 9933. 

AN AMERICAN IN PARIS OPENS AT 

THE DOMINION THEATRE 

The critically acclaimed and multi 

award-winning new musical 

An American in Paris had its official 

London opening last week at the 

beautifully restored Dominion Theatre. 

Christopher Wheeldon’s stunning 

reinvention of the Oscar® winning film 

features the sublime music and lyrics of 

George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin and 

a new book by Craig Lucas. 

The show features many of the 

Gershwin’s iconic songs including I Got 

Rhythm, ‘S Wonderful, I’ll Build a Stairway 

To Paradise and They Can't Take That 

Away from Me, together with George 

Gershwin’s sweeping compositions 

including ‘Concerto in F’ and ‘An 

American in Paris’. 

Jerry Mulligan is an American GI 

pursuing his dream to make it as painter 

in a city suddenly bursting with hope 

and possibility. Following a chance 

encounter with a beautiful young dancer 

named Lise, the streets of Paris become 

the backdrop to a sensuous, modern 

romance of art, friendship and love in 

the aftermath of war. 

The show is directed and 

choreographed by the internationally 

renowned, British-born Christopher 

Wheeldon. An Artistic Associate of the 

Royal Ballet, Wheeldon received an OBE 

in the 2016 New Year’s Honours 'for 

services to promoting the interests and 

reputation of British classical and 

theatrical dance worldwide’. 

Box Office telephone 0845 200 7982. 

AnAmericanInParisTheMusical.co.uk 

Haydn Oakley, centre, with the cast of An American in Paris at the Dominion Theatre. 

Photo: Johann Persson 


10 

Photo: Kevin Day 

ROYAL CHORAL SOCIETY’S 141st 

GOOD FRIDAY MESSIAH 

There is no better way to kick off the 

Easter weekend than revelling in the 

joyous and moving music of Handel’s 

masterpiece Messiah. This year sees the 

Royal Choral Society’s 141st annual 

Good Friday afternoon performance at 

the Royal Albert Hall on 14 April at 

14.30. It’s an event that forms an 

important part of London’s Easter 

celebrations. 

The Royal Choral Society was formed 

for the opening of the Royal Albert Hall 

in 1871, and the choir performed 

Messiah in its first season in 1872 but it 

was in 1876 the great Easter tradition of 

singing Messiah every Good Friday 

afternoon at the Royal Albert Hall began. 

It is thought that this choir has sung this 

profound spiritual epic more times than 

any other choral ensemble, estimated at 

around 280 performances. Messiah is 

the perfect musical choice for 

Passiontide, with the moving and 

uplifting music illustrating Christ’s 

passion, redemption and resurrection. 

Messiah contains one of the greatest 

choruses in the choral repertoire – the 

‘Hallelujah Chorus’. It is thought that 

when King George II first heard the 

Hallelujah he stood up on his feet, and 

ever since, when the opening bars of 

this chorus are played, the audience 

rises to its feet: this is quite a sight in 

the sumptuous interior of a packed 

Royal Albert Hall on Good Friday 

afternoon. 

From the earliest days, the finest 

orchestras, conductors and soloists have 

joined the RCS at the Royal Albert Hall 

on Good Friday and this year is no 

exception with the Royal Philharmonic 

Orchestra, soprano Mary Bevan, mezzosoprano 

Anna Harvey, tenor Jamie 

MacDougall and bass Edward Grint all 

joining the choir under the baton of 

conductor Richard Cooke. 

Be part of this great Easter tradition 

on Good Friday afternoon and enjoy 

Handel’s magnificent oratorio in one of 

the world’s greatest concert halls. 

The Royal Albert Hall is a short walk 

from South Kensington Station, which is 

on the Piccadilly, District and Circle Lines. 

Tickets at www.royalalberthall.com 

or telephone 0845 401 5045. Visit 

www.royalchoralsociety.com 

VIOLETTA’S LAST TANGO AT 

WILTON’S MUSIC HALL 

Enter the world of tango diva Violetta, 

an ageing singer who lives out her 

dreams in the suburban milongas of 

Buenos Aires. Violetta’s Last Tango will 

be performed from 25-29 April at 

Wilton’s Music Hall, with shows at 19.30 

on weekdays and a matinee at 14.30 on 

Saturday. 

This fully staged evening of specially 

arranged popular opera, tango and 

musical numbers features opera singer 

Ann Liebeck in the title role. She is 

joined by West End performer and 

contemporary dancer Nuno Queimado 

and Champion tango couple Miriam and 

Dante. The captivating performance will 

also be enhanced by special projections 

by Viennese opera designer and artist 

Gilles Gubelmann. 

Live music from virtuoso Cuban jazz 

violinist Omar Puente and his guest 

tango band, featuring star bandoneon 

player Julian Rowlands of Midnight 

Tango accompanies the action on stage 

as Violetta wanders the streets and 

milongas in search of her long lost love. 

Visitors can also try their hand at Tango 

with a taster workshop from Paula 

Duarte and Martin Espindola at 19.00 on 

24 April. The nearest tube station is 

Tower Bridge. 

Visit wiltons.org.uk/whatson/294- 

violetta-s-last-tango or telephone the 

box office on 020 7702 2789. 

Ann Liebeck 


12 

FRANKIE VALLI AND THE FOUR 

SEASONS AT THE O2 

Legendary falsetto Frankie Valli and 

The Four Seasons six date UK tour takes 

in The 02, London on 23 April. 

Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons 

have sold over 100 million records 

worldwide and defined the sound of an 

era with classic hits like: Walk Like A 

Man, Sherry, Can’t Take My Eyes Off 

You, Rag Doll, Big Girls Don’t Cry and 

many more. 

Frankie Valli, who came to fame in 

1962 as the lead singer of The Four 

Seasons, is hotter than ever in the 21st 

century, thanks to the volcanic success 

of the Tony-winning musical Jersey 

Boys which chronicles the life and times 

of Frankie and his legendary group. 

Jersey Boys opened on Broadway in 

2005 and is still going strong with five 

other casts performing Jersey Boys 

nightly from Las Vegas to London. The 

musical was turned into a film, directed 

by Clint Eastwood in 2014. 

The real Frankie Valli is also packing 

venues around the world. For as far into 

the future as anyone can see, Jersey 

Boys will introduce the music of Frankie 

Valli to new generations. The man 

himself shows no signs of slowing 

down. As his character says at the end of 

Jersey Boys: ‘Like that bunny on TV with 

the battery, I just keep going and going 

and going.’ 

For tickets, telephone the box office 

on 0844 856 0202 or www.the02.co.uk 

OLIVIER AWARD-WINNING KINKY 

BOOTS EXTENDS BOOKING 

Following its 600th West End 

performance, Kinky Boots, the hugehearted, 

high-heeled hit, has opened a 

new booking period until 30 September. 

Kinky Boots has become a favourite 

with UK theatregoers at the Adelphi 

Theatre having won every major Best 

Musical award. The show has won three 

Olivier Awards for Best New Musical, Best 

Costume Design and Best Actor in a 

Musical for Matt Henry who plays Lola. 

With a book by Broadway legend and 

four-time Tony® Award-winner Harvey 

Fierstein (La Cage aux Folles), and 

songs by Grammy® and Tony® 

winning pop icon Cyndi Lauper, this 

joyous musical celebration is about the 

friendships we discover, and the belief 

that you can change the world when you 

change your mind. 

Inspired by true events, Kinky Boots 

takes you from a gentlemen’s shoe 

factory in Northampton to the glamorous 

catwalks of Milan. Charlie Price (David 

Hunter) is struggling to live up to his 

father’s expectations and continue the 

family business of Price & Son. With the 

factory’s future hanging in the balance, 

help arrives in the unlikely but 

spectacular form of Lola (Matt Henry), 

a fabulous performer in need of some 

sturdy new stilettos. 

Tickets telephone 020 3725 7060. 

David Hunter, Elena Skye and Matt Henry 

in Kinky Boots. Photo: Helen Maybanks. 

THIS JOINT IS JUMPIN’– FATS 

WALLER’S LIFE AND MUSIC 

Comedian, actor, writer and storyteller 

Desiree Burch (pictured) is joining New 

York’s hottest jazz musicians and tap 

dancers for the world premiere of This 

Joint is Jumpin’, a red-hot 1920’s 

Harlem rent party celebration of jazz icon 

Fats Waller’s life and music, at The Other 

Palace Studio from 4 – 15 April. 

This Joint is Jumpin’ is a fusion of 

live jazz, thrilling tap dancing and 

storytelling celebrating and radically 

interpreting jazz icon Fats Waller’s 

music, breathing new life into classics 

such as Ain’t Misbehavin’, Black and 

Blue and Honeysuckle Rose. 

The show is produced by Hoagy B. 

Carmichael, son of the legendary 

American composer Hoagy Carmichael. 

Desiree Burch was raised in L.A., 

developed artistically in NY and 

currently resides in London. Her brash 

and energetic comedy style has been 

seen on NBC and E4, and made her the 

winner of the 2015 Funny Women Stage 

Award for stand-up. As a writer and 

performer, she makes raw and gutsy 

work. Her critically-acclaimed solo show 

52 Man Pickup has toured 

internationally and her solo piece Tar 

Baby won a 2015 Fringe First for new 

writing at the Edinburgh Fringe. Inspired 

by a performance aesthetic developed 

with the New York Neo-Futurists, 

Desiree performed for several years in 

the show Too Much Light Makes the 

Baby Go Blind and has toured in Young 

Jean Lee’s Untitled Feminist Show. 

Box office telephone 0844 264 2121. 


BRUSSELS PHILHARMONIC RETURN 

TO CADOGAN HALL 

Brussels Philharmonic and Music 

Director Stéphane Denève return to London 

with a tribute to Russian music this week. 

Considered ‘among classical music's bestkept 

secrets’ (The Guardian), the Belgian 

orchestra takes the stage of Cadogan Hall 

on Sunday 9 April at 19.30. 

For their second visit to Cadogan Hall 

this season, Brussels Philharmonic brings 

with it award-winning French cellist 

Jérôme Pernoo and they continue with 

their aim of introducing audiences to the 

present century’s best symphonic 

compositions. Two contemporaries, 

Prokofiev and Rachmaninov, are placed 

alongside the 21st century composer 

Guillaume Connesson – his Maslenitsa is 

inspired by the Russian Sun Festival, a 

lively start to the concert, celebrating the 

arrival of spring. 

Impressed by a concert by the cellist 

Mstislav Rostropovich, Prokofiev promised 

him to re-work his earlier, ‘failed’ cello 

concerto. The two went on to work together, 

and the result was the Sinfonia Concertante 

– one of Prokofiev’s last compositions. The 

orchestral suite Symphonic Dances was 

Rachmaninov’s last work, an anthology of 

his life and work. Originally titled Fantastic 

Dances in three parts: Noon, Twilight and 

Midnight, Symphonic Dances is made up 

of three movements all in dance style. In 

fact, Rachmaninov had intended for them 

to be choreographed. 

Music Director Stéphane Denève and 

the Brussels Philharmonic have recently 

won the coveted 2016 Diapason d’Or of the 

Year for their Deutsche Grammophon 

release Pour Sortir au Jour. The album, 

featuring 21st century works by composer 

Guillaume Connesson including 

Maslenitsa, has earned universal acclaim 

from the classical press since its release in 

Summer 2016. In addition to this 

prestigious honour, the album was awarded 

Classica magazine’s CHOC of the Year 

2016 and nominated for the International 

Classical Music Awards (ICMA). 

Tickets at £18 to £42, telephone 

020 7730 4500 or www.cadoganhall.com 

Stéphane Denève, Guillaume Connesson and Jérôme Pernoo. 

Photo: Marcel Lennartz. 

13 


14 

Photo: Debbie Ram Photography 

HERTFORDSHIRE CHORUS 

PERFORM RACHMANINOV VESPERS 

If you love the rich tones and 

harmonies of Russian music, then you 

will be delighted by Rachmaninov’s 

Vespers (All-Night Vigil), which contains 

some of the most deeply moving, 

reflective choral music ever written. 

Although popularly but incorrectly 

known as the Vespers, the All-Night 

Vigil is actually a setting of the services 

of Vespers, Matins and the First Hour 

within the Russian Orthodox Church. It 

is based upon ancient chants, however, 

Rachmaninov uses deep and complex 

harmonies and a wide variety of textures 

to create an unsurpassed richness of 

sound in his setting. 

Together with The Bells, the All-Night 

Vigil was one of Rachmaninov’s two 

favourite compositions. He asked for the 

fifth movement, Nunc Dimittis, to be 

sung at his own funeral. It was 

composed over two weeks in 1915, with 

Russia at war and on the brink of 

disintegration. After initial acclaim, it fell 

out of favour when the Russian 

revolutionary government condemned all 

religious music. Thankfully it has reemerged 

to become one of the most 

popular works of all time. 

The Hertfordshire Chorus’s programme 

will also be supplemented with three 

popular a cappella pieces by Victoria, 

Carissimi and Stanford. 

The Hertfordshire Chorus is known 

for commissioning new music, highquality 

yet passionate singing, tackling 

difficult, rarely performed music as well 

as much-loved and well-known pieces 

and is one of the UK’s finest symphonic 

choirs. Under the musical direction of 

David Temple, members give their all to 

singing, believing in the sheer joy and 

power of music to bring people closer 

together. 

The performance will be at St John’s 

Smith Square on 22 April at 19.30. 

Tickets are available by telephone on 

020 7222 1061 or from www.sjss.org.uk 

SISTER ACT LIVE CHOIR AT 

WESTMINSTER HALL 

Sister Act, the classic 1992 musical 

comedy starring Whoopi Goldberg, is 

the latest film to receive the ‘live cinema’ 

treatment. Amacoast Cinema will present 

‘Sister Act Live Choir’ at the historic 

Central Hall Westminster next week. 

Film fans have been clamouring for 

pop-up and live cinema experiences in 

recent years, especially as audiences 

look for new, innovative ways to enjoy 

the films they know and films that will 

turn into instant classics. 

Sister Act Live Choir will boast a 

choir made up of 35 gospel singers and 

full band, as they accompany the on 

screen nuns with live performances of 

songs from the film soundtrack. ‘We 

intend to put on one of the most 

powerful and uplifting immersive live 

cinema experiences London has 

experienced’, says founder, Dele Aro. He 

added, ‘it’s great to see Amacoast 

Cinema connecting large diverse groups 

of people together to share a unique 

experience and create new memories 

around film’, in referring to thoughts 

about last year’s sold out shows. 

Sister Act tells the hilarious story 

about Vegas lounge singer Deloris Van 

Cartier who, after witnessing a murder at 

the hands of her boyfriend, has to enter 

witness protection to avoid a similar 

fate. She turns to the one place that she 

hopes he will never look – a Convent! 

Disguised as a nun, Deloris woefully 

tries to adopt her new lifestyle and after 

several false starts, she finally finds her 

voice at the heart of the church choir. 

The performances will take place on 

21, 22, 28 and 29 April. For tickets, visit 

the website www.amacoastcinema.com 

or at the door on the night. 


16 

TALL SHIPS CRUISES OVER 

THE EASTER WEEKEND 

Over the Easter weekend, more than 30 

Tall Ships will be moored on the Thames 

in Royal Greenwich. Well over 1 million 

visitors are expected to attend this year 

from 13-16 April. The 2014 Tall Ships 

Festival had 1.1 million visitors. The 

opening night will take place on 12 April, 

with cruises and fireworks. There will be 

two main event sites with entertainment, 

catering and street theatre in Royal 

Arsenal Woolwich and Maritime 

Greenwich. Each night, the Tall Ships 

festival will end with a spectacular display 

of fireworks for everyone to enjoy. 

The best way to see all the Tall Ships 

is by taking a Tall Ship Cruise. On 

leaving the Royal Arsenal Pier, you will 

sail through the Thames Barrier towards 

The O2 Arena enjoying the magnificent 

views of the Old Royal Naval College, 

the Cutty Sark and Canary Wharf. The 

Tall Ship will pass the prime-meridian 

several times. 

There are a variety of hospitality 

packages available differing in duration, 

A Tall Ship with The Shard in the background. 

programme, catering menu and sailing 

route with a limited number of special 

cruises sailing through the specially 

opened Tower Bridge. All cruises pass 

alongside the fleet of Tall Ships moored 

in the Thames so guests will experience 

at close quarters the grandeur and 

romance of the Tall Ships from all over 

the world. On selected nights a fireworks 

display will provide a grand finale to the 

evening cruises. The capacity of the 

cruises is 12 to 180 guests. 

Tickets are available from the website 

at www.sailroyalgreenwich.co.uk/tickets 

A special treat is the VIP Thames Tall 

Ship Cruise. Your cruise, reception or 

dinner party will be complemented by 

first class cuisine with a choice of three 

menus that are focused on style, 

creativity and value to make the event 

special, memorable and that little bit 

different. The chef and ship’s crew will 

take care of everything, providing 

exceptional service to ensure an 

outstanding experience. Drinks such as 

wine, beer and soft drinks are included. 

Daily departure 18.30. 

CHEEKY MONKEYS ENJOY 

STORYBOOK TREAT AT ZSL LONDON 

ZSL London Zoo’s troop of squirrel 

monkeys celebrated the 35th anniversary 

of children’s book Dear Zoo on 30 March 

with their very own puzzle box. The group 

of black-capped squirrel monkeys (Samiri 

boliviensis) showed off their skills by 

foraging for treats from their very own 

Dear Zoo crate. 

Zookeeper Agnes Kiss said: ‘Squirrel 

monkeys are naturally inquisitive, playful 

primates. They love to explore new things, 

and our group here at ZSL London Zoo 

are no exception. We made a replica red 

crate to match the famous one in the Dear 

Zoo book, and added lots of holes in 

which to place the monkeys’ favourite 

treats – they investigated the whole box 

and dug out handful of almonds and 

popcorn, showing off their acrobatic skills 

while they were at it!’. 

This Easter, ZSL London Zoo is 

partnering with Macmillan Children’s 

Books to celebrate the 35th anniversary of 

iconic author Rod Campbell’s famous 

book, Dear Zoo. From Saturday 1 to 

Monday 17 April, kids will be able to 

embark on a self-guided adventure trail 

around the Zoo, discovering the real life 

animals that inspired the nation’s favourite 

childhood read. To find out more about 

the squirrel monkeys at ZSL London Zoo 

and to book tickets, visit wwww.zsl.org 


18 

THE ARSENAL MUSEUM AND 

STADIUM TOURS 

The Arsenal Museum at Emirates 

Stadium was re-opened last summer 

following a complete renovation. 

Founded in 1886, Arsenal has a 

impressive history from the club’s time 

at Woolwich, Highbury and Emirates 

Stadium and the refurbished museum 

offers visitors the chance to take in a 

number of exciting exhibits. 

Many of the items on display were 

donated by former players who hold a 

special place in Arsenal’s history. 

Highlights include Jens Lehmann’s 

goalkeeper gloves that he wore for every 

league match of the unbeaten Invincibles 

season in 2003/4, Michael Thomas’ 

boots from Anfield ’89 and Charlie 

George’s FA Final Cup shirt from 1971. 

The museum also features two 

impressive video theatres and twenty 

major displays based on Arsenal's proud 

history, from its formation in 1886 to the 

present day. These displays include a 

selection of iconic shirts including those 

worn by Alex James in 1936 FA Cup 

Final and the 2015 FA Cup Final shirt 

signed by the winning squad. 

Visitors can see a collection of shirts, 

medals and trophies from former Arsenal 

captain Joe Mercer and the shield 

commemorating the hat-trick of League 

Championships from 1933-1935. The 

self-guided tour enables visitors to 

explore behind-the-scenes at Emirates 

Stadium, home of Arsenal Football Club. 

ENJOY EASTER AT THE 

ARCELORMITTAL ORBIT 

Enjoy the long spring days during 

longer opening hours at the 

ArcelorMittal Orbit this Easter. 

Experience the heights and hair-raising 

thrills of the UK’s most exciting viewing 

platform as you explore breath-taking 

views of London’s iconic landmarks, 

including St Pauls’ Cathedral, the O2 

and Wembley, before riding The Slide, 

the world’s longest and tallest tunnel 

slide or braving the UK’s highest freefall 

abseil. 

Experience the rush of zooming 

114.5m into the sky in just 34 seconds 

as you ascend the UK’s tallest sculpture. 

Explore London’s famous skyline 

through stunning floor to ceiling 

windows before feeling the wind in your 

hair on the 80m high outside 

observation walkway. Discover sights 

including The Shard, the BT Tower and 

Canary Wharf and get a bird’s eye view 

of the iconic London 2012 venues of 

Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. 

And what goes up must come down! 

Dash down the 455 steps that wind their 

way around the sculpture and immerse 

you in a recorded collection of 

distinctive London sounds, blast to the 

ground in the lifts or take on the 

adrenaline rush of The Slide, a 40 

second descent through a 178m long 

tunnel slide. Speed through light and 

dark sections at up to 15mph, through 

gentle curves, thrilling drops and a tight 

corkscrew named ‘the bettfeder’, which 

means bedspring in German. 

Or, for the really brave, experience the 

exhilarating descent of the UK’s highest 

freefall abseil. Hold your breath as you 

step over the edge of the iconic red steel 

of the ArcelorMittal Orbit before taking 

the plunge and making an 80m 

adrenaline-fuelled journey to the ground. 

For a fun-filled day out, combine your 

visit with some of the activities on offer 

in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. Enjoy 

rollercoasters, dodgems and carousels 

at the funfair or take to the water aboard 

a trip boat and learn all about the Park’s 

past, present and future or navigate the 

river yourself on a graceful swan pedalo. 

Children will love the Park’s adventure 

playgrounds and everyone can get 

involved in an interactive walking trail; 

relive the Games on the London 2012 

trail and young detectives can unlock the 

Park’s secrets in the Children’s trail. 

For more information and to book 

tickets, visit ArcelorMittalOrbit.com or 

call 0333 8008 099. It is advisable to 

book The Slide in advance as tickets sell 

out quickly and there are no guarantees 

of availability on the day. 

The ArcelorMittal Orbit and The Slide. 


20 

FINAL WEST END PERFORMANCE 

OF THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE 

DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME 

After five successful years in London, 

the National Theatre has announced the 

final extension of its West End run of 

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the 

Night-Time, with a closing performance 

at the Gielgud Theatre on 3 June. 

The Olivier and Tony Award®winning 

play was adapted from Mark 

Haddon’s best-selling book by Simon 

Stephens and directed by Marianne 

Elliott. It is the recipient of seven 2013 

Olivier Awards, including Best New Play, 

Best Director, Best Design, Best Lighting 

Design and Best Sound Design. 

By 3 June, Curious Incident will have 

played almost 1,500 performances in 

London and been seen by over 1 million 

people, and almost 2 and a half million 

people world-wide. 

The original production opened at the 

NT’s Cottesloe Theatre in September 

2012, and transferred to the Apollo 

Theatre in March 2013 before 

transferring to the Gielgud Theatre in 

July 2014. Curious Incident ran at the 

Barrymore Theatre in New York from 

September 2014 until September 2016, 

winning five Tony Awards® including 

Best Play and becoming the longestrunning 

play on Broadway in more 

than 10 years. 

The show tells the story of 15 year 

old Christopher Boone, who has an 

extraordinary brain; and is exceptional at 

maths while ill-equipped to interpret 

everyday life. He sets out to solve a 

mystery of who killed his neighbour’s 

Joseph Ayre as Christopher. 

dog, but his detective work takes him on a 

frightening journey that upturns his world. 

The role of Christopher has been played 

by 18 actors since the show originally 

opened in London. Luke Treadaway, who 

originated the role at the National Theatre, 

received a 2013 Oliver Award for Best 

Actor and Alex Sharp won the Tony 

Award® for Best Actor on Broadway. 

Curious Incident continues its 

journey with a second nation-wide tour, 

which opened at the Lowry in Salford in 

January. A new cast are looking forward 

to bringing Christopher’s remarkable 

story to audiences in 25 cities around 

the UK and Ireland. 

Producer Kash Bennett said: ‘We are 

so proud of this production of The 

Curious Incident of the Dog in the 

Night-Time which has enthralled 

London audiences since it first opened 

over five years ago and we are 

overjoyed that the show continues its 

extraordinary journey as it travels 

around the UK, Ireland, North America 

and beyond.’ 

For tickets, telephone the National 

Theatre box office on 020 7452 3000. 

Photos: Brinkhoff Mo?genburg 


22 

Willemijn Verkaik as Elphaba. Photo: Matt Crockett 

WICKED EXTENDS WEST END 

RUN TO MAY 2018 

Wicked, the West End musical 

phenomenon, has announced its 23rd 

new booking period at London’s Apollo 

Victoria Theatre, with tickets now on sale 

until Saturday 26 May 2018. 

Acclaimed as ‘one of the West End’s 

true modern classics’ (Metro), it is now 

the 17th longest running show in London 

theatre history and recently celebrated a 

decade of performances at the Apollo 

Victoria Theatre where the ‘hugely popular 

show’ (The Times) will shortly welcome its 

8 millionth theatregoer. 

Wicked tells the incredible untold story 

of an unlikely but profound friendship 

between two young women who first meet 

as sorcery students at Shiz University: the 

blonde and very popular Glinda and a 

misunderstood green girl named Elphaba. 

Following an encounter with The Wizard, 

their friendship reaches a crossroads and 

their lives take very different paths. 

Glinda’s unflinching desire for popularity 

sees her seduced by power while 

Elphaba’s determination to remain true to 

herself, and to those around her, will have 

unexpected and shocking consequences 

for her future. Their extraordinary 

adventures in Oz will ultimately see them 

fulfil their destinies as Glinda The Good 

and the Wicked Witch of the West. 

THE FROGS 

Freely adapted from a comedy written 

by Aristophanes in 405 BC, Burt 

Shevelove and Stephen Sondheim’s The 

Frogs was originally performed in 1974 in 

a swimming pool at Yale University with 

Meryl Streep and Sigourney Weaver in 

the chorus. 

Leap 26 years, and in May 2000, 

Nathan Lane, Davis Gaines and Brian 

Stokes Mitchell performed a concert 

version of The Frogs at the Library of 

Congress in Washington as part of a 

tribute to Sondheim on his 70th birthday. 

Shortly after performing in that concert 

version, Lane, along with director Susan 

Stroman approached Sondheim with the 

idea of an expanded adaptation with Lane 

rewriting the book. Happily, Sondheim 

obliged with seven original songs written 

for individual characters to complement 

those for the ensemble in the original 

score. This new version of The Frogs 

opened on Broadway (at The Lincoln 

Center’s Vivian Beaumont Theater) in July 

2004 with Lane playing the central role of 

Dionysos. Now, thirteen years later, it 

finally receives its UK premiere in the 

somewhat more intimate Jermyn Street 

Theatre in London’s West End. 

Well, it was certainly worth the wait! 

Kudos to producers House on the Hill 

Productions and Jermyn Street Theatre for 

staging this neglected gem. Understandably 

there was palpable excitement amongst 

Sondheim fans and collectors of rare 

musicals when the production was first 

announced (they will not be disappointed), 

Broadway legend Nathan Lane with Michael Matus and George Rae. 

but its popular appeal to a wider audience 

should be guaranteed in this wonderfully 

witty and uplifting realisation. 

Michael Matus leads an excellent cast 

as Dionysos, the Greek God of wine and 

drama. Despairing of the quality of living 

dramatists, he travels to Hades with his 

slave Xanthias (George Rae) to bring 

George Bernard Shaw back from the dead. 

Once they’ve reached their destination, 

William Shakespeare makes an 

appearance, declaiming his greatest hits, 

and entering into a competition with Shaw 

for the title of best playwright. 

Shakespeare wins and Dionysos decides 

to bring him back to earth instead of Shaw 

in order to enlighten the world. 

The book and music are, at times, 

exuberantly funny and also very poignant. 

There are some exquisite vignettes on the 

journey to Hades including encounters 

with Herakles, Charon, Virilla, Pluto and, 

of course, the chorus of frogs. Amongst 

an excellent ensemble, there are stand out 

performances from Chris McGuigan as 

Herakles, and Jonathan Wadey as the 

brilliantly grotesque boatman Charon. 

The whole venture is masterfully 

directed by Grace Wessels with fine 

musical direction from Tim Sutton. The 

star of the show, however, is Sondheim’s 

score. The lyrics are typically witty and 

sophisticated, and the seven new songs, 

written for the 2004 production, are a joy. 

The production is a triumph and it 

richly deserves to find a new home after 

its current limited run. 

DAVID HAMILTON-PETERS 


EASTER FUN WITH LEGO® EGG 

MAKING CHALLENGE 

Youngsters can put their creative 

skills to the test this Easter with The Art 

of the Brick: DC Super Heroes Build A 

LEGO ® Easter Egg Challenge on the 

South Bank and take advantage of Easter 

Day’s extended opening hours from 

10.00 – 19.00. 

From Monday 10 April – Monday 

17 April, Super Hero fans can try their 

hand at making a LEGO ® sculpture of 

their very own after being inspired by 

Nathan Sawaya’s incredible artworks. 

Budding artists can unleash their 

inspiration and create Easter Egg 

designs in the exhibition’s interactive 

zone, where every day the winning entry 

in two age categories (up to 10 years 

and 11-16 years) will be kept. 

At the end of the week, the successful 

entries will be sent to the artist to judge 

who is the overall victor in each category. 

Nathan’s lucky winners will receive a 

special The Art of the Brick: DC Super 

Heroes exhibition merchandise goody 

bag and will have their egg returned 

to them to keep as a trophy of their 

EGGS-TRAordinary skills. To kids and 

adults who love LEGO, Sawaya is a bit of 

a super hero. For the last decade, the 

former lawyer-turned- artist has elevated 

the simple toy to highly sought-after 

artwork and has inspired countless 

children to think outside of the box. 

Sawaya has turned to the stories of 

super heroes for his own inspiration in 

Nathan Sawaya with his LEGO Wonder Woman. 

this exhibition – The Art of the Brick: 

DC Super Heroes– which features 

LEGO sculptures that emulate DC’s 

legendary characters, vehicles, 

surroundings and themes that are 

present in the DC mythology. 

The Art of the Brick is on the South 

Bank in Doon Street Car Park, Upper 

Ground, SE1. 

23 


24 

Griff Rhys Jones, Lee Mack and Ryan Gage in Molière’s The Miser at the Garrick 

Theatre, directed by Sean Foley. The Miser follows the paranoid Harpagon, who is 

fanatical about protecting his abundant wealth. Suspecting everyone as trying to 

steal his fortune, Harpagon will quite literally go to any length to protect his wealth. 

Setting his sights on rich spouses for his children, he struggles when his children’s 

true feelings are revealed. But what will prevail? Will it be the love of his money or 

his children? Passions and purse-strings go head to head in this perfectly poignant 

comedy. Box Office telephone 0330 333 4811. 

Photo: Tristram Kenton 

PLAYS 

TRAVESTIES 

Tom Stoppard’s dazzling comedy of art, love 

and revolution features James Joyce, Tristan 

Tzara and Lenin as remembered – and 

misremembered – by Henry Carr, a minor 

British diplomat in Zurich 1917. 

APOLLO THEATRE 

Shaftesbury Av., W1D (020 7851 2711) 

THE COMEDY ABOUT A BANK ROBBERY 

One enormous diamond, eight incompetent 

crooks and a snoozing security guard. What 

could possibly go right? 

CRITERION THEATRE 

Piccadilly Circus, (020 7492 0810) 

THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG 

A Polytechnic amateur drama group are 

putting on a 1920s murder mystery and 

everything that can go wrong... does! 

DUCHESS THEATRE 

Catherine Street, WC2 (0330 333 4810) 

THE GLASS MENAGERIE 

John Tiffany's acclaimed 2013 Broadway 

revival of Tennessee Williams' play starring 

Cherry Jones. 

DUKE OF YORK’S THEATRE 

St Martin’s Lane, WC2 (020 7492 1552) 

THE WOMAN IN BLACK 

An innocent outsider, a suspicious rural 

community, a gothic house and a misty marsh 

are the ingredients of this Victorian ghost story. 

FORTUNE THEATRE 

Russell Street, WC2 (0844 871 7626) 

THE MISER 

Actor, writer, and two-time Olivier awardwinner 

Griff Rhys Jones returns to the West 

End in a hilarious new adaption by Sean Foley 

and Phil Porter of Moliere’s classic comedy. 

GARRICK THEATRE 

Charing Cross Rd, WC2 (0330 333 4811) 

THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG 

IN THE NIGHT-TIME 

Based on Mark Haddon’s best-selling novel, 

the play follows a 15 year-old maths genius 

who tries to unravel the mystery of his 

neighbour’s murdered dog. 

GIELGUD THEATRE 

Shaftesbury Avenue, W1 (020 7452 3000) 

WHO’S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLFE? 

Imelda Staunton and Conleth Hill star in a 

new production of multi Tony Award and 

Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Edward 

Albee’s landmark play, directed by James 

Macdonald. 

HAROLD PINTER THEATRE 

Panton Street, SW1 (0844 871 7627) 

Royal National Theatre Plays in repertory 

OLIVIER THEATRE. 

TWELFTH NIGHT 

Simon Godwin directs this joyous new 

production of the Shakespearian classic, with 

Tamsin Greig as a transformed Malvolia. 

LYTTELTON THEATRE 

UGLY LIES THE BONE 

Award-winning American playwright Lindsey 

Ferrentino makes her UK debut with this 

honest and funny new drama, directed by 

Indhu Rubasingham. 

ANGELS IN AMERICA 

This new staging of Tony Kushner’s multiaward-winning 

two-part play is directed by 

Olivier and Tony award-winning director 

Marianne Elliott. 

DORFMAN THEATRE 

CONSENT 

Nina Raine’s powerful, painful, funny play sifts 

the evidence from every side and puts justice 

herself in the dock. 

NATIONAL THEATRE 

South Bank, SE1 (020 7452 3000) 

ROSENCRANTZ & GUILDENSTERN ARE 

DEAD Half a century after its premiere on The 

Old Vic stage, the play that made a young 

Tom Stoppard’s name overnight, returns in its 

50th anniversary celebratory production. 

OLD VIC THEATRE 

The Cut, SE1 (0844 871 7628) 

HARRY POTTER AND THE CURSED 

CHILD PARTS I & II 

A brand new stage play based on the Harry 

Potter franchise written by Jack Thorne, based 

on an original story by J.K Rowling. 

PALACE THEATRE 

Shaftesbury Avenue, W1 (0844 412 4656) 

THE MOUSETRAP 

Agatha Christie’s whodunnit is the longest 

running play of its kind in the history of the 

British theatre. 

ST MARTIN’S THEATRE 

West Street, WC2 (0844 499 1515) 

STEPPING OUT 

Amanda Holden heads a starry cast in this 

wonderfully funny and heart-warming comedy 

which charts the lives of seven women and 

one man attempting to tap their troubles away. 

VAUDEVILLE THEATRE 

The Strand, WC2 (0330 333 4814) 

DON JUAN IN SOHO 

Loosely based on Molière's tragicomedy, this 

modern update transports the action to 

contemporary London. Starring David Tennant. 

WYNDHAM’S THEATRE 

Charing Cross Rd, WC2 (0844 482 5120) 


wembleystadium.com/tours 

0800 169 9933 

TOURS DEPART DAILY: 10:00 – 15:00 

PRINTED TRANSLATION GUIDES AVAILABLE IN 9 LANGUAGES

26 

MUSICALS 

KINKY BOOTS 

Inspired by a true story and based on the 

Miramax film, the show tells the story of Charlie 

Price who has reluctantly inherited his father's 

Northampton shoe factory. 

ADELPHI THEATRE 

Strand, WC2 (020 3725 7060) 

STOMP 

This multi-award winning show continues to 

astound audiences across the world with its 

universal language of rhythm, theatre, comedy 

and dance. 

AMBASSADORS THEATRE 

West Street, WC2 (020 7395 5405) 

WICKED 

Hit Broadway story of how a clever, 

misunderstood girl with emerald green skin 

and a girl who is beautiful and popular turn 

into the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda 

the Good Witch in the Land of Oz. 

APOLLO VICTORIA THEATRE 

Wilton Road, SW1 (0844 826 8000) 

BEAUTIFUL: THE CAROLE KING MUSICAL 

This new musical is the untold story of her 

journey from school girl to superstar, featuring 

the Carole King classics. 

ALDWYCH THEATRE 

Aldwych, WC2 (0845 200 7981) 

MATILDA 

Critically acclaimed Royal Shakespeare 

Company production of Roald Dahl’s book, 

directed by Matthew Warchus. 

CAMBRIDGE THEATRE 

Earlham Street, WC2 (0844 800 1110) 

AN AMERICAN IN PARIS 

The award-winning, thrillingly staged and 

astonishingly danced Broadway Gershwin 

musical featuring some of the greatest music 

and lyrics ever written. 

DOMINION THEATRE 

Tottenham Court Rd, W1 (020 7927 0900) 

THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA 

Long running epic romance by Andrew Lloyd 

Webber, set behind the scenes of a Paris opera 

house where a deformed phantom stalks his prey. 

HER MAJESTY’S THEATRE 

Haymarket, SW1 (0844 412 2707) 

THE LION KING 

Disney‘s phenomenally successful animated 

film is transformed into a spectacular stage 

musical, a superb evening of visual delight. 

LYCEUM THEATRE 

Wellington Street, WC2 (0844 871 3000) 

THRILLER – LIVE 

High octane show celebrating the career of the 

King of Pop, Michael Jackson. Over two hours 

of the non-stop hit songs that marked his 

legendary live performances. 

LYRIC THEATRE 

Shaftesbury Avenue, WC2 (0330 333 4812) 

SCHOOL OF ROCK 

Andrew Lloyd Webber's new stage musical 

with lyrics by Glenn Slater and book by Julian 

Fellowes, adapted from the film. 

NEW LONDON THEATRE 

Drury Lane, WC2 (020 7492 0810) 

HALF A SIXPENCE 

The first West End revival of the classic 1960s 

musical transferring from an an acclaimed 

season earlier this year at the Chichester. 

NOEL COWARD THEATRE 

St Martin's Lane, WC2 (0844 482 5141) 

MAMMA MIA! 

Hit musical based on the songs of ABBA, set 

around the story of a mother and daughter on 

the eve of the daughter’s wedding. 

NOVELLO THEATRE 

Aldwych, WC2 (0844 482 5170) 

THE GIRLS 

Gary Barlow and Tim Firth's new musical 

comedy, based on the true story about the 

Women's Institute's Calendar Girls. 

PHOENIX THEATRE 

Charing Cross Road, WC2 (0844 871 7627) 

JERSEY BOYS 

Rags to riches tale of four blue collar kids 

working their way to the heights of stardom 

as Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons. 

PICCADILLY THEATRE 

Denman Street, W1 (0844 871 3055) 

ALADDIN 

The classic hit film has been brought to thrilling 

life on stage by Disney, featuring all the songs 

from the Academy Award winning score. 

PRINCE EDWARD THEATRE 

Old Compton Street, W1 (0844 482 5151) 

LES MISERABLES 

A spectacularly staged version of Victor Hugo’s 

epic novel about an escaped convict’s 

search for redemption in Revolutionary France. 

QUEEN’S THEATRE 


DREAMGIRLS 

West End premiere, starring Amber Riley. 

Set in the USA during the late 1960s and 

early 1970s, it follows a young female singing 

trio as they become music superstars. 

SAVOY THEATRE 

Strand, WC2 (020 7492 0810) 

MOTOWN THE MUSICAL 

Featuring all the much loved classics from 

Diana Ross, Stevie Wonder, and the Jackson 5, 

the show tells the story behind the hits. 

SHAFTESBURY THEATRE 


42ND STREET 

The song and dance, American dream fable of 

Broadway returns to the West End. Featuring a 

score by Harry Warren and Al Dubin and book 

by Michael Stewart and Mark Bramble. 

THEATRE ROYAL DRURY LANE 

Drury Lane, WC2 (020 7492 0810) 

Left: Stuart Neal, Sheena Easton and 

Company in 42nd Street at Theatre 

Royal Drury Lane. 

Photo: Brinkhoff Mo?genburg. 


28 

THE KID STAYS IN THE PICTURE 

Royal Court 

Watching The Kid Stays In The 

Picture is a bit like reading a book 

whose pages you’re reluctant to turn 

because you never want it to end. From 

the moment it begins, its inexhaustible 

pleasure quotient kicks in and for the 

next two and a half hours or so you’re 

on a roller-coaster ride from which you 

never want to disembark. 

Of course, it helps to be a movie buff 

given that the protagonist of this 

cautionary tale is one-time Hollywood 

heavy-weight Robert Evans on whose 

racy, no-holds-barred 1994 memoir, 

thrillingly adapted by director Simon 

McBurney and James Yeatman, it is 

based. 

Born in New York in 1930 to second 

generation Jews from the Upper West 

Side, he was, at the age of 26, famously 

spotted poolside at the Beverly Hills 

Hotel by the actress Norma Shearer, wife 

of the late, ‘wunderkind’ producer Irving 

Thalberg. 

It just so happened that a film about 

silent star Lon Chaney called The Man of a 

Thousand Faces in which Thalberg would 

play a significant role, was in preproduction 

at the time and Shearer thought 

that the good-looking, charismatic Evans 

would be great in the part. He wasn’t. The 

New York Times called his performance 

‘unspeakably poor’. 

Heather Burns and Ajay Naidu. 

Evans’s lack of talent, however, didn’t 

stop studio head Darryl F. Zanuck 

casting him as a Spanish matador 

opposite Tyrone Power, Errol Flynn and 

Ava Gardner in Hemingway’s The Sun 

Also Rises. With the exception of Flynn, 

the cast ganged up on him and wanted 

him fired. But not Zanuck. ‘The kid stays 

in the picture!’, he famously said, and 

he did. 

Evans, however, was no fool; he knew 

he was a lousy actor. What really turned 

him on wasn’t stardom but the kind of 

power Zanuck had demonstrated. He 

wanted to be the one to demand that ‘the 

kid stays in the picture!’ 

A combination of luck, aggression, 

determination and cultivating the right 

people soon fast-tracked him to 

Paramount Pictures where, against all 

the odds he became head of the studio, 

the youngest person ever to do so. 

Catapulting both himself and 

Paramount to the top of the charts were 

several era-defining hits such as Love 

Story, Rosemary’s Baby, Chinatown and 

most notably The Godfather, whose 

initial script by Francis Ford Coppola he 

rejected as lacking the gravitas and 

complexity the subject demanded. 

Inevitably Evans’s celebrity, his 

wealth, his excessive life-style and his 

womanising (he was married seven 

times, though McBurney and Yeatman 

underplay the marriages) caught up with 

Photo: Johan Persson. 

him. Apart from the catastrophic and 

costly failure of The Cotton Club (1984) 

his most damaging fall from grace was 

his questionable involvement with a 

drugs transaction and a murder in which 

he was marginally implicated. 

It was a seriously bad time for 

Hollywood’s erstwhile wonder boy, who, 

in the aftermath of failure and drugabuse 

suffered several strokes. 

But to paraphrase a Sondheim lyric, 

Evans had seen it all yet he’s still here – 

alive at age 86, if not exactly kicking. 

Thanks to the generosity of his friend Jack 

Nicolson, he’s back in the Hollywood 

manse he so loved but was forced to sell 

to pay his accumulating debts. 

Mc Burney and his Complicité 

company recreate Evans’s heady, selfdestructive 

life through the effective use 

of multimedia techniques in which stills, 

film footage – both live and from their 

original sources – are projected onto the 

black screen that dominates Anna 

Fleischle’s striking, all-purpose set. The 

atmospheric noir-like lighting design is 

by Paul Anderson and it’s terrific. 

Pete Malkin’s sound effects, 

especially the insistent use of rapid-fire 

telephone conversations, provide an 

urgency to the text; while bringing it all 

to life is a brilliant cast of eight who 

perform a multiplicity of roles. 

Though the programme does not 

identify exactly who plays who, the three 

stages in Evans’s turbulent life – youth, 

middle and old age – are respectively 

shared by Heather Burns, Christian 

Carmargo and Danny Huston, son of the 

great John Huston. 

Talking of which, name-dropping, on 

this occasion, is mandatory, with some 

wonderfully entertaining appearances 

from Marlon Brando, Henry Kissinger, 

Francis Coppola, Ernest Hemingway, Ali 

McGraw (representing Evans’s wives) 

and James Cagney, to name just a few. 

If ever a show had the Wow! factor – 

it’s The Kid Stays in the Picture. I’d say 

don’t miss it, but the entire run is 

virtually sold-out. 

CLIVE HIRSCHHORN 


30 

ST KATHARINE DOCKS CELEBRATING 

BRITISH NATIONAL TEA DAY 

Central London’s only marina, 

St Katharine Docks, is celebrating the 

nation’s favourite drink for British 

National Tea day by hosting their second 

tea dance, following the success of last 

year. Taking place on Friday, 21 April, 

this year National Tea Day also coincides 

with Her Majesty The Queen’s 91st 

Birthday, doubling the reasons to join in 

the festivities. 

In honour of this celebration, The 

Ragroof Players are returning to the 

Docks to host two of their infamous Tea 

Dances. Encompassing authentic vintage 

music from the 1920s to the 1950s, 

glamorous costumes and glorious dance 

displays, these two-hour participatory 

tea dances are not to be missed. 

Tom’s Kitchen will also be marking 

the occasion by serving Canton tea and 

homemade lemonade accompanied by 

delicious sandwiches, scones and cakes. 

Officially opened in 1828 but tracing 

its history back to the 10th century, 

St Katharine Docks has strong links with 

the tea industry. Playing a key role in 

London’s industrial revolution, the 

Docks was at the centre of Britain’s 

roaring commercial trade, handling 

valuable cargoes from Europe, the West 

Indies, Africa and the Far East, including 

sugar, rum, spices and of course, tea. 

THE GAME BIRD NOW OPEN 

AT THE STAFFORD LONDON 

This spring, The Game Bird officially 

launches at The Stafford London under 

the helm of Executive Chef, James 

Durrant. The Game Bird offers informal 

dining at any time of the day. A place to 

eat, drink and socialise, the focus is on 

modern British comfort cooking 

executed with style and panache, all 

wrapped in a seductive ambience that 

oozes cool sophistication. 

At The Game Bird, James has drawn 

on his great wealth of experience from 

restaurants including Royal Hospital 

Road, Claridge’s and Maze, to create a 

menu that makes full use of the diverse 

produce of Great Britain. This can be 

seen in dishes such as Smoked Norfolk 

Black chicken with Clarence Court egg, 

bacon jam and pickled mushrooms, and 

Orkney sea scallops with roasted 

cauliflower, smoked roe and gremolata. 

Adding a touch of theatre, a bespoke 

trolley will bring the finest fish, smoked 

and cured in-house, straight to guests’ 

tables, with options such as The 

Balvenie cured smoked salmon; Chalk 

Stream trout gravadlax; and Lincolnshire 

smoked eel, all served with soda bread 

and garnishes of Clarence Court egg, 

cucumber and dill pickle, mustard 

dressing, and horseradish crème fraîche. 

With a nod to the chef’s Cheshire 

upbringing, the menu also offers a 

selection of pies, puddings and stews, 

including Salt Marsh lamb lobscouse, 

and steak and ale steamed suet pudding, 

as well as dishes such as the 

restaurant’s signature dish featuring 

roast pigeon with parsnips, cabbage and 

braised pigeon leg served with a 

‘bullshot’, in honour of the restaurant’s 

eponymous game bird. 

The Stafford is working with West 

Contemporary as their art partner, 

bringing a regularly changing exhibition 

of contemporary works to the restaurant.. 

The Game Bird takes its place 

alongside The Stafford’s existing private 

dining rooms, 380-year-old working 

wine cellars, and award-winning 

American Bar, with James Durrant 

working closely alongside Bar Manager 

Benoit Provost, and Master Sommelier 

Gino Nardella, to elevate and perfect the 

culinary offering at the hotel for both 

visitors and Londoners alike.

til_7-4-17

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