On the Wire

Pride and Prejudice* (*sort of) at the Criterion Theatre will close on Sunday 6 February, due to lack of audiences following the government’s implementation of Plan B Covid restrictions.

MAMMA MIA! at London’s Novello Theatre is now extending its booking period to Saturday 1 October 2022. MAMMA MIA! is now in its 23rd year in London.

Life of Pi at Wyndhams Theatre has been extended from the 16th of January 2022 to 27th of February 2022.

THE SHARK IS BROKEN extends its run at the Ambassadors Theatre until 13 February 2022.

There won't be a West End transfer of PRISCILLA QUEEN OF THE DESERT which was rumoured to be coming to the Dominion Theatre for a limited run in early 2022.

TINA: THE TINA TURNER MUSICAL is extending at the Aldwych Theatre is extending to 17th December 2022.

The performances have been extended for & JULIET at the Shaftesbury Theatre from the current booking period (which is 12th Feb) up to Saturday 25th of June, 2022.

The West End production of THE MIRROR AND THE LIGHT will extend its run by eight weeks and will now play at the Gielgud Theatre until Sunday 23rd January 2022.

The opening of JERSEY BOYS at the Trafalgar Theatre is postponed until 28th July 2021.

The venue have just advised that the dates between the 12th and 27th of November 2020 for EVERYBODY'S TALKING ABOUT JAMIE ath the Apollo Theatre are now cancelled with refunds being processed as usual.

Performances of MATILDA THE MUSICAL will be cancelled from 2nd to 29th November.

PRETTY WOMAN and COME FROM AWAY are now cancelled until Saturday 28th November 2020.

All performances of Disney's The Lion King are suspended from sale. Performances up to and including 18 March, 23 - 24 March, 8 April matinee and 5 September 2021 are cancelled. They will be returned to sale later this year (date TBC). Patrons with bookings already in place for them should be assured that they are currently scheduled to go ahead, despite no longer being on sale.

ROMEO AND JULIET @ Regent's Park Open Air Theatre 2021 dates are now on-sale.

New Adventures announced today that the forthcoming 2020/2021 National tour and the 2020/2021 Christmas season at Sadler’s Wells of Matthew Bourne’s Nutcracker! has been postponed until 2021/2022.

Nimax have advised they have now cancelled Nimax shows up to the following dates:

• Everybody’s Talking About Jamie - Saturday 17 October 2020
• The Play That Goes Wrong - Sunday 18 October 2020
• Magic Goes Wrong - Sunday 15 November 2020
• Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Sunday 21 February 2021

There will be a further announcement regarding the The Drifters Girl next week.

MATILDA will be cancelled from 1st September through to 2nd November 2020.

All performances up to and including 3 January 2021 of The Book of Mormon at the Prince of Wales Theatre are cancelled.

ABBA: Super Troupers The Exhibition at The O2 will be closing effective immediately. Exhibition visits had already been suspended until 28th June 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the exhibition was due to end its run at The O2 on 31st August 2020.

The producers are investigating potential new opportunities for the exhibition to re-open in near future.

The new booking period for THE PRINCE OF EGYPT is from Monday 2nd November 2020 to Saturday 4th September 2021.

The shows from Monday 3rd August to Saturday 31st October are suspended from sale.

SIX the Musical at the Arts Theatre has been extended to 5 September 2021.

Performances of JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT will now begin on Thursday 1 July 2021 and play a strictly limited 10-week season to Sunday 5 September 2021.

Jason Donovan and Jac Yarrow will star in the production when it returns next year.

WICKED has now been suspended to 31^st October 2020.

Current status for all WICKED performances:

CANCELLED
16^th March 2020 – 1^st August 2020 (Exchange, or refund if requested)

SUSPENDED
3^rd August 2020 – 31^st October 2020 (Exchange only)

ON SALE
2^nd November 2020 – 22^nd May 2021

Performances for TINA - The Tina Turner Musical have been cancelled until Saturday 29 August 2020 and we are going to start refunding all bookings in chronological order from Monday 29 June 2020.

Tina The Musical is booking until June 2021.

THE BOOK OF MORMON has been extended until 27 June 2020 and tickets are now on sale.

Andrew Lloyd Webber's School Of Rock - The Musical is set to embark on a major UK Tour next year. A smash-hit on both the West End and Broadway, the production will open at the Birmingham Alexandra Theatre on the 13th of February 2021. 

This September, Bat Out Of Hell The Musical will begin its UK Tour in Manchester. Sharon Sexton and Rob Fowler will return as the characters of Sloane and Falco respectively, introducing new stars: Glenn Adamson (American Idiot) as Strat and Martha Kirby (Grease, Rags the Musical) as Raven.

They are joined by Jordan Frazier (Nina Simone) as Zahara, Jonathan Bishop (Hamilton) as Jagwire, Killian Thomas Lefevre (Stranger Things Secret Cinema) as Tink, Alex Lodge (The Book of Mormon) as Ledoux and Kellie Gnauck (Evita West End and UK & International tour) as Valkyrie. Also in the cast are Emily Beth Harrington as Kwaidan, Amy Matthews as Vilmos, Rebecca Lafferty as Scherrzo, Samuel Pope as Hoffmann, Andy Prosser as Markevitch, Jack Heasman as Denym, James Chisholm as O'Dessasuite, Andrew Carthy as Hollander, Rob Maguire as Astroganger and Billie Hardy as Goddesilla.

At certain performances the role of Strat will be played by Samuel Pope.

Just as the hit musical Come From Away celebrates its first birthday on the West End, more tickets have been released, with the Pheonix Theatre now taking bookings until the 17th of October 2020. 

Fragments by Potential Difference kicks off the Playground Theatre's early summer season. Here recieving its world premiere, the production will run from the 30th April-16th May 2020.

Next, is Jean-Paul Satre's The Respectable Prostitute. Directed by Lisa Forrell and due to run from the 21st May-6th June 2020, the event marks 75-years since its last staging.

Finally, comes Blue Electric. Written by Alba Arikha and Tom Smail, the production will play from the 8th-14th June 2020.

Written and performed by 2019 Scotsman Fringe First Winner Daniel Bye and singer-songwriter Boff Whalley, These Hills Are Ours will premiere at the Shoreditch Town Hall, running from the 31st March-3rd April 2020 ahead of a UK Tour.

Robert Harling's romantic comedy Steel Magnolias will be playing at the Rose Theatre from the 6th-23rd May 2020. 

Directed by Anthony Banks, the production will star Kara Tointon in the role of Shelby. 

Further casting to be announced. 

Adapted by The Wardrobe Ensemble, Judith Kerr's Mog The Forgetful Cat will have its world premiere at Nuffield Southhampton Theatres from the 16th-25th July 2020. The production will then go on to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, where it will play from the 5th-30th August.

Further dates and casting to be announced. 

Written by Andy Walker, Delivery will be playing at the Chiswick Playhouse from the 12th March-4th April 2020. Inspired by the life of paratrooper Stuart Cardy (who served at the time of The Falklands War), this is the tale of one man's journey to the brink.

Lesley Manning directs Lizzie Aaryn-Stanton (Angela), Emilio Iannucci (Fruitfly/Sheep/Argentinian Soldier), Gordon Peaston (Sergeant Major/Padre/Slug) and Alex Walton (Joe).

Grammy Award-winner Sara Bareilles and Olivier and Tony Award-winner Gavin Creel have extended their West End run as Jenna and Dr Pomatter in Waitress, with the pair now playing for an additional two weeks through to the 21^st March 2020.

Carrie Hope Fletcher will be playing the title role in Andrew Lloyd Webber's highly-anticipated adaptation of Cinderella, which is due to run at the Gillian Lynne Theatre from the 28th August-12th December 2020.

Ahead of the 2020 Olivier Awards, five individuals have been recognised for their outstanding contribution to the industry. Each of the following will recieve a Special Recognition Award: Jo Hawes CDG, Thelma Holt, Stephen Jameson, Sarah Preece and Peter Roberts. 

After having opened at the Richmond Theatre on the 14th of January 2020, new adaptation of the classic thriller Dial M For Murder is set to embark on a tour of the UK.

From the 14th of April, Samantha Womack will be taking over the role of Margot from Sally Bretton during the play's run in Milton Keynes, from which point she will tour with the company until the 27th of June.

Will Eno's award-winning Broadway hit The Realistic Joneses is due to have its UK premiere at the Theatre Royal Bath's Ustinov Studio. Playing until the 7th of March 2020, the full cast includes Corey Johnson as Bob, Sharon Small as Jennifer, Jack Laskey as John and Clare Foster as Pony, with direction by Simon Evans.

For one night only, Frances Hodgson Burnett's The Secret Garden will play in concert form at The London Palladium.

With book and lyrics by Marsha Norman and music by Lucy Simon, the full company includes: Lucie Jones, Ramin Karimloo, and Jac Yarrow are Sarah Bakker (Rose), Bianca Baykara (Alice), Adam J Bernard (Ben Weatherstaff), Lucy Drever (Narrator), Louise Ellard-Turnbull (Mrs Winthrop), Ben Forster (Neville Craven), Sejal Keshwala (Ayah), Melanie La Barrie (Mrs Medlock), Johndeep More (Fakir), Michael Riseley (Captain Albert Lennox), Celinde Schoenmaker (Lily), and sharing the roles of Colin Craven are Finley Glasgow and Isaac Lancel Watkinson, and of Mary are Aoife Hughes and Darcy Jacobs, with Trinity Laban Musical Theatre forming the ensemble.

The Secret Garden will play on the 4th of April 2020, with performances at 3pm and 7:30pm.

Those returning to the West End transfer of Robert Icke's The Doctor alongside the previously announced Juliet Stevenson are: Mariah Louca, Daniel Rabin, Joy Richardson, Naomi Wirthner and Hannah Ledwidge on drums. New cast members include: Chris Colquhoun, Shelley Conn, Anni Domingo, Liv Hill, Jamie Parker and Millicent Wong. 

The Doctor will run at the Duke of York's Theatre from the 18th April-18th July 2020.

After just completing a sold-out run at London's Park Theatre, the company of Rags The Musical will be releasing a cast recording. It will be the first since Sony's 1991 Broadway album.

This new album will be released by Ghostlight/Sh-K-Boom Records with Stephen Schwartz as Executive Producer, Nick Barstow as Music Producer and Orchestrator and Joe Bunker as Musical Director. It will also be recorded, mixed & mastered by Joe & Nikki Davison at Auburn Jam Music.

Schwartz said of the recording: “I could not be more pleased that this beautifully sung production of Rags is being recorded by this group of terrific actors and musicians. I and my fellow authors consider ourselves lucky indeed!"

On the 12th of May 2020, there will be a special sing-a-long performance of the acclaimed & Juliet at London's Shaftesbury Theatre.

Complete with screens displaying the lyrics to every song, this is the perfect opportunity for fans of the show to fully immerse themsleves in the production.

Zubin Varla and Robert Tripolino will complete the cast of Zorro in Concert at the Cadogan Hall on the 23rd of February 2020. They join previously announced company members: Ricardo Afonso (Jesus Christ Superstar, We Will Rock You) in the titular role and Diego, Olivier Award-winning actress Lesli Margherita (Matilda on Broadway, Dames At Sea on Broadway, Zorro original West End cast) reprising the role of Inez, and four-time Olivier-nominated actress Emma Williams (Half A Sixpence, Mrs Henderson Presents, Zorro original West End cast) who will also reprise her role as Luisa.

Today, Jamie Lloyd announces the full casting for Anya Reiss' adaptation of Chekhov's The Seagull. Joining the previously announced Emilia Clarke (Nina) are Danny Ashok (Medvedenko),Robert Glenister (Sorin), Tom Rhys Harries (Trigorin), Daniel Monks (Konstantin), Tamzin Outhwaite (Polina), Patrick Robinson (Dorn), Seun Shote (Shamrayev), Indira Varma (Arkadina), and Sophie Wu (Masha).

The production opens at The Playhouse Theatre on the 19th March and runs until the 30th of May 2020.

Following a highly successful premiere tour in 2017, musical comedy The Addams Family is set to embark on a new UK & Ireland Tour. The production opens at the Newcastle Theatre Royal on the 30th of July 2020 and will conclude on the 14th of November at New Theatre, Oxford.

Samantha Womack and Cameron Blakely will be reviving their roles as Morticia and Gomez Addams, with further casting to be announced.

Iris Theatre's 2020 Summer Season Escape To The Forest will include: A Midsummer Night's Dream (17th June-18th July) and Tessa Burns' adaptation of Robin Hood (23rd July-30th August), along with two arts initiatives: Platform (which will be showcasing the talent of Dylan Wynford on the 14th of March) and Start, a development scheme centred around direction and design.

Cordelia O'Neill's Anything Is Possible If You Think About It Hard Enough will enjoy its world premiere at the Southwark Playhouse from the 1st-25th April 2020.

Kate Budgen directs Gemma Lawrence (Alex) and Huw Parmenter (Rupert).

Following a world-premiere in Stratford-Upon-Avon, Museum In Baghdad will be running at London's Kiln Theatre from 22nd April-3rd May 2020.

Full cast as follows: David Birrell (Professor Leonard Woolley), Houda Echouafni (Layla Hassan), Emma Fielding (Gertrude Bell), Ali Gadema (Kidnapper, Prime Minister), Rendah Heywood (Ghalia Hussein), Zed Josef (Salim), Nadi Kemp-Sayfi (Nasiya), Debbie Korley (Sam York), Riad Richie (Mohammed Abdullah), and Rasoul Saghir (Abu Zaman).

A new programming iniative by The Kings Head Theatre, Opera Undone: Tosca & La Boheme, opens at the Trafalgar Studios 2 this week, running from the 5th of February-11th March 2020.