Casting has been announced for [*Heathers the Musical*](https://www.londontheatre.co.uk/show/11652-heathers-the-musical), which returns to the West End later this month. The show will open at @sohoplace for a limited run.

Kevin Murphy and Laurence O’Keefe's musical about dangerous high school cliques was last seen in the West End in 2021.

The show will star Jenna Innes (*Les Misérables*), who returns as Veronica Sawyer. She is joined by Keelan McAuley (*Clueless, Grease*) as JD.

The titular...

Casting announced for 'Heathers the Musical' at @sohoplace

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ITV’s *I Have a Dream* finalist Esme Bowdler, Sedona Sky, and Daisy Twells are the musical's titular Heathers. Jenna Innes returns to the show as Veronica Sawyer.

Summer in London means one thing: it's musicals season! Sure, we have fantastic musical theatre in the capital all year round, but the sunnier months always seem to be a particularly exciting time for big song-and-dance shows – ideal for filling the school holidays with [family trips to spectacular productions](https://www.londontheatre.co.uk/whats-on/family-kids).

You’ll find plenty of blockbuster West End entertainment this summer, thanks to the likes of *[Kiss, Me...

Top West End musicals to see this summer

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This essential list features all the musicals, from *Kiss Me, Kate* to *Hello, Dolly!*, that are perfect for a summer trip to the West End, whatever the weather.

Wilkommen! Four new actors will join the [*Cabaret*](https://www.londontheatre.co.uk/show/23939-cabaret-tickets) West End cast, beginning performances on 3 June at the [Kit Kat Club at the Playhouse Theatre](https://www.londontheatre.co.uk/theatres/playhouse-theatre).

*Heartstopper* star Rhea Norwood will make her professional stage debut as Sally Bowles alongside *Everybody’s Talking About Jamie* and *Bad Education* star Layton Williams as The Emcee. Norwood and Williams will perform in...

'Cabaret' sets new West End cast, including Rhea Norwood

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*Heartstopper* star Norwood and *Bad Education*'s Layton Williams are among the new actors joining the seven-time Olivier Award-winning musical revival.

The world premiere of *My Neighbour Totoro* triumphed at the 2023 Olivier Awards, winning six categories out of its nine nominations at the ceremony. It’s a good time for the Studio Ghibli stage adaptation, too, as *My Neighbour Totoro* will open in the West End next year, with performances at the [Gillian Lynne Theatre](https://www.londontheatre.co.uk/theatres/gillian-lynne-theatre) from 8 March.

Based on Hayao Miyazaki’s 1988 Studio Ghibli film, *My Neighbour Totoro* follows Satsuki and Mei,...

Here's why 'My Neighbour Totoro' deserved all the Oliviers

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Based on Hayao Miyazaki’s 1988 Studio Ghibli film, *My Neighbour Totoro* will return to London later next year, opening at the Gillian Lynne Theatre.

Next year, the [Royal Shakespeare Company’s](https://www.londontheatre.co.uk/stars-on-stage/royal-shakespeare-company) triumphant 2022 stage adaptation of [*My Neighbour Totoro*](https://www.londontheatre.co.uk/show/25389-my-neighbour-totoro) heads to the West End's [Gillian Lynne Theatre](https://www.londontheatre.co.uk/theatres/gillian-lynne-theatre) for a third run due to enormous popular demand. The show won six Olivier Awards and broke the Barbican’s box office record for the most tickets...

What to expect from London shows based on Studio Ghibli films

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Studio Ghibli is a renowned Japanese animation film studio founded in 1985. They are known for creating imaginative movies, including *My Neighbour Totoro* and *Spirited Away*.

A stage adaptation of television comedy *Inside No 9* will arrive in the West End next year. The show opens for a 12-week run at Wyndham's Theatre from 18 January 2025.

The TV show's original writers and performers Steve Pemberton (*The Pillowman*) and Reece Shearsmith (*A Very Expensive Poison*) will star in the West End show, titled *Stage/Fright*, which will blend original material with familiar characters from the series. 

Speaking about the announcement, Pemberton and Shearsmith said:...

Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith's 'Inside No 9' to be adapted for the West End 

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The TV show's original creators Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith will star in the West End adaptation when it opens next year. 

The hit musical comedy *Titanique* has confirmed plans for a West End run later this year. The show is currently performing at Off-Broadway venue the Daryl Roth Theatre.

The musical, which is co-written by Tye Blue, Marla Mindelle, and Constantine Rousouli, has received critical acclaim and multiple awards since its premiere off Broadway at Asylum Theater in 2022.

The parody of James Cameron's Oscar-winning *Titanic* film features a raft of Celine Dion’s iconic songs including “My Heart Will...

'Titanique' confirms planned West End run

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The musical has received critical acclaim and multiple awards since its premiere off Broadway at Asylum Theater in 2022. It is currently at the Daryl Roth Theatre.

The British writer James Graham is on an incredible run at the moment. He just won the Olivier Award for Best New Play for *Dear England*, a fantastic drama about football manager Gareth Southgate, which enticed new audiences into theatre, and the musical *Tammy Faye*, for which he supplied the book, is opening on Broadway this autumn.

He’s also a prolific screenwriter, with recent hits including the crime series *Sherwood* and the dystopian drama *The Way*. Graham has that rare combination of...

Learn more about James Graham’s career ahead of 'Boys from the Blackstuff'

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From plays *Dear England* and *This House* to TV hits like *Sherwood*, Graham is unstoppable – and now his *Boys from the Blackstuff* is coming to the West End.

The bright lights of West End theatres are always appealing, but there are also a number of exciting Off-West End venues in the capital, such as the small but mighty [Bush Theatre](https://www.londontheatre.co.uk/theatres/bush-theatre), which is nestled in west London.

This theatre has always punched above its weight, launching the careers of hugely successful writers such as James Graham and Lucy Kirkwood, as well as actors like Victoria Wood, Alan Rickman, Andrew Scott, and Phoebe...

A complete guide to the Bush Theatre

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Get to know this exciting new-writing venue in west London, which has launched the careers of Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Victoria Wood, among others.

The acclaimed screen and stage actor Ben Whishaw is back in town, starring in the premiere of Margaret Perry’s *[Bluets](https://www.londontheatre.co.uk/show/39930-bluets)* at the Royal Court. The play is an adaptation of Maggie Nelson’s book and follows someone obsessed with the colour blue – taking in artists like Joni Mitchell and Billie Holiday as they navigate a devastating heartbreak.

Whishaw is joined in *Bluets* by *House of the Dragon* star Emma D’Arcy and *The Girl Before*’s Kayla...

Learn more about Ben Whishaw's career ahead of 'Bluets' at the Royal Court

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The James Bond and *Paddington* actor is co-starring in this new adaptation of Maggie Nelson's book *Bluets* with Emma D'Arcy and Kayla Meikle.

Alex Young will lead the cast in a new London production of <a href="https://www.londontheatre.co.uk/show/24614-anyone-can-whistle" target="_blank">Anyone Can Whistle</a>. Anyone Can Whistle begins previews at <a href="/theatres/southwark-playhouse">Southwark Playhouse</a> on 1 April, with an opening night on 5 April and performances to 7 May.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.londontheatre.co.uk/show/24614-anyone-can-whistle" target="_blank">Anyone Can Whistle&nbsp;tickets are on sale now.</a>Anyone Can Whistle follows Mayoress Cora Hoover Hooper's decision-making. At first, she's hated by her people, as the government control everything in the small town, so the Mayoress must act fast in order to save her community.Alex Young will play Mayoress Cora Hoover Hooper. Young is currently starring in She Loves Me at Sheffield Crucible. Her London theatre credits include Promises, Promises, Follies, and Carousel. Further casting for Anyone Can Whistle is to be announced.&nbsp;Anyone Can Whistle features a book by Arthur Laurents, and music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. Anyone Can Whistle is a Stephen Sondheim musical that has yet to receive its West End premiere. <a href="/theatre-news/west-end-features/a-complete-guide-to-stephen-sondheim-musicals">Find out more about Stephen Sondheim musicals in London</a>.The Anyone Can Whistle creative team includes direction by Matthew Rankcom, choreography by Lisa Pound, set and costume design by Cory Shipp, and lighting design by Alex Musgrave.&nbsp;Anyone Can Whistle is at Southwark Playhouse from 1 April - 7 May.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.londontheatre.co.uk/show/24614-anyone-can-whistle" target="_blank">Anyone Can Whistle&nbsp;tickets are on sale now.</a>Photo credit: Alex Young (Photo courtesy of Kevin Wilson PR)<div>&nbsp;</div>

Alex Young to star in Stephen Sondheim’s ‘Anyone Can Whistle’

Photo credit: Alex Young (Photo courtesy of Kevin Wilson PR)

Off-West End

Southwark Playhouse

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Genre: Musical (US and AUS)

Anyone Can Whistle

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Anyone Can Whistle - LON [24614] Product Media

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Anyone can Whistle

Stephen Sondheim and Arthur Laurents’ 1964 musical is a political satire about conformity and the ostracisation of those considered ‘other’ in society. Set in a fictional town where the government controls everything, even the miracles, this fast paced and off-the-wall musical is as hilarious as it is subversive.

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Book official tickets to Anyone Can Whistle at Southwark Playhouse today. Choose your seats and find the best availability at LondonTheatre.co.uk.

The first significant London revival of a Stephen Sondheim musical since the great man’s death is Georgie Rankcom’s staging of this little-seen 1964 curio, *Anyone Can Whistle*. A whimsical political satire written with Arthur Laurents, it is, well, pretty loony. And not just because the plot involves a mass escape from the local asylum, The Cookie Jar.

The original Broadway production was a flop, but several songs became cabaret mainstays (“There Won’t Be Trumpets”, “Everybody Says Don’t”). The show has also lived on through concert stagings led by the likes of Donna Murphy, Madeline Kahn, Patti LuPone and Vanessa Williams, all eager to play the juicy role of Cora Hoover Hooper.

Cora is the gleefully corrupt mayoress who reigns over an economically depressed small town. She’s in cahoots with the treasurer and chief of police, refers to her voters as “peasants”, and only cares about her own popularity, pleasure, and staying in power. She finds a dodgy quick fix in a pretend miracle (water pouring from a rock) that draws paying crowds.

It’s clunky lampooning, but does fit well enough with our current Government, especially since Alex Young, in her fascinator, blazer and pussy-bow blouse, has an air of Liz Truss doing her best Margaret Thatcher impression. 

The cast generally keep their natural accents, playing up the tale’s universality, and Young uses a buttery RP drawl, with occasional operatic flourishes. It’s a hoot. Her plot strand is the clearest tonally: it’s vaudevillian slapstick backed by a pastiche score. Young plays it as such, exaggerated and winking, at one point sitting on an audience member’s lap and stroking his hair, or, in a bravura scene, continuing her workout while brainstorming more dastardly plans — and then leaping into a tap break. It’s like a live-action cartoon.

The other half of the musical is much harder to get a handle on. It features do-gooder nurse Fay Apple, who, in order to make a subversive point, marches her “cookies” from the asylum to the miracle. If they all take the waters and there’s no change, it will prove the miracle is a hoax. Or if they merge with the other pilgrims, then no one will know who’s actually “mad”.

However, per the title song, Fay also longs to let go, or be able to whistle. Cue a new arrival, the nonconformist J Bowden Hapgood, who challenges everything from set gender roles to taxation and unthinking patriotism. He and Fay begin to bond, but it’s impossible to fully invest in them amidst the wacky plot developments and smug, stick it to the man point-scoring.

Even their intimate moments are irritatingly arch, since Fay is disguised as a pink-haired, scantily clad French vamp (don’t ask; it hasn’t aged well) and their romantic duet is pure fromage. Particularly since Rankcom adds two onion-strewn onlookers, the reveal of a hidden bed and a phallic baguette. But then that’s the quandary with this show: you can’t possibly play it straight, yet it’s always in danger of tumbling into utter absurdity.

Still, Chrystine Symone brings winning sincerity and crystalline vocals to the role of Fay. With their curly mop, piercings and cocky self-righteousness, Jordan Broatch’s Hapgood is more like an annoying anarchic student – although that does fit the character in some ways. Danny Lane is strong throughout as Cora’s partner-in-crime, Comptroller Schub.

Choreographer Lisa Stevens works her own miracles on the very narrow catwalk stage. She crisply differentiates between numbers via a range of dance styles, including Fosse-esque jazz, ballet and hip hop. Cory Shipp adds to the mayhem with his blindingly bright costumes, making the ensemble look like hippy children’s TV presenters.

There’s a resonant point somewhere in here about how we mistreat “others” in society, whether that’s artists who think differently or those who don’t fit our existing norms. But, ironically, the show is so strenuously unconventional that all meaning is lost. A fun attempt, but this is one for the Sondheim completists.

[*Anyone Can Whistle* is at Southwark Playhouse to 7 May. Book *Anyone Can Whistle* tickets on London Theatre.](https://www.londontheatre.co.uk/show/24614-anyone-can-whistle)

*Photo credit: Anyone Can Whistle (Photo courtesy of production)*

'Anyone Can Whistle' review — Stephen Sondheim's wacky and whimsical musical returns to London

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Anyone Can Whistle is political allegory in musical comedy form that tells the story of a town that's gone bankrupt because its only industry is manufacturing something that never wears out

Recommended age 16+ but younger children are welcome to attend with a parent or guardian.

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Stranger Sings

The Upside-Down returns, as The Vaults presents award-winning, smash-hit parody musical; Stranger Sings!

Southwark Playhouse aims to inspire the next generation of theatregoers, creatives and stories. It aims to facilitate the work of new and emerging theatre practitioners at the start of their careers.

The theatre programme at Southwark Playhouse is shown in two venues, the Large and the Little.

In 2023, there will be two Southwark Playhouse theatres. Southwark Playhouse Borough will be located at 77-85 Newington Causeway, and Southwark Playhouse Elephant will be located at Dante Place. 

Alex Young to star in Stephen Sondheim’s ‘Anyone Can Whistle’

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