London Theatre News

Indoor theatre performances given the green light from 1 August

Prime Minister Boris Johnson today announced that UK theatres, music and performance venues would be permitted to recommence performances from 1 August, with audiences social distancing. The announcement marks the progression to Stage Four of the government's five-stage roadmap to the reopening of the performing arts.Full guidance for the Stage Four reopening has been laid out by the government, which includes reduced venue capacity, track-and-trace, increased venue cleaning, and clear social...

Sir Ian McKellen, Sir Trevor McDonald and more set for livestream events

Fane, a production company best-known for its live tours and events for leading figures from the arts and culture have announced a series of exclusive livestream events, beginning in August. These events will feature an eclectic array of luminaries including Sir Ian McKellen, Arsene Wenger, Monty Don, Fatima Bhutto amongst others.The streams have been created in partnership with eight theatres and theatrical organisations from across the UK and four independent bookshops, with the aim of helping...

Disney's Frozen announces West End cast and new opening date

UPDATE: Frozen has now postponed its opening date from 2 April, with new dates to be announced. For more information, read here. Disney's Frozen the Musical has announced the complete cast line-up who will join the previously announced stars Samantha Barks and Stephanie McKeon in the show. Disney also announced that the hotly anticipated musical will delay its West End opening by six months due to the ongoing Covid-19 shutdown. The production will now open at the newly refurbished Theatre Royal...

Jesus Christ Superstar set for summer return season in Regent’s Park

Jesus Christ Superstar, Timothy Sheader's bold revival of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber's 1970s musical, will make a return to Regent's Park Open Air Theatre in August. The season follows last week's go-ahead for outdoor performances as part of further lifting of restrictions around Covid-19.Restaged as a 90-minute concert version without an interval, the show will perform for six weeks from 14 August. To comply with social distancing requirements, it will play in front of a reduced-capacity...

The National Theatre's Amadeus to stream for free from Thursday

Amadeus, the National Theatre's popular 2016 revival of Peter Schaffer's classic drama, will be available to stream for free on <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FaEP2zn4bRE" target="_blank"YouTube from Thursday 16 July at 7pm as part of National Theatre Live at Home. It will be available until 23 July.Directed by Michael Longhurst and featuring live musical accompaniment from Southbank Sinfonia, the cast of Amadeus is lead by Adam Gillen (Benidorm) as Mozart and Lucian Msamati (His Dark...

UK Government give go-ahead for outdoor theatre performances

UK Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden announced yesterday that outdoor theatre performances would be permitted across the country from tomorrow, Saturday 11 July. This will mark the first recommencement of live theatre since the Covid-19 shutdown occurred in March.In the new guidelines, theatres would be required to limit capacity and ticket sales to ensure social distancing. They would also need to sell tickets online to ensure track and trace would be possible, and are encouraged to provide...

My Best Friends Wedding musical postpones opening to fall 2021

My Best Friend's Wedding, a new musical based on the 1997 film starring Julia Roberts, has postponed its opening due to the Covid-19 theatre shutdowns. The production will now open in September 2021 at the Manchester Palace Theatre, ahead of a tour of the UK and Ireland. The show, which is set to be directed by Rachel Kavanaugh, was originally scheduled to open on September 19, 2020 at the Plymouth Theatre Royal.Alexandra Burke is set to star as Julianne, the role originated by Roberts onscreen....

National Theatre's The Deep Blue Sea to stream this week

The Deep Blue Sea, written by British playwright Terrance Rattigan, will be the next release as part of National Theatre's 'At Home' streaming series. Viewers can tune in on 9 July from 7PM GMT on National Theatre's YouTube channel to watch. The production will be available to stream for one week. The play was filmed live from the Lyttleton Theatre in 2016 and starred Helen McCrory (Medea, The Seagull, As You Like It) in the role of Heste Collyer and Tim Burke (Rosmersholm, The Doctor's Dilemma)...

Netflix donates £500K to Sam Mendes's Theatre Artists Fund

In an effort to assist the theatre industry during the COVID-19 pandemic, global streaming giant Netflix pledged £500K towards Sam Mendes's new theatre fund.Called the Theatre Artists Fund and established with the Society of London Theatre and UK Theatre, Mendes announced that the fund will provide one-off £1000 grants for freelance workers in the arts sector. The announcement of Netflix's financial support comes after Mendes's urgent appeal to the streaming company a month ago. In an article in...

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat starring Donny Osmond to stream again from Friday

Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber's Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat will be available to stream for 48 hours only from Friday 10 July. This encore presentation will mark the end of the first season of The Shows Must Go On, which has seen over a dozen major musicals available to stream on YouTube free of charge. The series is set to return in August.Filmed on the famed 007 Stage at Pinewood Studios in 1999, the production stars former teen idol Donny Osmond in the title role, along...