NEWS: @TigerBayMusical @VikkiBebb cast for #Cardiff premiere and tour with @johnowenjones

Tiger Bay the Musical’s leading lady cast for Cardiff premiere and tour with John Owen-Jones

Wales Millennium Centre is delighted to confirm that Welsh musical theatre graduate Vikki Bebb has been cast in a leading role in the Centre’s most significant production to date, Tiger Bay the Musical, created by a multi-award-winning team led by composer, Daf James, writer Michael Williams and director, Melly Still.

Following her outstanding performance during previews in Cape Town, Vikki from Abercynon, will join Musical legend John Owen-Jones to lead the cast for the world premiere in Cardiff. Vikki will play Rowena Pryddy, a shop girl from the Welsh Valleys, who journeys to the big city, finding love in her quest for a place in society.

The Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama alumna impressed the musical’s creative team and cast so much that her co-star and Broadway actor, John Owen-Jones has invited her to join him on his home coming tour, Bring Him Home: A Collection of Musical Favourites this June.

Vikki, aged 26, said: “It is an absolute honour to play Rowena for the world premiere of this new musical in Cardiff and performing with John on his tour is a fantastic opportunity. I went to Cape Town looking to learn as much as I could from the extremely talented people around me, and being cast for Cardiff is beyond anything I expected.”

Award-winning and record breaking West End and Broadway performer John Owen-Jones, said: “The Bring Him Home tour will travel throughout Wales so it would be rude not to take Vikki along with me and showcase her amazing talent to a home audience before we perform together again in November.”

The world premiere of Tiger Bay the Musical is on Wednesday 15 November 2017 at Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff.  Produced in association with Cape Town Opera, the musical takes us back to the early 1900s in old Butetown, the docklands and Cardiff city centre at an extraordinary turning point in history, when coal was king and the industry booming.

Vivien Care, Head of Musical Theatre, RWCMD said: “Vikki is a star in the making, a wonderful ambassador for our professional Musical Theatre training at Royal Welsh College and deserves her place on the Wales Millennium Centre stage. She wowed the crowds in Cape Town and we have no doubt she will do it again in Cardiff in November.”

The world premiere of Tiger Bay the Musical is on Wednesday 15 November 2017 at Wales Millennium Centre. Tickets are on sale now at www.tigerbaythemusical.com

NEWS: The search is on for Welsh amateur playwrights @velvetcoalminer #Blackwood #VelvetGoldmineArts

Iain Richards, founder of Velvet Coalmine

Velvet Coalmine, a music, literature and arts festival now in its fourth year, takes place between 7 – 16 September 2017 in Blackwood. As part of this year’s festival it has teamed up with Blackwood Little Theatre to find the newest and boldest playwrights from across Wales to write a one act play which will be read and appraised by four experienced and published authors.

The festival of writing, rock & roll and coal started in 2014 and since then has been instrumental in raising the profile of the area and the aspirations of local children and families. This competition will go that one step further, giving amateur writers the leg up they need.

Neil Maidman from the Blackwood Little Theatre, said: “It doesn’t matter if you haven’t had anything published, acted out or written anything before. This competition is all about finding new and raw talent that we can help get onto a bigger stage.”

Iain Richards, founder of Velvet Coalmine, added: “Since we started the festival we have had one aim – to empower local children to be whoever they want to be and do whatever they want to do. We hope that by launching this play writing competition and showcasing local talent to a wider audience, someone’s talent will get recognised amongst experts in their field.”

Here’s what you need to know to enter: ·       You should submit a one act play for at least two performers. It cannot be a monologue ·       The duration of the play should be around 40 – 50 minutes ·       The play should not have been previously published ·       Entries will only be accepted by authors over 18 ·       Equal consideration will be given to English and Welsh language entries. ·       There is a prize of £250 for the winner and £100 for the runner up. ·       Winning play will have a script in hand public reading at Velvet Coalmine. ·      Entries should be e-mailed to blackwoodvelvet@outlook.com by midnight on the 31stJuly 2017

The winners will be announced on Friday 15 September at the festival. The full line up of acts will be announced on the 30 June along with ticket sales to the festival. For further information and criteria for entry go to www.velvetcoalmine.com

 

NEWS: @TheCentre casting news and forthcoming shows #Cardiff #Wales

Lots of things happening at Wales Millennium Centre  in the coming months;

Here’s just a little taster

Casting news

JIMMY OSMOND TO STAR IN GREASE

Jimmy Osmond is to star in Grease as Teen Angel, having previously played the role in the West End. He joins Tom Parker (The Wanted) who makes his musical theatre debut playing Danny Zuko, Danielle Hope (Over the Rainbow winner) who plays Sandy and Louisa Lytton (Strictly Come Dancing, EastEnders) who plays Rizzo.

Grease is at Wales Millennium Centre between 17 and 29 July 2017

 

DARIUS CAMPBELL JOINS SHERIDAN SMITH IN FUNNY GIRL

Darius Campbell will reprise his role as Nick Arnstein, joining Sheridan Smith in Funny Girl. Funny Girl comes to Cardiff in July, after wowing critics and audiences alike in the West End. The iconic musical tells the story of Fanny Brice – whose vocal talents and comedic ability see her rise from Brooklyn music hall singer to Broadway star.

Funny Girl is at Wales Millennium Centre between 4 and 8 July 2017

MISS SAIGON

Cameron Mackintosh is delighted to announce final casting for the UK and Ireland tour of his acclaimed production of Boublil and Schönberg’s legendary musical Miss Saigon. The cast includes Red Concepcion as The Engineer, Sooha Kim as Kim, Ashley Gilmour as Chris, Zoë Doano as Ellen, Gerald Santos as Thuy, Ryan O’Gorman as Joh and NaNa-Young Jeon as Gigi.

Miss Saigon is at Wales Millennium Centre between 29 November 2017 and 6 January 2018

CRAZY FOR YOU

Charlotte Wakefield will play Polly in Crazy For You, joining the previously announced Tom Chambers as Bobby and Caroline Flack as Irene. She made her West End debut as Wendla in Spring Awakening, for which she was nominated for an Olivier Award and played Maria in the critically acclaimed production of The Sound of Music at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre receiving nominations for Best Actress in a Musical at both the Evening Standard and Olivier Awards

Crazy For You is at Wales Millennium Centre between 5 and 9 September 2017

 

New Shows coming soon

 

ROB BRYDON ANNOUNCES SHOWS AT THE CENTRE

One of Wales’ greatest comedy exports, Rob Brydon, makes a welcome return to the Centre next year for his first stand-up tour since 2009.

Perhaps best known for the television shows Gavin and Stacey, Would I Lie To You? and The Trip, Rob starred opposite Kenneth Branagh earlier this year in the West End production of The Painkiller.

Rob Brydon: I Am Standing Up is at Wales Millennium Centre between 8 and 10 October 2018

 

SUNSET BOULEVARD COMES TO THE CENTRE

Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Tony Award®-winning masterpiece Sunset Boulevard, starring internationally acclaimed musical theatre star, Ria Jones, as Norma Desmond, comes to The Centre next year.

In her mansion on Sunset Boulevard, faded silent-screen goddess Norma Desmond lives in a fantasy world. Impoverished screen writer Joe Gillis, on the run from debt collectors, stumbles into her reclusive world and is seduced by her and her luxurious lifestyle. Joe becomes trapped in a claustrophobic world until his love for another woman leads him to try and break free, with dramatic consequences.

Sunset Boulevard is at Wales Millennium Centre between 26 February and 3 March 2018

 

MILKSHAKE! LIVE COMES TO CARDIFF

Milkshake! Live The Magic Story Book is coming to Cardiff this summer. Starring Milkshake! favourites Bob the Builder, Little Princess, Noddy, Toyland Detective and Fireman Sam, the show will be presented by Milkshake!’s Olivia Birchenough and Derek Moran. This all singing all dancing musical masterpiece will take the audience on a journey through the world’s favourite fairy tales.

Milkshake! Live, The Magic Storybook is at Wales Millennium Centre on 9 July 2017

 

VIDEO: @MatildaMusical comes to @TheCentre in 2018 #Wales

Coming to Wales Millennium Centre in 2018

December 8th 2018-12th January 2019

VIDEO: @ShrekUKTour at @TheCentre #Cardiff

Previously being at Wales Millennium Centre in Christmas 2015, Shrek brings back the green on April 18th 2018

VIDEO: @CuriousOnStage returning to @TheCentre #Cardiff

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the night-time is coming back to Wales Millennium Centre on 2nd May 2017.

I saw it on it’s first visit a few years back and it’s brilliant!

 

NEWS: New musical from @TheCentre gives platform to local community @TigerBayMusical

New musical from Wales Millennium Centre gives platform to local community

The arts and creative team behind Wales Millennium Centre’s next significant production, Tiger Bay the Musical, has developed an immersive creative learning programme for those who live in Butetown and the wider community.

 Tiger Bay the Musical, produced in association with Cape Town Opera, is a Welsh story of courage, reconciliation and love, built from the thriving multicultural community which still exists in Butetown today.

In keeping with this theme, the Centre will come together with the community over the next nine months to ensure the people of Butetown and Cardiff are involved in the production – starting with Performance Platfform, weekly creative sessions for 10 to 14-year-olds.

Already underway, Performance Platfform is led by industry professionals and teaches young people from the area audition techniques as well as providing them with opportunities to perform as part of Tiger Bay the Musical.

On Sunday 19 March the creative team, key cast and young people from the local community and further afield came together as part of Performance Platfform for a backstage tour and a joint rehearsal session. For many of the young people taking part, this was the first time they had set foot on a stage of such size.

Elan Isaac, Creative Learning Producer at Wales Millennium Centre, said, “This is the first time we have put on a creative learning programme attached to an in-house production, so we are really excited to deliver it with our local community and explore the different ways of involving them in the production.

 “The creative workshops are in full swing and the young people are really enjoying the sessions. We hope to find some raw talent for the production from these sessions, but the main purpose is to give participants an opportunity to learn new life skills, build confidence and resilience through the performing arts.”

 Graeme Farrow, Artistic Director at Wales Millennium Centre, added, “Our ambition is to co-create a programme of activity around Tiger Bay the Musical that explores some of the themes of the show that will be as prevalent today as it was then. We have an opportunity to share experiences past and present, generation to generation so that the project resonates with our local community, Cardiff and Wales.”

 Tiger Bay the Musical takes us back to the early 1900s in old Butetown, the docklands and Cardiff city centre at an extraordinary turning point in history, when coal was king and the industry booming.

Set to a rousing score from award winning Welsh composer Daf James, a cast of shop girls, sailors, donkeymen, suffragettes, immigrants and raggedy water boys will bring the atmosphere and sounds of old Tiger Bay to life. The musical recounts the story of growing conflict between the powerful Bute Dock Company and the Butetown community.

For information on developments in the Tiger Bay the Musical creative learning programme, visit www.tigerbaythemusial.com. The world premiere of Tiger Bay the Musical is on Wednesday 15 November 2017 at Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff. Tickets are on sale now at wmc.org.uk.

NEWS: @TheCentre announces the world premiere of #TigerBay, a major #Welsh musical in 2017

Wales Millennium Centre announces the world premiere of Tiger Bay, a major Welsh musical

Survival, romance and atonement in a diverse community: Tiger Bay, a new musical, takes place in what was once the most cosmopolitan port in the world, Cardiff Bay. A Wales Millennium Centre production in association with Cape Town Opera, this brand new show takes us back to the dawn of the twentieth century at the height of South Wales’s coal trade with characters drawn from the melting pot of Cardiff’s famous docklands.

Wales Millennium Centre has assembled an experienced creative team to craft the production, to premiere in November 2017. Directing is Melly Still, having just directed Cymbeline for the Royal Shakespeare Company at the Barbican and renowned for her Coram Boy at the National Theatre and on Broadway, and co-director Max Barton, Artistic Director PIGDOG and recently Associate on Stephen Schwartz’s Schikaneder, with a colourful original score by award-winning Welsh composer Daf James, book and lyrics by Cape Town Opera’s Michael Williams and design by Olivier award-winning Anna Fleischle.

Set at an extraordinary turning point in history, Tiger Bay tells of a time when Coal was King yet grinding poverty confronted opulent wealth. Valley girl, Rowena Pryddy, longs for a future away from David Morgan’s shop floor and its boarding house in central Cardiff. On the outskirts of the city, a man arrives in Tiger Bay looking for an escape from his past to find refuge in the city’s underworld of public houses, immigrants and street urchins. Above them all, in the Zodiac Room of Cardiff Castle, the Third Marquess of Bute grapples with his own seemingly insurmountable troubles and ironically it will be a lowly Water Boy who inspires the richest man in the world to leave a legacy for everyone.

Amongst a cast of unforgettable characters, the role of John Stuart, Third Marquess of Bute, will be played by John Owen-Jones – best known as The Phantom in The Phantom of the Opera and as Jean Valjean in Les Misérables in the West End and on Broadway – with further principals to be announced. Completing the cast will be a diverse ensemble to portray the rich multicultural community of the period plus a talented children’s chorus.

Graeme Farrow, Wales Millennium Centre’s Artistic Director, said “2016 has been a defining year for Wales Millennium Centre having created and delivered several landmark projects. I am immensely proud that 2017 will see us realise our next significant piece of work, Tiger Bay, a musical born from the history of our culturally diverse home in Cardiff’s former docklands which has relevance to the world we live in today. I hope that our latest venture will bring a great Welsh story to the world in a time when arts and culture must be a uniting force in our communities.”

Directors Melly Still and Max Barton said “Expect a gritty spectacular and a real thriller that draws on the lives and losses of the people from Tiger Bay, with a healthy dose of romance thrown in. This is a celebration of all that is unique about an extraordinary community, and we’re delighted to be involved with the community itself. And, doing justice to Tiger Bay’s celebrated music history, there are some belting numbers to boot.”

Michael Williams, writer and Managing Director at Cape Town Opera said, “First and foremost I have honoured the musical as an art form, although much of what found its way into the story is actually based on fact. Inspiration came from the complex mix of class, race and cultural diversity of this unique place in turn-of-the-century Britain. In writing Tiger Bay, the process of embedding myself in all things Welsh was made even more compelling when I uncovered my own Welsh roots; my grandfather worked in the Salvation Army in Cardiff and my mother was born there so, for me, the strong partnership between Cape Town and Cardiff began years ago.”

Alongside Tiger Bay, the Centre will be producing an extensive programme of musical theatre workshops, bringing leading artists to collaborate with young people from Cardiff’s Butetown and the historic Tiger Bay area.

The world premiere of Tiger Bay will be Wednesday 15 November 2017 at Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff (preview performance on Tuesday 14 November) and the production will run for two weeks until Saturday 25 November 2017.

Booking opens on Monday 28 November 2016. Tickets will be available £7-£39 and can be booked online at www.wmc.org.uk or via the Centre’s Ticket Office in person or by calling 029 2063 6464.

NEWS: New stage for @TheCentre #Wales #Cardiff #WMC

A new stage for the Centre

Wales Millennium Centre is making cultural waves as it releases a whole season of sensational sounds from their iconic building in the Bay.  

Less than six months since Festival of Voice, the Centre is launching a season of live music hosted in their newly refurbished cabaret style space – truly keeping the spirit of their inaugural city wide festival alive.  A creatively engineered programme of jazz, contemporary music and entertainment will further unlock Cardiff’s access to international vocalists and performers.

“The response from the ten day festival in June was incredible and we recognised an appetite to submerge the city in an enriching and eclectic season of entertainment,” says Graeme Farrow – Artistic Director of Wales Millennium Centre.  “We brought the likes of John Cale, Van Morrison and Laura Mvula to venues across our city and we are delighted to launch our own in-house programme with the sensational sultry tones of Ala.Ni – an incredibly talented performer who supported Rufus Wainwright during our Festival.”

Recognised as one of Wales’ top visitor attractions, the Centre has a vision to deliver inspirational experiences to new and existing audiences, showcasing the talents of Wales and bringing world class quality entertainment to the stage.  This new programme is sure to offer the city something unique and is a great way to bridge the gap between each biennial Festival of Voice.

Every Friday and Saturday night throughout November and December, the Centre’s bar and dining area will be transformed for each performance – recreating a slice of Soho and New York on our doorstep.  The programme, which runs Nov-Dec 2016 and returns Feb-Apr 2017 includes performances from La Voix, Hello Cabaret, The Tootsie Rollers and winner of the Yamaha Jazz Scholars Prize from Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama: Huw V Williams.

The Centre’s Managing Director Mathew Milsom says “We have incredible ambition here at the Centre and feel passionately about giving both new and existing audiences access to unique, quality art and culture.  Our live music programme will serve up a new dynamic in entertainment which we know there is demand for and we look forward to welcoming a new wave of visitors as well as familiar friends into this new space.”

To book tickets visit the Centre’s website www.wmc.org.uk/WhatsOn/livemusic/

NEWS: #Disney & @MaryPoppins comes to @TheCentre #Cardiff #Wales

Disney and Cameron Mackintosh’s International Supercalifragilistic Musical Hit Mary Poppins will fly into Wales Millennium Centre for Christmas 2016

Disney and Cameron Mackintosh’s multi award-winning musical Mary Poppins comes to the Wales Millennium Centre from 14 December 2016 to 14 January 2017; the last stop on its current UK & Ireland Tour.

The magical story of the world’s favourite Nanny arriving on Cherry Tree Lane has been triumphantly and spectacularly brought to the stage with dazzling choreography, incredible effects and unforgettable songs. The stage version of MARY POPPINS is brilliantly adapted from the wonderful stories by PL Travers and the beloved Walt Disney film, starring Zizi Strallen as ‘Mary Poppins’ and Matt Lee as ‘Bert’.

Zizi Strallen most recently starred as ‘Lana’ in Matthew Bourne’s ‘The Car Man’. Her previous West End credits include: ‘Cats’; the multi award-winning ‘Merrily We Roll Along’; ‘Rock of Ages’; ‘Dirty Dancing’; ‘Chitty Chitty Bang Bang’ and Matthew Bourne’s ‘Cinderella’ at Sadler’s Wells.  She has also appeared in ‘The Music Man’ at Chichester Festival Theatre and as ‘Penny Pingleton’ in ‘Hairspray’ at Leicester Curve.

Matt Lee, one of Australia’s premier “song and dance men”, played the role of ‘Bert’ in ‘Mary Poppins’ in the hugely successful Australian production of the show, his portrayal winning him the prestigious Helpmann Award for Best Actor in a Musical. His other theatre credits in Australia include ‘Miss Saigon’, ‘The Witches of Eastwick’, ‘Rent’, ‘Grease’ and ‘The Boy from Oz’. Matt was also a permanent member of the judging panel for Australia’s ‘So You Think You Can Dance’.

The stage production of MARY POPPINS is co-created by Cameron Mackintosh and has a book by Oscar-winning screenwriter and ‘Downton Abbey’ creator, Julian Fellowes. It has a timeless score by Richard M Sherman and Robert B Sherman including the songs Jolly Holiday, Step in Time, Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious and Feed the Birds with new songs and additional music and lyrics by the Olivier award-winning British team of George Stiles and Anthony Drewe. The producer for Disney Theatrical Productions is Thomas Schumacher.

The internationally renowned and multi award-winning creative team assembled for MARY POPPINS is led by stage and film director Richard Eyre. Co-direction and Choreography is by Matthew Bourne, with Co-choreography by Stephen Mear. Set and Costume Design is by Bob Crowley with Lighting Design by Natasha Katz, Sound Design by Paul Groothuis and Orchestrations by William David Brohn. The International Tour of MARY POPPINS is Directed by James Powell with Original Choreography adapted by Geoffrey Garratt. Musical Supervision is by Stephen Brooker.

The Olivier and Tony Award winning stage production of MARY POPPINS originally opened in the West End in 2004 and ran for three years and over 1,250 performances. The Broadway production opened in 2006 and ran for over six years. The show has subsequently enjoyed great success in Holland, Mexico and Vienna where it is in its second record breaking year. MARY POPPINS has toured Australia, New Zealand, the U.S. and the UK and has been seen by over 11 million people worldwide.

Mary Poppins comes to Wales Millennium Centre 14 December 2016 – 14 January 2017. Ticket prices range from £24 – £59. Age guidance 5+. For more information visit www.wmc.org.uk or call 029 2063 6464.