Russ Abbot will be take over the role of Fagin in the hit musical Oliver! from 14 June. Russ has played the role of Fagin before at the Palladium, at the Theatre Royal and also on tour.

His other credits include Grandpa Potts in hit musical Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Alfred P. Doolittle in My Fair Lady.
Most recently, Russ played the role of Hobbo in the latest series of BBC 1′s Last of the Summer Wine.

Russ takes over from that other favourite entertainer Griff Rhys Jones. Griff has played the role for the last 5 months but he bids farewell to Oliver! on Saturday 12 June.

Billy Boyd, (the only recorded Scots Hobbit, he played Pippin in the Lord of the Rings films!), will join a tour of Dundee Rep’s revival of its award-winning musical, Sunshine on Leith, opening on August 31.

Based around the songs of the Proclaimers the show was written by Stephen Greenhorn. According to the Stage:

Glasgow-born Boyd will star as Davy, a squaddie returning to Leith with his best pal after they have experienced one too-many tours of Afghanistan. The Rep’s artistic director James Brinning will direct, with musical direction by Hilary Brooks and design by Neil Warmington.

After opening in Dundee on August 31 the production will tour Scotland and Ireland to October 23. Dates have been booked in England until November 27 with further dates to be announced. Will the Proclaimer’s musical make it to London? I certainly hope so. I’m a fan of their song writing skills and I think they’ve better credentials than many who’ve found their way onto the London scene recently.
As Bernard Logan said in his 2007 review:

Sunshine on Leith
Abba, Queen, Madness … the Proclaimers?! Well, why not? Dundee Rep’s much-hyped new ‘jukebox musical’ lets others discover what we devotees have long argued: that the Reid brothers are the best songwriters in Britain. The uninitiated will still enjoy a show that hijacks the band’s music to tell the story of two squaddies returning to Leith from Iraq. But I love the Proclaimers so much, my heart wears NHS specs, and to me, this is absolute bliss.

“It’s definitely happening. We’ve brought a scriptwriter in and are working on a few synopses now.

“And the critics … music critics are one thing but theatre critics are something else. I suppose if it doesn’t work then that’s it — it’s a closed book. I need to get through this album launch first, and then I’m probably touring, but we’ll get to it after that. It’s early days but it’s very exciting.”

Kylie is writing the production with her stylist William Baker. It will be based on her back catalogue of hits and she hopes it will be rather like Abba’s Mamma Mia! She’ll need quite a strong story line for that to work out! So rather than tell the story of Kylie’s own rise to fame it will tell another tale. I think it’s a shame that more performers haven’t learned the lesson of Jersey Boys. I’d be quite interested to see the story of her rise to mega stardom told against the backdrop of her greatest hits.

Aspects of Love comes to the Mernier

Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Aspects Of Love, which will be directed by Trevor Nunn at the Menier Chocolate Factory, will feature a cast led by Michael Arden and Katherine Kingsley.The run starts on 14 July, following on from the new musical Paradise Found.

The Story of Aspects of Love

Lovers Alex Dillingham and Rose Vibert play out a love story that spans 20 years and three generations. Aspects Of Love is based on David Garnet’s novel. We follow student Alex as he travels through France and watch him fall in love with the beautiful actress, Rose. They start a passionate affair but the arrival of Alex’s uncle changes their lives forever.

The Cast and Creatives of Aspects of Love

Director Trevor Nunn return to the Menier Chocolate Factory for the first time since his successful revival of Sondheim’s A Little Night Music last year. Having someone as prestigious as Nunn at the Mernier only further confirms the theatre’s status as the place to try out revivals and new shows before West End transfers. Nunn directed the original production of Aspects Of Love and collaborated with Lloyd Webber on the original stage version in 1979.

Arden, an American, makes his West End stage debut in Aspects Of Love. However he’s already well known on Broadway having stared in Big River and The Times They Are A-Changing. However I’m sure most of his UK fans will know him from cult series Grey’s Anatomy.

Katherine Kingsley is currently in the UK touring production of The 39 Steps.She’s probably best known for her performance in the Donmar Warehouse production of Piaf which saw her nominated for an Olivier Award.

The Music of Aspects of Love

The music of the show is classic Lloyd Webber, with many themes you’ll recognise,including the iconic “Love Changes Everything”

As the original production ran for over 1,000 performances this just might be another hit for the Mernier, following on from other successes like A Little Night Music and Sweet Charity.

Usually you arrive in London on Friday evening. You either choose to see your show straight away on the Friday evening or book your show for Saturday night. If you choose to see your show on Friday you might worry about getting a pre-theatre meal. However most of the restaurants in the West End offer pre-theatre menus which are served from 5:30 giving you lots of time to get to your show.

I prefer to book the show for Saturday evening if at all possible. It gives you Friday night to relax, explore a little and have an unrushed evening meal. Then a little gentle sight-seeing and maybe shopping on the Saturday. I like to have a really English treat, afternoon tea, somewhere like Fortnum and Masons. This needs to be booked in advanced. Some of theatre break agencies will let you book when you book this when your break and even offer a discount. Afternoon tea is really a small meal not just a snack so it should see you through everything but the longest shows. After the show, most end between 10pm and 10:30pm, you can easily find somewhere to have a spot of supper. I am very fond of La Tasca which does fresh, tasty Spanish tapas until quite late on Saturdays. It is great for sharing and you can order as much or as little as you want. The it is back to your hotel for a nightcap and to relax. This is when you will be really glad you chose a central London hotel, somewhere within walking distance of the theatre is ideal. This is so much pleasanter than dealing with the tube, black cabs or rickshaws.

After theatre tapas?

If you are an early riser and you’ve travelled fairly light Sunday morning can be a great time for sight-seeing in London. The city is amazingly quiet on Sunday mornings and you can see busy areas like Westminster without having to deal with the crowds.

Happy New Year for 2010 from the Theatre Breaks in London blog team.

It’s been a great year in London’s West End with some surprise hits and some unfortunate flops as well, and we look forward to 2010 especially with the opening of the Phantom of The Opera continuation Love Never Dies and the new Wizard of Oz.

January is a busy tine for the travel and entertainments industries so we hope you all manage to find the best theatre breaks in London bargains out of all the new deals and offers floating about at this time of year.

London seems such an industrious city with working people rushing about all the time and yet on any one single day there are probably tens of thousands if not hundreds of thousands of visitors taking some kind of breaks in London. In this blog we mainly concentrate on theatre breaks in London because that’s the name of the blog but within that whole idea of city breaks with a hotel and theatre show combined in one package, there are many different ways of putting it all together, so that comes down in the end mainly to individual choice.

Hotel breaks in London

Hotel breaks in London

Hotel breaks in London can of course come with or without theatre tickets, and the attraction of a top musical show isn’t what brings everybody to the West end even. Some might come for sporting, shopping or concert breaks in London. And then there’s the question of whether weekend breaks are better than midweek breaks in London when the show tickets might be for better seats but the hotel room have less availability. The same parent might choose to bring the kids for family breaks in London to meet one purpose but on another occasion just a partner for romantic breaks in London with a fantastic meal at one of the numerous smart restaurants in the city.

Last year, in 2008 for example we had Bill Baily’s comedy and music Tinselworm show and also Eddie Izzard’s amazing standup performance, both in Shaftesbury avenue theatres.

This year, 2009 we have Dylan Moran, the surrealist Irish comedian who starred in cult TV sitcom “Black Books” among other things.

Dylan Moran Theatre Breaks in London

Dylan Moran

Eddie Izzard is back this year but only for one night so it’s at the O2, where there;s a Russel Brand show too.

O2 comedy breaks – Eddie Izzard , Russel Brand

Theatre breaks in london

Where I think this new musical is going to make sure of its own survival in London theatreland though, is in having Ben Elton write the playscript. Elton is the comedian, comedy writer and novelist who is behind the storyline in “We Will Rock You” which is another of the longest running West End musicals, and a long term favourite for theatre breaks in London, not just for the great classic rock songs by Queen. So with a host of talented established musical theatre stars lined up for a possible three instances of Love Never Dies worldwide, with the experience of the management, talent of the writers and the following of Phantom to build on, I can’t see Love Never Dies failing to make a permanent marl on the London theatre breaks scene.