THEATRE ROYAL’S NEWLY ANNOUCED AUTUMN/SPRING SEASON HOLDS TREATS FOR EVERYONE!

The Theatre Royal’s new brochure has landed and the Autumn ‘13/ Spring ’14 season holds the very best of Drama, Dance, Comedy, Musicals and Opera. The season features some familiar faces as well as some brand new delights ensuring nobody wants for more. Philip Bernays, Chief Executive of the Theatre Royal said: “After breaking all our records last year, this autumn and next spring were always going to be a challenge!  But I’m delighted to say we’re really looking forward to bringing another jam-packed selection of the top productions to the North East, and I hope everyone is as excited about the new season at the Theatre Royal as I am. Our pantomime (the best in the country!) is always a highlight and I can’t wait to see what Clive and Danny have in store this year. With great musicals, great drama, the much-anticipated return of the RSC, great opera, great ballet, great dance and great comedy, the next nine months are going to be a treat, and I look forward to welcoming everyone to what really is the finest theatre in the country.” Get ready for the ride of your life as the musical phenomenon Priscilla Queen Of The Desert (3 – 15 Feb) comes to the Theatre Royal for two weeks only! Starring Noel Sullivan, Priscilla Queen of the Desert is a heart-warming, uplifting adventure of three friends who hop aboard a battered old bus searching for love and friendship and end up finding more than they had ever dreamed of. With a dazzling array of outrageous award-winning costumes and a hit parade of dancefloor favourites including It’s Raining Men, I Will Survive, Hot Stuff, Finally, Boogie Wonderland, Go West, and Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, this dazzling production has everything you need to wash away those post-christmas blues. Looking further ahead we welcome a week of Rock and Roll in Buddy – The Buddy Holly Story (4 – 9 Aug). The West End smash hit provides a night of drama, passion and excitement as a cast of phenomenally talented actors and musicians tell Buddy Holly’s story, from his meteoric rise to fame, to his final legendary performance. This will be a Peggy Sue-perb musical for fans of Rock and Roll! Derren Brown – Infamous (2 – 7 Jun) is sure to be a highlight for many as his previous show at the theatre sold-out very quickly! The multi-award winning master of psychological illusion returns to the stage promising to demonstrate once again why he is one of the world’s most renowned live performers. Ballet fans (and everyone else!) will be excited to hear that Spring sees the return of Matthew Bourne’s legendary dance company New Adventures, this time with a thrilling, audacious and undoubtedly original production of Swan Lake (8 – 19 Apr). Always extremely popular at the Theatre Royal, Matthew Bourne’s productions never fail to astound audiences. This powerful and provocative interpretation of Swan Lake took the dance world by storm, dazzling audiences in the West End and Broadway. Boldly shattering the traditional concept of swans in tutus, Matthew Bourne has created a contemporary Swan Lake for our times which is now unquestionably established as one of theatre’s great events. Ballet fans can also unwrap a tasty new treat from Scottish Ballet who present the world premiere of Christopher Hampson’s fantastical Hansel & Gretel (29 Jan – 1 Feb) but don’t be fooled as all is not as it seems in this delectably surreal world. The festively magical production is supported by Humperdinck’s evocative score, performed live by the Scottish Ballet orchestra. There is an amazing treat in store for fans of Midnight Tango, as Vincent Simone and Flavia Cacace return with a brand new show Dance ‘Til Dawn (9 – 14 Jun). Midnight Tango has enjoyed two sell-out runs at the Theatre Royal in recent years so this will no doubt be one to grab while you can! Dance ‘Til Dawn will see Vincent Simone and Flavia Cacace transported to the golden age of Hollywood with stunning sets, a live band and indisputably flawless footwork and spellbinding choreography. Dance fanatics can also look forward to Rambert (25 – 27 Mar) featuring the much anticipated return of Christopher Bruce’s electrifying Rooster, and, for one night only, Compagnie Kafig – Boxe Boxe (29 Mar) – the French company return to the UK with a  breath-taking show which fuses the noble art of boxing with dance. Lining up alongside Opera North - Festival of Britten (12 – 16 Nov) is a new spring season. Already on-sale, the Festival of Britten will present three stunning Britten productions – A Midsummer Night’s Dream (12 & 15 Nov), Peter Grimes (13 & 16 Nov) and Death in Venice (14 Nov). The new spring season brings a further three striking productions; the bloody and energetic Macbeth (11 & 13 Mar), the rarely performed The Girl Of The Golden West (12 & 14 Mar) and, at the heart of all things bohemian, From Paris with Love (15 Mar). Edward Halls all-male company will have you rolling in the aisles next April as Propeller (1 – 5 Apr) return with two sensational comedies - A Midsummer Night’s Dream (2, 3 & 5 Apr) and The Comedy of Errors (1 & 4 Apr). Propeller never fail to impress and these two contrasting comedies are a guaranteed to leave you wanting more. We’ve said it before – nobody does Shakespeare like Propeller! Fifty One Shades of Maggie (10 – 14 Sep) is a hilarious send-up of 50 Shades of Grey which tells the story of lovable Maggie Muff and her search for love. This comical play is the perfect girls’ night out – funny, sexy and full of very naughty bits! Catch Lynda Bellingham in the Kay Mellor's glorious comedy A Passionate Woman (17 – 22 Mar). Bellingham will reunite with All Creatures Great And Small co-star Christopher Timothy, as well as Peter McMillan, to play a woman torn between three men in her life - a husband she’s never really loved, a son she’s about to lose and a man she had a passionate affair with over thirty years ago. Catch this pre West End for an evening filled with a roller-coaster of emotions - but mostly laughter. These new shows will go on sale alongside a host of dramatic delights that are already on offer prior to the launch of the new brochure. Firstly we are now in the run up to the theatres record breaking pantomime. This year Clive Webb and Danny Adams offer up their addictive slapstick in Jack and the Beanstalk (26 Nov – 18 Jan) – it wouldn’t be Christmas without them. Coming up very soon is the critically acclaimed new show 9 To 5 The Musical (15 – 20 Jul) - a musical comedy featuring original numbers from Dolly Parton’s Oscar, Tony® and Grammy nominated score including Backwoods Barbie, Shine Like the Sun and the original hit song 9 to 5. From brand new to old classic, 9 To 5 The Musical is followed by one of the greatest musical crowd pleasers of all time – Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (23 Jul – 3 Aug) is back for a spectacular two week run featuring all your old favourites including Any Dream Will Do and Close Every Door To Me. Another nostalgic musical journey is offered up from the international smash hit New Jersey Nights (3 – 7 Sep) – a celebration of the music of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons.  With a cast of singers, dancers and onstage band, the show takes the audience on a nostalgic musical journey through the career of one of the biggest selling groups of all times. The golden era of rock’ n ‘roll will get a second outing with the smash hit musical Dreamboats and Petticoats (7 – 12 Oct) - following the sell-out success of Save the Last Dance for Me in January, the same team are back with another big hitter written by Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran (Goodnight Sweetheart, Birds of a Feather, and Shine On Harvey Moon). Developed prior to Save the Last Dance, it features classic tracks from some of rock’ n ‘roll’s biggest stars, including Roy Orbison, The Shadows, Eddie Cochran and Billy Fury. Another step back in time – this time to Tsarist Russia at the turn of the century, for Fiddler on the Roof (24 – 28 Sep) - one of the world’s favourite musicals and the longest running production on Broadway for over 13 years. Directed and choreographed by Craig Revel Horwood,(Strictly Come Dancing, Chess the Musical), this is a beautiful tale of the strength of family values and local traditions in a rural community during the last century and is filled to the brim with classic songs like If I Were a Rich Man, Matchmaker Matchmaker, Sunrise Sunset, To Life and of course, Fiddler on the Roof. A major blockbuster of a show scheduled to make its Newcastle debut with a four-week run next spring is Dirty Dancing (6 – 31 May) –  one of the most successful theatre shows of all time.  When it hit cinema screens in 1987 low-budget film Dirty Dancing became an overnight sensation - it was soon iconic and one of the ultimate ‘romance /coming of age’ movies. The smash hit musical, which recreates the classic story on stage, has since become a worldwide stage phenomenon.  Written by Eleanor Bergstein, script writer and co-producer of the hugely successful film, the production features all the much-loved characters and hits from the unforgettable soundtrack, including Do You Love Me, Hungry Eyes and the Academy Award Winning (I’ve Had) The Time Of My Life. Another major debut for 2014 is none other than the Australia’s greatest entertainment export - Barry Humphries, a.k.a Dame Edna Everage, on his farewell tour Eat Pray Laugh  (Tue 21 Jan - Sat 25 Jan). The show, featuring spectacular sets and gorgeous dancers, will give audiences in the North East a final chance to see Barry and his iconic comic creations. Following the huge success of their Gruffalo series, a new show by innovative children’s theatre company Tall Stories will hit the Theatre Royal stage in August – Room on the Broom (20 – 21 Aug). It features a host of friendly (and not so friendly!) characters and, like The Gruffalo, and The Gruffalo’s Child, will make a truly magical musical delight for children aged 3+. Set up in 1969 Northern Dance Theatre, (now Northern Ballet), is regarded as one of the world’s greatest ballet companies. The company returns with its Olivier Award nominated production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream (17 – 21 Sep).  Witty and colourful, it features music from Mendelssohn and Brahms, played live by the Northern Ballet Sinfonia. In the same week the company is also presenting two performances of The Ugly Duckling (Fri 20 Sep), a ballet specially designed for little ones, retelling the famous Hans Christian Anderson fairytale – a beautiful introduction to the world of ballet! Drama enthusiasts will delight when courtroom drama Rough Justice (30 Sep – 5 Oct) plays this Autumn, with the fabulous Tom Conti in the lead role.  Last seen at the Theatre Royal twenty years ago, Conti is one of the UK’s most popular actors and this play, written by Terence Frisby (There’s a Girl in My Soup), is high octane theatre – a murder story, suspense thriller and courtroom drama all rolled into one. Shakespeare fans will delight at the much anticipated return of the Royal Shakespeare Company season – back with a bang after a break of two years with a trio of new productions – Hamlet (18 - 26 Oct), As You Like it (29 Oct - 2 Nov) and All’s Well That Ends Well (5 - 9 Nov).  The last season to be programmed by the company’s former Artistic Director Michael Boyd, it features an ensemble cross-cast including leading lights Charlotte Cornwell (The West Wing), Jonathan Slinger (Hustle, The Veil of Maya, The Knight’s Tale) and Greg Hicks (RSC’s King Lear & Julius Caesar, Theatre Royal 2010).   As You Like It also features a score composed by none other than twice Mercury nominated, Brit Award winner English folk musician Laura Marling. Friends of the Theatre Royal can book on Friday 28 June, before the general public on Friday 5 July, and receive 20% off tickets, as well as discounts on food and drink in Pasqualino’s restaurant and bars, exclusive ticket exchange, reduced booking fees and immunity from dynamic price rises.

Tickets for all new shows in the Autumn ‘13/ Spring ‘14 season go on public sale on Friday 5 July.  Tickets can be purchased from the Theatre Royal Box Office on 08448 11 21 21 or select your own seat and book online at www.theatreroyal.co.uk

Friends priority booking opens on Friday 28 June, to become a Friend and book early, please contact the Box Office.