PRESS RELEASE – Wednesday 12th September 2018 IMAGES CAN BE DOWNLOADED HERE @RoyalAlbertHall / Facebook / Instagram / www.royalalberthall.com
ROYAL ALBERT HALL AND FIERY ANGEL ENTERTAINMENT PRESENT
GUYS AND DOLLS LIVE IN CONCERT
• LARA PULVER AND STEPHEN MANGAN JOIN ADRIAN LESTER, JASON MANFORD AND MEOW MEOW IN THE CAST OF GUYS AND DOLLS AT THE ROYAL ALBERT HALL
• THE PRODUCTION WILL BE THE FIRST EVER PRESENTATION OF THE MUSICAL AT THE VENUE AND RUNS FOR THREE PERFORMANCES ONLY BETWEEN 19 – 20 OCTOBER 2018
It was today announced that Lara Pulver, Stephen Mangan, Sharon D. Clarke and Paul Nicholas will join the cast of Guys and Dolls at the Royal Albert Hall. Pulver who recently won an Olivier Award for her performance in Gypsy, and is known for her roles in Sherlock and Spooks, will play Sarah Brown. Stephen Mangan, who was in the West End earlier this year in an anniversary production of Harold Pinter’s The Birthday Party, joins the cast as the narrator. Clarke, most recently on stage in acclaimed Caroline, or Change, will take the role of General Cartwright and Nicholas will be Arvide Abernathy. They join previously announced cast including Adrian Lester, Jason Manford, Meow Meow, Clive Rowe and Joe Stilgoe. Guys and Dolls will come to the iconic London venue for three performances between 19 – 20 October, directed and choreographed by Stephen Mear (Gypsy, Hello Dolly!, Mary Poppins) and featuring the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra. This will be the first time it has ever been presented in its entirety at the venue.
The production marks a return to musicals for Adrian Lester who stars as Sky Masterson, having previously won an Olivier Award for his performance in Sam Mendes’ Company at the Donmar Warehouse and received critical acclaim for his role in the National Theatre’s Sweeney Todd. One of the UK’s leading stand ups, Jason Manford returns to the Albert Hall stage having hosted the Olivier Awards there in 2017 to take on the role of Nathan Detroit. Clive Rowe reprises his Olivier Award-winning role as Nicely Nicely Johnson, international cabaret sensation Meow Meow will play the role of Miss Adelaide and acclaimed jazz singer and pianist Joe Stilgoe will play Benny Southstreet.
This sizzling, New York tale of gamblers, gangsters and nightclub singers – plus one missionary – features some of Broadway’s greatest show-stoppers, including ‘Luck Be a Lady’, ‘Sit Down, You’re Rockin’ the Boat’ and ‘My Time of Day’.
The cast also includes Stephane Anelli, Dan Burton, Cory English, Julian Forsyth, Nia Jermin, Alexis Owen Hobbs, Sévan Stephan, Matthew Whennell-Clark, Davide Fienauri, Stevie Hutchinson, Ross McLaren, Ebony Molina, Jo Morris, Cris Penfold, Jak Skelly, Rachel Stanley and Alexandra Waite-Roberts. Lara Pulver has recently been part of BBC Two’s The City and the City and Channel 4’s Electric Dreams: The World of Phillip K. Dick. In 2008 she was Olivier Award nominated for
her role in Parade (West End) and went on to win the Best Supporting Actress Olivier for her role in sell-out and critical hit Gypsy (National Theatre/ West End) in 2015. On screen she is best known for her roles in Spooks, True Blood, Sherlock and Underworld. Stephen Mangan is an English stage and film actor well known for his role in the BAFTA- winning British sitcom Green Wing and the BBC’s Episodes. He can currently be seen starring in Hang Ups, a show he has written and produced for Channel 4. He was on stage earlier this year in the Harold Pinter’s The Birthday Party in the West End as well as appearing in Sky’s comedy Bliss and BBC One’s The Split. Mangan’s extensive theatre career includes work with Cheek by Jowl, The Old Vic (The Norman Conquests) as well performing in the West End (Jeeves and Wooster) and on Broadway (The Norman Conquests) where he received a Tony Award-nomination. His film credits include Rush, Breathe, Billy Elliot and Festival. Olivier Award-winner Sharon D. Clarke was critically-hailed for her performance of the role of Caroline Thibodeaux in Caroline, or Change which comes to the West End later this year. Clarke has enjoyed a long established stage career with credits including Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom and The Amen Corner (National Theatre), Ghost The Musical (Piccadilly Theatre), The Life (Southwark Playhouse) and Porgy and Bess (Regents Park Open Air Theatre). On TV, Clarke is known for playing Lola Griffin in BBC’s Holby City and was recently announced as a new character in Doctor Who. Paul Nicholas became a household favourite in the celebrated sitcom Just Good Friends and is also known for his work as Gavin in EastEnders. He has worked extensively on stage with musical theatre credits including Barnum, 42nd Street, Singing In The Rain, Dr Doolittle, A Christmas Carol, Pirates Of Penzance, Tale Of Two Cities, Fiddler On The Roof and Dear World.
Adrian Lester is best known for the BBC’s Hustle and his performance as Othello at the National Theatre in 2013, which won him Best Actor at the Evening Standard Theatre Awards. His musical-theatre credits include Sweeney Todd (also at the National) and his Olivier- winning performance in Sam Mendes’ production of Company at the Donmar Warehouse and in the West End.
Jason Manford made his name as a leading stand-up, before embarking on a theatrical career. A stage debut in Sweeney Todd, opposite Michael Ball and Imelda Staunton, led to a starring role in The Producers and a year-long run in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.
Meow Meow’s award-winning solo works have been curated by David Bowie, Pina Bausch, and Mikhail Baryshnikov as well as numerous international arts festivals. She initiated the role of the Maîtresse in the Gielgud Theatre adaptation of The Umbrellas of Cherbourg in the West End and appeared as Titania in Emma Rice's revolutionary A Midsummer Night's Dream (Shakespeare's Globe).
Clive Rowe, who is known for his work in musical theatre was recognised with an MBE in the 2017 New Year’s Honours list. His extensive theatre credits include his Olivier Award- winning performance in Guys and Dolls (National Theatre), The Light Princess, Carousel (for which he was nominated for an Olivier Award), Fuente Ovejuna, Caroline, or Change, The Villains Opera, Money, Candide, Peter Pan (National Theatre), Kiss Me, Kate (Chichester and Old Vic Theatre) and The Ladykillers (West End and UK Tour).
Joe Stilgoe is an internationally acclaimed singer, pianist and songwriter. He has toured all around the world with his band and as a solo act, having appeared in jazz clubs from New York to Berlin to Kuala Lumpur, including sell-out runs at Ronnie Scott's.
Stephen Mear won Olivier Awards for his choreography of Mary Poppins (with Matthew Bourne) and Hello, Dolly!, and has been celebrated for his work on West End shows Singin’ in the Rain, Sweet Charity and the acclaimed revival of Gypsy, starring Imelda Staunton.
The cast also includes: Cory English; Alexis Owen Hobbs; Nia Jermin; Matthew Whennell-Clark; Sévan Stephan; Dan Burton; Stephane Annelli; Julian Forsyth. This production is presented by the Hall and Fiery Angel Entertainment, with musical direction from James McKeon and design by Morgan Large.
Tickets are on sale now, from www.royalalberthall.com
-ENDS-
For further information please contact Maisie Lawrence at The Corner Shop PR on 020 7831 7657 / [email protected] or
Rick Burin at the Royal Albert Hall on 020 7959 0531 / [email protected]
LISTINGS
Guys and Dolls: Live in Concert at the Royal Albert Hall Kensington Gore, London, SW7 2AP Friday 19 October (7:30pm) and Saturday 20 October (2:30pm and 7:30pm) 2018 Tickets £17.50-85 www.royalalberthall.com / 020 7589 8212
Press performance: Saturday 20 October, 7.30pm
NOTES TO EDITORS
Royal Albert Hall
The Royal Albert Hall is the world’s most famous stage. Over the past 147 years, it has hosted everyone from Albert Einstein to Arctic Monkeys, The Beatles to Beyoncé, Churchill to Chvrches (we could go on). Last year, its breathtaking auditorium presented 386 events by the world’s greatest performers – taking in rock, pop and classical music, theatre, dance, films, Cirque du Soleil and even tennis – with the magical setting and inspired artists creating amazing memories for audiences.
Opened in 1871 to fulfil Prince Albert’s vision of a central hall to promote the arts and sciences, the Hall is a registered charity that remains true to his founding ambitions while looking to the future. With 1.7million visitors a year, ‘the nation’s village hall’ is the world’s busiest venue, while its 1,000 events in secondary spaces help to welcome a young, diverse audience to the Hall. Research conducted by Populus in 2018 found that the Hall was the most respected venue in its field, with members of the public regarding it as more special and yet less elitist than any comparable venue.
Its Education & Outreach programme reaches more than 185,000 participants each year, working with schools, young people and the community, as well as other charities such as Music for Youth, as part of its extensive public benefit remit. It creates memories, changes lives and provides inspiration through music for all, regardless of age or background.
Fiery Angel Entertainment
Fiery Angel Entertainment was established in 2017 by Fiery Angel Ltd, Raymond Gubbay CBE and Michael Stevens to develop concert and special event presentation in the UK and internationally. Following a successful limited season of Barry Humphries’ Weimar Cabaret at the Barbican, Fiery Angel Entertainment are proud to be producing and presenting Guys and Dolls at the Royal Albert Hall, a Christmas season of Circus 1903 at the Royal Festival Hall and Our Finest Hour – Dunkirk and the Battle of Britain at concert venues around the UK.