THE PARTY'S OVER (FOR NOW)...

After 12 weeks on the road, our tour of Abigail's Party went on stage for the last time at King's Lynn Arts Centre on Saturday night.  It was an excellent performance, played out in front of a nearly full house, and the fantastic response at the end seemed to sum up the tour.  Not only has the show been sold out on a regular basis, but the cast have been receiving plaudits for their work on the play from the very start and deservedly so.  Paula, Steve, Benjamin, Helen and Pauline have done an impeccable job throughout, bringing Mike Leigh's characters to life with intelligence, skill and panache.

As we look forward to 2008, and the challenges that lie ahead, we are delighted to announce that Steve Dineen will again play Laurence.  He will be joined by four new cast members in this second leg of the tour and we look forward to maintaining the extremely high standards set by the first company.  Our best wishes to one and all as a New Year approaches and the very best of success in their varied endeavours.

Posted 27 November 2007

IT'S PARTY TIME!
 
Our tour of Abigail's Party opened at Perth Theatre on 6 September.  The production has been very well received and has been playing to excellent audiences.  To read reviews including extracts from The Stage, The Scotsman and the Perthshire Advertiser, go to the Abigail's Party 2007 page.
 
 Posted 14 September 2007

Paula Jennings (Beverly)

ABIGAIL'S PARTY CASTING

We are delighted to introduce the cast of Abigail's Party.

Steve Dineen will play Laurence.  He recently appeared as Brian in Michael Cabot’s production of Pera Palas at the Arcola Theatre, London. Theatre includes Midnight (West End/No1 Tour), Clockwork (Southwark Playhouse) and Barney Cashman in Last of the Red Hot Lovers (Canal Café). Screen work includes Forgetting is So Long, Folie à Deux, How To Kill Your Neighbor (Cannes ’05), The Notebooks of Cornelius Crow (Cannes ‘04), Carmilla and Joe's Story (C4).

Paula Jennings will play Beverly.  This is her second appearance with London Classic Theatre having played Rosie in My Mother Said I Never Should in 2000. Her theatre work includes Tiger at the Gate (National Theatre Studio), Incarcerator (Old Red Lion) and Othello (Leicester Haymarket). Television includes Silent Witness (BBC), Casualty (BBC), Walk Away And I Stumble (Granada), Foyles War (ITV), New Tricks (BBC), The Brief (Carlton) and EastEnders (BBC).  

Helen Johns will play Angela. Theatre includes Pera Palas (Arcola Theatre), Mrs Warren's Profession, Much Ado About Nothing, The Rover (Centurion Theatre), Gardening Leave (Upstart Theatre Tour), Jude the Obscure - The Musical (Drury Lane Revue), Vincent - The Musical (Compass Theatre), and Princess Margaret in 1 Henry VI at the Globe's William Poel Festival. Film/TV includes Ava Gardner in Capturing Mary (Stephen Poliakoff Films/BBC) and Signora Cellini in Benvenuto Cellini (RSC Video Shorts).

Benjamin Warren will play Tony. This will be his fourth appearance for LCT, having previously worked on The Double Inconstancy, The Caretaker and Entertaining Mr Sloane. Other theatre includes Caught (Theatre Alibi), Why The Whales Came (West End), The Baby and Fly Pie (Manchester Royal Exchange), and Edward II (National Theatre Studio). Screen work includes Down To Earth (BBC), Mystery (CiTV), and The Jigsaw (iVisualise).

Pauline Whitaker will play Susan.  This will be Pauline's fifth national tour with the company, having previously appeared in My Mother Said I Never Should, The Killing of Sister George, Entertaining Mr Sloane and Nightfall. Pauline's television credits include EastEnders, Only Fools and Horses, Bad Girls, The Bill, Casualty, Doctors and My Hero.

Posted 12 August 2007 

PERA PALAS OPEN FOR BUSINESS
 
Michael Cabot's production of Pera Palas at the Arcola Theatre opened on 15 June. The production has been getting excellent press, including coverage in The Stage, The Financial Times and a four star review from Brian Logan in Time Out.
 
For more information about the production, please visit the Arcola Theatre website.
 
 Posted 21 June 2007

THE SUN SETS ON NIGHTFALL
 
Our UK & Ireland tour of Nightfall ended on Saturday 16 June in Devizes.  The tour was a great success, getting excellent audiences throughout its run.  
 
Pauline, Jonathan and Cathie were a pleasure to work with, bringing Joanna Murray-Smith's characters to life and sustaining the high quality of their performances from first to last. Although only a cast of three, they were a true ensemble, working together at all times to bring the best out of the show.
 
Peter Foster's contribution to the tour (his third) was as strong as ever.  His atmospheric, stylish lighting design complemented the production perfectly.
 
Clair Archbold made her debut as Production Stage Manager.  She did a great job, re-lighting the show with superb attention to detail and impressing everyone with her boundless energy.
 
To see Victor Hallet's review of the show for Onstage Scotland, please visit the Nightfall page. The show was also covered by June Atkins of BBC Lincolnshire. You can read her review of the show on the BBC Website.
 
Posted  20 June 2007

NIGHTFALL CASTING
 
We are very pleased to introduce the cast of our forthcoming tour of Nightfall.
 
Jonathan Coote will play Edward Kingsley.  Jonathan is a very experienced stage actor, most recently having worked on consecutive seasons at Pitlochry Festival Theatre (2005 & 2006).  Other  theatre work includes appearances at the New Victoria Theatre, Stoke, Derby Playhouse and Theatre Royal, Stratford East.  This will be his first appearance for LCT.
 
Catherine Harvey will play Kate Saskell.  Her theatre experience includes work at Clwyd Theatr Cymru, Young Vic, Riverside Studios and the National Theatre Studio.  Her television appearances include Judge John Deed, Red Dwarf and Where The Heart Is.  This will be her first appearance for LCT.
 
Pauline Whitaker will play Emily Kingsley. This will be Pauline's fourth national tour with the company, having previously appeared in My Mother Said I Never Should, The Killing of Sister George and Entertaining Mr Sloane. Pauline's television credits include EastEnders, Only Fools and Horses, The Bill, Casualty, Doctors and My Hero.
 
Posted 9 March 2007

MORE DRINKS ANYONE?

We are delighted to announce that this Autumn we will be producing Abigail's Party by Mike Leigh.  This popular comedy and landmark of 20th Century drama will open at Perth Theatre in September 2007 for a three-week run, before embarking on an extensive national tour, including visits to Winchester Theatre Royal, Oldham Coliseum, Buxton Opera House and Greenwich Theatre.

We can also confirm that due to unprecedented interest, Abigail's Party will extend into 2008, with a six-week tour of Ireland booked in January and February. Further UK dates are already planned beyond this and we expect that the tour will run until at least the end of May. 

A schedule of the 2007 dates for the Abigail's Party tour will be published on the website soon.

Casting information for the show will be available in June.

Posted 4 March 2007

HEADING EAST...

LCT Artistic Director Michael Cabot has been invited to direct Pera Palas by Sinan Ünel at the Arcola Theatre in Hackney, East London as part of the theatre's forthcoming Orient Express season.  Michael is very excited about returning to Arcola to work on this ambitious project - his last collaboration with the theatre was a critically-acclaimed staging of Marat/Sade in 2001.
 
Pera Palas, an epic family drama, charts the social, political and cultural changes which have shaped Turkey over the last century.  The play will run for 4 weeks from from 15 June - 7 July 2007.
 
For more information about the production, please visit the Arcola Theatre website.
 
Posted 03 March 2007