London Classic Theatre: Notice Board 2008

	THE LAST DANCE Our tour of Humble Boy came to a close at the Guildhall Arts Centre in Grantham on Saturday night in front of a typically warm, enthusiastic audience. The cast can now look forward to a well-deserved break before the tour continues in 2009. The last performance was an emotional occasion as we said farewell to Carole Dance, who has played Mercy Lott with such distinction for the last ten weeks. Carole has been a delight to work with, contributing hugely to the success of the show onstage, as well as being a dedicated and enthusiastic company member. We will all miss her enormously. Humble Boy will re-open at the Haymarket Theatre, Basingstoke on 29 January. A full tour schedule will be published on our CURRENTLY page soon. Posted 24 November 2008
Paula Jennings	HEY PAULA! We are thrilled to announce that Paula Jennings has been nominated for a Manchester Evening News Theatre Award in the category of Best Actress in a Visiting Production for her portrayal of Beverly in Abigail's Party at the Oldham Coliseum in November 2007. Other nominees in Paula's category are Lynda Bellingham in Calendar Girls (The Lowry), Claire Benedict in Angel House (Contact Theatre), Dawn Steele in Blackbird (The Lowry) and Michelle Terry in The Man Who Had All The Luck (The Lowry). There is a full list of nominees and more information about the awards on the Manchester Evening News City Life website. The awards ceremony will take place on 2 December at Manchester's Midland Hotel. Posted 1 November 2008
________________	HUMBLE BOY 2009 Humble Boy is now in its seventh week on tour and has just completed a successful run at Greenwich Theatre, where audiences included a significant number of friends, family and industry colleagues. Thanks to one and all for your support and enthusiasm about the show - it was great to see so many familiar faces. The tour has now moved on to Oldham Coliseum, where it has been picking up some excellent reviews. After a break for the Christmas period, we can confirm that Humble Boy will be back on the road next year. Demand for the show has been excellent, with a further 13 weeks booked in 2009. The second leg of the tour will open at the Haymarket Theatre, Basingstoke on 29 January, before starting a 5 week tour of Ireland at the Everyman Palace Theatre, Cork. Other venues on the 2009 tour include Buxton Opera House, Clwyd Theatr Cymru and The Lighthouse, Poole. Posted 30 October 2008
Pauline Whitaker, John Dorney, Martin Wimbush Photo © Sheila Burnett 2008	HUMBLE BOY CASTING We are pleased to introduce the cast for our 2008 national tour of Humble Boy. Peter Cadden will play George Pye. Recent theatre includes; The Creeper (UK Tour), Ohio Impromptu (Beckett Festival, Barbican & Gate Theatre Dublin), Measure for Measure and Pygmalion (both for the Peter Hall Company & Theatre Royal, Bath). This will be Peter's fourth appearance for London Classic Theatre, having previously played Rice in Molly Sweeney, Kemp in Entertaining Mr Sloane, and Ralph in Frozen. Carole Dance will play Mercy Lott. Theatre credits range from children’s theatre (Mrs Medlock in The Secret Garden at Polka Theatre) to the West End, where she worked with Harold Pinter in The Old Masters. Television and film credits include; Alice Meadows in the film All Ova Again, The Bill, London’s Burning, The Detective, Strange But True and most recently After You’ve Gone. John Dorney will play Felix Humble. Theatre includes; Peter Pan and Flight (National Theatre), Feelgood (English Speaking Theatres of Vienna and Frankfurt), Something Beginning with… (Orange Tree), Better Watch Out (Hampstead), Volpone (Wilton’s Music Hall), The Revengers Tragedy (Southwark Playhouse), Honolulu and Morpheus Descending (Pleasance Courtyard) and An Evening with Gary Lineker (Wimbledon Studio). Catherine Harvey will play Rosie Pye. Theatre includes; Nightfall (London Classic Theatre) Les Enfants du Paradis (Arcola), An Ideal Husband (Clwyd Theatr Cymru), Twelfth Night (Young Vic Studio), Deirdre of the Sorrows (Riverside Studios) and Uncle Vanya (National Theatre Studio). Film & television; Where the Heart Is, Casualty, Judge John Deed, Wing and a Prayer, Red Dwarf, Three Sisters and Oscar and Lucinda. Pauline Whitaker will play Flora Humble. This will be her sixth appearance for London Classic Theatre, most recently having played Sue in our 2007 tour of Abigail’s Party. Other theatre includes; Comp (Tristan Bates Theatre), Pride & Prejudice and Clear (Bristol Old Vic) and The Trojan Women (Cheltenham Everyman). Television includes; Jacquie Stamp in The Bill, Afterlife, Midsomer Murders, Life Begins, Bad Girls, EastEnders, Casualty, My Hero, Doctors and Only Fools and Horses. Martin Wimbush will play Jim the Gardener. Martin has worked extensively with most of our leading repertory companies and his West End credits include Outside Edge, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, City of Angels and The Importance of Being Earnest. TV credits include; Cape Wrath, Hiroshima, Born and Bred, The Lost Prince, Macawber and Vanity Fair. Film credits include; Orlando, Mean Machine, Bridget Jones Diary and Gangster No 1. Posted 1 August 2008
	GOODBYE TO CHEESE AND PINEAPPLE On Saturday 7 June, after 32 weeks and over 150 performances, our tour of Abigail’s Party finally came to an end at The Haymarket Theatre, Basingstoke. The production was seen by more than 40,000 people at 71 venues in the UK and Ireland. The packed house and enthusiastic audience were typical of the response to the tour from start to finish - it proved a huge success on every level. Building on the very high standards set by the original cast, our 2008 company, Alice, Steve, Amy, Jamie and Anna were magnificent, keeping the show fresh and clear throughout the long run. Alex and Maria, our indomitable stage managers, worked incredibly hard, dealing with our most ambitious set to date. It was an eventful tour offstage as well. Blizzards in Ireland, an emergency dentist in Shropshire and an onstage collapse made headlines in Scotland. The tour marked another major step forward for LCT as we continue to develop relationships with some of the most exciting regional venues in the UK and Ireland. For their support, and the hard work of the programmers, marketing, technical and other theatre staff who all contributed in making Abigail’s Party our most successful tour to date, a sincere thanks to one and all. Posted 11 June 2008
	HUMBLE BOY - AUTUMN 2008 We are delighted to announce that we will be touring Humble Boy by Charlotte Jones this Autumn. This award-winning comedy will open at Theatre Royal, Winchester on 17 September, before embarking on a ten-week national tour. Venues include Greenwich Theatre, Oldham Coliseum, Central Theatre Chatham and the New Wolsey Theatre, Ipswich. Humble Boy was first produced at the National Theatre in 2001, in a critically-acclaimed production starring Simon Russell Beale and Diana Rigg. Casting for the show will begin in June. Posted 4 May 2008
	'LIFE IMITATES ART' During last night's performance of Abigail’s Party at the Brunton Theatre, Musselburgh, Steve Dineen, who plays Laurence, was suddenly taken ill during the scene where his character suffers a heart attack. The performance was halted and an ambulance called. After an initial assessment by paramedics, Steve was taken to the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary for tests, which established that he was suffering from 'muscular stress and strain' and he was discharged at just after 2.00am. We spoke to him this morning and are delighted to report that he is in good form, feeling much better, but a little bemused by the media attention that has ensued. Tonight's performance will go ahead as planned. We'd like to thank the Scottish Emergency Services, who responded so promptly and professionally, as well as staff at the Brunton Theatre, who dealt with a difficult situation with great sensitivity. Also our own cast and crew, who were very quick to realise there was a problem and seek immediate attention. Finally, thanks to one and all for the messages of support and concern for Steve received here at the Production Office and at the Brunton Theatre. Posted 2 May 2008
	A 'TOUR DE FORCE' Our 2008 tour of Abigail’s Party opened on 22 January at the Everyman Palace Theatre, Cork and has just finished its first three weeks in Ireland. Response to the new tour has been fantastic, with some excellent reviews and several sell-out performances. The cast have returned to the UK for a well-deserved break after a very busy opening three weeks, 16 performances in 18 days, and will resume the tour at the Ramor Theatre, Virginia, Cavan on 15 February. Posted 10 February 2008
	2008 TOUR DATES For a full list of dates for our forthcoming tour of Abigail's Party, please visit our CURRENTLY page. We are pleased that the 2008 tour not only features many of our regular venues, but a number of first-time visits as well, including Harrogate Theatre, Coventry Belgrade Theatre, Wakefield Theatre Royal and Norwich Playhouse. Posted 2nd January 2008
Alice Selwyn (Beverly)	ABIGAIL'S PARTY CASTING We are delighted to introduce the cast for our 2008 UK & Ireland tour of Abigail's Party. Steve Dineen will reprise the role of Laurence that he played in our 2007 tour of the play. He also 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). Anna Kirke will play Susan. This will be her second appearance for LCT, having appeared in our production of Love in a Wood at the New End, Hampstead in 1996. Anna's theatre work includes; Woman in Mind (Salisbury Playhouse), Pat and Margaret (New Vic, Stoke) and Love Me Slender (Oldham Coliseum). Television includes; The Inspector Lynley Mysteries (BBC), My Father’s Expectations (BBC), Julia Jekyll and Harriet Hyde (BBC), The Bill (ITV) and Scar Stories (BBC). Jamie Matthewman will play Tony. A recent graduate of Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Jamie's stage work since graduation includes Edmund in King Lear, Ferdinand in The Tempest and Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing for The Orange Tree Theatre, Richmond, and Jackson in Live Like Pigs at The Royal Court Theatre. Alice Selwyn will play Beverly. Alice is a co-founder of The Work Theatre Collective with whom she has performed in Project E - An Explosion (BAC), Project D - I’m Mediocre (Tristan Bates Theatre), Project C - On Principle (Tristan Bates/BAC) and Project B (Tristan Bates Theatre). Other theatre credits include; All the Right People Come Here (Recorded Delivery at Wimbledon Theatre), Franco Zeffirelli’s Absolutely (perhaps!) (Wyndhams Theatre) and Party Piece (Newcastle Playhouse). Television appearances include; The Bill (Talkback Thames), Heartbeat (Yorkshire TV), Heatwave (BBC, Murder in Mind (BBC), EastEnders (BBC), London’s Burning (LWT) and Holding the Baby (Granada). Amy Starling will play Angela. Amy trained at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama. Her most recent theatre work was playing Tybalt in The Most Excellent and Lamentable Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet for Volcano Theatre. Television includes; Belonging VIII (BBC), Torchwood (BBC), Eros Unleashed (ITV), Nuts and Bolts (HTV Wales), Tracy Beaker (BBC) and A470 (ITV). Posted 1st January 2008

NOTICE BOARD ARCHIVE 2007 / 2008 / 2009