Aladdin swoops into Hackney Empire


Mark Williams to star in Doctor Dolittle tour


Harry Potter star Mark Williams will play the title role in a tour of Doctor Dolittle, which is part of the 50th anniversary celebrations of the original film starring Rex Harrison. Williams has also starred in


The Fast Show, Father Brown, The Borrowers and Shakespeare in Love, and has many theatre credits. He will play Doctor Dolittle at the first 10 venues of the UK and Ireland tour, starting in Bromley on November 9, then on to Salford, Oxford, Wolverhampton, Newcastle, Hull, Aberdeen, Northampton, Nottingham and Sheffield. Further casting is to be announced. The play tells the story of the


eccentric doctor’s adventure to find the Giant Pink Sea Snail that holds the secret of life and makes the world a happier place. doctordolittlemusical.com


Super Break’s Magic Mike shows in demand


Short break operator Super Break is selling packages to see Magic Mike Live in London. Based on the films Magic


Mike and Magic Mike XXL, the cast from the show performed live on Britain’s Got Talent, prompting a surge in demand for bookings. Magic Mike Live took


Las Vegas by storm when it launched last year and is coming to Hippodrome Casino London in November 2018 – running until October 2019. Packages cost from £159 per person. superbreak.com/agents


travelgbi.com


Aladdin will be the 2018 pantomime at the Hackney Empire, as the London venue celebrates its 20th anniversary of festive productions. Last staged at Hackney Empire in 2009, Aladdin will be written and directed by Susie McKenna, with original music by Steve Edis. Clive Rowe (pictured) will return to the East End stage as the Dame. McKenna and Edis’s first


pantomime for Hackney Empire was in 1998 and the Victorian venue claims the production is now “the number one pantomime in London”. Aladdin will run from November 24 to January 6, with a cast of West End stars alongside Hackney locals.


Clive Rowe


McKenna said: “Aladdin has


always been one of my favourite pantomimes. Our usual Hackney Empire take on things will see


Buddy the Elf to swoop into three arenas


Arenas in Cardiff, Birmingham and Nottingham will host Elf – A Christmas Spectacular, starring singer David Essex and actor Martine McCutcheon. Extra tickets were made


available after 30,000 tickets sold within weeks of being on sale. The show features special


effects including a giant flying sleigh, an indoor snow blizzard and an iceberg journey. It will be performed on a 70-foot wide and 60-foot-long thrust stage, with some scenes taking place around and above the audience. The show tells of Buddy the Elf leaving the North Pole in search


of his real father in New York. It opens at Motorpoint Arena,


Cardiff (December 14-16), then moves to Birmingham’s Genting Arena (December 20-24) and Nottingham’s Motorpoint Arena (December 28-30). buddytheelf.co.uk


Liverpool Playhouse tackles Dickens classic Described as “somewhere


Physical comedy company Spymonkey returns to Liverpool this Christmas for a collaboration with Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse Theatres.


Described as “an alternative take on Charles Dickens’ festive ghost story”, A Christmas Carol runs from December 8 to January 12. It will star Toby Park, Petra Massey, Aitor Basauri and Sophie Russell, and a musical line-up including Ross Hughes and Marcus Penrose.


between Monty Python, the Marx Brothers and Samuel Beckett”, this is Spymonkey’s fourth visit to the Playhouse. Its last visit in 2016 saw the company present The Complete Deaths – a performance of all 74 deaths in the works of Shakespeare. Toby Park, co-artistic director of Spymonkey, said: “This Christmas, we’re inviting Liverpool to put on your best Victorian bib-and-tucker


Aladdin make an epic journey to the frozen wastelands to save his family and the world.” hackneyempire.co.uk


Rocky Horror Show lands in Brighton


Camp classic Rocky Horror Show will tour the UK following a run at the Brighton Theatre Royal over the festive season (December 14-January 5). The show tells of college kids


Brad and his fiancée Janet, who meet Dr Frank’n’Furter when their car breaks down. Songs include Damn It Janet, Sweet Transvestite and Time Warp. After Brighton, the show


moves on to Manchester, Sunderland, Milton Keynes, Wimbledon, Torquay, Woking and Oxford. atgtickets.com


and hold on to your stovepipe hat, as the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future whisk us on a flight of theatrical fancy.” everymanplayhouse.com


July-August 2018 | TravelGBI 35


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