Theatre Productions Blog

Cirque Du Ciel: ShangHi 2011 comes to a close

2011-10-28T04:53:00.000-07:00

After a superb tour reaching the furthest corners of the country, our Cirque Du Ciel: ShangHi production has finally decided to put its feet up for a little rest before returning for a year-long European and British tour.

Travelling from either end of the country visiting 21 theatres in total, from the Jersey Opera House to Hull New Theatre, this fantastic production has enjoyed standing ovations from hundreds of people. This is a credit to the hard work and sheer audacity of the fantastic troupe who have journeyed from Beijing specially to perform for the British audiences who have been so welcoming.

The production has been simply magical, with beautiful costumes and sets, and those special dream-like performances. The final performance took place in Hull on the 15th of October to a fantastic reception, and the troupe were very sad to say goodbye to their 2011 performance tour.

This marvellous extravaganza combined acrobatics, modern dance, original music, martial arts and many other Chinese elements in an amazing adventure, an unforgettable spectacle that you will find hard to believe.

Cirque Du Ciel: ShangHi featured a combination of evocative lighting, amazing acrobatics and decadent costumes that has ascinated every audience member. Enhanced by a score of original music that highlights the magical aura of the show, this stunning production showcased the skills of not only the performers but the world class team behind the scenes... taking you beyond gravity. Including traditional Chinese acrobatics and stunts, and amazing magical illusions this production, ShangHi took audiences on a journey through the mysterious dreams of a little girl as she delves into her fantasies.

We are pleased to announce that due to popular demand, Cirque Du Ciel: ShangHi will be returning to the UK in 2012! Dates are soon to be confirmed and we cannot wait to share these with our fabulous audiences.

Patrick Gough, Bournemouth Echo at Bournemouth
"Superb, stupendous, breathtaking - there are not enough adjectives to describe this magnificent entertainment...with magnificent costumes, set and lighting, this stunning production showcases the skills of world-class performers."

Broadway World at Wimbledon
"The Cirque formula keeps the pace high with the music driving the show forward and no breaks in the high jinks for animal acts or clowns. The end product sits somewhere between showbusiness and sport, circus and sensation, tradition and the twenty-first century leaving the audience to emerge thrilled and blinking into the night exhausted just by watching."

Public Reviews at Bradford
"Direction makes the show sharp and crisp, so that one remarkable thing overlaps another. As diablos, hats and acrobats go flying through the air with incredibly precise timing, you sometimes can’t believe what you are seeing. You would need a slow motion replay to fully appreciate some of the amazing action... The show is a two hour, heart-warming display of youthful agility, daring, skill, showmanship and strength. You almost don’t get enough chance to clap, as the action moves slickly from one amazing feat to another... for a show that is pure entertainment, simply memorable."

Photos thanks to Henry Murphy.

These international theatre sensations brought the delight of acrobatics, mystery and unbelievable skill to every audience member. They are very excited about the opportunity to return to theatres across the country next year!

For more information please visit www.theatre-productions.com, for the last updates, photographs and more.

Over The Rainbow raises money for Macmillan Cancer Support

2011-10-24T06:07:00.000-07:00

Brian Fortuna (Danny), Sarah Jane Buckley (Eva), Maureen Nolan (Barbara) at the fund-raising luncheon.

On a damp and drizzly lunchtime in Jesmond, the cast andcrew of a hit musical gathered at a local restaurant and invited fifty gueststo join them for an afternoon of fund-raising, food and fabulous entertainmentin a place ‘where troubles melt like lemon drops’.

To coincide with the seventh sensational UK tour of theaward-winning and compelling musical, Over The Rainbow: The Eva Cassidy Story, which journeys through Eva’s tragicallyshort life, Franco’s Terrace Bar &Restaurant in association with TheatreProductions Limited held an exclusive VIP Charity Lunch to raise funds forMacmillan Cancer Support. If you or someone you know has been affected by this then please do not hesitate to contact Macmillan for further advice.

The event took place on Wednesday 12^th Octoberfrom 12 noon until 2.30pm. Upon arrival, guests were greeted with acomplimentary glass of bubbly. In addition to enjoying a two course Italianmeal of the finest quality, this was followed by coffee and mints. This all took place in the resplendentsurroundings of Franco’s - with itsglamorous chandeliers, candlelit tables, Italian baroque furniture, andSwarovski crystal studded seating.

Guests were also treated to an afternoon offantastic entertainment, presented by the North East’s very own Steve Walls, an entertainer who is nowwidely regarded as one of the UK’s top compères.

Contrary to the popular legend, there was no leprechaunsitting at the end of this particular rainbow, but Irish eyes were certainlysmiling on the face of the gorgeous Maureen Nolan (The Naked Truth, BloodBrothers and The Nolans) whoplays the role of Barbara Cassidy in OverThe Rainbow: The Eva Cassidy Story. And, Sarah Jane Buckley (Hollyoaks),who heads the cast as Eva, proved to be the perfect ‘songbird’ with ahauntingly beautiful performance of ‘Over The Rainbow’ – the title song of themusical and the track that triggered Eva Cassidy’s posthumous success.

StrictlyCome Dancing sensation Brian Fortuna, who makes his eagerly-anticipated acting debut as Danny Cassidy inthe show, and other members of the company also met and mingled with guests andtook time to pose for snapshots and sign autographs. The Whitley Bay Playhouse hosted the Over The Rainbow show on the evenings of the 11th and 12th of October to coincide with the fantastic fundraiser which drew large audiences.

Images courtesy of Steve Burbridge

Also in attendance were two of the North East’s mostfamiliar and favourite faces... Pam Royle andIan Payne, from ITV Tyne Tees, tooktime out from the hustle and bustle of the NorthEast Tonight newsroom to lend their support to this worthy cause.

A charity raffle was drawn during the event and severallucky guests won fabulous prizes from a selection of luxury goods which werekindly donated by a number of companies including Clay’s Garden Centre, Villeroy & Boch, Nexus, Tyneside Cinema & Coffee Rooms, Blue Genie Entertainment, Franco’s Terrace Bar & Restaurantand Theatre Productions Limited.

Judith Graziani of Franco’sTerrace Bar & Restaurant said: “Few of us go through life without beingtouched by cancer in some way and it is vital that we support charities such asMacmillan Cancer Care. This fantastic OverThe Rainbow VIP Charity Lunch was a hugely successful event and a veryworthwhile way of continuing our ongoing commitment to holding charity eventshere at Franco’s.”

Stephen Leatherland, the producer and director of Over The Rainbow: The Eva Cassidy Story,added: “The show is intended to be a truthful, heartfelt tribute to Eva’s lifeand talents and this VIP Charity Lunch was a wonderful way of raising money forsuch a worthy cause.”

The Over The RainbowVIP Charity Lunch raised a grand total of £455.00.

Did you attend this fantastic fundraiser? We'd love to hear from you.

For further information, please contact Steve Burbridge,Press & Marketing Officer for Theatre Productions Ltd via their website or e-mail steveburbridge@blueyonder.co.uk.

What's New Online 7/10/2012

2011-10-07T05:25:00.000-07:00

What's New On The Website?

Have you seen our updated Current Shows? We've added all sorts of goodies for our readers to see, including:

Maps
Videos
Flickr photostream
Reviews
Updated descriptions
Tour dates
#tags
Follow my blog with Bloglovin

We've added interactive maps to our Tour Dates section of the site so that it is easy to pinpoint the nearest theatre to you.

Christmas Crooners tour venues and dates

View Christmas Crooners 2011 in a larger map
View Christmas Crooners tour dates and information

ShangHi Cirque Du Ciel tour venues and dates

View 'ShangHi' Cirque Du Ciel 2011 in a larger map

View ShangHi Cirque Du Ciel tour dates and information

Over The Rainbow: The Eva Cassidy Story tour venues and dates

View Over The Rainbow 2011 in a larger map

View Over The Rainbow tour dates and information

We also added new media streams to the site in order to share our fantastic productions with you visually. We have now set up a Flickr stream and our Information pages have a selection of photos taken at various venues across the country. We also added, direct from our Youtube page, videos of our productions to the Information pages.

Our Reviews pages have been changed, now with added reviews so our fans can read what our audience members have to say. The tour dates have been updated until the end of December, and we are due to announce the dates for the Over The Rainbow 2012 tour!

Alongside these updates, the descriptions of each show have been updated. We have done this in order to include up-to-date information about all of our stars and the shows in which they are performing. We want our site to be as readable as possible.

Finally, our Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook sites are all active again. If you ever want to contact Theatre Productions regarding feedback to our shows or questions please feel free to drop us a line. Someone will respond to you quickly! In addition to this, I have created a #hashtag for each show and added it to the website descriptions. Just click each hashtag (eg. #ChristmasCrooners, #CirqueDuCiel or #OverTheRainbow) to check out what people are Tweeting about these shows.

Please feel free to leave us comments about all of our improvements to the site, Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn pages. We are also excited to tell you that soon we will have a new-look site up and running! More details to come.

October Updates

2011-09-28T06:18:00.000-07:00

October 2011 Newsletter Theatre Productions

Theatre can do populism without sacrificing standards

2011-02-17T06:10:00.000-08:00

'Celebrity-driven showbiz is creeping on to the stage, but all is not yet lost...' writes Stephen Leatherland

I agree with Michael Billington's assertion that theatre in the West End is experiencing a trying time (Crisis in the West End, August 2). And I would compare the commercial success of such productions as We Will Rock You and Mamma Mia as being on a par with the popularity of the Ford motor car - a universally appealing, inoffensive and a well marketed product. But I disagree with his statement that "really imaginative producers are to be found not in the commercial sector but among the directors of subsidised [less commercial] theatres", and that they are the hope for British theatre and the future for theatre in general.

In recent years, TV shows such as How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria? and Any Dream Will Do have attracted viewers, but have failed to provide any insight into the true casting process or the theatrical world - which is in danger of becoming a homogenised "popathon", which neither offends nor confronts nor provokes a lasting reaction.
Entertainment is vital to every theatrical production. However, theatre can also be instructive, challenging, empathetic and cathartic. The world of theatre is not just about an elaborate set: it is also about a performer or production which reaches out and touches an audience.
But it is in danger of becoming another element of celebrity-driven showbiz, stagnating in its own pool of mediocrity - pleasing the accountants and leaving the audience with an inane grin on their faces - where the impresario with the largest marketing budget, the most elaborate TV reality show or hottest Hollywood name wins the prize.
I accept Billington's point about the "urgent need ... for dynamic young producers to succeed the senior generation". But there is a third way: productions which have commercial appeal, as well as an immediacy, context and concept in keeping with modern life. Many theatre companies, including ours, have been creating new productions, with new writing, which meet the demands of a modern audience: populist shows about contemporary issues, dealt with sensitively. The Naked Truth, for example, which is about to launch its third run in the provinces, centres on five normal women learning to pole dance; but its emotional core deals with subjects such as self-confidence, female sexuality and the social and psychological implications of breast cancer.
We can still hold sacrosanct the expertise, experience and creativity that other media could never surpass - but think how productions such as Look Back in Anger, Blood Brothers, and West Side Story created their own enduring appeal and legacy.
Billington's point that "the fabric of the bricks and mortar also raises cause for alarm" is valid and something that should be addressed at lottery funding and government level. However, make the content of a theatrical experience valid, exciting, and above all emotional, and audiences will not care if they sit in "crumbling decaying edifices", or on hard benches in tents if necessary. Cirque du Soleil has proved that in their world, and Shakespeare performed his latter-day soap operas on the back of a cart.

· Stephen Leatherland is a theatre producer, and director of Theatre Productions.

This article was published in the Guardian August 2007