Who cannot be crush’d with a plot?

The feisty but lowly Helena falls in love with Bertram, a haughty count. To gain his hand she is set a string of impossible tasks. Even if accomplished, they can hardly guarantee his love. He refuses to bed her and yet says he’ll only be hers if she bears his child; and he lusts after another. Nevertheless, our heroine, whether wisely or no, refuses to give him up.
War is no strife

To the dark house and the detested wife. 

Set against a background of sexism, snobbery and a battle between the generations, Shakespeare’s All’s Well That Ends Well turns fairytale logic on its head. A wondrous, bittersweet story.

I knew the count to be a dangerous and lascivious boy, who is a whale to virginity, and devours up all the fry it finds.

Ed Stoppard is to appear in the first major revival of his father Tom Stoppard’s Laurence Olivier Award-winning play Arcadia which will open at London’s Duke of York’s Theatre from 17 May.

Arcadia premiered at the National Theatre in 1993 following its premiere it won the 1994 Laurence Oliver Award and subsequently transferred to Broadway where it was Tony Award –nominated.

Tom Stoppard is one of Britain’s foremost contemporary playwright whose numerous plays include The Real Thing, Jumpers, Hapgood, Rosencrantz And Guildenstern Are Dead and more recently Rock ‘N’ Roll.

Ed Stoppard’s London stage credits include On The Rocks, The Glass Menagerie and the leading role in Hamlet.

Joining Ed in the cast of Arcadia are Dan Stevens ( Every Good Boy Deserves Favour, The Vortex and Hay Fever) Samantha Bond ( Donkey’s Year’s, A Woman Of No Importance, Macbeth and Amy’s View),Nancy Carroll ( RSC and Waste) and Jessie Cave making her West End debut.

This production of Arcadia will be directed by David Leveaux whose London productions have included The Real Thing, Jumpers, No Man’s Land, Electra and on Broadway Nine, The Glass Menagerie and Cyrano De Bergerac.

London’s new swinging 60s musical is the grooviest show in town! Featuring over 25 of your favourite 60s anthems including

DOWNTOWN, SON OF A PREACHER MAN, I ONLY WANNA BE WITH YOU, THESE BOOTS ARE MADE FOR WALKIN’, YOU DON’T HAVE TO SAY YOU LOVE ME and many more….

Twist and shout your way back to swinging London and re-live the carefree days of mods, mini-skirts and memorable music with our ‘fab five’. Follow them as they arrive in the big smoke at the start of the most exciting decade ever and discover the fashion, freedom and fun that inspired original girl power.

Shimmy and shake to the infectious, soulful songs that made Petula Clark, Cilla Black, Lulu and Dusty Springfield legendary singers in this uplifting new musical.

Whether you’re an original baby boomer or born in the 90s, Shout! is a celebration of an era everyone wishes they could have experienced – and now you can! Ready, steady, go!

Stephen Sondheim’s SATURDAY NIGHT, with Helena Blackman

This is the first UK revival of Stephen Sondheim’s very first musical, and the UK premiere of his revised score. Set immediately before the Wall Street Crash in 1929 New York, it tells of the adventures of social climber Gene Gorman (David Ricardo-Pearce) and Helen Fogel (Helena Blackman).

"Saturday Night is a remarkable portent of things to come, for the future of Sondheim, for the financial sector, for us all. It’s worth seeing." - Norman Lebrecht for Bloomberg

“The best Giselle you are ever likely to see” - The Independent on Sunday

Giselle is the ultimate Romantic ballet, a tale of innocence, betrayal and the redemptive power of true love. English National Ballet’s traditional staging of this 1841 masterpiece moves from the sunny optimism of Giselle’s idyllic village life to a ghostly, moonlit world of mystery and menace.
 
Giselle is in love with the handsome Duke Albrecht, but when she discovers that he has deceived her she dies of a broken heart. By Giselle’s grave in a mist-wreathed forest glade, vengeful spirits of abandoned brides force men to dance to their death. Giselle returns as a ghost, and her deep love for Albrecht saves him from this fate.
 
Adolphe Adam’s music, played by English National Ballet’s symphony orchestra, is an exquisite accompaniment to the thoroughly magical choreography.

NOTES
• U30 offer applicable on 21 Jan 7:30pm
Two Stalls or Dress Circle (top price) tickets for £60  for Under 30's only.
• Children 5-16 half price.  Up to 2 children per full price adult..  Not Friday/Saturday evenings.
• No under 5's admitted to any performance other than the Child Friendly performance.

Michael Corder’s sumptuous ballet was created for English National Ballet in 2007 and returns for just 12 performances.

Hans Christian Andersen’s famous wintry fairy tale tells of Gerda’s quest to find her friend Kay who has been put under the Snow Queen’s evil spell. Her fantastic journey takes her to the Snow Queen’s Palace inhabited by her magical court of wolves, white foxes and sprites. Only Gerda’s love for Kay can release him from the spell and break the Snow Queen’s curse of eternal winter.

The 67 dancers of English National Ballet and the dazzling costumes and sets create a glittering, magnificent spectacle and English National Ballet’s symphony orchestra plays Prokofiev’s glorious music.

“It glistens deliciously like a jeweller's shop – rich, white costumes dazzlingly strewn with crystals, snowy baldaquins and wolfmen with bushy tails.” - Daily Telegraph

The Snow Queen runs for two hours and 50 minutes including two intervals.

Generously supported by David Lloyd and a syndicate of individual donors. 

NOTES
• Child Friendly performance 14 Jan 2:30pm
A special performance open to children under 5 and all children under 16 are FREE! No other discounts apply and every two children must be accompanied by one adult. All customers booking this performance should be aware that there are likely to be be a great many young children in attendance. 

• U30 offer applicable on 13 Jan 7:30pm
Two Stalls or Dress Circle tickets (top price) for £60 for Under 30's only.
 
• Children 5-16 half price.  Up to 2 children per full price adult. Not Friday/Saturday evenings.
• No under 5's admitted to any performance other than the Child Friendly performance.

Don’t miss your last chance to see English National Ballet’s magical production of The Nutcracker this Christmas. This vibrant and eccentric production designed by Gerald Scarfe and choreographed by Christopher Hampson will be performed for the last time, having enchanted London audiences for seven consecutive years.

The Nutcracker tells the story of Clara, her Nutcracker doll and the magician Drosselmeyer, and their amazing adventures in the Land of Snow and the Kingdom of the Sweets. It is a spellbinding experience; Clara battles with a Mouse King, dances with snowflakes and falls in love with a handsome Prince.

The eternally popular Tchaikovsky score features the ‘Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy’ and many other familiar favourites.

This production runs for approximately two hours including one interval.

NOTES
• Child Friendly performance 17th December 2009 2:30pm
A special performance open to children under 5 and all children under 16 are FREE! No other discounts apply and every two children must be accompanied by one adult. All customers booking this performance should made aware that there are likely to be be a great many young children in attendance.

• U30 offer applicable on 17 Dec 7:30pm, 22 Dec 7:30pm
Two Stalls or Dress Circle (Top Price) tickets for £60 for Under 30's only.
 
• Children 5-16 half price.  Up to 2 children per full price adult..  Not Friday/Saturday evenings.
• No under 5's admitted to any performance other than the Child Friendly performance.

When little orphan Sophie is snatched out of her bed in the dead of night by the BFG she fears the worst. His grisly neighbours the Bloodbottler and the Fleshlumpeater like nothing more than swalloping  human beans, especially nice little childers, but the Big Friendly Giant is a dream catcher and not a man-eater and he’s about to take Sophie on a journey she never expected!

An undisputed national treasure and the world’s favourite children’s author, Roald Dahl has enchanted young minds for more than twenty five years with stories that fire the imagination, bring dreams to life and release squeals of both terror and delight.

The BFG is classic Dahl and this brand new stage show promises to mix up heart-pounding adventures with life-long friendships, jumbly words and even some whizzpopping in front of the Queen!

This new production is adapted by David Wood – the UK’s “National Children’s Dramatist” (TheTimes) and directed by Phil Clark.

Illustration © Quentin Blake 1982

Acknowledged as one of the great classics of the twentieth century, Arthur Miller’s electrifying and deeply moving play A View From The Bridge proved to be a milestone in American theatrical history: it is rediscovered in a new production starring Ken Stott, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio and Hayley Atwell, directed by Olivier Award-winning Lindsay Posner.

Dockworker Eddie Carbone has made a good life for himself and his wife and niece in 1950’s Brooklyn. From an immigrant family himself, Eddie is happy to house and protect his wife’s Italian cousins who arrive illegally in pursuit of the ‘American Dream’. What Eddie doesn’t know is that this act of kindness will have a shattering effect on his whole life, and the lives of those he loves.

Arthur Miller is arguably America’s finest playwright, with his other landmark works including The Crucible and Death of a Salesman. Lindsay Posner (Death and the Maiden, Fiddler on the Roof and Carousel) directs an all-star cast, with Ken Stott (Rebus, Messiah, God of Carnage) as Eddie, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio (Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, The Perfect Storm) as Beatrice and Hayley Atwell (Brideshead Revisited, The Duchess)as Catherine.

Attracting widespread critical praise and five star reviews, this critically acclaimed production is the unmissable production of the year.

Jimmy Porter is the original ‘angry young man’. Funny, clever,charismatic; he should have it all. Has the world let him down? Or is he intent on destroying himself and everyone he loves?

Alison, his wife, suffers his furies on a daily basis and the arrival of her best friend can only inflame Jimmy more. John Osborne’s 1956 masterpiece is a shocking love triangle,exploding with the extraordinary passions of everyday life.

Starring Bill Ward (Coronation Street’s Charlie Stubbs) as Jimmy, Nia Gwynne as Alison, Laura Howard (Midsomer Murders’ Cully) as Helena, Rob Storr as Cliff and Robert East as the Colonel.

Northern Stage is one of the UK’s leading producing theatres,and has built a reputation for creating fresh and relevant productions of classic plays. Director Erica Whyman and Designer Soutra Gilmour recently collaborated on a 1950s version of Ibsen’s A Doll’s House and previously mounted the first-ever revival of the Geordie epic Our Friends in the North (nominated for a Manchester Evening News Theatre Award).