Further casting announced for Hackney Empire's Jack and the Beanstalk starring Debbie Kurup & Clive Rowe

Further casting has been announced for the Hackney Empire's 2015 pantomime Jack and the Beanstalk.

As previously announced, the show will star Debbie Kurup as Jack, Clive Rowe as Dame Daisy Trott and Kat B as Snowman. 

Following their 2014 pantomime which was seen by over 50,000 people, Jack and the Beanstalk will run between 21st November 2015 and 3rd January 2016.

Joining Rowe and Kurup and Kat B are: Jocelyn Jee Esien, Tony Timberlake, Julia Sutton, Darren Hart, Lori Barker, Leon Sweeney, Emanuel Alba, Frances Dee, Jonathan Prestney, Katie Shearman, Dale White and Sharon D Clarke as the Voice of Davina. The roles of Molly and the Voice of the Giant are still to be confirmed.

Clive Rowe & Debbie Kurup star in Hackney Empire's pantomime

Clive Rowe is to tread the boards at the Hackney Empire once again starring as Dame Daisy Trott in 2015 pantomime Jack and the Beanstalk between 21st November 2015 and 3rd January 2016.

Starring as Jack will be Debbie Kurup (The Bodyguard/Anything Goes). Hackney Empire favourite Kat B will join the pair on stage as Snowman with further casting still to be announced. Jack and the Beanstalk will be written and directed by the theatre’s Artistic Director Susie McKenna with music by Steven Edis. 

In true Hackney style the production will feature a break dancing cow, bonkers baddies and the scariest giant ever, outlandish costumes and glittering sets by Lotte Collett, buckets of silliness, tons of audience participation and full-on show stopping songs performed by a kickin’ live band.

Review: The Pirates of Penzance (UK Tour) at the Hackney Empire

The Pirates of Penzance (UK Tour) 
Hackney Empire
Reviewed on Friday 26th June 2015
★★★★

First seen at the Union Theatre 2009, Sasha Regan’s all-male production of Gilbert & Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance previously transferred to Wilton’s Music Hall before touring Australia and the UK.

The Pirates of Penzance returns to London next week

Originally seen at the Union Theatre in 2009, Sasha Regan’s all-male production of Gilbert & Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance will return to London one last time, playing at Hackney Empire next week from Wednesday 24th to Sunday 28th June.

A classic musical comedy of mistaken identity, The Pirates of Penzance follows young Frederic, a child apprenticed to a band of tender-hearted, orphaned pirates exploring the coastline in search of treasure and romance. 

Review: Godspell in Concert (UK Tour) at the Hackney Empire

Godspell in Concert (UK Tour) 
Hackney Empire
Reviewed on Sunday 5th April 2015
★★

This was my first time seeing a production of Godspell which is touring the UK following a one-off West End staging last year. Bringing together a series of gospel parables, Stephen Schwartz's weird and wonderful musical features an exhilarating score.

Hackney Empire to stage Jack and the Beanstalk this Christmas

Hackney Empire will present Jack and the Beanstalk as their 2015 Christmas pantomime. In time honoured Hackney tradition, the production will be written and directed by Creative Director Susie McKenna and composed by Steven Edis, their 17th pantomime for the Empire. 

Last year’s production of Mother Goose which starred Clive Rowe marked Hackney Empire’s best-selling pantomime to date and was seen by over 50,000 people from all over London. Jack and the Beanstalk runs between 21st November 2015 and 3rd January 2016.  

Set in the kingdom of Hackneydale, Hackney Empire’s production follows the story of young Jack who is tempted by a mysterious stranger into swapping the family’s trusty old cow for a handful of magic beans. An offer surely happy-go-lucky Jack can’t refuse?

Review: H.M.S. Pinafore (UK Tour) at the Hackney Empire

H.M.S. Pinafore (UK Tour) 
Hackney Empire
Reviewed on Saturday 15th February 2014

Following a run at the Union Theatre last November, Sasha Regan's all-male production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s H.M.S. Pinafore has transferred to the Hackney Empire prior to a UK Tour. Whilst I thoroughly enjoyed the show at the Union last year, something was missing. The cast included one or two weaker members and at times I didn’t have a clue what was going on. It is remarkable to see how much the production has grown in just a few months.

Keith Jack to star in H.M.S. Pinafore UK Tour; full casting announced

Full casting has been announced for the upcoming UK Tour of Gilbert & Sullivan's H.M.S. Pinafore. The all-male production will star Any Dream Will Do runner-up Keith Jack (Ralph) alongside Neil Moors (Captain Cocoran), David Mc (Sir Joseph Porter K.C.B), Alan Richardson (Josephine), Alex Weatherhill (Buttercup), Aidan Crowley (Dick Deadeye) and Richard Russell-Edwards (Hebe).

The Sailors and Sisters will be played by: Dale Page, Tommy Knapp, Paul McDowell, Shane Landers, Thomas Henson, Benjamin Wong, Ben Irish, Will Keith, Jacob Baumila. Sasha Regan's production premiered at the Union Theatre last year.

Feature: Molly Wobbly fights back, watch the cast perform 'Suddenly At All' at The Singers Soirée

Following runs at the Lyric Theatre Belfast and last year's Edinburgh Fringe Festival, earlier this year it was announced that Molly Wobbly's Tit Factory would transfer London's Hackney Empire. However, after a financial backer pulled out at the last minute, the entire run was cancelled just hours before the first preview was due to begin as there for was no longer enough money to pay the actors. 

During the rehearsal period, the cast performed one of the show's musical numbers 'Suddenly At All' at The Singers Soirée, a charity concert in aid of The Shooting Star CHASE held at St Giles-in-the-Fields. You can watch the performance below:

Guest Blog: "Bums on seats, luvvie!" - Molly Wobbly’s Tit Factory opens in London

Paul Boyd

The town of Little Happening gets an unexpected make-over when a devious and creepy stranger arrives on Mammary Lane promising personal improvement to three unhappy women.

Molly Wobbly’s Tit Factory has enjoyed great support since the show’s inception in 2006. The audiences that attended the show’s sell-out runs at the Lyric Theatre Belfast in 2011 and 2012 and again for its production at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe last year, along with many industry professionals, have now led the show to London and the Hackney Empire.

Molly Wobbly is the saucy, sexy, musical tale of innocent shopkeepers who plot to get a few things off their chests and bulges with racy, catchy songs and larger than life characters. While the word “tit” features prominently in the title, the show is far from X-rated. With shows such as Book of Mormon full of expletives and songs about Aids and genital mutilation, Molly Wobbly is actually quite tame. And even though our ads for Molly Wobby’s T*t Factory (note the asterisk!) were banned by London Underground, I like to think I’ve combined the best of British musical hall, Carry On and double-entendre traditions, yet in a very 21st century way. 

Gary Wilmot, Sophie-Louise Dann & David Hunter to star in Molly Wobbly’s Tit Factory at the Hackney Empire

Molly Wobbly’s Tit Factory will receive its London première at Hackney Empire, running from Sunday 22nd September (previews from Friday 20th September) until Saturday 5th October 2013.

Molly Wobbly’s Tit Factory is directed and written by Paul Boyd. The musical premiered Lyric Theatre Belfast and subsequently ran at last years Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

The cast includes: Gary Wilmot (Malcolm), Sophie-Louise Dann (Margaret), David Hunter (Kitten), Shona White (Jemma), Conleth Kane (Jake), Stephanie Fearon (Ruth), Christopher Finn (Robbie), and Russell Morton (Ithanku).

'The town of Little Happening gets an unexpected make-over when a devious and creepy stranger arrives on Mammary Lane promising personal improvement to three unhappy women”.