Michael Fenton Stevens, Helena Blackman & Louise Plowright star in But First This at the Watermill

New musical But First This is set to receive its premiere at the Watermill Theatre. A musical homage to Radio 4, the show is written by BBC newsreader Kathy Clugston with music by Desmond O'Connor. It runs from Thursday 23rd October to Saturday 8th November 2014.

Michael Fenton, Helena Blackman & Louise Plowright

The cast includes: Michael Fenton Stevens as John Humphrys, Louise Plowright as Selina, Helena Blackman as Anna, Neil Ditt as Will and Jonathan Dryden Taylor as Jim, with James Beal on piano.

Alexander S. Bermange to perform at The Crazy Coqs with Aimie Atkinson, Helena Blackman & Rebecca Trehearn

Musical theatre composer and lyricist Alexander S. Bermange is bringing his "unique blend of wit and whimsy" to The Crazy Coqs later this month.

Following acclaimed performances at the St James Studio, Alexander is to make his debut at the Crazy Coqs. A selection of new material and best-loved comedic numbers will be performed. 

Special guests include: Aimie Atkinson (Carnaby Street/Dirty Dancing), Helena Blackman (Seven Brides For Seven Brothers/South Pacific) and Rebecca Trehearn (Ghost/Dogfight).

Review: Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (UK Tour) at the New Wimbledon Theatre

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (UK Tour)
New Wimbledon Theatre
Reviewed on Wednesday 9th October 2013

Ladies, imagine you're out and about one afternoon. You meet a man, marry him a couple of hours later and then arrive at his house to discover he has six brothers and really only married you so you could look after them. I presume you wouldn't be too pleased? Well that is the situation Milly (played by Helena Blackman) finds herself in, in Patti Colombo's new production of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. Needless to say Milly takes it all on the chin and ends up introducing the six brothers to six of the girls from her village (and I'm sure you can imagine what happens next).

Interview: Helena Blackman

Helena Blackman chats to West End Frame about her upcoming roles in Impotent at the Lion and Unicorn Theatre and Ivor Novello’s final musical Gay’s The Word at the Jermyn Street Theatre. 

Since coming second on Andrew Lloyd Webber's first casting TV show How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria, Helena has had an exciting career, performing in productions all over the world. She also released her debut album, The Sound of Rodgers & Hammerstein.

Are you looking forward to starring in Impotent at the Lion and Unicorn Theatre? 

Very much so, it’s a new venue for me and I hear very good things about the kind of work that takes place there. I’m really supportive of these intimate and unique spaces and feel the show will be well received there. 

What is the show all about? 

It focuses on the intricacies of romantic relationships of the staff who work and the patients who visit a Genitourinary Clinic in Leicestershire. The majority of the relationships described are dysfunctional but truthful to the extent that we have probably all experienced at some point in our lives. 

Helena Blackman to star in Impotent at the Lion and Unicorn Theatre

Impotent, a new play by Matt Reed, directed by Graham Hubbard (Priscilla, Sweeney Todd, Mack and Mabel, Sound of Music-All West End), will premiere at the Lion and Unicorn Theatre in Kentish Town early next year. The play will from from 8th January until 26th January 2013. The production stars Helena Blackman, runner up of BBCs 'How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria' as Dr Zoe Lane.

Impotent is a pitch-black comedy drama set in the murky world of a Market Harborough Genito-Urinary Medicine Department. Five men at different stages of their life and different stages of treatment for impotence are seen individually undergoing treatment with Dr Zoë Lane, a woman who has to penetrate, interpret and reprogramme the misfiring, and frequently overwired brains of her patients. Her patients are a mixture of men for whom sex is any or all of a reward, a curse, a threat, a justification and punishment.

Sophie-Louise Dann & Helena Blackman to star in Gay’s The Word at the Jermyn Street Theatre

Ivor Novello's Gay's The Word will run at the Jermyn Street theatre from 7th February - 2nd March 2013. The production will be directed and choreographed by Stewart Nicholls and will star Sophie-Louise Dann, Helena Blackman, Josh Little and Elizabeth Seal. Press Night is set for Friday 8th February at 7.30pm.

Wicked stars in Little Women Charity Concert along with Helena Blackman, Daniel Boys, Sarah Lark and Samantha Barks

After West End Live on Sunday 24th June 2012 (this Sunday) there will be a special, one off Charity Concert of Little Women at the Playhouse Theatre at 7.30pm. The special adaptation will star Gina Beck, Shona Lindsay, Helena Blackman, Norma Bowman, Daniel Boys, Nikki Davis-Jones, Sarah Lark, Jon Robynsand and Lisa-Anne Wood. The concert will also include a guest appearance from Samantha Barks who recently completed filming the Les Miserables film.

Little Women was written by Louisa-May Allcott in 1868 and has stood the test of time, still being a popular story with today's teenagers. It tells the story of four sisters, Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy, who through a series of happy, and sad, events, grow up into 'little women'. It is said that the story is loosely based on the childhood of the author, Louisa-May Alcott and her experiences with her three sisters. The story follows the sisters through love, marriage, illness, death, and the inevitable move away from the childhood home

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The full cast is:
Gina Beck - Meg
Helena Blackman - Belle Gardner
Norman Bowman - Professor Bhaer
Daniel Boys - Laurie
Nikki Davis-Jones - Jo
Sarah Lark - Beth
Shona Lindsay - Marmee
Jon Robyns - John Brooke
Lisa-Anne Wood - Amy
Guest performance by Samantha Barks
Supported by a specially formed GSA ensemble.
Hosted by Mark Shento

Little Woman is an incredibly moving musical which is beautifully written. The cast list of this special one off charity concert is mind blowing. What a fantastic opportunity to see such a inspirational group of performers on the same stage performing such a heart wrenching show.