MONDAY 27 FEBRUARY – SATURDAY 31 MARCH 2012

Cameron Mackintosh announced today full casting for the spectacular new production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA premiering at the Theatre Royal Plymouth in March 2012, with previews from 27 February.

Simon Bailey will star as ‘Raoul’, Angela M. Caesar as ‘Carlotta’, Andy Hockley as ‘Monsieur Firmin’, Simon Green as ‘Monsieur Andre’, Elizabeth Marsh as ‘Madame Giry’, Vincent Pirillo as ‘Ubaldo Piangi’ and Olivia Brereton as ‘Christine’ at certain performances. They join John Owen-Jones who will play the role of ‘The Phantom’ and Katie Hall who will play the role of ‘Christine’.

Simon Bailey’s West End credits include ‘Lieutenant Torrasso/Count Ludovic’ in “Passion” at the Donmar Warehouse, ‘Raoul’ in “The Phantom of the Opera” at Her Majesty’s Theatre, ‘Enjolras’ in “Les Miserables” at the Queen’s Theatre, ‘Britney’ in “We Will Rock You” at the Dominion Theatre and ‘Pharaoh’ in “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat” at the New London Theatre. Simon is also a founder member of ‘Theatreland’s First Supergroup’ Teatro.

Angela M. Caesar’s West End credits include ‘The Moon’ in “Caroline, or Change” at the National Theatre. 

Andy Hockley’s theatre credits include ‘Rudolph Reisenweber’ in “Hello Dolly” at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre, ‘Marcellus’ in “The Music Man” at Chichester Festival Theatre and ‘The Chaplain’ in “Mother Courage and Her Children” at the National Theatre. Television credits include “Life On Mars”, “Heartbeat”, “Emmerdale” and “Doctors”. 

Simon Green’s West End credits include ‘Jules/Bob Greenberg’ in “Sunday In The Park With George” at the Wyndham’s Theatre, ‘Lumiere’ in Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast” at the Dominion Theatre, ‘Young Ben’ in “Follies” at the Shaftesbury Theatre and ‘Torasso’ in “Passion” at the Queen’s Theatre. Simon has also appeared in ‘The Phantom of the Opera’ at Her Majesty’s Theatre, and as ‘Monsieur Lefevre’ in the recent 25^th Anniversary celebrations of “Phantom of the Opera at the Royal Albert Hall”.

Elizabeth Marsh’s recent credits include ‘Myra Yerkes’ in the European premiere of Stephen Sondheim’s “Road Show” at the Menier Chocolate Factory, “Sleeping Beauty” at the Birmingham Rep, and “Afterlife” and “The Threepenny Opera” at the National Theatre. 

Vincent Pirillo recently appeared in “Sweeney Todd” at Chichester Festival Theatre. Other recent credits include ‘Mr Goodfellow’ in “Inherit the Wind” at The Old Vic, ‘Rabbi’ in “Imagine This” at the New London Theatre, ‘Rabbi/Avram’ in “Fiddler on the Roof” at the Savoy Theatre, ‘Signal Man’ in “The Woman in White” at the Palace Theatre and ‘Grandfather’ in “Ragtime” at the Piccadilly Theatre.

Olivia Brereton recently graduated from the Guildhall School of Acting where she appeared in ‘The Light in the Piazza’, Into the Woods’ and ‘The Boyfriend’. ‘The Phantom of the Opera’ marks Olivia’s professional debut.

The company also includes Alistair Barron, Rosie Bell, James Bisp, Greg Castiglioni, Cindy Corinne Ciunfrini, Caroline Crawley, Rachel Crocker, Michael Diana, Liesl Dowsett, A C Garcia, Hannah Grace, Henry Grant Kerswell, Sam Harrison, Sophie Hartley, Kirk Jameson, Sarah Joyce, Lauren Lotz, Lee Ormsby, Siani Owen, David Phipps-Davis, Claire Platt, James Pullum, Leigh Rhianon Coggins, Emma Roberts-Simms, Ben Sleep and Richard Woodford.

This spectacular new production is directed by Laurence Connor, with choreography by Scott Ambler, Set Design by Paul Brown, Costume Design by Maria Björnson, Lighting Design by Paule Constable, Sound Design by Mick Potter and Video and Projection Design by Nina Dunn for Knifedge. The production is overseen by Matthew Bourne and Cameron Mackintosh.

THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA became the longest running show in Broadway history on 9 January 2006 when it celebrated its 7,486th performance, surpassing the previous record holder “Cats”.  This coincided with the Broadway and the US national touring company celebrating an unprecedented 20,000 performances in the United States. In October 2010 the London production celebrated its 10,000th performance.

THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA has won over 60 major theatre awards, including seven Tonys on Broadway and three Olivier Awards in the West End.  It won the ‘Most Popular Musical Audience Award’, voted by the public, in the 2002 Laurence Olivier Awards.  THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, which opened at Her Majesty’s Theatre on 9 October 1986 starred Michael Crawford as ‘The Phantom’ and Sarah Brightman as ‘Christine.’ It is produced by Cameron Mackintosh by arrangement with The Really Useful Group.

Worldwide, THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA has grossed over £3.2 billion. The box office revenues are higher than any film or stage play in history, including “Titanic”, “ET”, “Star Wars” and “Avatar”. It has been seen in 145 cities in 27 countries and played to over 130 million people.  THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA is currently showing in London, New York, Budapest, Las Vegas, and Kyoto.

www.thephantomoftheoperatour.com

The Pirate Fun Run is open to all pirates and will be a LOT of family fun!

To enter just click below and make sure you are up for the 10.45am Fun Run

http://my.sportrelief.com/search/event/result?id=1050&location=plymouth

Related articles

• Plymouth Pirate Fun Run for Sport Relief (piratedayplymouth.com)
• Sport Relief Plymouth – The Mile (plymouthbuzz.com)

The search is about to begin to find 32 talented children to play the parts of the King of Siam’s children in The King & I at the Theatre Royal Plymouth.

Auditions for these coveted parts will take place atTR2, the Theatre Royal’s Production and Education Centre in Cattedown, Plymouth on Thursday 16th February 2012. The registration and auditions times will be split into the following categories;
Boys and girls aged 5 – 9 Registration at 9:30am, with auditions throughout the morning
Boys and girls aged 10 – 14 Registration at 12:30pm, with auditions throughout the afternoon

Please note TR2 will not be open until 9:30am and, due to space restrictions, any children who arrive earlier than the times specified above will be asked to return to TR2 at the correct time.

These auditions are for boys and girls who can meet the following requirements:

• Boys and girls must be aged between 5 and 14 as of 16th February 2012.

• Boys and girls must have dark hair.

• Boys and girls must be able to sing and dance.

• Boys and girls must be available throughout the entire week of 9th April, through to Saturday 14th April 2012.

• Boys and girls must be accompanied at the audition by a parent / guardian who must be prepared to stay for the entire day at TR2.

Please bring plenty of food and drink with you as there will be limited refreshment facilities available at TR2 on the day.

The King & I runs at the Theatre Royal Plymouth from Tuesday 10th April to Saturday 14th April and tickets can be purchased from the Theatre Royal Box Office in person, by phone 01752 267222 or online www.theatreroyal.com.

TR2 address: TR2, 12 Neptune Park, Cattedown, Plymouth, PL4 0SJ. Directions are available on the Theatre Royal website at www.theatreroyal.com

For further information, contact Fiona Carmichael on (01752) 230575.

Plymouth’s town crier calls out to locals to enter the Sainsbury’s Sport Relief Mile in March

The South West’s favourite witty and lively town crier was bell ringing and shouting from the Hoe’s roof tops for all to hear. He informed the whole promenade of the good Sport Relief does in the South West area and how they can make a difference by doing the Mile themselves.

Jack Ringer wants every man, woman and child of Plymouth to know that Sport Relief is back: “Oh yea! Let’s join Sir Francis Drake and the Pilgrim Fathers by continuing to make history from Plymouth. This is your chance to make a difference, as every penny you raise will help those living incredibly tough lives right here in Plymouth, across the UK and the world’s poorest countries. So what are you waiting for? Meet me at the start line! Enter now at www.sportrelief.com.”

City Councillor Chaz Singh was also there to help his good friend spread the Sport Relief word: “Last time, more than 3,300 people took part in the Plymouth Mile, and the people of the South West raised and donated over £800,000. Since then, over a £1 million has been spent on local projects in the South West. This is our chance to really make a difference to those who need it most here in Plymouth, no matter how old you are or your level of fitness. I’m going to be wheeling Jack through the Mile in his wheelchair because of his dodgy knee! ”

This year, over one million people are expected to pull up their Sport Relief socks and take part in the Sainsbury’s Sport Relief Mile to raise vital funds for vulnerable people right here in Plymouth, across the UK and in the world’s poorest countries. Enter the Plymouth Mile, or one of dozens of events happening all over the South West, right now at www.sportrelief.com.

• Come straight in to the fort and head for the fairy lights off to the left.

We will be on about 8pm and will be playing plenty of classics from The Beatles, The Eagles, The Monkees, to Guns and Roses, Tenacious D, the Killers and much more. Come along for a crackin’ night of entertainment.

There’s plenty of parking and a great atmosphere in a great venue!

Oh and its free to get in!

Music starts at 8pm, bar open from 3pm until late!

The Fort Bar
Crownhill Fort
Crownhill Fort Road
Plymouth

The project’s main contractor Balfour Beatty was praised during a third inspection of the £46.5 million scheme and achieved a total score of 38.5 out of 40 in the resulting assessment. It was awarded a maximum five points (exceptional measures taken) in five out of eight categories – ‘considerate’, ‘environment’, ‘a good neighbour’, ‘responsible’ and ‘accountable’.

Balfour Beatty scored 4.5 points (high level beyond compliance) in each of the other three categories – ‘appearance’, ‘respectful’ and ‘safety’. The report’s inspector recognised that ‘extremely high safety performances have been achieved’.

It was felt that the project provides a ‘very significant local economy boost’ and that it will ‘create long-term legacies’ by providing ‘benefits using local materials and services, as well as major working benefits for the local community’.

The number of regular meetings with local businesses and the community, schools and colleges were picked out, with more than 1,200 students and 300 groups having visited the site since construction began. Eleven full-time apprentices have been awarded work through the main contractor’s supply chain.

As part of the scheme’s Site Code of Considerate Practice, welfare facilities were described as ‘some of the best seen in the South West’. It was recognised that the team is going ‘beyond best practice’ under the CCS and that everyone on site is ‘totally on-board’.

Cleanliness was praised by the monitor who said the site had an ‘excellent first appearance and provided an overall excellent image for the industry’ with mud-free roads and access routes and that all facilities, plant and vehicles were kept clean.

The report also highlighted many workers adopting the cycle-to-work scheme, the company’s green energy initiative and its emphasis on energy-use reduction methods.

Plymouth City Council Leader Vivien Pengelly, said: “To read this report and some of the glowing comments that have been made by the scheme’s monitor is really satisfying. Balfour Beatty has gone above and beyond what is required in the Considerate Constructors Scheme and that is clear from the observations in the report. Naturally I’m delighted that the whole construction team has worked so hard to deliver this fantastic new facility, which will provide a centre of sporting excellence in the South West.”

John Bunker, Construction Director for Balfour Beatty, added: “The third report that we’ve received from the Considerate Constructors Scheme is testament to the on-going commitment and dedication to this exciting new project by the whole team at Balfour Beatty. It’s hugely encouraging to have scored so highly and to have received such praise for our work.”

Related articles

• Plymouth Life Centre Green Update (plymouthbuzz.com)
• Plymouth Life Centre Opening Date (plymouthbuzz.com)

As Maritime Plymouth winds up as a company in February it will leave as a legacy a Maritime Special Interest Group (SPIG) within the Plymouth Chamber of Commerce. Existing members of Maritime Plymouth not already members of the Chamber will be eligible for free membership for their first year.

Membership of Maritime Plymouth had fallen below the level at which subscriptions could cover the costs of delivering the services its members expected. By joining an existing larger organisation with some common aims, such as improving the environment for doing business in Plymouth it will be possible to keep the city concentrated on its maritime sector.

David Parlby, CEO Plymouth Chamber of Commerce, said “I am very pleased that Maritime Plymouth has decided to become a Chamber special interest Group. The maritime sector is extremely important for Plymouth’s economy and the new arrangement is a win-win situation for all concerned. It is my hope and intention that we expand the group significantly over the coming months to make maritime have a loud voice in the city’s affairs”.

Membership of the Chamber will deliver several benefits including:
• >90 networking/briefing events a year on a huge range of topics
• Chamberlink magazine, with a new regular maritime feature
• Website including members only Extranet with links to hard to find documents and tendering opportunities
• Lobbying – currently concentrating on improving connectivity
• Priority Sector Coordination through a contract with Plymouth City Council, including “Marine and Renewables.”
• A number of dedicated maritime events a year free to Maritime SPIG members
The SPIG will manage itself with its own chair, who, it is envisaged, will join the Chamber board in an advisory role as the maritime portfolio holder. As Cornwall Council already has a maritime portfolio holder, there will be even more reason for Plymouth City Council to follow suit.

“Plymouth is Britain’s maritime city,” says John Hepburn, outgoing secretary of Maritime Plymouth, “but until recently not enough have recognised it. With Plymouth Chamber now carrying on broadcasting the marine and maritime message, Plymouth should start to make the most of its strengths as the city on the sea.”

Live wrestling in Plymouth

Got news? Call 07538 199 694