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Brainiac Live!

THIS SHOW HAS NOW CLOSED. YOU CANNOT BOOK TICKETS.

About the Show

“Strap on your safety goggles boys and girls – due to popular demand,  science’s greatest and most volatile live show is back with a vengeance…”

Brainiac Live! is the hit stage show based on the multi-award winning TV program of the same name. This show cuts through the chemistry and puts the fizz back into physics by displaying a whole host of stage experiments complete with outrageous explosions!  Science has never been as fun as this mischievous band of scientists take you on a whirlwind ride throughout the wacky and wonderful effects that science can have in every day life. The show features everything from exploding household objects to combusting particles, and is unlike anything you have every seen on stage!

This brand new stage show is written by Dan Colman, Andy Joyce and Mark Thompson. Actors Andy Joyce and Rik Warren will be keeping the children entertained through their natural onstage chemistry and amusing tales that bring science to life in front of your very eyes.

Suitability 

Recommended age range 7-14.

The running time is 1 hour.

Performance Schedule 

JULY 2013 

THU 18 2pm
FRI 19 11am
SAT 20 12.30pm & 2.30pm
SUN 21 2pm & 4pm
SAT 27 10.30am, 12.30pm, 2.30pm
AUGUST 2013 
FRI 2 4pm
SAT 3 10.30am, 12.30pm & 2.30pm
SUN 4 12pm & 2pm
WED 7 11am & 2pm
THU 8 11am & 2pm
FRI 9 11am, 2pm & 4pm
SAT 10 10.30am, 12.30pm, 2.30pm
SUN 11 12pm, 2pm & 4pm
TUE 13 11 am & 2pm
WED 14 11am & 2pm
THU 15 11am & 2pm
FRI 16 11am, 2pm & 4pm
SAT 17 10.30am, 12.30pm & 2.30pm

Official Tickets

Official tickets to Brainiac Live! are available by selecting the show from the drop-down menu in the search box at the side of the page.

The Commitments

THIS SHOW HAS NOW CLOSED. YOU CANNOT BOOK TICKETS
Commitments banner

Roddy Doyle’s best selling novel, The Commitments has been adapted into a full scale stage musical, and had its world premiere at the Palace Theatre in the Autumn of 2013.

The Commitments is set in Dublin in the 1980’s and is the tale of an band manager, Jimmy Rabbitte and a group of aspiring musicians who get together in the hope of forming a band. Jimmy wants to manage the world’s greatest soul band and, like a true businessman, he holds auditions at his parents’ house along in the hope of discovering musical talent. Unlike Jimmy’s soul idols such as Aretha Franklin and Ottis Reading, Jimmy finds himself with a group of white and weedy musicians. Hell bent on transforming the group into something great, Jimmy names the band “The Commitments” and together they attempt to head up an Irish soul revolution.

The Commitments includes the famous soul numbers “Mustang Sally”, “In the Midnight Hour” and “Try a Little Tenderness.”

The Commitments was also adapted into a film in 1991 which was voted as “the best Irish film of all time” in a 2005 poll a sponsored by Jameson Irish Whiskey. Like the film, the stage production of The Commitments is a close adaptation of the novel and hopes to secure similar popularity and success.

Dublin truly takes over London’s West End as The Commitments follows in the footsteps of successful Irish musical, Once, which opened at the Phoenix Theatre in April to a generally warm critical response.

The Commitments will close on Sunday 1st November 2015. Book now for your last chance to see the show!

Cast and Creative

The Commitments was written by Roddy Doyle and is directed by Jamie Lloyd, who has worked on a number of successful productions in the last few years including the sell out run of Macbeth starring James McAvoy at the Trafalgar Studios. His work on musical theatre was enjoyed at the Donmar Warehouse with critically acclaimed productions of ‘Passion’ and ‘The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee’.  Set design for the show is by Soutra Gilmour, with Lighting Design by Jon Clark and Sound Design by Rory Madden. Ann Yee provides the choreography, alongside Alan Williams as Musical Supervisor and Arranger.

The cast for The Commitments includes:  Brian Gilligan as Declan “Deco” Cuffe and Denis Grindel as Jimmy Rabbitte.

Show Lengths and Times

The Commitments opened for previews at the Palace Theatre from the 21st September with press night on 8th October 2013. Performances are Tuesday to Sunday evenings at 7.30pm, with Saturday matinees at 3pm. Sunday shows are at 2:30pm & 7pm. The show length is 2 hours and 20 minutes, including one interval.

Suitable for Children

The Commitments contains some adult themes and the occasional swear word, making it unsuitable for young children. Children over the age of 12 are welcome to enjoy the show if accompanied by an adult.

Videos

Tickets

Tickets for The Commitments are on sale and you can book them above using the search form on the left of the page.

Reviews

Have you seen The Commitments? If so please share your thoughts in the comments section below.

Derren Brown: Infamous

SORRY THIS SHOW IS SOLD OUT

 

Derren Brown: InfamousFollowing his multi award winning stage shows, Something Wicked This Way Comes (2006) and Svengali (2012), master of illusion Derren Brown is back in London’s West End with his new show, Infamous.

Derren Brown: Infamous is the summer’s biggest and best kept secret as Derren does not want to give away any details of the show. However he did suggest that the production would “feel like something you can’t find anywhere else in theatre or entertainment” and the show is hotly tipped to be a “psychological roller-coaster based around audience participation.”

Derren returns to the Palace Theatre with Infamous, having performed at the landmark venue nine years ago in 2004 with his West End debut Derren Brown Live.

Infamous is Derren’s 6th solo show and promises to be a cut above the rest. The production, which tours the UK before arriving at the Palace Theatre, has already received a warm critical response.

Cast and Creative

Infamous is a one man show starring Derren Brown himself and was co written and directed by Derren’s long time collaboration partner and friend, Andy Nyman.

The show is co produced by Corrie McGuire, Michael Vine and Andrew O’Conner, Set Design is by Simon Higlett with Lighting by Tim Cascall, Sound by Colin Pink and Video Design by Duncan Maclean.

Show Lengths and Times

Infamous opens for previews on the 24th June 2013 and runs until the 17th August. Press night will on the Thursday the 27th June at 7pm.

Infamous runs Monday – Saturday evenings at 7.30pm (excluding the 27th June.) Running time is approximately 2 hours but this will be confirmed when the show opens in June.

Tickets for Infamous are now on sale.

Suitable for Children

Infamous is NOT suitable for children under the age of 12.

Singing in the Rain Extends and a Famous Face Joins the Cast

The all-singing, all-dancing spectacular Singing in the Rain shows no sign of putting away its umbrellas any time soon, as it extends through Junet 2013. The production first premiered at Chichester Festival Theatre in 2011 before transferring to the West End on 4 February 2012. It has proven to be a hit with audiences and critics alike, earning a slew of four- and five-star reviews.

Along with this announcement, Robert Powell has been named to join the cast of Singing in the Rain from 1 October. He is perhaps best known for his appearance as the title role in Franco Zeffirelli’s epic television miniseries Jesus of Nazareth. He also played Mark Williams on the BBC series Holby City for six years and Richard Hannoy in the television adaptation of The 39 Steps. His many theatre credits include Travesties, Tovarich, Kind Hearts and Coronets, Double Double, A Question of Attribution, and Jeffrey Bernard is Unwell. In Singing in the Rain, he will play the role of RF Simpson, the Head of Monumental Pictures left scrambling to come up with a plan when his competitors invent talking pictures.

He joins original cast members Adam Cooper (Don Lockwood), Scarlett Strallen (Kathy Selden), Daniel Crossley (Cosmo Brown), and Katherine Kingsley (Lina Lamont). The production is directed by Jonathan Church, with choreography by Andrew Wright, designs by Simon Higlitt, and lighting by Tim Mitchell. Based on the classic MGM film, the musical features songs by Nacio Herb Brown and Arthur Freed and the book was adapted by Betty Comden and Adolph Green from their original screenplay. It is one of Chichester Festival Theatre’s most recent hits in the West End, with Sweeney Todd and South Downs/Browning Version recently making London appearances, and transfers of Kiss Me, Kate to the Old Vic and Goodnight Mister Tom to the Phoenix Theatre announced for this autumn.

Singing in the Rain Extends Booking through February 2013

After receiving a slate of four- and five-star reviews, the smash hit Singing in the Rain has extended its booking period through 23 February 2013.

This new production premiered at the Chichester Festival Theatre last year before opening in the West End at the Palace Theatre on 15 February. It follows silent screen stars as they try to cope with the advent of sound, and its famous title number uses and recycles more than 12,000 litres of water each performance.

Adam Cooper stars as Don Lockwood, with Scarlett Strallen as Kathy Seldon and Daniel Crossley as Cosmo. The supporting cast is led by Katherine Kingsely as Lina Lamont, with Michael Brandon as RF Simpson and Sandra Dickinson as Dora Bailey/Miss Dinsmore. The production is directed by Jonathan Church, with choreography by Andrew Wright. It had previously been scheduled to close on 29 September.

This extension coincides with the 60th anniversary of the famous film version starring Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds, and Donald O’Connor. The film regularly tops critics’ lists of the best movie musicals of all time.

Tickets for October 2012 through February 2013 will go on sale shortly.

Singing In The Rain

THIS SHOW HAS NOW CLOSED. PLEASE DO NOT BOOK TICKETS! 


Singing in the Rain ticketsSingin’ in the Rain has delighted critics and audiences since opening at the Palace Theatre in February 2012. Singing in the Rain tickets are now available until the 8th June 2013.

Directed by Jonathan Church and produced by Stage Entertainment UK, Singing in the Rain will be transferring to the West End stage following a critically acclaimed sell-out run at the Chichester Festival Theatre in 2011. The show opened on 15th February 2012 and is currently taking bookings until 8th June 2013 when the show will close.

Cast Information

Adam Cooper plays the leading role of Lockwood. Cooper is a dancer and choreographer who created the role of the Swan in Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake. He has also performed in numerous West End musicals such as Guys and Dolls and The Wizard of Oz. Playing the role of Kathy Seldon is Louise Bowden, who took over the role from Scarlett Strallen in February 2013. Jennifer Ellison plays the beautiful Lina Lamont and Stephane Annelli plays Lockwood’s sidekick, Cosmo Brown.

Show Length and Times

Singin’ In The Rain shows six evenings per week, from Monday to Saturday. On Monday to Saturday, performances start at 7.30pm. There are two matinees per week at 2:30pm, on Wednesdays and Saturdays. The approximate running time is 2 hours and 30 minutes, including a 15-minute interval. Monday to Saturday evening performances finish at around 10:00pm, exiting the theatre at approximately 10:15pm. Matinees finish at around 5:30pm, and you can expect to leave the theatre by approximately 5:45pm. Singin’ In The Rain will close on the 8th June 2013 and will then tour the UK from December 2013.

Synopsis and Songs

Famous for the 1952 MGM movie version starring Gene Kelly, Singin’ in the Rain tells the story of Don Lockwood, silent movie star who has everything a person dreams of – fame, popularity and a romance with co-star Lina Lamont. With the on-going rumours of the possibility of sound being synchronized with picture which would surely revolutionise the movie industry and change everything, the silent stars, including Don, are nervous. When it is revealed that starlet, Lamont, has the voice akin to nails being scratched down a blackboard, Lockwood and his comedy sidekick, Cosmo, go in search of an alternative. On finding the beautiful yet snooty Kathy Selden, a chorus girl prone to jumping out of cakes with the voice of an angel, Lockwood tries to convince her to dub in for his co-star diva. Unfortunately both Lina and Kathy are stubborn, leading to Don being forced to work his Hollywood star charm. Although where Kathy is concerned, both her and Don get more than they bargained for as they embark upon a whirlwind romance.

Reviews

MICHAEL COVNEY “The rain at the end of each act is tremendous, and anyone in the most expensive seats in the front few rows gets a marvellous soaking. But the highlight of Simon Higlett’s superb design and Tim Mitchell’s lighting is the irresistible explosion of pastel suits, flashing legs and Manhattan skyline in “Broadway Melody.”

LYN GARDNER “It is technically assured, hugely accomplished and is faithful to the movie yet sufficiently different as not to invite unflattering comparisons. The movie inserts, in which we see the vehicles for silent film stars Don Lockwood (Adam Cooper) and Lina Lamont (Katherine Kingsley) as they try to make the transition to the talkies, are particularly clever.”

 

Video Preview

If you can’t wait and want to see what the show is like right now, then why not check out the official trailer for the Chichester production below? The dazzling choreography, costumes and classic tunes can be seen.

 Official Tickets

fill in the search form at the side of the page to buy official Singin’ in the Rain tickets at the Palace Theatre.

Priscilla Queen of the Desert to Close

After a successful run of nearly three years at the Palace Theatre in London, the award-winning Priscilla, Queen of the Desert is set to close on New Year’s Eve. The fun-loving, crazy-costumed show opened in London on 23rd March 2009 to rave reviews and was nominated for the most prestigious theatre award – the Laurence Olivier Award for best New Musical in 2010, unfortunately losing to Spring Awakening. It was nominated for a further two Olivier Awards and won one for Best Costume Design. The show went on to win several other awards including the Whatsonstage.com Theatregoers’ Choice Award for Best New Musical and the BroadwayWorld.com UK Award for Best Actor in a Musical for Oliver Thornton.

Priscilla, Queen of the Desert is based on the 1994 film The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, and was first seen at the Lyric Theatre in Sydney in October 2006. It was highly successful and transferred to Melbourne in 2007, and a year later to New Zealand before returning to its original home. The success of the show sparked worldwide interested for Priscilla, enabling a West End production to open. The London production of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert opened just three months after the show closed in Sydney, and met even greater success than its debut down under. The London show is co-produced by Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Really Useful Group and directed  by Simon Phillips. The original cast included Australian heart-throb Jason Donovan as Tick (Mitzi), Oliver Thornton as Adam (Felicia) and Tony Sheldon as Bernadette.

Fans of Priscilla will be delighted to know that it doesn’t all end with the West End closure of the hit musical.  The show is currently playing on Broadway and is produced by Grammy Award-winning actress and singer, Bette Midler, and a Brazilian production is set to open in Sao Paulo in 2012.

Priscilla, Queen of the Desert closes at the Palace Theatre on 31st December 2011.

 

 

 

 

Priscilla Queen of the Desert

 THIS SHOW IS NOW CLOSED. YOU CAN NOT BOOK TICKETS.

 Priscilla Queen of the Desert opened at the Palace Theatre London in March 2009. Originally seen on stage in Sydney in October 2006, Priscilla was adapted for the stage from the 1994 film The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, by Stephan Elliott, who also helped with the book for the musical adaptation. The production closed on 31 December 2011.

Priscilla Queen of the Desert transported audiences down under to the Australian outback, where two drags queens and a transsexual hop onboard Priscilla the campervan to drive from Sydney to Alice Springs in the search for friendship and love, but they in fact find more than they were hoping for.

The musical features countless hit pop tunes and dance floor classics such as Go West, I Will Survive and Boogie Wonderland, and due to its outrageous costumes, fun spirit and hit songs, has become one of the most successful Australian musicals of all time.

Cast Information

The cast of the London production of Priscilla Queen of the Desert included Richard Grieve in the leading role of Tick. Grieve is an Australian actor who has performed both in the UK and Australia in many musicals and plays, and he played Sam Kratz in Neighbours and Dr Lachlan Frazer in Home & Away. Transsexual Bernadette was played by Don Gallagher. Gallagher has performed in many West End shows such as Les Miserables and The Producers. The final lead role of Adam (Felicia) was performed by Oliver Thornton. Thornton has played many big roles on the London stage such as Raoul in The Phantom of the Opera and Harrison in Chicago, and he was an original member of the London Priscilla cast. Other cast members included Ray Meagher as Bob and Charlotte Riby, Gemma O’Duffy, Lucinda Shaw and Amelia Cormack as the singing divas.

Critics’ Reviews

“What the show is really about is spectacle; which, thanks to Brian Thomson’s production design and the costumes of Tim Chappel and Lizzy Gardiner, is hurled across in bucketloads.”
Michael Billington, the Guardian

 

“At the Palace Theatre, I’m delighted to report, an insanely euphoric and wildly contagious vulgarity prevails. It’s ten times more enjoyable than the screen version”
Charles Spencer, the Daily Telegraph

 

“It’s slick, sassy and visually stunning, the latter due largely to Tim Chappel and Lizzy Gardiner’s extravagant and colourful costumes. And the script, with puns aplenty and double entendres galore, is nothing short of outrageous. However, its delivery is such that it never comes across as offensive
Lizzie Guilfoyle, indieLONDON

Videos

Want to see just what Priscilla was like? Then watch the London trailer below from the original cast which included Jason Donovan in the role of Tick. The bright colours, glitter and outrageous costumes can be seen and some of the songs used in the musical are performed such as I Will Survive.

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Add Your Review!

Did you see Priscilla Queen of the Desert at the Palace Theatre in London? Did the feel-good vibe of the show get you off your seat or were you left wishing that the musical had stayed in Australia? Add you review and comments in the box below!