landortheatre.co.uk
Previews: Wednesday 11th April
Press Night: Thursday 12th April
In the 200th ANNIVERSARY YEAR of Charles Dickens’ birth, Aria Entertainment in association with The Landor Theatreare pleased to present the London revival of Rupert Holmes’ Broadway musical The Mystery of Edwin Drood at The Landor Theatre, London in April/May 2012.
The Mystery of Edwin Drood is a thrilling and comical play within a play, originally based on the unfinished novel by Charles Dickens. Full of intrigue and mystery, the story follows the exploits of the Theatre Royale Music Hall Company. Set against the backdrop of the Great British traditions of Music Hall and Pantomime, the Theatre Royale actors set about completing the story of Edwin Drood – with just a little help from the audience along the way. The Tony Award winning score is full of beautiful and evocative melodies, encapsulating the Victorian vaudevillian spirit of the show.
The Director for The Mystery of Edwin Drood will be Matthew Gould; Musical Direction is by James Cleeve with Orchestrations by Tony Osborne. Casting is done by Benjamin Newsome and photographs are by Claire Bilyard.
With former Coronation Street star Wendi Peters as Princess Puffer, the cast is headed by Natalie Day (Les Misérables, Queens) as Edwin Drood, Victoria Farley (Les Misérables, Barbican) as Rosa Budd and Daniel Robinson (Jekyll & Hyde UK Tour) as John Jasper.
The cast also includes:
Loula Geater (Helena Landlass), David Francis (Neville Landlass), Denis Delahunt (Chairman), Richard Stirling(Reverend Crisparkle), Oliver Mawdsley (Horace), Mark Ralston (Bazzard), Paul Hutton (Durdles), Tom Pepper (Deputy), and Ben Goffe (Harry Sayle).
The show’s Costume Designer will be Jean Gray; Set Design by Natasha Piper with Lighting Design by Maria Kearney.
Wendi Peters, best known for playing Cilla Battersby-Brown in Coronation Street, is delighted to be returning to the stage as the Princess Puffer. She has also appeared in the hit ITV series Bad Girls and on Celebrity Masterchef, Soapstar Superstarand in Dictionary Corner on Countdown.
Produced by:
Katy Lipson for ARIA ENTERTAINMENT
Children of Eden Charity Gala; The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas)
THE LANDOR THEATRE
Ragtime; The Hired Man; John & Jen)
The Mystery of Edwin Drood
Landor Theatre, 70 Landor Road, London
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Event has ended
This event ended on Saturday 5th of May 2012
This event ended on Saturday 5th of May 2012
Admission
£18/£15(concs)
£18/£15(concs)
Tags:
Theatre
User Reviews
christopher west
Apr 15, 2012
The Mystery of Edwin Drood at the Landor Theatre- Exploring Charles ****ens final novel, unfinished because he died while writing it; we are introduced to members of the 'Theatre Royale', by a traditional Chairman,overseeing a music hall style rendition of the story. Opening songs buzz with audience participation (song sheets provided) stiffened by cast members spurring people to join in. We are then swept along from Music Hall to Musical Play. The plot develops quickly, amidst good songs, sung well by various characters. The plot works through the murder (or was it)? Possible motives are presented for each suspect- obvious clues are amusingly emphasised, then the audience is asked to vote, after each suspect has passionately pleaded with us to vote for them! Most impressive was the combined strength of the cast; each member oozed proficiency in clarity, expression and timbre. Solos, duets, trios and even a sextet provided great variety, interspersed with gusty choruses from 'the entire company'-every movement was choreographed with panache and fine detail. Music was voraciously led from the electric piano, including flute, clarinet, percussion, trumpet and cello, (I couldn't discern a single wrong note)! Each performer showed professional sparkle and excellence, but the extra gush and tingle factor came for me as Wendi Peters powerfully and reliably let rip from the very first note of 'Don't Quit While You're Ahead', right up to the end of the show, inspiring the rest of the cast superbly, with a stirringly excellent finale, to send us home elated. ****ens was himself an entertainer, so would have loved the fine performance and the music itself- he would also have savoured the argument, mystery and stimulation of debate; this novel is well documented as the most discussed of all, and for good reason. The production is strong enough for the West End, and the timing is right, celebrating 200 years of the great man- in any event, congratulations to the cast,