Agatha Christie Ltd, Fiery Angel and Lucy Bailey (director of the West End hit Witness for the Prosecution) will bring Ken Ludwig’s adaptation of another Agatha Christie classic, Murder on the Orient Express to the Mayflower Theatre stage from Tuesday 18 to Saturday 22 February 2025. Winter 1934 and an...
Heritage: Do you know a labyrinth from a maze and a miz-maze?
By Martin Brisland. Image – Mizmaze in the grounds of All Saints Church, Millbrook, Southampton Do you know a labyrinth from a maze and a miz-maze? We have several examples in our area at Town Quay Park, Redbridge, Breamore and Winchester. Like me, you may be familiar with the...
Interview: Michael Betteridge, Composer of Riders to the Sea and prologue The Last Bit of the Moon
Riders to the Sea written by Ralph Vaughan Williams based on the play by JM Synge visits MAST Mayflower Studios from Thursday 30 January to Saturday 1 February 2025. We spoke to Michael Betteridge, Composer of Riders to the Sea and prologue The Last Bit of the Moon. How did...
Interview: Artist and stage designer John Macfarlane on working on Birmingham Royal Ballet’s Cinderella
By Diane Parkes. Artist and stage designer John Macfarlane has created stunning sets for shows across the globe but there was one story he really wanted to work on – Prokofiev’s ballet Cinderella. So when former Birmingham Royal Ballet (BRB) Director David Bintley decided to create a new production...
Beverley Knight ready to raise the roof in Chichester
Beverley Knight is set to star in the stunning new production Marie and Rosetta at Chichester’s Minerva Theatre. The Olivier award-winning singer will take the key role of Rosetta Tharpe in the roof-raising play with music from June 25 to July 26. It tells the true story of American singer and...
Preview: John Bishop: Back At It, Mayflower Theatre, Southampton
Comedy superstar John Bishop is coming to Mayflower Theatre on Sunday 16 February, after adding extra dates to his Back At It UK and Ireland stand-up tour following phenomenal demand for tickets. After two years spent TV presenting, stage acting, podcast hosting, dog walking and decorating the spare room,...
Preview: Room on the Broom, Theatre Royal Winchester
Family audiences can enjoy the colourful puppetry and joyous songs in Room on the Broom when it comes to Theatre Royal Winchester on Friday 7 to Sunday 9 February. Based on children’s book author Julia Donaldson and illustrator Axel Scheffler’s best-selling tale, Room on the Broom tells the story...
Interview: Flora McIntosh, Artistic Director of OperaUpClose and Director of Riders to the Sea
Riders to the Sea written by Ralph Vaughan Williams based on the play by JM Synge visits MAST Mayflower Studios from Thursday 30 January to Saturday 1 February 2025. We spoke to artistic director of OperaUpClose and director of Riders to the Sea, Flora McIntosh, ahead of the show. Why...
The Show Must Go On – Leo Sayer finally plays Wickham Festival
Leo Sayer is set to play the Wickham Festival – five years late! The Shoreham-born chart-topper was due to headline the four-day event in 2020, only for it to be cancelled because of Covid. With Sayer now living in Australia, it has been difficult for organisers to fit Wickham...
Review: Now That’s What I Call a Musical, Mayflower Theatre, Southampton, 14 January 2025
By Catherine Collins. In 1989 I was 15, so when I saw Now That’s What I Call a Musical – which opened at Mayflower Theatre last night – was set then (and in 2009 for the friends 20 year reunion) I knew I had to go. Much like we...