Wizard of Oz venue announced

The Wizard of Oz, with Dorothy and Toto chosen by the current BBC reality “Over the Rainbow” programme, will be going into the London Palladium with performances scheduled to start 29th March 2011. To make way for this, Sister Act will close on 1st Jan 2011 putting Sheila Hancock, one of the Dorothy judges and currently starring in the show, off the stage.

Tickets go on sale from 9th May though there will be early access for readers (I believe that is the term!) of the Sun and News of the World.

By the way, one of the Toto judges is Gerry Cott, co-founder of The Boomtown Rats who owns A-Z Animals.

Olivier Awards 2010 – Winners

BEST ACTRESS

• Rachel Weisz for A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE at the Donmar

BEST ACTOR

• Mark Rylance for JERUSALEM at the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs at the Royal Court and now at the Apollo

BEST ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

• Ruth Wilson for A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE at the Donmar

BEST ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

• Eddie Redmayne for RED at the Donmar

BEST NEW PLAY

• THE MOUNTAINTOP by Katori Hall at Trafalgar Studios 1

BEST NEW COMEDY

• THE PRIORY by Michael Wynne at the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs at the Royal Court

BEST MUSICAL REVIVAL

• HELLO DOLLY! book by Michael Stewart, music and lyrics by Jerry Herman, based on the play ‘The Matchmaker’ by Thornton Wilder at the Open Air

BEST NEW MUSICAL

• SPRING AWAKENING music by Duncan Sheik, book and lyrics by Steven Sater, based on the play by Frank Wedekind at the Novello

BEST ENTERTAINMENT

• MORECAMBE by Tim Whitnall at the Duchess

BEST ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL OR ENTERTAINMENT

• Samantha Spiro for HELLO DOLLY! at the Open Air

BEST ACTOR IN A MUSICAL OR ENTERTAINMENT

• Aneurin Barnard for SPRING AWAKENING at the Novello

BEST SUPPORTING PERFORMANCE IN A MUSICAL OR ENTERTAINMENT

• Iwan Rheon for SPRING AWAKENING at the Novello

BEST DIRECTOR

• Rupert Goold for ENRON at the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs at the Royal Court and now at the Noel Coward

BEST REVIVAL

• CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF directed by Debbie Allen at the Novello

BEST THEATRE CHOREOGRAPHER

• Stephen Mear for HELLO DOLLY! at the Open Air

BEST LIGHTING DESIGN

• BURNT BY THE SUN designed by Mark Henderson at the Lyttelton

BEST SET DESIGN

• JERUSALEM designed by Ultz at the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs at the Royal Court and now at the Apollo

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

• PRISCILLA, QUEEN OF THE DESERT- THE MUSICAL designed by Tim Chappel and Lizzy Gardiner at the Palace

BEST SOUND DESIGN

• SPRING AWAKENING designed by Brian Ronan at the Novello

THE AUDIENCE AWARD FOR MOST POPULAR SHOW

• WICKED music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz, book by Winnie Holzman at the Apollo Victoria

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN AN AFFILIATE THEATRE

• The Royal Court for COCK at the Jerwood Theatre Upstairs

BEST NEW OPERA PRODUCTION

• The Royal Opera’s TRISTAN UND ISOLDE at the Royal Opera House

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN OPERA

• Nina Stemme for her performance in the Royal Opera’s TRISTAN UND ISOLDE at the Royal Opera House

BEST NEW DANCE PRODUCTION

• GOLDBERG: THE BRANDSTRUP ROJO PORJECT, ROH2 at the Royal Opera House

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN DANCE

• Rambert Dance Company for an outstanding year of new work

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

• Michael Codron

SOLT SPECIAL AWARD

• Dame Maggie Smith

Compare London Tickets

We’ve got a website that is a “slice of SeatChoice” called Compare London Tickets – it only looks at London tickets (shows, comedy and concerts) and only deals with STAR agents – members of The Society of Ticket Agents and Retailers – so you know everything is pukka.

Well worth a look if you’re next theatre trip is to London

2010 Olivier Award Nominations

BEST ACTRESS

• Gillian Anderson for A DOLL’S HOUSE at the Donmar
• Lorraine Burroughs for THE MOUNTAINTOP at Trafalgar Studios 1
• Imelda Staunton for ENTERTAINING MR SLOANE at Trafalgar Studios 1
• Juliet Stevenson for DUET FOR ONE at the Almeida and Vaudeville
• Rachel Weisz for A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE at the Donmar

BEST ACTOR

• James Earl Jones for CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF at the Novello
• Jude Law for HAMLET, Donmar at Wyndham’s
• James McAvoy for THREE DAYS OF RAIN at the Apollo
• Mark Rylance for JERUSALEM at the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs at the Royal Court and now at the Apollo
• Ken Stott for A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE at the Duke of York’s
• Samuel West for ENRON at the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs at the Royal Court and now at the Noel Coward

BEST ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

• Hayley Atwell for A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE at the Duke of York’s
• Michelle Dockery for BURNT BY THE SUN at the Lyttelton
• Alexandra Gilbreath for TWELFTH NIGHT at the Duke of York’s
• Keira Knightley for THE MISANTHROPE at the Comedy
• Rachael Stirling for THE PRIORY at the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs at the Royal Court
• Ruth Wilson for A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE at the Donmar

BEST ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

• Mackenzie Crook for JERUSALEM at the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs at the Royal Court and now at the Apollo
• Rory Kinnear for BURNT BY THE SUN at the Lyttelton
• Tim Pigott-Smith for ENRON at the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs at the Royal Court and now at the Noel Coward
• Eddie Redmayne for RED at the Donmar

BEST NEW PLAY

• Enron by Lucy Prebble at the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs at the Royal Court and now at the Noel Coward
• JERUSALEM by Jez Butterworth at the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs at the Royal Court and now at the Apollo
• THE MOUNTAINTOP by Katori Hall at Trafalgar Studios 1
• RED by John Logan by at the Donmar Warehouse

BEST NEW COMEDY

• CALENDAR GIRLS by Tim Firth at the Noël Coward
• ENGLAND PEOPLE VERY NICE by Richard Bean at the Olivier
• PARLOUR SONG by Jez Butterworth at the Almeida
• THE PRIORY by Michael Wynne at the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs at the Royal Court

BEST MUSICAL REVIVAL

• Irving Berlin’s ANNIE GET YOUR GUN music and lyrics by Irving Berlin, book by Herbert and Dorothy Fields at the Young Vic
• HELLO DOLLY! book by Michael Stewart, music and lyrics by Jerry Herman, based on the play ‘The Matchmaker’ by Thornton Wilder at the Open Air
• A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, book by Hugh Wheeler, suggested by a film by Ingmar Bergman, originally produced and directed on Broadway by Harold Prince at the Garrick
• Lionel Bart’s OLIVER! based on the original production by Sam Mendes at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane

BEST NEW MUSICAL

• DREAMBOATS AND PETTICOATS book by Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran at the Savoy
• PRISCILLA QUEEN OF THE DESERT – THE MUSICAL book by Stephan Elliott and Allan Scott, based on the Latent Image/Specific Films motion picture distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. at the Palace
• SPRING AWAKENING music by Duncan Sheik, book and lyrics by Steven Sater, based on the play by Frank Wedekind at the Novello
• SISTER ACT music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Glenn Slater, book by Cheri Steinkellner and Bill Steinkellner at The London Palladium

BEST ENTERTAINMENT

• ARTURO BRACHETTI: CHANGE written and directed by Sean Foley, original concept by Serge Denoncourt, based on the repertoire of Arturo Brachetti at the Garrick
• DERREN BROWN: ENIGMA written by Derren Brown and Andy Nyman at the Adelphi
• MORECAMBE by Tim Whitnall at the Duchess

BEST ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL OR ENTERTAINMENT

• Melanie C for BLOOD BROTHERS at the Phoenix
• Patina Miller for SISTER ACT at the London Palladium
• Samantha Spiro for HELLO DOLLY! at the Open Air
• Hannah Waddingham for A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC at the Garrick
• Charlotte Wakefield for SPRING AWAKENING at the Novello

BEST ACTOR IN A MUSICAL OR ENTERTAINMENT

• Rowan Atkinson for OLIVER! at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane
• Aneurin Barnard for SPRING AWAKENING at the Novello
• Bob Golding for MORECAMBE at the Duchess
• Alexander Hanson for A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC at the Garrick
• Tony Sheldon for PRISCILLA QUEEN OF THE DESERT – THE MUSICAL at the Palace

BEST SUPPORTING PERFORMANCE IN A MUSICAL OR ENTERTAINMENT

• Sheila Hancock for SISTER ACT at the London Palladium
• Maureen Lipman for A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC at the Garrick
• Kelly Price for A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC at the Garrick
• Iwan Rheon for SPRING AWAKENING at the Novello

BEST DIRECTOR

• Rupert Goold for ENRON at the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs at the Royal Court and now at the Noel Coward
• Michael Grandage for HAMLET, Donmar at Wyndham’s
• Lindsay Posner for A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE at the Duke of York’s
• Ian Rickson for Jerusalem at the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs at the Royal Court and now at the Apollo
• Bijan Sheibani for OUR CLASS at the Cottesloe

BEST REVIVAL

• ARCADIA directed by David Leveaux at the Duke of York’s
• CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF directed by Debbie Allen at the Novello
• THE MISANTHROPE directed by Thea Sharrock at the Comedy
• A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE directed by Rob Ashford at the Donmar Warehouse
• A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE directed by Lindsay Posner at the Duke of York’s
• THREE DAYS OF RAIN directed by Jamie Lloyd at the Apollo

BEST THEATRE CHOREOGRAPHER

• Matthew Bourne for OLIVER! at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane
• Bill T Jones for SPRING AWAKENING at the Novello
• Anthony Van Laast for SISTER ACT at the London Palladium
• Stephen Mear for HELLY DOLLY! at the Open Air

BEST LIGHTING DESIGN

• BURNT BY THE SUN designed by Mark Henderson at the Lyttelton
• ENRON designed by Mark Henderson the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs at the Royal Court and now at the Noel Coward
• SPRING AWAKENING designed by Kevin Adams at the Novello
• THREE DAYS OF RAIN designed by Jon Clark at the Apollo

BEST SET DESIGN

• ENGLAND PEOPLE VERY NICE designed by Mark Thompson with animation by Pete Bishop
• ENRON designed by Anthony Ward at the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs at the Royal Court and now at the Noel Coward
• JERUSALEM designed by Ultz at the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs at the Royal Court and now at the Apollo
• RED designed by Christopher Oram at the Donmar Warehouse

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

• HELLO DOLLY! designed by Peter McKintosh at the Open Air
• MADAME DE SADE designed by Christopher Oram, Donmar at Wyndham’s
• THE MISANTHROPE designed by Amy Roberts at the Comedy
• PRISCILLA, QUEEN OF THE DESERT- THE MUSICAL designed by Tim Chappel and Lizzy Gardiner at the Palace

BEST SOUND DESIGN

• EVERY GOOD BOY DESERVES FAVOUR designed by Christopher Shutt at the Olivier
• JERUSALEM designed by Ian Dickinson for Autograph at the Jerwood Theatre Upstairs at the Royal Court and now at the Apollo
• MOTHER COURAGE AND HER CHILDREN designed by Andrew Bruce and Nick Lidster for Autograph at the Olivier
• SPRING AWAKENING designed by Brian Ronan at the Novello

THE AUDIENCE AWARD FOR MOST POPULAR SHOW

• BILLY ELLIOT music by Elton John, books and lyrics by Lee Hall at the Victoria Palace
• THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA music and book by Andrew Lloyd Webber, lyrics by Charles Hart, book and additional lyrics by Richard Stilgoe at His Majesty’s
• WAR HORSE based on the novel by Michael Morpurgo, adapted by Nick Stafford at the New London
• WE WILL ROCK YOU based on the songs of Queen, by Ben Elton in collaboration with Brian May and Roger Taylor at the Dominion
• WICKED music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz, book by Winnie Holzman at the Apollo Victoria

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN AN AFFILIATE THEATRE

• Soho Theatre/ Tiata Fahodzi for IYA ILE (THE FIRST WIFE)
• The Tricycle Theatre for THE GREAT GAME
• The Royal Court for COCK at the Jerwood Theatre Upstairs

BEST NEW OPERA PRODUCTION

• The Royal Opera’s DER FLIEGENDE HOLLÄNDER at the Royal Opera House
• The Royal Opera’s LULU at the Royal Opera House
• English National Opera’s PETER GRIMES at the London Coliseum
• The Royal Opera’s TRISTAN UND ISOLDE at the Royal Opera House

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN OPERA

• Anja Kampe for her performance in Royal Opera’s DER FLIEGENDE HOLLÄNDER at the Royal Opera House
• Stuart Skelton for his performance in English National Opera’s PETER GRIMES at the London Coliseum
• Nina Steme for her performance in the Royal Opera’s TRISTAN UND ISOLDE at the Royal Opera House
• Michael Volle for his performances in the Royal Opera’s LULU and TRISTAN AND ISOLDE at the Royal Opera House

BEST NEW DANCE PRODUCTION

• Russell Maliphant’s AFTERLIGHT at Sadler’s Wells
• Birmingham Royal Ballet’s E=MC² at Sadler’s Wells
• Goldberg: The Brandstrup Rojo Project, ROH2 at the Royal Opera House
• Rambert Dance Company’s A LINHA CURVA at Sadler’s Wells
• Fabulous Beast Dance’s THE RITE OF SPRING at the London Coliseum

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN DANCE

• Colin Dunne for his performance in OUT OF TIME at The Pit

• Michael Hulls for his lighting designs for Russell Maliphant’s TWO:FOUR:TEN at the London Coliseum; and for Russell Maliphant’s AFTERLIGHT and for Ex Machina & Sylvie Guillem’s EONNAGATA at Sadler’s Wells

• Rambert Dance Company for an outstanding year of new work

A record breaking year for the West End

Results for 2009, released today by the Society of London Theatre (SOLT), show that Theatreland has, despite the overall economic gloom, remained highly resilient, with record numbers of theatregoers in the capital.The figures – which are compiled from the 52 major theatres in central London, primarily commercial but also including grant-aided flagships such as the National, Royal Court, Almeida and Donmar Warehouse – show a total of 14,257,922 trips were made to see a London show in 2009. That’s up 5.5% from the 13,807,286 trips in 2008. Total ticket revenue in 2009 rose to £504,765,690, up 7.6% from the £480,563,674 taken at box offices in 2008.  Plays faed particularly well, up an incredible 26% on 2008, while opera, dance and entertainment shows were collectively up 7% – but musicals were down year-on-year by 2%.

West End and inner London tickets can be found and compared at Compare London Tickets while tickets elsewhere can be found on SeatChoice

Decades at Theatre503

Decades is, or rather was, a series of ten 10 minute plays covering the first 10 years of the 21st Century – a one-off collaboration produced by Gene David Kirk.

Apart from the year, the writers were given a pretty free hand and produced a wide range of plays from the fairly obvious to the wildly obscure, after all, the events that define a year are different for all of us and grow dimmer with the passage of time .

This was a highly enjoyable evening, patchy as you might expect but packed with some real nuggets of delight to keep you going, after all, it is hard for the audience as well as the actors to start from scratch 10 times in an evening!

Excellent theatre ..

Encore Ticket Sale

Now seems a particularly good time top get yourself a bargain ticket to see a great West End show … this Encore sale is on until at least mid-February … check out the deals!

Compare London Tickets

Ok, a new website! Given that our ticket price comparison services are provided by a separate engine it is pretty easy to launch white label style services – here, for example, is one that took me an hour to produce, most of which was sorting a logo!

The site contains the same sort of content as SeatChoice but for the fact that it only looks at the West End and Inner London and only deals with agents that are members of The Society of Ticket Agents and Retailers (STAR). Whilst it also doesn’t do live availability searches, just providing the links directly to the correct shows/dates, it does cover theatre, opera, ballet, concerts, circus, exhibitions and other events.

It might meet some people’s needs given that UK-wide is a lot of shows!

Really close to the line

We have a competitor, I have no problem with that as I know we’re better However, our competitor advertises on Google AdWords saying that they are, and I quote, “The World’s only London Theatre ticket comparison site”. Now forgive me, but they weren’t even the first and certainly aren’t the only …

Unless, of course, what they mean is that they’re the only ticket comparison site who limit themselves to London and to Theatre … i.e. they’re people who care more about what money they can make than what service they can offer…

Gosh, I’m having a grumpy Friday afternoon …

The competitor? Well, don’t want them to get a link so let us just say their domain is C*mpareTheatreTickets .. and we all know that SeatChoice offers the best deals for London theatre tickets, London concert tickets, meal deals, hotel deals, and tickets across the whole UK and little bits of Ireland too.

Meanwhile I have upgrading stuff on UK Theatre Web .. our oldest site, nothing stunning just a refresh to clear out some (very) old code.

Project CBOLDS

Just finished working on a big project for a client, well still working but the project is live … it is a City Break service allowing you to link shows, transport, attractions, meals and hotels into a single bespoke package. My version, London only can be found at uktw.cbolds.co.uk - I’ve also linked it in to offers sections on SeatChoice.

At SeatChoice we hope soon to also link to London theatre tickets from ShowPairs – great deals for couples – or even numbered groups