With pantomime season almost upon us, Aberdeen Performing Arts (APA) can reveal next year’s festive extravaganza at His Majesty’s Theatre will be the fairest panto in all the land – Snow White.
The news comes as APA, which runs the city theatre, unveils its new brochure for the venue.
Also on the bill is Take That’s sensational new musical The Band, which is at HMT from October 3 – 13, closely followed by the smash hit show Evita from October 16 – 20.
BalletLorent will transform the theatre into a fairytale land for Rumpelstiltskin on September 28 & 29, while Nashville Live is on June 11 and family show Bing Live! is on August 7 & 8.
The new brochure also reveals details of a Scottish tour of APA-produced show Velvet Evening Séance and a new series of Culture Café. Further still, there’s a new Scratch Night for your diary and teaser details of APA’s crime writing festival Granite Noir.
APA chief executive Jane Spiers said: “Releasing our new brochure is a time that is always filled with excitement and anticipation, and we are delighted to offer something for everyone in our new lineup of shows. Among the highlights is sure to be The Band, a warm-hearted, exciting tale packed with incredible feel-good music. The stunning Evita is a classic that we’re thrilled to welcome back to Aberdeen, and balletLorent’s Rumpelstiltskin will be truly magical.
“We’re extremely proud that our own production, Velvet Evening Séance, will tour Scotland, and we’re giving our North-east audiences the first chance to see the show before it travels around the country.
“Our new Culture Café lineup showcases some of the very best in writing talent and we’ll be scouring Aberdeen for local talent too, with our Climate Change Scratch Night.
“With this year’s panto Aladdin just around the corner, our new brochure also includes our 2018 title, Snow White, for those who like to get the best seats in the house early on!”
Written by award-winning writer Tim Firth, The Band is a beautiful story for anyone who grew up memorising the lyrics of their favourite boyband. The audience is transported to 1992, where for five 16-year-old girls, the band is everything. Fast-forward to present day as the friends reunite to fulfil their dream of meeting the boyband whose music became the soundtrack to their lives. Featuring Take That’s best hits, the production perfectly treads the line between pop music and poignant storytelling.
Evita returns to HMT to thrill audiences with the story of Eva Peron, the wife of former Argentine dictator Juan Peron. Starring two of musical theatre’s most outstanding leading performers; Madalena Alberto returns to the role of Eva, a role she received critical acclaim for in the 2014 West End revival. Joining her in the role of Che Guevara, fresh from the recent West End production, is Gian Marco Schiaretti, who also played the title role in Disney’s production of Tarzan. Featuring some of the most iconic songs in musical theatre, including Don’t Cry for Me Argentina, On This Night of a Thousand Stars and Another Suitcase in Another Hall.
balletLorent’s production of Rumpelstiltskin promises to be visually stunning, with costumes by Game of Thrones’ Michele Clapton. Directed by Liv Lorent and retold by Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy, this fairytale is full of action and humour, set in a rural world of sheep, straw, wool and spinning where the alchemist Rumpelstiltskin is outcast until he is revealed to be the true prince. With a stunning score by Doctor Who composer Murray Gold and narration by actor Ben Crompton, this is dance theatre for 21st century audiences.
For the first time ever, Bing Live! comes to the stage for all the family, with favourite characters Bing, Sula, Coco and Pando as they find out how to tell stories by pretending, dressing up and singing songs. It’s the ideal first theatre trip for pre-schoolers and their family.
For something a little more grown up, the national tour of Velvet Evening Séance will kick off at The Lemon Tree with performances on February 16 and 17, before touring to Paisley, Peebles, Inverness, Stirling, Greenock, Glasgow and Kirkcaldy. The show, created by Freshly Squeezed Productions and Ross MacKay, had its world premiere in Aberdeen earlier this year before playing at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe throughout August. Set in the Victorian era, this ingenious one-man show is a gripping and beguiling story of two brothers bound by truth and trickery.
And a little over a year from now, His Majesty’s Theatre will be alive with the magic of the 2018 pantomime, Snow White. Produced by Qdos, the company behind this year’s production of Aladdin, the show promises to be full of comedy, sensational costumes and dance numbers, stunning scenery and brilliant songs. Throw in a magical mirror, a beautiful princess, a handsome prince and plenty of audience participation as the characters outwit the wicked queen. Snow White will run at HMT from December 1, 2018 to January 6, 2019.
There are three new Culture Café dates for your diary, featuring major Scottish poet, editor, teacher and critic Douglas Dunn (February 7) award-winning author Graeme Macrae Burnet (April 18) and outstanding poet Sean O’Brien (June 13), who holds numerous acclaimed awards.
There’s even a chance for budding playwrights and musicians to have their moment in the spotlight thanks to APA’s upcoming Scratch Night, which provides a platform for aspiring creative people to submit their short scripts, spoken word or new music for inclusion in a performance at The Lemon Tree. Submissions should be based around the theme of climate change and the deadline is February 26.
Nashville Live (June 11) transports you right into the heart of downtown Nashville, celebrating the atmosphere and energy of an evening in the home of country music. Featuring some of the hottest country musicians from both sides of the pond, songs will include hits by Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton and more.
Tickets for all shows are on sale to APA Friends next Thursday (November 23) and to general bookers on the following Tuesday (November 28). Tickets are available from aberdeenperformingarts.com, by phone on (01224) 641122 or in person from the Box Office at HMT and The Lemon Tree.