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VIBRANT NEW WRITING | UNIQUE REDISCOVERIES
Spring Season – February to May 2015
Part of the Finborough Theatre's
series'
The first professional London production in over twenty years
Gilbert and Sullivan's
PRINCESS IDA
Music by Arthur Sullivan. Libretto by W.S. Gilbert. Revised and Directed by Phil Willmott.
Designed by Maira Vazeou. Costume Design by Clara Lopez Merino. Musical Direction by Richard Baker and Nick Barstow.
Choreography by Thomas Michael Voss. Presented by The Steam Industy and Szpiezak Productions in association with
Neil McPherson for the Finborough Theatre.
Cast: Simon Butteriss. Wendy Carr. Bridget Costello. Laura Coutts. Nathan Elcox. Rachel Lea-Gray. Jeremy Lloyd.
Georgi Mottram. Simeon Oakes. Victoria Quigley. Jordan Veloso. Raymond Walsh. Zac Wancke.
"Oh, don't the days seem lank and long
When all goes right and nothing goes wrong,
And isn't your life extremely flat
With nothing whatever to grumble at."
The Finborough Theatre’s acclaimed Celebrating British Music Theatre series continues with the first professional London
production in over twenty years of Gilbert and Sullivan's Princess Ida opening at the Finborough Theatre for a four
week limited season on Tuesday, 24 March 2015 (Press Night: Thursday, 26 March 2015 at 7.30pm).
Containing some of Sullivan's catchiest melodies and Gilbert's wittiest salvoes in the battle of the sexes, this sunny, funny
musical comedy concerns the marriage of two royal babies.
It's twenty years later and Prince Hilarion is keen to be reunited with his now adult wife, the Princess Ida. Unfortunately
her quarrelsome father has hidden her away in a women's only university where even the morning cock crow is managed
by a talented hen.
So Hilarion is forced to don a dress and even wield a sword to win his wife.
Former Finborough Theatre Artistic Director Phil Willmott returns to direct this rare professional revival which will
delight G&S aficionados and musical theatre fans alike.
Composer Sir Arthur Sullivan (1842-1900) and Librettist Sir William Schwenk Gilbert (1836-1910) collaborated on
a total of fifteen quintessentially British comic operettas, most of which are continually performed all over the world with
The Mikado and H.M.S. Pinafore being amongst the best known. Gilbert and Sullivan’s complete repertoire includes
Thespis (1871), Trial by Jury (1875), The Sorcerer (1877), H.M.S. Pinafore (1878), The Pirates of Penzance (1879),
Patience (1881), Iolanthe (1882), The Mikado (1885), Ruddigore (1887), The Yeomen of the Guard (1888), The
Gondoliers (1889), Utopia, Limited (1893) – and The Grand Duke which received its first fully staged professional UK
production since 1896 at the Finborough Theatre in 2012. Both Gilbert and Sullivan were local residents of the area.
Composer, Writer and Director Phil Willmott is one of the most commissioned musical theatre writers in the UK. His
past musicals include Secret Love (National Tour) Lost Boy (Finborough Theatre and an extended transfer to Charing
118 Finborough Road, London SW10 9ED Telephone 020 7244 7439 e-mail [email protected]
www.finboroughtheatre.co.uk
Artistic Director Neil McPherson
The Finborough Theatre is managed by The Steam Industry. Registered in England and Wales as a company limited by guarantee, no. 3448268.
Registered Charity no. 1071304. Registered address: 118 Finborough Road, London SW10 9ED. A member of the Independent Theatre Council.
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Cross Theatre), Once Upon a Time at The Adelphi (Liverpool, London and USA) and the widely and regularly revived Dick
Barton Trilogy, Around The World In Eighty Days and Jason And The Argonauts. He is a multi-award winning director,
artistic director, playwright, composer, librettist, teacher, dramaturg, arts journalist and occasional actor. He is founding
Artistic Director of award winning theatre company The Steam Industry incorporating the Finborough Theatre (under the
Artistic Directorship of Neil McPherson) and the London's annual Free Theatre Festival at the open-air "Scoop"
amphitheatre on the South Bank. He has international directing career incorporates everything from classical drama,
musicals and family shows to cabaret and cutting edge new writing. He is a recipient of a TMA Award for outstanding
direction of a musical, a Peter Brook Award for his outdoor classical productions and family shows, WhatsOnStage award
nominations for best regional and Off West End productions, a Broadway World nomination for Best Musical in the UK, a
Brooks Atkinson/Royal Court award in New York for Playwriting and four Spirit of Broadway awards.
In 2006, the Finborough Theatre began the Celebrating British Music Theatre series with a sell-out production of Leslie
Stuart’s Florodora. Productions since then have included sell-out rediscoveries of Lionel Monckton’s Our Miss Gibbs,
Harold Fraser-Simson’s operetta The Maid of the Mountains, A "Gilbert and Sullivan" Double Bill featuring Gilbert’s play
Sweethearts and Sullivan’s opera The Zoo, Dame Ethel Smyth’s opera The Boatswain’s Mate, Sandy Wilson’s The
Buccaneer, Oscar Asche’s Chu Chin Chow, Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley's The Roar of the Greasepaint – The Smell
of the Crowd, Ivor Novello's Perchance to Dream, Gay's The Word (which transferred to Jermyn Street Theatre, and has
been released on CD), and Valley of Song (released on CD), Gilbert and Sullivan's The Grand Duke, Edward German's
Merrie England, Paul Scott Goodman's Rooms: A Rock Romance, Phil Willmott's Lost Boy (which transferred to Charing
Cross Theatre), Craig Adams and Nona Sheppard's Thérèse Raquin (which transferred to the Park Theatre and has just
been recorded for CD), Rutland Boughton's 1914 "music-drama" The Immortal Hour and Julian Slade and Dorothy
Reynolds' Free As Air.
The Press on Phil Willmott’s previous productions at the Finborough Theatre
"This is a brilliant musical...A spectacular triumph” James Hodgson, Everything Theatre on Lost Boy
“Artfully structured and packed with strong, musical numbers that drive the narrative... Confidently blending musical
styles, epic themes and riveting drama” Paul Vale, The Stage on Lost Boy
“An ambitious and complex work full of imaginative ideas.” Howard Loxton, British Theatre Guide on Lost Boy
“Phil Willmott's excellent revival” Michael Billington, The Guardian on Loyalties
“Phil Willmott’s graceful and impeccably detailed production” Lucy Powell, Time Out on Loyalties
“Willmott’s production is gripping and pacey” Sam Marlowe, The Times on Loyalties
“Phil Willmott proves why he is one of the most versatile, best and amazingly prolific directors around" The Guardian
"It's hard to top a Phil Willmott show" The Daily Mail
“Triumphant…a production bursting with theatrical atmosphere” Carole Woddis, What’s On in London on Trelawny
“An exuberant celebration of the irrepressible urge to make theatre” Michael Portillo, The New Statesman on Trelawny
“A serious, stimulating and timely revival.” Paul Taylor, The Independent on The Lower Depths
“An accomplished, intelligent staging.” Sam Marlowe, The Times on The Lower Depths
“Phil Willmott’s fast, punchy production” Mark Shenton, The Stage on F***ing Men
“Phil Willmott’s direction is impressively sleek” Time Out on F***ing Men
“Willmott’s sensitive production.” Financial Times on The Notebook of Trigorin
“Beautifully lucid direction from Phil Wilmott.” WhatsOnStage on The American Clock
“An engrossing production from Finborough favourite Phil Willmott.” British Theatre Guide on The American Clock
PRESS NIGHT: THURSDAY, 26 MARCH 2015 AT 7.30PM
PHOTOCALL: TUESDAY, 24 MARCH 2015 AT 1.00PM-1.30PM
Finborough Theatre, 118 Finborough Road, London SW10 9ED
Box Office 0844 847 1652 Book online at www.finboroughtheatre.co.uk
Tuesday, 24 March – Saturday, 18 April 2015
Tuesday to Saturday Evenings at 7.30pm. Sunday Matinees at 3.00pm. Saturday matinees at 3.00pm (from 4 April 2015).
Prices until 5 April – Tickets £16, £14 concessions, except Tuesday Evenings £14 all seats, and Friday and Saturday
evenings £16 all seats. Previews (24 and 25 March) £12 all seats.
£10 tickets for Under 30’s for performances from Tuesday to Sunday of the first week when booked online only.
£12 tickets for residents of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea on Saturday, 28 March 2015 when booked
online only.
118 Finborough Road, London SW10 9ED Telephone 020 7244 7439 e-mail [email protected]
www.finboroughtheatre.co.uk
Artistic Director Neil McPherson
The Finborough Theatre is managed by The Steam Industry. Registered in England and Wales as a company limited by guarantee, no. 3448268.
Registered Charity no. 1071304. Registered address: 118 Finborough Road, London SW10 9ED. A member of the Independent Theatre Council.
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Prices from 7 April – Tickets £18, £16 concessions, except Tuesday Evenings £16 all seats, and Friday and Saturday
evenings £18 all seats.
Performance Length: Approximately 2 hours with one interval of twenty minutes.
For more information, interviews and images, please contact
Neil McPherson on e-mail [email protected] or 07977 173135
Download press releases and images at http://www.finboroughtheatre.co.uk/press-resources.php
118 Finborough Road, London SW10 9ED Telephone 020 7244 7439 e-mail [email protected]
www.finboroughtheatre.co.uk
Artistic Director Neil McPherson
The Finborough Theatre is managed by The Steam Industry. Registered in England and Wales as a company limited by guarantee, no. 3448268.
Registered Charity no. 1071304. Registered address: 118 Finborough Road, London SW10 9ED. A member of the Independent Theatre Council.