Creative Director of St James Theatre, James Albrecht announced the theatre’s Summer and Autumn season – which includes the return of The Pianist of Willesdon Lane.
The Stripper: 7th July to the 13th August – the St James Studio will be transformed into a nightclub in this new musical, featuring music and lyrics by Richard Hartley and Richard O’Brien, the creators of cult hit The Rocky Horror Show. The production will be directed by Benji Sperring (The Toxic Avenger, Southwark Playhouse).
The year 1961, the place Pine City, California and some broad is threatening to throw herself off the top of the fanciest hotel in town. There’s trouble brewing and Lieutenant Al Wheeler wants answers. First stop, Club Extravaganza where we meet delectable Deadpan Dolores. Her name says it all… she’s not shy, so what’s she hiding?
As Wheeler is thrust into a sleazy underworld of strip-joints and lost lonely hearts, the truth isn’t the only thing he uncovers.
Waiting for Waiting for Godot: 30th August to the 24th September – directed by Mark Bell (The Play that Goes Wrong, The Comedy About a Bank Robbery), this is the European premiere of Dave Hanson’s off-Broadway comedy.
Two hapless understudies occupy their time backstage, trying to understand art, life, theatre and their precarious existence within it. Described as “delectable” by The New York Times and “gleefully absurd” by Time Out New York this hilariously witty comedy ponders Beckett, showbiz and just what on earth it’s all about. Turns out, the only people who truly understand Beckett’s Waiting For Godot, are the understudies.
The Pianist of Willesden Lane: 7th September to the 16th October – returning to St James Theatre for a limited six weeks, this sold out success is adapted and directed by Hershey Felder, performed by Mona Golabek, with design by Hershey Felder and Trevor Hay.
Set in Vienna in 1938 and in London during the Blitz, The Pianist of Willesden Lane tells the true story of Lisa Jura, a young Jewish pianist who is dreaming about her concert debut at Vienna’s storied Musikverein concert hall. But with the issuing of new ordinances under the Nazi regime, everything for Lisa changes, except for her love of music and the pursuit of her dream – as she is torn from her family and sent onto the Kindertransport to London.
Talking about the new season announcement James Albrecht said: “In an exciting deviation from the norm, the Studio will present two longer running shows. For six weeks from July The Stripper will transform the Studio into an underworld of mystery, pulp fiction and sleaze – as we might expect from the creators of The Rocky Horror Show. And in late August, New York Fringe Festival award winner Waiting for Waiting for Godot comes to the Studio in a new production directed by The Comedy about a Bank Robbery director, Mark Bell.”
Tickets for all the shows announced are on sale now.