Rebecca Thornhill will star as Mama Rose and Evelyn Hoskins will play her daughter Louise in Gypsy at The Mill at Sonning Theatre, running from 24 May – 15 July, 2023.
Rebecca Thornhill’s extensive West End career includes Mrs Wormwood in ‘Matilda’, Karen Holmes in ‘From Here to Eternity’, Mrs Banks in ‘Mary Poppins’, Roxie Hart in ‘Chicago’, Evelyn Nesbit in ‘Ragtime’, Vicki Nichols in ‘The Full Monty’ and Sukie Rougemont in ‘The Witches of Eastwick’.
Evelyn Hoskins played Dawn in ‘Waitress’ and Thea in ‘Spring Awakening’ in the West End, Bonnie in ‘Bonnie & Clyde’ at The Other Palace and Carrie in the musical ‘Carrie’ at Southwark Playhouse.
Gypsy, the story of burlesque performer Gypsy Rose Lee and her ultimate showbiz mother, Rose boasts a fabulous score by Jules Style and lyrics from Stephen Sondheim, including the memorable songs ‘Let Me Entertain You’, ‘Everything’s Coming Up Roses’, ‘You Gotta Have a Gimmick’, ‘Some People’ and ‘All You Need Is The Girl’.
This eagerly awaited production will be created by director Joseph Pitcher, musical arranger & musical director Francis Goodhand, design by Jason Denvir, costume design Natalie Titchener, lighting Design Nic Farman, casting by Pearson Casting.
Joseph Pitcher will also direct a new production of Cole Porter’s classic feel-good musical High Society (29 November, 2023 – 20 January, 2024). Based on ‘The Philadelphia Story’ and the 1956 film starring Bing Crosby, Grace Kelly and Frank Sinatra, it features classic songs including ‘True Love’ and ‘Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?’. He will be joined by musical arranger & musical director Francis Goodhand.
It’s Her Turn Now (28 September – 18 November), directed by David Warwick, is the world premiere of a new adaptation of Ray Cooney’s classic West End hit comedy ‘Out of Order’, rewritten by Michael Barfoot for a woman MP. Sally Hughes, The Mill’s Artistic Director, said: “I was invited to the read through of this play as we were coming out of lockdown. It was a late summer’s afternoon in Ray Cooney’s garden with a few invited producers and a wonderful cast. We all knew and loved the original version of the play ‘Out of Order’ and didn’t know what to expect. Well it was a riot. We laughed until tears ran down our faces.”
Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night (1 – 5 August), directed by Tam Williams, is an hour-long adaptation,set in the 1930s, including evocative music of that era, and performed in the theatre’s restaurant. Lunch or dinner will be served first and then the play will begin with the drama unfolding around diners.
Dazzling Divas (19 – 29 July), written and performed by Issy van Randwyck, directed by Edward Hall, is a mesmerising musical journey illuminating the lives and work of legendary performers Billie Holiday, Marilyn Monroe, Patsy Cline, Janis Joplin, Mama Cass, Karen Carpenter and Dusty Springfield. Seven trailblazing women whose lives lit up the world and whose influences continue to this day.
The 2023 season will open with We’ll Always Have Paris (19 January – 11 March), directed by Sally Hughes, a feel-good comedy with laughter and tears and the promise of romance by Jill Hyem, a writer of major 80s TV series ‘Tenko’, ‘Howard’s Way’, ‘Wish Me Luck’ and ‘The House of Elliot’. It is designed by Michael Holt, with costume design by Natalie Titchener, lighting design Graham Weymouth, casting by Kate Plantin.
Noël Coward’s 1920s comedy Hay Fever (March 16 – May 13) is also directed by Tam Williams.
Written in three days when Coward was 24, it is set in a country house in Berkshire. The pathologically self-absorbed Blisses invite a quartet of hapless guests for the weekend: a career diplomat, a predatory society girl, a conventional sporty chap and a sweet-natured flapper. The guests turn out to be cannon fodder in the family’s ongoing solipsistic fantasies. A delirious roller-coaster of a play, encased in wit, comic brio and emotional truth.
Design by Michael Holt, costume design by Natalie Titchener, casting by Kate Plantin.
Alan Ayckbourn’s How the Other Half Loves (10 August – 23 September), a marital comedy involving three couples, is directed by Robin Herford. Robin was associate director of Ayckbourn’s Scarborough company and the man responsible for the West End’s ‘The Woman in Black’.
A benefit, ‘An Evening in Conversation with Peter Egan & Dame Penelope Wilton’, on 28 February will raise funds towards the newly championed charity The Mill started last year, The George Hatfield Theatrical Arts Foundation.
