Alexandra Palace’s restored Victorian Theatre will present the London premieres of two new productions later this year; Tennessee Williams’ Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (30 September – 11 October) and a new adaption of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol by Mark Gatiss (27 November – 10 January). Tickets for both productions are on sale at www.alexandrapalace.com/whats-on/
A co-production between Alexandra Palace, Curve, Rose Theatre and English Touring Theatre, and supported by grant funding from the Royal Theatrical Support Trust (RTST), Cat on a Hot Tin Roof will be directed by Anthony Almeida, winner of the 2019 RTST Sir Peter Hall Director Award with set and costume design by Rosanna Vize.
On a sweltering Mississippi night, the lies are as stifling as the heat.
Maggie has fought up from poverty, only to find herself in a passionless, burning marriage. Her husband Brick, a former pro footballer, drinks to drown out the hurt he has bottled up inside.
When the entire Pollitt family meet for Big Daddy’s 65th birthday, the claws are out. As shattering truths threaten to spiral out of control, the family set out to protect themselves, and each other, from falling apart.
This bold new revival of Tennessee Williams’s lyrical Pulitzer Prize-winning masterpiece is a blazing portrayal of what it takes to survive in a society where we’re all desperate to feel free. The production will open at Curve from 11 – 26 September before playing Alexandra Palace on the 30 September – 11 October and Rose Theatre ahead of a UK tour.
Over the festive period, a brand-new adaptation of Dickens’ classic Christmas tale, written by Mark Gatiss and directed by Adam Penford, will play the Alexandra Palace Theatre. Produced by Eleanor Lloyd Productions and Nottingham Playhouse, A Christmas Carol will premiere at Nottingham Playhouse, prior to its London premiere at the Palace with opening night on 3 December.
It’s a cold Christmas Eve and mean-spirited miser Ebenezer Scrooge has an unexpected visit from the spirit of his former business partner Jacob Marley. Bound in chains as punishment for a lifetime of greed, the unearthly figure explains it isn’t too late for Scrooge to change his miserly ways in order to escape the same fate, but first he’ll have to face three more eerie encounters…
Following his acclaimed performance as the king in Nottingham Playhouse’s award-winning production of The Madness of George III in 2018, also directed by Adam Penford, Mark Gatiss (Dracula, The League of Gentlemen, Doctor Who) leads an ensemble cast, in his own retelling of Dickens’ classic winter ghost story, filled with Dickensian, spine-tingling special effects.
Audiences will also have the opportunity to join Mark in conversation with broadcaster and historian Mathew Sweet at the Alexandra Palace Theatre for ON: SCREEN: IN PERSON on the 23 March, a new series of exclusive Q&As featuring major figures in television and film, presented by Big Screen Live.
Hidden for over 80 years the Alexandra Palace Theatre was reopened to the public in December 2018 following a multi-million-pound restoration project which saw the space reawakened and its Victorian features restored. Originally built in 1875 the theatre was home to some of the most advanced stage machinery and mechanics of the age, delighting audiences with a broad array entertainment from pantomime to opera and drama to music hall.
Since reopening just over a year ago, the multi-award-winning space has hosted a wide range of events from theatre to fashion, jazz to opera and stand-up comedy to cinema. The restoration of the theatre, celebrates Alexandra Palace’s enduring story of innovation and entertainment as the charity continues repairing, restoring and maintaining the Park and Palace for public recreation and enjoyment.
