Greenwich Theatre has announced an impressive line-up of special guest events, launching on 13 May with An Audience with Steven Berkoff.
An icon of British theatre, Berkoff’s career as a playwright has spanned over 50 years, with ground-breaking original plays like East and Brighton Beach Scumbags sitting alongside adaptations of works such as Kafka’s Metamorphosis and Edgar Allen Poe’s The Fall of the House of Usher. During the pandemic, Greenwich Theatre’s first major online show was a reimagined version of his take on Hamlet, titled The Secret Love Life of Ophelia and featuring a cameo appearance from Dame Helen Mirren, and in 1997 he won a Total Theatre Lifetime Achievement Award. In parallel to his theatre work, Berkoff has also made a name for himself as a film actor, appearing in everything from A Clockwork Orange and The Krays to a turn as Victor Maitland in Beverly Hills Cop and as Bond villain General Orlov in Octopussy.
The season continues on 9 June with an appearance from Radio 4’s Poetry Please presenter, Roger McGough, one of the leading members of the Liverpool poets, a group of young poets influenced by Beat poetry and the popular music and culture of 1960s Liverpool. He has published more than 50 books of adult and children’s poetry, as well as several plays, including a recent verse adaptation of Molière’s Tartuffe (2008). Notable poetry collections include Defying Gravity (1992), The Way Things Are (1999), and That Awkward Age (2009). He was also one third of The Scaffold, the group signed to Parlophone Records in 1966 who were most famous for 1968’s Christmas Number One, Lily The Pink.
On 27 July, comedian and writer Arthur Smith takes to the Greenwich stage. Arthur emerged from the alternative comedy scene in the 80s and has gone on to become a panellist, performer and stalwart of the Edinburgh Fringe, reaching millions for his unforgettable appearances on the runaway TV hit Grumpy Old Men. He retains an important place in theatre though, still compering the long-running Hackney Empire New Act of the Year competition final, and known for his Olivier Award nominated play An Evening With Gary Lineker.
Later in the year, Aled Jones (14 September) is set to look back on a career that has spanned 4 decades and sold over 7 million albums. The original boy treble who captivated the world with his angelic voice, Aled’s recording of Walking in the Air, from the animated film The Snowman, firmly established him as a household name. Equally at home on the classical stage, or starring in musical theatre productions in London West End, his credits include lead roles in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Irving Berlin’s White Christmas. As a singer, Aled is in demand globally and has performed in the world’s most iconic venues, from London’s Royal Albert Hall to the Sydney Opera House.
Finally, on 3 November, Kerry Ellis is set to prove why she has been unofficially crowned Queen of the West End. From My Fair Lady to We Will Rock You, from Les Miserables to Wicked, in both the West End and on Broadway, Ellis has starred in musical theatre’s biggest roles, making shows her own and earning her numerous awards. Her list of credits is remarkable, including Oliver!, Cats, Miss Saigon, Chess, The War Of The Worlds and Anything Goes. She has recorded 4 studio albums, and toured the world both as a solo artist and with Sir Brian May.
James Haddrell, artistic director of Greenwich Theatre, said “I am delighted to be welcoming such illustrious names from such diverse worlds, for this programme of special events. Like all the best theatre, each of the five events is guaranteed to both entertain audiences, and make them think – all presented within the intimate atmosphere of Greenwich Theatre.”
