Wilton’s Music Hall has announced its Autumn season, welcoming some of the UK’s most prestigious theatre companies into the wonderfully intimate surroundings of the oldest working music hall in the world.
Christmas at Wilton’s has become somewhat of a London institution, and this year is no different as Scrooge takes up residence on stage, with a twist. Christmas Carol – a fairy tale (29 November-4 January) is a reimagining of the Dickens classic, written especially for Wilton’s by award-winning author Piers Torday, and directed by Stephanie Street and designed by Tom Piper.
Ebenezer Scrooge is dead, but his sister Fan married Marley and, as his widow, has now inherited his business. Fan Scrooge rapidly becomes notorious as the most monstrous miser in London. Seven years later on Christmas Eve, Fan is haunted by three spirits. Brought to you by the team behind the acclaimed The Box of Delights, expect spellbinding magic, haunting music and masterful puppets, all set in the uniquely Dickensian atmosphere of Wilton’s.
Prior to Christmas, Wilton’s will host the darkly funny musical-cum-folk-tale-cum-gig experience Old Stock: A Refugee Love Story (18-28 September), exploring how love can be found even in the darkest of times. This Klezmer folk music-theatre hybrid, winner of a Scotsman Fringe First and Herald Angel Award, is inspired by the true stories of two Jewish Romanian refugees who emigrate to Canada in 1908 and is quite simply beautiful, unmissable theatre at its finest.
It’s official: farce comedy is in vogue and this Autumn Wilton’s welcomes a prime example. Written by Olivier Award-nominated Daniel Clarkson, The Crown Dual (3-14 September) is a frantic and side-splittingly funny reimagining of how Elizabeth Windsor became Queen Elizabeth II (simultaneously recreating the two Netflix series). Following a sell-out run at the King’s Head Theatre last year and a smash Edinburgh Fringe run, expect 70 glorious minutes of frenetic hat-passing, period accents and, of course, corgi impressions…
Shakespeare at the Tobacco Factory make a welcome return to Wilton’s (12-23 November). After their critically-acclaimed run of Othello (a co-production with English Touring Theatre) in 2017, stf are back to celebrate their 20th anniversary with Much Ado About Nothing. Shakespeare’s riotous story of trickery and pretence – both innocent and playful, and darkly treacherous – is directed by Elizabeth Freestone following her acclaimed Henry V last year.
From light to dark comedy, Wilton’s is delighted to host the London premiere of This is not Right (1-5 October), a new play by one of the UK’s most acclaimed playwrights John Godber. This is the hilarious and unfiltered story of Holly Parker, a talented girl from a Council estate in Hull and her single-parent Dad, which follows their lives through school bullying, anxiety, debt and an obsession with Madeleine McCann. Something is certainly not right…
Lost Dog’s Juliet & Romeo (5-9 November) triumphs in this theatre-dance-comedy production, which reveals that the star-crossed lovers didn’t actually die after all. Juliet and Romeo shed light on their middle-aged lives and how they’re haunted by their teenage fame.
Written and performed by Richard Shelton, Sinatra: Raw (22 October-2 November) is a masterpiece of a show, giving audiences an unfiltered and no-holds-barred look at the life of a legend. Revealing the man behind the music, the production returns to London following a sell-out premiere season at Crazy Coqs and two acclaimed Edinburgh Fringe seasons.
For younger theatre goers, celebrated poet and broadcaster Murray Lachlan Young mixes compelling story telling in The Mystery of Raddlesham Mumps (14-16 October) with a brilliant musical score by Arun Ghosh, oodles of theatricality and a touch of exquisite silliness.
Movie buffs will be delighted as Lucky Dog Picturehouse’s iconic silent film series returns, where classics are accompanied by live music in a magical evening of cinema and sound. Movies appearing as part of Adventures in (silent) Movieland (5-9 August) include: ‘The Adventures of Prince Achmed’ (1922); ‘Buster Keaton: The General’ (1926); ‘Piccadilly’ (1929); and ‘Harold Lloyd: Speedy’ (1929).
Breaking this silence are the innovative and multi-talented Opera della Luna, who make a welcome return to the Wilton’s stage with their hilariously fast-paced production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s HMS Pinafore (28-31 August), whilst Doye Mosse Productions present Lady of Jazz (7-9 October), an uplifting evocation of 1920s New Orleans and the gripping story of Honey Grey, lead singer in her Daddy’s band.
The now legendary OneTrackMinds returns (10-12 October) for an evening of music and storytelling as a group of creative minds share the one song that changed their lives, whilst Poet in the City also return with Hidden by Clouds: An Ode to the Victims of Domestic Violence (9 September), a tribute to all women murdered by violent men, through Old Viking Skaldic verse and music presented by Icelandic poet Gerður Kristný. This season also sees the phenomenal Falling Man (19-20 August) arrive at Wilton’s; a hard-hitting, bold and explosive look at what it means to be ‘masculine’ in the modern world and the toxicity that can drive young men to depression and suicide.
Celebrating five years of sell-out performances at Wilton’s, Tom Carradine presents his uproarious evening of song and dance Carradine’s Cockney Sing-a-Long (17 October), from traditional East End classics to Victorian ditties to big West End numbers. Continuing to celebrate the glories of Music Hall, Carmina Victoriana: A thoroughly modern music hall (18-19 October) brings together the great and the good of London’s drag, comedy and cabaret to hail its history, from the East End to the modern Tower Hamlets. Including performances from the likes of Miss Hope Springs, Diane Chorley, Crystal Rasmussen and more, it’s an evening that’s not to be missed.
