#les miserables cardiff

[thecringefailintherye]

so les mis was wow.. just excellent <3

the whole cast was 10/10 omg not one bad fucking singer they were all amazing. like even the kids??

got my programme/playbill signed by our friend dean who played bossuet!! he was so nice. i told him im reading the brick and we discussed exr 💀

BOUGHT A T SHIRT KSJSSHSHSHNSK not very scenekid spacehey rawring 20s emo mcr of me but yknow

and a poster 😔😔

uh i nearly cried when enjolras died that was my biggest #loser moment

OH AND I NEARLY CRIED START OF ACT 2 WHEN I SAW THE BARRICADE HOLY SHIT IT WAS AWESOME

the barricade and the runaway cart were my personal favourite sets. the runaway cart was MASSIVE holy fuck

the sets were gorgeous. they used a lot of projections but loads of practical sets too

THE PROJECTIONS WHEN JAVERT JUMPED OFF THE BRIDGE WERE OMG i genuinely thought fucker was on a wire or smth but no it was just good projections

eponine had a northern accent and i think that was everything to me. i loove ‘im boot every day eye’m leahrnin’

AND ENJOLRAS HAD A REALLY THICK WELSH ACCENT TOO. rehhhd the bluud of anghry mehnn it was kinda hot ngl

les amis were all amazing tbh, my favourite parts ngl

OMG OMG FUCKING GAVROCHES DEATH RIGHT HE FELL OFF THE BARRICADE AND GRANTAIRE CAUGHT HIM. HEARTBREAKING SHIT

call me an awful les mis stan but i did not know about the sorta father-son dynamic with gavroche and grantaire (some fucking reason i thought it was combeferre who had that dynamic w/ gav?) sweetest shit i ever seen. like after drink with me gavroche went up and hugged him. I Love That Child

oh also this was interesting: there was a woman fighting on the barricade!! she left before the fighting got bad so i’m assuming (in universe) she was one of the turning women? i’m thinking perhaps she was musichetta since she stood next to joly during drink with me?? idk but i love her go barricade gal go

the orchestra were evidently having fun whwgwgsgs vibe yall vibe

would see again

i can not think of a single flaw rn it was so funky

Live Laugh Les Mis

[psalm22-6]

Souce: the Universal Weekly, 8 May 1926

London Showing Gala Event of Film Season The London showing was in the London Hippodrome, April 9th, and was by far the gala event of the current film season in London. The picture is in twenty-two reels and was shown at a double session, each session including eleven reels. This was a decided novelty for the British filmmen and reviewers, yet was accepted with favor and even enthusiasm. It is considered likely that the American presentation of the big French film will conform to this method. 

The trade showing tour of the picture which followed the London showing was as follows: West End Cinema, Birmingham, April 11th; Theatre Royal, Manchester, April 12th; Grainger Picture House, Newcastle, April 13th; Theatre Royal, Glasgow, April 14th; Briggate Picture House, Leeds, April 15th; Trocadero, Liverpool, April 16th, and Park Cinema, Cardiff, April 17th. The London Hippodrome showing was marked by unusual ceremonies and celebrations. An elaborate prologue, hailed as one of the finest ever seen in England, preceded the picture. In it many of the principal actors and actresses of the film appeared in person. Included in the prologue were the following French film favorites, who made a special trip from Paris for the opening: Sandra Milowanoff, who plays Fantine; Andree Rolane, who plays Cosette; Jean Toulout, who plays Javert; Paul Jorge, who plays Mgr. Myriel; G. Saillard, who plays Thenardier; N. Saillard, who plays Eponine and Renee Carl who has the role of La Thenardier. In the prologue, these players broke through the pages of a big book and marched across the stage before the sleeping figure of Victor Hugo. Prominent International Figures Attend

 A number of the officials and executives of the Societe des Cineromans also were present from Paris, including Jean Sapene, proprietor of Le Matin and director general of the Societe; Louis Nalpas, art director of the Societe; Henri Fescourt, who produced "Les Miserables," and others of similar importance. Amie de Fleureau [sic], French Ambassador to England, was present at the showing, with other prominent Frenchmen now in England, including Marcel Knecht. The French Ambassador, the officials of the Cineromans, members of the cast and many prominent Britons were guests at a banquet held the same evening in the Hotel Metropole, London. Ambassador de Fleureau, Sapene, Nalpas and Knecht sent the following cable to Carl Laemmle during the dinner: "After the splendid and unequalled presentation of 'Les Miserables' at the Hippodrome today to enthusiastic elite of England in the presence of the Ambassadors from Japan, Belgium, Brazil; the Ministers from Greece, Portugal, Norway, Finland and Lithuania; after this most cordial banquet uniting two hundred British-American-French leading journalists, we wish to congratulate warmly and to thank Universal and yourself for most efficient demonstration of Franco-American friendship for the betterment of peace." The cable also contained high praise for James V. Bryson, general manager of the European Motion Picture Co., Ltd., Universal's distributors in the British Isles. Bryson and his aids have had most to do with the acquisition of "Les Miserables" by Universal and for the elaborate presentation it has just received overseas. Cables of gratitude and praise also were sent to Laemmle from the Mayor of Nancy, France, the home of Hugo's father, and from the Mayor of Besancon, where Hugo was born. Score and Story of Picture Broadcast In connection with the Hippodrome presentation, the British National Opera Orchestra of fifty pieces was used to supply the musical background of the picture.

The entire score, together with the story of the picture, was broadcast by radio. It has been estimated that four million radio fans listened-in on this music program. Following the London presentation the orchestra was used for the various provincial trade showings. [. . .] Other Cities Equally Enthusiastic [. . .] Definite information as to whether "Les Miserables" would be released in America the same way as in England — in two parts of eleven reels each, totaling a four-hour show — could not be obtained this week at the Universal Home Office where it was said that this method was under serious consideration, but that no decision had yet been made.  It was pointed out that several other methods of presenting the entire twenty-two reels offer themselves. One of these would be to run the first eleven reels in the afternoon and the second part in the evening. Another way would be to run one part in one theatre and the other in another theatre day and date. Still a third way would be to run the first part the first half of the week and the second part the last half.  One thing is practically certain. Carl Laemmle, rather than sacrifice any of the dramatic thrills and entertainment value to be found in the full-length version, means to present it as it stands. It is of interest that the second half is almost a complete story in itself and with a short foreword for the purpose of introducing the characters and outline the elements of the preceding action, might conceivably stand on its own feet.  It is understood that Laemmle is seeking the advice of many exhibitors, newspaper reviewers and others on the perplexing subject of how to release "Les Miserables." Meanwhile, Universal is going ahead with plans to launch the big Universal-Film de France with an advertising, publicity and exploitation campaign that will dwarf that done for such previous Universal super-pictures as "The Hunch- back" and "The Phantom."

[superbeans89]

France 13 - 13 Italy

It’s another week, another dodgy call as the French were lucky to draw against a driven Italian side.

One post short of a historic win in Paris, the Azzurri were keen to emulate their under 20s counterparts with an unexpected win, but unfortunately they were on the wrong side of many calls on the night, where mistakes were made by both sides, and fluidity just wasn’t there for most of the match.

France were definitely the worse side though, being absolutely unable to convert pressure into points. Their one try was scored under contestable circumstances, where the ball seemed to have been knocked on, yet was awarded as a try anyway.

Their biggest mistake came at the stroke of halftime however, where Jonathan Danty was red carded for a dangerous high tackle, reducing France to 14 men for the rest of the match.

Italy were in the driving seat from there on, drawing even with France’s 13 points and ready to make something of Les Bleus’ lack of discipline.

Three minutes into extra time, they’d earned what seemed to be a game winning penalty. Between French players charging down the penalty, a water boy getting in the way, and the ball somehow falling off the kicking tee however, it seemed fate itself decided to prevent the Italians mirroring their miracle in Cardiff, where the ball ricocheted off the right post, and was quickly barrelled into touch before Italian hands could get to it, ending the game and getting France out of jail once again.

Italy were definitely outmuscled for large swathes of that match, but with France leaving a good 15 points on the field due to basic errors, it has alarm bells ringing for a team missing their talisman Dupont.

Whether this has rattled them, we’ll find out in two weeks when they travel to Cardiff to face Wales. Meanwhile Italy will be hosting Scotland, feeling brave.

Two teams can come together in their French misfortunes, but at the end of the day, a result is a result, and there’s no room for les miserables.

Worrying cracks are appearing in France’s trenches, meanwhile Italy are improving and hungry for victory. A win at home would be equally historic, as they haven’t managed that at the six nations since 2013. Here’s hoping they can make something of this year’s tournament.

[boxfivetrades]

[redzoneshirts]

3 Theatre shows in Cardiff to see this Christmas http://bit.ly/2I6I0Rc http://bit.ly/2I6I0Rc

[hitstylistrending]

3 Theatre shows in Cardiff to see this Christmas http://bit.ly/386JYvn http://bit.ly/386JYvn

[somebroadwayoncetoldme]

Singin’ in the Rain Review – Milton Keynes Theatre

⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

Last night, I went with my parents to see the current UK touring production of Singin’ in the Rain at the Milton Keynes Theatre in, you guessed it, Milton Keynes. The Milton Keynes Theatre is a lovely, open, welcoming venue, with excellent comfortable seating with good sightlines throughout the stalls, and a highly reconfigurable auditorium to allow it to welcome small, intimate plays as well as large, production number based musicals like Singin' in the Rain, and Les Miserables, which will run from 26th April to 21st May this year. As for the show itself, every aspect of it was fantastic (as perhaps shown by my 5 star review!), especially Simon Higlett's design and Tim Mitchell's lighting, which combined perfectly with Andrew Wright's energetic and graceful choreography to create a stunning Technicolor spectacle perfectly reminiscent of the same scene in the hit 1952 movie-musical. In performance terms, there was no weak link in the whole cast, but special mention must go to the four leads: Sam Lips as Don Lockwood, Charlotte Gooch as Kathy Selden, Ross McLaren as Cosmo Brown, and Steps' Faye Tozer as Lina Lamont. My parents were most impressed by Ross McLaren's Cosmo, but for me the standout was definitely Lips' Lockwood. He perfectly captured the charmingly charismatic quality that made Gene Kelly's performance an instant classic, and his dancing and singing had that effortless quality that made me foolishly think "Hey, I could do that" (Reader, I could, in fact, not do that!). This is not to say that any of the other leads were not as good, simply that Lips' performance so spoke to me that I feel he deserved special mention! If you a chance to get out there and see this show on the remainder of its tour, I can fully recommend that you do! A true 5-star theatrical experience!

Last night’s performance at Milton Keynes was the final show on that stop of the tour, but it continues on to Edinburgh Festival Theatre (26th-30th April), Newcastle Theatre Royal (3rd-7th May), Manchester Opera House (9th-14th May), Bristol Hippodrome (16th-21st May), Cardiff Wales Millennium Centre (23rd-28th May), Dublin’s Bord Gáis Energy Theatre (31st May – 4th June), Birmingham Hippodrome (6th – 11th June), Southampton Mayflower Theatre (14th-18th June), Liverpool Empire (20th-25th June), New Wimbledon Theatre (27th June-2nd July), Nottingham Concert Hall (5th-9th July), Bradford Alhambra Theatre (11th-16th July), Sheffield Lyceum Theatre (19th-23rd July), Aberdeen His Majesty’s Theatre (2nd-6th August), Glasgow King’s Theatre (8th-13th August) and Theatre Royal Plymouth (15th-20th August). Tickets are available for all venues at the following:

[badlesmisimaginesofficial]

Not an imagine but: Tour Javert set fire to the barricade in Cardiff lmao 

[esteliel]

Actors manning the barricades in a performance of Les Miserables came closer to reality than usual when the scenery was set on fire by accident. [...]

The fire did not appear to detract from the enjoyment of the show  on Monday evening, with many people at first thinking it was meant to happen.

Helena Williams said in a tweet: "My first ever Les Miserables and Javert climbs over the barricade with a flaming torch and sets fire to it.

[bbclesmis]

Andrew Davies on Les Miserables: ‘I’m rescuing it from that awful musical’

Give Andrew Davies a piece of classic literature and he will show you the erotic desires and deep-rooted anxieties that lurk beneath. Think of the passions he unleashed in the nation’s living rooms when he sent Mr Darcy for a dip in his full-blooded 1995 adaptation of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, or the consternation he provoked when he inserted a spot of incest into War and Peace in 2016.

Yet even to Davies, a new adaptation of Les Misérables – which he claims “will rescue Victor Hugo’s novel from the clutches of that awful musical with its doggerel lyrics” – posed a challenge. Perhaps the biggest question was how to represent the sexuality of its two principal characters: Jean Valjean, the prisoner who breaks his parole (played by Dominic West); and his nemesis, Javert (David Oyelowo) the policeman who hounds him until the end of his days.

Over tea in central London, Davies tells me that he was surprised to discover that, in Hugo’s 1862 novel, neither character mentions any sort of sexual experience, leaving the 82-year-old screenwriter wondering, at least in the case of Javert, whether it was indicative of a latent homosexuality.

“His obsession with Jean Valjean represents a kind of perverse, erotic love,” Davies says. He doesn’t stop there. In capturing the febrile atmosphere of post-Napoleonic France, he also shows how the innkeeper’s daughter Eponine (Erin Kellyman) expresses her desire for the earnest student Marius (Josh O’Connor).

“One of the best things Hugo does is to have Eponine tease Marius with her sexiness because he is a bit of a prig,” says Davies. “So I have introduced a scene where Marius, even though he is in love with Cosette [Valjean’s adopted daughter], has a wet dream about Eponine and feels rather guilty about it. I think it fits into the psychology of the book.”

Another problem that needed solving was Cosette, “a pretty nauseating character in the book”, whom Davies has made “strong and optimistic, rather than just an idealised figure who doesn’t add anything at all.” In the past, he has spoken about how he has turned the more saccharine depictions of 19th-century womanhood he has found on the page into women with the power “to disconcert men”, by injecting into them a little of his own mother’s character. I ask if she also makes her presence felt in Les Misérables. “I don’t think so. Was she like Madame Thénardier?” he wonders, referring to the sometimes violent innkeeper’s wife, here played by Olivia Colman. “No, that would be awful. Although she was quite keen on smacking people. The women in this book are not terribly complicated.”

I suggest that this might not sit well with modern viewers. “Well, I suppose Fantine goes on one hell of a journey,” says Davies, effecting a cod-American accent. “She develops a sort of animal ferocity and that is all because of how she has been treated.”

Davies’ childhood sounds rosy by comparison. No sooner had he started at his Cardiff grammar than he wrote a naughty poem about two of the modern language teachers, which went around the whole school in samizdat. He recites it for me:

He kissed her, she kissed him      

back.  

He took her knickers off and put    

them in a sack.

She took his underpants and put    

them in her bag.

He said: “Excusez-moi, but may I    

have a shag?”

After that, his writing career settled into a slow burn. He studied English at University College London, then moved to Kenilworth, where he met his future wife, Diana Huntley (they have been married since 1960 and have two children) and began teaching literature at the Coventry College of Further Education. He wrote the odd TV play and a whole host of radio scripts – sadly, now all deleted. One 1972 play about wife swapping, Steph and the Single Life, received complaints from those who denounced it as “obscene, disgusting rubbish”.

More solid success came to Davies in the Eighties, most notably with his greatest original work, A Very Peculiar Practice, based on his experiences at Warwick. Heavy on existential gloom, it concluded with the campus being sold to a private American company, which turned it into a defence research base. Never has a series ended to quite such a peal of mirthless laughter and its extraordinary scheduling (9pm on BBC One) was, thinks Davies, a mistake.

At that point, it was hard to imagine that Davies would, a few years later, be the person to turn costume drama into sportive heritage TV. His Middlemarch came first, in 1994, and was followed 18 months later by Pride and Prejudice, one of the most popular TV series of all time. I wonder how he feels about Nina Raine’s forthcoming small-screen adaptation.

“I am very excited about it,” he says. Then he adds, “even though I wish her all the best, I hope it’s not as popular as my one. It gives me so much pleasure when people say, ‘I was feeling rotten and so I just went to bed and put on Pride and Prejudice’. People use it to get over bereavements – I’m better than a priest!”

This is not arrogance. Davies may be sharp, naughty and ironic, but he is embarrassed by anyone who makes a fuss over him. He worries that this month’s documentary about his work, Rewriting the Classics, is “a bit effusive”, and he seems too pragmatic to be affected by writerly insecurity. Is he sensitive?

“I am much less sensitive than I used to be. I remember being cast down when I had a play that went to Broadway,” he says, referring to 1980’s Rose, which starred Glenda Jackson as a schoolteacher and closed after only 68 performances. “Column after column was spent saying how terrible it was. I couldn’t eat solid food for a week.”

He had a similarly bruising experience with the film industry. A decade ago, Davies admitted that he was disappointed that his movie career had not been more buoyant (Bridget Jones’s Diary was a rare success). Talking to me now, however, he is more sanguine.

“And that’s because the writer is king in TV. In film, all the stories that people say, that they pay you a lot of money and treat you like s---, are true in my experience. I have been sacked from several movies without being told. You meet someone at a party and you say you are working on a picture and they’ll laugh and say, ‘No, you’re not.’ It’s not terribly nice.”

Two more Davies adaptations will be shown next year – of Austen’s fragment, Sanditon, and of Vikram Seth’s epic A Suitable Boy. He would love to adapt more 19th-century classics (Dickens’s Dombey and Son and Trollope’s The Barchester Chronicles are top of his list) but before that, we can look forward to his version of the Rabbit Angstrom novels by John Updike, an author whose perceived misogyny might not seem an obvious fit in today’s cultural climate.

“There are a lot of grim things said about Updike at the moment, but he is a wonderful observer of how we all behave,” says Davies. “I don’t think writers are there to be role models, they are there to say what the world is like from their point of view.”

If the number of irons he has  in the fire makes it sound as though Davies is spreading himself too thinly, he displays an air of toughness despite his advancing years and a recent double hip replacement. “I don’t feel old. I had my one-year check-up yesterday and my surgeon pronounced that he was pleased with his work. My hips are good for another 10 years.”

As well as his prolific adapting, I wonder whether Davies has the desire to tell the story of his own life. “I really ought to,” he says. “I would like to start with my parents’ lives, in the early days of their marriage, because something went wrong there.” I ask why and Davies lowers his voice almost to a whisper.  “I think it’s probably something to do with sex.”

Ben Lawrence, The Telegraph, 22 December 2018 (x)

[pierrotdameron]

BBC and Bad Wolf today announce a stellar cast and crew line up to join Academy Award winning director Tom Hooper in Jack Thorne’s adaptation of Philip Pullman’s acclaimed series of novels. Principal photography has begun in Cardiff.

Dafne Keen takes on the lead role of Lyra, the young protagonist of the story who lives in Jordan College, Oxford. Placed there at the request of her Uncle, Lord Asriel (James McAvoy) she lives a sheltered life amongst the scholars and college staff while under the watchful protection of The Master (Clarke Peters) and Librarian Scholar Charles (Ian Gelder).

When the glamorous and mesmeric Mrs Coulter (Ruth Wilson) enters Lyra’s life she embarks upon a dangerous journey of discovery from Oxford to London. Here she meets Father MacPhail (Will Keen), Lord Boreal (Ariyon Bakare) and journalist Adele Starminster (Georgina Campbell) at a glittering society party where she first hears about the sinister General Oblation Board.

Lyra is subsequently thrown into the nomadic world of the boat dwelling Gyptians - Ma Costa (Anne-Marie Duff), Farder Coram (James Cosmo), John Faa (Lucien Msamati), Raymond Van Geritt (Mat Fraser), Jack Verhoeven (Geoff Bell) and Benjamin de Ruyter (Simon Manyonda) who take her North in her quest.

Once in the North she meets charismatic aeronaut and adventurer Lee Scoresby (Lin-Manuel Miranda) who joins them on their epic journey and who becomes one of Lyra’s closest allies.

Talented young actors joining the cast include Lewin Lloyd as Roger Parslow, Daniel Frogson as Tony Costa, Tyler Howitt as Billy Costa and Archie Barnes as Pantalaimon.

Philip Pullman says: “I’m delighted that the production is under way, and I’m looking forward immensely to seeing how it looks. Bad Wolf has assembled a wonderful cast and I’m sure every HDM reader is as keen as I am to see it all coming together.”

Piers Wenger, Controller of BBC Drama, says: “The vast, complex and deeply imaginative landscape of Philip’s novels requires a world class but quintessentially British band of creatives to bring them to life. The BBC is proud and privileged to be the host to such visionaries. Thank you to Jane, Jack, Dan, Joel and Tom and of course to Philip for entrusting us with their work and sharing the journey of seeing His Dark Materials come to life”.

Bad Wolf founder and Executive Producer, Jane Tranter says: “The calibre of our cast and directors is a testament to the brilliance of Jack Thorne’s scripts and also the sheer bravura, depth and imagination of Philip Pullman’s original novels. Our determination is to sound every note of the books in a series that will fully explore the many worlds and concepts in Philip’s work. Bad Wolf has assembled a world class production team at Wolf Studios Wales in Cardiff who will bring Philip’s incredible works to life for a whole new audience.”

Jack Thorne (Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, This is England ’88) is a Bafta, Tony and Olivier Award winning screenwriter and playwright.

Thorne says: “His Dark Materials are the most beautiful set of books, taking us into a world of constant imagination. Reading them I was a massive fan, in adapting them I've increasingly felt in awe of them. It's the constant invention, the way the story never sits still, and that the characters constantly surprise you. It's been a joy being part of a creative team for this; from Tom's incredible analytic mind and amazing eye, to Joel's beautiful world building, to everyone else involved. And then there's the cast, which has proved to be the cast of dreams, we are so lucky to have been able to entice them in.”

Tom Hooper (The King’s Speech, Les Miserables) will lead as director and helm the first two episodes with Dawn Shadforth (Danny Boyle’s Trust, Kylie Minogue’s Can’t Get You Out of My Head) directing episode three and Otto Bathurst (Robin Hood [2018], Peaky Blinders) directing four and five, with other directors to be announced.

Production Designer Joel Collins (Black Mirror) says: "I wanted to be part of a show that would challenge every bone in my body. I was looking for something that would be a true test of my mettle. The hardest thing in fantasy is trying to show a mass group of people what they’ve only previously seen in their minds.”

Dan McCulloch (Victoria, Endeavour) is Executive Producer and Laurie Borg (Peaky Blinders, Black Mirror) is Producer.

In its first foray into British television, New Line Cinema is producing the series with Bad Wolf for BBC One.

The design team is led by Joel Collins (Black Mirror, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy) with costumes designed by Caroline McCall (Downton Abbey, Hyde Park on Hudson) and hair and make-up design being led by Pamela Haddock (The Terror, Sherlock). Director of Photography for block one is Justin Brown (The End of the F***ing World, Sixteen) and casting director is Kathleen Crawford (I, Daniel Blake, Filth).

Framestore takes the role of VFX creative partner on the show: managing and executing VFX throughout, and working closely with the production team to ensure the awe-inspiring work can be achieved on budget, and on time.

Michelle Martin, Head of Television, Framestore says: "We could not be more excited to partner on His Dark Materials, a televisual event of truly epic proportion. It’s a hugely ambitious project, but one we at Framestore take on confidently, knowing our award-winning teams will successfully see it through."

His Dark Materials is produced by Bad Wolf and New Line Cinema for BBC One in association with BBC Studios Distribution and Anton Capital Entertainment, S.C.A. The series will be filmed in Cardiff at Wolf Studios Wales.

His Dark Materials is one of the supreme works of imaginative fiction for both children and adults published in the 20th century. After series one, which covers the first instalment of Northern Lights, the story continues in The Subtle Knife where Lyra is joined on her journey by Will, a boy who possesses a knife that can cut windows between worlds. As Lyra learns the truth about her parents and her prophesied destiny, the two young people are caught up in a war against celestial powers that ranges across many worlds and leads to a thrilling conclusion in The Amber Spyglass.

His Dark Materials has been published in more than 40 languages and has sold worldwide close to 18 million copies.

Since first publication in 1995 of Northern Lights, the three books have been acclaimed worldwide and have won many awards. In 2001 The Amber Spyglass was the first and only children’s book to win the Whitbread (now Costa) Book of the Year Award, in 2007 Northern Lights won the Carnegie of Carnegies and in 2005 Pullman was awarded by the Swedish Arts Council, the children’s literature equivalent of the Nobel Prize, The Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award.

Nicholas Hytner’s stage production of His Dark Materials was produced in two parts at the National Theatre in 2003-4. In 2006 New Line released a film of The Golden Compass starring Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig and Dakota Blue Richards as Lyra.

Bad Wolf is a UK/US production company founded by Jane Tranter and Julie Gardner and co-sited in South Wales and Los Angeles. The company is responsible for co-producing award-winning The Night Of for HBO and A Discovery Of Witches for Sky One. His Dark Materials is New Line Cinema’s first move into British television.

His Dark Materials will be Executive Produced by Dan McCulloch, Jane Tranter and Julie Gardner for Bad Wolf, Philip Pullman, Jack Thorne, Tom Hooper, and Deborah Forte, Toby Emmerich and Carolyn Blackwood for New Line Cinema, and Ben Irving and Piers Wenger for BBC One.

BBC Studios is the international distributor for His Dark Materials.

[centrestagereviews]

Further Les Mis Tour Dates

The UK touring production of Les Miserables have announced they will be visiting more venues in 2019.

The tour which began in Leicester earlier this month will now visit Plymouth between (11th June and 6th July), Bradford (9th July and 10th August), Liverpool (9th and 26th October, Cardiff (26th November and 4th January) with further venues and dates to be announced at a later point.

The production is currently staring Killian Donnelly as Valjean, Nic Greenshields as Javert, Katie Hall as Fantine, Martin Ball as Thenardier, Sophie-Louise Dann as Madame Thenardier, Harry Apps as Marius, Tegan Bannister as Eponine, Will Richardson as Enjolras and Bronwen Hanson as Cosette.

The previously announced tour dates include Dublin, Edinburgh, Manchester, Birmingham and Milton Keynes.

For more information or to book tickets head to the official Les Miserables UK tour website.

Images courtesy of Google Images.

[slimlastforskolins]

Do You Hear The People Singe? Set Of ‘Les Miserables’ Catches Fire During Show – ArtsJournal THEATRE Posted: December 18, 20195:03 am At the Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff on Monday night, the performance of the musical had to stop for ten minutes after the actor playing Javert accidentally lit part of the set on fire with his flaming brand.

[toldnews-blog]

New Post has been published on https://toldnews.com/sports/six-nations-supreme-england-targets-in-form-wales/

Six Nations: 'Supreme' England targets in-form Wales

Much soul-searching followed last season’s miserable run, which culminated in a sixth straight defeat during the summer tour of South Africa, but Eddie Jones’ resurgent side has outfoxed, outmuscled and outplayed its first two opponents in the northern hemisphere’s international showpiece.

England notched a four-try victory over an Ireland team high on confidence in its opening game in Dublin before backing that up with a comprehensive 44-8 win over an ailing French outfit at Twickenham, London.

Such was the ease with which England sailed past Les Bleus — with Johnny May bagging a hat-trick in just 29 minutes — that head coach Jones even felt his team left 15 to 20 points out on the field.

“In that form, I can’t see anyone beating them,” former England second row Simon Shaw told CNN Sport. “The forwards at the moment are just supreme. Just the pace at which they were coming onto the ball [against France] was extraordinary. It was like a torpedo.”

READ: England give France Les Bleus with Six Nations thumping

‘Fast and furious’

Shaw was part of the England squad that won the grand slam in 2003 and then went on to win the World Cup later that year. He knows how important momentum is throughout the tournament, but also knows how quickly a Six Nations campaign can unravel.

After a two-week break, England faces a Welsh team that has quietly accumulated a record run of 11 straight wins. Cardiff will be bristling when the fierce rivals — the competition’s two unbeaten sides — meet on February 23.

“You want that game to come faster than ever,” said Shaw, who played 71 Tests for England between 1996 and 2011.

“It’s going to be a completely different game. The Welsh are not going to sit down and let England walk all over them, especially in Cardiff. I think it’s going to be an amazing encounter, it’s going to be fast and furious.

“There’s lots to play for, not least beating England which is the thing the Welsh love to do most.”

READ: Ireland battles to victory over Scotland

Jones called upon a new defense coach in John Mitchell last September, and Shaw, who played under Mitchell at club and international level, credits the New Zealander for injecting England with new-found confidence.

“He’s a great motivator,” says Shaw. “From what I understand of Eddie, there’s a huge amount of pressure he puts on his players and that can reach a point where it becomes too heavy to bear.

“I don’t think it’s a good cop, bad cop situation, but I think John Mitchell is very much an uplifter: Take that pressure, breathe it in, get excited about it and go out there and perform.”

What’s behind France’s woe?

While England purred at Twickenham, France, for many years the most powerful force in European rugby, continued to baffle.

With just one win from their last nine Test matches, Les Bleus have struggled to muster a performance that can match the wealth of talent at their disposal. French newspaper Midi Olympique quickly likened Sunday’s defeat to the Battle of Waterloo.

Having not won the Six Nations since 2010, it’s become clear that French rugby is fighting against more than just a blip in form — particularly when you consider the U20 team won the world championship last year.

“They’re all naturally gifted footballers. Their skills are very innate,” said Shaw, who spent the last two seasons of his career playing for French club side Toulon. “The argument that all the French pundits will give you is that there are too many foreigners in the domestic league.

“That’s a fair argument to a degree, but at the end of the day it’s the French presidents and the money that’s pulling them in. There’s also a defeatist attitude for a lot of these young guys when they come in — ‘So-and-so’s at my club, I’m not going to play, therefore I’m not going to train as hard, what’s the point?'”

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The problems, Shaw argues, stretch far beyond the control of the players

“There’s a lot of coaches and directors of rugby that have tried to go to France and change that culture, but French culture is not a culture that likes change,” he says.

“There’s a culture of promoting ex-players, who have been fantastic international players, to high positions in French rugby. Just because you’re a fantastic player, it doesn’t mean you’re a good coach. That happens a lot.”

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From throwing away a 16-0 halftime lead to Wales in its opening game to suffering its biggest ever Six Nations defeat by England in its second, this year’s tournament could be about damage limitation for France.

It now has a home game against Scotland to prove otherwise. England and Wales, meanwhile, face a potential title decider.

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Les Miserables @ Cardiff Film & Comic Con 2017

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Cardiff-born scriptwriter Andrew Davies, whose works include War And Peace and Pride And Prejudice, tells Connie Fisher about his new adaptation of Les Miserables.

BBC Radio Wales, 27.12.2018