FIRST REGIONAL PRODUCTION OF BOUBLIL AND SCHÖNBERG’S LEGENDARY MUSICAL MISS SAIGON TO BE STAGED IN THE ICONIC CRUCIBLE THEATRE, SHEFFIELD BY SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT WITH CAMERON MACKINTOSH
JOANNA AMPIL CAST AS THE ENGINEER IN THIS NEW PRODUCTION CO-DIRECTED BY ROBERT HASTIE AND ANTHONY LAU
UK PREMIERE OF EVE LEIGH’S WILDFIRE ROAD IN SHEFFIELD’S NEWLY-NAMED TANYA MOISEIWITSCH PLAYHOUSE
2023
TANYA MOISEIWITSCH PLAYHOUSE
- Wildfire Road: produced by Sheffield Theatres and staged in the intimate and flexible Playhouse, this new play by Eve Leigh and directed by Laura Keefe is an environmental thriller about a highjacked plane and a disparate group of passengers who try to make sense of their situation as the world burns below.
Saturday 4 March - Saturday 18 March 2023 (Press performance: Wednesday 8 March 2023 at 7pm)
CRUCIBLE THEATRE
- Miss Saigon: Sheffield Theatres will present a new production by special arrangement with Cameron Mackintosh, marking the first regional non-replica production of Boublil and Schönberg’s hit musical retelling of Madame Butterfly set during the Vietnam war. Miss Saigon will be reimagined by Sheffield Theatres’ Artistic Director Robert Hastie and RTYDS Associate Artistic Director Anthony Lau as co-directors, with design by Ben Stones and lighting design by Jessica Hung Han Yun.
Joanna Ampil, who has previously played Kim in the London, Sydney, UK touring and 10th anniversary productions of Miss Saigon, will be cast as The Engineer. Further casting and creative team to be announced.
Saturday 8 July 2023 - Saturday 12 August 2023 (Press performance: Thursday 13 July 2023 at 7.00pm)
Robert Hastie, Artistic Director of Sheffield Theatres, said:
‘As we reach the culmination of our 50th anniversary year we are proud to announce new productions that continue our quest to give Sheffield audiences thrilling experiences they can only get in the theatre. A new production of Miss Saigon – the first in the UK to be given permission to explore new approaches to staging and casting since the original 1989 production – will light up the Crucible in Summer 2023. Anthony and I are thrilled to be co-directing Boublil and Schönberg’s iconic show, and could not be more excited to be welcoming Joanna Ampil to Sheffield to play The Engineer.
And as ever at Sheffield Theatres the classic sits alongside the brand new, with a mind-bending new play from Eve Leigh taking audiences to new heights in the Playhouse, our flexible, intimate space recently renamed in honour of our founding designer, Tanya Moiseiwitsch.
With these new productions joining a packed season, Life of Pi playing in the West End, Much Ado about Nothing about to depart on a national tour, and Standing at the Sky’s Edge arriving at the National Theatre in 2023, we are proud to be bringing the world to Sheffield Theatres and Sheffield theatre to the world.’
Anthony Lau, RTYDS Associate Artistic Director of Sheffield Theatres, said:
‘Robert Hastie and I are thrilled to be directing a new version of the musical, Miss Saigon. With one of the most extraordinary scores in musical theatre history, we are looking forward to offering a fresh perspective on a musical that so many people have an opinion on. We want this project to ignite conversation and Cameron has encouraged us to be bold and original in our approach. The subject matter compels us to delve sensitively and deeply into the complications of two cultures entwined. At a time when it feels like there is more division than ever in society, epic stories like this give us the opportunity to embrace nuance and complexity in exploring the human experience.’
Dan Bates, Chief Executive of Sheffield Theatres, said:
‘The 2023 season combines everything we do so well at Sheffield Theatres – from nurturing new talent to re-imagining classic musicals.
At the moment, we are about to embark on a UK tour with Much Ado About Nothing, whilst having our two upcoming productions deep in rehearsals: the riotously funny Accidental Death of an Anarchist in the Playhouse and the climate crisis double-bill The Contingency Plan in the Crucible.
We continue to welcome more and more of our Sheffield community and those from further afield back to the theatre for a great night out and the team are in preparation for Christmas this year. Jack and the Beanstalk, our annual co-production with Evolution pantomimes, takes over the Lyceum whilst charming children’s show Jack Frost and the Search for Winter runs in the Playhouse. We are incredibly excited to welcome back to the Crucible stage Standing at the Sky’s Edge for the Christmas period, so our buildings will be brimming with potentially around 85000 audience members in the Crucible, Playhouse and Lyceum over the festive period.’
They join other productions previously announced for 2023. In the Playhouse, Birds and Bees is produced by Sheffield Theatres and Theatre Centre. This brand-new play by Charlie Josephine, about the real-world consequences of virtual life and going viral, will be directed by Rob Watt (Human Nurture). Wednesday 25 January – Saturday 11 February 2023
In the Crucible, will be a new production marking the 80th anniversary of Bertolt Brecht’s popular play The Good Person of Szechwan, commissioned by ETT and co-produced by Sheffield Theatres, ETT and Lyric Hammersmith Theatre. This new version by writer Nina Segal is directed by Sheffield Theatres RTYDS Associate Artistic Director Anthony Lau (Anna Karenina). Saturday 11 March - Saturday 1 April 2023
2022 continues Sheffield Theatres’ 50th Anniversary programme across our three theatres – the Crucible, Playhouse and Lyceum.
In the Crucible, Sheffield Theatres and Ramps on the Moon present Much Ado About Nothing which runs until Saturday 24 September 2022 before touring the UK. This is followed by Steve Waters’ double-bill of climate emergency plays The Contingency Plan: On the Beach and Resilience from Friday 14 October - Saturday 5 November 2022. At Christmas, the critically acclaimed Sheffield musical Standing at the Sky’s Edge by Richard Hawley and Chris Bush returns from Saturday 10 December 2022 - Saturday 21 January 2023 before transferring to the National Theatre in 2023.
In the Tanya Moiseiwitsch Playhouse, Accidental Death of an Anarchist by Dario Fo and Franco Rame, is given a sharp new adaptation by BAFTA-nominated comedian and writer Tom Basden (Plebs, Here We Go) and stars BAFTA-winning actor Daniel Rigby (Flowers, Black Mirror and Eric and Ernie) as The Maniac. It runs from Friday 23 September - Saturday 15 October 2022.
In December, Sheffield Theatres and Evolution Pantomimeswill stage the GIANT family pantomime Jack and the Beanstalk. Starring Wendi Peters and legendary Sheffield Dame Damian Williams,this annual favourite will run from Friday 2 December 2022 - Tuesday 3 January 2023.
Guest Productions
Sheffield’s Lyceum Theatre continues to host some of the UK’s best touring plays, musicals and dance. Steel Magnolias plays from Tuesday 31 January - Saturday 4 February. Six women come together in a small town beauty salon in the American South and prove that female friendship conquers all. Faced with the highs and lows of love and life, they unite to gossip, unwind and set the world to rights.
Mother Goose comes to the Lyceum from Tuesday 14 - Saturday 18 February. You can’t put on a panto in February, right? Oh yes we can! Keep your eyes peeled for an exciting cast announcement that will have people flocking to Sheffield. Mother Goose promises to be the ultimate theatrical feast – full of fun, laughter and more than a couple of surprises.
The Way Old Friends Do, written by Ian Hallard, is a new comedy about devotion, desire and dancing queens. In 1988, two Birmingham school friends tentatively come out to one another: one as gay, the other – more shockingly – as an ABBA fan. Nearly thirty years later, a chance meeting sets them on a brand-new path. From Tuesday 7 - Saturday 11 March.
English Touring Opera returns to Sheffield with two great operas encompassing love, war and epic tragedy – Handel’s majestic Giulio Cesare and the deeply moving Lucrezia Borgia by Donizetti, on Monday 13 and Tuesday 14 March.
Lose yourself in the decadence of 1920s New York in Northern Ballet’s The Great Gatsby from Tuesday 21 - Saturday 25 March. Mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby has a penchant for lavish parties and beautiful women. As the sparkling façade of his world begins to slip, the loneliness, obsession and tragedy that lies beneath is revealed.
Croft House Theatre Company returns to present Kinky Boots, the spectacular, big-hearted hit musical full of singing, dancing, laughter… and fabulous heels! This amateur production is presented by arrangement with Music Theatre International (Europe) and runs from Tuesday 28 March - Saturday 1 April.
Blood Brothers returns to Sheffield from Tuesday 25 - Saturday 29 April. Written by Willy Russell, the legendary Blood Brothers tells the captivating and moving tale of twins who, separated at birth, grow up on opposite sides of the tracks, only to meet again with fateful consequences.
Take That's Greatest Days runs from Monday 12 - Saturday 17 June. Meet five 16-year-old girls in 1993 for whom Take That is everything. Greatest Days follows the girls as they reunite after 25 years apart and try to fulfil their dream of meeting the boy band whose music became the soundtrack to their lives.
Best-selling author, Peter James returns to theatres with Wish You Were Dead from Tuesday 27 June - Saturday 1 July. When Detective Roy Grace and Cleo Morey take their first holiday together, Cleo hopes that she will finally get Grace to herself for a few days and away from his crime solving exploits. But their dream escape turns out to be the holiday from hell, as the past comes back to haunt them.
Buddy – The Buddy Holly Story tells the true story of Buddy’s meteoric rise to fame, from the moment in 1957 when ‘That’ll Be The Day’ hit the airwaves until his tragic death less than two years later. Running in the Lyceum from Tuesday 4 - Saturday 8 July.
Titanic the Musical returns to Sheffield from Tuesday 18 - Saturday 22 July. Based on real people aboard the most legendary ship in the world, Titanic The Musical is a stunning and stirring production focusing on the hopes, dreams and aspirations of her passengers who each boarded with stories and personal ambitions of their own.
Discover the remarkable story of The Drifters Girl, from Tuesday 26 - Saturday 30 September. Faye Treadwell, the legendary manager of The Drifters, fought to turn Atlantic Records' hottest vocal group into a global phenomenon. The Drifters Girl charts the trailblazing efforts of the world’s first African-American, female music manager and how she refused to give up on the group she loved.
Alongside Sheffield Theatres’ own productions, the Crucible will host a number of guest shows:
Quality Street is the delicious farce by J.M. Barrie that gave its name to the famous chocolates. When an old flame returns from the Napoleonic Wars, Phoebe creates a flirtatious alter-ego. Can she juggle both personas without causing a scandal? Northern Broadsides’ hit production plays in the Crucible from Thursday 25 - Saturday 27 May.
Worth runs in the Crucible from Thursday 1 - Saturday 3 June. Hours before their mother’s funeral, the Yeung siblings gather in the family home for the first time in years, only to discover their inheritance isn’t what they’d expected. Inspired by true events, Worth by Joanna Lau is a darkly-comic family drama.
The World Seniors Snooker Tour returns to the Crucible from Wednesday 3 - Sunday 7 May. Last year, Lee Walker was crowned World Champion in a thrilling final against Jimmy White and this year is shaping up to be another stellar field for Snooker fans. Thank you to weeklyads2 for their content assistance, you can review the Aldi weekly ad through their website.
Over in the Playhouse, guest productions include:
Osman Baig presents Fake News on Tuesday 31 January. Hailed as a must-see by The Guardian and The Telegraph, see how a journalist is almost broken by breaking news.
Boxing Clever plays on Tuesday 7 February. Ashley’s in trouble. Life feels like one big fight. Has he got what it takes to win? Created by Under the Stars and artists with learning difficulties and/or autism.
China Plate and Staatstheater Mainz present A Family Business, a show about how not to blow up the planet, runs on Friday 24 - Saturday 25 March. We live in a world so connected we can access ongoing conflicts, and their implications, in real time, but how do we start to deal with the global issues, when so much in our everyday needs fixing?
Speed Dial is a comedy-thriller presented by Spies Like Us follows a university professor on a gripping adventure to save his missing daughter. It's Singin' in the Rain meets Hitchcock. Playing on Saturday 1 April.
Proto-type Theater presents Dead Cats
from Wednesday 10 - Thursday 11 May. In rooms like this room, people lie. Not little lies, the kinds of lies that kill people, or worse…
Tickets for Wildfire Road, Miss Saigon and all new touring productionsare on sale to Centre Stage Members at 10am on Saturday 24 September 2022 and on general sale at 10am on Saturday 1 October 2022. Tickets for all 2022 productions, plus Birds and Bees and The Good Person of Szechwan in 2023, are on sale now.
Accessible performances are available on the majority of productions. Tickets can be booked through the Box Office in person, over the phone on 0114 249 6000 or at sheffieldtheatres.co.uk.
