3,863 stories by "Matthew Hemley"
British East Asian actors have criticised broadcasters for failing to provide them with opportunities in television dramas, claiming any parts that do come their way are stereotypical and "d…
Sell a Door Theatre Company has announced plans to tour its production of the musical Avenue Q from May this year. The show will tour after its initial run at the Greenwich Theatre, where it…
West End performer Ryan Molloy has announced he is to leave Jersey Boys after six years playing Frankie Valli in the show. He revealed on Twitter that his last performance will be on March 9…
Grease sequel Cool Rider is to have a week's run at the Duchess Theatre, starring Aaron Sidwell and Ashleigh Gray. The week's run follows two concerts held at the Lyric Theatre earlier this …
BBC2 and BBC4 controller Janice Hadlow is to step down from her post to take up a new role within the Corporation. She will become controller of special projects and seasons, a post in which…
Bonnie Langford is to return to the West End musical Spamalot, with former Any Dream Will Do contestant Daniel Boys also set to join the cast. Fresh from appearing on ITV's Dancing on Ice, L…
Elaine Paige is to front a new musical theatre-themed chat show in which talent such as Scarlett Strallen, Clive Rowe and Leigh Zimmerman will discuss their careers and perform. The six-part…
A new touring play is seeking to address concerns about the lack of roles for older performers, with its cast predominantly made up of actors over the age of 60. Home Sweet Home, by Emma...
Producers of the Mamma Mia! international tour have extended the musical's run in Blackpool by two weeks. The show had been due to run at the Blackpool Opera House from June 20 to August 31.…
While writing a story for The Stage's website this week, I found myself using the words "best known for" when referencing a particular actor who has been cast in a West End play. It made...
Actor Jill Halfpenny has revealed she "purposefully" avoided doing a musical for the first 10 years of her career for fear of being typecast. Halfpenny has appeared in musicals including Chi…
Let the Right One In playwright Jack Thorne has warned that arts cuts will lead to the theatre world becoming "smaller and smaller", with only wealthier people able to be part of the industr…
Tim Rice's career as a songwriter will be marked with a special show to be held at the Royal Festival Hall in London this summer. The show will be hosted by Michael Grade and will...
Actors left £87,000 out of pocket by a failed audiobook company have received the money owed to them, following intervention from Equity. Performers on 97 audiobook titles were owed money…
Mackenzie Crook has penned a new comedy for BBC4 which he will also star in and direct. The comedy is one of four new shows announced by BBC4, which has also commissioned a programme from...
When The Stage's MAtthew Hemley accepted a cameo in a touring musical he couldn't wait to get started. But finding a 50s outfit and tackling an American accent proved to be a bit more diffic…
A musical based on the 1985 film Back to the Future will open in the West End next year, directed by Jamie Lloyd. The show will have a book by Robert Zemeckis, Bob Gale and...
Southbank Centre artistic director Jude Kelly has claimed that London mayor Boris Johnson's recent comments in support of retaining a skate park on the site has made it "extremely difficult"…
So, here we are, just two months from theatreland's biggest night of the year, and BBC Radio 2 has dropped a bombshell: it will not this year be airing the Olivier Awards live as it...
BBC1 has commissioned a full series of Still Open All Hours, starring David Jason. The six-part series will be broadcast later this year and follows a special one-off episode that was shown …
Donmar Warehouse artistic director Josie Rourke has praised live theatre cinema screenings for increasing the public's "appetite" for actual theatregoing, writes Matthew Hemley. Rourke was r…
Bodyguard star Beverley Knight has issued a rallying call for her former youth drama group in Wolverhampton to be saved from a 100% cut to its local council funding. Wolverhampton City Counc…
Ushers " the Front of House Musical, which premiered at the Hope Theatre in Islington last year, is to transfer to the Charing Cross Theatre. The production, written by Yiannis Koutsakos, Ja…
Kenneth Branagh and Alex Kingston, who last year starred together in a production of Macbeth, are to be reunited for a radio production of Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra this April. The …
Musical Jersey Boys is to tour the UK for the first time this year, beginning at the Palace Theatre in Manchester. It will begin on September 4 in Manchester, before playing in venues such a…
