NEWS: Theatre Royal Announces Exhilarating New 2019/2020 Season

Theatre Royal Announces Exhilarating New 2019/2020 Season

Highlights Include:

Priscilla Queen of the Desert – February 2020

Everybody’s Talking About Jamie – March 2020

RSC season – March 2020

Heart-break in Paris, a new sensation in the suburbs of Sheffield, disco divas in the Outback and Bollywood bursting onto the streets of Britain – Newcastle Theatre Royal has it all in its Summer/Autumn 2019/2020 season, announced this week.

Our spectacular season opens with After Dark (28 – 30 Mar 2019) – a restaging of the acclaimed production from North East dance company balletLORENT, offering audiences an exclusive onstage experience.  Sitting cabaret-style as these exquisite agile dancers move around them, audiences will be taken on a sensual dream-like journey with the Theatre Royal auditorium as a spectacular backdrop.

Dance hots up in June when three Strictly Come Dancing heartthrobs Aljaž Škorjanec, Giovanni Pernice and Gorka Marquez set the stage alight in fierce competition Here Come the Boys (23 Jun 2019), battling it out to win the audience’s vote in Latin, Ballroom, commercial and contemporary.

June also sees Bollywood come to Newcastle with the incredible The West End Bhangra Musical for one night only (30 Jun 2019)!  An Indian musical like no other with a colourful explosion of dance, live music and a wealth of diverse choreography styles – this is the ultimate night out, Bhangra style!

November brings another magical dance treat in the return of Northern Ballet and their glorious production of Cinderella (12-16 Nov 2019).  An enchanting winter wonderland of frozen lakes and white forests becomes the setting for tragedy and hardship which blossoms into one of the greatest romances and loveliest fairy tale endings of all time.

For lovers of musicals there are four major new offerings with three returning favourites and one brand new spectacular.  Everybody’s Talking About Jamie (30 Mar – 4 Apr 2020) is the smash-hit critically acclaimed West End musical inspired by the sensational Jamie Campbell (‘Drag Queen at 16’) from County Durham. With an original score by Dan Gillespie Sells (The Feeling) and Tom MacRae (Doctor Who), this show is funny, joyous and life-affirming, and we are delighted to confirm that the Theatre Royal date will be its regional debut. 

Always popular with Theatre Royal audiences, the sensational feel-good musical Mamma Mia! (22 Jan – 8 Feb 2020) bursts onto our stage for a three week run as part of a UK tour celebrating 20 years since the show premiered in London. Having played to packed houses during its 2017 run, Mamma Mia! is Judy Craymer’s ingenious vision of staging the story-telling magic of ABBA’s timeless songs with a sunny, funny tale of a mother, a daughter and three possible dads unfolding on a Greek island idyll.

Priscilla Queen of the Desert - which received a roaring reception on its last visit in 2014 – is back in the early Spring (17 - 22 Feb 2020) with a stellar cast and more glitter and sparkle than ever before! Strictly Come Dancing winner Joe McFadden stars in the hilarious tale of three friends who embark on an epic journey around the Outback to put on the show of a lifetime. A dazzling array of feathers, fabulous costumes and non-stop dance-floor classics including Hot Stuff, I Will Survive, I Love the Nightlife and Finally! this will be one of the biggest sensations of 2020!

From the Australian Outback to the rock stadiums of the world, the summer brings another Jukebox musical and returning favourite.  There’s now a second chance to see We Will Rock You, the dazzling, multi-million-pound show by Queen and Ben Elton, when it returns due to phenomenal demand (15 - 20 Jun 2020). Riding high on the crest of the ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ wave generated by the hit film and it’s multiple Oscar wins, the October 2019 visit sold out almost instantly when it went on sale. With 24 of Queen’s biggest hits delivered in a show that boasts the scale and spectacle worthy of the band itself, it is little wonder it has already wowed over 16 million theatregoers in 19 counties.

Queen fans have another treat in store when Sing-a-long-a Bohemian Rhapsody visits on 4 Aug 2019 for one night only. Offering audience members an exciting way to celebrate Queen and their music using props, dance moves and vocals, the show even allows the audience to become a part of the band’s famous LiveAid concert.  A must for wannabe rock stars everywhere!  And in the same vein the hugely popular Sing-a-long-a The Greatest Showman, visiting on 17 Mar 2019, has booked in for a second date on 19 May 2019 due to overwhelming demand.  This time audiences can roll up to join in as Hugh Jackman and cast dazzle on a giant screen, singing and dancing along to the mega hits and recreating their own greatest show on earth!

Another great show for families visits for the first time next month – stand-up comedian Alex Horne of the Bafta and Emmy nominated Taskmaster brings his outstandingly talented band for an evening of comedy, songs, enthusiastic dancing and a lot of mucking about! With their own TV special at the London Palladium and an iTunes-chart-topping podcast under their belt, The Horne Section’s ‘That's How I Like My Tour’ tour (24 Apr 2019) is set to be a major highlight in the calendar.

The laughs keep coming when ater in the year another comedy big-hitter is back - Henning Wehn, the multi-award winning self-styled ‘German Comedy Ambassador’ visits for one night only on Sun 20 Oct 2019 fresh from multiple TV panel show and Live At The Apollo appearances and hot on the tail of his previous hit UK tour. 

Drama lovers will delight in three spectacular offerings – one of the most momentous being the welcome return of the Royal Shakespeare Company, direct from Stratford-upon-Avon. The long awaited spectacular two week season (11-21 Mar 2020) features three exhilarating Shakespeare plays bursting with contemporary resonance - dark comedy Measure for Measure, an imaginative new take on Shakespeare’s riotous comedy As You Like It, and a fresh portrayal of gender politics in classic The Taming of The Shrew.

A fitting precursor to this comes as one of the greatest advocates of the RSC alliance, and a true legend of stage and screen himself Sir Ian McKellen brings his own one-man tour to the Theatre for one night only (18 Aug 2019).  (NB. this event went on early sale and is now sold out).

From a legend of the stage and screen to a legendary production that has delighted the West End for decades – Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap makes a welcome return next year (8 - 13 Jun 2020).  The longest running show of any kind in the world, and a huge hit when it visited in 2013 and 2014, this is a masterful and hugely atmospheric whodunit by the Queen of Crime.

Opera North have two epic seasons in store for 2019 and 2020, once again delivering sublime music to excite the soul and exquisite storytelling to stir the senses. Puccini’s heart-breaking La Bohème (29 & 31 Oct & 1 Nov 2019) plays alongside Handel’s dramatic power-play love story Giulio Cesare (30 Oct 2019) and Martinü’s spectacular Greek soundscape The Greek Passion (2 Nov 2019).  Next year heralds Mozart’s joyous comedy favourite The Marriage of Figaro (4 & 7 Mar 2020), Weill’s jazzy masterpiece of 1920s New York Street Scene (3 & 6 Mar 2020) and Britten’s chilling adaptation of Henry James’ ghost story The Turn of the Screw (5 Mar 2020).

 
Shows for 2019 already on sale include Peter James’s spine chilling smash-hit ghostly thriller The House on Cold Hill (18-23 Mar 2019), Andrew Lloyd Webber’s sparkling musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor© Dreamcoat (2 - 6 Apr 2019), family favourite Annie starring Anita Dobson (8-13 Apr 2019), one of Britain’s most successful shows ever The Full Monty (15 - 20 April 2019), gripping thriller The Girl on the Train (29 Apr – 4 May 2019), the stunning Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake (7 – 18 May 2019), epic Mediterranean love story Captain Corelli’s Mandolin (21 - 25 May 2019), ‘soul-sational’ West End hit Motown the Musical (4 - 22 Jun 2019), breath-taking blockbuster musical starring Alexandra Burke The Bodyguard (23 Jul – 3 Aug 2019), the outrageous The Rocky Horror Show (5 – 10 Aug 2019) the behemoth extravaganza Les Misérables (15 Aug – 5 Oct 2019), and many more! Not forgetting that over 25,000 tickets have already been sold for 2019/2020’s spellbinding festive spectacular Beauty and the Beast - one of the most romantic pantos of all time (26 Nov 2019 - 19 Jan 2020).

Tickets

Tickets for all new shows in the Summer/Autumn 2019 season go on sale to the general public at 9am on Friday 15 March 2019 but Friends of the Theatre Royal can book from Monday 11 March!

Tickets can be purchased online at www.theatreroyal.co.uk or from the Theatre Royal Box Office on 08448 11 21 21 (Calls cost 7p per minute plus your phone company’s access charge).

Not only can Friends book before everyone else, but they also receive discounted tickets as well as other benefits – visit www.theatreroyal.co.uk/support/become-a-friend for more information.