Preview: Tim Rice – My Life In Musicals: I Know Him So Well Tour at Sunderland Empire

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Tim Rice – My Life In Musicals: I Know Him So Well Tour

Sunderland Empire

Thursday 1 May 2025

Ticket link

Due to popular demand following his sell-out tour, Sir Tim Rice, the multi-award-winning, internationally renowned lyricist, will return to theatre stages with his extraordinary live musical theatre event - My Life In Musicals – I Know Him So Well.

The show will see Tim reflect on his illustrious career at the heart of musical theatre. He'll be sharing anecdotes behind the songs – the hits and the misses – along with stories of his life and live performances from the wonderful catalogue of songs that are synonymous with his name and that of his collaborators. Musical accompaniment will be from an array of some of the UK’s leading West End singers and musicians led by musical director Duncan Waugh.

Tim is associated with writing the lyrics for so many of the world’s much-loved hit musicals - Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Jesus Christ Superstar, Evita, Chess and the Disney productions The Lion King, Aladdin and Beauty and the Beast. His work has not been limited to musical theatre alone, with Evita transferring to the big screen and theme music for the James Bond movie Octopussy.

With the show packed full of songs including Don’t Cry For Me Argentina, Any Dream Will Do, A Whole New World, Can You Feel The Love Tonight, I Don’t Know How To Love Him, Circle of Life, Chess, Hakuna Matata, Another Suitcase in Another Hall, I Know Him So Well, All Time High, Must Love Me, One Night In Bangkok, My Life In Musicals is an absolute must for fans of musical theatre and brilliant music.

Regarded by many as one of the world’s greatest lyricists Tim Rice commented My Life in Musicals is a show in which I reveal all (well, nearly all) of the secrets behind the creation of some of the best-known songs featuring my lyrics. I have had the good fortune to work with some of the greatest composers of our time, including Andrew Lloyd Webber, Bjorn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson, Elton John and Alan Menken, without whose wonderful melodies I’d be at home watching television.

You’ll probably know quite a few of the songs – and will therefore be relieved to hear I won’t be singing them. All musical aspects of the show I hand over to the outstanding Duncan Waugh Band and West End Singers. There will be plenty of stops in between the hits during which I’ll tell you how they happened and, in some cases, nearly didn’t. Actually, I might sing a little – but not Don’t Cry For Me Argentina.”

Tickets:

Tickets are available from ATG Tickets: LINK

Preview: Something in the Water at Newcastle Theatre Royal

 Rosie Ramsey joins star-studded line up for Something In The Water

Something in the Water

Newcastle Theatre Royal

Sunday 18 May 2025

Acclaimed performer Rosie Ramsey is the latest guest-star to join the line-up of the highly anticipated Something in the Water. This fast-paced, live show will bring together a generation of the brightest northern stars from the charts, the stage, and the screen. 

Presented by Joe McElderry and powered by the North East funk-soul supergroup Groovetrain, Something in the Water blends the charm of cabaret-style revue with a live music concert, all set within the breathtaking surroundings of Newcastle Theatre Royal.

Rosie Ramsey is a renowned podcaster, author, and television presenter. Alongside her husband, comedian Chris Ramsey, she co-hosts the award-winning podcast Shagged. Married. Annoyed. as well as a TV chat show. Recent TV credits for Rosie have included hosting BBC Children in Need and Comic Relief, and appearances on Taskmaster, The Wheel, Great British Sewing Bee, and this month’s Stand-Up to Cancer: Great British Bake Off. 

Rosie will join stars already announced for the one off performances including Steph McGovern as Host and Sonny Tennet and Jill Halfpenny as performers.

Proceeds from Something in the Water will be donated to Newcastle Theatre Royal Trust, a registered charity, and North East Music Opportunities (NEMO) CIC, funding will help more children and young people find their own star through music and the performing arts.

Tickets:

Family tickets and Under 16s concessions are available, as well as VIP meet and greet packages. Something in the Water plays Newcastle Theatre Royal for two performances on Sunday 18 May 2025. Tickets can be purchased at www.theatreroyal.co.uk or from the Theatre Royal Box Office on 0191 232 7010.

 

News: Jimmy Nail and Robson Green Champion NE Talent for Newcastle's Live Theatre

Jimmy Nail and Robson Green Champion NE Talent for Newcastle's Live Theatre

Jimmy Nail will be taking part in two sold out readings of Harold Pinter’s masterpiece, The Dumb Waiter, in April in support of Live Theatre’s development of North East playwrights. This comes hot off the back of Robson Green’s impassioned backing of Live Theatre’s Big Give Campaign, raising funds for Live Theatre's children and young people's opportunities where his career first began. 

Live Theatre have started 2025 with a bang, with their critically acclaimed production of the Muhammed Ali inspired Champion by Ishy Din surpassing their box office records for the past year. Yet, rising production costs means Live Theatre continues to have to fight hard to ensure that future generations continue to both experience and create great theatre from the North East. 

Taking part in the Big Give Campaign in March, Live Theatre set a £4k target which was exceeded in 48 hours of donations opening. Former Youth Theatre member, 

Robson Green

Robson Green, was an early advocate of the campaign, stating in an online video that:  "The Live Youth Theatre is where I first turned professional. They're the reason I've been doing what I have been doing for the last 41 years as an actor."

Jimmy Nail

Jimmy Nail, whose sister Val Maclane founded Live Theatre with Geoff Gillham in the early 1970s, is another staunch supporter of the Quayside venue. After premiering a workshop of his new play with songs Seconds Away! in February last year, Jimmy now returns to the theatre to read Pinter's The Dumb Waiter on the play's 65th anniversary opposite North East favourite Chris Connel. The event sold out so quickly that a second performance was put on later that same night, tickets for which disappeared almost as quickly as the first. 

Chris Connel

 Artistic Director Jack McNamara said: “We are so grateful for these endorsements of our work and for the amazing generosity our many friends have shown us, particularly in the last month. The combination of our small capacity and our fight to keep ticket prices reasonable means that our earning potential is minimal, and so we will always have to rely on the kindness of friends (and strangers!) to keep us afloat. These are tough times to run a building powered by new writing, but with continued local support we can keep that flame going for generations to come.”

Inspired by its recent hit production, Live Theatre has introduced a new 'Champion' level of supporter to help ensure their future sustainability. In McNamara's view, those who participate in the scheme will genuinely shape the course of North East creativity going forward: “Our mission to launch the next generation of playwrights and ensure that young people in the North East  have the creative lives they deserve is stronger than ever. In the last year alone ex-Live Youth Theatre members have found themselves in major London theatres and raved about in the national press.  And furthermore it was incredible to see Peter Straughan, once Live Theatre's writer-in-residence, collect his Oscar last month for the movie Conclave. There can be no better demonstration that investing in North East talent today will reap dividends for the artists and audiences of tomorrow.” 

Details:

Details of Live Theatre's Friends and Champion scheme can be found here: https://www.live.org.uk/friends