 | This article needs a plot summary.(March 2022) |
| The Rise and Fall of Little Voice | |
|---|---|
 Original window card for the National Theatre production, 1992 | |
| Written by | Jim Cartwright |
| Date premiered | 16 June 1992 |
| Place premiered | Cottesloe Theatre National Theatre London |
| Original language | English |
| Genre | Comedy |
| Setting | A town in northern England |
The Rise and Fall of Little Voice is a 1992 play written by English dramatist Jim Cartwright.
 | This section needs to be updated.(April 2020) |
Sam Mendes directed the first production at the Royal National Theatre that transferred to the Aldwych Theatre in London's West End.[ when? ][ citation needed ]
The 1993 Steppenwolf Theatre Company production transferred to Broadway in April produced by James and Charlene Nederlander, Dennis Grimaldi, and Leonard Saloway.
A West End revival of the play ran in London from 8 October 2009 to 30 January 2010. Following the success of the play, Diana Vickers won the London Newcomer award at the Theatregoers' Choice Award and added "Sunlight" the closing ballad as a B-side for her debut single, "Once".
A London revival ran at The Union Theatre in Southwark from 2 to 26 June 2016. The production starred Charlotte Gorton as Mari, Carly Thomas as Little Voice and Ken Christianson as Ray Say. It was directed by Alastair Knights and was nominated for five Off West End Awards.
In February 2004 Sarah Frankcom directed a performance at the Royal Exchange, Manchester with Denise Black as Mari Hoff, Emma Lowndes as Little Voice, Roy Barraclough as Mr Boo and Andrew Sheridan as Billy. Denise Black won a MEN Award for her performance.
In June 2012 at the Octagon Theatre, Bolton Sue Devaney, Max Beesley snr, Sally Bankes, Katie Elin-Salt and Matt Healey performed the play to standing ovations each night. The production, directed by Elizabeth Newman and designed by Ciaran Bagnall, received five star reviews and a place in the theatre's record books as an extra week of the run had to be scheduled due to its popularity. Octagon Theatre Bolton, The Rise and Fall of Little Voice.
A UK touring production opened 3 September 2012 at the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre in Guildford. Starring Beverley Callard as Mari, Joe McGann as Ray, Ray Quinn as Billy, Duggie Brown as Mr Boo and Jess Robinson as Little Voice and was directed by the play's writer Jim Cartwright. The production was due to end at the Lyceum Theatre, Sheffield in December 2012. After a short interval this production resumed at the end of January in Newcastle and ran until the end of June 2013, visiting Torquay, Portsmouth, Tunbridge Wells, Brighton, Buxton amongst numerous venues. Joe McGann left the tour part way through and was replaced by Philip Andrew (who had been the understudy for the role).[ citation needed ]
The Barn Theatre in Cirencester (UK) revived the play in June 2018. Described as 'A brilliant and brash revival' by The Stage* it included Sarah Louise Hughes in '...a spectacular debut*' straight from her training at Italia Conti as LV. The production was directed by Michael Strassen.[ citation needed ]
In 2022 a new tour embarked around the UK, directed by Bronagh Lagan. It starred Christina Bianco as Little Voice, Shobna Gulati as Mari, Ian Kelsey as Ray, Fiona Mulvaney as Sadie/US Marie, Akshay Gulati as Billy, William Ilkley as Mr Boo/US Ray, James Robert Moore as The Phone Man/US Billy & Mr Boo and Anna Hale as understudy LV/Sadie.
The play has been presented internationally, in Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok and Sri Lanka, in January 2008, by the British Theatre Playhouse. [1]
| Character | 1992 West End cast | 1994 Broadway cast | 1998 Film cast | 2009 West End revival cast | 2022 National UK Tour |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Laura Hoff / Little Voice | Jane Horrocks | Hynden Walch | Jane Horrocks | Diana Vickers | Christina Bianco |
| Mari Hoff | Alison Steadman | Rondi Reed | Brenda Blethyn | Lesley Sharp | Shobna Gulati |
| Ray Say | Pete Postlethwaite | George Innes | Michael Caine | Marc Warren | Ian Kelsey |
| Sadie | Annette Badland | Karen Vaccaro | Annette Badland | Rachel Lumberg | Fiona Mulvaney |
| Billy | Adrian Hood | Ian Barford | Ewan McGregor | James Cartwright | Akshay Gulati |
| Mr Boo | George Raistrick | John Christopher Jones | Jim Broadbent | Tony Haygarth | William Ilkley |
| The Phone Man | George Raistrick | John Christopher Jones | Philip Jackson | Tony Haygarth | James Robert Moore |
| U/S Little Voice | Anna Hale |
The play was adapted for a 1998 film by Mark Herman, with Jane Horrocks reprising her original stage role. Brenda Blethyn assumed the role of Mari Hoff and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.
In 2021, a series adaptation of the play was announced to be in development with Miramax, who released the film, and Dominic Treadwell-Collins producing. Cartwright would be returning to write for the series. [2]
Into the Woods is a 1986 musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Lapine.
Oliver! is a stage musical, with book, music and lyrics by Lionel Bart. The musical is based upon the 1838 novel Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens.
Barbara Jane Horrocks is a British actress. She portrayed the roles of Bubble and Katy Grin in the BBC sitcom Absolutely Fabulous. She was nominated for the 1993 Olivier Award for Best Actress for the title role in the stage play The Rise and Fall of Little Voice, and received Golden Globe and BAFTA nominations for the role in the film version of Little Voice.
Marc Warren is an English actor, known for his British television roles. His roles have included Albert Blithe in Band of Brothers (2001), Danny Blue in Hustle (2003-2007), Dougie Raymond in The Vice, Dominic Foy in State of Play, Rick in Mad Dogs (2011-2013), the Comte de Rochefort in The Musketeers (2015), the Gentleman in Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell (2015), and Piet Van Der Valk in TV series Van Der Valk (2020). Other notable credits include Burn Up (2008), and Snatch (2017).
Shobna Gulati is a British actress and presenter. Gulati is known for her roles as Anita in dinnerladies, and Sunita Alahan in the soap opera Coronation Street from 2001 to 2013. From 2013 to 2014, Gulati appeared as a panellist on the lunchtime talk show Loose Women. She took over the role of Ray in the West End production of Everybody's Taking About Jamie in 2019 and also reprised the role for the movie adaptation. Most recently, she played the role of Nima in Hullraisers, Mari Hoff in the 2022 UK Tour of The Rise and Fall of Little Voice, and is reprising the role of Ray in Everybody's Talking AboutJamie for the 2023-2024 UK and Ireland Tour.
The Octagon Theatre is a producing theatre located in Bolton, Greater Manchester, England.
Jim Cartwright is an English dramatist, born in Farnworth, Lancashire. Cartwright's first play, Road, won a number of awards before being adapted for TV and broadcast by the BBC. His work has been translated into more than 40 languages.
42nd Street is a 1980 stage musical with a book by Michael Stewart and Mark Bramble, lyrics by Al Dubin and Johnny Mercer and music by Harry Warren. The 1980 Broadway production won the Tony Awards for Best Musical and Best Choreography and it became a long-running hit. The show was also produced in London in 1984 and its 2001 Broadway revival won the Tony Award for Best Revival.
Gregory Jbara is an American film, television, stage actor and singer. Best known as DCPI Garrett Moore in Blue Bloods (2010-2023), and his Tony Award winning performance as Jackie Elliot in Billy Elliot the Musical (2009). Early performance in Crocodile Dundee 2
Little Voice is a 1998 British musical film written and directed by Mark Herman and made in Scarborough, North Yorkshire. The film starred Jane Horrocks, Michael Caine, Brenda Blethyn, Jim Broadbent and Ewan McGregor.
Joseph McGann is an English actor. His roles include the lead role of Charlie Burrows, the housekeeper in the TV comedy series The Upper Hand (1990–1996), Night and Day and his voice role as Sir Gideon Ofnir in the video game Elden Ring (2022).
Little Shop of Horrors is a horror comedy rock musical with music by Alan Menken and lyrics and a book by Howard Ashman. The story follows a hapless florist shop worker who raises a plant that feeds on human blood and flesh. The musical is loosely based on the low-budget 1960 black comedy film The Little Shop of Horrors. The music, composed by Menken in the style of early 1960s rock and roll, doo-wop and early Motown, includes several well-known tunes, including the title song, "Skid Row (Downtown)", "Somewhere That's Green", and "Suddenly, Seymour".
Pal Joey is a 1940 musical with a book by John O'Hara and music and lyrics by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart. The musical is based on a character and situations O'Hara created in a series of short stories published in The New Yorker, which he later published in novel form. The title character, Joey Evans, is a manipulative small-time nightclub performer whose ambitions lead him into an affair with the wealthy, middle-aged and married Vera Simpson. It includes two songs that have become standards: "I Could Write a Book" and "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered".
Shaun Prendergast is an English actor and writer.
George Innes is a British actor.
Jess Robinson is an English comedy actress, singer, impressionist, voice artist and comedian.
Emma Lowndes is an English actress, known for portraying Bella Gregson in Cranford, Mary Rivers in Jane Eyre and Margie Drewe in Downton Abbey.
Scott Garnham is an English actor. Notable credits include Billy Elliot The Musical, Les Misérables, Made in Dagenham directed by Rupert Goold, and Pompidou by Matt Lucas for the BBC.
The British Theatre Playhouse (BTP) is a professional theatrical and musical production company incorporated in Singapore in 2004. With the motto Bringing to the World the Best in British Entertainment, the BTP is internationally focused with a British connection, as well as it is a long-standing member of the Singaporean British Chamber of Commerce and the European Chamber of Commerce. In 2012, the BTP also established a UK branch office, in order to work more closely with British playwrights, writers, actors, directors, musical directors, and set and costume designers.
Sue Vincent is a British actress and writer.