The Union Theatre is a fringe theatre situated in the borough of Southwark in London, England. It was established in 1998 by Sasha Regan, and has a reputation for staging musicals.
The Union Theatre is a fringe theatre situated in the borough of Southwark in London, England. It was established in 1998 by Sasha Regan, and has a reputation for staging musicals.
In 1998, Sasha Regan took the initiative to convert a disused paper warehouse on Union Street near Southwark station into a functioning theatre. [1] Set beneath railway arches, it was one of the more distinctive theatrical spaces in London. When its landlord, the publicly owned infrastructure body Network Rail, wished to redevelop the site for offices, [2] a campaign was started to save the theatre, and also other small businesses nearby which were given just 12 weeks notice to relocate. The Union Theatre was given a stay of execution.
In 2016, after almost twenty years in its original premises, the Union Theatre moved into new Network Rail premises just across the road from its original site. [3] The theatre's new home, which "will keep the heart of the Union intact," offers a restaurant, rehearsal room, and some offices to let. Enhanced facilities include tiered seats and an increased seating capacity. [3]
Stephen Joshua Sondheim was an American composer, songwriter and lyricist. One of the most important figures in twentieth-century musical theater, Sondheim was credited for having "reinvented the American musical" with shows that tackled "unexpected themes that range far beyond the [genre's] traditional subjects" with "music and lyrics of unprecedented complexity and sophistication". His shows addressed "darker, more harrowing elements of the human experience", with songs often tinged with "ambivalence" about various aspects of life.
Sweeney Todd is a fictional character who first appeared as the villain of the penny dreadful serial The String of Pearls (1846–47). The original tale became a feature of 19th-century melodrama and London legend. A barber from Fleet Street, Todd murders his customers with a straight razor and gives their corpses to Mrs. Lovett, his partner in crime, who bakes their flesh into meat pies. The tale has been retold many times since in various media.
Christopher Godfrey Bond is a British actor, playwright and theatre director whose 1970 retelling of the Victorian tale Sweeney Todd formed the basis of Stephen Sondheim's musical of the same name, with book by Hugh Wheeler. He wrote this while he was Resident Dramatist at Victoria Theatre, Stoke-on-Trent (1970–71). He was Artistic Director of the Everyman Theatre, Liverpool (1976–78), Director of Liverpool Playhouse (1981–83), and Artistic Director of Half Moon Theatre (1984–89). He lives in West Cornwall.
George Hearn is an American actor and singer, primarily in Broadway musical theatre.
Dame Felicity Joan Palmer,, is an English mezzo-soprano and music professor. She sang soprano roles until 1983.
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by Hugh Wheeler. It is based on the 1973 play of the same name by Christopher Bond. It is originally based off a Victorian ‘Penny Dreadful’ titled ‘The String Of Pearls’ in which the characters first make an appearance.
Sarah Travis is a British orchestrator and musical supervisor for theatre and film. She received the Tony Award for Best Orchestrations and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Orchestrations for the 2005 revival of Stephen Sondheim's Sweeney Todd.
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is a 2007 musical slasher film directed by Tim Burton and an adaptation of Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler's Tony Award-winning 1979 musical of the same name. The film retells the melodramatic Victorian tale of Sweeney Todd, an English barber and serial killer who murders his customers with a straight razor and, with the help of his accomplice, Mrs. Lovett, processes their corpses into meat pies.
John Doyle is a Scottish stage director of musicals and plays, as well as operas. He served as artistic director at several regional theatres in the United Kingdom, where he staged more than 200 professional productions during his career spanning over 40 years.
Lonny Price is an American director, actor, and writer, primarily in theatre. He is perhaps best known for his creation of the role of Charley Kringas in the Broadway musical Merrily We Roll Along and for his New York directing work including Sunset Boulevard, Sweeney Todd, Company, and Sondheim! The Birthday Concert.
Leeds Youth Opera is an opera company whose performers are aged 12 to 25, based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The Yorkshire Post described the group as a "national cultural treasure".
LOOK Musical Theatre (LOOK) was a professional musical theatre company based in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The organization, governed by an elected board of directors, followed a repertory model in presenting a summer festival program of musicals and comic opera. LOOK's annual summer season of performances at the Tulsa Performing Arts Center is known as "The LOOK Festival."
Lamplighters Music Theatre is a semi-professional musical theatre company based in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1952 by Orva Hoskinson and Ann Pool MacNab, the Lamplighters specialize in light opera, particularly the works of Gilbert and Sullivan, as well as such works as The Merry Widow, Die Fledermaus, Of Thee I Sing, My Fair Lady, Candide, and A Little Night Music.
Mrs. Lovett is a fictional character appearing in many adaptations of the story Sweeney Todd. Her first name is most commonly referred to as Nellie, although she has also been referred to as Amelia, Margery, Maggie, Sarah, Shirley, Wilhelmina and Claudetta. A baker from London, Mrs. Lovett is an accomplice and business partner of Sweeney Todd, a barber and serial killer from Fleet Street. She makes meat pies from Todd’s victims.
Paul Gemignani is an American musical director with a career on Broadway and West End theatre spanning over forty years.
Simon Gallaher is an Australian singer, actor, director and pianist.
Sasha Regan is an English theatre director. In 1998, she founded the Union Theatre, London, a small fringe venue on the premises of a disused paper warehouse on Union Street in the London borough of Southwark. As of November 2020, she was still in charge of the theatre. Her theatre credits include Sweeney Todd, The Pajama Game and Annie Get Your Gun. H.M.S. Pinafore
David Charles Abell is an American orchestral conductor, multi-instrumentalist, and musicologist. Described as “a protean talent” with “impeccable and inspired” skill as a conductor, he is active in symphonic music, opera and musical theatre. Abell was one of Leonard Bernstein's last protégés, and collaborated with Bernstein on many works during the 1980s.
Geraldine Gail Turner is an Australian actress and singer. She has been a leading performer in Australian musical theatre since the 1970s, and has also been active in plays, recordings, film and television.
Coordinates: 51°30′13″N0°06′07″W / 51.5037°N 0.1019°W
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