NOW that’s nostalgia with musical magic

Ellie Cox

Posted on

Aylesbury Waterside Theatre

Ellie Cox

, ,

Nina Wadia to star in NOW That’s What I Call A Musical, directed and choreographed by Craig Revel Horwood and with special guest star, Sinitta

Nina Wadia will star as Gemma in the world premiere of NOW That’s What I Call A Musical, opening at Aylesbury Waterside Theatre on Friday 6th September before embarking on a major UK and Ireland tour. The brand-new British musical is written by award-winning comedian Pippa Evans and directed and choreographed by Craig Revel Horwood.

Click to read Q&A with Craig Revel Horwood.

Joining Nina will be NOW icon, Sinitta.

Nina said: “I grew up listening to the NOW tapes so for me being a part of this musical is like going home. When I read the script I immediately fell in love with the characters and Pippa’s story. I can’t wait to get started on my first ever musical and to see you all there.”

Sinitta said: “The most exciting thing about being involved in this project is the music. Dust off your spandex, crimp your hair and I’ll see you there.”

Get ready to relive the playlist of your life by celebrating 40 years of the iconic and chart-topping compilations brand NOW That’s What I Call Music, which has sold an estimated 200 million copies worldwide. This fun-filled evening is bursting with hits from Whitney Houston, Wham! Blondie, Tears For Fears, Spandau Ballet and so many more.

It’s Birmingham, 1989. Two school friends, Gemma and April, are busy with very important business – planning their lives based on Number One Magazine quizzes and dreaming of snogging Rick Astley. Cut to Birmingham 2009 and it’s the most dreaded event of their lives – the school reunion. Drama, old flames and receding hairlines come together as friends reunite and everything from the past starts to slot into place. The biggest question is: what was with all that hairspray?

Don’t miss this nostalgic evening bursting with 1980s hits. Tickets on sale at Aylesbury Waterside Theatre Box Office

Latest posts

Get the latest news straight to your inbox

Choose which newsletter:

Alfie Boe’s Encore with Carly Paoli

Round & About

Posted on

Aylesbury Waterside Theatre

Alfie Boe will star with Carly Paoli at Aylesbury’s Waterside Theatre on Friday, 7th June.

When Pope Francis heard Carly Paoli, the British/Italian soprano sing her Ave Maria as the official song for his Jubilee Year of Mercy in 2016, he declared that she had, ‘the voice of an angel.’ A classical Brit nominee, lyricist and star of the classical and crossover worlds, Carly Paoli toured the UK with Aled Jones 2022.

Carly has been confirmed as a special guest on Alfie Boe’s forthcoming tour Alfie Boe – Encore at theatres around the UK this summer.

Carly and the Tony Award winning tenor, Alfie Boe first met when Alfie worked with Carly on her second TV special that is set to air later this year. With a broad repertoire to choose from, Carly’s set will include interpretations of Bridge Over Troubled Water, Time To Say Goodbye, Never Enough and O Mio Babbino Caro amongst others.

“One of the greatest joys for a performer is to work with artist they admire,” says Carly. “Aflie Boe is one of those people and I am thrilled to be appearing as his special guest on his Encore Tour.”

“One of the greatest joys for a performer is to work with artists they admire”

Carly’s star continues to shine and since bursting onto the music scene she has sung for members of the Royal Family at Windsor Castle and St James’ Palace, at the Royal Albert Hall for the Royal Variety Performance and at Carnegie Hall in New York. Following her concert at London’s Cadogan Hall, the critic David Mellor called her a ‘special talent’ under the headline “Nobody Does It Better.”

In 2016 Carly’s version of Ave Maria was heard by Pope Francis who commented that she had “the voice of an angel” and was chosen as theme for his Jubilee Year Mercy. That same year Carly hosted a very special concert Music for Mercy in Rome’s historic Roman Forum featuring Andrea Bocelli, Elaine Paige and David Foster amongst others. In 2023 Carly could be seen opening and closing Pope Francis’ concert for Humanitarian Efforts at St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican which was broadcast globally to more than 55 million people.

A performer at many major sporting fixtures, in 2023, Carly was invited to sing the Italian National Anthem at the opening ceremony of the very first Ryder Cup in Rome.

With five chart topping albums to her credit Carly has performed live and recorded with some of the world’s greatest artists including Andrea Bocelli, Michael Bolton, José Carreras, David Foster, and Elaine Paige and will soon be adding Alfie Boe to that list of names! 

Get the latest news straight to your inbox

Choose which newsletter:

Doppelginger joy with comedian Ray Bradshaw

Ellie Cox

Posted on

Aylesbury Waterside Theatre

We chat to comedian Ray Bradshaw who brings his new show Doppelginger to Maidenhead, Swindon, Aylesbury, Guildford, Dorking, Reading, London & more from 1st March.

Ray Bradbury is forever being told “you look just like my mate…” wherever he goes. It’s been happening for years, and he’s worried about it. Either someone is cloning generic bald men or, there’s a ginger bearded bald man out there who’s doing a bad job of stalking Ray.

In his new show, Ray is going to use the latest in genetic research (the internet) to try and put an end to this once and for all. He’s on a quest to find the person who looks most like him.

“My new show Doppelginger is about a bald ginger man (me) trying to find other bald ginger men who look really like him. Purely for comedy purposes, not some weird Tinder fetish game gone horribly wrong. Although there are probably some people that would be into that and if that’s you then please buy a ticket for the show because any ticket sale counts as far as I’m concerned.

“The whole show is going to be about finding people that look like me and the weird things that arise from it. Hopefully there will be some bald ginger people in the audience who don’t even know what the show is about and have just been brought there by an evil partner. The whole show will just turn into an episode of Surprise Surprise for them where I play Cilla Black (with a wig, obviously). Please submit your photo to doppelginger.net”

Ray’s whole show will be sign language interpreted. “My mum and dad are deaf and I grew up learning sign language,” says Ray. “So that’s a big part of every show I do as I want as big a deaf audience as possible.

“I love having deaf audiences in my show and have them heckle me in sign language only for me to tell the audience what they signed to me and then have the deaf person deny it so I look like I’m picking on them. You’d be surprised how often that happens.

“When I’m not gigging, I’m usually getting made fun of by my son. He thinks the fact I’m bald is so funny and constantly asks me where I’ve left my hair. The other day we were in soft play and he made me feel the oldest I’ve ever felt. We were playing hide and seek and after shouting ‘ready or not!’ he found me in about eight seconds. I asked him how he had found me so quickly and he just replied, ‘when you crouched down I heard your knees crack’. I felt about 100 years old.”

If Ray had to choose a line-up of comedians to go on tour with him or for a special one-night-only all-star comedy show, alive or dead who would he pick? “I’d go for me, Billy Connolly, Bernie Mac and Victoria Wood. It would be an amazing show and I’m the least rich of them all so I wouldn’t have to put my hand in my pocket at the post show drinks. Win win.”

To book your tickets please visit Norden Farm or call 01628 788997.

Get the latest news straight to your inbox

Choose which newsletter:

Star Q&A: Samantha Womack

Round & About

Posted on

Aylesbury Waterside Theatre

Actress, singer, model & director Samantha Womack tells us about festive feelings as she stars as the White Witch in The Lion, The Witch & the Wardrobe at Aylesbury Waterside Theatre as part of its UK tour

Q. Hello! We’re celebrating Christmas shows. Did you go to many of these as a youngster? “I loved all shows as a child. My grandmother was a choreographer and often had friends in shows. She was a great friend of the theatre manager at the Palladium and so I remember going to see Michael Crawford in Barnum countless times which was an incredible performance.”

Q. What is it about this production of the CS Lewis play that will really make Christmas sparkle? And why should we all book a seat? “This production of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is directed by Michael Fentiman whose work I’m a massive fan of. With this production he brings a similar vibrancy and originality that he created with his award-winning Amelie. It is a magicial, spellbinding show with Narnia being revealed in earthy pagan magic and musicians on stage whose physical talent is breathtaking.”

Q. Any favourite hang-outs or places to visit while you’re in town? “Aylesbury is an area I’ve performed in over the years, in South Pacific, Guys & Dolls… so I have many fond memories of here. I always bring my dogs with me as there are so many beautiful walks around Thames Valley.”

Q. What’s your go-to snack or food or drink you could never live without? “I try to eat healthy food as I eat a lot. Avocados and kimchi is my current craving and homegrown veg. Having said that, Lidl does dangerously good ice cream…”

Q. What’s the best meal you’ve ever had & choice for a last supper? “The best meal I’ve ever had? Tricky! Anything my grandmother cooked. She did a mean Welsh rarebit and roast tatties.”

Q. Who would be your six dream dinner party guests, alive or dead, real or fictional? “My six dream dinner guests would be Oliver Reed, Richard Burton, Nick Drake, Edith Piaf, Sidney Poitier and Kathryn Hepburn.”

Q. What’s your first memory of music? And your favourite song or album? “My first memory of music was my Dad playing Cat Stevens on acoustic guitar. I miss that sound.”

Q. Do you love Christmas, and what especially are you looking forward to this year? “Christmas is special to me. My father Noel was born on Christmas Eve so that feels bittersweet but I always have a house full of people and music over the Christmas break.”

Q. What other highlights are on your horizon? “I have just bought a retreat business with my partner in Valencia in the mountains and so we will be working on that next year.”

Q. If you could be a real white witch for a moment and make one wish for the world, what would it be? “My wish for the world would be environmental awareness so we stop any more species and plants from being wiped out. And it sounds corny but… to be kind and love one another.”

For tickets please visit atgtickets.co.uk

Tell us your local news here

Get the latest news straight to your inbox

Choose which newsletter: