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Musical about Kids Company Donmar Theatre London

A new musical about troubled charity Kids Company will head up the Donmar Warehouse’s new season. Artistic director Josie Rourke has collaborated with actor Hadley Fraser and composer Tom Deering to craft the show, based on transcripts of the public select committee hearings which saw the charity’s executives grilled over its management.

The musical will be titled The Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee Takes Oral Evidence on Whitehall’s Relationship with Kids Company. Adam Penford, recently named artistic director of Nottingham Playhouse, will direct the show, which runs at the Donmar from June 24 to August 12. A press night will be held on July 3.

Rourke said the season was designed to “step up to what’s happening” around the world. She explained: “Here is a new musical concerned with truth and accountability; democracy and demagoguery; passion, despair and the rebirth of hope". “Throughout this season, characters fight for, rise to and exercise their power. In creating the Power Season, we’re trusting that theatre will deploy its power to speak with swift and urgent clarity into the present.”

She also confirmed the Donmar’s free ticketing scheme for under 25s will continue, with free tickets available at every performance in the theatre’s spring season.

 

The Olivier Award Society London Theatre

The Laurence Olivier Award are presented annually to recognise excellence in professional theatre in London at an annual ceremony in the capital. The awards were originally known as the Society of West End Theatre, but they were renamed in honour of British actor Laurence Olivier in 1984. 

The awards are given to individuals involved in West End productions and other leading non-commercial theatres based in London across a range of categories including plays, comedies, musicals, dance, opera and affiliate theatre. The Olivier Awards are recognised internationally as the highest honour in British theatre, equivalent to the BAFTA Awards for film and television, and the BRIT Award for music. The Olivier Awards are also considered the equivalent to the Broadway's Tony Awards and France's Molière Awards.

Since its inception, the awards have been held at various venues across London, and most recently the Royal Opera House since 2012. The 2017 Olivier Award were held on Sunday 9 April at the Royal Albert Hall. The ceremony was hosted by comedian Jason Manford. A highlights show was shown on ITV shortly after the live show ended. The winners were: Billie Pier (best actress), Jamie Parker (best actor), John Tiffany (best director), Matthew Bourne (best theatre choreographer)..