Written by Tim Firth with music by Madness, the new production is directed by Peter Rowe, with choreography by Francesca Jaynes and musical direction by Dai Watts. Set and costume design is by Mark Walters, with lighting design by Ben Cracknell, sound design by Simon Deacon and video design by Will Dukes and Mike Higgs. Casting is by Debbie O'Brien.
Our House's original production won the Olivier Award for best new musical in 2003. It ran for 10 months at the Cambridge Theatre and was directed by Matthew Warchus. The musical was revived for a UK tour in 2008, also directed by Warchus.
Theatre Funding - Wakefield's Theatre Royal and the Tom Thumb Theatre in Margate are among five venues that have received a share of around £25,000 from the Theatres Trust's small grants scheme. The scheme is part of the Theatres Protection Fund, which is supported financially by Andrew Lloyd Webber and producer Judy Craymer and provides money to venues at risk or in need of repair.
Wakefield's Theatre Royal has been awarded £5,000 to improve its comfort and safety, while the Tom Thumb theatre has been given £4,636 to restore its frontage. Meanwhile, the Mill Theatre in Thurso, the Malt Criss Music Hall in Nottingham and the Playhouse in Preston have all been awarded £5,000 to carry out repairs and refurbishments.
Fishy Business - Calendar Girls director Nigel Cole has signed up to bring the story of Cornish band The Fisherman's Friends to the big screen. The 10-piece sea shanty band from Port Isaac went from singing in their local pub to playing the main stage at Glastonbury. Earlier this year band member Trevor Grills and their tour manager were killed after being hit by a stage door. Ealing Studios said filming will start in spring 2014. Cole, who also directed Saving Grace and Made In Dagenham, said he was "very much looking forward" to making "a truly British movie".
In The Saleroom - Costumes from classic film, The Sound of Music, have sold for $1.3m (£845,000) at a Hollywood memorabilia auction in California. The outfits included the main costume worn by lead character Maria, played by Dame Julie Andrews. It was described by auction house Profiles in History as "a heavy brown homespun Austrian-style dress with a wheat-coloured homespun blouse." Floral lederhosen worn by the Von Trapp children also went under the hammer.
(Jim Evans)
