Marc Antolin and Carly Bawden will reprise their performances in the starring roles in Emma Rice’s acclaimed adaptation of Romantics Anonymous when the production is broadcast live direct to homes across the world and performed live to a socially distanced audience at the Bristol Old Vic (for the final performance of the ‘digital tour’ on 27 September 2020).
Bawden (Evita UK tour, Wonder.Land, National Theatre) will return to the central role of Angélique, the shy chocolatier who falls in love with Antolin’s (Little Shop of Horrors, Into the Woods, Regent Park’s Open Air Theatre) Jean-René, the boss of a failing chocolate factory.
The pair will be joined by fellow returnees: Me’sha Bryan (Caroline, or Change, Playhouse Theatre, Hampstead Theatre, Chichester Festival Theatre) as Suzanne/Mimi; Harry Hepple (Into the Woods, Menier Chocolate Factory) as Ludo/Remi; Laura Jane Matthewson (Dogfight, Southwark Playhouse) as Young Woman; Sandra Marvin (Waitress, Adelphi Theatre) as Magda/Brigitte/Dr Maxim; Philip Cox (Les Misérables, Palace Theatre) as Father/Pierre/Receptionist and Gareth Snook (Wise Children, Old Vic and UK tour) as Mercier/Mumbler/Marini; with Omari Douglas (Five Guys Named Moe, Marble Arch Theatre) joining the cast as Salesman/Fred.
The new production of the critical and crowd-pleasing show which had been due to tour the US this year will now reach audiences across the world with partner theatres in the UK and overseas selling tickets for different nights of the week.
Presented by Wise Children, Bristol Old Vic and Plush Theatricals, the show will be available to stream as a ‘digital tour’ between 22 and 26 September.
Commenting on the inventive ‘virtual tour’, Wise Children’s award-winning artistic director Rice said: “I cannot believe that, in less than a week Wise Children will be in a rehearsal room again and in less than two, we will be performing our beloved Romantics Anonymous to an audience – live! The last weeks have been filled with scrupulous planning and careful preparations to ensure the safety of the cast and crew, but when we get onto that stage everything will change.
“Under the lights, for a few short hours, we will forget our fears and remember other essentials in life; imagination, celebration, story, community and song. Hand in virtual hand with our audience we will feel the joy and exhilaration of a collective experience; that sweet, delicious, much missed treat! And to think that we will have an actual Bristol audience watching in the flesh on our final night is almost too much excitement for a woman to bear. Joy upon joy, thrill upon thrill! Let the show go on!”
On behalf of the Bristol Old Vic, artistic director Tom Morris added: “Tickets for the streamed performances of Romantics Anonymous are flying out the door. Wise Children have shown once again that they are the company lead where the boldest theatre experimenters, artists and audiences alike, are sure to follow.
“This single ‘same room’ performance is a gift from the company to their loyal and passionate audiences in Bristol and a wonderful opportunity for us at the theatre to begin a journey of welcoming you, the lifeblood of the theatre, which will roll out across the autumn.”
Each night will be tailored-made for audiences in different parts of the world with local flavour added before each live-stream begins and partner venues will be grouped together by region or country. The ‘opening night’ on 22 September will be streamed live to eight theatres in Scotland, the North of England and Wales from 7.30pm.
Partner theatres include: Belgrade Theatre, Berkeley Rep, Brighton Dome and Brighton Festival, Bristol Old Vic, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Curve Theatre Leicester, Derby Theatre, Eden Court Highlands, Exeter Northcott, HOME, Lighthouse Poole, Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse, Marlowe Theatre, New Zealand Festival, Norwich Theatre Royal, Oxford Playhouse, Royal & Derngate, Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh, Shakespeare Theatre Company, Singapore Repertory Theatre, Spoleto Festival USA, St. Ann’s Warehouse, Storyhouse, The Festival Theatre, The Lowry, The Old Vic (where Wise Children are a Company in Residence), Theatr Clwyd, Theatre Royal Bath, Theatre Royal Nottingham, Theatre Royal Plymouth, Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts and York Theatre Royal.
Following government safety guidelines, members of the company will each have a Coronavirus test before forming a ‘bubble’ in Bristol. The measures which will remain in place for the entire run will allow performances to go ahead without the need for social distancing. Captioned and audio-described versions of the production will be available.
Adapted and directed by Rice, the 2017 world premiere of Romantics Anonymous was originally produced by Shakespeare’s Globe for the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse by special arrangement with Radio Mouse Entertainment.
Based on the film Les Émotifs Anonymes written by Jean-Pierre Améris and Phillippe Blasband, Romantics Anonymous features a book by Rice with lyrics by Christopher Dimond and music by Michael Kooman.
Angela Thomas
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