A celebration of the music of Andrew Lloyd Webber will be part of a special socially distanced season at Leicester Curve when the theatre welcomes audiences back into its auditorium on 20 May 2021 for the first time in over a year.
The reopening programme which also includes a new comedy musical and events showcasing new work from local and national artists has been made possible by a second grant from the Government’s Culture Recovery Fund.
Unveiling the reopening plans Curve’s chief executive Chris Stafford and artistic director Nikolai Foster said: “After over a year of closure, we are delighted to be welcoming audiences safely back to Curve with an exciting programme celebrating artists, our community and Leicester’s passion for musical theatre.
“We are proud to present a season of work drawing together new musical theatre writers with the canon of Andrew Lloyd Webber, contemporary dance with the work of Leicester legend Aakash Odedra and new writing alongside established voices.
“We cannot wait to bring our communities, artists and audiences together in our specially-adapted socially distanced auditorium. Although we recognise some audiences may be nervous returning to live events, health and safety remains our priority and we have invested significantly in implementing measures to ensure everyone working with us and visiting our theatre is safe.
“Through reopening our theatre we are not only able to make live work once more and employ 100s of freelancers, but we are able to play an active role in helping our city begin to recover from the impact of Covid.
“We would like to say a heartfelt thank you to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport for our second Culture Recovery Fund grant which is enabling us to reignite the mighty Curve engines and operate with social distancing in place. We’d also like to thank everyone who’s supported us during the closure, in particular our principal funders Arts Council England and Leicester City Council – this crucial public funding has kept our theatre operating during the pandemic.”
The season will launch with a members event on 20 May which will also be live-streamed for home viewers and will end with the Made At Curve concert The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber. Directed by Foster, the spectacular production will run from 7 to 19 June and will feature a pre-recorded video contribution from Lloyd Webber along with performances of the musical theatre maestro’s best-loved songs. Full casting will be announced at a later date.
The season also includes a staged concert version of Katie Lam and Alex Parker’s AMDRAM: A Musical Comedy (from 27 to 29 May). Featuring a cast that includes Janie Dee, Laura Pitt-Pulford, Raj Ghatak, Debbie Chazen, Sharan Phull, Jordan Lee Davies and Wendy Ferguson, the new version of the show which was first seen at The Other Palace in 2019 will be directed by James Robert Moore.
Other highlights in the programme include two nights (21 and 22 May) dedicated to celebrating outstanding local and national artists with a showcase of new work and performances from Curve associate artists and Curve resident creatives. Hosted by Curve associates Sheep Soup, the evenings will include songs from new musicals, extracts from original plays and newly choreographed dance pieces.
As seen by home viewers of the successful streamed productions of Sunset Boulevard and The Color Purple, the raising of the walls between the venue’s theatre spaces has allowed Curve to re-configure and reopen as a 533-seat socially distanced with audiences able to enjoy performances from all four sides of the stage.
To ensure the safe return of audiences, the theatre has implemented a number of Covid safe measures including a one-way system, increased ventilation, additional cleaning, temperature checks and allocated entry times to the building. Curve has been certified by both UK Theatre as part of its See It Safely initiative and Visit England’s ‘We’re Good To Go’ accreditation and audience members will be notified of further Covid-safety measures and protocols in advance of attending a performance.
In line with the Government ‘roadmap’, the theatre hopes to fully reopen on 1 July with performances of Peter James’ Looking Good Dead. Curve has also revealed a number of shows set to visit and open tours in Leicester in the coming months including Mischief’s Magic Goes Wrong, the Made at Curve production of Grease, Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Derren Brown: Showman and The Osmonds: A New Musical.
Alongside plans to welcome audiences back to its building, Curve is also continuing to providing audiences with opportunities to enjoy theatre at home whilst restrictions remain in place.
As previously announced from 10-15 May Curve will once again share its acclaimed production of Sunset Boulevard – at Home, with all proceeds in support of The Andy Nairn Bursaries in Technical Theatre. From 31 May to 1 June, the theatre will host the digital tour of Aidy the Awesome, a new aerial theatre show for families from Curve resident creatives The Gramophones.
Angela Thomas
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