Monday Night At The Apollo – new dates announced

Revised dates have been announced for the new live and live-streamed fundraising concert series Monday Night At The Apollo.

Originally due to play two shows in front of a socially distanced audience at the Apollo Theatre on Shaftesbury this month with a third concert in early February, the shows will now take place on 12 April, 26 April and 10 May (subject to the lifting of the relevant lockdown restrictions). Ten percent of the proceeds will be donated to leading theatrical charity Acting For Others.

With each concert’s line-up of star performers to be confirmed closer to performance dates, West End favourites who have already committed to appear include: Aimie Atkinson (Six, Pretty Woman); Declan Bennett (Jesus Christ Superstar, Once); Rosalie Craig (Company, City of Angels); Arthur Darvill (Once, Sweet Charity); Kerry Ellis (Wicked, Les Misérables); Hadley Fraser (Les Misérables, City of Angels); Cassidy Janson (& Juliet, Beautiful – The Carole King Story); Lucie Jones (Waitress, Rent); Renée Lamb (Six, Little Shop of Horrors); Jamie Muscato (Heathers, West Side Story); Cedric Neal (Chess, Motown the Musical); Julian Ovenden (Merrily We Roll Along, Showboat); and Layton Williams (Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, Billy Elliot).

Hosted by Greg Barnett (Miss Littlewood, Duchess of Malfi), the three intimate evenings of conversation and song will be live-streamed to home viewers via the theatre discovery platform Thespie. Produced by Greg Barnett and Hugh Summers for the recently launched Wild Mountain Productions Ltd, the musical director for the series is George Dyer.

Announcing the revised dates, producers Barnett and Summers said: “We’re so excited to be announcing revised dates and further cast for Monday Night At The Apollo. In light of the newly imposed national coronavirus restrictions, we feel it was the correct decision to postpone the original performances.

“Public health and the safety of our audiences is our utmost priority and will always be the most important factor in informing any decisions we make. With that said, we truly believe that we are on the way back to reopening theatres and feel it is important to press ahead with getting these concerts staged.

“It in no way dampens our spirits, rather it strengthens our resolve to get the industry restarted. In doing so, we hope to be able to raise funds for Acting For Others to continue to support the thousands of freelancers who these latest restrictions will hit the hardest.

“Theatre and its audiences know how important it is to get back to normal, especially in these seemingly crucial final months. Therefore, we ask your support, kindness, and when needed, patience, as we navigate the difficult road ahead.”

Artists listed will appear subject to availability, and the line-ups for each show will be announced at least four weeks in advance of the performance.

Angela Thomas