The satirical musical “Oh What a Lovely War” opens tomorrow night at the Newcastle. After leaving London, it will be on tour. The play marks the entertaining ride through the ironies and tragedies of the First World War.

A madcap orchestra of musicians, dancers, singers and clowns will come armed with sketches, songs and stories for your entertainment. Sombre buffoonery and musical ingenuity collides with the bawdy, tough humour of the squaddies on the front line to take you on an incredible journey across Europe. From the misplaced optimism of the British home front to the blood-soaked fields of Flanders the story is told through a fantastic collection of irreverent and poignant songs including well known favourites ‘Pack Up Your Troubles’, ‘Keep The Home Fires Burning’ and ‘It’s A Long Way To Tipperary’.

Created in 1963 by the maverick director Joan Littlewood and her revolutionary company Theatre Workshop, Oh What A Lovely War is a truly original portrait of the conflict that changed the shape of our world for ever. Fun-filled storytelling with a tough, dark heart.

Cast includes: Joanna Croll, Victoria Elliott, Helen Embleton, Karen Fisher-Pollard, Robert Hands, Gary Kitching, Tarek Merchant, Sam O’Mahoney-Adams, Thomas Padden, Christopher Price, Theone Rashleigh, Jon Trenchard.

The major openings in London, in the West End and further afield, this week are:

OPENING TONIGHT, Monday 18 January 2010, the Liverpool Everyman revival of Harold Pinter’s modern classic The Caretaker, starring Jonathan Pryce as the tramp Davies, transfers to Trafalgar Studios 1 to coincide with the play’s 50th anniversary.

The Caretaker has a limited season to 17 April 2010, and marks the first major UK revival of the play since the Nobel Prize-winning playwright’s death last Christmas and will be the first West End Pinter production since then.

ALSO TONIGHT, Michael Pennington and Rosamund Bartlett introduce A Jubilee for Anton Chekhov, a week of performances and events at Hampstead Theatre in celebration of the Russian playwright’s 150th birthday.

OPENING TUESDAY, 19 January 2010, Anthony Head, Lesley Manville and Obi Abili lead the cast in David Grindley’s Old Vic revival of John Guare’s Olivier Award-winning play Six Degrees of Separation, based on a true story about a Manhattan con artist. Appearing until 3 April 2010.

ALSO ON TUESDAY,Off-Broadway sell-out Rites of Privacy, written and performed by David Rhodes, has its UK premiere at the New End Theatre, where it continues to 14 February 2010.

OPENING WEDNESDAY, 20 January 2010, Douglas Carter Beane’s Broadway comedy The Little Dog Laughed opens at the Garrick Theatre, starring Rupert Friend, Tamsin Greig, Gemma Arterton and Harry Lloyd.

The play, which is currently booking to 10 April, is a cautionary tale of Hollywood film actor Mitchell (Friend) who wants to come out of the closet, his agent Diane (Greig) who wants him to stay in it and the love triangle created when Mitch falls for rent boy Alex, who has a girlfriend named Ellen (Arterton).

ALSO ON WEDNESDAY, Doug Lucie’s 30-something comedy Progress, which questions whether a combination of security and excitement in a relationship is ever possible, is revived at the Union Theatre, marking the play’s first major outing since 1986. Until 6 February.

OPENING THURSDAY, 21 January 2010, the Young Vic hosts the UK premiere of I Am Yusuf and this is my Brother, Amir Nizar Zuabi’s powerful story of life in Palestine during the 1948 ‘catastrophe’. Until 6 February.

ALSO ON THURSDAY, Denise Deegan’s schoolgirl comedy Daisy Pulls it Off, centering on the adventures of super achieving scholarship girl Daisy Meredith at the snobby Grangewood School for Young Ladies, opens at the Arts Theatre, following successful runs at Baron’s Court Theatre in 2008 and 2009. Until 6 February.

The West End will soon feature a new type of play, one that comes with the need for a �splatter zone.�

The new musical called Cannibal! Is the creation of South Park mastermind Trey Parker and includes a scene in which the front row gets hit with fake blood.

The play is set in 1873 and revolves around the true tale of a gold prospector and former soldier Alferd Packer who is the only US man ever to be found guilty of cannibalism.

Packer is said to have consumed five colleagues after his expedition was stranded in the Rocky Mountains.

Throughout his trial Packer maintained that he was innocent instead stating that one of his fellow hikers, Shannon Wilson Bell murdered four members of the group and that he was forced to kill her out of self defense.

Parker took the story and turned it into a dark comedic film in 1994 that was popular among cult audiences.

Cannibal! will open at the Leicester Square Theatre July 27^th under the production of Frazer Brown.� Among the stars under consideration for lead roles is James Corden.

Brown stated that the musical was received by mixed audiences at the Edinburgh Festival with most people either loving it or hating it.� He continued to say that he sees the play as a fun night out at the theatre and that while it will never be a mainstream hit it is a fun play suited for a small theatre.

The Globe theatre is getting ready to kick off its 2010 season with a large billing Shakespeare plays. The 2010 season will focus primarily on the regal rogues that were highlighted in his plays taking a close look at all virtues of royal kinds from wildness to paranoia to greed to warmth.
Included in the coming season which will run from April 23rd through October 3rd 2010 will be both parts of Henry IV which are considered to be some of his best works. Throughout the plays viewers will be able to emerge themselves in tales of England�s past and present while taking the audience from sets that embody the regal palace to the earthy pubs.
This is the first time the Henry IV plays will be brought to life at the Globe along with the new production of Henry VIII which is one of Shakespeare�s last plays and shows the passions of both the political class and plenty of pageantry.
Also returning for another season is The Merry Wives of Windsor which was last seen in 2008 at the Globe Theatre. The play takes on the middle class of Windsor and shows Falstaff in a much more glorified but domesticated nature.
Despite all of these delicious Shakespeare tidbits, the season will open with one that possibly challenges the others as the best play by the royal playwright, MacBeth.
Also playing at the Globe this season are two non-Shakespearean plays: the Howard Brenton play Anne Boleyn and Neil Leyshon�s Bedlam. Tickets begin booking for the season on February 15th.

Leading lady on Broadway Megan Mullally who also has two Emmys under her belt is set to step onto the West End stage for the first time in February of 2010. Mullally will appear on stage with her musical act, Supreme Music Program, at the Vaudeville Theatre for an eight week engagement.

The show will run from February 16th through the 21st and will be the first time that Mullally performs with her band outside of the United States.

Known best for her portrayal of Karen Walker from the sitcom, Will & Grace Mullally also has plenty of experience in the theatre. She debuted on Broadway back in 1994 in the Grease revival, starred in How to Succeed Without Really Trying alongside Matthew Broderick.

Additionally she was in Young Frankenstein by Mel Brooks.

She may make more waves on the stage in the future with plans to star in Karen: The Musical which is set around the drunken character she played on Will & Grace.

Mullally has worked with Supreme Music Program on three separate albums titled Free Again, Big As A Berry, and The Sweetheart Break-In. Songs from all three will be included in her theatre show at Vaudeville as well as some new songs.

2010 may bring the return of Felicity Kendal to the West End with news that her current play, the George Bernard Shaw adaptation of Mrs. Warren�s Profession may soon come to a rest for three months at the London Comedy Theatre.
The play which is the Theatre Royal Bath revival of the 1894 classic is expected to stop touring and land at the Comedy Theatre sometime in the middle of March.
The Shaw classic is widely considered to be one of the most provocative plays ever written by the famous playwright with a plot line that was way ahead of its time in acceptable content.
The plot focuses on Vivie Warren a Cambridge graduate who discovered that her mother provided their comfortable lifestyle by actively engaging in a lifetime career of prostitution. This revelation places the two at odds with each other as both strive to understand the others motives.
In the current tour which started last October, Kendal shares the stage with Lucy Briggs-Owen who plays Vivie the questioning daughter.
The shocking play last ran in the West End in 2002 at the Strand Theatre with Rebecca Hall playing Vivie and Brenda Blethyn taking on the title role.
Kendal is no stranger to the theatre with a wide array of stage credits that include Happy Days, TH Vortex, Fallen Angels, The Last Cigarette, Jumpers, and Amy�s View.

In a blast from the past the 70�s icon David Essex is set to make his debut on the West End in April of next year at the Garrick theatre, when his musical All the Fun of the Fair hits the stage.
The musical takes its name from his 1975 hit album that has most of his greatest hits on it. The show will continue to book up until September 5th of next year.
All the Fun of the Fair is set to bring the stage alive with plenty of funfair and stunts set to a backdrop of rock n� roll favourites. The musical is a joint effort by Essex and Jon Conway who is known for his previous contributions to Boogie Nights.
Essex plays the role of widower Levi Lee who is having a hard time getting out of the attentions bestowed upon him by an attractive woman who is recently divorced while also keeping up with his son�s ambitions and tangled love life. Lee also has to contend with some crazy predictions that are made for his future by the gypsy at the fair.
Some of the most recognizable songs on the soundtrack include Gonna Make Me A Star, Winter�s Tale, Rock On, Me and my Girl Nightclubbing, and Hold me Close.
Essex stated that the musical is still focused on being a play that happens to feature music and is not just an avenue for the songs to get played again. The sets are also expected to be breath taking given that they consist of fair rides such as carousel carriages and dodgem cars.

Ruthie Henshall will once again play Roxie Hart in Chicago 12 years after she first took on the role in 1997 in the West End. Her previous performance earned her an Olivier Award nomination.
The play will open Dec. 14th at the Cambridge Theatre and will run until February 28, 2010 outside of the week of Dec. 28th to January 2nd when Henshall is booked at previous commitments. During this time period Bonnie Langford will take on the role, who is also experienced having played Roxie both on Broadway and in the West End.
Henshall has had plenty of practice with the Chicago script as she has also taken on the role of Velma Kelly on Broadway back in 1999. Since then she also played the role of Velma in the West End.
Outside of Chicago, Henshall has plenty of experience on the stage having appeared in a numerous amount of plays including Stairway to Paradise, Miss Saigon, Les Miserables, Peggy Sue Got Married, Oliver!, Crazy for You, and The Other Woman. Additional she won an Olivier award for her performance in She Loves Me.
Langford also has a suitable amount of experience under her wing performing the part of Roxie Hard twice in the West End during 2006 and 2007, on Broadway, and in a Canadian performance. Previously she has held roles in many West End plays which include Peter Pan, The Pirates of Penzance, Guys and Dolls, Sweet Charity, Fosse, and Me and My Girl.

Former Libertines band member Carl Barat is all set to make his first debut on the London stage in a different format than he may be used to in Hammersmith next year.
Barat will take on the West End alongside Sadie Frost in the Sam Shepard play �Fool for Love� which is playing at Riverside Studios.
Artistic director Neil Sheppeck stated that the production team of �Fool for Love� is thrilled to be working with both Carl Barat and Sadie Frost and that hopefully the addition of the two noticeable figures will draw in a new type of audience to the theatre. At the same time he noted that regular theatre goers will also be delighted to see their performances.
�Fool For Love� will open on January 25th, 2009 and run until March 21st, 2009 with a post show talk for interested audience members on January 29th at Riverside Studios.

Kim Catrall, best known for her role as Samantha in Sex & the City will be once again making a splash on the West End stage, in the comedy Private Lives by Noel Coward.

Catrall will star opposite Matthew MacFayden who is best known from the TV series Spooks. She will be directed by Richard Eyre when the play opens on March 3rd, 2010 at the Vaudeville Theatre in London.
Most people do not realize that Catrall was actually born in Liverpool, but she first made a debut in her homeland back in 2005 in Whose Line Is It Anyway.

Private Lives tells the story of two sets of divorcees who find themselves back together in an affair while on honeymoons with their new partners.

The play is set in France and will open to February previews at the Bath Theatre Royal before it opens in London.

Catrall has been keeping busy on the set of the Sex & the City movie sequel, and MacFadyen will be seen soon in the Ridley Scott Robin Hood film opposite Russell Crowe.

Tickets to Love Never Dies, the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical that is the sequel to the renowned Phantom of the Opera will go on sale this coming Thursday.

The play opens in March of 2010 at the Adelphi Theatre, and will be the first musical sequel to be debuted on the West End Stage.

For those who are heavy with anticipation over the new play, the Really Useful Group Limited run by Andrew Lloyd Webber, has also launched a website for the play which contains a �teaser trailer; for the musical. Those who are interested can find the website at www.loveneverdies.com.

Webber also confirmed its release on the stage and a public announcement regarding Love Never Dies is expected to be made on October 8th, 2009.

The plot of the Phantom sequel is supposed to be set in New York at a theatre in Coney Island when Christine Daae returns with her husband Raoul to perform on a stage that is run by the �Maestro� that affected their lives ten years earlier at the Paris Opera.

Since the Phantom of the Opera first debuted in 1988 it has grossed over $700m on Broadway and $5 billion worldwide which is the highest amount by any Broadway play in history.

It has since then been performed over 8,600 times and has a record high New York attendance of 12.5 million. In 2006 it became the longest show to run on the Broadway stage passing Cats and is still going strong with no sign of stopping.

From January 8, 2009, the Garrick Theatre is going to stage West End?s new production ?The Little Dog Laughed?. Directed by Jamie Lloyd, this award winning play will feature some famous actors like Rupert Friend, Gemma Arterton, Harry Lloyd and Tamsin Greig.

The lead character, a Hollywood superstar Mitchell, will be played by Rupert Friend while Tamsin Greig, will take the role of his agent in the play, Diane. The other two major characters, Alex and Ari are going to be played by Harry Lloyed and Gemma Arterton, respectively.

Rupert Friend is a versatile actor who has the experience of working in flims and short flims, but surprisingly he is going to make his stage debut in ?The Little Dog Laughed?. Rupert friend?s debut film was ?The Libertine?.

He co-produced two short films in 2008, ?Lamentable Saga of the Suicide Brothers? and ?The Continuing? and will be featuring in the upcoming movies ?Lullaby for Pi? and ?The Kid?

It is to be noted that this will also be Gemma Arterton?s debut in the West End. This promising, and high profile actress made her stage debut in july 2007, in BBC?s ?Tess of the D?Urbervilles?, in which she played the main character.

She has also made it to the big screen, featuring in a number of movies including the 2007 James Bond flick ?Quantum of Solace?.

This Christmas will usher in The Gruffalo Tall Stories children?s show for the fourth time at the West End?s Apollo Theatre. It will run during the day time with performances scheduled for 11am, 1:30pm, and 3:30pm from November 25, 2009 through January 10, 2010.

The basic plotline of the The Gruffalo is aimed at amusing young children as it follows Mouse as he goes into the woods in search of hazelnuts. Along the way Mouse meets Snake the party animal, Fox who is a wheeler and dealer, and of course Air Force officer Owl.

Mouse uses his wit and imagination to avoid becoming each of the animal?s snacks by creating stories of a monster friend which is fine until his imaginary monster comes to life in front of him.

The stage version of The Gruffalo first appeared in 2006 as an adaption of the award winning book. In the last decade since the short children?s novel release the book has become the best selling picture book in the UK ever with more than 400m copies across the world.

The cast for the upcoming stage production has not yet been announced. In the past the production was by directors of Tall Stories Olivia Jacobs and Toby Mitchell with designer Isle Shaw at work on the set. The show will be presented with the sponsorship of Tall Stories, Nick Brooke Ltd, and Kenny Wax Ltd.

Produced by Rupert Goold, the artistic director of Headlong, Lucy Prebble?s play Enron is going to be transferred to the Noel Coward Theatre in the West End in the very beginning of 2010.

The play is built around the famous ?Enron scandal? involving the American giant energy company Enron Corp, which went bankrupt at the end of 2001.

Rupert Goold was very creative in this play; he brought about some new ideas on the stage and used innovative video clips, selected appropriate music that fits into the feel of the play nicely and created some well-choreographed dance sequences.

?Enron? has a distinguished group in the cast. The main character in the play, Jeffrey Skilling, severely condemned ex president of Enron Corp, is played by Samuel West. The founder and chairman of Enron Ken Lay is played by the splendid Tim Piggot Smith.

Both of the actors have performed remarkably well so far along with their co-artists. The production was an immediate success and during its run at London?s Royal Court, the show was sold out for the whole six weeks. The world premiere was held in July 2009 at the famous Chichester Festival, and the play was well received.

The mastermind behind the production Rupert Goold has been greatly influenced by the success of Enron, and has already declared ?Gulliver? to be his company ?Headlong?s? next project.

Samuel Parson?s newest stab at Breakfast At Tiffany?s based on the novella by Truman Capote of the same name just opened at the Mathias? Theatre starring Joseph Cross in the role of ?Fred Parsons? and Anne Friel as ?Holly Golightly.? The production will run until January 9th, 2010 and is directed by Sean Mathias.

Golightly Friel will as she is reported to bare pretty much all as she takes on the role full-fledged. Of course, for Friel who was the first British actress on TV to experience a lesbian kiss controversy is not unfamiliar to her. This time she is set to strip down completely in her role.

Press night will be on September 29th. Moon River will be presented in the play and will feature an arrangement by the Theatre Royal Haymarket Company. Colin Ingram will produce and Anthony Ward is in charge of the set and costume designs.

For those who have not seen the production before or the famous 1961 Hollywood version starring Audrey Hepburn, the plot is cantered on William ?Fred? Parsons a studious writer who meets an elusive charming lively Miss Holly Golightly. Golightly is known for winning lovers everywhere she goes but she is looking for someone that is rich and William is not.

Friel stated that the book is one of her favourite novels and that she is excited to get the chance to play Golightly on the London stage. Her past stage credits include work in the play Lulu in New York and London as well as a role in Closer by Patrick Marber on Broadway.

Oliver! Is set to take on the West End once again with Griff Rhys Jones, the comedian, taking on the part of Fagin. In the past Fagin has been portrayed by Omid Djalili and Rowan Atkinson.

The play will debut at the Theatre Drury lane on Monday December 14th and will continue through June of 2010.

Jones is best known for parts in Not the Nine O?Clock News and Smith and Jones and also has two Olivier Awards under his belt for roles in An Absolute Turkey and Charley?s Aunt. He also was the star in Front Page which played at the Donmar Warehouse and in Wind in the Willows at the National Theatre.

Producer Cameron Mackintosh of Oliver! Stated that he has wanted to put on a play with Griff for the past several years so he was delighted that he was able to tempt him into playing Fagin. He continued to say that Griff is an actor with many talents so his portrayal of Fagin should be quite entertaining.

Jones will be supported in the cast by Jodie Prenger who will continue to portray the character of Nancy and Steve Hartley will return to the role of Bill Sykes tonight.

Most people know that Melanie Chisholm of the Spice Girls knows what she wants and has no problem getting it, which now is apparently a shot to shine on the West End stage.

Next month Mel C will play Mrs. Johnstone on the stage in Blood Brothers making her the second Spice Girl to hit the stage and the first to take on a role in London.

She will have large shoes to fill as the role of Mrs. Johnstone has been played in the past by a wide assortment of stars including Carole King, Barbara Dickson, Kiki Dee, and Petula Clark.

Additionally, sources who are familiar with the play stated that many actresses who are professionals spend a lifetime aspiring to receive a role such as Mrs. Johnstone.

Although Spiceworld may not have given people much faith in her abilities, the bonus to her selection for the role is that she was at least born in an area where the accent was prevalent so that makes one thing she will not have to learn.

While true play enthusiasts may be disturbed that Chisholm will be playing the lead, those who enjoy a good show are excited given that she will be the second major star to hit the stage in the play as she will be taking over for Niki Evans from X Factor.

The stars of the West End musical Hairspray were announced today, with TV comic Phil Jupitus and pop singer Belinda Carlisle playing the title roles.

This will be the third year for Hairspray at the London Shaftsbury Theatre where it has been successful in the past.

Juptius, best known for the BBC2?s Never Mind the Buzzcocks, will take on the role of Edna Turnblad replacing previous actor?s Brian Conley and Michael Ball.

The new line-up will open on October 26th with Belinda Carlisle taking on the role of supremacist Velma Von Tussle. Carlisle is best known as the lead singer of eighties band The GoGos. Sharon D. Clarke, a previous winner of Whatsonstage.com will also be featured in the role of Mabel, a celebrity DJ with a large mouth.

Last year?s production of Hairspray garnished four Olivier awards. Hairspray first premiered on Broadway in 2002 and won eight Tony awards in 2003 including the award for Best Musical.

The play is based on the film directed and written by John Waters of the same name and tells the story of a young girl in the sixties who rises from a small local dance programme to teen celebrity overnight.
Music for Hairspray is written by Marc Shaiman with lyrics by Shaiman and Scott Whitma

Richard Wilson will make his RSC debut in the West End this autumn in the Twelfth Night which is set to premiere at the Stratford?s Courtyard Theatre on October 21st.

The show will run up until November 21st at which point it will move to the Duke of York?s Theatre in London from December 22nd though February 27th, 2010.

Richard Wilson is known by most for his role as Victor Meldrew in the TV show One Foot in the Grave. To those in the theatre community he is known for roles in Waiting for Godot, Whipping It up, and What the Butler Saw.

Wilson also has directed a handful of productions including Rainbow Kiss, Primo, Where Do We Live, The Woman Before, and Playing the Victim.

His co-stars in Twelfth Night will be Alexandra Gilbreath who will take on the role of Olivia and Nancy Carroll who plays the role of Viola. The set of actresses have previously worked on stage together in AS You Like It in 2009 playing the roles of Celia and Rosalind.

Other cast members include James Fleet, Simeon Moore, Miltos Yerolemou, Richard McCabe, Jo Stone-Fewings, Sam Alexander, and Pamela Nomvete.

This is the third production that will hit London from the RSC in the winter season with two other productions from Dennis Kelly and David Grieg following close behind at the Hampstead Theatre.

Greig?s production is called Dunsinane and is set in the same area of Scotland that is referenced in MacBeth and is described on the billing as a man?s quest for peace in Scotland after the war tears the country apart.

Kelly will produce The God?s Weep which is a contemporary play that centres around a CEO who runs a global business that they can no longer contain because it is too massive and interferes with the CEO?s personal life.

Ben Hur Live is the newest arena show to hit the stage at the O2 Arena in London. Performances will open on September 17th and continue through September 20th at which point the production has a long list of cities to hit on its tour including Lisbon, Vienna, Paris, Barcelona, Munich, Hamburg, Budapest, Berlin, Madrid, and a few more.

Ben Hur Live was originally written by Shaun McKenna and features music from The Police drummer Stewart Copeland who has also worked on many notable TV shows such as Desperate Housewives and many movies .

Not only does the arena staging have 400 performers in the cast, but it also will feature many live animals, over 100 actually including ponies, eagles, horses, falcons, and more horses. In fact, as part of the production the great chariot race will be recreated on the stage with five quadrigas (chariots drawn by four horses) competing around the floor of the arena.

It has taken 15 years to develop the arena version of the show which handily enough will premiere to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the film release of Ben Hur.

The show will not spare any special features with sound, light, pyrotechnics, water, and wind throughout the film on a giant water wall. Not only have the cast members been practicing arduously for the show, but a team of thoroughbred horses have spent 12 months training for opening day.

The show which is produced by Franz Abraham will be directed by the director of The Boy From Oz, Phillip Wm. McKinley. Design is by Mark Fisher and Liam Steel is behind the choreography. Additionally, lighting is under the control of Patrick Woodrooffe and Ann Hould-Ward is the costume head.

Abraham stated that audiences can expect to receive everything from the show as it is simply a musical immersed in theatrics that has the visual effects of a film and the energy of a rock concert