RSC’s SHAKESPEARE REVUE,

An evening of sparkling sophistication and unabashed fun it includes comic sketches and songs, some specially written for the show, by the cream of creative genius. Devised and directed by Christopher Luscombe & Malcolm McKee.

"A joyous words-and music anthology
in loving mockery of the bard"

First presented by the RSC at The Barbican Centre and subsequently in the West End, this joyous words-and-music celebration of the delights of the bard gathers together some of the finest comic material inspired by Shakespeare.

With contributions from the cream of writing and performing talent this collective masterpiece is certain to enthrall, entrance and ENTERTAIN!

The show is a handsome tribute to British comic writing. Clever, spontaneous and a wholly civilized delight, it epitomises the charm of revue.

A simple format: sketches, songs and skits inspired by the Bard and put over with vigour, delight and panache by highly accomplished performers.

A rich vein of comic-writing and song, much of it refreshingly unfamiliar, celebrates Shakespeare and, it seems, is also a potted history of British entertainment styles. The material ranges from Edwardian Music Hall through Julian Slade andSandy Wilson to Beyond the Fringe, Monty Python, Victoria Wood and Fry & Laurie.

The British have a knack of laughing at the things they hold most dear. What is evident with this show is the genuine affection in which Shakespeare is held. Beyond the irreverent laughter there are frequent glimpses of Shakespeare's matchless beauty and depth of feeling.

"A hugely enjoyable show .... Absolute bliss .... A delightful comic cocktail. "

THE CHALLENGE,

In 1990 Stephen Sondheim became the first visiting professor in Contemporary Theatre at Oxford University. Over six months he worked with thirteen of Britain's young composers, lyricists and bookwriters.

It was the first time that such a group had come together in this country and the results were very exciting; at last writers of musical theatre had a forum, led with great care and authority by Stephen Sondheim himself, in which to explore and develop their skills and experiences.

With the end of Stephen Sondheim's tenure, the group was inevitably broken up but strong contacts had been made.

Eighteen months later, having tracked down his fellow Oxford participants and several other of Britain's best musical writers, Edward Hardy invited everyone to meet.

It was felt that there was much to be gained from the writers continuing to discuss and support each other's work. At the same time, Kenneth Wax had been preparing to present a revue of songs from six or so of these writers.

The two ideas came together over an informal weekend in April 1992 at Charles Hart's Mercury Theatre. Sondheim, twenty eight writers, two producers and a director decided to form a lasting association to encourage and develop the musicals that the members of the group were writing.

It was also decided that to launch this organisation they would write and produce a multi-collaborative musical involving everyone in the group. The aim was primarily to create a splash, but the group was also determined that the piece would form an exciting showcase for the wide variety of people's work and, above all, be an accessible and highly entertaining show.

On top of all the obvious problems of so many people writing a coherent piece of theatre, the group then set itself a ridiculous deadline - fifteen weeks to write, orchestrate, rewrite, cast, design, rehearse and perform as professional a show as possible. All that remained was to raise an impossibly tight budget - from the writers' own pockets and co-producer Kenneth Wax.

Stephen Clark proposed the story of Daedalus (which weaves together several famous Greek Myths as well as some less well known escapades) and then divided the story into eighteen sections, trying to ensure that each section had enough dramatic potential within it to service the writers.

By good chance, each writer or writing team was allocated one of their preferred sections and the main creative team - initially Steven Dexter (director), Stephen Clark (bookwriter) and Kenneth Wax and Sacha Brooks (producers) - grew quickly to the full production complement.

The writers then had five weeks to come up with their first drafts and be ready to sing them in front of their peers. On 17th May, nine weeks before performance, this first tentative sing through took place. The experience was marginally more exciting than it was frightening - an audience of writers is a writer's nightmare.

However by the end of the day it became clear that the idea was becoming a show, with a story, with a story and characters and tunes.

After many phone calls a flurry of second drafts and then Clark and Dexter knitted all the sections together - a careful balance of imagination and diplomacy. This was only possible thanks to a total absence of preciousness or possessiveness from all the writers. By the time the second drafts (or most of them!) were in place there was a near complete cast of top rate artists ready to sing them.

For the next five weeks Dexter and choreographer Nadia Strahan rehearsed flat out while the final rewrites were faxed to the rehearsal rooms. They were supported by the three musical directors who were not only playing for every rehearsal but orchestrating the pieces as they came in.

Such was the dynamism or foolhardiness of the whole group that despite the deadlines, minimal budget and ludicrous timescale, everyone seemed hell-bent on doing it properly.

Hence, for one night only, The Challenge was performed by highly experienced performers, with a full lighting plot, the full sound rig from a West End spectacular, with three of the West End's best musical directors and so on - every department vying to match the creativity of the writers who had initiated the project.

The production had less than two days to set up in the theatre, where most musicals might have two weeks. The "one-off" performance on 19th July at the Shaw Theatre, London was a complete sell out two weeks before it took place. In the weeks to come, the press would say the following things about the performance.

"Handsomely performed and rapturously received... In every way it already surpasses dozens of musicals professionally presented in recent years on either side of the Atlantic..."
Financial Times

"A professionalism and a verve matching anything in the West End... everyone involved should be feeling ebullient..."
The Independent

"This overstuffed sausage of an evening... an astonishingly energetic display... intending producers should proceed..."
The Times

LOOK AT ME WHEN I’M TALKING TO YOU,

George Stiles acted as Dame Edna's musical director and arranger during her Look At Me When I'm Talking To You stage show.

Dame Edna Everage is probably the most popular and gifted woman in the world today:  housewife, investigative journalist, social anthropologist, talk show host, swami, children’s book illustrator, spin doctor, Megastar, and Icon.  With Olivia Newton-John, Kylie Minogue and Nicole Kidman, she is one of a remarkable succession of female stars to emerge from Australia.

	"George is a megastar's dream-come-true. He gave me the courage to return to the live stage after so many years of being on television. He was my rock and my security blanket. In fact, George taught me most of what I know about music. More than that, through the years he has been a tremendous support to my son Kenny who, as a result of George's tutoring, is now remarkably dexterous with his fingers."

Visit Dame Edna's website for more information about this megastar.

WARTS AND ALL
A Musical Revue,

"wart, w'rt, n. a small, hard excrescence on the skin: a small protuberance."
"warts and all, with none of the blemishes or shortcomings concealed."
"[O.E. wearte; Ger: Warze; prob. Allied to L. verriica.]"

Warts and All was a musical revue which ran at the Watermill Theatre in 1996.

Starring George Stiles and Anthony Drewe who performed on stage with a large grand piano.

They were joined by the supremely talented Alison Jiear, Jenna Russell and Aled Jones. You will find much of that revue burried deep within this website, but below are some of the highlights.

Listen to a selection of the songs from this recording........ Buy The CD Here

"To anyone who has not heard Mr Stiles' hauntingly beautiful music for "Uncle Vanya" and "Twelfth Night", I urge you to enter this wonderful world just as soon as you can.

When I saw "Twelfth Night" in New York last month, his sad, sonorous and delicate music infused the production with an uplifting spirit of love that informed every scene - every verse. Who was this magician, this "George Stiles"? I'd never heard of him before.

I purchased the CD and played it over and over. Now here I am, a sensible, middle-aged man who finds himself writing fan mail on the internet.

Ah, me. Keep yourself healthy, Mr Stiles, and let us mortals listen in on the wondrous happenings in your heart."

Ross London - 7th April, 2003

Dick Whittington and his Cat,

Dick Whittington & his Cat is a family panto, packed with festive fun for everyone. Cheer on Dick and his trusty sidekick Tommy the Cat as they battle to save London from the evil baddie King Rat.

Stiles and Drewe were asked to write one song for this production.

There’s a star-studded cast, songs galore, dancing, and plenty of changes to boo, hiss, cheer and shout. It’s everything a great Christmas panto should be.

Dick Whittington & his Cat was the Barbican’s first ever pantomime. It’s a classic tale of rags to riches, full of wonder and delight for audiences of all ages. Dick comes to London in search of his fortune. There he meets Alderman Fitzwarren and his beautiful daughter Alice, as well as Totally Lazy Jack, panto dame Sarah the Cook, and the magical Fairy BowBells.

The script is by Mark Ravenhill, direction by Edward Hall, design by Michael Howells (whose recent credits include Nanny McPhee), and musical direction is by Tony award-winner Sarah Travis.

Jack and the Beanstalk

When Jack swaps Daisy the Cow for some magic beans, they grow into an enormous magic beanstalk.

Can Jack climb the beanstalk, save the lovely Princess Melody from the giant and escape with all his arms and legs?

Come along and follow Jack up the beanstalk to find out! Join us for Jack and the Beanstalk a show filled with, songs, laughter, excitement and more than a little bit of festive magic.

Written by: Jonathan Harvey; Songs by: Stiles & Drewe

George and Anthony have wanted to write an original pantomime since seeing one as students, 20 years ago.  It’s a double dream-come-true for them to be working with Jonathan Harvey, who has written this brand new version of Jack and the Beanstalk.

George explains "This is definitely not ‘posh panto’, It celebrates all that is best about the medium, and hopes to send the audience home singing some of the ten new songs which we like to describe as ‘really very silly’!. 

It’s a chance to let our hair down, so we’ve plundered wildly – we range from the Disney-esque ‘A Bog Standard Opener’, through a Madness-inspired trio ‘Raise The Moola!’ to the Act 1 closer, ‘Climb It’, which sees Fairy Liquid leading an inspirational gospel number as Jack shins up the giant runner-bean. 

As we said, it’s really VERY silly… did we mention the club anthem in Act 2?!"

Jack and the Beanstalk ran at the London's Barbican Theatre as London’s Family Panto from 1 Dec 2007 to 12 Jan 2008.

REVIEWS

"A high quality Christmas Cracker."
The Telegraph

"This first pantomime of the season sets the benchmark high.'
Charles Spencer - The Telegraph

"Stiles and Drewe who, more than any other British team now writing, know how to turn out a tune with instant appeal for the kids that also has emotional resonance."
The Stage

"A couple of the duets could come straight out of the score to Wicked."
The Stage

"Anthony Drewe's lyrics for George Stiles' bouncy songs sound like Shakespeare and Ken Dodd rolled into one."
The Guardian

"Jaunty songs by George Stiles and Anthony Drewe."
Times Online

"...The musical genius that is Stiles and Drewe..."
www.reviewsgate.com

"A gratuitous competitive sing song that allows a giggly bum-bum-bum-bum finale."
The British Theatre Guide

Jack and the Beanstalk is not available for licensing.. yet!

LICENSING

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London,
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TEL - +44 (0) 20 8741 0606
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