Peacock Theatre, London
Running time: 2hrs 10 mins (inc. interval)
Age Restrictions:
Tickets from £20.00
**SAVE ON TICKET PRICES Valid Monday - Friday evening performances 20 - 27 August 2024 Book by 7 May 2024**
Michael Cohl, Tony Smith, the estate of Janis Joplin and Jeffrey Jampol for Jam, Inc. are delighted to announce A NIGHT WITH JANIS JOPLIN which makes its UK premiere at the Peacock Theatre, Sadlers Wells’ home in the West End, on 20 August starring Mary Bridget Davies as Janis, running until 28 September 2024. Tickets will go on sale on 26 January. Further casting is to be announced.
A NIGHT WITH JANIS JOPLIN is a musical journey celebrating Janis Joplin and her biggest musical influences – trailblazers like Aretha Franklin, Etta James, Odetta, Nina Simone and Bessie Smith, all of whom inspired Joplin to become one of Rock ‘n’ Roll’s greatest legends. Like a comet that burns far too brightly to last, Joplin exploded onto the music scene in 1967 and, almost overnight, became the Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll. Her unmistakable voice, filled with raw emotion and tinged with Southern Comfort, made Joplin a must-see headliner from Monterey to Woodstock. Audiences will enjoy Joplin’s favourites, including ‘Piece of My Heart,’ ‘Cry Baby’, ‘Me and Bobby McGee’ and many others.
A NIGHT WITH JANIS JOPLIN began in 2011 and was an immediate success, touring for the next 2 years and breaking box office records at nearly every theatre. In October 2013, the show opened on Broadway at the Lyceum Theatre to rave reviews and has been touring the US ever since. The show also played in Japan in 2022 at the Tokyo International Forum Hall. Mary Bridget Davies played the role of Janis Joplin for both the touring and Broadway productions, receiving a Tony Award® nomination for Best Lead Actress in a Musical for her performance.
Janis Joplin’s sister, Laura Joplin, says A NIGHT WITH JANIS JOPLIN is a “full belted memory that drives joy into my heart and tears from my eyes” with The New York Times saying the show “rocks the house with a fervour that is riveting”.
A NIGHT WITH JANIS JOPLIN has a Book and direction by Randy Johnson, choreography by Patricia Wilcox (A NIGHT WITH JANIS JOPLIN – Broadway, Motown – Broadway, West End). Casting is by Anne Vosser.
Randy Johnson (creator, writer and director) made his Broadway debut as a playwright and director with Tony Award nominated musical A NIGHT WITH JANIS JOPLIN at the Lyceum Theatre. At the MGM Grand in Las Vegas and on Broadway at the Longacre Theatre, Randy directed and co-wrote The World Premiere of Mike Tyson – The Undisputed Truth, starring international sports legend Mike Tyson and directed and staged Carly Simon's return to the concert stage at The Apollo Theatre in New York. Randy also co- conceived and directed the now historic ELVIS THE CONCERT, which reunited Elvis’ original band, singers and musical director in a virtual interactive concert featuring Elvis. The show was an immediate hit, with sold out shows at Radio City Music Hall and arenas worldwide including Wembley and the O2 Arena. Other regional theatre credits include the world premieres of Jukebox Hero – The Foreigner Musical (Ed Mirvish Theatre, Toronto). He was honored twice by the NAACP for his direction on Shout Sister Shout – The Rosetta Tharpe Story (Pasadena Playhouse and Seattle Repertory Theatre).
Mary Bridget Davies is a distinguished American singer and actress who has made musical history with her powerhouse vocals and captivating performances. Davies’ accolades include the 2014 LA Outer Critic’s Circle Award and Theatre World Award, alongside a Helen Hayes Award nomination and numerous Blues Blast Award nominations. In 2019, Davies recorded her album Stay With Me: The Reimagined Songs of Jerry Ragovoy, the late legendary songwriter who co-wrote Joplin classics ‘Piece of my Heart’ and ‘Cry Baby’. Davies’ career has also included touring with Janis Joplin’s original band, Big Brother and the Holding Company, starring as Virginia Wolf in the developmental readings of A Room of One’s Own (54 Below and The Public Theatre’s Joe’s Pub), and Narrator in Joseph and The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (Beck Theatre). Currently, Davies is set to embark on the soon to be announced U.S. leg of her tour Don't Compromise Yourself.
A NIGHT WITH JANIS JOPLIN is produced by Michael Cohl, Tony Smith and the estate of Janis Joplin and Jeffrey Jampol for Jam, Inc, with UK General Management by MPSI Ltd.
Peacock Theatre
Peacock Theatre
Portugal Street, Kingsway
London
WC2A 2HT
The Peacock Theatre is a West End theatre in the City of Westminster, London, located in Portugal Street, near Aldwych. The 999-seat house is owned by, and comprises part of the London School of Economics and Political Science campus, who utilise the theatre for lectures, public talks, conferences, political speeches and open days. The university has a long lease with Sadler's Wells with whom it has negotiated a deal to bring in commercial companies under the banner "Sadler's Wells in the West End". The Peacock Theatre often plays host to dance performances, conferences, ballet, pop concerts and award ceremonies. The stage is approximately 36 feet (11 m) by 33 feet (10 m).
The Peacock Theatre, London: History
A theatre has stood on the site since the 17th century. Known as Gibbon's Tennis Court, or the Vere Street Theatre. Mrs Hughes became the first (identified) woman to tread the boards of a London theatre, on 8 December 1660, in a performance of Othello. The company left the theatre in 1663 and there is no record of further plays at the theatre. The building was finally destroyed by a fire in 1809.
At the beginning of the 20th century, the creation of Aldwych and Kingsway, linking High Holborn and Aldwych, destroyed a number of established London playhouses and the site between Portugal Street and Sardinia Street became available. Oscar Hammerstein II commissioned Bertie Crewe, to build a new theatre in the Beaux-Arts style. The theatre opened on 13 November 1911 as the London Opera House. It had an approximately 45 feet (13.7 m) by 78 feet (23.8 m) stage, and a capacity of 2,660. As an opera house, it found it difficult to attract audiences from the Royal Opera House, and from 1914–15 the house became the National Theatre of England.
The theatre was purchased by Oswald Stoll in 1916 and renamed the Stoll Theatre and, for a time, as the Stoll Picture Theatre, housing cine variety until the 1950s. Rose Marie played at the Stoll Theatre in 1942, followed by Kismet and Stars on Ice in 1947. The London transfer of a version of George Gershwin's Porgy and Bess that restored it to an operatic form, took place here on 9 October 1952. Joan of Arc at the Stake was produced in 1954, starring Ingrid Bergman. The theatre closed on 4 August 1957, and was demolished for the construction of an office block.
The Peacock Theatre: Current Building
The present, smaller theatre was built and christened The Royalty Theatre in 1960, located on the basement level of an office building. It was the first West End theatre to be built since the Saville Theatre in 1931. The MGM film Ben Hur played at the theatre in 1961. Mutiny on the Bounty played next, and the theatre was then equipped for screening Cinerama films becoming London's third Cinerama theatre (the others being the Casino Cinerama and the Coliseum Cinerama). The theatre only premièred one Cinerama film, The Golden Head, however. In 1966, the house returned to live theatre use. The Royalty Theatre's only successes were a run of the hit Calcutta and a hit production of Bubbling Brown Sugar in the late 1970s. Spectacular 'follies' style shows and 'drag' shows didn't find an audience, and the theatre became used as a TV studio for This is Your Life, but was later bought by the London School of Economics and renamed The Peacock Theatre.
When Sadler's Wells determined to build its new theatre in 1996, the company moved to the West End's Peacock Theatre. After the new Sadler's Wells Theatre opened in 1998, The Peacock became a dance venue for the company. The Rat Pack played at the theatre in 2002, and Doldrum Bay premièred here in 2003. The house is now shared between the London School of Economics (during the day) and Sadler's Wells evening dance productions.
The Peacock Theatre is most noted as the home of one of the West End's most unusual ghosts, a dolphin commonly known as 'Flipper'. An urban myth has grown that during one of Paul Raymond's revues at the theatre in the 1970s, a dolphin was kept in a tank beneath the stage, where it lived permanently and later died from neglect. In fact, this is not true. Indeed two dolphins 'Pennie' and 'Pixie' were kept in the theatre in a tank for three months for a show called 'The Royalty Folies' later renamed 'The Great International Nude Show'. However neither of these animals died whist at the theatre and at the close of the show the animals were moved to a dolphinarium in the far east. The remnants of the tank and its lifting equipment still remain below the stage and numerous visitors to the theatre claim to have heard a spectral squeaking, not unlike a crying baby when in the vicinity. One possible explanation is that the London Underground passes very close to the substage areas of the theatre and it is noise from the tunnels that creates the sound.
Travel by train: Charing Cross. Nearest tube: Holborn
