THIS IS LONDON JUNE EDITION 2025 - Flipbook - Page 10
THE WHITE CHIP BY SEAN DANIELS
Despite spending more time drunk
than sober, Steven McAlister has
managed to graduate from college,
create an extremely successful theatre
group, get married, and thrive in a
dream job at one of the most prestigious
regional theatres in the United States.
Sure, it’s gratifying to go to an AA
meeting where they reward you with a
white chip token just for showing up, but
does he really have a problem?
Even with an ailing father, a marriage
on the rocks, and his professional life
careening out of control, Steven has a
carefully constructed balancing act that
keeps it all together – until it all falls
apart.
Told with humour, honesty, and
compassion, The White Chip is about
living with addiction and coming alive
through recovery. ‘A delicate equilibrium
between laugh-out-loud comedy and
gasp-inducing tragedy. Plays save lives
in all kinds of ways. I would bet that The
White Chip has, and will.’ – The New
York Times - Critics’ Pick.
The production is working closely
with Performing Recovery, the public
face of the Addiction Recovery Arts
Network, a non-profit organisation which
promotes, connects and shares creative
recovery practices thereby reducing the
stigma of addiction-recovery. A
percentage of every ticket sold will be
donated to Performing Recovery.
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The production is partnering with
Club Soda and sponsored by Everleaf,
with three of their delicious nonalcoholic spirits available throughout the
run. Alcohol-free drinks are a vital part
of creating an inclusive arts experience
and offering a delicious, adult alcoholfree option shows that choosing not to
drink isn’t a compromise – it can
actually make your night out even better!
There will also be weekly talk-backs
with some of the most influential people
in the recovery world.
The White Chip plays at Southwark
Playhouse from 9 July – 16 August.
southwarkplayhouse.co.uk/productions/t
he-white-chip/
FIDDLER ON THE ROOF
Following 13 nominations for this
year’s Olivier Awards, equalling the
record previously set in 2018, this
summer’s run of the critically acclaimed
production of Fiddler on the Roof at the
Barbican Theatre continues until 19 July.
The residency follows a triumphant soldout season at Regent’s Park Open Air
Theatre last year.
Reprising their Olivier nominated
starring roles are Adam Dannheisser
(nominated for Best Actor in a musical)
who plays Tevye, Lara Pulver (nominated
for Best Actress in a musical) who plays
Golde, and Beverley Klein (nominated
for Best Actress in a supporting role in a
musical) who plays Yente.
This must-see theatrical event of
2025 has also been nominated for a
further 10 Olivier Awards – Best Musical
Revival, Best Director, Best Set Design,
Best Costume Design, Best Lighting
Design, Best Theatre Choreographer,
Best Sound Design and Outstanding
Musical Contribution together with Best
Actor in a supporting role in a musical
and a second nomination for Best
Actress in a supporting role in a
musical.
Fiddler on the Roof is one of the
greatest musicals of all time with one of
the finest scores ever written featuring:
‘If I Were A Rich Man’, ‘Tradition’,
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‘Matchmaker’ and ‘Sunrise, Sunset’, this
classic musical of joy, revolution and
community is an exuberant celebration
of love and life.
This electrifying masterpiece is the
next in the series of great summer
musicals at the Barbican, as part of the
partnership between Trafalgar Theatre
Productions and the Barbican. This
follows the previous smash-hit summer
classic musical extravaganzas Anything
Goes, Kiss Me, Kate and the multiaward-winning new musical A Strange
Loop.
It’s 1905 in the tiny village of
Anatevka where Tevye, a Jewish
milkman, lives his life by their proud
traditions. For his five daughters, that
means a visit from the matchmaker. As
each daughter challenges his beliefs,
against the backdrop of a changing
world, can Tevye hold on to his roots, or
must he bend to the will of his children
and learn to embrace the unfamiliar?
The Barbican run will be followed by
a major five-month UK and Ireland tour
from 24 July until 6 December. This will
be the first UK tour of this classic
musical in over 12 years – offering
audiences around the UK and Ireland a
rare opportunity to see this musical
masterpiece in an acclaimed new
production, direct from the West End.
www.til.com
Photo: Marc Brenner
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