THIS IS LONDON OCTOBER EDITION 2025 - Flipbook - Page 24
Having Hackney gold Kat B and George
Heyworth on board as our Ugly Sisters,
alongside our esteemed Patron and
Director for this year Clive Rowe, means
we're guaranteed to bring you all another
joyous pantomime in Hackney this
festive season.’
Tickets for all performances are on
sale now at www.hackneyempire.co.uk
24
Photo: Perou
THIS YEAR’S PANTOMIME AT
HACKNEY EMPIRE – CINDERELLA
Following the success of 2024’s
pantomime, Dick Whittington and his
Cat, Hackney Empire is to present the
2025 pantomime Cinderella, playing
from 22 November – 31 December.
Cinderella dreams of a life full of love
and adventure, and free from the clutches
of her wicked Ugly Sisters and evil
Stepmother. When an invitation to the
party of the year arrives, it might be just
the ticket she needs. Throw in some
glass slippers, a fairy godmother, and a
little sparkle of magic and you’ve got
yourself a pantomime that’s guaranteed
to be the perfect fit.
Directed by Clive Rowe, this classic
rags to riches tale will come to life in
Hackney, featuring all the favourite
pantomime ingredients. From an
impressive cast to extravagant costumes,
from audience participation to
sensational song and dance numbers,
make sure you book your tickets before
the clock strikes twelve!
Jo Hemmant, Executive Director at
Hackney Empire said: ‘Cinderella will be
the final pantomime I'm producing as
Executive Director at Hackney Empire.
ROAM THE MUSICAL
ROAM, a new musical directed
by Rupert Hands (Dirty Rotten
Scoundrels; Evita, London Palladium)
with choreography by Olivier Award
winner James Cousins (Guys and Dolls;
A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Bridge
Theatre), will perform a special onenight only concert production at the
Shaftesbury Theatre on 23 November.
Featuring a high-voltage rock-popRomani fusion score, ROAM features
music and lyrics by Alexander Sage
Oyen with a book by Michael Dovid and
is based on his original concept.
Rupert Hands says: ‘We’re so excited
to be premiering this brand-new musical
in the West End with this extraordinary
cast and team. ROAM is the journey of a
lifetime, full of soaring songs by
Alexander Sage Oyen performed by
some of the most stratospheric voices
from Broadway and the West End. It’s a
story of love, family, and legacy in a
totally original, funny, timely, and
powerful script by Michael Dovid. We
can’t wait to share it with London
audiences.’
STICK MAN PUTS DOWN ROOTS IN
LONDON THIS CHRISTMAS
Based on the book by Julia
Donaldson with illustrations by Axel
Scheffler, perennial festive favourite
Stick Man will play in two UK cities
simultaneously this Christmas, with one
production returning to its new London
home, the Bloomsbury Theatre, from
4 December to 4 January and another at
the Leeds Playhouse, from 6 December
to 4 January. A third production of Stick
Man embarked on a UK tour this autumn.
What starts off as a morning jog
becomes quite the misadventure for Stick
Man: a dog wants to play fetch with him,
a swan builds a nest with him, and he
even ends up on a fire! How will Stick
Man ever get back to the family tree in
time for Christmas?
This much-loved adaptation from
Freckle Productions, the team behind
Zog and Zog and the Flying Doctors,
features a trio of top actors and is packed
full of puppetry, songs, live music and
funky moves.
Julia Donaldson is the multi awardwinning author of some of the world's
best loved children's books including
The Gruffalo and Zog. She is best known
for her popular rhyming stories for
children, especially those illustrated by
Axel Scheffler, which have sold over
75 million copies and have been
published in over 100 languages.
Stick Man is a perennial bestseller
and has been translated into 23
languages. In 2015, Magic Light Pictures
premiered the animated film of Stick Man
with an all-star cast including Martin
Freeman, Jennifer Saunders and Hugh
Bonneville.
Executive producer Jennifer
Sutherland said: ‘Every Christmas,
families make Stick Man part of their
festive tradition. We’re thrilled to bring
his adventures to life again this year,
with productions all over the UK. It’s
magical to introduce new generations of
children to Julia Donaldson and Axel
Scheffler’s world.’
Ramin Karimloo will perform in ROAM.
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