Simon Callow is bringing his one-man show, Being Shakespeare, back to London in March, for a strictly limited run. He’ll be at the Trafalgar Studios from 7 to 31 March, bringing a multitude of the bard’s most famous creations to life. It’ll be the perfect warm-up for the World Shakespeare Festival which kicks off the following month.

Another March date for your diaries is Thursday 15, when Complicite and Simon McBurney return to the Barbican (following the success of Shun-Kin and A Disappearing Number) with a new English adaptation of Master and Margarita. It’s a stage adaptation of Mikhail Bulgakov’s rich magical realist novel about the struggle between evil and compassion. I’m a big fan of Complicite’s work, so I’m really looking forward to seeing this one.

Finally, the Reduced Shakespeare Company are back for in London in 2012, bringing The Complete World of Sports (abridged) to the Arts Theatre for a six-week run from 18 July to 25 August, to coincide with the London 2012 Olympic Games. The show’s described as “every sport even played on every continent in the entire history of the world in under two hours!”. It’s a clever idea from clever boys, and I wish them luck!

London Casting News

• One of my favourite actors, Jill Halfpenny, is returning to London, to play Beverly in Abigail’s Party at the Menier Chocolate Factory from 2 March
• Another great British star, Tara Fitzgerald, will appear opposite Ben Chaplin and Jemma Redgrave in Farewell To The Theatre at the Hampstead Theatre from 1 March
• Stand-up comic and actor Ardal O’Hanlon is playing the lead in a new production of Port Authority at the Southwark Playhouse from 24 January
• Finally, I’ve got details of the lucky ladies playing alongside Zach Braff in All New People at the Duke of York’s Theatre from February. Both Eve Myles and Susannah Fielding have previously worked with the RSC, and both have strong sci-fi links: Myles plays Gwen in Torchwood; Fielding has appeared in Doctor Who. I wish them both well with their return to theatre

More next week…

Sheridan Smith is very, very excited. “Parts like this don’t often come along,” she told an eager audience at the launch of Legally Blonde the Musical, at London’s fabulous Café De Paris on Leicester Square. 

Smith is about to start rehearsals for the lead role of Elle Woods in the forthcoming musical.

A huge, eager audience was served champagne and canapés as sparkly as the venue, while listening to various people behind and in the forthcoming show telling us what to expect come Christmas time. (Legally Blonde starts previews on 5 December.)

First, Legally Blonde’s feisty producer, Sonia Friedman, talked about falling in love with the show while it was still in previews on Broadway; and how, despite having a background based more in dramas and revivals, she begged the creative team to let her bring this musical to London.

Director and choreographer Jerry Mitchell (the guy behind Hairspray The Musical) then appeared via video from Las Vegas(!) to tell us how excited he is to be working with such a top British cast, including Sheridan Smith and Peter “Davidson”.

Peter Davison then appeared on stage to correct Mr Mitchell’s pronunciation, and tell us he’s “thrilled to be doing this show. It’s astonishing to think that I’m a musical star now, after doing Chicago in 1999 and later doing Spamalot.” Davison stars at Professor Callahan. Self-deprecating Davison gave us an anecdote about his younger self wandering around musical auditions with his guitar, singing Beatles and Bowie songs with limited success. He also paid tribute to the “enormously talented cast, who I get to be very rude to every single night.

“Which is great, because I’ve spent most of my career being hopelessly nice to people.”

After seeing another pair of stars from the show via video link (Duncan James – playing Warner – who guaranteed men will enjoy this show as much as women; and Sheridan Smith, who’s “so chuffed” about getting the part of Elle), we were treated to a medley of sparky songs from the show, performed with tantalising talent on the tiny Café de Paris stage.

Once we were attuned to the American accents, it became clear these are songs that’ll stick in your head and put a smile on your face. Kudos to the girls who managed to skip and dance at the same time in Whipped Into Shape (Aoife Mulholland as Brooke), and to the whole company for putting on a great showcase just a couple of days into rehearsals.

Jill Halfpenny shone the moment she stepped on stage as Paulette. She really has such star quality. And we were pleasantly surprised by Sheridan Smith’s performance. She’s got a mellow, alto singing voice, and while her brilliant acting is perhaps yet to be matched by her singing, we’re sure she’s going to be great come December. She told Official London Theatre:

“I’ve had to have some singing lessons and I’m having a personal trainer, because I am the laziest person and get a stitch walking to the car, so this is quite a big ask for me.

“But it’s good, the director’s brilliant, very strict, so he’s getting my ass in shape. It’s great to have something to work towards and challenge yourself.

“Most leading ladies in musicals are sopranos… but this one particular part was the only one I could get away with, so I’m just going to give it my all every night and just enjoy every minute.” (Read the full report on Official London Theatre.)

She’s starting to sound like the fantastically positive Elle already!

We returned to the office carrying our Legally Blonde goody bags with pride (loving the nailfile and benefit make-up treats) and started counting down the days until this bright pink, sparkly, positive show arrives to perk up the West End.

Book your Legally Blonde tickets now!

Exciting theatre news in the VL “postbag” this morning…

Doctor Who star Peter Davison, and Strictly Come Dancing ’04 winner Jill Halfpenny are to join the cast of Legally Blonde The Musical at London’s Savoy Theatre this December.

The pair join stars Sheridan Smith, Duncan James, Alex Gaumond, Aoife Mullholland and Susan McFadden in what’s sure to be one of the biggest new musicals in London’s West End this season.

Legally Blonde is the story of beautiful, popular, fashion-crazy homecoming queen Elle (Sheridan Smith). When her boyfriend (Duncan James) dumps her for someone more serious, Elle puts down her designer shopping bags and heads to Harvard Law School.

Peter Davison will play Callahan, Elle’s Harvard lecturer. Peter is best known for being the fifth incarnation of Doctor Who – the one who wore celery on his lapel. Peter’s other TV credits include Tristan Farnon in the BBC’s All Creatures Great and Small, and DC Davies in ITV’s The Last Detective.

His stage credits include playing King Arthur in Monty Python’s Spamalot, as well as roles in Chicago, An Absolute Turkey at the Globe Theatre (now the Gielgud) and Arsenic and Old Lace for Chichester Festival Theatre.

Jill Halfpenny will play beautician Paulette. Jill first appeared on TV in Children’s BBC show Byker Grove. Since then she’s appeared in EastEnders, Waterloo Road, Dalziel and Pascoe, Coronation Street, Peak Practice, Heartbeat, Birds of a Feather, Shameless and The Catherine Tate Show. 

Jill’s currently appearing in the West End production of Calendar Girls. Her other theatre credits include Uncle Vanya at the Birmingham Rep, The Bodies at the Live Theatre, Newcastle and Chicago at the Adelphi Theatre.  

If you’re as excited as we are about this Tony-award winning musical hitting London’s West End from Broadway, then book your tickets now!