December 2006

TENNESSEE WILLIAMS REVIVAL HEADS TO THE WEST END IN EARLY 2007!

A Bill Kenwright Production,

Tennessee Williams Revival Heads
To the West End in Early 2007!

Jessica Lange is set to return to London in
a new production of Tennessee Williams’ classic
‘The Glass Menagerie’

Two-time Academy Award Winner Jessica Lange is to return to the West End stage in a new production of Tennessee Williams’ masterpiece ‘The Glass Menagerie’.

This Strictly Limited Season will be presented by Bill Kenwright at the Apollo Theatre on Shaftesbury Avenue with reduced price previews from 31 January, and opening night on 13 February.

Winner of the New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Play, ‘The Glass Menagerie’ premiered on Broadway in 1945 and was the playwright's first great success.

Set in St. Louis in the 1930's, this memory play tells the story of the Wingfield family - Tom, who is torn between his obligation to his family and his desire to break away, his overbearing mother Amanda, and his frail sister Laura, whose memory he cannot escape.

Hollywood star Jessica Lange has become a film icon thanks to the classic and controversial characters she has portrayed over the years. Most recently she has appeared in hit films such as ‘Neverwas’, Tim Burton’s ‘Big Fish’ and ‘Don’t Come Knocking’, written and directed by her actor/playwright husband, Sam Shepard. She also starred in such critically acclaimed films as ‘Tootsie’ (winning Best Supporting Actress Academy Award and Golden Globe), ‘The Postman Always Rings Twice’, ‘Frances’, ‘Music Box’ and ‘Blue Sky’ (winning Best Actress Academy Award and Golden Globe) to name a few. She has been nominated for a total of seven Academy Awards.

Jessica is no stranger to the West End stage. She appeared in the Broadway transfer of another Williams classic, ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’, in 1996, playing Blanche Du Bois. In November 2000 Jessica returned to London in Eugene O’Neill’s ‘Long Day’s Journey Into Night’, which earned her an Olivier nomination.

Rupert Goold directs. Recent successes include directing Patrick Stewart in the RSC’s production of ‘The Tempest’. Rupert is currently Artistic Director of Headlong, the former Oxford Stage Company. Before that Rupert was the AD at Northampton Theatres where he was responsible for their recent productions of ‘Faustus’ and ‘Hamlet’. He also directed Pete Postlethwaite in ‘Scaramouch Jones’, which enjoyed international acclaim on its world tour, and has worked with the RSC, Salisbury Playhouse and with Sam Mendes at the Donmar Warehouse.

The Glass Menagerie Listings
Apollo Theatre, Shaftesbury Avenue, London, SW1

On Sale From: Friday 15th December 2006
First Preview: Wednesday 31st January 2007
Booking until: Saturday 19th May (strictly limited 16 wk season)Press night: Tuesday 13th February 7pm
Box Office 0870 890 1101, 0870 040 0080 (Booking fee)

Performances: Mon – Sat at 8.00pm
Matinees: Wed at 3.00pm & Sat at 4.00pm

Running Time: 2hrs 20mins (inc. one interval)

Tickets: £49.50, £39.50, £29.50, £19.50

Previews: £10 off top three price tickets

Latecomers Admitted at a suitable break in the performance

NB No booking fee or transaction charge for tickets booked in person at the Box Office

For further information, please contact Borkowski PR - 0207 404 3000:

Giles Cooper, Tel: 07917 167 809, giles@borkowski.co.uk

Amy Barder, Tel: 07917 167 786, amy@borkowski.co.uk

SONYA ’THE BLACK WIDOW’ THOMAS SCOFFS A MASSIVE 46 MINCE PIES TO SET A WORLD RECORD!

WOOKEY HOLE – THE BIG EAT – RESULTS 29/11/2006

Name/Occupation/Town/Pies Consumed

Sonya “The Black Widow” Thomas 46
Shane Bridle – Sign Maker, Somerset 15
A. D. Tree Pirate 13 1/2
Gary Harrison - Chef, Wells 13
Simon Davies - Wells Town Mayor 10
Roberto Mendez - Brazil 10
Terry Harrison - Chef, Wells 9
Nick Francis – The Sun, London 9
“Fat Kenny” – Circus Director, Devon 8
Paris Troy – GWR Radio, Bristol 7.5
Jayne Fryer – The Daily Mail, London 7
Andy Bush – DJ, Bristol 7
Mattie Andrew – Chef, Wellls 6
Ellie West – Wildlife Worker, Somerset 5
Lisa Knights – South West Tonight 1

Always a step ahead, this year once again Christmas Starts Early when WOOKEY HOLE CAVES in association with The International Federation of Competitive Eating (IFOCE) presents?:

THE WOOKEY HOLE BIG EAT

Wednesday November 29th 2006 at 12 noon

FIRST PRIZE: ONE THOUSAND POUNDS!
2ND: £500 3RD: £250

Featuring, from the USA, Sonya "The Black Widow" Thomas, champion “gurgitator” & Hot-Dog Eater Extraordinaire

On your plates…Get Set…EAT!

Announcing the first official competitive eating contest to be held in the UK under the jurisdiction and strict regulations of the United States of America’s governing body of professional Stuffing Your Face, IFOCE (The International Federation of Competitive Eating). IFOCE organises hundreds of Competitive Eating events around the world every year, with top participants earning thousands of dollars from speed-eating their way through piles of prawns, heaps of hot dogs, towering infernos of toasted sandwiches and any other fast food they can get their jaws around.

Professional ‘gurgitators’ (their word, not ours) don’t throw up, they’re not necessarily large people, and they don’t seem to find anything weird about it, but all they do is eat, eat, eat. And now your favourite entertainment venue in the West of England, Wookey Hole Caves, is inviting you to witness Britain’s first officially sanctioned contest in the IFOCE league.

Now, to ring the changes, and because this IS Great Britain, we’ve chosen a seasonal variation on the American Fast Food version, because the “weapon of choice” in this contest will be that superb all-rounder-with-sugar-on-top, the Great British Mince Pie.

The West Country will have never seen anything like it, as 12 handpicked competitors, professionals and members of the public alike, will attempt to eat as many mince pies as possible in the space of 10 minutes. Think of the pastry, think of the flour, think of the yummy filling you’ve usually had enough of after one-and-a-half maybe two and a Christmas cracker. Just how many pies will this lot be devouring?

MEET A REIGNING EATING CHAMPION FROM THE USA

For our special guest Sonya Thomas, for instance, who’s at 36 is a top-ranked American competitive eater from Virginia, it could run to scores. The 105-pound Thomas is the World Female No 1 competitive eater, and ranked third in the in the United States, with 27 world titles. Her nickname, "The Black Widow", refers to her astonishing ability to defeat men four to five times her size on a regular basis. While the size of her stomach is only slightly larger than normal, her skinny build is her biggest advantage, allowing her stomach to expand more readily, lacking the ring of fat common in other heavy eaters.

Sonya, paying her first visit to Wookey Hole Caves, holds records in over 25 eating competitions, Her most famous result? 37 hot dogs in 12 minutes (July 4, 2005 at Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest), setting a record for American competitors. On August 8, 2005, she consumed 35 bratwursts in 10 minutes, beating the previous 10-minute record of 19.5 bratwursts.

In 2005 Thomas earned more than $50,000 in prize money. She intends to continue eating competitively until she either loses her desire, or falls out of the ranks of the elite eaters, or simply explodes.

SO JOIN US AT WOOKEY HOLE ON NOVEMBER 29th FOR THE START OF
SERIOUS PROFESSIONAL COMPETITIVE EATING IN THE UNITED KINGDOM

If you would like to join as an eater please go to www.wookey.co.uk/bigeat

The Big Eat is the start of the festive fun at Wookey Hole with ‘Santaland’ opening every weekend from Sat 25th Nov, then every day from Mon 18th to Sun 24th Dec.

And now the small print:
The International Federation of Competitive Eating Inc. supervises and regulates eating contests in their various forms throughout the world. The IFOCE helps to ensure that the sport remains safe, while also seeking to achieve objectives consistent with the public interest -- namely, creating an environment in which fans may enjoy the display of competitive eating skill.

The IFOCE coordinates members and affiliates in the United States, Japan, England, Germany, Canada, Ireland, Thailand and the Ukraine, helping to promote the sport in local, national and international media.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION (and a free mince pie) PLEASE CONTACT…
Gerry Junior at BORKOWSKI on 020 7492 0617 / 020 7404 3000
or email gerry@borkowski.co.uk