Brief Encounter isn’t going to be quite as brief as it was first thought, as it’s been extended until Sunday November 16th at the Cinema Haymarket. Then in February 2009 the show will go on a UK wide tour.

David Pugh, producer of the theatre show, stated he was:

…delighted and amazed at the astounding success of the Kneehigh production of Brief Encounter. It was a daunting and some people said plain silly idea to adapt one of London’s oldest cinemas back into a theatre, but it has proved to be a most inspired and exciting achievement. What started as a 12-week run has been extended and extended, which means the Kneehigh Theatre Company will have played over 350 performances, and they are now due a well-earned rest before the UK tour opens on 13 February 2009 at the Royal Theatre, Northampton.

Brief Encounter opened on February 17th this year and promised to bring back some of that ‘silver screen’ magic from the golden age of Hollywood, right to the theatre stage.

Brief Encounter is directed by Emma Rice and blends the 1945 classic movie with the play ‘Still Life’. Constantly switching between theatre play and movie the play keeps the audience on edge.

If you haven’t seen Brief Encounter yet you now have until November 16th to purchase your theatre tickets and go along to the Cinema Haymarket.

Bollywood is a multi-billion pound industry, making more money that its namesake Hollywood, however outside of India it’s not particularly well received. It’s loud, colourful and extremely infectious, and it’s coming to London’s West End for one night only.

Bharati will be showing at London’s Hammersmith Apollo. Bharati has already played across Europe to some excellent reviews, and will hit the nation’s capital to brighten up theatreland on October 23rd.

Typically any story that does well outside of India, Bharati has a western influence. It tells the story of man named Siddharth who was raised in the USA, and as such has lost any respect for his native India.

Together with the audience Siddharth is reintroduced to his homeland and his culture with the help of a beautiful woman named Bharati.

As with all Bollywood productions, Bharati is a musical extravaganza with dancers and acrobats. It features 700 different colourful costumes, 50 musicians and 14 different song and dance numbers.

If you like your musical theatre bright, cheery and colourful, you’ll want to get some theatre tickets for Bharati on October 23rd.

Radio Golf is the latest in a line of 10 productions that documents African-American culture in the 20th Century, and it opens at the Tricycle theatre in London on October 2nd. Radio Golf marks the last of the plays in August Wilson’s saga, and focuses on the 1990’s. Each of the ten plays are set in one decade of the last Century.

The production of Radio Golf is set in the US city of Pittsburgh during the nineties at a period when Tiger Woods is in his peak.

Joseph Marcell and Danny Sapani, stalwarts of the London theatre scene, are to take the lead in Radio Golf. The play focuses on the character of Harmond Wilks, who is a successful business man and property developer with ambitions of becoming the mayor. However some poor judgement calls lead Wilks to revaluate his road to success.

Joseph Marcell is a West End regular, though is probably best known for his role as Geoffrey in the Will Smith comedy series The Fresh Prince of Bel Air.

The play opens on October 2nd and runs for one month, until November 1st.

Trafalgar Studio 2 has unveiled its autumn line-up, which features the Oscar nominated Sarah Miles in Lisa Kron’s “Well”. Sarah was nominated for an Oscar for her role in the film Ryan’s Daughter, in 1970. “Well” opens on September 4th and runs until September 27th. Sarah is joined in the production by Natalie Casey, whose TV work includes “Hollyoaks” and sitcom “Two Pints Of Lager And A Packet Of Crisps”.

Other productions appearing at Trafalgar Studio 2 include the teen comedy “SH*T-M*X”, which was nominated for a Tony award, and marks the play’s European debut. SH*T-M*X opens on September 30th and runs up until October 25th.

SH*T-M*X is followed by “Perfect Pitch”, which is a short run of six separate plays by the best of the upcoming British musical theatre talent. Perfect Pitch opens on November 25th and finishes on November 29th.

The autumn line-up concludes with “Potted Potter”, which runs throughout December from December 1st until January 3rd 2009. The show is the perfect children’s production and features a retelling of the entire Harry Potter franchise in just seventy minutes.

Peter Polycarpou

Peter Polycarpou is to play the lead in “Imagine This” at the New London Theatre in November. Peter is more famous for his TV work than his West End performances, particularly in the BBC sitcom “Birds of a Feather” as “Chris Theodopolopodous”.

Peter joins fellow cast members Gary Milner, Steven Serlin, Simon Gleeson, Bernard Lloyd, Leila Benn-Harris, Richard Cotton, Michael Matus, Sevan Stephan, Sarah Ingram and Cameron Leigh.

As well has TV work, Peter has also played many West End roles, including the lead in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “The Phantom Of The Opera” and in “Les Misérables”. Peter plays the lead role of “Warshowsky” in “Imagine This”.

Leila Benn-Harris plays Rebecca , the daughter of Warshowsky, and his herself an accomplished West End performer in London’s Theatre. She starred in Phantom herself where she played the role of Christine, and has also performed in Fame and Evita.

Imagine This is set during the second world war in Poland, and is a challenging production playing against the backdrop of the Holocaust. It focuses on a group of actors who perform plays in the Ghetto in order to inspire a ray of optimism in the community.

Imagine This is scheduled to debut at the New London theatre in November, on the 19th. Previews for the show begin on November 4th.

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