Comedian confirms return to Hastings for 2019 pantomime
Popular comedian Ben Watson will return to Hastings to star in this year’s White Rock Theatre pantomime. Ben will take to the stage as Wishee Washee in Aladdin, alongside Blue singing star Duncan James.
A stalwart of the White Rock pantomime for six years, Ben has starred in numerous productions in the town, including Cinderella, Dick Whittington, Sleeping Beauty and two productions of Peter Pan. This year’s show will see Ben playing Wishee Washee for the second time.
Having trained at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, Ben has forged a successful career outside the world of pantomime, having starred on stages across the country in I Capture the Castle and The Jungle Book on tour, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and The Comedy of Errors as part of the Cambridge Shakespeare Festival, Mrs Warren’s Profession at the Theatre Royal Bath directed by the late Sir Peter Hall and numerous productions at the Edinburgh Fringe.
He has also appeared in the musicals The Blues Brothers, Abba Mania and Carnaby Street in the UK and Japan.
His television credits include In the Mix, directed by renowned actor Denis Lawson, Heroes and Villains for the BBC, and numerous appearances on CBBC.
Ben also tours his own solo comedy show which he wrote, directs and stars; The History of Everything, where he contemplates life itself, blending his mix of musical and sketch comedy with cabaret, stand up and spoken word. Ben most recently brought the production to the White Rock in 2017, and has toured it across the UK.
Ben said: “I’m delighted to be coming back to the White Rock and to be back in panto this Christmas. Hastings has some of the best, and loudest, panto audiences in the world and I can’t wait to get back to them and make them laugh this Christmas.”
Executive producer Daryl Back said: “Ben is absolutely brilliant in pantomime, and I’m thrilled he’ll be coming home to Hastings this year. We’re already planning plenty of surprises to make this year’s White Rock panto the best yet, and with Duncan and Ben at the helm, audiences can be sure of a lamp load of magic this Christmas.”
Aladdin will be at the White Rock Theatre from Friday, December 13 to Sunday, December 29. Tickets are selling fast already. They are available to book now via whiterockthetare.org.uk and 01424 462288.
Denis Lawson will be making a rare U.S. appearance! All of you die hard Star Wars fans will remember him as Wedge Antilles from the original Star Wars trilogy. He can also be seen in BBC’s Bleak House and New Tricks. Denis has made very few appearances outside of Britain. For his complete filmography click here to visit his imdb profile. AUTOGRAPHS $65 Purchase Tickets HERE
The Star Wars franchise has a rich video game legacy, but sometimes it can be hard to track down all your favorite games from a galaxy far, far away. Well, EA is making it a little easier, as they’ve just added a dozen classic Star Wars shooters and action games to the Origin Access Vault, including the original Battlefront II, Republic Commando, Rogue Squadron, X-Wing Alliance, Episode I Racer, and more!
Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy – Your Jedi training begins as you seek to stop the Disciples of Ragnos. Customize your character, build your lightsaber, and protect the galaxy.
Star Wars: Battlefront II (Classic, 2005) – For the Republic! Fight for the elite 501st Legion and deploy onto classic battlefronts from across the stars.
Star Wars Republic Commando – Lead an elite squad of Republic Commandos in this first-person, single-player story set during the Clone Wars.
Star Wars: Rogue Squadron 3D – Take to the stars as you dogfight in your favorite starfighter against elite Imperial pilots.
Star Wars – Dark Forces – Go on a covert mission to stop the Empire from building a massive army in this first-person shooter.
Star Wars Shadows of the Empire – The reign of the Dark Prince Xizor begins in an adventure full of classic Star Wars locales and modes.
Star Wars X-Wing Alliance – Punch it! Give the Empire everything you’ve got in the Millennium Falcon and take on the second Death Star.
Star Wars Jedi Knight: Mysteries of the Sith – Guide Mara Jade through her apprenticeship as a Jedi Knight. Unlock new powers with the Force and protect the Rebel base from the dark side.
Star Wars Galactic Battlegrounds Saga – Lead real-time strategy battles in the Galactic Civil War and Clone Wars.
Star Wars Starfighter – Build an uneasy alliance in order to protect a peaceful planet. Deploy vast armies over land, sea, and sky to succeed.
Star Wars Episode I Racer – Race through unique worlds from the Star Wars galaxy, but watch out for methane lakes, meteor showers, and Tusken Raiders! Now, this is podracing!
Star Wars Rebellion – Vie for the support of over 200 worlds in this strategy game in order to command the galaxy as you see fit.
Some good stuff in there – I sure killed a lot of time with Episode 1 Racer and Rogue Squadron back in the day! Origin Access is EA’s PC subscription service — $5 a month, or $30 a year, gets you access to the Vault, which includes a selection of games from EA and other publishers.
In other Star Wars gaming news, EA has confirmed footage will of Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order will be shown at the EA Play event prior to E3 2019. Get more details here.
Plot: Joan Kepler is an intergalactic postal worker. She's top of her game, a senior deliverer in an industry that's been threatened by newer, faster technologies. Keeping Joan company on her endless missions is her ship, PAT 1. He's laconic, lazy and desperate to retire but remains deeply loyal. Together they've explored the outer edges of the galaxy, all the while preserving their 100% delivery record. But on this job, something's different. Three innocuous packages and a trip into uncharted space: it's nothing she hasn't handled before.
Country: UK Language: English
Box Office Budget:£30,000 (estimated) Company Credits Production Co: Doroflix
Hampstead Theatre has announced its next two productions and full casting for Wilderness.
The world premiere of Jude by Howard Brenton will be directed by Edward Hall. Jude will be the last production that Edward will direct during his tenure as Artistic Director of Hampstead.
Roy Williams' gripping play The Firm returns to Hampstead Downstairs following a sold out run in 2017 and will be directed by Denis Lawson.
Full casting for the world premiere of Kellie Smith's Wilderness at Hampstead Theatre Downstairs includes Richard Frame, Natalie Klamar, Allison McKenzie and Finlay Robertson.
'Jude will be the last production that I will direct for Hampstead before Roxana Silbert's first season in the Autumn. It has been a huge privilege to work with so many extraordinary people backstage and front during my time as Artistic Director, with writers such as Mike Bartlett, Martyna Majok, Beth Steel, Lauren Gunderson, Ryan Craig, Fiona Doyle and David Lindsay-Abaire to name but a few. But it is a particularly happy moment for me to be directing one of Howard Brenton's plays as my last. Howard has given us five plays during my time here, with Jude emerging from our Next Decade programme, a fund that will support new work well beyond my tenure. It feels somehow appropriate then to sign off on this incredible journey with the world premiere of a Hampstead Theatre Next Decade play from this brilliant and original playwright, an artist whose work lies at the very heart of the British theatre canon.'
'It wasn't just her freakish ability with language. She saw through to behind the words. It was like she had a direct line to - I was going to say to 'the gods''
Hampstead Theatre presents the world premiere of Howard Brenton's latest play Jude, directed by Edward Hall in his final production as Hampstead's Artistic Director. Loosely inspired by Thomas Hardy's novel Jude the Obscure, Jude is a modern day tale of unexpected genius and of our struggle to accommodate extraordinary talent.
About to be fired from her cleaning job for stealing a volume of Euripides, Jude turns her employer's outrage to shock by translating the ancient Greek on the spot. The employer, a Classics teacher, knows great talent when she sees it and the encounter kick-starts Jude's lifelong ambition to study at Oxford University. Entirely self-taught and possessing an astonishing gift for languages, Jude will stop at nothing to achieve her dream - but she remains oblivious to the hidden barriers that her background has placed in her path...
'I can't get out of bed without groaning or feel summin inside of me is creaking... We're too old for this shit'
Hampstead Downstairs presents Roy Williams' gripping play The Firm, a tale of growing up, lifelong loyalties and how sometimes, it is possible to choose your own family. Directed by Denis Lawson, The Firm returns to Hampstead Downstairs following a sold out run in 2017.
In a pub in South London 'The Firm' reunite for the first time in twelve years. Once they were a notorious criminal gang. Today, they're older, wiser and wistful - their lives changed beyond recognition.
But when an uninvited guest turns up to their reunion with an intriguing proposition and an explosive secret, they're tempted to try their hands at one last job... Will they escape their pasts unscathed?
Hampstead Downstairs / Celia Atkin Present WILDERNESS Written by Kellie Smith Directed by Anna Ledwich 21 March - 27 April 2019
'We can do better - can't we?'
Hampstead Theatre presents the world premiere of Kellie Smith's breakthrough play Wilderness. This searing exploration of unconditional love and of the personal sacrifices it demands will be directed by Anna Ledwich, which will be her eleventh Hampstead Theatre Production. The cast includes Richard Frame, Natalie Klamar, Allison McKenzie and Finlay Robertson.
Having both been deeply scarred by their own parents' separations, Joe and Anne never imagined they'd find themselves, years later, in the same position. Determined to place the interests of their son Alistair at the centre of their lives apart, they split with the firm objective of maintaining amicable relations at all costs. But a sudden change in circumstance triggers a chain of events that pushes their best intentions to the limit... Before they know it, they are both teetering dangerously close to the edge of an abyss.
