
Salad Days
Richmond Theatre
10th to 15th Sept 2018
“Having charmed audiences around the world with their award-winning Pirates of Penzance, H.M.S. Pinafore and The Mikado, Regan De Wynter Williams returns with one of Britain’s best-loved and sunniest musicals with TV and West End star Wendi Peters (Coronation Street, ITV; Hetty Feather, BBC; White Christmas, Dominion Theatre).
Julian Slade and Dorothy Reynolds’ musical is an absolute romp of polite naughtiness and saucy encounters, with an energetic and peppy score featuring songs such as ‘We Said We Wouldn’t Look Back’, ‘Look At Me, I’m Dancing’, and ‘We’re Looking For A Piano’. It puts a smile on your face and a tap in your toes.
Director Bryan Hodgson comments, I am thrilled to be able to stage Salad Days again this autumn – it serves as one of the greatest romps in musical theatre history, and really brings us a timeless sense of enjoyment and nonsense, which is always welcome in counteracting the sometimes overwhelming seriousness of today. With the fabulous Wendi Peters joining the cast too, it will simply be a fun and delightful evening out, and I cannot wait to get the magic piano and spaceship ready for its latest trip around the charming British countryside!
Written in 1952 as a summer musical for the Bristol Old Vic, Salad Days then transferred to the Vaudeville where it ran for 2,283 performances. Salad Days is a phrase first coined in
Shakespeare’s Anthony and Cleopatra, referring to Anthony’s youth; the show tells the light-hearted tale of recent graduates Timothy and Jane. Unhappy with their pushy parents, they decide to get jobs and take on the responsibility of looking after a piano in a park! Little are they prepared to deal with the magic and madness that follows.
It’s a show that famously inspired a seven-year-old Cameron Mackintosh to fall in love with the theatre, and this production made me realise why that might be (The Stage).”
Review by Max Bennett, 4 Stars
A crazy musical with many whitty one liners and a spectacle of non-stop dance and song!!!
The lighting was simplistic which worked very well with the set and the musicals crazy storyline! At times the lighting weren’t on their correct cues and the mics were mostly perfect apart from a couple lines straight after a song. Having said that, the costumes and props were handled very carefully and tactfully (especially in the hairdressers scene)!
Fun for all the family and utter madness from beginning to end!
Title Salad Days
Running time 2 hours 30 minutes (including interval)
Box Office Tickets are available from individual theatre box offices.
Twitter @saladdaysUK
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/SaladDaysUK/
Website http://www.rdww.co.uk/
Book and Lyrics Dorothy Reynolds and Julian Slade
Music Julian Slade
Director Bryan Hodgson
Choreographer Joanne McShane
Musical Director Elliot Styche
Costume and Set Designer Mike Lees
Lighting Designer Tim Deiling
Sound Design Tony Gayle Audio
Casting Director Adam Braham
Producer Regan De Wynter Williams
Lady Raeburn/Aunt Prue Wendi Peters
Timothy Mark Anderson
Jane Jessica Croll
Nigel James Gulliford
Fiona Francesca Pim
Rowena | Megan Armstrong | |
Timothy’s Father/Uncle Clam/Williams | Jon Osbaldeston | |
Inspector/Manager/Zed | Jay Worthy | |
Asphyxia | Maeve Byrne | |
Inspector Boot | Nathan Elwick | |
Ambrose/Tom/Fosdyke | Lewis McBean | |
Troppo | Callum Evans | |
Marguerite | Ashlee Young | |
Timothy’s Mother | Valerie Cutko | |
Tramp/Onstage MD | Dan Smith | |
Swing | Victoria Nicol | |
Swing | Bradley Judge | |
Performance dates | ||
5th – 8th September | Theatre Royal Brighton | |
New Road, Brighton BN1 1SD | ||
10th – 15th September | Richmond Theatre | |
Little Green, Richmond TW9 1QJ | ||
19th – 22nd September | Belgrade Theatre | |
Belgrade Square, Corporation St, Coventry CV1 1GS | ||
25th – 29th September | The Lowry, Salford | |
Pier 8, The Quays, Salford M50 3AZ | ||
2nd – 6th October | Malvern Theatre | |
Grange Road, Malvern WR14 3HB | ||
8th – 13th October | Theatre Royal Winchester | |
Jewry Street, Winchester SO23 8SB | ||
16th – 18th October | Pomegranate Theatre | |
Corporation St, Chesterfield S41 7TX | ||
22nd – 27th October | Salisbury Playhouse | |
Malthouse Lane, Salisbury SP2 7RA | ||
[3] |
30th October – 3rd November Northcott Theatre
Stocker Road, Exeter EX4 4QB
6th – 10th November Bridlington Spa
South Marine Drive, East Riding, Bridlington YO15 3JH
15th – 17th November Yvonne Arnaud Theatre
Millbrook, Guildford GU1 3UX
Wendi Peters
Wendi Peters has worked extensively on both stage and screen, but it was the iconic role of Cilla in Coronation Street which truly made her a household name. Her appearance led to her being asked on numerous programmes such as Celebrity Sewing Bee for Children In Need, Celebrity Mastermind, Keep it in the Family, The F Word with Gordon Ramsey, and Celebrity Masterchef, where she reached the finals. Wendi plays regular character Cook Jenkins in BBC’s Hetty Feather, and her other TV credits include Hacker Time, Sadie J, Crime Stories, and ‘Podger’ Pam Jolly in Bad Girls. Alongside her screen work, Wendi is in much demand as a stage actress with recent credits including Quartet (National Tour), State Fair (Cadogan Hall), Hatched ’n’
Dispatched (Park Theatre), Oh What a Lovely War! (National Tour) and White Christmas (Dominion Theatre).