COMING HOME: Aisha Jawando, soon to return to the starring role in Tina - The Tina Turner Musical at the Aldwych Theatre

Pocket Size Theatre and Liza Heinrichs (Captured by Liz) have teamed up again and created our new series 'Coming Home'. In this new piece, we look at the reopening of Theatres in London and around the country and celebrate our industry coming back. We got together some performers who will be some of the first to return to theatres and created this piece to bring some positivity to the theatre industry which has been through one of the toughest years in our lifetime. Whilst it is important to acknowledge the hardships we've all gone through, it's important we pull together as a community and celebrate our beloved industry finally coming back! 

If you haven’t heard of her already, you will very soon. Aisha Jawando will be starring in the title role in Tina - The Tina Turner Musical at the Aldwych Theatre when it reopens on the 28th July 2021. Aisha has been playing the lead role of Tina since October 2019 but before that was the alternate to the role. Prior to this, she was part of the original West End company playing the role of Tina's sister, Alline Bullock. Tina Turner is a producer herself on the show so not only does Aisha have the pressure of winning over audiences (she already has, she is wonderful in the part!). She has to also get approval from the boss lady herself. When asked about Aisha, Tina Turner said “It has been special to watch her journey with us and see the development of her extraordinary talent.”  

Prior to performing in Tina - The Tina Turner Musical, Aisha played the title role in Cinderella at the Hackney Empire, played Pilar in Legally Blonde for the Curve in Monaco, played Carmen in The Life at the Southwark Playhouse, was featured in the original casts of both Motown and Beautiful: The Carole King Musical in the West End, was a Swing and understudied Nabulungi in The Book of Mormon at the Prince of Wales Theatre, played an Ikette in Soul Sister on tour around the UK and at the Savoy Theatre, was in the ensemble of the Lion King at the Lyceum Theatre and was in the original London cast of Fela! at the National Theatre. 

Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies extend until 4 October 2014

Due to overwhelming success, Playful Productions and the Royal Shakespeare Company are thrilled to announce that Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies will extend by four weeks. The productions will now play at the Aldwych Theatre until 4 October 2014. Tickets for the extension go on public sale today.

Hilary Mantel’s enormously popular books have been adapted for the stage in two parts by Mike Poulton. The adaptations were commissioned by Playful Productions and brought to the stage by the RSC, working in collaboration with Playful. Directed by Jeremy Herrin, the productions have met with universal acclaim since premiering at the Swan Theatre in Stratford–upon-Avon and transferring into the West End.

FIRST LOOK: Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies at the Aldwych Theatre

On Saturday 17thMay, Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies celebrated their opening night at the Aldwych Theatre, London WC2. After the performance, creative team, cast and guests headed to The Royal Horseguards in Whitehall for a party.


Following a sell-out run at the RSC’s Swan Theatre, Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies open at the Aldwych Theatre. This is the first time Hilary Mantel’s enormously popular books have been adapted for the stage. Adapted by Mike Poulton and directed by Jeremy Herrin, the two plays tell the compelling story of the political rise to power of Thomas Cromwell from blacksmith’s boy to Henry VIII’s right hand man.

Top Hat the Musical: Theatre Review

Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers created the roles of Jerry Travers and Dale Tremont in the 1935 film of Top Hat, that one sentence would make anyone think ‘why hasn’t this been made into a musical sooner?!’. But in late 2011 the musical premiered at the Milton Keynes Theatre before embarking on a UK Tour and after that the show transferred to the Aldwych Theatre in London’s West End in April 2012. The show opened with Tom Chambers and Summer Strallen in the lead roles (With Charlotte Gooch taking over Strallen in November 2012) and since opening it has an almost entire new cast.
I've never seen the movie before nor do I know anything about the plot so going along to see this musical was pretty exciting for me. Jerry Travers (Gavin Lee) is a Broadway star and comes over to London to open a new show. Whilst there he stays with Horace Hardwick (Clive Hayward) who is producing the show, whilst in their hotel he awakes Dale Tremont (Kristen Beth Williams) who is staying below them and Jerry instantly falls in love with her, however she mistakes him for Horace who is her friend Madge’s new husband so she gets very disturbed when she realises this because they’ve basically fallen in love. They all go (separately) to Italy where Dale confronts Madge about this and after lots of tap dancing and plenty of scene changes the whole thing gets resolved.