A Week In The West End

A Week In The West End

Louise Gold appeared as herself, the actress playing Tanya in Mamma Mia , (Recorded 31 December 2000, 28 January 2001, 18 December 2001, 27 December 2001, & 15 December 2001 – According to the BBC Programme Catalogue) , Broadcast on BBC 2 on 11 to 15 (especially the 12, and also the 13) February 2002

Presented By

Claire Sweeney

Alistair Appleton

Appearances By... Featuring

Pippa Aillion (Casting Director, currently working on a tour of Disney’s Beauty And The Beast)

Nancy Anderson (actress, currently appearing in Kiss Me Kate as Lois Lane/Bianca)

Richard Attenborough (actor)

Michael Ball (actor, about to appear in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, as Caractacus)

Brent Barrett (actor, currently appearing in Kiss Me Kate, as Fred Graham/Petruchio)

Michael Berresse (actor, currently appearing in Kiss Me Kate, as Bill Calhoun/Lucentio)

Brian Blessed (actor, about to appear in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, as Baron Bomburst)

Alfred Boe (Opera Singer, currently appearing at the ROH)

Lez Brotherson (Designer, designed My One And Only)

Darcy Bussell (Ballet dancer, just returned to the ROH)

Paul Christ (Musical Director, currently working on Disney’s Beauty And The Beast)

Elizabeth Cooper-Gee (actress/dancer, currently appearing in Chicago, as a Swing)

Judy Craymer (Producer, produced on Mamma Mia)

Stephen Daldry (Director, directing An Inspector Calls)

Jason Danieley (actor, about to appear in The Full Monty, as Malcolm)

Jack Davenport (actor, about to appear in Lady Winderemere’s Fan)

Janie Dee (actress, about to appear in My One And Only)

Rob Edwards (performer, currently appearing in The Lion King, as Scar)

Philip Effemey (Company Stage Manager, currently working on Mamma Mia)

Richard Eyre (Director, former Artistic Director of The National Theatre)

Tim Flavin (actor, about to appear in My One And Only)

Mark Fox (Theatre archivist)

Louise Gold (actress, currently appearing in Mamma Mia, as Tanya)

Linda Gray (actress, about to appear in The Graduate)

Sir Peter Hall (Director, directing Lady Windermere’s Fan & former Artistic Director of The National Theatre)

Ruthie Henshall (actress)

Robert Herfield (Director, directed The Woman In Black)

Ian Hughes (performer, currently appearing in The Lion King, as Timon)

Loveday Ingram (Director, directed My One And Only)

Catherine Johnson (Writer, wrote book for Mamma Mia)

Penelope Keith (actress, currently appearing in Star Quality)

Dervla Kirwn (actress, about to appear in Dangerous Corner)

Johan Kolborg (Ballet Dancer, currently appearing at the ROH)

Lindsay Law (Producer, produced The Full Monty)

Phyllida Lloyd (Director, directed Mamma Mia)

Andrew Lloyd-Webber (Composer, wrote score for: Cats, and, Phantom Of The Opera)

Martin Lowe (Musical Director, MD’d The Full Monty)

Cameron Mackintosh (Producer)

Ian MacNeil (Designer, designed the set for An Inspector Calls)

Marin Mazzie (actress, currently appearing in Kiss Me Kate, as Lilli Vanessi/Kate)

Lesley Nicol (actress, currently appearing in Mamma Mia, as Rosie)

Trevor Nunn (Director, Artistic Director of The National Theatre)

Richard O’Brien (actor, about to appear in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, as The Childcatcher)

John Owen-Jones (actor, currently appearing in The Phantom Of The Opera, as The Phantom)

Rupert Penry-Jones (actor, about to appear in Dangerous Corner)

Odette Perdrisat (actress/dancer, currently appearing in Chicago, as a swing & understudying Mama Morton)

Louise Plowright (actress, currently appearing in Mamma Mia, as Donna Sheridan)

Rachel Pressland (actress/dancer, currently appearing in Chicago, as a Swing)

Jonathan Pryce (actor, currently appearing in My Fair Lady as Henry Higgins

Vanessa Redgrave (actress, about to appear in Lady Windermere’s Fan, as The Mother)

Joanna Riding (actress, currently appearing in My Fair Lady, as Eliza Dolittle)

Patrick Robinson (actor, about to appear in Dangerous Corner)

Anton Rogers (actor, about to appear in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, as Grandpa)

Tamara Rojo (Ballet Dancer, currently appearing at the ROH)

Jean Scott (actress, cast member from the original London production of My Fair Lady)

Sam Shepard (actor, currently appearing in Art)

Steve John Shepard (actor, about to appear in Dangerous Corner)

Sheila Sim (actress)

Petra Solosinwi (Resident Director, on Kiss Me Kate)

Judy Taymour (director, directed The Lion King)

Bryn Terfel (Opera Singer, currently appearing at ROH)

Bjorn Ulvaeus (Songwriter, wrote score for Mamma Mia)

Jenny Walton (actress, cast member from the original London production of My Fair Lady)

Dennis Waterman (appearing in My Fair Lady as Alfred P Doolittle)

Claire Whitfield (Stage Manager, currently working on Mamma Mia)

June Whitfield (actress)

Emma Williams (actress, about to appear in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, as Truly Scrumptious)

Nick Winston (actor, currently appearing in Kiss Me Kate, understudying Bill Calhoun/Lucentio)

David Yazibck (Composer-Lyricist, wrote songs for the stage version of The Full Monty)

Appearances By ... Also Include:

Dave Amos (masterclass student)

Nicola Amos (masterclass student)

The Cast of An Inspector Calls

Clive Anderson (TV presenter, hosting the Lawrence Olivier Awards)

Tom Campbell (masterclass student)

The Cast of Cats

The Cast Of Chicago

The Cast Of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (original stage production cast)

The Cast of Dangerous Corner

JJ Donney (auditionee for Disney’s Beauty And The Beast)

Deborah Durtcher (as a member of The Phantom Of Opera cast, playing the young singer)

Peter Forbes (as a member of the Mamma Mia cast, playing Harry Bright)

David Fox (auditionee for Disney’s Beauty And The Beast)

The Cast of The Full Monty

Tony Holbro (amdram performer)

Raza Jaffrey (as a member of the Mamma Mia cast, playing Sky)

The Cast of Kiss Me Kate (original Victoria Palace Theatre revival cast)

The Cast of Lady Windermere’s Fan

Josie Lawrence (actress)

Vanessa Leigh Hicks (as a member of the Chicago cast, ensemble & Dance Captain)

The Les Miserables Masterclass

The Cast of The Lion King

The Cast of Mamma Mia (Mamma Mia London Production Cast 3)

Bob Martin (show fan, Cats)

Neil McCaul (as a member of the Chicago cast, playing Billy Flynn)

The Cast of The Mousetrap

The Cast of My One And Only

The Cast of My Fair Lady

Barry O’Connell (auditionee for Disney’s Beauty And The Beast)

Jenny Parry (show fan, Starlight Express)

The Cast of The Phantom Of The Opera

The Cast of The Reduced Shakespeare Company

Joely Richardson (as a member of the Lady Windermere’s Fan cast, playing the daughter)

Rohan Tickell (as a member of the Mamma Mia cast, playing Bill Austin)

Amanda Salmon (as a member of the Mamma Mia cast, playing Sophie Sheridan)

Simon Slater (as a member of the Mamma Mia cast, playing Sam Carmichael)

Rosemary Squires (theatre producer)

The Cast of Starlight Express

The Starlight Express Fan Club

Christopher Till (as a member of the Mamma Mia cast, in the ensemble)

Julie Wallford (show fan, Blood Brothers)

Leigh Zimmerman (as a member of the Chicago cast, playing Velma Kelly)

Production Team

Producers - Kate Shires and S. J. Clarkson

Executive Producer - John Comerford

For a Review/Summary of A Week In The West End, please click here.

Louise Plowright, Louise Gold and Lesely Nicol, along with the rest of Mamma Mia London production Cast 3 were all shown as members of the cast of Mamma Mia . An excerpt of them performing in Mamma Mia (probably from the same footage) was also included in ABBA - The Reunion, and two other excepts (also from the same footage) were included in ABBA – The Mamma Mia! Story.

Judy Craymer, Catherine Johnson, Phyllida Lloyd, and, Bjorn Ulvaeus also spoke on camera in ABBA – The Mamma Mia! Story, as did Cameron Mackintosh.

Claire Sweeney and Louise Gold went on to appear together at Dress Circle Grand Reopening.

Claire Sweeney’s recording credits include Defiant Dames.

Brent Barrett had previously appeared in A Time To Start Living.

Janie Dee, and, Richard O’Brien had probably previously appeared in Comedy Tonight, which was co-directed by Trevor Nunn.

Janie Dee, Joanna Riding, and possibly Peter Forbes went on to appear in the Regents Park 70^th Anniversary Gala.

Rob Edwards had previously appeared in the Regents Park 1997 revival of Kiss Me Kate (which had a notable puppeteer in the title role).

Tim Flavin had probably previously appeared in Broadway To Brighton, his recording credits include On The Town.

Tim Flavin and Jonathan Pryce can be heard on Encore The Very Best From The Musicals, The History Of The Musical, and, Magic Of The Musicals.

Sir Andrew Lloyd-Webber also wrote the score for Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (see: Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (Touring Production) & Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (York Production)).

Martin Lowe was also Musical Director for Mamma Mia .

Martin Lowe was also Musical Director for Hot ‘n’ Spicey 2, and he wrote the music for the BBC Radio play Into Exile.

Anton Rogers appeared in Will Aid, for which Trevor Nunn wrote material.

Jonathan Pryce’s recording credits include Cabaret, Centre Stage Showtime!, and, The Great Musicals - Wonderful Tales.

Anton Rogers, Dennis Waterman, and, Neil McCaul had previously appeared on The Royal Variety Performance (1982).

Anton Rogers’s television credits include Julia And Company.

Neil McCaul had previously appeared in films The Pirates of Penzance, and, Billy The Kid And The Green Baize Vampire. He has previously appeared on stage in Angry Housewives, Red Hot & Blue, and, 110 In The Shade. He went on to take part in A Celebration Of The Life And Work Of Dick Vosburgh.

Josie Lawrence’s previous television credits, on BBC2, include Rachel And The Roarettes. She has gone on to appear in stage in the gala Happily Ever After.

Janie Dee, and, Joanna Riding may have previously appeared in Dear Ralph, which was produced by Cameron Mackintosh.

S J Clarkson went on to work on Doctors.

Patrick Robinson and Simon Slater’s previous TV credits include Casualty.

Brian Blessed’s previous TV credits include BlackAdder, and, Roland Rat The Series.

Laugh??? I Nearly Paid My Licence Fee, Rita Rudner, A Kick Up The Archive, Alexei Sayle’s Merry-Go-Round, and, Transmission: Impossible With Ed And Oucho were also broadcast on BBC 2, as was the first terrestrial broadcast of The Alan Clark Diaries, and, the national premier of City Lights.

Nick Winston had previously choreographed the Side By Side By Sondheim 25^th Anniversary Gala.

Janie Dee, and, Cameron Mackintosh went on to appear in Side By Side By Sondheim 30^th Anniversary Gala.

Janie Dee went on to appear in A Love Letter To Dan.

Michael Ball, and, Anton Rogers may have previously taken part in Thing A Thon.

Although featured here as a member of the cast of Mamma Mia , Louise Gold has of course appeared in other productions of several of the shows whose current West End productions are featured here, namely: a regional production of My Fair Lady, a regional production of Blood Brothers, a one night concert version of Chicago (actually Chicago & Company), The 1997 Regents Park production of Kiss Me Kate, and the West End production of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

Musical Director Paul Christ, Director Richard Eyre, and Producer Cameron Mackintosh have gone on to work on the West End production of Mary Poppins, which also saw Louise Gold return to The Prince Edward Theatre, once again on a cast change.

Michael Ball went on to take part in Shopping With The Stars 2009.

Michael Ball, Ruthie Henshall, and, Jonathan Pryce’s recording credits include 100 Hits Musicals.

Critics Comments

Links about A Week In The West End

British Theatre Guide news item about the programme: http://www.britishtheatreguide.info/news/N100202.htm#week

Amdram.co.uk’s item about the Maresfield Millennium Players’s appearance on A Week In The West End: http://www.amdram.co.uk/groupfocus/spotlight2.htm

Royal Opera House’s VYAP Archive, mentions Alfred Boe’s appearance on A Week In The West End: http://info.royaloperahouse.org/VYAP/Index.cfm?ccs=292&cs=576

Phantom Of The Opera, Movie, Website’s mention of Phantom and the new Olivier award: http://www.phantommovie.com/olivier.htm

Odette Perdrisat, swing dancer’s resume (actually on the Mamma Mia site) mention’s her appearance as a Chicago swing in A Week In The West End: http://www.mamma-mia.com/london/cast_ensemble_odetteperdrisat.asp

Claire Sweeney’s Fansites mentions her presenting A Week In The West End: http://claire-sweeney.tripod.com/news.html and http://www.claire-sweeney.co.uk/articles/arti_dm2.html

Claire Sweeney’s Official website, Television credits: http://www.clairesweeney.com/television.html

ABBA News, item for 20 January 2002, mentions that Mamma Mia was shortlisted for A Week In The West End’s Olivier Award: http://www.abbamail.com/news/latest_jan2002.htm

ABBA News, item for 18 February 2002, summarises the Mamma Mia segment on the Tuesday episode of A Week In The West End (and manages not to refer to the three performers interviewed by name, merely as “The three current Donna and The Dynamos): http://www.abbamail.com/news/latest_feb2002_parttwo.htm

Abermarle News item announcing the series A Week In The West End: http://www.albemarle-london.com/news-february02.html

John Owen-Jones’s fanite: http://www.johnowenjones.com/mainframe.htm includes a summary of the A Day In The Life Of An Actor item on Monday’s episode of the programme: http://www.johnowenjones.com/west_end.htm

The Michael Ball Corner: http://www.michaelballcorner.com/home.htm and pictures of Michael Ball from the programme: http://www.michaelballcorner.com/michaelWIWE.htm

Reading Evening Post’s review of the programme (shame it only seems to have covered the last three episodes of the week): http://www.getreading.co.uk/story.asp?intid=2891

The Guardian Diary Section’s item about the programme (though about Tuesday’s episode seems to focus on one of Alistair’s advice items): http://www.guardian.co.uk/diary/story/0,3604,649856,00.html

BBC Programme Catalogue entry: http://open.bbc.co.uk/catalogue/infax/series/A+WEEK+IN+THE+WEST+END : entries for individual episodes: http://open.bbc.co.uk/catalogue/infax/programme/LFEY448L, http://open.bbc.co.uk/catalogue/infax/programme/LFEY449F, http://open.bbc.co.uk/catalogue/infax/programme/LFEY450A, http://open.bbc.co.uk/catalogue/infax/programme/LFEY451T, and, http://open.bbc.co.uk/catalogue/infax/programme/LFEY452N

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