THEATRE NEWS
Rifco Theatre Company and Watford Palace Theatre present...GLITTERBALL
A life-affirming cross-cultural comedy about a woman’s midlife crisis and her rollercoaster journey to find her voice, brought to life with live music, wry humour and a whole lotta sparkle
Watford Palace Theatre | Riverside Studios | Oldham Coliseum Theatre
Written by Yasmin Wilde | Directed by Pravesh Kumar | Design by Libby Watson
More Bassey than Bhangra...
Sonia’s life has always been a bit of a double act, brought up as one half of a Shirley Bassey tribute act. alongside her overbearing mother Gloria, she left a trail of sequins across the working men’s clubs of East Anglia.
Now she’s divorced, battling through the middle-age jungle, wrangling unimpressed teenagers and navigating rocky friendships.
But the unexpected arrival of Sonia’s half-brother Naim from Manchester brings a refreshed sense of belonging and cultural identity, as he introduces her to her Pakistani side she had never known before.
Sonia is excited to immerse herself in the culture and finally begins to piece together the mosaic of her life. But a disturbing discovery threatens to shatter her world all over again.
Can Sonia shake off the past, even with her ever-present mother keeping ‘the show’ on the road from beyond the grave?
Inspired by a real-life, Glitterball is a midlife coming of age comedy about motherhood, identity and finding your time to shine.
Glitterball is the first commission to come out of the Rifco Associates Programme, a talent development initiative to improve pathways into the industry for underrepresented voices. Pravesh Kumar, Artistic Director, said “At Rifco, we are committed to telling the stories of underrepresented voices and are thrilled to be bringing you our first mainstage production born out of the Rifco Associates Programme. Yasmin Wilde’s story felt so relevant to us because it sheds much-needed light on the mixed-heritage experience. It is also an empowering example of how a ‘midlife crisis’ can be a positive turning point with a strong intergenerational focus. We hope it will strike a chord with audiences and open up themes that are still too often missing from mainstream entertainment, while also giving them some feel-good, classic Bassey numbers to sing along to.”
Listings information
Watford Palace Theatre, 20 Clarendon Road, Watford, WD17 1JZ
Thu 15 - Sat 24 Sept
Eves 7.30pm, Wed & Sat mat 2.30pm
Tickets from £17, concessions available watfordpalacetheatre.co.uk | 01923 225671
Riverside Studios, 101 Queen Caroline St, London W6 9BN
Tue 27 Sept - Sat 08 Oct
Eves 7.30pm, Thu, Sat & Sun mat 3.30pm
Tickets £25, concessions available riversidestudios.co.uk | 020 8237 1000
Oldham Coliseum Theatre, Fairbottom St, Oldham OL1 3SW
Tue 11 - Sat 15 Oct (on sale 21 June)
Eves 7.30pm, Wed & Sat mat 2.30pm
Tickets from £18.50, concessions available colliseum.org.uk | 0161 624 2829
Cast:
Sonia - Yasmin Wilde
Gloria - Janice Conolly
Jade - Nikhita Lesler
Naim - Muzz Khan
Debs - Victoria John
Music Director / Albee - Miles Russell
Set & Costume Designer - Libby Watson
Lighting Designer - Mark Dymock
Approx. Running Time: 2hrs inc. interval | Suitable for ages 10+
@rifcotheatre| #Glitterball