Company - Aberdeen Arts Centre
Preview by Lizzie Guilfoyle
ABERDEEN Arts Centre and David Adkin are presenting Company at Aberdeen Arts Centre. With music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by George Furth, it runs from February 1 to February 10, 2018.
Company is widely regarded as a trailblazing concept musical, exploring modern relationships. It set records when it opened on Broadway, being nominated for an astonishing fourteen Tony Awards and winning six, including Best Musical.
It’s Bobby’s 35th birthday party and his married friends are all asking the same question – will he ever give up his bachelor lifestyle and settle down?
With some of his best songs including Marry Me A Little, You Could Drive a Person Crazy, Another Hundred People and Being Alive, Sondheim has described Company as the first musical in which he found his voice.
The cast includes Arun Blair-Mangat (Angels in America, Kinky Boots, In The Heights) as Paul, Oliver Savile (Wicked, The Phantom of The Opera) as Bobby, Anita Louise Combe (Gypsy, Chicago) as Joanne and Ashleigh Gray, who makes a triumphant return to Aberdeen after her acclaimed performance as Elphaba in the UK tour of Wicked, as Amy.
They are joined by Simbi Akande as Martha, Kimberly Blake as Jenny, Stephen John Davis as Larry, Wayne Fitzsimmons as David, Jennifer Harding as April, Jaqueline Hughes as Sarah, Susie Mathers as Kathy, Lisa Anne-Wood as Susan and Barnaby Thompson as Peter.
Company is directed by Aberdeen born Derek Anderson, who directed Cabaret and The Pillowman.
He said: “I’m very excited to be returning to the Arts Centre to bring this iconic musical to my hometown. Not only does it provide the opportunity to present his masterpiece in Aberdeen but it also gives us the chance to reunite the creative talent behind the overwhelming success that was Cabaret. Company is a unique musical, and I can’t wait for everyone to experience this production with a brilliant cast.”
Company is choreographed by Lee Crowley, designed by Nik Corall, with musical direction by Nick Barstow, lighting design by Ben Pickersgill, video design by Norydas Genys, sound design by Mick Livermore and casting by Lucy Casson.
Image: Kimberly Blake and Ashleigh Gray rehearsing Company. Photo by Pamela Raith Photography.