''The Rise and Fall of Little Voice'' is a 1992 play written by English dramatist

Jim Cartwright Jim Cartwright (born 27 June 1958) is an English dramatist, born in Farnworth, Lancashire. Cartwright's first play, ''Road'', won a number of awards before being adapted for TV and broadcast by the BBC. His work has been translated into more ...

Production history

Sam Mendes Sir Samuel Alexander Mendes (born 1 August 1965) is a British film and stage director, producer, and screenwriter. In 2000, Mendes was appointed a CBE for his services to drama, and he was Knight Bachelor, knighted in the 2020 New Year Honour ...

directed the first production at the

Royal National Theatre The Royal National Theatre in London, commonly known as the National Theatre (NT), is one of the United Kingdom's three most prominent publicly funded performing arts venues, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal Opera House. I ...

that transferred to the

Aldwych Theatre The Aldwych Theatre is a West End theatre, located in Aldwych in the City of Westminster, central London. It was listed Grade II on 20 July 1971. Its seating capacity is 1,200 on three levels. History Origins The theatre was constructed in th ...

in London's West End. The 1993

Steppenwolf Theatre Company Steppenwolf Theatre Company is a Chicago theatre company founded in 1974 by Terry Kinney, Jeff Perry, and Gary Sinise in the Unitarian church on Half Day Road in Deerfield, Illinois and is now located in Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood on ...

production transferred to

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

in April produced by James and Charlene Nederlander, Dennis Grimaldi, and Leonard Saloway. A West End revival of the play ran in London from 8 October 2009 to 30 January 2010. Following the success of the play, Diana Vickers won the London Newcomer award at the

Theatregoers' Choice Award The WhatsOnStage Awards (WOS Awards), formerly known as the Theatregoers' Choice Awards, are organised by the theatre website WhatsOnStage.com. The awards recognise performers and productions of British theatre with an emphasis on London's West ...

and added "Sunlight" the closing ballad as a B-side for her debut single, "

Once Once means a one-time occurrence. Once may refer to: Music * ''Once'' (Pearl Jam song), a 1991 song from the album ''Ten'' * ''Once'' (Roy Harper album), a 1990 album by Roy Harper * ''Once'' (The Tyde album), a 2001 debut album by The Tyd ...

". A London revival ran at The Union Theatre in Southwark from 2 to 26 June 2016. The production starred Charlotte Gorton as Mari, Carly Thomas as Little Voice and Ken Christianson as Ray Say. It was directed by Alastair Knights and was nominated for five Off West End Awards. In February 2004 Sarah Frankcom directed a performance at the

Royal Exchange, Manchester The Royal Exchange is a grade II listed building in Manchester, England. It is located in the city centre on the land bounded by St Ann's Square, Exchange Street, Market Street, Cross Street and Old Bank Street. The complex includes the Royal ...

with

Denise Black Denise Black (born 16 March 1958) is an English actress. She is best known for her roles in '' Coronation Street'' and ''Emmerdale'' and guest starring as ''Jessie Devlin'' Denny Blood's mother in '' ITV drama series '' Bad Girls''. Early lif ...

as Mari Hoff,

Emma Lowndes Emma Lowndes (born 1975) is an English actress, known for portraying Bella Gregson in '' Cranford'', Mary Rivers in ''Jane Eyre'' and Margie Drewe in ''Downton Abbey''. Background Brought up in Irlam, near Manchester, Lowndes attended Irlam Pri ...

as Little Voice,

Roy Barraclough Roy Senior Barraclough (12 July 1935 – 1 June 2017) was an English comic actor. He was best known for his role as Alec Gilroy, the devious, mournful landlord of the Rovers Return in the long-running British TV soap '' Coronation Street'', a ...

as Mr Boo and Andrew Sheridan as Billy. Denise Black won a MEN Award for her performance. In June 2012 at the Octagon Theatre, Bolton

Sue Devaney Sue Devaney (born Susan Barber, 2 July 1967) is an English actress. Her roles include Debbie Webster in ''Coronation Street'', Rita in ''Jonny Briggs'', Liz Harker in '' Casualty'' and Jane in '' Dinnerladies''. Career Devaney has played variou ...

, Max Beesley snr, Sally Bankes, Katie Elin-Salt and Matt Healey performed the play to standing ovations each night. The production, directed by Elizabeth Newman and designed by Ciaran Bagnall, received five star reviews and a place in the theatre's record books as an extra week of the run had to be scheduled due to its popularity
Octagon Theatre Bolton, The Rise and Fall of Little Voice.
A UK touring production opened 3 September 2012 at the

Yvonne Arnaud Theatre The Yvonne Arnaud Theatre is a theatre located in Guildford, Surrey, England. Named after the actress Yvonne Arnaud, it presents a series of locally produced and national touring productions, including opera, ballet and pantomime. The theatre ...

in Guildford. Starring

Beverley Callard Beverley Jane McEwan (''née'' Moxon; previously Atkinson, Sowden and Callard; born 28 March 1957) is an English actress, known for her role as Liz McDonald in the long-running ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'' and Flo Henshaw in '' Two P ...

as Mari,

Joe McGann Joseph McGann (born 24 July 1958) is an English actor. His roles include the lead role of Charlie Burrows, the "housekeeper" in the TV comedy series '' The Upper Hand'' (1990–1996), '' Night and Day'' and his voice role as Sir Gideon Ofnir ...

as Ray,

Ray Quinn Raymond Arthur Quinn (born 25 August 1988) is an English actor, singer, dancer and carpet layer. He is best known for his role as Anthony Murray in ''Brookside'' from 2000 to 2003. He achieved more public recognition when he auditioned for the ...

as Billy,

Duggie Brown Duggie Brown (born Barry Douglas Dudley; 7 August 1940 – 16 August 2022) was an English comedian and actor. He was the younger brother of actress and singer Lynne Perrie. Stage work During the early 1960s, Brown was a guitarist/vocalist in ...

as Mr Boo and

Jess Robinson Jess Robinson (born 1982/1983) is an English comedy actress, singer, impressionist, voice artist and comedian. Early life Robinson was born in Edgware, London, in a non-religious Jewish family, the daughter of a piano teacher and artist, and g ...

as Little Voice and was directed by the play's writer

. The production was due to end at the Lyceum Theatre, Sheffield in December 2012. After a short interval this production resumed at the end of January in Newcastle and ran until the end of June 2013, visiting Torquay, Portsmouth, Tunbridge Wells, Brighton, Buxton amongst numerous venues.

left the tour part way through and was replaced by Philip Andrew (who had been the understudy for the role). The Barn Theatre in Cirencester (UK) revived the play in June 2018. Described as 'A brilliant and brash revival' by The Stage* it included Sarah Louise Hughes in '...a spectacular debut*' straight from her training at Italia Conti as LV. The production was directed by Michael Strassen. In 2022 a new tour embarked around the UK, directed by Bronagh Lagan. It starred Christina Bianco as Little Voice,

Shobna Gulati Shobna Gulati (born 7 August 1966)www.shobnagulati.co.uk
Shobna Gulati official website is an English ...

as Mari,

Ian Kelsey Ian Kelsey (born 17 December 1966) is an English actor. He is known for his roles as Dave Glover in the ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale'', Patrick Spiller in the BBC medical drama ''Casualty'', DI Richard Mayne in the ITV crime drama '' Blue Murder'' ...

as Ray, Fiona Mulvaney as Sadie/US Marie, Akshay Gulati as Billy, William Ilkley as Mr Boo/US Ray, James Robert Moore as The Phone Man/US Billy & Mr Boo and Anna Hale as understudy LV/Sadie. The play has been presented internationally, in Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok and Sri Lanka, in January 2008, by the British Theatre Playhouse.

Historical casting

Film adaptation

The play was adapted for a 1998 film by

Mark Herman Mark Herman (born 1954) is an English film director and screenwriter, best known for writing and directing the 2008 film ''The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas''. Life and career Herman was born in Bridlington, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. He ...

, with Jane Horrocks reprising her original stage role.

Brenda Blethyn Brenda Blethyn (''née'' Bottle; 20 February 1946) is an English actress. She is the recipient of several accolades, including a Golden Globe, a BAFTA, a Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress, and two Academy Award nominations. Blethyn ...

assumed the role of Mari Hoff and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rise And Fall Of Little Voice, The 1992 plays British plays adapted into films Broadway plays Comedy plays Plays by Jim Cartwright Laurence Olivier Award-winning plays West End plays

Production history

Historical casting

Film adaptation

References

Further reading

External links