An Evening with James Sayer & his Band

James Sayer, originally from Birmingham, hails from a hugely musical family where he grew up playing Rhythm & Blues music. Having first toured as a session musician at legendary festivals such as Coachella and Austin City Limits and recorded with Rick Rubin, James then went on to record his debut material which received heavy support from Dutch and BBC radio, especially from Tom Robinson, who said of James: "When you hear a track like that, likely inspired by early Van Morrison, my tip to fellow Van fans is to save £100 on the ticket price and go and see James Sayer instead... I personally haven't witnessed Van Morrison deliver anything close to that kind of energy and punch on stage in the last thirty years!"

Having spent the last couple of years producing his first full album, James went on to support yacht rock titans Young Gun Silver Fox in March 2020 in the Netherlands. This will be his first London performance since the enforced UK lockdown.

Join James and his band for this very special evening at Charing Cross Theatre. With support from Saphyria.

Please go to our Covid-19 page for more information about your visit.

• Mainstage

Stiletto

Book Now

In Italy during the 18th century, an average of 5,000 boys were castrated annually. Almost exclusively, they came from poor families. Their treble voices intact, castration promised those who survived a chance to earn fame and fortune by singing female roles in the opera. A few made it, but most didn’t and were swept aside.

Stiletto, a new musical with Music and Lyrics by three-time Grammy nominee, Oscar and Golden Globe nominee Matthew Wilder (Disney’s Mulan), Book by double Olivier Award nominee Tim Luscombe (Noël Coward’s Easy Virtue, Terrence Rattigan’s The Browning Version and Harlequinade), is set in Venice, Europe’s opera capital.

During the winter of 1730-31, Venice is a city bristling with opportunity where fortunes can be made but life is cheap. A city of lustre and intrigue with plenty of chances of success for Marco, who was castrated as a child to retain his perfect voice. Opera stars being the rock stars of their day, Marco is on course to be an 18th-century Jagger or Bowie, to snag a powerful patron and play leading roles.

In a busy square he meets Gioia, confident, strong willed...and supremely talented. But despite her musical gifts, being the daughter of an African slave, there’s no chance for her to fulfil her dreams. Marco recognises her talent and, sensing that they are both outsiders as well as sharing a love for music, they fall in love.

In an attempt to get her on stage, Marco introduces Gioia to society and his patron, the Contessa Azzurra, but at the end of the evening, a body lies dead and Gioia is hauled off to prison. To free her, Marco must overcome the demons of his past and the morally corrupt forces of the present.

Click here for exclusive first listen to Stiletto

Creatives:

Music & Lyrics: Matthew Wilder

Book: Tim Luscombe

Director: David Gilmore

Staging Consultant: Anthony Van Laast

Musical Director: Jae Alexander

Orchestrator: Simon Nathan

Set Designer: Ceci Calf

Costume Designer: Anna Kelsey

Lighting Designer: Ben Ormerod   

Sound Designer: Andrew Johnson

Casting: Neil Rutherford

Executive Producer: Guy Kitchenn

Produced by Patrick Bywalski for the Robert Stigwood Organisation and Steven M. Levy for Charing Cross Theatre Productions Limited.

More Info