West End Calling presents the Grand Final!

Young performers from all over the UK have gone through three rounds to earn a place in the final here at the Charing Cross Theatre. After auditioning in front of a panel of West End stars, contestants went on to perform in the regional heats which were held in London, Manchester, Cardiff, Birmingham, Norwich and Edinburgh. If they were successful here, they then had to wow our judges at the Semi-Finals held in London, Manchester and Belfast to secure their place in the Grand Final.

Each contestant will perform a song from a musical to our live audience as well as a panel made up of West End stars! It will be up to the panel to decide who they will crown as the winner of this year's competition!

Our judging panel consists of Grace Mouat (& Juliet, Six, Be More Chill), Laura Pick (Wicked), Cleve September (In The Heights, Hamilton), Christine Bennington (Heathers, Bat Out Of Hell) and Natalie May Paris (Six).

The final is split into two parts - the Junior Final (4.00pm) and the Senior Final (7.00pm).

Come along and enjoy a day of musical theatre madness in the heart of the West End!

For more information on the competition, visit www.westendcalling.co.uk

• 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