Dreamscape | The Toyah Willcox Fansite

A new interview with Toyah, by Liam Rudden for Must See Theatre, which is also a great “Toyah in Edinburgh” history feature!

Interview: Toyah Willcox returns to Edinburgh Playhouse! Now that’s what I call an Eighties’ icon…

“I’m not going to tell you,” laughs Toyah Willcox, her face beaming, “because it’s a big impact moment that works really, really well…”

It’s 25 years since I first interviewed the effervescent Eighties’ punk princess, and more than I care to remember since I first listened to her music. Tracks like Ieya, Danced and It’s A Mystery were a huge part of my youth, along with the songs of the Pet Shop Boys and hits of Meatloaf, all of which is fitting as today, via Zoom, we are talking Now That’s What I Call A Musical, the 80’s jukebox musical in which the Birmingham-born singer makes a special, one week only, guest appearance during its Edinburgh run.

No stranger to the Scottish capital’s stages, Now That’s What I Call A Musical brings Toyah back to The Playhouse, a venue she has appeared in concert many times; her Changeling Tour stopped off there in 1982 then she returned, revisiting her early hits in 2004’s Best of the 80’s Tour and again for 2017 with the 80’s Invasion Tour. And it wasn’t just her pop persona, however, that brought Toyah to 3,039 capacity theatre, in 2009 she appeared as the Queen of The Night there, in Steve Steinman’s Vampires Rock, a show she describes as “a lot of fun”.

• Continue reading at Must See Theatre. See also The Edinburgh Reporter. Buy Now That’s What I Call A Musical at Edinburgh Playhouse tickets here.

Toyah Willcox set for Edinburgh shows with Now That’s What I Call A Musical – ‘the songs connect in an instant’

The Spotify generation will never know just how big the ‘Now That’s What I Call Music’ brand was back in the 1980s.

Compilation albums were nothing new – K-Tel mastered the genre a decade earlier – but they became multi-platinum selling albums which took the best of the charts and delivered the perfect package of hits to millions of turntables and CD players.

Pretty much every single iconic single of the 80s can be found on the albums, so the only surprise it has taken this long to use that as the basis of a musical. Written by comedian Pippa Evans and choreographed by Strictly judge, Craig Revel Horwood, Now That’s I Call A Musical celebrates the decade of pop that still resonates to this day.

• Continue reading at Fife Today. Buy Now That’s What I Call A Musical at Edinburgh Playhouse tickets here.

From Oliver and the Artful Dodger to Mary Poppins, Roxie Hart, drag queen Lola and not forgetting punk princess Toyah Willcox, there’s a host of musical stars just waiting to entertain you in February.

It’s the Playhouse, however, that has the show I’m looking forward to most this month, Now That’s What I Call A Musical (25 February-1 March). I’m keen to see it not because I’m expecting the most earth-shattering jukebox musical ever, it’ll likely be a the usual feel-good evening of nostalgia, but because the Edinburgh shows are the only ones on the tour to feature my own teenage heroine, punk princess Toyah Willcox, as a special guest.

Celebrating 40 years of the iconic compilation albums and starring EastEnders’ star, Nina Wadia, and 2013 X Factor winner, Sam Bailey, the musical comedy tells the story of Gemma and April, two school friends busy with very important business… planning their lives based on Number One Magazine quizzes and dreaming of snogging Rick Astley.

• Continue reading at The Edinburgh Reporter. Further details on Toyah in the Edinburgh performances of Now That’s What I call A Musical at toyahwillcox.com.

SohoLIFF celebrates its 5th birthday in style with participants including Mark Rylance, Riz Ahmed, Toyah Willcox and Phil Davies

The Soho London Independent Film Festival (SohoLIFF) marks its 5th year in style in January 2025, celebrating five years of innovation in independent film with an electrifying line-up of screenings, events and special guests. Over four days, Soho’s iconic De Lane Lea/Warner Bros Building will host more than 50 films from around the globe, featuring celebrated talents like Mark Rylance, Riz Ahmed, Toyah Willcox and Phil Davies alongside the emerging stars of the future. This is a festival for filmmakers and film lovers alike.

SohoLIFF is an independent short film festival that supports filmmakers from around the world. This year’s festival sees submissions from over 25 countries; filmmakers will compete for 16 awards, culminating in a ceremony that brings everyone together to share their stories and love of the artform.

• Continue reading at Theatre Full Stop. Also visit The Soho London Independent Film Festival website.

EdFringe | Trafford Tanzi starring Toyah Willcox! The play that changed my life – Kevin Maguire

Having given Andrew Pierce the opportunity to share the story of the musical that changed his life – it was Mamma Mia! you may recall – it seemed only fair to offer Kevin Maguire the same courtesy, especially as the pair’s Edinburgh Fringe show, Andrew Pierce vs Kevin Maguire (Assembly Rooms, 8-10 August), pits them against each other. So, in the interest of maintaining an even playing field, here, Maguire shares the piece of theatre that ‘changed his life’… Toyah Willcox in Trafford Tanzi.

‘Time erased exactly why I went to see punk princess Toyah Willcox hitting a wrestling ring’s canvass during 10 rounds over three hours, yet the exhilaration – mine, not hers, just to be clear – is as fresh today as that evening 41 years ago and counting. You never forget the magical impact of your first play, the memory sticking like first day at school, first day at work, first football game, first kiss.
I was a late debutant to the theatre, growing up in a Tyneside working class home where money was tight and the stage a social world away from our life. There’s no need to get out an unfeasibly small violin. Childhood is recalled happily even if now I recognise it could’ve been enriched culturally.

Never going to the York Theatre Royal during three years at the city’s university is explained blushingly by hanging with a group, at least one of whom subsequently came to see Willcox in her cartoonish outfit, who, like me, preferred football, playing the fool and doing nothing.

• Continue reading at Must See Theatre.

Toyah Willcox chats about ‘Revolting Rhymes with Toyah Willcox’ taking place at The Courtyard, Hereford on Wednesday 1 November at 3pm. For tickets head here…

Roald Dahl’s wickedly reimagined fairy tales narrated by Toyah Willcox Orchestra of the Swan presents two of Roald Dahl’s wickedly reimagined fairy tales, Little Red Riding Hood and Three Little Pigs. We all love stories and there is no better storyteller than Dahl who manages to pull off the ingenious trick of appealing to both adults and children. Narrated by Toyah Willcox and featuring a perfectly pitched musical score by Paul Patterson this performance will appeal to children and adults of all ages.

Orchestra of the Swan Presents Roald Dahl’s Revolting Rhymes with Toyah Willcox

The Courtyard’s resident orchestra, The Orchestra of the Swan will present a musical reimagining of Roald Dahl’s Revolting Rhymes with Toyah Willcox this November.

This wickedly reimagined take on, Red Riding Hood and the Three Little Pigs, will be narrated by Toyah Wilcox and accompanied by the Orchestra of the Swan. This show is suitable for people of all ages using Roald Dahl’s beloved rhymes.

The score for Roald Dahl’s Revolting Rhymes was composed by Paul Patterson and is a perfect blend of humour and suspense. There is no better storyteller than Dahl who manages to pull off the ingenious trick of appealing to both adults and children, and what better way to enhance his stories than setting them to music.

Toyah Willcox is an English singer, actress and television personality who has released over 20 albums and has starred in numerous films and television shows. Her flamboyant and eclectic style is just what is needed to add to the children’s fairy tales.

Explaining how she got involved, Toyah Willcox said; “The Orchestra of the Swan invited me to do it and I think it’s a gorgeous piece. It has so much strength in pulling young people into what an orchestra can be. Music is part of our lives and I just hope this performance will introduce children to classical music. The way I see it I think the music is now the greater part of the experience as children are more worldly-wise and more aware of the dangers – but I think they are not learning about music on the level I used to.”

• Continue reading at EatSleepLive Hertfordshire. See also The Courtyard.

Toyah Willcox pulls out of Stratford Music Festival concert with Orchestra of the Swan after coming down with Covid-19

Toyah Willcox has pulled out of her appearance in Stratford tomorrow (Sunday) after coming down with Covid-19. The pop star and TV personality was due to narrate the Orchestra of the Swan’s performance of Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf as part of the Stratford Music Festival at the Play House.

The concert is still going ahead with the narrator being taken on by much-respected RSC actor David Troughton, who is also well known for playing Tony Archer in The Archers on Radio 4.

Toyah announced she had Covid-19 in a video on her Facebook page. She explained that she realised during a soundcheck at another gig in Wolverhampton on Thursday that she had lost her sense of smell and taste, and following a positive test has had to pull out of several engagements, including Sunday’s concert in Stratford.

She offered her apologies, and said that she had few symptoms expect those mentioned.

• Continue reading at Stratford-Upon-Avon Herald. Watch Toyah’s video at Facebook.

Toyah Willcox talks about narrating Peter and the Wolf performance with Orchestra of the Swan at the Stratford Music Festival this Sunday

It’s probably the most powerful way to introduce young people to the delights of classical music – and fresh life will be breathed into Peter and the Wolf in a special production as part of Stratford Music Festival.

The concert on Sunday, 21st November, features the Orchestra of the Swan, with Toyah Willcox as narrator.

Since Prokofiev was commissioned to write a piece specifically for children in the 1930s, it has worked its magic on the generations that have followed. The marriage of the tale of Peter defying his grandfather’s advice with orchestral representations of the various characters, remains a brilliant device to open people’s eyes to the personality and potential of classical music.

And the role of narrator is one that has attracted some extraordinary names – Toyah joins a list that includes the likes of David Tennant, Alice Cooper, Sir John Gielgud, Dame Edna Everage and Patrick Stewart among many others.

• Continue reading at Stratford-Upon-Avon Herald. NB. Toyah has been replaced by David Troughton – See above!

There are now just a few days until Toyah joins Proud Cabaret’s All Stars – Thursday 4th November – Watch Toyah talk about this here.

A fierce, proud Punk Noir cast! Britain’s punk princess Toyah Willcox joins Proud’s Cabaret All Stars for a limited run this November & December. Expect an action-packed show to get you in the festive spirit! Further info/Book tickets by clicking below.

Toyah will appear at SMF 21, Stratford Music Festival, later this year.

She will be the Narrator of Orchestra Of The Swan – Peter And The Wolf at the festival on Sunday 21st November.

Prokofiev’s much-loved tale of a fearless boy and a ferocious wolf is narrated by the legendary English musician, actress, and TV presenter Toyah Willcox. Suitable for music lovers of any age this performance will also feature an entertaining introduction to the instruments of the orchestra.

• Visit the Stratford Music Festival website for further info or ticket booking.

Toyah will appear at SMF 21, Stratford Music Festival, later this year.

She will be the Narrator of Orchestra Of The Swan – Peter And The Wolf at the festival on Sunday 21st November.

Prokofiev’s much-loved tale of a fearless boy and a ferocious wolf is narrated by the legendary English musician, actress, and TV presenter Toyah Willcox. Suitable for music lovers of any age this performance will also feature an entertaining introduction to the instruments of the orchestra.

• Visit the Stratford Music Festival website.

Great outdoors: the magic of Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre – in pictures

Theatre has returned to Regent’s Park in London with a socially distanced revival of Jesus Christ Superstar, plus comedy nights under the stars. We look back at memorable past productions.

Toyah Willcox throws herself into the role of Puck in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, directed by John Doyle in 1995.

• Continue reading at The Guardian. (Photo © Tristram Kenton)

Christmas 2002, Toyah was the cover star of Festival City Theatres brochure, in anticipation of Calamity Jane playing at The Festival Theatre in Edinburgh in January 2003.

Calamity Jane was a great success for Toyah in the early 2000s. The musical toured the UK from September to November 2002, and January to June 2003 (with a break in late April/early May for Toyah’s stint in the second series of I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!), then transferred to London West End’s Shaftsebury Theatre from June to September of 2003. There was speculation that Toyah would reprise her role as Jane for a further tour but this never happened.

15 years ago, Summer 2003, Toyah was “going great guns” starring as the lead in Calamity Jane at the Shaftesbury Theatre in London’s West End. The musical had spent a year touring the UK playing at numerous theatres around the country, again with Toyah playing Jane, and received many positive reviews along the way. There was a lot of press, below is just a few articles from various newspapers. Click on the collage to visit Dreamscape’s mini Calamity Jane website.

“Jubilee is a wrap. Thanks to the entire team & all our audiences x“, Toyah tweeted. She also Instagrammed: “Goodnight LIZZIE. What an astonishing last show. Thank u all. It has been a privilege“. (Photo © Official Toyah)

• Browse a summary of many of the reviews for Jubilee at the Lyric at toyahwillcox.com. See all of Dreamscape’s London news on Jubilee here and the Manchester production here.

NO FUTURE: Brendan Macdonald reviews Chris Goode’s stage version of Derek Jarman’s Jubilee

“It’s funny isn’t it? In 1977, someone shouting NO FUTURE sounded like the most extreme nihilistic punk. Forty years on, it’s a fact. It’s mainstream climate science.”

As Amyl Nitrate (played by Travis Alabanza) perceives, ‘NO FUTURE’ was once a rallying cry of the punk movement, not just a closing refrain to a Sex Pistols anthem. It spoke of a stark fatalism imbued with fury, frustration, and a deep distrust in the current status quo. Chris Goode’s adaptation of Derek Jarman’s 1978 film Jubilee toys with this articulation, hurtling the punk movement into a future that seemingly shouldn’t exist, to see how it survives.

Goode’s adaptation spars with Jarman’s film, keeping faithful to the central tenets of the piece while modernizing it to reflect the current age. It’s messy, chaotic, sex-fueled, and driven more by affect than narrative. Queen Elizabeth I, brilliantly played by one of the film’s original stars Toyah Willcox, travels to the present day with the help of Lucy Ellinson’s Ariel, and passively witnesses the countercultural energy that’s brewing beneath 21st century neoliberal consumerism.

• Continue reading at Exeunt Magazine. Read Exeunt Magazine’s review of Jubilee at Royal Exchange, Manchester, here.

Chris Goode’s riotous adaptation of Derek Jarman’s seminal film about anarchy in the UK is not for the faint hearted. Featuring simulated sex, unrestrained nudity and mindless acts of violence, this provocative stage version will undoubtedly divide audiences, just as Jarman did in 1978.

Toyah Willcox, who starred as the pyromaniac Mad in the film version, now plays Queen Elizabeth I observing the excesses of a group of friends sharing a squat in Brexit Britain.

Amyl Nitrate (an electrifying performance by Travis Alabanza) serves as our emcee for the evening. Sexual predator Crabs (Rose Wardlaw) lures unsuspecting men home where they often meet a brutal and untimely end, while Bod (Sophie Stone) is the murderous de facto leader of the gang, Ariel, an ethereal presence (Lucy Ellinson), links segments and time.

• Continue reading at the New Camden Journal. (Review by Lucy Popescu)

• Culture Whisper: From the royal box, the time-travelling Queen Elizabeth I (Toyah Willcox, who played pyromaniac teenager Mad in the the original film 40 years ago) lords over proceedings like a dutiful monarch at the Royal Variety Show – and make no mistake, Jubilee is as perfectly random as the Royal Variety. It wilfully defies all theatrical convention, addressing the audience and breaking the wall to provide a sneering commentary on its own construction – Continue reading at Culture Whisper…

• Boyz Magazine: However it is the presence of Toyah Willcox, an original cast member of the 1977 film, who plays Elizabeth I, that really gives this show weight. Her command of the role is extraordinary and as the show draws to a close its fitting that one of her own songs closes the proceedings. Crazy stuff! – Continue reading at Boyz Magazine…

• Essential Surrey: This provocative and theatrical show reinvents Jarman’s Jubilee for the present day, whilst clearly still clinging onto the punk subculture it was based on. Characterised by anti-establishment views and general anarchy, it is every bit as loud and aggressive as you would expect. The play opens in the same manner as the film with Queen Elizabeth I, starring original cast member Toyah Willcox, time travelling forward into a bleak and destitute contemporary Britain – Continue reading at Essential Surrey…

• Stage Review: In the film Toyah Willcox played angry rebel, Mad. Now the 59-year-old punk princess has been elevated to Queen Elizabeth I and she spends most of the production in the theatre’s royal box, watching the action on stage, occasionally breaking into monologues. The Queen is given a vision of the future, and its dystopian desolation initially fills her with pain, before she finds herself sympathising with the group’s radical social commentary – Continue reading at Stage Review…

• A Younger Theatre: Jubilee is superb in its metatheacricality, realising the elements of stagecraft present within Jarman’s film. The script cleverly observes the forty years of cultural change since ’77 and is playful in its interaction with members of the audience. It is absurd, with a peculiar, ravenous kind of beauty and it will leave you craving a cigarette lit by a blaze fiercer than hell on earth – Continue reading at A Younger Theatre…

• The Upcoming: Chris Goode’s stage adaptation of Derek Jarman and James Whaley’s cult classic punk film, Jubilee (1978), can only be described as a wild ride. Semi-plotless, kinky and violent, Jubilee the play is a vintage punk romp amended to include a far more diverse cast, and to rail against today’s troubling political climate, both at home and abroad. Indeed, it seems only natural to apply that old punk rage to 2018, and the violent dystopia that we’re presented with is often all too believable – Continue reading at The Upcoming…

Amazing photos of Toyah as Queen Elizabeth I in Jubilee at the Lyric Hammersmith. View a gallery of shots, including larger versions of the four below, at the Lyric’s Facebook page. (Photos © Tristram Kenton)

Mark Shenton: How do audiences and critics react when a show is designed to provoke them?

At the start of the second act of Jubilee, the stage version of Derek Jarman’s 1978 film that has transferred from Manchester’s Royal Exchange to the Lyric Hammersmith, one of the performers surveys the audience and notes that there have obviously been some early departures.

I was very nearly one of them. I decided that I would spare myself – and the show – the need to write a review (because it is of course a total no-no to do so after only seeing half a production). But, after leaving the theatre in the interval to get a little bit of sugar comfort, I went back.

After the show, I tweeted what a bad time I’d had, and my colleague Lyn Gardner replied: “Oh narrowly missed out on being in my top ten shows last year. I loved it.”

When I searched out her original review of that run, I found she cautioned: “Don’t think of leaving at the interval: the first half may drag a little, but the payoff is delivered in the show’s final 50 minutes, in which fierce energy gives way to aching loss as a generation with no future searches for a phoenix in the ashes.”

• Continue reading at The Stage.