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His Majesty’s Aberdeen is set for drama, sizzling romance and cutting-edge performances


By David Porter

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Murder on the Orient Express heads to the north-east.
Murder on the Orient Express heads to the north-east.

An international flavour, gripping drama, sizzling romance and cutting-edge performance are among the themes on offer in a string of newly announced shows bound for His Majesty’s Theatre.

Described as “a symphony of acrobatics, sound and light” Humans 2.0 from Australian based Circa will stop off in Aberdeen as part of a brand new international season for the city curated by Aberdeen Performing Arts, with productions here for the Edinburgh Festival Fringe adding the north-east to their visit to Scotland for the first time. The exciting circus performance of Ten Thousand Hours from Australian company Gravity and Other Myths features in this season with further announcements on the full line-up coming soon.

Audiences will be taken on a journey as Agatha Christie’s classic whodunnit, Murder on the Orient Express, is on track to visit Aberdeen from February 11-15 2025, Ghost the Musical (November 5-9) promises to tug on the heartstrings, and one of the most critically acclaimed plays of the 20th century,

A Streetcar Named Desire is set to wow from November 12-14, and adventure is guaranteed with Dinosaur World Live on October 15-16. Cult favourite Heathers (September 24-28), has also joined the 2024 line-up alongside murder mystery Rebus: A Game of Malice which will keep you guessing from September 16- 21.

Dance fans will be entranced by ‘NOW’, a new creation by choreographer Jasmin Vardimon MBE on October 19, while a fun night out is guaranteed by Girls Night Oot on November 15 and A Night at the Musicals on November 16.

Ten Thousand Hours comes to HMT Aberdeen.
Ten Thousand Hours comes to HMT Aberdeen.

Aberdeen Performing Arts Chief Executive Sharon Burgess said “We always strive to bring the very best entertainment to Aberdeen audiences, and with an already strong season ahead this announcement takes it another level with all bases covered – drama, mystery, romance, cutting edge dance, and some light-hearted fun in there too.

“The new international season will be an incredibly exciting addition to Aberdeen’s cultural scene and we have more announcements waiting in the wings so watch this space!”

Humans 2.0 heads up a new season of events forming a brand new international festival for Aberdeen. A symphony of acrobatics, sound and light, this is next level circus by Circa. Ten bodies appear in a flash of light. They move in harmony for a fleeting moment and then descend into a sinuous trance. Towers grow and decay, bodies leap and are caught, as physical limits are pushed to their extreme. Can we ever find a perfect balance or is adapting to constant change the only way forward?

This next chapter of Circa’s internationally acclaimed Humans is a tightly woven choreography of bodies, pulsing with music by composer Ori Lichtik and revealed in Paul Jackson’s dramatic lighting. Created by circus visionary Yaron Lifschitz, Humans 2.0 is intimate, primal and deeply engaged with the challenge of being human.

Ten Thousand Hours from Gravity and Other Myths visits His Majesty’s Theatre on Thursday 25 and Friday 26 July. A circus and physical theatre performance sees eight elite acrobats investigate physical skill, how we obtain it and how it can transform our lives. Described as jaw-dropping, the acrobatic performance is a love letter to our bodies and the amazing things they let us do every day and includes visual storytelling, movement and contemporary dance.

Murder on the Orient Express stops off at His Majesty’s next February. Winter 1934 and an avalanche stops The Orient Express dead in its tracks. One murderer. A train full of suspects. An impossible case. Trapped in the snow with a killer still on-board, can the world’s most famous detective, Hercule Poirot, crack the case before the train reaches its final destination?

Murder on the Orient Express is one of Agatha Christie’s greatest literary achievements, with a final twist that is amongst her very best. Gripping, tense and masterfully cryptic, this brand- new production is a deliciously thrilling ride and an ingenious murder mystery, guaranteed to keep you guessing until the end of the line.

Written by multi Brit Award winner Dave Stewart and Grammy award winning Glen Ballard, with a script by Bruce Joel Rubin based on his OSCAR winning screenplay, Ghost the Musical brings all the romance and magic of the classic story to life on stage Ghost has cemented its place as one of the most significant successes in cinematic history. A smash hit across the globe, Ghost the Musical features The Righteous Brothers’ Unchained Melody alongside many more terrific songs co-written by Eurythmics’ Dave Stewart.

A Streetcar Named Desire from Pitlochry Festival Theatre is one of the most critically acclaimed and extraordinary plays of the twentieth century. Ready yourselves for a sizzling night out. After losing her family home and prosperous life, former southern belle Blanche Dubois moves into the shabby apartment of her younger sister Stella and her husband Stanley Kowalski in a poor neighbourhood in New Orleans. Blanche and Stanley take an immediate dislike to one another. The conflict between them heats up as Blanche attempts to convince her sister to leave her abusive husband. Tensions mount with tragic consequences for Blanche.

Dare to experience the dangers and delights of Dinosaur World Live in this roarsome interactive show for all the family. Grab your compass and join our intrepid explorer across uncharted territories to discover a pre-historic world of astonishing (and remarkably life-like) dinosaurs. Meet a host of impressive creatures, including every child’s favourite flesh-eating giant, the Tyrannosaurus Rex, a Triceratops, Giraffatitan, Microraptor and Segnosaurus. A special meet and greet after the show offers all our brave explorers the chance to make a new dinosaur friend.

Heathers the Musical comes to Aberdeen
Heathers the Musical comes to Aberdeen

Following a smash hit West End run and two national tours the WhatsOnStage ‘Best New Musical’ winner, Heathers the Musical is on tour this year, visiting Aberdeen’s His Majesty’s Theatre from September 24-28. Produced by Bill Kenwright Ltd and Paul Taylor-Mills, this high octane, black comedy, rock musical based on one of the greatest cult teen films of all-time that starred Winona Ryder and Christian Slater, is back with a bang! Welcome to Westerberg High, where popularity is so very a matter of life and death, and Veronica Sawyer is just another of the nobodies dreaming of a better day. But when she’s unexpectedly taken under the wings of the three beautiful and impossibly cruel Heathers, her dreams of popularity finally start to come true. That is until JD turns up, the mysterious teen rebel who teaches her that it might kill to be a nobody, but it’s murder being a somebody.

Rebus: A Game Called Malice visits from September 16-21. A splendid dinner party in an Edinburgh stately home concludes with a murder mystery game created by the hostess. A murder needs to be solved. But the guests have secrets of their own, threatened by the very game they are playing. And among them is Inspector John Rebus. True crime is his calling. he playing an alternative game, one to which only he knows the rules? There are suspects, clues and danger with every twist and turn - and a shocking discovery will send this game called ‘Malice' hurtling towards a gasp-inducing conclusion. Sir Ian Rankin is the multimillion-copy award-winning bestseller of over thirty novels worldwide and creator of John Rebus. His books have been translated into thirty-six languages and have been adapted for radio, the stage and the screen. His Rebus novels have dominated the detective fiction market with the ensuing television series ensuring the detective’s legendary status.

‘NOW’, a new creation by choreographer Jasmin Vardimon MBE, will celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Jasmin Vardimon Company and will be presented in partnership with Citymoves Dance Agency as part of DanceLive Festival 2024. It will reflect the current moment, the present, the now, and the continuous movement of time. With an interest in contemporary lives, the structures of our society, and the ever-changing socio-political dynamics, Jasmin uses her distinctive dance theatre and creative approach to tell a story of our time.

With a remarkable international cast of performers, and relevant and iconic moments from the Company repertoire, NOW will celebrate the beauty of imagination and art. In Girls Night Oot, join the girls on a hen night that you won’t forget with a smash hit retro soundtrack, with songs from 60’s,70’s, 80’s, 90’s and Now! Songs include Hot Stuff, Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, I'm Every Woman and many more! From the producers that brought you the smash-hit Girls' Night Oot! comes A Night at the Musicals. Join our first-class professional cast as they sing some of the best show tunes from London's West End and Broadway.

Four fabulous singers will perform songs from shows such as Les Misérables, Phantom of the Opera, Wicked, and many more. A Night at the Musicals has been touring Scotland for over ten years and has audiences dancing in the aisles.

Book your tickets now for an evening of sensational singing and brilliant banter.

Tickets for all of these shows go on sale on Thursday, March 28, available from www.aberdeenperformingarts.com, phone (01224) 641122 or visit the box office at His Majesty’s Theatre or the Music Hall.


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