July 2010

Another season over, and we can all catch our breath for a few months before the 2010/11 season gets underway.

And it’s been quite a year! Four very different plays, all well received and playing to enthusiastic audiences.

We kicked off the season with a bit of blood and black humour in the Victorian melodrama " Sweeney Todd, The Demon Barber of Fleet Street " , directed by Jeremy Smith, which ran for eight nights (instead of the usual six). One of the most complex sets we’ve ever built, a beautifully painted mural in the theatre passageway and free meat pies in the interval all added to the atmosphere and got the season off to a bloody good start!

We followed that, just before Christmas, with " Comfort and Joy " , a riotous festive comedy written by Mike Harding and directed by Kath Ankers (now Kath Evans... congratulations!), which struck a few chords with people - too much food, too much tele and too much family!

A complete change of mood for our Spring production - Anton Chekov’s " The Seagull " , directed by Neil Rhodes. With its clever script and lavish costumes, this was a cultural gem.

The season ended just a few weeks ago with " Shakers " , the sister play to Bouncers which the Attfield staged last year. Roger Williams directed the cast of four young ladies who took on dozens of roles in a slick, colourful, lively tour de force which certainly rounded off the season on a high note.

New Season

So how do we follow that? Well, the answer is... with another fantastic season of plays, guaranteed to please.

First up is " Theft " by Eric Chappell, a comedy thriller with some neat twists and surprises to keep you guessing. Eric is probably best known for writing the hit TV sitcoms Rising Damp and Only When I Laugh. Starts on October 4 ^th.

Before Christmas it’s Jane Austen’s " Pride and Prejudice " , with more smouldering romance and posh frocks than you can shake a stick at. Starts December 6^th.

Early in 2011 comes " A Day In The Death of Joe Egg " by Peter Nichols, an edgy 1980s period drama which questions the way we look at disability. It will make you laugh, make you cry and probably make you angry. Don’t miss it. Opening night is March 7^th.

Last up is Alan Ayckbourn’s " Improbable Fiction " , in which a group of writers - all specialising in different genres - meet up for their monthly discussion. Between bickering they discuss their various projects when suddenly - BANG - there is a flash of lightning and the various books and crazy characters come alive before our very eyes! It’s wonderfully bizarre and fabulously funny in that inimitable Ayckbourn style. Opening night is May 16^th.

The Following Season!

And already we are making plans for the 2011/12 season! Plays currently being considered are:

" The Elephant Man "by Bernard Pomerance;

" Communicating Doors " by Alan Ayckbourn;

" Stags and Hens " by Willy Russell;

" The Coarse Acting Show " by Michael Green;

" Last Tango in Little Grimley " by David Tristram;

" Terranova " by Ted Tally;

" The Steamie " by Tony Roper;

" One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest ", the stage adaptation of Ken Kesey's film by Dale Wasserman;

" Little Voice " by Mark Herman;

" Same Time Next Year " by Bernard Slade

and " Women on the Verge of HRT. " by Marie Jones