IAN
BARRITT TO STAR IN THE TEMPEST
Remember
Rough, the enigmatic investigator in Gaslight,
the closing play in Southwold & Aldeburgh summer season
2009? Well, Ian Barritt who played him so mesmerisingly
has landed the plum role of Prospero in the forthcoming
Bristol production of Shakespeare's The Tempest by
the acclaimed Shakespeare at the Tobacco Factory.
The
dates are from Thursday 25 March to Saturday 1 May (No
performances on Easter Monday 5 April). Evening performances
start at 7.30pm on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays and
8.00 pm on Thursdays and Fridays. There are matinees at
2.30 pm every Saturday except 3 April as well as on Thursday
22 and Thursday 29 April. Booking is not yet open but
Follow this link for more.http://www.tobaccofactorytheatre.com/
The
New Wolsey Theatre - Ipswich
Spring
season now booking
The
season opens on 3 February and runs to 22 May and, as
well as a host of visiting productions, includes two New
Wolsey productions:
Noises
Off by Michael Frayn, Directed by Peter
Rowe – Friday 19 February to Sat 13 March
Director
- Peter Rowe, Designer - Richard Foxton. The cast: Lloyd
- Jamie Newall, Dotty - Rosemary Ashe, Garry - Charles
Davies, Belinda - Jemma Churchill, Freddy - Robin Kermode,
Brooke - Saskia Butler, Selsdon - Col Farrell, Tim - Gavin
Spokes, Poppy - Victoria Yeates
Performances:Friday
19 February to Saturday 13 March at 7.45pm
Matinèes:
Wednesday 24 and Saturday 27 February, Wednesday 3, Saturday
6, Wednesday 10 and Saturday 13 March at 2.30pm
Post-show
talk: Thursday 4 March
Tickets:
£8.50 to £22.50
Matinèe
flat rate: £8.50
Captioned
Performance: Thursday 11 March at 7.45pm
Audio
Described Performance: Saturday 13 March at 2.30pm
Up on the Roof by Simon Moore
and Jane Prowse, Directed by Peter Rowe, a bittersweet
and affectionate musical comedy that celebrates the enduring
power of friendship. A New Wolsey/Oldham Coliseum co-production
which opens at Oldham Coliseum on 9 April and plays at
the New Wolsey Theatre from 5 to 22 May.
For details of all
the New Wolsey's spring productions, visit www.wolseytheatre.co.uk
The New Wolsey has
introduced an improved group discount for spring ’10
offering £3 off each ticket for groups of 10+, £4
off for groups of 25+ and £5 off for groups of 50+
and Schools, Colleges and Youth Groups can now secure
an £8.50 flat rate. The matinee rate stays at £8.50
and Under 26s can secure tickets for just £5 on
the day of a performance.
Tickets
can be purchased online at www.wolseytheatre.co.uk
or by calling the Box Office on 01473 295900
Middle
Ground Theatre Company Ltd presents
FRANKIE
& JOHNNY IN THE CLAIR DE LUNE
By
Terrence McNally
Directed
and designed by Michael Lunney
Music
by Lynette Webster
New
Wolsey Theatre, Ipswich – Monday 22 to Saturday
27 March
CAST
LIST
Frankie
Kelly McGillis
Johnny
Rolf Saxon
International
film star Kelly McGillis and West End and film favourite
Rolf Saxon star in this lavish new production of Terrence
McNally’s classic love story, set in 1980s New York.
Hard-boiled
waitress Frankie and cock-sure chef Johnny find themselves
in bed together after a first date. Johnny is certain
he has found his soul mate, but Frankie is far more cautious
and less inclined to jump to conclusions. As the night
unfolds, they slowly begin to reveal themselves to each
other as they take tentative steps towards the start of
a possible relationship in this funny and tender romantic
comedy.
Originally
an Off-Broadway hit, the production also spawned a film
version starring Al Pacino and Michelle Pfeiffer.
Kelly
McGillis is known for box office film smashes including
"Witness" with Harrison Ford, for which she
received a golden globe nomination, "The Accused"
with Jodie Foster, and of course the biggest box office
film of 1986 - "Top Gun" with Tom Cruise. Her
many stage appearances include Sir Peter Hall’s
“A Midsummer Night’s Dream” and “Hedda
Gabler” on Broadway.
Rolf
Saxon’s many films include “Mission : Impossible”
and “Entrapment”. His West-End roles include
Billy Flynn in “Chicago”, “Laughter
on the 23rd Floor”, and “The Seven Year Itch”
opposite Darryl Hannah. Rolf has previously performed
at the New Wolsey in Death and the Maiden and Blues for
Mr Charlie.
Tickets
for this adult comedy can be booked online at www.wolseytheatre.co.uk
or by calling the New Wolsey Box Office on 01473 295900
"Orpheus
Down Under" at the Norwich Playhouse with Unexpected
Opera
Unexpected
Opera present opera in unexpected ways, with and for unexpected
people. The company perform classic works with clarity
and humour, often reworking the story and changing the
setting, opening up the genre to a whole new audience,
while still entertaining opera devotees.
The
company, who last visited the Playhouse with The Barber
of Savile Row – their anarchic take on Rossini’s
Barber of Seville – are back with an even more unexpected
and highly individual version of Offenbach’s Orpheus
in the Underworld.
How
will Eurydice escape the suburbs and her intolerable husband,
Orpheus? What’s it like to go down under with the
King of the Underworld? Is the barbecue sauce on Bondi
Beach really better than ambrosia?
Full
of witty dialogue and charming songs taken from Offenbach’s
original opera, performed by a cast of twelve plus live
musicians, come and enjoy a romp across the globe with
the opera that introduced the world to the Can-Can!
Tickets
are £15, or £12 for concessions.
To
book tickets, or to find out more, please call the Norwich
Playhouse Box Office (based at Norwich Theatre Royal)
on 01603 598598, or visit www.norwichplayhouse.co.uk
.
LATEST
NEWS ON THE TOUR
The
train is stoking up a full head of steam now as final
arrangements come together for the Spring Tour of last
year’s production: THE LADY VANISHES.
Triode Productions, the producers of this tour, have been
working hard to put together a viable itinerary which
currently stands thus:
18th January – 2 weeks’ rehearsals in Southwold;
the week of: 1st February – Hull New Theatre; 8th
February – Winchester Theatre Royal; 15th February
– Newcastle Tyne Theatre; 22nd February –
Poole Lighthouse; 1st March – Chelmsford Civic Theatre;
22nd March – Bury St. Edmunds Theatre Royal.
We are still hoping to fill the middle weeks of March.
From the original cast, we are pleased to welcome back
Penelope Rawlins as Iris and Clive Flint as Charters.
They will be joined by Southwold regulars: Jane Evers
as Miss Froy; Nia Davies as Gladys; and Andrew Bone as
Caldicott. We are also delighted to welcome aboard two
newcomers: Darrell Brockis and Terry Molloy. Darrell –
who will play Gilbert – is a versatile actor and
musician who has recently been touring in The BFG. Terry
is well-known from radio as milkman Mike Tucker in The
Archers. He has also appeared perennially in Dr. Who as
Davros, the creator of the Daleks. A fine background for
Dr. Egon Hartz, the sinister Austrian brain specialist.
Triode Productions is indebted to FESPA for providing
us with grant funding to get us this far. We are operating
on a very tight budget and are grateful to AKT Productions
for sponsorship. If there are any individuals or companies
among The Friends who would like to join the Angels and
help sponsor the tour, please contact Mark Sterling at
4, Wood View, Sibton, IP17 2NH. Mark@triodeproductions.co.uk
www.theladyvanishes.co.uk
Mark Sterling
REVIEW
OF THE 2009
SUMMER THEATRE SEASON
Tony
Falkingham writes
Our
Anniversary season was so well received last year that
in the present economic climate we were apprehensive about
how well 2009 would do, but I am pleased to to be able
to tell you that business held up very well indeed.
In
this, our 26th year in Southwold and 15th in Aldeburgh,
Jill Freud & Company presented 70 performances of
the main season in Southwold and 39 performances in Aldeburgh
There were 54 performances of Children’s Shows and
3 Sunday Evenings, including a charity performance in
aid of The Actors’ Charitable Trust and there were
14 performances of our lunchtime programme at Sutherland
House, making a total of 180 performances in 9.5 weeks.
We welcomed 23,000 visitors with an additional 2,000 children.
We played to 87% capacity audience in Southwold and 81%
in Aldeburgh.
The
Company comprised 40 performers, 20 production or administrative
staff,
7 students and 50 local part time or voluntary staff.
The
company is very nearly self-sufficient with only 5% of
its income provided by subsidy or donation, this contrasts
with a figure of 15.42% ten years ago.
In
2009 we introduced more Thursday matinee performances
and together with our popular Saturday matinees brought
an extra 5,200 visitors to the towns and who are welcomed
in shops and cafes. Pre-theatre suppers at the more enterprising
restaurants continue to be very popular.
The
Friends organisation (FESPA) under the Chairmanship of
Sidi Scott is to be congratulated on the success of the
student bursaries scheme and has been able to let it continue
a second year. The company is grateful to the Friends
for their continuing financial support. In addition to
helping with our student scheme and the children’s
theatre, they were able to sponsor the lunchtime programme
as well. The thrice yearly newsletter under the editorship
of Barry Tolfree continues to attract wide-spread praise.
Robert Adey continues in his position as chairman of the
Management Committee which continues to meet twice-yearly.
We
were able to visit to the Yvonne Arnaud Theare in Guildford
again. This year with our production of Crooked Wood.
It
says a lot about the dedication and sheer hard work of
the company that despite a more difficult climate I am
able to report such a favourable result
Anthony
Falkingham
