<img src='' title='Event Category: Theatre' alt='' id='templ_icon_' width='' height='' /> Event Category: Theatre

A Beautiful Thread: Thomas Hardy in Words and Music

Performed by Anton Lesser, Lucia Bonbright, and Orchestra of the Swan.  

Starring Anton Lesser, A Beautiful Thread weaves Hardy’s life – dramatic as any of his books – with his beautiful poetry and great novels, including Far From the Madding Crowd, Tess of the d’Urbervilles, and Jude the Obscure. Hardy put more music into his work than any other writer, and Orchestra of the Swan’s Artistic Director, David Le Page has devised a musical programme of shimmering beauty – a Mellstock folk band style, that combines West Gallery music with Holst, Warlock and contemporary folk. Adapted by Deirdre Shields, Hardy’s extraordinary writing shines bright as ever.     

Anton Lesser and Lucia Bonbright bring a hugely varied cast to dazzling life: from Hardy, his mother, Jemima and his wives, Emma and Florence, to George Bernard Shaw, and Virginia Woolf, along with the immortal characters from his novels. The show also highlights Hardy’s humour (often overlooked!), his modernity, the astonishing time-span he lived through, and his global reach, from Hollywood to Japan.   

Anton Lesser says: ‘Words and Music is a kind of unique genre, neither pure reading, nor acting, but with an immediacy that comes from the huge emotional impact the music has upon the words, and vice versa, and the interplay we as actors enjoy with the musicians on-stage. Quite simply, it’s the most enjoyable thing I’ve ever done!’ 

Narrators Anton Lesser, Lucia Bonbright with Orchestra of the Swan 
Director Judy Reaves 
Music Director David Le Page
Producer Hambletts 

 

Red Sky at Sunrise: Laurie Lee in Words and Music

Laurie Lee’s extraordinary story, told in a captivating weave of music and his own words.. 

 

Red Sky at Sunrise follows Laurie Lee through his much-loved Cider with Rosie trilogy – Cider with Rosie, As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning, A Moment of War – , when he famously walked out of the Slad valley one summer morning, and ended up fighting with the International Brigades against Franco’s forces in the Spanish Civil War. 

Anton Lesser (Game of Thrones, Wolf Hall, Endeavour) and Charlie Hamblett (Missing You, Killing Eve, Ghosts) play the role of Laurie Lee older and younger, along with a rich array of other characters. Together, they celebrate Lee’s engaging humour, as well as his darker side, in a performance that has startling resonance with modern events. 

A ‘breathtaking’ musical programme by Orchestra of the Swan weaves around Lee’s writing, from the lush Gloucestershire countryside made famous in Cider With Rosie, to the arid landscapes of Spain. Featuring music from Vaughan Williams, Britten, Turina and de Falla, with guitarist Mark Ashford performing Albéniz and Spanish Romance. 

‘Altogether, it’s a lovely thing.  If you can catch it, do.’
Libby Purves TheatreCat, 5 MICE, Wilton’s 09/24 

Following sell-out ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ performances at RSC and Oxford

‘The two actors and their orchestra encompass Lee’s life completely. The unique use of Orchestra of the Swan is a brilliant and novel device. Red Sky is a triumph, its understated theatricality allowing this musically accompanied autobiography to truly resonate. It leaves us aching for the pastoral wonderland of Lee’s childhood, both the music and the words still echoing around my brain, reminding us of the beauty of life itself.’  
Ox in a Box 

Plum: Homage to Happiness

Sir Stephen Fry hosts a Theatrical Tribute in honour of Sir P.G. Wodehouse, on the 50thAnniversary of the celebrated author leaving us for the greatest clubhouse in the sky.

Join a host of stars, including Alexander Armstrong, Stephen Mangan and Miss Baby Sol, for a glamorous night of Words, Laughter, Glamour and Song from the master behind Jeeves and Bertie and a cavalcade of beloved characters.

The Simon Beck Quartet lead us through glorious songs with Lyrics by Wodehouse and Music by Gershwin, Cole Porter, Kern and Novello.

Devised by Piers Torday and directed by Amy Lane. This sparkling soirée promises to be a night to remember.

Don’t dither—snap up a ticket before Aunt Agatha commandeers the lot!

In aid of the National Literacy Trust

Run At It Laughing – Weekend Pass

Run At It Shouting presents

RUN AT IT LAUGHING - 10 new comedies by Mark Ravenhill

A world where everyone is a fool. Identities are mistaken and swapped. Misunderstandings
abound. Sex and money are on everyone’s mind. And somehow everything works out for
the best.

Bawdy, farcical and humane, Run At It Laughing is an epic celebration of comedy and our
shared humanity.

Based on scenarios first published in Italy in 1611, Run At It Laughing is a cycle of 10 90-minute comedies presented as rehearsed readings over two days.

Each play can be enjoyed by itself or as part of the sequence.

Playwright Mark Ravenhill (whose work has been produced by the RSC, National Theatre
and Royal Court) has written all 10 new plays and directs over 100 actors, as part of
Run At It Shouting’s professional actor development.

All profits from this event will be donated to the Nia Project, which delivers cutting edge
services to end violence against women and children.

To book for individual performances click HERE.

 

Friday 9 May

12:00 – Run At It Horny
14:00 – Run At It Babies
16:00 – Run At It Backstage (all female)
18:00 – Run At It Toothless (all female)
20:00 – Run At It With A Plan (all female)

Saturday 10 May

12:00 – Run At It Twins
14:00 – Run At It In Disguise
16:00 – Run At It Feuding
18:00 – Run At It In The Countryside
20:00 – Run At It With A Vengeance

Run At It Laughing

Run At It Shouting presents

RUN AT IT LAUGHING - 10 new comedies by Mark Ravenhill

A world where everyone is a fool. Identities are mistaken and swapped. Misunderstandings
abound. Sex and money are on everyone’s mind. And somehow everything works out for
the best.

Bawdy, farcical and humane, Run At It Laughing is an epic celebration of comedy and our
shared humanity.

Based on scenarios first published in Italy in 1611, Run At It Laughing is a cycle of 10 90-minute comedies presented as rehearsed readings over two days.

Each play can be enjoyed by itself or as part of the sequence.

Playwright Mark Ravenhill (whose work has been produced by the RSC, National Theatre
and Royal Court) has written all 10 new plays and directs over 100 actors, as part of
Run At It Shouting’s professional actor development.

All profits from this event will be donated to the Nia Project, which delivers cutting edge
services to end violence against women and children.

To book a Weekend Pass to all performances click HERE.

Your Full Price e-ticket for any Run At It Laughing performance will display a discount code that will allow you to book subsequent tickets at the discounted rate of £8. You will also be emailed a discount code the following day.
Or you can book by phoning the Box Office on 020 7702 278

Performance Schedule

Friday 9 May

12:00 – Run At It Horny
14:00 – Run At It Babies
16:00 – Run At It Backstage (all female)
18:00 – Run At It Toothless (all female)
20:00 – Run At It With A Plan (all female)

Saturday 10 May

12:00 – Run At It Twins
14:00 – Run At It In Disguise
16:00 – Run At It Feuding
18:00 – Run At It In The Countryside
20:00 – Run At It With A Vengeance

Romeo and Juliet

Flabbergast Theatre return to Wilton’s with their award-winning approach to the classics. Romeo and Juliet is brought to life with a fresh and innovative outlook, embracing physicality whilst celebrating the verse and bringing musicality and simplicity to the storytelling. This is a tragedy with laughter and tears, beautiful poetry, bawdy jokes and some impressive swashbuckling to boot: expect live music, clowning, mask work and a thoroughly enjoyable evening.

‘Shakespeare’s words wrung into new shapes through raw physical movement” ★★★★ The Telegraph (on Macbeth)

‘If you like your Bard brought thoroughly up to date with muscular direction and full-blooded commitment from those on stage then this will give you much pleasure.’ ★★★★ Fairy Powered Productions

‘Romeo and Juliet as you have never seen them before’ ★★★★ A View From the Stalls

‘An excellent production… innovative and moving’ ★★★★★ Behind The Arras

 

Creative Team 

Director – Henry Maynard
Assistant Director – Nadav Burstein
Musical Consultant – Nick Hart 
Lighting Design – Rachel Shipp
Design & Costume – Henry Maynard 
Choreography – Briony O’Callaghan 
Associate Directors – Briony O’Callaghan & Simon Gleave 
Movement Consultant – Matej Matejka 

Cast

Nadav Burstein – Tybalt
Daniel Chrisotomou – Duke/Friar Lawrence/Peter
Vyte Garriga – Nurse
Simon Gleave – Mercutio
Lennie Longworth – Juliet
Henry Maynard – Lord Capulet/Benvolio
Kyll Thomas-Cole – Romeo

www.flabbergasttheatre.co.uk
Instagram: FLABBERGAST_THEATRE
Facebook: FLABBERGASTTHEATRE

Macbeth

The Duke’s Theatre Company presents  

MACBETH  

By William Shakespeare  

Director – Robert Shaw Cameron 
Designer – Jessica Curtis  
Producers – Bobby Delaney and Laura Matthews

The Duke’s Theatre Company‘s production of Macbeth offers a dynamic reimagining of Shakespeare’s classic tragedy. Known for their bold and innovative interpretations, the company brings a contemporary edge to the dark tale of ambition, murder, and madness. Director Robert Shaw Cameron (Coronation Street, Regents Park Open Air Theatre, Sheffield Crucible) and designer Jessica Curtis (Hampstead Theatre, Almeida Theatre, Royal National Theatre) make a production with a cast of seven industry leading actors. With a strong focus on the psychological unravelling of the protagonists, this adaptation takes The Duke’s into a new era of open-air Summer touring.  

Dear Loll

Hambletts Productions present 

Dear Loll: A Wartime Marriage in Letters

Starring Daisy Waterstone (Margot from ITV’s THE DURRELLS) & Charlie Hamblett (Netflix’s MISSING YOU)

 

“I thought I might have to go on without you” 

Called up to fight in World War II in the summer of 1940, the Manchester Guardian journalist Gerard Fay joined the army as an ordinary soldier while his wife Alice or ‘Loll’ (short for Lollipop) remained in the north of England.  

On the 80th Anniversary year of VE Day, Dear Loll brings to the stage the candid and compelling correspondence between the young couple. 

The thousands of intimate letters are their only means of communication and are full of drama, humour and emotion. Writing virtually every day, sometimes twice a day, their correspondence over four years is previously unheard testimony to the experiences of ordinary people in World War II and gives a fascinating insight into how one couple survived, both physically and mentally. They describe the warp and weft of a marriage and the loneliness of separation – a grief that was shared by tens of thousands.  

With live onstage music from the Le Page Ensemble 

Adapted by Rosanna Greenstreet and Matthew Fay 

Director Judy Reaves 

Music arranged by David Le Page 

CSI: Crime Scene Improvisation

No one knows who the killer is, not even the cast!

Following multiple five-star sell-out runs at the Edinburgh Fringe, CSI: Crime Scene Improvisation returns with another rip-roaring crime comedy made up entirely on the spot.

Who? What? How? The choice is yours in this fully-improvised, witty and absurd murder mystery where the audience creates the crime. 

Solving made up crimes for over 10 hilarious years! 

WINNER: Colchester Fringe 2024: ‘The Comedy Award’ 
WINNER: Leicester Comedy Festival 2023:  ‘Best Improvisation’ Award 

Website: crimesceneimpro.com 

Twitter: twitter.com/crimesceneimpro 

Instagram: instagram.com/crimesceneimpro 

Bonding

The Myth, Legend and Legacy of Bond 

Presented by James Seabright

Written and performed by Cyril Blake 

Directed by Matthew Parker 

 

Cyril Blake’s sell-out hit from the Edinburgh Fringe explores the myth, legend and legacy of James Bond – and what it all means to guys trying to find their way through life and love. Stephen has always wanted to be James Bond. He’s got a tux, a fancy watch and he shakes everything he drinks. But is this a good idea? Bond is a misogynist dinosaur, right?  

Journey through 60 years of Bond and 30 years of Stephen as we find out if he can fulfil his father’s idea of masculinity without becoming toxic. 

This sell-out hit is directed by nine-time nominee and two-time OFFIE winner, Matthew Parker and stars Cyril Blake as Stephen.  

★★★★★ “Blake’s brilliance shines, seamlessly blending the lines between performer and character.”  The Nerd Party 

★★★★ “Explores the James Bond films, and life from being grandson of a coalminer to sharing Bond films with his father.” Fringe Fan 

★★★★★ “Hilarious and moving. Exceptional!” Calvin Dyson, James Bond Expert 

X/Facebook/Instagram: @bondingshow