Amateur Stage January 2009 by Amateur Stage Limited

asmagazine maga JANUARY 2009 £2.40

THE INDEPENDENT MAGAZINE FOR COMMUNITY THEATRE

PLAYS AND PLAYSCRIPTS

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NEWS

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asmagazine jan09 from the EditorIAL TEAM Hapy New Year!! Giving AS a makeover is proving to be a challenging task. Everyone we speak to has a very distinct idea of what they want from this magazine and in many cases it’s in direct contrast to what other people are looking for. For months now the musical based groups have been complaining we cover too much drama whilst the drama groups think its the other way around. To try to alleviate the problem we will be starting to increase the size of the magazine and cover both! We continue to be reliant on press officers to send us information on what everyone is doing so please make sure the press officer from your group has our current contact details. We are also trying to increase festival coverage and update the contacts databases that groups use regularly. We’ve re-instated the letters page this month to endeavour to give you a forum to voice your views. We hope that you’ll take advantage of this to let us know your thoughts. Until next month. The Editorial Team

THIS MONTH 5

EDITOR’S LETTERS

NEWS

News from around the country.

FIRST NIGHT INSURANCE

This month see’s the return of the letter’s page after 4 yrs!!

Robert Israel discusses the latest insurance issues.

THE PLAY PRODUCED

We look at the Festival Players production of Butterflies Are Free.

PLAYS AND PLAYSCRIPTS

AS looks at Revisiting Classic Plays with Philip Holyman, How To Get Your Playscript Published, offers a directory of Rightsholders and reviews new plays.

AETF ONE ACT FESTIVAL DIARY

WEST END / BOOKS / CD REVIEWS

credits

TECH TALK

Dan Herbert and Andy Tinsey talk about speakers and microphones.

DIARY

February - April listings and recent production pics.

CLASSIFIEDS

Published monthly by Next Phase Media Limited Suite 404 Albany House, 324/326 Regent Street, London W1B 3HH P: 0870 233 2040 www.asmagazine.co.uk Editor : editor@asmagazine.co.uk Advertising : sales@asmagazine.co.uk Subscriptions/ Diary Listings : Paul Webster diary@asmagazine.co.uk All rights reserved throughout the world. No part of this magazine may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form or by any means, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the written consent of AS Magazine. The views and opinions expressed by the contributors to this magazine may not necessarily represent the views of AS Magazine. (c) 2008 Next Phase Media Ltd

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ARE YOU LISTED?

THE COMMUNITY ARTS DIRECTORY 2009 A comprehensive listing of over 1500 societies in the UK. Detailed information on venues available for hire. Training establishments along with course descriptions. Directory of performing rights holders. Complete directory of play festivals. Publishers & Publications. Suppliers & Services catering to your societies every need!

THE COMMU NITY ARTS DIREC TORY 2009 4TH EDITIO

“It has to be one of the most valuable reference books of it’s kind in print”. THE STAGE www.communityartsdirectory.com Listing & Advertising Enquiries 0870 233 2040

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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Starting this month we are bringing back the Letters page for our readers to express their feedback. We’d love to hear what you have to say about the contents of the magazine and it is our hope that this page may help spark some debate. The Editorial Team

A BUNCH OF AMATEURS I refer to your feature in the December edition of AS headed “A Bunch of Amateurs”. However good this film may be I am afraid I shall not be going to see it. Whilst you may be (as editors) “new boys on the block” (not meaning to be disrespectful) many of those involved in nonprofessional theatre will feel let down by reference to Sir Derek confessing to enjoying playing a terrible (amateur) actor in the film. And his response to to being asked if he enjoyed sending up amateur dramatics. The whole tone of the subject matter of the film is disrespectful to those of us who work (unpaid) so hard to raise public perception of non-professional theatre and in many respects are winning the battle. That is why you will never hear me refer to what we do as ‘amateur dramatics’ meaning ‘not very good’. I had thought you were batting for our side on AS as its predecessors always have done. Not knowing your backgrounds (unlike your predecessors) now I am not so sure. Please print this letter in AS to open up a discussion. Maybe it is just me being ultra sensitive but I rather think not. In Disappointment Richard Jones (Bristol) The Team: We’re glad that the article in last month’s issue has prompted a response from Richard. We were unsure about Derek’s comments but decided to print them to see what feedback, if any, we got. We went along to see the film over the Christmas break and far from being disparaging to amateurs, we found it to be a delightful film that really showed “amateurs” in a great light, and as is often the case, an integral part of any community (see our review later in this issue). Perhaps Derek Jacobi’s comments were unfortunate and perhaps on the surface the title of the film may give the wrong impression, but as far as AS Magazine is concerned however, we are fully supportive of all forms of community theatre and the people who are so giving of their time and effort to make it happen. We’d love to hear from anyone who has seen the film to see what you think.

TECHNICAL FEEDBACK I had a quick look at David Baxter Cue Player (December 2008). I suggest you look at the Australian Cue system used by a number of groups in the Nottingham area. Namely www.soundcuesystem. com by Mike Daniell. The programme is not free, but you can see and try a downloadable version. I think the current ver 10.2 costs around £26 depending on the current exchange rate between here and Australia. All the items in the article in Amatuer Stage are available in the budget version and generally gives the sound engineer a better view of what is happening during a show. Cheers Graham Smith (Smiffy) The Team: Thanks for the feedback Smiffy, glad that people are finding the tech articles of help and contributing extra info that may be of interest.

A PAT ON THE BACK FOR N.O.D.A I read with interest your article about the new NODA training and development programme and wanted to give NODA a pat on the back for helping to develop useful resources for groups around the country. Given the distinct lack of support from government on all levels and given the financial situation that is now enveloping the country any business and support that will help sustain local groups must be applauded. D. Gibbs The Team: We concur. Given the recent survey of volunteers arts in this country it’s a shame that some of the newest initiatives come from NODA and not from the government. Given the current economic climate we doubt that will change anytime soon. NODA should be congratulated on their practical support. We don’t want any more companies to bite the dust!

LOOKING FORWARD Keep an eye out for the following features in upcoming magazines

FEBRUARY Panto Scripts All the latest offerings from the best panto writers in the UK.

MARCH Summer Schools We profile this summers training opportunities. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT US P: 0870 233 2040 E: sales@asmagazine.co.uk

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NEWS This month we remember two people who contributed greatly to the theatre in their own unique way.

DOUGIE CUNNINGHAM - A TRIBUTE Tributes are pouring in for one of Dundee’s best-known entertainers Dougie Cunningham who has died at the age of 86. Born in Broughty Ferry, Dougie produced, directed and appeared with many of the local societies over a career spanning well over 50 years. Dougie’s career in amateur dramatics started before the outbreak of the Second World War. He was called up for war service in 1940 and ended up entertaining the troops, mostly RAF, as part of the Ralph Reader Gang Show that toured the UK and overseas. For much of the war, Dougie performed all over the Indian sub-continent. Amongst the highlights of his performances were playing before Admiral Lord Mountbatten and treading the boards with Dick Emery. Dougie fell in love with India and, after briefly returning home at the end of hostilities, went to work in the jute industry in Calcutta having started in that line of work in 1938 with Dundee firm A&S Henry Ltd. He married his childhood sweetheart Edith, who was to make most of his costumes, in 1949. The couple returned to Dundee where Dougie continued to work in the jute industry, eventually becoming company secretary of Scott & Robertson Ltd and secretary of Tay Textiles Ltd, Thomas Boag & Co. Ltd., Paprosales Ltd. and Papropack Ltd. He became producer of Downfield Musical Society in 1956 and held the post until 1969 having produced many successful shows. He became well known locally for his portrayal of the panto Dame in flamboyant

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dresses and “fruit and veg” hats. He was then involved with Dundee Dramatic Society for many years before deciding to take a less active role in amateur dramatics following his retiral from Scott & Robertson. However, he continued to use his expertise with dramatic and musical societies in Carnoustie, Montrose and Anstruther. Four years ago, he received an award from the National Operatic and Dramatic Association to mark 65 years service to the amateur stage. The lifetime achievement award, believed to be the first in UK, was presented by local NODA representative Roger Buist on stage at the end of a Downfield Musical Society production. Today, Mr Buist said he had lost a friend of 50 years. He added, “He was a major figure in amateur dramatic circles. I’m sure he will be sadly missed by an awful lot of people in Dundee.” In recent years Dougie’s major public appearances in Dundee were at the city’s Royal British Legion Scotland Festival of Rembrance in the Caird Hall each November, where he led the community singing. Festival Press Officer, Colonel Alasdair Maclean, said, “This is extremely sad news and a great loss for the festival as well as for the city. “Our city has lost a talent of immense stature and is much the poorer for it. Dougie will never be forgotten as long there is a stage in Dundee with Dundee folk performing on it.” Dougie, predeceased by Edith, is survived by his daughter, Judith. Bruce Robbins Courtesy - Dundee Evening Telegraph

HAROLD PINTER Harold Pinter, the son of tailor from London’s East End who rose to become one of the nation’s greatest playwrights, has died aged 78 after a prolonged battle with cancer. Directors and actors joined Pinter’s friends and wife, Lady Antonia Fraser, to pay tribute to the Nobel Laureate whose style and literary significance has been compared to James Joyce, Samuel Beckett and Albert Camus. He died on Christmas Eve. Not only a remarkable playwright with one of the most illustrious careers in contemporary theatre, Pinter’s career also encompassed acting, poetry and political activism as a vociferous critic of American and British foreign policy. Just as remarkable as the body of writing he has left behind was the memory of a man who simply refused to give in. Even after publicly announcing his cancer diagnosis, he continued to write, direct and campaign in spite of his growing physical frailty. Michael Gambon, the distinguished actor said “He was a great, great playwright, and a great lover of actors. He was very supportive when we performed Betrayal. I remember one scene wasn’t working well and he’d come to rehearsals every second day. He watched the run-through and said, ‘The scene doesn’t work because the table’s in the wrong position.’ He has a real instinct for theatre. It was refreshing to be in his plays. There was two miles of subtext under your feet and his dialogue was brilliant,” he said. Pinter was born into a Jewish family in the London Borough of Hackney. His grandparents had fled persecution in Poland and Odessa. He was attracted to acting from an early age and his political activism was evident when in 1948 he refused, as a conscientious objector, to do National Service. After two spells in drama school, he began his theatre career as a rep actor, using the stage name David Baron. He joined a touring company in 1951, and it was some years later in 1957 that he wrote his first play, The Room, for Bristol University’s drama department. It was a defining moment for Pinter. His career took off in the late 1950s and S60’s with subsequent plays such as The Caretaker, The Birthday Party and The Homecoming, which were perceived as ground-breaking because they explored the psychological drama and often, the menace, that underlay family and marital relationships. They were credited for creating a new

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brand of theatrical silence and pause with which his work became synonymous. Later, this device would become known as “Pinteresque” and be adopted by devotees of his work. As his theatre career flourished, Pinter also branched out into film screenplays, The Servant, The GoBetween and, most famously, The French Lieutenant’s Woman. Two years ago, he was awarded the Nobel Prize – worth 10m Swedish krona (£735,000) – the highest honour afforded to any writer in the world. He had been garlanded with many previous honours, He was appointed CBE in 1966, the German Shakespeare Prize in 1970, the Austrian State Prize for European Literature in 1973 and the David Cohen British Literature Prize in 1995. He was also awarded a number of honorary degrees. Aside from being showered by establishment accolades, he was also a radical figure. He refused a knighthood from John Major in 1996, saying he was “unable to accept such an honour from a Conservative government”. Just under six years ago, he was diagnosed with cancer of the oesophagus. In February 2005, he said: “I think I’ve stopped writing plays now ... I’ve written 29 plays. Isn’t that enough?”

PANTOMIMES

Performance s Technical s Acting s Directing Physical Theatre s Musical Directors

By JOHN CROCKER

The Smaller Cast Versions ALADDIN “PEAK OF PANTO PERFECTION” Exeter Express & Echo MOTHER GOOSE “FUN FILLED SCRIPT” Western Morning News SLEEPING BEAUTY “ A RIP-ROARING SUCCESS” Exmouth Herald CINDERELLA “TRADITIONAL PANTO AT IT’S BEST” Hampshire Gazette DICK WHITTINGTON “A CRACKER OF A PANTO” Evening Herald, Plymouth BABES IN THE WOOD “WONDERFUL NEW CHRISTMAS PANTO” Herald Express and the latest JACK AND THE BEANSTALK “GIANT CHRISTMAS TREAT” Tiverton Crediton, Culm Valley Gazette

Passionate about theatre Professional training courses for outstanding amateur theatre

PLUS the much loved favourites with music and lyrics by ERIC GILDER CINDERELLA, PUSS IN BOOTS, DICK WHITTINGTON, ALADDIN, BABES IN THE WOOD, SINBAD THE SAILOR, MOTHER GOOSE, ROBINSON CRUSOE, SLEEPING BEAUTY, HUMPTY DUMPTY, QUEEN OF HEARTS, RED RIDING HOOD, JACK AND THE BEANSTALK And a zany potted panto sketch POTTY PANTOMIME

Summer

School 2009

1 – 8 August, Loughborough University

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Also a Rock Musical THE FRANKENSTEIN MONSTER SHOW By JOHN CROCKER and TIM HAMPTON Music by KEN BOLAM Lyrics by LES SCOTT All obtainable from SAMUEL FRENCH LIMITED 52 Fitzroy St, London W1P 6JR Ph: 020 7387 9373

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NEWS

CAN YOU FILL THESE SHOES? NORTH Devon’s award winning amateur dramatics society Braunton Productions is searching for its next leading lady, in X-Factor style. It needs someone to play Dorothy Gale in the hit musical The Wizard of Oz, which will be showing at the Queen’s Theatre in Barnstaple in July. A mass audition will take place on January 31 between 2pm and 6pm, when the production team will put all the potential Dorothys through their paces with dialogue, singing and movement exercises and by the end of the day only five girls will be selected to progress to the next round. Over four Saturdays throughout February the five girls will sing and act their socks off in a series of auditions, which will be

filmed and broadcast on the Find Dorothy website www.finddorothy.co.uk, where the public will vote to keep their favourite in the competition and the two girls with the fewest votes will have to do a ‘sing-off,’ with one girl each week leaving the competition. Director Jake Goodenough said: “I think that most importantly my Dorothy has bags of personality. She is feisty and needs to be able to capture the audience’s attention from the moment that she steps out onto the Queen’s Theatre stage. “As a character, Dorothy needs to have a lot of stamina as she is on stage 99% of the show! This is the people’s Dorothy as the public will vote each week to keep their favourite Dorothy in the competition. So no pressure.” To find out more and to register to audition please visit www.finddorothy.co.uk or pick up an application form from the Queens Theatre, Barnstaple.

FREE TICKET INITIATIVE Free theatre performances will be available for youngsters in North Lincolnshire at the Plowright Theatre thanks to a £10,000 award from Arts Council England. As many as 618,000 tickets to pantos, amateur productions and musical nights will be dished out to under 26 year olds over the next two years as part of the Free Theatre initiative announced by the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport. North Lincolnshire Council applied to take part in the national pilot scheme and Scunthorpe’s Plowright Theatre was successful with its application, bagging it £10,000 to splurge on free tickets. Clr. Christine O’Sullivan, Cabinet Member for Leisure, Arts and Culture said: “The announcement the Plowright Theatre is to get a £10,000 award and has been selected to take part in this scheme is fantastic. “There’s such a range of performances that take place at the Plowright that suit every taste, from comedy stand up and fish and flicks through to live music, superb theatre and family entertainment. “It’s definitely a case of once someone’s been once, they want to come back.” Arts Council England is piloting the free theatre scheme – which will be named in the new yea r– to encourage more younger people to theatres.

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DERBY PLAYHOUSE UPDATE

A theatre group has raised serious concerns about plans by the Playhouse’s former director to dip into his own pocket to try to save the theatre. Derby New Theatre Association, which represents amateur theatre in the city, said it has “substantial doubts” about the proposals. The Playhouse got into financial difficulty late last year. The city council has come up with its own offer to take over the building and creditors will vote on the rival proposals on December 16. Stephen Edwards is offering to pay £45,000 to bolster the Playhouse board’s rescue plan. If accepted, it would give the board six months to find a long-term lender. As well as a potential lender coming forward, the Playhouse board’s chairman, Professor Jonathan Powers, is also hoping “substantial” cash will be unlocked by claims against the Arts Council and Derby City Council for maladministration. If the Playhouse’s rescue plan is agreed but ultimately fails, the lease would be sold, with creditors getting some of the cash – although the sale would be on the open market, meaning it could be bought by someone not wanting to use it as a theatre. The Playhouse closed over cashflow problems after the city council refused to advance part of its grant funding. Mr Powers claims a proposal to rescue the theatre was scuppered when the Arts Council put in a £1m claim against the theatre. Tony Jaggers, chairman of the theatre association, said: “We have substantial doubts as to whether the board’s claims against the Arts Council and Derby City Council are viable. It may well take considerably longer than six months for a decision to be made on both the claims and, even if one or both of the claims is successful, any compensation awarded may fall well short of the figure claimed by Professor Powers.” He said the association was worried the potential sale of the lease could lead to the people of Derby losing the theatre. Council leader Hilary Jones said: “Derby City Council’s offer represents a safe pair of hands for the theatre. Our offer of £325,000 for the purchase of the assets reflects the council’s overriding aim to safeguard the theatre as a vital venue for live, produced theatre.” But Mr Powers said he was “relatively confident” the rescue plan would work. “We are trying to rescue the theatre company and to ensure the building continues to work as a producing theatre. “I’m reasonably confident that we do have ways of doing this. The theatre association’s fears are understandable as they possibly don’t understand the whole picture.” And Mr Edwards added: “It has always been our purpose to save the theatre, not to sell it, and we have had concerns about the council’s intentions for it.”

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NEWS

ABTT SHOW 2009

attendees. We’re aiming to build on this success in 2009 and remain confident in the current economic climate, to deliver another major networking opportunity for technical theatre.”

Now into its fourth decade, the ABTT Theatre Show is still centre stage.

Recognised for embracing a developing range of technologies for use in any auditorium, the ABTT Theatre Show has built an enviable position as a unique platform for manufacturers, designers and suppliers to showcase the latest advancements in technical theatre.

Despite the credit crunch biting even deeper the organisers of The ABTT Theatre Show (10th-11th June 2009, The Royal Horticultural Halls, London) are delighted to announce that the show is looking unaffected, with stand re-bookings for 2009’s show remaining constant compared to this time last year at 75 per cent. As the marketing initiative for The ABTT Theatre Show begins for 2009, Show Director, Roger Fox comments: “The ABTT Theatre Show in 2008 again revealed a growth in our visitors and highlighted a 40 per cent rise in new

Attracting an expanding visitor base year on year the Theatre Show highlights the demand for expert industry advice drawing in Architects, Consultants and Building Services Managers from affiliated independent and public sectors, whilst building on its core attendance from all those involved with equipping, refurbishing or up-grading their drama studio, theatre, auditoria or multi-purpose performance spaces.

Register online for your complimentary visitor pass. The Show will open from 10.am – 6pm daily on Wednesday 10th and Thursday 11th June 2008 at The Royal Horticultural Halls.

A GRAND DAME HITS 50!! DAME Peter Mercer is looking forward to his 50th Christmas panto in 46 years in January ... oh yes he is!

mainly because of childhood memories of seeing Norman Evans at Liverpool Empire.

The keen amateur dramatics performer chalks up his golden milestone, playing his favourite silly frocks role, in a panto he has written himself, “Old King Cole versus Crawley De Ville”, with the Derby Players at Ormskirk Civic Hall.

He says: “It’s definitely my favourite role because of the nature of the part and the opportunity of interaction with the audience, especially the children.

Peter, a former Local Government Officer, has been in Babes In The Wood, Cinderella, Jack and the Beanstalk, Puss in Boots, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Dick Whittington – “plus any others you can think of” – mostly as the dizzy Dame. His favourite panto is Aladdin and Widow Twanky is his favourite Dame part. He started with The Dorians in Crosby, his hometown, and has been involved with The Cambridge Players, the Waterloo and Crosby Theatre Company, the Lucilla Dramatic Company and latterly Ormskirk’s Derby Players. He has also guested for Maghull Operatic and the Catholic Metropolitan Society in Liverpool. He first became involved in amateur theatre with a youth club production of Babes in the Wood, and it’s played a huge part in his life ever since – “simply because I’m stage struck!”

“The secret of being a good dame is simply being a silly man dressed in ridiculous frocks and NOT being a female impersonator. Padding and costume should be taken to the extreme to highlight the silliness.” He added: “I feel quite strongly that the tradition of family panto should be kept up, and I do not look favourably on professional productions which have simply become a smutty vehicle for the latest pop sensation or so-called ‘celebrity’.” Peter, who was born in Waterloo and lived in Crosby until moving to Ormskirk six years ago, was in a group called The Centaurs during the Merseybeat era in the 60s, and is still rocking today with his band, Rollercoaster. He’s also a member of Maghull Folk Club where he performs in a duo called Two of a Kind with his best mate John Parry. He says: “I am really looking forward to my 50th panto, as my enthusiasm for panto simply doesn’t wane.”

He has loved the role of Dame, he says,

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NEWS

WEDDING SINGER RELEASED FOR AMATEURS Following a successful UK tour, The Wedding Singer, a musical based on the hit film is now available for amateurs through Josef Weinberger. With music by Matthew Sklar, book by Chad Beguelin and Tim Herlihy and Lyrics by Chad Beguelin, the show is a hilarious celebration of the 80’s.

New Theatre Publications is offering FREE plays. Since NTP, perhaps uniquely, is in regular touch with most of its authors, they have launched a new venture. NTP asked the authors how many short plays and sketches they had written that wouldn’t warrant the expense and overheads of paper publication. NTP’s “very short plays” series is the growing result. The play scripts are available via email or direct download, free of charge, on request or from our website www.plays4theatre.com or will be supplied as printed single copies on A4 paper at cost and by arrangement. Large print copies or electronic or printed versions are also available at no extra cost on request. If you read them and like them, there is a simple royalty to pay for performances. The fee depends entirely upon the length of the play, in three bands:● under 10 minutes costs £5 per performance ● 10-20 minutes costs £10 per performance ● 20-30 minutes per performance Plays over 30 minutes and under an our are still classed as one-act plays and cost £20 per performance, as previously, while full length plays remain at £35 per performance. New plays will be added all the time, so keep an eye on the website. NTP is also offering free download copies of all our plays (not just the short plays mentioned above) to anyone for evaluation purposes, so no theatre group has to outlay any money to find the play they want.

In THE WEDDING SINGER, it’s 1985 and rock-star wannabe Robbie Heart is New Jersey’s favorite wedding singer. He’s the life of the party, until his own fiancee leaves him at the altar. Shot through the heart, Robbie makes every wedding as disastrous as his own.

A SLICE OF SATURDAY NIGHT When established in 1955, the name Marlow Amateur Operatic Society was entirely appropriate as its productions were all comic operas by Gilbert & Sullivan. In keeping with the times MAODS is mounting a production of A Slice Of Saturday Night. In March 2009, Marlow Amateur Operatic Society prepares for a night out with this great musical. The cast invites the audience to join them at the ‘Club A-GoGo’ where a group of 17-year-old wantto-be Twiggys, Sandie Shaws or Dusty Springfields (or in the boys’ case - the Beatles) faces the trials and tribulations of relationships. Amongst the talented cast is Laura Moretto, who started performing on the professional stage at the age of six in Napoli Milionaria with Sir Ian McKellan. She has frequently appeared on television, including Babra in the documentary Hair Soup with David Suchet. Produced by Tuireen Hurstfield, choreographed by Rebecca Smedley and with Marc Pizer as Musical Director, A Slice of Saturday Night is on at the Shelley Theatre, Court Garden, Marlow from the 3rd to 7th March 2009. Tickets £10-£12.50. Box Office:01628 473 577, email: carole.holme@btinternet.com.

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HAVE YOU BOOKED YOUR AD YET?

PANTO SCRIPTS

We’re pleased to announce that our popular Panto Script feature will be returning in February 2009. Societies across the UK are now preparing to select their Pantos scripts for 2009/10. Don’t miss this great opportunity to advertise your scripts to most of the UK’s socities. For advertising information please contact Doug on 0870 233 2040 or email sales@asmagazine.co.uk Deadline 1st February 2009.

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FIRST NIGHT INSURANCE

ONE WORD MAKES ALL THE DIFFERENCE By Robert Israel ACII What’s in a word I’ve often been asked, well some words carry more weight than others and in Liability Insurance this is particularly true. When you come to deal with Liability Insurance, different types of Liability policies have different definitions of when the cover is operative. Usually the remarks that I am about to make relate solely to Professional Indemnity Insurance. However, it has recently come to my notice that this may no longer be the case as some insurers are changing the basis of their Public Liability policies at renewal from “claims occurring” to “claims made”. Here is the difference between the words “claims occurring” and “claims made” when dealing with Liability Insurance. The standard Public Liability Insurance policy responds to losses that have “occurred” during any period of Insurance whereas a Professional Indemnity Policy responds to incidents that have been “reported” during the period of Insurance. Now the difference to you may not be very great but unfortunately it could have serious ramifications. The main problem is when you switch Insurance Companies and you move from one type of wording to another and here is the issue. If your original policy is based on a “claims made” wording and you were to switch to a different type of policy with a different Insurance Company which is based on an “occurring basis” there could easily be a gap in your cover. I will try to explain. If the original policy requires the incident to be reported within the period and you don’t report it for whatever reason and you switch Insurers to an “occurring” basis then you can see that the occurring wording will obviously not respond because the policy was not in effect when the original incident took place. Furthermore, the “claims made” policy has lapsed and therefore you are not able to make a claim on that policy either because it has lapsed. This is an extremely difficult concept to grasp so I will try and explain my thought process with an example. I have a Liability Policy on a “claims made” basis with a renewal date of 15th January 2009. On that date I change Insurers to a “losses occurring” wording. But unbeknown to me on 10th January 2009 there is an incident. I am up the proverbial creek without a paddle as I can’t claim on either policy. The reason:- Policy 1 – I didn’t ‘report’ the incident during the Insurance year Policy 2 – I can’t claim as the incident occurred during the previous period of Insurance So if your Public Liability policy has the “claims made” wording even if it applies only to part of the policy, you should consider carefully your position. The only answer is include under the Policy 2 a “retro” clause which then gives cover for late reported claims under the losses occurring wording i.e. it backdates cover effectively to pick up any claims that occurred during the period of the claims made wording. This is an absolutely crucial extension and you should make sure that this extension is included even if it costs you an additional premium. On all our renewal invitation letters we include a reference to asking you to check the adequacy of your sums insured. Whilst I am sure most of you realise the importance of the comment, I am also sure that a minority may think this is a way of you being forced into paying more money. The reality is that “Under Insurance” is a very real problem which doesn’t strike home until too late. This problem falls under the banner of “average” – another word with heavy duty ramifications, but is hopefully easier to explain. Under the Material Damage Section of your First Night Policy the Sum Insured is meant to be adequate to allow you to replace all

your equipment. When calculating the sum insured always bear in mind that Insurers will settle your claim as follows:Musical Instruments, Sound Lights and Video Equipment – as new All other property as new but with a deduction for wear and tear. In effect there are two types of claim, a total loss or a partial loss. If you have a total loss and your Sum Insured is inadequate you will only receive payment equal to the Sum Insured – so you will be your own Insurer for the difference and will suffer that difference uninsured i.e. Sum Insured £10,000 – loss £15,000 – Uninsured element and therefore loss to you £5,000. A partial loss is by definition where you don’t lose all your equipment. So if your Sum Insured is £10,000 and you lose £5,000 but your Sum Insured should have been £20,000, you can see that you are 50% underinsured and in this case Insurers will only pay half your claim i.e. £2,500. The greater the figures the bigger the problem. If your Sum Insured is £100,000 and you lose £50,000 with the value at risk being £200,000, the loss payment by Insurers would be £25,000, i.e. your uninsured element is a significant £25,000. Please, therefore make sure that your Sums Insured are always adequate and you spend a few minutes every year when the renewal papers arrive checking the figures.

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THE PLAY PRODUCED

Butterflies Are Free Presented by the FESTIVAL PLAYERS

Written in 1969 by Leonard Gershe, Butterflies Are Free ran on Broadway for over one thousand performances. In 1972, it became a film, with Edward Albert and Goldie Hawn in the roles created on stage by Keir Dullea and Blythe Danne. Eileen Heckart repeated her stage performance as the mother and won a supporting actress Oscar.

Baker, blind from birth, who has just been allowed to live alone, away from the clutches of his over controlling mother. She is not allowed to visit for two months. He has one month to go! Meanwhile a flighty, 19 year old woman, Jill Tanner (formerly Mrs Benson - married at 16, and divorced 6 days later!) moves in next door. She wastes no time in introducing herself to her new neighbour and assumes he can see just how interested she is! One thing leads to another… Don’s mother then decides to arrive one month early, only to catch them both in their underwear.

The play is set in New York in the late 1960’s in a scruffy, downtown apartment. The story concerns a young man, Don

Act 1 introduces the contrasting characters of the two leading roles. Don is quiet, with a dry wit, making up for his lack of

PLOT AND CASTING

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worldliness with a strong sense of himself, and what is right for him. Jill however, flits from one relationship to the next with apparent ease, and yet underneath her confident exterior, hides a vulnerable, sensitive woman. As their relationship develops, the audience are enveloped in a raw see-saw of emotions. Don and Jill are so much more than they initially seem. Mrs Baker is not keen for her son to get emotionally hurt by falling in love again, and makes this quite clear to Jill. Jill, much to Don’s despair, decides to move in with an “off-Broadway” producer she has become re-acquainted with at an audition. Ralph Austen, the lucky man, provides a short, but highly

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THE PLAY PRODUCED

rewarding excuse for some overacting and fun costumes. He is an arrogant, self opinionated idiot, but somehow likeable. Don’s mother offers actresses a wonderful opportunity to delight the audience with some fabulous one-liners “May I have seen you in anything, other than your underwear, Jill?” She is initially presented as a harsh, sarcastic witch of a woman, but as the play unfolds, we are given glimpses of a true warmth, and genuine affection for her son. Casting was challenging. The two leads needed to be strong, young, and believable. Powerful, young male actors are precious commodities in Loughborough, but we were blessed with a very talented 18 year old who happened to also have a beautiful voice. (Don sings the theme tune Butterflies are Free during the performance, live and on a tape recorder) Don’s biggest challenge was to act blind –

little things – like never looking directly at the person you are talking to, deliberately pacing whenever moving around the stage, touching the seat before sitting and not using too much facial expression. There were a number of hopefuls auditioning for the part of Jill. She needed to have youth, and yet a worldliness, and air of sexual confidence about her. We spent a lot of time experimenting with her character, from Los Angeles originally, so the accent needed to be appropriate too. Mrs Baker was again a popular part. We pitched her age at about 40-50, and she needed to look believable as our Don’s mother. Ralph was easy to cast!

REHEARSALS We had a long rehearsal period of four months. This was fortuitous, as the younger members had so many other commitments!! One was finishing her degree, the other was doing AS levels,

involved in two other shows, and performing at the Edinburgh fringe! The week before the show, as “Don” announced he had tonsillitis, was somewhat fraught.

SCENERY The setting for Butterflies are Free caused no particular problems and comfortably fitted in the 34ft wide proscenium of the Cope Auditorium. It was decided to make the set a loft style apartment with sloping ceilings with built-in gauzed skylights and – to emphasise the bachelor nature of the occupant – was painted in vivid colours – pink, red, blue and yellow – causing quips from the cast about whether the designer was still at playschool! Our stock scenery is 14ft high which enabled us to have the bed at 6ft 3” high over the bathroom door and a sloping ceiling immediately over with skylight illuminating the bed area. An arched window was downstage right with a 3D groundrow behind showing tenement

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THE PLAY PRODUCED blocks and fire-escapes and windows that lit up for the final night scene. Centre was the door to the landing and another double skylight over the rear kitchen area. Fortunately we had in stock a large period fridge, electric cooker and sink unit – and the freestanding bath was “loaned” from the local tip. Having our own workshops, we were able to paint all the set in-house and pin-hinge together, so making a speedy build on the Sunday morning. Our previous theatre had the benefit of flying which would have made the lifting of the, heavy, skylights simple. As it was we made the unit over the bed as one piece on the floor and then lifted it vertically. The larger, stage left, skylight was hinged vertically from a header flat spanning the opening before being swung back 45 degrees to rest on the rear wall of the kitchen. 10 ft bookcases were incorporated – minimally dressed to emphasise Don’s recent occupation and a mixture of non matching furniture from stock completed the set.

LIGHTING The audience entered to an open stage, atmospherically lit – night exterior, the exterior-backing, backlit through its windows and the raised bed highlighted The first 3 scenes take place over a 2 hour period on a sunny June day. Don’s apartment, Jill’s apartment and the entrance door backer to Dons apartment

are all brightly lit. The main stage area and the raised bed are all bi-directionally lit. There is an interior light in the fridge. The upstage centre skylights are back lit in open white and the effect of the sun streaming in, was created by two parcans, shining through the SR skylight (above the raised bed) and the window (black wrap used to control spill with temporary barn doors). It was felt unnecessary to light the bathroom backing, under the bed. The transitions into and out of scene are gentle fades, with the exception of the end of A1S2 and the end of A2S1, where a snap blackout was employed to reinforce the moment. The final scene is played out at 22:30 the same day. The exterior to the three skylights & window are lit in dark blue and the exterior-backing, backlit through its windows. The apartment is warm and romantically lit, motive light coming from downlights SL & SR and battery candles CS. Backing behind the door into Dons apartment is brightly lit, in contrast to the warm romantic lighting of the apartment. There are 2 lighting cues within the scene : i) when Jill returns home, the light in her apartment is added brightly, such that a halo can be seen around the connecting door, reinforcing the off-stage dialogue that she has returned and when the door is opened a shaft of light harshly cuts through the warmth of Dons apartment.

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ii) when the candles are extinguished, loss of motive light and associated stage area. This focused the audiences attention on the powerful last moments of the play. Control at the Cope Auditorium is a Frog board, eighteen 10A channels on a 63A feed and a further six 10A channels on a 32A feed. The board was operated using 5 submasters.

COSTUMES This was not difficult as fashions at present do seem to incorporate the late 60’s early 70’s trends. Jill only had one change, plus underwear! She did need some kind of back fastener which she insisted on getting Mrs Baker to do up at every possible opportunity! Jill also has to wear a hair piece and false eyelashes, which are both inadvertently removed by Don, who is tenderly feeling her face at the time - a hilarious scene! Don was dressed quite formally, with

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THE PLAY PRODUCED cords, sensible shoes, and a long-sleeved shirt. His hair was very tame, and full of hair product for Jill to make him look “hip” Mrs Baker was immaculately attired with gloves, suit and handbag. Ralph really went to town and ended up looking more like Austen powers!

MUSIC I’ve always been passionate about the use of music in plays. We used American and British bands, like The Stones, the Beatles, Jimmy Hendrix, Donovan, Simon and Garfunkel, to really set the scene throughout the play, with numbers like “Let’s just do it in the road” just as the scene is set for Jill and Don to get it together! I also used “the sound of silence” as a backing to a very powerful and painful final scene, as Don crashes around the apartment in utter despair as Jill has left him. The volume was deliberately raised as he pulled off the table settings and then there was a sudden silence as he knocked over the table with the tape recorder on it. Jill actually then returns to find a sobbing Don on the floor. A light piece of music helped just lift the very final scene.

SPECIAL EFFECTS AND PROPS These were minimal. Food was an issue, as Jill does love to eat. Smoking is a key crutch to the beginning of the play and (according to the script) reveals Dons blindness to Jill. However, with the smoking ban in force nationally and no smoking permitted on the Cope Auditorium stage an alternative had to be found. Eventually we homed in on cherries and pips, to substitute for cigarettes. A speaker was positioned behind the sofa, to localise the sound of the tape recorder.

CONCLUSION The play proved extremely popular in performance. It generated a lot of laughter, and yet a number of people left the auditorium in tears. The audience are really drawn into this powerful relationship, and the play offers a unique challenge and experience for two young actors. it was a delight to direct.

Passionate about theatre

Summer School 2009 1 – 8 August, Loughborough University AS MAGAZINE | JANUARY 2009 Summer School_Teaserad.indd 1 jAN09_12-21.indd 7

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ADVERTISERS

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PLAYS AND PLAYSCRIPTS

Revisiting Classic Plays PHILIP HOLYMAN thinks it is time for drama groups to look at staging classical plays as part of their season. In a series of articles he explaikns why! I’ve been running my own professional theatre company, The Happiness Patrol, for nearly three years, with which I stage small-scale productions of classic plays and adaptations of classic stories in intimate performance spaces. My remit is to promote and rehabilitate classic theatre, and part of my plan for doing that is to encourage and develop opportunities for amateur companies to work on classical productions. I’m also a member of Walsall’s Fellowship Players, which has been in existence since 1947. During that time, the group has staged over 150 productions — but just twelve of those, just 8% of the company’s total output, were classics (dating from before 1912). I’d be willing to bet that a quick look through the archives of most amateur companies would show much the same thing. I’ve often heard critics and audiences alike bemoaning the fact that many companies seem to stage the same limited repertoire of pieces — and I say this with some trepidation, as the Fellowship is finally succumbing to the lure of staging the perennially popular Stepping Out next June. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with staging plays you know your audiences will like. But from time to time, it’s great to push the envelope a bit: for audience and company members alike. There are some amazing plays out there, just waiting for you to blow the dust off them and to put them back on stage where they belong.

One obvious thorny area is money. Amateur theatre companies aren’t run primarily as profit-making businesses, but commercial pressures do have to be considered. I suspect many companies are reluctant to stage classics for fear of not attracting an audience. In actual fact, I think amateur audiences are often more adventurous than mainstream audiences. More importantly, they are very loyal to their local companies, and if you put on good work, they will support you handsomely, whether it be a contemporary play or a classical one.

copies of play texts, on exciting ways to stage classic plays which will make the experience rewarding for audience and actors, and on ways to market classic plays which might encourage audiences to give them a go.

There is a hidden benefit for your company members, too. Modern plays, driven in part by financial considerations, tend to be written for small casts. Classical plays date from a time when large casts were the norm. Very often, too, the smaller parts in classic plays give actors just as much to get their teeth into as the leading roles. As Judi Dench said when she was appearing in The Seagull at the National Theatre in 1994, “Chekhov gives everyone a good go, including the servants.” And the same goes for a lot of other playwrights, too.

Philip Holyman can be reached on 07811 023084, or by email at philipholyman@ hotmail.com

This article will, hopefully, be the first in a regular series of editorials which will be dedicated to amateur productions of the classics. I want to cultivate a wider amateur network for classical theatre, and this column will be a place where I can give dedicated coverage to amateur companies staging such work. It will also be a place where I hope to offer advice on how to choose classic plays and where to get

Most important of all, I need you to contact me so that I can promote and celebrate your classical productions which I hope you ensure are advertised in the magazine’s listings section. I am here to help you in any way I can, so get in touch with me at any time!

“From time to time it’s great to push the envelope a bit: for audience and company members alike. There are some amazing plays out htere just waiting for you to blow the dust off them”

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PLAYS AND PLAYSCRIPTS

GETTING YOUR SCRIPT PUBLISHED Ever wondered how you go about getting your play script published. We look at Samuel French’s Submission Procedure for Unsolicited Scripts Samuel French are unable to consider fulllength plays for publication until such time as they have been produced with some success in the professional theatre. This usually means a run in London, a national tour or a regional repertory production. Our experience is that the majority of amateur groups are not attracted to new full-length scripts by writers who are unknown to them if they lack this sort of production history. The only exceptions can sometimes be plays by authors who are already established in the amateur theatre and who have an existing following among drama groups.

of the production history to date and any other information that is thought to be relevant. If it is intended that the script be returned then a stamped and selfaddressed envelope should be enclosed for that purpose, otherwise the text will be recycled. We do not charge reading fees, provided the above guidelines are adhered to. The reading process normally takes up to six weeks, but can take longer at busy times of the year. Plays by authors represented by agents are often submitted to Samuel French Ltd to coincide with a major professional production. At times, plays are seen by staff and a script requested from the agent for possible acquisition.

However, we are prepared to read one-act titles on the basis of amateur productions only as the market for such plays is very different from that for longer plays. Oneact works that have won awards in festivals are often at an advantage in this respect.

Once a play has been confirmed for acquisition and negotiation has taken place between Samuel French Ltd and the author or his/her agent, a definitive text is requested for publication. The Editorial Team then work closely with the author throughout the publication process.

Submissions should be made by post in the form of a hard copy of the script, rather than being sent as an e-mail attachment, and should be accompanied by details

Samuel French Ltd has two Supplements a year to update The Guide to Selecting Plays, and the publishing schedules are geared to meet either the Spring or

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Autumn issue deadlines (provided that the performing rights are released for amateurs). The Guide to Selecting Plays – our 600 page catalogue – is fully revised every three years and new plays take their place in the next available issue. New titles are automatically included on our website, so details can be seen electronically as well as in print. We are developing a new website that will provide an even broader service than our current version, including the ability to buy on line. The website address remains the same: www.samuelfrench-london.co.uk. The Supplement is sent free of charge to all those on our mailing list. Anyone wishing to join the mailing list needs only to supply Samuel French Ltd. with their name and address. In addition, French’s Theatre Bookshop provides the perfect platform for all titles, both through window displays and on the shelves. The bookshop stocks all Samuel French Ltd titles, as well as plays by other publishing houses, and is one of the most comprehensive theatre bookshops anywhere in the world. Opening hours are Monday – Friday 9.30am – 5.30pm and Saturday 11am – 5pm.

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Samuel French Ltd The play publisher

NEW RELEASES!

Prescription for Murder a full length play by Norman Robbins CAST M3 F4 SCENE A living-room. Dr Richard Forth has a hectic work schedule and his wife, Barbara, is constantly ill and nobody knows what is wrong with her. When Eric Dawson, a stranger, claims to have known Richard’s second ﬁancée — a woman Richard claims does not exist — Barbara’s health worsens still, and she isn’t the only one. With bad luck spreading almost as quickly as bad news, it becomes apparent somebody is out to kill Barbara, and anyone else who gets in their way. Price £8.50.

Just Passing a one act play by Colin and Mary Crowther CAST M1 F1, 1 other M or F SCENE A park. Love story or ghost story? This warm, wise and witty play shows a man and a woman meeting, apparently on a park bench, apparently to say goodbye. But who is leaving and why? As the puzzle comes together, it seems that for all their squabbling they were happily married for a time, until a road accident landed him in a nursing home. Now he must move away and she must move on. Price £4.75.

Dick Barton — Special Agent a musical comedy by Phil Willmott CAST M9 F3, with doubling. Extras. SCENE Various settitngs. This is a new adventure for the stage based on the popular 1940s BBC serial. When a plot is uncovered that threatens to poison the entire British tea supply, there is only one man who can save the day: Dick Barton! He soon ﬁnds himself wrapped up in an adventure soaked with intrigue and mystery. Phil Willmott has rejuvenated the iconic detective in an exciting version that is as much stiff upper lip as it is tongue in cheek, crafting a unique marriage between homage and spoof that will have the audience as much on the edge of their seats, as it will have them rolling in the aisles. Price £7.99.

French’s Theatre Bookshop 52 Fitzroy St London W1T 5JR Tel: 020 7255 4300 Fax: 020 7387 2161 Email: theatre@samuelfrench-london.co.uk

www.samuelfrench-london.co.uk

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PLAYS AND PLAYSCRIPTS

Prize-winning One Act Plays

Full Length Plays

Sharks In The Custard (3f, 4m/f) 45 mins : Comedy

Stand And Deliver (4m, 10f)

Winner - Drama Association of Wales Playwriting Competition 1997 The cleaning ladies in the municipal art gallery enjoy their work, but rumours of government cutbacks threaten to upset their cosy regime. In the face of adversity they come up with a solution that not only secures their futures and helps to save the gallery, but also ensures that their lives will never be quite the same again.

Fate's Thread (1m, 4f) 45 mins : Drama

Winner - Best Original Play : AETF (N/East Heats) 2004 Susan suffers a fatal accident caused by her feckless husband, Jack. She meets Alice and Harriet in the graveyard who, also being dead, have to persuade Susan to reconcile herself to the fact that she has been murdered. Can they do this, or will Susan be forced to spend the rest of eternity in the Sea Of Lost Souls? Fates Thread is a ghost story. It's a murder mystery, and a light comedy. It's a race against time to save a soul.

A Little Box Of Oblivion (1f, 4m/f) : Absurd

Winner - Overall Festival Winner : Manx Amateur Drama Festival 2007 Winner - Overall Festival Winner : AETF (Warwickshire Heats) 2007 Winner - Best Comedy : Sunshine Coast Festival, Q’land, Australia 2006 Winner - Best Original Play : AETF (N/East Heats) 2005 A woman puts a box down next to a stranger in a park, giving strict instructions before she rushes off, not to move, knock, tilt or open it. Passers-by offer suggestions as to what's inside, and what should be done with it - is it a bomb, a packet of deadly anthrax or perhaps a severed head? At last, exasperated by these highly opinionated people, the stranger shakes and rattles the box, only to be berated by the returning woman, who reveals all, much to their embarrassment.

See our website under ‘Plays’, ‘Prize Winners’ for more of our prize-winning titles.

His genius emerged from a complex life, enjoyed to the full. This dramatic play weaves some of these strands together, in an honest account of what we know of his life ... but questions are asked.

Monologues (for a female voice) Ladies On The Costa (approx 15 mins each) A compelling series of 12 monologues telling the amusing, acerbic and absorbing stories of the lives of ex-pat ladies living in Spain, each with a different reason for emigrating there. Once An Actress (approx 35 mins)

Bored with her factory job, Sara attends an audition and is amazed when she gets a part. Through this catalyst she attends drama school and afterwards lands an acting job touring Welsh schools, both of which provide her with valuable new life skills. Her bubble is burst though, when she gets no more acting jobs and has to return to the factory. A superb single-hander for a competent actress. ...from Stagescripts Ltd

www.playsandmusicals.co.uk sales@playsandmusicals.co.uk 0700 593 8842

ONE ACT PLAYS by ALAN RICHARDSON

TWIST

An extremely funny comedy tailor-made for a “mature” cast

TOPLESS IN PHILADELPHIA new one man comedy (1 set)

LAUGH? I NEARLY WENT TO MIAMI! comedy (1 set. M4, F3)

IT’S NOW OR NEVER! comedy (1 set. M4, F3)

TOPLESS

one woman comedy (1 set)

All plays available from bookshops and www.amazon.co.uk

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Portrait Of Dylan (4m, 3f)

Comedies by Miles Tredinnick new comedy thriller (1 set. M3, F3)

A side-splitting comedy set in a maternity ward where a sex-starved nurse, 4 pregnant ladies and 3 bewildered husbands gather for the 'big push'. Barbed wit pokes fun at the situation. Not for the easily offended, but it will very easily amuse.

The Worst Day Of My Life

Perfect Partners

An award - winning comedy set in a dodgy introduction agency

The Spy Who Came In For The Phone A spy spoof set in 1960’s London

◊ ALSO AVAILABLE

Four easily adaptable Dramatised Readings, ideal for club nights and fund-raisers, documenting the lives of famous novelists.

◊ CHARLES DICKENS ◊ JANE AUSTEN ◊ ◊ SIR WALTER SCOTT ◊ ◊ ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON ◊

www.playsbyalanrichardson.co.uk

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PLAYS AND PLAYSCRIPTS

DIRECTORY OF PUBLISHERS & RIGHTSHOLDERS 2009 BOOSEY & HAWKES Boosey & Hawkes is the largest specialist classical music publishing company in the world. Aldwych House 71-91 Aldwych London WC2B 4HN P: 020 7054 7200 F: 020 7054 7290 W: www.boosey.com BEYOND THEATRE 184b Hornchurch Rd Hornchurch, Essex RM11 1QL P/F: 01708 458 262 E: info@beyondtheatre.com W: www.beyondtheatre.com CLASSIC PRESENTATIONS LTD 85 Ladbroke Rd London W11 3PJ P: 020 7727 9445 F: 020 7229 0635 COMEDY PLAYS Rights for a number of full length and one act plays. Welcomes new writers. 23 Quiot Green Dronﬁeld S18 1SJ W: www.comedyplays.co.uk E: enquiry@comedyplays.co.uk DARREN VALLIER MUSIC Right for musicals by Darren Vallier including A Ring Of Roses, Jonah, and Theseus. W: www.valliermusic.co.uk DAVID SPICER AUSTRALIA Licensee of a number of new G & S versions along with popular Australian musicals. 274 Military Road Dover Heights NSW 2030 Australia W: www.davidspicer.com DORIAN VENTURES Otters Lodge Orestan Lane Efﬁngham, Surrey KT24 5SN P: 01372 456 517 DRAMATIC PUBLISHING COMPANY Publishing and rights for a range of titles including Get Smart and MASH. P O Box 129 Woodstock Illinois USA 60098 W: www.dramaticpublishing.com EXCELSIOR Handle administration of plays by Pip Burley. Dorking Rd, Tadworth Surrey KT20 7TJ P: 01737 812 673 F: 01737 813 163 E: pip@philipburleyltd.demon.co.uk

OPERAS IN ENGLISH Harewood West Hill Rd, West Hill Ottery St Mary, East Devon EX11 1TU P: 01404 812 556 F: 01404 814 580

ERIC MASCHWITZ MUSICALS One of the most prominent, and certainly among the most proliﬁc, writers for musical theatre from the 1930s to the mid-1950s The White Cottage Eversley, Hook Hampshire RG27 0PJ P: 0118 973 2186

OUT THERE ENTERPRISES LTD 4 Maugham Close, Wickford, Essex SS12 9EA P: 01268 571 325

JASPER PUBLISHING Publishers of plays and pantomimes P: 01604 590 315 W: www.jasperpublishing.com E: jasperpublishing@ukbusiness.com

PAVILLION MUSIC 29 Over Street, Brighton BN1 4EE P: 01273 689657

LAZY BEE SCRIPTS Internet source of Pantomimes and Plays P: 023 8029 3120 W: www.lazybeescripts.co.uk E: enquiries@lazybeescripts.co.uk

PLAYS AND MUSICALS Lantern House 84 Littlehaven Lane, Horsham, West Sussex RH12 4JB P: 0700 593 8842 F: 0700 593 8843 E: sales@playsandmusicals.co.uk W: www.playsandmusicals.co.uk

MAGICAL MUSICALS LTD 26 The Russets Langdon Hills Basildon, Essex SS16 6SH P/F: 01268 542 531 MAVERICK MUSICALS Australia’s premier publisher of original high school musicals primary school musicals, one act plays and two act plays for children, adults and drama groups W: www.mavmuse.com E: helen@mavmuse.com METHEUN DRAMA Publishers of plays and theatre publications. W: www.acblack.com/metheundrama MUSICSCOPE Representing some of the biggest titles in musical theatre. 72 Furnival Street Crewe, Cheshire CW2 7LH P: 01270 617653 F: 01270 583238 E: info@musicscopeuk.com NEW THEATRE PUBLICATIONS Online searchable catalogue of over 500 plays. P: 0845 331 3516 W: www.plays4theatre.com E:info@plays4theatre.com NICK HERN BOOKS Proliﬁc play publishers and drama rightsholders. 14 Larden Road London W3 7ST P: 020 8749 4953 F: 020 8735 0250 E: info@nickhernbooks.demon.co.uk W: www.nickhernbooks.co.uk

SAMUEL FRENCH LTD 52 Fitzroy Street London W1T 5JR P: 020 7387 9373 F: 020 7387 2161 E: theatre@samuelfrenchlondon.co.uk W: www.samuelfrenchlondon.co.uk SCOTTISH PLAYS Brown, Son & Ferguson Ltd Publishers of one act and full length plays. 4 – 10 Darnley St, Glasgow G41 2SD P: 0141 429 1234 F: 0141 420 1694 W: www.scottishplays.co.uk E: info@skipper.co.uk THATCHED WELL PUBLICATIONS 2 Homeleigh Cottage, Boreham Wood Great leighs Chelmsford, Essex CM3 1PL P: 01245 360821 THE REALLY USEFUL GROUP LTD 22 Tower Street, London WC2H 9TW P: 020 7240 0880 F: 020 7240 8977 WARNER/CHAPPELL MUSIC LTD c/- Boosey & Hawkes See previous listing JOSEF WEINBERGER LIMITED 12-14 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JJ P: 020 7580 2827 F: 020 7436 9616 E: amateur@jwmail.co.uk W: www.josef-weinberger.com

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PLAYS AND PLAYSCRIPTS THE ARSONISTS

A Play by Max Frisch with translation by Alistair Beaton Cast M4, F4 Scene: A Living Room/ An Attic. 1930 – 1950’s. Published by Samuel French ISBN 978 1 408 10393 7 Fires are becoming something of a problem, but Biedermann has it all under control. A respected member of the community with a loving wife and a flurishing business, he believes nothing can get to him. Being the great philanthrope, he is happy to fulfil his civic duty and give shelter to two new houseguests, and when they start filling the attic with petrol drums he’ll help them wire the fuse. Beaton’s modern translation of Max Frisch’s parable about our accommodating the very thing that will destroy us premiered at The Royal Court in 2007.

DICK BARTON – SPECIAL AGENT

A musical comedy by Phil Willmott Cast M9, F3 with doubling & Extras. Scene: A Nighclub/ Chain Gang/ Big Ben Published by Samuel French ISBN: 978 1 84002 149 3 Based on the popular 1940’s BBC serial, Dick Barton – Special Agent revives this much loved character in an entirely new adventure for the stage. When a plot is uncovered that threatens to poison the entire British tea supply, there is only one man who can save the day: that cleancut, patriotic, and all round stand up British gentleman Dick Barton! He soon ﬁnds himself wrapped up in an adventure soaked with intrigue and mystery, as he faces off against arch enemies Marta Heartburn and Baron Scarheart, yet all the while ﬁnding the time to sing a few songs along the way. Phil Willmott has rejuvenated the iconic detective in an exciting version hat is as much stiff upper lip as it is toungue in cheek, crafting a unique marriage between homage and spoof that will have the audience as much on the edge of their seats, as it will have them rolling in the aisles.

ﬂinchingly – and uproariously – exposes the dark side of the Midwestern American family. August: Osage County is a mammoth three act play of over 3 hrs duration. This is no small undertaking. The play is rich with characters, thirteen in all, who span several generations of unhappiness and unfulﬁlled dreams. This is a family drama for the modern age.

LUCKY SEVEN

A Play by Alexis Zegerman Cast M2, F1 plus a recorded male voice Scene: Minimal Published by Nick Hern Books ISBN 978 1 85459 524 9 Working class Alan, upper class Catherine and a middle class Tom are part of a social litmus test, reunited every seven years to expose themselves on television to the nation. But waiting on the sofa for the director to arrive, the reveal far more to each other than they ever will to the camera. Inspired by the Seven Up television series – but very different in its outcome – Lucky Seven is a comedy about growing up, class, love, disappointment and hope.

RANK

A play by Robert Massey Cast M5 Scene: Greater Dublin Published by Nick Hern Books ISBN 978 1 85459 525 6 Carl, a youngish but overweight Dublin taxi driver, owes Jackie three grand in gambling debts. Jackie wants the money, and he wants it now, not least because an armed robbery he has masterminded has just gone badly wrong. From there it is all downhill for Carl and his father in law George and not in a good way. Rank is a dark comic thriller trip through the grim seething and sometimes hilarious criminal world of Dublin’s suburbs, where loyalty, trust and friendship are just more chips to be thrown on the table.

STRANDED

AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY

A Play by Michael Starr Cast M8, F5 Published by Lulu ISBN 978 1 84753 850 5

When the large Weston family unexpectedly reunites in Oklahoma after their father disappears, their home explodes in a malestrom of repressed truths and unsettling secrets. Tracy lett’s play un-

Residents of otherwise peaceful rural village Fairy Glen are forced to play host when the annual rock festival returns for its third year. With surrounding country lanes gridlocked, the only alternative for commute is the local isolated railway station. However, it’s unreliable and restricted service proves to be as much of a frustration as the gridlock itself. A clash of gathered personalities divulge into competitive dissatisfaction as yet

A Play by Tracy Letts Cast M5, F8 Scene: A large country home outside Oklahoma. Published by Nick Hern Books ISBN 978 1 84842 025 0

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another train delay ensues. Stranded was nominated for Best Play by a debut playwright at the 2006 Summer Play Festival in New York.

AS MAGAZINE | JANUARY 2009

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PLAYS AND PLAYSCRIPTS

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(M2: 69,40’s. F4: 60,60,40,30) “As with all Derek Benfield’s work his new comedy is wholesome and guarranteed to provide family audiences with a delightful evening in the theatre” - Charles Vance

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(M3: 40’s. F3: 30,40,60) Another riot of comedic fun from the author of Beyond A Joke, Looks Who’s Talking and Anyone for Breakfast?

FUNNY BUSINESS

(M4: 50’s, 40,70,60. F2: 40’s) The riotous sequel to the ever popular Bedside Manners in which we meet again the hilarious Ferris who was first created by the late great facical genius John Inman. “The pace is relentless in this merry mixture of comic chaos” Oxford Times

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FESTIVAL DIARY

AETF ONE ACT FESTIVAL SERIES NORTHERN AREA PRELIMINARY ROUNDS

CENTRAL AREA PRELIMINARY ROUNDS

EASTERN AREA PRELIMINARY ROUNDS

North West Division Cumbria District : 14th March Victoria Hall, GRANGE-OVER-SANDS Adjudicator : Robert Meadows G.O.D.A. Contact : John Larkham 01946 728242 john@jolola.plus.com

Central Division Leicester & Rutland Festival : 23rd - 28th March Countesthorpe Community College LEICESTER Adjudicator : Bob Wildgust Contact : Mrs Jackie Sellwood 01572 72347 Tamworth (Hastilow) Festival : 9th - 14th March The Assembly Rooms, TAMWORTH Adjudicator : Professor Michael Patterson G.O.D.A. Contact : Sue Fortune - 01827 69082 sue-fortune@tact-web.co.uk

North Division Bedford Drama Festival: week commencing 20th April Haynes Village Hall, Haynes, BEDFORD Adjudicator : Arthur Rochester G.O.D.A. Contact : Debbie Bosher 01234 381295 debbie.bosher@tiscali.co.uk

Stoke-on-Trent Annual One Act Festival: 4th - 9th April The Sixth Form College, FENTON Adjudicator : Michael Kaiser G.O.D.A. Contact : Alan Hill 01782 317151

South Division Southern Counties Drama Festival : 23rd - 28th February The Barn Theatre, OXTED Adjudicator : Jill O’Hare G.O.D.A. Contact : Bruce Read 01959 561811 or 07802 302025 email : sc.df@btinternet.com

West Pennine District : 4th April Arnold School, BLACKPOOL Adjudicator : Colin Snell Assoc. G.O.D.A. Contact : Jeff Brailsford 01772 616092 jeffbrailsford@jandowae.freeserve.co.uk Leverhulme Drama Festival : 27th April 2nd May Youth Festival 20th – 25th April Gladstone Theatre, PORT SUNLIGHT Adjudicator : Richard Woodward G.O.D.A. Contact : Phyllis Driscoll 0151 348 4688 Manx Amateur Drama Federation, One Act Play Festival : 26th – 28th February Erin Arts Centre, PORT ERIN Adjudicator : Jan Palmer Sayer G.O.D.A. Contact : Mark Clift 01624 674901 e-mail : mark-oberon@manx.net North Central Division Nidderdale & District Drama Festival : 12th - 14th March Bishop Monkton Village Hall, RIPON Adjudicator : Jeff Brailsford G.O.D.A. Contact : Elizabeth Clarke 01423 712240 e.mail : elizclarke77@waitrose.com Richmond Festival : 5th - 7th February Georgian Theatre Royal, RICHMOND Adjudicator : Jill O’Hare G.O.D.A. Contact : Alice Johnson 01748 825252 admin@georgiantheatreroyal.com North East Division Hull & East Riding District : 19th - 21st March The Village Hall, NORTH FERRIBY Adjudicator : Jeff Brailsford G.O.D.A. Contact : Barbara Prince 01482 650952 Saltburn ‘53 Festival : 9th - 14th March Saltburn Community Theatre, SALTBURN Adjudicator : Colin Dolley G.O.D.A. Contact : Wilbert Zijlmans 01287 626804 docwilbert@yahoo.com

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Warwickshire Play Festival : 27th & 28th March Abbey Theatre, NUNEATON Adjudicator : Michael Kaiser G.O.D.A. Contact : Alan Bailey 0121 745 4466 Western Division Hereford County Festival : 26th - 28th February The Courtyard, HEREFORD Adjudicator : Paul Fowler G.O.D.A. Contact : Lucy Zammit 01568 616150 Birmingham’s Festival of Acting and Musical Entertainment : 23rd - 28th February Dovehouse Theatre, SOLIHULL Adjudicator : Mike Kaiser G.O.D.A. Contact : Jean Cunnington 0121 707 6684 cunnington@talk21.com The Worcester Theatre Festival : 4th - 5th April Evesham Arts Centre, EVESHAM Adjudicator : Paul Fowler G.O.D.A. Contact : Roger Seabury 01562 885578 email : rseabury@liscombe.co.uk The Shropshire One Act Festival : 1st 4th April The Belfrey Theatre, WELLINGTON Adjudicator : Graham Bill Assoc. G.O.D.A. Contact : Brian Hughes 01952 289608 email: brian@breakaleg.org

Cambridge Festival : 20th - 25th April The Mumford Theatre, CAMBRIDGE Adjudicator : Andrew Rawlinson Assoc. G.O.D.A. Contact : Wendy Walford 01223 323519 email : raw1000@cam.ac.uk

Elmbridge Festival : 2nd - 7th March The Playhouse, WALTON-ON-THAMES Adjudicator : Paul Fowler G.O.D.A. Contact : Margaret Watford 01932 228525 email : Margaret.watford@btinternet.com East Division Southend Festival : 23rd - 28th March Eastwood Studio Theatre, LEIGH-ONSEA Adjudicator : Scott Marshall G.O.D.A. Contact : Kay Banning 01268 752239 Waltham Forest Festival of Theatre : 23rd - 28th March Waltham Forest Theatre, WALTHAMSTOW Adjudicator : Paul Fowler G.O.D.A. Contact : Elaine Elliot 0208 527 4690 email : Elaine17elliot@aol.com West Division Maidenhead Drama Festival : 28th April - 2nd May Norden Farm Centre for the Arts, MAIDENHEAD Adjudicator : Marie O’Sullivan G.O.D.A. Contact : Caroline Morley 01628 828463 email : carolinemorley@tiscali.co.uk

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FESTIVAL DIARY

WESTERN AREA PRELIMINARY ROUNDS

Wessex Division Avon Festival : 26th - 28th February Parish Hall, IRON ACTON Adjudicator : John Scowen Assoc. G.O.D.A. Contact : Janet Adams 01179 638347 aad.oneact@virgin.net Bristol Festival : 12th - 14th February The Olympus Theatre, FILTON COLLEGE Adjudicator : Chris Jaeger G.O.D.A. Contact : Jill Gill 01179 247266 e-mail : jillgill47@yahoo.com Somerset County Drama Festival : 28th & 29th March King’s College, TAUNTON Adjudicator : Barbara Smith Contact : Ron Roberts, 01458 241374 ron@silverstones.com Mercia Division Cheltenham One Act Play Festival : 2nd - 7th March The Playhouse, CHELTENHAM Adjudicator : Chris Jaeger G.O.D.A. Contact : Carol Magill, 01452 714461 Harold Joliffe One Act Play Festival: 12th - 14th February The Arts Centre, SWINDON Adjudicator : Michael Kaiser G.O.D.A. Contact : Ashley Heath 078999967157 ashleyheath01@googlemail.com Southern Division Dorset Drama League : Week commencing 2nd March The Arts Centre, SHAFTESBURY Adjudicator : Colin Dolley G.O.D.A. Contact : Simon Hunt 01747 830242 simon.hunt3@btinternet.com The Totton Drama Festival : Week commencing 23rd March Hanger Farm Arts Centre, TOTTON Adjudicator : Colin Dolley G.O.D.A. Contact : Michael Farleigh 02380 862882 email : tottondrama@ntlworld.com Western Division The Teignmouth Festival : 9th - 14th March Carlton Theatre, TEIGNMOUTH Adjudicator : Sonia Woolley G.O.D.A. Contact : Freda Welton 01626 775140 Cornwall Festival : 27th & 28th March Arts Theatre, ST AUSTELL Adjudicator : Jane Levan G.O.D.A. Contact : Freddie Rowe 0781 7639389

Exmouth Festival : 30th March - 4th April Blackmore Theatre, EXMOUTH Adjudicator : Jill O’Hare G.O.D.A. Contact : Norman Warne - 01395 266069 Quarter Finals Northern Area North West Division : 9th May Heswall Hall, HESWALL Adjudicator : Derek Slater Contact :Keith Thomas 0151 924 6740 e.mail : keith_sybil.littlecrosby@ btinternet.com North Central Division : 25th April Fraser Theatre, KNARESBOROUGH Adjudicator : Robert Meadows G.O.D.A. Contact : Elizabeth Clarke 01423 712240 e.mail : elizclarke77@waitrose.com North East Division : 9th May Spotlight Theatre, BRIDLINGTON Adjudicator : Carolyn Drury G.O.D.A. Contact : Barbara Prince, 01482 650952

CENTRAL AREA Central Division : 25th April Brewhouse Arts Centre, BURTON ON TRENT Adjudicator : Paul Fowler G.O.D.A. Contact : Harry Bladon, 0116 277 5499 e.mail : theatre@hbladon.wanadoo.co.uk Western Division : 25th April Evesham Arts Centre, EVESHAM Adjudicator : Jane Levan G.O.D.A. Contact : Jean Cunnington 0121 707 6684 cunnington@talk21.com Eastern Area North Division : 17th May Adjudicator: Keith Thompson G.O.D.A. Contact : Debbie Bosher 01234 381295 e.mail : debbie.bosher@tiscali.co.k East Division : 25th April Eastwood Studio Theatre, LEIGH-ONSEA Adjudicator : Charles Evans G.O.D.A. Contact : Kay Banning 01268 752239

Mercia Division : 18th April The Bouverie Hall, PEWSEY Adjudicator : To be advised Contact : Martin Clifton 01672 810436 e.mail : martin.clifton@lineone.net Southern Division : 18th April Hanger Farm Arts Centre, TOTTON, Hants Adjudicator : Paul Fowler G.O.D.A. Contact : Dennis Dunsford 01305 776151 Western Division : 2nd May Carlton Theatre, TEIGNMOUTH Adjudicator : Keith Thompson Assoc. G.O.D.A. Box Ofﬁce : 01626 778991, www. carltontheatre.co.uk Contact : Freyda Welton 01626 775140

SEMI FINALS Northern : 23rd May Saltburn Community Theatre, SALTBURN Adjudicator : Russell Whitley G.O.D.A. Contact : Wilbert Zijlmans 01287 626804 e.mail : docwilbert@yahoo.com Eastern : 23rd May Eastwood Studio Theatre, LEIGH-ONSEA Adjudicator : David Vince G.O.D.A. Contact : Kay Banning : 01268 752239 Central : 23rd May Brewhouse Arts Centre, BURTON-ONTRENT Adjudicator : Jeannie Russell G.O.D.A. Contact : Sue Fortune, 01827 69082, sue.fortune@tact.web.co.uk Western : 16th May Carlton Theatre, TEIGHMOUTH Adjudicator : Michael Kaiser G.O.D.A. Box Ofﬁce : 01626 778991, www.carltontheatre.co.uk Contact : Ann Aplin 01454 228243, annaplin@tiscali.co.uk

ENGLISH FINAL

South Division : 8th March The Playhouse, WALTON-ON-THAMES Adjudicator : Jill Colby G.O.D.A. Contact : Richard Davis, 01932 845855 richardc.davis@ntlworld.com West Division : No Festival as only one Preliminary Round Western Area Wessex Division : 18th April Blakehay Theatre, WESTON-SUPERMARE Adjudicator : Colin Dolley G.O.D.A. Contact : Joan Pickthall 01179 622947

6th June STRODE THEATRE, STREET, SOMERSET Sessions start at 2.30pm and 7.00 pm Box Ofﬁce : 01458 442846 - www.strode. theatre.co.uk Adjudicator : Tony Rushforth G.O.D.A. Contact : Mike Linham 01458 442725, e.mail : mike.linham@btinternet.com

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WEST END SUNSET BOULEVARD Comedy Theatre, London There has been a glut of really good musical theatre in London on late. It was only a matter of time before a production came along that broke the run and it arrived in London in the form of Sunset Boulevard. This revival, directed by Craig Revel Horwood, was first seen at the Watermill Playhouse and garnered some great notices for its use of actor/musicians to stage what was originally a large spectacular musical. Technically, on paper, the idea of reducing the show to basics ticks all the boxes, but sadly the final result when transferred to the Comedy Theatre fell short in many regards. Firstly like them or loathe them you have to take your hat off to the 12 man ensemble in this show. It’s no mean feat to play a score like Sunset without a shred of sheet music in site, and whilst moving around the stage at breakneck pace. For me though the show lacked atmosphere most of the time due to the clutter of bodies and instruments inhabiting every scene. Even Norma’s “empty” mansion was littered with bodies which detracted from Norma’s brooding. Kathryn Evans shone as Norma, every nuance was considered and delivered with aplomb. Ably aided by Dave Willetts as Max, these two completely steal the show. It’s a real shame that we don’t see more of these two performers in the West End. Unfortunately, Ben Goddard’s “Joe” was wooden and awkward and never quite rose to the level of lothario. Horwood’s direction is so cluttered at times that some of the major moments that define this piece, like Norma’s arrival at Paramount where she is illuminated by that spotlight is all but lost. Diego Patarch’s minimalistic set is dominated by a broken down staircase and enormous photo of Gloria Swanson. It’s effective and striking. You get the feeling though that the budget ran out there though. Costume wise this production is a mess. Whilst the ensemble are dealt with simply enough, Norma’s costumes are bargain basement (some looking like off the peg outfits from M & S). The creepy vamp of an aging Norma just doesn’t work without the garb that so symbolised both the Wilder film and the Trevor Nunn version of the musical. It’s unfortunate that this whole show reeks of a cheap regional show bought in to make a quick buck in the West End. At £60 for a top price ticket, Sunset Boulevard represents extremely poor value for money.

CIRQUE DU SOLEIL - QUIDAM Royal Albert Hall - London I am a huge fan of Cirque Du Soleil and was really looking forward to this years offering at the Royal Albert Hall. Sad to say that this year I was deeply disappointed by their 2009 show Quidam. Supposedly deriving from a word meaning passer by, this production was high on artistic themes but suprisingly low on content. Cirque have gained an international reputation by combining thematic presentation with some of the worlds best (non-aminal) circus acts. Quidam unfortunately lets the company down big time. The arty themes are in tact, the execution is flawless but the amazing acts were sadly thin on the ground. It could just be that the company is now spread so thin around the world that gathering high quality acts is more difficult, but the acts this year were sadly not up to par. Notable exceptions were the Diabolos - four young girls who made their spinning tops defy gravity, and Banquine - a troup who had people flying through mid air with ease. Otherwise acts including the clown and aerial hoops were allowed to run for too long. Let’s hope next year’s presentation is back to normal standard.

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WEST END CAROUSEL Savoy Theatre Across town, another revival returns in triumph to the West End Stage. It’s a real treat to see classic Rodgers and Hammerstein staged with such great production values. It is sometimes easy to forget just how many adult themes there are in R & H and just how diverse their source material was. Carousel was inspired by Molnar’s play Liliom. This is a lush, beautiful classic score with amazing songs and an overture that almost receives a standing ovation in its own right. Set Designer William Dudley has created some of the most dazzling projected scenic moments that characterise this new production. Whilst some of the bigger scenic moments like the Carousel for the opening are dazzling, it’s the more simple scenic moments like The Boardwalk and Clambake that really take your breathe away. The effect is almost cinematic in its treatment. Unfortunately it does get a tad overdone in the transition to the Starkeeper’s Observatory but its quickly forgotten. Leslie Garrett as Nettie has very much stolen the spotlight as the “star” of this production and admittedly she is very good indeed. She executes numbers like June Is Bustin’ Out All Over with ease and such great warmth. It is Jeremiah James though, who is the downright star of this production. This USA import has the sex appeal and chutzpah to make this Billy Bigelow one of the best we’ve seen for a while. His swagger and stunning voice has us hooked from the very beginning. Adam Cooper, the British dance Wunderkind has worked his magic on this production. The dance moments flow seemlessly and for once the “dancers” are truly integrated into the production. His interpretation of the “Ballet” was hugely emotional and well executed. Given the huge range of jukebox shows and modern revivals currently in the West End it’s great to have the return of such a genuine classic so beautifully produced. There is a genuine tide of joy coming off the stage with this production, and that’s a rare thing indeed. This is a real gloom buster!!

MANDY PATINKIN In Concert Duke Of York’s, London We normally don’t review concerts, but have included this as Mandy Patinkin is one of Broadway’s foremost musical theatre actors and his concert was billed as being a tour through material by some of the most prominent musical theatre composers. Whilst an amazing stage performer, Mandy Patinkin’s vocal style is flamboyant and somewhat overdone to say the least. Don’t get us wrong it’s one amazing voice, but we found we preferred Mandy when caught off guard or slightly more at ease. In this mode his communication with his audience was delightful . At just over 1hr 50mins on stage, this is a marathon concert and Mandy does deliver at 110% throughout and that may be the problem, especially when applied to some of his choices of material including one section of Sunday In The Park With George where he vocalised several character parts and one very patriotic American section which was lost on most of the audience. This certainly wouldn’t be everyone’s cup of tea but it was certainly worthwhile just to hear Mandy perform Finishing The Hat and I’ll Be Seeing You alone. Kudos must go to pianist Ben Toth who keep up with this human whirlwind throughout sometimes with hysterical results.

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REVIEWS

FILM A BUNCH OF AMATEURS A Bunch Of Amateurs is the story of a has been Hollywood action star who through the desperation of his failing agent finds himself playing King Lear for an amateur theatre group in a small English village. Of course, the whole plot is just a little far fetched but the film benefits from an abundance of heart as the local amateurs teach the so called Pro a thing or two. It’s not all that often that amateur theatre features on the big screen with any success. In fact the only two films I can think of are the screen adaptation of A Chorus Of Disapproval and Christopher Guest’s hilarious mockumentary Waiting For Guffman. With A Bunch Of Amateurs, the spirit of amateur theatre is well represented in one key scene where Jefferson Steele asks just why the amateurs perform when they obviously don’t get money or fame. Mary (Imelda Staunton) is quite to reply that it’s not about fame or financial reward but about community. There are some great moments when the real life drama parallels Lear’s drama most notably the relationship between Steel’s daughter with her father (she that love’s her father most but tells the harshest truth) and the storm scene where Steele

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is stranded as Lear was in his madness. A Bunch Of Amateurs is a real gem of a film. Featuring star turns by Samantha Bond (as director Dorothy), Staunton, Jacobi and Reynolds. The clash of Hollywood meets “Stratford Upon Pigfarm” provide some contrived but genuinely funny moments as backstage politics and

ego stroking abound. At 96 minutes this is not a long film but it’s beautifully paced and a really wonderful way to spend some time in the cinema on a cold, wet, day. We went to a public screening of the film on Christmas Eve in London’s West End and were surprised to see the cinema full. Try to catch the film if you can.

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REVIEWS

BOOKS CHEWING THE SCENERY

by Davina Elliott ISBN: 978-0-9560960-0-5 Published by Puck Books It’s not all that often that we review novels here at AS but the subject matter of this one was just too good to refuse. After working in theatre for a number of years Davina Elliott has put pen to paper to write this hugely entertaining tale. The novel relates the trials of a top theatre production of a classic play in London’s West End, from the first day of rehearsals to the fall of the curtain on Press Night. Legendary leading lady Judith Gold is at loggerheads with avant-garde director Alexander Columbus on a production of the ghostly comedy Blithe Spirit. Judith considers he is ruining an excellent play, an opinion shared by fellow cast members, movie star Rupert Blake and his possessive real life wife, the glamorous though selfish Miranda Flynn. Alexander believes he has the ambitious young Scarlett Montgomery on his side, in addition to Echo, the vacuous American exbeauty queen, who has virtually no theatre experience and even less talent. Isabelle Whiteside is only interested in whoever delivers the best gossip, while Adam Lane merely prays to overcome his chronic

stage fright. For producer Wesley Barrett, what had promised to be a perfect project has turned into a theatrical nightmare, complete with unexploded bombs and air raid sirens in what is supposed to be a 1930s drawing room comedy. Chewing The Scenery is one of those books you find hard to put down, whether because you can easily identify with so many of the characters and situations they experience or because Elliott has used possibly every story garnered in her theatre experience to make the characters so impossibly real. I say impossibly because if a member of the general public without theatre experience read this book they may think that half of it is pure fiction whilst those of us who have ever been involved in theatre will immediately relate to various incidents. It’s incredibly difficult to read this book without relating characters to possible real life counterparts. It’s a story that is begging to be made into a film and I can imagine that there may be a queue to play certain parts, particularly Judith Gold – Maggie Smith and Diana Rigg spring to mind! Make a point of having a leisurely read, I’m sure you will enjoy it as much as I did.

WIN A COPY

AS has been given three copies of Chewing The Scenery to give away as prizes for AS Readers. To win a copy simply answer the following question: Q: Who wrote Blythe Spirit?

To enter send your name and address together with your answer to: AS Magazine, Suite 404 Albany House, 324-326 Regent St, London W1B 3HH or email editor@asmagazine.co.uk. Entry is open to readers of AS Magazine only. Deadline is 5th February 2009.

MUSIC A SPOONFUL OF STILES AND DREWE A few months ago we reported on a charity gala concert that featured the music of George Stiles and Anthony Drewe. The evening was convened to celebrate the duo’s 25th Anniversary as a writing partnership. Due to public demand a recording of selected live highlights from the concert has been released. Featuring 18 numbers from the concert this is a stunning collection of songs from a number of musicals that have been produced including, Honk, Tutankhamun, Just So, Peter Pan, Mary Poppins, and from one or two that are still in gestation including A Private Affair and Soho Cinders. The album is made all the more special given the fact that the songs are presented by some of the West Ends finest musical talents including Julie Atherton, Alison Jiear, Leanne Jones, Claire Moore, Joana Riding, Clive Rowe and Oliver

Tompsett to name but a few. There’s no doubt that Stiles & Drewe are fast forging a reputation as a major force in musical theatre. If this CD is representative of the first 25 years I look forward to seeing what the next 25 years has in store.

AS Magazine, Suite 404 Albany House, 324-326 Regent St, London W1B 3HH or email editor@asmagazine.co.uk. Entry is open to readers of AS Magazine only. Deadline is 5th February 2009.

Favourites on the CD include Magic Fingers, Carrying A Torch, Gypsies Of The Ether, and They Don’t Make Glass Slippers. It’s certainly a must for any musical lover and anyone considering staging one of the shows that are now becoming increasingly available for amateurs.

WIN A COPY

AS has been given two copies of this great CD as prizes for AS Readers. To win a copy simply answer the following question: Q: Which popular stage adaptation of a Disney film did Stiles & Drewe contribute new material to? To enter send your name and address together with your answer to:

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TECHNICAL

WE CAN’T HEAR YOU!! One of the amateur societies that I have been involved with used a local sports centre for their shows and speaker placement was something over which they had little control, when the centre was built the speakers were installed on either side of the stage about 3m up and pointing straight in the direction of the sound and lighting control box. It was no wonder that how the show sounded from the control box was far better than in the auditorium! So how can you overcome such dilemmas as these, where you only have limited control over the placement of the speakers? The aim of the sound system is essential in the decision on the placement and use of loudspeakers. If your system is going to be used only for the playback of music and sound effects then the position and use of the sound system may be very different to that of a system designed for the ampliﬁcation of speech and singing as

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you will not need to take into account the possibility of feedback.

from a particular source, such as a radio on set.

When deciding upon the placement of loudspeakers you should take into account the imaging of the system (where you want the listener to hear the source of the sound from) and the directivity of the loudspeakers (which loudspeakers are covering which part of the auditorium.). To overcome the imaging problems created by the height of the local sports centre system I previously mentioned, we used some front ﬁlls angled up at the seating to bring the imaging down to the stage. This meant that rather than the sound appearing to come out of the high loudspeakers, it appeared that the sound was coming from the stage which was the source of the speech and singing. You may want to place some ‘special’ loudspeakers in the set (similar to how you would in lighting to gain a particular effect), this would allow you for example to run a sound effect to sound as if it were coming

Once you have decided upon the imaging and the directivity you can look at how you are going to run the signal from the desk to the loudspeakers. This can most effectively be achieved using a loudspeaker controller such as an Allen & Heath iDR or BSS Minidrive. These allow you to input the left and right outputs from your sound desk and route them to up to 8 separate outputs for your amplifier feeds and can all be configured using your laptop, giving you access to gain, delay and crossover controls. I realize this is just the tip of the iceberg, but you may have specific scenarios which you would like advise on, as always please feel free to contact me by email dan@dsavltd.co.uk Dan Herbert

AS MAGAZINE | JANUARY 2009

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12/01/2009 10:15:53

TECHNICAL

SOUND ADVICE Andy Tinsey offers follow up information to Dan Herbert’s recent article on radio microphones. Here he expands on radio transmission, an aspect of sound which is often widely misunderstood. The first thing that needs to be clearly understood is that a radio microphone is never going to be as reliable as one connected by a cable, the advantage is in the flexibility they give to performers and directors, however their ability to ruin an otherwise brilliant show must not be under estimated. Modern radio microphones can, and do, work very reliably adding a further dimension to a performance. Provided that is, they are correctly specified, set up and used. In my experience this is where things usually go wrong. In this article I will try to outline some of the difficulties that can occur when using radio microphones without delving to deeply into the technology involved. Radio Frequencies are fickle things, it is essential to understand and follow some basic rules. The market in the U.K. is awash with Radio Microphones most in the £50 to £300 price range with a number of others at prices of up to £2000, those used on major professional shows will be at the top end of this price range. Realistically the system on sale at the local music shop at £49.99 is not going perform in same way as equipment at several times the price. There are however some excellent mid priced systems around but we are still talking serious money for a 10 channel system. A single budget system whether using V.H.F. or U.H.F. will probably give an acceptable result; problems only will arise when several systems are required to operate together. Increasingly even the cheaper systems are available with multiple switched channels. Versions with 16 or even 100 channels are widely available; Do not imagine for a moment that this means that anything like 16 channels will work together in the same theatre. Typically it will be found that only 3 or possibly 4 channels out of the 16 will operate at the same time without interference or cross talk. 100 channel systems suffer in much the same way, so the limitations are similar. You will get what you pay for, radio microphones capable of operating

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reliably in a theatre environment cost a lot of money, due to the very complex design required to achieve reliable multi channel performance. Budget systems are not designed to this (no matter what the marketing blurb says) and will almost certainly not operate reliably in a theatre.

from the same company that hired it to you, as this gives you a fall back in the case of a breakdown or other disaster!

In addition to question of performance, reliability and price, the legality and license requirements governing the use of these systems in the United Kingdom needs to be considered.

If you must go out to tender do not whatever you do just ask for a price for a ‘X ‘ Channel Radio Microphone System! Write a detailed specification that is accurate and watertight and explains exactly what you want it to do. Obtain a number of quotations and be very wary of any price that is much cheaper than the others.

Whilst a number of deregulated frequencies are available for anyone to use with approved equipment, these are not likely to provide either sufficient channels or the immunity from interference required.

Do allow changes to the specification unless the alternative offered can be demonstrated and proved to work in your venue in the configuration used during productions.

Other groups of frequencies are available but their use is regulated and a license is required. Whilst the cost of a license is not high compliance with frequency requirements can be problematic.

Finally make sure the companies you ask for prices know what they are doing and have supplied similar systems before.

Details of frequencies and licensing together with masses of useful information can be found on the web site of J.F.M.G. http://www.jfmg.co.uk/ who control the usage of the spectrum on behalf of the D.T.I. One of the advantages of hiring systems is that the hire company will have the appropriate license which can be assigned to your venue for the duration of the production. Another is they should arrive fully tested and installed in a rack with the appropriate aerial splitters so only one set of aerials (antennas) is required. Finally some general advice for anyone buying or installing radio microphones. My advice to anyone contemplating the purchase of a multi channel radio microphone system (apart from don’t do it) is to buy something you can also hire. Then hire a system with the number of channels you intend to purchase for a production to make sure it works without problems. If it works ok buy identical equipment. It is important to make sure that is exactly the same as that you hired including all the aerials and splitters as even minor changes can radically change the performance. It may well be safer to buy the equipment

Ultimately the efficiency of any radio microphone system depends on the decisions made when the system is installed, whether the installation it is temporary or permanent. Remember we are dealing with R.F. not audio. The systems will almost certainly utilise transmitters and diversity receivers operating at U.H.F. The transmission frequencies used are in excess 800 mHz, very high compared to the highest useful audio frequency which is of the order of 20 kHz . Some explanation of the ‘Diversity’ principle is required as this is vital to reliable system performance at U.H.F. As a performer moves around a stage the signal received from their transmitter will vary due to many factors over which we have no control (in much the same as the reception on a car radio changes as we drive) diversity operation seeks to minimise the effect of these changes. Several methods of diversity operation exist only the most common method is described here. Diversity receivers are actually 2 receivers in the same case each is provided with its own separate aerial. A detector circuit then electronically compares the output of each and routes the best signal to the receiver output. The speed at which this is carried out results switching being inaudible and the highest

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TECHNICAL quality signal always being used. At this point I am going to assume we have a system with a number of receivers in a rack. It is complete with an aerial splitter which allows just 2 aerials to feed all the receivers. If your receivers are all separate with 2 telescopic aerials on the back of each I wish you luck! (However a lot of the following still applies). From the above it can be deduced the positioning of the aerials is critical if we are to obtain optimum coverage As a general rule the further apart the better (within reason) and as close to the stage as possible. A further often overlooked point needs to be considered here, that of signal attenuation down the cable connecting the aerials to the receiver rack. As we know diversity receivers in effect compare the signal from each aerial choosing the best one, this being done at the output of the receivers. It follows therefore that the attenuation down the coax cable connecting the receivers to the aerials is included. At U.H.F. this loss can be considerable and can all to easily

result in two unwanted effects, firstly it reduces the signal to noise ratio of the whole system and secondly if the length of cable connecting one aerial is significantly greater than that connecting the other the effectiveness of the diversity system is reduced. Remember diversity compares the output levels of the receivers including aerials and cables. It follows therefore that if the level of one is always say 3dB lower due to the unbalance created by cable loss the switching threshold is reduced by the same amount. Best practice dictates that the cable be as short as possible with about the same length of cable connecting each aerial. Pre-amplifiers are sometimes employed to compensate for cable losses but these need to be treated with care as they can cause as well as cure problems.

the received level. I am well aware of the comfort factor engendered by seeing the displays on the receivers in the control room but if it is possible install the receiver rack on or under the stage and send the audio down a multi core to the mixing desk. This will usually reduce the distance between the receiver rack and the aerials to a minimum at the same time. One final thought. The digital revolution is about to change the radio microphone market, so now might well not be the best time to purchase anything! Andy Tinsey The Carver Theatre, Marple, Cheshire.

Radio Microphones are low power devices with limited effective transmission distances, which can be reduced by a multitude of invisible factors beyond our control. It is therefore sensible to reduce this distance the shortest possible to maximise

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DIARY

DIARY JANUARY 2009 - MARCH 2009 42nd Street

Aladdin

18 - 21 February 2009 Seaham Youth Theatre Seaham School of Technology Seaham, Co Durham

23 - 31 January 2009 Dinnington Operatic Society Lyric Theatre Dinnington, S Yorks 01909 569340

10 - 21 February 2009 York Light Opera Company Ltd. Theatre Royal York, N Yorks 01904 623568

09 - 14 March 2009 Lancaster Red Rose Amateur Operatic & Dramatic Society Lancaster Grand Theatre Lancaster, Lancashire 01524 64695 17 - 21 March 2009 Lyric Club The King’s Theatre Glasgow, 0870 060 6648

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way To the Forum 20 - 24 January 2009 Brentwood Operatic Society Brentwood Theatre Brentwood, Essex 01277 223710

26 - 31 March 2009 Sultan Theatre Club Brunel Theatre HMS Sultan, Gosport, Hampshire 023 9254 2272

A Grand Night for Singing 08 - 08 March 2009 Brierley Hill Musical Theatre Company Brierley Hill Civic Hall Brierley Hill, W Midlands 0845 658 8195

A Murder is Announced 21 - 28 March 2009 Keyworth Players Trimley St Martin Memorial Hall Felixstowe, Suffolk 07742 160467

A Slice of Saturday Night 18 - 21 February 2009 Epsom Light Opera Company Myers Studio, Epsom Playhouse Epsom, Surrey 01372 742555

03 - 07 March 2009 Marlow Amateur Operatic Society Shelley Theatre Marlow, Bucks 01628 473577

A Step in Time

20 - 21 February 2009 Cranbrook O & DS (CODS) Queens Hall Theatre, Cranbrook School Cranbrook, Kent 01580 713887

Abigail’s Party 04 - 07 March 2009 Wick Theatre Company Barn Theatre Southwick, West Sussex 01273 597094 www.wicktheatre.co.uk

11 - 14 March 2009 Sale Nomads Theatre Club Sale Nomads Theatre Club Sale, Cheshire 0161 969 5140

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21 - 24 January 2009 Priory Players Ossett Town Hall Ossett, W Yorks

09 - 14 February 2009 Jarrow Musical Theatre Company Jarrow Community Association Jarrow, Tyne & Wear 0191 420 5726 19 - 22 February 2009 Wetherby Musical Theatre Group Wetherby High School Wetherby, 0113 216 7410

Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves 22 - 24 January 2009 Clevedon Comedy Club Princes Hall, Princes Road Clevedon, N Somerset 01275 879250

25 - 31 January 2009 Northallerton Amateur Variety Company Hambleton Forum Northallerton, N Yorks 01609 770936

Alison The Musical (West Yorkshire premiere) 05 - 07 March 2009 Bradford Youth Players Dixons City Academy, Ripley Street Bradford, W Yorks 0750 4745220

All Shook Up

Annie

04 - 07 March 2009 Gasleak Theatre Company Melton Theatre Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire 01664 851111

25 - 28 February 2009 Carnegie Youth Theatre Carnegie Hall Dunfermline, Fife 01383 602302

Babes in the Wood

03 - 07 March 2009 Mansfield Amateur Operatic Society Palace Theatre Mansfield, Notts 01623 633133 23 - 28 March 2009 CODY Farnborough Amateur Operatic Society (CFAOS) Princes Hall Aldershot, Hants 01252 329155 31 March - 04 April 2009 Glastonbury & Street Musical Comedy Society Strode Theatre Street, Somerset 01458 442846

Annie Get Your Gun

16 - 21 March 2009 Trafford Margaretians Amateur Operatic Society The Garrick Playhouse, Barrington Road Altrincham, Cheshire 0161 928 4328

Anything Goes 17 - 21 February 2009 Belper Musical Theatre Belper School Belper, Derbyshire 01773 822730

11 - 14 March 2009 Clydebank Musical Society Clydebank Town Hall Clydebank, West Dunbartonshire 01389 386455

18 - 21 February 2009 Pendle Hippodrome Theatre Company Hippodrome Theatre Colne, Lancashire 01282 690784

18 - 21 March 2009 Harlequin-Eastwood Theatre For Youth Eastwood Park Theatre Giffnock, Glasgow 0141 577 4970

19 - 21 February 2009 Stage One STC Youth Theatre Group Ferneham hall Fareham, Hants 01329 231942

Allo ‘Allo

18 - 21 March 2009 Hillingdon Musical Society The Beck Theatre Hayes, Middlesex 01895 639769

19 - 21 March 2009 East Herts Operatic Society The Victoria Hall Old Harlow, Essex 01992 479188

And a Nightingale Sang

09 - 14 March 2009 South Shields Westovian Theatre Society Pier Pavilion South Shields, Tyne and Wear 0191 456 0980

And Then There Were None 28 - 31 January 2009 Wordsley Amateur Dramatic Society Stream Rd Methodist Church Hall Kingswinford, West Midlands 01384 273026

Annie

15 - 25 January 2009 Nomad Theatre Group Nomad Theatre East Horsley, Surrey 01483 284717

Are You Being Served

23 - 28 February 2009 Wickersley Amateur Operatic Society Rotherham Civic Theatre Rotherham, 01709 823621

24 - 28 March 2009 Peterbrook Players Solihull Arts Complex Solihull, W Midlands 0121 704 6962 25 - 28 March 2009 Inverness Opera Company Eden Court Theatre Inverness, 01463 234234 30 March - 04 April 2009 Maidstone Amateur Operatic Society Hazlitt Theatre Maidstone, Kent 01622 761998

22 - 24 January 2009 Waterbeach Community Players Waterbeac h School Waterbeach, Cambs 01223 570109 www.wcponline.org.uk 23-25, 30, 31 January & 01 February 2009 Phoenix Players St. Peter’s Theatre Southsea, Hants 0845 293 9350 21 February 2009 St. Mary’s Panto Players St. Peter’s Theatre Southsea, Hampshire 023 9282 2990 17 - 21 February 2009 Burton Amateur Stage Entertainers Burton Brewhouse Arts Centre Burton-on-Trent, Staffordshire 01283 508100

Back to the 80s

25 - 28 March 2009 The Unknown Theatre Company Howardian Centre, Hammond Way Cardiff 029 2076 6056

Barnum

31 March - 04 April 2009 Leamington & Warwick Musical Society Royal Spa Centre Royal Leamington Spa, Warks 01926 425507

Beauty and the Beast 17 - 17 January 2009 Heath Players Ditton Community Centre Ditton, Kent 01622 717491

24 January - 01 February 2009 Lowestoft Players The Marina Theatre Lowestoft, Suffolk 01502 533200

Blitz

10 - 14 March 2009 Southern Light Opera Company Kings Theatre Edinburgh, Midlothian 0131 529 6000 23 - 28 March 2009 Markinch Amateur Operatic Society Markinch Town Hall Markinch, Fife 01592 758478

Blue Remembered Hills 17 - 2120March 2009 One Off Productions New Theatre Royal Portsmouth, Hampshire 023 9264 9000

Boogie Nights

10 - 14 February 2009 Wilton Productions Plowright Theatre, Laneham St Scunthorpe, N Lincs 01724 277733

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24 - 28 March 2009 Theatre South Productions Eastwood Theatre Glasgow, Strathclyde 07803 854817

16 - 21 March 2009 Bishop Auckland Amateur Operatic Society Eden Theatre, Town Hall Bishop Auckland, Durham 01388 602371

02 - 07 March 2009 Scunthorpe Amateur Operatic Society Plowright Theatre Scunthorpe, Lincs 01724 277733

31 March - 04 April 2009 Ellesmere Port Musical Theatre Company Ellesmere Port Civic Hall Ellesmere Port, Cheshire 0151 339 4390

25 - 28 March 2009 Southend on Sea Operatic & Dramatic Society Cliffs Pavilion Southend On Sea, Essex 01702 351135

03 - 07 March 2009 Ilkley Amateur Operatic Society Kings Hall Ilkley, W Yorks 01943 816617

Bray One-Act Festival: 32nd Year 27 - 31 January 2009 Mermaid Arts Centre Bray Co.Wicklow, dhp1@eircom.net

Breaking The Code 21 - 24 January 2009 The Adel Players Adel Memorial Hall Adel, Leeds 0113 2300312

Brigadoon

03 - 07 March 2009 Grange & Dist Amateur Operatic Society Victoria Hall, Main Street Grange-over-Sands, Cumbria 01539 534098

Bugsy Malone

09 - 14 March 2009 SCAMPS Youth Company Evans Theatre, Wilmslow Leisure Centre Wilmslow, Cheshire 01625 539073

Calamity Jane

10 - 14 March 2009 Ashton Under Lyne Operatic Society George Lawton Hall Mossley, G Manchester 0161 456 6560

Call Me Madam

31 March - 04 April 2009 Gateshead Amateur Operatic & Dramatic Society Dryden Centre Gateshead, Tyne and Wear 0191 477 6924

04 - 07 March 2009 Elgin Musical Theatre Elgin Town Hall Elgin, Moray 07903 232766

Captain Hook’s Revenge

Carmen - The Musical

31 March - 04 April 2009 Ingatestone Musical Operetta Group Ingatestone & Fryerning Community Club Theatre Ingatestone, Essex 01245 360532

28 - 31 January 2009 Cecilian Society - University of Glasgow The Mitchell Theatre Glasgow, 07858 167843

Carousel

02 - 07 February 2009 Cupar Amateur Musical Society Corn Exchange Cupar, Fife 01344 654187 23 - 28 February 2009 East Renfrewshire Operatic Society Eastwood Park Theatre Glasgow, 0141 577 4970

Chorus of Disapproval

24 - 28 February 2009 Pontel and Repertory Society Memorial Hall Ponteland, Northumberland 01661 822985

Cinderella

23 - 28 March 2009 Kingsbridge Amateur Theatrical Society Malborough Village Hall Kingsbridge, Devon 01548 511174

01 March 2009 Giselle Academy St. Peter’s Theatre Southsea , Hampshire 023 9264 3385

31 March - 04 April 2009 Paisley Musical & Operatic Society The Kings Theatre Glasgow, Lanarkshire 0870 060 6648

Chess

14 - 21 February 2009 Clitheroe Parish Church AO & DS St Mary’s Centre, Church Street C litheroe, Lancs 01200 424545 11 - 14 March 2009 Southend High School for Boys Southend High School for Boys Southend on Sea, Essex 31 March - 04 April 2009 Ruislip Operatic Society Winston Churchill Hall Ruislip, Middlesex 07905 932366

15 - 31 January 2009 Loddon Players Lecture Hall, George Lane Loddon, Norfolk 01508 520162 20 - 24 January 2009 Dewsbury Collegians Amateur Operatic & Dramatic Society The Town Hall Dewsbury, W Yorks 01924 324501 25 - 31 January 2009 Reydon & Southwold Panto Group St Edmunds Hall Southwold, Suffolk 01502 724539 05 - 07 March 2009 Rochford District Players Greensward College Hockley, Essex 07722 154052 15 - 18 January 2009 Portchester Players Porchester Community Centre Porchester, Hants 023 9237 7175 21 - 25 January 2009 Headgate Theatre Productions Headgate Theatre Colchester, Essex 01206 366000

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DIARY

ALLO ALLO - Hertford Dramatic & Operatic Society. November 2008 Cinderella, The Return of the Fairies 22 - 24 January 2009 Axminster Drama Club The Guildhall Axminster, Devon 01297 33595

Confusions 24 - 28 March 2009 Wisbech Players The Angles Theatre Wisbech, Cambs 01945 474447

Copacabana

21 - 24 January 2009 Sunderland Amateur Operatic Society Sunderland Empire Sunderland, Tyne & Wear 0844 847 2499 23 - 28 March 2009 Brynmawr Amateur Operatic Society Market Hall Brynmawr, Gwent 01495 313160

Count of Luxembourg

Dick Whittington

15 - 17 January 2009 Killin Drama Club McLaren Hall, Killin 01567 820424 killin-drama-club@zoom.co.uk

19 - 24 January 2009 Rotherham Phoenix Players Rotherham Civic Centre Rotherham, South Yorkshire 01709 823640

Crazy For You

22 - 24 January 2009 Weymouth Drama Club The Pavilion Theatre Weymouth, Dorset 01305 783225

Fame -The Musical

10 - 14 March 2009 Astwood Bank Operatic Society The Palace Theatre Redditch, Worcs 01527 5465690

17 - 20 February 2009 Fatfield Musical Stage Society Washington School Washington, Tyne and Wear 0191 388 5425

Dazzle

16 - 21 February 2009 Tiverton Junior Operatic Club The New Hall Tiverton, Devon 01884 253672

Dead Man’s Hand 16 - 17 January 2009 Colwyn Abbey Players Theatr Colwyn Colwyn Bay, Conwy 01492 872000

31 March 2009 - 04 April 2009 Chapeltown & District Amateur Operatic Society Rotherham Civic Centre Rotherham, South Yorkshire 0114 246 8462

Dear Edwina

Cosi Fan Tutte

Death Trap

26 - 29 March 2009 Harrow Opera Workshop Elliott Hall, Harrow Arts Centre Hatch 20End, Harrow, Middx 020 8422 1884

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29 - 31 January 2009 The Lamproom Youth Theatre Ensemble Lamproom Theatre Barnsley, South Yorkshire 01226 200075

07 - 14 February 2009 Rugby Theatre Society Rugby Theatre, Henry St Rugby, Warks 01788 541234

18 - 21 February 2009 Brixham OD&CS Brixham Theatre Brixham, Devon 01803 857654

Diplomatic Baggage 04 - 07 February 2009 Falcon Players Cope Auditorium, Epinal Way Loughborough, Leics 01509 231914

Disco Inferno

Don’t Dress For Dinner

18 - 21 March 2009 Dundee University Opera Society Bonar Hall, Park Place Dundee, Angus 07506 684209

Fiddler on the Roof 21 January - 07 February 2009 Ballywillan Drama Group The Riverside Theatre Coleraine, Co Londonderry 07798 930308 28 January - 07 February 2009 Colchester Operatic Socie ty Mercury Theatre Colchester, Essex 01206 573948

16 - 21 March 2009 The Tinhatters Concordia Theatre Hinckley, Leics 01455 636627

11 - 14 March 2008 Thurrock Operatic Society Thameside theatre Grays, Essex 01375 380167

26 - 28 March 2009 Bishops Stortford Musical Theatre Company Rhodes Arts Complex Bishops Stortford, Herts 01279 651746

31 March - 04 April 2009 Long Eaton Operatic Society May Hall, Trent College Long Eaton, Nottingham 01332 874352

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DIARY 31 March - 04 April 2009 Durham Musical Theatre Company Gala Theatre Durham City, Durham 0191 332 4041 31 March - 04 April 2009 All Souls Amateur Operatic Society Halifax The Playhouse Halifax, W Yo rks 01422 205101

Frankenstein - the Panto 17 - 24 January 2009 Dursley Operatic & Dramatic Society Lister Hall, Long Street Dursley, Glos 07890 203318

Gigi

22 - 24 January 2009 Harrogate Phoenix Players Harrogate Theatre Harrogate, N Yorks 01423 502116 09 - 14 March 2009 Bo’ness Amateur Operatic Society Bo’ness Town Hall, Stuart Avenue Bo’ness, West Lothian 01506 822379

Goldilocks & the Three Bears 21 - 24 January 200 9 Christchurch Music Society - Newport Church Hall, Christchurch Newport, Monmouthshire 01633 881320 03 - 18 January 2009 Jersey Amateur Dramatic Club Jersey Arts Centre Jersey, Channel Islands 01534 700444

Gondoliers

10 - 14 February 2009 Basingstoke AOS The Haymarket Theatre Basingstoke, Hampshire 01256 844244 11 - 14 March 2009 University of Portsmouth Dramatic & Musical Society New Theatre Royal Portsmouth, Hampshire 023 9264 9000 31 March - 04 April 2009 Wolverton G & S Society Stantonbury Campus Theatre Milton Keynes, Bucks 01908 262250 30 March - 04 April 2009 Erith Operatic Society Erith Playhouse, High Street Erith, Kent 01322 52645

Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet) 10 - 14 February 2009 Kelvin Players Theatre Company The Studios Bishopston, Bristol 0117 959 3636 www.kelivinplayers.co.uk

Gotta Sing - Gotta Dance 04 - 07 March 2009 Quarry Bank Amateur Operatic Society Cornbow Hall Halesowen, West Midlands 01384 820902

Guys and Dolls

02 - 07 February 2009 CAOS Musical Productions Minerva Theatre Chichester, West Sussex 01243 781312 17 - 21 March 2009 Wivenhoe G & S Society William Loveless Hall Wivenhoe, Essex 01206 823702

23 - 28 March 2009 Newmarket Operatic Musical & Dramatic Society (NOMADS) Kings Theatre Newmarket, Suffolk 01638 663337 19 - 21 March 2009 The Elizabethans Amateur Operatic Society Town Hall Ossett, W Yorks 01924 265248

Guys and Dolls Junior Broadway 19 - 21 March 2009 Benfleet Operatic Society The Appleton School Theatre Benfleet, Essex 01268 751303

H.M.S. Pinafore

25 - 28 March 2009 Rock Ferry Amateur Operatic Society Westbourne Hall Community Centre West Kirby, Wirral 0151 645 1369

Hair

24 - 28 February 2009 Edinburgh Music Theatre Company Ltd. Church Hill Theatre Edinb urgh, Midlothian 0131 220 3234

Hansel and Gretel

16 - 21 February 2009 Abergavenny Pantomime Com pany Abergavenny Borough Theatre Abergavenny, Monmouthshire 01873 890683 05 - 07 March 2009 Gweek Panto-loons Gweek Village Hall Gweek, Helston, Cornwall 01326 221652

Heidi

27 - 31 January 2009 Western College Players The Drum, Theatre Royal Plymouth, Devon 01752 267222

Hello Dolly!

03 - 14 March 2009 Yeovil Amateur Operatic Society Octagon Theatre Yeovil, Somerset 01935 422884 31 March - 04 April 2009 Garstang Theatre Group Arts Theatre - Garstang High School Garstang, Lancashire 01995 600649

HMS Pinafore

17 - 21 February 2009 Godalming Operatic Society The Borough Hall Godalming, Surrey 01252 703376 27 - 28 February 2009 Godalming Operatic Society The Leatherhead Theatre Leatherhead, Surrey 01252 713376 26 - 28 March 2009 Great Witley Operatic Society Norbury Theatre Droitwich, Worcestershire 01905 422789

Honk!

28 - 31 January 2009 GHosTs Electric Theatre Guildford, Surrey 01483 444789 17 - 21 February 2009 Cary Amateur Theatrical Society Ansford School Castle Cary, Somerset 01458 273472 18 - 21 March 2009 Worthing Light Opera Company Pavilion Theatre Worthing, W Sussex 01903 206206

Hot Mikado

18 - 21 February 2009 Zenith Youth Theatre Company Kingswood Theatre Bath, BANES 01225 835301 05 - 14 March 2009 Kidderminster Operatic & Dramatic Society The Rose Theatre Kidderminster, Worcs 01562 743745< /tr>

16 - 21 March 2009 Milford Haven Amateur Operatic Society Torch Theatre Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire 01646 695267

16 - 21 March 2009 St Philips Amateur Operatic & Dramatic Society Bolton St Philip’s Hall Bolton, Lancs 01204 696381

30 March - 04 April 2009 Musselburgh Amateur Musical Association Brunton Theatre Musselburgh, East Lothian 01368 869611 31 March - 04 April 2009 Maidenhead Musical Comedy Society Desborough Suite, Maidenhead Town Hall Maidenhead, Berkshire 01491 573505

Hi-De-Hi

12 - 14 February 2009 Thurrock Courts Players Thameside Theatre Grays, Essex 0845 300 5264

High Society

20 - 24 January 2009 Farnham Amateur Operatic Society The Maltings Farnham, Surrey 01252 722233

24 - 31 January 2009 Keighley Amateur Operatic & Dramatic Society Victoria Hall Keighley, W Yorks 08450 170718 27 - 31 January 2009 St Austell Players St Austell Arts Theatre St Austell, Cornwall 01726 879500 05 - 07 February 2009 The Winslow Players Winslow Public Hall Winslow, Bucks 01296 715185 16 - 21 February 2009 Coliseum Operatic & Dramatic Society Aberdare Coliseum Theatre Aberdare, Rhondda Cynon Taff 01685 882685 25 - 28 February 2009 Polden Productions Edington Village Hall Bridgwater, Somerset 01278 723095

10 - 14 March 2009 Saffron Walden Musical Theatre Company Saffron Walden Town Hall Saffron Walden, Essex 07876 785477

24 - 28 March 2009 Wellingborough Amateur Operatic & Dramatic Society The Castle Wellingborough, Northants 01933 270007

Jack and the Beanstalk

23 - 25 January 2009 Encore Theatre Company Aspley Guise Village Hall Aspley Guise, Bedfordshire 01908 583640

Iolanthe

03 - 07 February 2009 Crosby G & S Society Crosby Civic Hall Waterloo, Liverpool 0151 934 2140 16 - 21 February 2009 Melrose Amateur Operatic Society The Corn Exchange Melrose, Roxburghshire 01835 822425 06 - 08, 12 - 14 March 2009 Hemel Hempstead Theatre Company The Boxmoor Playhouse Hemel Hempstead, Herts 01442 264218

Jack & Jill

17 - 21 February 2009 Lyme Regis Pantomime Society Marine Theatre Lyme Regis, Dorset 01297 443986

Jack and the Beanstalk 21 - 24 January 2009 NOMADS The Masque Barton Seagrave, Northants 07857 186005

Jukebox

19 - 24 January 2009 Padiham Pantomime Society Padiham Town Hall Padiham, Lancashire 07976 071443

Jungle Book

17 - 21 February 2009 Shavington Village Festival Committee Shavington Leisure Centre nr Crewe, Cheshire 01270 661592

Kinder Transport

26 - 28 March 2009 Loughton Amateur Dr amatic Society Lopping Hall Loughton, Essex 0208 502 5843

King and I

18 - 21 February 2009 Community of Hungerford John O’Gaunt Community & Technology College Hungerford, Berks 01488 684011 24 - 28 February 2009 South Shields G & S Operatic Society Customs House South Shields, Tyne and Wear 0191 454 1234 03 - 07 March 2009 Doncaster Amateur Operatic Society Civic Theatre Doncaster, S Yorks 01302 342349 10 - 14 March 2009 Kilmarnock Amateur Operatic Society Palace Theatre Kilmarnock, Ayrshire 01563 554900

Kiss Me, Kate

16 - 21 February 2009 Hinckley Comm Guild AOS Concordia Theatre Hinckley, Leciestershire 01455 847676 03 - 07 March 2009 St Andrews Amateur Operatic Society Byre Theatre St Andrews, Fife 01334 475000

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DIARY La Belle Helene

Little Red Riding Hood

Mame

04 - 07 March 2009 Staines Musical Theatre Group Magna Carta Theatre Staines, Surrey 01932 221719

27 & 28 March 2009 + 03 & 04 April 2009 Haxey Amateur Dramatic Society Haxey Memorial Hall Haxey, Doncaster 01427 752877

Ladies Day

Little Shop of Horrors

09 - 14 March 2009 Knowle Operatic Society Solihull Arts Solihull, 0121 704 6962

Music Man

Les Miserables

Little Tommy Tucker

03 - 07 March 2009 Reading Operatic Society The Hexagon Reading, Berks 01189 606060

12 - 14 March 2009 St Nicholas Players South Holland Centre Spalding, Lincolnshire 01775 764777

03 - 14 February 2009 Douglas Choral Union Am Op and Dram Soc Gaiety Theatre Douglas, Isle of Man 01624 694555

Les Miserables (School Edition)

15 - 17 January 2009 Twyford & Ruscombe Theatre Group Loddon Hall Twyford, Berkshire 0845 450 1308

30 March - 04 April 2009 Hyde Musical Society The Festival Theatre Hyde, Cheshire 0161 301 2253

24 - 28 February 2009 Market Drayton Amateur Operatic & Dramatic Society The Grove School Market Drayton, Shrops 01630 652454

Little Women

18 - 21 February 2009 Spennymoor Youth Theatre Group Gala Theatre Durham, Durham 0191 332 4041

14 - 21 March 2009 Rugby Theatre Society Rugby Theatre, Henry St Rugby, Warks 01788 541234

24 - 28 March 2009 Melton Musical Theatre Company Brooksby Melton Theatre Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire 01664 851111

Mack and Mabel

Let’s Do It (words & music of Coward and Porter) 05 - 07 March 2009 Holy Ridiculous Theatre Group Mayhill Junior School Odiham, Hants 01256 704916

Let’s Go To The Movies III 15 - 16 February 2009 Havering Music Makers Queens Theatre Hornchurch, Essex 01708 762256

20 - 24 January 2009 Shenfield Operatic Society Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch, Essex 01708 700625

09 - 14 March 2009 Coalville Amateur Operatic Society Hind Leys Community College Theatre Shepshed, Leics 01530 834534 10 - 14 March 2009 Yeadon Amateur Operatic & Dramatic Society Yeadon Town Hall Yeadon, Leeds, W Yorks 0113 250 5900

Mansfield Park

29 - 31 January 2009 Lyndhurst Drama and Musical Society Vernon Theatre Lyndhurst, Hampshire 023 80282729

Mother Goose

16 - 25 January 2009 South Shields Westovian Theatre Society Pier Pavilion South Shields, Tyne and Wear 0191 456 0980 20 - 24 January 2009 Kippax Amateur Operatic Society (KAOS) Castleford Civic Centre Castleford, W Yorks 0113 287 4564

Mrs Bags

Murdered to Death

30 March - 04 April 2009 Innerleithen Amateur Operatic Society Memorial Hall Innerleithen, Peebleshire 0845 224 1908

Musicals and More

17 - 21 March 2 009 Hebden Bridge Light Opera Society Little Theatre Hebden Bridge, W Yorks 01422 250181

My Fair Lady

21 - 23 January 2009 Swanley Light Opera Group Woodland theatre Swanley, Kent 01474 703448 16 - 21 February 2009 Penzance Amateur Operatic Society St John’s Hall Penzance, Cornwall 01736 363244

31 March - 03 April 2009 Revellers Music & Dramatic Society Peterborough Indoor Bowls Club Peterborough, Cambridgeshire 01733 755176

02 - 07 March 2009 Galashiels Amateur Operatic Society Volunteer Hall Galashiels, Selkirkshire 01896 75371720

Murder Mystery

02 - 07 March 2009 Cockett Amateur Operatic Society Taliesin Arts Centre Swansea, Glamorgan 01792 584706

12 - 14 March 2009 Letchworth Arcadians St Paul’s Church Hall Letchworth, Herts 01462 677157

03 - 07 March 2009 Whitehaven & District Amateur Operatic Soc Whitehaven Civic Hall Whitehaven, Cumbria 01946 514960

SWMTC’s production of Children of Eden that ran from Nov 25th - 29th 08, at the Desborough Suite in Maidenhead

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West Side Story - Mossley Amateur Operatic and Dramatic Society Photos by Martin Ogden My Fair Lady

Oklahoma!

10 - 14 March 2009 Heckmondwike Players The Town Hall Cleckheaton, W Yorks 01924 492671

23 - 28 February 2009 Guiseley Amateur Operatic Society Guiseley Theatre Leeds, W Yorks 08453 705045

17 - 21 March 2009 Clevedon Light Opera Club Princes Hall, Princes Road Clevedon, N Somerset 01275 340805

02 - 07 March 2009 Stockton Stage Society The Forum Theatre Billingham, Cleveland 01642 552663

No Sex Please, We’re British

16 - 21 March 2009 Loughborough Amateur Operatic Society Town Hall Theatre Loughborough, Leics 01509 231914

09 - 14 March 2009 Leven Amateur Musical Association The Centre, Commercial Road Leven, Fife 01334 659348

03 - 07 February 2009 Centenary Theatre Company Brindley Theatre Runcorn, Merseyside 0151 907 8360

Nobody’s Perfect

03 - 14 February 2009 Highbury Players Highbury Theatre, Sheffield Road Sutton Coldfield, W Midlands 0121 373 2761

Nunsense

25 - 31 January 2009 Teddington Theatre Club Hampton Hill Playhouse Hampton Hill, Middlesex 0845 838 7529 www.teddingtontheatreclub.co.uk

Of Mice and Men

23 January - 07 February 2009 Crescent Theatre Limited Ron Barber Studio Theatre, Crescent Theatre Birmingham, W Mids 0121 643 5858

16 - 21 February 2009 Bridgnorth Musical Theatre Company Bridgnorth Leisure Centre Bridgnorth, Shropshire 01746 763510

17 - 21 March 2009 Olveston Parish Players Olveston Parish Hall Tockington, Bristol 01454 612850 24 - 28 March 2009 Rosyth & District Musical Society Carnegie Hall Dunfermline, Fife 01259 740321 24 - 28 March 2009 Bohemians Lyric Opera Company Edinburgh K ings Theatre Edinburgh, Midlothian 0131 529 6000 24 - 28 March 2009 Penistone Centre Stage Musicals Paramount Penistone, S Yorks 01226 370121

30 March - 04 April 2009 Abingdon Operatic Society Amey Theatre, Abingdon School, Park Road Abingdon, Oxon 01235 834383

02 - 07 March 2009 Wombwell & District Amateur Op S ociety Operatic Centre Wombwell, S Yorks 01226 758375

Old Mother Hubbard

10 - 14 March 2009 Montrose Amateur Operatic Society Town Hall, Melville Gardens Montrose, Angus 01674 830204

16 - 24 January 2009 Addlestone Community Theatre Addlestone Community Theatre Addlestone, Surrey 01932 844653

Old Time Music Hall 15 - 17, 22 - 24 January 2009 Stevenage Lytton Players The Lytton Theatre, Vardon Rd Stevenage, Herts 0870 777 7619

Oliver!

15 - 17 January 2009 Compton Little Theatre Compton Village Hall Guildford, Surrey tickets@comptonlittletheatre.org.uk 04 - 07 February 2009 Stage Productions Regent Theatre Stoke, Staffs 0870 060 6649

11 - 14 March 2009 Eyemouth Variety Group Eyemouth High School Eyemouth, Berwickshire 01890 750585 25 - 28 March 2009 Newtown Musical Theatre Company Theatr Hafren, Newtown, Powys 01686 630516 31 March - 04 April 2009 Ashbeian Musical Theatre Group Ivanhoe College Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Leics 01283 224879

Once a Knight

18 - 21 February 2009 Ruthin Musical Theatre Theatr John Ambrose, Ysgol Brynhyfryd Ruthin, Denbigh 01824 703748

22 - 24 January 2009 Chellaston Players St. Peter’s Church Hall Chellaston, Derbyshire 01332 700821

Orpheus In the Underworld

19 - 21 February 2009 Tipton Amateur Repertory Theatre Society Mill Theatre, Sedgley, W Midlands 01902 679682

17 - 21 February 2009 Rugby Operatic Society Rugby Theatre Rugby, Warks 01788 541234

21 - 28 February 2009 Southport Amateur Operatic Society Southport Arts Centre Southport, Merseyside 01704 228936

03 - 07 March 2009 Ware Operatic Society Castle Hall Hertford, Herts 01992 531500

AS MAGAZINE | JANUARY 2009

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DIARY Orpheus In the Underworld 11 - 14 March 2009 Knaphill & St John’s Opera Group The Rhoda McGaw Theatre Woking, Surrey 01483 473657

Outside Edge

29 - 31 January 2009 BreakaLeg Productions Unicorn Theatre Abingdon, Oxon 01235 821351

Pajama Game

Peter Pan

16 - 31 January 2009 Lane End Players Lane End Village Hall Lane End, Bucks 01494 881981

24 - 28 February 2009 Chelmsford Amateur Operatic & Dramatic Society Civic Theatre Chelmsford, Essex 01245 606505

Patience 03 - 07 March 2009 Meersbrook Park Church Operatic Society Dronfield Civic Hall Dronfield, Yorkshire 0114 255 7634

29 January - 01 February 2009 Felixstowe Musical Theatre Spa Pavilion Felixstowe, Suffolk 01394 282126

16 - 21 March 2009 Romiley Operatic Society Forum Theatre Romiley, Stockport 0845 600 9186

Pink Champagne

Pride and Prejudice - the Musical

22 - 28 March 2009 Langholm Amateur Operatic & Dram Society The Buccleuch Centre Langholm, Dumfriesshire 01387 381196

11 - 14 March 2009 The St Helens G & S Society Theatre Royal St Helens, Merseyside 01744 756000

18 - 21 March 2009 The Garrick Singers The Duthac Centre Tain, Ross-shire 01862 842311

Pinocchio

15 - 24 January 2009 Wayfarers Pantomime Society (Taunton) The Brewhouse Theatre Taunton, Somerset 01823 283244 24, 26 - 31 January 2009 HIADS Station Theatre Hayling Island, Hants 023 9246 6363 17 - 21 February 2009 St Andrews Youth Fellowship Sandon Sandon Village Hall Sandon, Essex 01245 477872

Pirates Of Penzance 18 - 21 February 2009 Walsall G & S Society Brownhills Community Theatre Brownhills, W Midlands 01922 645378 23 - 28 February 2009 Barrow Savoyards Forum 28, Duke Street Barrow in Furness, Cumbria 01229 820000 26 - 28 February 2009 Girton Operatic Society Girton Glebe School Cambridge, Cambs 01223 556766 02 - 07 March 2009 Oundle Gilbert & Sullivan Players The Queen Victoria Hall Oundle, Peterborough 01832 280049 04 - 07 March 2009 Alton Operatic & Dramatic Society Assembly Rooms Alton, Hants 01730 827200 10 - 14 March 2009 Crewe Amateur Operatic Society Lyceum Theatre Crewe, Cheshire 01270 582819 26 - 28 March 2009 Skegness Musical Theatre Company Embassy Theatre Skegness, Lincs 0845 674 0505

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Princess Ida

08 - 14 March 2009 Leeds G & S Society The Carriageworks Leeds, West Yorkshire 0113 224 3801

Pull The Other One 12 - 18 January 2009 Arundel Players Priory Playhouse Arundel, West Sussex 01243 782976

Puss In Boots

23 - 24 January 2009 Little Hadham PG Little Hadham Village Hall Little Hadham, Herts 01279 842160 29 - 31 January 2009 Wootton Bassett Light Operatic Society Memorial Hall Wootton Bassett, Wilts 01793 855473 30 - 31 January 2009 Little Hadham PG Little Hadham Village Hall Little Hadham, Herts 01279 842160 11 - 14 February 2009 Irchester Players Parsons Hall Irchester, Northants 01933 624310

Razzledazzle

31 March - 04 April 2009 Kings Langley Light Opera Company Kings Langley Community Centre, The Nap Kings Langley, Herts 01442 268839

Rebecca

18 - 21 February 2009 Festival Players (Loughborough) Ltd Loughborough Town Hall Loughborough, Leics 01509 231914

Red Riding Hood

16 - 17 January 2009 Briston Players The Copeman Centre Briston, Melton Constable, Norfolk 01263 861340

31 March - 04 April 2009 Telford & District Light Operatic Players The Place, Oakengates Theatre Oakengates, Shropshire 01952 382382

23 - 31 January 2009 Haverhill & District Operatic Society Haverhill Arts Centre Haverhill, Suffolk 01440 714140

Pirates of Penzance (Broadway version)

Return to the Forbidden Planet

27 - 31 January 2009 Buttershaw St Pauls Church Am Operatic Soc St George’s Hall Bradford, W Yorks 01274 676047

A CHORUS OF DISAPPROVAL Loddon Players, Sherfield on Loddon, Hampshire. Photos: Sally Hennessey.

11 - 14 March 2009 Panda Players Elgiva Theatre Chesham, Bucks 01494 782349

17 - 21 February 2009 Heanor Operatic Society Heanor Gate Science College Heanor, Derbyshire 01773 712296

17 - 21 February 2009 Rosehill Youth Theatre Rosehill Theatre Whitehaven, Cumbria 01946 692422

05 - 07 March 2009 Wethersfield Amateur Performers Wethersfield Village Hall nr Braintree, Essex 01371 851019

AS MAGAZINE | JANUARY 2009

12/01/2009 10:16:36

DIARY

LIST YOUR PRODUCTION HERE FOR FREE!! Tell our readers about your show. To have your listed in our diary pages please email the relevant information including your groups website address to diary@asmagazine.co.uk Deadline 1st of each month

Return to the Forbidden Planet

Robinson Crusoe and the Pirates

Revue 2008

13 - 21 February 2009 Court Players The Memorial Hall, Rangeworthy, S Glos 01454 321149

17 - 21 March 2009 Woodhouse Amateur Operatic Society Lawrence Batley Theatre Huddersfield, W Yorks 01484 430528

15 - 17 January 2009 Musselburgh Amateur Musical Association Brunton Theatre Musselburgh, East Lothian 01368 869611

Robin Hood and the Babes in the Wood 28 - 31 January 2009 Sway Drama Club Village Hall, MiddleRoad Sway, Lymington, Hants 01590 683683 02 - 07 February 2009 Whitestone Players Whitestone Parish Hall nr Exeter, Devon 01392 433997

27 - 31 January 2009 Bolsover Drama Group Moorfield School, Bolsover Chesterfield, Derbyshire 01246 850402

28 - 31 January 2009 St Blane’s Drama Group Dunblane Primary School 01786 823716

Roleplay

29 - 31 January 2009 The Centralian Players Henderson Hall,Abbots Langley, Hertfordshire 01923 227392 www.thecentralians.co.uk

Ruddigore

Robin Prince of Sherwood

03 - 07 February 2009 Aireborough G & S Society Yeadon Town Hall, Yeadon, Leeds, W Yorks 0113 250 3519

Scrimshaw!

15 - 24 January 2009 Pump House Children and Youth Theatre Pump House Theatre Watford, Herts 07903 411150

Scrooge

04 - 07 March 2009 Crash Bang Wallop Theatre Company Northallerton Forum Theatre Northallerton, North Yorkshire 01642 722192

Seasons Greetings

29 - 30 January 2009 Innuendo Theatre Group Thorngate Halls Gosport, Hants 01329 310473

Secondary Cause of Death

19 - 21 February 2009 St Cuthberts ADS Darwen St Chad’s Theatre, St Cuthbert’s Primary School Darwen, 07804 681778

Seussical

26 - 28 February 2009 Sosage Factory Solihull Arts Complex Solihull, W Midlands 0121 704 6962

10 - 14 February 2009 St Andrews Operatic Society St Andrew’s Roker Sunderland, Tyne and Wear 0191 548 4621

11 - 14 March 2009 Alive Ilminster Warehouse Theatre Ilminster, Somerset 01460 52982

Robinson Crusoe

18 - 21 February 2009 Intake Methodist Musical Society Intake Methodist Church, Foxwood Rd Sheffield, 0114 287 2093

She Stoops to Conquer

22 - 24 January 2009 Criccieth Starlight Players Memorial Hall Criccieth, Gwynedd 01766 522249

03 - 07 February 2009 Rutland Amateur Theatrical Society Vale of Catmose College Theatre Oakham, Rutland 01572 723 247

04 - 07 March 2009 Kirkcaldy G & S Society Adam Smith Theatre, Kirkcaldy, Fife 01592 566353 11 - 14 March 2009 Hoghton Players G & S Society Cambridge Theatre Arts Centre Southport, Merseyside 01704 540011

10 - 14 February 2009 Ecclesall Theatre Company Ecclesal l Parish Hall Ringinglow Road, Sheffield 0114 2308842 www.ecclesalltheatre.com

Sinbad

19 - 22 February 2009 Morley Amateur Operatic Society Morley Town Hall Morley, W Yorks 07960 766 334

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BACK COPIES

Back copies of the magazine are available for £3 per issue which includes postage within the UK AS MAGAZINE | JANUARY 2009

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DIARY 22 - 25 January 2009 Phoenix Players Stratford Civic Hall Straford-upon-Avon, Warks 01789 207100

23 January - 07 February 2009 St Nicholas Players St Nicholas Church Hall Allestree, Derby 01332 556228

27 - 31 January 2009 Bridport Pantomime Players El ectric Palace, Bridport, Dorset 01308 423366

21 - 24 January 2009 Barnton Variety Theatre Workshop Northwich Memorial Hall Northwich, Cheshire 01606 782442

16 - 21 February 2009 Circle Light Opera Company Highbury Theatre Centre Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands 07876 190519

Sleeping Beauty

30 January - 07 February 2009 New Mills Amateur Operatic & Dram Society Art Theatre, Jodrell Street New Mills, Derbyshire 0161 427 5317

15 - 18 January 2009 Argosy Players Winston Churchill Hall Ruislip, Middlesex 0845 838 9058

18 - 21 February 2009 Gillingham Dramatic Society Productions The Blook Theatre Chatham, Kent 07736 279717

17 - 24 January 2009 North Ormesby Minstrels The Trinity Centre North Ormesby, Teeside 01642 272241

South Pacific

17 - 24 January 2009 The Young Ones Netherton Arts Centre Netherton Dudley, W Midlands 01384 895266 23 - 24, 30 - 31 January 2009 Newton Amateur Dramatic & Operatic Society Newton Community High School Newton-le-Willows, Merseyside 01942 741835 24 - 31 January 2009 Highcliffe Charity Players Regent Centre Christchurch, Dorset 01202 499199 24 - 31 January 2009 Stourbridge Pantomime Co Ltd Stourbridge Town Hall Theatre Stourbridge, W Midlands 01384 560653 24 - 31 January 2009 Stourbridge Pantomime20Co Ltd Stourbridge Town Hall Theatre Stourbridge, West Midlands 01384 812959 27 - 31 January 2009 Ellesmere Port Original Pantomime Company Ellesmere Port Civic Hall Ellesmere Port, Cheshire 0151 355 9310 30 - 31 January 2009 Chapel Players Chapel Playhouse Chapel-en-le-Frith, Derbyshire 01298 813176 05 - 07 February 2009 Edenbridge Forge Singers WI Hall Edenbridge, Kent 01732 864471 05 - 07 February 2009 Chapel Players Chapel Playhouse Chapel-en-le-Frith, Derbyshire 01298 813176 17 - 21 February 2009 Caldicot Musical Theatre Society Caldicot School Caldicot, Monmouthshire 01291 422207

16 - 21 February 2009 Carmarthen & Dist Youth Opera Lyric Theatre Carmarthen, 01267 232632 17 - 21 February 2009 Rosehill Youth Theatre Rosehill Theatre Whitehaven, Cumbria 01946 692422 02 - 07 March 2009 East Kilbride Light Opera Club Village Theatre East Kilbride, 01355 229815 09 - 14 March 2009 Maltby Musical Theatre Group Civic Theatre Rotherham, S Yorks 0845 241 2196

Southern Counties Drama Festival 23 - 28 February 2009 Barn Theatre Bluehouse Lane Oxted, 01959 561811

Sparklers

26 - 31 January 2009 Droylsden Little Theatre Castle Close Droylsden , Manchester 0161 370 7713 www.droylsdenlittletheatre.co.uk

Spend, Spend, Spend

30 March - 04 April 2009 Maryport Amateur Operatic & Dramatic Soc The Wave Centre Maryport, Cumbria 01900 816834

Spring Review

10 - 13 March 2009 Carnoustie Musical Society Beach Hall, Carnoustie, Angus 01241 410337

St Albans Scount & Guide Gang Show 11 - 14 February 2009 St Albans Scout & Guide Gang Show Alban Arena St Albans, Hertfordshire 01727 830397

Star Quality

18 - 21 February 2009 Bradfordians Dramatic Society Trinity Hall St Laurence School Bradford-on-Avon, Wiltshire 01225 761720

19 - 21 February 2009 Hayes Players Hayes Village Hall Hayes, Kent 020 8462 5194

Snow White

Stepping Out

23 January - 07 February 2009 Lindsey Rural Players The Broadbent Theatre Wickenby, Lincs 01673 885500

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30 - 31 January 2009 East Grinstead Operatic Society Chequer Head Community Arts Centre East Grinstead, W Sussex 01342 302000

Strangers on a Train 21 - 28 February 2009 Natwich Players Playersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Theatre Natwich, Cheshire 01270 537359 www.nantwichplayers.com

Sweeney Todd

27 - 31 January 2009 Leatherhead Operatic Society Epsom Playhouse Epsom, Surrey 07787 870012 10 - 14 February 2009 Xtreme Theatre Company Llwynypia Community Theatre, Coleg Morgannnwg Llwynypia, Rhonddda Cynon Taff 01443 774167 10 - 14 February 2009 Lindley Church Amateur Operatic Society Lawrence Batley Theatre Huddersfield, W Yorks 01484 430528 18 - 21 February 2009 Stampede Theatre Company Yeadon Town Hall, Yeadon, W Yorks 0113 202 9524 03 - 07 March 2009 Hessle Theatre Company Hull New Theatre, Hull, E Yorks 01482 226655 05 - 07, 10 - 14 March 2009 Hitchin Thespians The Queen Mother Theatre Hitchin, Hertfordshire 01462 455166 24 - 28 March 2008 The Haslemere Players Haslemere Hall, Haslemere, Surrey 01428 642161 25 - 28 March 2009 Young Inspirations Theatre Co Pomegranate Theatre Chesterfield, Derbyshire 01246 345222 31 March - 04 April 2009 Burnley Light Opera Society Mechanics Theatre, Burnley, Lancashire 01282 664400

Sweet Charity

26 - 28 February 2009 Spotlight Musical Theatre Company Compass Theatre, Ickenham, Middlesex 01895 673200 24 - 28 March 2009 Colin Smith Luton Youth Music Theatre Denbieh High School, Luton, Bedfordshire 01582 547474 31 March - 04 April 2009 Berwick-upon-Tweed Amateur Operatic Soc The Maltings Berwick-upon-Tweed, Northumberland 01289 330999 23 - 24 January 2009 Present Company Buxton Opera House, Derbyshire 0845 127 2190

Sweet Revenge

18 - 21 February 2009 Belmont Theatre Company The Pump House Theatre, Watford, Herts 0845 521 3453

Table Manners

31 March - 04 April 2009 Eastbourne Operatic & Dramatic Society Underground Theatre - Central Library Eastbourne, East Sussex 01323 505182

Tell me on a Sunday

25 - 28 February 2009 CCADS Central Library - 3rd Fl. Arts Centre Portsmout h, Hampshire 023 9268 8070

Terrorism by The Presnyakov Brothers

20 - 28 March 2009 Crescent Theatre Limited Crescent Theatre, Birmingham, W Mids 0121 643 5858

The Adventures of Mr Pickwick

29 - 31 January 2009 Hoghton Players Hoghton Village Hall,Hoghton, Preston, Lancashire 01254 852258

The Beauty Queen of Leenane

17 - 28 March 2009 Highbury Players Highbury Theatre Centre, Sheffield Road Sutton Coldfield, W Midlands 0121 373 2761

The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas 09 - 14 March 2009 Hawick Amateur Operatic Society Hawick Town Hall 07846 453996

The Boyfriend

18 - 21 February 2009 New Forest Players The Performing Arts Centre, Ballard School New Milton, Hampshire 0845 166 8775 16 - 21 March 2009 Stirling & Bridge of Allan Operatic Society Macnobert, Stirling, 01786 466666

The Bus by Lukas Barfus (UK premiere) 14 - 21 March 2009 Crescent Theatre Limited Crescent Theatre, Birmingham, W Mids 0121 643 5858

The Crucible

11 - 14 March 2009 Potters Bar Theatre Company Wyllyots Theatre, Potters Bar, Herts 07985 442204

The Full Monty

29 - 31 January 2009 Downfield Musical Society Whitehall Theatre, Dundee, 01382 322537 17 - 21 February 2009 Erewash Musical Society Trent College (May Hall) Long Eaton, Notts 0115 930 1603 31 March - 04 April 2009 Mid Rhondda Amateur Operatic Society Park and Dare Theatre Treorchy, Rhon dda Cynon Taff 01443 773112 10 - 14 February 2009 Portsmouth Players Kings Theatre, Southsea, Hampshire 023 9266 0880

The Geisha

11 - 14 February 2009 Southgate College Opera Wyllyotts Theatre, Darkes Lane Potters Bar, Herts 01707 645005

The Grinch - The panto

05 - 07 February 2009 Threemilestone Amateur Dramatic Society Threemilestone Community Hall Truro, Cornwall 01872 275237

The Herbal Bed

12 - 14 Februar y 2009 Wheathampstead Dramatic Society Memorial Hall, Marford Road Wheathampstead, Herts 01582 763510

AS MAGAZINE | JANUARY 2009

12/01/2009 10:16:37

DIARY The House of Bernarda Alba

11 - 14 March 2009 Crescent Theatre Limited Ron Barber Studio Theatre, Crescent Theatre Birmingham, W Mids 0121 643 5858

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

10 - 14 March 2009 Croft House Operatic Society Sheffield Lyceum Theatre Sheffield, S Yorks 0114 249 6000 24 March - 04 April 2009 Lincoln Amateur Operatic & Dramatic Society Theatre Royal, Clasketgate, Lincoln, Lincs 01522 687449

30 January - 07 February 2009 Harleston Players Archbishop Sandcroft High School Harleston, Norfolk 01379 588043

24 - 28 March 2009 Dundee Operatic Society Whitehall Theatre, Dundee, 01382 643868

19 - 21 March 2009 The Kings Lynn Players Kings Lynn Arts Centre, Kings Lynn, Norfolk 01553 764864

24 - 31 January 2009 Cheltenham Operatic & Dramatic Society The Playhouse Theatre, Cheltenham, Glos 01684 293346

The Magic of Hollywood 11 - 13 March 2009 Lanchester & District Choral and Op Soc St Bede’s RC School & 6th Form College Lanchester, Durham 01207 520172

The Man in the Moon

25 - 25 March 2009 Leeds Childrens Theatre The Carriageworks Theatre, Leeds, W Yorks 0113 224 3801

The Merry Widow

10 - 14 March 2009 Central Operatic Society Landau Forte College, Derby, Derbyshire 01332 366279

The Merry Wives of Windsor 27 - 28 March 2009 Opera Integra St Johns Church, London, 020 8741 4991

The Mikado

19 - 24 January 2009 Abbots Langley G & S Society Watford Palace Theatre, Watford, Herts 01923 225671 04 - 07, 12 - 14 March 2009 Preston G & S Society Playhouse, Market St West, Preston, Lancs 01772 339452 18 - 21 March 2009 Wakefield G & S Society Theatre Royal, Wakefield, W Yorks 01924 211311 25 - 28 March 2009 Hereford G & S Operatic Society Hereford Courtyard Theatre, Edgar Street Hereford, Herefordshire 01432 340555

The Mikado and Madame Butterfly 12 - 14 March 2009 Charnwood Opera, Town Hall Loughborough, Leics 01509 231914

The Panto of the Opera 29 - 31 January 2009 Adur Theatre Company The Shoreham Centre Shoreham-by-Sea, West Sussex 01273 591933

The Pied Piper

21 - 28 February 2009 Burton Bradstock Players Burton Bradstock Village Hall Burton Bradstock, Dorset 01308 897415

The Producers

03 - 07 March 2009 Carlton Operatic Society Nottingham Playhouse Nottingham, Nottinghamshire 0115 9419419

The Railway Children

The Sorcerer’s Apprentice

17 - 24 January 2009 Chesham Bois Catholic Players The Elgiva Theatre, St Mary’s Way Chesham, Bucks 01494 582900 www.elgiva.com

The Sunshine Boys

25 - 28 February 2009 Preston Drama Club Preston Playhouse, Preston, Lancs 01772 744771

The Visitors

19 - 21 February 2009 Dollar Drama Club Dollar Academy Studio Theatre, Dollar, 01259 742 173 www.dollardrama.org.uk

The Wizard of Oz

23 - 31 January 2009 The Watson Players Guildhall Theatre, Derbyshire 01332 661789

The Woman who Cooked her Husband 23 - 28 February 2009 Highbury Players Highbury Theatre Centre, Sheffield Road Sutton Coldfield, W Midlands 0121 373 2761

The Word Goes Round

04 - 07 March 2009 Alloa Musical Players Alloa Town Hall , Alloa, Clackmannanshire 01259 214962

They Came From Mars

04 - 07 March 2009 Folkestone & Hythe Operatic & Dram Society Tower Theatre, Folkestone, Kent 01303 223925

Thoroughly Modern Millie

03 - 07 March 2009 Heywood Amateur Operatic & Dram Society Heywood Civic Centre Heywood, Lancashire 01706 368904 17 - 21 March 2009 Walsall Operatic Society Lichfield Garrick Theatre & Studio Lichfield, Staffs 01922 611982

Titanic - The Musical 21 - 28 March 2009 Manx Operatic Society Gaiety Theatre Douglas, Isle of Man 01624 694555

23 - 28 March 2009 Abbey Musical Society Barrow Forum 28, Duke Street Barrow in Furness, Cumbria 01229 470067

Tosca

03 - 07 February 2009 Windsor & Eton Operatic Society Norden Farm Centre for the Arts Maidenhead, Berks 01753 863719

Treasure Island

07 - 08 March 2009 Jane Harris School of Dancing Tower Hill Dorking , Surrey 01306 883686 www.barntheatreoxted.co.uk

Wizard of Oz

15 - 24 January 2009 Thringstone Panto & Drama Society Thringstone Community Centre Thringstone, Leicestershire 01530 834575 23 - 31 January 2009 Watson Players Guildhall Theatre, Derby, Derbyshire 01332 343649

29 - 31 January 2009 The Magpies Drama Group Matfield Village Hall Matfield, Kent 01892 834365

17 - 21 February 2009 Letchworth Arcadians Plinston Hall Letchworth Garden City, Herts 01462 453801

18 - 21 February 2009 Maesteg Amateur Operatic Society Maesteg Town Hall Maesteg, Bridgend 01656 734084

19 - 21 March 2009 Bolton Catholic Musical and Choral Society The Theatre Church Bolton, Lancashire 01204 856977

11 - 19 February 2009 The Oxted Players Barn Theatre Bluehouse Lane, Oxted 01883 712241 www.barntheatreoxted.co.uk

31 March - 04 April 2009 Tamworth Arts Club The Assembly Rooms Tamoworth, Staffordshire 01827 709618

Trial by Jury/HMS Pinafore

18 - 21 February 2009 Dunfermline G & S Society Carnegie Hall Dunfermline, Fife 0845 241 2187

17 - 21 March 2009 New Rosemere Amateur Operatic Society Albert Halls, Bolton, Lancashire 01204 300666

Twelth Night

24 -28 February 2009 Derby Shakespeare Theatre Company The Guildhall Theatre, Derby 01332 255800 www.derbyshakespeare.org.uk

Uncle Vanya

25 - 28 March 2009 Southsea Shakespeare Actors Havant Arts Centre, Havant, Hampshire 023 9247 2700

Yeoman of the Guard

02 - 07 March 2009 Leicester Operatic Players Little Theatre, Dover Street Leicester, Leics 0116 255 1302 24 - 28 March 2009 Birmingham Savoyards G & S Society The Old Rep Birmingham, W Midlands

West Side Story

26 - 31 January 2009 Norfolk & Norwich Operatic Society Theatre Royal, Norwich, Norfolk 01603 630000 17 - 21 March 2009 Wolverhampton Musical Comedy Company Grand Theatre, Lichfield Street Wolverhampton, W Midlands 01902 429212 17 - 21 March 2009 Fareham Musical Society Ferneham Hall, Fareham, Hants 01329 231942

When The Lights Go On Again 17 - 21 March 2009 Hinchley Manor Operatic Society Arthur Cotterell Theatre, Kingston Upon Thames, 020 8942 6867

24 - 28 March 2009 Kirkwall Amateur Operatic Society Orkney Arts Theatre Kirkwall, Orkney

30 March - 04 April 2009 Workington & District Amateur Musical Soc Carnegie Theatre, Workington, Cumbria 01900 602122

30 March - 04 April 2009 Lewes Operatic Society Lewes Town Hall Lewes, E Sussex 01273 480127

Wild Wild Women

31 March - 04 April 2009 TAB Operatic Society Civic Hall, Brierley Hill, W Midlands 0121 550 7254

Wind in the Willows & Zodiac

10 - 14 March 2009 Alnwick Stage Musical Society Alnwick Playhouse Alnwick, Northumberland 01665 510785

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12/01/2009 10:16:40

NEWS

AS MAGAZINE | DECEMBER 2008

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Untitled-1 1

13/01/2009 12:08:47