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Welcome to the Arena Theatre’s brand new season. We have the usual selection of great quality theatre coming up and we’re sure you’ll find something you’ll love. We want people to have fun, relax and enjoy coming to the Arena, the “Friendliest Theatre in Wolverhampton”. To make your visit even more relaxing, we have just installed new, wider, more comfortable seats with more legroom and softer fabrics as part of a major refurbishment of the Auditorium. We have also changed the layout so now there are handrails and a better choice of seats. We’re pleased to be starting two new schemes this season, one saves you money, the other
September 9 - 13
24 5
Flhip Flhop Rannel Dance Theatre
5
3 7
9
15
6
Slot Machine Theatre Company
6 25 7
9
Extraordinary Surdhwani* Have Box Will Travel
10 22 10
Rivers To Cross 8
The Resurrection of Little Sarah Unity Arts
29
9
The Fire Starter
Gazebo Theatre 24 & 25
8
Tony and Twizzle The Glory Years
FAB - The Detonators 18 21
8
Confessions of Honour
Big State Theatre 16
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Sweet Tooth
Opus Theatre 14
11
Thatha Siyaya Arts (Bulawayo, Zimbabwe)
30
2
The Bad One
Gazebo Theatre 10
22
Mitch Benn and the Distractions Slide Show Yasus Afari* Kathakali
8
Charlie Dark
October 1 2
Kevin O’Sullivan Theatre Manager.
Lip Service
Gin & Tonic and Passing Trains Spike Theatre and Ramesh Meyyappan
30
4
Mermaids, Wolves and Tiger’s Tales* Village Playhouse
24
4
Room To Breathe Void Physical Theatre
23
24
Health and Stacey Plested and Brown
18
We look forward to seeing you soon.
Women and Theatre
Jekyll and Hyde* Wolverhampton Youth Music Theatre
16
Page
saves the planet. To reduce our impact on the environment and cut down on the amount of paper and resources we use we are asking people to send us their e-mail address - all you have to do is e-mail environment@arenatheatre.info. To save you money, we’re giving you an amazing offer on tickets: if you buy the same number of tickets for two or more different shows you can have ALL of the tickets for only £5 each! An offer too good to refuse!
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Halloween Spectacular Raving Loonies Stole My Heart
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BUY TICKETS for two or more shows at the same time and get all your tickets for £5 each must be the same number of tickets for each show not to be used in conjunction with any other offer - other restrictions may apply
31
Mutton Mutton Productions
Page 12
November 4
7
19
American Poodle
14
4 12
15
Funny Feet Live Comedy Night Christmas With A Swing Urban Voice and Arena Theatre
14 - 21
25
Coming Up For Air Nu Century Arts
16
20
Yer Bard Again!* Highfields Science Specialist School
16 17
i-Witness Volcano Theatre Company
26
2
Les Miserables - Le Panto! Oddsocks
25
Reduced Shakespeare Company
20 21 21
Oh! What The Dickens? Screamin Voice Youth Theatre
23
Between Sound and Silence Stephanie Schober
20 - 22
14
Romeo And Juliet Long Overdue Theatre Company
18
1
Oh What A Lovely War Blackeyed Theatre
13
Page
December
13
From Freak to Clique Mat Fraser
11 & 12
13
Happy and Married? Freedom Studios
The Bible: The Complete Word of God (Abridged)
Guy Masterson
Darwin’s Worms Bent Architect
6
28
Zero Theatre Absolute
5
27
Access and How to Book Calendar - at a glance How to Find Us
26 27 28
18
Qo Umdumo Wesizwe
Other Pages
*Independent Promotions, standard concessions may not apply.
18
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Tuesday 16th September at 7.30pm
Health and Stacey
Thursday 18th September at 7.30pm
PLESTED AND BROWN
From the creators of Hot Pursuit and Minor Spectacular. Over zealous Health and Safety expert meets thrill-seeking Stacey in the jungle... It’s an accident waiting to happen! It’s a wonderful cocktail of humour, misunderstanding and epic jungle romance stamped with a government health warning.
VOID PHYSICAL THEATRE
A couple move in together straight after their honeymoon. Whilst unpacking bedroom furniture, one of them discovers pictures - pictures that will change their relationship for ever. Void Physical Theatre are a new company who specialize in intense physical theatre and exploring their boundaries.
“Impeccable comic timing” Scotsman
Tickets: £8 Full Price and £6 Concessions
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Room To Breathe
Tickets: £8 Full Price and £6 Concessions
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Tuesday 30th September at 7.30pm
Wednesday 24th September at 7.30pm
Gin & Tonic & Passing Trains
SPIKE THEATRE AND RAMESH MEYYAPPAN
Stunning mime theatre with Ramesh Meyyappan in a visual comic tale of one man who has too much time on his hands. The sound of trains rushing past, feeling trapped in his damp rickety signal box, the loneliness, the responsibilities and the endless sounds of bells drive him to distraction or more precisely to the bottom of a bottle. How will he cope when he meets these unexpected visitors? Influenced by the classic Charles Dickens ghost story The Signalman, this darkly visual tale will leave you in no doubt that Gin and Trains do not make the perfect tonic. “Meyyappan is a lithe, expressive artist artist who Tickets: has you seeing things that aren’t there…” £8 Full Price Glasgow Herald
and £6 Concessions
Flhip Flhop EVERYTHING HAPPENS ON THE BREAK
RANNEL THEATRE COMPANY AND MAKIN PROJECTS
Curiosity meets one-upmanship as the company’s dynamic pair, Matt Bailey and Joey D, compete to entertain each other in an attempt to forget about the monotony of every day working life. Rannel combine hip hop and their playful style along with everyday objects to create a dynamic physical performance, which is both energetic and full of spontaneous comedy.
Tickets: £8 Full Price and £6 Concessions
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Thursday 2nd October at 7.30pm
Wednesday 1st October at 7.30pm
Mitch Benn in Sing Like an Angel
The Slide Show
From BBC Radio 4’s The Now Show and Crimes Against Music and BBC1’s The One Show, the country’s leading musical satirist is back on tour with his band. Is it a gig? Is it a comedy show? So musically adept are Mitch Benn and his band and so droll their parodies you get the best of both worlds.
In a small hall somewhere in England, a slide show is beginning. A series of ‘cultural’ photographs is presented by an enthusiastic husband and wife team the theme: Ancient Greece. But their innocent dabbling accidentally unleashes a potent ancient force - Dionysus, God of wine and revelry - a force hidden for centuries, a force many would rather see buried again... and so the battle begins!
“Every song is a winner. His vision is truly original!” The Scotsman ★★★★★
“makes you dizzy with its non-stop invention” The Guardian
MITCH BENN AND THE DISTRACTIONS
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Tickets: £8 Full Price and £6 Concessions
SLOT MACHINE
Tickets: £8 Full Price and £6 Concessions
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Tuesday 7th October at 7.30pm
Kathakali
Wednesday 8th October at 7.30pm
THE KALA CHETHENA KATHAKALI COMPANY
The Arena Theatre is delighted to welcome back the World’s foremost Kathakali Company outside of India. Celebrating their 25th Year.
The Bad One
WOMEN AND THEATRE
Is it wicked to submit to extreme desires and emotions? Or is it more destructive to try and keep a lid on them? THE BAD ONE is a dark and playful drama exploring Robert Louis Stevenson’s Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde from a female perspective. It is a cautionary fairytale written by Women and Theatre’s Artistic Director, Janice Connolly. A chilling gothic fable for newcomers and seasoned theatre fans alike!
Kathakali embraces drama, dance, music, visual arts, and ritual to create one of the most visually exciting and powerful forms of theatre.
“Intense, hypnotic and spectacularly beautiful” Daily Telegraph
Tickets: £8 Full Price and £6 Concessions
14 years + Tickets: £8 Full Price and £6 Concessions
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Thursday 9th October at 7.30pm
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Wednesday 22nd October at 1.30pm and 7.30pm
GAZEBO THEATRE COMPANY
Sweet Tooth
Rivers to Cross
Back by popular demand, this powerful and emotive play tells the story of the trade, and gives voice to the millions of women and girls who endured immeasurable cruelty in what can only be described as an African Holocaust.
The second part of the SWEET TOOTH Trilogy RIVERS TO CROSS is a 170 year multi-media journey, through Colonialism and Empire, segregation and the Civil Rights Movement, Windrush and other key events telling the true stories of great inventions, art and accomplishments which are so often left out of the history books.
Tickets: £8 Full Price and £6 Concessions Or see both shows for £5 each
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Friday 10th October at 8pm
Confessions Of Honour
OPUS THEATRE COMPANY
Sixty nine year old Frederick Salisbury, a Victoria Cross veteran of World War II, is to give his medal back to the Staffordshire Regiment in which he served. Preparations have been almost finalised but a visitor arrives - expected by everyone but Frederick. Very soon it is clear that there is an ulterior motive for the visitor’s presence! Did Frederick actually do what he thought he did to win his medal? And what revelations will come out when the two men finally open up old wounds and reveal the truth? “first-class entertainment!” Express and Star
Tickets: £8 Full Price and £6 Concessions
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Tuesday 14th October at 7.30pm
Tony and Twizzle:
The Glory Years
Wednesday 15th October at 7.30pm
LIPSERVICE THEATRE IN ASSOCIATION WITH THE LOWRY
The Fire Starter
BIG STATE THEATRE
Brought to you by award-winning comedy duo aka Maggie Fox and Sue Ryding, makers of Withering Looks and Jane Bond. The Glory Years takes a hilarious look at the cult of celebrity. Anthony Chalmers and Isobel (Twizzle) Trilling - (stars of Celebrity Wheelie Bins and What’s down your Passage!) are red carpet favourites.
The Fire Starter is a gloriously irreverent romp through the extraordinary life of a nineteenth century Welsh Arch Druid and Doctor, the cremation crazy William Price. A Pagan, Price played his flute naked on the hills, had children out of wedlock, and shocked the Victorians by bucking the burial trend and cremating his dead relatives.
In a “warts and all” look back at their showbiz careers. Tony talks frankly about how Twiz drove him to drink and Twiz spills the beans about her nervous breakdown after a disastrous stab at Andrew Lloyd Webber.
This hilarious comedy features over 25 characters including a sheep, a parrot, a spectacularly incompetent vicar, rampant twins and the lovesick Smelly Gwennie, all performed by three stunningly versatile actors.
“LipService…one of our great two person ensembles” The Guardian
Tickets: £8 Full Price and £6 Concessions
Tickets: £8 Full Price and £6 Concessions
The Director, John Nicholson of Peepolykus, brings a heavy dose of ridiculous humour to this true story of a Victorian rebel. “A hugely talented cast... highly recommended.” TOTAL Theatre
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Thursday 16th October at 7.30pm
Tuesday 21st October at 7.30pm
Extraordinary
Have Box Will Travel
F.A.B. - THE DETONATORS A comic and strange story. Told in dance, theatre, sound and vision. Take a seat. Join our quest for happiness.
Written and performed by Charlie Dark Directed by Benji Reid Transporting you from humble beginnings in a bedroom in South London to spinning records in some of the biggest clubs in the world, HAVE BOX WILL TRAVEL tells the semi autobiographical story of a boy growing up in pursuit of a dream. A mesmerizing, funny and moving show. HAVE BOX WILL TRAVEL combines storytelling and music in a classic rites of passage story that resonates with audiences of all ages.
An extra who wants to be the star stumbles into a thoroughly mixed-up plot with lots of life, love and a Starring Role. Together with a hopeful romantic she makes a grand entrance into a Brazilian ballad, to discover a dance that makes the best things happen! “…Stimulating…inventive…to the point…” Venue Magazine
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BIRMINGHAM REPERTORY THEATRE
Tickets: £8 Full Price and £6 Concessions
Co-commissioned by The Lyric Hammersmith and Punch with support from Manchester Contact in Tickets: association with Breakin’ Cycles £8 Full Price
and £6 Concessions
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Friday 24th and Saturday 25th October at 8pm
Wednesday 29th October at 7.30pm
The Resurrection of Little Sarah
Thatha
The term ‘bootylicious’ has become a part of our everyday consciousness and in doing so, has redefined what makes a woman sexually attractive. But J-Lo and Beyonce weren’t the first. Saartjie Baartman a native of South Africa was exhibited as a freak in the 1800’s because of the extraordinary shape and size of her bottom. It is a tragic story that led to her untimely death in 1824.
Travelling around Africa, treading over borders, crushing language barriers, THATHA “Please Take” takes you on a journey that uncovers the joys of life through traditional and contemporary African song and dance. This is bound to take you to another level.
UNITY ARTS
SIYAYA ARTS (BULAWAYO, ZIMBABWE)
“Their jubilant enthusiasm is infectious and, by the end, this crowd is cheering for an encore” ★★★★ Metro
Written and Directed by John Sailsman
Tickets: £8 Full Price and £6 Concessions
Tickets: £8 Full Price and £6 Concessions
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Thursday 30th October at 8pm
Halloween Spectacular
Friday 31st October at 8pm
RAVING LOONIES STOLE MY HEART
Six months after their last outing in the Arena Theatre, Raving Loonies Stole My Heart return with new sketches, new jokes, and maybe a couple of new haircuts.
MUTTON PRODUCTIONS
A unique and brilliantly funny comedy sketch show that appeals to women of all ages and the men that have to live with them!
Following a hectic year in which RLSMH first got together, performed five seperate shows, presented a week of entertainment in the Edinburgh Free Fringe 2007, appeared on the BBC’s ‘Upstaged’ competition, and graduated from the University of Wolverhampton... as well as performing solo gigs throughout the West Midlands, studying, plus occassionally eating and sleeping! They’re now ready to perform for you, prepare to be SPOOKED.
Tickets: £5 Full Price
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Mutton
For most women, approaching the age of 50, and worse, 60, can be a daunting prospect. Women deal with this mid-life crisis in many different ways, but there are probably very few who have seized upon it as a way of opening new doors of opportunity in their lives. Well, three 40/50 something ladies have done exactly this and written a comedy sketch show poking fun at the trials and tribulations of the menopausal years. From hot flushes (or ‘power surges’ as the girls like to call them!) and memory loss, to HRT and bladder weakness ... no subject is too taboo to tackle! “Great Fun” Lorraine Kelly
Tickets: £8 Full Price and £6 Concessions
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Tuesday 4th November at 7.30pm
Zero
Wednesday 5th November 1.30pm and 7.30pm
THEATRE ABSOLUTE
Chaotic, fast, and furious, ZERO is the new play from multi award-winning Theatre Absolute. Set twenty years from now and in the face of unabated nihilism, hundreds of torture camps have been created to extract information - at any cost from those who aim to blow apart a world that is wealthy beyond its dreams. Written by Chris O’Connell, the play is an explosive and anarchic stare at the ethics of torture, and the curse of censorship. “Queue for a ticket if you have to, for an unforgettable piece of theatre” Manchester Evening News
Darwin’s Worms
BENT ARCHITECT
A highly theatrical and entertaining celebration of Darwin’s legacy and his love for these modest unassuming little creatures. Through the form of a distinctly surreal and twisted science lecture demonstration, a team of crack scientists take the stage to re-create some of Darwin’s more bizarre experiments - such as playing the bassoon to the worms... to see how they react! A splendid combination of accessible science and compelling drama.
15+ Tickets: £8 Full Price and £6 Concessions
Tickets: £8 Full Price and £6 Concessions All Matinee Tickets £4
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Thursday 6th November at 7.30pm
Happy and Married?
Friday 7th November at 8pm
FREEDOM STUDIOS
The latest offering from award winning Artistic Director Madani Younis HAPPY & MARRIED? is an exploration of marriage in the twenty first century, and a search to understand what becomes of us after we utter those two immortal words “I do”. This dark, physical comedy, will employ a pinch of puppetry, a punch of surrealism, and a whole heap of hope in discovering what takes place behind closed doors. Under the surface of this destructive relationship our characters’ lives are underpinned by an unspoken and unrelenting love for one another.
Tickets: £8 Full Price and £6 Concessions
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From Freak to Clique
MAT FRASER
Mat Fraser’s new one man show FROM FREAK TO CLIQUE charts the history of disability on stage and screen, with his trademark style of PC-free comedy, poetry, songs and characters, this will engage, challenge, and charm audiences into submission. Not for the easily offended, fascists, or devoutly religious. Contains nudity, swearing and violence.
18+ Tickets: £8 Full Price and £6 Concessions
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Tuesday 11th at 7.30pm and Wednesday 12th November at 2.30pm and 7.30pm
BLACKEYED THEATRE IN ASSOCIATION WITH SOUTH HILL PARK ARTS CENTRE AND THE COURTYARD CENTRE FOR THE ARTS PRESENT
Oh What A Lovely War Commemorating the 90th Anniversary of Armistice Day Ninety years on from the Armistice, OH WHAT A LOVELY WAR remains a classic of the modern theatre and a powerful reminder of the atrocities of a war that cost twenty million lives. Told through the songs and documents of the period, it’s a satirical attack on the military incompetence and inconceivable disregard for human life the First World War has come to represent and a chilling reminder of man’s inhumanity to man.
Tickets: £10 Full Price and £8 Concessions Tuesday 11th
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Thursday 13th November at 7.30pm
Romeo & Juliet
Tuesday 18th November at 7.30pm
LONG OVERDUE THEATRE COMPANY
The Long Overdue Theatre Company’s high-tech, high-energy, modern interpretation of ROMEO & JULIET sensitively explores the passion and violence of Shakespeare’s greatest tragedy. This cinematic imagining of Romeo & Juliet is driven by a dynamic underscore that mixes together traditional and contemporary instruments to create an atmosphere full of tension and joy, anarchy and tranquillity.
Between Sound and Silence
STEPHANIE SCHOBER & DANCE COMPANY
An evening of captivating short works that explore the relationship between sound and movement. Inspired by composer Veljo Tormis’ choral compositions called Estonian Wedding Songs. “Pure physical poetry” The Stage
Long Overdue blow the cobwebs away from this classic text, revealing truths about love and loss which have spoken to generations of theatregoers.
Tickets: £8 Full Price and £6 Concessions
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Tickets: £8 Full Price and £6 Concessions
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Thursday 20th to Saturday 22nd November at 7.30pm (Plus 2.30pm on 22nd)
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ODDSOCKS
Les Miserables (Le Panto!) Oddsocks are back with another anarchic adaptation of a classic. This year, Victor Hugo’s epic LES MISERABLES gets the unique Oddsocks treatment! You’re assured of madness and silliness with a bit of music thrown in for good measure! Vive La France! Vive Le Revolution! Vive La Oddsocks!
Tickets: £10 Full Price and £8 Concessions Family £32
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Tuesday 25th November at 7.30pm
i-witness
Wednesday 26th November at 7.30pm
VOLCANO THEATRE COMPANY
“In August 1992, when the dog days were drawing to an end, I set off to walk the county of Suffolk…” i-witness is a new show inspired by the writings of WG Sebald. Ten years after the publication in English of The Rings of Saturn, Volcano invites you on an extraordinary journey in the writer’s footsteps. We bring you an intimate, up-close experience - using video, dance and the sheer emotional power of live performance to lead you through strange landscapes and follow their clues, signs and Tickets: connections. i-witness is brutal, meditative, and £8 Full Price darkly funny theatre that explores what it means to live in a world full of the echoes and and whisperings of the past. £6 Concessions
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Qo
UMDUMO WESIZWE
Eight young men singing songs of love, hope, worship, courtship, hardship and African social commentary will mesmerise you with their harmonies and tip-toe dance routines. This is vocal music that is laced with music styles of Afro Pop, Jazz, R&B, and Reggae “Fresh, young, exuberant and ready to touch the world, the best music outfit to come out of Zimbabwe in recent years” Bulawayo Chronicle 2005
Tickets: £8 Full Price and £6 Concessions
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Thursday 27th November at 7.30pm
THE REDUCED SHAKESPEARE COMPANY
The Bible: The Complete Word Of God (abridged) It’s apocalypse now as the three cultural guerrillas of The Reduced Shakespeare Company set their reductive sights on The Bible. Can bolts of lightning be far behind?
Whether you are Catholic or Atheist, Muslim or Jew, Protestant or Purple People Eater, you will be tickled by the RSC’s romp through old time religion. Remember... Someone is watching.
Yes, it’s an affectionate, irreverent rollercoaster ride from fig leaves to Final Judgment as the boys tackle the great theological questions: Did Adam and Eve have navels? Did Moses really look like Charlton Heston? And why isn’t the word “phonetic” spelled the way it sounds?
“This is a slick, fast, very funny show... skilled performers with immaculate, sassy American timing.” Sunday Times
Tickets: £9 Full Price and £7 Concessions
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Friday 28th November at 8pm
American Poodle
Tuesday 2nd December 7.30pm
WRITTEN AND PERFORMED BY GUY MASTERSON
Two monologues create an absurd take on the ‘special relationship’ from both sides of the pond. Manic, insightful and incredibly entertaining, it’s a crazy physical analysis of Britain’s winning... and losing of the United Colonies in the New World... and the story of an American businessman on his first trip to the “olde country” viewing everything around him through Dickensian spectacles and classic Hollywood movies. He is a living pop-up history book of cliched presumption concerning those quaint l’il Brits! “This is hysterical stuff”
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Tickets: £8 Full Price and £6 Concessions
Coming Up For Air
NU CENTURY ARTS
Written by Don Kinch Denzil Nurse is a young African Caribbean male who walked into a committee meeting and shot six people. He pleads guilty to the charges and is immediately sent for psychological assessment. What follows is “an explosive example of theatre’s social role”. The Guardian
Tickets: £8 Full Price and £6 Concessions
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Thursday 4th December 7.30pm
Friday 12th December at 8pm
Funny Feet
Christmas With A Swing
Live Comedy Night Funny Feet hits the Arena Theatre for the first time with its popular live comedy night presenting five of the UK’s finest stand-up comics. The evening is hosted by Mrs Barbara Nice, your average Stockport housewife who’s given up the domestic bliss of Poundstretcher shops for the glamour of comedy. Shazia Mirza, the nation’s favourite Muslim comedienne is the headline act with other comics including Annette Fagon the brightest new comedienne to emerge from the UK’s thriving black comedy circuit.
URBAN VOICE AND ARENA THEATRE
Relax with a glass of mulled wine and a mince pie as six top local performers bring you a sumptuous selection of your favourite festive Christmas songs for your enjoyment - So Here It Is Merry Christmas - get your Chestnuts Roasting and Let it Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow, it’s All I Want For Christmas! Shazia Mirza
Tickets: All tickets £7
Tickets: £8 Full Price and £6 Concessions
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Saturday 18th October at 7pm
Surdhwani and Sampad present Enakshi Das Sinha
Odissi Dance Mitali Dev & Enakshi Das Sinha Odissi, from the eastern state of Orissa, is possibly the oldest classical dance form in India, depicted on temple sculptures dating back to 2nd Century BC.
Mitali Dev
Odissi is marked by sensuousness and lyricism, soft, graceful and flowing movements, reflecting the divine sculptural motifs seen in the temples of Orissa, India. Mitali and Enakshi are highly acclaimed and world renowned Odissi dancers and have performed in major cities around the world.
Tickets: £7 Full Price, £5 Concessions and £4 Students
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For more information visit www.surdhwani.org.uk www.sampad.org.uk
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Tuesday 9th to Saturday 14th September at 7.30pm
Tuesday 23rd September at 7pm
INDEPENDENT PROMOTIONS INDEPENDENT PROMOTIONS INDEPENDENT PROMOTIONS
Jekyll and Hyde
WOLVERHAMPTON YOUTH MUSIC THEATRE
Spawned from Robert Louis Stevenson’s nightmare, this classic tale recounts one man’s struggle between good and evil. Driven by the desire to explore the dual nature of mankind, Henry Jekyll meets with hypocrisy and hostility as well as love and tenderness. He is forced to confront his alter ego, Edward Hyde, as the whirlwind of destruction threatens everything he holds dear.
VILLAGE PLAYHOUSE YOUTH THEATRE
Join us on an exciting multi-media adventure for all the family through the Caribbean, Poland, England, Asia and the Middle East, with Anansi the Spider, Mathey and the Mermaid and the Dib Dibs. This talented cast of young people use puppets, dance, music, video, and drama to share lessons of bullying, peer pressure and prejudice.
Wolverhampton Youth Music Theatre has a reputation for relishing a challenge and their combination of youthfulness and professionalism will ensure that this production is exciting and moving in equal measures.
Funded by WCSP & Joanie’s Trust
Tickets: From £5
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Mermaids, Wolves and Tigers’ Tales
Tickets: £6 Full Price and £4 Concessions
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Friday 3rd October at 8pm
Monday 1st December at 7pm
INDEPENDENT PROMOTIONS INDEPENDENT PROMOTIONS INDEPENDENT PROMOTIONS
Yasus Afari & Friends of the Earth
Yer Bard Again!
Wolverhampton’s “Dub Poet in Residence”, Jamaican Yasus Afari, local poets and special guests are supporting Wolverhampton Friends of the Earth group in a fundraising event as part of the Black History Season, to raise awareness through poetry and presentation about the impact of historical social injustice on the environment of Africa, the Caribbean and other colonised and affected countries.
An evening of condensed Shakespeare and other pieces inspired by the Bard performed by pupils from all years, including versions of The Tempest and The Merchant Of Venice.
LEARNING LINKS INTERNATIONAL PRESENTS
As well as being a renowned poet, Yasus Afari is an internationally known environmental campaigner, Philosopher and author of Overstanding Rastafari: Jamaica’s Gift to the World.
Tickets: £9 Full Price and £7 Concessions
HIGHFIELDS SCIENCE SPECIALIST SCHOOL
Tickets: £5 Full Price and £3 Concessions
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Arena Access
How to book
The Arena Theatre is fully accessible for all users and participants. However, to optimize your experience please advise the Box Office of your individual requirements in advance.
IN PERSON
A seating policy is available from the Box Office upon request and visitors who need to be accompanied are entitled to one complimentary ticket for their companion.
BY TELEPHONE
■ Lift providing access to all levels. ■ Sennheiser Infra Red Enhanced Hearing is available headsets can be worn with or without a hearing aid. Please reserve your headset at the Box Office when you book your ticket. ■ For Minicom bookings please call (01902) 321 327. ■ Guide Dogs are welcome. ■ All areas and rooms signed in grade 2 Braille. ■ Audio CD and Large Print Brochures
are available on request from the Box Office. YOUR COMMENTS WELCOMED! We are always interested in your views about the Arena Theatre and our shows. Please feel free to chat to members of staff when you visit, write to us at Arena Theatre, Wulfruna Street, Wolverhampton, WV1 1SE or e-mail arena@wlv.ac.uk. Theatre Manager
Kevin O’Sullivan
Marketing Manager
Andrew Ridal
Front Of House
Andrew Jemmett
Technical Staff
Kevin Miles, Steve Payne and Ian Turford
At the Box Office (10am - 5pm Monday to Friday and one hour before the start of evening and weekend performances) where you can pay with cash, cheque or with most major credit and debit cards (excluding American Express).
You can book tickets over the phone using any major credit or debit card (except Electron and American Express cards). Unfortunately, we are unable to reserve seats without a payment to guarantee the booking.
CONCESSIONS For all Arena Theatre promotions, concessions are available if you are under 16, a senior citizen over 60, a student in full-time education, registered unwaged, a Friend of the Grand Theatre or hold a Wolverhampton Leisure Card. Please provide proof of eligibility.
PLEASE NOTE that for independent promotions the above concessions and discounts may vary. We reserve the right to make discounted ticket offers to selected customers at any time.
GROUP BOOKINGS One free ticket for every ten tickets purchased. Please call the Box Office on (01902) 321 321 for more information on our group booking services.
REFUNDS We regret that, under normal circumstances, we are unable to offer refunds. However, tickets may be exchanged subject to availability.
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Calendar September
October
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MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT SUN MON TUE
WYMT: Jekyll and Hyde
Health and Stacey
Room to Breathe
Village Playhouse Gin & Tonic and Passing Trains
Flhip Flhop
WED THU FRI SAT SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI
Mitch Benn The Slide Show Yasus Afari
Kathakali The Bad One Sweet Tooth Confessions of Honour
Lip Service The Fire Starter Extraordinary
Surdwhani
Have Box Will Travel Rivers To Cross
The Resurrection of Little Sarah
Thatha Raving Loonies Mutton
November
December
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21
SAT SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT SUN
Zero Darwin’s Worms Happy and Married? Mat Fraser
Oh What a Lovely War Romeo and Juliet
Stephanie Schober Dance
Oddsocks: Les Miserables, Le Panto!
MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT SUN
Yer Bard Again! Coming Up For Air
Funny Feet
Christmas With a Swing
Oh! What the Dickens?
i-Witness Qo Reduced Shakespeare Company American Poodle
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HOW TO FIND US By Road The Arena Theatre is easily accessible by road, situated right in the heart of the city centre.
Car Parking Street parking is available outside and around the theatre on Wulfruna Street. The Civic Centre car park (adjacent to the University) is usually open until 10.30pm (please check on arrival). The nearest NCP car park to the theatre is Broad Street.
Public Transport The Arena Theatre is a 5-minute walk from the Railway, Bus and Metro stations. Wolverhampton has main line Network Rail links to Birmingham, Stafford and beyond. In addition, Bus companies provide links to all the surrounding towns in the area.
ARENA THEATRE Wulfruna Street, Wolverhampton, WV1 1SE. Box Office 01902 321 321 (Mon - Fri 10am - 5pm) Facsimile 01902 322 599 Minicom 01902 321 327 E-mail arena@wlv.ac.uk Website www.arenatheatre.info