Sept to Dec 2012 Box office: 01225 463362
Welcome to The RONDO – Autumn 2012
We’re on fire! Not literally, of course. But metaphorically, we’re a hunk of burning shows this Autumn as The Rondo presents its biggest, brightest and best season ever. With over forty different productions to choose from, this season of fruitfulness is anything but mellow. We’ve fabulous new theatre from Hull Truck, Reform, Butterfly Psyche, Trifle Gathering and numerous others. Brilliant music from Julie Felix, Miranda Sykes, The Re-Entrants, Keith James and many more. Hilarious comedy from Andi Osho, Francesca Martinez, Rob Rouse, Pappys and the incredible Festival of the Spoken Nerd. And as the nights draw in, and the fire crackles higher, we have the most amazing Yuletide treats in the form of Instant wit, Nunkie, Bartoune, the Winter Wonderband, New Old Friends and the world premiere production of A Christmas Carol – The Musical. The whole season is ablaze with talent: so come and warm yourselves at The Rondo this Autumn. Ian McGlynn Theatre Director
Second Face Theatre Company
The Poker Session
By Hugh Leonard
Thu 6 & Fri 7 Sep • 8pm • Full £9 Concs £7 • Community Theatre To celebrate his release after a stint in a mental institution Billy Beavis decides to hold a poker game, to which all of his friends are invited. Little do they know he’s summoned them all to reveal to them the true reason he went mad that fateful night; and it’s a reason they least expect. Add to the mix Billy’s roommate from the institution and you’ve got yourself a cocktail of dark humour and disturbing revelations as Billy’s sanity is once again called into question. Follow the characters as they delve deep into secrets that, once uncovered, can never be forgotten.
Box office 01225 463362 Different Strings presents
Dana & Susan Robinson Wed 12 Sep • 8pm • Full £12 Concs £10 • Acoustic Music From Asheville, North Carolina, Dana and Susan Robinson are two guitar-playing, banjo-flailing, fiddle-sawing, and harmony-singing interpreters of the American experience. Their unique blend of contemporary songs and traditional Appalachian music bring to their performances a deep understanding of America’s musical heritage. In the easy company of this charismatic husband and wife duo, we’ll share stories of their encounters and in the joy they convey performing together. Celebrating their second decade of performing in the UK with the release of their new CD: American Hornpipe, a high-spirited blend of Appalachian, British and original tunes and songs that highlights their original string band sound.
…worth traveling distances to see. – Maverick …a songwriter with a Guthrie-like ability to show that the seemingly commonplace is full of wonder. Unreservedly recommended. – Rock n Reel
Reform Theatre Company in association with Harrogate Theatre
Seconds Out By Nick Lane Thu 13 Sep • 8pm • Full £12 Concs £10 • Professional Theatre You never forget your first fight. And you shouldn’t, either. Tom and Simon have been mates since school; shared everything - homework, cars, girlfriends; you name it, they’ve both had their hands on it. But whilst Sy has always played it safe, Tom likes to push things to extremes... with occasionally violent repercussions. After an ill-advised evening with the wife of local nutcase Mad Mark Flynn, Sy is starting to worry if Tom might have bitten off more than he can chew. He needs protection. He needs to get out of town. And then he meets Foster. A former boxer with a left hook to die for (or from), Foster takes Tom under his wing. But is there more to his interest than meets the eye? And why won’t he talk about his past? Partly inspired by true events, Reform Theatre are proud to bring you the world premiere of a thrilling new play from the writer of My Favourite Summer and Housebound.
Box office 01225 463362
Hot Potato Syncopators Hot swinging musical mayhem! Fri 14 Sep • 8pm • Full £12 Concs £10 • Comedy Music Three eccentric English gentlemen present a comical musical revue of 1930’s jazz and dance band melodies interspersed with visual gags, delightful humour and novelty moments. Thrill to the dulcet tones of The Duke of Nostalgia and his jumping ukulele! Scream with delight as Mr Dennis Teeth serenades you with the heart-melting sound of the musical saw! Gasp at the impossible ineptitude of the tea chest bassist, Sir Maris Piper! The Hot Potato Syncopators offer the very finest blend of music, nostalgia and nonsense for stage or street. You won’t know whether to dance or laugh!
We love The Hot Potato Syncopators! – The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain The best thing in the world ever! – Venue Magazine Top notch! – Hatherleigh Festival
The Re-Entrants Two men, two ukuleles... and the entire history of rock and pop Sat 15 Sep • 8pm • Full £12 Concs £10 • Music Huge hits from the 60s to the present, played by two large bald men on two tiny ukuleles. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll queue up to buy CDs afterwards. Nothing is out of bounds for the Re-entrants. From Abba to Gaga, they somehow manage to get in all the hooks, riffs, solos and vocal harmonies without any backing tracks or fancy tricks - nothing but two voices and two ukuleles. Performing together since 2007, Phil and Ian brought their wealth of experience playing in a variety of bands and squeezed it into the ukulele. Considered to be among the finest ukulele players currently performing, they regularly headline ukulele festivals, and the aNueNue ukulele company has just released two signature model ukes.
Their act is so very strong: they transcend the limitations of the ukulele. – George Hinchliffe, The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain
Web bookings: www.bathboxoffice.org.uk Eamonn Fleming
The Meaning of Riff!
Directed by Andy Burden
Wed 19 Sep • 8pm • Full £12 Concs £10 • Professional Theatre In The Beginning Was The Chord… Widdly-widdly guitars, thundering drums, screaming vocalists ranting on about Beelzebub. It’s loud, it’s nonsense, and he’s old enough to know better. So why does he still Love it? Using comedy, storytelling and a Flying V guitar, performer Eamonn Fleming and director Andy Burden bring you a new show all about a lifelong Love/Hate affair with the genius and stupidity that is Heavy Metal. What is the Meaning of Riff? Having previewed the show at The Rondo last year, ex-Bath resident and former Big State Theatre member Eamonn is back to give you the full Concept Album! Metal Up Your Arts, Rondo!
Delicious…Hysterical – Venue Magazine Watch the trailer on YouTube: type in “the meaning of riff” and Rock Out!
PirateClown Theatre presents
The Sundown Syndrome
By Stephen Bush
Thu 20 & Fri 21 Sep • 8pm • Full £12 Concs £10 • Professional theatre It was Monday, it was January, and I was serving tea to a corpse. It’s part of my job. Mildred died and left very little behind. Gerald, her brother, is about to do the same. The care home’s new domestic help is understandably upset about this – and now he wants to help out more than usual. He’s got an idea – it’ll be a legacy for Gerald: his old life, repackaged. Proof of a life lived. As his pet project progresses, though, this ‘proof of life’ gets weirder – whose life were we talking about again? PirateClown return to The Rondo with a new one-man show – the young meet the old, the slowly dying meet the quickly dying, and there’ll be lots of cold tea.
The Talullah Show
The Talullah Show: Infatuation By Talullah Windmill & Anthony Stephen Springall Sat 22 Sep • 8pm • Full £12 Concs £10 • Music Talullah Windmill and Anthony Stephen Springall defy musical boundaries and bring you songs spanning genres and eras to take you on a journey through one woman’s first encounter with Love, from its first introduction to haunting goodbye. Talullah’s extraordinary talents for both singing and acting combined with Anthony Stephen Springall’s magician-like piano take you on an emotional rollercoaster with passion and excitement at every turn. The quality of storytelling and musicianship brought to you by these two young performers is that of artists far beyond their years.
Box office 01225 463362 Merriman Productions
Lucky Stiff By Lynn Ahrens & Stephen Flaherty Wed 26 – Sat 29 Sep • 7.30pm • Full £10 Concs £8 Saturday matinee 2.30pm • Community Theatre What would you do to inherit $6m dollars from an Uncle you never knew? You won’t believe what Harry Witherspoon does...! Forced to take his Uncle’s embalmed body on vacation to Monte Carlo, can he avoid detection and inherit the money? Or will it fall into the paws of the Brooklyn Dogs Home Representative? And what about Uncle’s short-sighted homicidal mistress, who stole the money from her husband... Merriman Productions present the zany, offbeat, and very funny musical farce complete with slamming doors, mistaken identities, stolen diamonds, sexy showgirls, doggy disguises and a body in a wheelchair.
Vital Signs Theatre
Other Hands
By Laura Wade
Wed 3 Oct • 8pm • Full £12 Concs £10 • Professional Theatre A high-flying management consultant can restructure a company, but can she restructure her life? At home, her boyfriend won’t stop playing computer games and, at work, her client seems far too interested in her hands. In a world where efficiency and performance are everything, how do we deal with the things that can’t be managed? The Royal Court’s smash-hit production of Laura Wade’s Posh recently transferred to London’s West End. Vital Signs now present the first professional revival of her compelling and funny play from 2006 about love, human interaction – and repetitive strain injury.
Phil McIntyre Entertainments and Lisa Thomas Management
Andi Osho : All The Single Ladies Thu 4 Oct • 8pm • Full £15 Concs £13 • Stand-Up Comedy Award winning comic Andi Osho (Live At The Apollo, BBC1, Mock the Week, BBC2, Stand Up For The Week, Channel 4) is back on tour with her second stand-up tour. Andi presents a brutally honest dissection of the perils and pitfalls of dating reporting her findings to the audience in this hilarious and heart-warming show.
Hilarious – Sun. Perfect delivery – Guardian. Recommended – Time Out
Web bookings: www.bathboxoffice.org.uk Butterfly Psyche
Bike
By Katherine Mitchell
Fri 5 & Sat 6 Oct • 8pm • Full £12 Concs £10 • Professional Theatre If you’re out and you saw me, at a pub, at a club, your cousin’s wedding… and you’ve had a couple of pints…Would you? Katherine Mitchell’s sassy and sensitive new script takes a look at one woman’s sexual revolution and the art of two-wheeling. It’s a witty and funny piece examining women’s universal quest for acceptance, self-esteem and love (with no Whitney Houston belters, we promise). Bike is the fourth world premiere of clever and provocative new writing produced by Bath-based theatre company Butterfly Psyche. What critics have said about Butterfly Psyche Theatre:
Takes on a Big Issue without (a) boring the pants off you, or (b) slipping into yawnful predictability – What’s On Stage
Bath Drama
The Turn of the Screw By Henry James, in a brand new adaptation by Stephen Curtis Wed 10 – Sat 13 Oct • 7.30pm • Full £9 Concs £7 Community Theatre Those who loved The Woman in Black are in for a real treat with this premiere performance of a new adaptation of Henry James’ classic ghost story. A naive new governess is appointed to take charge of young orphans Miles and Flora, following the sudden deaths of the valet Quint and previous governess Miss Jessel. She senses that the children are being watched by mysterious figures. Are these the ghosts of Quint and Jessel, returning from the dead to claim the children for themselves? Or could it just be that they exist only in the governess’s heightened imagination…?
Oxfam
Oxjam Local music, global impact. Sun 14 Oct • 8pm • Full £5 • Music Come & enjoy local musicians and raise some money for Oxfam at the same time. The Rondo presents two hours of fantastic acoustic sounds. It’s your chance to feel good in so many ways! If you would like to perform or help out please go the Oxjam website & follow the links to this event (http://www.oxfam.org.uk/oxjam) Oxjam is Oxfam’s month-long music festival. It runs all through October with hundreds of events around the UK, all organised by volunteers who know and love their local music scene, all raising money to save lives around the world. Oxfam GB is a registered charity (England and Wales No202918, Scotland SCO039042) & a member of Oxfam International. Oxfam works with others to find lasting solutions to poverty and suffering.
Box office 01225 463362 Hull Truck
The Strange Case Of Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde By R.L. Stephenson. Adapted by Nick Lane Wed 17 Oct • 8pm • Full £14 Concs £12 • Professional Theatre Doctor Henry Jekyll is a good man. Successful within his field, respected by his peers… and close to a neurological discovery that will change the face of medical science forever. But his methods are less than ethical. When a close friend and colleague threatens to expose and destroy his work, Jekyll is forced to experiment on himself – and something goes very wrong. Or very right. Suddenly Jekyll has a new ‘friend’, the brutal Edward Hyde, and he has willed his entire fortune to him. But what is Jekyll’s true legacy? Love, betrayal and murder combine in this chilling adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic tale of good and evil.
…a knack of unearthing the best local talent – such as Nick Lane – Yorkshire Post Phil McIntyre Entertainments and Lisa Thomas Management
Pappy’s: Last Show Ever! Thu 18 Oct • 8pm • Full £12 Concs £10 • Sketch Comedy Pappy’s return with a brand new show full of sketches, songs and silliness! But is this really the end for the funniest sketch troupe on the fringe? (Scotsman) After appearances on Channel 4, Radio 4 and BBC3; 5 hit Edinburgh shows; 3 national tours and 2 award winning podcasts are they finally throwing in the towel? Edinburgh Award Nominees, Chortle Award Winners, Loaded LAFTA winners.
Independent on Sunday Trifle Gathering
A Curious Evening of Trance and Rap with the Ogden Sisters By Nick Whitby & Kyla Goodey Fri 19 Oct • 8pm • Full £12 Concs £10 • Professional Theatre Lettie Ogden has a gift. Born in 1867, the youngest of four girls, Lettie begins to experience ‘raps’ from the other side following the tragic deaths of her father and her twin sister Vivienne. Desperate to escape the brutal upbringing inflicted on them by the hated housekeeper Mrs Skunt, her two older sisters Adeline and Constant take it upon themselves to take their show on the road and to share Lettie’s gift with anyone who will listen. With the help of a Spiritual Telephonic Diaphragm which allows them to communicate directly with The Beyond, the famous sisters take audiences on a journey to the astral plane. What they discover there (following cottage pie eating, blind folded astral travel and being chased by an Anatolian) is at once sad, funny and heartening. After huge success with the Charity Shop Cabaret, Trifle Gathering Productions bring you their new show... direct from the other side. A new play by Nick Whitby (Smack the Pony, Eddie Izzard, C4, Sam Mendes and the Donmar Warehouse) and Kyla Goodey (Kneehigh, Miracle, Trifle Gathering, Red Ladder, Cube and Hoodwink).
Semi-anarchic, deadpan whimsy and surreal raconteuring. – The Stage
Web bookings: www.bathboxoffice.org.uk Remarkable Promotions
An Evening with Julie Felix Sat 20 Oct • 8pm • Full £12 Concs £10 • Folk Music An international folk artist of great distinction, whom many will remember for her TV appearances with David Frost in the mid-’60s, Julie Felix was a part of the great folk movement with Joan Baez, Bob Dylan and Tom Paxton and remained in the public eye throughout the ‘70s. Her rich, distinctive voice and powerful song writing have ensured her continuing success through to the present day.
Bath Operatic & Dramatic Society
Steel Magnolias By Robert Harling Wed 24 – Sat 27 Oct • 7:30pm • £10 • Community Theatre The play revolves around Truvy’s Beauty Parlour in a small town in Louisiana. Steel Magnolias is the story of a close-knit circle of friends whose lives come together there. Filled with humour and heartbreak, these Steel Magnolias make us laugh and cry as the realities of their lives in tiny Chiquapin Parish unfolds. Through the views of these different women as the play progresses we see love, apathy, pain, loss, secrecy and a desperate attempt at living a life of happiness. Dreams built and burnt, the power of hope, the love between a mother and her child and the bond that can be so unbreakable between true friends. Their strengths will be sorely tried, their wit often stretched thin and their hearts broken. With the changing of seasons they remain as soft as Magnolia Blossoms but as hard as steel.
Box office 01225 463362 Hecate Theatre Co.
The Graveyard Slot By Matthew Watt Wed 31 Oct • 8pm • Full £12 Concs £10 Professional Theatre A radio play performed live! Celebrate the spookiest time of year with a feast of funny and fright, as a handful of actors, two microphones, a keyboard and a variety of sound-making props, perform a live radio comedy paying homage to wireless dramas of the 1940s/50s. When Janet De Bastion returns to her family home for a grand birthday party, she is shocked to discover that her eccentric late Uncle Ignatius, who claimed to have discovered the secret of alchemy just before his untimely death, has left her a treasure map in his will. However, it transpires that Janet isn’t the only one hunting for Uncle Iggy’s gold, entangling her in a cast of crackpot characters, crime, mystery and voices from beyond the grave. Featuring a twisting-turning plot, original music and a smorgasbord of silly voices, this onstage-radio extravaganza promises to be a fantastic night out for the eyes and ears.
Enthralling, wholly attractive performance – Remotegoat.co.uk
Keith James
Nick Drake & William Blake: Unimaginably Beautiful The Poems of William Blake set to the Guitar arrangements of Nick Drake Thu 1 Nov • 8pm • Full £12 Concs £10 • Acoustic Music The Music of Nick Drake has become one of our country’s National treasures. Both timeless and priceless. Songs that shed all the tears of life within their fragile yet perfect lines. During his time at Cambridge, Nick studied and became particularly enchanted with the Poetry of William Blake 1757 –1827 also largely unrecognised during his lifetime. Blake’s influence runs like a warm stream throughout Nick’s music. A number of years have now passed since Singer/Guitarist Keith James entranced the whole country with his highly acclaimed and stunningly beautiful series of concert entitled The Songs of Nick Drake. As a way of continuing his devotion and evaluation, Keith has set a powerful collection of Blake’s poems to Nick’s guitar arrangements, featuring his tunings, fluent technique and instinctual sense of melancholy. The second half of the concert is a song by song, complete performance of Nick Drake’s first album Five Leaves Left.
Musicians brave enough to make the music they really believe in. Keith James is one of these. - Bob Harris, BBC Radio 2
Web bookings: www.bathboxoffice.org.uk Phil McIntyre Entertainments and Lisa Thomas Management
Rob Rouse: Life Sentences Fri 2 Nov • 8pm • Full £15 Concs £13 • Comdey Best New Show Nominee 2012 - Dave’s Leicester Comedy Festival Star of Mad Mad Mad World (ITV1), 8 out of 10 Cats (C4), Dave’s One Night Stand (Dave), The Comedy Store (Comedy Central) & Spoons (C4). Come and see Rob do what he does best - honest, frank, seriously funny stand-up. A father for the second time, to a baby girl, Rob is now a radical feminist - but this is not a show about men vs women, more humanity vs insanity. WARNING: Not suitable for children or your prissy Aunty. If you don’t fall into either of these categories, you should love it.
A man with genuinely funny bones – The Sunday Times. Brilliant – Chortle
‘Owdyado
Wrongdoings and Wake Up Calls at the Stop-Off Motel By ‘Owdyado Theatre Sat 3 Nov • 8pm • Full £12 Concs £10 • Professional Theatre You wake up in an unfamiliar room next to a strange person with absolutely no recollection of how you got there. Suddenly, the discovery of a sinister clue suggests that last night you did something you never thought yourself capable of and the more you remember, the more you realise that some things are best left forgotten. Sarah and Jonathan wake up together in a Las Vegas motel room with pounding headaches and only vague recollections of the night before. In a mission to discover the truth, they piece together the facts using a combination of clues and lively re-enactments.
Playing Up
Iron
By Rona Munro
Wed 7 – Sat 10 Nov • 7:30pm • Full £10 Concs £8 • Community Theatre Fay is serving life for killing her husband. Suddenly the daughter she hasn’t seen for fifteen years decides to visit. Josie wants answers but Fay seems reluctant to give any. A moving play about mothers and daughters, Iron is also an unflinching look at the impact of life imprisonment on women and the children they leave behind. Playing Up present their first, powerful prison drama since they staged One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest.
Like all of the best drama, Iron resonates and will stay with the audience long after they have left the theatre. – Review of The Royal Court production
Box office 01225 463362
Edible Theatre
Product Displacement By Dom Rowe, Directed by Hannah Drake Wed 14 – Sat 17 Nov • 8pm • Full £ 12 Concs £10 Professional Theatre For some, the riots provoked the question: why? For others, it was more a case of: why not? The question here is more specific: why is a policeman attacking a giant chicken with a brand new pair of trainers? Against a backdrop of lawlessness and order, anger and confusion, consumption and greed, acclaimed company Edible Theatre explore the disillusioned lives of ordinary people, hurtling towards each other from either side of a riot shield. Because when two very different worlds collide with purposeless determination, the only question left is: what damage is done in the craters that get left behind? Originally commissioned as part of Corner Theatre’s Headlines event (Black Box Theatre, Bristol), this is a searing look at the 2011 Riots; their causes and their consequences.
Out of the fury... comes humour & towering action – RemoteGoat.com
Bath Film Festival
Bath Film Festival Sun 18 – Tue 20 Nov BFF at the Rondo presents an unmissable selection of recent and current cine gems that have been just too quirky, rare or new to find a screening space in Bath before now. Full details of all screenings will be available in this year’s festival brochure – go to www.bathfilmfestival.org.uk to register on the Film Festival mailing list.
Web bookings: www.bathboxoffice.org.uk Phil McIntyre Entertainments
Festival Of The Spoken Nerd
Are You Sci – Curious?
Wed 21 Nov • 8pm • Full £14 Concs £12 • Comedy Stand-up mathematician Matt Parker, geek songstress Helen Arney and experiments guy Steve Mould present a comedy night for the fearlessly inquisitive. After a year of sell-out shows in London and science festivals around the country, they’re bringing their unique mix of facts and fun to Bath for the sum total of one night only. Join three of the UK’s best (and nerdiest) performers for an evening of comedy, science, music, maths and interactive experiments as they ask those all-important questions: How can you use a parabola to set stuff on fire? How does the angler fish make love? And how dangerous can things get with just numbers?
Don’t miss this gem of intelligent fun – STV Edinburgh A riotously funny show about science… brimming with unashamed geekery – Three Weeks
Shane Morgan
The Misunderstood Richard Beeching Directed by Andy Burden Thu 22 Nov • 8pm • Full £12 Concs £10 • Professional Theatre In 1963 Dr Richard Beeching was asked to write a report into “The reshaping of British Railways” As a result, rural railway lines were closed six thousand of miles of track were removed and 334 steam trains were sent to the scrapyard. The derelict stations fell into disrepair in unserviced villages and over time Beeching became the most hated man in Britain. What if he returned from the grave to tell his side of the story - would he regret the loss of the local railway? Would he miss the age of steam? Would he welcome the supermarket car parks and cycle paths that lie in their place? Humourous, informative, nostalgic and always entertaining, this show will ultimately answer the question was Beeching a prat?
Fire Springs
Dark Age Deeds of the Celtic Saints By Anthony Nanson & David Metcalfe Fri 23 Nov • 8pm • Full £12 Concs £10 • Storytelling Born from druids, and attuned to wild nature and the memory of old gods, Irish monks carried the torch of civilisation through a dark age of conflict. Patrick, Brigid, Columba, Colman, and Brendan – they parleyed with pagan heroes, battled with words for the spiritual compass of these isles, and ploughed the waves in search of earthly paradise. With Fire Springs’ distinctive blend of story and music, Anthony Nanson and David Metcalfe bring legend to life.
Box office 01225 463362
Francesca Martinez: What The **** Is Normal?! Sat 24 Nov • 8pm • Full £12 Concs £10 • Comedy Fresh from winning a Fringe Media Network Award at the Edinburgh Festival, ‘wobbly’ comedian, Francesca Martinez brings her hit show to The Rondo. What happens when you’re branded ‘abnormal’, in a world obsessed with normality? This show is Francesca’s defiant, insightful and fascinating answer... Intrigued by the power that a six-letter word has over so many people, Francesca shares her own life-changing journey of growing up as ‘abnormal’, being rescued from High-School-Hell by Grange Hill, letting Ricky Gervais take the piss out of her walk in Extras and working out what to say to the BBC after being offered the role of a, ahem, vegetable. Whatever body you’re born into, it seems that most people share the universal desire to be ‘normal’. This show is for anyone who’s ever struggled to fit in, felt ‘different’ or wondered what the **** normal means? Apart from a cycle on a washing machine, of course.
Hilarious and deeply moving... By the end of the hour, everyone is a little bit wobbly, rocking back and forth in their seats, some choking back tears at an exquisitely judged final flourish that proves she is not only one of the best performers on the circuit but also a writer of rare candour. – Metro
Rondo Theatre Company
Sense and Sensibility By Jane Austen. Adapted by Jon Jory Wed 28 Nov – Sat 1 Dec • 7.30pm Matinee: Sat 1 Dec • 2.30pm Full £9 Concs £7 • Community Theatre Jane Austen’s well known and much loved novel was her first published work in 1811 and follows the fortunes of two sisters – the prudent, sensible Elinor Dashwood and her emotional romantic sister, Marianne. The family is left in reduced circumstances after their father’s death, which forces their removal to a cottage in Devon. Elinor has fallen in love with the shy and honourable Edward Ferrars whilst Marianne is captivated by Willoughby’s flair and gallantry. The course of true love is not without its heartache for either and Jane Austen’s exemplary skill and wit weaves a complex and compelling path towards unexpected resolution. Close to the spirit of the novel, this is high drama played in the careful manners and style of its time but with the perennial appeal of an exquisite love story.
Web bookings: www.bathboxoffice.org.uk Afternoon Tea Concert
James Lambeth’s 45th St. Swing Wed 5 Dec • 2.30pm • £4 • Music Bath’s No.1 jazz crooner James Lambeth returns to The Rondo for an Afternoon Tea Concert featuring a selection of songs from the Great American Songbook with a sprinkling of Seasonal favourites. Accompanied by some of the South West’s best jazz musicians, Lambeth’s silky smooth voice will appeal to those who like their music with a touch of style and sophistication.
Miranda Sykes & Rex Preston Thu 6 Dec • 8pm • Full £12 Concs £10 • Music Miranda Sykes & Rex Preston have a unique connection which is a pleasure to listen to and plain to see when they share a stage together. Miranda Sykes is well known as the third member of Show Of Hands. She is one of the few female double bassists in England & is an accomplished singer in her own right. Miranda holds her audience spellbound: it is the emotional quality of her voice that makes her musical partnership with Rex so engaging, rather than the novelty of such an unusual musical pairing as the double bass & mandolin. Rex Preston has a reputation as a fine & imaginative mandolin player and is a leading light in a new wave of British Bluegrass musicians. He is a rising star in mandolin-playing circles and with 20 years of playing behind him, he possesses a wonderfully sensitive musicality and a dexterous, flamboyant playing style. The rare fusion of double bass & mandolin makes for one of the most exciting new pairings on the acoustic roots scene. Miranda & Rex interweave timeless, well chosen covers with one or two Preston originals. Their backgrounds, as well as skilful instrumentation & warm engaging vocals have shaped their unique sound.
Instant Wit Fri 7 Dec • 8pm • Full £12 Concs £10 • Improv Comedy Fresh and inventive, each show throws up new nuggets of hilarity crafted by a company of the highest calibre. It’s a pickme-up tonic with unexpected twists and a dash of sauce. There’ll be sketches, songs and general silliness – and all of it based around audience suggestions. And if you’re too shy to shout anything out? Well don’t worry, you’ll have the chance to write things down in the interval. We’re the ones who’ll look daft, not you! So if you like your comedy fast-paced and with a slightly unusual edge, this is definitely for you.
Box office 01225 463362 Nunkie Theatre Company
Count Magnus – Two Ghost Stories By M. R. James Sat 8 Dec • 8pm • Full £12 Concs £10 • Professional Theatre 2012 is the 150th anniversary of the birth of Montague Rhodes James, master of the English ghost story. To celebrate, Nunkie has again brought two of his stories to life, in a thrilling oneman show. In Count Magnus a travel-writer’s curiosity leads to a diabolical chase from darkest Sweden to rural Essex. Denmark is the setting for Number 13, where a hotel room with the famously unlucky number, conceals a ghastly and baffling secret.
Wonderful, magical storytelling… – The Daily Mail
Bartoune: Swing de Noel Wed 12 Dec • 8pm • Full £12 Concs £10 • Music Bartoune shake up the well trodden popular path of gypsy jazz with their unusual trio, adding Baritone Sax to the Guitar and Double Bass combo, taking the genre in new directions with original tunes built on their combined training in jazz, blues and classical. Smatterings of occasional Clarinet and Vocals bring diversity to their character, and the trio’s distinct sound can create an intimate laid back ambience or excite and enthral a crowd in any setting. They will also have a special guest appearance for the festive occasion.
Winter Wonderband: Yule Be Here Maclaine Colston, Saul Rose, Jennifer Crook & Beth Porter Thu 13 Dec • 8pm • Full £12 Concs £10 • Music The Winter Wonderband comprises of Maclaine Colston, Saul Rose, Jennifer Crook and Beth Porter, who have all teamed up to celebrate the music born out of our great British winter with their mastery of the dulcimer, melodeon, harp and cello. Expect great sing-a-longs, real foot stompers, beautiful ballads and lots of laughs as these great friends pull together all sorts of musical treats from their collective repertoires. It’s not all about Christmas, but it is all about the time of year and how it brings us together.
Web bookings: www.bathboxoffice.org.uk New Old Friends
Pick & Mix
A Christmas Spectacular
Fri 14th & Sat 15th Dec • 8pm • Full £12 Concs £10 Special Offer: £20 for both nights! New Old Friends return to The Rondo with two consecutive nights of lunatic variety. Stand-up, music, magic, sketches, game-shows, escapology, clowning, it’s all been on the bill at past nights and these two unique shows promise more top acts from the circuit. The jam-packed Pick & Mix nights have fast become highlights of the season at The Rondo with last year’s Christmas edition selling out well in advance, so this year we’re giving you two. Two back-to-back nights of cabaret mayhem with a different eclectic, exciting and entertaining bill each night. This is shamelessly populist adult Christmas crowd pleasing evening.
“I would never miss Pick & Mix at The Rondo” – Tommy Cooper
Live Wire Theatre
A Christmas Carol – The Musical Adapted by Dougie Blaxland Music by Natalie Farmer Tue 18 – Sat 22 Dec • 8pm • Full £12 Concs £10 Wed 19 & Sat 22 Dec • 3pm • Professional Theatre A magical musical version of Dickens’s much loved family tale – A Christmas Carol – The Musical breathes new life into the miserly Scrooge whose encounters with the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Christmas Present and Christmas Yet-to-Come highlight the ugliness of personal greed. Full of hauntingly beautiful melodies and captivating drama, Live Wire Theatre’s vibrant new production of this old favourite is the perfect way for families to prepare for the Season of Goodwill. From the creative team that brought Biggles Flies A Fokker Home to The Rondo last year, A Christmas Carol – The Musical offers a theatre musical box of rare delight.
Box office 01225 463362 RAW: RONDO Acting Workshops Selected Tuesdays @ The Rondo Theatre; 7:45pm for 8pm start.
RAW is run by Hannah Drake, a freelance theatre director based in the South West.
The Rondo Acting Workshops provide a welcoming and inspiring environment to explore and develop performing skills. The workshops are designed to be drop-in and self-contained, so you can just turn up on the door to whatever takes your fancy. From Shakespeare’s verse-made-easy, to physical theatre and non-scary improvisation, the Rondo workshops are ideal for beginners interested in learning more, and professionals looking to refresh their skills.
£7 (£5 concessions). Open to anyone aged 18 and above.
Rondo Drama Club create, develop, perform
Dates for the Autumn season are: Tuesday 18 Sep Tuesday 16 Oct Tuesday 13 Nov
Rondo Scriptwriting Group Mondays from September - December
Autumn Term
Age 18 upwards. 7.30pm. £40 per term.
Group 1: School Yrs 1 – 4 Mondays 4.15 – 5.15pm
The Rondo hosts a playwriting forum for anyone who writes scripts, at any level. The perfect opportunity to share ideas, identify problems and work through some of the tricks of the trade. There will also be visits from theatre professionals to give advice on getting your work shown. Led by David Lassman.
Group 2: School Yrs 5 – 13 Mondays 5.30 – 7.00pm Rondo Drama Club is a unique experience where you’re encouraged to share your creative ideas (however crazy or bizarre!) and work together to use the best of them to devise a play. You then get the chance to improvise, rehearse and, finally, perform it under the lights on the famous Rondo Stage. The sessions are run by Paulo Baigent, an experienced theatre director and drama workshop leader. At Rondo Drama Club we are committed to child-centred learning and to raising confidence and self-esteem in a fun and nurturing environment. So if you are into drama, love to have fun, are full of ideas and eager to share them, then book yourself in for our next term at The Rondo Drama Club.
For booking and information, email rondowriters@gmail.com
Become a RONDO Volunteer Acting as a Rondo Theatre volunteer is a great way of getting closer to the theatre, music, comedy and other fantastic events on offer at this fantastic venue. In return, you get to see the shows for free, as well as to make new friends and socialise.
Please note: participants must be available for the final rehearsal on Sunday 9 December and for the end of term show on Monday 10 December.
Our volunteers work mainly as bar staff or on front of house and are an essential part of the success of The Rondo. Volunteering normally means working on two or three shows a month. It’s great fun – and you get to see a huge variety of performances for free!
For more information, please visit www.rondotheatre.co.uk or call the Box Office on 01225 463362
If you’d like to volunteer, please contact the Theatre Director, Ian McGlynn: ian@rondotheatre.co.uk / 01225 444003
Web bookings: www.bathboxoffice.org.uk
The RONDO Theatre ST. SAVIOURS ROAD, Larkhall, Bath, BA1 6RT www.rondotheatre.co.uk
INFO Bath Box Office: Bath Visitor Information Centre Abbey Chambers, Abbey Churchyard Bath BA1 1LY.
Find us on…
Tel 01225 463362. Opening Hours: Monday to Saturday: 9:30am – 5:30pm. Sundays and Bank Holidays: 10am – 4pm.
Charity No: 1000051
Web: www.bathboxoffice.org.uk
Parking: On street after 6pm and, by kind permission, Co-Op car park.
Concessions: Concession prices are available to children under 18, full-time students, Equity Members, unemployed benefit claimants, disabled people and those whose sole source of income is a DSS state retirement pension.
The Rondo Theatre Company is our resident community theatre company. If you want to get involved in performing or backstage work, visit www.rondotheatrecompany.org
Groups: Buy ten tickets and get an additional ticket free. Door Sales: For that night’s show at The Rondo 30 minutes before the show. Latecomers: For security reasons, it may not be possible to admit latecomers. So please be prompt! Access: The main entrance to The Rondo has excellent disabled access. We have a disabled toilet and the front row is available for wheelchairs. Pre-booking recommended.
Theatre Director: Ian McGlynn. Tel. 01225 444003 email: director@rondotheatre.co.uk Marketing Coordinator: Feargus Woods Dunlop. Tel. 01225 333844 email: admin@rondotheatre.co.uk Intern Director: Hannah Drake Tel. 01225 444003 Programme Design: GAS Design. Tel. 01249 712657 www.gas-design.co.uk
With support from
RONDO DIARY
Box office 01225 463362 Web bookings: www.bathboxoffice.org.uk
DATE
SHOW
GENRE
6 & 7 Sep 12 Sep 13 Sep 14 Sep 15 Sep 19 Sep 20 &21 Sep 22 Sep 26 – 29 Sep 3 Oct 4 Oct 5 & 6 Oct 10 – 13 Oct 14 Oct 17 Oct 18 Oct 19 Oct 20 Oct 24 – 27 Oct 31 Oct 1 Nov 2 Nov 3 Nov 7 – 10 Nov 14 – 17 Nov 18 – 20 Nov 21 Nov 22 Nov 23 Nov 24 Nov 28 Nov – 1 Dec 3 Dec 6 Dec 7 Dec 8 Dec 12 Dec 13 Dec 14 & 15 Dec 18 – 22 Dec
The Poker Session Dana & Susan Robinson Seconds Out Hot Potato Syncopators The Re-Entrants The Meaning Of Riff The Sundown Syndrome The Talullah Show Lucky Stiff Other Hands Andi Osho Bike The Turn Of The Screw Oxjam The Strange Case Of Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde Pappy’s... A Curious Evening of Trance and Rap... Julie Felix Steel Magnolias The Graveyard Slot Keith James Rob Rouse Wrongdoings and Wake Up Calls... Iron Product Displacement Bath Film Festival Festival Of The Spoken Nerd The Misunderstood Richard Beeching Dark Age Deeds of the Celtic Saints Francesca Martinez Sense And Sensibility James Lambeth Miranda Sykes & Rex Preston Instant Wit Count Magnus – Two Ghost Stories Bartoune Winter Wonderband Pick & Mix: Xmas Spectacular A Christmas Carol – The Musical
Community Theatre Music Professional Theatre Music Music Professional Theatre Professional Theatre Music Community Theatre Professional Theatre Comedy Professional Theatre Community Theatre Music Professional Theatre Comedy Professional Theatre Music Community Theatre Professional Theatre Music Comedy Professional Theatre Community Theatre Professional Theatre Film Comedy Professional Theatre Professional Theatre Comedy Community Theatre Music Music Comedy Professional Theatre Music Music Comedy Professional Theatre