Christmas closing

The box office will be open on Christmas Eve from 3pm - 7pm for the collection of tickets for the final performance of It's A Wonderful Life (which is now sold out). The box office will then be closed until 10am on Tuesday 5 January, although the administration office will be open on Monday 4 January.

We wish all our patrons a very merry Christmas and look forward to seeing you all in the new year, when our productions will include the musicals Red Hot & Cole and Back to the 80s, the plays Death of a Salesman and Ten Times Table and the return of the ever-popular Irish dancing troupe Celtic Circle.

Ticket availability update

Tonight's performance of It's A Wonderful Life is now sold out. There are a handful of single seats only left for Wednesday and two single seats left for Xmas Eve.

Ticket availability for Wonderful Life

Seats remaining for sale as of 11.30 am, Friday 18 December:

Friday: 14
Saturday: 16
Monday: 39
Tuesday: 29
Wednesday: 36
Xmas Eve: 10

It's A Wonderful Life

The theatre is currently being turned into the American town of Bedford Falls as we gear up to present the UK STAGE PREMIERE of James W Rodgers' adaptation of the immortal film classic IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE.

With a specially-written prologue by The Playhouse's own John Morgan, director Caroline Young has finally managed, after several years of planning and wishing, to bring everything together and provide a touch of magic with which to start off the festive season.

The production opens this Thursday, 17 December, at 7.45 pm, with additional performances at this time on Friday 18, Saturday 19, Monday 21, Tuesday 22 and Wednesday 23 December. There is also a Christmas Eve performance commencing at 7.00 pm. Tickets are £9 (full price), £7 (students and OAPs) and £5 (under-16s).

Stealing the infamous (almost) final line: "every time a bell rings, an angel gets his tickets"... And at the rate the phone is ringing, I wouldn't leave it any longer to get yours! Christmas Eve is almost sold out and two of the other performances aren't too far behind.

Hot Mikado

Two exchanges in the box office from yesterday morning:

Box office: "Playhouse box office, good morning?"
Caller: "Can I have six seats for Hot Mikado on Saturday evening please?"
Box office: "I'm afraid we only have three seats left in the very front row"
Caller: "But I want six!"
Box office: "I'm sorry, this show has proved very popular and all we have left are three seats in the very front row"
Caller: "Well, can we have those three and three somewhere else?"
Box office: "No, we literally have only three seats left in total, there are no other seats available for this performance"
Caller: "What, really?"

Box office: "Playhouse box office, good afternoon?"
Caller: "Have you any seats left for Hot Mikado on Saturday evening please?"
Box office: "I'm afraid all we have left are three seats in the front row"
Caller: "But I wanted 13!"
Box office: "I'm sorry, all we have left are three seats, this show has proved very popular"
Caller: "But we've booked the coach!"

So, hear ye, hear ye. The Saturday evening performance of Hot Mikado has now SOLD OUT. Thursday evening is almost sold out. Friday and Wednesday evenings have very limited availability. So, when we say we only have a few seats left, we're not making it up!

Proposed parking changes

Last month, we received notification that Gloucestershire County Council were proposing to make changes to the on-street parking in the vicinity of the theatre, in particular Bath Road, Oriel Road and Wellington Street. There followed a short period of consultation during which many of our members, together with other volunteer colleagues at the nearby Salvation Army citadel, said how damaging these proposals could be for our community work.

We have now received the official proposals following this consultation period and I am afraid to say that almost no concessions have been made in respect of our representations. The main proposal is that the current free on-street parking on these three roads will be subject to pay and display charges from 8am - 8pm, seven days per week. A maximum stay of two hours will be permitted, with the exception of Sunday mornings when a three hour maximum is permitted. The charges will be £1.60 for one hour, £2.80 for two hours and £3.80 for three hours. Some of Wellington Street will have residents permit parking and much of the current single yellow line in the general area will be removed.

Aside from the huge financial implications to our many volunteers that these changes would bring, of particular concern to the theatre is the removal of the single yellow line along Oriel Road. This is currently used on Sunday mornings for the loading and unloading of furniture, props, sets, lighting and sound equipment as one production leaves and another arrives. If this area becomes, as proposed, no waiting at any time, the general operation of the theatre becomes extremely difficult. The actual parking charges will affect all of our amateur casts, front of house volunteers and parents dropping off and collecting children from the assorted classes held after school and on Saturdays. These charges will also impact on the Salvation Army mothers and toddlers sessions, pensioners' lunch club etc, which are also heavily dependant on volunteers and frequented by the elderly and people on very limited incomes.

The trustees of the registered charity are meeting on Tuesday evening to formulate their official response and I myself met with the chairman this afternoon. We will be asking our supporters to lend us their help in the coming weeks ahead of the official deadline for objections (Monday 7 December), not just for ourselves but for all voluntary organisations in this area that will find their work, none of which is done for profit, severely impeded or potentially forced to stop. Please keep an eye on this blog for updates.

Christmas Treats

This year we have two very different Christmas offerings, although there is no home-grown 'pantomime for childish grown-ups' (fear not - Friends Theatre Company will be back with a vengeance in 2010).

First up is PETITE ROUGE: A CAJUN RED RIDING HOOD, which is being staged by Canvas Theatre from the University of Gloucestershire. The familiar fairy tale has been reworked into an enchanting musical where Red is a duck and the Wolf is now an alligator named Claude! This show is a perfect Christmas treat for children of all ages but has enough humour and intelligence to be enjoyed by adults too. The music is infectious and provides an ideal change from traditional pantomime. The performances take place at 7.45 on Thursday 10 December and 2.30 on Saturday 12 December, with full price tickets costing £8 and concessions for children, students and OAPs at just £6.

Then we have the UK premiere of a stage version of the classic film IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE. The play, like the film, is the ultimate in inspirational/feel-good entertainment in the run-up to Christmas as we see the effect George Bailey has on the world and what a different place it would be if he threw his life away. Performances take place from Thursday 17 - Saturday 19 and Monday 21 - Thursday 24 December at 7.45, with the exception of Christmas Eve when the performance will commence at 7.00. Tickets are £9 with concessions of £7 for students and OAPs and £5 for under-16s.

Hot Mikado tickets

Please note that the Thursday and Saturday evening performances for this show are selling very quickly. We have availability in the front three rows only.

Deep End play readings

Deep End Theatre Company are holding three playreadings this side of Christmas to which anyone with an interest - not just company members - is very welcome to attend. The three plays are all very different and are under consideration for possible stage productions in the latter half of 2010 and during 2011, so do come along and see what you think.

You can find out a bit more about the three plays and dramatists concerned by clicking on the links below:

TRANSLATIONS by Brian Friel (3 November)
http://www.samuelfrench-london.co.uk/books/translations
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Friel

THE LADY'S NOT FOR BURNING by Christopher Fry (24 November)
http://www.samuelfrench-london.co.uk/books/the-ladys-not-for-burning
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Fry

SPEED-THE-PLOW by David Mamet (8 December)
http://www.samuelfrench-london.co.uk/books/speed-the-plow
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Mamet

All three plays continue Deep End's reputation for tackling challenging plays and represent some of the best work by the dramatists concerned. The readings will all take place in the Joan Cross Lounge and commence at 7.45 pm.

Parking near the theatre

On Tuesday we received notification that Gloucestershire County Council are proposing to change the nature of the onstreet parking in the vicinity of the theatre. At present, all the available parking on Bath Road, Wellington Street and Oriel Road is free of charge but with a maximum stay of two hours before 6pm. The proposal is that all these spaces will be switched over to pay and display parking from 8am - 8pm, seven days a week, with a maximum stay of two hours, at a charge of £1.60 for one hour and £2.80 for two hours.

This means that it will be almost impossible to attend the theatre by car - either as a performer, a member of the audience, someone taking part in a Pilates or dance class, or a parent collecting or dropping off a child for a drama class - without paying for your parking or walking some distance. The pay and display car park across the road already charges until 8pm at night (until three years ago it was free after 6pm).

We are told that: "Evidence from areas where on street pay and display parking has been introduced shows that a higher turnover of spaces means more visitors and shoppers can find a place to park to access local shops. You will also find it easier to get deliveries direct to your door. This is because the duration of stay is better managed so more spaces are made available more frequently."

While I have no evidence to dispute this, one has to argue that if the reason for introducing charges is to improve the parking for shoppers to access local shops, the charging could surely stop at 6pm once the shops are closed. Similarly, there would be no need for all-day charging on Sundays. This, of course, is if one accepts that in a time of recession/depression, introducing such high parking charges is a sensible proposal.

There is a period of consultation until October 23rd and you can read about the exact nature of the plans at www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/cheltenhampayanddisplay along with some questions and answers. You can also find a questionnaire on that site - either online or printable for posting - to air your views on these proposals. There is also a public consultation at the borough council offices on Friday 16th October during various times of the day.

We urge all supporters and users of the theatre and the local shops to air complete the questionnaire or write to the borough council to argue against the introduction of these charges.

Autumn season and new brochure

On Monday we took delivery of 27 boxes containing 8,000 brochures for our autumn season and so the box office is a hive of activity of the 'stuffing envelopes' and 'printing labels' variety as we get them sent out to everyone on the mailing list. They are, of course, also available from the theatre foyer and, over the next week or so, will start to find their way into the usual display racks around the county. The brochure has also been redesigned to an A5 stapled booklet and, so far, the reaction has been very positive. For the first time, the brochure is also downloadable as a pdf file direct from the home page of the theatre website, so do feel free to have a peruse online!

Yours truly was interviewed yesterday by roving reporter Joanna Durrant for BBC Radio Gloucestershire and the first in a two-part segment was broadcast this morning at 9.45 on John Rockley's mid-morning show. The first part focused primarily on the changes to the theatre since the refurbishment - as a general bit of profile-raising for the venue - while tomorrow's part (which should be broadcast sometime between 9.30 and 10.00) focuses on the cult, classic and foreign films we are showing in September. Full details can be found in the brochure, but for quick reference:

Monday 7 September: Blazing Saddles (12A) at 7.45 pm
Tuesday 8 September: The 11th Hour (PG) at 7.45 pm
Wednesday 9 September: Moj Nikifor (12A) at 7.45 pm
Thursday 10 September: Casablanca (U) at 2.00 pm
Friday 11 September: The Shining (18) at 7.45 pm
Saturday 12 September: Shrek (U) at 2.00 pm
Saturday 12 September: The Rocky Horror Picture Show (15) at 7.45 pm

We have already received bookings for several of these films, including a block booking for Rocky Horror, so if you are interested in attending any of the films, it may well be worth your while booking now. Remember, we don't have a huge number of seats to sell and each film is only being shown the once.

Drinking in theatres

This is a subject that occasionally gets aired around The Playhouse - namely, should audiences be allowed to take drinks into the auditorium? At present, they are not, although the practice has been allowed for specific events, such as Old Time Music Hall, where it is part of the whole experience and re-creating the atmosphere of Victorian music halls.

However, some people feel quite strongly that patrons should be allowed to take their interval drinks - or even pre-performance drinks - into the auditorium with them to continue drinking during the show. In theatres where this is allowed, glasses are usually replaced (for obvious health and safety reasons) with plastic glasses. This, in turn, tends to result in the sound of cracking plastic as people step on empties placed on the floor.

I, personally, don't agree with the practice and it seems that many performers, playwrights and producers are siding with me (wise people) according to an article in today's Daily Mail! West End theatres have noticed an increasing trend in bad behaviour, some of it seemingly alcohol fuelled, to the extend that BOUNCERS are being employed by some venues! At performance of the recently-closed A Little Night Music, one audience member actually walked over to the side of the stage and 'relieved himself'. Door staff at another theatre have actually been assaulted by drunk patrons. Producer Nica Burns, who co-owns five London venues, is among those hiring security staff because audiences can "get quite hectic and boisterous". Playwright Ronald Harwood, who has two plays on in London at present, has called for a ban: "I am deeply opposed to the taking of drink into the auditorium. I think it is an insult to the actors and the play. The audience should be in the play, not the pub."

The Mail article also relates many instances of performers being interrupted by mobile phones ringing, or texting, or taking photos with phones and cameras. Greta Scacchi relates how one audience member called out during a dramatic moment during The Deep Blue Sea last year and when other people told him to 'sssh' he shouted back "Chill out, I'm only having a bit of fun!"

I shall be keeping a close eye on this one. I suspect the debate will continue for some time.

What's happening in July?

Although generally things do quieten down slightly in July and August here at The Playhouse, with many of the regular companies having a break for the summer, there are still a few shows taking place and preparations being made for autumn productions. Here's a little summary, including details of this year's rather 'wonderful' Christmas show:

TUESDAY 7: PRE-AUDITIONS at 7.30 pm
Tonight sees the second evening of pre-auditions for next March's fundraising production of BACK TO THE 80s (directed by Richard Webb, Toni Coles and Jonathan Carter). This show, set against the backdrop of the final year of the students of William Ocean High School, features a veritable feast of classic hits from the 1980s. Auditions follow later this month - see below.

WEDNESDAY 8 - SATURDAY 11: PERFORMANCES at 7.45 pm
Deep End Theatre Company presents the FARNDALE AVENUE HOUSING ESTATE TOWNSWOMEN'S GUILD DRAMATIC SOCIETY MURDER MYSTERY for four evenings. A brilliant spoof of the worst level of amateur dramatics, you can find out more about the show at http://www.farndaleavenue.blogspot.com/ Tickets still available on 01242 522852.

THURSDAY 16: PLAYREADING
This Christmas, The Playhouse will be staging a version of the classic Frank Capra film IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE, with performances spread over a two-week period and finishing on Christmas Eve itself. The auditions will take place in September, but director Caroline Young wants to give everyone the chance to see what's involved this side of the summer. For more information please ring Caroline on 01242 512135.

TUESDAY 21 - SATURDAY 25: PERFORMANCES at 7.45 pm
Playhouse Company presents Noel Coward's 1950s' satire of snobbery in all its guises, RELATIVE VALUES, directed by Wendy Berry. Again, tickets are still available and you can find out more at the theatre website at http://www.playhousecheltenham.org/

TUESDAY 28 & WEDNESDAY 29: AUDITIONS
BACK TO THE 80s auditions will be held in the rehearsal room known as 'the dungeon'. For more information contact Richard on 07905 848134.

The silence of the blog

You will be well aware that the blog has hardly been a hive of activity in recent times. Of course, a blog that isn't updated is pretty much useless, but its original purpose was merely to document the refurbishment that took place last year. And, in fact, it is exactly 12 months ago today that I posted the first photo of the completed auditorium (as work moved into the green room).

Over the summer, we shall be gradually attaching plaques to the backs of seats for all those people that kindly and generously sponsored this part of the refit. We had to ensure that everything was fully tested, tried and the whole project signed off before we started this process (and we have actually only just received the final certificate of completion).

At the moment, we are currently redesigning our main marketing tool, the theatre brochure. The next edition, out in mid-August, will be a 16-page A5 design, to take into account the fact that we not only have a lot of productions to sell tickets for but also the first of our film weeks in September. 2010 is shaping up to be a very busy year - in fact the calendar is almost full and enquiries are even being made about 2011 and there are a couple of projects being planned that could prove to be very exciting.

So, we will relaunch the blog this summer, along with the new brochure, with a commitment to trying to update it at least on a weekly basis.

Hired Man UPDATE

Please note that both Friday and Saturday performances of The Hired Man are now sold out.  Less than a dozen seats remain for Thursday's performance.

The Hired Man almost sold out

Please note that at the time of posting this entry (Tuesday 2.50 pm) that there is very limited availability for the Thursday, Friday and Saturday performances of The Hired Man. In fact, we have only 4 single seats left for Friday. There is a better number of seats available for Wednesday's performance but these are generally towards the very front and very rear of the theatre.

We have been inundated with calls this week from people wishing to book 4 or more seats who have been disappointed to find that we have only individual seats or front row seats left. The moral of this story is, of course, PLEASE BOOK EARLY! Remember, we only have 180 seats to sell in the first place.

Summer season launched

Our new summer brochure is now available directly from the theatre and will be arriving at the usual outlets throughout Cheltenham and Gloucester in the next week. Full information on the season can be found on our website (please click on the link to the right) and tickets are now on sale for all of the shows with the exception of Noel Coward's Blithe Spirit in September. Alternatively, if you are not on our mailing list and would like a brochure to be sent to you either in hard copy or via email as a pdf file, please give the box office a call on 01242 522852.

Canvas Theatre

Canvas Theatre is a new company that will be making its debut at The Playhouse next month as part of our summer season - to be announced very, very shortly. Their name suggests one of those touring companies that play open air venues, possibly under some form of tarpaulin cover to keep the audience (but not the actors) dry. In fact, they have been formed from the students of the University of Gloucestershire's Performing Arts Foundation Degree course that was set up last September by respected industry professionals Sue Passmore and Sheila Mander.

Some of the students have progressed from our very own drama school for young people, Theatre Studio (whom many of you came to see recently in a superb production of Return to the Forbidden Planet, where even the set - deservedly - got applause).

Canvas will be presenting two productions, each for two performances. The first, on Thursday 21 and Friday 22 May at 7.30 pm, is the musical The Matchgirls, written by Bill Owen - of Last of the Summer Wine fame - and concerns the struggles faced by the young workers at the notorious Bryant & May's match factory in Victorian London . The second is Musicals On Parade, a revue devised by Sue Passmore looking at both the golden age of Broadway musicals - with a large helping of classics from the pens of Rodgers & Hammerstein - and the more recent hits like Five Guys Named Moe and Jersey Boys. This will be presented at both 3.00 pm and 7.45 pm on Saturday 23 May.

Tickets are now on sale for just £8 with £6 concessions (all performances) and those who saw an abbreviated production of Musicals On Parade earlier this year will confirm that these productions will be of a very high standard. Don't leave it too late to book!

Pilates at The Playhouse

Someone once said that The Playhouse could become 'a village hall for the town centre' through community use of our facilities for meetings and classes that are not necessarily arts related. Generally, due to rehearsals, we are only able to hire rooms out during the day and while we do already have a limited number of classes, they tend to have an artistic element to them - acting, irish dance, tap dance - even if there is no actual public performance involved.

We are pleased to announce, therefore, that this summer The Playhouse will be home to some daytime PILATES CLASSES under the instruction of Jan Rowsell. Jan, who is a member of the Body Control Pilates Association (BCPA), will be holding two hour-long classes each Thursday, for a course of six sessions. The classes commence on Thursday 4 June and you can sign up for either 10.30 am - 11.30 am or 11.30 am - 12.30 pm.

Body control pilates exercises are good for stress relief, relaxation, strengthening, toning and improving stamina and co-ordination and the complete six-week term will cost £54. There is a maximum number of 12 people per class, so it is important to register your place with Jan on 07765 244761 as soon as possible. If these classes prove popular, it may be that we add additional classes on other days and at other times.

Wanted: milk carton tops (blue ones)

Yes, you did read that correctly. We need the blue plastic lids/tops off your milk cartons. And they must be the blue ones, not red or green. Why? Because they are going to come in very useful for the set of Return to the Forbidden Planet, which is being staged here from 9 - 11 April.

The show takes places on board a spaceship and the plans include a great number of switches and buttons on various panels and these blue plastic things are ideal.

So, if you can save the blue lids from your milk and get them to the box office by close of play Tuesday 7 April, we'd be very pleased to receive them!

Cinema at The Playhouse

Some of you may have caught the article in the Gloucestershire Echo recently about the possibility of our showing films here in the future. It is certainly something we are very keen to explore, as our improved seating rake makes our auditorium much more suitable for such a purpose.

Obviously, cinema equipment can be very expensive, so we would not be looking to make this sort of investment with undertaking at least a few trials, so the current thinking is that we will hire a top-notch screen, projector and speakers for a couple of weeks next year. We may, for instance, hold a film week in each season (as hiring for a week is the most financially sensible option) and show a variety of films during the week and possibly try out different types of projectors. This would then show us the long-term viability of the cinema option.

However, live events and theatre will continue to provide the vast majority of our output - film would be used to complement our existing offering (business speak) and attract a wider audience to our venue. Hopefully, we will show a wide variety of films, not just art films or foreign films, but also some classics that people might want to see on the screen again rather than the TV - and maybe we'll even present those in a nostalgic way with intervals, usherettes and B-movies!

Once the plans firm up, we will be asking our members, regular patrons and possible new patrons to let us know what sort of films they would like to see, in the hope that this market research will guarantee us decent audiences from the start. Watch this space!

One Act Play Festival

This week, The Playhouse plays hosts to the Gloucestershire Round of the All England One Act Play Festival. Each night consists of two or three plays followed by an official adjudication, with the winners going on to the next round of the competition.

Thursday 5 March brings Oldland Youth and Oldland Players with productions of Deliver Us Not by Lee Howard and Greg Gamble, Effie's Burning by Valerie Windsor and Sins of the Father by Leo Smith.

Friday 6 March sees performances of Kathy Mead's And Who Will Pay the Rent - presented by Athlestan Players - and Bridget Derrett's All Around My Pole (Board-Walkers One Act Players).

Saturday 7 March showcases Tewkesbury Arts & Drama Society in Once This Was A Poet by Brenda Read-Brown and Sodbury Players in Samaritans, Can I Help You by Brendan Williams.

The two most local companies, Board-Walkers and Tewkesbury ADS are both presenting plays written by their own members. Tewkesbury's has already met with great success in other festivals while tickets are already selling fast for the Friday when Board-Walkers' comedy All Around My Pole demonstrates the pole dancing abilities of some of the Playhouse's illustrious female performers 'of a certain age'.

Each evening will present at least 90 minutes worth of theatre for just £7 (£5 concessions).

Notes from The Cherry Orchard

Next month sees a production of the classic comedy - yes, it is a comedy, and yes, there are plenty of laughs - The Cherry Orchard by Anton Chekhov. Here to tell us a little more, is director Steve Evans:

"Twelve years ago I was offered the chance to teach drama in a boarding school and my first thought was that although I knew plenty about acting, I wasn’t that well versed in the great playwrights, other than Shakespeare. So I grabbed a biography of Chekhov and a book of his complete plays and prepared to be amazed at the brilliance of this iconic playwright.

I have to confess I was disappointed by the plays, though I was dazzled by the biography of this extraordinary man. Since then I have been fortunate enough to see all the major plays except The Three Sisters, and I have learned that the only way to appreciate Chekhov is in performance.

In the hands of actors and directors who understand how to play Chekhov, the plays are dazzling and it becomes easy to see why he is one of the few writers, if not the only one, whose name dare be mentioned in the same sentence as Shakespeare.

They are not dull, gloomy, or heavy going, as many people think. They are witty and insightful and bear all the hallmarks of this remarkable man who in an all-too-brief life and career as a doctor, writer and social benefactor, saw life in all its aspects.

The Cherry Orchard is a fundamentally a comedy though it does, like all great works, encompass many shades of emotion. We have put together a tremendous cast and it has been a great pleasure for me to work with some of my favourite Playhouse actors. I hope we will, in this production, change many people’s perceptions about a genius and his work, and provide an evening of great enjoyment in the theatre’s wonderful new auditorium."

THE CHERRY ORCHARD
Thursday 19 - Sunday 22 March
Thursday 26 - Saturday 28 March
Evenings at 7.45 pm
£10 (£8 concessions except Saturdays)
Schools Performance Wednesday 25 March at 7pm

Playhouse wins award!

We have just learned that The Playhouse has won a Cheltenham Civic Society Award for last summer's auditorium refurbishment! Full details will follow here as soon as possible

Notes from Best of Broadway

Next week, we welcome the return of Rolling Stock Theatre Company to The Playhouse - seen here last year with their hugely successful production of the musical Chess - with their latest touring show, The Best of Broadway. Here, to tell us a little more, is the director, Ann Wessen:

"The idea behind this revue came about as a result of a desire to raise money for a very worthy charity: The Sue Ryder Foundation.

Musicals have proven to be universally popular and continue to draw large audiences, hence a glimmer of an idea was born. We decided to select from amongst the best-of-the-best - those shows which have won a prestigious Tony Award: the Oscar of the musical world.

The Tony Awards began in 1948 with Cole Porter's Kiss Me Kate and continue to this day. The 2008 winner was In The Heights by Lin-Manuel Miranda, a show that most people have never even heard of - as so often has been the case in the history of the awards.

For our show, we have chosen a wide range of great winners with songs that have enchanted and entertained audiences worldwide for the past 50 years. In the selection are personal memories of two great leading men - Peter Wessen and Sean Mayo who are sadly no longer with us. As members of Rolling Stock, their love of musical theatre gave us the energy and inspiration to make this show possible. It is our heartfelt tribute to both of them.

From old standards like The Sound of Music and South Pacific, by way of the ever popular Phantom of the Opera and Evita, to modern classics such as Avenue Q and Wicked, there is something here for everyone."

THE BEST OF BROADWAY
Tues 24 - Sat 28 February at 7.45 pm
Tickets £10 (£8 concessions Tues - Fri)

The vanishing Open Day

The more eagle-eyed among you will have noticed that our new spring brochure makes no mention of our Open Day, which was advertised in our autumn brochure as taking place on Saturday 14 February.

We've decided to postpone this event until later in the year, hopefully when the weather is a little better and warmer to maximise likely attendance. Watch local press, the website and this blog for announcements in due course!

Half-term workshops

Schools will be closed again next week – not due to snow, this time – and many parents will be looking for activities to keep the kids happy. The Playhouse may have the answer with a number of drama and musical theatre workshops.

Focus Theatre
From Monday 16 – Thursday 19 February, Sheila Mander will be holding several workshops, with classes running at different times depending on ages. The Junior workshop, for those aged between 5 and 7, runs from 9.30 am – 1 pm Monday – Wednesday and from 2 pm – 5 pm on Thursday. The Intermediate workshop, for those aged between 7 and 9, runs from 9.30 am – 2 pm Monday – Wednesday and 1 pm – 5 pm on Thursday, while the Senior workshop, for those aged 10 and over, runs from 9.30 am – 3.30 pm Monday – Wednesday and 10 am – 5 pm on Thursday. The course concludes at 4.30 pm on Thursday with a performance of The Sharing, and each child is entitled to 2 free tickets to this performance. Any remaining seats will be sold from the box office for £1 adults/50p children. The fees for these workshops are £70 Juniors, £85 Intermediates and £115 for Seniors, with a 50% discount for siblings. You can book your child’s place by contact the box office on 01242 522852.

Theatre Studio
The Playhouse-based drama school are also holding workshops for half-term on Thursday 19 and Friday 20 February. Places may already be full for this course, but you can double-check by calling Suzanna Segura on 07977 227707.

Spring season now booking

The Playhouse, Cheltenham, has launched its spring season after an extremely successfully start to the New Year. “Our first production for 2009 was a new musical version of the classic story The Railway Children,” says theatre administrator Paul Scott, “and of the eight performances, four were sold out, with the matinee being completely booked out before Christmas. We had a lengthy list of people desperate for returns by the beginning of the production week!”

“Although we are only selling tickets at present for our spring season, we already know that our productions later in the year include the ever-popular West End comedy Art, a double-bill of Noel Coward with Relative Values and Blithe Spirit, The Hot Mikado and, in the run-up to Christmas, a stage version of the classic film It’s a Wonderful Life. Hopefully the trend started by The Railway Children will continue throughout 2009.”

The spring season lasts from February to early-May and with the top price seat for any show in the season costing just £10 (often with concessions available), a good night out at the theatre needn’t prove expensive.

February opens with a one-off performance of an Evening of Grimm Tales, with the members of Focus Youth Theatre bringing to life some of the famous fairy stories of the Brothers’ Grimm, while Rolling Stock Theatre Co – responsible for last-year’s sell-out production of Chess – return with The Best of Broadway, a revue of show-stopping numbers from 50-years of award-winning Broadway musicals.

March brings the annual One-Act Play Festival, with drama groups from around Gloucestershire trying to win their way through to the next stage of the competition. March also sees a production of Chekhov’s classic tragicomedy The Cherry Orchard, which includes two firsts: the theatre’s first Sunday night performance of a main house production, together with a special schools performance at an earlier timeslot.

In April, our Easter workshops will result in several performances of the rock-and-roll musical Return to the Forbidden Planet, while The Playhouse Company end the season with Godspell, the classic 1970s musical version of the Gospel of St Matthew.

FOR PERFORMANCE DATES, TIMES AND PRICES, PLEASE VISIT OUR WEBSITE

Talbot House - NOT cancelled

Some people have been wondering, due to the current weather conditions, if this evening's performance is going ahead, as some other venues have had to postpone productions.

Having just spoken with the producer and director of the show, I can confirm that this evening's performance WILL take place.

Railway Children availability

Following a sell-out performance last night (Monday 26 January), please be advised that the performances on Friday and Saturday (both matinee and evening) are also sold out. We do have tickets available for Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evening performances.

Notes from The Railway Children (2)

Director Jill Mico tells us a little more about what the cast of our forthcoming production of The Railway Children have been getting up to:

“As part of our rehearsals we were lucky enough to have an opportunity to work with the creators of the show, lyricist Julian Woolford and composer Richard John. It's not every day you get the chance to meet and actually work with the creators of one of our musicals. Julian and Richard spent a Sunday afternoon with the cast and production team. It was fascinating to hear how the show had come into being and how they decided which elements of the book to include and which to leave out and to understand how the musical numbers evolved from simple constructions into the wonderful compositions that punctuate the story.

Just to give you a flavour, Richard, explained how 'Posh Talk' - the musical number where the Railway Children meet the children of the village for the first time and view one another with hostility and suspicion - evolved from the playground chant “Nah, nah, nah, nah nah!” See if you can detect it when you hear 'Posh Talk' on the stage.

Julian took us through a wonderfully simple and yet fascinating exercise to help us develop the characters. Using a roll of brown paper laid out on the floor, he jotted down key dates over the past 30 years and asked each of us to write down important dates in our own lives: being born, going to school, getting married, etc. Then using a second sheet of paper he wrote down dates from 1850 – 1905 (the period in which the Railway Children characters are living) and asked each of us to imagine important occasions and times in our characters lives. Such a simple yet effective tool in getting us to flesh out the characters on stage.

As well as enhancing our production, it was a special opportunity for musical theatre enthusiasts both young and old to gain an insight into the world of the professionals and we are delighted and not a little daunted to know that Julian and Richard will be in the audience during our run!”

THE RAILWAY CHILDREN
Sat 24 – Sat 31 January (no Sunday performance)
Evenings at 7.45pm, 31 January matinee at 2.30pm

Please note that the matinee performance is SOLD OUT and there are very few seats remaining for the Monday 26 and Saturday 31 evening performances