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.