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.