We start February with some excellent news. Wight Strollers are back! Yes – they are returning to Panto Land (aka Medina Theatre) with ‘Dick Whittington’, a show boasting a wealth of colourful costumes, toe-tapping numbers and a talented local cast.
Brought to you by the production team behind the Strollers’ sell-out 40th anniversary pantomime ‘Sleeping Beauty’, The Wight Strollers’ latest production is set to be a hit with audience members young and old.
Director and co-writer Sarah Scotcher says:
“There is huge excitement among the cast for this year’s pantomime, myself included – in the 42 years I’ve been doing panto with The Wight Strollers, 2021 was only the second year I’ve ever missed! We can’t wait to be back, doing what we do best – raising money for local charities by putting on a fabulous show!”
So if you haven’t already, get your tickets for one of the performances: Saturday 19th February at 14:30 and 19:30, Sunday 20th February at 14:30 and Saturday 26th February at 14:30 and 19:30. They are available from Medina Theatre on 01983 823884 or by visiting www.medinatheatre.co.uk. Trust us, you don’t want to miss it!
The Apollo Players are staging ‘Breaking the Code’ until to Saturday 12th February. Most of us will be familiar with the name and fame of Alan Turing, a brilliant mathematician and computer scientist who worked at Bletchley Park during World War II and was instrumental in deciphering German coding systems and breaking the Enigma Code. However, while being rightly celebrated for this achievement, Turing was castigated for breaking another code of the time, being prosecuted for the then-crime of homosexuality.
Tickets can be obtained from the Apollo Theatre online at https://www.apollo-theatre.org.uk/breaking-the-code/ or by calling 01983 210010.
If you missed Joe Plumb’s hilarious – and very topical – show ‘The People’s Republic of the Isle of Wight’ last year, I am delighted to say it’s back – updated! For too long, Westminster has made decisions that old, white, right-wing, male Islanders should be deciding. We need to take back control of the Isle of Wight from tyranny of English rule! Joe Plumb will stop at nothing until the islanders have taken back control and he is made King!
This exhilaratingly daft production combines cabaret, interactive theatre, music, and comedy to confront the hypocrisies in localism and our complex quest for identity. Following a highly successful run in the summer of 2021 and scooping up the Audience Choice Award at Ventnor Fringe, Joe Plumb’s hilarious take on Island life returns to the stage with special guest Fanny Quivers! Plus Boris’s ‘WORK PARTY’ disco after the show! (Disclaimer: I am advised this is not actually a party…)
Tickets are selling fast – get yours at www.horseboxtheatre.com.
February also features the first event staged by the Island’s newest theatre group, GASP. Gilbert and Sullivan Productions are looking forward to bringing you ‘The Pirates of Penzance’ in September but in the meantime they are putting on a concert for one night only – not to be missed. All proceeds will go to Bembridge Village Hall as a way of thanking the community in advance for hosting their productions.
Come along to the Village Hall on 26th February for ‘I Have a Song To Sing-O’ – an evening of light classical music featuring talented professional musicians from the Island and beyond: our own local flautist Steve Burton alongside celebrated tenor Rob Forbes, accompanied by Adrian Moore who has played piano and harpsichord across the world – and he might even be persuaded to lend his fine bass voice to a duet with Rob too! Tickets are available by calling 01983 612802 – but hurry – there are very few left!
If that were not enough, there are so many exciting shows currently in rehearsal, so look out in the coming months for new productions from Curtain Call Creative, Bembridge Little Theatre Club, The Apollo Youth Theatre and the Savoyards. And in April, a very special one woman show featuring the amazing talents of Hanna Nixon as Judy Garland – more details coming soon to a column near you (this one in fact!).
