It’s officially Summer – so celebrate with a trip to see one of the amazing shows on offer from our thriving Island amateur theatre scene.
There’s still – just – time to catch ‘Annie and Oliver’ at Medina Theatre, presented by the wonderful Way Forward Group for 1 night only at 18:45 on June 2nd. Join them as they present all your favourite songs as well as some added extras as we follow Oliver and Annie on an adventure of a lifetime!
Then on 8th to 11th June Trinity Theatre, Cowes hosts ‘On Monday Next’, a comedy by Philip King, in which a repertory company is holding the 2nd rehearsal for next week’s play and things are proceeding in customary confusion.
The star is in a hassle with her husband, who also plays the part of her husband in the play within a play. The author shows up to offer his invaluable talent to the poor producer who is a pretty worried guy at this point. He has just been fished out of the orchestra pit into which he fell after a sally with a left handed carpenter and an amateur electrician who switched off the lights.
An imperturbable old trouper does her best to pacify all hands, but prospects are not hopeful. There are further maladroit inventions by the carpenter and the stage manager departs in a temper as the remainder settle down noisily to resume the rehearsal. Tickets are available from CAODS.org.uk or by calling 01983 295229.
The next offering from The Apollo Theatre is ‘Handbagged’, which runs from 23rd June to 3rd July (not Sunday or Monday). With modern-day parallels, ‘Handbagged’ describes a battle of wills between 2 powerful women who, due to temperament or profession, like to hide their feelings: Margaret Thatcher and the Queen. The monarch and her most powerful subject. One believed there was no such thing as society, the other had vowed to serve it.
This witty, sharp and delightful play tests the limits of intolerance and compassion. The joke is that the Queen, the very embodiment of a hierarchical society, is the empathetic one opposite a Thatcher who is humourless and doctrinaire. Tickets are available from http://www.apollo-theatre.org.uk/handbagged
Over at Shanklin Theatre you can see the stage musical version of the famous film ‘Calendar Girls’. The death of a much loved husband prompts a group of ordinary women in a small Yorkshire Women’s Institute to do an extraordinary thing. Blasting away all preconceptions of what it is to be in a women’s institute, they decide to do an artistic nude calendar to raise money for charity.
The true story of the Calendar Girls launched a global phenomenon, a million copycat calendars, a record breaking movie, stage play and musical written by Tim Firth and Gary Barlow which coined the term “craughing” – the act of crying and laughing at the same time.
With unforgettable songs, every performance continues to add to the millions already raised for charity – in the case of this production, our local Mountbatten hospice – and also prove that there is no such thing as an ordinary woman. ‘Calendar Girls’ round from 25th – 27th June – get your tickets at https://www.shanklintheatre.com/events/calender_girls__the_musical/details.aspx and support a local cause while enjoying a cracking show.
Last – but most certainly not least – the team who brought you the sell-out production of ‘Hamlet’ last year are back! This year they’ve swapped tragedy for comedy; the Bard’s longest play for his shortest and perhaps his best known for one which is not often performed: Ad Lib Theatre bring you ‘The Comedy of Errors’ at Northwood House from 23rd to 25th June.
As an open air production, evening performances start at 18:30 with a Sunday matinee at 14.30, and you are cordially invited to bring a picnic and enjoy what we hope will be a sunny private garden setting within the grounds of the House: however, should the weather let us down, we do have an indoor space, which those whose were rained on last year will appreciate….
A family is torn apart by a shipwreck and 2 sets of identical twin brothers are separated. Years later, as adults, 1 set of brothers goes in search of their respective twins. Unknowingly, they land in the very town where those twins live – the background for a string of hilarious confusion of identities and mishaps.
Add into the mix a couple of confused wives, 1 with a beautiful sister; the twins’ parents who were also separated by the wreck, a gold chain, bags of money, a rope and a magical doctor – or so he claims – and you have the recipe for a laugh a minute farce. Like many theatrical things – Shakespeare did it first!
Tickets are selling well so get yours now from https://northwoodhouse.org/event/shakespeares-the-comedy-of-errors-outdoor-theatre/
And that’s it for June – see you next month!
I endorse Islanders to go and see the production of Calendar Girls, The Musical. I performed in this musical last October in Northampton at a 1,000-seater theatre for eight performances. With the dreariness many have faced over the previous three years, it’s time to be entertained, and this is the show for you.
You will laugh, even shed a tear, and you will undoubtedly be tapping your feet to the tunes.
I encourage you to support the local theatre as you won’t be disappointed.