Box Office 01789 333990 Issue 2
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Issue 2 - Spring/Summer 2019 Box Office 01789 333990 1 Tues - Sat (11am - 3pm), Sunday (Performance Days Only) 11am - 3pm 2 www.stratfordplay.co.uk WELCOME B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B to Our Second Season! And they said it wouldn’t last! As you will read as you leaf through this brochure, this season sees us build on what we established before Christmas, and continue with our commitments to Artistic Quality, Variety and Community. Until next season, our very best wishes to you all, and thank you for your continued support... Ellis, Rebecca, Phil & Yogi Stratford Play House D E Q Follow us for all the latest news, events and offers. Just search for @StratfordPlays If you are interested in advertising with The Stratford Play House, please contact us on: with the support of Tel: 01789 333990 Email: [email protected] Mailing List We did not inherit the ArtsHouse mailing list, so please join our mailing list by k completing the form on our website. www.stratfordplay.co.uk Box Office 01789 333990 3 Tues - Sat (11am - 3pm), Sunday (Performance Days Only) 11am - 3pm OUR STORY SO FAR... B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B “The play’s the thing” - William Shakespeare Since the announcement of our appointment on May 24th 2018, our emails have been constantly ‘pinging’. For ages, it felt like all deals were purely hypothetical for we didn’t actually get in to position until 1st July. There then followed an intense period of decorating, training as First Aiders, Fire Marshalls, Licence holders and going through all the theatre essentials in order to operate as a venue. Our first event was the Stratford Photographic exhibition for the 1st two weeks of September. On 13th September, we greeted The Peace Run. Our first act was to invite the whole town to contribute to our Wall of Fraternity. B B B B B B B B B SHOUT OUT! A big THANKS to Phil Coldicott who has been taking fantastic photos of some of shows that have taken place at Stratford Play House over the last few months - he was even kind enough to take some for this program too! If you would like photos to be taken of your shows here at The Venue then let us know! 4 www.stratfordplay.co.uk B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B The first performance was the Jazz night on the 19th and a concert by Roy Wood in the evening. of September, followed by Cannon and Ball in The For our first season, we tried to lay on a full-to Dressing Room on 21st September. bursting programme of events, culminating in a professional/community pantomime. Orchestra On October 6th, we participated in the National ‘Fun of the Swan and Stratford Literary Festival both Palace’ scheme which gave opportunities for young returned and we also established regular events performers to play to an audience for the first time. in our Variety Bar - Comedy Club, Play House Sessions, the Drama Chamber which, along with On 16th October, we participated in Maureen Stratford Jazz, each has its own following. Beckett’s Variety Concert for the socially isolated. What has been nice is the crowd of regulars who That all kept us busy and we weren’t even open! Our join us in our adventures, some have volunteered Grand Opening was on October 20th, with their services too, for which we are very community events and performances during the day grateful. B B B B B B B B B B B www.stratfordplay.co.uk Box Office 01789 333990 5 Tues - Sat (11am - 3pm), Sunday (Performance Days Only) 11am - 3pm PHIL’S B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B THOUGHT OF THE DAY! Hello everyone Phil here! I was sad to hear that a friend of mine got sacked as a set designer for not getting the work done last week. I recommended he speak to his boss about it but he said he didn’t want to make a scene! Phil Tiso: Technical Director Lee is the first stand-up comedian to use a communication aid and made his first stand-up appearance in February 2012. He has performed in some of the UK’s most popular comedy venues as well as in solo shows at festivals including the Edinburgh Fringe, the Brighton Fringe, Glasgow International Comedy Festival, Leicester Comedy Festival, Nottingham Comedy Festival and Liverpool Comedy Festival. “ LAUGH-OUT LOUD FUNNY ” - The Independent “CONSISTENTLY HILARIOUS” - Broadway Baby “ SAVAGELY FUNNY…HE’S A BLOODY GOOD COMEDIAN” - The Wee Review “ENTERTAINING AND THOUGHT-PROVOKING” - Three Weeks TICKETS B B B B B £14 - £16 6 SUNwww.stratfordplay.co.uk 21 APRIL - 7.30pm B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B ART TICKLE “Life is more fun if you play games” - Roald Dahl Here at Proon funniest man on earth”. Charles Dickens was Productions, we take fascinated by Music Hall and wrote on the the concept of Play very subject. The training ground of the Halls seriously. Our own subsequently made an impact on the Cinema influences go all the way back and this new medium made huge stars of to the Ancient Roman farces of Charlie Chaplin and Stan Laurel who had Plautus, a performer-turned both been part of Fred Karno’s troupe. writer who, in turn would later be studied by schoolboy William Shakespeare. Meanwhile, in America, Buster Keaton has trained in that country’s Music Hall equivalent, Indeed, The Comedy of Errors was lifted Vaudeville, being thrown around the stage by directly from The Brothers Menaechmus by his parents in the name of Slapstick, whilst Plautus. Shakespeare himself seemed to be still a child. It is believed that he was given rather fond of Jesters, those itinerant perform- the nickname ‘Buster’ by Harry Houdini who ers booked to play in medieval royal courts. toured with them. Years later, Keaton would make a film with Samuel Beckett - called On of the most significant jesters was Rahere, ‘Film. And it is possible to detect a sniff of a favourite performer of Henry I who became Laurel and Hardy in ‘Waiting For Godot’. a Canon. After falling ill on a pilgrimage to Nonsense and Absurdism of the kind found Rome, Rahere had a vision of Saint Bart- in literature in ‘Alice In Wonderland’ can also holomew who urged him to set up a hospital be found in the films of The Marx Brothers and St Bart’s in London is the result. He later which then influenced a young Spike Milligan inspired Rudyard Kipling’s poem, ‘Rahere’. who, in turn inspired the whole generation of comedy that followed. His fellow Goon, The farces of Ancient Rome were also Peter Sellers was a very physically adept an influence on Commedia Dell ‘Arte and performer and in films such as ‘The these Harlequinades were a big influence Pink Panther’ or ‘The Party’, he found on Joseph Grimaldi, the inventor of British international appeal in the same way pantomime. These were slightly artier affairs Rowan Atkinson’s ‘Mr Bean’ does than the pantomimes we see today which are today. more significantly influenced by the pantomimes which featured turn of the The visual does travel century Big Stars, namely famous Music Hall very well today just as turns. Music Hall was a very popular form of it has throughout entertainment and Dan Leno, whose story history. will be told here at Stratford Play House, was billed during an American appearance as “the TICKETS £14 - £16 www.stratfordplay.co.uk Box Office 01789 333990 7 Tues - Sat (11am - 3pm), Sunday (Performance Days Only) 11am - 3pm PLAYHOUSE SESSIONS “PLUGGED IN” The Last Friday of Every Month (22nd Feb, 29th March, (No April Sessions), 31st May, 28th June) 8.30pm Our regular ‘Plugged In’ Sessions are a real treat! A night of truly talented, up and coming local bands! This is a night that’s bound to get your feet moving! Plugged in is about opportunity for young bands to gain experience and experiment. TICKETS: £5.00 PLAYHOUSE SESSIONS 8pm Second to Last Thursday of Every Month (21st Feb, 21st March, 26th April Special Friday Session, 23rd May, 20th June) Grab a seat (and a drink) and come and support live music at The Play House Sessions, a regular event in The Variety Bar. Previous artists include; Jack Blackman, Wes Finch and Nigel Clark from cult indie band, Dodgy. Playhouse sessions are about giving musicians the opportunity to showcase a lot of their own material. TICKETS: £3.00 STRATFORD JAZZ 8pm 2nd & 4th Wednesday of Every Month (13th, 27th Feb, 13th, 27th March, 10th, 24th April, 8th, 22nd May, 12th, 26th June) Formed in c.1986, Stratford Jazz has been providing high quality regional, national and international jazz to Stratford-upon-Avon and the surrounding area. Regular attendees say they sometimes have to pinch themselves to realise how lucky they are to have such high quality music in their local town.