harlow playhouse CREAFebruaryTE toENJO AUGUSTY 2018FOR events ALL information Booking Playhouse Café Bar Supplied by the award-winning You can book tickets: Mayfield Farm Bakery Online at www.harlowplayhouse.co.uk 24 hours a day, 7 days a week In person at Harlow Playhouse 10.30am to 5.30pm, Monday to Saturday and one hour before any performance By phone on 01279 431945 11am to 2pm, Monday to Saturday Grab a coffee, meet friends, book tickets, see art, catch up on emails, browse the To keep abreast of all events, follow us on: Playhouse library and lots more at our facebook.com/harlowplayhouse innovative new café and social space. twitter.com/harlowplayhouse Open 10.30am to 5.30pm, Monday to Saturday. See our website for further This brochure is available in an information and associated activities. enlarged electronic version on www.harlowplayhouse.co.uk A family and breastfeeding-friendly café. Harlow Playhouse, Playhouse Square, Harlow, Essex CM20 1LS 2 Welcome This year has seen big change for Harlow Playhouse, we’ve had our bar renovated, we’ve opened our Aerial Academy in partnership with Premiere Aerial and we’ve successfully launched Studio 3 Theatre Arts – a performing arts academy for 18+. We are now the only theatre in the region to have a purpose built aerial space! We would also like to congratulate all those that participated in Harlow’s 70th birthday celebrations, it was a huge success with a host of events happening around town – including coffee mornings, competitions and projects. This year at Edinburgh Fringe Festival we co-produced a new musical by Rebecca Humphries, with Aine Flannigan Productions – it got a host of 5 star reviews and won the Underbelly Untapped Award. We are delighted to give Harlow audiences a chance to see this production here on the 9th & 10th of March. Going forward, we urge you to have a look at our new programme of live events under the title of ‘Guilty Pleasures’ where we will see Harlow Playhouse turn from a traditional theatre into a night of garage, pop or cheese! Our Easter musical we will be Alice in Wonderland brought to you by old favourite Tom Swift and Wicked Productions - expect crazy routines and lots of laughter as we rock out in Wonderland! We are also starting to produce a series of events in our newly renovated Café Bar with the launch of Afternoon Glee – where Harlow’s very own drag queen Fanny hosts an afternoon tea with a twist – cake, pastries, karaoke, lip-syncing all to a soundtrack you will not forget. We would like to thank you for your patience over the coming months as we continue to improve the building – expect to see more exciting new changes! Jessica du Preez & Rory Davies harlow playhouse Directors CREATE ENJOY FOR ALL 3 patron information patron Pay What You Can Pay What You Can Take part in the revolutionary Season that everyone’s talking about. There really isn’t anything like live theatre. Now, at Harlow Playhouse, theatre truly is available for all. Access performances have additional provisions for differently- abled audience members, including BSL interpreted, captioned, Access described, and/or relaxed. Look out for the description next to each logo. Family Friendly performances promote shared experiences for young audiences and their parents. Look out for the age suitability of events, across a wide range of interests and genres. Extra Live performances are inclusive and relaxed, interactive and fun. Similar to ‘relaxed performances’, Extra Live performances shake off the rigid etiquettes associated with post-Victorian theatre, providing audiences with a much richer shared experience. Harlow Creates performances are created and presented in partnership between Harlow Playhouse, artists and theatre companies. Work is often researched and developed in the Harlow area, and/or created at the Playhouse prior to touring the UK. TY is a programme of live events that everyone IL P Guilty Pleasure L U E enjoys despite the feeling that it is not generally held in high A G S U E regard - we know they are cheesy, we know they might not be R “theatre” but we love them anyway! 4 pay what you can season Take part in the revolutionary Season that everyone’s talking about. Book as many productions from the season below; after each show just Pay What You Can. Our first-class range includes: BBC Music Introducing pg 7 Living with Luke pg 8 Manwatching pg 13 Write here, Write now pg 16 Rhum & Clay: Testosterone pg 17 Prom Kween pg 19 Ockham’s Razor: Tipping Point pg 20 Alula Cyr: Hyena pg 24 People of the Eye pg 25 To Helen and Back pg 29 Quarter Life Crisis / Yvette pg 33 DollyWould pg 42 Pay What you can events are ticketed. Please secure your tickets in advance and make a donation at the end of each performance. Remember, if you can’t make it just let us know harlow playhouse and we’ll release your ticket! CREATE ENJOY FOR ALL 5 Get Involved There are a number of ways to get involved at Harlow Playhouse: Volunteer - become a trusted Host, and help with our performances and events (see page 23) Participate - take part in one of the many classes and events based at Harlow Playhouse (see page 46) Join - become a valued member of one of our supporter memberships (see below) Harlow Playhouse Supporter Harlow Playhouse Partner Our original and highly accessible membership. Our business membership for small to medium Donate £10 per year and receive our Blue Card, enterprises. Donate £200 per year and receive with discounts on every show, newsletters and 10 Gold Cards for your team, with discounts invitations to special events. on every show, newsletters and invitations to special events, plus a free communication-skills Harlow Playhouse Champion workshop delivered by one of our professional The enhanced membership for those looking theatre practitioners. for something special, for themselves or as a gift. Donate £50 per year and receive our Harlow Playhouse Limited Black Card, with 2 show invitations as a guest Available exclusively to members of our resident of the Playhouse Director, a free class at the companies and partners. Our Pink Card holders Playhouse, a free coffee or tea during every receive discounts on every show, plus special visit, discounts on every show, newsletters and offers, events and more across our Season. invitations to special events. All donations to our supporter initiatives go to Harlow Playhouse Supporters, a charitable trust supporting a range of activities and resources at Harlow Playhouse. 6 Now on a Friday night! harlow playhouse CREATE ENJOY FOR ALL ESSEX Harlow Playhouse and BBC Music Introducing in Essex join forces to present a very special series of live gigs, all hand-picked to nurture and give exposure to the freshest artists across the UK. You’ll find BBC Introducing at major events like Glastonbury, Reading & Leeds, T in the Park and Radio 1’s Big Weekend, and streaming sessions from the world famous Maida Vale studios. Now you can enjoy the pleasure of discovering new music and artists on your doorstep, at Harlow Playhouse. Please note, these are standing gigs with limited seating. Concert dates Friday 2 February 2018 Friday 2 March 2018 Friday 4 May 2018 Friday 1 June 2018 9pm for 9.30pm • Theatre 2 • Pay What You Can - please secure your tickets in advance Line-up will be announced 3 weeks prior to each event • Events are recorded for use on BBC radio and iPlayer. 7 Pay What You Can Someone Like you living with luke the Adele Songbook One dad wrestles with autism in this part The outstanding Katie Markham, as featured wrestling match, part play. by Graham Norton, presents an immaculate celebration of one of our generation’s finest Join Danson Thunderbolt, no ordinary dad, and singers - faithfully recreating the magic of Adele’s his teenage son Luke, who’s not so ordinary three record-breaking albums, including smash- either. For Luke is autistic and the Autistic hits ‘Make You Feel My Love’, ‘Set Fire To The Shadow gets between them every single day, Rain’, ‘Hello’ and multi-million seller ‘Skyfall’. making communication and their relationship a struggle. So what’s a dad to do? ‘Brilliant… wonderful… poignant’ East Anglia Daily Times Gazette Friday 2 February • 7.30pm Theatre 1 Area A - £21, Members £19.50 Area B - £19.50, Members £18 Saturday 3 February • 7.30pm Main Stage Area C - £18, Members £16.50 Pay What You Can - please secure your tickets in advance 8 TeEchers STEPHEN K AMOS By John Godber BREAD AND CIRCUSES Teechers brings to life an array of terrifying Brexit. Trump. No more Mary Berry on the Great teachers and hopeless pupils through the unique British Bake Off. Things are looking bleak, so eyes of Salty, Gail and Hobby; three Year 11 wouldn’t it be better to just forget all about it? students about to leave school for good. Will Comic maestro Stephen K Amos might not be Mr Nixon abandon his students for a green and able to provide bread to the hungry masses, but pleasant Grammar school? Who puts the bounce no one else is going to put on a better circus. in Miss Prime, the PE teacher? Will Mrs Parry ‘Deliciously deft…we roared at ad-libbing that was first ever find her Koko? And why does everyone rate throughout…you’ll leave the show smiling’ smell of spring onions? The Times Monday 5 February • 7.30pm Theatre 1 ‘A note perfect hour’ Metro Area A - £17, Members £15.50 Suitable for age 11+ Area B - £15.50, Members £14 Area C - £ 14, Members £12.50 Wednesday 7 February • 8pm Theatre 1 Concessions £11.50, School Bookings - Buy 10 get 1 free All Areas - £18.50, Members £17 9 HIP HOP POP milkshake! live present A CLASS SHOWCASE 2018 Starring Milkshake! and favourites Bob the Builder, Little Princess, Noddy, Fireman Sam, Shimmer Hip Hop Pop return for their 10th Class & Shine, Pip from Pip Ahoy!, Winnie and Wilbur, Showcase.