Season 2009/2010 Programme
29th September, Tuesday
WHERE THERE'S A WILL by Alison Neil.
Directed by Henry Sager
This light-hearted thriller won the 'Best play by a Welsh-based writer' award in 2008
The in-hall bar will be open. Nibbles provided.
13th October, Tuesday
LADIES WHO LUNCH by Tudor Gates.
Directed by Roger Meadowcroft
The wives of three of the world's richest men meet regularly to do charity work. They dream up a scheme to play the stock-market using information gleaned from their husbands, who find out and a showdown ensues!
3rd November, Tuesday
QUARTET by Ronald Harwood.
Directed by John Peck
Set in a home for retired opera singers, this play is, by turns, funny and poignant.
17th November, Tuesday
SHADOWLANDS by William Nicholson.
Directed by Sally Noble
A dramatization of the unlikely romance that blossomed, briefly, between author and academic C S (Jack) Lewis and the American poet Joy Davidson. A beautiful and touching play, which also demonstrates the rejuvenating power of love.
8th December, Tuesday
IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE by James W. Rodgers after Frank Capra.
Directed by Carolyn Harman.
Originally performed by James Stewart and Donna Reed as part of the Lux Radio Theatre series and first broadcast on the Colombia System in 1947.
Mince pies and punch will be served and a collection taken for the club’s adopted charity POD. Please give generously!
5th January, Tuesday
A 'NEW YEAR PARTY'
Devised and arranged by Carolyn Harman & Polly Rollings
Poems, sketches, simple quiz, super food - let's join together to celebrate the start of 2010 in a nice relaxed way!
19th January, Tuesday
Two one act plays
VICTORIA STATION and REVUE SKETCHES by Harold Pinter.
Directed by Tessa Garrett and Sylvia Jordan Shore
Both 'plays' are comedies and great fun!Season 2008/2009 Program
2nd February, Tuesday
TABLE MANNERS by Alan Ayckbourn.
Directed by Paddy Dadd
With this comedy Paddy completes her direction of the three plays forming 'The Norman Conquest' trilogy
16th February, Tuesday
Guest Speaker BARRY PAINE presents 'One Foot On The Stage'.
A light-hearted evening in the company of BBC TV wildlife film-maker, broadcaster and actor Barry Paine.
2nd March, Tuesday
LIFE X3 by Yasmina Reza, translated by Christopher Hampton
Directed by Janet Tuckett
We see three versions of a socially hapless evening, when a couple arrives for dinner a day earlier than expected.
16th March, Tuesday
THE ROYAL BACCARAT SCANDAL by Royce Ryton.
Directed by Sally March.
A dramatization on the Victorian scandal of 1890, in which Sir William Gordon Cumming, a baronet, and friend of the Prince of Wales, was accused of cheating at the illegal game of baccarat.
30th March, Tuesday
FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD by Thomas Hardy, adapted by Mark Healey.
Directed by David March.
This is a new stage adaptation of Hardy's famous novel
Season 2008/2009 Programme
30th September, Tuesday
THE POT OF GOLD by Titus Maccius Plautus.
Directed by David March
Written circa 200BC by the comic genius of the time.
Nibbles provided.
14th October, Tuesday
THE MAN WHO HAD ALL THE LUCK (A) by Arthur Miller.
Directed by Sally March
Dramatic heroes are traditionally dogged by misfortune but, in Miller's rarely seen 1944 play, a man is cursed with good luck.
28th October, Tuesday Two one act plays
THE SPECKLED BAND by Vincent McInerney.
Directed by Ron Piper
A classic Conan Doyle mystery adapted for the stage.
THE VISITOR FROM FOREST HILLS by Neil Simon.
Directed by Sylvia Jordan-Shore
The great comedy from Plaza Suite - remember the bride Mimsey locking herself in the bathroom to the distress of her parents.
11th November, Tuesday
LADIES DAY by Amanda Whittington.
Directed by Jane Meadowcroft
Linda, one of a fish-filleting foursome, finds tickets to Ladies' Day as Ascot, the year it relocates to York!
25th November, Tuesday
BREAKING THE CODE (A) by Hugh Whitemore.
Directed by Kim Mann.
A compassionate and often amusing play concerning the remarkable mind and tragic fate of Alan Turing, mathematician and computer pioneer, who broke the code in two ways.
9th December, Tuesday
HERE COMES CHRISTMAS
Devised and directed by Ken Matthews
You are invited to look in as the villagers hold the final rehearsal for their annual Christmas show; a light-hearted mixture of drama, pantomime, readings and music.
Mince pies and punch will be served and a collection taken for the club’s adopted charity POD. Please give generously!
6th January, Tuesday
Guest Speaker - DICK PENNY
We are delighted to welcome the man charged with the responsibility of resurrecting the fortunes of Bristol's historic theatre and its Company. Director of the Bristol Old Vic Trust, Dick Penny. A not-to-be-missed opportunity to hear the latest news of developments in King Street.
A light buffet supper will be available after the talk.
20th January, Tuesday
BRONTE by Poly Teale.
Directed by John Iles
This extraordinary play evokes the real and imaginary worlds of the Brontes, as the fictional characters come to haunt their creators.
3rd February, Tuesday
THE BREATH OF LIFE by David Hare
Directed by Jill Piper
This is a moral tale of two women, both in their sixties, whose lives are interwoven in ways neither understands. Originally played by Judi Dench and Maggie Smith.
17th February, Tuesday
FIVE SIDES OF A CIRCLE by Neville Boundy.
Eventually the Gospel writers meet! Last seasons guest speaker is the author of this play.
3rd March, Tuesday Two one act plays
THE KING AND ME by Hanif Kureishi
An examination of the strain of married life on a couple with an Elvis fixation.
TERRACES (A) by Willy Russell
Directed by Roger Meadowcroft
The local football team has reached the cup final and Danny suggests painting the street and houses in the team colour - yellow!
17th March, Tuesday
WAR AND PEACE dramatised by Helen Edmundson after Tolstoy.
Directed by David March.
Tolstoy's novel intertwines its epic account of Napoleon's invasion of Russia with the tale of three aristocratic families.
As last season, this will be a supper evening, so do come and enjoy first-class drama with your meal; this beats TV suppers by a mile!
(A) Indicates play with adult content and/or strong language
Season 2007/2008 Programme
25th September, Tuesday
THE BEAR by Anton Chekhov.
Directed by Jill Piper
Chekhov’s rural comedy, in Bernard Lawrence’s excellent translation, opens the season.
Nibbles provided.
9th October, Tuesday
ART by Yasmina Reza.
Directed by Wendy Carter
Mademoiselle Reza garnered international acclaim for this play, which the club has wanted to include in its programme for a number of years. Performing rights have been granted - at last!
23rd October, Tuesday
SKYLIGHT (A) by David Hare.
Directed by Sally March
The story unfolds in the present, in a flat in one of London’s less desirable districts. Tom, originally played by Michael Gambon, is a successful restaurateur. Kyra is his former mistress; their bond has been severed for three years, when Tom, now a widower, explodes back into her life . . .
13th November, Tuesday
VINCENT IN BRIXTON (A) by Nicholas Wright.
Directed by John Iles
Based on the true facts of Vincent van Gogh’s early life in London, this play concerns the transforming effects of love, sex and artistic adventure on unformed talent. It traces the birth of a genius.
4th December, Tuesday
HONOUR (A) by Joanna Murray Smith.
Directed by Roger Meadowcroft.
Corin Redgrave and Eileen Atkins starred in the 2003 National Theatre production of this Australian play by the author of Nightfall, which was a successful and moving Reading in 2004.
18th December, Tuesday
CHRISTMAS CRACKERS II
A seasonal entertainment devised and directed by Janet Adams and Kim Mann. Janet and Kim have been persuaded to follow up last year’s popular success. We are sure they will not disappoint.
Mince pies and punch will be served and a collection taken for the club’s adopted charity POD. Please give generously!
8th January, Tuesday
BED AMONG THE LENTILS (A) by Alan Bennett.
Directed by Janet Adams.
HER BIG CHANCE by Alan Bennett.
Directed by Eunice Bliss.
These two plays from Talking Heads I illustrate how clever and perceptive this author can be!
22nd January, Tuesday
THE CIRCLE by W Somerset Maugham.
Directed by Henry Sager
Set in the 1920s, Maugham’s comedy can justifiably be considered a classic of its period.
5th February, Tuesday
Guest Speaker REV NEVILLE BOUNDY
We are pleased to welcome as our speaker the colourful, recently-retired vicar of Cotham and City Theatre Chaplain. He is a popular, amusing and sought-after speaker and is the living embodiment of the strong link between stage and pulpit, and also a playwright of some note.
A buffet supper will be served after the talk. Tickets available in due course.
19th February, Tuesday
WHO’S WHO by Keith Waterhouse and Willis Hall.
Directed by Len Colbourne.
A comedy in which Mrs Black and Mrs White are played by the same actress – in the original production by Josephine Tewson – which suggests something unusual!
4th March, Tuesday
MY COUSIN RACHEL by Diana Morgan after Daphne du Maurier.
Directed by Beryl Phillpotts.
One small event after another causes an emotional see-saw in this Victorian thriller. Is Rachel a scheming murderess or a grossly maligned woman?
18th March, Tuesday
CLOUDSTREET(A) by Nick Enright and Justin Monjo.
Directed by David March.
Adapted from Tim Walton’s novel, this Aussie play covers two families thrown together in the isolated city of Perth between 1945 and 1965. It is a story, compelling, humorous and moving, with some ‘Outback’ mysticism thrown in.
This is a lengthy play and the evening will include a supper break, details of which will be announced during the season.
(A) Indicates play with adult content and/or strong language