2018 - 2019 Season
SPEED THE PLOW
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By David Mamet
Unitarian Meeting House, Churchgate, Bury St Edmunds 27, 28 29 February 2020 Director - Tim Lodge Two film producers, Bobby Gould and Charlie Fox, have a chance to make a blockbuster movie with a superstar actor eager to play the lead. Money in the bank! Enter Karen, the office temp, who persuades Bobby while he is trying to seduce her (or is she seducing him?) that he would be a better person if instead of the blockbuster he made an ‘art’ film about radiation and the end of the world, a film with no box office potential whatsoever. On hearing of Bobby’s decision, Charlie disagrees violently… David Mamet’s 1988 black comedy; a tale of greed, seduction and power, is a brilliant dissection of Hollywood’s movie business. ‘Insanely funny or scarily insane’ |
THE LADY FROM THE SEA
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By Henrik Ibsen
Unitarian Meeting House, Churchgate, Bury St Edmunds 7, 8 and 9 November 2019 Director - Tim Lodge Observations of a BTW actor on his experiences with 'The Lady from the Sea'... I spent a very pleasant late afternoon/early evening yesterday, first by watching a magnificent game of football … and then by snoozing over a Harry Potter film ... I confess that, whilst it was nice not stumbling out in the rain for a rehearsal, I am a little sad that it's all over. It's like being part of a brand new family for a short time, and whilst I'm still not entirely certain that the amount of nerves and worry make it all worthwhile, each time I take part in a play (that was my fourth) I enjoy it a little more. I've played a lot of football over the years, and whilst you hear people bang on from time to time about the importance of sport in fostering teamwork, I think that putting a play on is every bit as much of a team effort as any match I've ever played in. Thanks to everyone. It was a blast being part of this production. Until next time! |
Can't pay. Won't pay!
A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM
tHE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST
tHE REAL INSPECTOR HOUND
By Tom Stoppard
Unitarian Meeting House, Churchgate, Bury St Edmunds
25, 26 & 27 April 2019
Director - Adam Thurkettle
Farcical and satirical drama parodying the Agatha Christie ‘parlour mystery’ while examining themes of fate, free will and the ‘play within a play’. The mystery is set in Muldoon Manor, a lavish country pile surrounded by ‘desolate marshes’ and ‘treacherous swamps’… Also located near a cliff. Need we say more?
Unitarian Meeting House, Churchgate, Bury St Edmunds
25, 26 & 27 April 2019
Director - Adam Thurkettle
Farcical and satirical drama parodying the Agatha Christie ‘parlour mystery’ while examining themes of fate, free will and the ‘play within a play’. The mystery is set in Muldoon Manor, a lavish country pile surrounded by ‘desolate marshes’ and ‘treacherous swamps’… Also located near a cliff. Need we say more?
No exit (Huis Clos)
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By Jean-Paul Sartre, translation by Stuart Gilbert
7 - 9 March 2019, Unitarian Meeting House Directed by Gwen Owen If you were locked in a room with two strangers what would you do? A journalist, a socialite and a working class girl find themselves trapped together… Is it by mere chance or are there more sinister forces at work? As the trio become acquainted it dawns on each of them that there is no escape from the past … or each other. Is there a future to their existence? |
LYSISTRATA - THE SEX STRIKE
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By Germaine Greer and Phil Wilmott after Aristophanes
8 - 10 November 2018, Unitarian Meeting House Director - Tim Lodge Hilarious re-telling by Germaine Greer of Aristophanes' 5th century BC play about the women who denied their partners sex until they stopped fighting wars. Think Ancient Greece meets The Carry On films as the women refuse to sleep with their husbands unless they stop the Peloponnesian war. (some adult content and humour) Not suitable for under 16 year olds. |
betrayal
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By Harold Pinter
27 - 29 September, Unitarian Meeting House Director - John Levantis Two couples are friends: but two start a secret affair; or they believe it is a secret. This play is not so much about adultery or sex, rather the politics of betrayal and what it inflicts on all involved. Pinter’s narrative method takes “whats next?” out of the audience mind and replaces it with the rather deeper “how?” and “why?”. Why did love pass ? How did these people cope with the lies, the evasions, the sudden dangers, the panic, and the contradictory feelings behind their own deftly engineered masks? This is a masterfully written piece of theatre, spare and yet totally absorbing! Click 'here' for a review... |
2017-2018
THE MERCHANT OF VENICE
The hollow |
By William Shakespeare
Abbey Gardens, Bury St Edmunds 29 July to 4 August 2018 Director - Tim Lodge Our 7th annual 'Shakespeare in the Park' production was very well attended and received much praise. Both artistically and commercially this was probably our most successful show to date. Many thanks to St Edmundsbury Borough Council and to Bury St Edmunds Town Council for the use of the beautiful Abbey Gardens and for financial support. |
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By Agatha Christie
27 - 30 June 2018, Theatre Royal, Bury St Edmunds Directed by Chris Lines A jolly gathering explodes into murder one weekend at The Hollow, home of Sir Henry and Lucy Angkatell. Dr Cristow is in trouble when his mistress Henrietta, ex-mistress Veronica and wife Gerda arrive simultaneously. Also visiting are Edward (in love with Henrietta) and Midge (who loves Edward). Veronica successfully rekindles the affair with Dr Cristow but is unable to persuade him to divorce his wife. She unwisely states that if she cannot have him then no one shall. Very soon someone is dead. Nearly everyone has a motive and opportunity. Enter Inspector Colquhoun and Sergeant Penny to solve the crime… |
The anger of angels
By John Goldman
19 April 2018, Constitutional Club & 21 April 2018, Unitarian Meeting House
Directed by Gwen Owen
What if you visit your sister in her nunnery and you suddenly perform a miracle you weren't aware of, witnessed by all its residents? Then it triggers yet more impossible events, that make you and everyone else doubt your sanity and yet you stay sane; are you just having a bad day or is it now normal to encounter a vast and terrifying Angel ?
The Anger of Angels, a one act play by John Goldman suggests that Angels come in many shapes and sizes - and one or two of them, we all might wish to avoid if possible.
19 April 2018, Constitutional Club & 21 April 2018, Unitarian Meeting House
Directed by Gwen Owen
What if you visit your sister in her nunnery and you suddenly perform a miracle you weren't aware of, witnessed by all its residents? Then it triggers yet more impossible events, that make you and everyone else doubt your sanity and yet you stay sane; are you just having a bad day or is it now normal to encounter a vast and terrifying Angel ?
The Anger of Angels, a one act play by John Goldman suggests that Angels come in many shapes and sizes - and one or two of them, we all might wish to avoid if possible.
animal farm
By George Orwell
12 - 14 April 2018, Unitarian Meeting House
Directed by Josh Brown
Written during the final years of World War 2, Animal Farm is Orwell's satirical tale against Stalin that reflects on Russia from the 1917 revolution through to the Stalinist era. Actors take on both the human and animal roles with use of animal mannerisms and masks as this production conveys the messages Orwell wove into his tale about power, communism and corruption.
12 - 14 April 2018, Unitarian Meeting House
Directed by Josh Brown
Written during the final years of World War 2, Animal Farm is Orwell's satirical tale against Stalin that reflects on Russia from the 1917 revolution through to the Stalinist era. Actors take on both the human and animal roles with use of animal mannerisms and masks as this production conveys the messages Orwell wove into his tale about power, communism and corruption.
THE GOOD PERSON OF SZECHWAN
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By Bertolt Brecht
Theatre Royal, Bury St Edmunds 16 to 18 January 2018 Director - Tim Lodge An audience member's email to us... Just to say that I enjoyed every minute of last night's production ... I studied 'The Good Person of Szechwan for A Level German in 1971 (!!) but I do not remember being in the least bit inspired by the play at that time ... Last night, however, really brought it to life ... the performance was colourful, lively and totally absorbing ... I found myself totally immersed in what was happening and thinking about the issues thrown up by the play ... I remember learning about the 'Verfremdungseffekt' / alienation effect at A Level and this was very much in evidence in the performance ... the touch of humour was greatly appreciated as well ... I was also absolutely amazed that the actors had learnt so many lines so accurately ... Thank you, too, for the music ... I thought the piano part was imaginative and beautifully executed ... it was coordinated extremely well with what was happening on the stage ... the dynamics were perfect ... the guitar certainly added to the atmosphere, too. It was a very memorable evening ... my thanks to everyone involved ... |
Tomb with a view
By Norman Robbins
Unitarian Meeting House, Bury St Edmunds
16 to 18 November 2017
Director - Susan Richardson
In a sinister old library presided over by the portrait of a grim-faced, mad-eyed old man, a dusty lawyer reads a will (involving some millions of pounds) to an equally sinister family – one member of which has werewolf tendencies(!), another wanders around in a toga as Julius Caesar; and, a third is a gentle elderly lady who plants more than seeds in her flower beds. By the third act there are more corpses than live members left in the cast; and what about the sympathetic nurse and the author of romantic novels – are they all, or more than, they seem to be? All is revealed as the plot twists and turns to its surprising conclusion.
Unitarian Meeting House, Bury St Edmunds
16 to 18 November 2017
Director - Susan Richardson
In a sinister old library presided over by the portrait of a grim-faced, mad-eyed old man, a dusty lawyer reads a will (involving some millions of pounds) to an equally sinister family – one member of which has werewolf tendencies(!), another wanders around in a toga as Julius Caesar; and, a third is a gentle elderly lady who plants more than seeds in her flower beds. By the third act there are more corpses than live members left in the cast; and what about the sympathetic nurse and the author of romantic novels – are they all, or more than, they seem to be? All is revealed as the plot twists and turns to its surprising conclusion.
TARTUFFE
By Moliere
Translation by Maya Slater
5 - 7 October @ Unitarian Meeting House
Director - Maggie Kinnear-King
"The problem is, your father's gone quite mad. We know he's so obsessed with his Tartuffe, he plans to go against the marriage to Valère that was agreed."
One of the most famous comedies by Molière, this play was written and first performed at Versailles for Louis XIV in 1664 before being effectively banned due to its portrayal of Tartuffe as a religious hypocrite.
We first meet the family as Mme. Pernelle dishes out a frank appraisal of the sins of the household and the virtues of Tartuffe whom both she and he son, Orgon, hold at the fount of all knowledge and virtue. When it is then discovered that Orgon is going so far as to break his word so he can marry his daughter to Tartuffe who is attempting to seduce his wife behind his back the family plot to topple the hypocrite from his pedestal but will they succeed?
Translation by Maya Slater
5 - 7 October @ Unitarian Meeting House
Director - Maggie Kinnear-King
"The problem is, your father's gone quite mad. We know he's so obsessed with his Tartuffe, he plans to go against the marriage to Valère that was agreed."
One of the most famous comedies by Molière, this play was written and first performed at Versailles for Louis XIV in 1664 before being effectively banned due to its portrayal of Tartuffe as a religious hypocrite.
We first meet the family as Mme. Pernelle dishes out a frank appraisal of the sins of the household and the virtues of Tartuffe whom both she and he son, Orgon, hold at the fount of all knowledge and virtue. When it is then discovered that Orgon is going so far as to break his word so he can marry his daughter to Tartuffe who is attempting to seduce his wife behind his back the family plot to topple the hypocrite from his pedestal but will they succeed?
2016 - 2017
AS YOU LIKE IT
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By William Shakespeare
29th & 30th June @ Museum of East Anglian Life, Stowmarket 4th - 8th July @ Abbey Gardens, Bury St Edmunds Director - Maggie Kinnear-King "All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players; They have their exits and their entrances; And one man in his time plays many parts, His acts being seven ages". Our 6th 'Shakespeare in the Park' production sets to entertain you with a comic tale exploring a beguiling game of love, lust and mistaken identity. Fleeing to the forest of Arden with her cousin and disguised as 'Ganymede', Rosalind meets her love Orlando, fleeing himself from his jealous brother. Hilarity ensues in the forest as shepherd Silvius suffers unrequited love for Phoebe, who has fallen for ‘Ganymede’, on whom Orlando is practising his wooing skills in order to prove his love to Rosalind... all whilst Touchstone is pursuing the goat-herd Audrey, and morose Jaques is moping about with the exiled Duke Senior and his lords. Will they ever sort the entanglements of who loves who out? |
Arcadia
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By Tom Stoppard
Theatre Royal, Bury St Edmunds 30 May to 3 June 2017 Director - Chris Lines Set across two time periods, Arcadia concerns the relationship between past and present, order and disorder, certainty and uncertainty. Whilst in the present day Hannah and Bernard converge on a Derbyshire county estate, to research events surrounding a mysterious hermit and links to a scandal involving Byron respectively, in the past (1809/1812) we watch those very events unfold as the truth of what happened at the estate all those years ago is slowly revealed. |
tHe Drowning Girls
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by Beth Graham, Charlie Tomlinson & Daneila Vlaskalic
Unitarian Meeting House, Bury St Edmunds 31st March, 1st, 7th-8th & 14th April 2017 Director - Josh Brown The tale of the "Brides in the Bath" from the perspective of George Joseph Smith's 3 wives, a.k.a. his victims. Set in the afterlife, this morbidly funny and sometimes wistful play takes a trip through the minds and memories of Bessie Mundy, Alice Burnham and Margaret Lofty. The play combines fact and fantasy in re-creating the "Brides in the Bath Murders" committed by Smith between 1912 and 1914. How he wooed, married and conned them before drowning them. For this production, BTW were proud to work alongside the Bury St Edmunds Women's Refuge, an organisation that provides safety and support for women and children experiencing Domestic Abuse. |
ANNA KARENINA
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Adapted from Leo Tolstoy's novel by Helen Edmundson
Theatre Royal, Bury St Edmunds 24 - 28 January 2017 Director - Tim Lodge This celebrated and 'exemplary adaptation' (The Times) of Leo Tolstoy's enduring classic is a vibrant and deeply moving meditation on the nature of love. It was originally produced by Shared Experience on tour, winning the Time Out Award for Outstanding Theatrical Event of 1992. 'This was an engrossing evening of theatre which deserved every accolade due.' 'Megan Reynard is an actress of consummate skill and the epitome of the beautiful and admired Anna'. |
MARGE AND JULES & 'john of beverley'
Unitarian Meeting House, Bury St Edmunds
11 & 12 November 2016
Marge and Jules
Visiting company joined BTW in this evening of Medieval drama, with a modern twist.
John of Beverley
BTW's take on a 16th Century show, possibly intended for puppets!
11 & 12 November 2016
Marge and Jules
Visiting company joined BTW in this evening of Medieval drama, with a modern twist.
John of Beverley
BTW's take on a 16th Century show, possibly intended for puppets!
FARNDALE AVENUE TOWNSWOMEN'S GUILD - MURDER AT CHECKMATE MANOR
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by Helen Edmundson
Unitarian Meeting House, Bury St Edmunds 17, 18 & 19 November 2016 Ixworth Village Hall Sapiston & Honington Village Hall Director - Susan Richardson Will everything go 'alright on the night' as the saying goes? Well that's up for debate as the local townswomen's guild put on their latest production. In this farcical tale the scenery seems to either collapse or get stuck, cues are missed, lines are forgotten, and the sound effects take on an ominous note, as the “ladies” present an ambitious evening’s entertainment with the cunning whodunit, Murder At Checkmate Manor. . |
COpenhagen
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by Michael Frayn
Unitarian Meeting House, Bury St Edmunds 30 September plus 1st, 8th and 18th October 2016 Director - John Goldman Premiered at the National Theatre in 1998, the play then went to Broadway and won the Tony award for best play, best direction and best actor. 'Director John Goldman treats the play with a light touch and a gripping pace , the actors pinging about ,like electrons around a nucleus, the circular stage whose floor is painted with the structure of an atom. It is almost a mini master-class of how to direct and act a production in the round.' |
2015 - 2016
Much ado about nothing
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2016 'Shakespeare in the Park'
1 - 2 July 2016 - Outdoors at the Museum of East Anglian Life, Stowmarket 5 - 9 July 2016 - Outdoors at the Abbey Gardens, Bury St Edmunds Director Tim Lodge Love, envy, betrayal and trickery all are found within this Shakespearean tale set in Messina. Witty and determined bachelor Benedick encounters his old flame, the feisty Beatrice who is equally determined never to marry. Will the love that everyone but themselves can see they have for each other ever be requited? Meanwhile the much quieter Claudio falls instantly in love with Beatrice’s milder cousin Hero, and she with him, a far less complicated relationship you would suppose. But this match is not to the liking of the bitter and twisted Don John who plots the downfall of Hero on the occasion of her wedding day and provides a darker side to the plot of one of Shakespeare's most popular comedies. Will we get a happy ending? 'We look forward every year to BTW's outdoor Shakespeare productions and Much Ado didn't disappoint! Can't wait for the next one!' 'Lovely setting, wonderful performances. Great fun. Can't recommend these shows more highly.' |
The ladykillers
by Graham Linehan
Theatre Royal, Bury St Edmunds
June 2016
Director - Chris Lines
A modern stage adaptation of the classic Ealing film of the same name by the writer of highly successful TV comedies such as Father Ted, Black Books and The IT Crowd. The Ladykillers is about an eccentric widow who lets out rooms to what she believes is an amateur string quartet but is actually a gang of crooks planning a sophisticated security van robbery. A delightful if rather dark situation comedy for a summer's evening.
'The Bury Theatre Workshop certainly got their act together for this fast moving and fun production of the good old Ealing comedy. Little time was wasted between acts and there was plenty of encouragement to laugh at the humour throughout.'
'The film is a hard act to follow but this production provided a most entertaining stage version.'
Theatre Royal, Bury St Edmunds
June 2016
Director - Chris Lines
A modern stage adaptation of the classic Ealing film of the same name by the writer of highly successful TV comedies such as Father Ted, Black Books and The IT Crowd. The Ladykillers is about an eccentric widow who lets out rooms to what she believes is an amateur string quartet but is actually a gang of crooks planning a sophisticated security van robbery. A delightful if rather dark situation comedy for a summer's evening.
'The Bury Theatre Workshop certainly got their act together for this fast moving and fun production of the good old Ealing comedy. Little time was wasted between acts and there was plenty of encouragement to laugh at the humour throughout.'
'The film is a hard act to follow but this production provided a most entertaining stage version.'
the sign of four
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by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
UMH, Bury St Edmunds April 2016 Director - Josh Brown |
THE Duchess of malfi
By John Webster
26-30 January 2016 @ Bury St. Edmunds Theatre Royal
Director - Tim Lodge
The young Duchess is widowed and her two brothers are insistent she shall not remarry. But she has already fallen for her steward, Antonio, so they very quickly marry in secret. Years pass and the couple have three children, all unbeknown to the brothers. Because the marriage deprives the brothers of their inheritance, and perhaps for darker, more incestuous reasons, the two are enraged and plot the downfall of both Antonio and the Duchess when they discover the truth. Banishment, imprisonment and increasingly macabre psychological torments follow along with murder.
26-30 January 2016 @ Bury St. Edmunds Theatre Royal
Director - Tim Lodge
The young Duchess is widowed and her two brothers are insistent she shall not remarry. But she has already fallen for her steward, Antonio, so they very quickly marry in secret. Years pass and the couple have three children, all unbeknown to the brothers. Because the marriage deprives the brothers of their inheritance, and perhaps for darker, more incestuous reasons, the two are enraged and plot the downfall of both Antonio and the Duchess when they discover the truth. Banishment, imprisonment and increasingly macabre psychological torments follow along with murder.
Boston Marriage
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By David Mamet 3-5 December 2015 Unitarian Meeting House, Bury St Edmunds Director - Maggie Kinnear-King Set in a late Victorian Boston drawing room of the house where Anna is being kept by a married man, but she prefers the company of women. Claire, Anna's lover, has become infatuated with a much younger woman whom she hopes Anna will help her seduce. Financial and moral scandal ensues, through which Anna forces Claire's loyalty to her. Mamet's play gives us his trademark blunt language and scheming characters, set rather unusually among the Victorian female intellectual set. |
ACCIDENTAL DEATH OF AN ANARCHIST
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by Dario Fo
22-24 October 2015 Unitarian Meeting House, Bury St Edmunds Director – Chris Lines Based on a 1969 incident in which an anarchist railay worker, arrested in connection with a terrorist bombing in Milan, fell to his death from a fourth-storey window at police headquarters during the course of an interrogation, Dario Fo has fashioned a fast-moving, laugh-out-loud exploration of power and corruption by utilising theatrical styles as varied as Commedia dell'arte, slapstick and physical comedy to satirise police corruption. "A riotous farce with a sharp political edge. Accidental Death of an Anarchist is a difficult play to pull off, and the cast did really well in this studio production. They made good use of the venue with a simple but effective set, which worked well. It was a good idea to bring in references to modern political corruption – which shows things have not improved much. I think Dario Fo would very much have approved." |
2014 - 2015
romeo and juliet
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By William Shakespeare
Shakespeare in the Park 2015 7 to 11 July 2015 @ Abbey Gardens, Bury St Edmunds Director – Tim Lodge Shakespeare's wonderful and moving tale of two star-crossed lovers performed to crowds in the atmospheric crypt area against the backdrop of the magnificent medieval cathedral. BTW's fourth outing to the Abbey Gardens, a cast of 17 actors performed to record audiences. A highly acclaimed production in the Elizabethan style. |
HAY FEVER
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By Noel Coward
9 to 13 June 2015 @ Theatre Royal, Bury St Edmunds Director - Chris Lines Hay Fever is a riotous comedy of appalling manners set in the middle of the roaring 20s. '...Totally convincing. And the costumes were stunning...' '...Just to congratulate you on the show! We went in a group on Wednesday night, and all enjoyed it so much....' NODA review here. Ipswich Star review here. TheatreWorld review here |
'sarah' and 'up the pole'
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Sarah by Reg Wright & Up the Pole by Art Tanner
23 to 25 April 2015 @ Unitarian Meeting House Directed by Susan Richardson & Julia Salmon respectively Double bill of plays by members of the Theatre Royal Writers Group. Sarah told the heart rending true story of a girl unjustly hanged for theft in Bury St Edmunds in the late 18th Century. Up the Pole was a darkly absurd comedy examining the ethics of war. 'All involved should be congratulated on providing an interesting and thought provoking evening of theatre' - NODA reviewer. Read the NODA review here |
Dr Faustus
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By Christopher Marlowe
19 - 21 Feb 2015 @ Unitarian Meeting House Director - Tim Lodge Making his BTW debut, Ian McCabe gave a powerful performance in the title role supported by a spectacular Mephistophiles, played by Erin Lacey. The many other parts were played by an ensemble of BTW members. The sinister qualities of this classic Elizabethan play were greatly enjoyed by actors and audience alike. A triumph for BTW that saw the first use of our new lighting system and involved numerous special effects. 'Was this the face that launched a thousand ships...' |
blackadder goes forth
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Blackadder Goes Forth
By Ben Curtis and Richard Elton 13 - 15 November 2014 @ Unitarian Meeting House (formerly CMH) Director - Josh Brown "..an exuberant mash-up of several cherished moments from various episodes of Blackadder Goes Forth." Special praise must go to David Cook, suitably gormless as Pte Baldrick, Stuart McLellan as a bluff and blindly insensitive General Melchett and Tim Lodge, who gave a rip-roaring performance as Squadron Commander Flashheart. Terry Smith had the difficult job of reprising Rowan Atkinson’s central role as Capt Edmund Blackadder and came across as a decent, rational chap with a wry sense of humour. The whole cast gave splendid performances, ... The production raised money for Comic Relief as well as commemorating the Centenary of WWI.' |
the comedy of the virtuous and godly susanna
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By Thomas Garter
23, 24 and 25 October 2014 @ Unitarian Meeting House (formerly CMH) Director - Tim Lodge During the 16th Century this was a well known and much enjoyed story from the Apocryphal book of Daniel. The play employs many medieval elements such as the use of masks, the appearance of supernatural figures like the Devil, the Vice and True Report and it contains a good deal of the sort of bawdy humour, eroticism and comic violence usually associated with theatre of that time. But it also has several moving and eloquent passages reminiscent of some of Shakespeare's works which were of course produced only around 50 years later. 'I really enjoyed the show on Saturday, congratulations to the company on a brilliant production, I think I am a convert to the genre! Great to see good quality costumes as well. I will look forward to Faustus in Feb!' |
2013-2014
WOMAN IN MIND
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By Alan Ayckbourn
15 - 18 July 2014 @ Theatre Royal, Bury St Edmunds Director - Chris Lines Told from the subjective viewpoint of Susan, Ayckbourn's play examines her inner thoughts as reality and fantasy gradually begin to collide after she wakes from hitting her head on a rake. 'We are regular theatre goers in the local area and we all felt that your production was one of the best community theatre productions we have ever seen. In fact I don't really think that term is appropriate because the quality of the production was on a par with many a professional production.' NODA review: click here |
TWELFTH NIGHT
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By William Shakepeare
2014 'Shakespeare Picnic in the Park' 26 - 28 June 2014 @ Abbey Gardens, Bury St Edmunds Director - Tim Lodge Shipwrecked off the coast of Illyria twins Viola and Sebastian have been separated and believe each other dead. Disguises, intrigue, and romantic entanglements ensue as Viola, disguised as a boy falls for her new master, Orsino, whilst his love Olivia falls for Cesario (aka. Viola) and servant Malvolio also hankers after his mistress Olivia. Enter Sebastian who also falls for Olivia who returns his love believing Cesario and Sebastian to be one and the same. Confusing? Well...it'll all turn out okay in the end we hope! In classic Elizabethan style complete with rapier and dagger fight sequences, commedia dell'arte characters, fine acting, live music and singing, Twelfth Night raised the bar on the standards of our outdoor productions in particular. |
being english
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A series of short sketches & a play about life in England today 10 - 12 April 2014 @ Unitarian Meeting House Directors - Various Entertaining and thought provoking insights into modern life dealing with everything from a child pondering on the purpose of CCTV cameras, 2 homeless men discussing Christmas and the worries of parents whose daughter has moved to the 'dangerous' big city. '...That was wonderful! We were both absolutely captivated...' '...just been chortling about Ionesco over breakfast. We loved the whole evening...' '....very charming...' |
PYGMALION
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By George Bernard Shaw
4 to 8 February 2014 @ Theatre Royal, Bury St Edmunds Director - Chris Lines '...barnstorming' performances...' '...fine support...' '....laugh out loud comedy...' 'We have just got back from seeing Saturday Matinee of Pygmalion, it was really really great. We loved everyone in it, especially Eliza, Higgins and Pickering, fantastic. I nearly cried with laughter when Eliza was doing her bit at the tea table re. the gin! All the cast were brilliant, it certainly makes us want to come to see future productions, a very enjoyable afternoon, please give our Congratulations to all the cast.' Click here to download a revue... |
SPEED THE PLOW
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By David Mamet
14 - 16 November 2013 @ Unitarian Meeting House This fast, witty, sexy and exciting play was performed superbly by Tom Houlton, Josh Brown and Josephine Sourial who brought a great deal of laughter and enjoyment to their studio audences with their strong portrayals of Hollywood film producers. The big questions: does art serve a greater purpose, or is it just to entertain? Will Bobby get to sleep with Karen? How quickly will Bobby recover from the punch in the face from Charlie? |
the graduate
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Adapted for stage by Terry Johnson
1 - 5 October 2013 @ Theatre Royal, Bury St Edmunds Director - Chris Lines Mrs Robinson lives in California in the 60s. Benjamin's got excellent grades, very proud parents and, since he helped Mrs Robinson with her zipper, a fine future behind him... Charlie Easdown ('created many a laugh'), Victoria Dry ('full marks ... man-eating skills') and Megan Reynard ('took on the role with great passion') performed brilliantly under Steve Andrew's accomplished direction. Click here for Eastern Daily Press review... (...'skilfully performed'...) ...and here for an 'In Suffolk' review. (...'everyone involved with the group is bursting with ideas'...) |
2012-2013
THE TEMPEST
By William Shakespeare
Shakespeare in the Park 2013
20 - 22 June @ Abbey Gardens, Bury St Edmunds
Director - Tim Lodge
AUDIENCE COMMENT
"We really enjoyed the production last night. The setting was brilliant with some strong cast members. It was a shame there wasn't more support....We will do better next time and publicise it more widely among our friends! Please forward our thanks. David Messer was a very convincing drunk!".
"Brilliant - a wonderful outdoor theatre experience. I can't wait for the next one!"
Shakespeare in the Park 2013
20 - 22 June @ Abbey Gardens, Bury St Edmunds
Director - Tim Lodge
AUDIENCE COMMENT
"We really enjoyed the production last night. The setting was brilliant with some strong cast members. It was a shame there wasn't more support....We will do better next time and publicise it more widely among our friends! Please forward our thanks. David Messer was a very convincing drunk!".
"Brilliant - a wonderful outdoor theatre experience. I can't wait for the next one!"
Dracula
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DRACULA
April 2013 @ Theatre Royal, Bury St Edmunds Director - Chris Lines REVIEWS Performed with confidence by the talented cast... Mark Robinson's (Dracula) excellent stage presence certainly instilled fear... Chris Griffin vividly portrayed the madness of Renfield... You are engrossed in the world of vampires, lust and death. Eastern Daily Press (11th Apr 13) Thrills and chills in equal measure... Retains the darkness and sexiness of the novel... Top drawer performances especially from Megan Reynard, Katie Appadoo and Mark Robinson... A thrilling dark delight. Bury Free Press |
Watermelon
By Wendy Kirk
Specially written for performance by BTW for the 'Freedom from Torture' charity and in collaboration with our friends in the Theatre Royal Writers' Group, this short but powerful piece was performed by our Secretary Susan Richardson and by Josh Brown, one of our young male actors.
Watermelon is set on a university campus in the UK. A young foreign student is struggling with unresolved feelings of guilt and anger arising from the fact that his brother has been tortured and he has taken no action. A mature student of human rights whose son, a soldier, has recently been posted to a war zone, is living with fear for her son and struggling to focus on her studies or imagine a future post motherhood. Their accidental meeting has cathartic results for them both.
This production, along with Martin Pennock's 'Hands of Hope', raised £2347.13 for the Freedom from Torture charity. On May 25th the play was also performed at the Haverhill Festival, a competition of one-act plays that BTW intends to enter every year from now on. Susan was nominated for 'Best Actress' in the competition.
Specially written for performance by BTW for the 'Freedom from Torture' charity and in collaboration with our friends in the Theatre Royal Writers' Group, this short but powerful piece was performed by our Secretary Susan Richardson and by Josh Brown, one of our young male actors.
Watermelon is set on a university campus in the UK. A young foreign student is struggling with unresolved feelings of guilt and anger arising from the fact that his brother has been tortured and he has taken no action. A mature student of human rights whose son, a soldier, has recently been posted to a war zone, is living with fear for her son and struggling to focus on her studies or imagine a future post motherhood. Their accidental meeting has cathartic results for them both.
This production, along with Martin Pennock's 'Hands of Hope', raised £2347.13 for the Freedom from Torture charity. On May 25th the play was also performed at the Haverhill Festival, a competition of one-act plays that BTW intends to enter every year from now on. Susan was nominated for 'Best Actress' in the competition.
Lettice & Lovage
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By Peter Shaffer
November 2012 Athenaeum, Bury St Edmunds, The plot centres on the friendship that develops between a charismatic tour guide who relishes an opportunity to elaborate the ordinary, and the apparently stern and dour official who is drawn - as are we, the audience - into her world of fantastical possibilities. |
American Dream
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By Edward Albee
November 2012 United Reform Church, Whiting Street, Bury St Edmunds An early play by one of America’s most important playwrights. Mommy and Daddy had a child but as it began to express its individuality they cut off all its parts and it died. Into the house strays a beautiful young man – an American dream. With this one-act absurdist comedy Albee drags laughter from us as eighteenth century voyeurs laughed at caged bedlamites. |
Do you know what I mean?
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By John Goldman
November 2012 United Reform Church, Whiting Street, Bury St Edmunds Is this a comedy or a tragedy? Bags, Mervyn and Big Al think they know. When we’re sure we know – we sometimes find we don’t . ‘Do you know what I mean? John Goldman, local writer and chair of the Theatre Royal Writers’ Group, ‘doesn’t know what anything ‘IS’, actually ‘IS’, and wrote a play proving it! |
2011 - 2012
A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM
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By William Shakespeare
Shakespeare in the Park 2012 June 2012 @ Abbey Gardens, Bury St Edmunds, Director - Tim Lodge This famous and most popular of Shakespeare’s plays features a celebration of the wedding of Duke Theseus of Athens and the Amazon queen, Hippolyta, set simultaneously in the woodland and in the realm of Fairyland, under the light of the moon. So... we set it in the round in the Abbey Gardens’ tennis courts with punk Fairies, hip-hopping Mechanicals and some very posh Mortals. |
