Nottingham Playhouse - Drama Events

Court in the Act!

Thu, 07 Jul 2011 13:42:00 +0000

Live theatre at its liveliest with six intrepid improvisers ready to entertain.

Wednesday 1 - Saturday 4 February 8:00pm

Tickets: £6 - £12.50

Duration: 2 Hours

Reviews: rv. Highly entertaining evening ,rn. Nottingham Post , ,rv. It's so fast and furious, it's almost exhausting...any show that makes a Tuesday evening feel like a Friday night has to be a potential group outing! ,rn. What's On , ,rv. It's the most fun any of us are likely to have in court anytime soon... ,rn. Left Lion , ,rv. A fast-moving courtroom farce with enough one-liners and inventive changes to keep the show upbeat to the end. ,rn. The Stage

Following sold out performances as part the neat11 Festival, Court in the Act! is back in Nottingham by overwhelming popular demand. This is live theatre at its liveliest – and funniest.

Six intrepid improvisers create a completely mad court case before your eyes featuring you – The Jury!

With guest Pippa Evans from the BBC2 comedy improvisation show Fast and Loose.

Court in the Act! Children’s matinee: Saturday 4 February 2.30pm
And, not to be left out, will Harry Potter, Peppa Pig or Ben 10 make the witness box for our special children’s matinee on Saturday?

Sponsored by:

Shakespeare's Villains

Mon, 14 Nov 2011 15:50:54 +0000

One again Steven Berkoff holds the stage alone - this time with his exploration and analysis of Shakespeare's most villainous characters.

Tuesday 7 February 7:45pm

Tickets: £20, Concessions £17.50, Under 26's, Bargain Seats and Groups 8+ £12

Production Company: Steven Berkoff's East Productions presents

Cast: Steven Berkoff

One again Steven Berkoff holds the stage alone – this time with his exploration and analysis of Shakespeare’s most villainous characters: Iago, the Macbeths, Shylock, Richard III…

Characters who are inherently evil, others whose situation leads them to evil deeds, others at the mercy of an evil society. Incisive insights into the psyche give way to Shakepeare’s own words which explode into the audotorium from one of the UK’s most formidable and maverick talents.

Little Bo Peep

Wed, 16 Nov 2011 10:00:00 +0000

Sing along to all your favourite nursery rhymes in this beautiful play from Sea Legs Puppets who are back by popular demand.

Saturday 11 February 11am, 1pm and 3pm

Tickets: £6 Adults, £5 Children

Production Company: Sea Legs Puppets presents

Age Rating: 2-7years

Little Bo Peep has lost her sheep and doesn’t know where to find them. Little Boy Blue is doing his best to find the woolly runaways, but he keeps falling asleep! Sing along to all your favourite nursery rhymes in this beautiful play from Sea Legs Puppets who are back by popular demand after enchanting audiences with The Ugly Duckling in 2011.

Forever Young

Thu, 07 Jul 2011 14:57:43 +0000

The theatrical saga section is back by popular demand – this is your LAST CHANCE to see what all the fuss is about!

Wednesday 29 February - Saturday 10 March

Tickets: £20 (concessions £18) Groups 8+ £16, Bargain Seats £10

Reviews: rv. Outstanding...a must-must see ,rn. Nottingham Post , ,rv. Goes down a storm ,rn. The Guardian , ,rv. Saw it last year and again tonight, it just gets better. Simply fantastic. ,rn. Audience Member

Following two phenonmenal runs, the smash-hit musical comedy is back by popular demand for the VERY LAST TIME.

Set in a nursing home for actors, a group of aged panto performers are determined to prove that it’s not all behind them with a host of classic routines, surprisingly athletic dancing and a rousing rock ‘n’ roll sing-along.

From Nirvana to Tom Jones, Aqua to Bob Dylan, Aretha Franklin to Gloria Gaynor, nothing is off vocal limits. Mix in some slapstick, magic, Shakespeare, dance routines and a finale that will bring you to your feet and you have all the ingredients for a fantastic night out.

Sponsored by:

CAST AND CREATIVE

Mr Jardine – Mark Jardine
Mr Powell – Marcus Powell
Mr Elkington – John Elkington
Ms Little – Rebecca Little
Ms Storey – Claire Storey
Mr Bednarczyk – Stefan Bednarczyk

Author – Erik Gedeon
Director – Giles Croft
Designer – Claire Thompson
Lighting Designer – Nick Morris
Sound Designer – Drew Baumohl
MD – Stefan Bednarczyk
Choreographer – Adele Parry

Romeo and Juliet

Tue, 20 Sep 2011 16:00:00 +0000

A hot-blooded, deeply moving new production of the world’s greatest love story.

Tuesday 13 - Saturday 24 March

Tickets £7.50 - £26.50 (Previews £7.50 - £10, Matinees £7.50 - £12

Production Company: Nottingham Playhouse Theatre Company in co-production with Headlong Theatre and The Nuffield Southampton present

Two households. Five days. A whirlwind romance.

These violent delights have violent ends
And in their triumph die – like fire and powder
Which, as they kiss, consume.

In the heat of Verona’s streets, two young people will risk everything to be together.

This hot-blooded, deeply moving new production of the world’s greatest love story is an explosive collision of youth with age, sex with death and love with tragedy.

Young love. Accidents will happen.

Headlong Theatre’s recent productions include A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Earthquakes in London, ENRON, 6 Characters in Search of an Author and Decade.

In association wih Hull Truck Theatre.

Please note this production contains brief, partial nudity in one scene, and strong (Shakespearean) language.

CAST AND CREATIVE

Juliet – Catrin Stewart
Romeo – Daniel Boyd

Director – Robert Icke
Set and Costume Design – Helen Goddard
Lighting – Johanna Town
Music and Sound – Tom Gibbons

Reasons to be Cheerful

Wed, 16 Nov 2011 10:00:00 +0000

Part gig, part play, this acclaimed coming-of-age tale features Ian Dury and the Blockhead's greatest hits.

Tuesday 3 - Saturday 7 April, 8pm

Tickets: £15 (Concessions £12.50), Under 26s, Bargain Seats & Groups 8+ £10

Author: Paul Sirett, music by Ian Dury

Reviews: rv. It’s always engaging. And in those moments when the story, the rock 'n' roll mentality and the music come together, it's unstoppable. , ,rn. The Times *** , ,rv. The Musical is a Graeae Theatre Company triumph. The BBC-banned Spasticus Autisticus is joyfully defiant. , ,rn. The Guardian *** , ,rv. It’s got a heart of gold and with an excellent band, it’s a must for die-hard Dury fans. , ,rn. Daily Mail ***

It’s 1979: Labour loses to the Tories, strikes rock the nation and Ian Dury and the Blockheads’ Reasons to be Cheerful (Part 3) climbs the charts. As the ultimate fans, Vinnie and his mates would do anything to see Dury at the Hammersmith Odeon, only the gig is sold out. But life has a habit of throwing strange things at you, and one night of frustration becomes something else entirely…

Part gig, part play, this acclaimed coming-of-age tale directed by Graeae’s Jenny Sealey and featuring Ian Dury and the Blockhead’s greatest hits will fill Nottingham Playhouse with raucous glee. ‘Ave it!

Graeae is the UK’s leading disability theatre company. They champion accessibility and provide a platform for new generations of Deaf and disabled talent.

All performances include captioned dialogue, BSL-interpreted songs and audio description. For best access to the captioning screen, deaf and hard-of-hearing patrons are advised NOT to book seats in the first five rows of stalls seating or at the extreme sides of the auditorium. Please book stalls tickets in Row F or further back. Patrons wishing to access the audio description are encouraged to arrive at the theatre one half-hour ahead of time to pick up headsets, explore the set model box and listen to the audio introduction before the performance.

Woyzeck

Wed, 16 Nov 2011 10:00:00 +0000

Following on the success of last year’s The Trial, Nottingham Playhouse Youth theatre perform this influential German play in their trademark physical style.

Thursday 12 - Saturday 14 April 7.45pm

£5 ( Concessions & Under 26s £4)

Production Company: Nottingham Playhouse Youth Theatre presents

Author: Georg Büchner, in a new adaptation by Robin Kingsland

Following on the success of last year’s The Trial, Nottingham Playhouse Youth theatre perform this influential German play in their trademark physical style.

Woyzeck tells the nightmarish tale of a poor soldier who is forced to sell his body for scientific experiments to support his beloved wife and child. When is wife is distracted by another man, Woyzeck driven to madness by the daily humiliations of his life, commits the ultimate crime.

Rarely performed by youth theatre groups, this production, directed by Sarah Stephenson, will be a visual and contemporary exploration of the 1836 classic.

Mary Shelley

Wed, 16 Nov 2011 10:00:00 +0000

The award-winning Shared Experience explore Mary Shelley's remarkable life in this bold and thrilling new play.

Tuesday 17 April - Saturday 5 May

Tickets: £7.50 - £26.50

Production Company: Nottingham Playhouse Theatre Company in a co-production with Shared Experience and West Yorkshire Playhouse presents

Author: Helen Edmundson

Daughter of Mary Wollstonecraft.
Lover of Percy Bysshe Shelley.
Author of Frankenstein…

This new play explores Mary Shelley’s remarkable life – from her controversial philosopher father, and her scandalous elopement, to how at the age of 19 she wrote one of the greatest stories ever told, so radical in its ideology, it changed the literary landscape forever.

Shared Experience is renowned for bringing literary classics to the stage in bold, imaginative ways including successful previous co-productions, The Caucasian Chalk Circle, _War and Peace and A Passage to India. For this new play they reunite with award-winning writer Helen Edmundson whose ground breaking adaptations include War and Peace , Coram Boy and Swallows and Amazons

CAST AND CREATIVE

Director – Polly Teale
Designer – Naomi Dawson
Composer – Peter Salem
Movement Director – Liz Ranken

There will be an A/S Level Masterclass on Thursday 26 April, 4.30pm in the Auditorium. Places are free but you need to reserve your place by calling the Box Office on 0115 941 9419.

Our Style is Legendary

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 18:23:48 +0000

Tuesday 1 - Saturday 5 May, 8pm

£9 (£6 Concessions)

Production Company: Hard Graft Theatre Company in association with Nottingham Playhouse presents

Director: Laura Farnworth

Cast: James Hooton (Sam Dingle, Emmerdale) ,Kent Riley (Zak Ramsey, Hollyoaks)

Author: Daniel Hoffmann-Gill

Reviews: rv. Fragile, vulnerable and innocent coming of age ,rn. Whatsonstage.com , ,rv. Crisply evocative of a time and place ,rn. Time Out ,

Our Style is Legendary is a dark comedy about growing up in 1980s Nottingham, which now comes home to the Playhouse following a successful run in the West End.

It’s a story about a coming-of-age friendship that is hewn from the reality of the estate, the waste grounds, the car parks, the boarded up shops and empty community centres: sparse but passionate, funny but cruel. A story of boys becoming young men and struggling to escape the background they’re born into: railing against the poverty and the emptiness around them and turning to each other.

Written by Daniel Hoffman-Gill, who was born and bred in Nottingham, and starring Nottingham’s own James Hooton, Kent Riley and a whole bunch of other fantastic actors who know the difference between Sneinton and Bakersfield. So get ya’ sen down there, ya’ get meh duck?

Designer Rich White
Lighting Designer Andy Furby

Sponsored by:

Saturday Night and Sunday Morning

Thu, 11 Aug 2011 10:32:00 +0000

This new musical, based on the acclaimed novel by Nottingham author Alan Sillitoe, brings Arthur Seaton to life like never before.

Tuesday 8 - Saturday 12 May 2012

Tickets: £12 - £18

Age Rating: Suitable for ages 12+

Musicworks present the World Premiere of Saturday Night and Sunday Morning

This new musical, based on the acclaimed novel by Nottingham author Alan Sillitoe, brings Arthur Seaton to life like never before.

Saturday Night and Sunday Morning is the story of a young man’s awakening in the late 1950’s in working class Nottingham. He works at the Raleigh factory by day earning enough money for his weekends of drinking, womanising and fishing. Any woman is fair game to Arthur and he happily flits from one to another, but has he pushed his luck once too often?

Commissioned, written and performed by Nottingham people for the people of Nottingham.

Book and lyrics by Catherine Spoors, Music and additional lyrics by Stephen Williams.

Contains some strong language and adult content.

This event is an independent private hire of Nottingham Playhouse.

Roots

Wed, 16 Nov 2011 10:00:00 +0000

Following the huge sucess of The Kitchen at the National Theatre and our acclaimed productions of Chicken Soup With Barley, Roots marks Arnold Wesker's 80th birthday year.

Wednesday 23 May - Saturday 2 June

Tickets: £7.50 - £26.50 (Matinees £7.50 - £12)

Production Company: Nottingham Playhouse Theatre Company in a co-production with the Mercury Theatre Colchester present

Author: Arnold Wesker

1959. Norfolk. Beatie Byrant returns home from London. She has fallen in love with Ronnie and passionately believes she has escaped her rural roots through the love and education of a good man.

As her family anticipate Ronnie’s arrival, Beatie talks about London and her new-found ideals, but they’re Ronnie’s words, not hers. Will she ever find a voice of her own?

Following the huge sucess of The Kitchen at the National Theatre and our acclaimed productions of Chicken Soup With Barley , Roots marks Wesker’s 80th birthday year

CAST AND CREATIVE

Director – Andrew Breakwell