What's On

Tom Stoppard

First performed at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 1966, Rosencrantz & Guildenstern are Dead cemented Sir Tom Stoppard’s reputation as one of Britain’s finest comedy playwrights.
This is a retelling of Shakespeare’s Hamlet with two very crucial differences. Firstly, it is told from the point of view of two minor characters, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, who pop up briefly and periodically in Shakespeare’s play to advance the plot. Secondly, Stoppard has taken what is arguably Shakespeare’s most grim tragedy, full of death, madness, jealousy and rage and turned it into a comedy!

Whilst struggling to understand where they are, what they are doing and even which one is Rosencrantz and which Guildenstern, the story unfolds. We meet a disreputable raggle-taggle troupe of musical Tragedians and their enigmatic and bawdy leader, the original cast of Hamlet, including: the wicked usurping Uncle Claudius; Hamlet’s amoral and conflicted mother, Gertrude; the tragic weeping Ophelia; and the counterfeiting Hamlet himself.
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, aided and abetted by the Tragedians, and betrayed by Hamlet, grapple with the increasingly absurd plot as they journey towards their inescapable fate.

It is, by turns, riotously funny, deeply disturbing and heartbreakingly sad, and remains as fresh and relevant today as when it was first unleashed on an unsuspecting and bemused public!

Live Wire & Roughhouse Theatre Companies present
Jane Eyre: an autobiography

In the face of the isolation and abandonment of a loveless childhood, Jane Eyre refuses to bend to the will of her abusers. But does she achieve the independence and equality that she craves, and does her resistance change anything?

Hailed as a “brilliantly engaging piece of drama” and “a theatrical tour de force”, Live Wire and Roughhouse Theatres’ inventive exploration of the status of women in society make this critically acclaimed dramatisation as relevant today as Charlotte  Bronte’s original novel was 178 years ago.

“Here is a company of technical brilliance, with a rare gift for bringing classics to life with loyalty, energy and intrigue.” FEMALE ARTS 

“This is the way to introduce recalcitrant students of literature to the classics and in particular the Victorian novel.”  BRITISH THEATRE GUIDE

The Innocents (1961)

Do the dead ever return to possess the living?
Jack Clayton’s classic horror film from 1961 was based on Henry James’ The Turn of the Screw. This chilling, atmospheric classic was beautifully photographed in gothic black and white. Deborah Kerr stars as a young governess of two children who becomes convinced that the house and grounds are haunted. Lauded as one of the best British horror films ever made - this psychological masterpiece has no blood or gore -  and is spine-tinglingly perfect for an autumn evening. 

Cert: 12A

The Italian Job (1969)

“You were only supposed to blow the bloody doors off.” 
Michael Caine stars in this classic 1960s heist movie. Noel Coward masterminds the operation from his prison cell and the film features a spectacular Mini car chase through Turin. 

Cert: PG

Hexagon Theatre Company presents 

Terry Pratchett’s Mort,
adapted for the stage by Stephen Briggs 

Death comes to us all. When he came to Mort, he offered him a job. 

When Death takes a break, his apprentice Mort gets into trouble when he interferes with 
destiny to rescue a princess. His attempts to save the Discworld from disaster involve 
Death’s daughter, a bunch of rubbish wizards, a flying horse, and an ancient mage, as well 
as the disgruntled dead (or maybe not dead) princess. Can Death himself save the day or 
is he too busy learning the conga and making fry-ups? 

Expect magic, mayhem and some strobe lighting.

This is a performance by an amateur company
"Terry Pratchett" and "Discworld" are registered trademarks. 

Join the great Victorian novelist Charles Dickens as he brings to life one of the most famous ghost stories of all time. A tale of revenants and redemption, hauntings and humbug, seasonal spooks and sentiment.

Award-winning actor and writer Jonathan Goodwin performs as Dickens in this one-man performance, co-directed by Goodwin and Gary Archer.

It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)

In this Christmastime feel-good favourite James Stewart plays a man beset with many personal problems and on the verge of suicide. An angel intercedes and shows him what his hometown would be like without him.

Cert: U

‘What do you know of the west of England?’
‘But surely that's a myth!’
‘I assure you, Mr Winchester, it is very real.’

Embark on this hilarious Victorian ghost story of a witless young man and a cast of eerie locals, with curses, skulls and Shin kicking. 

An old man languishing in his stately home awaits the arrival of his solicitor to share a tale of golden days... Oh, and the Butler is on fire. Journalist Thomas Carstairs is absolutely hopeless. He's foppish, foolish and above all totally unqualified to be a writer. Looking for inspiration, Thomas travels to a remote seaside town and immediately has an unceremonious welcome from the locals who see him for the pathetic, talentless toff he undoubtedly is. 

What starts as an innocent writing retreat leads to the discovery of a wizened and mysterious skull of terrifying origins. One that has the power to bring Thomas’ wildest fortunes into being and awaken a formidable foe… An armoured one.

Created by Bonnet Dog, ‘A Knight of Terror’ is a Victorian Gothic Ghost Story that mixes the uncanny tales of M. R. James with the silliness of classic British humour. Join us as we recite this ripping yarn that promises laughs as well as chilling spooks.

Bonnet Dog are Will Jones, Joe Brooks and George Jacobs, based in Weston-super-Mare. Frequent performers of weird in ‘From the Mud Cabaret’. Their other shows have included ‘Bad Things’, ' Making Plans for Hugo’ and ‘Fishing in Puddles’
 
Devised by Will Jones & Joe Brooks
Directed by George Jacobs
Photos by Adam Leppard
Knight Design by Erin Williamson