THEATRE PROGRAMME

Four women, two plays, fusing love, loss, lust and life!

Prelude and Fugue by Clifford Bax (Love and Loss) is set in the 1950s and reflects the musical interlude ‘Prelude and Fugue’ by Johann Sebastian Bach telling the story of Rosemary who, a week before her wedding, is having her likeness drawn in charcoal by Joan. As Joan sketches, the two women discover a dark secret shared by them both.

Square Pegs by Clifford Bax (Lust and Life) is a thought provoking farcical romp about lust and life. Hilda, a passionate young girl from the 20th Century longs for an equally passionate lover, but Henry has eyes only for his car! Gioconda, a practical girl of 16th Century Venice longs for a lover without the raw and radical passion of her time. They meet at ‘Merlin’s Gate’ where disappointed lovers can turn ‘The Book of Time’ and move within some other age.

This inspiring true story of football’s greatest ever underdogs is set in the early years of Association Football, following a ragtag bunch of Lancashire mill workers who defied all odds to become the first working-class team in the country to play in the FA Cup.

Left tired and despondent from the cotton famine of the 1870s, this small group of northern lads found pride and hope in a game that up until then had been reserved for the upper classes. Darwen FC rose up against prevailing social prejudice and the might of the Football Association, to earn a place in history as the first real ‘giant-killers’ in English football, and take on the “poshest team of all” – The Old Etonians.

Scoring a massive moral victory for all working class people, the team proved that passion and spirit is worth more than wealth and privilege. When the battlefield is the football pitch, everyone is equal. An absorbing, heartfelt story of a town that came together to achieve the impossible and win the respect of the nation. A rip-roaring evening out, whether you know the off-side rule or not!

1636. Lancaster Castle - The Witches' Tower. You are imprisoned, awaiting trial, crammed into a cell with a solitary woman who has been here for years. She tells you the story that led to her being imprisoned, beginning at a Witchcraft Trial, twenty-four years previously.

But she was not the accused. In 1612, she was nine, and a witness for the prosecution against the Witches Of Pendle, including her own brother, sister, and mother. In this story, the infamous Jennet Device tells her version of the events which led to the hanging of ten people - impossible, had it not been for her testimony - and how her fortunes have fared since.

Performed by Lexi Wolfe, who excelled in the classy “Mrs Oscar Wilde” last December.

'Laughter is the best medicine in the world'. So with this in mind, theCompany will be sharing their prescription - an evening of smiles, chuckles, giggles and guffaws - a whole night of laughter.

Seventeen talented actors present examples of the many genres of comedy that have been enjoyed through the ages - performing pieces written by legends such as Noel Coward, Victoria Wood, Alan Bennett, Rossini, Congreve, Wesker, Stoppard, Lewis Carroll, Shakespeare and Willy Russell.

Something for everyone and definitely an evening with a happy ending. LOL

EXHIBITION ON SCREEN journeys from the streets of Paris to the heart of a superb exhibition at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, whose extensive collection of Degas’ works is the most representative in Britain. With exclusive access to view rare and diverse works, this film tells a fascinating story of Degas’ pursuit for perfection through both experimentation with new techniques and lessons learnt from studying the past masters.

Sometimes frustrated by his own failings, Degas was consumed by obsessive principles and failing eye sight but his determination to capture everyday life was evident in every mark he made. Never fully satisfied, many of Degas’ drawings and sculptures were kept in private during his lifetime but, now through close examination, they can be seen as some of the most beautifully detailed and expressive works in the modern era. Using written accounts by friends and commentators, and the narration of letters written by Degas himself, this film reveals a more complex truth behind one of the most influential French artists of the late 19th-century and serves as an exploration of the complex workings of Degas’ artistic mind.

In Edinburgh, between 1827 and 1828, science and murder cling together in a dance of death. Sixteen people are slaughtered by Burke and Hare and the Devil and all his works prowls the streets of 'Auld Reekie'. Dr Robert Knox, scientist, doctor and anatomist supreme, waits in Surgeons Square to buy bodies for the sake of advancing medical knowledge. His door is chapped, a body is delivered, money is paid and no questions are asked. A trail of terror leads from West Port to the dissection table of Robert Knox. Murder will out and a price must be paid, even by the anatomist supreme. Doctor Knox will have to pay that price.

Commissioned by The Royal College of Surgeons as part of the celebrations for the re-opening of the Surgeons' Hall Museum.

Dickens' Mystical Christmas Fable brought to life - A Perfect Christmas Treat!

Olivier Award winner, Guy Masterson, veteran of many hit solo works such as Under Milk Wood, Animal Farm and Shylock, now brings us Dickens' classic festive fable. Famed for bringing multiple characters to vivid life, Masterson recreates Scrooge, Marley, the Fezziwigs, Tiny Tim, et al, in an enchanting, performance that will dazzle and linger long in the memory. Guaranteed to get you into the Christmas Spirit - in many more ways than one!

"Masterson's production is an understated warning and a celebration of the hope for human kind. In short, it is A Christmas Carol for our time."” (Public Review - 27/11/17)

Just when you thought you'd seen enough Christmas Carols to guide you to your grave, along comes one of the best yet! (BBC Radio 01/12/17)

This production transfers from Staveley following performances there in December.

The children are played by adults in this warm, witty and funny play, directed by Fliss Pocock. Mrs Horrocks' class of seven year olds are about to perform their nativity play at Flint Street Junior School for the proud mums and dads – and the occasional social worker. Squabbles arise when Gabriel wants to play Mary, the Star grumbles he's not a proper star like they have at NASA, Herod won't stop waving to his mum and dad and the subversive Innkeeper is determined to liven up the traditional script. And then the stick insect escapes……..