BACKWELL PLAYHOUSE

COMING SOON -<= i>

MUCH ADO ABOUT CLUBBING

This comic generally light-hearted musical is pl= ayed out over the course of an evening at a nightclub. Everyone’s there, a= ll with different motives. It is a night full of twists, melodramas and gender swaps, there are also those for whom the club is a sanctuary. Monologues and duologues reveal slices of lives these individuals want to leave outside. T= hus elements of pathos counterbalance the fun and the froth.<= /p>

BACKWELL FOLK NIGHT

For one night only our very own GP will entertai= n us in person – and if that’s not quite enough incitement to book he will introduce another class act – Colvin Quarmby of whom it has been said:

"Colvin Quarmby are one of the most entertaining and professional acts in the UK. Offering a diversity in musical styles and featuring four excellent musicia= ns, Colvin Quarmby have that extra magic w= hich separates them from the merely excellent, they are outstanding. Gerry Colvin has written some great songs and he delivers them with an effervesce= nce and vitality that immediately wins over audience.”<= /i>

Last year this was a very happy event so come al= ong for a local night of folksy charm.

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TALES OF MIRTH & MAYHEM

St Paul’s Players, this Bristol based amateur group, will be attempting to prove that their 2006 production at the Playhouse was merely a blip on an otherwise adequate record.

The show begins with “Fool’s Errand”, an intriguing ta= le of folly, greed, and treachery. Then an interlude entitled “A Septet of Cautionary = Tales”, where they present selected poems from “When We Were Very Young&#= 8221; and “Now We Are Six” by the much-loved A. A. Milne. Th= ere will then be an interval, after which they present “The Double Dealers”,= their second play by Margaret Wood; lighter in tone than “Fool’s Errand”, it is an amusing tale of dec= eption, infidelity and cunning.

WHAT’S ON = in Spring 2007

- Put it in your Diary -

=

21^st-24= ^th March “MUCH ADO ABOUT CLUBBING” A comic musical by the Playhouse Youth Group 7.= 30pm Tickets : £8.00 (£7.00 conc)

Box Office : Mollie - = Tel : 0117 9641723

Sat 7^th= April "BACKWELL FOLK NIGHT" 8.00pm An evening of= Folk Music organised by Dave Cox T= ickets £7.50    =

Box Office : Surgery, = West Town Rd, Backwell.

=

19= ^th-21^stAp.TALES OF MIRTH & MAYHEM”

An eveni= ng of entertainment by St. Paul’s Players 7.30pm    Tickets £6 (£5 concessions). Also available: Family tickets (1 adult an= d 3 children, or 2 adults and 2 children) £5 per person. Group tickets (p= arty of 10 or more coming to the same performance, booked as a group and paid by= one person) £5 per person. For tickets or fu= rther information please visit www.stpaulsplayers.org.uk

or ring box office on 0117 9826020.

23= ^rd-26^th May – “HABEAS CORPUS”

A play by Alan Bennett performed by the Playhou= se Theatre Company

7.30pm    Tickets £8.00 (M= embers £7.00)

Box Offi= ce : Mollie - Tel : 0117 9641723

        &= nbsp;   Or Ruth & Alan – Tel : 01275 462621

26^th–28= ^th July - BACKWELL DRAMA CLUB

BDC present a comedy revue based upon songs and humour of the 1940/50’s.<= o:p>

Tickets & Box Office : TBA

HABEAS CORPUS

Set in and around the The Wicksteeds house in Ho= ve, there in a satirical merry-go-round, we meet a family, its friends and acquaintances for whom the determination to put sex and the satisfaction of= the body [or corpus] before anything else is the ruling passion of their lives. Permissive society is taken to task in this farcical comedy in which the characters move, and indeed dance, in and out through a maze of mistaken identities and sexual encounters. As Wicksteed says, ’He whose lust lasts, lasts longest’.

PLAYHOUSE= BUILDING WORKS

Your Committee is in t= he process of making decisions on the next phase of refurbishing the Theatre Complex. The next issue will give more information, in the meantime if you = have any views on things needing to be done, please contact a committee member or the Secretary, Ian Forsyth.

REVIEW - WILD, WILD WOMEN<= /p>
What a fantastic show – the enthusiasm of = the actors to put their all into each of the many parts was overwhelming. This “Western” was a riot from beginning to end, with a punchy presentation of the little known music with simple lyrics, which quickly ca= ught on with the audience in their encouraged participation.
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Alison Riddiford, who played the leading lady Al= ice, had only stepped into the main part 2½ weeks before when the original actress was taken ill. She stole the show with her delightful personality a= nd rendition of the many songs. Julie Houghton was excellent as the French “Madam” maintaining her accent well throughout. Doug Riddiford = and John Jones had the male leads as the Judge and Sheriff respectively and accomplished their roles with considerable drive. Mollie Milton made the most of the comedy in h= er brief appearance as the Nun, Sister Priscilla, getting strong waves of laug= hter from the whole auditorium. Many youngsters were included in the cast portra= ying individual cameo roles brilliantly, however Danny Rose Forey stood out for = her acting in the part of Myrtle McLaird with her wild reluctance to give up sex for the good of the community (Will she ever live that down?)

Terry Milton is to be applauded for having the n= erve to choose and direct a largely unknown musical, which suited his group of actors admirably.     &= nbsp;           &nbs= p;            &= nbsp;    Peter Lamb

REVIEW - GIRLFRIENDS

How do you review this superb production staged = in February? Firstly let’s remind ourselves of the excellence of Ship &a= mp; Castle’s productions. The set was up to their usual standard evoking = the period and place in which the action was set – a WRAF station in WW2 – and revolved to show the outside and inside of their huts; the ligh= ting and sound were unobtrusive but added greatly to the atmosphere; to this untrained eye the costumes looked authentic; the music from the 5 piece orchestra hidden behind the set was first rate; the acting and singing from= the large cast was exceptional in volume, clarity, and emotional content; and let’s not forget the slick timing of the valiant band of scenery shifters. The show was directed by Les Mountford, who brought together this remarkable ensemble; and his box office team sold out every performance.

The set had to be erected on one day – the Wednesday of show week – as the in-house group rehearse on a Monday &= amp; Tuesday evening every week. This may account for the fact that the set look= ed a little wobbly during the scene changes. A fantastic construction job, howev= er, which called for considerable organisation to achieve the result they did within the time scale. It may have been better to have devised a simpler se= t in view of the constraints.

The orchestra was behind the set, and many patro= ns may not even have realized it was there. Whilst it may have been rather odd to = have the orchestra visible on such a small stage it would have added to audience interest.

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Apparently Howard Goodall is not keen on the sho= w. His many successes include music for Blackadder, Red Dwarf, Thin Blue Line etc = and perhaps he wrote this to balance his repertoire with a little dark relief. = It ran for only a month in the West End and= has rarely been performed since. One can understand why. The lack of colour mad= e it rather drab, and the music chimed with the same feeling. The story seemed to progress very little and lacked drama. It was excellent for giving the many characters good songs to belt out and they took full advantage.<= /span>

So there we are, three small negatives after an enjoyable and bracing night at the theatre. Congratulations to Les Mountford and his team.      = ;            &n= bsp;                  &= nbsp;           &nbs= p;   John Upward

WEB SITE

If you w= ish to keep in touch in between our newsletters refer to our web site :- www.backwellplayhouse.co.uk

NEXT EDITION :

If you have something interesting to say about the Playhouse Theatre, have articles about the the= atre generally or have theatrical anecdotes – contact Peter Lamb at 01275 463160.

NEWSLETTER

&n= bsp; = ; Arts, Drama & Culture in Backwell

No.10 &n= bsp; = ; &n= bsp; = ; &n= bsp; = ; &n= bsp; = ; &n= bsp; = March 2007

WHAT’S ON = in Spring 2007

- Put it in your Diary -

21^st-24= ^th March “MUCH ADO ABOUT CLUBBING” A comic musical by the Playhouse Youth Group 7.= 30pm Tickets : £8.00 (£7.00 conc)

Box Office : Mollie - = Tel : 0117 9641723

Sat 7^th= April "BACKWELL FOLK NIGHT" 8.00pm An evening of= Folk Music organised by Dave Cox T= ickets £7.50 =

Box Office : Surgery, = West Town Rd, Backwell.

A play by Alan Bennett performed by the Playhou= se Theatre Company

7.30pm Tickets £8.00 (M= embers £7.00)