- May 2011
"Here’s much to do with hate, but more with love."
Verona. 1948. The war is over. There’s a fight in the streets.
Some of the finest actors, technicians and creative forces from within Cambridge University Amateur Dramatic Club bring the agony and the ecstasy of the greatest love story of all time to the stage of the ADC Theatre in this year's fresh, visual and visceral Easter Term Shakespeare.
Beneath a world of bright lights, riches and romance lies an anarchic subculture of mafia warfare. The rival families of Montague and Capulet infect the streets with bloody violence. In a chance encounter, two young people fall in love.
Inspired by the films of Coppola, Pasolini and Fellini, the action will be set against a bleak Italian midwinter, flick-knives replace swords and the men wear sharp Italian suits. In the style of 'Sin City', black, white and red dominate the stage.
- April 2011
After a successful run at the ADC 'Pornography' was selected for NSDF 2011, subsequently winning:
Best Sound Design, Award For Ensemble, Buzz Goodbody Student Director Award (Patron the RSC)
“This city is never silent. It has a throb and pulse of its own. It feels latent. It feels charged. It feels sprung. As though something remarkable is going to happen.
In less than an hour, everything will change.
What you need to do is stand well clear of the yellow line.”
Violently dark. Startlingly poignant. 'Pornography' takes us into the lives of six individuals and into the worlds that lie, in constant whirling motion, behind the face of the everyday. Through the voyeuristic and visceral, we watch them fall and fragment against the backdrop of London. A London speeding towards a shattering collision of exultation and horror, whilst we begin to realise what it means to be alive in the 21st century, and whether or not this kind of isolated, disconnected existence is really worth fighting for.
- March 2011
West Side Story, many would claim the greatest musical ever written, has delighted audiences worldwide since its opening on Broadway more than 50 years ago. With a score by one of the finest composers of the twentieth century, Leonard Bernstein, lyrics that launched the career of the great Stephen Sondheim and the iconic choreography of Jerome Robbins, this modern retelling of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet returns to the stage in Cambridge for the first time in several years this Lent Term, in a production featuring Cambridge’s finest talent in musical theatre. Prepare to be entranced by the beautiful melodies of Tonight and Somewhere, the irresistible rhythms of America and I Feel Pretty whilst being dazzled by the spectacle of dance and fight scenes alike, as this definitive work in the cultural landscape of the last century comes to the ADC.
- March 2011
"An old Russian widow falls in love with a painting hanging on the hallowed walls of the Hermitage. What happens when it is sent to auction, and how far will she journey to get it back?"
When darkness falls and the curtain drops on the ADC mainshow, a troupe of fabulists emerge from the depths of the theatre to spin you a yarn. Using ancient props and costumes salvaged from productions past, marvel as they create a host of characters, plucked from our enchanted hatbox. Malevolent art historians and opportunistic chandelier salesmen come to life, with entrancing music played live on stage by our transvestite accompanist. This troupe might be poor as church mice but they are just as resourceful, showing that the theatre can be a rich place by little means...
Praise for last production: 'Imaginatively staged and brilliantly conceived…it artfully married nostalgia and innovation' (Varsity)
- March 2011
This new one-act imagines the genesis of 'Frankenstein'. An innocent writing contest in Lord Byron's Swiss villa spawns surprise arrivals, rivalries and romance, and the world's most infamous monster. Byron, his companion, the Shelleys, and a surprise guest clash, picnic, and witness the birth of ... 'Frankenstein'!
- February 2011
The time and place are unknown. Two men climb down onto the stage, continuing on their journey. Neither them nor us know where they’re going, but there’s a writer in the sky who is telling them to carry on. Award winning writer of "The Unbearable Lightness of Being", Milan Kundera presents “Jacques and His Master,” a play where past and present seamlessly overlap, and nothing is quite as you remembered it. The two men, Jacques and his Master, have both gambled with love, involving themselves in situations both criminal, perverse and downright bizarre. The memories of both characters are brought to life by figures from their respective pasts, forcing master and servant to confront the issues of guilt, and the thorny problems of who is ultimately responsible for one’s bad behaviour and bad luck.
- February 2011
‘I’ve got a new rule for you, mate, it’s called survival of the fittest, it’s called “fuck you – we’re the Riot Club”. Respect that.’
Posh is a play about power. The ancestors of the Riot Club boys used to rule the country, but times have changed. Over the course of a drunken dinner in the back room of an Oxfordshire pub, the pretences of the Club – of camaraderie, of harmless fun, of invincibility – are eroded and finally shattered, leaving the boys as they are – scared and alone. Posh isn’t merely an attack on a couple exclusive Oxbridge clubs, but rather about what lies behind them – elitism, arrogance, class, money, exclusivity and pack mentality on the one hand and weakness, isolation and fear on the other.
- February 2011
Noises Off is a side-splittingly hilarious comedy following the loveable cast and crew of Nothing On as they attempt to take their show from final rehearsal to final performance. The pandemonium that goes on behind the scenes, the disasters that occur front-of-stage and the incestuous relationships that breed in between are laid bare in riotous detail to the audience.
Will Lloyd, the director, be able to balance two relationships with members of the company at once? Can practically deaf old Selsdon be kept off the bottle long enough to make his entrance? How will Frederick cope in a fight when the mention of violence gives him a nosebleed?
Come along and find the answers to all of these questions and more. With seven slamming doors, six breaking windows, three near-fatal falls, and an onslaught of mistaken entrances, cues and prop malfunctions, what could possibly go wrong?
- January 2011
“This city is never silent. It has a throb and pulse of its own. It feels latent. It feels charged. It feels sprung. As though something remarkable is going to happen.
In less than an hour, everything will change.
What you need to do is stand well clear of the yellow line.”
Violently dark. Startlingly poignant. 'Pornography' takes us into the lives of six individuals and into the worlds that lie, in constant whirling motion, behind the face of the everyday. Through the voyeuristic and visceral, we watch them fall and fragment against the backdrop of London. A London speeding towards a shattering collision of exultation and horror, whilst we begin to realise what it means to be alive in the 21st century, and whether or not this kind of isolated, disconnected existence is really worth fighting for.
- December 2010
Imagine literally as many rats as you can imagine. Now imagine they’ve all brought a plus one. You’ve just imagined the situation in old Hamelin town. The bumbling Mayor and his lederhosened lackies are powerless to stop them, until an eccentric and mysterious trouble-shooter – known as the Pied Piper – shows up.
The Piper amazes all with his rat removal skills. But when the Mayor refuses to stump up, the Piper takes his revenge by stealing all the town’s children! Hamlin’s only hope lies in a plucky, young hero and his ramshackle alliance, who together must brave the trail to the Pied Menace’s secret lair in Koppelberg Hill…
The ADC/Footlights Pantomime is the biggest, loudest and funnest show of the year, where Cambridge’s finest comedians, actors and musicians team up to blow a frankly ridiculous budget. So bring all the family along for ein über-Fest of REVELRY, ROMANCE and RODENTS.
- December 2010
Arabian Nights will be a newly devised production based on the ancient stories from India, the Middle East and North Africa of the Thousand and One Nights. In this saga King Sharyar is only prevented from executing his wife because of her extraordinary skill in telling stories, for the king has had a wedding every day followed by an execution the next day since discovering his first wife’s adultery. Every time the executioner comes awaiting the day’s victim, the king is so captivated by his new wife’s thrilling tales that he pardons her for an extra day in order to hear the end of the story. Arabian Nights will be performed by a small ensemble of actors, playing a multitude of characters, bringing to life the weird and wonderful tales and characters of these ludicrous fables in new, witty and imaginative ways.
- November 2010
Danny wants to be a dentist. Cathy wants to be famous. And Adam? He just wants to be a part of it all. But Leah is scared. She feels that lately things have been getting out of hand and then something really bad happens.
When a group of teenagers discover tragedy brings harmony to their otherwise fractious lives, where’s the incentive to put things right?
The Cambridge University Amateur Dramatic Club presents their 2010 Freshers’ lateshow: DNA. First performed in the Cottesloe Auditorium of the National Theatre in 2008, it is a poignant and beguiling tale with a very dark heart; a suburban Lord of the Flies for the iTouch generation.
The playwright, Dennis Kelly, won a prestigious Fringe First Award in 2009 for his play 'Orphans' and is best known as the writer of the hit BBC3 sitcom 'Pulling'.
"Grange Hill for the Skins generation." (4 stars, What'sOnStage.com)
- November 2010
The Cambridge University Amateur Dramatic Club presents the finest new talent of the University in its Freshers’ mainshow, Relative Values.
A delightful comedy set in the early 1950's, Noel Coward's masterpiece highlights a delightful collision between starry Hollywood, stiff-upper-lip England and society's view of the perceived differences between the social classes. Havoc reigns when Nigel, the son of the Countess of Marshwood, announces his intention to marry the American actress, Miranda Frayle - to the absolute horror of his mother and servants of the house.
In the best Coward tradition, Relative Values lets the chaos escalate from one farcical turn to another, spurring delicious dialogue, skilful asides and hilarious repartee.
First performed at the time of the Festival of Britain at the Savoy, it ran for over a year, and remains one of Coward’s classic comedies of English manners.
“Wickedly Enjoyable” (Daily Telegraph)
- November 2010
The nature of war never changes, but war always changes the natures of those who have to wage it.
In the trenches of France in 1918, Captain Dennis Stanhope and his troops have been dramatically altered by their years of constant fighting in the worst conditions imaginable. Whilst still a fine leader, Stanhope finds that he cannot get through the day without whisky. Warfare has shattered his nerves to the point of collapse, yet he still carries on. Until an old school friend arrives in his dugout. Young Raleigh, who looked up to Stanhope as a role model and future brother-in-law, cannot fathom the changes that have occurred in his old hero. And Stanhope is terrified that Raleigh might just tell his family back home about the depths that Stanhope has fallen to. But with the Germans ready to attack any day, will there be any time left for either of them?
- October 2010
From Adam Lawrence ('undoubted talent' Varsity) and Phil Wang ('skillful and hilarious' Varsity) comes a TV show like no other, in that it's not technically on TV. Join the Life Doctor as he endeavours to fix the problems of three unfortunate participants. There will be laughs, there will be dramatic entrances, there will be product placement. This October, laughter certainly is the best medicine.
- October 2010
‘I would rather have lost my legs, pulled out my teeth, gouged out my eyes, than lost my love.’
4.48 Psychosis, the final and most experimental play from controversial writer Sarah Kane, takes a look at love through the eyes of someone suffering from depression. At times more like poetry than play-text, events and thoughts are brought together to form a painfully honest tale of the darker side of desire, peppered with even darker humour. Disordered snapshots offer an intimate glance into the experience of fear, desperation and relentless hope caused by unrequited love, in a rare naturalistic interpretation of the play. This production explores the feeling that it might be worse to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all, in this most dark, beautiful and unconventional of love stories.
‘You don’t need a friend you need a doctor.’
‘You are so wrong.’
- August 2010
In a grimy Whitechapel garret at the turn of the century, John Faustus -- scholar, anatomist, lunatic -- signs away his soul.
This highly physical and nauseously comic production of Doctor Faustus is one of this year's ADC Edinburgh Fringe shows.
- August 2010
Habit is the enemy. Addiction is the cure.
Dylan is in love with his best friend, Jude. Jude is in love with... everybody, maybe even Dylan.
From the writer of Familiar and Shenanigans comes an outrageous black comedy which grapples with themes that will touch every audience member: affairs of state, sex, tea, etc. The Cure is a dose of drama, laughter and love that makes the ordinary beautiful and the obscure real, with a haunting twist and the most emotionally charged round of paintballing the Fringe has ever seen – all brought to you by Cambridge University’s hottest young talent.
Praise for recent CUADC Edinburgh productions:
★★★★ “Standout.” - The Guardian
★★★★★ “Enchanting... A highlight of the Fringe, and a must see for everyone. ... Some of the finest acting I have seen in Edinburgh.” - BroadwayBaby
★★★★★ “Flawlessly delivered... strong, engaging performances.” - The Daily Mirror
www.addictionisthecure.co.uk
- May 2010
Hitchcock Blonde is not a play about Alfred Hitchcock. He may however make a cameo appearance. The Blonde will remain anonymous; which is a clue.
- March 2010
This March 2010 the prestigious Cambridge University Amateur Dramatic Club present Irving Berlin’s classic musical ‘Annie Get Your Gun’.
When Buffalo Bill’s ‘Wild West Show’ comes to town, Annie Oakley, an astonishing sharp-shooter, quickly falls in love with the show’s gun-toting star Frank Butler. But who is the finer shot? And will their rivalry shoot holes in their romance?
With a witty book by the legendary Herbert & Dorothy Fields and well-known songs such as ‘There’s no business like show business’, ‘Anything you can do, I can do better’, ‘Sun in the morning’, ‘Moonshine Lullaby’ and ‘You can’t get a man with a gun’ this is one show not to be missed!
- February 2010
Venice: a city of romance and hedonism, where Jews are confined to the world’s first ghetto.
The late 1930s: a time of renewal and growth, while the storm clouds gather over Europe.
This imaginative production boldly sets the action of Shakespeare’s most complex comedy in Mussolini’s Italy. The young Venetians, unaware of the perils ahead, seek romance and revelry, while in Belmont the bored and intelligent Portia awaits a suitor worthy enough to free her from confinement. But the spited moneylender Shylock is pursuing revenge: the scene is set for a gripping finale.
This thoughtful, atmospheric and powerful production of Shakespeare's most controversial play will revel in the headiness of youth and his sparkling wit, while not shying away from the demands of one of his most romantic, tense and compelling plays.
- February 2010
It is 1692 in Salem, and there’s magic in the air. Religious fervour and sexual repression come into explosive conflict as accusations of witchcraft spread through the town like fire, fuelled by paranoia and hatred. John Proctor finds himself trapped in a web of lies and suspicion as his past sins come back to haunt him, and the hysterical youth of Salem lead a crusade against the supposed forces of the devil. In ‘The Crucible’ Arthur Miller brilliantly weaves together the private world of Proctor and his wife with the public madness sweeping through Salem, creating an profoundly moving theatrical experience which audiences will find utterly unforgettable.
This production will take place in a shadowy world of judgment and fear, never allowing the audience to escape the mounting intensity of the play right up until its harrowing conclusion.
- February 2010
Joe Orton's most satirical and autobiographical comedy follows Buchanan through his many trials and tribulations from his retirement to his death. Already struggling to cope with the realisation that his life reads like a list of "almost"s and "if only"s, Buchanan is foiled at every turn by the meddling Mrs Vealfoy, a company representative, who naturally considers the enhancement of Buchanan's superficial happiness her personal responsibility. The poor, world-weary Buchanan, trying to support his well-meaning but generally useless (and only recently rediscovered) family, is the man nobody wants to become: The Good and Faithful Servant.
- January 2010
This summer, evil has a face. And a torso. And legs—it’s basically a man. Dr Apocalypse™— twisted Nazi communist and minor academic. His plan: to destroy America—by blowing up the world.
Only one man can stop him: government agent Jack Lang™ – gun-toting, torture-loving maverick and devoted father.
Watch as this new breed of hero fires two Uzis at the same time, drives a car down a flaming skyscraper, and takes on an army of 4000 cyborg ninjas—while occasionally mentioning his emotions™. And that’s just the tip of the explosion.
Written by Footlights Lucien Young and James Moran, it’s the first ADC Lateshow with a budget breaching $1,000,000,000. We guarantee: state-of-the-art CGI, creating almost photorealistic performances— at least two fights per line of dialogue—and more gunshots than were used during both world wars. If you only go to the ADC once this term, see this show. Twice.
- January 2010
The comedy show named by The Scotsman as having the second silliest title at the Edinburgh Fringe (controversially beaten only by Chomp: A Zombie Musical) galumphs in triumphal fashion raucously back onto a stage! For two nights only at the ADC, don't miss two lanky bespectacled men in black tie pretending to be hippopotamus impersonators, leg thieves and earwig fanciers. Watch and be intrigued as over the course of fifty minutes of sketches, monologues, poems and songs they gradually reveal the astonishing life and extraordinary times of the mysterious and probably non-existent master spy, Sir Henry Cheese-Badger! Scrumptious! Thundering! Walrus! Princely! What do these words have in common (except walrus)? They all describe CHEESE-BADGER (and other stories), the sketch show that towers above Cambridge like some sort of humorous Godzilla.
- November 2009
Welcome to the desert.
In their 126th year, the Footlights team up once again with the ADC for a return to traditional pantomime...ish. Join Ali and his street-wise chum Cassim, as they struggle against the nasty Chief Nalu (boooooooo!!!) in a bid to free the beautiful (and remarkably physically and emotionally strong) Morgiana. Also, meet Jeanie, the genie, as he tries his best to be a Genie, Jamiel and Amara, the loveable misfits, and no less than forty whole thieves!!! And some real Camels…ish.
The ADC/Footlights Pantomime has been playing to sell-out crowds for loads of years, and with a traditional script by Daran Johnson, Abi Tedder, and Liam Williams, an original score by Richard Bates, and direction from Matt Bulmer, this year will be no different. Although it will be a little different. The script will be different. Better still, perhaps? Judge for yourselves. And as usual this year boasts performances from Cambridge’s bestest comic actors all ready to Panto your mime. Tickets go fast, so book, book, book, (book).
- November 2009
Sculptor Brindsley Miller and his fiancé Carol are throwing one lavish party. They’ve even ‘borrowed’ their holidaying neighbours’ finest furniture for the occasion. And all to convince Carol’s staunch military father that he should allow them to marry (and sell Brindsely’s work to the local millionaire art collector at the same time!) Everything seems to be going rather well…until the lights go out. Plunged into darkness, the hosts’ evenings don’t run quite so smoothly. Topped with a multitude of uninvited guests – including Brindsley’s mistress, the couple’s unwittingly generous neighbours, and a drunken teetotaller – the party very quickly falls into absolute disarray. From the pen of ADC alumnus Peter Shaffer (Equus, Amadeus), this hilarious farce will showcase the finest fresher talent from the University and have you howling with laughter.
11pm, Wednesday 18th - Saturday 21st November @ ADC!
GET YOUR TICKETS NOW : http://www.adctheatre.com/shows.asp?genre=Drama
- November 2009
All hell has broken loose in the Abashvili mansion, whose Governor has been beheaded by the Fat Prince during civil war. Natella, the Lady of the house, is far too concerned with the contents of her suitcase to notice that her baby is not amongst her escape party. Grusha, a young servant girl, rescues the child - though the further she travels with the boy the more she feels for him. Grusha finds herself playing a dangerous game of hide and seek with the law, but are her actions ceasing to be what is best for him and instead motivated by selfishness? When Natella reclaims her child it is Azdak who is to resolve the dispute between the mother and Grusha, calling on the ancient tradition of the chalk circle to resolve the dispute. Who wins? A morality masterpiece, The Caucasian Chalk Circle typifies Brecht's pioneering theatrical techniques. Heavily censored in McCarthyist America due to its communist overtones, this modern classic epitomises Brecht’s vivid and amusing characterisation in a piece of truly unrivalled storytelling.
CUADC Freshers' mainshow 2009.
- November 2009
"Of course I...want to, but I don't want to want to."
CUADC presents the acclaimed play by Patrick Wilde ("Blondel", "You Couldn't Make It Up"), a teenage love story. It is 1992, Section 28 prohibits the "promotion" of homosexuality in schools, and the age of consent for gay men is twenty-one. Sixteen year old Steven Carter, who is just fine with being "dodgy", falls in love with John Westhead, head boy and popular sporty type. His love is returned until societal expectations force John back into "the closet". As Steven comes up against pressure at home and at school, Hutton, his teacher, longs to give him some support, but finds that the law is not on his side.
Wilde wrote the play to challenge the assertion that it's "easier to be gay now". It rails against the attitudes that keep Steven and John apart, and against certain aspects of the "gay scene". The issues that the play wrestles with are as applicable to 2009 as they are to the recent past and it remains a poignant, beautiful and honest tale.
- November 2009
'You may have buried yourself alive, but you haven't forgotten to powder your face!' In these two bitingly witty short farces, Chekhov exposes the ridiculous consequences of human pretensions in all their glorious hilarity. A widow's self-righteously exaggerated mourning for an unworthy husband is disrupted by a belligerent creditor. A smug, pompous Chairman congratulates himself on the anniversary of his bank, only to have his carefully orchestrated celebrations collapse into mayhem. The comedy that ensues when the mask we present to the world slips to reveal our true motives is played out in this fast-paced, furiously funny and fabulously farcical double bill.
- November 2009
The Amateur Dramatic Club Presents
The House Of Bernarda Alba By Federico García Lorca Week 4, Michaelmas Term 2009 Tuesday 3rd-7th November, 7.45pm ADC Theatre
"There are eight years of mourning ahead of us. While it lasts not even the wind will get into this house."
When Bernarda Alba's husband dies, she locks all the doors and windows. She tells her grown-up daughters to sew and be silent. But not even the tyranny of Bernarda's repressive rule can cool the passion and desire that smoulder darkly within the household. With the arrival of Pepé el Romano, an attractive young man from the village, comes a tantalizing breeze of the cool air which plays amongst the reeds, away from the house. Whilst an emergent freedom comes to ascendancy in society, the household of Bernard Alba remains in a state of totalizing constriction.
This production re-imagines Lorca's masterpiece, to the mid 70's with the demise of Spanish Fascism and Spain's liberation. Redolent with Lorca's sensual poetry, blending, dance, music and stirring visuals this production breathe's new life into this haunting narrative of oppression, rebellion and fragile beauty.
- October 2009
The Amateur Dramatic Club presents Rossum’s Universal Robots by Karel Čapek – Week 3 Lateshow, Michaelmas 2009
‘There are no more people. Robots down to work. March!’
Mankind has discovered the secret of life. Rossum’s factory uses the recipe and manufactures artificial people to work as slaves. Known as ‘robots’, they ensure that all humans live a life of luxury.
Helena Glory visits the factory, and witnesses the machines at work. Initially intending to agitate a revolution amongst the robots, she is drawn to life at the factory and falls for Domin, the manager. But she can’t shake the feeling that forcing the robots into servitude will have dangerous consequences. And as discontent ferments among the robots, she is proven brutally right.
First performed in 1921, R.U.R. is the play that invented the word ‘robot’. This production will be visually bold, with an emphasis on physical performance. We will take an experimental approach to the process, involving devising and improvisation. The aim will be to create a dark vision of an alternative future, using a variety of innovative dramatic techniques.
- October 2009
Near an isolated fishing village, on a faraway island, a stranger is found in the surf. Unable to speak the language of the fishermen and their wives, wild rumours spread that this stranger is a demon, come to snatch a baby for its supper. As their fear and suspicion escalates, it is only "that woman" that attempts to find out more about who this stranger is, where she has come from and what she is looking for. Bottles full of strange manuscripts from the land beyond the sea are washed ashore; perplexing cave paintings speak of a search for a better world; fishing boats bob helplessly on the wild ocean.
Noda has been described as "not one of the best but absolutely the most talented and provocative playwright of contemporary Japan". Now his play "Red Demon" is coming to the ADC. This will be a visually enticing, high energy production using tight ensemble work and physical theatre to bring to life this strange and wonderful story.
- October 2009
Keith Reed is failing – as actor, lover, and liver. Middle-aged and middle-talented, he is finally cast in his dream play. In his nightmare role. Join Keith for a night of electrifying comedy, as life becomes even more absurd offstage than on.
Shortlisted for the Footlights Harry Porter Prize, this fresh, funny slice of backstage life from one of Cambridge’s hottest new writers promises to be this term’s must-see comedy.
Life's but a poor player...
‘absurd, fast-paced and eloquent ... incredibly funny’ – Marlowe Society
‘much better than I expected, and very funny’ – Germaine Greer
- August 2009
Join Moley, Ratty, Badger and Toad in this comedic adaptation of a classic: jam-packed with wit, high-energy silliness and big belly-laughs for all ages. Expect to encounter mischievous lady weasels, madcap puppetry and an epic baguette duel…not to mention a ridiculously convoluted prison break involving one cross-dressing amphibian. Poop-poop!
- August 2009
Gregor Samsa awakes one morning to find himself transformed into a gigantic beetle. Engulf yourself in an intensely physical, surreal world where nightmare and reality blur. Cambridge University’s innovative production of Steven Berkoff’s adaptation of Kafka’s ‘Metamorphosis’ is set to ‘transform’ the Edinburgh Fringe.
