- March 2015
The Cambridge University Light Entertainment Society (CULES) is happy to announce its Lent Term shows: a pantomime retelling of the classic tale Treasure Island and a comic play called A Recipe for Disaster! Both promise to be fantastic fun, so come on down to the Queen's Building in Emmanuel College on Saturday 14th March. Doors shall open from 7:15pm, with the first show starting at 7:30pm.
Tickets cost £5 with all proceeds going to charity.
- December 2014
CULES proudly presents: "The Little Mermaid": A pantomime based on the classic tale, and "Cakes and the Upper Crust": Upcountry Abbey is threatened to be turned into a tourist attraction - or worse still, a multistorey carpark unless the family can raise funds in time. In desperation, Lady Whistle-Stop enters the Great British Bake Off hosted by the formidable ladies of the WI - but being an aristocratic lady, she doesn't know the first thing about cooking. Lord Whistle-Stop, along with the butler, housekeeper and maid plot to help her in the tasks without being seen by the rest of the competitors or viewers. Hilarity ensues. CULES takes shows to places that wouldn't normally get to see them, touring special needs schools and old people's homes in the final week of term, before putting on a student performance.
Administrator's note: This show's venue was given as The Winstanley Lecture Theatre, Trinity College (2019 database update).
- September–October 2014
- June 2014
CULES are auditioning for their Clements Shows - you get to be part of a half hour play which we perform in a garden in May Week twice. There will be also two other half hour plays as well, and we raise money for charity. There will be no auditions until exams are over, and then a minimal of auditions before we do the shows. This is the most relaxed show you can do in Cambridge!
- May 2014
We take theatre to those who don't normally get a chance to see it! This is an incredibly fun venture, with frequent pub trips, to do an hour long play at old people homes - they absolutely love us coming, and we always get positive feedback. The shows will take place in the middle of exam period, so this show is primarily for PhD students, undergrads without exams, and anyone else who happens to be around in Cambridge, and we would love YOU to get involved with us!
Join COGGLES for an adventure like no other. We have pirates, sailors and a Wizard. The quest is simple – go and find the Common Book of Spells. This is a story of betrayal, surprise, and intrigue – will the evil fiend succeed or not? Join us for what will be on one of the funniest productions this year in Cambridge
- March 2014
Cinderella - being a heroine isn't easy: Cinderella and her family have fallen on hard times. The Duchess, being more concerned with social standing than economy, is working her way through the Duke's fortune by promoting the acting and modelling career of her eldest daughter, Angelica. Cinderella not only has to run the household, but also has to supplement the family's income by working at the palace as a maid under an assumed alias. Can she save the kingdom, find true love and juggle her multiple personae all before the clock strikes midnight?
The Reluctant Orthodontist: Herman, a small-time thief, is caught halfway through a burglary by another visitor to the sleeping household - a prospective tooth fairy, fresh-faced and eager to please her superiors. He is forced to take her place to avoid discovery, leading him into a night of poor disguises, pink tutus, a mad dentist, and 'original' ways of gathering teeth from unwitting sleepers...
CULES takes shows to places that wouldn't normally get to see them, touring special needs schools and old people's homes in the final week of term, before putting on a student performance.
- December 2013
We are pleased to announce that our two shows this term will be: PANTO: The Prince and the Pauper (by Jill Dye): There's a pauper. And a prince. And it's a panto. With that much alliteration how can it not be fun? PLAY: Unidentified Flying Christmas (by Jesse Daley): Aliens invade at Christmas and cause mayhem. What more could you want?
- May 2013
A long time in the future, but in a galaxy not too far from our own, humankind had long been striving in the vast depths of space - the penultimate frontier. These are the voyages of the USSFingersCrossed. Her mission: to explore implausible new worlds. To boldly split infinitives no man had split before. And to find the final frontier. The year is 2329, and the mighty starship cruises through the firmament like a goldfish through treacle under the strong steerswomanship of Captain Gaia Lovelock and her loyal crew, fresh from an altercation on Balderon and a minor rumpus on the shores of the Tranquiline Nebula. The Captain’s on the bridge. The stage is set.
COGGLES (Cambridge Old Graduates and Graduands Light Entertainment Society) are a society which put on shows at old people's homes for charity. We have a very fun one hour show, already written, and we would love to have you join us. The rehearsals will be very low committment, and both the shows and the rehearsals will be in evenings and at weekends. If you have never acted before - great, come along we would love to meet you. If you are an old hand at acting - great, come along, we would love to have you join us for what will be a very fun low committment show! The performance period is however in the middle of undergrad exams - this show is designed for people who get bored with everything shutting down in May (so everyone is allowed to audition, but please do bare in mind that all our shows are at the end of May/start of June)
- March 2013
You are cordially invited to this term's CULES shows! Join us for an exciting double bill of...
"The Supervillain’s Guide to Ethical Subjectivism" by Joanna Tang - Victor just wants to unleash heinous masterplans on the innocent people of Sameville in peace, but the incompetent mayor, a DIY superhero, and a radioactive gingerbread man keep getting in the way a lot.
and
"Snow White and the Three Dwarves" by Jessie Wear - Prince Bernard's Mum wants to marry him off, as she doesn't think he could manage to run the kingdom alone, and Snow White seems to be the best option - but the mother-in-law is a force to be reckoned with...
- December 2012
Join us at 4pm on Saturday, the 1st of December, in the Fitzpatrick Theatre, Queens' College. Suggested donation £5/£4 (concessions), all proceeds to charity!
ALADDIN - THE WOK AND ROLL PANTO. It's Chinese New Year, and in Old Tsing Tai the party's just getting started! But when Aladdin (a penniless peasant) falls in love with the Princess (whose father wants to marry her off to a powerful man with a powerful secret), it looks as though some magic powers might be needed to sort things out. With a full complement of "He's behind you"s, cross-dressing, and a dragon!
and
MAD SCIENCE. London, 1897. A week before Christmas... and the members of the Mad Science Club are far too busy competing for the first prize in the Grand Symposium to let the Christmas Spirit anywhere near their boiling flasks! Rivalry and back-biting reach new heights (and lows) in this group of famous mad scientists when Frankenstein's old lab project decides to team up with the technologically illiterate (but very rich) Count Dracula and the disgraced (formerly invisible) Dr Griffin to see if he can topple his mentor's reign at the top in this oddball Christmas comedy about mistletoe, manchildren and morgues.
- June 2012
This term's CULES shows - the Clements performances*. The theme this year is "Superheroes and Supervillains", and we've got three wonderful treats lined up for you.
This year's wonderful offerings are:
"Steal on No Steal" - written by Dan Tooke, directed by Andrew Farrer
"Superfluous" - written and directed by Jesse Daley
"Parrotman" - written by Martin French, directed by Martin French and Gabriella Jeakins
In memory of Emma Clements, a CULE who dies of cancer.
- March 2012
DRAGON?! - Dung shovellers, hockey players, policemen, a grumpy professor, a sorceress named Chlamydia, and a very large red dragon. Will Seth accept his Destiny, or will everyone get burned to cinders?
CLUEDO - The PANTOMIME - Was it Mrs Peacock in the Library with the dagger? Was it Professor Plum in the Study with the candlestick? Was it Mrs White in the Ballroom with the...pantomime piano...?
- December 2011
You are cordially invited to the CULES shows for this term: Macbeth: He Meant Well - You shouldn't judge a book by its cover. You shouldn't judge a protagonist by their book... Babes in the Wood - An epic tale of beautiful maidens, dashing heroes, and drunken clergy. When the evil Sheriff of Nottingham decides to murder his young nephew and niece all that stands in his way is Robin Hood and his dashing band of lovable rogues. Will the children be saved? Will the Sheriff win the day? Will the cast actually learn their lines? Watch and find out! Have a look at our website, http://www.cules.org.uk, which also has directions to the Buckingham House Lecture Theatre. Hope to see you there!
- March 2008
What would you get if you stuck an ancient epic, a feather boa and bedsheets in a blender, and served it with a hint of popular song? THE ODYSSEY: THE PANTO! Prepare yourself for an evening of hilarity with nymphs, goddesses, ugly monsters, manly heroes and quarrelsome deities, infused with a heavy dose of panto convention!
- August 2005
Faust is a serious play, dealing with important questions of religion, faith and belief. Fortunately, this version does nothing of the sort. Actors fail to turn up, scenery collapses and the production disintegrates into the theatrical equivalent of Murphy's law. Carnage.
- August 2005
Join Ratty, Badger and friends as they battle to save Mole's home from the vile weasels and Toad from his own unhealthy obsession with motorcars. A rip-roaring riverbank ride in this feast of family fun. Poop-poop!
- June 2005
Four original, silly plays based very loosely around the 1001 Arabian Nights. Powerful genies, mighty kings and magical cardboard boxes abound in these tales of adventure, stupidity, puns and more innuendo than the Karma Sutra. All money raised goes to Cancer Research.
- March 2005
'The Ugly Duckling', (Script by Chip Edmonds, directed by Philip Scott) looks set to be an all singing, all dancing traditional fest of pantomime extravaganza. Turns out our fluffy Waddler has a heritage waiting for him to discover with the help of many daft characters, not least a James Bond-esque
Rudolph...
'Once upon a time' (Script by a motley crew of cules, directed by Ewan Nicholas) is a farse all about what happens when the gestapo take it upon themselves to rid the world of all our favorite fairytale friends. No shortage of heroes will come to the rescue, and no racial stereotype will be left unabused as the bad guys do their worst to stop them. Think "'allo 'allo" meets "Shrek" and you'll start to get the idea :)
Administrator's note: This show's venue was given as Christs Theatre and the Queens Building in Emma (tbc) (2019 database update).
- December 2004
A pantomime version of the classic story by C. S. Lewis, performed for charity followinf a tour of local special needs' schools.
- June 2004
The Light Entertainment Societies of Cambridge and Oxford go head to head to determine who is the most lightly entertaining of them all! With an untraditional script of Cinderella, audience participation and mixing of two casts, what more could one ask for? (Other than a cambridge victory of course)
- June 2004
Performances of a medley of adapted and lightly amusing greek myths, involving characters from German psychologists to a speech impeded Minotaur. All in aid of a local charity.
