- March 2004
"What we're trying to do is write cricket bats, so that when we throw up an idea and give it a little knock, it might...travel..."
Art within life ... life within art ... Stoppard's "The Real Thing" explores relationships, life and love in a complex and witty web of playful theatrical games. Henry, a playwright and intellectual, weaves his words for a living, but where does the boundary between writing and living lie? Why does a man so engaged with his art find it so hard to express his love for Annie? ...And just what is it about cricket?
- February 2004
"So I try to tell them about Richard Branson’s evil plans, but he won’t listen, so instead my good-looking boyfriend decides to serenade me with 'When A Man Loves A Woman'. The police block also consisted of a grand piano, which a rather butch-looking policewoman proceeded to play with extreme skill"
Do you ever lose the connection between reality and imagination? It’s not difficult, given the right catalyst. Become lost in your imagination. But Kitty’s bored with her own imagination, so she takes it upon herself to invade the lives of former school friend James and his womanising flatmate Colin. What unfolds is an exploration of Kitty’s eccentric, often drug-induced, thoughts and their impact on those around her.
- February 2004
Five Night Stand will comprise five nights of stand-up comedy with a different comedian each night. It offers comedians the rare opportunity to experiment with sustained stand-up in Cambridge.
- February 2004
The Mystery Plays are a cycle of plays from late-Medieval England; the cycle consists of many short pageants, each of which was part of a chronological sequence drawn from the Old and New Testaments. This production of the York Mystery Plays aims to work with a small group of dedicated and versatile actors to present around 20 episodes from the original cycle.
- December 2003
Joe is ten years old, severely disabled, wheelchair bound and completely dependent on her parents. She will have no life. So why is she allowed to live? Bri and Sheila have to live with the moral dilemma that nobody should have to face. Bri clowns his way through life. Sheila clings to the hope that one day, somehow, all will be right again. Throw in the questionable support of their friends and family, and the group soon begins to realise they are all experiencing a day in the death of Joe Egg. Peter Nichols' darkly comic masterpiece balances somewhere on the verge between tragedy and hilarity. 'A Day in the Death of Joe Egg' demands answers to questions that cannot be ignored, and will leave you wondering whether to laugh or cry. Presented in one of Cambridge's most unique and exciting venues.
- November 2003
"Shall I tell you what you heard just now? Nothing in the world but your own terrors calling"
Locked in a cellar during the Red Terror in St Petersburg, 5 British people are held captive, unsure of their future. After 6 weeks as the strain is starting to show, each individual responds to the pressure in different ways: one focuses on maintaining her beautiful image, another resorts to British stiff upper lip, a third survives through exaggerated concern for others. Into this situation steps a small man, Derry Moore, "the Irish Hans
Andersen", who has been mistakenly captured in place of his
counter-revolutionary brother. Derry relieves the tension by helping the captives to get lost in a tale of leprechauns and wonderful colours - the fairy tale of the title.
- November 2003
- October–November 2003
Set in 18th century Venice, A Servant To Two Masters is a classic tale of love, honour, sun-dried tomatoes, and Truffaldino- a servant trying his best to earn an extra lira. Underpaid and over-stretched, Truffaldino scurries through mishap after mishap as he performs chores for two unwitting masters: Florindo, and his lover, Beatrice, in disguise as her dead brother. As excuses for his mistakes become more fanciful, chaos ensues - mistaken identities, betrothals, duels, near-suicide and a fabulous feast twice-enjoyed occur, before Truffaldino is finally found out. With its colourful array of comic characters, Carlo Goldini´s farce, given a new lease of life by Lee Hall´s recent adaptation, mixes historical Italy and classic 18th century commedia with cockney cheek.
- April–May 2003
- March 2003
Controlled mayhem.
- November 2002
- November 2002
- October–November 2002
- March 2002
- October 2000
'Road' represented the theatrical debut of Jim Cartwright, described by The Sunday Telegraph as “a writer of outstanding talent”. It won the Samuel Beckett Award in 1986, and launched his reputation as one of the country's most eloquent, radical playwrights. His string of subsequent successes culminated in the 1998 filming of his play 'Little Voice', starring Jane Horrocks, who had also taken a leading role in the original production of 'Road'.
One of the most striking of the 1980's state of the nation dramas, 'Road' casts an unsparing mirror on an industrial town ravaged by the economic policies of Margaret Thatcher. The works of Jim Cartwright have never been performed in Cambridge before. Pembroke Players' 'Road' is a timely recognition of his genius.
- November 1999
"The Wave" is based on a true incident that occurred in the Palto High School, California, in 1969. A history teacher, Ron Jones, tried to inspire his disaffected students by conducting an 'experiment in discipline' - reproducing the mentality behind the Hitler Youth movement.
The result, according to Jones, was "one of the most frightening events I have ever experienced in the classroom". No one talked about what happened for 3 years.
It was in 1981 that, under the pseudonym 'Morton Rhue', Jones wrote "The Wave". A minor classic, particularly in Germany, it seeks to get to grips with the psychology behind Nazism, and has sold 1.5 million copies world-wide. It has been made into a play in 16 different countries.
Jack Thorne's new adaptation of The Wave has been described by Ron Jones as 'a wonderful and important play'. It aims to reveal how the pressures towards conformity thrown up within the classroom can create the conditions necessary for a cult born out of adolescent despair. In a year in which members of a secret group of 'outsiders' - the Trenchcoat Mafia - shot dead 24 of their classmates in a Colorado school, the enduring relevance of the message cannot be doubted.
