- October 2012
A fast paced and witty new tragicomedy from the team behind "It's Complicated", "Guido!", and the Graduate Smokers.
The year is 2080 AD. The Oblivion Virus has brought civilization to its arthritic knees. All but the youngest in society are infected with dementia. Below the city, an aging couple, young scientist and priest hide in the basement morgue of London Bridge Hospital from the virus and youths, looking for something (anything!) to save off the boredom... The year is 2080 AD. Wait, did I already say that?!
- October 2012
- October 2012
'An thru the pump pump pump of the disco dance I see it all!'
Pig and Runt are soul mates. Born seconds apart in the same hospital, they are inseparable, with an almost supernatural understanding. As partners in crime, they share an appetite for drunkenness, recklessness, adventure and destruction. But on the eve of their 17th birthday it is an appetite for sex that threatens to tear them apart.
Disco Pigs erupted onto the Edinburgh Fringe when it debuted in 1997. Winner of both the Steward Parker and the George Devine Award, the ADC debut of Disco Pigs promises to be a thrilling paean to unbridled youth.
- October 2012
Pembroke Players presents PEMBROKE PLAYERS JAPAN TOUR 2012
‘Now, the most important thing you should know about real witches is this. Real witches dress in ordinary clothes, and look very much like ordinary women. They live in ordinary houses, and they work in ordinary jobs.’ - This summer, the Pembroke Players will tour Japan with their production of Macbeth. Set in Edwardian Britain, in a country house haunted by the absence of a child, where rocking horses move unprovoked, the clocks forever tick and spirits are ever present, the Macbeths are left questioning who and what they can trust as they sacrifice everything for power.
The Pembroke Players Japan Tour is now moving into its sixth consecutive year. Every year the Tour takes a high-quality production of a Shakespeare play to universities, schools, and public theatres across Japan. The tour is based in Tokyo but also gives participants an opportunity to travel and perform in locations outside of the capital - previous destinations have included Yokohama, Kyoto, Nagoya and many others.
- July 2012
- May 2012
- May 2012
“Try to look unhappy. We’re going to a burial, remember?”
A brother and a sister. A cart and a coffin. A dead man in a box. But is there a clear road to the graveside? There’ll be passage to pay and bridges to cross, the war is barely over and there are men in the woods who are still intent on fighting it...
Funny, tense and thought-provoking, this poignant new play by Harry Baker asks where love and loyalty ends, and pride begins. On at the ADC for a short run only, make sure you see the best of Cambridge’s new writing for 2012.
It’s a clear road, but it goes through dark places.
**** TCS "Its script and its execution were equally absorbing and exquisitely balanced between comedy and heartbreak...thoughtful and poignant... refreshing and enjoyable."
**** Varsity "The fact that A Clear Road takes a coffin on wheels as its inspiration goes some way in describing the bravery and originality of this production.... Magnetically atmospheric."
- March 2012
Have you? No, neither have I. But he has. Yes, he has. He so has. Look at him. Having it.
Phil Liebman and Jamie Mathieson, as seen at the Edinburgh Fringe, Footlights Smokers and the County Arms, present a brand spanking new sketch show like no other that takes the rulebook for student comedy and does such bad things to it that our mothers would be ashamed.
Praise for the writers:
Phil: ‘Delightful’ (The Tab), ‘Vigorous’ (New Current), ‘His essays aren’t perfect but there are no major issues.’ (Dr. Jonathan Birch)
Jamie: ‘Marvellous’ (Varsity), ‘Lovely’ (The Tab), ‘The lateness of many of his essays have precluded me from writing detailed feedback on his work.’ (Dr. Isabel DiVanna)
- March 2012
The French classical tragedy par excellence: passion, jealousy, revenge, politics and gallantry ending in bloodshed.
Oreste loves Hermione who loves Pyrrhus who loves Andromaque, who is torn between her fidelity to her late husband Hector, killed by Pyrrhus’ father, and her attempt to save their son. Disappointed love turns into hatred as the frantic quadrangle dissolves. Each of the protagonists either kill, or die; the survivor descends into madness.
Racine’s Andromaque, as transcendent as Shakespeare’s tragedies, blooms some of the most beautiful verses ever heard on stage. As every translation would betray this intimate union of poetry and drama, the text will be performed in French; but the bodies carried away by violence and desire will speak a language everybody can understand.
- February–March 2012
A stranger has come to the city of Thebes, claiming to be Dionysus, god of wine, and the women of the city have begun flocking to join him in his wild rites on the hillsides. Pentheus, the newly crowned king, thinks the man a charlatan and will do anything in his power to crush this new cult. But he is about to learn that gods - especially drunk ones - rarely take criticism well. This production will be a powerful, physically demanding interpretation of Euripides' masterpiece: the horrific majesty and sublime cruelty of the god of wine will be fully explored, and the audience will be immersed in a world of sex, alcohol and violence.
- February–March 2012
‘You are tricking a little girl into loving you.’
As a married couple prepare for a rare night alone, a simple mistake provokes a confession that threatens to devastate their family. Forced to face up to an uncomfortable reality, accusations and apologies are exchanged as the pair find themselves desperate to both understand and hide the truth. Innovatively staged in an intimate setting, Unconditional is a by turns moving and unnerving play that considers what happens when our most fundamental expectations go unfulfilled.
‘This is the point where it gets better.’
‘Only for you.’
Tickets available here: http://www.adcticketing.com/shows/show/1224
- February 2012
'You take your eyes off a show for two minutes, and the next thing you know the theatre's half empty and all the laughs have gone.'
Keith is at the theatre watching his play. So is everyone else. Allegedly. But what with upholstery, understudies and unwelcome birthday treats, is it any surprise no one's paying attention?
From Michael Frayn, two times winner of the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Comedy and writer of ‘Noises Off’ comes ‘Audience’, a one-act comedy about how the real spectacle can be found in the stalls, even if the drama is on stage.
- November 2011
- November 2011
You've Burnt The Parsnips is an original 45 minute one-act comedy, telling the story of an ill-fated dinner party.
Susan, a positively obnoxious snob, is fretting over the last-minute preparations for the dinner party she is holding for her brother’s twenty-fifth birthday. While she panics and perfects every minute detail, all her husband, Simon, does is dance along to his only remaining record, after the mysterious disappearance of his collection. Simon - a long-suffering and downtrodden man - yearns to escape his marriage but is too weak to oppose his tyrannical wife.
As the guests arrive, the underlying tensions surface all too easily: Susan’s bitter competition with her “common” sister, Brenda; a not-so-subtle affair between Susan and Brenda’s husband; and Susan’s overbearing mollycoddling of her wimp of a younger brother.
Served with a generous helping of snide gibes and a hearty dollop of awkwardness thanks to an unworn Christmas present and a total disregard for the Estonian champagne industry, "Parsnips" follows every member of the family reaching breaking point and setting out to exact revenge in increasingly inventive ways.
Will the evening’s events finally set Simon free?
- November 2011
Freshers' Week: we've all been there. This time with songs...
Follow the lives of five freshers as they attempt to navigate the highs and lows of that first week of university life. Nervous Hayley is finding it difficult being away from home but there is hope that cheeky chappy Tuc will help her overcome her fears. Posh boy Rupert enjoys playing croquet, but his female counterpart Ally seems less than impressed by his advances. And shy Basil is struggling to find out who he really is... Will rapping about your cat really win you friends? Is Frankenstein or Flo Rida a more appropriate costume for the fancy-dress party? And why are all romantic encounters fraught with complications? With the ‘best years of our lives’- and some of the worst mornings after - re-imagined in musical form, FRESHER! will take you back to those first days of university you wish you could forget.
- November 2011
- October 2011
Tom Stoppard’s THE REAL THING, already a classic in modern drama, is an unforgettable exploration of love, art and reality. Winner of the Tony Award, Critics’ Circle Award and Evening Standard Award for Best Play, it has delighted audiences the world over and established Stoppard as one of the greatest writers of our time. At its heart, Henry—a playwright with high romantic ideals—aims at true love in both his life and writing. His relationship with the strong-minded actress Annie comes at a price he struggles to afford, but it affords us ‘two of the finest [roles] in modern drama’ (The Independent). Sparklingly witty yet profoundly moving, Stoppard's play muses and amuses as it asks us whether we can ever find true love, express love truly or capture 'the real thing'.
This new staging for the all-new Corpus Playroom comes from the production team that brought you SEXUAL PERVERSITY IN CHICAGO and MARGOT DE SADE, and looks set to be a highlight on the theatrical termcard this Michaelmas.
Find out more at TheRealThing.org.uk.
- October 2011
Serge has bought a painting. A very expensive, totally white painting. Marc hates it. Yvan is caught in the middle.
Marc is a cynical know-it-all. Serge is a proud name-dropping showoff. Yvan is just trying to be a good friend and mediator.
If your friendship is based on tacit mutual agreement, what happens when one person does something completely different and unexpected? The question is: Are you who you think you are, or who your friends think you are?
Multiple Comedy Awards. The Tony Award for Best Play. Who'd have thought it was all about a "white piece of shit"?
- September 2011
Now in its fifth consecutive year, Pembroke Players Japan Tour will be taking Shakespeare's Twelfth Night to a range of venues in England and Japan. Visiting schools, universities and professional theatres both in rural and urban Japan during September, the tour will also feature a home run in Cambridge at the beginning of Michaelmas term.
Transported to 1940s civilian England, the characters of Twelfth Night resort to music, drink and trickery to distract themselves from death and unrequited love. Dealing with chaos, cons and crossed wires, their lives veer between the comic and the tragic as they look for entertainment and affection in Shakespeare's iconic play.
- June 2011
When a rhinoceros charges across the town square one afternoon, Berenger doesn't bat an eyelid and attempts to carry on with life as usual. Soon, however, rhinoceroses are popping up everywhere and Berenger's whole world begins to unravel. In 'Rhinoceros', a landmark piece of French absurdist comedy, Ionesco dares us to resist temptation in the face of conformity and cling on to our humanity...even when everyone else is going rhino...
JEAN: Instead of squandering all your spare money on drink, isn't it better to buy a ticket for an interesting play? Do you know anything about the avant-garde theatre there's so much talk about? Have you seen Ionesco's plays?
BERENGER: Unfortunately, no. I've only heard people talk about them. (...)
- May 2011
- February 2011
"Welcome to the happy world..." Attempted murder, New Age strippers, Techno music, Bulgarian go-go boys, corporate anarchists, AIDS cocktails, horny ghosts, beautiful bodies, abusive lovers, and lots and lots of E. This is 1999. At times poignant, shocking and bleakly hilarious, Ravenhill's Some Explicit Polaroids shows us what happens when these characters collide.
- February 2011
From the "hilarious" (Varsity) Dannish Babar comes a brand-new, "hilarious" (TCS) evening of stand-up comedy and mentalism that promises to be "hilarious" (The Tab).
What the press pack says: "Dannish Babar has got to be one of the most strangely endearing people free to roam the streets" - The Tab "Stunning character, originality and confidence" - Varsity "An unattractive man [...] who did a slow stand-up set" - Oxford Cherwell
- February 2011
From the "hilarious" (Varsity) Dannish Babar comes a brand-new, "hilarious" (TCS) evening of stand-up comedy that promises to be "hilarious" (The Tab).
Previous praise: "Dannish Babar has got to be one of the most strangely endearing people free to roam the streets" - The Tab "Stunning character, originality and confidence" - Varsity "An unattractive man [...] who did a slow stand-up set" - Oxford Cherwell
- February 2011
Arnold Wesker's One Woman Plays are brought to life in Cambridge by a talented array of female actors. Funny, moving and thought-provoking, come and hear their stories...
- November 2010
- November 2010
Three comic sketches and one short play; all by the late, great Harold Pinter.
'Trouble in the Works', a farce, takes a hilarious look at the trials and tribulations suffered by a factory owner whose workers have 'taken a turn against the products'.
'Request Stop' sees a young woman reveal surprising motives, as she berates a stranger at a bus stop.
'That's Your Trouble' charts the course of bickering between friends as a sandwich board starts an innocent discussion that quickly becomes heated.
'Party Time' is a darkly comic short play. The play, which takes the form of a political allegory, explores the multiple underlying tensions at an upper class party: what is this mysterious club that everyone is raving about? Why has there been a disturbance outside? And where, we wonder, is Jimmy?
- November 2010
A table, some chairs, and some lockers... Watch as you are drawn into the hyper-realistic setting of The Scientifically Minded. In this student's hangout, a group of under- and post-graduates discuss their lives, their loves and their futures as we are afforded a tantalising glimpse into their complex lives. Through their everyday, nonsensical conversations, we see moral and scientific issues taking root in the hearts of the students undertaking this research, as topics such as genetic manipulation and animal testing arise.
This translation of Oriza Hirata's acclaimed play is a modern theatre experience that brings the audience into its starkly realistic world, blurring the boundaries between the stage and actuality. And as these students discuss their everyday situations and the problems of their work, they tackle fundamental ideas of what it means to live, from both a scientific and an immensely personal perspective.
- November 2010
Ava is gone, events must take their course, though not everybody - past or present - knows why.
"Joseph - What's done is done, I suppose, so if we could put the events of Kristallnacht behind us, I'd like you to come for dinner, following the meeting tomorrow. I've a speech I'd like you to take a look at it . Your help would be appreciated - public speaking is not, after all, what I am remembered for - I couldn't bear to put on a poor show. Regards, Hermann."
Germany, the 12th of November, 1938 - possibly - Dieter is hiding in the kitchens, Helga is drunk again, and Frederick flits between above and below, in denial. History is and is not what we make of it. Pembroke New Cellars, Week 5: 9th-13th November, 7:45pm. An immersive, intimate new piece of theatre by Niall Wilson, previously shortlisted for the Marlowe Society 'Other Prize' for both 'Notes on Another Life' and 'A Lesson in Morbidity', and writer of the "Best Overall Play for the Judges and Audience" at the 2009 ADC '24 Hour Plays'.
- October 2010
At the dawn of human civilisation, only the big, muscular men and women able to defend their families and tribes survived. As these groups grew in number, and the tall, strong farmers could provide food surpluses, an evolutionary niche was filled by the 'comedy writer'. This weak-willed yet mindful fool used wit to disarm opponents, self deprecation to lull them into a false sense of security, and then, finally, irony to deliver the fatal blow. Laughter evolved as a defense mechanism, and is as popular today as ever. This sketch show is its next test.
- September 2010
Pembroke Players' JAPAN TOUR 2010
MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING William Shakespeare
'I do suffer love indeed, for I do love thee against my will.'
Want to spend three weeks in Japan this summer, travelling twelve thousand miles and performing Shakespeare to four thousand students?
For the past three years Pembroke Players have been running an annual Japan Tour which is now, along with CAST and ETG, the most prestigious and successful international student theatre tour in Cambridge.
The 2010 Tour will perform Much Ado About Nothing in seven or eight universities around Japan, in venues of up to 2,000 seats each, over a period of three weeks in September 2010. Between performances we hold workshops on acting and directing for Japanese students.
On return to the UK, the Tour completes a home run in Cambridge. Two years ago we performed in the incredible atmosphere of King's College Chapel, and also in the Japanese Embassy in London. This year we're looking to do the same, and also call in on a central London theatre.
The personal cost to you would be no more than £300, probably less.
Those travelling to Japan will need to be able to commit to be free from early August to the start of October next year.
There will be 6 male and 4 female roles. Those with SINGING, DANCE and other MUSICAL skills are particularly welcome.
Much Ado About Nothing is Shakespeare's biting comedy about the sharpest-witted hero and heroine in history. This bitter-sweet play will be set in Edwardian England – a world of pantaloons, bicycles, croquet and Votes for Women. In this war of the sexes, who will come out the victor?
- June 2010
Broadcasting to the world that you're impotent might not seem the most appropriate way to get the opposite sex into bed but in Wycherley's play 'The Country wife' appropriate is a dirty word. Welcome to the world of excess, scandal and intrigue. A world where virtue is a thin veneer and one man sets out on a mission to bed all the willing wives of London. This production of the Country Wife is set in Edwardian England. In a society where men can have as many mistresses as they can afford Pinchwife, tired of being jilted by prostitutes, marries Margery - a young 'innocent' girl from the country - in the hope that she, unlike the London women, will remain faithful to him. Despite his efforts to keep her away from his lascivious friends when Horner sets eyes on the country beauty his mind is made up. He determines to have Margery just as firmly as Pinchwife determines he will not. The stage is set. It will be quite the performance.
- May 2010
Entertaining Mr. Sloane, arguably Joe Orton’s funniest play, depicts what happens when Sloane, an amoral, manipulative, young man with no qualms about surrendering his body, goes to live with Kath as a lodger. Kath, a sexually repressed middle-aged frump, can hardly contain her desire to bed Sloane, however, complications arise when it becomes clear that neither can her closet-homosexual brother, Ed. The situation becomes yet further complicated when Kath and Ed’s father, Kemp, recognises Sloane as the ruthless murderer of his former boss. Written and set in the 1960s, Sloane follows the actions of those who we assume would know better; their rapacious needs, their ignorance, and their unwitting violence. It promises to be both an unsettling and wickedly amusing distraction from the stale boredom of Week 3 revision.
- March 2010
‘Quality Street’: the glittering Restoration-revival comedy that inspired a family favourite box of chocolates. Phoebe Throssel and Valentine Brown are the lovers parted by war in Napoleon’s Europe; when Brown returns home, it seems old passions have been laid to rest. But with the aid of her stalwart sister, Phoebe sets out to captivate Brown once again in the guise of her own coquettish ‘niece’. The light-hearted deception mounts to a crisis, with hilarious complications, and a heart-warming conclusion. Auditions: Sunday 24th January, Pembroke College, N7, 14:00-18:00 Contact: Alexander Whiscombe aw413 with any questions.
- February 2010
‘Loving Leticia’ is a lighthearted, newly-written melodrama, which is full of fun, comedy and laughter. Leticia is in love with Augustus, but her mother is desperately trying to marry her off to Lord Leighton who is certainly not all he seems... Is poor Leticia doomed or will love conquer all?
- February 2010
Once again it is time for the Pembroke Players Black Tie Smoker, the classiest comedy event on the Cambridge calendar!
A splendid evening of champagne, canapes and cackling with Cambridge's finest student comedians, plus, this year, a special headline act from the London circuit.
Dress code is black tie. Hence the name, you know.
