- October 2018
Featuring performers who are all brand new to the comedy scene, Footlights bring you the funniest songs, sketches, monologues and stand-up in an hour of non-stop, back-to-back fun-filled hilarity. The material is always original and always varied. It can be soft and silly, rude and spiky, wordy and nerdy or a little surreal; whatever the style, it's always 'uproariously funny' (Varsity).
- October 2018
‘Sin will pluck on sin’
It is 1980 and the notorious York family has finally made peace with their bitter rivals, the Lancasters. Everyone is looking forward to a period of calm, united under the new head of the families, Edward. Edward’s younger brother, Richard, however, has other ideas.
Cast-away and jealous, the unassuming Richard plans to take the role of Don for himself.
Political drama meets gangster-thriller, this re-adaptation sees Shakespeare’s least redeeming character seamlessly slot into the modern world by acquiring the position most suited to them: that of a scheming mobster.
- October 2018
Roll up! Roll up! For the drama of a lifetime with the travelling troupe of theatrical troglodytes the Cambridge Impronauts! Their all-new show puts you, the common-or-garden audience member, in ultimate control of the action, as you watch an improvised murder mystery story with one horrifying twist – you can decide who the killer is! The mild-mannered vicar? The eccentric billionaire? A random bystander? All in your hands. Swing the play’s drama in whichever direction you wish and let the drama unfold. Will the killer of your choice be caught by our heroes and/or bystanders? Continue their spree? Or live to terrorise another day/night/dusk/elevensies? You’ll have to come along and see, in the latest and ‘greatest’ (the author, 2018) show from Cambridge’s oldest and best-loved improvisation troupe!
- October 2018
"There's always been something wrong. Always, just as long as I can remember. But I never knew what it was until all this happened."
In 1930s rural England two female teachers are falsely accused of homosexuality by one of their students. Once the scandal reaches the local community, Martha and Karen's lives are destroyed as they become increasingly ostracised by society.
Lillian Hellman's The Children's Hour was banned when it was published due to its controversial depiction of female homosexuality. Now in the 21st century, it serves as a powerful reminder of the horrors of intolerance.
- October 2018
“Theatre should be grand, vulgar, simple, pathetic – not genteel, not poetical.”
So said Joan Littlewood, artistic director of the infamous Theatre Workshop and developer of the seminal 'Oh, What a Lovely War!', first performed in 1963. Born of a revolutionary collaborative process, this so-called ‘epic musical’ shook a nation with its visceral portrayal of the first world war. Both riotously entertaining and profoundly affecting, there is no other play which combines the same level of cultural significance and timeless appeal. Come to be enraged, come to be entertained – come and be part of 'Oh, What a Lovely War!'
4.5 stars from Varsity: https://www.varsity.co.uk/theatre/16259
5 stars from The Tab: https://thetab.com/uk/cambridge/2018/10/15/review-oh-what-a-lovely-war-114512
Listed in The Tab's top five shows of Michaelmas 2018: https://thetab.com/uk/cambridge/2018/12/03/tab-roundup-michaelmas-theatre-highlights-118438
- October 2018
A live band and the best of Cambridge comedy content from over the summer break, from the Edinburgh Fringe and beyond? It must be the first ADC Smoker of the year!
Footlights bring you the funniest songs, sketches, monologues and stand-up in an hour of non-stop, back-to-back fun-filled hilarity. The material is always original and always varied. It can be soft and silly, rude and spiky, wordy and nerdy or a little surreal; whatever the style, it's always 'uproariously funny' (Varsity).
- October 2018
Tennessee Williams’ intimate masterpiece journeys back through the hazy memories of Tom Wingfield to his time spent living in a stifling St Louis apartment with his mother Amanda, a faded Southern belle, and older sister Laura, whose crippling shyness and limp prevent her from leaving the house. Instead, she focuses her energies on a menagerie of small glass animals.
When Tom brings his popular colleague Jim home to dinner in the hopes of finding Laura a husband, the outgoing newcomer threatens to dismantle the precarious emotional ties holding the family together. During the evening, disillusionment takes precedent over fantasy, and the characters’ lives and dreams begin to look as fragile as the glass animals themselves.
- October 2018
The Cambridge Footlights International Tour Show is the biggest show of the year. Join ‘the most renowned sketch troupe of them all’ (The Independent) as they embark on another exceptional world tour, performing to over twenty thousand people across two continents. Last year's tour travelled to London, Edinburgh, California, Las Vegas, Boston, Chicago, New York, Cambridge, and many more. Don’t miss your chance to see the latest on offer from the group that launched many of the greatest names in comedy, including Stephen Fry, Emma Thompson, Mel Giedroyc, John Cleese, Miriam Margolyes, Hugh Laurie, Mitchell and Webb, Richard Ayoade, Olivia Colman, John Oliver and Sue Perkins.
- August 2018
"I long
To hear the story of your life, which must
Take the ear strangely..."
Sixteen years of waiting. Three thousand miles to cross. One story, waiting to be told.
Prospero has waited through years and across oceans. The loss of her Dukedom in Milan and the betrayal of her brother cannot go unpunished. But as the storms of old politics rise again, lovers take their first embrace and fools plot murder, the clock is ticking - and for Prospero to succeed even spirits above and monsters below must have what they desire.
Gather around our light, and let us tell you the story of Prospero's life.
- March 2018
The idea: someone makes a 27 second long film sequence. We pass it on to someone else, who writes and records music to it. We take out the film, and give the music to a filmmaker, who makes a film sequence to fit the music. We take out the music, and give that film to a music maker, who writes a track to fit that film - and so on. 'Film' can be animation, live action, narrative, video art; 'music' can be a band recording, a soundscape, orchestral, choral, jazz, incorporating words, incorporating bird noises. Everyone has a week to do it, and whatever they make has to be tailored / in response to what they're given. At the end, we have a series of interlocking 27 second pieces, which we screen.
The Cambridge Film Association, in collaboration with C o l l e c t i v e, and in association with Watersprite Film Festival, is very excited to set this unprecedented project in motion. We hope it will foster a load of very fruitful collaborations, and have no idea what the end result will look like. Get involved!
- March 2018
- March 2018
National treasures Bradley and Cecil Chadman have been off our screens for over a decade. But now, for one night only, ‘The Ant and Dec of West Sussex’ return with an hour of rhythmic goofs and melodic gaffs. They’re here to host a stellar cast of musically-minded comedians and comedically-minded musicians in what looks set to be the biggest musical showcase since Olly Murs won the X-Factor.
GOOD TUNES. GOOD LAUGHS.
TOE-TAPPERS. KNEE-SLAPPERS.
GOOD BROTHERS. BETTER FRIENDS.
- March 2018
The record-breaking winner of 12 Tony Awards, ‘The Producers’ is the smash-hit musical comedy based on Mel Brooks’ Academy-Award winning movie.
A down-on-his-luck Broadway producer and his diffident accountant come up with an illicit, lucrative scheme to produce the biggest flop in history.
From toe-tapping storm-troopers to chorus lines of zimmer frames, this is an unmissable gem of a musical which will have you crying with laughter.
10/10 review from TCS
https://www.tcs.cam.ac.uk/theatre/0038626-review-the-producers.html
- March 2018
‘Same old story here. When women start getting prophetic, total arseholes stop getting laid.’
Maddy and Jim’s relationship is having problems. Amazingly, it’s not because Jim has forgotten her name. Maddy has suddenly become prophetic, and she doesn’t like it one bit – try having sex with someone who you can see decomposing. She soon discovers there’s a gigantic prophetic community out there. As she ventures through Prophetics Anonymous, the Prophetic Pride movement, the disheartening futures of her primary school students, and a startling discovery about her boss, Jim tries to support her while also trying to remember her name.
The Harry Porter Prize is an annual new writing competition for a one-hour comic play, set up in memory of the late Dr Harry Porter, Footlights' long term senior archivist.
- March 2018
The CU Show Choir are back, and this time you decide!
Join the UK's best show choir as we battle it out Pitch Perfect style! The audience chooses the theme. We perform our signature range of mashups, medleys and cheesy choreography. Who knows what to expect?
- March 2018
'I wanna toast to the past of this family, when there were no Prozacs to make our father such a good man.'
December 1964. Brooklyn. Rocco Lazzarra returns home from a two year spell in a psychiatric hospital, to his Sicilian wife Filumena and their two grown sons. Bringing with him a small orchard of snow white orchids, apparently a transformed man, he seeks to repair the raw emotional wounds that still sting from a previous life of silence, repression and domestic violence.
As tensions rise, each character is forced to confront the shattered past of the family in order to push through towards a more hopeful future. Hope and resentment, love and hate collide in this heartrending, tender drama, that reaches towards recovery from a past that threatens to overwhelm all.
Varsity: ★★★★★
https://www.varsity.co.uk/theatre/15078
The Tab: ★★★★1/2
https://thetab.com/uk/cambridge/2018/03/08/review-snow-orchid-108803
TCS: 8/10
https://www.tcs.cam.ac.uk/theatre/0038578-review-snow-orchid.html
- March 2018
For one night only, CUMTS brings you an evening of pure musical theatre decadence. Dressed to the nines and accompanied by a full orchestra, the finest of Cambridge's musical theatre talent will be performing all of your favourite musical theatre classics alongside the latest Broadway hits, all dazzling with glitz and glamour...
- February–March 2018
E is struggling to come to terms with her changing body, R is obsessed with a 1940s movie star, and O and J are doing a parental practice run. As the action unfolds, their stories intersect and these disparate threads become interwoven by common themes so that, by the end, they have each grown into themselves a little more. The play combines moments of intimate duologues and near-poetic monologues, as well as a very human will to find humour in some of the darkest things.
Ultimately, it explores femininity, love, and how it feels to know the world wasn’t quite made for you.
- February 2018
Will’s dropped his manuscript of “The Complete Works” and the pages have got muddled. The best of the bard mixed with the scenes that didn't necessarily make the cut.
“The Shakespeare Scrapbook” combines some of the greatest scenes of Shakespeare with spoofs, sketches and silliness to create a night of Renaissance revels.
- February–March 2018
"This looks amazing, Judi! What a lovely way to celebrate your 40th! (Don't worry - I won't tell anyone you're a day older than 39 haha!) Very sorry we can't be there. Love to the kids, and I hope it's BBQ weather!! Don't drink too much Pimms hahahaha! Only joking, drink as much as you want hahahahahaha! Seriously though you embarrass yourself when you drink hahahahahahaha! Hugs and kisses, Mandy xxx”
The Footlights Spring Revue will be taking place at Judi's this year. Join "the most renowned sketch troupe of them all" (The Independent) for one of the biggest events in the Cambridge comedy calendar. The garden chairs are all a bit broken, and they've got garage cobwebs on them, but Gavin's worked out how to put up the gazebo (at last!!!!) so come along and celebrate with us! BBQ starts at 4pm, entertainment kicks off at 7:45pm and will feature sketches, songs and skits. See you there and let us know if you have trouble parking!
- February 2018
Boys Will Be Boys follows the people who must adapt to survive in an environment where toxic masculinity is held in highest esteem.
Astrid Wentworth is a well-seasoned veteran of this performance; a City trader, a ruthless player in a man’s world. If there is a special hell for women who don’t help each other, Astrid’s got the top table reserved and a Martini waiting. But when the young and ambitious Priya applies for a junior position on the trading floor, Astrid recognises something in her and decides to give her a go. After all, what’s gender got to do with it?
This play about how women navigate sex and power in a man’s world. But how can you win at a game, when the rules are rigged against you?
- February 2018
“There is a story for you. It is waiting where the snow falls.”
Faryn spends most of her days alone, recording the stories of her ancestors in books that will never be read. She is content, until the day comes when she decides to venture further away from home than ever before. It is then that she encounters a village - and a girl - whose way of living shows her that life cannot be lived like the stories she has inherited.
Wander is a story about storytelling that captures the human experience in a world just a touch beyond reality. This new and devised piece will take you on a bittersweet journey of nostalgia, tenderness and joy.
- February 2018
Cambridge's most wholesome Drag Collective are coming to the ADC to present you with a Valentine's treat.
Dragtime!: Speed Date.
Lonely hearts come one and all to meet the most beautiful Kings, Queens, and inbetweens that Cambridge has to offer! Sit back and get ready to fall in love. xo
- February 2018
Comic Sans Men is bringing a brand-new comedy hour to the ADC stage, without a script or a man in sight. Our stellar female and non-binary performers will improvise entirely new scenes before your eyes - think sketches, monologues, and your favourite improv games - all based on your suggestions.
Roman used to think that women couldn’t be funny. Roman doubted that comedy could be made up on the spot. Silly Roman. Now the time’s new, Roman.
- February 2018
"And all you have to do is squeeze your little finger.
Ease your little finger - you can change the world."
A darkly humorous blend of fiction and history, conspiracy and truth, Stephen Sondheim's Assassins depicts the disturbing lives of the nine individuals who have attempted to or successfully assassinated American Presidents.
Feeling betrayed by the broken promises of their ideal nation, they decide to strike out against its ultimate symbol: the President. From John Wilkes Booth to Lee Harvey Oswald, the rules of time and place are bent as these disillusioned misfits meet, interact and inspire each other to harrowing acts in the name of the 'American Dream'.
This funny yet bleak "revusical" combines lyrical ingenuity with multiple musical styles to explore the perverse motivations and characters behind these history-defining acts.
- February 2018
Medieval Sweden. A disaffected knight returning from the crusades encounters Death, who agrees to spare his life for the duration of a game of chess.
While they play the knight and his squire travel through a countryside ravaged by the plague, encountering a cross-section of medieval society on the way, including a group of actors, a witch condemned to burn at the stake, and plague victims.
Simultaneously an existential allegory and a social tragicomedy, the original Seventh Seal catapulted its director, Ingmar Bergman, to international fame, and is now considered one of his masterpieces. This tongue-in-cheek adaptation was inspired by Emma Rice’s work with Kneehigh.
The Seventh Seal broaches timeless questions – the prevalence of suffering, the inevitability of death – with a combination of theatrical irreverence and Bergman’s trademark, caustic wit.
- February 2018
Porterhouse College prides itself on having remained exactly the same for over 500 years. Swan is served in hall, the rowers are head of the river, and no one has achieved a first since 1956.
Disaster strikes when a liberal politician is appointed as the new master. Sir Godber plots to introduce a self-service canteen in hall, a condom machine in the toilet, and most horrendously of all… female undergraduates!
Porterhouse’s incurably traditional porter Skullion and the aging dinosaurs on the college council simply will not stand for it. This war for Porterhouse’s soul can only end one way: with three deaths, an incriminating television documentary and 2,000 inflated condoms raining down on Old Court.
Welcome to Porterhouse College, Cambridge.
- January–February 2018
Dear Pen Pal,
Got my Olly Murs bobble-head doll stolen last week which was way past cool, but my mood took a turn for the better when I saw that ‘Footlights Presents: Pen Pals’ is coming to the ADC in Lent Term! Wanna come watch it with me? It’d be so great to finally meet. I can’t think of anything better than watching a bumper hour of sketches, skits and songs from five First Class comedians (you know, like on stamps!)
Haha - it’s the thrill of going through someone else’s mail without any of the risk! A sketch show about the letters that get lost in the post. I eagerly await your reply.
Love,
Your Pen Pal x
P.S. How was chess camp? Did you win?
- January 2018
The Watersprite International Film Festival is a Cambridge based festival that receives entries from some of the very best student film-making talent from around the globe, with past winners going on to win prestigious awards from BAFTA and the Sundance Film Festival.
We've teamed up with the ADC Theatre to screen some of our previous winners ahead of our 2018 festival so come and join us for an evening of film-watching fun!
- January–February 2018
The Atreus family is in turmoil.
10 years have passed since Clytemnestra’s husband, Agamemnon, sacrificed their eldest daughter, Iphigenia, in order to stop military defeat. Clytemnestra is left to exact revenge.
Blood for blood, wound for wound, act for act: Aeschylus’ earth shattering trilogy tells the story of a family at war with each other. Husband against wife, wife against son, son against mother.
Their battlefield is an icy wound upon which terse family bonds are exposed and tightened, an empty stage on which the world’s oldest tragedy ricochets back into existence.
The Oresteia is reborn.
The cycle of blood continues…
- January 2018
"Words are cheap. The biggest thing you can say is elephant" - Charlie Chaplin
After a dictatorial decree, all comic speech has been banned and comedians branded in an attempt to secure power. In a ramshackle theatre, a group of intrepid performers stage a new rebellion: using their physicality, subtitles, projections, sound effects, overdub, recorded lines, audio description and the audience themselves to create laughter.
Speechless is a devised comedy sketch show about the importance of communication, the dangers of censorship and the universal appeal of comedy. It focuses on multimedia and is the first Cambridge comedy show to be BSL interpreted.
In association with the Relaxed Theatre Company.
- January 2018
..."The fantasies were easier because they helped me to avoid…all the things I couldn’t… I was hiding! Hiding from what I didn’t want to deal with. And we can’t do that. We can’t live fantasies"....
-
It’s Mother’s Day and Mother is dead. Now her two sons gather into her home to argue about the truth of their childhood. But a storm is approaching...with a violent new truth all of its own.
...."BOOM! AWAKE! BOOM! AWAKE! BOOM! AWAKE! BOOM! AWAKE! ".....
- January 2018
The finest of Cambridge's musical theatre talent join forces to create an original musical... in just 24 hours! Creative teams are given a theme for a musical, and each team write, compose and rehearse a song over the 24 hour period. The result is an eclectic and brand-spanking new show, and a spectacular celebration of new writing!
- January 2018
In 2015 it was demonstrated that a neural network – a computer algorithm inspired by the brain – can be trained to generate almost syntactically correct Shakespearean language, with… uncanny results. The same process can be applied to cookbooks, political rhetoric, musical scores, and more. We present to you a showcase of mismatched computerised malapropisms, generated and performed live, on stage, at the ADC theatre.
- January 2018
Buckle up for a brand spanking new hour of stand-up comedy.
Fifty percent from Ania Magliano + fifty percent from Riss Obolensky = a one hundred percent chance you’ll have a damn good time. Maths.
We'll take you through our lives, chuckle at some anecdotes and slide into some existential states of being. Oooft. So don your finest garments and loudest laughs, as we show you just how cathartic comedy can be.
- January 2018
ARE YOU... Depressed? Struggling? A junior doctor? Great news: we’ve got a coping mechanism for all three of those afflictions.
Meet Dillon (unemployed) and Oliver (junior doctor), who together prove you can make very different life decisions and still end up miserable. When Dillon discovers he has depression, will they unite to overcome this terrible illness? Spoiler: the answer to that is what drove them to write this show.
Fresh from sell-out runs in Cambridge, London and Leicester, Fix My Brain is the double-act debut from ex-Presidents of the Cambridge Footlights Dillon (2017 Chortle Student Comedy Award Finalist) and Oliver (1.75 million YouTube hits, which, if you haven't been on the internet, seem like a lot).
‘Daring and hilarious... an astonishingly honest portrayal that will keep you in stitches from beginning to end’ ***** Varsity
Previous praise:
‘A mix of the surreal and the satirical... packed in the punchlines’ Chortle
'Unnerving yet delightful' TCS
‘Pitch-perfect’ The Tab
