- January 2011
The Way Through the Woods is an original telling of the Snow White story, which combines verse, music, dialogue and song to create an atmospheric and ambiguous tale. It explores the cyclical nature of life and the fundamental perils of childhood through a reinterpretation of this classic story, and weaves a thought-provoking narrative from influences which range from fairy tales to Faust.
Storytelling has always been intimately bound up with music and song, and perhaps nowhere more so than in folklore. As we settle down to a fireside tale in the depths of a winter's night, the specially composed score sets the scene, colours our perceptions and brings the story alive. In its blend of carefully drawn, familiar but surprising characters with original and integrated music, the piece acquires the flavour perhaps of Stravinsky's Soldiers' Tale had it been written by Neil Gaiman.
- January 2011
Footlights alumnus and Wolfson Howler regular Liam Williams returns to the ADC to perform stand up comedy. He is joined by current Footlights Phil Wang (Chortle Student Comedian of the Year 2010) and Dannish Babar to present this piece of gentle late-night art brut. The show will strive to be both 'modish' and 'good'.
Some quotes and noun phrases to convince you of the performers' collective credibility:
Liam Williams So You Think You're Funny?' Runner Up 2010, 'Amused Moose Laugh Off' Runner Up 2010 "There's something irresistible about Liam Williams... such a charismatic performer" (Tab) "Great voice, smart gags and a great sense of being right in the moment" (Chortle)
Dannish Babar "Stunning character, originality, confidence... had the crowd captivated" (Varsity) "An unattractive man who did a slow stand-up routine" (Cherwell, Oxford)
Phil Wang "A skilful and hilarious individual" (Varsity)
- December 2010
Bright lights and carousels, screams, swings, and thrills: The Taming of the Shrew is the story of showmen. In Shakespeare's celebrated comedy, it is the 1950s, and a travelling funfair has just rolled into town. On the
surface, it is a dream-world of riches, romance, and riot; but underneath it all lurks the anarchic subculture of these unsettled entertainers, living on the very edge of society. Here, corruption and wickedness
pervade, morality is a mere aberration, and nothing is quite as it seems. But appearances must be kept up, and the show will go on.
As the oldest and most prestigious touring theatre society in Cambridge, ETG tours a Shakespearean play, along with full set and professional lighting and sound equipment, around Europe by coach for just over two weeks each December as soon as Michaelmas term has finished. Full details of the tour and what it entails can be found at www.cuetg.co.uk.
- 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
Could you create a play out of nothing in 24hrs? Come see the best theatrical talent in Cambridge do just that. Five directors, writers, producers, creatives & techies along with twenty five actors will form five groups and put on five new plays. This is the Cambridge version of the concept made famous by the Old Vic, which includes among their previous participants: Jim Broadbent, Joseph Fiennes, Josh Hartnett, Rosamund Pike, Kevin Spacey & Catherine Tate. Last year we were treated to some fantastic comedy and poignant drama, some category winners being offered professional jobs after their phenomenal performances. No one knows what will emerge on stage in the 25th hour, but there can only be one overall winner, as chosen by the intimidating judging panel, and you the audience. What will the groups come up with? No one knows.
- November 2010
“You can’t count on anything. Last time I made love I whiplashed my neck.”
Passing By is a charming romantic comedy about a love between two men whose hearts pull them together as their lives pull them apart.
An intimate and unmissable production of this rarely-performed, heart-warming gem from the pen of the award-winning Martin Sherman (writer of the inspirational Holocaust drama Bent and the mischievous motion picture Mrs Henderson Presents).
“Astonishing... witty, sometimes blissfully silly... moving, touching and sexy.” (Guardian)
“One of the most radical plays ever written. Quirky, funny, touching, romantic and revolutionary. It overturned my life. Perhaps it will do the same for others.” (Simon Callow)
“Witty and passionate.” (Ian McKellen)
“Brilliant.” (Daily Express)
-- Love isn’t forever. Love is just passing by. --
- 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
Everything's normal, isn't it? People do break up all the time and it's nothing to get too worked up about. In fact, if there's a party on just after you might as well go to it anyway. Why not? Do you like parties? You know what goes on at parties. How well do you know your friends? How well do you know yourself?
This year's winner of the Marlowe/RSC The Other Prize opens the door to some disturbing guests -- and they're all best friends.
- November 2010
CUMTS are pleased to present RENT, the rock opera by Jonathan Larson, as their 2010 Michaelmas Musical! Based around the story of eight friends living, loving and protesting against poverty and AIDS together in New York in the 1990s, this musical captures the heart and spirit of a generation of struggling artists, addicts, and impoverished young people. Think bohemia. Think power ballads mixed with quiet touching moments. Think hope, despair and eventually triumph. Think RENT.
- November 2010
Have you ever wanted a soundtrack to your life? Come and see what having one is like…
Have you ever wanted a soundtrack to your life, Ever found that perfect song for that special moment? We have too. Here is a montage of scenes inspired by, written for and with, directed and performed to those wonderful pieces of music.
Come and see the work of Cambridge’s most impressive writers, directors and actors. Each has chosen a song that inspires them somehow. It might make them laugh, cry, shout and rage, or it may be their favourite morning radio tune. Together they have crafted scenes to the music, filled with people you could meet on any street, in any house; they could even be you. The characters live a moment beautifully set to music, music that becomes the soundtrack to their lives.
To live these moments with them, come and experience Soundtrack to your Life.
- November 2010
Set in Belfast during the 1994 world cup, A NIGHT IN NOVEMBER follows Kenneth Norman McCallister, a Protestant Dole Clerk working in Northern Ireland who has quietly discriminated against Catholics his whole life. One Night in November he reluctantly finds himself at a crucial Northern Ireland v Republic of Ireland football match and what he sees there makes him question the very beliefs he was raised with. Join him on his hilarious and poignant journey of self discovery as he challenges the sectarian dogma of his family and friends, leaves Belfast, crosses the border for the first time in his life, boards a flight into the unknown and tries to discover what it means to both Protestant and Irish.
- 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
In deepest Mississippi, a storm is brewing. It’s Big Daddy Pollitt’s sixty-fifth birthday. His family have flocked to his forty-thousand acre plantation to celebrate. But they know something he doesn’t...
Since its Pulitzer Prize-winning premier and the motion picture starring screen legends Paul Newman and Elizabeth Taylor, this searing razor-sharp examination of sex, lies and a family on the brink of collapse has been universally acknowledged as a modern classic. Now – hot on the heels of an Olivier award-winning West End revival – we present some of Cambridge’s finest talent in a fresh rethinking of this hilarious, sensuous masterpiece.
“Irresistible, stunning, superb theatre.” (New York Times)
“Dark laughter mingled with deep pain – a harrowing, blackly comic drama of dysfunctional family life.” (Telegraph)
-- I'm not living with you. We occupy the same cage, that’s all. --
- 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.’
- October 2010
Lights Camera Action!
The lights are on and the cameras are rolling for the latest exploits of Cherry and Blossom.
Witness the highs and lows of Hollywood life as the pair try and make it to the big screen. With song, dance and laughs along the way, the girls will take you on a tour of the golden age of Hollywood: from the melodrama of the silent screen to the opulence of the period drama, from the suspense-filled Film Noir to the joy-filled fifties musical.
Fasten your seatbelts, it’s going to be the cinema-trip of your life.
All right Cambridge, the girls are ready for their close-up
- October 2010
"The fires will be burning in Udaipur tonight..."
The British Raj in India is coming to an end. In the twilight of history, an entrenched colonial family prepares its last supper.
Eve has been missing all day. On the eve of James’ departure for England, the family gathers for a final farewell. Tempers fray as the oppressive heat of day climaxes in the stifling darkness of the Indian night. Someone is harbouring a dark secret. Outside, a storm is brewing. This poignant snapshot of a decaying empire is a pertinent reminder of the bonds of family, the power of love, and the struggle for identity that burns within.
"Nothing is ever really yours here. No matter how many times we stamp things, nothing is really British."
Patrick Garety’s lyrical new play comes to the ADC in a haunting and evocative production which celebrates the fervour of youth, and how the choices of a moment can shape our lives.
- October 2010
Calling all highly cultured persons!!!
Come and see three, that's right... three talented individuals as they work their way through the thirty seven works of the master playwright William Shakespeare...well kind of...
Back at the ADC, the Marlowe Society proudly present this hilarious revival of a comedy classic.
“What cheek! What nerve! What sheer, heavenly, unadulterated fun!” Sunday Express
- October 2010
The world-famous Marlowe Society ("a powerhouse of theatrical expertise" - Sir Ian McKellen) is proud to work with the ADC Theatre to bring to life Jonson's finest masterpiece.
Living in a stolen house, Face, Subtle and Dol Common are making themselves a fortune. Imagine, if you can, a world full of the greedy, false and ambitious, all out for everything they can get. Imagine a world where the desire for money and sex drives individuals to believe the most outrageous things. Imagine a world where such an indulgent philosophy leads its residents into farcical and extraordinary situations. Our three heroes are master con-artists. Employing a spectacular array of characters and costumes they entice, seduce, deceive and hustle their way through the playwright’s most colourful and eclectic collection of characters with hilarious results.
Ben Jonson wrote The Alchemist to satirise the London of his time, however, his precise, witty and enlightened depiction of humanity remains shockingly relevant today.
The Marlowe Society exists to perform Elizabethan, verse, and non-realist plays and to provide unique opportunities for the students of Cambridge University. The Marlowe Society continues to involve and invite their alumni. There is a strong possibility that some of these alumni, including Simon Russell Beale and Ian McKellen, will come back to watch and support this show and give speeches before the performance begins. The opportunity to be a part of such an adventurous production to be performed for such illustrious audience members is something few shows can offer in Cambridge.
Any questions or queries please contact the director, John Haidar, on jh705.
- June 2010
The Footlights National Tour Show is the biggest show of the year from the most famous student comedy society in the world.
For these first ten preview shows, expect an all-new, full-length, main show from some of the most talented and hard-working young comedians around. This is your first chance to see the Footlights Tour Show before it travels off to the Edinburgh Festival, and around the United States.
Previous Tour Shows have kick-started the comedy careers of countless famous faces. And this year it’s going to be better than ever. So come join us. Because this is where it all begins.
- June 2010
Stand-up comedy that’s a bit like needing a wee – if you don’t go now, you’ll regret it later. Come and meet Naz Osmanoglu (Amused Moose Winner), Kieran Boyd, Mark Cooper-Jones and Ben Target as they break into the bubble, and do the funny in a series of latenight comedy specials.
‘Brilliant’ – The List ‘More energy than a dozen Duracell bunnies’ - Steve Bennet ‘An act where you feel that anything is possible’ - I AM JOY comedy
- June 2010
Chess is a musical with lyrics by Tim Rice and music by Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson, formerly of ABBA. The story involves a romantic triangle between two top players, an American and a Russian, in a world chess championship, and a woman who manages one and falls in love with the other; all in the context of a Cold War struggle between the United States and the Soviet Union, during which both countries wanted to win international chess tournaments for propaganda purposes.
Released around the same time and with many similarities to Jesus Christ Superstar and Evita, the first theatrical production of Chess opened in London's West End in 1986 and played for three years. A much-altered US version premiered on Broadway in 1988, but suffered from these changes to give a shorter run. Chess is frequently revised for new productions, many of which try to merge elements from both the London and Broadway versions; however, no major revival production of the musical has yet been attempted either on West End or Broadway, although the Albert Hall recently played to sell-out audiences for a concert version starring such leading names as Idina Menzel, Josh Groban, Adam Pascal and Marti Pellow.
Chess came seventh in a BBC Radio 2 listener poll of the United Kingdom's "Number One Essential Musicals."
- May 2010
Fifty-eight year old Fran Lamb has put an ad in the local paper about a women’s writers’ group that she wants to start. Two turn up. Together they form a motley trio. They decide to devise a performance about Boadicea, a ‘great lady’. What they really end up encountering is the fact that each of them has a secret, which is brought out through their friendship. This is a witty and poignant story about the power of sharing stories.
As ‘the fear’ looms pre-exams, this is the ideal play to remind you of the other important things in life...like love and laughter.
Praise for the original performance at The Watermill: ‘Richly entertaining exploration of most of the strengths and just a few of the weaknesses of the female sex’ – The Stage
‘One of the warmest, funniest and most touching explorations of the female psyche that you could wish to see’ – The Henley Standard
‘This play is a brilliant piece of writing by Ade Morris with line after line of hilarity’ – The Newbury Weekly News
- 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.
- April 2010
Join Cambridge’s hottest Musical Theatre talent for one stunning evening.
Be taken on a journey through some of the most enduring show tunes from eighty years of Musical Theatre, from the golden age of Broadway to the most popular songs from today’s best new shows. Ten of the University’s finest singers will be joined on stage by our sensational orchestra to bring you these classic numbers.
After the sell-out successes of I Love You, Your’re Perfect, Now Change, Parade, and our ever-popular Bar Nights, CUMTS return to the ADC stage for one night of stellar singing, showbiz glitz (and perhaps just a hint of self-indulgence...)
Tickets are sure to sell fast, so be sure to book now for this one-off spectacular.
- April–May 2010
The action is set in Truvy's beauty salon in Chinquapin, Louisiana, where all the ladies who are "anybody" come to have their hair done. Helped by her eager new assistant, Anelle (who is not sure whether or not she is still married), the outspoken, wise-cracking Truvy dispenses shampoos and free advice to the town's rich curmudgeon, Ouiser. ("I'm not crazy, I've just been in a bad mood for forty years"); an eccentric millionaire, Miss Clairee, who has a raging sweet tooth; and the local social leader, M'Lynn, whose daughter Shelby (the prettiest girl in town), is about to marry a "good ole boy." Filled with hilarious repartee and now a few acerbic but humorously revealing verbal collisions, the play moves toward tragedy when, in the second act, the spunky Shelby (who is diabetic) risks pregnancy and forfeits her life. The sudden realisation of their mortality affects the others, but also draws on the underlying strength, and love, which give the play, and its characters, the special quality to make them truly touching, funny and marvelously amiable company in good times and bad.
- April 2010
Frimston and Rowett have been through a lot together. They've fought together, loved together, lost together. Now they're lightening up a bit and doing an hour of comedy together.
Join them at the ADC Theatre for a night of sketch comedy the like of which no man has seen and lived.
- April 2010
- April 2010
The world famous Marlowe Society is proud to work with the ADC theatre to bring to life Jonson's finest masterpiece.
Living in a stolen house, Face, Subtle and Doll Common are making themselves a fortune.
Imagine, if you can, a London full of the greedy, false and ambitious, all out for everything they can get. Imagine a London where the desire for money (and every now and again sex) drives individuals to believe the most outrageous things. Imagine a London where this indulgent philosophy leads its residents into farcical and extraordinary situations. Jonson wrote The Alchemist to satirise the London of his time but his precise and enlightened depiction of humanity remains scarily relevant today.
Our three...heroes...are master con-artists. Employing a spectacular array of characters and costumes they entice, seduce, befuddle and hustle their way through Jonson's most colourful and eclectic collection of characters with hilarious results.
The Marlowe Society exists to perform Elizabethan, verse, and non-realist plays and to provide unique opportunities for the students of Cambridge University. The Marlowe Society continues to involve and invite their alumni. There is a strong possibility that some of these alumni, including Simon Russell Beale (who played Face at the National in 2006), will come back to watch and support this show and give speeches before the performance begins. The opportunity to be a part of such an adventurous production to be performed for such illustrious audience members is something few shows can offer in Cambridge.
Any questions or queries please contact director Matt Bulmer on mab85.
- March–April 2010
The Pied Pipers are delighted to present this spectacular stage adaptation of Disney's enchanting animated film. A beautiful young woman is imprisoned in a castle by a prince who has been transformed by a spell into a beast. The spell can only be broken if someone falls in love with him despite the way he looks. The story is set to an Oscar-winning score including the mesmerizing title song and the show-stopping 'Be Our Guest', performed by an array of colourful and comic characters.
This most delightful of romantic fairy tales became one of the longest running musicals in Broadway history and was nominated for nine Tony awards. Following its successful run in the West End and two national UK tours, the Pied Pipers are one of the very first regional theatre companies to be granted permission to perform this "tale as old as time". Fun for all the family!
- March 2010
Footlights Harry Porter Prize Winner 2010: ‘Hostage’ by Keith Akushie Judged by Jesse Armstrong, the BAFTA-Television Award winning, Oscar nominated co-writer of PEEP SHOW, THE THICK OF IT and IN THE LOOP Making small talk can be hard enough; it’s even worse when it’s with your own kidnapper In an ordinary high-street bank, three co-workers find themselves being held captive and having to spend the night together, trapped in a tiny office with their kidnapper (he’s not that much of a threat to be honest). Hostage is a new comedy about killing time, all trying to get along, and just making the best of a bad situation really From the co-writer of Wishful Thinking: 2009 Footlights National Tour Show, co-writer of Derek: 2009 Spring Revue and winner of the 2008 RAG Stand-up Competition, ‘Hostage’ is this year’s winner of the Harry Porter Prize, awarded to Cambridge’s best new one-hour comedy play. “Strong characters, strong situation, strong laughs. This play is basically just so incredibly strong there’s a strong chance it’ll wrestle you to the floor and beat you up, while you laugh” Jesse Armstrong
- 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!
- March 2010
- March 2010
ADC main show Lent Term Week 7, March 2nd-6th
The Heavens have been watching us. God isn’t happy. In fact, he’s so completely fed up that he’s decided enough is enough. Welcome to the sketch show that marries certain doom with reckless levels of funny.
The Footlights Spring Revue is one of the biggest comedy events in Cambridge. It’s sold out for the last four years in a row, and ‘People Watching’ promises to be another smash hit from the world famous comedy club.
