- November 2003
Under Milk Wood is the extraordinary story of apparently ordinary people. As we are drawn into the world of the inhabitants of Llareggub Hill, we discover a dream-like landscape of characters who are by turns hilarious, quirky, dark and brooding.
This production is about the madness of everyday people, how dreams and reality fade into one another and the creation of a unique world by one imagination.
- November 2003
Pygmalion remains today a classic of the English stage. Having had audiences in fits of laughter since its premier in 1914, the play charts how Eliza Doolittle, the common flower-girl of Covent Garden, is transformed by Henry Higgins into a consort fit for a king.
Yet it is more than a modern fairy-tale. It is part of Shaw’s greatness that he can make us laugh while also making us think.
The inspiration for Lerner and Lowe's magical My Fair Lady, this production is a chance to re-discover afresh the myth that has fascinated generations, in all its Shavian complexity, vitality and comic ingenuity.
- October–November 2003
Cross Road Blues retells the story of legendary Delta Blues guitarist Robert Johnson. In a stark and poignant dialogue with a stranger one night, Robert must confront his fate. ‘The blues’ he pleads, ‘is almost everything.’ God, the devil and the desperate calls of a soul displaced by the pain of living fall together in one life changing crash. ‘And then what?’ replies the stranger, ‘and then what?’
Cross Road Blues has been written and directed by David Hall and stars Calvin Smith and James Purdon.
Calvin Smith is a professional actor who has appeared many times on Broadway and has toured shows nationally in America. This is his first appearance at the ADC. James Purdon is studying at Emmanuel College, and last appeared at the ADC in Oedipus.
- October 2003
For the fourth year running, the ADC presents an improvised night of hilarity from its sharpest comedic minds. Audience participation encouraged...
- October–November 2003
When Teddy, a professor in an American university, brings his wife Ruth to visit his old home in London, he finds his family still living in the house. In the conflict that follows, it is Ruth who becomes the focus of the family’s struggle for supremacy. Bringing prostitution, pimping and Pinter to the ADC stage, The Homecoming is an immensely successful work from one of the most accomplished playwrights of the twentieth century.
- October 2003
A man falls asleep. He wakes up in the sea. It looks like magic. But it’s not magic, it’s comedy! One hour of concentrated, non-biological humour, this show will take you to places you never knew existed without resorting to time travel.
- October 2003
Andorra is the story of Andri, the adopted child of an Andorran school-teacher, whom everybody including himself believes is a Jew. Andri's life begins to fall apart when the Andorrans are invaded by their fiercely anti-Semitic neighbours, the Blacks; his countrymen, seeking a scapegoat, turn on him. In the conflict that follows, Andri is forced into confronting his own identity in a struggle with hatred, despair and love which is doomed to fail.
As Max Frisch insisted, Andorra is nothing to do with the state of the same name, nor with any country, but a vision of violence, bigotry and tragedy that could occur anywhere. This production stays faithful to his ideals, refusing to moralise and exposing the brutality that can lie so easily under a thin veneer of bourgeois respectability.
- October 2003
Top Draw Productions in association with the ADC return The Edinburgh Fringe hit to Cambridge. A rapid, revolutionary romp through 30 years of action-packed Commie history, featuring smash hits such as The Gulag Rag and Mrs Stalin Regrets.
"As post-pub entertainment goes, this is about as good as it gets" - Edinburgh Evening News.
"Witty and entertaining" - The Observer
Promises to be a sell out run – book now!
- October 2003
Vladimir and Estragon are waiting for someone. Fairly convinced that his name is Godot, they’re not entirely sure what they want from him or whether they’re even in the right place. Their wait is interrupted by the enigmatic whip-wielding Pozzo, and Lucky, his dancing slave. All of them are searching for comfort in the increasing absurdity of their situation. A black comedy which oscillates between the dark and the hilarious.
- October 2003
The 2003 Footlights tour show returns to the place where it all began, at the end of a nationwide tour visiting centres of culture from the Isle of Wight to Glasgow.
After sell-outs at the ADC and a month at the Edinburgh Festival, this really is your last chance to see the understated, dark and maliciously funny story of a lover cuckolded by his next-door neighbour, a girl who's celebrating losing her virginity to a farmhand, a man nearing the end of his days with a Pot Noodle and a kid bullied into conducting lightning for an experiment - and a lot more besides.
Directed by award-winning stand-up Mark Watson and BBC4 writer Tim Key and featuring the final Cambridge appearances of five of its most celebrated comedians, this is something you shouldn't miss.
- October 2003
Strange things are happening on the shortest night of the year. When a pair of young lovers flee from their parents and an arranged marriage, they stumble into a woodland world of moonlight and enchantment. A civil war has broken out in fairyland and, followed by rival suitors, these mortals find themselves trapped under the orchestrations of Oberon, King of the Fairies, and his mischievous sprite Puck. With the powers of a magic love juice, a midsummer madness befalls the lovers. The order of the woods is further shattered by the disastrous play rehearsals of a troupe of mechanics and when wild protestations of love spring from the Queen of the Fairies towards a donkey, it seems that only magical powers can end this, the longest night.
The acclaimed Cambridge University American Stage Tour(CAST) returns with Shakespeare’s sparkling comedy, set in a carnivalesque world where our dreams and reality meet. Let CAST transport you to the enchanted woods, as we present Shakespeare’s masterpiece in a production as funny, sexy, magical and scary as the course of true love itself.
All information for this Camdram Entry (excluding the description above) was added by the CAST 2018 Tour Managers and is based on archived documents provided by Beast. However, this actual Camdram entry was created at the time of the original show.
If you have any more information regarding this show or would like to know more, please get in touch.
- June 2003
- May 2003
Lance meets Percy on a train hurtling accross Europe. Percy is on a journey of discovery having realised his expensive university education has taught him pretty much nothing. Lance doesn't want to discover anything, he wants to live in his memories. Together the two men try to make sense of why they are there, aided by impromtu visits from Elvis and Richard Nixon among others. An original and thought-provoking piece of writing from one of Cambridge's finest new writers, the rehearsed reading of No Problems promises to be well worth seeing.
- May 2003
- May 2003
Only Ten Minutes to Buffalo tells the striking story of two friends on theiway to the place where all their dreams will be fulfilled. But does ‘Buffalo’ reallexist, and if so, can they be there in only ten minutesTaking you on a turbulent voyage into the realm of the absurd, this play is must for all those wishing to escape the stress of deadlines and the mundanrealism of exams. This production plays with the boundaries between the reaand the fantastical and touches upon questions of technological progress, throle of art and the meaning of life. One hour of charged chaotic calamity.
- May 2003
One of well-loved Yorkshire playwright Alan Bennett’s most hilarious plays, this riotous farce is the perfect antidote to Cambridge exam term The play, set in the 1960s, is a witty and fast-paced period piece revolving around the lives and loves of the Wicksteed family, pillars of the Hove community. Dr Arthur Wicksteed, GP, intrepidly pushes at the frontiers of the accepted doctor-patient relationship, occasionally crashing through them to the displeasure of his long-suffering wife. Their hypochondriac son Dennis (or is it Trevor? Arthur seems entirely unsure) has just three months to live, and is suffering from Brett’s Palsy, a rare and incurable disease complicated by a nasty case of lockjaw. His tragic plight attracts the attentions of Felicity Rumpers, only daughter of one Lady Rumpers, recently widowed and about to be confronted by her own less than pristine past. Then there’s Arthur’s sister Connie, whose ambition in life is to achieve a big bust, and who is emphatically not a spinster, just unmarried. Besides, there’s always Canon Throbbing, the local vicar, ever ardent in his 10-year pursuit of Connie and that’s before she orders a pneumatic breast-enhancing appliance. Still, at least one day his attentions may be rewarded – and it will all make a cracking piece on Anglican Sexuality for the ‘Church Times’As assignations go awry, wires get well and truly crossed and the pneumatic breastrun amok, chaos reigns in Hove.
- April–May 2003
- March 2003
Think sparkling; think shimmering; think splendour, and we're in the world of the burlesque dancer....welcome to Gypsy! Mama Rose, the eternal stage mother, is determined to achieve her daughters the fame she never managed. She abandons her home to push her daughters to live the lives of roaming vaudeville performers, driving them forward to further and greater fame and acclaim. But when Herbie, their agent, mistakenly books them into a strip joint, the fame one daughter achieves goes far beyond Rose's original intentions... Gypsy is based on the memoirs of the burlesque dancer Gypsy Rose Lee, and provides a fascinating cocktail of glitz, dance, surprise and intimacy that will make the Amateur Dramatic Club's Lent Term Musical a treat to behold. Featuring songs such as 'You Gotta Get a Gimmick', 'Let Me Entertain You' and 'Everything's Coming Up Roses', Gypsy promises to dazzle and stun. Following on from the hugely successful Cabaret, 42nd Street, and Copacabana, once again, welcome to the world of showbiz and glamour!
- March 2003
Copenhagen. 1941. A meeting between a man working for the German Government and his old friend who just happens to be half-Jewish. Complicated enough, but what if the men are Werner Heisenberg, head of the Nazi atomic fission program, and Niels Bohr, his former mentor and supervisor living in occupied Denmark? Then the very course of history lies in the balance.
Michael Frayn's play examines the consequences - both real and potential - of this critical meeting. After the war, neither could agree what had occurred, or even why the meeting had happened at all. They reunite on the stage for one more attempt at understanding. In the hands of a master playwright, the physics they created, with the principle of uncertainty at its heart, is a powerful metaphor for what happens when human beings are placed under the extreme pressures of war.
- February–March 2003
Salome is one of Wilde’s most neglected plays; a masterpiece of language and a poetic journey that is rich in imagery. It presents us with a focal point of the deep rooted desire of humans. The play’evocative language seduces the audience, plays with them and ultimately raisetheir repressed desires as the characters on stage bring forth their own. Only in mirrors is it well to look, for mirrors do but show us masks" We use masks, not to hide behind, but rather to show the real character we, as humans, are afraid to portray.
- February 2003
The ADC brings you an evening of extracts from a style of theatrical performance which truly has something for everyone. Featuring a sneak preview of the Lent Term Musical, Gypsy, this promises to be a night of great Musical Theatre.
- February 2003
Stoppard’s masterpiece, Arcadia, is set in a large country house, anmoves between 1809 and the present day. Characters discuss Byron, love, thhistory of gardens, even chance theory in relation to grouse. The play is humorouand exuberant, an intellectual roller-coaster, ‘a drama of ideas’ that takes you captive from the first joke, and puts you down exhilarated and moved. It raises questions about whether we should live according to our heart or head, how history realties to the present, how people relate to each other, how scientifically can love (‘the attraction that Newton left out’be understood. Join us for an evening of flamboyant theatricality that promises to combine the wit of Wilde, the excitement of a literary whodunit and a heartfelt ache for time that can never be regained. A brilliant, brilliant play" Sunday Times "A masterpiece" DailTelegraph
- February 2003
What happens when you take an answer-phone message, a neurotic sister with a therapist and her Italian boyfriend from Swindon; mixed with the new office boss, a Chinese take-away, a dusting of old friends, and a can opener? Dinner at Marguerite's! An occasion to expect the unexpected and laugh heartily at the absurd but cherished intricacies of everyday life. A sparkling brand new piece of comedy writing, capturing an evening of gossip, revelations and delightfully witty banter between friends, washed down with fine red wine and tinned tomato soup. What's left to say, except "Bon Appetit"!
- February 2003
A blind man who sees only his garden, his power enduring even when his healtand seniority are lost. A son’s development profoundly affected by his fatherhis expectations, limitations and intractability. The figure of the patriarcdominates A Voyage Round My Father as it explores the emotional tensions of a complex family relationship, set against the backdrop of the traumatic first half of the twentieth century. Emotion is intense as each character attempts to deal with their inability to show love: so much remains unsaid. The acutely observed humour, intensely human characters and flawless dialogue make this play both amusing and profoundly moving. Original, often funny, but always deeply thought provoking; this challenging and compelling play is an insight into a world of shades of grey we can all relate to, but have probably never known how to express.
- January 2003
The ADC continues with its One Night Stands this term; tasters of different styles of theatre and themed selections of extracts. Ireland has been the source and inspiration of some of the best drama the world has ever seen. This evening, we take a journey over the sea to glimpse a rich literary culture at its dramatic best.
- January 2003
- December 2002
In an age in which Gods are anything but divine, and goat-men and centaurs roam the earth, Greece gets saucy, as music, dance and puns as ancient as mythology itself pour out of every urn. Philosophers, muses, furies and oracles take centre stage, as unlikely heroes Bacchus and Venus find themselves in a hair-raising, hilarious and myth-defying adventure to preserve the classical world from a fate worse than Oedipus. Funny, moving and downright silly, this year’s ADC/Footlight’s Pantomime ia completely original, wry take on ancient Greece, which promises to be hugfun for all ages. Beware of Greeks singing songs.
- December 2002
Every year Jack kills the Giant, Aladdin rubs the ring, Cinderella marries the Prince. For centuries nobody has dared to question these established routines...until now. For the first time ever, you have the chance to watch completely different stories unfold. Following the success of their fully improvised show No Second Thoughts, The Uncertainty Division ventures one step further - into the world of pantomime, where anything could happen...
With Impromime, we started with the premise of a traditional English pantomime - heroes and villains, songs and slapstick, and so forth - and then let our normal improvisation process take over. Despite such a rich set of conventions and stereotypes, we rapidly discovered in rehearsal that the constraints imposed still allow for a huge amount of flexibility, and by the time we got to the performances we had already had pantomimes in modern-day England, deep underground in the Rat Kingdom, and in outer space.
In front of an audience, we had a vampire dentist, a hero with hairy toes, Margaret Thatcher cutting down the forests and introducing conscription, and a machine that turned orphans into gold. And positively no pirates.
- November 2002
You’ve seen Victoria Wood’s stand-up shows, or maybe her TV sit-coms, but have you ever seen the famous comedienne’hilarious, but rarely performed stage play, Good Fun? Good Fun is just that, providing an enormously amusing evening of comedy theatrto suit all tastes. The fast-moving script, brilliant characterization anside-splitting story line will provide this year’s intake of comic talent thopportunity to show how good they really are.
- November 2002
The year is 1940 and the place London. However, this is not a London at war, but a London swarming with Nazi troops and controlled from Germany by Hitler. In this fascinating, rarely staged play Coward examines the chilling idea of what England might have become had the tide turned against the Allies in the Battle of Britain. This is a script which will both challenge and inspire the Freshers to produce what will undoubtedly be a thought-provoking and incredible evening of theatre.
- November 2002
Where is the line drawn between war and murder? This is the question facing Radajan Burivic, a Serbian soldier trapped in a recurring nightmare from which he cannot wake up. Plagued by figures from his past, he refuses to take responsibility for his part in horrific acts of ethnic cleansing, and is forced to re-live the massacre at Srebrenica in which 8,000 Muslim men and boys were slaughtered. A commanding piece of new writing from Cambridge student Christopher Bull which forces its audience to try and understand those who commit such acts of barbarity.
- November 2002
Come and support the Freshers as they make their first footing on the ADC Stage. A variety of extracts chosen by those involved, and including sneak previews from this year's Freshers' Shows. For one night only!
- November 2002
Mother Courage and her Children follows the armies of the Thirty Years War back and forth across Europe, selling provisions and liquour from a canteen wagon. The war devours her children one by one. And yet she carries on. Written by one of the most important theatrical innovators of modern timesit is widely acknowledged as amongst the greatest plays of the twentieth centuryThis epic tale, spanning twelve years and most of Europe, is at turns touchingfunny, tragic and bitterly ironic. Written in 1939 as a warning about the futilitand horror of war, the play, with its setting of a war of faiths, is stilrelevant today. This production will mix theatre and song using Paul Dessau’original score and will seek to bring out the power and subtlety of one othe strongest theatrical statements ever made.
- October–November 2002
- October–November 2002
From the pen of Brian Friel, Ireland's greatest living playwright, Translations is a powerful historical drama which captures the emotional and social conflicts arising in a small Irish town during the British colonial takeover. Comic confusion and tragic romance play a crucial role in this play about the power of communication: How does one express the emotions of love, jealousy, hatred and pain when stripped of understanding and common speech? Watch as tensions rise and a fascinating melee of relationships develop in this poignant and moving exposure of the decline of the Irish culture and language. Are there certain barriers love cannot cross? Be prepared for an evening of entertainment, education, challenge, and passion - one you won't forget in a hurry.
- October 2002
Speak No Evil brings you an hour of comedy from three of Cambridge's best known stand up comedians: Ruth Pickett, Lloyd Thomas and Tom Tilley. Gain a view of the world through the comic's eyes, at times shocking, at times tragic, always funny.
