- February 2014
William Carlisle is intelligent, articulate and f***ed.
Set in the library of a Stockport grammar school, 'Punk Rock' is a thought-provoking and shocking study of the pressures faced by young people today. As the plot progresses, William's and his friends' seemingly innocent worries about their mock exams and relationships become increasingly dark.
'...The History Boys on acid...' 'If Lord of the Flies met Skins...' Evening Standard
- January–February 2014
“There are noises in the room, things creak, footsteps on the stairs, out in the corridor, I think it’s him, every time I think it’s him. They say he’s dead but what if he’s not?”
Billy is violent, disturbed and sexually dominating. He controls his wife and two adult daughters to the extent that they can't leave the room without asking permission: the women are there to service him and his insanity. One day his family shoots him dead. 'Five Kinds of Silence' shows a distorted world of madness, control, and despair through the eyes of dead Billy and those of his family, struggling to understand reality outside their stifling tomb.
A harrowing, yet provocative physical theatre production.
- January–February 2014
“My wife is a nymphomaniac… I married her for her money and, upon discovering her to be penniless, I attempted to throttle her. She escaped my murderous fury and I’ve had to live with her malice ever since.”
Dr Prentice’s attempts to seduce his prospective secretary at his private psychiatric clinic are interrupted by the unexpected arrival of his wife. His subsequent endeavours to hide his transgression begin a string of deceptions and misunderstandings that drag everyone one into a day’s worth of farcical chaos. A government health inspector arrives, various characters are wrongly declared insane and are sedated, a rape is reported and cross dressing ensues. What the Butler Saw, is dark and relentlessly funny – Joe Orton’s finest farce.
- January 2014
Putting the World to Writes involves one young, idealistic woman; a keyboard; a ukulele; and shallow philosophies about what could be done to make the world a better place. Let's be honest, it's not going to change the world, but it might make you laugh for an hour - or, at the very least, consider the sorry state we're all in. And if THAT doesn't sound like fun, I don't know what does.
Shortlisted for Musical Comedy Awards 2014.
Previous praise for Rosalind Peters: 'Comedy musictress, Rosalind Peters, may be the most ambitious rhymer I have ever seen.' (Fellow Bright Club comedian Josh Witten); 'impeccable comic timing' (CTR); 'lovely singing voice' (Varsity)
- January 2014
“We go, see the slo-mo ebb and flow; the mill, the babble, the rabble of wobbling waywards, exiled and aimless, unlike us as, purposeful and double-file, like kids on a dare, we head to who the fuck knows where?”
Over the course of a single night, three people are ripped from their daily lives and catapulted into a world of singing serial killers, avenging angels and lovesick demons. Told through overlapping, rhyming monologues, the gritty and fantastical are pitted together in this award-winning, exhilarating play.
- January 2014
After suffering a major loss while he was on a cross-country bike trip, 21 year old Leo seeks solace from his feisty 91 year old grandmother Vera in her New York apartment. Over the course of a single month, these unlikely roommates infuriate, bewilder, and ultimately reach each other.
The Heywood Society presents '4000 Miles', a show which looks at how two outsiders find their way in today's world.
'A funny, moving, altogether wonderful drama' - The New York Times
https://www.facebook.com/events/615840261809202/?fref=ts
- January 2014
An hour of stand-up from four of Cambridge's top comedians: Charlie Palmer, Milo Edwards, Wilf Bagnall and Josh Erde.
Previous praise for performers:
Charlie Palmer:
'Stellar' - TCS
'Charlie Palmer will go far.' - The Tab
'Delightfully goofy' - Broadway Baby
Milo Edwards:
‘Fantastic... had me in hysterics’ - The Cambridge Student
‘A total crowd-pleaser’ - The Tab
‘Well-judged and intelligent’ - Varsity
Josh Erde:
'A comedy masterclass... brilliantly constructed' - Varsity
Wilf Bagnall:
'Don't really like him' - Charlie Palmer
'Very wide neck' - Josh Erde
'I'm f*ing hilarious, you c**' - Wilf Bagnall
- January 2014
A new comedy sketch show all about books, but you don’t need to be a bookworm to find it funny. With a star-studded cast including the comedic talents of Charles Dickens, Jane Austen and William Shakespeare, it is already being billed as the most important literary event of our time. Expect shameless irreverence, shallow comment and brilliant puns. Don’t forget to book (look, there’s one already)!
- January 2014
- January 2014
'Kat is moving out of the London flat she shares with ex-boyfriend Ben. Helping her are Thea, her best friend, and Josh, the new man in her life. Ben (who’s not even meant to be there) is hurt and angry and still in love with Kat. But is it now too late to tell her… ?' A contemporary drama that explores love & loss. With critically acclaimed productions in both Edinburgh & London, 'Worlds End' comes to Cambridge for the first time ever.
Award winning playwright Paul Sellar has given permission for New Dawn Theatre to use an updated version of the original text. A play for anyone who has ever experienced heartbreak.
"It’s a delight to see so much that’s right packed into such a short playing time. I strongly advise anyone to take out 70 minutes to see this new play... A delight... relationships may not last but this play certainly should.” The Evening Standard, Fiona Mountford, 2008
'Worlds End' a play by Paul Sellar (Copyright 2008) is reproduced by permission of Sheil Land Associates on behalf of Paul Sellar.
- December 2013
From a trollop-laden Victorian farce, to the state of Australian television, to a modern ‘meet the parents’ piece – The Alternative Christmas Party is an evening of original comedy one-act plays and sketches for the mince pie weary.
There will be absolutely, categorically, unquestionably and indisputably no mention of Christmas whatsoever. None. Nothing. Not even a bit of tinsel. Nada navidad. Although the first play is set at Christmas time and the following six sketches all mention Christmas. There is the chorus of irritable carol singers and the last one-act play is called Ado at Christmas. Which is quite Christmas-y. In fact it’s very Christmas-y. OK, it’s really very very Christmas-y!
- December 2013
Adolf, a young up and coming artist begins to harbour suspicions and questions the whereabouts of his rather frivolous and free spirited older wife. A timely visit from a mysterious and enigmatic stranger just might be the answer to putting these doubts to rest and with his offer of solace, a way to make sense of a world of uncertainty where his masculinity, creativity and indeed his very existence is at stake. Who is this stranger? Why has he appeared at such a pivotal point in the life of this young artist? Strindberg’s dark and timeless tragicomedy grants us a peek into a world of sexual obsession, revenge and the reopening of old wounds, ending with the inevitable but shocking lesson of what could happen when love dies.
- December 2013
Join the Cambridge Impronauts for an evening of untold terror, laughter and music as they take the world of horror, spin it around, kick it down the stairs and stick a moustache on it. Audience suggestions give lifeblood to a monstrous creation, meaning that a new tale of woe is constructed every single night.
Scream as the Archmage Dung Beetle unleashes an army of resurrected fridges to blast a hole in the Boyzone layer. Cry out in horror as the Devil himself takes on the Corpus Chronophage at Connect Four to see who will gain custody of George Lucas’ soul. Cackle with malevolent glee as the mutated form of Alan Sugar’s head transplanted onto the body of a tapir runs amok in Norman Bates’ kitchen.
If you don’t come out laughing, you won’t come out at all!
- December 2013
Lynette’s former career as a feisty, ambitious journalist seems a distant memory to those that know her as the warm, homely wife and mother that she later became. However, as her family gathers for a low-key birthday celebration, flashbacks from her past begin to cloud her mind and she starts to open up for the first time about her real past existence. Her children, now adults with children of their own, disappoint her with the doubt they show about her incredible stories. Frustrated, she delves further into her past, inter-weaving scenes from her previous power-laden existence into her present-day banality.
The core of her frustration lies in a deep-seated secret she was bound by national governments to supress. She knows the real story of JFK’s assassination. And she knows, because she saw the footage first-hand, before the rest of the country. What’s more, that footage lies, metres from where her family now sit, squabbling over petty problems and refusing to listen to her tale. Perhaps if they won’t listen, she may be pushed to reveal what she tried to hide for thirty years, and show them the evidence that was meant to go unseen forever.
- December 2013
An hour of standup from regular Cambridge comedians Charlie Palmer, Milo Edwards and Henry Anderson-Elliott.
Previous praise for Milo Edwards: ‘Fantastic... had me in hysterics’ - The Cambridge Student ‘A total crowd-pleaser’ - The Tab ‘Well-judged and intelligent’ - Varsity
Previous praise for Charlie Palmer: ‘Stellar’ - The Cambridge Student ‘Charlie Palmer will go far’ - The Tab ‘Delightfully goofy’ - Broadway Baby ‘Charlie Palmer has all the women’ - CamFM
Previous praise for Henry Anderson-Elliott: ‘SO GOOD’ - The Tab ‘Thoroughly unlikeable’ - Milo Edwards ‘Smells awful... silly beard’ - Charlie Palmer
- November 2013
It's Martha's wedding day and 3/4 of the household are happy about it. There's only one more day to get through, one more day before she and Jack can jet off to Mozambique together, Bollywood-style. But two family members are missing: Sophie and Freya. The two girls wait it out upstairs in a haven of their own, but as the morning stretches on, questions begin to surface. Why is Sophie refusing to talk to Marian? What's the meaning behind Freya's final art piece? And who exactly is Uncle Paul related to? Come find the answers in Jitters, a comical new play making its debut at the Corpus Playroom.
- November 2013
Take one couple, one NHS hospital ward, and a handful of vaguely helpful staff. Mix ingredients in middle-aged blender until thoroughly agitated. Top off with labour pains and serve with a twist of gender politics, et voila; you have yourself a visceral, modern concoction about life and its shortcomings. Tender, heartfelt, and darkly comic, Joe Penhall's crowning glory is one for adults only.
- November 2013
BAD JOKE: What do you call Cambridge's best comics plus a fantastic headliner? ANSWER: Anything you like because we can't hear you. It's COMMENTS DISABLED, a fresh, irreverent standup night loosely themed around disability, with all profits going to MIND.
- November 2013
Alice Naylor is having the family round. Son Henry’s got a new car with a football sticker on the back, Other Son Gavin’s brought Thornton’s Continentals, and Husband Roger has taken to painting everything. Not even a nice colour. Lilac. That's a shit colour. Normally, Alice would take this all in her stride, but the thing is, she’s gone and got herself in a coma.
From writer Pete Skidmore (“destined for great things”, Sally Harrison, Woolyback Productions; Smashed Shakespeare: Hammered Hamlet; Footlights smokers; CowsDrinkMilk), and the team behind “When the Rain Stops Falling”, “The Music Box” and “For Colored Girls”, comes a relentlessly inventive pitch black comedy based on everyone’s true story. “An Earlier Heaven” illuminates the universal cracks in family life, and gives an uncompromising voice to the secret loves and hates everyone harbours.
- November 2013
Ten men. Early 20th Century Europe. One day. Grappling with their appalling situation and each other, life for a soldier in the First World War is never easy.
- November 2013
The Other Prize has long been recognised as a primary vehicle for uncovering exceptional student writing in Cambridge. This year's winner, Occupied, follows a group of students' attempts to challenge the “theatrical establishment” and occupy the Corpus Playroom. Inspired by the controversial Lady Mitchell Hall Occupation in 2011 it takes a humorous (though hopefully optimistic) look at the trials and tribulations of student activism.
- November 2013
“I wanna climb back inside my mum. What’s wrong with that?”
The enduring story of Oedipus, the man who murdered his father and slept with his mother, is hurled from classical Greece into the “unimaginable wastelands” of present-day north London, as full of riots, filth and decay as ancient Thebes.
The twentieth century’s revolutionary master of stylised physical theatre, Steven Berkoff offers a searing and visceral reinterpretation of Sophocles’ enduring classic.
Don’t miss this intimate showcase of Cambridge’s newest dramatic talent.
“The bravest, most exciting and moving Greek tragedy in years” (The Sunday Times)
- November 2013
In an immersive and engaging approach to performance, ONE BY ONE breaks theatre right down to the essentials, with only one person in the audience. Spanning across a variety of spaces in the Corpus Playroom, a cycle of simultaneous performance pieces will provide a spectator experience varying from the voyeuristic to the confrontational.
- November 2013
BEAST beast [beest] noun 1.any nonhuman animal, especially a large, four-footed mammal. 2.the crude animal nature common to humans and the lower animals: Hunger brought out the beast in him. 3.a cruel, coarse, filthy, or otherwise beastlike person. 4.the beast, the Antichrist. Rev. 13:18.
Egon is a painter. Valie is a prostitute. Are they in love, or is it lust? Lust can be beastly, but so can decay.
In the intimacy of the Corpus Playroom, a relationship begins, unfolds and dissolves in Elena Bolster's acclaimed verse play.
- November 2013
Neurotic movie geek Allan Felix escapes into the world of classic films after his wife walks out on him. Humphrey Bogart seems to have a special way with women, and Allan is encouraged to find new love by imaginary conversations with the ghost of his masculine hero. His married friends, Dick and Linda also help out. But after a series of unsuccessful dates, Allan’s quest for love takes an unexpected turn when he finds himself in love with Linda. Play it again, Sam is a show about failed relationships and new hope with a dash of comedy, Casablanca and the seventies.
- November 2013
- October–November 2013
Three plays brought to the British stage for the first time, in an evening showcasing the best drama to come out of Latin America in the last thirty years. In ‘Secret Obscenities’, two flashers meet on a park bench in Santiago, and soon discover that they may have even more in common than they initially assumed. Then, in ‘Bony and Kim’, a pair of Puerto Rican criminals inadvertently become media sensations when they start robbing fast food restaurants, only to find out that the life of a celebrity isn’t quite as glamorous as they’d hoped. Finally, in ‘Looking Into the Stands’, a bull takes pity on a hapless Venezuelan matador, and the two strike up a conversation about their respective values, careers and dating prospects.
- October 2013
HATCH. returns- all new for Michaelmas 2013!
Cambridge's number one new writing showcase features extracts from plays, poetry and prose... All performed by HATCH's wonderful troupe of HATCHling actors.
Come one, Come all
- October 2013
SPLEEN is a thrilling new sketch show brought to you by between four and six Cambridge comedy babes (as seen in Footlights’ Smokers, Tab TV and the Wolfson Howler).
Excuse me:what's it all about? The whole thing is set to be five of the most exhilirating five nights. Sketches and moments of stand-up and singing/guitar. There'll be a whole lot of things to admire, including one sketch about a dirty sink. It takes place in the Corpus Playroom theatre and tickets can be diversely purchased (cash, card, internet, a ticket office).
Previous praise for the writers and performers:
‘…inflicted some proper suffering on my exhausted vocal chords.’ – Varsity
‘…some of the best Cambridge comedy has to offer…’ – The Tab
- October 2013
Find out what happens when you send a playwright to go and interview thirty 10 year olds across Britain about their life and turn their thoughts into a play. In Monkey Bars these children words are spoken by adults. Not adults playing children, but adults playing adults, in adult situations. Be ready for a play which reminds us what being a child was like, and forces us to ask uncomfortable questions about adulthood. 'Fresh from a sell-out run at the Edinburgh Festival, Fringe First 2012 Award-winner, Monkey Bars is a revelatory verbatim show that is funny, touching and endlessly surprising.'
- August 2013
On a midnight whim, a wealthy young couple, fresh from dancing, take a shortcut through the park. They’re surprised by a down-and-out, who cajoles them into visiting his sick mother. The police, sent by their worried parents, burst in and the shock finishes the old woman. In the aftermath, the couple lose their illusions about the world and each other.
This dynamically physicalized production is adapted from Kurt Vonnegut’s ‘King & Queen of the Universe’, by a winner of the Harry Porter Prize 2013 and the National Radio Drama Award 2012, whose work has been described as ‘of an almost sickeningly high standard’ (Varsity).
- September 2013
'What fashion, madam, shall I make your breeches?'
In this lively touring production of Shakespeare's brilliant play, freshly returned from storming Tokyo, girls play the boys, boys play the girls, and a dog (sort of) plays the dog. A bare stage will be filled with live music, physical comedy, and serious moral dilemmas.
Proteus and Valentine are best friends, but they have very different opinions about love. While Proteus stays at home writing his girlfriend terrible poetry, Valentine heads to the big city where he won't have to listen to it. Things get complicated, though, when they develop rather similar opinions about the lovely Silvia.
Meanwhile the girls decide it's not just men who can go on adventures, and set out from home to get their way. But things will become a lot more complicated, and a lot darker, before they can all just call it a day and get married.
- October 2013
You've ignored the Facebook event, unfollowed the Twitter account and retroactively disdained the MySpace page. Now see the stand-up show the Internet is calling "review pending" - In Real Life.
After writing and performing stand-up and sketches at Smokers throughout Cambridge and in the acclaimed Three White Guys (**** - The Tab), Jamie Fraser presents his first full hour of stand-up at the Corpus Playroom for one night only.
Jamie Fraser spends a lot of time on the internet. Listen to him talk about it, IRL.
"Provoked the loudest guffaws of the night" - The Tab, "cracking plots and punch-lines that had the audience howling".
- October 2013
- October 2013
A horn honks and a man is flattened. Blood trails behind a van which splutters smoke and escapes with an assassin at its wheel. A weeping hairdresser clutches the man's body in his trembling hands. He wipes the tears from his eyes and follows the van's red path through the gloomy London streets...
'I've come about the room.'
The Ruffian on the Stair is a darkly comic nosedive into 1960s Britain that wades through the crime and grime of its suffocating capital city. Bleak, humorous, and provocative, Joe Orton's one-act play explores the darker side of the Swinging Sixties.
She's the tenant of the room. He's the ruffian on the stair.
'People are profoundly bad but irresistibly funny.' – Joe Orton
- June 2013
Florence, high summer. The flowers are in bloom, the choirs are singing and the tourists are horrifying monsters with a taste for human flesh.
Fortunately, humanity stumbles across one last line of defense, as Nikita - a Venezuelan opera-singer who moonlights as an assassin - teams up with Dante - an Italian hotel receptionist with a penchant for murdering annoying holiday-makers. It's a race against time as, together, the two of them must find the source of the tourism virus before they too become infected.
Ultimately, it's a heart-warming and hilarious story with one simple message: true love conquers all - up to and including wolfmen in flip-flops.
Written by acclaimed Venezuelan playwright Rodolfo Santana, 'Tourists' Influence' comes to the British stage for the first time, in a translation by Charles Philip Thomas.
