- March 2011
Hostage is a crucifying aloneness. It is a silent, screaming slide into the bowels of ultimate despair. - Brian Keenan (Hostage during the Lebanon Crisis)
Inspired by the Lebanon Hostage Crisis of the 1980s, "Someone Who'll Watch Over Me" follows the heartbreaking ordeal of three civilian men as they struggle with the terrifying monotony of life as a hostage.
"In a play which is heartrendingly compassionate, tenderly tragic but also uproariously funny... an Irishman, Englishman and American overcome their cross-national tensions to form a close friendship under the appalling strain of captivity". (CurtainUp)
- March 2011
Two brothers. Polar opposites. While house-sitting for his mother, Austin is finalizing a deal that could be his big break as a writer in Hollywood. Lee's an alcoholic thief, returning from the heart of the desert after many years, only to disrupt his younger brother's route to success. Lee’s idea for a Western catches the attention of Austin’s potential backer, Saul Kimmer. One decision then causes a shocking reversal. Quite literally at each other's throats, they go unnoticed by their oblivious mother who seems to think they’re both still 13. All set in one kitchen, True West exposes the disappointing reality beneath the vision of a writer, small-town life and the endlessly stereotyped "West" of America. Above all, this master class in tragicomedy presents us with the terrifying disintegration of a relationship between brothers. It doesn't take long for the American Dream to spiral into a nightmare.
- March 2011
“Contemporary art is like a soufflé not yet cooked: if only one dared to open the oven, it would crash with no pity.”
Two painters, shunned by an art gallery, decide to take revenge on its greedy, status-hungry owners. Based on Molière’s famed comedy “Les Precieuses Ridicules”, this hilarious yet biting satire imagines what would happen if the French playwright visited the Museum of Modern Art and found the inspiration for his latest farce. What results is an Emperor’s New Clothes for the contemporary art industry, that will make you laugh, think, and perhaps reconsider the value of a jar of pickles…
- March 2011
Cat’s got big feet so her boyfriend calls her Duck. She’s also got a middle-aged lover who drinks and writes novels, a best friend with a short fuse, a dysfunctional family, and a boyfriend with a nightclub, a gun, and some unfinished business. But which of these threads will she follow?
Premiered at the Royal Court in 2003, Duck is the hilarious and moving dark comedy from Irish playwright Stella Feehily, a provocative coming-of-age story about teenagers on the brink, growing up in the face of everything a city can throw at them. But girls just wanna have fun, and how can you learn to be good when your elders are no longer your betters? Somehow, they must learn to cope or find a way of escaping.
Witty, sharply-observed and highly relevant to modern society, Duck is a show that will make you question the nature of sex, love, family and friendship, and all that falls in between them.
“Duck hurls its audience into the heart of ladette culture… without doubt, an adrenaline rush, a hyperventilating hymn to the age of the angry women.” The Evening Standard
"An exhilarating piece of theatre" The Scotsman
"Immensely engaging and vibrant" The Financial Times
Tickets on sale in advance from the Cambridge Arts Theatre on 01223503333, or available on the door.
- 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
One of the last true icons of the American entertainment industry, Margot de Sade was muse to many musical theatre greats such as Sondheim, Fosse and Kander & Ebb. For the first time in over thirty years, the living legend known simply as 'Margot' returns to Cambridge for FIVE NIGHTS ONLY appearing in the intimate setting of the Corpus Playroom Cabaret Lounge.
"... when I first arrived in Hollywood, it was an age when men were really men... and so were some of the women too."
Expect candid confessions from a long and glittering career, timeless showtunes, saucy stories and fabulous frocks galore!
"Margot is not ONE of the greats... she IS the greatest" - New York Post.
BE SURE TO BOOK EARLY FOR THE THEATRICAL EVENT OF THE DECADE.
Miss de Sade's appearance generously facilitated by Ben Kavanagh.
- February 2011
“Jamie and Tarquin share a flat. So do Tamsin and her sister Maggie. Each has an other half. Each has a choice. And each has reached the final station stop. All change.
A new, experimental play that lasts thirty minutes and covers chess, a fat man, imitation, and eternal justice; embraces Tony Blair and Garry Kasparov, candlesticks, unsmokeable cigarettes, scars, courgettes, choice, or unchoice; penetrates Mum's jug, chicken legs, bad jokes, people who don't listen, and/or divided hearts on a divided stage.
AND/OR stages the desire to see the outcome of all choices, and the wishful thinking that they are not mutually exclusive. The play tries to keep a grip on every possibility. It's a car-crash.”
- February 2011
Three gods come down to earth, there have been so many complaints from Szechwan province about the poor quality of life there, and they simply cannot put off a visit any longer. If they can just find one good soul in the whole of Szechwan then they can go back to their opulent and luxurious lives with a clear conscience. They put their trust in the prostitute Shen Te, and hope that with the help of a little money from the gods she will be able to live her life as a paragon of kindness and virtue and reaffirm the gods belief in their notion of abstract "goodness." Shen Te tries her best but the world is not on Shen Te's side, it is not so easy to be good when you have a business to run, a lover to entice or a child to care for. Shen Te must resort to desperate measures if she is to be good and survive.
The Good Soul of Szechwan is one of Brecht’s masterpieces, funny, tragic and thought provoking Brecht probes the depths of the practicality and prudence of being "good" in a world such as ours.
In an exciting and innovative production from the Director who bought you critically acclaimed ‘Oh What a Lovely War on Terror’ and ‘The Garden Party’ (5 stars – the tab), Toby Jones demonstrates to Cambridge how Brecht can and does work for the modern stage. With an original score written by singer/songwriter Joe Rubini and masks from the RSC, this production is set to be one of the highlights of next terms theatre line up.
- February 2011
When a cross-country coach is forced to make an emergency stop at a service station in the middle of nowhere, three travelers find their lives put abruptly on hold. Ben and Michael are desperate to make it home before it's too late; Selina is preparing herself for a seismic shift in her existence. The three find their fears and ambitions put to the test, caught in close quarters with a cast of fellow passengers who are by turns ridiculous, difficult and desirable. As they wait for the arrival of the day which will determine the rest of their lives, the question looms: can they emerge unscathed?
- February 2011
Julia: Rich. Spoilt. Famous. And now just one more in a long list of high-profile figures caught up in high-profile affairs. Except it’s 8.A.D., and her grandfather Augustus Caesar has legislated for public and private morality; an example must be made, and in Rome, it will invariably be made of a woman.
A new play by Niall Wilson, previously shortlisted for the Marlowe Society ‘Other Prize’ and writer of ‘Ava Adore’ (4* Varsity), in which celebrity righteousness and classical morals shape one royal tearaway and her claim to just want a little bit of fun.
- February 2011
New Writing by Michael Christie Week 2 Late show - Corpus Playroom
'Two brothers, on holiday with their mother in Germany, are shocked to realise their mum has died on a park bench. Dennis is distraught, but Michael sees the real issue: if she dies while abroad, the brothers lose their inheritance. If they can smuggle her body home, they can beat the lawyers and keep the money. They soon find out that escorting a corpse around Berlin and across the English channel isn't easy. In this outrageous black comedy about death and money, you can expect misguided attempts at tact, sibling rivalry and prolonged messing around with an electric wheelchair.'
The play is a Pinteresque black comedy about two bickering brothers, one daft and the other conniving, which mixes darker elements about power dynamics and death with slapstick and farce involving their mother's dead body (which periodically reanimates to haunt them) and the ways in which they transport it.
- 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...
- January 2011
'Genuine smiles aren't actually about the eyes; they're about the muscles around the eyes. Train those and you can pretend to enjoy just about anything... like Travel Scrabble or physical contact.'
By turns both laugh-out-loud funny and tragic, The Study of Young Men is a new play written by Adam McNally. It centres on Anthony, a man caught up in the breakdown of his friendship with his schoolmates, Rob, Charlie and Jonah. Trying to write down all that has happened between his friends, Anthony's memories come to life around him. As the play progresses, he desperately tries to keep control of his renegade memories, which appear to be developing their own personalities and points of view.
The Study of Young Men gives the opportunity for four actors to work on an ensemble piece with four meaty parts, incorporating comedy, physical theatre and tragic moments.
Auditions will be held in THE BATEMAN ROOM at GONVILLE AND CAIUS COLLEGE (ask for directions in the main Porters' Lodge) on:
Wednesday: 12.00-14.30 Thursday: 14.00-16.00 Friday: 12.15-13.45
- January 2011
‘Have you ever seen the human heart? It looks like a fist wrapped in blood.’
Four people meet for the first time. They fall in love. Then they fall apart. Hailed by the Sunday Times as ‘one of the best plays about sex in the language’, Marber’s quick-paced script viciously exposes the violence inherent in desire, laying bare the connection between sex and war, between love and pain. Savagely honest and shot through with a comedy that is only ever cruel, Closer drives us straight to the heart of love without morality. At once torturers and victims, painfully vulnerable and frighteningly sadistic, the characters fight on two fronts: to conquer their targets and to humiliate the competition. When obsession is this overwhelming, rejection creates a destruction that can leave nothing intact.
- November–December 2010
A riotous reworking of the classic story in street theatre style, with five actresses (and a musician) playing all the parts in under an hour. Will Romeo successfully chat up Juliet? Will Balthazar's voice ever break? Will the nurse ever shut up? You all know the answers to these questions and more, so come along to see the original script (although slightly shorter) performed by five talented and deranged girls. That's right: GIRLS GIRLS GIRLS!! Guaranteed to make the Bard roll over in his grave.
- November–December 2010
Three sisters come together before their mother's funeral to drink, argue and reminisce. Yet while they try to reconcile their understanding of their mother they stir up long concealed secrets. For Mary, a doctor having an affair, the death brings up her resentment at giving away her child. She needs to come to terms with the past, but her past is not the same as Teresa remembers. While Teresa has married the image of their father, Mary must acknowledge her connection to her mother. Katherine just wants attention, even from her sister's husband. This Olivier award-winning play explores the way our family shapes us: how can we come to terms with the past if we cannot trust our own memories?
- November 2010
'Children. Teenagers. They're not easy to deal with, you know. They're like old people, but worse. And equally as bloodthirsty.'
Father Andrews, a priest and RE teacher, finds himself under unforeseen pressure when he takes up a new position in a boisterous inner-city school. Though optimistic at the outset, he soon finds himself unable to control his classes and at the mercy of his pupils' unwillingness to learn from him. Despite reassurance from his well-meaning but ineffectual friend Ruth, Father Andrews eventually finds his aversion to harsh discipline backfires on him, compromising both his reputation and his faith. 'Ecclesiastical Perks' is a darkly comic play that deals with the precarious place of religion in a school's curriculum, the damaging effect of a child's word against a teacher's, and the unforgiving nature of the British media.
- November 2010
Fifteen years ago Una and Ray had a relationship. They haven't set eyes on each other since. Now she's found him again.
2007 Lawrence Olivier award winner for Best New Play, David Harrower's 'Blackbird' is one of the most daring new plays of recent years. Neither condoning nor condemning, but always startlingly evocative in its treatment of a taboo subject, this is its Cambridge debut and is not to be missed.
- November 2010
Care of Douglas, six of Cambridge's most up-and-coming comedians (as seen in Footlights Smokers, King's Jest and the Wolfson Howler), bring you 'Now, Now', the brand new sketch show that is more than ready to get on with it. Now, now, chip, chop, come along...Alright then, take your time - but be sure to hurry yourself down here pretty darn vite for a speedy night of sharper-than-cutlery comedy.
- November 2010
In an ordinary flat, in an ordinary totalitarian regime, Hugo Pludek has finished school and is ready to set foot into the world. Just like any boy he has parents who are keen for him to 'get ahead', and with that in mind he is sent to The Liquidation Office Garden Party. It is a wonderfully exciting party. As long as you have submitted the necessary forms to the Secretariat of Humour and the Ideological Regulation Commission you can even exchange humorous stories with other guests. The Liquidation Office is so impressed with Hugo that they entrust him with the liquidation of the Liquidation Office as long as he wears his regulation novelty party nose. This absurdist comedy from the Czech Republic's most famous dissident/essayist/playwright/president will have you laughing, crying, pondering and all other things besides. After all 'one should never fire a blunderbuss into the nettles'.
This “monumental headfuck of an absurdist comedy” is a reflection on the nature of success, and the bullshittery it requires – something close to all our hearts here in Cambridge. Havel hilariously demonstrates how our language can control our thought and behaviour and how we ultimately are ruled by the bullshit we spout.
- November 2010
Brickhouse Theatre Company presents:
Broken hearts, broken words, broken minds: the infidelity of three people whose lives are inextricably intertwined.
A poignantly faithful depiction of the deterioration of relationships and memories, Betrayal asks us to redefine experience beyond beginning and end.
Winner of the Nobel Prize for literature, Harold Pinter was one of the most influential British playwrights of the last century, whose work has been performed around the world to international acclaim.
Production diary: http://olioshea.wordpress.com/category/betrayal
- November 2010
'Pure and dirty, innocent and vulgar, it all withers, washes away. Eighteen going on thirty-five, because they think they're got to, because they're forced to... I dunno.'
John Godber's 'Bouncers' is a fantastic play which balances insightful wit, crude humour bordering on the scatological and genuine, thought-provoking moral commentary into an energised piece that has widespread performance success from London to the Edinburgh Fringe. The play relies on fast-paced delivery from four flexible male actors who must seamlessly change between a plethora of characters which vary widely in personality, age and gender.
Four talented male actors guide you through a twisted scenario of lads on the pull, drunken girls, rave maniacs, DJs, pornstars and the titular Bouncers who stand trying to make sense of the whole mess in their own twisted, sardonic way. Bouncers promises an hilarious experience of visual and aural immersion whilst also posing the poignant question of why humanity will so willingly degrade itself for a cheap thrill.
- November 2010
"If they don't agree, then I will change their minds by whatever means I deem necessary. If you want to call it disease, or corruption, or whichever words seem appropriate, then go ahead." An empty, windowless room is where the human forms of Rape, Faith and Pain find themselves, cut off and without recollection of their arrival. In trying to escape, they find themselves going deeper into the isolation of their space, and their fruitless and disturbing efforts to learn about one another seems to draw the walls in as their predicament remains apparently without cause.
- November 2010
Have you ever told anyone what you really think of them? Have you ever had the courage to come out from behind the web of lies and false camaraderie that oils the wheels of the social world? Have you ever even asked yourself what you're really like? Stanley, a drab man in the drab 1950s certainly hasn't. Unfortunately for him, his myths about himself are about to be ripped away from him by a pair of mysterious strangers. The play explores the horrors that lie beneath the mundane surface of everyday life; and it watches as these horrors make madmen of those who gaze upon them. The question is, can Stanley cope? Can you?
- October 2010
The Beginner’s Guide to the Opera is a brand spanking new introduction to the world’s greatest, gaudiest and most ludicrous art form. Forget La Scala, forget The Met New York- the Corpus Christi Playroom is the only setting for a fast-paced heretical romp through the staves of musical history. Tracing opera’s unlikely journey from the verdant pastures of North Yorkshire to the ‘gator-filled swamps of New Orleans, this one-woman sketch show provides a refreshingly insolent insight into the elite yet all-encompassing world of opera. So, whether you’re a well-rehearsed libretto Lothario or a reluctant vibrato virgin, leave the evening gloves at the door, and prepare yourself for an evening of glass-smashing, spear-bashing entertainment.
- October 2010
- October 2010
A man finds himself inexplicably backstage one day. When confronted by the stage manager, it becomes apparent that he is mistaken as the understudy for a well-known actor and must perform in his stead. Literally forced on stage, he attempts to recall his lines; however, the play inconsistently shifts between scenes from 'Private Lives', 'Hamlet', 'Checkmate', and 'A Man for All Seasons'. In the final scene of 'A Man for all Seasons', he is alarmed to learn that he must play the part of Sir Thomas Moore - and the inevitable execution seems a bit too real for his liking ...
with the funding of Clare Actors and the Alcock Players
- October 2010
Lottie is depressed. She can’t continue with her cosy yet meaningless middle-class existence any longer. She has tried to commit suicide once before and is about to do so again when she is interrupted by Rachel, a door-to-door saleswoman. As they talk, each woman reveals her own secrets and Rachel attempts to persuade Lottie to tell Michael, her seemingly unsympathetic husband, that her depression is getting worse. Will Lottie make this bold move? And will it change anything?
- June 2010
- 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
--"Nothing can rival the power of art." --"Not even sex?"
Fra Filippo Lippi is born lucky. He has a talent beyond any of his peers. He is set to be one of his generation's greatest artists.
Escaping his monastery, he is captured by pirates. Escaping imprisonment, he gains the patronage of the Florence's most powerful citizen, Cosimo de' Medici. Winning the favour of even the Pope himself, Filippo's uncontrollable lust sees him thrown into confinement. Escaping once again, he must flee from Florence to pursue his art - and his mischievous love affairs. All is well until, for once, love strikes true...
"You're dying for it - someone to knock the brains out of you till all the tatters of your wasted life are left spread across the floor, moist and glistening from the spoils of your body"
- March 2010
An Envelope. A Gilt Edged Invitation. Intricate Calligraphy. The Heady Scent of Fine Perfume.
Consider yourself cordially invited into the shimmering world of Cherry and Blossom, two bright young things with a penchant for glitz, glamour and garters.
For one week only, they take you on a whirlwind tour of musical delights from days gone by. Be transported to the fast paced fun of the twenties flappers; feel the heat and grit of the jazz clubs of the thirties; let your heart be stirred by the war torn forties; your eyes be dazzled by the mambo of the fifties; and lose every inhibition you once had during the psychedelic sixties.
This promises to be one evening you won't forget in a hurry.
Men, hold onto your hats. Women, hold onto your men.
You've been warned... 'The Girls Can't Help It!'
- March 2010
Tom and Kyra's affair ended years ago and she has reinvented herself. But when Tom forces his way back into her life one cold night, the unwanted memories resurface. David Hare's critically acclaimed script crackles with intensity as Tom and Kyra desperately try to come to terms with their past, and with each other... He may have the wealth, but who has the power?
"Kyra. Kyra, I'm back..."
- February 2010
The 2010 Fletcher Players' Freshers' Play.
'The Bald Prima Donna' welcomes its audience into a typical English living room with Mr and Mrs Smith expecting the arrival their dinner guests, the Martins. However, all is not quite as it seems - their conversation is filled with unrelated banalities and the English living room is not as typical as it first looked. Eugene Ionesco's first play, originally written in his mother tongue, Romanian, and then translated into French and English, is a hilarious 'parody of everything' which will have the audience laughing hysterically from start to finish.
- February 2010
"And death shall be no more, Death thou shalt die."
Vivian Bearing is a professor of 17th century poetry, specialising in the Holy Sonnets of John Donne. She is well used to exploring life and death, but now it's her life and death in question, and she's running out of time. Diagnosed with terminal cancer, Vivian talks us through her last days and weeks, sharing a wry smile at the world and seeking, always seeking, to unravel the mystery, explain the poem.
Emotional, amusing and ultimately uplifting, 'Wit' is a must-see for anyone who has ever asked the life/death question.
- February 2010
'Hell is other people'
In Jean-Paul Sartres one act play, three recently deceased individuals; Garcin, Inez and Estelle are brought to the same room in Hell by a mysterious Valet. Having all expected to be greeted by a variety of elaborate torture devices, they are surprised to find themselves in a plain drawing room. However, despite the perceived normality of the situation, it soon dawns on each character that their punishment is devilishly simple.
Their punishment is each other.
