Maurice's Jubilee by Nichola McAuliffe
presented by The Barn Theatre Club
An amateur performance by arrangement with Oberon Books & Samuel French Ltd. Maurice and Helena live in suburbia but he has memories of a far grander past and a fateful meeting with the young Princess Elizabeth on the eve of her coronation. Tasked with guarding the Crown Jewels overnight he ended up dancing with her and she promised to visit him on his 90th birthday, the eve of her own Diamond Jubilee. His long-suffering wife dismisses his story as the delusional result of his cancer medication, but he is adamant that the Queen will keep her word and as that date approaches makes preparations for the Royal visit. Written by award-winning actress Nichola McAuliffe, it is a gentle, witty examination of the power of dreams and the pitfalls of aging.
Buy TicketsElgar and Alice by Peter Sutton
presented by Global Productions
An amateur performance by arrangement with Peter Sutton A moving play about the well-loved composer, Edward Elgar, who rose from humble beginnings to international acclaim for his works such as the Enigma Variations and the Pomp and Circumstance marches. How did the son of a poor piano tuner come to marry the daughter of a Major General? How did they manage his need to compose and her ambitions to be a writer? How did his long-suffering wife cope with his many close friendships with other women? In this touching play, we find out some of the answers to these problems and learn about his relationship with the two most important women in his life.
Buy TicketsThe Night Alive by Conor McPherson
presented by Be-jou Productions
An amateur performance by arrangement with Nick Hern Books. 'You only get a few goes. At life...this is it.' Tommy's not a bad man, he's getting by keeping his ex-wife and kids at arms length. One day he comes to the aid of Aimee, who's not had it easy herself. But the past won't let go easily. Together there is a glimmer of hope they could make something more of their lives. Perhaps. The Night Alive was first performed at the Donmar Warehouse, London in 2013.
Awarded the Mercury Challenge Cup for Winner
Awarded the Tony Bentley Tankard for Adjudicators Award
The Last Romance by Joe DiPietro
presented by Heath Players
An amateur performance by arrangement with Joseph Weinberger Ltd. A crush can make anyone feel young again - even a widower named Ralph. On an ordinary day in a routine life, Ralph decides to take a different path on his daily walk - one that leads him to an unexpected second chance at love. Relying on a renewed boyish charm, Ralph attempts to woo the elegant, but distant, Carol. Defying Carol's reticence - and his lonely sister's jealousy - Ralph embarks on the trip of a lifetime, and regains a happiness that seemed all but lost. The Last Romance is a heart-warming comedy about the transformative power of love.
Awarded the Freston Salver for Audience Award
The Veil by Conor McPherson
presented by The Company of Players
An amateur performance by arrangement with Nick Hern Books. May 1822, rural Ireland: The defrocked Reverend Berkeley arrives at the crumbling former glory of Mount Prospect House to accompany seventeen year-old Hannah to England. She is to be married off to a Marquis in order to resolve the debts of her mother's estate. However, compelled by the strange voices that haunt his beautiful young charge and a fascination with the psychic current that pervades the house, Berkeley proposes a seance, the consequences of which are catastrophic. Set around a haunted house hemmed in by a restive, starving populace, Conor McPherson's new play weaves Ireland's troubled colonial history into a transfixing story about the search for love, the transcendental and the circularity of time. A beautifully lyrical study of the existence of supernatural forces and the frailty of the human heart.
Awarded the Ted Harden Rose Bowl for Runner-Up
Awarded the Roy Seamen Hart for Stage Presentation
Woman In Mind by Alan Ayckbourn
presented by Hutton Players
An amateur performance by arrangement with Samuel French Ltd. Woman In Mind is one of Alan Ayckbourn's blacker comedies, dealing with the gradual mental collapse of a woman, Susan - a collapse which appears to be precipitated by being knocked unconscious by a garden rake. Starved of affectionate companionship and understanding love by an appallingly boring husband and a priggish son who's ashamed of her, Susan conjures up an ideal family who come to her in her idyllic (also imagined) garden. But gradually she begins to lose control over these idealized people and their visitations, until finally she breaks down completely in a nightmarish and climactic fantasy involving her real and imaginary families. Followed by the presentation of the awards
Buy TicketsIn extreme circumstances this programme may be subject to change without notice. Refunds on tickets will only be given if there is no performance.
