Frolic and fun

Come and have a picnic, swim, play rounders, gossip, explore, bird wach or just relax and soak in the sun at beautiful Cudmore Grove.

We have been going there for several years, and each year we have more people and more fun. We even had enough people for two teams of rounders last year. And some of us weren’t even playing.

Just turn up and meet everyone

Directed by Kerry King at the Headgate Theatre

CAST In order of appearance

‘

March 28th – 31st 2012 directed by Sara Green

led by Paul T Davies

March 10th and April 28th

By popular request, we are continuing these very successful workshops.Put these dates in your diary

March 10 will examine restoration comedy and farce

April 28th Contemporary Theatre. This one comes with a warning as we are looking at recent scripts that may contain swearing and disturbing scenes!

We need you to tell us what you think we should do to celebrate our 60th anniversay next year. The committee wants to put on 4 plays and ideas at the AGM included:

• returning to St Martins
• a promenade performance
• a Gala dinner with a famous speaker
• a children’s play in the summer
• a devised play about the history of Colchester

If you have a suggestion for us, please contact any member of the committee. We want you to be involved.

Audience Reaction

We came to see The Miracle Worker on Wednesday, and thought it the best you have done! And you have done some very good plays, but with Kerry’s direction, and Alessandra and Charlotte’s talent, and the extremely good performances from all the other cast members, this was really the tops.The fight over table manners was brilliantly choreographed and executed, the tantrums very well done. Young Helen’s every facial expression and movement was absolutely right. That girl was really blind every moment of the play, the eyes did not ‘see’, not once, and I do know how hard that is, having ‘done’ a blind girl in the far distant past! One never saw a moment when her character dropped, from the entry to the exit. Brilliant! The  curiosity, the wonder, the terrible frustration, the rage, the joy – all were there to be seen and felt by the audience. Especially good was the way she would start ‘doing’ , exploring something, while other characters were involved in talk, and one would suddenly notice, and watch Helen while one’s attention was still on the dialogue. And that final scene – wow.

Headgate Theatre 6th – 9th July 2011 directed by Steve Dunt

Baby With the Bathwater is a satiric black comedy that enjoyed a long run in America in the 80′s. It tells the story of Daisy, a child who’s parents were too polite to check  her sex when she was born–so they just “decided” she was a girl. Of course, when Daisy turns out to be a boy, he/she must work through all manner of emotional and personal trauma caused by his strange childhood.

Durang, an American playwright, has been awarded numerous fellowships and grants including a Guggenheim, a Rockefeller, the CBS Playwriting Fellowship, the Lecompte du Nouy Foundation Grant, the Kenyon Festival Theatre Playwriting Prize, and the Lila Wallace Readers Digest Writers Award. He is a member of the Dramatists Guild Council and is co-chair of the playwriting program at Juilliard.

Wed 23 to Sat 26 March 2011 at Headgate Theatre

We played to full houses. Comments to follow

Another successful quiz.

Well done to the team “We thought it was a disco” and thanks to Andrew and Anne for great questions!

cast and crew of Hayfever

Witty one-liners delighted audiences every night,

Excellent cast uder the directorship of Andrew Hogson, set and costume design evoking beautifully the period of Coward’s ironic comedy of manners.

Extracts of emails following the show
“just to say how much we enjoyed Hay Fever last night. Beautiful to watch and beautifully acted – a real treat – Many congratulations to all involved in the production of Hayfever.”

“I left the Theatre feeling “Blissfully” happy( even in the rain) after a great evening of entertainment. A classic evening of comedy.”