ADC Theatre: Shows

Pleasant Danger Productions presents
Wilde in New York
by David Geasor
Tuesday 21st September - Saturday 25th September
£10-£6

The premiere of two exciting new one act plays inspired by classic Oscar Wilde stories and set in the Big Apple. Smart, sophisticated entertainment combining Wildean wit with plenty of New York attitude.

The Strangeness of Love
Stuart is a painter living with a younger man named Joe. Their first few months together have been blissful, but a visit by a catty friend threatens to destroy it all. Jealousy, insecurity and temptation come to the fore and Stuart and Joe's relationship may never be the same again. A moving, witty look at the dilemmas of love inspired by The Picture of Dorian Gray.

A Bed for the Night
Jack lives with his partner Ernest. So why does he pretend to have a wife named Susanna? And what will Ernest do when he finds out what's been going on? A sparkling comedy of confused identities inspired by The Importance of Being Earnest.

Featuring a showcase of previously unexhibited portrait paintings by local artist Nicholas James Juett, a member of the Cambridge Arts Movement.

For more information, please visit www.pleasantdanger.com

Mad Dogs & Englishmen Theatre Company presents
The Magician's Box
by Ann Courtney
Thursday 30th September - Saturday 2nd October
£10/£8

Charles Dickens called John Joseph Mechi a magician, but who was he?

This eminent Victorian gained huge wealth through the development of his ‘Magic Razor Strop’. He became Alderman of London and was tipped to become the Lord Major. Hhis spectacular emporium in Regent Street sold new and wonderful works of craftsmanship and his products were renowned in the Great Exhibitions in London and Paris. It seemed that everything he touched turned to gold.

But when he turns his attention to agriculture new challenges are before him, not only in the light of agricultural unrest, but his own personal dilemmas.

This story is reminiscent of a novel by Thomas Hardy, the difference being this story is true.

Cambridge American Stage Tour presents
The Tempest
by William Shakespeare
Tuesday 5th October - Saturday 9th October
£10-£6

The Tempest was written by Shakespeare as a farewell to the stage; the final bows taken by the Cambridge American Stage Tour during their ‘home run’ will see the company bid their own farewell to the Bard’s closing piece following a month touring the eastern coast of North America. Following six months of hard graft, expect a highly polished and thoughtful production.

O brave new world
That has such people in’t!

The company will have traveled the entire length of the States and the diversity of audiences will undoubtedly test the mettle of some of the best Cambridge has to offer. Faced with a public that might not consider Shakespeare part of its canon this production will focus on the colonial undertones through word, music and dance, still relevant to this day.

As you from crimes would pardon’d be,
Let your indulgence set me free.

Rarely in Cambridge does such a large cast have the opportunity to perform and perfect over such time and distance, so just as Prospero does, this year’s company invites you to watch what will be a truly memorable performance. We look forward to seeing you there.

WRiTEON! presents
Naked Stage
Sunday 10th October - Sunday 7th November, ADC Theatre Bar
£6/£5

The sellout staged reading series from Cambridge's open scriptwriting forum, WRiTEON. Short plays in development, lightly staged, in a near-bare studio. Your feedback sought on each night.

Naked Stage
Be part of the art.

WRiTEON offers many oppportunities to take part throughout the year. See the website for details.

www.writeon.org.uk

The Marlowe Society presents
The Alchemist
by Ben Jonson
Tuesday 12th October - Saturday 16th October
£10-£6

...I'll believe
That Alchemy is a pretty kind of game,
Somewhat like tricks o' the cards, to cheat a man
With charming.

The world-famous Marlowe Society ("a powerhouse of theatrical expertise" - Sir Ian McKellen) is proud to bring to life Ben Jonson's irresistible comic masterpiece.

Imagine a world where the lust for money and sex drives the greedy to believe the most outrageous of schemes and leads the gullible into extraordinary, farcical situations. Living in a stolen house, master con-artists Face, Subtle and Doll Common are making themselves a fortune. Employing a spectacular array of characters and costumes our three heroes entice, seduce and hustle their way through the playwright's most colourful and eclectic collection of characters, with hilarious results.

The Alchemist is a satirical tour de force - Jonson's bitingly witty critique of humanity as relevant today as it was four-hundred years ago.

thealchemistadc.co.uk

Clare Actors presents
The Fire Within
by Patrick Garety
Tuesday 19th October - Saturday 23rd October
£10-£6

The fires will be burning in the streets of Udaipur tonight.

The British Raj in India is coming to an end.

In the twilight of history, an entrenched colonial family prepares its last supper.

Eve has been missing all day. On the eve of James’ departure for England, the family gathers for a final farewell. Tempers fray as the oppressive heat of day climaxes in the stifling darkness of the Indian night. Someone is harbouring a dark secret. Outside, a storm is brewing.

This poignant snapshot of a decaying empire is a pertinent reminder of the bonds of family, the power of love, and the struggle for identity that burns within.

Nothing is ever really yours here. No matter how many times we stamp things, nothing is really British.

Patrick Garety’s lyrical new play comes to the ADC in a haunting and evocative production which celebrates the fervour of youth, and how the choices of a moment can shape our lives.

CUADC presents
4.48 Psychosis
by Sarah Kane
Wednesday 20th October - Saturday 23rd October
£7-£5

'I would rather have lost my legs, pulled out my teeth, gouged out my eyes, than lost my love.'

4.48 Psychosis, the final and most experimental play from controversial writer Sarah Kane, examines with painful honesty the close relationship between depression and love. Kane's unique poetic style perfectly articulates the consequences of unrequited love in a tale of the darker side of human emotion peppered with even darker humour. Confessions to doctors and arguments with lovers slowly reveal a figure fuelled by fear, desperation and relentless hope in a rare naturalistic interpretation of the play. A complex, beautiful and unconventional love story, 4.48 Psychosis considers the possibility that it's worse to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.

'You don't need a friend, you need a doctor.'
'You are so wrong.'

Please note: This production contains strong language which some patrons may find offensive

Double Falsehood presents
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
by Tennessee Williams
Tuesday 26th October - Saturday 30th October
£10/£8

In deepest Mississippi, a storm is brewing. It's Big Daddy Pollitt's sixty-fifth birthday. His family have flocked to his forty-thousand acre plantation to celebrate. But they know something he doesn't...

Since its Pulitzer Prize-winning premier and the motion picture starring screen legends Paul Newman and Elizabeth Taylor, this searing razor-sharp examination of sex, lies and a family on the brink of collapse has been universally acknowledged as a modern classic. Now - hot on the heels of an Olivier award-winning West End revival - we present some of Cambridge's finest talent in a fresh rethinking of this hilarious, sensuous masterpiece.

"Irresistible, stunning, superb theatre." (New York Times)

"An exhilarating evening of savage comedy." (Guardian)

"Dark laughter mingled with deep pain - a harrowing, blackly comic drama of dysfunctional family life." (Telegraph)

"A powerful work of art - perverse and scandalous." (Mark Winchell)

"I'm not living with you. We occupy the same cage, that's all."

CUADC presents
Journey's End
by R.C. Sherriff
Tuesday 2nd November - Saturday 6th November
£10-£6

In the trenches of France in 1918, Captain Dennis Stanhope and his troops have been dramatically altered by their years of constant fighting in the worst conditions imaginable. Whilst still a fine leader, Stanhope finds that he cannot get through the day without whisky. Warfare has shattered his nerves to the point of collapse, yet he still carries on.

Until an old school friend arrives in his dugout. Young Raleigh, who looked up to Stanhope as a role model and future brother-in-law, cannot fathom the changes that have occurred in his old hero. And Stanhope is terrified that Raleigh might just tell his family back home about the depths that Stanhope has fallen to. But with the Germans ready to attack any day, will there be any time left for either of them?

Bawds presents
Amy Wonderful Amy
by Rex Walford
Tuesday 2nd November - Saturday 6th November
£6-£4

In January 1941, whilst ferrying an aircraft as part of the war effort, Britain’s foremost woman aviator, Amy Johnson, met her death in unresolved circumstances. To this day details of the disaster which befell this popular ‘Queen of the Skies’ remain shrouded in mystery.

Born in Hull, the daughter of a local fish merchant, Amy Johnson went on to become internationally famous as a pioneer and promoter of global air travel in the 1930s. Her first solo flight was made after less than 16 hours tuition and she was one of the first women in Britain to obtain a ground engineers licence. 2010 is the 80th anniversary of her solo flight from Croydon to Port Darwin in Australia.

Her marriage to fellow pilot Jim Mollison, her lifelong friendship with Winifred Irving, her association with aircraft engineer Jack Humphreys, and the events leading up to her death are vividly portrayed in this well crafted piece of theatre by local Cambridge author Rex Walford.

Please note, a pre-performance talk will be given to ticket-holders for the Saturday matinée by author, Rex Walford. The talk will begin at 3.30pm in the ADC Theatre Bar and there will be a brief opportunity to ask questions before the performance.

A Night in November
by Marie Jones
Tuesday 2nd November
£6/£5

"What does a man do when he loathes himself?" Kennith Norman McAllister is a Protestant Dole Clerk working in Northern Ireland who has quietly discriminated against Catholics his whole life. One Night in November he reluctantly finds himself at a crucial Northern Ireland v Republic of Ireland football match and what he sees there makes him question the very beliefs he was raised with. Join him on his hilarious and poignant journey of discovery as he leaves Belfast, crosses the border for the first time in his life, boards a flight into the unknown and tries to discover what it means to both Protestant and Irish.

The Marlowe Society presents
Fired Up
by Annabel Banks
Wednesday 10th November - Saturday 13th November
£6-£4

'Sailors are boys. And witches are girls. And dollies are girls. And Teddies are boys. Aren't you, Teddy? My dollies are easy to break, and Teddies are hard. But it's still very naughty to try.'

Everything's normal, isn't it? People do break up all the time and
it's nothing to get too worked up about. In fact, if there's a party
on just after you might as well go to it anyway. Why not? Do you like parties?
You know what goes on at parties. How well do you know your friends?
How well do you know yourself?

This year's winner of the Marlowe/RSC The Other Prize opens the door to some
disturbing guests -- and they're all best friends.

Cambridge University Amateur Dramatic Club presents
Relative Values
by Noel Coward
Tuesday 16th November - Saturday 20th November
£10-£6

The Cambridge University Amateur Dramatic Club presents the finest new talent of the University in its Freshers’ mainshow, Relative Values.

A delightful comedy set in the early 1950's, Noel Coward's masterpiece highlights a delightful collision between starry Hollywood, stiff-upper-lip England and society's view of the perceived differences between the social classes. Havoc reigns when Nigel, the son of the Countess of Marshwood, announces his intention to marry the American actress, Miranda Frayle - to the absolute horror of his mother and servants of the house.

In the best Coward tradition, Relative Values lets the chaos escalate from one farcical turn to another, spurring delicious dialogue, skilful asides and hilarious repartee.
First performed at the time of the Festival of Britain at the Savoy, it ran for over a year, and remains one of Coward’s classic comedies of English manners.
“Wickedly Enjoyable” (Daily Telegraph)

Pickwick and Nickleby
Wednesday 17th November - Saturday 20th November
£6-£4

One actor. Two stories. Twenty characters.

Based on the public readings of Charles Dickens, Pickwick & Nickleby promises a night of absolute insanity with a sound literary basis. First enter the nineteenth-century courtroom for a gripping case of thwarted marriage, scorned passion and the sordid truth about warming-pans. Pickwick stands trial, Buzfuz gets contentious and the Judge is deadly drunk. Then it's off to darkest Yorkshire for a class with Wackford Squeers. Deduce the regional spelling for 'window' or he'll take the skin off your back... As though spearheading some crazed Victorian séance, one desperate actor will resort to every trick imaginable to lure Dickens's ghost to the stage.

Come bask in the humour, horror and boundless heart of England's greatest comic writer. It's the character actor's audition from hell, and you'd be mad to miss it.

CUADC presents
DNA
by Dennis Kelly
Wednesday 17th November - Saturday 20th November
£6-£4

Danny wants to be a dentist. Cathy wants to be famous. And Adam? He just wants to be a part of it all. But Leah is scared. She feels that lately things have been getting out of hand and then something really bad happens.

When a group of teenagers discover tragedy brings harmony to their otherwise fractious lives, where’s the incentive to put things right?

The Cambridge University Amateur Dramatic Club presents their 2010 Freshers’ lateshow: DNA. First performed in the Cottesloe Auditorium of the National Theatre in 2008, it is a poignant and beguiling tale with a very dark heart; a suburban Lord of the Flies for the iTouch generation.
The playwright, Dennis Kelly, won a prestigious Fringe First Award in 2009 for his play Orphans and is best known as the writer of the hit BBC3 sitcom Pulling.

"Grange Hill for the Skins generation." (4 stars, What'sOnStage.com)

Passing By
by Martin Sherman
Wednesday 24th November - Saturday 27th November
£7-£5

"You can't count on anything. Last time I made love I whiplashed my neck."

Passing By is a charming romantic comedy of an unlikely love between two men whose hearts pull them together as their lives pull them apart. The ADC presents an intimate and unmissable production of this rarely-performed, heart-warming gem from the pen of the award-winning Martin Sherman - writer of the inspirational Holocaust drama Bent and the mischievous motion picture Mrs Henderson Presents.

"Astonishing... witty, sometimes blissfully silly... moving, touching and sexy." (Guardian)

"One of the most radical plays ever written. Beautifully written. Quirky, funny, touching, romantic and revolutionary. It was as if a secret that had been kept for too long were finally being told. It overturned my life.
Perhaps it will do the same for others." (Simon Callow)

"Witty and passionate." (Ian McKellen)

"Brilliant." (Daily Express)

Love isn't forever. Love is just passing by.

Triple Loop presents
24hr Plays
Monday 29th November
£6/£5

Could you create a play out of nothing in 24hrs? Come see the best theatrical talent in Cambridge do just that. Five directors, writers, producers, creatives & techies along with twenty five actors will form five groups and put on five new plays. This is the Cambridge version of the concept made famous by the Old Vic, which includes among their previous participants: Jim Broadbent, Joseph Fiennes, Josh Hartnett, Rosamund Pike, Kevin Spacey & Catherine Tate. Last year we were treated to some fantastic comedy and poignant drama, some category winners being offered professional jobs after their phenomenal performances.

No one knows what will emerge on stage in the 25th hour, but there can only be one overall winner, as chosen by the intimidating judging panel, and you the audience. What will the groups come up with? No one knows. Come and find out who will win and who will fall.

Cambridge University Amateur Dramatic Club presents
Arabian Nights
Wednesday 1st December - Saturday 4th December
£6-£4

Arabian Nights will be a newly devised production based on the ancient stories from India, the Middle East and North Africa of the Thousand and One Nights. In this saga King Sharyar is only prevented from executing his wife, like hundreds of wives before her, by her extraordinary skill in telling stories, for the king has had a wedding everyday followed by an execution the next day since discovering his first wife’s adultery. Every time the executioner comes awaiting the day’s victim, the king is so captivated by his new wife’s thrilling tales that he pardons her for an extra day in order to hear the end of the story. Arabian Nights will be performed by a small ensemble of actors, playing a multitude of characters, bringing to life the weird and wonderful tales and characters of these ludicrous fables in new, witty and imaginative ways.

CAC in association with BAWDS presents
The Borrowers
by Mary Norton, adapted for the stage by Lyn Roberton Hay
Tuesday 7th December - Saturday 11th December
£10-£8

Below the floorboards, behind the kitchen clock, live the family of tiny people. Pod, Homily and their daughter Arriety own nothing at all. They borrow whatever they need from the 'human beans' who don't know they even exist ......... until the day Arriety makes friends with 'the boy' from upstairs. From that moment on,danger is never far away, for ,above all else, they must avoid the great disaster of 'being seen'.

This hugely popular book by Mary Norton has been delightfully adapted for the stage by Lynn Robertson Hay. Her well written script was the winner of The Writers Guild award' for 'Best Children's Theatre' in 1995. This is wonderful pre - Christmas entertainment for the entire family.

Don't miss the amazing adventures of 'The Borrowers' as they go out into the big wide world in search of safety and freedom. Book now to avoid disappointment !