Image credits - Richard Batson / SLT
Sheringham Little Theatre is packing its suitcase for a summer holiday to remember, with the launch of its first full programme of events in two years.
The return of its popular summer drama season includes a feel good musical harking back to a classic pop-filled road trip in the swinging 1960s.
Summer Holiday saw Cliff Richard and the Shadows driving through Europe in their Routemaster London bus – singing hits such as In the Country, Bachelor Boy, Move It, Living Doll, the Young Ones and On the Beach.
A stage version, running from August 16-20, is one of the highlights of a newly-released brochure which shows the theatre is back in action after a long pandemic pause.
Also in the summer season are:
Theatre director Debbie Thompson said: “We are delighted to be presenting a full programme after an extremely challenging time for the theatre.
“Our finances have taken a severe hit and it is going to be hard work to build the organisation back up. We have several fund raising events in the programme and ask people to support them as much as possible. We look forward to welcoming you back. ”
The programme also includes musical tribute acts, drama, cabaret, comedy and family events.
Other highlights include:
May
8 – 1940s Sweetheart featuring the voice and sax of Liz Monroe
28 – Squirrels Big Night Out – a drag duo serves up disco, dancing and naughty comedy
June
4 – Royally Worked Up – Jubilee fun and games with two post-menopausal women
16-18 - One O’Clock from the House – funeral comedy by Stage Direct
July
15-16 Through the Wardrobe Doors – fundraising fashion fun, and sale, from the Community and Theatre Wardrobe.
23 – Night of Musical Theatre at Mannington Gardens – Cawston Band entertain in an outdoor concert also boosting theatre funds.
August
24 Captain Calamity Summer Spectacular –family fun with magic, silly songs and puppets
28 – Lady Bracknell’s Confinement – comedy monologue following on from the Importance of Being Earnest.
Full details of all shows and ticket details are on the website www.sheringhamlittletheatre.com – where you can also download a copy of the brochure - or call the box office 01263 822347.
A feel-good show of stage song and dance favourites is set to be performed by a troupe of talented young performers at Sheringham Little Theatre.
A Celebration of Musical Theatre, running from April 14-16 at 7.30pm nightly, will see a cast aged eight to 16 showcase their stage skills.
They are excited and eager to step back into the limelight for the first time in two years, after the traditional Easter musical Guys and Dolls was postponed and then cancelled due to the Covid pandemic.
But the youngsters are aiming to come back with a bang with an hour-long show that will include hits from classic shows, including Guys and Dolls, as well as an introduction to some newer productions.
They are married in reality, as well as on stage – and both blissfully wedded to a shared lifelong love of amateur dramatics.
Peter and Amanda Howell play pompous councillor Albert Parker, and his downtrodden wife Annie, in a production of the classic comedy When We Are Married by the Sheringham Little Theatre Players which opens on March 31.
Since they first met in 1989 when Peter played Henry Higgins and Amanda Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady, the Coltishall pair have portrayed hundreds of roles mainly for the Cromer and Sheringham Operatic and Dramatic Society and the Maddermarket in Norwich.
They were wed 30 years ago, but have only played a married couple on stage less than a handful of times. That includes as King Arthur and Guinevere in Camelot on Cromer Pier in 2005 and as a widow and her dead husband Gordon in Life and Beth at the Maddermarket in 2014.
A theatre is putting fundraising in the spotlight as it plugs a funding gap in the wake of the pandemic.
Sheringham Little Theatre is seeking help from its supporters and general public – to attend money-spinning shows and special events as well as weighing in with other fund-generating ideas and action to carry them out.
Theatre director Debbie Thompson said: “Like many arts venues, we have had life-saving financial support from national and local government grants aiding Covid recovery. But even though we have had that funding, we are not out of the woods yet – and could be staring at a five figure deficit. So we are using our upcoming in-house productions as money spinners to help our coffers recover – and also appealing to the public for ideas, energy, donations and involvement to help the Little Theatre make 2022 a year of recovery that gets us back on track.”
Lady Walpole has taken over the presidency of Sheringham Little Theatre with the aim of seeing her famous family name reach a 50-year milestone as the figurehead of the arts venue. Her late husband Lord Walpole died in May 2021, aged 82, after 48 years in the role.
Now his widow Laurel has succeeded him – ensuring the Walpoles, who have taken part in Norfolk public life since the time of Britain’s first Prime Minister Sir Robert 300 years ago, complete their half century leading and supporting the theatre.
Lady Walpole, whose role was approved at the theatre’s recent annual meeting, has been visiting the venue since she married Robin in 1980 and is delighted to carry on where he left off, saying the role would be an honour and pleasure. “It is something we always did together – bringing the children to plays and pantos, and coming ourselves to see other events including the summer seasons. It is such a friendly place, the standard of productions are so high. I have been a theatre goer all my life, visiting the local theatre in Swindon as a child with my parents, enjoying student trips to Stratford, and going to ballet in London when I worked at the University of Reading. I love all live theatre and look forward to trying to encourage and enthuse others to visit the Little Theatre to sample it themselves if they’ve never been. The size and intimacy of the auditorium makes you feel really involved in live productions there – more so than big city theatres.“
Amateur drama returns to Sheringham Little Theatre with a classic comedy about a trio of married couples.
When We Are Married is J B Priestley’s timeless tale of three Victorian weddings which happened on the same day - but whose foundations are rocked when the couples gather to mark their joint 25th anniversaries.
It is performed by the Sheringham Little Theatre Players as their first post-Covid drama production since Goodnight Mister Tom in 2019. The show is also a fund-raiser for the Little Theatre as it seeks to rebuild coffers depleted by the pandemic.
The plot, penned in 1934 and first staged in 1938, sees the couples re-evaluating their marriages amid the shockwaves of a surprise revelation – observed by a wicked housekeeper, seeking to make the most of their misfortune, and an alcohol-soaked newspaper photographer.