Image courtesy of Shantymen
Panto, poetry, music, comedy, family shows and new drama are in the wings at Sheringham Little Theatre which has just announced its autumn and winter line-up.
Snow White is this year’s pantomime has plenty of local flavour, including seven friendly Norfolk locals and scenes set in Sheringham Woods.
And there is a welcome return of local youngsters to join the professional cast for the first time since Covid in a season running from December 10 to 31.
Other highlights from September to December include a new comic LGBT drama Time and Tide penned by north Norfolk-based EastEnders scriptwriter James McDermott, and amateur dramas about the life of codebreaker Alan Turing, and 1970s women’s “libber” Margot Mason.
Theatre director Debbie Thompson said: “There’s a huge variety of entertainment in our latest programme to cater for all ages, tastes, and interests – from popular family shows and music acts to cutting edge drama to make you think.”
The venue continues to host fundraising events to help its coffers recover from the pandemic including new Tuesday evening quizzes to test teams’ knowledge including music and theatre.
Also new are singing sessions, for youngsters aged 7-18, led by Sheringham and Cromer Choral Society musical director David Ballard aimed at learning to sing and perform on stage while making new friends. A taster session is on Tuesday September 20 at 5.30pm.
Other highlights are:
September
4 Sheringham Shantymen – Local favourites entertain with salty songs as they mark their 32nd anniversary
14 The Great Post Office Scandal – presented by BBC journalist Nick Wallis who uncovered the shocking story of how sub-postmasters unfairly lost their jobs and reputations due to a computer glitch.
21 The Tide Comes Somehow Across – one woman show by local woman Anna Whiting celebrating stories of Norfolk’s older generation drawn from new interviews.
October
7-8 Time and Tide – An LGBT comic drama by local writer James McDermott set in Cromer about a community struggling with change. Contains strong language and scenes of simulated sex.
Image courtesy of Relish Theatre
18-22 Breaking the Code – CSODS autumn drama looking at the life of Enigma codebreaker Alan Turing who was put on trial for being homosexual
24-29 Spooky Little Theatre – new half term Halloween workshops by youth theatre and panto director Nick Earnshaw culminating in a showcase of songs, dances and sketches.
November
5 Groovy UV show – Family fun with an ultra violet glow-in-the-dark puppet show which can feature 80 characters in 45 minutes.
Image courtesy of Groovy UV Show
11-12 Female of the Species – Stage Direct play about Margot Mason a pioneer of the 1970s women’s liberation movement.
19 Toast in the Hub - Top performance poets bring their funny, heart-wrenching and entertaining verse to Sheringham.
December
10-31 Panto - Snow White is helped by her handsome prince and local gang to escape the clutches of the Evil Queen who is upset the beauty is more popular than her on Instagram.
11 Carols at the Theatre – led by the Sheringham and Cromer Choral Society
Tickets and more information from www.sheringhamlittletheatre.com or the box office on 01263 822347.
A comedy spoof version of a classic Sherlock Holmes thriller is part of the summer drama season at Sheringham Little Theatre. And the play’s director Nick Earnshaw has been doing some sleuthing of his own - into the original play’s North Norfolk links.
The summer show will see a trio of actors give a new twist to the Hound of the Baskervilles, using multiple costume changes, slapstick humour, fun and clever effects.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s well-known dark murder mystery goes back 123 years when it was first printed in the Strand magazine. It was set on the murky moors of the West Country, but its inspiration came months earlier when Conan Doyle visited North Norfolk.
A tragedy-hit seaside family is trying to get life back on song through music in a new comedy drama premiering at Sheringham this summer.
Shanty is the story of a Cromer crab fisherman and his two daughters, all grieving after the sudden death of their wife and mum.
Their rebuilding journey, laced with music and humour born out of adversity, is explored by up-and-coming young playwright and poet James McDermott who lives near Holt.
“It is a drama drawing its comedy from the family’s attempts to form a band, the mess of grieving and being a young person clumsily trying to find a new way forward,” he explained.
A free arts event celebrating two famous British characters will raise the curtain on a new fundraising appeal at Sheringham Little Theatre.
Prose, poetry and music will punctuate an afternoon of performance on Sunday April 23 which coincides with St George’s Day and the birthday of William Shakespeare.
Entry is free during the event which runs from 3pm to 5pm, in the Hub which will be serving cream teas as well as cakes, savouries and drinks. But donations will be invited to help kick start a £5000 appeal to upgrade the venue’s curtains.
No More Heroes? looks to explore well known and unsung icons of British culture. Works will include a new version of the St George story, and the words, plus a parody, of the Bard, as well as music from British composers ancient and modern.
He’s a bus station busker, whose songs are just the ticket for travellers. But who is he and why does he do it?
They are the questions tackled in new one-man comedy drama penned and performed by a north Norfolk entertainer.
Greg Powles’ show The Busker takes a journey in song, stories and humour that delves into the mystery street performer. As well as singing his songs, he explains how they fit into his life.
It will be staged at three East Anglian venues in May – Pakefield, Sheringham and Norwich – ahead of plans to take the new work to the Edinburgh Festival next year.
A pair of prestigious premieres feature in the newly-announced summer season drama line-up at Sheringham Little Theatre.
Shanty is a brand new comedy, with live music, based on a Cromer sea shanty singing fishermen and his family. Running from August 8-12 it charts daughter Shanty’s creation of a band to tackle the family’s fishing business woes. It is penned by North Norfolk based playwright, poet and EastEnders scriptwriter James McDermott.
Run For Your Man (August 22-26), by farce master Ray Cooney, is a modern twist on his classic Run For Your Wife – putting cabbie Jackie into the main role, juggling two husbands in two different towns, before her life unravels.
