Pendleton School of Theatre: Road by Jim Cartwright

Lesbians are dirty, aren’t they?

With incredible strength, a pole and a lot of humour, this powerful solo performance explores identity, objectification and what it is to be a gay, 'barely visible' woman in a raw and physical journey of empowerment.

With elements of physical theatre, pole and contemporary dance, Rowena Gander and acclaimed physical theatre director Elinor Randle, bring playfulness, authenticity, and boldness to this mesmerising work.

Created, performed, and choreographed by Rowena Gander
Directed by Elinor Randle (Tmesis Theatre – Acclaimed Liverpool based physical theatre company)
Lighting Design by Phil Saunders
Sound Design by Noel Jones
Produced by Claire Bigley

Recommended Age 13+

He Loves, He Loves Me Not. Authentic voices and lived experiences. Fifteen-year-old, Lexi and her siblings battle through stereotypes from their teachers whilst attempting to break free from generational trauma. Their mother has their self-esteem on the floor -the perfect conditions for Donnell, an exploitative man to enter Lexi’s life and throw her and her friend into a whirlwind of manipulation, exploitation, and coercive control.

A realist story of heroes and villains and community casualties and victims - a creative response to raising awareness of CCE and CSE.

Warning: some scenes may be upsetting. Minimum age 13. Pejorative and foul language.

Written and directed by Anthea Cribbin, co-directed by the young people and community of Gorse Hill Studios.

We would like to invite you to our Academy Showcase for our 2nd year students. Our students are aged between 15 and 42 and are active in the industry and a large percentage are represented by our agency.

We have been lucky enough to have Roy Alexander Weiss working with us on this piece over the past few months. It promises to be playful, fun and thought provoking.

The students have been working and developing a devised piece of theatre over the past 5 months. They have been exploring themes of human behaviour and social norms, as well as acceptance and fairness in society. There are duologues within the whole group piece.

By Helen Edmundson
Based on the novel by Jamila Gavin

Angels and abandoned children, glorious music and murder most foul whirl through this enthralling, moving and richly colourful tale of 18th century England.

At Gloucester Cathedral, Alexander Ashbrook, heir to an aristocratic estate, has his heart set on becoming a composer; but his stern father refuses to listen and despite his love for the beautiful Melissa, flight seems his only option. Far darker conflicts are at play for Meshak, son of the brutal Otis Gardiner who preys on young unmarried mothers – promising to deliver their babies to Coram’s new Foundling Hospital but instead meting out a terrible fate.

Their stories entwine eight years later in London, where two Coram orphans, Toby and Aaron, find themselves on parallel adventures, and the great Handel is at work on a new score, Messiah, embodying the hope of love and salvation over evil.

Helen Edmundson's adaptation of Jamila Gavin's Whitbread Award-winning novel premiered at the National Theatre in 2005 before transferring to Broadway. Nominated for several Olivier and Tony Awards, it won the Time Out Live Award for Best Play. Anna Ledwich, formerly writer in residence at CFT (Pinocchio) and Artistic Director of Theatre on the Fly (2012), whose recent directorial work includes Anthropology (Hampstead), directs.

This production has occasional mildly suggestive language; themes of child infanticide and exploitation, abuse towards women and disability in 18th century England; and depictions of childbirth and violence including hanging, knife fights, murder and drowning.

Age Guidance: 12+
For further information and Content Warnings – Click Here

Accessible Performances

Wednesday 26 June 2024, 7.30pm. Audio Described by Talking Theatre. Touch Tour available at 6.30pm.
Friday 28 June 2024, 7.30pm. BSL Interpreted by TheatreSign 

Winter 1934 and an avalanche stops The Orient Express dead in its tracks. A murder. A train full of suspects. An impossible case. Trapped in the snow with a killer still on-board, can the world’s most famous detective, Hercule Poirot, crack the case before the train reaches its final destination?

Murder on the Orient Express is one of Agatha Christie’s greatest literary achievements, with a final twist that is amongst her very best. Gripping, tense and masterfully cryptic, this brand-new production is a deliciously thrilling ride and an ingenious murder mystery, guaranteed to keep you guessing until the end of the line.

Following a sell-out tour of the best-selling crime novel of all time, And Then There Were None, Fiery Angel and Lucy Bailey (Director of West End Witness For The Prosecution) will bring Ken Ludwig’s adaptation of another Agatha Christie classic to the stage in 2024.

Presented by James Seabright by arrangement with Áine Flanagan Productions

Maggie returns in her smash hit drag extravaganza!

Following four sell-out runs at the Edinburgh Fringe, UK tours and a West End season, the Iron Lady is back and more fabulous than ever.

On the eve of the vote on Section 28, Maggie gets lost in Soho and accidentally becomes a cabaret superstar. Will she change her mind about the homophobic bill before it's too late…?

A big gay odyssey about LGBT rights, the 80s and disco, created by Olivier Award winner Jon Brittain and Matt Tedford.

★★★★ “Glorious camp with political punch.” The Times

★★★★★ “Rollicking good laugh.” Attitude

“Definitely not for Thatcherites. Everyone else? Most definitely.” Mail on Sunday

“Best Mrs Thatcher since Spitting Image.” Arthur Smith

Age guidance 16+

Twitter @SohoThatcher
Facebook @sohothatcher

Created by Jon Brittain and Matt Tedford
Directed by Jon Brittain
Starring Matt Tedford as Margaret Thatcher
With Edward Yelland and Paul Heath

THE GLOBAL PHENOMENON RETURNS

The National Theatre’s acclaimed production returns in an all-new UK tour. War Horse is an unforgettable theatrical experience which takes audiences on an extraordinary journey from the fields of rural Devon to the trenches of First World War France. Based on the beloved novel by Michael Morpurgo, this powerfully moving and imaginative drama, filled with stirring music and songs, is a show of phenomenal inventiveness. At its heart are astonishing life-sized horses by South Africa’s Handspring Puppet Company, who bring breathing, galloping, charging horses to thrilling life on stage.

At the outbreak of World War One, Joey, young Albert’s beloved horse, is sold to the Cavalry and shipped to France. He’s soon caught up in enemy fire, and fate takes him on an extraordinary journey, serving on both sides before finding himself alone in No Man’s Land. Albert, who remained on his parents’ Devon farm, cannot forget Joey. Though still not old enough to enlist, he embarks on a treacherous mission to find Joey and bring him home.

Age Guidance: 10+


Accessible Performances
Wednesday 25th September 2024 at 7.30pm AUDIO DESCRIBED (Touch Tour available at 6pm)
Friday 27th September 2024 at 7.30pm BSL Interpreted
Saturday 28th September 2024 at 2.30pm CAPTIONED

Camelot is in trouble. King Arthur knows that if he doesn’t turn things around, this civilisation will be forgotten, and be known as nothing more than a rather dull time in British history. But when three hapless squires approach him about changing that legacy... a legend is born.

Teaming up with one of UK theatre’s best comedy writers and directors, John Nicholson (Peepolykus), award-winning funny men Le Navet Bete (The Three Musketeers, Treasure Island, Dracula: The Bloody Truth) are back with a brand-new laugh-out-loud show for theatre. A comedy for the whole family, this hilarious retelling of the Arthurian legends will have audiences crying with laughter and becoming part of the legend themselves.

“Ingenious and effortlessly Hilarious” – The Stage

“If all theatre was this good we wouldn’t need TV” - BBC

“A company on top form and leagues ahead of anyone else doing this work. Completely outrageous but always on the money. Simply Beautiful” - What’s on Stage

"What Le Navet Bete does, and with such conviction, is persuade us that theatre is not an elite activity. It can, and should be, for everyone." - Reviews Hub

THE THEATRICAL PHENOMENON RETURNS TO THE UK

BRINGING ITS AWARD-WINNING
BLUEVOLUTION WORLD TOUR
SHOW TO THE UK FOR THE FIRST TIME

AEG Artistic Presents is thrilled to announce that Blue Man Group’s Bluevolution World Tour will be returning to the UK in 2024.

At Blue Man Group, audiences of all ages will rock, laugh and party as three bald and blue characters explore the world and discover music, comedy and surprises at every turn.

Blue Man Group’s Bluevolution World Tour will showcase classic Blue Man favourites in a music extravaganza from explosive paint drumming, comedy antics and unforgettable audience interaction along with brand new content, including the addition of a new female character exclusive to the current World Tour. In addition to the three Blue Men, the World Tour’s new character called “The Rockstar” replaces the traditional band as a multi-instrumentalist, with her eccentric style combined with her dynamic musical stylings complementing the multi-sensory nature of the show.

Created in 1991 by Chris Wink, Phil Stanton, and Matt Goldman, Blue Man Group has evolved into one of the most successful and recognisable stage shows, reaching 50 million people worldwide, picking up countless accolades and awards, as well as becoming part of the pop culture zeitgeist with appearances across shows from the Royal Variety Performance to Arrested Development to The Tonight Show. Co-founder Chris Wink says, “When we first began creating performances centered on this innocent, curious character called Blue Man, we never dreamt where he would lead us. We are so honored to be able to share our show with the people of the UK and beyond. With no language barrier to overcome, as the Blue Men don’t speak, fans of all ages, cultures and nationalities can enjoy the experience.”


Under 14s must be accompanied by an adult 18+

In the heart of the remote Nuba Mountains of Sudan, life is still a good fire around which stories are joyfully told, until the men on horseback come. They murder and rape, burn the village and abduct the children to be sold into slavery. Twelve-year-old Mende was one of them. In 2000, after seven years she was passed on to a diplomat’s family and trafficked to London. She finally escaped only to face a new struggle for political asylum, and sanctuary.

This exceptional award-winning production tells Mende Nazer’s inspirational story. Performed by an outstanding ensemble of eight actor-musicians it is a feast of storytelling, music and dance. It celebrates Mende’s indomitable spirit, the beauty of the ancient Nuba culture, and as a famine of the inhumanity and horror of trafficking and modern slavery.

Mende’s story transcends borders and her voice beckons us to consider the essence of freedom, and to question why fifty million people around the world are enslaved today.

Conceived and produced by Feelgood in 2010 for a national tour, this play was also performed in the House of Lords, won critical praise and many awards including: the first Human Trafficking Foundation Media Award, the Pete Postlethwaite Manchester Evening News Award, Best New Play, Arts Review Awards: Best Director, Best Actress and Best New Play.

Age Guidance: 10+


There will be a free, un-ticketed post-show talk on Friday 11th October


‘Experts by Experience’, a Symposium. Thursday 10th October.

An invigorating round table presentation and question and answer session with Women Asylum Seekers Together, exploring what it means to be enslaved, trafficked and seeking asylum in Britain in the 21st century.

Time: 11.00 – 2.00, then post show discussion following the matinee.

This is free for people who have tickets for the matinee - or £5 for people who do not.

 

Reviews:

“Feelgood turned Mende’s harrowing autobiography into an intense triumphant piece of theatre brilliantly conceived and executed.”
Kevin Bourke, Manchester Evening News 5 stars.

“All the clichés of such survival stories are inadequate to describe the emotional impact of her eventual deliverance… told in Mende’s voice with great beauty”
The Observer

“Clegg and Fegan have created a show that is thoughtful, thought-provoking and ultimately inspiring.”
Helen Jones, WhatsOnStage 4 stars

Website: www.feelgoodtheatre.co.uk
Facebook: nFeelgood Theatre Productions
X (Twitter) @feelgoodtheatre @carolinecleggs

This thought provoking round-table discussion will explore the issue of modern slavery and the challenges faced, particularly by women, in negotiating a place of safety through the asylum system. It will be led by Dr Rubina Jasani from the Humanitarian and Conflict Response Unit at The University of Manchester alongside women from Women Asylum Seekers Together. WAST women are experts by their lived experience and will share some of their stories which resonate with Mende’s story in ‘Slave – A Question of Freedom.’

£5 per person for Symposium alone. Free entry to "Slave: A Question of Freedom" matinee ticket holders.

Performed by R M Lloyd Parry

***** Wonderful, magical storytelling
The Daily Mail

Over a century after they were first published, the ghost stories of M R James retain their power to terrify and amuse. This gripping one man show retells two of the earliest and eeriest.

In Canon Alberic’s Scrap-book, a young Cambridge antiquary discovers the devil in the details of an old book in a medieval town in the French Pyrenees…

In The Mezzotint a ghoulish revenge is enacted within a work of art, before the helpless eyes of a museum curator in Oxford…

www.nunkie.co.uk

Presented by Pilot Theatre

Written by Manjeet Mann

Directed by Tessa Walker

★ ★ ★ ★ The Stage

★ ★ ★ ★ British Theatre Guide

Pilot Theatre brings you an electrifying adaptation of Manjeet Mann’s acclaimed novel. Amber is trapped – by her family’s rules, by their expectations, by her own fears. But on the running track she is completely free. As her body speeds up, the world slows down. And the tangled, mixed up lines in her head get s t r a I g h t e r . . .

This landmark production made especially for audiences of 11+ combines physical theatre, mesmerising visuals and a talented ensemble cast, setting the stage for a transformative story of revolution, empowerment and courage.

Olivier Award-winner Sally Cookson (A Monster Calls) directs the critically acclaimed Bristol Old Vic production of WONDER BOY by Ross Willis, a heart-warming and inspiring story about the power of communication.

“An audaciously inventive, sparky yet sensitive, giddily enjoyable new play that deserves to be packed to the rafters” ★★★★★ Guardian

Sonny is twelve. Living with a stammer, he’s finding his way in a world ruled by vicious vowels, confusing consonants, and let’s not forget the biggest beast of them all – small talk. 

Sonny’s only friend is Captain Chatter, a comic book hero of his own creation, but in the real-world language is power and Sonny must find a way to be heard. When cast in the school production of Hamlet by the Headteacher, he finds the real heroes are closer than he thinks.

Packed with playful humour, dazzling visuals and thrilling original music this innovative production includes live creative captioning on stage throughout.

Winner of the 2023 Writers’ Guild Award for Best Play.

Age Guidance 12+ (strong language throughout)


★★★★★ ‘AUDIENCE ROARING WITH LAUGHTER AND LOVE FROM THE FIRST MINUTE’
Whatsonstage

★★★★★ ‘IT'S SOME KIND OF WONDERFUL’
The Guardian

★★★★ ‘BOUNDINGLY IMAGINATIVE’
The Times

Bill Bryson’s smash-hit memoir journeys to the stage in an acclaimed adaptation, starring national treasure Les Dennis. From Calais to the Highlands, Bill travels the length and breadth of Britain rediscovering the green and pleasant land he calls his home, but how can the nation that produced Marmite and Gardener’s Question Time hold such a special place in this American’s heart?

NOTES FROM A SMALL ISLAND spent three years in The Sunday Times bestseller list, selling over two million copies, and was voted by Radio 4 listeners as the book which best represents England. This brand-new production is a laughter-filled show that celebrates one of the nation's most treasured books, by one of the country’s most beloved authors. A tribute to all the quirks and idiosyncrasies of our small island, that will leave you feeling positively proud to be British.

“Captures the spirit and magic of the novel. Thoroughly enjoyable!” The Stage ****

“I suspect many who have the pleasure of this theatrical journey will, like me, be inspired to re-read Bryson's Notes from a Small Island.” WhatsOnStage ****

“A comic pleasure! In the Watermill’s adaptation of Bryson’s tribute to this sceptred isle, nostalgia and warmth abound.” The Telegraph