| Touches of Sweet Harmony Serenade to Music and other works inspired by Shakespeare “Sweet lovers love the spring”, we are told. Another undeniable fact is that composers love to set text by William Shakespeare. This concert by the Stondon Singers consists of different settings of Shakespeare’s words in a variety of styles, from Purcell to the present day. The central work will be Vaughan Williams’ piece, Serenade to Music. Written to celebrate Sir Henry Wood’s Golden Jubilee in 1938, it was originally performed by sixteen singers who had worked closely with the great master. Another interesting item will be some rarely performed Elizabethan Lyrics set by local composer Armstrong Gibbs. Other works include Vaughan Williams’ Three Shakespeare Songs, excerpts from “The Fairy Queen” by Purcell, and some jazzy settings by George Shearing which should put a spring in your step! | |
Performers:
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The Stondon Singers, accompanied by Michael Frith, conducted by Christopher Tinker
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Date and time:
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Saturday 21st April 2012
7.30 pm
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Venue:
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The Priory Church of St Laurence
Church Street, Blackmore, Essex, CM4 0RN
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Ticket prices and sales outlets:
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Tickets £12, £10 (concessions) and £5 (under 16).
Available from:
James Dace & Son, Broomfield Road, Chelmsford,
The Post Office, Blackmore,
Members of the choir,
Or on the door.
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Sunday, February 26, 2012
Touches of Sweet Harmony
The Passion
THE PASSION
By Tony Harrison
Chelmsford Cathedral
21st-24th March 2012
Just before Holy Week 2012 audiences in Chelmsford Cathedral will share the story of Christ’s Passion: his triumphant entry into Jerusalem, his arrest, trial and crucifixion.
Tony Harrison’s play THE PASSION is an adaptation of some of the northern miracle plays which taught medieval people the stories of the bible.
The language of THE PASSION retains the medieval and northern flavour of the plays on which it is based, infused with energy, drama and poetry. There are lots of modern twists and the audience can expect humour and spectacle as well as the powerful re-creation of Christ’s pain and suffering.
Our performance, which is given a modern setting, will be in the nave with the audience sitting on tiered seating on three sides.
Specially commissioned music will add to the intense atmosphere as the people of Chelmsford once again give life to the story of Christ’s passion.
The successful performances of The Nativity by Tony Harrison in 2009 marked the return of mystery plays to Chelmsford Cathedral after a gap of over 450 years. The same company will continue this new tradition of giving life to the stories of the Old and New testaments.
THE PASSION By Tony Harrison
Chelmsford Cathedral
21st-24th March 2012 - Wed, Thur and Fri at 7.30pm, Sat at 7.00pm
Tickets:
Box Office: 01245 606505 from January 2012
An amateur production by arrangement with Samuel French Ltd
Friday, February 24, 2012
Private Resistance
Private Resistance, a new theatre production from Eastern Angles, will be playing at Chelmsford Cramphorn Theatre on Thursday 15 and Friday 16 March.
Written by Eastern Angles’ Artistic Director, Ivan Cutting, the play is an emotional wartime drama focusing on the lives of one East Anglian Family. An intriguing ‘what-if’ scenario, the drama explores how Britain would have coped with an enemy invasion.
It’s summer 1940. Britain is at war with Germany and the on-going conflict has thrown Diane Bowles’s life into turmoil. With her husband behind bars in a POW camp, Diane is left in charge of her teenage nephew Wilf, a keen boy scout eager to get one over on ‘Jerry’.
Out in the fields Diane’s brother-in-law has more ambitious ideas. His plan? To build a secret underground bunker manned by a small unit of men ready to wage guerrilla warfare in the event of enemy invasion.
His first port of call… Frank Evans, a gamekeeper with an encyclopaedic knowledge of the local landscape.
When 19-year-old Prue, a recent recruit to the Auxiliary Territorial Service comes looking for lodgings, Diane welcomes the spirited young woman into her home. Soon the five villagers find themselves dealing with events and emotions they never thought they would have to face…
Directed by Naomi Jones, whose Eastern Angles credits include Return to Akenfield, Lincoln Road and
The Long Way Home, Private Resistance will be a fantastic start to Eastern Angles’ 30th anniversary year.
I saw the show in its first week - my thoughts are here.
Tickets are £12.00 and concessions £10.50.To book tickets visit www.chelmsford.gov.uk/theatres or
call the Box Office on 01245 606505.
Sunday, February 5, 2012
My Favourite Summer
Reform Theatre Company in association with
Harrogate Theatre present
My Favourite Summer
Cramphorn Theatre
My Favourite Summer, the acclaimed comedy by Nick Lane at Chelmsford Cramphorn Theatre on Wednesday 29 February.
My Favourite Summer hails the return on stage of Reform’s founder and director Keith Hukin.
Keith says, “My Favourite Summer is a hilarious comedy based on Nick Lane’s life, that was originally
commissioned by Hull Truck Theatre and this will be the first professional performance of the piece since 2007.”
Set in 1995, the story revolves around Dave Lees, who takes a summer job whilst trying to save money to take the girl he loves away on holiday with him before she disappears out of his life forever.
Dave spends a month working alongside a nutcase called Melvin (Keith Hukin), in the summer job from hell. Melvin becomes the self-appointed mentor to Dave on everything from cleaning scaffolding fittings to winning the girl he loves.
In a recent interview Nick Lane explained where the story originated, “Whilst waiting for an acting job to come along, I worked in a scaffolding warehouse for about a month. Here was a guy so incredibly different to me; who scared the hell out of me and who was utterly unforgettable. He dominated my diary for a month; his unusual wisdom, his odd advice; his 'adventures' with his friends...
I thought even then that if I ever got an opportunity to write a play, there was a character there that I could definitely use. I should say that a huge amount of what you see in the play is true - at least according to my diary.”
The My Favourite Summer cast also includes ex-Emmerdale regular Matthew Booth, who has also
appeared in Reform’s productions of Thick as Thieves and Studs. Upcoming actress Fiona Organ who recently graduated from Northumbria University makes her Reform Theatre debut.
With this production Sheffield based theatre company, Reform, continues to showcase plays by Northern playwrights by touring nationally to small and mid-scale venues.
Tickets are priced £11.50 and concessions £9.50. To book tickets go online to
www.chelmsford.gov.uk/theatres or call the Box Office on 01245 606505
I, Bertolt Brecht
Devised and directed by Sue Pomeroy
Civic Theatre
‘This show instructs and entertains with the thrill of repeated insights’ Time Out
Berliner Ensemble in East Germany behind the Berlin Wall. Performed by a strong cast of actor musicians, her fascinating multi-media drama documentary brings the man and his work to life. It features the evocative music of Hanns Eisler and Kurt Weill, including such classic songs as ‘Mack the Knife’ and ‘Alabama Song’, who Brecht collaboratively wrote, made famous by headline artists from Sinatra to Sting, from David Bowie to The Doors.
I, Bertolt Brecht has toured throughout the world to national and international acclaim. It has toured across the UK with the National Theatre and to major cities throughout India, to Germany including the famous Schiffbauerdam Theater, home to Brecht’s own Berliner Ensemble as well as extensively throughout Great Britain and Ireland. Now in a new production, developed alongside a documentary
film for TV networks which draws upon Sue Pomeroy’s unique experience at the Berliner Ensemble, this dynamic and compelling production comes to Chelmsford Civic Theatre.
The cast is led by National Theatre actor Judith Paris, whose career includes leading roles at the RSC, in the West End, on Broadway and in a number of films including the Devils and The Rainbow directed by Ken Russell. Michael Adams plays Bertolt Brecht, and recent leading roles include Macbeth for Brighton Shakespeare Festival, Roger in No Man’s Land and many enjoyable roles for Bite Size at Edinburgh and Brighton Festivals. Tristan Pate, fresh from his Number 1 UK tour of Dreamboats and Petticoats joins the Ensemble to play Young Brecht and brings his prodigious talents as an actor, saxophonist and singer to the team. Charlotte Melissa Tyler completes the company, a multi-talented musician and one of the most exciting young actresses to emerge on the British stage in years, she starred in last year’s premier of The Timeless Gift of Christmas on UK tour.
Tickets are £15.00 and concessions £12.50. To book tickets go online to
www.chelmsford.gov.uk/theatres or call the Box Office on 01245 606505.
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