Entertainment writer Wayne Savage looks at what’s on the stages of the region’s theatres
NEW WOLSEY THEATRE/STUDIO, IPSWICH
Big Ideas 5 Moby Dick, Slung Low, July 27: The story of a man driven mad, the critically acclaimed theatre makers will work with young artists from the New Wolsey Young Company to develop the script and staging ideas of the piece before it premieres in Leeds.
IPSWICH TOWN HALL
The Witchfinder Project, Co.Here Arts, July 27-28: Inspired by Matthew Hopkins who made money from his witchhunting skills across East Anglia during the 1700s. Live musicians, improvised drama, dance and visual art will be combined in a new musical in which the audience find themselves part of the drama.
JERWOOD DANCEHOUSE, IPSWICH
DanceEast Centre for Advanced Training End of Year Show, July 27: Students show off their talents to friends, family and the wider public in newly commissioned work by some of the best national and international choreographers.
BEALINGS HOUSE, WOODBRIDGE
The Rivals, by Richard Brinsley Sheridan, Panache Theatre Company July 26-28: Lydia is in love with Ensign Beverley. Jack Absolute is in love with Lydia. Unknown to Lydia, Jack Absolute is Ensign Beverley, or is pretending to be, as she will only fall in love with someone she thinks is penniless. Throw in their relatives, best friends and some saucy servants and you’ve got a great comedic romp.
THEATRE ROYAL, BURY ST EDMUNDS
Little Shop of Horrors, Suffolk Young People’s Theatre, July 30-August 3: Nerdy Seymour spends his day working in Mr Mushnik’s rundown florist and dreaming about shop assistant Audrey. One day he finds a very mysterious unidentified plant which calls Audrey 11. While caring for it, he discovers the plant’s rather unique appetite with disastrous consequences.
LAVENHAM HALL GARDENS, LAVENHAM
Much Ado About Nothing, by William Shakespeare, Lavenham Players, to July 27: One of his most popular, witty comedies, this version is set in Lavenham towards the end of the Second World War. The plot revolves around the fortunes of two pairs of lovers with evil villains, incompetent constables, furious fathers and saucy servants.
THEATRE ROYAL, NORWICH
Evita, Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber, to July 27: Marti Pellow takes on the iconic stage role of Che Guevara in this smash musical which brings the larger-than-life persona of Eva Peron, wife of former Argentine dictator Juan Peron, to life. Features the classic songs Don’t Cry For Me Argentina and Oh What A Circus.
Sinbad and the Pirate Curse, by David Lambert, Youth Theatre Company, July 31-August 3: Having rescued the Princess of Samarkand and found his own true love - not to mention saving his long-lost father from a fate worse than cuttlefish - Sinbad thinks he’s made his last voyage. On the way home, the dreaded Pirate Curse must be foiled, an old enemy is not as dead as he thought and why is his true love afraid of water?
HEADGATE THEATRE, COLCHESTER
The Downfall of the School, by Robert Gathercole, Mad Hatter Productions, to July 27: It’s a new term at Plainham Comprehensive, the only school where the teacher drop-out rate is higher than the student one. But nothing can prepare them for new headteacher Mr Kane in this musical comedy.
THE MINORIES, COLCHESTER
Dracula, Heartbreak Productions, August 2: Fast-paced, open air production that sees beloved Lucy try to resist the intoxicating count. When Dr Van Helsing’s attempt to save her fails, he and his accomplices wreak havoc in their dramatic chase back to Transylvania to rid the world of Dracula.
MASTER’S GARDEN, CORPUS CHRISTI COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE
King Lear, Shakespeare’s Globe on Tour, to July 27: Outdoor performance of Shakespeare’s ultimate tragedy which sees ild King Lear, weary of royal duties, plan on breaking up his kingdom and dividing it among his three daughters. But this rash generosity is cruelly repaid. Playing Lear is Joseph Marcell, known to many as Geoffrey in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
FIR TREE COTTAGE, GREAT EVERSDEN
Lady Windermere’s Fan, Dot Productions, August 2: Lady Windermere seems to have it all, until she’s visited by one of London society’s most notorious gossips who suggests her husband is having an affair with the mysterious Mrs Erlynne and that this woman is about to turn up to Lady Windermere’s 21st birthday ball. Soon nothing is as it seems.
HAVERHILL ARTS CENTRE, HAVERHILL
Antony and Cleopatra, Outspoken Theatre Company, July 30: Shakespeare’s tale of the scandalous middle-aged obsession between Antony, military hero and part-ruler of the world, and Queen Cleopatrad. The Romans call him a strumpet’s fool but when the call comes for another war, can he leave her and recover his reputation?
FISHER THEATRE, BUNGAY
Hippolyte et Aricie by Rameau, Glyndebourne Festival 2013, July 26: Glyndebourne’s first opera by Rameau, who drew on ancient Greek tragedy and 17th Century classical French drama to create a version of the story of Theseus, Phaedra and Hippolytus.
BUNGAY CASTLE, BUNGAY
Taming of the Shrew, Shakespeare’s Globe on Tour, July 30-August 1: Shakespeare’s outrageous comedy focused on a couple hellbent on confusing and outwitting each other to the very end.
Staging a show? Email event@archant.co.uk
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