Entertainment writer Wayne Savage looks at what’s on the stages of the region’s theatres
NEW WOLSEY THEATRE/STUDIO, IPSWICH
The Show Must Go On, Youth Perform 2013, July 12: Dame Sheila Shufflebottom is due to make one final appearance for her adoring fans, but behind the scenes it’s chaos. The director’s locked himself in the loo, the stage hasn’t been swept and the dancing girls are revolting. It’s down to assistant stage manager Tom and the box office’s Terry to get it all together.
Ordinary Days, LMA Productions, July 13: When Deb loses her precious notes for her graduate thesis she starts a chain of events that turns the ordinary days of four New Yorkers into something extraordinary in this original musical about growing up and enjoying the view.
Act One - The Cave, Unscene Suffolk, July 18-20: The first public performance of a ground-breaking new community theatre company for adults with visual impairment.
Les Misérables - School Edition, Children’s Theatre Company, July 18-20: Based on the Victor Hugo novel, read more about this musical set against the backdrop of 19th Century France online now and my review Wednesday.
THEATRE ROYAL, BURY ST EDMUNDS
The School for Scandal, Red Handed Theatre Company in association with The Production Exchange and The Park Theatre, to July 13: The London gossip scene is buzzing and no one is safe.
Silent, by Pat Kinevane, Hotbed Festival and Menagerie present Fishamble: The New Play Company, July 16: Homeless McGoldrig once had splendid things, but he has lost it all - including his mind - so dives into the wounds of his past through the romantic world of Rudolph Valentino.
Forgotten, by Pat Kinevane, Hotbed Festival and Menagerie present Fishamble: The New Play Company, July 17: Flor wants to bath himself, Dora wants her chowder now, Gustus wants his house back and Eucharia wants to make an announcement. Bringing to life the sometimes forgotten voices of society.
QUAY THEATRE, SUDBURY
I‘ll Get My Man, by Philip King, Sudbury Dramatic Society, to July 13: TV hero Peter seeks refuge at his uncle’s country vicarage, from his fans and from a pop singer who wants to marry him, little knowing the vicar has just advertised for a wife but has forgotten to mention the important word marriage.
THEATRE ROYAL, NORWICH
Birdsong, to July 13: Englishman Stephen clings to the memory of his affair with French woman Isabelle as he leads his men through the carnage of the Battle of the Somme during the First World War.
Evita, Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber, July 15-27: 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.
HEADGATE THEATRE, COLCHESTER
Lady Windermere’s Fan, Dot Productions, July 12: 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. Dot visit Willow Cottage Theatre, Romford, on July 13; Coggeshall Grange Barn, July 20 and Gooderstone Water Gardens, King’s Lynne, on July 28.
MERCURY THEATRE, COLCHESTER
Hotbed 2013, July 18-21: The Cambridge New Writing Theatre Festival now in Colchester. Four days of the best new writing for the stage including world premieres, international award-winning shows, masterclasses talks and debates.
CIVIC THEATRE, CHELMSFORD
Miss Saigon (school edition), Tomorrow’s Talent, July 18-20: Set during the Vietnam War, an American soldier and Vietnamese girl fall in love, only to be separated during the fall of Saigon and their struggle to find each other bound for tragedy.
COLNE ENGAINE VILLAGE HALL, ESSEX
Theft, Colne Engaine Dramatic Society, to July 13: A witty comedy thriller that asks how you’d react returning from an anniversary celebration with your oldest friends to find your house has been burgled and the culprit is still in the house, privvy to all kinds of uncomfortable truths about you, your spouse and your friends.
MASTER’S GARDEN, CORPUS CHRISTI COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE
King Lear, Shakespeare’s Globe on Tour, July 17-27: 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.
SEAGULL THEATRE, LOWESTOFT
The Brothers Grimm, Fabba Theatre Company, July 12: The group, for adults with learning disabilities, take on cautionary fables of enchanted spinning wheels and murderous witches for its 12th show; packed with its usual energy, skill and inventiveness.
Peter Pan the Untold Story, July 15-18: There is a place in a hidden forest, a place that knows no sadness, a place inhabited by fairy tale creatures, a place where age is just a number.
Staging a show? Email event@archant.co.uk
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