Cecily Harrington sits in her London flat waiting for her fiancé to come home from deployment but her heart longs for travel and adventure. Enter Bruce Lovell, handsome, charismatic, mysterious; but is ‘love with a stranger’ the romantic adventure she has been hoping for or a fatal mistake! This psychological thriller has everything you want – maybe even murder!
A Bunch of Amateurs
by Ian Hislop and Nick Newman
Directed by Michael Darbon
An amateur production by arrangement with Concord Theatricals Ltd
Main House
Friday 10th February to Saturday 18th February (not Sunday 12th February)
Keen to boost his flagging career, fading Hollywood action hero Jefferson Steel arrives in England to play King Lear in Stratford – only to find that this is not the birthplace of the Bard, but a sleepy Suffolk village. And instead of Sir Kenneth Branagh and Dame Judi Dench, the cast are a bunch of amateurs trying to save their theatre from developers.
Educating Rita
by Willy Russell
Directed by Kerrin Roberts
An amateur production by arrangement with Concord Theatricals Ltd
In the bar
Wednesday 22 February to Sunday 26th February
Rita, a young hairdresser, wants to know everything; this is at odds with what her family and friends expect of her. She embarks on an Open University course. Frank, a lecturer at a “proper university” has signed up to be her tutor because he needs the money. Rita and Frank make us laugh and think about life’s choices as they change each other.
The King’s Speech
By David Seidler
Directed by Pauline Armour
Main House
Friday 10th March to Saturday 18th March (not Sunday 12th March)
Coronation cancelled! Dec 1936. Edward VIII abdicates. His brother Bertie, afflicted by a debilitating stutter is reluctantly thrust into the limelight. Britain on the brink of war in Europe needs a head of state who can inspire the nation. This brilliant stage adaptation was developed from the 2011 Oscar winning film starring Colin Firth.
The Unreturning
A Youth Theatre Production
By Anna Jordan
Directed by Pauline Armour and Jessica Ann Jenner
Main House
Thursday 23rd March to Saturday 25th March
George, Frankie and Nat are coming home, but is war ending or just beginning. As they fight their own battles, can they escape their past and find a new future. Three storylines weave together in this powerful piece of theatre about the horrors and guilt of those returning from war. Performed by members of our Youth Theatre this is one not to be missed.
Hedda Gabler
By Henrik Ibsen
Directed by Jessica Ann Jenner
Main House
Friday 14th April to Saturday 22nd April (not Sunday 16th April)
Hedda is only just back from her honeymoon but has already tired of her husband. Dissatisfied and unfulfilled, she seeks to take back control, but every action has a consequence, and the smallest spark can kindle the greatest flame.
Ibsen’s classic depiction of a woman trapped by society, marriage and her own lies comes to the stage in a brand-new adaptation.
The Height of the Storm
by Florian Zeller
Directed by Jane Lobb
An amateur production by arrangement with Concord Theatricals Ltd
In the bar
Wednesday 26th April to Sunday 30th April
‘You think people are dead, but that’s not always the case.’ André and Madeleine have been in love for over fifty years, but this weekend, as their daughters visit, something feels unusual. Flowers arrive, but who sent them? A woman from the past turns up, but who is she? Why is a man sharpening knives? And why does André feel like he isn’t there at all?
Separate Tables
By Terence Rattigan
Directed by Hilary Cordery and Kay O’Dea
An amateur production by arrangement with Concord Theatricals Ltd
Main House
Friday 12th May to Saturday 20th May (not Sunday 14th May)
In a 1950’s Bournemouth hotel where the furnishings and the residents have both seen better days, secrets and scandal lie beneath the carefully placed tablecloths. Marooned on separate tables, Rattigan presents a rich collection of characters who superbly present the vulnerability, loneliness and misplaced pride of lives essentially unfulfilled.
A Few Good Men
By Aaron Sorkin
Directed by Paul Campion
An amateur production by arrangement with Concord Theatricals Ltd
Main House
Friday 9th June to Saturday 17th June (not Sunday 11th June)
Two US Marines are on trial over the death of a fellow Marine. At first, their young rookie lawyer is more interested in playing softball than fighting their case. But as events unfold he finds himself valiantly defending his clients and uncovering a shocking conspiracy. A gripping – and timely – courtroom drama that puts the military mentality on the stand.
Love, Loss and What
I Wore
By Nora and Delia Ephron based on the book by Ilene Beckerman
Directed by Donna Dawson
In the bar
Wednesday 21st June to Sunday 25th June
Witty, wise and wonderful, this play proves that great storytelling is always in fashion. From the brilliant Ephron sisters who created such mega-hits as “When Harry Met Sally,” “You’ve Got Mail,” “Sleepless in Seattle” and “Silkwood,” this funny, tender and compelling piece uses clothing as a metaphor for all the big moments in our lives. A magnificent celebration of life through old but unforgotten clothes.
Gentleman Jack
Adapted from the diaries of Ann Lister by Ross McGregor
Directed by Stevie Hughes
Main House
Friday 7th July to Saturday 15th July (not Sunday 9th July)
Landowner, mountaineer, industrialist, virago and libidinous, full-on lesbian, Anne Lister fought her way into the industrial revolution when women were usually marginalised. Anne flouted the conventions of the day, challenging the bigots, male supremacists and anyone else who stood in her way! A passionate, dramatic tale of love and survival in the face of prejudice.
Things I Know To Be
True
By Andrew Bovell
Directed by Jessica Ann Jenner
An amateur production by arrangement with Nick Hern Books
Main House
Friday 15th September to Saturday 23rd September (not Sunday 17th September)
Bob and Fran have built a traditional suburban family held together by shared love and memories, but as their children become adults and discover themselves will love, in its myriad forms, be enough to keep them together or will the truth break them apart? Beautiful, poignant and devasting this portrait of family life is not to be missed!
An Intervention
by Mike Bartlett
Directed by Colleen Batson
An amateur production by arrangement with Nick Hern Books
In the Bar
Wednesday 27th September to Sunday 1st October
This is a play about two people who find out they don’t really know each other. The turning point appears to be a war overseas but there are underlying issues, a girlfriend highlights a problem they have skirting around, and their conflict is transmuted from one about an overseas war into one about how much they really care about each other.
Present Laughter
By Noel Coward
Directed by Roxana Graves
An amateur production by arrangement with Concord Theatricals Ltd
Main House
Friday 13th October to Saturday 21st October (not Sunday 15th October)
In this quintessential Coward comedy, Garry Essendine, successful actor and loveable rogue, is having a mid-life crisis. Despite the rather imaginative efforts of his secretary and ex-wife to rein in his behaviour and keep him out of trouble, chaos inevitably ensues along with a constant stream of largely unexpected and unwelcome visitors to his London studio.
The Incident Room
By Olivia Hirst and David Byrne
Directed by Pauline Armour
An amateur production by arrangement with Nick Hern Books
Main House
Friday 10th November to Saturday 18th November (not Sunday 12th November)
Set in Leeds in 1975, The Incident Room is a forensic examination of the five-year police hunt for the Yorkshire Ripper. With public pressure mounting, the investigators resorted to increasingly audacious attempts to catch one of Britain’s most notorious serial killers. After a sell-out run at the Edinburgh Festival in 2019, The Incident Room transferred to the New Diorama Theatre where it received rave reviews.
There Are No Beginnings
By Charley Miles
Directed by Gillian Gissing
An amateur production by arrangement with Nick Hern Books
In the Bar
Wednesday 22nd November to Sunday 26th November
Between 1975-80, the women of Leeds lived in fear. With no idea who was responsible for the attacks and murders across the city, women were urged to stay at home. From the fear and fury, a steadfast solidarity arose, birthing the Reclaim the Night movement and echoing down the generations to this day. Whilst the Yorkshire Ripper is ever present, this is first and foremost a story of the women living under his shadow.
Blackadder
(Series 2: Episodes 1 (Bells), 2 (Head) and 6 (Chains) )
By Richard Curtis and Ben Elton
Directed by Tony Jenner
Main House
Friday 8th December to Saturday 16th December (not Sunday 10th December)
1558 or two minutes to four in the afternoon if you prefer, and Elizabeth I has ascended to the throne just in time for tea. Lord Edmund Blackadder (the bastard great-great-grandson of the original) attempts to win her favour despite the efforts of his ineffectual acquaintances, notably the idiot Percy, and his mediocre mess of a manservant, Baldrick.