Royalty Theatre
The Royalty team never shy away from staging plays that challenge their performers and their audiences. Their 93rd season is no exception. There are some dark and chilling tales coming up with a spattering of comedy to lighten the mood.
The season kick starts fairly safely with an Agatha Christie classic. And Then There Were None is widely considered to be Christie's masterpiece and her darkest tale. The tension and suspense builds throughout to the climactic reveal. Who is next on the list of casualties and just who is killing off the guests? And Then There Were None runs from Sept 18th - 23rd.
From Agatha Christie they move to Dennis Potter's Blue Remembered Hills. A chilling drama set in the Forest of Dean in the summer of 1943. Childish games take sinister turn. Not supernatural but definitely something evil here, a good choice for Halloween and Guy Fawkes week it runs from Oct 30th to Nov 4th.
Christmas and the Panto Season rescue us from the darkness for a spell, thrusting us into the adventures of Dick Whittington, and a more light-hearted battle of good and evil. Will the streets be paved with gold? Maybe, maybe not, but the stage will be paved with song, dance and jokes from 7th- 17th December. Oh yes, it will...
New year brings more murder and madness with a studio production of Shelagh Stephenson's Five Kinds of Silence. This dark play explores the damaged relationship between a man and his family. Its claustrophobic atmosphere makes it a perfect choice for staging in the studio. It runs from 24th to 27th Jan.
February brings a Pulitzer Prize winning play - The Rabbit Hole by David Lindsey-Abair. This play deals with the nature of grief and investigates with drama and humour how different family members cope with loss. From Feb 19th-24th.
The second half of the season takes a lighter turn with Jeeves and Wooster in Perfect Nonsense. This Goodall Brothers adaptation of this PG Wodehouse tale runs from Mar 19th to 24th.
Their second studio production is a touching and witty fictional account of the Occupy London Protests of 2011. Temple by Steve Waters occupies the stage from 25th-28th April.
From a very British crisis we move to a typically English farce in Move Over Mrs Markham by Ray Cooney and John Chapman. Two couples separately arrange to use a friend's flat to meet up with their lovers...confusion and hilarity ensue between 21st - 26th May.
The final show of the season is Mike Kenney's adaptation of The Wind in the Willows. A great family show with Mole, Badger, Ratty and of course, Toad of Toad Hall. Explore the Wild Wood with them from 25th -30th June.
As well as the main programme, there are a number of one off performances including a concert by soprano Joanna Forest and an Open Clasp production of Rattle Snake from Sunderland Stages in October, and in July there is the opportunity to see work by Lee Stewart, one of the Royalty's regular actor/directors as they stage his latest play There's Someone Coming Through.
All the details are available on the Royalty website. Tickets are available now and can be booked online or in person at the box office - times and dates are listed on the site. At under a tenner a ticket it's a night at the theatre that won't break the bank.
Denise Sparrowhawk
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