THEATRE VISITS

 

OCTOBER 2008

 

We returned to Worcester Swan Theatre to see the Gilbert and Sullivan Society of that City perform "Patience" (Bunthorne's Bride).  Our party nearly filled one complete row, and we all thoroughly enjoyed the presentation.  Those of us who had performed this work, in our youth, merrily sang along - especially to 'The Magnet and the Silver Churn', and the singing continued into the minibus whilst homeward bound!

 

 

 

 

SEPTEMBER 2008

We had two separate visits to the series of Orchestral Concerts at Malvern. On the 13th a small group enjoyed Tchaikovsky being played by the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra.  On October 3rd another group attended the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra with a diverse programme of Ravel, Mozart and Dvorak.  We all thoroughly enjoyed the evenings, and marvelled at the virtuosity of the instrumentalists.  The Forum Theatre certainly lends itself very well to this type of entertainment.

 

JULY 2008

 

"A Winter's Tale" by the Rain or Shine Company was to be held outdoors again at Dore Abbey but the weather was not kind to us.  The performance went on under the cloisters, but some of us chickened out!  Those who attended said that they enjoyed the evening, that the acting was very good, but it would have been better on a balmy summer's evening!

 

Eight of us went to see "Evita" at the Bristol Hippodrome at the end of the month.  What a performance.  There was no weak link anywhere.  The players and singing were superb, the costumes and scenery magnificent, and the atmosphere electric.  A hugely enjoyable and professional show.

 

JUNE 2008

 

We supported our local Phoenix Theatre and went to see "The Tump".  A play written by a local playwright, on a local theme with a local cast.  Interesting, although the expected end revelation never came!

 

Our main event for June was the visit to Dore Abbey to see a concert by John Williams.  We had 21 people attending, a minibus and car full!  The evening lived up to all expectations.  We were bowled over by his virtuosity,  I'm sure he had more than ten fingers!  The atmosphere in the old abbey was magical, and there were large screens to view all the movements. "The best £20 I've spent for a long time" was a comment from one of our members which was echoed by us all.

 

MAY 2008

 

THE GREAT BIG GILBERT & SULLIVAN SHOW

A very pleasant, warm evening was had at the Roses Theatre, Tewkesbury for this show. A new theatre for our group outings, we found it very comfortable, with lots of room. We were treated to numbers from "The Mikado","HMS Pinafore", "Ruddigore", "Patience", "Trial By Jury", "Pirates of Penzance", "Iolanthe", "The Sorcerer", "The Gondoliers", "Princess Ida", "The Grand Duke" and "Yeoman of the Guard".

 

The six performers, all stars of the Old and New D'Oyley Carte Opera Companies, were brightly costumed, and brilliantly accompanied on stage, by David Eaton.  Another thoroughly enjoyable show.

 

ASPECTS OF LOVE

We were attracted to this show by the name of Andrew Lloyd Webber, and the fame of the first song.  It was set in France from 1947 to 1964 and was a complicated plot, 'menage a trois, quatre.......cinq?'  Perhaps we all missed out somewhere along the line?  The emotional problems were ably acted, and the songs carried us through.  There was no actual dialogue, so in this way it was akin to opera - but being in English it was easy to follow. We left the theatre, not euphoric, but very glad we had made the effort, for this theatre is neither the easiest to travel to, nor access.

 

APRIL 2008

 

A small group of Gilbert & Sullivan enthusiasts went to see two of the rarer operettas.  The Great Witley Operatic Society produced "Trial by Jury" and "The Sorcerer" at the Swan Theatre Worcester in one evening.  These were

lots of fun, and it was great to see two for the price of one!

 

Malvern Festival Theatre was the venue for "Single Spies", two one act plays by Alan Bennett.  The evening had a memorable start when we were all evacuated as a fire alarm was activated.  Fortunately it was a false alarm, we found out afterwards that someone had lifted the lid on a tea-urn and the super sensitive system was triggered. We returned to our seats, and the play started just some 15 minutes late - well done to all the staff at the theatre.

Both plays starred Nigel Havers, and Diana Quick. The first, "An Englishman Abroad" was based on an incident in the life of actress Coral Browne when she met Guy Burgess in Moscow.  The second, "A Question of Attribution" featured HM The Queen and Anthony Blunt, the fourth man in the spy scandal.  Both plays were typical of Alan Bennett in that they left us thinking..............

 

 

 

 

MARCH 2008

 

"Move Over Mrs. Markham" was a well staged and performed hilarious farce by Ray Cooney and John Chapman which we went to see at the local Phoenix Theatre, and again we were not disappointed.

 

Our main treat for the month was to see "Fiddler on the Roof" at the Malvern Theatre. We were bowled over by the singing, and the acting was great. Such a sad story, and such wonderful tunes.We were still singing them some days later!

 

 

FEBRUARY 2008

 

Another new venue for this month, we went to see "And Then There Were None" at the New Theatre in Cardiff.  The play, by Agatha Christie, was excellent, and kept us all guessing to the end as to 'who'd done it'. It was good to see some of the famous names from early television still performing. Gerald Harper (Adam Adamant) and Peter Byrne (Andy Crawford:Dixon of Dock Green)

 

 

 

JANUARY 2008

 

Our first venture to the Bristol Hippodrome to see "Mama Mia" was marvellous.  We were so carried away that we were standing and waving with everyone else!  The atmosphere was electric -  the only downside was the climb to the seats in the upper circle, although we all said that it was worth the effort.  We enjoyed the Oriental meal that we had in Gloucester on the way back, too.

 

Another visit to the Phoenix Theatre to see "Theft" by Eric Chappell was a very enjoyable light- hearted evenings entertainment.

 

DECEMBER 2007

 

 

A matinee at Malvern was on the agenda for this month.  We went to see "Beauty and the Beast on Ice" and, my goodness, weren't we dazzled by the colours and the expertise of the performers.  As it was near Christmas we decided to indulge in some seasonal cheer, and had a lunch before the show.

 

 

 

 

 

 

NOVEMBER 2007

 

For November we visited the local Phoenix Theatre for a performance of "The Diary of Anne Frank".  Although a thought provoking play it still had its lighter side, and the group had a splendid evening.  We were all impressed with how such a small theatre coped with building a complicated setting so well.

 

 

 

 

 

OCTOBER 2007

 

 

Our first group visit was to The Swan Theatre at Worcester to see "The Gondoliers".  Our first use of the minibus, too.  Everything went very well and we all enjoyed ourselves tremendously especially when the Duke and Duchess of Plazatoro disembarked from their own gondolier carrying plastic bags from Lidl!  A humorous touch to bring G & S bang up to date!.