What's on
Double Bill: Scenes Cut From Other Plays / Do My Boobs Look Big In This?
22 August 2018
Performance at 7.45pm, doors open 7.15pm
A double-bill of two sell-out shows, fresh from Reading Fringe Festival!
All proceeds will go towards making Progress Theatre more accessible to all our patrons.
Scenes Cut From Other Plays
Can you have your life ruined by a custard cream biscuit? This scraggly touring theatre troupe are about to find out. Offstage feuds spill onstage in a joyous mishmash of farce, tragedy, dubious dancing, theatre, comedy songs, and biscuits. From the team behind ‘Writer Bird’.
Do My Boobs Look Big In This?
A show about body image for anyone who has ever worried that their boobs are too big or too small. And for those with perfect boobs. And for those with none. Why is our self-worth linked to our self-image? Both light-hearted and deep, this show will make you think. And laugh. And maybe even cry a little bit. A new play by Christine Moran, writer of Getting Over Steven, winner of the Reading Post Pick of the FringeAward 2014.
♫ Jam Experiment
£16.00 (£14.00 concessions) booking fees apply
Friday 31 August 2018
7:30pm - 10:00pm
- Rory Ingham trombone
- Dominic Ingham violin and voice
- Toby Comeau piano/keyboard
- Joe Lee bass
- Jonny Mansfield drums
Chosen in the Shape of Jazz to Come in 2018 in Jazzwise, Jam Experiment is an award-winning band based in London, UK. Formed in 2014, they have appeared on BBC Radio 3 and Jazz FM numerous times, and played at leading jazz festivals and venues across the UK including London Jazz Festival, Love Supreme Festival, Cheltenham Jazz Festival, Ronnie Scott’s, leaving audiences in awe. They released their debut album in 2017 followed by a 40 date UK Tour. In the summer of 2018, they embarked upon a European tour, including appearances in Rome, Berlin, Prague, Kraków and Budapest.
The lineup includes the winner of Rising Star in the 2017 British Jazz Awards, trombonist Rory Ingham, his brother Dominic Ingham on violin and voice, Toby Comeau on piano/keyboard, Joe Lee on bass, and Jonny Mansfield on drums.
Jam Experiment’s sound is dynamic jazz fusion balanced with intricate compositions and adventurous improvisations negotiated through a mutual admiration for each other. The band has no leader or rather, each member is the leader; through this process, they’ve challenged their own musical boundaries.
PRESS
“Jam Experiment is ‘feel good’, accessible, intelligently crafted… and irresistible.” – London Jazz News
“Jam Experiment takes what is a refreshing audience-friendly approach that embraces jazz-funk with as much passion and seriousness as more traditional influences” – Jazzwise
“Their ability to connect with the audience was exceptional…This band are bound for great things. A joy!” – Claire Martin OBE, presenter of Jazz Line-Up on BBC Radio 3
More information at www.jamexperiment.com
Jesus Christ Superstar
Lyrics by Tim Rice
Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber
13-22 September 2018, performances at 7.45pm
Matinées at 2.30pm on 15 and 22 September 2018
Doors open 30 minutes earlier
Musicals return to Progress Theatre late summer with the much sought after and loved rock musical Jesus Christ Superstar. With a mixture of styles of music there is somebody for everybody, from folk to jazz and from musical ballads to driving rock. The powerful show performed in the unique Progress Theatre is something not to be missed. Get your tickets early….this one will sell out!
Directed by Andy Camichel
An amateur production by arrangement with The Really Useful Group, Ltd.
13th Annual WriteFest
10-13 October 2018, performances at 7.45 pm
Doors open 7.15pm
The best of local writing
A showcase of new writing, never produced anywhere else, WriteFest is an evening of 7 short plays. Each year Progress Theatre performs a selection of creative works from both budding and experienced writers to bring you this consistently popular annual production. If you’ve never been to the theatre before, this is a chance for you to come along and discover what genre of theatre you enjoy the most. There’s comedy, drama - something for everyone, so don’t miss out!
The Midnight Snack
by Dan Clarke
A hard-boiled American detective is investigating the murder of a hot dog sausage in this glorious comedy.
Four Meals
by Paul Houghton
Two couples and their journey through 10 years of friendship, heartaches, and comic mishaps, told through 4 meals.
Weight of Words
by Emily Goode
A woman who talks a bit too much has a decision to make, while she considers her journey through the stages of womanhood.
EKHO
by Erica Evans
An exciting ensemble piece exploring how the same words can mean many things. Our actors play and replay the same dialogue as multiple characters, including prison inmates and guards, corpses, tattoo artists, and surgeons.
Anything I Can Do
by Bethan Perkins
In a not too distant future, a woman struggles to have a baby, in a world where babies are conceived and grown in labs.
You’re Nicked!
by Jenny Williams
Criminal activities are concealed in a suburban house. Then the police arrive.
Dog on a Beach
By John R. Goodman
Three dogs on a beach chase the waves and chat philosophy.
Birdsong
by Sebastian Faulks
Adapted by Rachel Wagstaff
8-17 November 2018, performances at 7.45pm
Matinées at 2.30pm on 10 & 17 November 2018
Special commemorative performance at 4.30pm on 11 November
“No child or future generation will ever know what this was like, will ever understand”
Based on Sebastian Faulks’ international bestselling novel, Birdsong tells the story of a soldier haunted by his past. As a young man, Stephen Wraysford was caught up in an all-consuming love affair in Amiens, France. As the First World War unfolds, Stephen finds himself pulled closer and closer back to Amiens, back to the Valley of the Somme…
Birdsong is a tale of one man’s quest to understand how far mankind can go and still call itself human…
Special Commemorative Performance
There will be a special commemorative performance on Remembrance Sunday - 11 November - to raise funds for the British Legion at 4:30pm - to book for this special performance please email birdsong@progresstheatre.co.uk
Cast
Stephen - Charlie West
Isabelle - Steph Gunner
Jack - Craig Daniels
Jeanne - Emma Kellow
Arthur Shaw - Gareth Saunders
Evans/Levi - Harry Petrie
Turner/Orderly/Chaplain - Jordan Peedell
Lisette/Prostitute - Esther Arzola
Gregoire/Tipper - Jack Hygate
Azaire/Captain Gray - Peter Chamberlain
Berard - Alex McCubbin
Marguerite/Nurse - Clare Bird
Directed by Steph Dewar
This amateur production of “Birdsong” is presented by special arrangement with SAMUEL FRENCH, LTD.