His Royal Highness the Prince is the bossiest, stroppiest, snottiest Prince that ever did live.
He is rude and he is lazy and worst of all he is given everything that he asks for.
“I want more presents!” whines the Prince
“I want it to snow right now and to go skiing in the garden!” he demands
“Yes your Highness” reply the servants
But one day he asks for the unthinkable…
“I want Father Christmas’ Magical Sleigh and I WANT IT NOW!!!!”
And his dad the Right Royal King set out to find it. After a week of waiting the Prince starts to worry, after a month he is scared.
“Where is my daddy! I want him now!”
Will the Prince get his daddy back? Will he learn some manners along the way? Babbling Vagabonds are back with a new festive tale for Christmas 2017.
Bess takes centre stage in this one-woman show mixing theatre with film.
Surprisingly, this is the first drama to capture this extraordinary woman and her extraordinary times.
During a life of over 80 years, Bess rose from being a Derbyshire farmer’s daughter with 400 acres to become Elizabeth Countess of Shrewsbury with 400,000 acres. The life and times of Bess of Hardwick is in every way an epic life-telling.
Midst all this she would marry four times, become a Lady-in-Waiting and confidante of Queen Elizabeth 1st – “jailor” to Mary Queen of Scots, even spend time herself in The Tower of London and become the founding mother of the Cavendish dynasty, the Dukes of Devonshire.
Three of the most iconic women of the age: Elizabeth Tudor Queen of England, Mary Stuart Queen of Scots and Bess Hardwick – The Commoner Queen embroidered into the same tapestry – when all about them were men.
Over 400 years later the Bess legacy lives on today through the country’s most titled and wealthiest families notably via the Cavendish-Bentinck line to Queen Elizabeth II.
Playwright: Kevin Fegan
Director: Rikki Tarascas
Filmmaker: Will Simpson
Bess: Michelle Todd
A return for playwright Kevin Fegan whose last work at The Guildhall, “Slave”, won the Pete Postlethwaite Best New Play Manchester Theatre Awards.
Cameron Mackintosh’s acclaimed new production of Boublil and Schonberg’s legendary musical Miss Saigon is embarking on a major UK Tour. A recent smash hit in the West End and currently playing on Broadway, this epic production with a company of 60 lands in Norwich, August 2018.
In the last days of the Vietnam War, 17 year-old Kim is forced to work in a Saigon bar run by a notorious character known as the Engineer. There she meets and falls in love with an American GI named Chris but they are torn apart by the fall of Saigon. For 3 years Kim goes on an epic journey of survival to find her way back to Chris, who has no idea he’s fathered a son.
The hit TV show Fat Friends from award-winning national treasure Kay Mellor (creator of Band of Gold, The Syndicate and In the Club) is bursting onto the stage in a brand new musical, with original music by Nick Lloyd Webber.
Join the infamous group of TV’s most loveable characters as they are put through their Zumba paces at their local branch of Super Slimmers by the lovelorn Lauren whilst Kelly fantasises about fitting in to the wedding dress of her dreams.
Packed full of warmth, life and weight loss this new stage show reunites our favourite foodie friends in an eagerly anticipated musical brimming with hope, humour and heart.
With a star cast including West End favourite Jodie Prenger, X Factor winner Sam Bailey and TV star of Emmerdale and The Royal, Natalie Anderson, this is a feel-good night out for every body and is set to be a HUGE hit!
What is your identity if your nation has been destroyed? Fleeing a war-torn Troy, Aeneas is a refugee seeking new roots and a new identity in Europe.
Queen Dido is ready to help him when meddling Gods intervene and turn help into an all-consuming love.
Do they follow their hearts or fulfil their political destinies?
Marlowe’s first play is the rarely told story of the intensity of human passion and a woman of strength and brilliance who refused to be silenced.
A brand new adaptation of the Charles Dickens classic – one of the most loved short stories ever written. In one ghostly Christmas night, cold-hearted businessman Ebenezer Scrooge learns to pity himself and to love his neighbour – but is that enough?
A festive tale of redemption and compassion.
David Edgar is one of our greatest living writers. His rich history with the RSC stretches from Destiny in 1976 through the multi-award-winning adaptation of Dickens’ Nicholas Nickleby, to Written on the Heart (2011). Now he returns to Dickens to rediscover the social conscience of this timeless tale.
Rachel Kavanaugh (Alice in Wonderland, 2001; The Merry Wives of Windsor, 2003) directs, fresh from stunning the West End with her award-winning production of Half A Sixpence.
Suitable for ages seven and over and children go half price.
“When you grow up in this place the violence becomes a part of you”
In the ‘Badlands’ of Uttar Pradesh, where violence against women can be traced back to Indian mythology, one woman has raised an army to say “no more”. She is Sampat Pal, the formidable and fearless leader of the Gulabi Gang, a movement of over 400,000 women fighting for their rights in a uniform of blazing pink saris.
One winter’s day, Sampat learns of Sheelu Nishad, a young girl thrown into prison in the dead of night. As Sampat investigates, a chain of events is set in motion that reveals the real cost of making a stand.
This Made At Curve production will receive its world premiere at Curve and will be created by a unique collaboration of award-winning Indian and British Asian artists led by Curve Associate Director Suba Das (Ravi Shankar’s Sukanya, Wipers, Abigail’s Party). Fusing together drama, music and movement, Pink Sari Revolution is a true story based on the book by internationally renowned journalist Amana Fontanella-Khan and meetings with Sampat Pal.
Recommended for ages 13+. Some scenes contain references to sexual and domestic violence.
Derby Theatre brings this classic story to life in Neil Bartlett’s brilliant adaptation, using the magnificent language of Dickens’ original.
Christmas Eve 1812, and a young orphan boy, Pip, stumbles upon a convict hiding out amongst the graves of the village churchyard. Terrified for his life, the boy agrees to help him.
Two years on and Pip is invited to visit Satis House, the home of the wealthy, reclusive spinster Miss Havisham and her beautiful yet manipulative adopted daughter Estella. Falling deeply in love with Estella’s beauty, Pip vows to better himself and become a gentleman. But it is the chance meeting with Magwitch in the churchyard which has already set in motion a journey of transformation and discovery, forever changing the fortunes and destiny of young Pip.
Don’t miss Sarah Brigham’s bold new production, featuring a talented ensemble of actors and evocative music from Ivan Stott, as it brings the Dickensian world of Estella, Miss Havisham and Pip to Derby Theatre’s stage.
Celebrating the infectious music of Ian Dury and the Blockheads, REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL is a punk rock musical and gritty coming of age tale, which always leaves audiences shouting for more. Featuring Ian Dury and the Blockheads’ greatest hits including Sex and Drugs and Rock and Roll, Sweet Gene Vincent, Spasticus Autisticus and Hit Me with your Rhythm Stick, this acclaimed show will fill Derby Theatre with raucous glee.
It’s 1979: Labour loses to the Tories, strikes rock the nation and Ian Dury and the Blockheads’ Reasons to be Cheerful (Part 3) climbs the charts. As the ultimate fans, Vinnie and his mates would do anything to see Dury at the Hammersmith Odeon, only the gig is sold out. But life has a habit of throwing strange things at you, and one night of frustration becomes something else entirely…
Lets ‘Ave it! Following nationwide tours, concert versions across the world and a performance at the London 2012 Paralympic Games Opening Ceremony, REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL is back on the road one last time!
All performances include captioned dialogue, BSL-interpreted songs and audio description.
Recommended age 14+
Graeae Theatre Company. “Reasons To Be Cheerful”
What does it mean to follow a dream
When you don’t fit in
And the odds are stacked against you?
Exploring ambition, communication and friendship, the story follows the Great Odds; Marco, Grouch and Jewels, on an exciting and sometimes wobbly journey… Dreams change shape, unexpected things are uncovered and success comes through surprising discoveries.
Integrating visual storytelling, British Sign Language, live music, sound and puppetry, Mac’s Arcadian presents Great Odds, its first play, in co- production with Lighthouse Poole, supported by Improbable.
Perfect for a 6-11 year old audience and their families.
