Old Macdonald had a Panto

by Alan Christison
Produced by Alan Christison

Saturday, December 08, 2007 to Saturday, December 15, 2007

Tickets go on sale: Monday, November 19, 2007

EI…EI…OOOOOOOOOH!…

This wacky pantomime features nursery rhyme favourite Old Macdonald as you have never seen him before or probably ever will again!

This is the third panto to be penned by Alan Christison after his hilarious take on the Flash Gordon and Tarzan legends!

Look out for even more fun and mayhem, custard pies and silliness. Follow Old Macdonald and his friends as they do battle with the evil Cruella Campbell to discover the secret hidden on the farm – and surely you’ve seen those two crazy auld wifies before!

Will good triumph over bad? Will Cinders get her man (sorry wrong panto) and will you find out WHO is BEHIND YOU? This cannot be missed. Book NOW!

Matinees Sunday the 9th and Saturday the 15th December.
Evening Performance Sunday the 9th December.

Cast:

Blood Brothers

by Willy Russell
Produced by Anne Smith

Monday, October 08, 2007 to Saturday, October 13, 2007

Tickets go on sale: Monday, September 24, 2007

“Blood Brothers” takes as its starting point a traditional idea in literature – the separation of twins at birth – but handles it in a very modern way. Mrs Johnston is working class, a deserted wife with seven children who is again pregnant, with twins, at the beginning of the play. She cleans for the middle-class Mrs Lyons with whom she contrasts strongly, and not just because Mrs Lyons cannot have children and will not admit this to her husband. Mrs Lyons suggests that one twin be given to her so that the child could grow up and “have everything”. She reinforces her point: “Surely, surely, Mrs Johnston it’s better to give one child to me than to have some of them taken into care.” ‘ However tragedy occurs because the boys’ different upbringing prevents a proper understanding of each other. The Abbey Theatre Youth Group is performing the original drama script written for performance in schools by Merseyside Young People’s Theatre Company. This version of the play is not the musical one. The group has been working together twice a month since performing in The Children’s Hour, some have left, others have joined. Aimee, Becki, Christy, Benjamin, Brent, Hannah, Katy and Joseph have all appeared on the Abbey Theatre stage before. Leigh appeared in George’s Marvellous Medicine at The Byre in St Andrews this year.

Cast: Aimee, Becki, Christy, Benjamin, Brent, Hannah, Katy, Leigh and Joseph

Dead Guilty

by Richard Harris
Produced by Alan Johnston

Monday, September 03, 2007 to Saturday, September 15, 2007

Tickets go on sale: Monday, August 20, 2007

A TRIANGLE WITHIN A WEB OF DECEIPT In this tense psychological thriller, by popular playwright, Richard Harris, Julia is recovering at home from a car crash in which her lover, John, was killed. Margaret enters Julia’s life to aid her recovery - but as friend or foe? From here on Julia’s feelings and emotions are at odds with her recovery as her friends and her mind go into turmoil. This is not a typical “who done it?” but “who is going to do what to whom and why?” By the author of “Stepping Out” and “Business of Murder”, both previously performed at The Abbey Theatre, “Dead Guilty” will start you thinking one thing, then you will doubt yourself – then there’s that awful realisation when… Alan Johnston is well known for his work on stage at the Webster Theatre in pantomime and at the Abbey Theatre in a variety of roles.

Cast: Cath Eddie, John Henney, Selina King, Claire Nicol

The Holy Terror

by James Scotland
Produced by Fiona Kerr

Monday, July 02, 2007 to Saturday, July 14, 2007

Tickets go on sale: Monday, June 18, 2007

Set in 1690’s Edinburgh, James Scotland’s hilariously funny Scots comedy THE HOLY TERROR is “freely adapted” from Moliere’s “Tartuffe”.

The Great Rebellion is over, King James the Second is in Exile, and King William the Third is on the Throne.

Archibald Ogilvie, perhaps the wealthiest commoner in Scotland, has invited a revivalist minister, Isacc Tarland, to stay. Whilst Ogilvie is away on a visit to court, Tarland makes himself very much at home. When Ogilvie returns his family try to open his eyes to Tarland’s true nature but he won’t listen. Then they try to prove that Tarland is not the holy man he pretends to be, but not only do they not succeed, they end up with the children disinherited and Tarland named heir!
Then Tarland manages to obtain documents, which not only give him control of Ogilvie’s fortune but could see him executed for treason!

Cast:

A Kind of Alaska and Spoonface Steinberg

by Harold Pinter and Lee Hall
Produced by Anne Smith

Monday, May 14, 2007 to Saturday, May 26, 2007

Tickets go on sale: Monday, April 30, 2007

FROM THE OTHER SIDE OF THE LOOKING GLASS

Two short plays, the first by Harold Pinter who uses a case history from Oliver Sach’s book, Awakenings and the second by Lee Hall, author of Billy Elliot. Both plays see the world through the eyes of two remarkable, possibly disadvantaged people. Both stories are told with great humility, tenderness and humour.

In A Kind of Alaska a woman awakes after a prolonged period of Encephalitis lethargica or sleeping sickness which sinks its victims into a catatonic state, where the sufferer is aware of her surroundings but at the same time effectively locked out from that reality. Pinter explores the woman’s bewildered reaction to the world around her and the fact that all her memories are based on her childhood.

Spoonface Steinberg is a wonderfully warm play, which sees life through the eyes of a young autistic, Jewish girl. She is a pragmatist and deals with each stage of her life as it comes. Her one true love is opera, which sustains her. "Reality to an autistic person is a confusing, interacting mass of events, people, places, sounds and sights. There seems to be no clear boundaries, order or meaning to anything. A large part of my life is spent just trying to work out the pattern behind everything.” One might feel sorry for these characters but both are dealing with their lives with stoicism and humour from their side of the looking glass.

Cast: Caroline Pennant Jones, Mark Masson, Linsey McDonald and Debbie Proctor

Natural Causes

by Eric Chappell
Produced by Cath Eddie

Monday, March 19, 2007 to Saturday, March 31, 2007

Tickets go on sale: Monday, March 05, 2007

This is black comedy at its blackest and best.
"a highly original comedy-thriller"

Educating Rita

by Willy Russell
Produced by Frank Gilbert

Monday, January 29, 2007 to Saturday, February 10, 2007

Tickets go on sale: Monday, January 15, 2007

University lecturer Frank needs to earn some extra money, so he agrees to tutor an Open University student. Rita is a brash, earthy hairdresser with a recently discovered passion for higher education. In her attempts to appreciate literature, Rita challenges the attitudes of a traditional university, teaching Frank to question his own understanding of his work and himself. The play explores the relationship between student and tutor.
Educating Rita is a small intimate play, but it tells a story of big ideas, ideas close to Willy Russell’s heart. There is a lot of humour in the writing, but it has its serious moments. It was inspired by Willy’s experiences at evening classes. Much of the comedy arises from Rita’s fresh, unschooled reaction to the classics of English literature, but she is never patronised by Willy, who recognises from his own experience that education is a means of escape from one’s own circumstances.

Cast: