26 Sep -  4 Oct 2025
Chesil Theatre presents
Home, I’m Darling by Laura Wade

Cupcakes, cocktails and a clean home – one woman’s quest to be the exemplary 1950s housewife.

Judy’s obsession with 1950s homemaking hides deeper cracks beneath the seemingly idyllic surface. Witty, stylish and thought-provoking, this Oliver Award-winning comedy unpacks important questions about nostalgia, gender roles and the illusion of the perfect life.

Contains adult themes and language

www.chesiltheatre.org.uk

9 - 11 Oct 2025
Bishopstoke Players presents
The Shadow Factory by Howard Brenton

Autumn 1940...The Battle of Britain rages.

Bishopstoke Players Present The Shadow Factory – A Powerful Wartime Drama by Howard Brenton.

This autumn, Bishopstoke Players proudly bring to the stage 'The Shadow Factory', the compelling and critically acclaimed play by Howard Brenton, in a production that promises to stir hearts and thrill our audiences.

Set in Southampton during the dark days of 1940, 'The Shadow Factory' tells the extraordinary true story of how a bombed-out city fought back with resilience, ingenuity, and community spirit. With the Luftwaffe having destroyed the Woolston Supermarine Spitfire factory, the government orders a covert mission: to rebuild the factory in secret, hidden in garages, workshops, and sheds across the city. But when state power confronts working-class resistance, the battle for Britain moves from the skies to the streets.

Our autumn production tells the remarkable story of how a city and its people triumphed over adversity 85 years ago. As the Dimmocks, and other families, struggle to keep control of their lives and livelihoods, a story of chaos, courage and community spirit emerges. This is local theatre at its most ambitious and heartfelt.

Join us at Durley Memorial Hall for an unforgettable evening of drama, history, and human courage.

Performances run from Thursday 9th to Saturday 11th October at 7.30pm (doors open 7.00pm). Tickets are £12 (£8 under-16s) and are available here (no booking fee) or via our ticket line 07871 006551 or email boxoffice@bishopstokeplayers.uk

As with all Bishopstoke Players' productions, we are proud to donate proceeds from our plays to the charity Action for Children.

www.bishopstokeplayers.uk

14 - 18 Oct  2025
RAODS presents
The Last Quiz Night on Earth by Alison Carr

A comedy drama featuring a fully interactive pub quiz

A RAODS Green Room Production

It’s the last night on earth. An asteroid is heading straight towards us and there’s nothing you can do about it - so landlady Kathy decides to hold a pub quiz with her quizmaster friend Rav. But with time ticking some unexpected guests explode on the scene..

www.plazatheatre.com

20 - 25 Oct  2025
Maskers presents
Supernatural Secrets

When the lines merge between the living and the dead.

Supernatural Secrets is a collection of two short plays and a Flemish folktale, all by different authors and set in different times, where nothing is what it seems.

Where do we expect to encounter ghosts?

Can we interact with them – and do they reach out from beyond the grave to interfere with us?

Be prepared to doubt the evidence of your own eyes and ears as you are challenged to identify the ghosts from the haunted.

A Ghost of a Chance takes us to a haunted house – or is it?

Are you quite sure who is with you as you search for that book you have been meaning to read?

And can witchcraft reach across the divide?

A perfect entertainment for the time of year.

Are we safe from those beyond the veil?

www.maskers.org.uk

30 Oct - 1 Nov 2025
Chameleons presents
The Ghost Train by Arnold Ridley

A very silly young man accidentally strands six passengers at a small Cornish wayside station. Despite the psychic stationmaster's weird stories of a ghost train, they decide to stay the night in the waiting room…

www.chameleontheatre.co.uk

12 -  15 Nov 2025
Cheriton Players presents
Agatha Crusty and The Village Hall Murders by Derek Webb

Agatha Crusty (pronounced Croosty) is a crime novelist. She’s also pretty adept at solving crimes. And when her sister-in-law Alice invites her to spend a few days with her in the village of Chortelby, it’s not long before she gets caught up in a series of murders which seem directed at members of the All Saints Village Hall committee.

From Toby the Vicar and Eleanor Chair of the committee, to Harry Knott the caretaker and identical twins Olivia and Oliver Truscott-Pratt, there are plenty of suspects. And with an investigating officer as incompetent as D.I. Twigg, there are plenty of laughs as the murders begin to pile up. But, while packed full of wit and very funny scenes, this is also a genuine murder mystery with an ingenious plot which will tax the little grey cells of the audience at the same time!

www.thecheritonplayers.org.uk

14 -  22 Nov 2025
Chesil Theatre presents
The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui, by Bertolt Brecht, translated by George Tabori

A gangster play that might seem familiar to us all.

A witty and savage satire of Hitler’s rise to power telling the story of gangster Arturo Ui as he seizes control of the vegetable trade in 1930s Chicago. With echoes of Charlie Chaplin, Al Capone, Shakespeare and Goethe, Brecht’s compelling parable continues to have relevance wherever totalitarianism appears today.

Contains depictions of violence against people and fruit and veg.

www.chesiltheatre.org.uk

28 Nov - 6 Dec 2025
CADG presents
Robin Hood: Babes in the Wood

Join us as the legendary Robin Hood and his Merry Gang come to the Curdridge Reading Rooms for a festive, family, pantomime adventure. Join our heroes as they bring justice to the good people of Nottingham, and thwart the Sheriff's evil schemes.

No pantomime is complete without the help of a Dame!  Will you be the lucky man Nurse Nelly takes home by the end of the evening?

Expect silliness, laughter, song and dance as we transport you to Sherwood Forest.

www.curdridgedrama.co.uk

2 - 7 Dec 2025
Hamble Players presents
Dick Whittington Pantomime

From the sewers of London to the shores of Morocco, this captivating pantomime is filled with comedy, action, and visual delight.

Featuring some modern twists and turns, the story includes all the traditional roles, highlighted by the best tongue-in-cheek villain in the business, King Rat. There is plenty of uproarious fun, thanks to the comedic Captain Cuttlefish and his ridiculous sidekick, Scupper, who create chaos wherever they go.

With the perfect blend of humour, toe-tapping music, delightful dances, and vibrant scenery, this show promises to entertain audiences aged 3 to 93 (and beyond)!

hambleplayers.co.uk

5 - 13 Dec 2025
Maskers presents
Merry Maskerade

A melee of readings, stories, music and even some "acting".

Our usual cacophony of Christmas entertainment, staged in a cabaret style environment, to get your Christmas festivities off with a bang!

More will follow once we have got the partridge down for the pear tree!

www.maskers.org.uk

16 -  24 Jan 2026
Chesil Theatre presents
The Judas Kiss, by David Hare

The downfall of a genius at the hands of love.

At the height of his career, Oscar Wilde finds himself prosecuted for ‘gross indecency’. With only hours before the police arrive to arrest him, he faces a life-altering decision: flee England and avoid imprisonment – or stay and risk everything for love and principle. David Hare’s play explores the cost of loyalty and pride, and the tragedy of a love betrayed.

Contains adult themes

www.chesiltheatre.org.uk

27 Feb -  1 Mar 2026
Chesil Theatre presents
TakeTen Chesil Theatre New Writing Festival

Ten plays. Five performances. One weekend.

We’re celebrating the premiere performances of our ninth biennial nationwide competition to find the best ten 10-minute plays selected from hundreds of entries. This year’s theme ‘Angels’ has inspired interpretations across a range of ideas and genres. Each performance includes all ten works and we’ll be joined by the winning writers, with judges and directors.

www.chesiltheatre.org.uk

10 -  18 Apr 2026
Chesil Theatre presents
Ladies In Lavender by Shaun McKenna

A gentle tale of longing and loss.

It’s 1937. The quiet lives of two mature unmarried sisters are disturbed by the unexpected appearance of a young man, washed ashore near their cottage after a storm. As they nurse him back to health, he comes to represent all they have missed. And one day he will have to leave …

www.chesiltheatre.org.uk

22 -  30 May 2026
Chesil Theatre presents
Philip Pullman’s Grimm Tales, adapted for the stage by Philip Wilson

Beware those who wander in these wild woods …

Journey deep into the wild woods but whatever you do, keep to the path, there are strangers lurking in the shadows. From runaway princesses to sinister stepmothers and resurrecting snakes, it’s a captivating world where magic meets the macabre, secrets fester under trees and justice creeps in unexpected forms. These are no Disney fairy tales, these are dark, dangerous and very Grimm!

Contains use of flashing lights. This production is not suitable for age 12 and under.

www.chesiltheatre.org.uk

14 -  18 Jul 2026
Chesil Theatre presents
Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare

The war is over. The battle of the sexes is just beginning.

One of the Bard’s most popular comedies re-imagined at the end of WWII. Breaking their journey on the way home from the front, a group of soldiers stop for a few days’ rest, recreation and a little romance. Delivering razor-sharp banter, slapstick comedy and a happy ending, you won’t want to miss this open-air enemies-to-lovers classic!

www.chesiltheatre.org.uk