18 - 27 July 2024
Maskers presents
Romeo & Juliet

Maskers return to Townhill Park for theatre on the lawn

Warning! This Contains:
Rich Regency costume
Dramatic fights
True love that goes wrong!!

Shakespeare's haunting tale of young love at first sight, the awakening of deep, deep passion and the tragic events that lead to their deaths. 

An age-old vendetta between two powerful families erupts into bloodshed.

Set in the Regency Era.

Lord Capulet has arranged a party to introduce his daughter, Juliet, to Paris, the man he wants her to marry. A group of masked Montagues gatecrashes the party and Romeo and Juliet meet and fall in love, each unaware that the other should be a deadly enemy. In haste, they marry, intending to present their families with a fait accompli. Immediately after the secret wedding, Romeo unwillingly becomes caught up in renewed fighting, which leaves his best friend dead and Romeo guilty of killing Juliet’s cousin in revenge. Romeo is banished from Verona. Will the lovers see each other again? Will Juliet be forced into a bigamous marriage with Paris? Will anything reconcile the Montagues and the Capulets?

www.maskers.org.uk

24 - 27 July 2024
Chameleon Theatre Company presents
Bleak Expectations by Mark Evans

Follow half-orphan Pip's extraordinary exploits with sisters Pippa and Poppy and best friend Harry Biscuit, as they attempt to escape the calculating clutches of the dastardly Mr Gently Benevolent, defeat the hideous Hardthrasher siblings, and deflect disaster at every turn! Will evil be vanquished by virtue? Can love triumph over hate?

chameleontheatre.co.uk

7 - 10 August 2024
RAODS presents
The Lion in Winter by James Goldman

A RAODS outdoor production at Island House, Greatbridge Road, Romsey, SO51 0HP

The Lion in Winter is the story of an extended family Christmas quarrel!

It portrays all the personal and political conflicts of Henry II of England, his wife Eleanor of Aquitaine, their children, and their guests (the young King of France, and his half-sister). The play was the basis for an Oscar-winning film starring Peter O’Toole, Katherine Hepburn and Anthony Hopkins. Set at Henry’s castle in Chinon, the play opens with the arrival of Eleanor - whom Henry has imprisoned for the last 10 years. There follows endless gamesmanship between Henry, Eleanor, their three surviving sons (Richard, Geoffrey, John), their guest Philip II of France (the son of Eleanor's ex-husband) and Philip's half-sister Alais - who was betrothed to Richard at age eight, but has since become Henry's mistress.

With it so far? Well you will need to keep up with the incredibly clever dialogue that crackles along with bucket loads of sarcasm and wit. Think Succession meets Wolf Hall!

Doors open 6.15pm. Please bring your own seating and refreshments!

PLEASE NOTE - If bad weather means one or more performances have to be cancelled, then the tickets for those performances will be valid for a later performance. Which, if necessary, will mean an extra performance on the Sunday evening.

Suitable for ages 10+

10% discount on groups of 10+

www.plazatheatre.com/index.php

4 - 7 Sept 2024
Hamble Players presents
Boeing Boeing by Marc Camoletti

Translated by Beverley Cross & Francis Evans

This classical farce is set in the 1960s, and centres on bachelor Bernard, who has a flat in Paris and three airline stewardesses all engaged to him without knowing about each other. Bernard's life gets bumpy, though, when his friend Robert comes to stay, and complications such as weather and a new, speedier Boeing jet disrupt his careful planning. Soon, all three stewardesses are in the city simultaneously and catastrophe looms.

Presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals Ltd. on behalf of Samuel French Ltd.

hambleplayers.co.uk

19 - 21 Sept 2024
Bishopstoke Players presents
'Frankenstein' by Tim Kelly

Coming this September...'Frankenstein'!

We are thrilled to announce that our next performance is 'Frankenstein', an adaptation of the Mary Shelley classic!

Victor Frankenstein, a brilliant young scientist, returns to his Swiss château to escape a terrible pursuer. No one can shake free the dark secret that terrifies him: not his mother, nor his fiance, nor his best friend. Even the pleading of a gypsy girl accused of murdering Victor's younger bother falls on deaf ears, for Victor has brought into being a creature made from pieces of the dead! 

The creature tracks Victor to his sanctuary and there demands a shocking and dreadful price for Victor's life. Against his better judgement, Victor agrees and soon the household is invaded by murder, despair and terror!

Directed by Kevin Bowers and featuring a terrific cast, performances are in Durley Memorial Hall from Thursday 19th to Saturday 21st September 2024 at 7.30 (doors open 7pm). Tickets are £12 (£8 under-18s) 

www.bishopstokeplayers.uk

28 Sept - 5 Oct 2024
Chesil Theatre presents
Last of the Red Hot Lovers by Neil Simon

When a good honest husband tries to have an affair … 

This is a fast-paced comedy set in mid-1970s New York. Barney Cashman is a nice, middle-aged, owner of a fish restaurant. But, he’s having a mid-life crisis and wants to join the sexual revolution before it’s too late. This wannabe Casanova has three attempts at a romantic tryst. The only trouble is – he really doesn’t know how to go about it!

www.chesiltheatre.org.uk

24 - 26 Oct 2024
Chameleon  Theatre Company presents
I’ll Be Back Before Midnight by Peter Colley

A spine-tingling comedic thriller. 

In this suspenseful play, a young husband and wife rent an old farmhouse from an odd farmer who enjoys telling gruesome ghost stories. When the husband’s strange sister arrives, a series of frightening events unfolds, leaving the fragile wife, Jan, in a state of terror. The play combines witty dialogue, huge laughs, and heart-thumping scares, making it a gripping theatrical experience.

www.chameleontheatre.co.uk

16 - 23 Nov 2024
Chesil Theatre presents
Jekyll and Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson, adapted by Neil Bartlett

Respectability is such a good place to hide.

This new, inventive, brilliantly theatrical version cuts right to the heart of a darkly fascinating tale. A series of random assaults in the back streets of Victorian London are spreading fear and panic.  Meanwhile the friends of a highly respected doctor are beginning to wonder why he goes missing on the same nights that these attacks occur … 

www.chesiltheatre.org.uk

18 - 25 Jan 2025
Chesil Theatre presents
Life x 3 by Yasmina Reza, translated by Christopher Hampton

One evening. Two couples. Three perspectives on a single situation.

This contemporary comedy finds Henri and Sonia putting their young son to bed when the doorbell rings. Hubert and Ines have arrived for dinner – a day earlier than expected. The socially disastrous evening degenerates with hilarious yet poignant results. Discussions on parenting mix with the world of astrophysics. How might it all end? Could there be three conclusions?

www.chesiltheatre.org.uk

5 - 12 Apr 2025
Chesil Theatre presents
Death and the Maiden by Ariel Dorfman

A riveting psychological thriller that wrestles with truth and doubt, asking many questions.

Set in a country recently transitioned from a long period of dictatorship to a democratic government, a woman tortured under the previous regime recognises her torturer by chance. Is she right? Should she take revenge into her own hands? When should justice and punishment cede to compromise and forgiveness, if only for the greater good?

Contains adult themes, strong language and some violence

www.chesiltheatre.org.uk

17 - 24 May 2025
Chesil Theatre presents
Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons by Sam Steiner

“Doesn’t matter what we’re saying. We just need to be loud.”

Opposites attract in this quirky romantic comedy exploring a new world where the government imposes a Hush Law, limiting everyone to 140 words a day. How can a couple find their way through love and intimacy, discovering how to communicate in the silence … about dead cats, activism, democracy, free speech and lemons, lemons, lemons, lemons, lemons.

www.chesiltheatre.org.uk

12 - 19 Jul 2025
Chesil Theatre presents
Shakespeare In Love based on the screenplay by Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard, adapted for the stage by Lee Hall, with music by Paddy Cunneen

Will Shakespeare – in trouble, in debt, and in love. What could go wrong?

A lively comedy with music, based on the much-loved film. Penniless and anxious, young William Shakespeare is struggling with writer’s block until he meets Viola de Lesseps, who secretly longs to be an actor. The action moves swiftly between theatres, Greenwich Palace and the teeming London streets of 1593.

www.chesiltheatre.org.uk