Promenade Shows

PROMENADE SHOWS:

Here are links to picture galleries for Autumn Promenade shows the school has presented over the last 10 years! :-

CABARET (PROMENADE SHOW 2002):

Synopsis: Cambridge University student Brian Roberts arrives in Berlin in 1931 to complete his German studies. Without much money, he plans on making a living teaching English while living in an inexpensive rooming house, where he befriends another of the tenants, American Sally Bowles. She is outwardly a flamboyant, perpetually happy person who works as a singer at the decadent Kit Kat Klub, a cabaret styled venue. Sally's outward façade is matched by that of the Klub, overseen by the omnipresent Master of Ceremonies. Sally draws Brian into her world, and initially wants him to be one of her many lovers, until she learns that he is a homosexual, albeit a celibate one. Among their other friends are his students, the poor Fritz Wendel, who wants to be a gigolo to live a comfortable life, and the straight-laced and beautiful Natalia Landauer, a Jewish heiress. Fritz initially sees Natalia as his money ticket, but eventually falls for her. However Natalia is suspect of his motives and cannot overcome their religious differences. Also into Sally and Brian's life comes the wealthy Baron Maximilian von Heune, who has the same outlook on life as Sally, but who has the money to support it. Max is willing to lavish his new friends with gifts and his favors. Around them all is the Nazi uprising, to which they seem to pay little attention or care. But they ultimately learn that life in all its good and particularly bad continues to happen to them and around them.

Click here to see photos from Cabaret!

FIDDLER ON THE ROOF (PROMENADE SHOW 2003):

Synopsis: In the Prologue, we meet Tevye the milkman and his wife Golde, and the people of Anatevka, a small Jewish settlement in Russia. It is 1905 and the first rumblings of the Russian Revolution are to be heard. Life in Anatevka is hard, and governed by the traditions of the Jewish way of life, with marriages arranged by the village matchmaker Yente. She has been to see Golde, to arrange a marriage for Tzeitel, the oldest daughter, with the rich but elderly Lazar Wolf, the village butcher. Tzeitel, Hodel and Chava, the three sisters sing of the matches they would like to be arranged for their perfect husbands. Tevye then enters, pulling his cart, and muses "If I was a rich man", but his dreams are interrupted by various people, and the news that Jews from adjacent villages are being evicted. Enter Perchick, a student from Kiev University, wandering, but earning a living from giving lessons to children; Tevye invites him to spend the Sabbath with them, and he is soon involved with Hodel, Tevye's second daughter. After some confusion, Tevye and Lazar Wolf agree to Tzeitel's betrothal, but when Tevye tells Tzeitel the good news she is overcome and has to reveal that all along, she has loved Motel the tailor. She is so upset that Tevye agrees (after persuasion) that she may marry him and not Lazar Wolf; this then has to be explained to Golde. Read more...

Click here to see photos from Fiddler On The Roof!

AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS (PROMENADE SHOW 2004):

Synopsis: Phileas Fogg accepts a challenge from his fellow members at the Reform Club and sets of prove that you can travel around the world in a mind-boggling 80 days. He sets off by train to Paris with his new valet Passepartout but then is forced to continue the trip by balloon arriving next in Spain where Passepartout has an interesting encounter in the bullfighting ring. They finally make their way across the Mediterranean and through the Suez canal, arriving in Bombay two days ahead of schedule. They board the train for Calcutta where they find there is a 50 mile gap midway. The break in their journey proved eventful as they rescue an Indian princess, Aouda, who is about to be forced to commit suttee - throwing herself on her dead husband's funeral pyre. They make to Calcutta and on to Siam and the Honk Kong. Throughout the voyage, they are followed by a detective, Mr. Fix, who is convinced that Fogg is the thief responsible for the recent £55,000 theft at the bank of England. In Honk Kong, Passepartout is Shanghaied leaving Fogg and Aouda to find their own way to Yokohama where they are to catch a ship to San Francisco. The group is reunited, travels across the American West - Passepartout has an exciting encounter with the Sioux - and make it back to London. They're one day late however for Fogg to win the bet - or so he thinks.

Click here to see photos from Around The World In 80 Days!

BRAVE NEW WORLD (PROMENADE SHOW 2005):

Synopsis: The novel opens in the Central London Hatching and Conditioning Centre, where the Director of the Hatchery and one of his assistants, Henry Foster, are giving a tour to a group of boys. The boys learn about the Bokanovsky and Podsnap Processes that allow the Hatchery to produce thousands of nearly identical human embryos. During the gestation period the embryos travel in bottles along a conveyor belt through a factorylike building, and are conditioned to belong to one of five castes: Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, or Epsilon. The Alpha embryos are destined to become the leaders and thinkers of the World State. Each of the succeeding castes is conditioned to be slightly less physically and intellectually impressive. The Epsilons, stunted and stupefied by oxygen deprivation and chemical treatments, are destined to perform menial labor. Lenina Crowne, an employee at the factory, describes to the boys how she vaccinates embryos destined for tropical climates. The Director then leads the boys to the Nursery, where they observe a group of Delta infants being reprogrammed to dislike books and flowers. The Director explains that this conditioning helps to make Deltas docile and eager consumers. He then tells the boys about the “hypnopaedic” (sleep-teaching) methods used to teach children the morals of the World State. In a room where older children are napping, a whispering voice is heard repeating a lesson in “Elementary Class Consciousness.” Read more...

Click here to see photos from Brave New World!

OH! WHAT A LOVELY WAR (PROMENADE SHOW 2006):

Synopsis: Oh! What A Lovely War summarizes and comments on the story of World War I using popular songs of the time, many of which were parodies of older popular songs, and using allegorical settings such as Brighton's West Pier to portray historical events. The diplomatic manoeuvrings and events involving those in authority are set in a fantasy location inside the pierhead pavilion, far from the trenches. In the opening scene various Foreign Ministers, generals and Heads of State walk over a huge map of Europe, reciting actual words spoken by these figures at the time. An unnamed photographer takes a picture of Europe's rulers - after handing two red poppies to the Archduke Ferdinand and his wife, the Duchess of Hohenberg he takes their picture, 'assassinating' them as the flash goes off. Many of the heads of state enjoy good personal relations and are reluctant to go to war: a tearful Emperor Franz Josef declares war on Serbia after being deceived by his Foreign Minister, whilst Czar Nicholas II and Kaiser Wilhelm II are shown as unable to overrule their countries' military mobilisation schedules. The German invasion of Belgium leaves Sir Edward Grey little choice but to get involved. Italy reneges on her alliance with the Central Powers (she joined the Allies in 1915) but Turkey joins them instead. Read more...

Click here to see photos from Oh! What A Lovely War!

SCROOGE (PROMENADE SHOW 2007):

Synopsis: In 1860, the stingy and cranky Ebenezer Scrooge that hates Christmas; loathes people and defends the decrease of the surplus of poor population runs his bank exploiting his employee Bob Cratchit and clients, giving a bitter treatment to his own nephew and acquaintances. However, in the Christmas Eve, he is visited by the doomed ghost of his former partner Jacob Marley that tells him that three spirits would visit him that night. The first one, the spirit of past Christmas, recalls his miserable youth when he lost his only love due to his greed; the spirit of the present Christmas shows him the poor situation of Bob's family and how joyful life may be; and the spirit of future Christmas shows his fate. Scrooge finds that life is good and time is too short and suddenly you are not there anymore, changing his behavior toward Christmas, Bob, his nephew and people in general.

Click here to see photos from Scrooge!

BLITZ! (PROMENADE SHOW 2008):

Synopsis: In 1940 the East End of London is taking a terrible pounding from Hitler's bombs. Life, however, goes on, centring around the matriarchal Mrs. Blitztein and her large family, especially her petty-criminal son Harry and her beautiful daughter Carol. They all fight their own particular battles with neighbours and authorities alike, through many situations, many humorous, some tragic, and eventually find their own individual peace. Providing scope for a large cast, it features many hit songs, including "The Day After Tomorrow", "Who's This Geezer Hitler?", and "Mums and Dads".

There are no photos from this production yet, but if you have some and you wish to add them to the website, please contact us!

THE SCARLET PIMPERNEL (PROMENADE SHOW 2009):

Synopsis: The Scarlet Pimpernel begins in the throes of the French Revolution, with the revolutionary masses at the West Barricade waiting for fleeing aristocrats to be captured and sent to the guillotine. But we learn that in recent times, more and more aristocrats have escaped because of the help of the famous Scarlet Pimpernel who comes in disguise to free the nobility from certain death. Meanwhile in England, several French escapees gather with the League of The Scarlet Pimpernel in a small pub, where they wait the arrival of the latest refugees. The rescued Comtesse de Tournay soon arrives, with her daughter and son, but says that her husband remains in Paris. She wants to thank the Scarlet Pimpernel for rescuing her, but is told his identity must be kept a secret. She mentions that back in France, the women are terrible for their traitorous actions - and specifically mentions Marguerite St. Just, who condemned a family to die. At that precise moment, Marguerite St. Just arrives.

Click here to see photos from The Scarlet Pimpernel!

THE ROSES OF EYAM (PROMENADE SHOW 2010):

Synopsis: It begins as educated Anglican clergyman the Reverend William Mompesson receives the living from his benefactors, the Saville family. A 'King's Man', he is replacing the previous Puritan incumbent, Thomas Stanley who has refused to comply with the 1662 Act of Uniformity which makes use of the Anglican Book of Common Prayer compulsory. The early part of the play establishes that the village is still divided between Royalist and Roundhead sympathisers. Meanwhile, local tailor George Vicars takes delivery of a large consignment of cloth from London. Within days the village is stricken by plague. Families shut themselves away in their homes fearing that contact with others will invite the infection. An exodus of the village begins but Mompesson and Stanley put aside their differences to persuade the villages to stay put until the plague is over. The villagers are reminded that if they leave they will be welcome nowhere and will die as outcasts and vagrants, taking many other innocents with them. The villagers voluntarily decide to isolate themselves. Food is left for them by the county High Sheriff at stones marking the limits of the quarantine. Some villagers build shacks in the hills, or live in caves, to be away from the infection. The deaths continue through the summer with hardly anyone left to bury the dead. Grass grows in the village streets. Both rectors have doubts at their actions but eventually the dying ceases and the survivors learn they have been successful with no other cases of plague occurring in the county. Some humour is included by the mad orphan boy "Bedlam" who sings and dances through the worst times and the two cantankerous old yokels Unwin and Merril.

Click here to see photos from The Roses Of Eyam!

CATHY COME HOME (PROMENADE SHOW 2011):

Synopsis: Cathy is a young, attractive, working-class woman. When she marries Reg, they take a larger apartment, thinking that between their two modest salaries, they'll be able to squeak by. Reg expects his lot to improve, but it doesn't. Cathy has a baby, and in short order gets pregnant again, and before long, the couple find themselves in dire financial straits. They lose one apartment to an unscrupulous landlord. They're forced out of a caravan park after a fire. They move in with Reg's mother, but she kicks them out of her cramped flat after an argument with Cathy. The couple ends up at the mercy of the British government's grossly inadequate public housing program. Cathy is forced to live with the children in a women's shelter, where Reg is not allowed to stay. Despondent and ashamed at his inability to provide for his family, Reg visits Cathy and the kids less and less frequently, and the couple begin to drift apart. Slipping into financial destitution, Cathy must now struggle to maintain custody of her children. Loach intersperses his vérité-style black-and-white footage of Cathy's travails with what is presumably documentary footage of the housing system's victims. He also uses voice-overs of people describing their experiences in the housing system, and a narrator gives vital statistics on homelessness, the unfair scapegoating of immigrants, and the slow destruction of poor British families by the housing bureaucracy.

Click here to see photos from Cathy Come Home!

THE CRUCIBLE (PROMENADE SHOW 2012):

Synopsis: Arthur miller’s classic parable of mass hysteria draws a chilling parallel between the salem witch-hunt of 1692 – ’one of the strangest and most awful chapters in human history’ – and the mccarthysim which gripped america in the 1950’s. The story of how the small community of salem is stirred into madness by superstition, paranoia and malice, culminating in a violent climax, is a savage attack on the evils of mindless persecution and the terrifying power of false accusations.

Click here to see photos from The Crucible!

THE GRAPES OF WRATH (PROMENADE SHOW 2013):

Synopsis: Steinbeck's story of the Joad family and their tragic flight from the Oklahoma Dust Bowl to California in search of the promised land is powerfully realised in Frank Galati’s stage adaption. Thrown off their land a lured by promises of unlimited work and prosperity, the Joads pack their worldly possessions onto a ramshackle truck and head west, only to find their hopes and dreams shattered in the face of oppression and persecution.

Click here to see photos from The Grapes of Wrath!

OH WHAT A LOVELY WAR (PROMENADE SHOW 2014):

Synopsis: ‘Oh What a Lovely war’ is a theatrical chronicle of the horrors of the First World War told through the songs and documents of the period.

Click here to see photos of Oh What a Lovely War!

1984 (PROMENADE SHOW 2015):

Synopsis: Set in a future world with frightening parallels to 2015. Winston Smith a lone voice discovers the realities of standing up for freedom.

War is Peace. Freedom is Slavery. Ignorance is Strength.

Winston Smith rewrites history for the Ministry of Truth, but when he's handed a note that says simply 'I love you' by a woman he hardly knows, he decides to risk everything in a search for the real truth. In a world where cheap entertainment keeps the proles ignorant but content, where a war without end is always fought and the government is always watching, can Winston possibly hold onto what he feels inside? Or will he renounce everything, accept the party's reality and learn to love Big Brother?

Click here to see photos of 1984

Cabaret (Promenade Show 2016):

Synopsis: Cabaret takes place from 1929-1930, a time when Berlin, in the midst of a Post-World War I economic depression, is transitioning from a center of underground, avant-garde cultural epicenter to the beginnings of Hitler’s totalitarian regime and the rise of the Nazi Party.

Into this world enters Clifford Bradshaw, a struggling American writer looking for inspiration for his next novel. On his first night in Berlin, Cliff wanders into the Kit Kat Klub, a seedy nightclub overseen by the strange, omniscient and gender-bending Master of Ceremonies, “the Emcee.” Here, Cliff meets Sally Bowles, a vivacious, talented cabaret performer, and an utterly lost soul. Sally and Cliff begin a relationship, which blossoms unexpectedly into a dream-like romance.

As time passes, however, the situation in Berlin changes from exciting and vital to ominous and violent; Ernst, Cliff’s first German friend, turns out to be an up-and-coming member of the Nazi Party, and Herr Schultz, a fellow boarder at Fraulein Schneider’s guest house (and Schneider’s fiancee), is the victim of an Anti-Semitic hate crime. When he finds out that Sally is pregnant, Cliff decides that they must leave for America at once, before things get any worse. Sally, afraid, confused, and unsure that she’ll ever really be able to trade the sexy, illicit cabaret lifestyle for motherhood, gets an abortion, and tells Cliff that he must leave without her.

With a distinctly Brechtian dose of provocation and a score featuring songs that have become classics of the American Musical Theater, Cabaret is a fierce, meaty musical that pushes the boundaries of the form and literally holds “the mirror up to nature.”

Click here to see photos from Cabaret

Oliver (Promenade Show 2017):

Synopsis: Based on the Charles Dickens novel, 9-year-old orphan Oliver Twist falls in with a group of street-urchin pickpockets led by the Artful Dodger and masterminded by the criminal Fagin. When Oliver's intended mark, Mr. Brownlow takes pity on the lad and offers him a home, Fagin's henchman Bill Sikes plots to kidnap the boy to keep him from talking.

Click here to see photos from Oliver

The Railway Children (Promenade Show 2018):

Synopsis:

Famously filmed, this story of a prosperous Edwardian family - mother and three children forced into near-penury in the rural north of England and captures the anxieties and exhilarations of childhood with great tenderness and insight.

Click here to see photos from The Railway Children

A Christmas Carol (Promenade Show 2019):

Synopsis: 'Marley was dead to begin with.....'

One ghostly Christmas night, cold hearted businessman Ebenezer Scrooge gets the fright of his life, discovers the truth about himself and learns to love his neighbour.

This adaption by David Edgar of the Charles Dickens classic - one of the best-loved stories ever written rediscovers the social conscience of the timeless tale. It was premiered by the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-Upon- Avon for Christmas 2017.

Click here to see photos from A Christmas Carol