The New Year has been greeted by a burst of activity. We played our Final Murder Mystery of 2023 at The Royal Oak, Bovingdon Green, to an enthusiastic crowd of diners. It was a new experience to be in a dining room, with waiting staff scurrying around as we played, rather than the atmosphere of Liston Hall, where the sound of bags of crisps, pulled corks and bursting champagne bottles accompanies our murderous plots.
We have chosen Oscar Wilde’s great comedy – one of the most witty and sparkling in the English canon- as our production on the excellent stage at Great Marlow School on the 4th, 5th and 6th April at 7:30 pm. Tickets are £15 for adults and £6 for school students, available from our website, the Marlow Library and on the door.
We are delighted to welcome several new faces in the cast, which is very exciting. Any of our readers who would like to help backstage will be made use of!
Rehearsals every Tuesday and Thursday from 8-10 pm, are fun, full of physical comedy as well as Wilde’s many verbal jokes. Thursday evenings are rounded off by a convivial drink together in the Studio: a habit which has proved very helpful in relaxing together after the hard work of a rehearsal. Gloria has begun work on costumes, and we are waiting for a warmer Saturday in early March to get painting those toblerones. David Choules is acquiring the props we need, and Graham and Alison will take care of lights and sound.
We are establishing a closer and more extensive liaison with Great Marlow School and its Drama staff. Andrew Stafford recently went to take a workshop on Shakespeare monologues with the A Level Drama students, and there will be a repeat in the summer term.
The summer term will see us welcoming Les Baladins for the weekend of 24th to 26th May and their performance of La Nonna on Saturday 25th May at Great Marlow School. It’s a great opportunity for French students and we would welcome language classes or organisations who might like to contact us to make a group booking. There will be thirteen actors from Les Baladins so we are looking now for beds for the two nights of Friday 24th and Saturday 25th. Please do get in touch if you would like to volunteer to host. The Committee has already begun the arrangements for their entertainment on Friday and Sunday- and the after show party!
