RSC Top Summer
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- A mixed programme of drama, music and workshops for all.- Friday 15 to Sunday 31 August at The Other Place, Stratford-upon-Avon. - Box Office: 01789 40343. Many events free of charge. Between 15-31 August the Royal Shakespeare Company will be presenting TOP Summer - a special season of over 30 events at The Other Place in Stratford-upon-Avon. Members of the Company's current acting ensemble and other RSC theatre specialists have come together to create an eclectic programme of entertainment, including intimate drama, live music and theatre workshops for both children and adults. Much of the drama on offer is absolutely free. Audiences will have the chance to see actors in a wide variety of roles, in pieces by writers such as Edna Welsh and James Joyce, as well as new pieces devised by the acting company themselves. Amongst the theatre workshops there will be a chance for youngsters to create a play in half a day; to act the fool - Shakespeare style; and to find out more about costume and set design from RSC Associate Designer, Tom Piper. The best in local talent will be getting in on the act too in A Stratford Showcase. Local theatre companies, including Carpe Diem Youth Theatre, Avonside Players, Stratford-upon-Avon Operatic Society and The Gilbert and Sullivan Society will be presenting two evenings certain to be packed with variety. All of the TOP Summer events can be enjoyed in their own right, although the schedule has been created so that visitors to the main theatres in Stratford can combine seeing a RST or Swan show with a TOP Summer performance. Fiona Lindsay from RSC Education and Events, the organisers of TOP Summer, said: "TOP Summer comes hot on the heels of the RSC's successful Open Day and Theatrefair. The superb line-up is sure to be one of the best ways to spend those long summer days and nights." Tickets are available in advance, either in person from the RSC Box Office in the RST foyer, or by telephone on 01789 403439. There will also be a box office open in the foyer of The Other Place each day of TOP Summer, 30 minutes before the performance. A brochure with full details (available from start of August) can be requested on 01789 403439. Events that are free of charge still require a ticket and must be booked beforehand or on the day. To book tickets Telephone 01789 403439 - please quote Session Number (eg 4, 8 etc). No booking fee - national call charges apply. In person - the Box Office in the RST foyer is open 9.30am-8.00pm Mon-Sat.On the day - there will be a Box office open in the foyer of The Other Place theatre 30 minutes before each performance. All events are ticketed. Free events still require a ticket to be booked, either in advance or on the day. Events schedule. Friday 15 August 1: 10.00am-1.00pm MAKE A PLAY - IN HALF A DAY (8-11 yr olds) 5 Jump into the world of storytelling, acting and directing and make up your own version of one of Shakespeare's plays. No experience required - just heaps of imagination. 2: 7.00pm THE LOG OF THE SKIPPER'S WIFE Free RSC Actor, Amy Finnegan, performs this wonderful solo opera based on the diaries of the irrepressible Dorothea Balano - a truly wild spirited adventurer. With an eclectic score which takes in Irish and Scottish sea shanties as well as classical motifs, salsa and samba this is an evening rich in entertainment. Saturday 16 August 3: 10.00am-1.00pm A FUNNY THING HAPPENED.... ON THE WAY TO THE PLAY (for 16 year olds and over) 5 A practical performance workshop led by RSC Assistant Director, Jacqui Sommerville, which will explore the role of Shakespeare's clowns and fools. Can you make old jokes new? 4: 2.30pm-3.30pm POEMS ALOUD 3 Come and hear members of the RSC Acting company read aloud some favourite verse for 5 to 10 year olds. Suitable for all especially the young at heart. 5: 4.00pm-5.00pm TALES FROM SHAKESPEARE 3 Adventure, intrigue, murder, revenge, love, passion and so much more - all in stories by Shakespeare. RSC Actors tell the tales. 6: 7.00pm A STRATFORD SHOWCASE 5 Share an evening of entertainment packed with variety, provided for you by some of the best of Stratford's local talent. The programme includes Carpe Diem Youth Theatre, Second Thoughts Drama Co, Stratford Playwrights and Stratford upon Avon Operatic Society. Sunday 17 August 11.30am-3pm TOP BRUNCH Enjoy good music, good food and good entertainment in the relaxing atmosphere of the bistro at The Other Place Theatre. 7: 2.00pm CAST OFF Free Cast Off is the tale of friendship between two people created through writing letters. One is an English woman, the other a convicted criminal on Death Row in America. Based on a true story Cast Off gives a personal perspective on the public and controversial issue of capital punishment. The piece is written and performed by RSC Actor Ester Ruth Elliot.8: 3.30pm A DAY IN DULL ARMOUR Free Set against a background of boredom and supermarkets, in a small town on the Wirral A Day in Dull Armour is a short but sweet play, about Tracy's constant battle with herself to escape her present life, and Tony who appears to have escaped his by reinacting battles of the past. 9. 7.00pm MUSIC BY THE AGLET BABIES Free RSC actors group together to form this rocktastic beat combo which will plays tunes old, new, borrowed and bluesy. Suitable for all ages, shapes and tastes. 10: 8.00pm MOLLY BLOOM - AN EXTRACT FROM ULYSSES BY JAMES JOYCE Free A wife, a mother, an adulteress. Molly Bloom alone in bed reflects on the roles that marriage has created for her. Her concerns, loves, guilt and sexual longing are all examined in an attempt to reconcile herself to the man she chose as her husband. The climax to James Joyce's epic novel, Ulysses, is a staggering glimpse of the writer's verbal dexterity, inventiveness and unbiased humanity. Performed by RSC actor, Shereen Ibrahim. 11: 9.30pm NAKED FOOL Free Oliver Maltman and Peter Caldwell perform this unique comedy act straight from a hit run in London 2 years ago. Graham, a man on the edge of despair, is taken on a journey through his psyche by a guardian angel. "These two do for theatre what Jesus did for Nazareth" Jamie Oliver Wednesday 20 August 12: 2.00pm-7.00pm RE-INVENT SHAKEPEARE - A WRITER'S WORKSHOP (for 16 year olds and above) 5 Work alongside the RSC's Dramaturgy team and explore language, structure and character with the creative challenge of writing your own short play. Thursday 21 August 13: 10.30am-12.30pm DESIGN TIME (for 11 - 16 year olds) 3 Design a show. RSC Theatre Designer and Tom Piper leads this practical workshop which looks at how you visually respond to a play, and all the creative and practical choices that are available to you. 14: 2.00pm-6.00pm GRAND DESIGNS (for 16 year olds and above) 5 Begin with a play and end up with a design for it. RSC Theatre designer Tom Piper leads you step by step through the creative story telling process of a theatre designer's world. Create your own look for a show. 15: 7.00pm A STRATFORD SHOWCASE 5 Share an evening of entertainment packed with variety, provided for you by some of the best of Stratford's local talent. The programme is brought to you by the Avonside Players, Stratford Playwrights, The Phoenix Players and The Gilbert and Sullivan Society. Friday 22 August 16: 10.00am-1.00pm MAKE A PLAY IN HALF A DAY (for 11 - 16 year olds) 5 Think you can? Jump in all your imagination and explore the wonderful world of theatre storytelling. 17: 2.00-6.00pm SCENE WORKS (for 16 year olds and above) 5 Director and RSC movement specialist Struan Leslie leads a practical performance workshop which deconstructs and reconstructs scenes from Shakespeare. Members of the RSC Company will also be involved. 18: 7.30pm THE SIXTH WOMAN BY MARIANNE NAULT Free The world premiere of this original drama about the famous writer Saul Bellow who fears one thing ...and marries it five times. Truths and lies are exhumed during this gripping journey. Saturday 23 August 19: 10.00am-1.00pm SIX CHARACTERS IN SEARCH OF AN UNDERSTANDING (for 16 year olds and upwards) 5 An acting workshop which explores female roles in Shakespeare, including, amongst others, Ophelia, Kate, Rosalind, and Hermione. 20: 2.00pm-3.00pm POEMS ALOUD 3 Come and hear members of the RSC acting company read aloud some favourite verse for 5 to 10 year olds. Suitable for all ages - especially the young at heart. 21: 3.30pm-4.30pm TALES FROM SHAKESPEARE 3 Adventure, intrigue, murder, revenge, passion and so much more in stories by Shakespeare. RSC Actors tell the tales. 22: 7.30pm MOLLY BLOOM - AN EXTRACT FROM ULYSSES BY JAMES JOYCE Free A wife, a mother, an adulteress. Molly Bloom alone in bed reflects on the roles that marriage has created for her. Her concerns, loves, guilt and sexual longing are all examined in an attempt to reconcile herself to the man she chose as her husband. The climax to James Joyce's epic novel, Ulysses, is a staggering glimpse of the writer's verbal dexterity, inventiveness and unbiased humanity. Performed by RSC actor, Shereen Ibrahim. Sunday 24 August 11.30am-3.00pm TOP BRUNCH Enjoy good music, good food and good entertainment in the relaxing atmosphere of the bistro at The Other Place Theatre. 23: 2.00pm BEDBOUND BY EDNA WALSH Free A man by the name of Dad, and beside him his polio suffering daughter, share a small bed. He talks frantically about his extraordinary past. She talks no less compulsively about anything at all - an overwhelming terror lies in the spaces between words. Everything is broken and ugly because they can't stop talking. If only they could stop and sleep. RSC actors including Shereen Ibrahim perform. Wednesday 27 August 24: 11.30am-12.30pm PLAYING WITH PLAYS 3 How do you make old plays feel new? How do you make new plays feel like modern classics? How do directors and writers work together in rehearsal to adapt language so that it feels natural for actors to speak out loud? The RSC Dramaturgy team reveals all. 25: 2pm - 7pm RE-INVENT SHAKEPEARE - A WRITER'S WORKSHOP (for 16 year olds and above) 5 Work alongside the RSC's Dramaturgy team and explore language, structure and character with the creative challenge of writing your own short play. Thursday 28 August 26. 10.30am-12.30pm DESIGN TIME (for 11 - 16 year olds) 3 Design a show. RSC Theatre Designer and Tom Piper leads this practical workshop which looks at how you visually respond to a play, and all the creative and practical choices that are available to you. 27: 2.00pm-6.00pm GRAND DESIGNS (for 16 year olds and above) 5 Begin with a play and end up with a design for it. RSC Theatre designer Tom Piper leads you step by step through the creative story telling process of a theatre designer's world. Create your own look for a show. Friday 29 August 28: 10.30am-11.30am INTRODUCING SHAKESPEARE (8 - 10 year olds) 3 A lively participatory session which will introduce Shakespeare's language and stories through a combination of vocal versatility and physical fun. Led by RSC Assistant Director Jacqui Sommerville. 29: 12noon-1pm: SCREEN TEST - A REHEARSED READING (for 16 year olds and above) Free RSC Actor James Staddon and other members of the Company present a rehearsed reading of a yet untested film script.30: 2.00pm-6.00pm SCENE WORKS (for 16 year olds and above) 5 Director and RSC movement specialist Struan Leslie leads a practical performance workshop which deconstructs and reconstructs scenes from Shakespeare. Members of the RSC Company will also be involved. Saturday 30 August 31: 2.00pm-6.00pm MAKE A PLAY IN HALF A DAY (For 16 year olds and above) 5 Want to act? Want to direct? Want to create a play? RSC Theatre Practitioner Roz Symon puts you through your paces in this intense theatre workshop session. 32: 7.30pm THE LOG OF THE SKIPPER'S WIFE Free RSC Actor, Amy Finnegan, performs this wonderful solo opera based on the diaries of the irrepressible Dorothea Balano - a truly wild spirited adventurer. With an eclectic score which takes in Irish and Scottish sea shanties as well as classical motifs, salsa and samba this is an evening rich in entertainment. Sunday 31 August 11.30am-3.00pm TOP BRUNCH Enjoy good music, good food and good entertainment in the relaxing atmosphere of the bistro at The Other Place Theatre. 33: 2.00pm IN THE BLUE BY PETER GILL Free RSC actors Daniel Evans and Toby Dantzic present this rehearsed reading of Peter Gill's In the Blue. 34: 3.00pm A DAY IN DULL ARMOUR Free Set against a background of boredom and supermarkets, in a small town on the Wirral A Day in Dull Armour is a short but sweet play, about Tracy's constant battle with herself to escape her present life, and Tony who appears to have escaped his by reinacting battles of the past. 35. 4.30pm CAST OFF Free Cast Off is the tale of friendship between two people created through writing letters. One is an English woman, the other a convicted criminal on Death Row in America. Based on a true story Cast Off gives a personal perspective on the public and controversial issue of capital punishment. The piece is written and performed by RSC Actor Ester Ruth Elliot. 36: 7.30pm MOLLY BLOOM - AN EXTRACT FROM ULYSSES BY JAMES JOYCE Free A wife, a mother, an adulteress. Molly Bloom alone in bed reflects on the roles that marriage has created for her. Her concerns, loves, guilt and sexual longing are all examined in an attempt to reconcile herself to the man she chose as her husband. The climax to James Joyce's epic novel, Ulysses, is a staggering glimpse of the writer's verbal dexterity, inventiveness and unbiased humanity. Performed by RSC actor, Shereen Ibrahim. 37: 9.00pm NAKED FOOL Free Oliver Maltman and Peter Caldwell perform this unique comedy act straight from a hit run in London 2 years ago. Graham, a man on the edge of despair, is taken on a journey through his psyche by a guardian angel. "These two do for theatre what Jesus did for Nazareth" Jamie Oliver 38. 10.00pm MUSIC BY THE AGLET BABIES Free RSC actors group together to form this rocktastic beat combo which will plays tunes old, new, borrowed and bluesy. Suitable for all ages, shapes and tastes.
Archive :: festival:S02095917333, venue:V137
