Newsletter

Hi Everyone,
I hope you’re all well. Thanks to all who have visited us last year and our January Panto, we look forward to welcoming you again and we hope you have a wonderful 2023. We’re heading into the next production now, so it is time to give you an update.

Beauty and the Beast

We had a very successful production, nearly full capacity. The cast, stage team, sound, lighting and not to forget the front of house and bar staff worked extremely hard and I am sure you all had a real treat.

Next Production

We are now thinking of our next production, so keep looking on the website and social media for updates.

New Website

As you will have noticed we have been working on our new website, giving the old one a freshening up with some new colours, lots of images of both the theatre and our productions, plus lots more, some of which are listed below:

• Home Page. Presents an insight into what is going on at the theatre covering: our own current productions and external events, which we saw a few of towards the end of last year.
• About Us. Provides not only details and links to what we do, but also a visual timeline of the life of the theatre, which has now been 98 year in the making.
• Find Us/Contact Us. Gives all the information you need to find us and talk to us including our new contact form.
• News. Not only does it provide a list of News articles but also a social media wall giving you easy access to our active socal offering. In addition, it also has our new Newsletter Subscription Service where you can sign up to receive regular newsletters and updates.
• Whats On. Here we hope to give you an overview of the coming season covering both our own productions and that of our visiting entertainers. Plus links to “what on” now and what’s coming soon.
• Archives. Offers a timeline of our past productions linking to graphical narratives for each event. With a history of 98 year you would expect some gaps but our aim to try and fill as many of them in as we can.
• Facilities for Hire. If you want to hire our facilities, auditorium and/or bar area, for a production/show/event or a social event then this is the place you get all the details you need and how to make those arrangements.

We have also add some features we thought very important to you when using the site. These include accessibility features for the visually impaired, and data protection features to ensure any data you provide or we collect is stored and used in accordance with a relevant data protection legislation.

Finally, we have a membership page. If you are interested in becoming part of the Little Theatre then this is the place to find out what is on offer and how to get in touch.

Recent Hosted Events

We have had a number of visiting performances at the theatre, all of which were highly entertaining and enjoyed by the audiences that came to see them (see the list below). We are planning to have more of these events throughout the coming year. We have also ready started with a show booked for August this year (Rent – The Musical). Keep your eye out for what’s coming or let us keep you up to date with our Newsletter.

• “Winter Woolies Tour” – The Bar Steward Sons of Val Doonican – Music/comedy
• “End of tour gathering” – Merry Hell – Music
• “The Homecoming gig” – Fine Lines – Music
• “LoL Christmas Bash” – Lol Cheshire – Comedy
• “DOTS” present Jim Berry (Houghton Weavers) – Music

That’s all for now, I hope to see you soon at “curtain up”.
Break a leg!
Jim Broughton

Hi Everyone,
I hope you’re all well. We’re heading into the next production now, so what better time to provide an update.

Lady Killers

We opened the show on Tuesday 8th November, hosting a Charity performance for “Christie Bears” a local charity set up to raise funds for the Christie Hospital. This is a cause that is dear in the hearts of many of us at the Theatre and it was a delight to host them.
The show opens to the public on the 10^th November and looks fabulous. All of the hard work and effort both on and off-stage over the last 8 weeks has really paid off and this is set to be another outstanding production. Tickets are still available.

Educating Rita

What a brilliant season opener for the year! Cheryl and Paul were outstanding with their performances and Rachel expertly put together an amazing evening of entertainment.
You can read the review from the Association of Community Theatre here: https://www.actuk.org/ACT%20Reviews%202022-2023/ACT-Reviews-2022-2023-Season/9/

Beauty and the Beast

We have held auditions, see Auditions for the pantomime, however we are still short of a few people, namely:

• Prince/Beast – Played by the same actor 18-30
• Gustav(Gaston) – 18-30 (ish) imposing and comical male character
• Flora – Fairy Godmother role

The show will open on 19^th January 2023 and tickets are on sale now.

2023 Directors

We still have 2 slots to fill for the remainder of the 2022/23 season, so if you have a play in mind, we’d love to hear from you. The likely dates will be in March and June/July, matching our usual season schedule and hopefully we will be able to continue with the extended runs over 2 weeks.

Upcoming Events

We’re continuing to run external lets, serving two purposes for us. Firstly, it establishes us as a great place to visit in the town and cements our role as a provider of great entertainment within the community. Secondly, it provides us with additional, much needed funds as we rebuild following our temporary shut-down.
Current dates include:

• November 26^th – “Winter Woolies Tour” – The Bar Steward Sons of Val Doonican – Music/comedy
• November 27^th – “End of tour gathering” – Merry Hell – Music
• December 3^rd – “The homecoming gig” – Fine Lines – Music (Highly worth watching in my opinion…)
• December 9^th – “LoL Christmas Bash” – Lol Cheshire – Comedy
• December 11^th – “DOTS” present Jim Berry (Houghton Weavers) – Music

That’s all for now, I hope to see you soon at “curtain up”.
Break a leg!
Jim Broughton