Watermill Theatre |
Box office
01635 46044
The Watermill Theatre, Bagnor, Newbury, RG20 8AE. A map is here. A seating plan is here.
Next
Heroes, 11th February to 20th March
By Gerald Sibleyras, translated by Tom Stoppard. Tom Stoppard’s
comedy hit of 2005 was his translation of Heroes,
which follows three WW1 veterans Henri, Gustave and Phillippe’s
preparations for escaping a French military hospital. There are a
few things that stand in their way including poor health and Sister
Madeleine. See the reviews below.
Confused Love, 24th to 27th March
Box Theatre Company present
Sganarelle and Newbury
Dramatic Society present Confusions.
Raising Voices, 29th to 31st March
Ade Morris, The Watermill Outreach Director, said 'This is the third
time that the Watermill has hosted the Raising Voices
festival for new writers in theatre, and the standard of plays
submitted has been higher than ever. From such a wealth of
storytelling, moving, funny, tragic and timely, finding just a
handful to read to the public has been tricky - however we do have
four clear winners, two longer and two short plays, which we think
the Watermill audiences will enjoy; each is very different and
reflects a different theatrical style.' The plays will be performed
as a rehearsed reading by professional actors.
One Plus Infinity, Monday 29th March
By Jimmy Brown, directed by Eve Leigh. Dyslexic young singer Isla is
in crisis, in her life and relationship, following her diagnosis
with melanoma. At the Rosemberg Clinic she meets a fellow sufferer,
Jack. Jack also has Asperger's syndrome and is a brilliant student
at Cambridge. As time flicks backwards we discover a touching, funny
and life affirming love story with great resonance.
The Road to Port of Barry, Tuesday 30th March
By Christopher J Orton and Robert Gould, directed by Jamie Harper.
Described by one of our readers as 'Gavin and Stacey with a
gun' this Pinteresque farce set in a caravan is a shot of comedy and
metaphysical whisky.
Planting David, Tuesday 30th March
By Laura Ellen Major, directed by Jamie Harper. A village hall drama
in a teacup in which small talk and flower beds hold a deadly
secret. When Cheryl turns up to help her fellow ladies with a bit of
strategic weeding in the village hall flower bed she brings with her
a shocking revelation.
Nearer to Shakespeare, Wednesday 31st March
By Jane Brough, directed by Derek Bond. When Conrad Milner, the
local randy bachelor, decides to settle down, he sparks a series of
revelations and recollections spanning the last twenty-odd years. A
drama of great breadth charting the lives and loves of a group of
professional friends, their history and their hopes.
The Three Musketeers, 7th to 10th April
Beth Flintoff, The Watermill Learning and Participation Director,
adapts and directs her first show for The Watermill Senior Youth
Theatre. There are now 150 young people participating in Watermill
Youth Theatre activities every week.
Bronte, 15th April to 22nd May
A new collaboration between The Watermill and Shared Experience, one
of the UK’s most respected and successful theatre companies, revives
Bronte, an extraordinary play which delves into one
of literature’s most famous families. Originally premiered in 2005,
this new production, will give Director Nancy Meckler an extended
rehearsal period which allows time for training and exploration for
the young actors. Polly Teale’s gripping interpretation of the
Bronte legend is much anticipated.
Gulliver’s Travels, 25th to 29th May
By Jonathan Swift, in a new adaptation by Toby Hulse. Directed by
Ade Morris. The Watermill’s rural touring scheme goes from strength
to strength. This new adaptation of Gulliver’s Travels
by the South West dramatist Toby Hulse uses only three actors, a
dinner table and a mountain of books, in a tour de force of
theatrical storytelling. The Spitting Image of its time,
Gulliver’s Travels remains as viciously funny and as
outrageously truthful as the day that it was first published.
Daisy Pulls It Off, 3rd June to 10th July
By Denise Deegan. Orla O’Loughlin has become a favourite director
with Watermill audiences. Her two previous shows, Black
Comedy and Blithe Spirit, showed a
confident comic touch. Her new challenge is the Olivier award
winning Daisy Pulls It Off, a mad-cap look at the
jolly hockey classes of a 1920s girls' public school.
For more details
see the Watermill's web site at www.watermill.org.uk.
Reviews of Heroes
11th February to 20th March 2010.
Review from the Newbury Weekly News.
Hooray for heroesThree French comrades deliver a barrage of laughs at The WatermillHeroes, at The Watermill, Bagnor, until Saturday, March 20 Treat yourself. Get a ticket for Heroes and discover how enjoyable a good comedy can be. Translated by Tom Stoppard from Gerald Sibleyras' Le Vent des Peupliers and directed by Paul Hart, the action takes place in France, in a home for the flotsam of war and concerns three old soldiers, Henri, Philippe and Gustave. Women make friends, men have comrades. These three come from different backgrounds; Henri limps, Philippe has a collapsing problem caused by shrapnel and Gustave, seemingly the fittest of the three men, is nothing of the kind. Between them a comradeship reluctantly builds and their sharp, quick, lively dialogue is nothing short of brilliantly funny. Describing her as "that Madeleine bitch", Philippe believes that the nun in charge of the home hands out drugs to kill off those who have the same birthdays, so that there can be as many celebrations as possible. Gustave, the self-styled aristocrat, persuades the other two that their best course is to run away and having rejected Indo-China and a picnic down the road as destinations, they decide to make for the poplars waving on the far hill. Preparations are well in hand when Gustave announces they must take with them the large stone statue of a dog which stands on their terrace and which Philippe declares he has seen moving. And so the escape plan fails and life potters on. Reminiscent of the wonderful trio in BBC TV's New Tricks, here are three superb performances from Christopher Ettridge as Philippe the worrier, David Fielder as Henri the enthusiast and Michael Hadley as Gustave, the domineering upper-cruster who never trusts a man who doesn't like dogs. There are piercingly poignant moments and the background of waving marram grass, broken posts and a single strand of barbed wire above the terrace wall is a reminder of the French theatres of war. This intensifies whenever the sky darkens and the tweeting of birds changes to a more raucous cawing. However, an underlying poignancy only serves to point up the great joyousness of this concise, excellent play during which the dog gazes out impassively at the audience as the three comrades wrangle on and the audience laugh. Does he move? Surely not... CAROLINE FRANKLIN |
Review from Newbury Theatre.
|
Henri, Philippe and Gustave are first-world-war veterans, scarred mentally and physically, living in a care home in 1959. Henri has been a resident for 25 years, Philippe for 10; Gustave is the newcomer of six months, but a fellowship has developed between the three of them (and a stone statue of a dog). When their routine is threatened, Gustave plans a break for freedom – a crazy plan, but it gives them the hope of escaping from their institutionalised life. Their target that they finally agree on: a line of poplars on a hill in the distance. Gérald Sibleyras’ Heroes, translated by Tom Stoppard, is a gentle comedy, a Last of the Summer Wine with added poignancy. The characters and their problems are complex. Aristocratic Gustave (Michael Hadley) is unharmed physically but has a terror of meeting new people. Philippe (Christopher Ettridge) has a shrapnel wound in his head that causes him to pass out frequently but briefly. Henri (David Fielder) has a leg wound. But the three of them united have the strength they lack individually, and when they tie themselves together with a fire hose to practise for their escape, this symbolises the bond between them. All this gives the three actors scope to develop the empathy between them (as well as the irritations) and they do this very well. There are some intriguing strands to the story with its unseen characters: Sister Madeleine who rules the care home with a rod of iron; Philippe’s sister, whose letters are read and replied to on his behalf by Gustave; the various women they fantasise about. At the end of this very funny and moving tale, as a flock of geese flies over the distant poplars, the three (and the dog) are left with hope – if not of a changed life, then of a strengthened fellowship. PAUL SHAVE |
There are reviews at The Public Reviews ("a very heartwarming night for the audience"), WhatsOnStage ("great delicacy and insight... what does come over in Paul Hart’s nicely judged production is the joshing camaraderie of the men and the witty sardonic humour of some of their exchanges"), The Stage ("delightful... full of delicious anecdotes, gentle humour and brilliant one-liners")
Reviews in the Archive
James and the Giant Peach (November 2009)
Educating Rita (October 2009)
Spend Spend Spend! (July 2009)
Blithe Spirit (May 2009)
Bubbles (April to May and September to October 2009)
A Midsummer Night's Dream and The Merchant of Venice (March 2009)
Life X 3 (January 2009)
Matilda and Duffy's Stupendous Space Adventure (November 2008)
The Sirens' Call (November 2008)
Our Country's Good (September 2008)
See Newbury Dramatic Society for a review of The Recruiting Officer (October 2008)
Sunset Boulevard (July 2008)
Boxford Masques - Knight and Day (July 2008)
Black Comedy and The Bowmans (May 2008)
London Assurance (April 2008)
Micky Salberg's Crystal Ballroom Dance Band (April 2008 and on tour)
Great West Road (March 2008)
Merrily We Roll Along (March 2008)
Honk! (November 2007)
Rope (September 2007)
Martin Guerre (July 2007)
Twelfth Night (June 2007)
The Story of a Great Lady (April and September 2007, and on tour)
The Rise and Fall of Little Voice (April 2007)
For Services Rendered (March 2007)
Plunder (January 2007)
The Snow Queen (November 2006)
Peter Pan in Scarlet (October 2006)
The Taming of the Shrew (September 2006 and on tour in 2007)
Hot Mikado (July 2006 and September 2009)
Boxford Masques: The Crowning of the Year (July 2006)
Hobson's Choice (May 2006)
Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea (April 2006)
Tartuffe (February 2006)
The Jungle Book (November 2005)
The Gilded Lilies (October 2005)
Copenhagen (September 2005)
The Garden of Llangoed (September 2005 and
September 2006)
Thieves' Carnival (July 2005)
The Shed (July 2005)
Mack and Mabel (May 2005)
The Odyssey (May 2005)
Broken Glass (April 2005)
The Winter's Tale (January 2005)
Arabian Nights (December 2004)
See Newbury Dramatic Society for a review of Whose Life is it Anyway? (November 2004)
Multiplex (November 2004)
Neville's Island (September 2004)
The Comedian (September 2004 and March 2005)
Raising Voices Again (September 2004)
Pinafore Swing (July 2004)
The Venetian Twins (May 2004)
The Gentleman from Olmedo (April 2004)
Mr & Mrs Schultz (March 2004 and on tour)
Sweeney Todd (February 2004)
The Emperor and the Nightingale (November 2003)
See Newbury Dramatic Society for a review of An Ideal Husband (November 2003)
A Star Danced (September 2003)
The Fourth Fold (September 2003)
The Last Days of the Empire (July 2003)
Accelerate (July 2003)
Dreams from a Summer House (May 2003)
The Triumph of Love (April 2003)
Gigolo (March 2003)
Raising Voices (March 2003)
A Midsummer Night's Dream (February 2003)
The Firebird (November 2002)
Ten Cents a Dance (September 2002)
Dancing at Lughnasa (July 2002)
Love in a Maze (June 2002)
Fiddler on the Roof (April 2002)
I Dreamt I Dwelt in Marble Halls (March 2002
and March 2006)
Only a Matter of Time (February 2002)
Cinderella and the Enchanted Slipper (November 2001)
Piaf (October 2001)
The Merchant of Venice (October 2001)
Witch (September 2001)
The Clandestine Marriage (August 2001)
The Importance of Being Earnest (May 2001)
Gondoliers (March 2001)
Rose Rage (February 2001)
Carmen (July 2000)