OUR NEXT PRODUCTIONS
Last Tango in Little Grimley & Lockdown in Little Grimley
by David Tristram
The show consists of two 1 Act Comedy Plays by David Tristram: Last Tango in Little Grimley & Lockdown in Little Grimley. Directed by Angela Theobold
‘Last Tango in Little Grimley’ is about a village Amateur Dramatic Club and they are in trouble. The membership has dwindled to four – the audiences aren’t much bigger – and if they don’t come up with some rent money soon, they’re going to be thrown out. .”There’s only one thing that sells tickets these days” argues Gordon the Chairman. “Sex!”. Thus begins the chaotic and hilarious build-up to an evening of extraordinary home-grown drama – an evening the locals would never forget!
In Lockdown in Little Grimley, Gordon calls an emergency meeting, complete with social distancing, to discuss his idea for their next production when restrictions ease – a touching love story set in a hospital, with all profits destined for the NHS. But based on their previous efforts, will the NHS actually end up worse off?
Performance dates: 23rd, 24th, 25th March 2023
Curtain up: 7.45 pm
Location: Carlos do Carmo Auditorium, Lagoa
Bar open from 7pm and drinks can be pre-ordered for the interval
A Bunch of Amateurs
Directed by Paul Kloegman, AD. – Gloria Costa
Keen to boost his flagging career, fading Hollywood action hero, Jefferson Steele,(Frank Remiatte) arrives in England to play King Lear in Stratford only to find that this is not the birthplace of the Bard but a sleepy Suffolk village and the cast are a bunch of amateurs. Jefferson’s monstrous ego, vanity and insecurity are tested by the enthusiastic amateur thespians – who are not averse to a spot of ego, vanity and insecurity themselves. As acting worlds collide and Jefferson’s career implodes, he discovers some truths about himself and his relationships with other people… along with his inner Lear!
Performance dates: 27, 28 and 29 February 2020
Location: Carlos do Carmo Auditorium, Lagoa
Curtain up: 7.45pm
“The Little Theatre” – União Juventude Sesmarias, Rua do Cabeço de Pias, Carvoeiro
This production contains occasional bad language.
Staged Reading of Quartet
The setting is a retirement home for musicians. Three elderly former opera-singers, who often worked together, are sitting out on the terrace. Reginald is quietly reading a serious book, but jovial, priapic Wilfred is chuckling about sex, as he regards Cissy, lying back and listening to music through her headphones.
They are about to be joined by newcomer Jean, who was a major star in her day and to whom Reginald was once unhappily married.
Is there any chance that these four will ever sing together again? A gala concert is about to take place at the retirement home to celebrate Verdi’s birthday. Three of the four are keen to recreate the third act quartet “Bella figlia dell’amore” from Rigoletto and one is not. But the play eventually moves to an uncertain conclusion when they don costumes and lip-synch to their own retro recording.
The play was adapted as a film by Harwood himself in 2012. Quartet was directed by Dustin Hoffman and the principal cast includes Maggie Smith as Jean, Tom Courtenay as Reg, Pauline Collins as Cissy and Billy Connolly as Wilfred.
Performance dates: 25 April 2020
Location: Carvoeiro Tennis Club
Lettice & Lovage
Directed by Jim Landis
Lettice and Lovage is a comedic and satire play by Peter Shaffer. It is centred around a flamboyant tour guide who loves to embellish the history behind an English country house and who clashes with a fact-conscious official at the house.
The play is all about two distinct characters, the chemistry between them, and their reactions to one another. They are ladies of mature years. Lettice is a tour guide for visitors to stately English homes who finds her allotted mansion so dull that she embellishes its history with ever wilder invention. Charlotte is her boss at the Preservation Trust, who finds it necessary to sack her; not an auspicious beginning for the relationship about to develop.
Their paths cross again, and Lottie, severe and repressed, is drawn into the world of Lettice’s unbridled imagination. History is theirs to explore, and they pursue its dramas to a stage which lands the former in hospital and the latter in court. Their progress is littered with laughter and brings them to a conclusion which is at once logical and satisfying.
The play was written specifically for Maggie Smith.
The actresses who played both main characters each won Tony Awards for their performances in this play in the US.
Performance dates: Postponed until further notice
Location: Convento de São José, Lagoa
A Christmas Carol
Directed by Frank Remiatte
A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens, recounts the story of Ebenezer Scrooge, an elderly miser who is visited by the ghost of his former business partner Jacob Marley and the spirits of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come. After their visits, Scrooge is transformed into a kinder, gentler man.
Performance dates: Postponed until further notice
Location: Carlos do Carmo Auditorium, Lagoa