The lights are burning bright again at Sheringham’s stage and screen. With the Autumn programme well underway, the Little Theatre has an amazing array of attractions to look forward to.
Our Panto will celebrate the end of this very long year with no less than twenty afternoon performances between 21st and 31st December when you can join Jack on his adventures up the Beanstalk. Whatever else will be in short supply this Christmas, it won’t be fun and laughter in the Little Theatre’s show! But with social distancing still in place in the auditorium there will be big gaps in the seats, so it’s best to book early to avoid disappointment.
More events for the youngsters come in half-term week. The multi-talented Jez Bond brings his blend of comedy and magic to the Little Theatre with his Just Mucking About Show, a special spooky Halloween edition on 30th October, and just before that on 28th October the well-qualified Daisy Winchester hosts an all-day Halloween Workshop for 6 to 16 year-olds. What better place for Drama tuition than in a real theatre?
On Tuesday evenings in November enjoy our selection of films starting with Summerland on 2nd, Nobody on 9th, and In the Heights on 16th. An additional bonus is a free screening of David Attenborough’s ‘A Life on Our Planet’ on Thursday 11th November at 7.30pm.
A huge choice of live music has been laid on so there should be something for everyone’s taste. With over 30 albums and 15 books to his name, well-known British folk singer Richard Digance invites you to spend an evening in his company on 12th November.
How will the Rat Pack Singers recall the groovy decade of the 1960s? You can find out on 26th November when there are bound to be some of your old favourites. On 5th December you will have the first chance in two years to sing along with your best-loved Christmas carols and songs when the Sheringham and Cromer Choral Society take over the Little Theatre’s stage for the Sunday afternoon.
More entertainment is provided by the local Little Theatre Players as they revive Radio Fun with a brand new selection of sketches, songs and poems on 19th and 20th November.
At the beginning of December, the satellite dish will bring the silver screen to life with the very best from the world of culture. The ballet classic of The Nutcracker by the full company of the Royal Opera House is screened on the 9th. The English Chamber Orchestra with a stellar line-up of soloists perform Handel’s Messiah on the 11th. This short series of screenings closes on 15th with Puccini’s best loved opera, Tosca.
Contemporary Variety will be given the festive flavour on 18th December by Donimo and Monroe for a truly surprising cocktail of comedy, magic and music. Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without a healthy dose of the Albion Band. They will give their unique guided tour of British Christmas customs on 20th December.
On our website you will also find full booking details for the county-wide tour of Rider Spoke from the Norfolk and Norwich Festival which comes to Sheringham for the first two weekends in November. Bring your own or borrow their bike, or you can simply walk if you prefer, and they will lend you a smart phone for a truly memorable experience of Sheringham with a narrated tour with gentle music.
You can always rely on Sheringham Little Theatre to bring you the best of the old and the best of the new. All tickets can be booked online at www.sheringhamlittletheatre.com
A feel-good show of stage song and dance favourites is set to be performed by a troupe of talented young performers at Sheringham Little Theatre.
A Celebration of Musical Theatre, running from April 14-16 at 7.30pm nightly, will see a cast aged eight to 16 showcase their stage skills.
They are excited and eager to step back into the limelight for the first time in two years, after the traditional Easter musical Guys and Dolls was postponed and then cancelled due to the Covid pandemic.
But the youngsters are aiming to come back with a bang with an hour-long show that will include hits from classic shows, including Guys and Dolls, as well as an introduction to some newer productions.
They are married in reality, as well as on stage – and both blissfully wedded to a shared lifelong love of amateur dramatics.
Peter and Amanda Howell play pompous councillor Albert Parker, and his downtrodden wife Annie, in a production of the classic comedy When We Are Married by the Sheringham Little Theatre Players which opens on March 31.
Since they first met in 1989 when Peter played Henry Higgins and Amanda Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady, the Coltishall pair have portrayed hundreds of roles mainly for the Cromer and Sheringham Operatic and Dramatic Society and the Maddermarket in Norwich.
They were wed 30 years ago, but have only played a married couple on stage less than a handful of times. That includes as King Arthur and Guinevere in Camelot on Cromer Pier in 2005 and as a widow and her dead husband Gordon in Life and Beth at the Maddermarket in 2014.
Sheringham Little Theatre is packing its suitcase for a summer holiday to remember, with the launch of its first full programme of events in two years.
The return of its popular summer drama season includes a feel good musical harking back to a classic pop-filled road trip in the swinging 1960s.
Summer Holiday saw Cliff Richard and the Shadows driving through Europe in their Routemaster London bus – singing hits such as In the Country, Bachelor Boy, Move It, Living Doll, the Young Ones and On the Beach.
A stage version, running from August 16-20, is one of the highlights of a newly-released brochure which shows the theatre is back in action after a long pandemic pause.
A theatre is putting fundraising in the spotlight as it plugs a funding gap in the wake of the pandemic.
Sheringham Little Theatre is seeking help from its supporters and general public – to attend money-spinning shows and special events as well as weighing in with other fund-generating ideas and action to carry them out.
Theatre director Debbie Thompson said: “Like many arts venues, we have had life-saving financial support from national and local government grants aiding Covid recovery. But even though we have had that funding, we are not out of the woods yet – and could be staring at a five figure deficit. So we are using our upcoming in-house productions as money spinners to help our coffers recover – and also appealing to the public for ideas, energy, donations and involvement to help the Little Theatre make 2022 a year of recovery that gets us back on track.”
Lady Walpole has taken over the presidency of Sheringham Little Theatre with the aim of seeing her famous family name reach a 50-year milestone as the figurehead of the arts venue. Her late husband Lord Walpole died in May 2021, aged 82, after 48 years in the role.
Now his widow Laurel has succeeded him – ensuring the Walpoles, who have taken part in Norfolk public life since the time of Britain’s first Prime Minister Sir Robert 300 years ago, complete their half century leading and supporting the theatre.
Lady Walpole, whose role was approved at the theatre’s recent annual meeting, has been visiting the venue since she married Robin in 1980 and is delighted to carry on where he left off, saying the role would be an honour and pleasure. “It is something we always did together – bringing the children to plays and pantos, and coming ourselves to see other events including the summer seasons. It is such a friendly place, the standard of productions are so high. I have been a theatre goer all my life, visiting the local theatre in Swindon as a child with my parents, enjoying student trips to Stratford, and going to ballet in London when I worked at the University of Reading. I love all live theatre and look forward to trying to encourage and enthuse others to visit the Little Theatre to sample it themselves if they’ve never been. The size and intimacy of the auditorium makes you feel really involved in live productions there – more so than big city theatres.“