The Cotswold Players present
Saturday, Sunday, Monday: 5th to 9th October 2010
Rosa knows how to cook a great Sunday lunch.  It needs careful preparation the day before – and requires the attendance of all the family, together with wives and boyfriends.  Her husband, Peppino, runs an ordinary clothes shop in an ordinary part of Naples, a business he took over from her eccentric father.  Their children are now all in their twenties: Roberto is a successful businessman; Rocco wants to move the family business upmarket; and the impetuous Giulianella sees her future in television – though her boyfriend does not.  The couple from the apartment upstairs have themselves become almost part of the family.  A Bohemian aunt and her over-cosseted son, a flamboyantly camp uncle, and the sardonic maid’s randomly violent brother, complete the ingredients of this explosive domestic comedy.  For it is not only Rosa’s famous pasta sauce that is simmering as the play opens on Saturday evening: family tensions bubble to the surface and emotions boil over in the heat of the Sunday gathering.  It needs the cold light of Monday morning to calm everyone down.

Tickets £11 - from 6th September

DUCKbrothers produktions present
A Double 'New York' Bill of Comedy: 15th and 16th October 2010

Duck Variations by David Mamet
This rarely performed gentle comedy masterpiece by one of 'the finest American Playwrights of his generation' (The Times), stage and screen-writer, David Mamet, takes us to the park where two old men speculate on life, the universe and DUCKS.
'There is more here than just geriatric humour, there is also imagination and understanding...... Mamet is a true and original writer , who cherishes words and, on the evidence at hand, cherishes characters even more' (The New Yorker).
The Brothers by Paul O'Neil
So - what are you having for Sunday Lunch? Irish playwright Paul O'Neil's hilarious black comedy about two brothers who comply faithfully with the last culinary wishes of Mary, their housekeeper (served with garlic, roast potatoes, broccoli and carrots, and a 'tik' cauliflower sauce.) was researched whilst living and working as a freelance journalist amongst the ex-patriot Irish community of New York.
Better than any TV chefs Mat' and Pat' will whet your appetite for laughter until you can't face another mouthfull. You'll certainly never look at a crown roast again in the same light.......... Definitely not a play for vegans!

Tickets £10 - from 13th September

Stroud Arts Festival and Independent Ballet Wales present
Giselle: 22nd October 2010

"Critics Circle Award" winning company Independent Ballet Wales present a breathtaking version of one of the most famous ballets of all time.
Featuring the original stunning score by Adolphe Adam, atmospheric costumes and sets, and the remarkable dancers of the company.
The peasant girl Giselle is driven to kill herself when she discovers that her youthful lover ‘Loys’ is in reality Count Albrecht, and not free to marry her. She rises from the dead to prey on the man who has betrayed her. But as Albrecht, repenting, visits her moonlit grave, Giselle protects him from the deathly touch of her phantom sisters until the dawn sees him safe once more.
This passionate and dramatic tale is based on the reworking of Giselle by Marius Petipa with choreographic additions by Artistic Director and Creative Wales Award winner Darius James. 
With outstanding classical dancers and expansive choreography this production is the most thrilling and entertaining dance event of the year.

Tickets £15 (Under 15, £12)

Photo: Peter Teigen

The Cotswold Players present
One for the Road: 16th to 20th November 2010

This wickedly observant comedy by Willy Russell, author of Educating Rita and Blood Brothers, finds Dennis, on the eve of his thirty-fifth birthday, making a last ditch attempt to break away from the confines of his middle class existence. Imprisoned on Phase Two
of the housing estate,and surrounded by Tupperware parties, Weight Watchers and wife-swapping, he tries to revert to his former easy-going way of life. He reaches breaking point when next door neighbours Roger and Jane arrive for his party carrying presents that epitomize the hated way of life. In between giving instructions on the telephone to his parents (lost in the maze of bungalows) and keeping his vandalizing aerosol sprays hidden, Dennis attempts to pack a rucksack. When he finds that, in turn, Jane, Roger and Pauline all want to come with him, he sinks down in front of the TV, unable to make his escape. But there is always next year... and the year after...

Tickets £11 - from 18th October

Ballet Theatre UK presents
Cinderella: 30th November 2010

With 60 lavish costumes, two magical sets, and breathtaking choreography, Ballet Theatre UK’s new production of the classic ballet Cinderella is an enchanting experience that proves dreams really do come true.
Cinderella is the endearing story of a young girl with a tender heart who finds good fortune, love and happiness through her acts of kindness. The ballet is based on the fairy tale written by the great French storyteller Charles Perrault (1628 - 1703), who is also the of author Sleeping Beauty, Puss and Boots, and Blue Beard.
True to the age-old fairy tale, this captivating production of Cinderella features a very bossy, unlikable Stepmother and two very vain stepsisters, a magical fairy godmother and, of course, a dashing prince.
The lyrical charm of the Cinderella story so moved the great Russian composer Sergey Prokoviev that he wrote a wonderful musical score as soft and fragile as Cinderella herself, featuring the famous shawl dance, the Grand Waltz and the  magical dance of the seasons.
Ballet Theatre UK promises to delight you with a production of breath taking beauty and delight, showcasing a company of young and talented international dancers.

Tickets £16 or £27 for this performance and The Nutcracker - from 25 Oct.

Ballet Theatre UK presents
The Nutcracker: 1st December 2010

Tchaikovsky’s most loved and unforgettable musical score combines with magical choreography, exquisite costumes and breath taking scenery that together creates an atmosphere of fantasy and illusion.
Hoffman’s classic Christmas story unfolds with the same timeless delight and beauty that has captivated audiences of all ages across the world in one of the most festive and enduring ballets of all time.
This NEW production  incorporates 3 spectacular sets and over 50 beautifully hand crafted costumes.
The Nutcracker Features such favourites as The Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy, The Waltz of the Flowers, The Russian Trepak, The Dance of the Reed pipes and the world famous Waltz of the Snowflakes, to name but a few. 

Tickets £16 or £27 for this performance and Cinderella - from 25 October

The Cotswold Players present
Little Shop of Horrors: 19th to 22nd and 26th to 29th January 2011

"On the 23rd Day of the month of September, in an early year of a decade, not too long before our own, the human race suddenly encountered a deadly threat to its very existence, and this terrifying enemy surfaced, as such enemies often do, in the seemingly most innocent, and unlikely of places..... "
Based on the 1960's film of the same name, the show's Rock 'n' Roll/Motown inspired score from composer Alan Menken with lyrics from Howard Ashman, tells the story of Seymour Krelborn, a hapless florist's assistant who raises a plant that feeds on human blood.
A singing plant, a daring hero, a sweet girl and a demented dentist!

Tickets £12/£6 - from 3rd December

Iestyn Edwards presents
Anything for a Tenor / Madame Galina - Ballet Star Gallactica
11th February 2011

Remember 'Hinge & Bracket'? Think what would have happened if they had taken to ballet...

"A rare and perfect synthesis of art and larkiness... unnerving skill in pirouettes...the audience howled with laugher, stamped and
cheered!" Libby Purves, The Times

As heard by Her Majesty, and on Desert Island Discs, Midweek, Woman’s Hour and Loose Ends. A unique account of tours through outlying military bases in Iraq and Afghanistan.  Find out how Iestyn dodged rockets and some serious square-bashing from RSM ‘Tina’ Turner, why a Royal Marines Commando ordered him to sit on the naughty tank and how he won a coveted ‘Hoofing’ award performing as Madame Galina in Camp Bastion.

With works by Novello, Sherman, Schubert  Sullivan, this part-revue, part dramatic monologue follows Iestyn through Iraq and Afghanistan in the company of Her Majesty’s Finest, with asides about his parents spiking his Ribena,  Welsh Mair hijacking the 206 to get him to Builth Wells on time and a sharing a dressing-room with a yodelling strip-a-gram giraffe.

Then we meet Madame Galina Forces’ Sweetheart herself...

"Hilariously and touching stories... his singing makes me cry every time... Tutuboy rocks!" Joanna Lumley

Tickets £11 - from 10th January

JMG Entertainment present
Laugh Out Loud: Live Stand-up Comedy
18th February 2011

Stroud’s very own Cotswold Playhouse introduces a fresh form of entertainment...
Exclusive access to the popular London comedy scene makes for a remarkable, enjoyable evening. Thus leaving you with a fun new experience and provides you a means for recurring stress relief.
A stress free night fuelled with infectious laughter doesn’t sound too bad?
Well LOL (laugh out loud) comedy nights hope to ensure that your requirements are met by bringing to the stage 3 hilarious, established acts from the UK comedy scene alongside a talented host to keep the laughter flowing .
Start your weekend early in style by becoming part of the exclusive circle that partakes in the support of the forever expanding culture of stand up comedy nights! Be ready to chuckle, chortle and leave LAUGHING OUT LOUD!

Acts Include
Markus Birdman - Headline Act
Markus has taken his act all across the world from Sweden to the Sydney comedy festival in Australia. Back home in the UK Markus is a regular at all the top comedy clubs, Jongleur's, The Comedy Store and has performed at the Edinburgh festival.
"uniquely talented, demonstrates just how it's done." The Evening Standard
"The crowd fell for his dry witty, confused little boy smutt-schtick in a big way" The Observer
"Great shoes, good luck" Jack Dee
Other Acts Include Sam Veale & Manos the Greek who performed at the 2010 Edinburgh Festival.
NB Contains Strong Language

Tickets £12 - from 7th January

Colin Reese presents
Gift to the Future: 28th May 2011

John Heminges returns home to his house on the site of the Globe Theatre with a precious package - the first edition of William Shakespeare's "Comedies Histories and Tragedies"  which he has just collected from the printer Isaac Jaggard.
Heminges and Henry Condell have spent the 7 years since William's death looking through prompt books, cue scripts, plot sheets, William's own writings, searching through the Tiring House of the Globe and studying previously printed versions of his plays. Finally they amassed an exhaustive collection and working with the Jaggards - William and Isaac - they have produced this wonderful document.
Sitting down to study the result of this work, John Heminges reminisces about his life-long friendship with "young Will" which had started 36 years before, in the White Swan in Stratford when William was 23 and John 31.
Throughout his working life John had been at William's side, advising him and acting in his plays as well as managing the Chamberlain's (now the King's) Men; steering the company, of which Will was such an important member, through the troubled waters of Elizabethan and Jacobean politics, organising royal patronage, fending off the tiresome Puritans and threats from the Plague.
As he starts to read through the plays, the memories come flooding back - of performances, back stage intrigues, successes and disasters and above all the importance of preserving the writings of a genius who was "not of an age, but for all time" as Ben Jonson so cogently wrote in the introduction to what we now know as :
"Shakespeare's First Folio"

This 90 minute play for one actor recounts this 30 year long professional relationship between Shakespeare and Heminges, the man responsible for the printing of the First Folio in 1623; without which at least 18 of the greatest plays ever written would have been lost. Written and performed by Colin David Reese, actor and director with more than 40 years experience, GIFT TO THE FUTURE is the result of  many years of research into the Elizabethan/Jacobean theatre, the working practices used in the playhouses, the lives of the players and the social and political position of theatre at the time.