January 29/30/31 and February 4/5/6
By David Swan
It's a hard life for little orphan Heidi in Pumpernickel's Tavern. The greedy innkeeper and his bossy wife treat her like a slave. And that's not all .., up in his castle, gormless Count Dracula and his gummy grandmother are planning a dinner party, with Heidi as the main course!
Luckily, she's got the audience and other friends to help: her faithful dog Kodak, her best friend, Frankie, and the handsome Prince Ludwig. The Forces of Evil never stand a chance ... especially when Professor Crackpot transforms Frankie into a Superhero!
The only real horrors are a party of rowdy schoolgirls under the supervision of Miss Nelly, famed pedagogue and pantomime dame. They're studying how to create havoc .., and they're all fast-learners!
May 21/22 and 28/29
By Jeremy Lloyd and David Croft
Once a TV show and now written for the stage. Double entendres
non-stop as the motley crew of the Grace Brothers department store
prepare for a sale of German goods, then depart for their staff holiday.
 Click on this link to buy tickets online.
October 15/16 & 22/23 October
By Ron Hutchison
Legendary Hollywood producer David O. Selznick
has a problem. He has just fired the director of Gone with the Wind
and the script is on its umpteenth version. He desperately needs a
new director and writer—immediately. However, the writer he wants,
Ben Hecht, has never read the novel. Selznick gives him a brief
synopsis of the story and offers him $15,000 to write a revised
screenplay by the end of the week.
Selznick also calls in director, Victor Fleming, pulling him from finishing
The Wizard of Oz to be the new director of Gone with the Wind.
Hecht is still not sold on the success of the storyline, but Selznick
believes in this movie, so much so that he locks the three of them
in his office for five days, with bananas and peanuts as their only
food, to pull together a new script.
Work begins. Selznick and Fleming attempt to act out all the characters
in the novel while Hecht types. Early in the week, Hecht and Fleming
constantly clash. By day three, fatigue, hunger and sarcasm prevail.
Tempers flare. There’s even an attempt to escape from the office—
if only for just a shower and a meal.
By the end of the week, Selznick asks, “Is there anything wrong with
getting the job done, no matter what it takes?” Completing this job
may take everything these men have to give!
Take a fun, farcical look at the behind-the-scene birth of one of the
most beloved films of all time.
This is a new feature which will be introduced shortly.
| Unless otherwise stated, all productions are at The Institute, High Street, Kelvedon starting at 8.00pm (doors open 7.30pm).
