Theatre: March Newsletter from the Particular Theatre Company based at The Bikeshed Theatre, Exeter

We make it our mission at The Blah Blah Blah Show to support Exeter's theatre and poetry scene. I've just received the March Newsletter from the Particular Theatre Company based at The Bikeshed Theatre, Exeter, and reproduce it here in full...

                                                   

March 2010 – Newsletter 4

Dear Particular Friend,

One month has gone by since our last newsletter and much has changed in the particular world.

The Distance is now over and we hope that many of you had a chance to enjoy this production. The end of The Distance however, has not marked the end of The Bike Shed Theatre; this is now a new performance space for the city of Exeter to enjoy and we will be packing it full of exciting shows for the foreseeable future. Read on for more details.

We hope you are all enjoying the arrival of spring, see you at The Bike Shed Theatre!

 
David, Fin and Debs

THE DISTANCE

The Distance by Bournemouth playwright Craig Norman ran at The Bike Shed Theatre from the 8^th to the 27^th of February. Alison Collinge played the role of Alex, a young mother dealing with the pressures of a changing world and her own mental illness.

I had the pleasure of playing the, to put it mildly, dramatic character of Alex in The Distance.

I was so ready to get my teeth into something and Alex was just that. My worries were of making her one dimensional and stereotypically mad, but I soon realised if I played her ‘mad’ I could go horribly wrong! I had to find her sanity and show elements of why Darby married her in the first place.  Finding the depth and layers to her and exploring relationships between the other characters was a task that lasted throughout and up to the very last performance. This was thanks to the great cast and director for keeping me on my toes. It always amazes me how different one show can be to the next, a slight inclination of a line from one character which provokes a different reaction can change the feel of a scene completely.

  The Bike Shed Theatre is such a great find, an intimate but hugely versatile space if a little cold at times. You could always find me gravitating toward one of their little heaters!

   I’m so pleased to have worked with this young, dynamic and friendly company and although my part was dark, angst ridden and distressed, I can safely say my experience wasn’t! A good balance of hard work and some great laughs, a perfect combination!

                                                                                            

THE BIKE SHED THEATRE

                                                                                                                                                                                           

. The Bike Shed Theatre will be open until the end of June and, with your support we hope to continue further and become a permanent fixture to Exeter’s entertainment scene.

The Bike Shed Theatre will be programming original theatre, music, dance and much more with a particular focus on local performers.

Upcoming productions at the Bike Shed Theatre include:

Wednesday 10^th of March: MERGE – Contemporary dance platform. 7pm. Free.

Friday 12^th and Saturday 13^th of March: Bristol Experimental Theatre Company – THE LONG LINE OF BUREAUCRACY. 8pm [£7 (5)]

Thursday 18^th and Friday 19^th of March: Theatre with Teeth – SPAM DADDY? 8pm [£5 (3)]

Saturday 20^th of March – AvantRural presents the VEGGIE BOX. Details TBC.

Thursday 25^th to Saturday 27^th of March: Jackdaw Theatre Company – double bill. Harold Pinter’s A SLIGHT ACHE and UPPISCHBAUM & THE BARD.

On Sundays The Bike Shed Theatre will be the host to Cabaret Theatrique a free afternoon of varied entertainment.

For further listings check out our website on www.bikeshedtheatre.co.uk or join our Facebook group.

STILL

 The heat of a summer night. The cool of a treacherous river. A secret place that has witnessed young love, lust and death. When a married father picks up a seductive hitch-hiker and takes her to his boyhood hiding place, the question is – has he been waiting for her all his life, or she for him? Still is a story of desire and betrayal, hate and desecration, love and redemption.

Still by Steve Lambert will be Particular Theatre Company’s next production and will be showing at The Bike Shed Theatre from the 12^th of April to the 1^st of May.

Steve Lambert’s recent productions include Showing the Monster (Theatre West, Alma Tavern, Bristol) and Aftercare (ScenePool, Camden People’s Theatre, London). He is also a member of Heads and Tales, a Bristol-based story-telling group. Steve's short plays The Viewing and The Search were produced by Particular Theatre Company in their 6/10 slots in September 2009.Tickets for Still will be on sale from the end of this week.