Hi all

The Dorchester Drama Committee are very excited to annouce our autumn production with local actors Paul Lawless and Richelle Khan as our co-directors in the festive comedy “Life and Beth” by Alan Ayckbourn. This a great opportunity for those interested in warming up before the community play so we hope to see you all at the auditions!! Please feel free to forward this to anyone you may think is interested.

Hello Thespians and Co!
Dorchester Drama are excited to announce that their Autumn production will be –
Alan Ayckbourn’s festive Comedy
‘Life & Beth’
Performance 21st – 23rd November 2013
……………. It is Christmas, and Beth Timms is mourning the recent death of her health and safety officer husband, Gordon. Beth’s Sister-in-law Connie and son Martin have come to stay, determined to ensure that she should have a stress-free Christmas, but between Connie’s drinking problem and Martin’s unspeaking and emotionally volatile girlfriend Ella, their intentions prove to be short-lived.

Only David, the local vicar, provides Beth with any comfort, but when he says a prayer for her bereavement he unwittingly summons Gordon’s ghost to return to the family home. Gordon has been busy implementing health and safety measures in the afterlife and is now determined to stick around to help Beth manage her affairs. It soon becomes apparent, however, that his return in not altogether welcome . . .

Characters (there is some flexibility with the ages):
Beth Timms, recently widowed, 50s
Gordon Timms, Beth’ late husband, 60s
Martin Timms, their son, 20s/30s
Ella Parker, Martin’s girlfriend, late 20s
Connie Bunting, Gordon’s sister, wodow, 50s
Revd David Grinseed, widower, 50s

Co-directed by Paul Lawless & Richelle Khan
Paul and Richelle are local professional Actors and Workshop co-ordinators who are really looking forward to directing their first project, with Dorchester Drama. Both have had extensive training in all areas of the performing industry and intend to run rehearsals in a fun but rewarding workshop-fashion. When the cast aren’t rehearsing or blocking scenes, they will be working more closely with the other director on breathing, voice work, movement technique and approaches to the text!
Acting Auditions are to be held in the Sunninghill School Hall on
Wednesday 11th September at 7.30pm.
Please arrive promptly at 7.15pm, as we are looking to begin swiftly at 7.30pm. Lateness to the audition will be taken in to consideration when casting the play. Rehearsals will run twice-weekly, on a Monday and Wednesday evening and commence the following Monday (16th September).
If you are interested in fulfilling roles on the production side of things, please get in contact with Anne Reeve on Reevefamily4@talktalk.net
We look forward to seeing you at the audition!

WHAT ho Jeeves – it’s that Bertie Wooster with his mad friends and family causing havoc as usual with their latest hair-brained schemes in a farcical comedy set in the 1930s.

A number of PG Wodehouse’s best-loved stories have been condensed into a single production which, staged by Dorchester Drama, provides light-hearted fun and laughter for a perfect summer evening’s entertainment.

Celebrating their 50th anniversary, the drama group bring to life Margaret Raether’s neatly constructed adaptation in a lively action packed farce that takes place at the stately home of the scary Aunt Dahlia.

As usual the peerless Jeeves sorts out everyone’s problems ranging from the wooing of newt nerd Gussie Fink-Nottle, the financial woes of Aunt Dahlia and even the temperamental outbursts of the chef Anatole in a convoluted plot that goes at a cracking pace from start to finish.

Sam Kelly is well cast in the demanding role of the amiable idiot Wooster with the ever dignified Nick Heape as his butler Jeeves, the pair creating a double act that is a pleasure to watch.

Capturing the essential flavour of the play, Stella Hollis is in brilliant form as the formidable Aunt Dahlia who puts everyone in their place, including her husband Tom, nicely portrayed by Paul Wallis who is transformed from a bad tempered bully into a doting darling, thanks to one of Jeeves’s magic medicinal potions.

Jonny White and Emma Follis make an ideal couple as the hopeless romantics Gussie and Madeline as their courtship muddles along in the typical silly schoolboy style that Wodehouse made his own.

The cast is completed by a suitably over-the-top Dee Thorne as the chef Anatole, a woman whose outbursts make Gordon Ramsey look like a mild-mannered pussycat.

A particularly nice touch for this production is provided by a three piece musical group led by Alastair Simpson who add an elegant atmosphere to the evening with their welcome interludes playing popular tunes of the day.

Director David Reeve has kept his eye on the ball of this quintessentially English comic romp and in doing so has produced an old-fashioned and civilised piece of theatre that is satisfying at almost every level.

See the article about Julius Caesar in last night’s Echo here:

http://www.thisisdorset.net/archive/2010/06/30/Theatre+%28de_theatre%29/8246167.Dorchester_Drama_s_modern_day_Julius_Caesar/

Hello! The dress rehearsal is now in full flow & it’s all looking pretty exciting for the first night tomorrow (just watch out for those knives in the back!). Tickets are still available,  so get your picnics ready & come on down to the Townhouse for a cracking night’s entertainment

Our next production is approaching fast: Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar directed by Steve Twinn. We’ll be outside at the Roman Townhouse from 1st-3rd July. Tickets are on sale at Words Etcetera in Dorchester, or can be booked by telephone on 01305 772187.

Hello, and welcome back to the Dorchester Drama website. We had a few WordPress related issues that caused the site to be down for a while, but we are back up and running, so remember to check in here for all the latest from Dorchester Drama!