Hercules – a new play by Helen Eastman

Directed by Alex Clifton | Designed by Takis | Music by Alex Silverman

To do list:
1. slay lion
2. clean stables
3. avoid queen of the Amazons
4. cheat death (again)

…Hercules is not having a good day. If only his father, Zeus could see beyond his earthly shortcomings…

Not the most organised of super heroes and a bit of a disaster zone, our Hercules is a powerful force of nature.

He doesn’t know his own strength, but maybe that’s what makes him (half) human after all!

An uproarious adventure through Hercules’ loves and labours – monsters, magicians, music and mayhem – a carnival for all the family.

n.b. Our productions are simply staged and beautiful to look at, highly physical and suitable for all ages.
Even if your children are too young for Shakespeare, they’ll certainly love our hero Hercules…

There are 8 performances a week, including 2.00pm matinees on Thursdays and Saturdays, and a tea time special on a Sunday at 5.00pm.

Tickets from £10 – £18, subject to change according to demand

About Grosvenor Park Open Air Theatre:

“We are transforming the park into one of the most wonderful theatre settings you can imagine!
Some of the country’s best directors and actors are creating a brand new professional summer theatre company which we hope and expect will achieve national acclaim for this new venture in Chester.
We have designed and built a new, unique (and very ecological!) new theatre space which is a combination of picnic spaces and terrace seating.
You can eat and drink in both areas, but with the picnic spaces you can bring your own deckchairs and blankets.
For the terraces you need to bring a cushion, or you can hire one from us!”

Book online,
call 0843 208 0500,
or call into Chester Tourist Information Centre.

Dates:
Thursday 15th July 2010
to
Sunday 8th August 2010

Venue:
Grosvenor Park

Grosvenor Park Road

Chester

Cheshire

CH1 1QQ

Grosvenor Park Open Air Theatre Website

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Contact Address:

Chester Performs

55 – 57 Watergate Row South

Chester

Cheshire

CH1 2LE

Tel: 01244 409 113

Chester Performs on Directory of Chester
Chester Performs website | on Facebook | on Twitter

Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare

Directed by Edward Dick | Designed by Takis | Music by Alex Silverman

Join us for an evening of merriment, fun and laughter when the beautiful gardens of Grosvenor Park come alive with one of Shakespeare’s most popular comedies, Much Ado About Nothing.

Lovestruck Claudio and Hero are determined to marry despite the shenanigans going on around them.

Notwithstanding the shortest of engagements (one week!), there still seems to be plenty of opportunity for mischief making, not least trying to match-make our other heroes, Beatrice and Benedick.

And herein starts the merry war of the sexes…

Masquarade balls, plotters in disguise, jilted brides and mistaken intentions go to make up one of the Bard’s best loved and funniest plays, and the perfect end to a balmy summer’s eve.

There are 8 performances a week, including 2.00pm matinees on Thursdays and Saturdays, and a tea time special on a Sunday at 5.00pm.

Tickets from £10 – £18, subject to change according to demand

About Grosvenor Park Open Air Theatre:

“We are transforming the park into one of the most wonderful theatre settings you can imagine!
Some of the country’s best directors and actors are creating a brand new professional summer theatre company which we hope and expect will achieve national acclaim for this new venture in Chester.
We have designed and built a new, unique (and very ecological!) new theatre space which is a combination of picnic spaces and terrace seating.
You can eat and drink in both areas, but with the picnic spaces you can bring your own deckchairs and blankets.
For the terraces you need to bring a cushion, or you can hire one from us!”

Book online,
call 0843 208 0500,
or call into Chester Tourist Information Centre.

Dates:
Thursday 15th July 2010
to
Sunday 8th August 2010

Venue:
Grosvenor Park

Grosvenor Park Road

Chester

Cheshire

CH1 1QQ

Grosvenor Park Open Air Theatre Website

Stay up to date with all of Chester Performs’ events, by subscribing to our email updates below!

Contact Address:

Chester Performs

55 – 57 Watergate Row South

Chester

Cheshire

CH1 2LE

Tel: 01244 409 113

Chester Performs on Directory of Chester
Chester Performs website | on Facebook | on Twitter

The Last Supper
by Reckless Sleepers

Reckless Sleepers invite you to dinner, to sample the last meal requests of the famous and the not-so famous.

You’re asked to eat and drink while they speak, then eat the last words of the famous, the infamous, of criminals, victims, heroes, heroines and stars.

With real scenarios, invented scenarios, scenarios in the future, scenarios from the past, The Last Supper is part performance, part meal, made up of half-remembered words and the forgotten last requests of inmates on death row.

Each audience member is given a table number, their case number, their incident number.

Thirteen of these are last suppers.

“There is something about the simplicity of this show that is unbearably moving.” Lyn Gardner, The Guardian

Tickets £12.50/£10

Book online,
call 0843 208 0500,
or call into Chester Tourist Information Centre.

Date:
Wednesday 16th June 2010, 8.00pm
Thursday 17th June 2010, 8.00pm

Venue:
St. Mary’s Centre
St Mary’s Hill
Chester
Cheshire
CH1 2DW

Stay up to date with all of Chester Performs’ events, by subscribing to our email updates below!

Contact Address:

Chester Performs

55 – 57 Watergate Row South

Chester

Cheshire

CH1 2LE

Tel: 01244 409 113

Chester Performs on Directory of Chester
Chester Performs website | on Facebook | on Twitter

Snake In The Grass

by Alan Ayckbourn

Snake in the Grass
by Alan Ayckbourn
Directed by Chad Meadows

For Annabel and her sister, Miriam, their sunlit garden is filled with deeply buried childhood memories.

But when night begins to fall, is it only the past which comes back to haunt them?

Or something infinitely more terrifying?

Snake In The Grass is a “ghost play” in Ayckbourn’s words, which offers laughter and spine-tingling horror, as well as a chance to reflect on the darker side of life.

Tickets:
email ticket@mdg.org.uk or ring Chris on 01606 594190

Date:
Tuesday 18th May 2010
Wednesday 19th May 2010
Thursday 20th May 2010
Friday 21st May 2010
Saturday 22nd May 2010
Doors Open 7.00pm, Performance 7.30pm

Venue:
Moulton Village Hall
Main Road
Moulton
Northwich
Cheshire
CW9 8PB

Stay up to date with all of Chester Performs’ events, by subscribing to our email updates below!

Contact Address:

Chester Performs

55 – 57 Watergate Row South

Chester

Cheshire

CH1 2LE

Tel: 01244 409 113

Chester Performs on Directory of Chester
Chester Performs website | on Facebook | on Twitter

Masha Serghyeevna

by Lena Simic

A re-working of Anton Chekhov’s Three Sisters into a solo performance, based around the character of the middle sister, Masha Serghyeevna.

The performance is about longing, affairs, unsent letters and war; it explores the boundary between desire and revolution.

There will be an aftershow talk after the performance

Lena Simic is a performance artist, born in Dubrovnik, Croatia and is now based in Liverpool. She has toured nationally and internationally, including Denmark, Cuba, Croatia and venues throughout the UK.

Tickets:
£7/£5 book online, call 0843 208 0500 or call into Chester Tourist Information centre

Date:
Thursday 13th May 2010
Doors Open 8.00pm

Venue:
Bull & Stirrup Hotel
8 Upper Northgate Street
Chester
Cheshire
CH1 4EE

Stay up to date with all of Chester Performs’ events, by subscribing to our email updates below!

Contact Address:

Chester Performs

55 – 57 Watergate Row South

Chester

Cheshire

CH1 2LE

Tel: 01244 409 113

Chester Performs on Directory of Chester
Chester Performs website | on Facebook | on Twitter

Up un’ Under

Tip Top Productions

The story revolves around a bet on a rugby league match.

Our hero, Arthur, drawn into the situation by some hilariously macho nonsense, has to coach a team chosen by Reg, coach of local top dogs The Cobbler’s Arms.

Naturally Reg chooses a team that has experienced less success than most of England’s national sports teams..combined: Reg chooses The Wheatsheaf Arms.

The story follows Arthur’s attempts to kick this ragged bunch of misfits into some kind of shape. It’s clearly going to be a difficult task. Anybody who has played amateur sport will probably be cringing inwardly at these scenes.
Training for The Wheatsheaf Arms consists of little more than trading banter in the changing room and exercising their arms lifting pints in the pub.

These are the kind of set-pieces that explain why John Godber is so good at what he does. You can’t help but laugh at the comedy, but at the same time you’re aware it’s also functioning as social comment.
As training goes from bad worse, Arthur enlists the help of fitness guru, Hazel, which certainly helps to inspire the players to greater heights, or at least turn up for training.

As the big game against The Cobbler’s Arms draws ever closer the team are transformed into a lean, mean, rugby league playing team who fear nobody. The big day arrives for Arthur and his team and the match is recreated brilliantly on stage.

Cast:
Frank Rowley
Arthur Hoyle
Reg Welsh
Hazel Scott
Phil Hopley
Tony Burtoft
Steve Edwards

Production Team
Director: Marian Newman

Tickets:
Saturday 8th May 2010, 7.30pm £10 /£8
Monday 10th May 2010, 7.30pm £10 /£8 2 For 1
Tuesday 11th May 2010, 7.30pm £10 /£8
Wednesday 12th May 2010, 7.30pm £10 /£8
Thursday 13th May 2010, 7.30pm £10 /£8
Friday 14th May 2010, 7.30pm all tickets £10
Saturday 15th May 2010, 2.30pm all tickets £6
Saturday 15th May 2010, 7.30pm all tickets £10

Doors Open 2.00pm, 7.00pm

Please note that the “Two for One” offer can not be booked online. Please call the Box Office to take advantage of this deal.

Venue:
The Forum Studio Theatre
Hamilton Place
Chester
Cheshire
CH1 2BH

Stay up to date with all of Chester Performs’ events, by subscribing to our email updates below!

Contact Address:

Chester Performs

55 – 57 Watergate Row South

Chester

Cheshire

CH1 2LE

Tel: 01244 409 113

Chester Performs on Directory of Chester
Chester Performs website | on Facebook | on Twitter

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Good Will

Tip Top Productions

In a local government office, one woman searches for the courage to keep her dignity and finally voice the truth.

Card-maker Margaret Gallagher is a lonely widow who is cajoled into teaching by Clare, a newly promoted manager at the Local Authority.

Margaret is needed to cover a staff shortage. However she is unaware of a pending inspection that is set to shape the future of the service and the people involved.

When there’s an accident in Margaret’s craft class an arrangement is exposed that could bring down the service and the inspectorate.

A thrilling drama, Good Will is a story of exploitation, betrayal and integrity.

Production Team
Writer: Paul Kelly
Director: Steve Davies

Tickets:
All tickets £6.00

Date:

Friday 23rd April 2010
Saturday 24th April 2010
Sunday 25th April 2010
Doors Open 7.00pm

Venue:
The Forum Studio Theatre
Hamilton Place
Chester
Cheshire
CH1 2BH

Stay up to date with all of Chester Performs’ events, by subscribing to our email updates below!

Contact Address:

Chester Performs

55 – 57 Watergate Row South

Chester

Cheshire

CH1 2LE

Tel: 01244 409 113

Chester Performs on Directory of Chester
Chester Performs website | on Facebook | on Twitter