- November 2023
You are a singular stroke of a letter in a word of the great Epic of these Crusades. Your rebellion will be counted as a tremor in the hand of a chronicler. The story has already started; This tale must be written. Do not presume to have a say in it.
A historical fiction drama split between the modern day and medieval crusades, 'Negotiating with the Dead' follows an archaeological team discovering ‘The Templar’s Cross’, a fictional medieval relic supposedly as famous as the Holy Grail. It is a discovery which the archaeologists have dedicated their lives to finding, and now, one archaeologist, Florine, has begun to hallucinate the Crusaders who once searched for the same relic – as she does, the play devolves into an exploration of how faith can be manipulated by corrupt figures for political and personal goals (e.g. expansion of empire, war, power, greed) and how this behaviour is almost normalised in religious institutions.
Winner of the Pembroke Player's Playwriting Competition 2023.
- November 2023
“I wish I had no love in me at all so I could better bear the things that need doing. I hate being held back and still, still I’m mourning the past.”
The early twentieth century.
Sophie has created a life for herself in a new country. When Jim, the younger brother she left as a boy, makes the same journey to come live with her, the siblings must renegotiate their relationship and the political tensions threatening to overwhelm their two-bedroom flat. At turns witty, tender, and thoughtful, this two-hander asks what happens when the people we love are too familiar and too strange, and how the fight for one home – family, community, or place – can complicate another.
- November 2023
The Pembroke Players' Freshers Panto returns again with an all new cast, crew and script! Come down to New Cellars for a rip-roaring Bridgemas special, following Peter Pan-tomime as he has to learn to embrace the panto spirit and save Cambridge from some malevolent rowers in the process!
- November 2023
“I’ll tell you what love is. Love is a precious thread you lose when you start to think. Love is a wide wide field of utter purity and it doesn’t exist - beds and carpets of snow flowers, drift stars of innocence, original light, embryonic sun, planet of lucid crystals, bruises like a virgin to the fumbling human senses, isn’t there.”
We are putting together a pastiche of Jeff Nuttall’s performance scripts, a collection of experimental, surrealist and expressionist writing which, in the author’s own words, tries to ‘punch holes in reality by weaving fiction and absurdity into the patterns of lives of unsuspecting citizens’. Comedy, farce, the ideas of Strindberg and Artaud, Tzara and the Absurdists, are all present, but the poetry, the humour, the sex
and outrage, the sense of unreality and fright are all reborn in the corporeal, graphic expression of Nuttall’s text. His writing turns inward, towards the complexity and disposability of the human condition, and how this in turn can be wielded against the authority of the powers that be.
- November 2023
AFTER A SUCCESSFUL OFF-WEST END DEBUT, GASLIGHT IS COMING TO CAMBRIDGE!
What would happen if we lived in a world where life-threatening physical wounds were treated as dismissible?
'Gaslight' is an Off-West End Award nominated play by Shaira Berg that delves into the devastating psychological impact of sexual assault and the struggle of victims to receive support. Scarlet, a university student in a seemingly loving relationship, is surrounded by toxic friends.
After a traumatic incident, she is plagued by a mysterious expanding physical wound that nobody takes seriously. As she tries to get help, she is met with disbelief, betrayal and apathy. Scarlet's journey highlights the impact of traumatic experiences on mental health, relationships and everyday life.
'Gaslight' is a powerful commentary on society's attitudes towards sexual assault and the importance of believing survivors.
'A brilliant and harrowing play that will stay with me for a long time...', 'Be prepared for the lasting impact this will have on you. You have been warned...' ★★★★★ - The Tab
- October 2023
Summer with Monika is an exploration of what it means to love, be loved and subsequently experience the loss that was in some ways inevitable, but no less painful.
- October 2023
"This is a true story and it's a love story. This is our love story. And the first thing I want to tell you is this: love is not a cast-iron set of symptoms. Love is whatever you feel it to be."
Blink is the story of Jonah and Sophie, two introverts thrown together by grief and fate. Newly arrived in a city too busy to notice them, they embark on a heartfelt romance without ever exchanging a word. Will their relationship rescue them from loneliness or are their scars too deep to heal?
A sweet, off-beat romantic comedy from multi-award-winning playwright Phil Porter.
- October 2023
The Pembroke Players regularly occurring comedy nights hosted in the beautiful New Cellars.
- August 2023
Alix is in their mid-twenties and, at first sight, full of the joys of life with flatmate Jan. But the cracks quickly start to show, and they get wider, and darker. A turbulent relationship with a beautiful stranger frames 6 months of their life, triggering drastic career changes and relapses into depression and substance abuse. ‘Undoubtedly tragic, [...] but so joyous in its raw depiction of emotion’ (The Tab), it’s a portrait of a modern, queer woman’s descent into despair. Dazzling premiered in March to a sold-out run in Cambridge. ‘A stunning production that I could not recommend enough’ ***** (The Tab)
- June 2023
‘Last Three Words’ begins with two characters on stage: One and Two. One has a gun pointed towards Two’s head, and after counting words and syllables, and discussing whether the sun has died, they slowly realise they are both stuck in a play. As Two laments reality, and One believes he’s dead, another character enters the stage: Four, the lighting and sound technician. Four gives One and Two one crucial piece of information: they missed their cue.
‘Last Three Words’ is an absurd play, satirising absurdism while, crucially, embracing themes of metatheatre and double act comedy. A three hander, the play is designed to be acted by whoever and wherever and bridges the gap between ‘cast’ and ‘crew’.
- March 2023
At the Young Women’s Empowerment Forum, Karina, the youngest female partner in a prestigious law firm, is poised to impart her wisdom to the hordes of Gen Z women who regard her as a role model in a male-dominated industry. Unexpectedly, Karina is thrust into a Zoom breakout room with Sara, her former intern, whose experiences throw into question Karina’s #girlboss sloganeering… #WomenSupportingWomen maps the vast expanse of greys behind the glib hashtag of solidarity, and unpacks the performances expected of women as leaders in the workplace — and as victims in the courtroom. The play also explores the incongruities of virtual identities in our post-pandemic world, where we are forced to project our public selves while in our most private spaces.
- March 2023
A and B have been close friends, for a while. A is sharp, witty and unafraid to be vulnerable; especially when they drink too much. B is more traditional, straight, and is quick to tell A when the point of 'too much' has been reached. They bounce off each other and push each other; neither are afraid of an argument. However, when military intervention in another country provokes them to severe disagreement, the closeness of their friendship is brought into question. B has a new girlfriend, A disapproves. B suggests A gets help for what might be a drinking problem. The volume is dialed up when a protest forms against the military intervention and A and B come to a head. Neither will back down, and both are at a tipping point, will either of them step in?
- March 2023
- February 2023
Mix a Hitchcock masterpiece with a juicy spy novel, add a dash of Monty Python and you have The 39 Steps, a fast-paced whodunit for anyone who loves comedy! In The 39 Steps, a man with a boring life meets a woman with a thick accent who says she’s a spy. When he takes her home, she is murdered. Soon, a mysterious organisation called “The 39 Steps” is hot on the man’s trail in a nationwide manhunt that climaxes in a death-defying finale! A riotous blend of virtuoso performances and wildly inventive stagecraft, the play is also packed with over 150 characters (played by a cast of four), an onstage plane crash, handcuffs, missing fingers, and some good old-fashioned romance!
- February 2023
Thirty-five years ago, all the fish disappeared. No one knows where. No one knows how. No one knows why.
In a hearing committee on Capitol Hill, three Senators are still searching for answers.
- February 2023
On midsummer's eve, 1889, in the count's kitchen, Miss Julie asks her valet to dance.
"He's trembling, the big strong boy... with arms like that..."
Miss Julie introduces two characters who are at war with themselves and their positions in life.
Julie, whose strange behaviour makes her the subject of gossip, has just left her fiance. She is unable to face her family and ill at ease with members of her own class.
Jean is an ambitious valet. Loosely affianced to Christine, a servant, he is drawn to Julie although he knows that she brings risks.
Helen Cooper's version of Strindberg's absurdist and confrontational play is coming to Pembroke New Cellars Week 3 Lent Term.
- November 2022
- November 2022
Jude can’t pray. In fact, every time she tries to pray, she blacks-out and wakes up masturbating. But when her mother falls ill, everything gets slightly less funny, no less absurd and a lot more complicated. Combining punk theatricality with dry humour and a deeply human focus, I Can’t Pray is a unique and exciting piece of new writing by Laurie Ward. Previous praise for Laurie’s writing include: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟‘incredibly emotive’ - Three Weeks / 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 ‘genuine originality…daring’ - Varsity.
Free glass of wine included in the ticket price
- November 2022
- November 2022
Rebekah King's nationally acclaimed one-woman production is about a Neolithic girl whose family have gone out into the snow searching for their missing herd, leaving her to guide them home with her voice. She tells us stories about her family, her dreams and ideas, and all the while the Thing Without a Face watches, and waits.
Premiered at National Student Drama Festival 2021
Winner of Pembroke Players Playwriting Competition 2020
Performed at Brighton Fringe 2022
- November 2022
- November 2022
“I was thinking last night, you know, you should make a film of Alice in Wonderland! I could play Alice. But we should make it terribly modern and - beautiful, sort of. About this city and us and everything. The city feels like a rabbit hole sometimes, don't you think? It's - It's easy to fall into.”
Al is an artist. He wants money and fame.
Bea is a writer. She wants artistic success.
Cee is a model. She just wants to dissolve.
The unusual death of an acquaintance shakes the lives of three artists struggling in the whirling dreamspace of 60s London. As they set out on individual but overlapping quests for fame, money and meaning, dreams and reality start to blur together, tumbling down the rabbit hole. Part Warhol's Factory, part Alice's Wonderland, the world of the play explores the imbalanced power dynamics between male artists and their female muses, set in the dreamy speedy velvety underground of the city, where art is everything and reality is an afterthought.
- November 2022
Do the words “Beep Test”, “Gifted and Talented programme” and “Show and Tell” evoke a visceral reaction in you? If so, take a trip with us Back To School! From sports day to pizza Fridays, this brand-new sketch show will teleport you back to the good old days of primary and secondary school, dredging up those all of those childhood and adolescent memories which have been buried… for good reason.
- October 2022
- October 2022
- December 2021
Pembroke Players are back with their first smoker of the year, featuring some of Cambridge's very best stand-up comics!
- March 2021
Left alone while her family searches for the missing herd, a Neolithic girl seeks comfort in imaginary friends. As she fills the cave with stories, the reality of isolation starts to take its toll, and The Thing Without a Face is drawing closer all the while...
This is an audio-immersive production that invites the audience to turn their own room into the cave in which this strange and beautiful story of loneliness and solidarity takes place.
- February 2021
NEVER SEEN BEFORE COMEDY.
Literally, they are attempting some comedy for the Very First Time. Comedy Virgins, if you will.
Anyway, come along, see how awesome these performers are and validate the weird way we've named this night! Thank you!
- November 2020
Why is the floor sticky?
Was jam involved?
Does it matter that the floor is sticky since it's an online show anyway?
Tune in for the annual Sticky Floor Smoker, where the comedy will be virtual, but the laughter will be real. This year featuring everyone's kitchen (or college-insurance-policy-compatible-gyp-room-alternative) floors as we broadcast to you live from many locations :o :o
- November 2020
“The Chairs” by famous French absurdist writer Eugène Ionesco is a tragi-comic farce about an elderly couple who host a dinner party for invisible guests. A 3 person play, this chair-induced fever dream of a play is looking for a creative and (dare I say it) “zany” prod team and cast to bring this weird and wonderful show to life.
A Week 6 show funded by Pembroke Players, this will run for three nights in the unique location of the Storey’s Field Centre and will be both performed for a real-life audience and live-streamed!
- October 2020
As part of Black History Month, we are working with the Pembroke College BAME officer to put together a showcase of Black artists ! We would love for people to get involved with anything they would like to perform – this could be poetry readings, monologues, spoken word, anecdotes, dance or anything you would like to bring to us!
- October 2020
Pembroke Smokers are back!
Get yourself some wine or other beverage, some snacks if you're hungry, some snacks if you're not hungry, and settle in for a night of comedy to welcome in the new academic rigour ahem I mean academic year. Sorry.
The smoker will now be online with a link sent to you to see our fabulous performers live from the comfort of your own room.
- July–August 2020
“When the sun burns warm above,
A maiden’s mind goes straight to love”
‘Madame Bovary’ follows Emma, a bookish young woman, from her engagement to accomplished - but ultimately uninteresting - doctor Charles Bovary and traumatic pregnancy to scandalous encounters with volatile lovers and an eventual, devastating bankruptcy.
This tragic tale of the loss of agency, of companionship, and ultimately of the self through marriage and motherhood in 19th century France speaks directly and importantly to our contemporary experiences of loneliness and isolation. Emma’s dry observation and shrewd commentary becomes our own - as Flaubert famously declared of his plucky protagonist: “C’est moi”.
Experience the beloved realist classic like never before in this new, student-written radio play. Adapted from a script first performed in Pembroke New Cellars in 2019, this production reworks Flaubert's narrative, with a distinct focus on the value and power of the female voice.
- June 2020
A virtual musical revue about relationships, isolation, and longing.
- March 2020
Live from Pembroke New Cellars, it's Saturday night...! From the team behind the five-star, sell-out production of Doctor Whom comes a brand-new-for-one-night-only panel show of games, quizzes and calamitous comedy featuring some of Cambridge Theatre's finest new performers.
- March 2020
For the final smoker of the term, we're throwing a big ol' party!
When: Friday 6th March, doors open at 9:30pm
Where: Pembroke Old Library
What: Comedy, wine, other soft drinks, music, laughter
Who: You!
Why: It'll be fun! I promise!
Dress code: black tie with a 1920's twist ;)
So Charleston your way down to the Old Library for a night of music, colour, wine and comedy!
