- June 2023
- June 2022
Based on the 2005 British film Kinky Boots, written by Geoff Deane and Tim Firth and mostly inspired by true events, the musical tells the story of Charlie Price. Having inherited a shoe factory from his father, Charlie forms an unlikely partnership with cabaret performer and drag queen Lola to produce a line of high-heeled boots and save the business. In the process, Charlie and Lola discover that they are not so different after all.
- January 2022
A new version of the enduring classic: KIPPS is Half a Sixpence but with even more Flash-Bang-Wallop!
Arthur Kipps is an over-worked draper’s assistant at the turn of the last century. He is a charming but ordinary young man who dreams of a better world, but when he unexpectedly inherits a fortune that propels him into high society, it confuses everything he thought he knew about life.
This is the 2016 revival version which took the West End by storm with dazzling showmanship and amazing song and dance numbers. The new book is by Julian Fellowes, with a brilliantly infectious new score by Stiles and Drewe that imbues the original and much loved music with a joyous verve.
- May–June 2019
- January 2018
An outstanding score with some of his most memorable music and lyrics, this brilliantly smart and poignant observation of modern relationships has redefined what musical theatre can be.
- June 2017
The Côte d'Azur town of Beaumont-sur-Mer has provided rich pickings for Lawrence Jameson, schmoozing and seducing amongst the wealthy elite and nouveau riche ladies who gather around the casinos and yacht parties. With generous kickbacks to the local police chief to keep the law on his side, Lawrence happily promises everything but delivers nothing except impossible dreams and lightened purses.
When small-time hustler Freddy Benson starts working the same targets Lawrence sees an opportunity to take on a protégé. However, it soon becomes clear that the town isn’t big enough for the both of them and the two conmen have to agree on a winner-takes-all showdown.
The tunes and the laughs come thick and fast as Lawrence and Freddy try all their best tricks to swindle $50,000 from Christine Colgate, ‘The American Soap Queen’. Who ends up the winner? You’ll have come along and see us to find out in this glitzy, fabulous, sophisticated, lavish and completely hilarious musical comedy extravaganza!
- May 2016
- January 2016
Goodness Gracious, Great Balls of Fire!
Come aboard the starship ‘Albatross’ and join us in an interstellar rock n’ roll adventure! Your crew of highly trained space cadets are ready to whisk you across the galaxy whilst performing a host of cosmic classics by Chuck Berry, The Beach Boys, Jerry Lee Lewis, Roy Orbison, James Brown, Nina Simone and many more.
Bob Carlton’s award winning musical is a bizarre and unique blend of Shakespeare’s ‘The Tempest’ (plus lots of bits from his other plays), iconic music of the 50’s and 60’s and the Sci-Fi cult classic film ‘The Forbidden Planet’. It might sound illogical, captain, but the result is an evening’s entertainment of meteoric proportions.
Will the brave Captain Tempest and his crew unravel the mystery of Planet D’Illyria? Why are the mad Doctor Prospero and his beautiful daughter Miranda the only inhabitants? What secret is the ship’s science officer hiding? Can a robot do the twist? All these questions and more are answered in the next thrilling episode of “Return to the Forbidden Planet”!
Polarity Reversal may occur during performance!
- May–June 2014
A dramatic reworking of this inspiring show that brings contemporary relevance to the triumph of hope and joy.
Through the struggle to find unity and peace in a troubled community, the memorable music of the original show is brought to life in a story of our own times. The familiar tales of the Parables, at the same time joyful and thought-provoking, take the disciples on a journey of hope that eventually inspires even their less easily convinced companions.
Raise your spirit with a unforgettable show featuring the popular hits 'Day By Day', 'Light of the World', and 'Turn Back, O Man'.
- February 2014
The Festival Players are delighted to announce AUDITIONS for their upcoming production of the rip-roaring, riotous romp of a comedy - AVENUE Q!
Whether you are a current or recently graduated student, a working or retired adult, a Festival Players regular or new to the Cambridge drama scene, this is the show for you! Utterly hilarious and wickedly irreverent, Avenue Q is a Sesame Street satire dealing with the big issues of growing up... Oh, and there are puppets!
THE SHOW Avenue Q is a comedy of hilarious proportions... Set in a fictionalised New York (Sesame) street 'Avenue Q', the show follows the dreams and pitfalls of the street's residents as they struggle with the clashing fictions and truths of life. The puppets and humans that inhabit the world try and discover their rightful (and easiest) paths, whilst reaching (with tuneful hilarity) such revelations as "The Internet is for Porn" and "Everyone's a Little Bit Racist".... Side-splittingly funny, a little bit naughty, always entertaining, AVENUE Q is a fabulous show that will be as much fun making as watching!
PERFORMANCES and REHEARSALS The show will run at the Mumford Theatre in Cambridge from the 5th - 15th February 2014, and rehearsals will be on a weekly basis from 4th November 2013 (with a two week holiday for Christmas). At the auditions, there will be a rehearsal schedule for prospective performers to confirm their availabilities, so please bring your diary!
AUDITIONS FOR CAST These will be held in Cambridge (Castle End Mission, St Peter's Street) on the following dates / times:
Friday 11th October, 7.30 - 10pm Saturday 12th October, 10am - 6pm Sunday 13th October, 10am - 6pm
If you are unable to make these dates, there will also be a very few slots available on the date below, but only for theses who absolutely cannot make the weekend, as the recalls are also on this date!
Tuesday 15th October, 7.30 - 10pm
BOOK YOUR AUDITION SLOT! If you would like to audition for the Festival Players' February 2014 run of Avenue Q, please sign up for a slot by emailing secretary@festivalplayers.org
INFORMATION about AUDITION PROCESS Auditions will be approximately 10 minutes long. Please arrive at least 15 minutes before your booked slot to fill in the auditions form and prepare the dialogue that will be set outside the room.
First round auditions will be general, and not for specific roles in the show, although you will be asked on the auditionee form which part (if any) you'd prefer!
Please prepare a song in the style of the show (but NOT from Avenue Q) and provide sheet music for the accompanist. Please consider your accompanist when choosing from a Sondheim or Jason Robert Brown collection! An American accent is preferred but not compulsory. There will also be a few musical tests (range, harmony, memory etc).
After the musical section of the audition, you will be asked to deliver your choice of unseen dialogue from the sides provided. There may be a few directorial requests to see how flexible you are with character / style, and how well you respond to direction.
For a few roles there will be RECALLS, held on Sunday 13th after 3pm and on Tuesday 15th in the evening. For this, there will be a standard song set from Avenue Q for each voice part (details on the Festival Players website www.festivalplayers.org). There may also be one or two group movement recalls.
If you have any QUESTIONS, please do not hesitate to contact us on avenueqcambridge@gmail.com
WANT TO GET INVOLVED IN ANOTHER CAPACITY? If you would like to apply for production team, design team, crew or band, please email either Davina (Director) or Joe (MD) on avenueqcambridge@gmail.com to register your interest. Current open roles are advertised on CamDram (and more will follow soon!): www.camdram.net (search for Avenue Q, Lent 2014)
AUDIENCE MEMBERS Fancy regular updates and anecdotes about the progress of the show? Email Producer at avenueqcambridge@gmail.com and request to be added on to our mailing list!
- May–June 2013
After delighting audiences with the toe-tapping spectaculars Hot Mikado and The Producers, Festival Players return to the ADC Theatre with the dark, haunting and searingly honest Parade.
This epic Tony Award-winning musical tells the true story Leo Frank, a Brooklyn-born Jewish factory supervisor accused of murder. Set in the US State of Georgia in 1913, this tale of suspicion, retribution and flawed justice is played out against the backdrop of anti-Semitism, racial tension and the North vs. South rift which has yet to heal, 50 years after the end of the Civil War.
With brilliant music and lyrics by Jason Robert Brown, this unique musical combines pop-rock, folk, R&B and gospel styles. It is a riveting murder mystery, a gripping courtroom drama, a moving love story and certainly one of the most powerful new musical theatre works of our time. Not to be missed!
- May–June 2012
Girl loves boy; boy loves girl. What could possibly go wrong? Well, when that boy’s already engaged to an older woman, and the girl’s guardian has designs on her too, the answer’s everything!
Fresh from the sell-out success of Chess and The Producers, the award-winning Festival Players return to the ADC with the Hot Mikado.
There’s not a kimono to be seen as this exciting reworking of Gilbert and Sullivan’s original transports the story forward several centuries, bringing a thoroughly modern swing to its tale of romance, intrigue, flirting, death-threats, mock-executions, and a wedding – but between whom?
With gospel and jazz, lindy-hop dance moves, and cool cats in spats all added to the mix, the Hot Mikado will be a treat for your eyes, ears, and dancing feet.
- June 2011
Following their sell-out successes of Sweeney Todd and Chess, Festival Players return to the ADC with their own interpretation of the smash-hit, multi-award-winning and totally irreverent musical The Producers adapted from Mel Brooks’ 1968 film of the same name. Brash, camp, totally over-the-top and yet at times surprisingly touching, the original musical won an unprecedented twelve Tony Awards (including Best Musical and Best Original Score) and was hailed as “a gift from the show-biz gods.” (Time Magazine).
Max Bialystock, once the king of Broadway is now notorious only for producing flops. Then he realises that if he could put on a show that’s so tasteless it’s guaranteed to fail, he could keep all the investment money! The all-singing, all-dancing spectacular Springtime for Hitler seems perfect – except there’s no accounting for taste! Fast-paced, colourful, brash and outrageously funny, The Producers is a show definitely NOT to be missed!
- June 2010
Chess is a musical with lyrics by Tim Rice and music by Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson, formerly of ABBA. The story involves a romantic triangle between two top players, an American and a Russian, in a world chess championship, and a woman who manages one and falls in love with the other; all in the context of a Cold War struggle between the United States and the Soviet Union, during which both countries wanted to win international chess tournaments for propaganda purposes.
Released around the same time and with many similarities to Jesus Christ Superstar and Evita, the first theatrical production of Chess opened in London's West End in 1986 and played for three years. A much-altered US version premiered on Broadway in 1988, but suffered from these changes to give a shorter run. Chess is frequently revised for new productions, many of which try to merge elements from both the London and Broadway versions; however, no major revival production of the musical has yet been attempted either on West End or Broadway, although the Albert Hall recently played to sell-out audiences for a concert version starring such leading names as Idina Menzel, Josh Groban, Adam Pascal and Marti Pellow.
Chess came seventh in a BBC Radio 2 listener poll of the United Kingdom's "Number One Essential Musicals."
- June 2009
Thrilling, operatic and full of drama, this spectacular musical tells an absorbing and stylish tale of love, murder and obsession. Sondheim's lyrics are typically sharp, tender and hilarious - and the music spell-binding. Set in the harsh underworld of Victorian London, the show is both poignant and darkly comic whilst featuring some remarkably close shaves and surprisingly delicious pies! Recently adapted in the film version starring Johnny Depp, the original stage show is justifiably hailed as a theatrical masterpiece which won numerous accolades including eight Tony Awards and Best Musical. Presented by Cambridge's own Festival Players, the originality and quality of the production are assured as they return to the ADC Theatre for the first time since their hugely successful production of The Witches of Eastwick. A truly memorable evening of theatre, music and culinary resourcefulness – not to be missed!
- October–November 2008
An affectionate spoof on the 1950s sci fi movies, 'Little Shop of Horrors' is funny, subversive and packed with memorable songs. Nerdy florist, Seymour is stuck in a dead end job on Skid Row until he discovers an exotic plant during a solar eclipse and his life changes forever. Struggling to get the plant to grow, he discovers it has a taste for blood ... fresh human blood. It turns into a bad-tempered, foul-mouthed, R&B singing monster, while Seymour falls into a world of fame, fortune and deceit, as he battles against the plant's bid for world domination and his own desire for his friend Audrey I, the downtrodden girlfriend of the scariest dentist this side of 'The Boys from Brazil'!
- June 2008
The Scarlet Pimpernel is a swashbuckling musical based on the adventure novel by Baroness Emmuska Orczy, set during the reign of terror following The French Revolution. A secret society of English aristocrats, known as The League Of The Scarlet Pimpernel, is engaged in rescuing their French counterparts from the guillotine. Their leader is The Scarlet Pimpernel. Despite being the talk of London society, no one except his small band of followers, and possibly his close friend The Prince Of Wales, knows the Pimpernel's true identity. Set in the late 1700s with a wonderful musical score by Frank Wildhorn, a hilarious libretto and lavish costumes, this is certainly not a production to miss.
The Festival Players make a welcome return to The Mumford Theatre with The Scarlet Pimpernel - an ideal show to follow their critically acclaimed production of The Witches Of Eastwick: "The most talked about show of 2007" (Combinations review).
- October 2007
Fresh from the success of their acclaimed production of ‘The Witches of Eastwick’ earlier this summer, the Festival Players are back on stage this autumn with their next presentation: Willy Russell’s ‘Blood Brothers’. Set in Liverpool, ‘Blood Brothers’ is the funny yet tragic tale of a working-class mother who, forced by poverty and desperation, surrenders one of her new-born twins to the childless woman she cleans for. The boys grow up streets apart, unaware that they are brothers but becoming firm friends. As they enter adulthood, one prospers while the other falls on hard times. But ultimately, there is a price to pay for separating the twins…
With its compelling plot and witty but poignant dialogue, ‘Blood Brothers’ is an entertaining and thought-provoking evening’s entertainment for any audience. It is playing at Sawston Youth Centre, Cambridgeshire, at 7.30pm on October 18th-20th. Tickets, priced £7 and £5, are available from Simon Merrington (01223 363386; merrington@onetel.com).
- June 2007
Following last year's magnificent and highly acclaimed production of Jekyll and Hyde, the award winning Festival Players are delighted to present another Cambridge Premiere.
Based on the 1987 film, and fresh from a celbrated West End Production, The Witches of Easwick is a magical mix of light hearted comedy and captivating musical numbers that will keep you spellbound.
- June 2006
Festival Players, winners of the Combinations best musical award for last year’s production of ‘Hello, Dolly!’, return to the Mumford Theatre with the Cambridge Premiere of the phenomenal musical ‘Jekyll and Hyde’.
In late Victorian England, brilliant yet tortured scientist Dr Henry Jekyll pursues his life-long experiments to separate the essence of good from evil. Forced to test his formula on himself, Jekyll unwittingly unleashes his own dark side in the murderous Mr Hyde. As Jekyll struggles to maintain control, the lives of his friends and family become irrevocably entangled in the epic struggle of good versus evil.
With a powerful, engaging score, including unforgettable songs such as ‘This Is The Moment’ and ‘Someone Like You’, ‘Jekyll and Hyde’ has met with worldwide acclaim. Those who know the show will embrace its long-awaited arrival in Cambridge, whilst those who have not yet discovered this amazing musical cannot fail to be captivated by its haunting melodies and evocative tale.
- June 2005
Set in the late 19th century, ‘Hello, Dolly!’ follows the exploits of social butterfly Dolly Levi as she flits between the bustle of New York and small town Yonkers arranging matches between all she encounters: Ambrose Kemper, an impoverished poet, and his beloved Ermengarde; store clerk Cornelius Hackl and dissatisfied millineress Irene Molloy; and Cornelius’ sidekick Barnaby Tucker and irrepressible hat shop assistant Minnie Fay. Meanwhile, Dolly is conspiring to arrange the most unlikely match of all: between herself and the cantankerous Horace Vandergelder.
