- January 2015
What? Ben Pope (stand up) & Lunchtime of Champions (Jamie Fraser and Alex MacKeith’s double thing).
Who? As above. They all used to be in the Footlights but now they live together, just like the friends on ‘Friends'.
Where? ADC Theatre.
When? 11pm, Tuesday 13th January.
Why? Displaying the tender fruits of six months’ work since graduation. Also, any excuse to get out of the house really.
How? Drive up, park. Ask around for any tech required. Go to Bill’s or somewhere cool for a bit (Indigo, still?) and then just do the show. And drive back.
So? Come and hang out. Look at what people muttered and flung at them recently:
“Cleverer than you think” ★★★★ - The Skinny
“Too clever by half? Of course” ★★★★ - Varsity
“The production as a whole was slick” ★★★★★ - The Tab
“Tight show” ★★★★ - CTR
“Smart and artfully ramshackle” ★★★★ - The List
And? That's it pal.
- December 2014
New York City, 1955. Angie and her friends are having a dinner party. Angie and her friends are the wives of seven career-criminals in the underground world of organised crime, but they don’t like to talk about it. When the ‘job’ their loved ones are on goes awry, the emotional fallout starts to fracture their relationships, their sanity, and even Angie’s dining room.
Resplendent with chaos, profanity and Italian food, The Wives Of Others is a brand-new, pitch-black comedy from the writer of And The Horse You Rode In On and The Angel Rails, chronicling an evening for the world’s most inept gangsters, at the world’s most dysfunctional dinner party. Think Goodfellas meets 12 Angry Men; Agatha Christie meets Quentin Tarantino.
- December 2014
- December 2014
Since its inception in Manhattan's Lower East Side over 15 years ago, the 24 Hour Plays have appeared all over the world, pushing theatrical talent to its limit and creating unforgettable performances.
What will happen when Cambridge is asked to create 5 new plays in just 24 hours in front of a panel of judges? The clock is ticking.
- November 2014
Booby is a Sketch Show by Footlights Archie Henderson, Adrian Gray and Oliver Taylor. If you giggled at the title then you're immature, and will love the show.
- November 2014
Emperor Wilf loves clothes. No, he REALLY loves clothes. But why? Maybe it’s because he wants to impress his newly-inherited kingdom. Or perhaps it’s to do with the town newspaper, the Looking Glass, run by the shady reindeer-human Rudolph Murder, who has been spreading snide rumours about the Emperor. Perhaps he just has a passion for fashion. Whatever the reason, the Yuletide Parade is fast approaching, and unless he finds the perfect outfit, something pretty bad is going to happen. Something really bad. We know what it is - we’re just being coy. So thank goodness he’s spotted an advert in the paper for a new, sparkly, confidence-boosting suit that’s bound to be the talk of the town… Come on down to the ADC this Christmas to catch a glimpse of Wilf’s... tribulations.
Featuring a brand-spanking new score, bare jokes, the cream of Cambridge acting talent, and written by 3 members of the Footlights, this year’s CUADC/Footlights Pantomime is seam-ingly flawless - don’t get your knickers in a twist, book your tickets now!
- November 2014
'Who's spoiling life, me, us them or God?'
The residents of Road are at the mercy of their country. A state-of-the-nation drama, presenting the underclass of the North. Fighting to escape the endless circle and inevitability of class and regional oppression, the people of Road are merely surviving.
Prepare to be both uplifted and weighed down. Let Scullery walk you down Road where you will come face to face not only with those who live there, but with your own prejudices, fears and ambitions for a better future.
- November 2014
The Witt Club is made up of stand-up comedians Adrian, Ted, Joshan, Ken, and Yaseen.
Between them, these lovely lads have brought you: spleen, Footlights Presents: Dumpf, The Importance of Being Improvised, Set List, Continuum, Free Footlights 2014, Smile, Ted Hill’s Quip Tease, Three White Guys 2, Improv from the Crypt, Feastival, and a smorgasbord of Footlights and college smoker appearances.
They’ll be talking at you for about an hour then you’ll go home.
Previous praise for performers:
Adrian Gray:
“5-star act” - The Tab,
“had the audience in hysterics” - Varsity
Ted Hill:
“incredibly natural and stuffed full of great material” - The Cambridge Student,
“Ted Hill shone… the room immediately took to him” - Varsity
Joshan Chana:
“top grade student comedian” - Cambridge Theatre Review
Ken Cheng:
“formidable…wry, pragmatic brand of comedy produced floods (and, in my case, actual tears) of laughter” - Varsity
Yaseen Kader:
"thought-provoking, exquisitely written, and doesn’t scrimp on big laughs to achieve this for even a second" - Varsity
- November 2014
From homemade fireworks to dubious ballet, everything that can go wrong does at the Sycamore household. But when their youngest daughter brings her fiancé and his buttoned-up parents over for dinner, that's when the real fireworks start to fly.
Join Cambridge's newest acting talent as they tell the story of the Sycamore household, at times heart-warming, at times eccentric, and at times just plain mad!
- November 2014
'I might almost as well have been a man... I should not have bothered you all so much then'
It is the A Hundred Year War and England have the upper hand, occupying part of France. In Northern France a fifteen year old peasant girl claims to have visions from God. These visions tell her to liberate France from its English domination.
Saint Joan tells the story of Joan of Arc, a girl who says she is the ambassador of God on earth. Refusing to accept life as a woman, Joan lives and fights as a man, asserting herself with a confidence which brings her power over statesmen and royalty as she leads Charles VII to victory.
Joan is fighting with God on her side. The only problem is, so is everyone else.
Through rap music and neon lights, Joan's story is told in a fast-paced interpretation, dealing with religious terrorism in a modern world.
- November 2014
"Did you ever have one of those days? At least I didn't get tattooed again... And I still have my dowry... Maybe things are beginning to pick up for me."
The sexy, sultry, side-splittingly hilarious show that brings you Big Spender, If My Friends Could See Me Now and The Rhythm of Life. From the dark, grungy depths of the trashy Flamenco Ballroom to the effortlessly elegant Pompeii Club, we follow the lovable Charity Valentine in her pursuit for true love in 1960s New York City. Charity is dated by one suave, sophisticated guy after the next and never learns her lesson: not to wear her heart on her sleeve.
A smoking ensemble of dancers perform a sleek and modernized medley of traditional Fosse, jazz and contemporary dance whilst the stunning musical accompaniment reverberates against the priceless script, with the stage, top-to-toe in glamorous, spangling Gatsby-esque high-fashion.
"Tonight. Tonight. It will all happen tonight!"
- November 2014
“Everything we cook must be enhancing either our soul or our sex lives. Which is it for you?”
“Both?”
“Twat.”
Five years after graduation and now helplessly wading through their new 'professional' lives, seven friends are brought back together for a reunion party. As the night wears on and the alcohol flows, the sordid secrets of their shared pasts come to the surface. Roll on the most awkward game of sardines the house has ever seen.
In this sharp, funny piece of new writing, we are left asking whether innocence is really something that can be lost in one night.
Where do you see yourself in five years?
"An astonishing debut. Crisp, sharp comedy writing" - TT Guide
"Soul, sex and passion with a vengeance. Don't miss this cracking drama" - Diesel
- November 2014
CADS present the first hypnotism show to hit the Cambridge theatre scene: The Hypnotist. For one night only, witness the power of The Hypnotist as you lose the ability to remember your own name, or even speak in your own language, but acquire the ability to speak a new one. This ADC One Night Stand promises to blow away sceptics and believers alike.
- November 2014
‘Go on! How’s it gonna be? “We gonna get a little place . . .”’
George and Lennie have a dream. It is a dream of freedom. After finding work on a ranch in California's Salinas Valley, that dream seems almost within reach for these two migrant farmhands. But, on a suffocating summer evening, that dream falls quickly and traumatically from their grasp.
John Steinbeck’s modern classic is brought to the stage in an adaptation that expresses the immense value of hope and trust. This visually striking production promises a timeless tale of love, loyalty and determination, seething above a brooding score. This is a tale of hope and human resolve at their most strained.
- October 2014
'The Cenci' tells the story of the infamous Cenci family; with a father who revels in his sons' death and plots to rape his daughter, the family implodes on itself. This is a play that wrestles with the beautiful and the vile, nature and artifice, body and mind, and whether there is such a thing as right and wrong.
Tragedy at its most glorious, unperformed in Shelley's lifetime and rarely performed since, this is an undervalued play that brings together the best of Romanticism and the Renaissance tragedy.
- October–November 2014
There were hundreds of nominations, millennia of misogyny and six weeks of gruelling challenges. But there can only be one Female Personality of the Year.
Join the nation's favourite presenter as she takes to the couch with our four finalists to discuss ambition and achievement, and why they deserve the prestigious Female Personality of the Year award.
Scaling cliff faces on screen, and smashing glass ceilings off screen, each of our inspirational finalists represents not only themselves, but also the millions of extraordinary women who make a difference every day.
Aspiration. Perspiration. Women.
Welcome to the studio.
- October–November 2014
"It's only history if you steal something really large - like a country, then it's history". In 1950's west-central Johannesburg, artists, activists and illegal bars make up the freehold township of Sophiatown, the beating heart of culture in apartheid South Africa. Home to Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu, Lewis Nkosi and Mariam Makeba, when the Government decides to racially and geographically segregate the population, Sophiatown finds its very existence threatened. Enter the politically charged household of local shebeen owner Mamariti; home to Jewish tenant Ruth Golden, political journalist Jakes, local gangster Mingus, his truanting teenage-sister Lulu, socialite girlfriend Princess, shoe-loving henchman Charlie and local politician-cum-mystic Fafhee and you have an explosive cast of diverse characters battling for recognition amongst class warfare, racism and political rebellion. An evocative piece of political-musical theatre, Sophiatown is a history lesson that won't be easily forgotten.
- October 2014
Luke and Josh are two Footlights who have been friends for over 10 years. Now they have an hour of comedy together!
- October 2014
"Our city drowns in a tidal wave of disease and death that shows no mercy..."
Thebes is cursed.
In his luxurious palace, King Oedipus fights against fate to determine the reason for this punishment by the gods. However, he uncovers dark, disturbing truths unlike anything he could have imagined. Years later, his daughter Antigone battles for justice against her autocratic Uncle Creon, becoming a revolutionary in a city that has descended into poverty and chaos.
The terrible fate of Oedipus, Antigone and their family unfolds in an evocative new production based on Sophocles' masterpiece. ‘Oedipus and Antigone’ is an unforgettable epic tragedy which follows a proud father and brave daughter battling the gods for survival. This ancient story echoes down the centuries and asks us to consider the role destiny plays in all our lives.
- October 2014
Thalposis. Definition: Sensation of warmth. Sample Sentence: “After feeling another wave of thalposis, Tommy realized he was in the kiddie pool.”
Follow six nerdy American school kids as they compete in the ultimate quest: The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. They each have their own battles to contend with, from pushy parents, to spiritual encounters, extreme nut allergies and unexpected manifestations of puberty. Through all of this and more, our contestants navigate the tournament’s pressures, and learn that there’s more to life than what can be found in the dictionary. Featuring off-Broadway hit songs such as “I Speak Six Languages”, “My Friend the Dictionary” and “My Unfortunate Erection”, this is Tony Award – winning, partially improvised musical comedy is not to be missed.
- October 2014
Footlights bring you the funniest songs, sketches, monologues and standup in an hour of non-stop, back-to-back fun-filled hilarity.
The material is always original and always varied. It can be soft and silly; rude and spikey; wordy and nerdy or a little surreal - whatever the style, it's always 'uproariously funny' (Varsity).
- October 2014
The backyard of a suburban home, Connecticut, August 1948. Set over 24 hours, the play is a claustrophobic portrayal of the conflict between a man’s duties to his immediate family and to his wider national family. Tensions rise and fall as the family simultaneously attempts to come to terms with the past and to fashion a future for itself though it feels impossible.
- September 2014
For its 15th year, CAST will once again be touring the USA in September with a company of Cambridge's finest actors, directors, designers and crew.
Hero and Claudio are falling in love, but aren’t a strong enough pairing to outplay the scheming Don John. Meanwhile, old sparring partners Beatrice and Benedick revel in their war of words, but neither wants to get married and certainly not to each other. As they take up opposing corners, matching each other line for line, their friends team up to plot a way to bring them together.
For this cast of players, it’s a game of five acts.
Filled with live music, a line up of vibrant characters and sparkling dialogue, this is Shakespeare’s comedic skill at its absolute best. As devious strategies are prepared, sides drawn and redrawn, and untruth after untruth exposed, the outcome of each romantic match is just too close to call at least until the final hand has been shown.
- June 2014
BRAND NEW COMEDY WRITING. Once-famed super villain Lord Asgoroth and his trusty minion, Minion, awake from their centuries-long slumber, ready to wreak havoc on medieval England. Only, they’ve overslept by 900 years, and have instead awoken in the present day. Can our demonic heroes overcome Snapchat, Tinder, and CRB checks to take on the 21st century, and fulfil their destinies? Probably not. But they’re going to give it a ruddy good try. Inconceivable is a comedy romp through modern life as we know it, as our two pre-historic demons find themselves unexpectedly going head-to-head with new technologies and social phenomena to try and conquer a cynical, self-absorbed Britain, one selfie at a time.
- June 2014
Oliver Taylor is a Lively Orator. As a member of the Cambridge Footlights he has spent much of his supposedly life-saving medical degree shouting at people all over the city and delighting in the way that they look both entertained and frightened. He is loud, energetic, and undeservingly self-confident. However, as an evening of possessed poetry books, machines that fling Kit-Kats into the audience, skeletons in the closet (literally), jokes that have come to life (literally) and disgruntled producers trying to sabotage the show unfolds, it will become apparent there is something not quite right about this performance. Behind Oliver’s already pretty disturbing fascade there is a dark secret, and it’s no joke. Though it is funny.
- June 2014
Musical comedy troubadours I am, I am are back, with fun and joy and songs.
After their debut success in 2012 they've been storming the circuits, gracing the BBC stages and successful finalists at the 2013 Musical Comedy Awards. With a brand new hour of tunes and tomfoolery, these graduates from the Cambridge Footlights school of comedy are seriously not to be missed.
Previous praise for the production:'If you are any kind of remotely ok person currently living in the world, go see this show.' ***** - The Tab.
- June 2014
- 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'.
- May 2014
Cirque du Bombay will transport us to the streets of Spain, a movie set, a vibrant art gallery where paintings come to life, and experience the tremors of a macabre carnivalesque earthquake, as evil triumphs over good. The show will combine Indian Classical dance forms, Ballet, Flamenco, Contemporary, Hip Hop and Bollywood to deliver a night of surprise, intrigue and delight! Come and audition whether you have some experience or none! We are looking for all and any levels of dance, so get involved!
- May 2014
"What's it going to be then, eh?"
Alex and his vicious teenage gang revel in horrific violence, mugging and gang rape. Alex also revels in the music of Beethoven. The gang communicates in a language which is as complicated as their actions. When a drug-fuelled night of fun ends in murder, Alex is finally busted and banged up. He is given a choice - be brainwashed into good citizenship and set free, or face a lifetime inside.
Anthony Burgess's 1987 play with music, based on his own 1962 novella of the same name, promises to be an excitingly provocative production, presented by Cambridge Shortlegs with the Dryden Society
- May 2014
- May 2014
A new hour of stand-up from the people who between them brought you Dumpf, Dressing Down, Three White Guys, Three White Guys 2, two Footlights Spring Revues, the 2013 Footlights Pantomime, Gagamemnon, Four Comedic Porpoises, Um, Puns and Roses, Cheese (And Other Things That There Are), and countless college and Footlights smokers.
BEN POPE: “Lines so beautifully crafted they bordered on poetry. Single, you say, Ben? Call me.” – The Tab “Left the audience gasping for breath” - Varsity “Deserves a medal for sheer hilarity” - TCS
ARCHIE HENDERSON: “Stole the show… had me giggling from the first word” – TCS "Brilliant” – The Tab “I can safely say that Archie Henderson has a gift” - Varsity
MILO EDWARDS: “Fantastic… had me in hysterics” – TCS “A total crowd-pleaser” – The Tab “Well-judged and intelligent” – Varsity
CHARLIE PALMER: “A great act, endearing as well as funny” – TCS “Charlie Palmer will go far” – The Tab “The highlight of the evening” - Varsity
- May 2014
London 1913. The Suffragette Movement is at its height. Emily Davidson has just fallen in front of a horse. Thousands of women of all classes serve time in Holloway prison in their fight to gain the vote. Prime Minister, Herbert Asquith discusses the issues in parliament. Lady Celia Cain feels trapped by the policies of the day and a frustrating marriage. In prison she meets a young seamstress, Eve Douglas, with whom she begins an affair. Passion and politics coalesce as they pursue an erotic and intense affair. Eve is subjected to force-feeding, and slowly their relationship and the sanity of their minds fall apart as Celia uses her position of social privilege to leave prison. Finally, Eve breaks down in prison and Celia leaves her husband, William. This is a play where personal lives intermingle with politics and women struggle to get their voices heard in a patriarchal government.
The independent called it “a great drama about women, by a woman” and Michael Billington of the Guardian gave it 4 stars and declared that “Lenkiewicz’s real concern is to show how female militancy transcended class and sexual convention.”
Her Naked Skin was the first play written by a woman to be performed on the Olivier stage at the National Theatre in 2008.
- May 2014
''It’s funny the things you’ll do when you’re in love. Things that you thought were bad or cruel or unchristian. Well they all become right, just, in the face of love. Don’t they Frank?''
A modern melodrama in a graveyard at night. Frank and Charlie are burying a body. When the night is through they can collect their money and all will be well. As the evening spirals out of control the pair find themselves on a landfill site with a corpse to get rid of.
If there is morality, is it worth more than money?
''A bold and compelling story.'' - Tom Basden
Footlights present the winner of this year's Harry Porter Prize (set up in 2003 in honour of the late Dr Harry Porter, Footlights' long-term Senior Archivist) for a one-hour comic play.
- May 2014
- May 2014
