- May 2012
Recent Cambridge graduates Frimston and Rowett have been through a lot together. They've fought together, loved together, lost together. Now they're lightening up a bit and doing an hour of comedy together. Join them as they return to their old stamping grounds at the ADC with an evening of sketch comedy the like of which no man has seen and lived.
**** "A whirl of tight sketches...brilliant." - Three Weeks
"Quite frankly hilarious...a sense of comic timing so sharp that the audience was left not just laughing but bleeding profusely" - The Cambridge Student
http://www.frimstonandrowett.com
- May 2012
‘We are all born mad. Some remain so.’
Audiences have been waiting for Godot for decades. But they never get bored of doings so. Comic, tragic, sophisticated, bawdy, cheerful and terrifying by turn, this is a play in which nothing and everything happens. But mostly nothing…
Vladimir. Estragon. An unforgiving wasteland. And a tree. Time passes. Others come and go. But nothing really seems to change. How near is death? How unreachable is repentance? How long have they been waiting for Godot? How long will they wait?
Relishing the play’s joyousness and desperation, this production brings freshness to this modernist masterpiece. It presents the audience with a deteriorating, but youthful Vladimir and Estragon, a failed pair of entertainers, whose comic clumsiness as young adults makes their gradual wilting all the more tragic.
Come and be amused and bemused by the deteriorating youth in this production of Beckett’s timeless classic.
- May 2012
Rambling to us over the finger-foods at her Father’s funeral party, Agnes inadvertently unfolds a tale of hilarity, disappointment, and a woman who can’t give anything but love. The last Cambridge run of Anything But won popular and critical acclaim and is likely to do so a second time this May.
Written by footlights alumni Mark Fiddaman (Footlights president 2011) and Lucien Young (Armageddapocalypse writer/performer), directed by Ben Ashenden (writer/performer in The Pin) and starring Abi Tedder (Footlights President 2010), this is a raucous, poignant comedy about the messiness of living.
As the Footlights’ Harry Porter prize winner last year, the production has been developed and recently sold-out some early London previews that have been held. This brand new version is coming to the ADC before heading up to the Fringe.
Praise for original script/run:
'A sparkling hour of new-writing. Sumptuously funny. Big-hearted. Ideal' Tim Key (Edinburgh Comedy Award Winner 2009, Bafta nominated, seen on BBC2 and Radio 4)
'An hour of total hilarity' www.localsecrets.com
'effortless perfection' ***** Varsity
Nominated for Best Comedy - Cambridge Tab Theatre Awards 2011
**** ‘A brilliant production from a lot of very funny people’ The Cambridge Tab
- May 2012
- May 2012
'We all have a choice comrade'. Colonel Kotov, decorated hero of the Russian Revolution, is spending an idyllic summer in the country with his beloved young wife and family. But on one glorious sunny morning in 1936, his wife's former lover returns from a long and unexplained absence. Amidst a tangle of sexual jealousy, retribution and remorseless political backstabbing, Kotov feels the full, horrifying reach of Stalin's rule.
- May 2012
NON-SMOKER is a four-night-stand of stand-up comedy from three of Cambridge’s finest and favourite bipedal microphone-wielding funnymen. Join Footlights Ali Lewis and Ahir Shah for an hour of jokes compered by Footlights Vice-President Pierre Novellie, in a show described by some as being “comedy in a theatre.”
Featuring one-liners, puns, whimsy, surrealism, satire and stories, the NON-SMOKER promises something to tickle anyone’s comedic tastebuds and provide that much-needed Easter Term belly-laugh.
Previous praise for the stand-ups in NON-SMOKER:
Ali Lewis: “Excellent.” – Varsity
Pierre Novellie: “Jaw-achingly hilarious.” – The Tab
Ahir Shah: “Not to miss…intense and absurd comedy.” – Cambridge Theatre Review
- May 2012
- May 2012
Merrily We Roll Along is a tragedy about friendship. Beginning in 1976, it moves backwards in time, tracing the lives of three friends – a composer, a lyricist and a novelist – via snapshots of the events made them who they are. For each fork in the road we see the consequences before the choice, the fruit before the tree. Through some of Sondheim’s most poignant and witty songs, we see how idealism and naiveté can give way to cynicism and isolation, how old friends can fade, and how growing up isn’t necessarily such a wise thing to do.
- May 2012
“Try to look unhappy. We’re going to a burial, remember?”
A brother and a sister. A cart and a coffin. A dead man in a box. But is there a clear road to the graveside? There’ll be passage to pay and bridges to cross, the war is barely over and there are men in the woods who are still intent on fighting it...
Funny, tense and thought-provoking, this poignant new play by Harry Baker asks where love and loyalty ends, and pride begins. On at the ADC for a short run only, make sure you see the best of Cambridge’s new writing for 2012.
It’s a clear road, but it goes through dark places.
**** TCS "Its script and its execution were equally absorbing and exquisitely balanced between comedy and heartbreak...thoughtful and poignant... refreshing and enjoyable."
**** Varsity "The fact that A Clear Road takes a coffin on wheels as its inspiration goes some way in describing the bravery and originality of this production.... Magnetically atmospheric."
- May 2012
For one night only, Selwyn Jazz will be performing an auditory feast for your toe-tapping delectation. Be prepared for tenacious trumpets and saccharine-sweet saxophones in this mélange of old swing favourites and funky contemporary charts.
Fresh from their adoring audiences at the Edinburgh Fringe, and a full house at their previous ADC One Night Stand, Selwyn Jazz are a 20-piece big band comprised of some of the finest jazz musicians in Cambridge. Not to be missed!
- May 2012
King Richard II’s uncle, the Duke of Gloucester, lies murdered. Unable to arbitrate between his cousin, Bolingbroke, and the Duke of Norfolk, Thomas Mowbray – who each accuse the other of responsibility for the crime – King Richard resorts to exiling both. After Bolingbroke's father, John of Gaunt dies, Richard then seizes his exiled relation's rightful inheritance in order to finance a lascivious court and mismanaged foreign wars.
Discontent mounts, soon breaking into open rebellion
"Landlord of England art thou and not king"
Bolingbroke will claim his due. But what will be left for Richard if Bolingbroke takes the crown too?
"I wasted time, and now doth time waste me"
Drawing inspiration from the famous revival of the play at the Globe Theatre shortly before the Essex Rebellion in 1601, CUADC are proud to present Richard II – a mesmerising and enthralling beginning to Shakespeare’s History plays.
- March 2012
Odds and Ends - Cambridge Footlights Harry Porter Prize Winner 2012 by Joey Batey
'I've come to the arduous, long and drawn-out conclusion that death...well death's just a bit rubbish'.
A prisoner of war camp. An hour left to live. What would you do?
From the bloke who brought you (exactly one sixth of) Good Clean Men (Corpus Playrooms) and To Have and To hold (Edinburgh Fringe), comes Odds and Ends, this years Harry Porter prize winning comedy.
- March 2012
CUADC presents the 2012 Lent term two week musical: Footloose.
City boy Ren is forced to move from Chicago to the small southern town of Bomont, where he experiences a considerable culture shock.
A few years before, a tragic accident killed five teenagers causing local councilmen and the beloved Reverend Shaw Moore to place a ban on dancing and rock music. With his rebellious spirit and love for dance Ren challenges the status quo, attracting the attention of the minister’s troubled but beautiful daughter Ariel.
Will Ren succeed in bringing some life back to this repressed town?
With songs such as the title-track, “Holding Out for a Hero” and “Let’s Hear it for the Boy”, this show guarantees to have you dancing in the aisles and kicking off your Sunday shoes.
- March 2012
Jess has just left her fiancé to move in with Cal. He’s lazy, idealistic and has a temper, but they love each other. Before they can settle down, however, everything they care about is threatened by a dark secret, and their odd menagerie of friends can provide little comfort. As Jess and Cal try to dissect each other’s motives, CODA twists and turns with dark humour and a revelatory force that will make you question the idea of trust.
This piece of new writing, from the OTR National Radio Drama Competition winner, explores love, loss and the limits to how far we can know anyone.
- March 2012
A family gathering. A time for celebration. A time to mourn those recently bereaved. A time for secrets and songs and conga lines. The time for Christian to present his father with a choice: two envelopes, two speeches, and one harsh truth that will shatter proceedings.
‘Festen’, adapted by David Eldridge from the Thomas Vinterberg film, is a challenging and harrowing story of a family no longer able to lie to each other or themselves.
- February–March 2012
“Can’t act! Can’t act! Listen to the woman! You’re blonde, are you not? You have no education, have you? Can’t act! You underrate yourself, my dear!”
Pierrot and Columbine have been performing their scene for a long time. Pierrot is the sad clown, pining for the love of the clever serving wench Columbine. They sit at a long table decked out with a splendid banquet of plastic food and deliver their lines. Tonight, though, their little comic scene is interrupted. They are kicked off the stage, replaced by a pastoral scene starring two shepherds who can’t quite remember their lines. When the script moves towards an unpleasant climax, however, they can’t seem to stop acting it out.
Edna St. Vincent Millay, a bisexual, chain-smoking lyric poet, was the first female poet ever to win a Pulitzer Prize. First staged just after the end of the First World War, this unusual play, never before performed in Cambridge, conceals a searing appraisal of the human condition. It is “amusing, brutal, and brief.”
- February–March 2012
“Wh – wh- where am I? A hospital? Northwestfield Hospital Ward B Room 26? Wh - why?” Brian’s had a terrible accident, and an even more terrible operation. He’s been left with a mind that’s not quite his own... genetic tissue. Since dying is boring, and you’ve seen your own life before, wouldn’t it be better if other people’s lives flashed before your eyes? Yes. It would be hilarious.
The Footlights’ Spring Revue is one of the most funded and preemptively acclaimed shows of the year! ‘Donors’ is a sketch show that promises to flood your brain with laughter-induced endorphins.
- February 2012
As the tide comes in, Antonius Block is playing chess with Death.
The Knight and his Squire Jons have returned from the Crusades to find their homeland ravished by plague, poverty and persecution. As they continue homewards, they meet the naive and talented performers, Jof and Mia, a deaf girl, and a young witch, shaved and tied up, ready for burning.
As the little company venture into the forest for the final leg of their journey, they stop to sleep, forgetting Death himself lingers in the shadows, breathing and waiting...
- February 2012
- February 2012
The Priory by Michael Wynne
Following her split from her boyfriend, Kate decides to invite a group of her closest friends to a renovated and supposedly haunted priory, for a New Year's Eve party. However, as the drinks and drugs start to flow, personal revelations begin to emerge leading to near tragedy and a fraught morning after...
- February 2012
The Outside Joke presents G.G.T.H, a brand new, multimedia sketch comedy from the creators of The Mexican Standoff (Newnham Old Labs, Lent 2011, ****The Tab). Combining experience from Now, Now, The Mexican Standoff, Nonsense and the Footlights Pantomime, large joke-merchant Pierre Novellie, tiny pun magnate Ali Lewis, and alabaster raconteur Jonny Lennard team up with director Phil Wang to bring you a mysteriously-titled hour of dark, sexy comedy.
- February 2012
"It's like watching an accident on the highway - you can't look at it and you can't look away".
Michael is holding a party for Harold. Before the end of the night, the friendships and relationships of nine friends/lovers are tested to their extreme. With the shock and intensity of any Albee or Tennessee Williams play, Mart Crowley tells the story of a group of friends dealing (or not) with their demons. Boys in the Band portrays people in turmoil with startling naturalism and hilarity deftly juxtaposed with tragedy making both extremes the stronger.
- February 2012
Bereavement is a song and dance. Watch people singing and dancing about it.
In this bitter-sweet new musical, the big secret about bereavement is revealed: no-one really knows what they should be doing. Curtain up and spotlight on six characters as they blunder through bereavement’s funny little cabaret, trying to make sense of grief and the unexpected extras it throws up. But once you’ve survived the barrage of tasteless funerals; needless guilt; ‘helpful’ advice and useless clichés, is anyone any the wiser about what it really means to lose someone?
Following the success of I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change; Jet Set Go! and Jerry Springer the Opera, CUMTS is proud to present its first new-writing musical.
Praise for composer Jeff Carpenter: "Beautiful and enchanting" - Varsity (The Red Shoes) "Fantastic songs" - TCS (Treasure Island) "A gem of a production" - The Tab (Babushka) "Sensational music" - The Public Reviews, Edinburgh Fringe (Babushka)
Praise for writer Máirín O'Hagan: * "Really very excellent indeed" - The Tab (The Orphanarium of Erthing Worthing) "It's so funny that you'll laugh yourself into damnation" - Varsity (Act Casual)
- February 2012
A group of characters are on a pilgrimage to Canterbury Cathedral. Whilst travelling they take it in turns to tell stories with the incentive of a free meal for the best tale. Some stories are somber, some comedic, and others just hilariously terrible! Added to this element are the tensions between the narrators in the group which, on occasion, result in exciting conflicts.
The Canterbury Tales are varied and fascinating, containing stories that range from morality and tragedy to farce. They will be presented in different forms from naturalistic to puppetry, physical theatre, musical theatre and mask work. We are looking for a cast that can multirole – playing everything from bawdy characters to traditional heroes/heroines and are focused and committed to producing an exciting and unusual show.
- February 2012
- January–February 2012
“It isn’t easy, starting a war, but nothing worthwhile is easy. And once you’re in, you’re hooked like a gambler, you can’t afford to walk away from the crapshoot once you’re deep into it”.
Mother Courage, formidable, vibrant, battleaxe of a woman, makes her living following armies up and down the country, peddling salvaged goods amidst a war torn wasteland. With her she brings her two sons and dumb daughter, dragging behind them their battered cart, both home and business in times of conveniently profit surging violence. Through them we meet a disarming world of brutality and charm, temperamental soldiers, braggart cooks and cowardly chaplains, as Courage continues in her unyielding venture, buying, selling, surviving; however great the cost. Matching the thrilling quality of its characters is a production of titanic proportions, bringing to you this Lent one of the most astonishing stage creations of the 20th century, a story that is utterly beautiful and utterly devastating.
“It’s too long since they had a war here . . . where’s their sense of morality to come from?
Don’t tell me peace has broken out again”
- January 2012
Lowell Belfield, Jason Forbes, George Potts, and Ryan O'Sullivan present PICK ME UP, a brand new sketch show directed by Ahir Shah. Through a combination of atmospheric setting, strong characterisation and jokes, these Smoker regulars will have you laughing and also in a theatre.
Featuring writers and performers from 'Broody', 'Now, Now', the Footlights Spring Revue and the ADC/Footlights Pantomime, PICK ME UP promises to change your entire life for an hour.
Recent praise for the writers/performers…
'A scarily instinctive knowledge of what makes audiences tick.' – Varsity
'One of the best things to happen to Cambridge comedy for some time.' - The Tab
- January 2012
SWAGGER is the annual dance show of the CUCDW dance society of Cambridge University, organised by current students. We are looking for a technical director, stage manager, lighting and sound managers, set designers and possibly stage-hands for the show which will take place between 24th-28th January 2012. The show includes dance performances from contemporary, hip-hop, ballet, rock'n'roll, Classical Indian, Belly-dance and many more. We need potential applications for these places to contact us as soon as possible.
- January 2012
The Cambridge University Show Choir gives a sneak peek into its 2012 season, ranging from heartfelt movie favourites to contemporary pop and thrilling mash-ups to soulful solos. A rare chance to see this popular group’s talented members perform acoustically. Ease your way back into term with this relaxed evening of musical entertainment.
- January 2012
“King Lear” is one of greatest works in Western literature, yet the challenges involved in performing Shakespeare’s tragic masterpiece mean that it is rarely performed in student theatre. Set in modern day England, ETG’s “King Lear” will thrive on verbal and visual accessibility. Regal lavishness and the proud pomp of archetypal Englishness will spiral into a nightmare as Lear casts goodness and compassion into the wilderness and malice takes up the reins of power. The modern world of England will slowly collapse into a timeless Gothicism; everything and everyone being stripped of colour and distorted, leaving behind a terrifying skeleton of all things English.
With a reputation for pushing the boundaries of innovation and creating truly imaginative and utterly polished productions of great Shakespeare tales, this winter’s ETG tour of Europe looks set to be one of the most ambitious ever.
- November–December 2011
It’s 1979, and Ed and Isabel are on a blind date.
They really like each other - and each other's parents. As Ed and Isabel's relationship grows, so does their parents' enthusiasm. But tension litters their course: Isabel's dad won't speak to Ed, Ed's mum won't eat pork and no one will shut up. As these characters meet, eat, misinterpret and overreact, will the older generation be a catalyst or a catastrophe? This comedy about the sheepish beginnings of love, and the zealous involvement of parents,makes you wonder why couples stay together. Is it for each other, or is it for the other's family? For anyone who has practically dated their other half's mum or dad, 'Highlight' is two riotous acts of catharsis.
- November 2011
Could you create a play out of nothing in 24hrs? Come see the best theatrical talent in Cambridge do just that. Five directors, writers, producers, creatives & techies along with twenty five actors will form five groups and put on five new plays. This is the Cambridge version of the concept made famous by the Old Vic, which includes among their previous participants: Jim Broadbent, Joseph Fiennes, Josh Hartnett, Rosamund Pike, Kevin Spacey & Catherine Tate. No one knows what will emerge on stage in the 25th hour, but there can only be one overall winner, as chosen by the intimidating judging panel, and you the audience. What will the groups come up with? No one knows.
- November 2011
What would you do if you found a mysterious treasure map? Well that’s irrelevant. Treasure Island is the story of what young Jim Hawkins did. And what he did is very much the meat of this year’s ADC/Footlights Pantomime.
When a disgusting old sea captain leaves Jim a crusty old treasure map along with a whole heap of trouble, Jim sets off to unearth the legendary booty. Along with his bumbling friends and a love interest of sort, Jim sets sail.
But all is not well. The charming ship’s cook - a certain Long John Silver - is not all he seems, and there are whispers of mutiny.
Will Jim save the day? Only one way to find out! Join him as he swipes more swag and buckles more swash than any literary character to date (but not so much that it becomes repetitive).
The ADC/Footlights Pantomime is one of Cambridge’s theatrical highlights of the year, and brings together the finest comedians, actors and musicians in the University. Treasure ahoy!
- November 2011
'You should probably leave – it’ll be a savagely passionate affair, you’d hate it.'
Tenderly chained to her lover’s bed, beautifully decorated with chocolate sauce, Felicity has been abandoned. But that’s okay, because she won’t be short of company for long.
Fierce is the new comedy written and performed by Kat Griffiths.
- November 2011
From the twisted branches of the forest emerge some equally twisted storytellers. Taking charge of their cauldron of fairytales, they will conjure an unforgettable brew of gothic folklore and children’s nightmare. First there are the rogues: the black-hearted stepmother, the decaying beggar, and the charming old woman who will burn to death in her oven. There is a fantastical menagerie, teeming with flesh-mongering doves, the golden goose, and an amiable donkey, whose very bowel movements betoken good fortune. Then there are mysteries to be solved. Why are the locals sticking to each other and prancing through the hills? What use is a house fortified with gingerbread? And why does the golden slipper overflow with blood...?
Mingling the imagination of the Brothers Grimm with the dark humour of Carol Ann Duffy, this is one journey into the woods you certainly won’t forget
- November 2011
Defying the temptations of 17th-century France, the wealthy Orgon has devoted himself to his servant. That servant is a seemingly pious and moral man. But in reality, he is Tartuffe: trickster, swindler, master criminal and supreme disciple of Machiavelli. Slithering like a serpent, Tartuffe winds his way ever further into the aristocratic household. He leaves behind him an unparalleled trail of confusion and corruption: controlling master, seducing mistress, turning family member against family member – and even whipping the royal family into a frenzy.
In this lively new take on Moliere’s masterpiece, expect a multi-tiered wedding cake of comic abundance. It’s an enigma. It’s a romp. It’s Upstairs, Downstairs for the multiple King Louis generation. It’s the wildest house party known to man – and the invitation is entirely yours.
