- February 2018
'Mark My Words' is a showcase of new writing from Cambridge's finest female, non-binary and trans male dramatists to celebrate the work of those disadvantaged by the gender paradigm. Each piece will be brought to the stage by a troupe of actors, and will receive feedback both from professional writers and the audience on the night.
Watch this space, because we're about to own it.
- March 2016
Join us on idyllic Burgh island for an evening of intrigue and death. A Captain with a shady past, a Butler with a bottle of truth serum, a Novelist with an obsession for mysteries, a Baker with a grudge, a gap-year student with an ipod, and a sweet couple with a picnic. Who's the murderer? Who's the victim? And who's been eating my cupcakes?! Find out in AND THEN THERE WERE SOME. Agatha Christie this is not.
And Then There Were Some is CULES's Lent Term Production. It is an original murder mystery play loosely based on the famous book (and TV series) of not the same name.
- March 2016
Looking for yet more academic absurdity?
Dislike Socrates?
Need a way to get out of ever-increasing debt?
Enter the Thinkstitute.
One of the oldest comedies still currently performed, Aristophanes' 'The Clouds' is an irreverent and surprisingly relevant commentary on the dubious powers of logic and reason.
- February 2015
Dreaming of Leaves is a piece of new student writing, a dystopian vision which combines music, movement, and lyricism to create a world set in an indefinite future. A strange family rattle around a derelict church at the top of a hill, whilst the rest of earth seems to be submerged under water. All is somewhat peaceful, until nature makes a sudden appearance, an appearance that could unsettle the fabric of their fragile existences. But will it last?
- May 2014
Ever fancied donning a pair of knickerbockers, duelling your way across the stage à la ‘Romeo and Juliet’, or sending up the middle-class entirely surrounded by multicoloured feathers? If so, ‘LE BOURGEOIS GENTILHOMME’ (1670) by MOLIERE may be for you.
La Compagnie Ephèse is searching for French-speakers (non-native perfectly fine!) to act in their upcoming performance, held 8th-9th May, in Week 3 of Easter Term. No previous acting experience necessary, just enthusiasm. Funding and performance space has been secured and we are anticipating a witty and polished show. ------------------------------------------------
Auditions: Monday 10th February, 4-6pm. Mong Hall, Sidney Sussex College.
Any questions, contact Ruby Zajac (rzrz2) or Helena Kernan (hrk28). Extracts can be sent in advance, but a choice will be available on the day.
- May 2014
- March 2014
The Stage Manager never gets any credit, despite literally MANAGING THE ENTIRE STAGE.
Now one Stage Manager has had the courage to speak up.
Her name is Sidney Belony.
- February 2014
'We stand and serve, we grin and smile'
Kick off Lent term in style with a visit to Shakers, our very own cocktail bar in the grounds of Newnham.
With an all-female cast who play both the waitresses and clientele of the bar, John Godber's Shakers: Re-stirred affords its audience a witty and sensitive look into the lives of those who live to serve.
- December 2013
We are pleased to announce that our two shows this term will be: PANTO: The Prince and the Pauper (by Jill Dye): There's a pauper. And a prince. And it's a panto. With that much alliteration how can it not be fun? PLAY: Unidentified Flying Christmas (by Jesse Daley): Aliens invade at Christmas and cause mayhem. What more could you want?
- October 2013
‘I have had a dream; past the wit of man to say what dream it was’. A string quartet is playing as the audience are led into The House by a bustling team of maidservants and butlers. Here the Duke and Duchess are busily preparing for their wedding, whilst young lovers plan to steal away towards The Woods. They don’t have to walk far. The Woods is a 1920s club of fairy girls in flapper dresses and impish men in trilbies, a sleaze den of cigar smoke and blaring saxophones, presided over by Oberon and his mistress Titania. This is not just a show. It is an experience.
A Midsummer Night's Dream is a much-loved classic; but it has never been performed like this before. Set in the decadent 20s, the audience will be immersed in the action, given 'Love in Idleness' cocktails, and led around the grounds of Newnham College following a team of wandering Mechanicals and arguing lovers as they enter 'The Woods', our very own 20s jazz den, for the first time.
- January–February 2013
‘Why was I born if it wasn’t forever?’
King Berenger is dying, not that he’d like to admit it. And he’s not the only one: his shrunken empire is neglected, his subjects are decrepit, and now the palace appears to be falling down. Even the sun has given up on him, but the King has other worries. Where does everybody keep disappearing to? Why is it so dark in here? And why does he feel like the room is getting smaller? The countdown has started, but when the time is up the play won’t be the only thing ending. It’s starting to look like a really bad day…
Enter the kingdom nestled in Newnham's gardens and witness a reign of centuries coming to an end in Ionesco’s triumph of absurdist black comedy. This is the last evening in the entire universe - won’t you spend it with us?
- November 2012
Or: The Mistakes of a Night. In this hectic almost-farce, loved by audiences since 1773, “she” is a posh girl. Marlow’s the man she has her eye on. The problem? Marlow can’t talk to posh girls. But if he believes her house is an inn and if she pretends to be a barmaid and if their two friends can elope without the overbearing Mrs Hardcastle finding out – can it all end happily ever after? Surely nothing can go wrong...
Pay on the door or e-mail Shelby Whyatt at sjw234@cam.ac.uk to reserve tickets to pick up on the night.
- February 2012
A father and daughter trapped on an enchanted isle; a helpful spirit, an enslaved monster. You know the people, but what about the place? Is anything trustworthy in a world where disembodied spirits sing songs of grief, and storms swirl up out of nowhere?
In a production featuring original music and choreography, and bursting with colour, The Newnham Anonymous Players welcome you to the island, a place where past truths cannot remain secret and nothing is quite what it seems.
Prospero has been waiting years for his revenge, and now it's on its way...
- November 2011
‘Ten little soldier boys
Went out to dine
One choked his little self
And then there were Nine.’
The year is 1939 and ten strangers have gathered in the living-room of the only house on Soldier Island. Shortly after their arrival, it becomes clear that things are not quite as they supposed; has anyone actually met their mysterious hosts? A storm rages outside, preventing contact with the mainland just as the guests begin to be murdered, one by one, according to a macabre nursery rhyme. Will any of the ten leave the island alive?
Performed in the isolated Newnham Old Labs, this intimate production will transport the audience to the island where they will experience the confusion, realisation, guilt and terror of the guests of this unknown madman.
- March 2011
It is 1823 and the genius Mozart has been dead for thirty years, but as Salieri rakes over the jealousy of his rival the court of eighteenth century Vienna floods back into life. The Emperor Joseph and his philistine officials. The raucous prodigy with his revolutionary music, and his disrespect for all things traditional and mediocre. And amongst all this, Salieri. The only man who recognises Mozart’s genius, and the man most tortured by it.
Clare Actors presents an exciting new production of this modern classic. In parts murder mystery, biting satire and theatrical spectacle - Shaffer’s tragic masterpiece asks us finally, not what it takes to be a genius, but what it means to be a man.
- March 2011
‘I was a good man, as the world calls good. What use was it to me? Goodness could not make me a good composer. Was Mozart good? Goodness is nothing in the furnace of art.’ Tonight the aging composer Salieri will take his life. Tonight intrigue, murder and the selling of souls will come to light, as Salieri implores his last audience to bear witness to his crimes. It is 1823 and the genius Mozart has been dead for thirty years, but as Salieri rakes over the jealousy of his rival the court of eighteenth century Vienna floods back into life. The Emperor Joseph and his philistine officials. The raucous prodigy with his revolutionary music, and his disrespect for all things traditional and mediocre. And amongst all this, Salieri. The only man who recognises Mozart’s genius, and the man most tortured by it.
Clare Actors presents an exciting new production of this modern classic. In parts murder mystery, biting satire and theatrical spectacle - Shaffer’s tragic masterpiece asks us finally, not what it takes to be a genius, but what it means to be a man.
- February–March 2011
Mexican Stand-Off is a darkly-comic sketch show written by 'Now, Now' alumnus Pierre Novellie, London stand-up Jonny Lennard and up-and-coming comedian Ali Lewis, who together make up comedy group Outside Joke.
- November 2010
- February 2007
- June 2006
- May 2004
