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2022 Season
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Gregg Kreutz, USA playwright with the cast and creative team of Academia Nuts on set after he attended our performance of his show
Perfect Wedding (Joe Leat, Kate Hunter, Ben Elder, Francesca Baker, Claire Jeater, Annie Miles)
Men in Suits by Jason Milligan (Michael Shaw and James Dinsmore)
The Nightingales (Michael Shaw & Annie Miles)
I Ought to be in Pictures (Julian Harries and Rosalind Burt)
Killing Time by Richard Stockwell (Darrell Brockis and Charlotte Parry)
I Ought to be in Pictures (Ashleigh Sendin)
Academia Nuts (Francesca Baker, Claire Jeater, Julian Harris, Joe Leat)
The Nightingales (Claire Jeater & James Dinsmore)
2021 Season
Aldeburgh Classic Theatre’s SUMMER THEATRE BY THE SEA 2021 was a great success at the iconic Aldeburgh Jubilee Hall
Their first show Noel Coward’s ‘Fallen Angels’ delighted audiences with its classic elegance, and wit.
Julia Sowerbutts Artistic Director of INK commented: “without any doubt the very best Summer Theatre production I have seen in 30 years”
Artistic Director of Bury St Edmunds Theatre Royal Owen Calvert Lyons said: “a stunning production, brilliantly acted and directed”
Following this, they showcased a little-known comedy, murder mystery gem by Alan Ayckbourn, ‘It Could be Anyone of Us’ which kept everyone guessing ‘whodunnit’ right to the end. The play sold out on several evenings to the 50% maximum capacity dictated by social distancing, and was enjoyed by all ages.
Their third play, ‘Our Man in Havana’ the comedy, adventure adapted by Clive Francis from the novel by Graham Greene of a hapless and hopeless Vacuum cleaner salesman who became a reluctant spy, sold out on its opening night with audiences commenting;
“Such a creatively designed set, I loved it! Took me right to Havana, thank you.”
“The actors were so versatile as each of the characters, totally believable and such fun. We attended as three generations and laughed as one.”
Ending the season was the classic farce ‘Who’s Who?’ written by Keith Waterhouse and Willis Hall whose collaboration began with the play Billy Liar in the early ‘60s and continued to produce over 250 stage and television scripts. Set in the down-at-heel warren of a Brighton hotel in 1974, Who’s Who tells the story of two men who arrive anticipating quality time with their respective mistresses. They differ solely in the way they handle their affairs with their respective wives. Mr White is only capable of telling the truth and Mr Black always lies. With mistaken identity added in, Who’s Who was a comedy gem of hysterical proportions.
2019 SEASON
Noel Coward’s Blithe Spirit
Successfully opening our 2019 summer season was an elegant production of the classic farce celebrating one of our greatest playwrights.
“True West End quality entertainment showcased on the iconic Aldeburgh Jubilee Hall stage once home to Britten and Pears”.
In 1941 Coward escaped war-torn London and travelled to the Italianate village of Portmeirion on the north east coast of Wales. Within seven days he had written the first draft of Blithe Spirit – An Improbable Farce. When the play opened in London later that year he only changed two lines. The production was a major success and became his longest running play in the West End.
Noel Coward was a celebrated actor, alongside being one of Britain’s most successful writers, the dialogue of his plays is a performer’s dream, and trips off the actor’s tongue. You can imagine him playing all the parts himself.
In a masterpiece of wit, hilarious farce & the supernatural, a successful writer holds a séance at his house to research his next book, and gets much, much more than he bargained for. This new, spring-heeled & razor-sharp production, was directed by award-winning Phil Clark. A tale of “One man – Two wives, and at least one ghost!” we had a great deal of fun dealing with the supernatural and developing the exciting and often dangerous relationships between the mortals and the immortals. Coward’s work is often naughty, allowing us to bring to life the themes of deceit, selfishness, marriage, and infidelity.
Murder in Play by Simon Brett
Following on the success of Blithe Spirit came Murder in Play, the hidden-gem comedy whodunit from company supporter Simon Brett the author of the Charles Paris novels and BBC R4 series. The play sees an inept theatre company rehearsing a creaky old murder-mystery. It’s a comic catastrophe - until a real murder adds genuine mystery, and enough red herrings between the laughs kept our audiences guessing right to the end. A modern-day comic masterclass, it was directed by Owen Calvert-Lyons, previous Head of Theatre at Oval House, London now Artistic Director at The Theatre Royal, Bury St Edmunds.
We used the monolithic flats of Blithe as framing, eventually revealing the smaller box-set of Murder in Play sitting within it as a classic budget touring-set – part of Simon’s wonderful, satirical take on theatre-land. Great fun!
The Jungle Book by Tracey Power adapted from the novel by Rudyard Kipling
For the incredibly popular and physical Jungle Book, we put in a forestage using the apron as an aerial level and performances each weekend attracted families and individuals of all ages to this lively, energetic classic with all your favourite characters.
Audiences were emerged effortlessly in this lush colourful introduction into the ways of the jungle. Performed by younger members of our company and expertly directed by Juliet Corbett it was a “joy which transported us, and filled our hearts and souls with messages of the importance of family & friends, and acceptance of difference.”
