April 24, 2015

Local theatre headlines 2015 Fringe Festival!

Local theatre headlines 2015 Fringe Festival!

Much-loved local group Pranksters Theatre Company will open the 2015 Guildford Fringe Festival this July, with a production of award-winning playwright Laura Wade’s acclaimed comedy, Colder Than Here, a moving story about a dying woman trying to repair her damaged family.

Colder Than Here – Pranksters

‘It’s a touching, beautifully written and gentle comedy about the strains of family life,’ says the play’s director, Mark Ashdown. The play will be staged at The Back Room of The Star Inn, Guildford, on 1-2 July.

Another long-established local group, Herald Players, will also perform at the 2015 Festival in The Back Room. The Herald Players are staging Contractions by Mike Bartlett, a shocking, sinister and amusing black comedy, which examines office politics and the boundaries between work and play. This will be staged on 3 July and 6 July.

Contractions – Herald Players

Weird Sisters Theatre Company will present another contemporary drama with two performances of Fewer Emergencies by Martin Crimp, an offbeat tale involving dinner parties, boating, shopping and mass murder. This will be staged on 11-12 July also at The Back Room.

One of the highlights of the 2015 Festival promises to be the ever-popular Lucky Dog Theatre Productions, who not only return with the hit play, Hats Off to Laurel and Hardy, at the Bellerby Studio, G Live, on 23 July, but also premier their new show, Mr Merrick, The Elephant Man, at The Back Room of The Star Inn on 20 July. This new fact-based show is the result of painstaking research and promises to shed new light on the life of ‘the most remarkable creature ever to draw breath’.

Mr Merrick, The Elephant Man – Lucky Dog Theatre

Local playwright Chris Towndrow, who wrote the adult pantomimes, Cinders and Dick!, demonstrates he can also turn his pen to more dramatic work with his new play, The Setup, a fast-paced thriller about a heist gone wrong. This will be staged at The Back Room of The Star Inn on 15 July.

Finally, period piece Sarah’s War promises to pull on the heartstrings with a story about a young girl caught up in the drama surrounding a German commando raid on the River Hamble near Southampton in World War Two. This is staged at The Back Room of The Star Inn on 19 July.

‘We’re lucky to have so much dramatic talent from both Guildford and beyond taking part in this year’s Festival,’ says Nick Wyschna, artistic director of the 2015 Guildford Fringe Festival. ‘There really is something for everyone, so we hope people will support both the local groups and those from further afield, all trying to bring something new to the town.’

Visit HERE for the full schedule or pick up a brochure from one of our venues.