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What's On in 2011
The Stevenage Festival provides a showcase for the wealth of local
artistic and performing talent to be found within the Stevenage
area.
The heart of the Festival is a fortnight of performances at the
Gordon Craig Theatre, enabling local people, particularly our talented
youngsters, to realise a dream by performing on stage in their community’s
own theatre.
The Gordon Craig programme of events is listed below, but there
is also a vibrant Festival
fringe of community arts events around Stevenage
Saturday
18th June to Saturday 2nd July 2011
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| Saturday 18th
June 7.45 pm |
North Herts
Guild of Singers
The Topsy Turvy World of Gilbert and Sullivan |
| Gordon Craig Theatre |
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To mark the centenary of WS Gilbert’s death the
North Herts Guild of Singers, with invited soloists,
present a romp through the witty satire of Gilbert and
the incomparable melodies of Arthur Sullivan.
Gilbert poked fun at all that was self-important in
Victorian England. The mighty, the rich, the lawyers,
the Lords - all were cleverly mocked. Even melodrama,
magic, feminism and the aesthetic movement were not
spared his sharp wit. Their topsy-turvy tales
have left us with a rich legacy of operettas that are
still regularly performed and loved throughout the world.
North Herts Guild of Singers, led by conductor Stephen
Bullamore, is one of the area's leading choral groups
with over 100 regular members and has been making music
locally for more than 40 years. Come and join us for
a night of mistaken identities, hidden secrets, love
and marriage in true G&S style.
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Sunday 19th June
7.45 pm |
It's Variety
Night! |
| Gordon Craig Theatre |
| Tonight we celebrate some of our local
rising stars in a very varied evening of entertainment.
Enjoy South Asian dance from internationally renowned
expert Divya Kasturi, songs from musical theatre from
Sharon Curtis, Hannah Dobra, Emily Dunn, Matt Steer
and Ben Newbury, instrumental performances from Beatrice
Hubble and Lara Crowley and to finish off, a performance
from Stevenage's own school of bellydancing! You'll
be amazed at the talent that we have right here on our
doorstep and you may also be seeing some stars of the
future.
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Tickets: £8.00
Concessions £2.00 off
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Monday 20th June
7.00 pm |
Stevenage
Primary Schools In Concert
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| Gordon Craig Concert
Hall |
Young pupils from Primary Schools in Stevenage
and surrounding areas take to the stage to share their musical
talent. As well as being fun and a lifelong skill, music can
improve self-confidence, behaviour and social skills, as well
as academic attainment in areas such as numeracy, literacy
and language. Stevenage Festival is alwayspleased to support
these first steps to musical performance.
“Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind,
and life to everything.” Plato
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Tickets: £6.00
No concessions
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Tuesday 21st June
7.00pm |
Stevenage
Dance Schools
Dance Extravaganza!
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| Gordon Craig Theatre |
Our ever-popular dazzling dance extravaganza
making stars of performers of all ages from Stevenage and
the surrounding area. From ballroom to ballet to boogie -
an exciting evening for those who love all styles and forms
of dance.
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Tickets: £8.00
Concessions £2.00 off
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Weds 22nd June
7.45pm |
Stevenage
Male Voice Choir and Guests
You Must Remember This.... |
| Gordon Craig Theatre |
Beautiful music from Stevenage's own Male
Voice Choir offering you a concert of popular songs from stage
and screen plus a sprinkling of surprises. The Choir’s
guests in the first half of the programme will be the Choir
of Wilbury School, Letchworth, under the direction of their
Music Teacher, Sadie Leek. In the second half the Choir welcomes
West End Theatre performer, Louise Davidson (La Cage aux Folles,
Blood Brothers, Mary Poppins, Cats, Mamma Mia, etc.). She
will be joined by children from Box of Frogs Theatre School.
In the finale the Choir, together with all their guests,
will end the show with an exuberant number to send the audience
home singing the tune and saying “ I will remember that”
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Tickets: £10.00
Concessions £2.00 off
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Thursday 23rd
June
7.45pm |
Stevenage
Secondary Schools
Look Who’s Got Talent!
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| Gordon Craig Theatre |
| Talented young people from Barclay
School, the John Henry Newman School and Thomas Alleyne
School take to the stage for an evening of music, dance
and drama.
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Tickets: £6.00
No concessions
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| Friday 24th June
7:45pm |
Parnassus
Poetry
The King's Peach |
| Gordon Craig -
The Ellen Terry Suite |
 A
selection of poetical musings and rantings on the subjects
of, amongst other things, Royal Weddings, fruit, how big is
a big Society and living in Stevenage, all delivered by our
own inimitable Parnassus Poetry.
NB - may include strong language, although this cannot be
guaranteed.
Bar available.
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Tickets: £5.00
No concessions - Over 16s only
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| Friday 24th June
7:45pm |
Fusion
Theatre Company
Presents
13 by Jason Robert Brown
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| Gordon Craig Theatre |
| A grown-up story about growing up!
When his parents get divorced and he's forced to move
from New York to a small town, Evan Goldman just wants
to make friends and do whatever it takes not to get
banished to the land of the Geeks.
But the star quarterback is threatening to ruin his
life, his only friend Patrice won't talk to him and
the school freak blackmails him!
With an unforgettable rock score from Tony Award-winning
composer Jason Robert Brown, "13" is a hilarious,
high-energy musical for all ages about discovering that
cool is where you find it, and sometimes where you least
expect it..
Directed by Sarah Ellis
Musical Director Matt Greenwood
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Tickets: £10.50
Concessions £2.00 off
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| Saturday 25th
June 7.45pm |
Stevenage
Choral Society and Stevenage Symphony Orchestra
Mendelssohn’s Elijah |
| Gordon Craig Theatre |
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Please join Stevenage Symphony Orchestra and Stevenage
Choral Society in their second Festival collaboration
as they perform Felix Mendelssohn’s most popular
and last major work Elijah. This oratorio was written
for the Birmingham Festival in 1846 and evocatively
depicts various life events of the biblical prophet
Elijah expressed through romantic style lyricism, orchestral
colour and stirring choruses.
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Tickets: £13.00
Concessions £3.00 off
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| Sunday 26th June
7.45pm |
Stagecoach
Theatre Arts
All the World's A Stage!
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| Gordon Craig Theatre |
Let us entertain you with a wonderful evening
of drama, song and dance. All the students from our Stevenage
and Letchworth schools, along with the Stagecoach Three Counties
Choir, the Drama Troupe and the MT Heads are looking forward
to taking you on a wonderful journey to their world of theatre.
From age 4 to 16 plus they cannot wait for the opportunity
to play their part in the 2011 Festival.
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Tickets: £8.00
Concessions £2.00 off
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| Monday 27th June
7.45pm |
Lytton Players
Old Tyme Music Hall
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| Gordon Craig Theatre |
| The Stevenage Lytton Players are delighted
to bring their traditional Old Tyme Music Hall once
more to the Gordon Craig Stage. Give up your games consoles
and terminate your televisions - our talented and terpsichorean
troupe of players will entertain you with timeless songs,
sketches and comedy, hosted by an avuncular Chairman.
An evening to don your whiskers, hats and boas and let
your hair down.
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Tickets: £10.00
Concessions £2.00 off
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| Tuesday 28thJune
7.45pm |
Stevenage
Secondary Schools
Look Who’s Got Talent Too!
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| Gordon Craig Theatre |
Talented young people from Nobel and Barnwell
schools take to the stage for our second evening of music,
dance and drama.
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Tickets: £6.00
No concessions
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Wednesday 29th
June
7.45pm |
Summertime |
| Gordon Craig Theatre |
Join the combined forces of Stevenage and North Herts
string players and choirs to celebrate over 40 years
of string tradition in the area for a laid-back summer
evening of music.
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| Tickets: £6.00
No concessions |
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| Thursday 30th
June - Fri 1st July 7.45pm |
Knebworth
Players
No Sex Please We're British!
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| Gordon Craig Theatre |
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When a straight laced 1970s bank manager and
his wife innocently order some Scandinavian glassware,
what comes back is definitely not what was expected.
The two, along with the bank's frantic chief cashier,
then have to deal with a rising tide of dodgy
photographs, books, films and eventually girls.
This very British farce ran in the West End for
nearly a decade to packed audiences and is now
being brought to Stevenage by Knebworth Players.
Expect a hilarious evening fuelled by the usual
confusion, complication and mistaken identity.
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Tickets: £7.00
No Concessions
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Join
North Herts Youth Orchestra and soloists with Stevenage Choral
Society bringing the 2011 Festival to a close with an evening
of traditional light classical music. All the old favourites
will be there including