South Solihull u3a Play Reading Group - Armchair Theatre
Coordinator: Helen Woodcock
Where: Members' Houses
When: Usually 1st Thursday of each month at 2:00 p.m. See Diary for next meeting
Where: Members' Houses
When: Usually 1st Thursday of each month at 2:00 p.m. See Diary for next meeting
INTRODUCTION
We are a friendly group who read an eclectic mix of plays. Serious, thought provoking, funny and murder mystery scripts have entertained us and improved our play reading skills.
Members choose, and are in charge of, the casting of their plays. We take turns to host in our own homes if that is practicable. We have watched professional productions at the Alex in Birmingham and the Bear Pit Theatre in Stratford upon Avon.
The group meet on the first Thursday of the month at 2:00 pm and we always leave feeling we have had an afternoon well spent. An interlude provides us with tea or coffee and a chat, which is usually about the play.
The idea is that we enjoy being thespians without having to act on stage!!
We are a friendly group who read an eclectic mix of plays. Serious, thought provoking, funny and murder mystery scripts have entertained us and improved our play reading skills.
Members choose, and are in charge of, the casting of their plays. We take turns to host in our own homes if that is practicable. We have watched professional productions at the Alex in Birmingham and the Bear Pit Theatre in Stratford upon Avon.
The group meet on the first Thursday of the month at 2:00 pm and we always leave feeling we have had an afternoon well spent. An interlude provides us with tea or coffee and a chat, which is usually about the play.
The idea is that we enjoy being thespians without having to act on stage!!
SEEKING NEW MEMBERS
We have lost a few members over the past year and would welcome new readers. If you are interested please e-mail Helen Woodcock or phone on 01564702259, and she will be pleased and able to tell you more.
We have lost a few members over the past year and would welcome new readers. If you are interested please e-mail Helen Woodcock or phone on 01564702259, and she will be pleased and able to tell you more.
FORTHCOMING PLAYS
Thursday 6 April
2.00 pm - 5.00 pm
Wyrd Sisters by Terry Pratchett
( Wyrd is an old Anglo-Saxon or Norse word meaning Fate or Destiny)
This play has many outside references to the the life and works of William Shakespeare. It borrows themes and sayings from Macbeth, including "when shall we three meet again", the "dagger of the mind", "out damned spot", and the three witches from Hamlet, including the ghost of the dead King and the play within a play; "all the world's a stage" from As You Like It; and Duke Felmet descending into madness in the company of his Fool, derived from King Lear.
The plot features three witches: Granny Weatherwax; Nanny Ogg, matriarch of a large tribe of Oggs, who owns the most evil cat in the world, (Greebo); and Magrat Garlick, the junior witch, who firmly believes in occult jewellery, even though none of it works.
King Verence I of Lancre is murdered by his cousin, Duke Felmet, and the King's crown and a baby are given by an escaping servant to the three witches.
The witches hand the crown and the child to a troupe of travelling actors, acknowledging that destiny will eventually take its course and Tomjon (the baby) will grow up to defeat Duke Felmet.
However, the kingdom is angry and doesn't want to wait 18 years so the witches move it forward in time. Meanwhile, the duke has decided to get a play written and performed so that it is favourable to him, he sends the court jester to Ankh-Morpork to recruit the same travelling (now stationary) company that Tomjon is in.
The only problem is that Tomjon does not want to be king.
(Just an extract, a longer version of the play will be distributed at the next Meeting).
Venue: Pam's apartment
2.00 pm - 5.00 pm
Wyrd Sisters by Terry Pratchett
( Wyrd is an old Anglo-Saxon or Norse word meaning Fate or Destiny)
This play has many outside references to the the life and works of William Shakespeare. It borrows themes and sayings from Macbeth, including "when shall we three meet again", the "dagger of the mind", "out damned spot", and the three witches from Hamlet, including the ghost of the dead King and the play within a play; "all the world's a stage" from As You Like It; and Duke Felmet descending into madness in the company of his Fool, derived from King Lear.
The plot features three witches: Granny Weatherwax; Nanny Ogg, matriarch of a large tribe of Oggs, who owns the most evil cat in the world, (Greebo); and Magrat Garlick, the junior witch, who firmly believes in occult jewellery, even though none of it works.
King Verence I of Lancre is murdered by his cousin, Duke Felmet, and the King's crown and a baby are given by an escaping servant to the three witches.
The witches hand the crown and the child to a troupe of travelling actors, acknowledging that destiny will eventually take its course and Tomjon (the baby) will grow up to defeat Duke Felmet.
However, the kingdom is angry and doesn't want to wait 18 years so the witches move it forward in time. Meanwhile, the duke has decided to get a play written and performed so that it is favourable to him, he sends the court jester to Ankh-Morpork to recruit the same travelling (now stationary) company that Tomjon is in.
The only problem is that Tomjon does not want to be king.
(Just an extract, a longer version of the play will be distributed at the next Meeting).
Venue: Pam's apartment
Thursday 4 May 2023
2.00 pm - 5.00 pm
Rumors by Neil Simon
Sharp-edged wit meets madcap farce in this laugh-out-loud comedy from legendary playwright Neil Simon. When the first pair of guests arrive for an anniversary party at the opulent home of Charlie Brock, the Deputy Mayor of New York, they find their host unconscious, shot in the head (well…the ear lobe), and his wife missing. Wanting to protect Charlie – and themselves – from potential scandal, they fabricate a lie to tell the rapidly-arriving partygoers, setting in motion an ever-more-hilarious series of cover-ups, misunderstandings and mishaps.
Witty dialogue is at the heart of good comedy. Through it, character is revealed, plot developed, emotion portrayed, and situations made comical. The master of comic dialogue is Neil Simon, the most prolific and popular playwright of the modern era; and Rumors is a prime example of Simon at his best.
Venue: t.b.c.
2.00 pm - 5.00 pm
Rumors by Neil Simon
Sharp-edged wit meets madcap farce in this laugh-out-loud comedy from legendary playwright Neil Simon. When the first pair of guests arrive for an anniversary party at the opulent home of Charlie Brock, the Deputy Mayor of New York, they find their host unconscious, shot in the head (well…the ear lobe), and his wife missing. Wanting to protect Charlie – and themselves – from potential scandal, they fabricate a lie to tell the rapidly-arriving partygoers, setting in motion an ever-more-hilarious series of cover-ups, misunderstandings and mishaps.
Witty dialogue is at the heart of good comedy. Through it, character is revealed, plot developed, emotion portrayed, and situations made comical. The master of comic dialogue is Neil Simon, the most prolific and popular playwright of the modern era; and Rumors is a prime example of Simon at his best.
Venue: t.b.c.
