Chesil Theatre Winchester opens a new season with For Services Remembered by W Somerset Maugham, a particular apt and poignant choice as we approach the centenary of the end of the Great War.
 
Set in 1932, the drama asks whatever happened to ‘a land fit for heroes’ promised by David Lloyd George in 1918? The post-war effects are keenly felt by the Ardsley family whose children face uncertain futures. Ethel is married to a former officer who is not quite the man she’d hoped for, Eva has martyred herself to the cause of her brother Sydney, blinded in the war. Lois, the youngest, can only see one desperate way of escape into a new life and one which horrifies her parents but England is changing, falling apart and must begin again.
 
The major question, posed then and as relevant now, is how do we care not only for the damaged veterans who survive the wars to which we send them but also help their families cope with the devastation wrought?
 
Director Alec Walters comments: “Maugham pulls no punches in his exploration of these major issues and we hope the more intimate thrust staging of the play will add extra atmosphere for our audience.”
 
For Services Rendered runs at the Chesil Theatre, Chesil Street, Winchester from Saturday 15th to Saturday 22nd September nightly, with a matinee on the final Saturday. Everyone is welcome to join in a post-show discussion with the director and cast on Tuesday 18th September 2018. Booking is now available here.
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Honour by Joanna Murray-Smith
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Production dates 17 - 24 November
 
Reading Friday 31 August at 7.45 pm at the Chesil Theatre
Auditions Saturday 1 September at 10.30 am at St. John's Church, St. John's Street. 
Sunday 2 September at 7.30 pm at Chesil Theatre.
 
George and Honor (correct) have been married, apparently contentedly, for 32 years, sharing responsibilities and values. One of them unexpectedly gets the chance to take an exciting new way in life. Should they do so at the expense of the other's happiness and security? How  will their adult daughter react to this cataclysmic change?
 
This provocative drama, which received its British premiere at the National Theatre with Eileen Atkins leading the cast, challenges notions of honour, loyalty, the sense of decency and the belief that love will always prevail.
 
Director, Heather Bradford said: "There are four superb roles in this provocative and thoughtful drama, three female, one male, which present exciting opportunities as we develop the characters."  For further details see the website chesiltheatre.org.uk
 
New members are always welcome. 
 
 
Honour by Joanna Murray-Smith
​
Production dates 17 - 24 November
 
Reading Friday 31 August at 7.45 pm at the Chesil Theatre
Auditions Saturday 1 September at 10.30 am at St. John's Church, St. John's Street. 
Sunday 2 September at 7.30 pm at Chesil Theatre
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​Rehearsals are already underway for the September production, For Services Rendered by Somerset Maugham. In the cosy England of 1932, the Ardsley family seems to be managing their lives well following the trauma of World War I and the Great Depression. Yet each of them struggles for survival in a world turned upside down. This brilliant commentary was originally considered defeatist, even subversive, but certainly still resonates today.
 
Honour by Joanna Murray-Smith is a provocative drama that challenges notions of honour, and the belief that love will prevail. After 32 years of apparently happy and contented marriage one of the couple has the unexpected chance of an exciting new way of life but at the expense of the happiness and security of the other members of the family. Should the opportunity be taken or should a sense of honour prevail? 
 
Between editing Private Eye and appearing on Have I Got News For You, Ian Hislop, with Nick Newman, turned his hand to writing comedy. A Bunch of Amateurs in January 2019 finds a Hollywood star in the twilight of his career invited to play King Lear at Stratford. However, it turns out not to be the famous home of the bard but a small provincial town with the RSC replaced by the local amateurs! What can possibly go wrong?” 
 
The Real Thing by Tom Stoppard, is the March production. Henry is a successful playwright married to Charlotte who has the lead role in his latest play about infidelity. Her co-star Max is married to another actress, Annie, and Annie and Henry are madly in love – but is it any more real than the subjects of Henry’s play? Stoppard's brilliant wit is demonstrated superbly in the sparkling dialogue. This play will stretch the mind and steal the heart.

The multi-award winning The Children by Lucy Kirkwood premiered at the Royal Court, London in November 2016. The Chesil Theatre is honoured to be the one of the first amateur companies licensed to perform the play in May 2019. Two retired scientists move to an isolated cottage as the country around them crumbles. One day there’s a new arrival, an old friend they haven’t seen for many years. Why has she come?
This rich and beautifully written play provokes questions that will develop in the mind long after the lights have faded. 
 
The July play Lord Arthur Savile's Crime adapted by Constance Cox from a short story by Oscar Wilde. has been described as Jeeves and Wooster meet Fargo. When a chiromantist (a reader of palms) predicts Arthur will commit murder, he decides to postpone his wedding until the dastardly deed is done. Aided by Baines, his trusted butler, and an inept anarchist, a comedy of errors ensues, putting Arthur’s relatives and marriage plans in jeopardy.
 
Add the 10x10 New Writing Festival in October, the Youth groups preparing for their show in February 2019 and it is clear that the Chesil continues to bring live theatre of the highest standard to the city.