Chesil Theatre Winchester will be holding an exciting fundraising event on 4th December 2015 with a Bond is Back evening. It’s the perfect occasion to harness your inner Secret Agent ready for a 007-themed quiz and charity auction. Tickets priced just £5 are available from www.chesiltheatre.org.uk.
 
The evening kicks off with a welcome drink courtesy of Twisted Nose, Winchester’s own gin distillery. The martinis will of course be shaken not stirred. After a quick-fire quiz (start boning up on Messrs Fleming and Broccoli now), the excitement will build when an amazing array of lots are offered in the charity auction.
 
There’s something for everyone with trips to the theatre, restaurants, sporting events and the thrills and spills that 007 takes effortlessly in his stride. Some opportunities, including a visit to Aston Martin Racing, are not not normally available to the public. These items are interspersed with a selection of James Bond memorabilia which will appeal to any of the super spy’s devotees. Full details, including the illustrated auction catalogue, are available from the Chesil Theatre website.
 
Buyers need not wait until the day to get into action though, as bids are being taken online now. Simply access http://www.jumblebee.co.uk/bondisback. All bids placed online will be carried forward to the live auction. A raffle will also be running on the night, with a further glittering selection of prizes because The Auction is Not Enough.
 
Chairman Martin Humphrey said: “We have had a tremendous response from a huge variety of organisations and individuals, local and national, who have supported our auction with wonderful donations. It’s all added up to our being able to create a very special fundraising event and one that’s right up to the minute with the recent release of SPECTRE. Charlie Seligman of Savills Winchester, a Chesil member, will be our auctioneer and I am hoping he will prove to be The Man with the Golden Gavel. I should also like to thank Paul Riddell who has been our very own M, pulling this event together.”
 
Bond is Back will be raising funds for the Chesil Theatre Development Appeal which aims to extend and improve the studio theatre in the heart of Winchester and home to the City’s foremost amateur drama company.
 
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Chesil Theatre Winchester will be holding open auditions on 28th and 29th November for Juno and the Paycock by Irish playwright Sean O’Casey. This play is a challenging mixture of comedy and tragedy, set in the crumbling working-class tenements of 1922 Dublin.
 
The twelve-strong cast covers an age range from 20 to 60. As well as the main characters, there are a number of small but significant roles. Director Cecily O’Neill said: “2016 is the 100th anniversary of the Easter Rising and its violent aftermath is still affecting the family at the centre of the play. The hilarious philosophising of the father and his side-kick pitched alongside the courage and strength of the women in the face of misfortune have made this one of the classic dramas of the 20th century.”
 
The roles are:

• “Captain” Jack Boyle   the Paycock, a work-shy wastrel, 50-60
• Juno                             the matriarch who holds the family together, 45-55
• Mary                             the daughter, a lively girl aspiring to leave the slums, 20s
• Johnny                         the son, crippled and hysterical with fear, 20s
• “Joxer”                         a sycophantic hanger-on,  50-60
• Charles Bentham        a pretentious trainee solicitor, 25-35
• Jerry Devine                in love with Mary, active in the labour movement, 25-40
• Mrs Madigan               a neighbour, 50s-60s
• Mrs Tancred                a tragic figure in mourning for her son, 50s-60s
• Nugent                        a tailor, 50s-60s
• Two removal men
• Two irregulars, IRA soldiers

 
Auditions will be held at the Chesil Theatre, Chesil Street at 10am on 28th November and 7.30pm on 29th November. There is an informal reading on Friday  27th November at 7.45pm and newcomers are very welcome. Juno and the Paycock will be presented at the Chesil Theatre from 12th to 19th March 2016.

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For further information please contact:
Flavia Bateson
marketing@chesiltheatre.org.uk
 

Chesil Theatre Winchester will be dispelling the winter gloom with their presentation of  a witty comedy classic. J B Priestley's When We Are Married runs from 14th to 21st November nightly with a matinee on the final Saturday.   The play is set in Edwardian Yorkshire.

A silver wedding anniversary celebration for three respectable couples is well underway when it is brought to a sudden halt by a shocking revelation. With an inebriated photographer,  a disgruntled char, a daffy maid, young sweethearts, a pompous vicar, a very inexperienced reporter  and a most unexpected visitor, the result is mayhem as they try to stop the embarrassing secret coming out.   Home truths fly like confetti with Priestley's sharp observations on marriage, class and keeping up appearances at all costs.

Tickets are going fast and available online at www.chesiltheatre.org.uk or by calling 0333 666 3366.