Zoe Stanford directing A Desert Place by Rosemary Evans
​
While Zoe has acted with Chesil before, this is her first directing stint for the theatre and she is excited to be involved with TakeTen and the wonderful plays it has produced. As a former secondary school English teacher, she is thrilled with the opportunity to have some fun with Shakespeare in A Desert Place and to get to tackle the pandemic in a fun way.'

Sarah Hawkins directing Tremble by Rob Johnston

​As an ex-English teacher, Sarah has been involved with numerous dramatic projects, the big ones being seven open-air Shakespeare productions at Peter Symonds College, Winchester. Since 2007 she’s been a director at Chesil Theatre and occasionally on stage. This summer sees Sarah tackling A Midsummer Night’s Dream. She’s looking forward to the completely different challenge of Tremble, with its nuanced subtlety balanced by high tension.

​Jim Glaister directing Tunnel by Cate Sweeney

Jim has been a member of Chesil Theatre since 2008 and has previously directed for Take Ten’s predecessor, 10 x 10, on four occasions. As well as acting at the theatre, Jim writes songs and plays drums with local band Hornblower Down. A Drama, Film and Television graduate, he occasionally makes short films, under the banner of Burning Barn Films, and was responsible for all of Chesil Theatre’s promotional videos between 2015 and 2019.

Characters from Gilbert and Sullivan and Shakespeare came together to launch the Theatre in the Garden festival. They met in the beautiful gardens of Wolvesey Palace, Winchester, where A Midsummer Night’s Dream, presented by the Chesil Theatre, and Winchester Musicals and Operatic Society’s (WMOS) The Pirates of Penzance will be performed in July.

​Sarah Hawkins, the director of the much-loved Shakespeare comedy, is working with an experienced cast of Chesil regulars and talented newcomers plus a delightful young band of fairy folk. They will create a magical forest, with squabbling lovers, feuding fairies, tricks and reconciliations and a spoof ‘am dram’ performance guaranteed to bring lots of laughter.

Sarah invites audiences to bring their picnics and prepare for an evening of mayhem, magic and merriment. The play will be performed July 13 – 17.

WMOS swing aboard on July 20 until 24 with The Pirates of Penzance, the first show performed by the Society 1913. The 2021 version will give the classic G&S tale a twist by being set at the seaside in 1957. Audiences will hear all the old favourites, but with nods to the 1950s with hints of Doris Day, Elvis and Cliff in the arrangements. Director Suzanne Hall promises a rollicking outdoor adventure with pirates, picnics, policemen and sand between your toes.

In line with Covid restrictions all rehearsals are taking place via Zoom or out of doors. Tickets for both productions are now available online for MSND, and at wmos.org.uk for 'Pirates'. Audience numbers will be limited to ensure the safety of everyone. 

After the lockdowns and cancellations and a year barren of most forms of live entertainment the Chesil Theatre, Winchester, has taken the exciting decision to go ahead with a summer production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Originally scheduled for 2020 it should comply with any remaining restrictions this July because it will take place in the beautiful gardens of the Bishop’s Palace. The performance dates are 13 – 17 July.

“This joyous, much loved Shakespeare play should be just the thing to tempt back, cast, crew and audience,” said Director, Sarah Hawkins. “A magical forest, squabbling lovers, fighting fairies, tricks and reconciliations, a spoof ‘am dram’ performance, tears and, I hope, lots of laughter.”

The Society recognizes that things will have to be planned very differently. All details can be found here, where forms to express an interest in any aspect of the production can be downloaded. The deadline for Audition submissions, is Monday April 12.

Almost all rehearsals will happen outdoors, starting by 6.30pm to make the most of the daylight, and with cast having to work at a distance from each other.
“These will be just some of the hurdles,” explained Sarah, “But we are all flexible and committed to the project. I’m sure we can leap them or at least find our way round them, so by July we can we can give our audiences the joy of something they have been starved of for too long - live theatre.”