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. 

Stunning review published in Winchester Today. Click here to read the full article.

The garden of Wolvesey Palace, the official residence of the Bishop of Winchester, is the setting for the Chesil Theatre’s open-air show, The Wind in the Willows, in just two weeks from 17 to 21 July.

The play opens one sunny morning when a fed-up Mole quits his spring-cleaning to explore the riverbank where he meets Ratty. Together they begin an adventure that takes them on the open road with Badger and the irrepressible, loveable rogue Toad.  The tale of The Wind in the Willows has been delighting the world for generations. This version of Kenneth Grahame’s family classic, adapted by Alan Bennett, remains true to the original story and contains plenty of comedy, live music and songs.

Director, Jo Ashwell said: “Reading The Wind in the Willows is one of my earliest childhood memories. I remember every drawing vividly! So you can imagine how overjoyed I am to be directing this show and working with a wonderfully talented group of actors and backstage crew. We are lucky, thanks to the Bishop of Winchester who has kindly given us permission, to perform in the beautiful garden at Wolvesey Palace because it is rarely open to the general public. The garden provides the perfect backdrop for a picnic and is a great setting for the play. We hope audiences will be thoroughly entertained by this fun-filled family show. Our aim is to put a put a smile on the faces of our audiences, whatever age they are.”

Performances 17 - 21 July at 7.30pm with a 2.30pm matinee on Saturday 21 July.
Tickets: £13 (Tues, Wed, Thurs, Sat matinee) & £16 (Fri, Sat eve) Family tickets £42 (Tues, Wed, Thurs, Sat matinee) & £48 (Fri, Sat eve). There are reduced prices for under 18s and group concessions. Tickets available online: chesiltheatre.org.uk or tel. 0333 666 3366. Gates open 90 minutes before each performance, so picnickers can enjoy the gardens beforehand. For more information, please visit website www.chesiltheatre.org.uk

It's the home of Chesil Theatre, a friendly and welcoming Dramatic Society which has been entertaining Hampshire audiences since 1863 and since 1966 in this unique Grade 2* building. To encourage new people to come along and see what the Chesil can offer them there will be a Coffee and Chat event on the first Saturday of each month, starting on July 7th at 10.30am.

"There is a belief that only those who want to act join us," said Ros Liddiard, who has been associated with the group the 1960s. "However, some of our busiest members would not dream of appearing on stage."

She explained that the recent superbly costumed commedia del arte style,  The Venetian Twins, had a cast of 12, with a crew of 32 for 39 roles. They included a choreographer, fight and music directors and skilled make up artists.

In contrast Duet for One, which was presented in January, had just two actors in modern dress but the production still needed a crew of 27 covering 30 different tasks..

"Add in the five Front of House and Bar staff required for each performance and it can be seen that however many, or few, actors appear on stage all  productions need a huge back up team."

Potential actors are invited to the play readings and open auditions publicised on the website chesiltheatre.org.uk and the local press. Frequently someone new is cast and happily they often go on to take on other responsibilities. The two Children's Youth Theatre groups bring in young people and their parents. The links with the University of Winchester are being developed with three students appearing in The Venetian Twins, three working backstage and others have been helping with the youth groups.

"The coffee mornings are a friendly informal way to meet members, explore our beautiful theatre and learn about the many different activities which take place behind the little red door," said Ros.  

For more details contact Ros on welcome@chesiltheatre.org.uk

An exciting and wide-ranging future programme is planned for the Chesil Theatre Winchester. The 2018/19 season kicks off with Somerset Maugham’s incisive, state-of-the-nation play For Services Rendered, written fourteen years on from the end of the Great War. Open auditions for the 12 diverse roles are being held on 16th and 17th June 2018.
 
Set in a quiet Kent town in 1932, the seemingly ordinary, middle-class Ardsley family appear content in their rural idyll. Yet each continues to be deeply affected by the aftermath of the war. Of the four children, Ethel is unhappily married, Eva, a spinster, has become dedicated only to her blinded brother Sydney, whilst the youngest, Lois, sees no hope for her future in their English backwater. The younger generation must find a new way of living in a country undergoing seismic change.

Director Alec Walters comments:
“This play was generally derided in its day for being unpatriotic or even subversive. However, it certainly packs a dramatic and relevant punch on this the one hundredth anniversary of the end of the Great War.”

Auditions are being held at Chesil Theatre, Chesil Street, Winchester on Saturday 16th June at 10.30am and Sunday 17th June at 7.45pm. There will be an informal reading of the play on Friday 15th June at 7.45pm when newcomers are particularly welcome. Performances take place on 15th to 22nd September 2018 and booking is now open from  today.

May 19 - 26 2018 (not Sunday) 7.45pm
Matinee Saturday 26 2.30pm

They did their bit for the war effort by donning wellington boots and overalls to take on backbreaking farm work. The plucky girls of the Land Army from all different social classes and walks of life were sent to farms to live rough and work hard to replace the men who had joined the forces.

Now their story is told in the next production at the Chesil Theatre.  - Lilies on the Land. Based on letters and interviews with the original Land Girls this play is a revealing, funny and wonderfully moving portraits of these unsung heroines.

How will these young women, deprived of all basic home comforts, deal not only with the hardships of farming life and the pressures of war, but also with being outsiders in new surroundings? Basic accommodation, ice inside the windows, work clothes full of mice, rough hands, out in all weathers brought about a camaraderie which means that looking back they say they would do it all again.

Director Norma York said: " The Merchant Navy ships which brought in supplies from overseas were at the risk of attack by submarines. It was vital that as much food as possible was grown and reared in this country. This play is a fitting tribute to all those women."

Land Girls all... (l-r) the cast of Lilies on the Land: Helen Symes, Adrienne Ellery, Mandy Francis and Caroline Hall

Tickets from £11

Book here

Photographs by Tony Rogers

Editorial
the Lions part is how they choose to write their name
 
For further details please contact Lisbeth Rake 01794 388245 The.rakes@zen.co.uk

Chesil Theatre Winchester continued their programme of improvements to the 75-seat auditorium with the fitting of tertiary glazing to the three large Gothic windows facing Chesil Street.
 
The existing windows were, no doubt, perfectly adequate when the medieval building was first constructed in the 12th century, but traffic noise can often now intrude upon performances.
 
So, improvements have been made by fitting two additional layers of glass .
 
Chesil Theatre member and Building Manager Peter Liddiard says:
“The new glazing will certainly help decrease noise pollution and will also assist energy conservation. It is part of our ongoing schedule to improve the comfort and enjoyment of those experiencing shows at our unique studio venue. We will now look to improving the sound and thermal performance of the medieval door..”
 
Chesil Theatre has been the base of Winchester Dramatic Society since the mid-1960s when the Church of St Peter became redundant and subsequently dangerous. Since that time the Society has been a careful and dedicated guardian of this Listed Building in the heart of a Winchester conservation area.
 
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The image is supplied repro-free for editorial use.
 
For further information please contact:
Flavia Bateson
Chesil Theatre Marketing Team
01962 855544
flavia.bateson@starspray.org

This summer, the Chesil Theatre will be returning to the stunning gardens of Wolvesey Palace, by kind permission of the Bishop of Winchester, with a spectacular open-air production of THE WIND IN THE WILLOWS from 17 to 21 July.
 
This much-loved, classic children’s storybook by Kenneth Grahame has been adapted by Alan Bennett and will feature all the familiar characters including Toad, Ratty, Mole and Badger, who will be performed by an adult cast, as well as some not so familiar woodland creatures who will be played by two teams of children/young people.
 
The director, Jo Ashwell, is not at all daunted by the prospect of directing plays with large casts. Her most recent directing credits include Oliver! with a cast of 85, Doctor Doolittle with a cast of 65 and Annie with a whopping 102 cast members; all for Girlguiding Winchester Division.
 
She says ‘The Wind in the Willows has always been a favourite of mine. It is a tale about adventure, courage and friendship and provides a lot of scope to work with a combined cast of adults and children, which is something I really enjoy. I am looking forward to bringing the tales of the riverbank to life for the Chesil Theatre and can’t wait to begin rehearsals’.
 
A social reading of The Wind in the Willows is being held at the Chesil Theatre on Friday 6 April at 7.45pm. Open Auditions will take place at the theatre on Saturday 7 April at 10am and Sunday 8 April at 2pm for children/young people and adults. In addition, there will be an evening audition on Sunday 8 April at 7.45pm for adults only.
 
For further information, please see Chesil Theatre website: www.chesiltheatre.org.uk or email chesilinfo@chesiltheatre.org.uk