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The RSCAW was the brainchild of Birmingham sports journalist and closet thespian Roger Clarke aided by Tom Roberts, producer of the excellent Lichfield Garrick Rep (click for details of the Garrick). The idea is to have a community theatre in the pub and with help and encouragement from Keith Ward, the manager of The Station in Station Street, Sutton Coldfield, we launched The Station Pub Theatre in the summer of 2008. The theatre will put on professional, amateur and pro-am productions as well as open mic nights and workshops. We hope to encourage local writers and actors as well as new works. We are also looking at producing our own radio plays for local radio and hospital radio. PROGRAMME FOR 2010 The Christmas and New Year break has managed to extend to encompass the Chinese New Year as well which proves, if nothing else, that we are inclusive (is that worth a grant I wonder???) This was partly because of a couple of unavoidable cancellations of productions which have been rescheduled for later in the year and partly because of my new venture www.behindthearras.com (see below). We are now putting together an intensive spring and early summer programme which will bring in work by four professional Midland companies, all of which are building a growing reputation in the region and beyond. First up will be First Light Theatre's production of Al Smith's one-man play Radio. This was a one-off for the Edinburgh Fringe of 2006 which has refused to stick to the script and has been performed regularly ever since in the USA, Australia and Britain. Directed by Lucy Poulson, Robert Madeley plays Charles Lebanon Fairbanks Jnr who chronicles his life in a one hour monologue about relationships, space and, of course radio and the little details of life in small town America. Radio is on April 24 and 25. Click here http://www.behindthearras.com/theatre_archive.html#Radio for a review at The Old Joint Stock. In May (19 and 20) the company who brought you Patrick and Bernadine will be bringing a production to The Station. Click here http://www.behindthearras.com/theatre_archive.html#patrick for a review of Patrick and Bernadine. http://patrickandbernadine.co.uk/. In June Lucky Fin productions will be bringing The Frozen Heart to the Station. This was written and devised by founder of Lucky Fin, Rachael Pennell, as a tribute both to novelist Irene Nemirovsky, the author of Suite Francaise, who died in the gas chambers of Auschwitz in 1942 aged 39, and to the people who survived under the Nazi regime. Dates are currently being confirmed. Click here http://www.behindthearras.com/theatre_archive.html#The_Frozen_Heart for a review of The Frozen Heart Staffordshire's Opus Theatre Company are looking to bring a new production to The Station in the early summer - the company's Confessions of Honour, written by Opus founder Gerry Hinks made it to the West End and dates are currently being arranged. Meanwhile, behind the arras if you are interested, I am involved in a new venture, a theatrical website, www.behindthearras.com which will be covering Midland theatres, both amateur and professional as well as pubs and clubs. ALSO Lined up in talks we still have Two, Jim Cartwright's play set in a pub with 14 characters and a cast of two. Also in the pipeline is Satin 'n' Steel which is a tale of dreams and hopes in clubland and we are hoping to stage Shirley Valentine if we can find a mutual date with our star. We are currently negotiating performance rights for these productions. Waitress for Godot by one of our own members Paul Bamborough, is also in the pipeline as is Frozen Heart next summer which was at the Lichfield Garrick this month. It is a musical tribute to Irene Nemirovsky who wrote Suite Francaise and the people who lived in occupied Europe in the Second World War.
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