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Programme 2011 (5)
Issued Late December 2011

To download the original of this for printing click: Programme      Or click to get a copy of the: Booking Form  (page 2 with guest details on the reverse please).

To see and print off the details of the June trip to Stratford upon Avon click: Stratford

Thu 16 Feb,    7.30pm              BSO's 'Dreams & Romance' Concert at the Great Hall, Exeter 
Schumann : Overture, Scherzo and Finale   Dvorák : Romance for violin 
Berlioz : Rêverie et Caprice   Brahms : Serenade No. 1 
Soloist: Duncan Riddell (Director/Violin) 
Schumann composed the Overture as a stand-alone work, later adding the Scherzo and Finale. He continued to revise them over the next twelve years. The Overture opens in dramatic fashion, the mood is dark and challenging until the lively major melody appears, lightening the mood. The Scherzo and Finale are, by turns, majestic, imitative and vivacious. 
The Romance is one of the loveliest short violin pieces ever written and has become a popular concert piece. It is a highly characteristic work of Dvorák, combining his deep understanding of classical form and romantic harmony with beautiful flowing Slavonic melody. 
Composed in 1841, Rêverie is the only piece of music written by Berlioz in a concertante style. He frequently used it on his concert tours abroad: it was played by several of the leading violinists of the age, among them Ferdinand David, Lipinski, Joachim and Wieniawski. 
Brahms wrote this Serenade, this almost Symphony-Serenade, under the spell of Mozart’s serenades and divertimentos, the septets of Beethoven and Hummel, the Schubert Octet, and the Octet and Nonet of Spohr. It is buoyantly fresh, inventive, spirited, and touching, and possesses a hearty rusticity and country-dance feel

Arena seats £32            Club deadline Jan 2

Sat 3 Mar,    7.00pm              Party at the Plymouth Pavilions with the BBC Concert Orchestra
You've heard them on the radio and you've seen them on the TV. Now come and see the BBC Concert Orchestra live at Plymouth Pavilions in a one-off, special concert showcasing the show stopping music that makes this versatile ensemble so unique, with conductor Keith Lockhart. 
Families from across the South West unite under the banners of the Cornwall Family Orchestra & Chorus and the Devon Family Orchestra & Chorus. Together with the BBC Concert Orchestra, the 200 strong Family Orchestras perform a new commission written specially for the Olympics.

Tiered seats £16.50        Club deadline Jan 27

Thu 5 Apr,    7.15pm            Welsh National Opera La Traviata at the Theatre Royal, Plymouth 
Conductor Julia Jones (5 April, 7 April TBC); Director David McVicar 
Cast includes Canadian soprano Joyce El-Khoury as Violetta Valéry, Mexican tenor Carlos Osuna as Alfredo, celebrated Welsh baritone Jason Howard as Giorgio Germont and Eddie Wade as Baron Douphol 
Decadence, romance and devotion in 19th century Paris. Violetta Valéry, a courtesan in 19th century Paris, dreams of a better life. Alfredo Germont may be the man to provide her with the happy ending her story deserves. However, rigid social convention will ultimately deny her the salvation she craves. Verdi’s deeply moving opera remains as haunting and touching as ever. Praised for its insight and detail, David McVicar’s hugely popular production returns with an exciting new cast.

Circle seats £49 or upper circle seats £29        Club deadline Feb 6

Wed 18 Apr,    7.30pm            On Golden Pond at the Theatre Royal, Plymouth
By Ernest Thompson Directed and Designed by Michael Lunney. Middle Ground Theatre Company presents the timeless and endearing love story of Ethel and Norman Thayer, who are returning to their summer home on Golden Pond for the forty-eighth year. They are joined by their daughter and her fiancé, who leave their teenage son with Norman and Ethel while they travel to Europe. 
A deeply moving and touching exploration of the relationship between the elderly couple, their daughter and their grandson follows. As the summer wanes, there is a realisation that time is against them. But the years have been good, and perhaps there is another summer on Golden Pond still to enjoy... 
The classic film of On Golden Pond, which starred Katharine Hepburn, Henry Fonda and Jane Fonda, went on to win three Academy Awards including Best Actor and Best Actress for Henry Fonda and Katharine Hepburn. This lavish new production sees Hollywood film and television star Stefanie Powers joined by British film star and RSC/National Theatre leading man Richard Johnson, with Elizabeth Carling (best known from her regular roles in Boon, Goodnight Sweetheart and Casualty) playing their daughter Chelsea

Stalls £25        Club deadline Mar 16

Wed 18 Apr,    7.45pm            A History of Everything at the Drum Theatre, Plymouth 
Ontroerend Goed return to the Drum Theatre this spring to present you with a history of everything, from the present day all the way back to the Big Bang. Based on evolutionary theory, cosmology and the infinite beauty of the physical world, they will attempt to reach a completeness of the ungraspable astronomical history of the universe. In one evening. In their own unique way. This is our fourth production with Ontroerend Goed following Audience, Teenage Riot and Under the Influence, and comes to us direct from the Sydney Festival, Australia. 
Directed By: Alexander Devriendt. Actors: Cameron Goodall, Charlotte De Bruyne, Joeri Smet, Karolien De Bleser, Nathalie Verbeke, Tahki Saul, Zindzi Okenyo. Scenography: Sophie De Somere. Text: Alexander Devriendt, Joeri Smet. In Collaboration with the cast, and With Fragments Of Sum By David Eagleman  

Unreserved seats £15        Club deadline Mar 16

Tue 24 Apr,    7.30pm       Matthew Bourne's Nutcracker! at the Theatre Royal, Plymouth 
A New Adventures production. One of the most popular dance productions ever staged in the UK, Matthew Bourne’s Nutcracker! returns to the Theatre Royal Plymouth to celebrate its 20th anniversary. This delicious theatrical feast has family-sized helpings of Matthew Bourne’s trademark wit, pathos and magical fantasy. Nutcracker! follows Clara’s bittersweet journey from a hilariously bleak Christmas Eve at Dr. Dross’ Orphanage, through a shimmering, ice-skating winter wonderland, to the scrumptious candy kingdom of Sweetieland. Tchaikovsky’s glorious score and Anthony Ward’s unforgettable sets and costumes combine with sizzling choreography to create a fresh and charmingly irreverent interpretation of the traditional favourite. 
Hailed by The Observer as “the undisputed king of dance theatre”, Matthew Bourne’s company New Adventures has produced some of the most successful dance productions of the last two decades including Swan Lake, Edward Scissorhandsand last year’s sell-out hit, Cinderella. 'Truly, Truly Scrumptious' - Independent on Sunday 

Circle seats £31        Club deadline Feb 27

Thu 26 Apr,    7.30pm            BSO's Russian Masters Concert at the Great Hall, Exeter
Stravinsky : Fireworks Conductor : Kirill Karabits 
Prokofiev : Sinfonia Concertante Soloist: Truls Mørk (Cello) 
Tchaikovsky : Sleeping Beauty (excerpts) 
Stravinsky’s Fireworks is strongly influenced by his teacher, Rimsky-Korsakov, full of colourful, folk-flavoured nationalism. Compact, dazzlingly scored for huge orchestra and aptly explosive, it clearly forecasts such later scores as The Firebird and Petrushka. 
Through the encouragement of Mstislav Rostropovich, Prokofiev reworked an earlier cello concerto into the Sinfonia Concertante. It displays his full mastery of orchestral colour and elicits some astonishing sounds from the soloist. An undoubted masterpiece, it proved that Prokofiev still had something to say, in spite of those who would have silenced him. 
Sleeping Beauty presents a tale of magical spells, a long-delayed romance and a royal wedding full of colourful characters. A soaring waltz, one of the most popular ever written, and the Rose Adagio are among the highlights of this extended suite. Tchaikovsky finally took pleasure in one of his own compositions: “The subject is so poetic lending itself so admirably to music that I enjoyed composing it very much, and worked with a zeal and eagerness that always makes for good results.” The critics agreed.

Arena seats £32        Club deadline Mar 12

Wed 16 May,    7.30pm         Henry V at the Theatre Royal, Plymouth    
By William Shakespeare. Directed by Edward Hall. Designed by Michael Pavelka 
Lighting designed by Ben Ormerod. Music by Propeller. 
Henry V tells the tale of the greatest British warrior in English folklore. In a time when nationalism is at its most dangerous and exciting and increasing numbers of British servicemen and women are seeing active service, Propeller brings its own unique take on one of Shakespeare’s most famous plays. Thrilling and deeply moving, Henry V marks the beginning of a journey that takes us from the corridors of Westminster to the fields of France in an evening of unforgettable power. 
Led by Director Edward Hall, internationally acclaimed all-male company, Propeller returns to Plymouth following their highly praised productions of Richard III and The Comedy Of Errors. Renowned for combining a rigorous approach to the text with an exciting, physical aesthetic, Propeller engages its audience’s imagination and brings fresh understanding to classic plays. It’s Shakespeare rediscovered. “Shakespeare as it should be done, fast, sinuous and surprising” The Independent. 

Stalls £24        Club deadline Apr 13

Tue 29 May,    7.30pm          Doctor in the House at the Theatre Royal, Plymouth   
Adapted by Ted Willis from Richard Gordon’s novel directed by Ian Talbot 
Do you need a prescription for laughter? Then here comes the cure as the classic British comedy, Doctor in the House hits the stage! Follow the inexperienced young medical student Simon Sparrow beginning his five-year internship at St. Swithin’s Teaching Hospital. Continually running afoul of the irascible head surgeon Sir Lancelot Spratt his social life is spiced up when Sparrow is taken under the wings of two student repeaters, Tony Grimsdyke and John Evans, to farcical consequences. 
Starring one of Britain’s best loved funnymen, Joe Pasquale, stage and screen actor Robert Powell and refereed by award winning director Ian Talbot, Doctor in the House is comedy at its very best; the doctor will see you now!

Stalls £24        Club deadline Apr 30

Mon 11 Jun,    7.15pm            Royal Shakespeare Company's Julius Caesar at Stratford upon Avon 
The dictator must be assassinated. But who will replace him? 
Shakespeare’s great political thriller, Julius Caesar, finds dark, contemporary echoes in modern Africa, directed by RSC Chief Associate Director Gregory Doran. The cast will include Adjoa Andoh, Ray Fearon, Paterson Joseph, Jeffery Kissoon and Joseph Mydell. It will be designed by Michael Vale, with music by Akintayo Akinbode, lighting by Vince Herbert, sound by Jonathan Ruddick, and fight direction by Kev McCurdy. 
RSC Artistic Director Michael Boyd said: 'Shakespeare is Britain’s greatest artist and his work still speaks to people all over the world today. We’re producing the World Shakespeare Festival for London 2012 Festival as part of the Cultural Olympiad with over 50 other cultural organisations from across the UK and around the world.

Package price – see link for Stratford at top of page       Club deadline Jan 11

Thu 14 Jun,    7.30pm           South Pacific at the Theatre Royal, Plymouth 
This breathtaking and lavish Lincoln Center Theater production reinvented Rodgers and Hammerstein’s classic musical. It swept the 2008 Tony Awards, played for two years to sold out houses on Broadway and was televised across America. This smash hit musical has now enchanted UK audiences, receiving huge critical acclaim and sold out houses at London’s Barbican, before embarking on a record breaking sold out UK tour. 
With a cast and live orchestra of 50, this international landmark production, brought to you by the producers of West Side Story and Guys & Dolls, arrives at the Theatre Royal Plymouth for two weeks only. 
Metropolitan Opera Director and Winner of Tony Award for Best Director, Bartlett Sher, directs a stellar cast which includes British musical theatre stars Matthew Cammelle, Alex Ferns and Daniel Koek. Considered one of the finest musicals ever written, the score includes Some Enchanted Evening, I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right Outta My Hair and There is Nothin’ Like a Dame. 
Don’t miss this once in a lifetime opportunity to witness one of the greatest musicals of all time, as the critics agree, 
‘This is a show you will remember forever’ (The Star-Ledger). 

Circle seats £41       Club deadline Apr 13

Tue 10 Jul,    7.30pm            Sister Act at the Theatre Royal, Plymouth 
When disco diva Deloris Van Cartier witnesses a murder, she is put in protective custody in the one place the cops are sure she won’t be found – a convent! Disguised as a nun she makes the wrong impression on the convent’s strict Mother Superior. But when she transforms the convent’s choir into the most glorious new musical act in town, Deloris forms a lasting bond with her newfound friends? and the gang that’s chasing her finds itself up against an unstoppable team of soulful sisters! 
Based on the smash hit movie of the same name, this fabulous, family-friendly, feel-good show is packed with songs inspired by Motown, funk, soul and disco, which more than a million people saw in the West End! 
Sister Act may not be suitable for some children under 8.

Stalls or Circle seats £42        Club deadline Apr 30