Two exchanges in the box office from yesterday morning:
Box office: "Playhouse box office, good morning?"
Caller: "Can I have six seats for Hot Mikado on Saturday evening please?"
Box office: "I'm afraid we only have three seats left in the very front row"
Caller: "But I want six!"
Box office: "I'm sorry, this show has proved very popular and all we have left are three seats in the very front row"
Caller: "Well, can we have those three and three somewhere else?"
Box office: "No, we literally have only three seats left in total, there are no other seats available for this performance"
Caller: "What, really?"
Box office: "Playhouse box office, good afternoon?"
Caller: "Have you any seats left for Hot Mikado on Saturday evening please?"
Box office: "I'm afraid all we have left are three seats in the front row"
Caller: "But I wanted 13!"
Box office: "I'm sorry, all we have left are three seats, this show has proved very popular"
Caller: "But we've booked the coach!"
So, hear ye, hear ye. The Saturday evening performance of Hot Mikado has now SOLD OUT. Thursday evening is almost sold out. Friday and Wednesday evenings have very limited availability. So, when we say we only have a few seats left, we're not making it up!
Tuesday 24 November 2009
Friday 20 November 2009
Proposed parking changes
Last month, we received notification that Gloucestershire County Council were proposing to make changes to the on-street parking in the vicinity of the theatre, in particular Bath Road, Oriel Road and Wellington Street. There followed a short period of consultation during which many of our members, together with other volunteer colleagues at the nearby Salvation Army citadel, said how damaging these proposals could be for our community work.
We have now received the official proposals following this consultation period and I am afraid to say that almost no concessions have been made in respect of our representations. The main proposal is that the current free on-street parking on these three roads will be subject to pay and display charges from 8am - 8pm, seven days per week. A maximum stay of two hours will be permitted, with the exception of Sunday mornings when a three hour maximum is permitted. The charges will be £1.60 for one hour, £2.80 for two hours and £3.80 for three hours. Some of Wellington Street will have residents permit parking and much of the current single yellow line in the general area will be removed.
Aside from the huge financial implications to our many volunteers that these changes would bring, of particular concern to the theatre is the removal of the single yellow line along Oriel Road. This is currently used on Sunday mornings for the loading and unloading of furniture, props, sets, lighting and sound equipment as one production leaves and another arrives. If this area becomes, as proposed, no waiting at any time, the general operation of the theatre becomes extremely difficult. The actual parking charges will affect all of our amateur casts, front of house volunteers and parents dropping off and collecting children from the assorted classes held after school and on Saturdays. These charges will also impact on the Salvation Army mothers and toddlers sessions, pensioners' lunch club etc, which are also heavily dependant on volunteers and frequented by the elderly and people on very limited incomes.
The trustees of the registered charity are meeting on Tuesday evening to formulate their official response and I myself met with the chairman this afternoon. We will be asking our supporters to lend us their help in the coming weeks ahead of the official deadline for objections (Monday 7 December), not just for ourselves but for all voluntary organisations in this area that will find their work, none of which is done for profit, severely impeded or potentially forced to stop. Please keep an eye on this blog for updates.
We have now received the official proposals following this consultation period and I am afraid to say that almost no concessions have been made in respect of our representations. The main proposal is that the current free on-street parking on these three roads will be subject to pay and display charges from 8am - 8pm, seven days per week. A maximum stay of two hours will be permitted, with the exception of Sunday mornings when a three hour maximum is permitted. The charges will be £1.60 for one hour, £2.80 for two hours and £3.80 for three hours. Some of Wellington Street will have residents permit parking and much of the current single yellow line in the general area will be removed.
Aside from the huge financial implications to our many volunteers that these changes would bring, of particular concern to the theatre is the removal of the single yellow line along Oriel Road. This is currently used on Sunday mornings for the loading and unloading of furniture, props, sets, lighting and sound equipment as one production leaves and another arrives. If this area becomes, as proposed, no waiting at any time, the general operation of the theatre becomes extremely difficult. The actual parking charges will affect all of our amateur casts, front of house volunteers and parents dropping off and collecting children from the assorted classes held after school and on Saturdays. These charges will also impact on the Salvation Army mothers and toddlers sessions, pensioners' lunch club etc, which are also heavily dependant on volunteers and frequented by the elderly and people on very limited incomes.
The trustees of the registered charity are meeting on Tuesday evening to formulate their official response and I myself met with the chairman this afternoon. We will be asking our supporters to lend us their help in the coming weeks ahead of the official deadline for objections (Monday 7 December), not just for ourselves but for all voluntary organisations in this area that will find their work, none of which is done for profit, severely impeded or potentially forced to stop. Please keep an eye on this blog for updates.
Wednesday 18 November 2009
Christmas Treats
This year we have two very different Christmas offerings, although there is no home-grown 'pantomime for childish grown-ups' (fear not - Friends Theatre Company will be back with a vengeance in 2010).
First up is PETITE ROUGE: A CAJUN RED RIDING HOOD, which is being staged by Canvas Theatre from the University of Gloucestershire. The familiar fairy tale has been reworked into an enchanting musical where Red is a duck and the Wolf is now an alligator named Claude! This show is a perfect Christmas treat for children of all ages but has enough humour and intelligence to be enjoyed by adults too. The music is infectious and provides an ideal change from traditional pantomime. The performances take place at 7.45 on Thursday 10 December and 2.30 on Saturday 12 December, with full price tickets costing £8 and concessions for children, students and OAPs at just £6.
Then we have the UK premiere of a stage version of the classic film IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE. The play, like the film, is the ultimate in inspirational/feel-good entertainment in the run-up to Christmas as we see the effect George Bailey has on the world and what a different place it would be if he threw his life away. Performances take place from Thursday 17 - Saturday 19 and Monday 21 - Thursday 24 December at 7.45, with the exception of Christmas Eve when the performance will commence at 7.00. Tickets are £9 with concessions of £7 for students and OAPs and £5 for under-16s.
First up is PETITE ROUGE: A CAJUN RED RIDING HOOD, which is being staged by Canvas Theatre from the University of Gloucestershire. The familiar fairy tale has been reworked into an enchanting musical where Red is a duck and the Wolf is now an alligator named Claude! This show is a perfect Christmas treat for children of all ages but has enough humour and intelligence to be enjoyed by adults too. The music is infectious and provides an ideal change from traditional pantomime. The performances take place at 7.45 on Thursday 10 December and 2.30 on Saturday 12 December, with full price tickets costing £8 and concessions for children, students and OAPs at just £6.
Then we have the UK premiere of a stage version of the classic film IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE. The play, like the film, is the ultimate in inspirational/feel-good entertainment in the run-up to Christmas as we see the effect George Bailey has on the world and what a different place it would be if he threw his life away. Performances take place from Thursday 17 - Saturday 19 and Monday 21 - Thursday 24 December at 7.45, with the exception of Christmas Eve when the performance will commence at 7.00. Tickets are £9 with concessions of £7 for students and OAPs and £5 for under-16s.
Tuesday 3 November 2009
Hot Mikado tickets
Please note that the Thursday and Saturday evening performances for this show are selling very quickly. We have availability in the front three rows only.
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