After a dramatic 2021 Sheringham Little Theatre hopes 2022 has better times in the wings, reports director Debbie Thompson in her regular column.
Panto springs into action at the theatre next week – but we are already looking to plan the action for next spring.
Jack and Beanstalk opens on December 21 and runs until New Year’s Eve, though we generously give the cast the day off on the 25th. Well it is Christmas!
Demand for tickets has been so great we have added extra 10am shows on December 28 and 30 which is fantastic news.
And the take up for our schools screenings has been great with more than 253,797 youngsters nationally and 39,123 from Norfolk signed up to tune in.
So hopefully Jack and his jolly crew have given plenty of festive fun to families far and wide.
But our thoughts are already turning to 2022 and what the spring holds. And the early buds are encouraging.
We are particularly pleased to be welcoming back our local amateur groups with some exciting productions, which is an encouraging sign that people are feeling more confident about planning events.
Hosting casts and crowds to such shows is a signal that we are getting back to being the community arts venue we seek to be.
Stage Direct are putting on the comedy Miss Marble Takes a Break from January 20-22.
Cromer and Sheringham Operatic Society stages Alan Bennett’s Lady in the Van from February 9-12.
Our Little Theatre Players are presenting the classic J B Priestley comedy When We Are Married from March 31 to April 2.
And our youth theatre will at long last stage Guys and Dolls from April 14-16 – two years after it was first planned, then stalled due to Covid.
Other spring highlights include:
⦁ Captain Calamity’s trio of three different children’s shows on February 26, March 26 and April 6.
⦁ To mark International Women’s Day, Samia Malik will present Songs to Heal and Empower live and recorded, in English and Urdu, in a show backed by the National Lottery and Arts Council on March 4 and ending with a Q&A session.
⦁ A return on March 5 of fEAST Theatre’s popular Canada Boys based on a true story about workers from the Colman’s factory in Norwich
⦁ Music includes a March 12 concert from experienced folk singer Sally Barker, who came second on The Voice and has worked with greats from the folk, rock and blues worlds.
And, good news for jazz fans.
Our popular Jazz in the Hub sessions are resuming from the end of January. Featured bands include The Paul Hill Quartet (January 30), Back to Blue Note (February 27), John Whitehead Trio (March 27), The Art of Trio (April 24) and Red Shadow Quartet (May 22).
So there’s plenty to write in your shiny new 2022 diaries when it comes to Little Theatre shows.
We are hugely grateful to everyone who has supported us through the troubles and traumas of 2021 through attending shows, making donations, or visiting the Hub café. If we don’t see you at a panto show, we wish you a Merry Christmas and look forward to exciting things in 2022.
Details of shows can be found on the theatre website www.sheringhamlittletheatre.com
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