What's On 16th - 22nd September

Whilst the theatres took the summer off to refresh and refurb, I also had a break and took the chance to bask in the slightly surprising Exeter sunshine.

So with a extended-summer break, lets get back to the culture vulture-ing

Flood - The Bike Shed Theatre

Exploring the great floods of 1960 and 2012 through anecdotes, skits, animation and lessons. As the confluence of three rivers Exeter is ideally suited for flooding. This play looks at both the geographic reasons for flooding and its impact on the population. 

Thursday - Saturday, 7.30pm, with a matinee on Saturday 2pm

Tickets £8-12

(I've seen this and hope to have a review up tomorrow)

This Citys Centre, Part 3, Here, Now - St. Stephens House

An ongoing new arts project exploring our city from a different perspective. Part 1 is a video installation shown at RAMM, part 2 is a explorable map. This part 3 is a live participatory video piece, bring along something from your windowsill. 

Tuesday - Saturday, 7pm

Tickets £8-10

Unexpected Exeter Festival - all over the city

Exeters new arts festival (how many do we have now?) placing art and performance in unexpected places. 

There is a mixture of circus acts, visual art, performances and sporting events happening in odd places like the Pyramids swimming pool, bus shelters, and the Guildhall. 

Friday - Sunday

Complete programme of events

What's On 22nd - 28th July

New Blood, Bare Bones - The Bike Shed Theatre
Following on from the themes stirred up by the performance of Oxygen earlier this month these three short plays will cast modern eyes on democracy, voting, equality and suffrage.
Tuesday - Saturday  7.30pm
Tickets £5
(I'm looking forward to seeing this)


Back to Broadway - The Barnfield Theatre
A celebration of classic musicals from Broadway and the West End.
Saturday  7.30pm
Tickets £14-15
(I was going to see this, up until I read the price of a ticket!)

What's On 15th - 21st July

dream//life at the Bike Shed Theatre
A beautiful little play exploring dreams and contrasting life before and after MND - I've already given it five stars
Tuesday - Saturday, 7.30pm
Tickets £7-10

The Importance of Being Earnest, Poltimore House
A musical of Oscar Wilde's play of mistaken identities, criss-crossed romances and foolish men, performed by students from Cygnet New Theatre
Thursday and Saturday, 7pm
Tickets £5-10

Dancing at Lughnasa, Poltimore House
Brian Friels play of poverty, music and family in 1930s Ireland, performed by students from Cygnet New Theatre
Wednesday and Friday, 7pm
Tickets £5-10

What's On 8th - 14th July 2013

Sorry for the delay in getting this week's listings up

Some Like It Hotter - Exeter Phoenix
A musical comedy where Jack Lemmon, Marilyn Monroe and Tony Curtis reunite in the afterlife.
Thursday - Saturday, 7.30pm with an extra matinee on Saturday at 2.30pm.
Tickets £10.50 - 20.50

dream//life - The Bike Shed Theatre
This amazing short play about a couple affected by motor neurone disease continues for this week and next. There are also screenings of the film 'I Am Breathing' on Wednesdays at 6pm.
Tuesday - Saturday, 7.30pm
Tickets £5-10

Whistle - The Bike Shed Theatre
A multi-media poetry performance about post-war British childhood.
Sunday only, 7.30pm
Tickets from £7

Anything Goes - The Barnfield Theatre
The SS America sails from New York to England, giving plenty of time for the eccentric passengers to fool around with love and mistaken identities.
Saturday only, 7.30pm and 3pm
Tickets £7.50-8.50
(I love a good musical, and I hope to catch this one)

The Importance of Being Earnest - Cygnet New Theatre
Oscar Wilde's classic comedic play about love and wit converted in to a musical.
Tuesday - Saturday 7.30pm, with a matinee on Saturday at 2pm
Tickets £8-10
(I'm not sure about the idea of a musical version of Wilde's play, but I might check it out)

What's On 1st - 7th July

Much Ado About Nothing - Exeter Phoenix
Match-making and trouble-making in Shakespeare's classic.
Friday 7.30pm
Tickets £5-7

As You Like It - Exeter Phoenix
Lovers bumble around a lot and evenutally unite in the Forest of Arden
Friday 2pm
Tickets £5-7
(surely I can't be the only one who gets sick of seeing the same half a dozen Shakespeare plays billed year after year)


Oxygen - Barnfield Theatre and Rougemont Gardens (tickets through Exeter Phoenix)
A new play to commemorate the centenary of the Great Suffrage Pilgrimage, the march for women's rights from Lands End to Hyde Park.
You can read more about the tour of the play and its development at http://dreadnoughtsouthwest.org.uk/
Rougemont - Thursday 3pm and 7.30pm   Tickets £7.50 - 10.50
Barnfield - Friday 7.30pm   Tickets £8-12
(I'm hoping the weather holds out so I can see this outdoors on Thursday)


A Doll's House - Cygnet New Theatre
Buried secrets begin to shake up the Helmers' marriage so Nora must begin to make her own mind up.
Tuesday - Saturday 7.30pm, matinee on Saturday at 2pm
Tickets £6-10


dream//life - The Bike Shed Theatre
Motor neurone disease traps you inside your body, so Ian decides to retreat to his dreams and imagination.
Tuesday - Saturday 7.30pm
Tickets £5-10
(This is on for three weeks as part of the tidy carnage residency at the Bike Shed. I'll be seeing it on Friday)

What's On 24th - 30th June

Birdhouse - Exeter Northcott Theatre
Minor characters from Hitchcock's 'The Birds' are given centre-stage in this new play that explores madness,  post-traumatic stress and fear as they are the only survivors of the bird attack on Bodega Bay.
Tuesday 7.30pm
Tickets £10.50-12.50


Chris Goode and company continue their residence at The Bike Shed Theatre. There is a different show every night (Tuesday - Saturday), so check out the full listing to make your choice.
Tickets £6-10


Monkey & Crocodile - a free unticketed performance in Belmont Park
An acrobatic musical re-telling of a traditional Indian fable.
Wednesday - Friday, 11am and 3pm each day


Double Dickens - The Barnfield Theatre
Two excerpts from the works of Dickens. Doctor Marigold deals with the life of a Victorian travelling salesman, and Mr Pickwick tries to survive The Trial of Pickwick.
Friday and Saturday 7.30pm
Tickets £7-8


Get To The Future - The Barnfield Theatre
An adaptation of a classic time travel movie.
Friday and Saturday 7pm
Tickets £4-7

What's On 17th - 23rd July

After the Beginning, Before the End, Exeter Phoenix
A cross between stand-up comedy and story-telling about an important idea that arrived suddenly.
Tuesday 8pm.
Tickets £10

Skin Deep, Barnfield Theatre
Set in 1980s Britain exploring the cultural melting pot happening around Ska and Two Tone music and culture.
Wednesday and Friday 7.45pm
Tickets £8

Patterns, The Cygnet New Theatre
A musical thriller about a charming killer who gives lonely women the best six months of their lives.
Friday 7.30pm
Tickets £6-10

Chris Goode and Co. residency, The Bike Shed Theatre
The second week of this three week residency. There is a difference performance each evening (Tuesday - Saturday).
Tickets £8-10

(I'm looking forward to seeing his performance of Ginsberg's Howl)

What's On 10th - 16th June

Grand Guignol - Barnfeld Theatre
If like me, you missed it at Ignite, you can still catch this triptych of horror plays on Tuesday.
Tuesday 11th only, 8pm.
Tickets £8-10
(I can't make my mind up to see this or not, I'm not a fan of horror films, would I like a play better?)

Peter Pan - Barnfield Theatre
Students from the drama course at Exeter College present the classic tale.
Thursday 13th June 10am, Friday 14th June 10am & 7pm, Saturday 15th June 1.30pm & 7pm, Sunday 16th June 1.30pm
Tickets £5-7

Chris Goode and Company will be in residence for the rest of June at the Bike Shed Theatre. There is a different performance each night, so it is best to read the residency information page to read all about them.  This week (Tuesday-Saturday) there is 'Welcome to Albemarle', 'Stories From The Yearning', 'a smith from a distance', 'ABLE REALM', and 'Some People Will Do Anything To Keep Themselves From Being Moved'.
Tickets £6-10

Nine Parts A Quaker - The Cygnet New Theatre
If the slave trade was abolished in the 19th century, why is there still slavery today? This play examines the story of Thomas Clarkson, an abolitionist, and the continuing work to end slavery today.
Friday 14th only, 7.30pm
Tickets £6.
(I'd be really interested in seeing this but I'm out of town on that evening).

What's On 3rd - 9th June

Any space can be a theatre, anyone can tell a story

I can't possibly list what's on in Exeter this week in my usual style as the Ignite festival is upon us. Six days, eight venues and something like 40 plays. As you can see from my copy of the programme, I hoping to keep myself busy hoping in and out of the venues. I've got 23 plays highlighted - I think it's doable.

Full details of performances and ticket prices are at www.igniteexeter.org.uk

But also, 

Two Gentlemen of Verona - Exeter Northcott Theatre

The critically acclaimed Tabacco Factory's latest Shakespeare production. 

Tuesday - Saturday, 7.30pm

Tickets £10.50 - 20.50

(I'm planning on going Wednesday)

What's On 27th May - 2nd June

Desert and The Roland Piece - The Bike Shed Theatre
Both plays are by the MolinoGroup and they are alternating their performances. So Tuesday and Thursday it's the new draft performance about war artist Roland Penrose. Wednesday and Friday are the final performances of 'Desert' dramatising Bradley Manning's time in pre-trial detention and the events that led him there.
All performances start at 7.30pm.
Tickets £7-10
(I've already seen Desert, I'll be seeing The Roland Piece later this week)

Dancing at Lughnasa - The Cygnet New Theatre
Cygnet's first play for the new season, about poverty and life in 1930s rural Ireland.
Running each evening until Saturday, 7.30pm.
Tickets £6-10

Varmints and The Elves and the Shoemaker - Exeter Northcott
It's a week for children's theatre at the Northcott. Varmints tells the story of a small creature trying to preserve his world from the entrouching city. The Elves and the Shoemaker updates the classic tale, with puppets.
Varmints is Tuesday, 3pm and 7pm. The Elves and the Shoemaker is Wednesday 3pm Thursday - Friday, 11am and 3pm.
Tickets £10-12.50

What's On 20th - 26th May 2013

Dancing at Lughnasa - Cygnet New Theatre
Set in rural 1930s Ireland with the ancient festival of Lughnasa, Michael returns home to his extended family trapped in poverty but hoping to find love and dancing.
Starts on Friday 24th, 7.30pm, runs until 1 June next week
Tickets £6-10
(I'll be adding this to my diary - plus I love the poster)

Desert - The Bike Shed Theatre
An exploration of the story and events behind Bradley Manning, the American army analyst who allegedly leaked sensitive information to the website WikiLeaks.
Tuesday - Saturday, 7.30pm
Tickets £7-10
(Definitely interested in this one)

The Roland Piece - The Bike Shed Theatre
A draft of The MolinoGroup's new piece on the relationship between artists and war, focusing on British artist Roland Penrose's work during World War 2.
Matinee on Saturday at 2pm, then the play runs in the evenings next week.
Tickets £5
(I think I'll catch this next week)

Ignite: Exeter's Festival of Theatre

I've been a bit slow reporting this, but here it is - the Ignite Festival 2013 programme is now available!

You can check out all the show details on the official website: www.igniteexeter.org.uk
You can also pick up the brochure at good arts venues around the city.

I'll be rushing around like a mad thing seeing as many shows as I can, I think I have about 20 shows marked on my copy of the programme (luckily I've blagged myself a press pass to get in for free). Goodness knows what state I'll be in by the end of the week!

48 hour musical

Tonight is the performance of a brand new musical, written, rehearsed, directed and performed all within 48 hours. The promo photo of a grown up and fed up Snow White looks intriguing. I wish I could go, but I have to work :(

It's being held at the University of Exeter. Search for the event on FaceBook under 'Shotlights 48 hour musical' for more details. 

What's On 13th - 19th

I Was A Rat! - Exeter Northcott Theatre
The first theatrical production of Phillip Pullman's book by the same name about a boy who used to be a rat before turning up on a married couple's doorstep.
Wednesday - Saturday, check the website for times
Tickets £12.50


Lucifer Saved - The Bike Shed Theatre
This is the last week of this play of tragedies and war 'heroes' at the Bike Shed. There are also two more Roving Theatre Poetry Nights - Tuesday and Thursday.
Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, 7pm
Tickets £7-10


The Ringmaster - Barnfield Theatre
A community performance about a circus where not all is smoke and mirrors.
Saturday and Sunday, 7.30pm.
Tickets £3-5

NB: The performances of 'The Restoration Project' at the Barnfield Theatre have been cancelled

What's On 6th - 12th

Sound Bite - Barnfield Theatre
July 1969 and the men responsible for composing Neil Armstrong's first words on the moon have writers block.
Wednesday - Saturday, 8pm
Tickets £5 - 7
(I'm considering seeing this)

The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) (revised) - Exeter Northcott Theatre
A comedic run-through of all the bard's plays condensed into an hour and a half.
Friday 10th only, 6pm and 9pm
Tickets £16 - 18

Lucifer Saved continues at The Bike Shed Theatre
Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, with poetry beforehand, 7pm
On Tuesday and Thursday the same production company are hosting poetry nights with invited artists, including Alice Oswald and Jackie Juno.

Tickets £7 - 10

What's On 1st-5th May

Guys and Dolls - Exeter Northcott Theatre
The Exeter Musical Society are putting on this classic Tony award winning musical about gambling and love. Monday - Saturday 7.30pm, and a matinee at 2.30pm on Saturday.
Tickets £12.50-18.50

Lucifer Saved - The Bike Shed Theatre
A tale of WW2 veterans struggling to remember and trying to forget.
Friday & Saturday - 7pm. It's also on various dates for the next two weeks, with poetry sessions mixed in.
Tickets £5-10

What's On, 22nd-28th April

The Misanthrope - Exeter Northcott Theatre
A Molière classic mockery of manners and morals set amid 17th century French aristocracy. Tuesday - Saturday, 7.30pm. There's also a Saturday matinee at 2.30 Tickets £12.50 - £20.50
(I'm going to try and cram this in to my calendar)

The Incomers - The Bike Shed Theatre
What starts as a simple celebration between four friends quickly unravels with one revelation after another until we become aware that no one has been telling the truth to anyone about anything for a very long time. Tuesday - Saturday, 7.30pm. Tickets £7 - 10
(I think it's written in verse, I'm looking forward to seeing it)

What's On This Week

The Disappearance of Sadie Jones - The Bike Shed Theatre
Sadie Jones wants to disappear. She walks a tightrope between reality and her imagination; a chaos of words, and silence.
Until the 20th April. Tickets from £10
(I'll be seeing this during the week)

'Allo 'Allo - The Barnfield Theatre
Based on the old TV show about René, the hapless café owner in the town of Nouvien in war-torn occupied France, as he and his wife, Edith, struggle to keep for themselves a priceless portrait of the ‘Fallen Madonna with the big boobies’.
Until the 20th April. Tickets from £11
(I loved the TV show as a child, but I'm not sure the humour will have stood the test of time)

Lie Back and Think of America - The Cygnet New Theatre
A multi-role WW2 comedy-drama written and performed by Natalie Wilcox.
Only 18th April. Tickets £8