Summer at Alphabetti

Published: 14 May 2018
Reporter: Peter Lathan

The Unbinding
Pricks
The Butcher's Bill

Newcastle’s Alphabetti Theatre has announced its programme through to the end of July 2018. The season includes stand up, spoken word, cabaret, music and events (including workshops) of various kinds.

The theatre highlights are:

25 and 26 May
Fat Rascal Theatre presents
Tom and Bunny Save the World: The Musical
As 2018 falls to a zombie apocalypse, Tom and Bunny begin their perilous journey to Yorkshire in quest of sanctuary and a proper cup of tea in a gender-stereotype-destroying, black and bloody comedy with a live folk soundtrack.

29 – 31 May
Curious Monkey and Newcastle Arts Development Organisation present
This World Here…Nomhlaba Le
An international collaboration bringing together original music intertwined with traditional South African and Geordie songs, verbatim testimony and storytelling, created and performed by Sanele Mzimela, Phelelani Mzimela, Velaphi Mthimkulu, Samu Khumalo, Sam Bell, Alice Blundell and Stan Hodgson and directed by Amy Golding.

2 & 3, 9 & 10, 16 & 17 June
Alphabetti Theatre in partnership with Stage Tynemouth presents
The Alphabetti Theatre Youth Festival!
Productions from the Westovian Youth Theatre, Stage Tynemouth, Famous 4.15, First Act Theatre, Customs House, and Live Theatre. Full details nearer the time.

5 & 6 June
Wrong Shoes Theatre Company presents
The Unbinding
Four women accused of witchcraft are locked together awaiting their sentence in the shadows. Scared and hungry they don’t know who they can trust or who will survive…
Contains scenes that some viewers may find disturbing including scenes of a sexual nature, nudity, violence, blood and strong language.

7 June (8:00)
Open Heart Theatre presents
Let Us Make It Up To You - June
Improvised comedy

13 & 14 June
Jade Byrne presents
Pricks
“I’ve had over 70,000 pricks... of the medical kind.
“This is my chance to set the record straight about type 1 diabetics like me. I’m not bankrupting the NHS. And I can eat cake, a whole bloody cake if I want to.”
Written and performed by: Jade Byrne; co-directed by Annie Rigby and Ruth Johnson.

20 & 21 June
Canny Craic Theatre Co present
The Butcher's Bill
World War I—No Man's Land 1916, three unlikely companions are thrown together by fate.
You've seen the heroes—those born for war. Others, would simply do anything to survive…

26 (7:30) & 27 June (9:30)
CaroleW Productions presents
Year of Wonders
Adapted by Mike Alfreds & Jane Arnfield from the novel by Geraldine Brooks
When, in 1666, an infected bolt of cloth carries plague to an isolated village, a housemaid named Anna Frith must find the strength to confront the disintegration of her community and the lure of illicit love.

27 & 28 June
Cap-a-Pie Theatre Company in partnership with Durham University presents
Woven Bones
By Laura Lindow
When human remains were found in Durham in 2013, archaeologists discovered that they belonged to the Scottish Soldiers—prisoners of war from the 1650 Battle of Dunbar who were marched to Durham and imprisoned in the then-disused Cathedral and Castle. (See the BTG news story)

30 June
Alphabetti Soup—June
Spoken word, theatre and music.
Acts (and the flavour of the soup) to be announced.

4 & 5 July (6:30)
Alphabetti Theatre is Curious presents
Iconography
By Zoe Murtagh
A celebratory and inquisitive look at the phenomena of ‘gay icons’. Who decides what is iconic? Who allows people to become iconic? And is becoming an icon something we can all achieve?
A story of desire, gender and celebrity explored through fantasy, road-movie style storytelling and original music.
(Part of Curious Festival 2018)

4 & 5 July (7:45)
Alphabetti Theatre is Curious presents
Dietrich: Natural Duty
By Peter Groom
It is 1942, on the battlefields of North Africa, in a gold sequin gown, Marlene Dietrich takes to the stage to launch her own offensive against the German Reich.
(Part of Curious Festival 2018)

6 July (9:00)
Alphabetti Theatre is Curious presents
Curious Scratch Night
An evening of experimental queer performance; works in the early stages of their development from Northern artists including Beth O’Doherty and recipients of the Curious 2018 ‘Queer Itch’ bursaries.
(Part of Curious Festival 2018)

7 July (6:30)
Alphabetti Theatre is Curious presents
Becoming Scheherazade
By Kamaal Hussain
Magic and reality collide as one British Arab navigates the voyages of Sindbad the Sailor and tries to make sense of his own family’s migration to the UK
(Part of Curious Festival 2018)

10 – 14 July
Alphabetti Theatre presents
Trolley Boy
By David Raynor
Things haven’t been great for 14-year-old Colin. 1992 was already a pretty crap year. But when tragedy strikes and the forces of darkness move in there’s only one thing left to do: become a superhero.
Set in Washington, Tyne and Wear in the early '90s, Trolley Boy is the story of a teenage boy trying to come to terms with loss.
Alphabetti Theatre brings Trolley Boy to the stage, a script developed over two years through the Write Longer Literary Scheme. It was first shown as a script-in-hand performance in 2016.

18 & 19 July
Edward Day presents
Super Hamlet 64
What if you woke up one morning and realised that your life was actually a computer game? Your dad just died, your uncle's married your mum and is hell bent on world domination, while the person you have a crush on turns out to be a samurai sword-wielding super hero. Oh, and your dad's a singing ghost.
Inspired by films like Scott Pilgrim Vs The World and with references to almost every videogame ever made, Super Hamlet 64 is a fast-paced retelling of Shakespeare most famous play, full of retro animation, spoken word, live music and comedy songs.

21 July (4:30)
Alphabetti Theatre and The Worriers present
Rocket Man
By Steve Byron
Young Geordie Stephenson's nan tells him the moon is made from cinder toffee. But how can he get there? He tries every way possible, finally inventing and building a steam-powered machine to take him into the sky. Geordie sets off on a fantastical story taking him to the moon and back and onto a path that changed the world forever.
For ages 6+

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