Theatre in the Cotswolds

16 May itinerary

Day 1: Arrival day. Your room will be ready from 2.30pm. Please join us for tea between 4pm and 5pm to meet the leader and your fellow guests. Before dinner there will be a brief introduction to the holiday programme.

Day 2:
9.30am            Optional walks are available
1pm                 Main meal
3pm                 Talk: The Tempest at 400: Shakespeare’s Farewell Lives On
4pm                 Coffee
5.45pm            Depart for The Tempest at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon (7.15pm performance)

The Tempest

Prospero is usurped from his position as Duke of Milan and cast away with his daughter to a remote island. Twelve years later, and intent on revenge, he raises a magical tempest that shipwrecks his enemies on his shores.

What begins as a search for retribution develops into a journey of acceptance and compassion in Shakespeare’s final play.

Directed by David Farr

9.45pm            Return to the Country House

Day 3:
9.30am            Optional walks are available
1pm                 Main meal
3pm                 Talk: Willy Russell and the Theatre of Everyday Life
4pm                 Coffee
6.15pm            Depart for Educating Rita at the Malvern Theatre (8pm performance)

A gem of British theatre, Educating Rita is the unforgettable story of the relationship between a feisty Liverpudlian hairdresser and a jaded university professor. Rita has a passion for literature and is intent on self-improvement. Frank’s disillusionment with life has driven him to the bottle. As Rita grapples with the trials of education, Frank learns to believe in himself again.

Matthew Kelly is one of the UK’s best-loved actors. Winner of an Olivier Award for Of Mice and Men, and widely acclaimed for his performance in the television drama Cold Blood, his recent stage roles range from the musicals Spamalot, Lend Me A Tenor and Legally Blonde in the West End to Troilus and Cressida at the Globe and Waiting for Godot with Ian McKellen in the West End.

Claire Sweeney is one of the UK’s most sparkling personalities with a string of credits from stage and screen including Brookside, Loose Women, Chicago and Guys and Dolls opposite Patrick Swayze and Don Johnson.

Willy Russell was inspired by his own experiences at evening classes to write this touching comedy. One of the UK’s most successful playwrights, his much-loved repertoire includes Blood Brothers and Shirley Valentine.

10.30pm          Return to the Country House

Day 4:

Depart after breakfast.

The 22 October 2012 itinerary will be available when theatres finalise their production schedules