The St. James Studio will continue to present its successful lunchtime theatre programme, with both Bite-Size Theatre and Butterfly returning to the studio to provide the workers of Victoria some respite from the daily grind. The evening programme includes a ‘copyright free’ Doctor Who musical, I Need A Doctor: The Whosical, the critically acclaimed stand-up comedy adaptation of the infamousTristram Shandy and the remarkable and tragic story of Mata Hari, the famous WW1 concubine who was tried and sentenced to death by firing squad on charges of espionage.
LUNCHTIME THEATRE
BITE-SIZE – LUNCHTIME FOURPLAY 2
Monday 19 – Friday 23 May at 1pm
£8 in advance/£10 on the door
Lunchtime Fourplay 2, another refreshing lunchtime experience from Bite-Size Plays. Eat and enjoy a selection of plays from the ‘vintage menu’ and comedies from the critically acclaimed international touring show, Bite-Size Comedies A La Carte.
I NEED A DOCTOR: THE WHOSICAL
Sunday 25 May at 4pm & 8pm
Monday 26 May at 2.30pm & 5pm
Tuesday 27 May at 5.30pm & 8pm
£15/£17
The unauthorised Doctor Who musical comedy. Doctor-loving superfans Jamie and Jess decide to put on a musical about their time-travelling hero. But how do you write a Doctor Who musical without getting shut down by the BBC? Watch as our heroes battle with copyright-free villains the ‘Exterminators’ and ‘Cyber-Gents’ in this musical comedy hit of Edinburgh Fringe 2013.
LUNCHTIME THEATRE
CALIFORNIA SUITE PART 1
Monday 2 – Friday 6 June at 12 & 1pm
£8 in advance/£10 on the door
Butterfly bring the award winning Neil Simon’s riotous comedy California Suite to the St. James Studio. The play follows the misadventures of four groups of guests who’ve checked in to the swanky Beverley Hills Hotel. Same room, different dilemmas.
A divorced couple – separated by land, joined by their daughter, stuck together in room 203. Who will come out on top in this battle of the wits?
A man wakes up next to a hooker with his wife knocking at the door.
TRISTRAM SHANDY: CONCEPTION, COCK AND BULL
Tuesday 10 – Saturday 14 June at 7.45pm
£17.50/ £22.50
Laurence Sterne’s classic novel, adapted and performed by Stephen Oxley, produced by Colin Watkeys and directed by Felicity Dean.
Stephen Oxley plays 18th century raconteur Tristram Shandy in an acclaimed 21st century stand-up adaptation of the famous novel, 250 years after it was first published. With all the wit, bawdy humour and digressions of the original, Tristram regales his audience with tales of his own conception and birth, his opinionated father and the love affair of his gentle, battle-obsessed Uncle Toby with the voluptuous Widow Wadman.
“Wittily and elegantly told” The Times
“An extraordinary reincarnation of the author and his characters” Independent
“Hilarious – the first stand-up comic in English Literature” Sunday Express
BERKOFF’S WOMEN
Sunday 15 June at 7pm
£17.50/£22.50
Written by Steven Berkoff, directed by Josie Laurence and performed by Linda Marlowe.
Out of her unique association with Steven Berkoff, Linda Marlowe presents, Berkoff’s Women, a theatrical exploration of sensuality, revenge, pathos, heart-breaking loneliness and riotous humour.
“When she spreads her arms, she embraces the world. Her voice is an instrument of silk and seduction, frayed at the edges and pickled in port”. The Daily Mail
LUNCHTIME THEATRE
CALIFORNIA SUITE PART 2
Monday 16 – Friday 20 June at 12 & 1pm
£8 in advance/£10 on the door
Butterfly will be back with the second instalment of the award winning Neil Simon’s riotous comedy California Suite. The play follows the misadventures of four groups of guests who’ve checked in to the swanky Beverley Hills Hotel. Same room, different dilemmas.
A British Oscar nominee and her wayward husband prepare for the ceremony. What will come out in the big speech?
MATA HARI
Tuesday 17 June at 8pm
Early bird offer of £12.50 tickets, available until 16 May
£15/ £17.50 thereafter
Written by Aletia Upstairs and Dean Stalham, based on verbatim from letters and interviews. Directed by Dean Stalham.
Mata Hari, courtesan and exotic dancer, was a notorious and intriguing figure, and the most famous femme fatale of her day. In 1917, she was imprisoned, accused of espionage during WWI. Awaiting death by French firing squad, she reflects on her life.
Aletia Upstairs investigates how Dutch-born wife Margaretha Geertruida Zelle reinvented herself as Mata Hari: woman of mystery, the first exotic dancer of Europe, and a temptress who entertained men. We see Mata Hari’s art of seduction, inspired by Indonesian temple dance, complete with veils and exotic headpieces.
Songs in English, French and Dutch include My Death, 25 Minutes To Go, Nobody Knows you When You’re Down and Out and Aletia’s own compositions She Cries and Catch Me When I Fall.
