Bench Theatre is an award-winning amateur theatre group based at The Spring Arts & Heritage Centre, Havant, UK.
For tickets to any Bench show at The Spring, call the box office on (023) 9247 2700
Our second production in 2020 will be The Unfortunate written and directed by Ben Tanner.
Due to the current cicumstances, this production will not be taking place in April. Please check the Spring website for further details on future productions.
London, 1888. In this fast-paced, epic play, journalist Christian Lane, is sent by his unscrupulous editor to report on the latest Jack the Ripper murder. In Whitechapel's poorest streets, he meets Isobel Prater, damned, like so many Victorian women, to live the degenerate life of an 'unfortunate'.
Struck by Isobel's plight, Christian rejects the sensationalism of his newspaper to embark upon a crusade to reform Whitechapel, the darkest corner of the British Empire.
The play contains adult themes. Age restriction 12+
Performances:
Thursday 23rd April until Saturday 25th April 2020 7:30
Saturday 25th April 2:30
Wednesday 29th April until Saturday 2nd May 2020
Ticket Prices
12.00, concessions 10.00
Special Offer: Thursday 23rd April - Buy one get one half price (half price applies to the cheapest ticket purchased)
Bench members and Friends: free
Our third production in 2020 will be Second Person Narrative written by Jemma Kennedy and directed by Jessi Wilson.
Due to current circumstances, this is postponed until further notice
"Off you go then and best of luck
It's bound to be different this time though
some of it might seem familiar
The big questions, we mean
The beginnings, middles, endings, et cetera
Still, not to worry, it's all a
work-in-progress."
Jemma Kennedy's 'Second Person Narrative' is about selfhood and the decisions we make – or have imposed upon us – in constructing a life.
Our protagonist is YOU. YOU are so ordinary, and yet so extraordinary, too.
Watch as moments of YOUR life are depicted and captured, from birth to death and everything in between – growing up, making friends, getting jobs, forming relationships, making mistakes, and having a good laugh!
Performances:
Thursday 9th July until Saturday 11th July 2020 7:30
Saturday 11th July 2:30
Wednesday 15th July until Saturday 18th July 2020
Ticket Prices
12.00, concessions 10.00
Special Offer: Thursday 9th July - Buy one get one half price (half price applies to the cheapest ticket purchased)
Bench members and Friends: free
Our first production in 2020 was Di and Viv and Rose written by Amelia Bullmore and directed by Mark Wakeman.
Aged eighteen, three women join forces at university. Life is fun. Living is intense. Together they feel unassailable.
Di and Viv and Rose is a funny and thoughtful exploration of friendship's impact on life and life's impact on friendship.
Performances:
Wednesday 12th February until Saturday 15th February 2020 7:30
Saturday 15th February 2:30
Our last production in 2019 was Pride and Prejudice written by Jane Austen, adapted by Simon Reade , and directed by Fiona Fairhurst.
It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.
Bench Theatre brings one of the world's best-loved novels to the stage in a captivating adaptation of Austen's most famous work.
Elizabeth Bennet, beautiful, intelligent and strong-willed, is determined to remove herself from the matchmaking schemes of her mother. Mr Darcy, rich, educated and privileged, has no intention of marrying anyone beneath his station. Join everybody's favourite couple as they navigate the world of courtship, discovering that first impressions are not always correct.
This light and sparkling comedy, beautifully and faithfully adapted by Simon Reade, has all of Austen's warmth, wit and romance, perfect for the winter months.
Performances:
Thursday 21st November until Saturday 23rd November 2019 at 7:30pm
Matinee on Saturday 23rd November at 2:30pm
Wednesday 27th November to Saturday 30th November 2019
Each play from the Bench Fringe production of Some You Win written and directed by Jacquie Penrose, was performed at The Wheelwright's Arms,27 Emsworth Road, Havant.
The Party Guest, Tuesday 12th November
Chance reunites three actors from an out-of-town production of The Cherry Orchard after thirty years. The intervening years have not been kind, and old alliances and rivalries resurface. This time there are no winners. (First performed by the Bench Theatre in 2009)
What a Good Boy, Saturday 16th November
Lucy has a new job, new friends, a new flat, and she is enjoying her new life – if only her new boss wasn't quite so attentive. When he oversteps the mark, she has to decide how to react: write him off as a bit of a joke - or take him on? Could she win if she did? (Premiere performance)
Our 4th production in 2019 was Pride written by Alexi Kaye Campbell, and directed by Stuart Reilly.
Three people. Two different decades. One love.
The Pride, by Alexi Kaye Campbell, is the Olivier Award-winning play that looks to examine the changing attitudes our country has to sexuality, love and those that are challenged by them. Join the Bench in celebrating their 50th anniversary as we explore what it means to love someone against all expectations.
Please note this play contains adult themes, language that some may find offensive, scenes of a graphic sexual nature and is unsuitable for persons under 15 years of age.
Performances:
Wednesday 18th September until Saturday 21st September 2019 at 7:30pm
Matinee on Saturday 21st September at 2:30pm
Our 3rd production in 2019 was The Deep Blue Sea written by Terence Rattigan, and directed by Andrew Caple.
A run-down tenement flat in North-West London. A single day in 1951. Hester Collyer has left her wealthy husband, a man she can't love the way she wants, to live with an ex-RAF pilot, a man who can't love her the way she needs. Left emotionally stranded, she can't see a way forward and going back is unbearable. She's stuck between the devil and the deep blue sea. As the day unravels, some desperate decisions need to be made.
Dont miss this opportunity to see Terence Rattigan's exquisitely crafted masterpiece about the inequality of desire. A portrait of need, loneliness and long-repressed passion which burns with a brutal sense of loss and longing. A deeply moving love story hidden behind the fragile veneer of post-war civility with, at its heart, one of the greatest female roles in 20th century theatre.
Performances:
Thursday 11th July until Saturday 13th July 2019 at 7:30pm
Saturday 13th July at 2:30pm
Wednesday 17th July until Saturday 20th July at 7:30pm
Next Club Nights:
Despite the current restrictions imposed by Covid 19, the Bench committee have been active online! The AGM was held via zoom in September, and there have been two opportunities since to meet up via zoom.
Discussions have taken place on what we are able to offer in the forseeable future. Large scale productions will not be viable, but after a vote was taken by members recently, we hope to put on 'Bench Presents Again' in February. This will be new small cast plays written and performed by Bench members.
The Bench Theatre are also considering the impact of the coronavirus crisis on upcoming club-nights, auditions and play selections. Further announcements on these will be made in due course.
Bench Miscellaneous
Havant Borough Council have recently launched the Havant Borough Community Lottery which supports good causes locally. Bench Theatre has been accepted as one of those good causes.
This is a small lottery with the emphasis very much on community and supporting good causes. That is where you come in! We would like to invite you, your friends, family, neighbours and work colleagues to take part, have some fun and support Bench Theatre.
Please visit Havant Borough Community Lottery website. Click on buy tickets, then on 'Support a specific cause'. Search for Bench Theatre then follow the instructions.
Bench Theatre will be very grateful for your support in this exciting new venture!
The News Guide Awards for 2019
The Bench Theatre had the following nominations. We are thrilled to announce that Leigh Cunningham was runner up in her category. Congratulations to Leigh and all those involved in producing Deep Blue Sea.
Best Amateur Production:
Deep Blue Sea
Pride
Best Amateur Actress:
Leigh Cunningham in Deep Blue Sea
Sally Hartley in Pride and Prejudice
Best Amateur Actor:
Ben Tanner in Deep Blue Sea
David Penrose in Deep Blue Sea
Craig Parker in Pride
Totton Drama Festival 2019
This year Bench was part of what has been one of the most exciting Totton Drama Festivals in some years, which featured a total of 15 entries from 13 different companies.
It gave us a great opportunity to revisit two of the pieces from "Supernova" in front of a new audience; these were "Risk" by Lucy Flannery and "A Dangerous Woman" by Paul King.
We were thrilled by the response to both plays, with Thomas Hall being nominated for best adult actor in "Risk".
"A Dangerous Woman" picked up 5 trophies and was nominated to go onto the Quarter Finals of the All England Theatre Festival in Sherborne on May 4th.
The results from Totton were:
Best Original Script, Herald Cup: Paul King (A Dangerous Woman)
Best Adult Actress, TDF Cup: Sarah Ash in "A Dangerous Woman"
Best Adult Actor, TDF Cup: Neil Kendall in "A Dangerous Woman"
Best Director, Chairman's Shield: Stuart Reilly (A Dangerous Woman)
Runner-Up, The Cullen Cup: A Dangerous Woman
"A Dangerous Woman" went onto win both the quarter final in Sherborne, and then the semi final in Frome!
This meant the play was performed at the English Final on Saturday 8th June at the Norden Farm Centre for the Arts in Maidenhead. Although unable to win the overall competition, which would have seen them going to Harrogate for the Uk Finals, the play received very positive comments.This was a superb achievement by all concerned.
A gentle reminder that subscriptions have now increased, the first time in several years, and therefore we ask members to adjust their standing orders.
Members are gently reminded that membership cards must be offered at The Spring box office when claiming free member ticket(s). These tickets are for the named member only and are not transferable to family and/or friends.
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© Bench Theatre 2011, registered charity 291935