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

Current Production

Bench Theatre presents this hilarious adaptation by John Nicholson and Le Navet Bete of the Alexandre Dumas's classic, The Three Musketeers.

Four actors play nearly forty characters in a wonderful mix of jokes, slapstick and swashbuckling. Join D'Artagnan, Porthos, Athos and Aramis as they cross swords with the devious Cardinal Richelieu and the murderous Milady de Winter to save the queen's honour and the country from total war!!!!

A perfect tonic of joy! There will be wild wigs, dodgy accents and facial hair that defies belief! You may know the story, but you’ve never seen it like this!!!!

So, book your tickets now for a night of laughter.

All for Fun and FUN FOR ALL!!!

Parental guidance: this is a bawdy and raucous show, with some swearing and saucy/sexual innuendo.

Performances:

Thursday 7th July until Saturday 9th July 2022 7:30

Wednesday 13th July until Saturday 16th July 2022 7:30

Saturday 9th July Matinee at 2:30

Ticket Prices

12.00, concessions 10.00

Thursday 7th July. Buy one get one half price (on cheapest ticket)

Bench members and Friends: free

Forthcoming Productions

Our September production is Deluge written and directed by Jacquie Penrose.

It's raining. Hard. Very hard, and the Met Office has just raised the warning level to Red. Five mismatched people are sheltering upstairs as they have been advised to do, but they cannot agree about how serious this is. It's just rain, isn't it? Or is it more evidence of the climate crisis? Or isn't all the personal stuff way more important?

Performances:

Wednesday 14th September until Saturday 17th September 2022 7:30

Saturday 14th September Matinee at 2:30

Ticket Prices

12.00, concessions 10.00

Wednesday 14th September. Buy one get one half price (on cheapest ticket)

Bench members and Friends: free

Our November production is Emma written by Jane Austen, adapted and directed by David Penrose.

'Emma' is Jane Austen at her lightest and wittiest. The brilliant and beautiful Emma believes herself to have an unerring gift for matchmaking. So why do her attempts at engineering marriages between her friends and acquaintances invariably end in disaster? Could it be because she claims herself to be impervious to love? Which, of course, she isn't!

Performances:

Thursday 17th November until Saturday 19th November 2022 7:30

Wednesday 23rd November until Saturday 26th November 2022 7:30

Saturday 19th November Matinee at 2:30

Ticket Prices

12.00, concessions 10.00

Thursday 17th November. Buy one get one half price (on cheapest ticket)

Bench members and Friends: free

Did You See?

In April 2022 our production was The Unfortunate written and directed by Ben Tanner. This was due to have been performed in 2020 so we look forward to seeing this production.

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+

In February 2022 this play Whose to Tell written and directed by Jacquie Penrose was part of a double bill with Freehold called 2x2.

"No one has the right to the secrets of your life. Do they?"

(Premiered at the Barons' Court Theatre, London, October 2021)

In February 2022 this play Freehold written and directed by Roger Goldsmith was part of a double bill with Whose to Tell called 2x2.

Sometimes you knock on the wrong door, but the right person answers it.

This play is set in Portsmouth in July 2018

We were thrilled that our second production in 2021 was Copenhagen written by Michael Frayn and directed by Jacquie Penrose.

Friendship, loyalty, betrayal - and the moral duty of scientists in times of peace and war. These themes are grippingly explored in Michael Frayn's COPENHAGEN, a play that pivots around the historic meeting between two ground-breaking physicists in occupied Denmark in 1941.

Bench News

Next Club Nights:

Thursday 16th June. An evening led by The Arty Panel!

Thursday 21st July

Club nights start at 7:45. Members, Friends of the Bench and prospective members are welcome.

At the recent play selection, Deluge was chosen as our September production, and Emma was chosen for our November production. Congratulations to both directors.

Auditions for Deluge will take place on Sunday 19th June at 2pm and Monday 20th June at 7.30 both at The Spring.

There is a Cast of 5 - 3f and 2m.

Zee and Tony, primary school teachers, have been married nearly 5 years, and of an age to be wondering, or worrying, about having children. Irene is old enough to be aware of how much has changed with the changing climate, and Josh, something big in finances (redundant) is either her son or grandson - there is room for flexibility in casting. The fifth character is Tony's sister Caz. Please bear in mind that acting age is more important than actual age.

The script is on the website, but email Jacquie Penrose if you have any questions or you can't make those dates but are interested.

Performance dates:

Sunday 11th September (Get-in) to Saturday 17th September, including Saturday Matinee.

Auditions are open to members and non-members (or not yet members!)

Congratulations to Ben Tanner for an incredibly successful run of his play The Unfortunate. Great audiences and lovely comments by all who saw this production.

Dates for all future productions until April 2023 can be found in the members' section under Play Selection. Details of pitch times etc will be published nearer the times for each slot.

Bench Miscellaneous

Havant Borough Council run 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!

Dates for all future plays and schedules can be found in play selection in the member's section.

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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