We are very excited that our first production in 2021 will be The Bench Presents Again written and directed by members of the Bench.

Bench Theatre is pleased to present a selection of short pieces written for the stage by members of the company.

During the long months of lockdown our need to tell and hear stories has not been diminished, and some of our own members have penned plays to absorb, amuse and move an audience even if the need for social distancing must be incorporated into the action.

This is your chance to enjoy an eclectic evening or two back in the theatre as we return to performance and showcase some of the writing talent as well as the actors among our membership.

The final line-up will depend on the casting but it promises to be a fitting celebration of all that live theatre can offer. Keep an eye on our website for more details as we have them.

As we are now able to dip our toes back into the waters of performance, we are offering two short programmes of pieces:

Programme A will be performed on:

Tuesday 6 July 7.30pm

Thursday 8 July 7.30pm

Saturday 10 July 2.30pm matinee

Programme B will be performed on:

Wednesday 7 July 7.30pm

Friday 9 July 7.30pm

Saturday 10 July 7.30pm

Running time for each show is an hour-ish: might be a little bit more, might be a little bit less, but we ask for your forbearance and assure you it will be less than 90 minutes.

The final line-up will depend on the casting - it's still fluid, as befits these Covid times! - but it promises to be a fitting celebration of all that live theatre can offer, and we would love you to share our return to the stage.

Performances:

Matinee Saturday 10th July 2:30

Ticket Prices

12.00, concessions 10.00

Bench members and Friends: free

We hope that one of our future productions will be The Unfortunate written and directed by Ben Tanner. This was due to have been performed in 2020 and we look forward to seeing this production at some time.

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+

Another production we hope will be performed in the future is Second Person Narrative written by Jemma Kennedy and directed by Jessi Wilson.

"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!

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:

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:

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:

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:

Wednesday 17th July until Saturday 20th July at 7:30pm