After a hugely successful run in Durham last June with Hild Bede Theatre, Finola Southgate’s song-cycle turned original musical “We’ll Have Nun of It” returns to Durham this week under the leadership of newly founded theatre company, Sister Sister Productions. The year is 1967, the place St Lidwina’s School for Girls. We follow the lives …
Next week the Assembly Rooms will be welcoming the first comedy show of our 2020 Spring Season with Bróccán Tyzack-Carlin’s ‘Don’t Bother’. However, this is comedy with a twist, as Bróccán blends poetry, story-telling and surreal humour to create a truly unique hour in our theatre. Bróccán’s return to Durham is somewhat full circle; he …
Last Friday, we had the pleasure of hosting a re-launch evening to properly celebrate our recent refurbishment and welcome patrons old and new for the Spring Season. After some welcome drinks and warm chatter, the crowd was beckoned into the auditorium, in all its red seat and purple ceiling glory, for an evening of both …
With the Durham Drama Festival on the horizon, which showcases a series of student new-writing pieces, there seems like no greater time to reflect on this crucial part of theatre-making. Indeed, there is, quite simply, no play without its playwright. Consistent new-writing is key to ensuring that the future of theatre reflects the diversity and …
“New Year, new me”; it’s the phrase on everyone’s lips, whether sincere or ironic, inspiring or infuriating. It’s a phrase that instils both wonderful hope but also intimidating pressure – how must I change? What new projects must I start? How shall I make this the best year yet? The concept of a fresh start …
The constant drizzle, bare-branched trees and waning hours of daylight can make the winter months in Durham a bit of a struggle for us all. Thankfully, the Assembly Rooms is hosting Squashed Mango Theatre Company’s Sita this week to bring a burst of much needed vibrancy and colour to these wintery days. Sita follows the …
December has arrived. The holiday season is upon us. And with it comes a theatre season up and down the country full of pantomime and farce. The Assembly Rooms itself is joining in the fun, as we host Ooook! Productions’ The Magistrate this week. Of course, both of these theatrical forms have a wealth of …
Read more “The Holiday Theatre Season: A Time for Glitter and Absurdity”
This week, the Assembly Rooms hosts DULOG’s always highly anticipated Michaelmas musical, and this year, they have chosen Company by Stephen Sondheim. The second one dips their toe into the world of musical theatre, the name Sondheim becomes inescapable, his repertoire immediately recognisable and fundamental to the genre. Alongside Company, he is responsible for the …
With multiple theatre companies, over 15 productions on every term, and opportunities in acting, producing, directing, tech and design on offer, the scale and success of Durham Student Theatre is an equally exciting and daunting aspect of student life here. Ahead of their opening night this Thursday 7th November, I went to chat with Poppy …
This week, Suffragette Theatre Company’s production of Shelagh Stephenson’s Five Kinds of Silence opens on the Assembly Rooms’ stage. The award-winning, equally urgent and disturbing play explores the repercussions that occur when a family finally breaks the silence on a long history of violence that thus complicates traditional notions of blame and justice. The very …
Read more “Handing over the mic: the stage and social change”