As always, a new year means new shows at Cambridge Arts Theatre, and with a host of outstanding touring productions, the star-studded new-season programme is sure to delight theatre lovers of all ages.
From 3 to 8 February you can catch God of Carnage, one of the most successful plays ever performed in the West End. Starring Elizabeth McGovern, the story examines the antics of two 11-year-old boys – and the meeting between their parents that follows. Noël Coward’s Blithe Spirit runs from 10 to 15 February and stars comedy legend Jennifer Saunders, telling the story of Charles Condomine, whose life gets complicated when the ghost of his first wife is accidentally conjured by an outlandish clairvoyant.
Featuring a star-studded cast, Band of Gold tells the story of a young mother drawn into life in the red-light district. An adaptation of Kay Mellor’s award-winning TV crime series, the play runs from 17 to 22 February. From 24 to 29 February, Stephen Mallatratt’s gripping stage adaptation of The Woman in Black brings Susan Hill’s acclaimed ghost story to life. Convinced that he has been cursed, a lawyer enlists a young actor to help him tell his terrifying story.
As part of their final tour, Richard Alston Dance Company: Final Edition is the group’s celebration of the past 25 years, with an outstanding programme of work including Alston’s new choreographed piece, Shine On. You can catch it on 2 and 3 March. For kids, Room on the Broom – the Olivier Award-nominated stage adaptation of Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler’s best-selling picture book – tells the story of a witch and her cat who pick up some colourful hitchhikers. It’s running from 4 to 7 March.
World-renowned student comedy troupe Cambridge Footlights will deliver yet more riotous comedy on 8 and 15 March and following this, haunting Scottish Highlands drama The Croft, starring Gwen Taylor, is showing from 11 to 14 March. Stephen Daldry’s multi award-winning production of J B Priestley’s classic thriller An Inspector Calls is on from 17 to 21 March, in which a dinner party is turned upside down by the arrival of Inspector Goole. Offering a dazzling insight into love, life and healing, the Olivier Award-winning production of Patrick Ness’ moving novel A Monster Calls is on from 24 to 28 March. Million Dollar Quartet (30 March – 4 April) brings the night of 4 December 1956 to life, when Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins came together for one of the greatest jam sessions of all time.
From 6 to 11 April, murderous mystery The Cat and the Canary, starring Britt Ekland, tells the story of a group of heritage hunters who gather at a sinister manor, then it’s over to The Glee Club – the story of five hard-working, hard-drinking miners who enter their local singing gala – is showing from 14 to 18 April.
Director Laura Attridge presents a fresh take on Così fan tutte – a combination of glorious music and farcical comedy – from 28 April until 1 May. Also by the English Touring Opera, and on from 30 April until 2 May, Giulio Cesare, an adapted revival of Handel’s epic opera of passion and revenge, follows Julius Caesar’s conquest of Egypt. Closing the season from 8 to 13 June, Sasha Regan’s all-male H.M.S. Pinafore, the operatic comedy that tells a tale of love between the classes.
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