Just finished mounting "Office Hours" by Norm Foster - funny play - well written - just avoids descending into slap stick which is difficult to do. Any other "Theatuh" folks out there?

I'm off to see The Cherry Orchard by Anton Chekhov over in Chichester next week.

I am really looking forward to this as Diana Rigg is cast as Mme Ranyevskaya and I am sure Maureen Lipman will be brilliant as Charlotta. Can't wait!

Hello Scunnert,

I enjoyed 'Look back in anger' in 1956! Have you seen it?

Since then I have just put up with the 'drama' of everyday life!

Best wishes.....aye.

Hi Robbie, I remember seeing the film some years ago but never saw the play. I do like British theatre from that era tho' - the working classes finally saw themselves portrayed honestly and centrally rather than as stereotyped supporting characters.

Here the sad reality is theatre is dying. Our audiences are aging and dying off and not being replaced by younger "bums in seats". Too much competition from cinema, DVD's, television, and game cubes. Theatre must seem awfully dull to the young. To have to listen to dialogue for a couple of hours? How tedious!

Tibbie Dunbar wrote:
I'm off to see The Cherry Orchard by Anton Chekhov over in Chichester next week.

I am really looking forward to this as Diana Rigg is cast as Mme Ranyevskaya and I am sure Maureen Lipman will be brilliant as Charlotta. Can't wait!

I remember reading that and others by Checkov ( we might have done "Uncle Vanya" some years ago - can't be sure tho' - might just have thought about it??? ). And Diana Rig - oo she was hot in the Avengers - she has aged gracefully however.

Do people still go to the theatre much in the UK? As I said to Robbie - our audiences are dying off. Very sad.

scunnert wrote:

Do people still go to the theatre much in the UK? As I said to Robbie - our audiences are dying off. Very sad.[/quote]

I think they do. Trying to get tickets for The Cherry Orchard was a bit of a work up, as most of the performances had a full house. The tickets weren't cheap so I guess people are happy to pay to watch great acting!

Locally, we have three theatres in Southampton and Winchester. They are all popular and well attended as it is often difficult to get tickets. The Nuffield built on the campus of the University, is an independent producing theatre company. It has some good performances (and some duff ones) and often stages plays from new writers or directors. Seats around 500.

The Mayflower is much larger and tends to stage the awful but extremely popular 'West End Andrew Lloyd Webber' type musicals. Although, last year I was there to watch Rik Mayall as Alan B'stard in The New Statesman Episode 2007. Very rude and very funny!

The Theatre Royal in Winchester stages everything in between from Ga-Ga- The Ultimate tribute to Queen to An Evening with Michael Portillo...but then that's Winchester for you!

scunnert wrote:


Our audiences are aging and dying off and not being replaced by younger "bums in seats". Too much competition from cinema, DVD's, television, and game cubes. Theatre must seem awfully dull to the young. To have to listen to dialogue for a couple of hours? How tedious!

I think theatre is popular with youngsters around here, scunnert. Two of our local theatres produce or stage productions specifically for young people particularly during school holidays. They also produce packs for schools that link performances to the curriculum and key stages and they don't have to go all through the palaver of getting a load of youngsters to the theatre; the group will actually go out to schools to perform.

We also have a number of Arts Centres throughout Hampshire that get youngsters involved in theatre production. Along with Youth theatre and Drama clubs for different age groups, they also run workshops on music, dance, set design, and even a 'How to Audition' workshop.

I would say theatre is pretty healthy in Hampshire

Tibbie Dunbar wrote:
scunnert wrote:


Our audiences are aging and dying off and not being replaced by younger "bums in seats". Too much competition from cinema, DVD's, television, and game cubes. Theatre must seem awfully dull to the young. To have to listen to dialogue for a couple of hours? How tedious!

I think theatre is popular with youngsters around here, scunnert. Two of our local theatres produce or stage productions specifically for young people particularly during school holidays. They also produce packs for schools that link performances to the curriculum and key stages and they don't have to go all through the palaver of getting a load of youngsters to the theatre; the group will actually go out to schools to perform.

We also have a number of Arts Centres throughout Hampshire that get youngsters involved in theatre production. Along with Youth theatre and Drama clubs for different age groups, they also run workshops on music, dance, set design, and even a 'How to Audition' workshop.

I would say theatre is pretty healthy in Hampshire

Well it seems to be alive in your area - I'm jealous.

Don't get me wrong - we do a lot to encourage kids to get involved. We have really fine drama departments in the local high schools here - each complete with a fully functioning "little theatre" that seat a couple of hundred - and they do very well in the Sears Drama Festival. tinyurl.com/6o6clj

In addition one of my theatre groups holds workshops in all aspects of theatre and summer camps as well. We also stage a couple of shows a year with large casts of kids (a guaranteed way to get bums in seats). For sure, there is no shortage of kids wanting to get on the stage (and work backstage) - the shortage is in young adults coming to see shows.

Our theatre seats about 750 and twenty years ago we would sell out most shows. Now a good night is 3 - 400. However, if it's a musical with lots of kids we'll sell out - but it's family and friends who will only turn up if their son or daughter is on stage. These are the shows that make us financially viable and underwrite the other shows that lose money.

I don't think we'll last another twenty years at this rate. We're losing about 15 - 20 from our audience per year.