The Palace of Wasted Dreams: Thurs 3rd – Sat 5th & Wed 9th Feb at mac

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The Palace of Wasted Dreams
Thurs 3rd – Sat 5th & Wed 9th – Sat 12th February, 8pm
mac, Cannon Hill Park, Birmingham, B12 9QH
Tickets & Information:0121 446 3232 www.macarts.co.uk
Tickets £12 (£8) (Suitable for ages 14+)

It’s here, it’s arrived. Come on in! The Palace of Wasted Dreams.

Licensed for laughing, crying, dancing, singing, surprising and thinking on.
A place where anything can happen, and something always does…
Whether you’ve been before or it’s your very first time, come on down to the Palace!

The Palace of Wasted Dreams is the culmination of a two-year project called Wasted, a new participatory musical theatre project exploring and giving voice to women’s relationship with alcohol.
An essential night out, an intoxicating total live theatre experience. Dress for a night out. Non-drinkers very welcome!

The Palace of Wasted Dreams has been devised by Women & Theatre from materials gathered through research. It is performed by Women & Theatre and a cast of local people and directed by Gwenda Hughes. Music has been composed by Gurdan Thomas and The Company, with musical direction by Clare Edwards. Production Design is by Andrew Purvin, Lighting Design by Simon Bond, and Stage Management by Sara Crathorne.

The Palace of Wasted Dreams is a co-production with mac and is supported by Arts Council England, Aquarius, Sir Barry Jackson Trust, Bryant Trust, AERC, John Feeney Charitable Trust, Birmingham City Council, the Harry Payne Trust, The Grimmitt Trust and The Cole Charitable Trust.

Posted: January 30, 2011 in Announcements, Community, Theatre, news
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Become part of our Community Cast for The Palace of Wasted Dreams! Development weekend 6th & 7th November

Community Cast – now recruiting!

The Palace of Wasted Dreams is the culmination of a two-year project called Wasted, a new participatory musical theatre project exploring and giving voice to women’s relationship with alcohol. Non-drinkers very welcome! The Palace of Wasted Dreams will take place at the Mac in spring 2011.

How can you get involved?
We are recruiting volunteer performers who will learn and perform new songs, be part of scenes, and work alongside professional actors to make up the cast of The Palace of Wasted Dreams. That means if you like singing or acting or both this would be a great project for you – everyone is welcome (16+) no experience necessary!

We’d also like help in other aspects – costume, set building, spreading the word and helping coordinate. So if you don’t fancy being on stage – but you do want to get involved in other aspects do get in touch.

Dates for the Diary

Development Weekend – Saturday 6th November and Sunday 7th November 2010, @ mac, Cannon Hill Park, Birmingham, 11am – 4pm
To find out if this is for you come along and learn more about the project. During the weekend we’ll be sharing scenes already developed, learning some of the songs and finding out more about the project. By the end of the weekend we’ll be looking for people to sign up to be part of the cast. Please dress in comfortable clothing.
THIS IS NOT AN AUDITION – there’s no criteria to be part of the project.

Rehearsals:
If you do want to be part of the project then it’s important you’re able to commit to the rehearsal and performance dates below.

Week One
Wednesday 19th January – 7.00pm – 9.30pm
Thursday 20th January – 7.00pm – 9.30pm

Week Two
Wednesday 26th January – 7.00pm – 9.30pm
Thursday 27th January – 7.00pm – 9.30pm
Saturday 29th January – 11.00am – 4.00pm
Sunday 30th January – 11.00am – 4.00pm

Week Three
Tuesday 1st February – 6.30pm onwards for tech rehearsals
Wednesday 2nd February – 6.30pm onwards for dress rehearsal

Performances Dates:
3rd, 4th, 5th February and 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th February

What Next?
Let us know you’re coming to the Development Weekend – and we’ll look forward to meeting you properly then and sharing The Palace of Wasted Dreams with you! Please contact Bianca Prentice on 0121 440 4203 or email biancaprentice@womenandtheatre.co.uk with queries or to let us know you’re coming on the Development Weekend.

Posted: November 1, 2010 in Uncategorized
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Barbara Nice & Gals at mac on 3rd October – SOLD OUT!

Barbara Nice & Gals
Sunday 3rd October at 7pm
at mac, Cannon Hill Park, Birmingham

Women & Theatre invite you to join us for a comic feast hosted by everyone’s favourite Kings Heath housewife and mother of five, Mrs Barbara Nice. She presents a friendly and hilarious night of laughter from a high quality pick and mix of the nation’s funniest women. All proceeds go to support our new project, Wasted.

Susan Calman has proved herself a force to be reckoned with from her first gig in Glasgow in 2005 to rave reviews in Edinburgh. “A wee lassie with a big future” (The List)
Francesca Martinez, one of The Observer’s 50 funniest acts in British comedy, “may be wobbly, but never the jokes” (The Stage)
Isma Almas is a promising newcomer with incisive, “fantastic material. She left everyone in her slipstream” (Chortle).
All-female sketch group Lady Garden are “One of the funniest, clever and sexy new sketch groups around” (Time Out) with their rapier-sharp wit.
Barbara Nice, described as “a hybrid between Mrs Merton and Victoria Wood” (The Times), Barbara Nice “doesn’t just blur the gap between audience and performer, she obliterates it” (Edinburgh Evening News)

All proceeds go to Women & Theatre (B’ham) Ltd. Registered in England & Wales No. 1998448; Registered Charity No. 518580.

Tickets are £12 (£9 concession), available from mac on 0121 446 3232 or online at www.macarts.co.uk

Posted: September 21, 2010 in Announcements, news
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Wasted: Second Summer School starting on Monday 23rd August

The second of our two Wasted summer schools is fast approaching, so book now! The first was a great success, just check out some of the lovely feedback:

An excellent course, that I will never forget.

Brilliant. A truly exhilarating experience. Challenging but highly supportive. Wonderful workshop leaders who were genuinely passionate about the subject matter…shame it has to end!

I am delighted in what we’ve all achieved and the journeys we’ve been on. I have been personally challenged and have loved being in a creative learning environment with fabulous girls. I love the power of theatre, making people laugh and cry. Touching lives.

This course has really enabled me to be myself and voice my opinions to a group of wonderful adults, but still feel like an equal and as though I am respected for being me.

Our exciting new project, Wasted will be an interactive, experiential new piece of participatory musical theatre, which explores and gives voice to women’s changing and complex relationship with alcohol.

During the week long inter-generational summer school, we will work with community participants, creating material that will inform the final performance. The group will respond to some of our research material about women & alcohol, contribute ideas, explore their own stories and devise drama scenes and characters. Together, we will create scenes, informal theatre moments and short films to present in and around mac. There will also be opportunities to stay involved with Wasted and perhaps contribute to the final production!

The workshop week will be led by core Women & Theatre member Janice Connolly.

Book now to reserve your place. Non drinkers very welcome!

Mon 23 – Fri 27 Aug
10am-4pm in the lovely new Foyle Studio at mac
Fee: £50 (£40 conc)
Please note that this course is for women only, age 16 plus

To book call mac on 0121 446 3232 or visit

Wasted is being produced in association with mac, and will be performed in February 2011.

Posted: August 13, 2010 in Uncategorized
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Wasted Summer Schools at mac – book now!

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Women & Theatre are holding two Summer Schools at mac in July and August, which are two fantastic chances to get involved with our exciting new project, Wasted. Wasted will be an interactive, experiential new piece of participatory musical theatre, which explores and gives voice to women’s relationship with alcohol. Wasted is being produced in association with mac, and will be performed in February 2011.

Whether it’s teenage girls binge drinking illicitly, women in their 20s and 30s drinking as part of their busy social lives and careers, or older women drinking more at home, alcohol has become a greater part of women’s lives over the past half century. (Drinkaware)

During each week-long inter-generational summer school, we will work with community participants, creating material that will inform the final performance. The group will respond to some of our research material about women & alcohol, contribute ideas, explore their own stories and devise drama scenes and characters. Together, we will create scenes, informal theatre moments and short films to present in and around mac. There will also be opportunities to stay involved with Wasted and perhaps contribute to the final production!

The workshop weeks will be led by core Women & Theatre members Janice Connolly and Terina Talbot.

Book now to reserve your place. Non drinkers very welcome!

Mon 26 – Fri 30 Jul
Mon 23 – Fri 27 Aug
10am-4pm in the lovely new Foyle Studio at mac
Fee: £50 (£40 conc) a week
Please note that this course is for women only. We welcome all ages from 16 plus

To book call mac on 0121 446 3232 or mac’s website

Posted: June 18, 2010 in Announcements, Uncategorized, news
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Flagship new project: Wasted!

Wasted
Women & Theatre launched into Spring with the fantastic news that we have been granted funds from the Arts Council, UK, to develop our exciting new project, Wasted.

Wasted is a multi-stranded project which explores and gives voice to women’s relationship with alcohol. The final product will be a piece of interactive musical theatre, produced in association with mac (Midlands Arts Centre), performed in February 2011. As in all of W&T’s work, the entertaining format will convey a serious message, acting as a stimulus for participants and audiences to examine their own drinking behaviour and make positive changes.

Over the next months we will be carrying out community research, workshops, summer schools, online activity, and recruiting community performers. We’ll also be speaking to health professionals about using aspects of Wasted for health promotion. If you’d like to find out more, please do get in touch with us.

Posted: June 14, 2010 in Announcements, news
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