Members  are currently hard at work rehearsing and preparing for 0ur November production, a new comic re-telling of A Christmas Carol, adapted by Patrick Barlow from Charles Dickens’ classic story of greed, grief, ghoulish ghosts and eleventh hour redemption.
Barlow’s new thrilling adaptation, first performed in 2015 and starring Jim Broadbent as Scrooge, uses only six actors to bring some of Dickens’ most beloved characters to life. From Scrooge and Tiny Tim to Bob Cratchit and Fezziwig, Barlow’s A Christmas Carol uses nothing more than some simple props, fresh physicality, and the power of imagination to convey this timeless story of redemption. The play sticks closely to the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come, but along the way Barlow fleshes out Scrooge’s back-story to create a clearer picture of how this cynical miser came to be so, well, miserly. He also draws on parallels to today’s City financiers and this results in a sleek and prosperous Ebenezer opening the show, rather than the grizzled, mitten-wearing shuffler we might expect. Barlow also injects a lot of humour into the piece. This comedy takes place because Barlow doesn’t keep strictly to the original text as he take liberties with language, the situation and, of course, the mood of the play. The action is set within a theatre, rather like a giant version of the cardboard theatres children are given, or used to be given, as toys. The props and scenery are wheeled on and off by the performers, and while the actors multi-task as far as humanly possible, puppets make up the shortfall.
The play, sure to be a great night’s entertainment, will be performed in the Society’s Studio 132, 132 East High Street (next to the Red Cross Shop) on Wednesday 21st to Friday 23rd November at 7:30pm with a further matinee performance at 2:30pm on Saturday 24th November. Tickets are £12 for Adults; £10 for Concessions or £35 for families of four and are available online at www.ticketsource.co.uk/forfardramatic or in person from Toppers, 150 East High Street.
With no pantomime to be performed in Forfar this year, why not make a date with Forfar Dramatic Society for your pre-Christmas theatrical treat.

The Society is please to announce the exciting news that they have secured the performing rights to stage A Christmas Carol written by Patrick Barlow adapted from the story by Charles Dickens.  The show will be performed in Studio 132 from Wednesday 21st to Friday 23rd November at 7:30pm and Saturday 24th November at 2:30pm.  Directed by Drew Barnett, this version of the play, first performed in 2015, is much lighter than previous versions but the narrative stays faithful to the original story with all the original characters:  Scrooge, Cratchet, Tiny Tim, Marley’s ghost and of course Fuzzywig all appearing during the course of the play.  This promises to be a great nights entertainment so why not get into the Christmas spirit and secure your tickets now.
Adults £12; Concessions £10; Family tickets (4 in total) £35.
Book online at:
www.ticketsource.co.uk/forfardramatic
or in person at Toppers, 150 East High Street.

Last night saw the opening night of the Society’s latest production, Shakers – Re-stirred by John Godber and Jane Thornton.

The play, which was thoroughly enjoyed by an appreciative audience, is set in Shakers cocktail bar in a typical North of England town. Set in Thatcher’s 1980’s Britain, in the type of establishment where the happy hours are not always very happy, especially for the waitresses who have to put up with the different punters they encounter – and all with a smile on their face.

We see the girls: Carol (Paula Milne), Adele (Caroline MacDiarmid), Nicky (Kay Brown) and Mel (Kim Brown) tell the story, in a kind of flashback, from their viewpoint . By using accent, body language and voice, we see them encounter a group of lads on the pull, pompus businessmen, silly supermarket checkout girls, a loved up couple and the rest.

The play, under the experienced direction of Martin McKay, moves along at a brisk pace and moves seamlessly from scene to scene. Interspersed with this, we also hear the personal stories of the waitresses, the reasons they are working in Shakers, what lies behind the practised smiles and what their dreams are for the future. These insights are very well delivered and add real pathos to the comedy.

Shakers is a sassy, smart, funny and insightful slice of life which is easy on the eye and all in all, a very good evenings entertainment.

The society’s production of John Godber’s Losing the Plot was an outstanding success.  The company certainly did not lose the plot in what was a thoroughly entertaining evening at the theatre.
The action revolves around the relationship between husband Jack, an art teacher, and his wife Sally who runs a flower shop. When he has to face the prospect of his life being turned upside down by changes at his school, Jack Munroe walks out on the world he knows in order to get his thoughts straight. He returns unexpectedly three months later to find that his wife Sally has been writing a book – about him – which promises to be a great success. So the scene is set for a neat reversal of roles, with him at the flower shop and his wife being the real bread-winner in the family. Jack seems confused and out of touch with reality, hurt and angry about the book that is being written about him but not quite understanding why. On the other hand, Sally is frustrated and exasperated with him and with her situation, happy that she has finally found recognition in her own right and angry that Jack does not want to encourage her.
Graham Hewitson and Linda McLaren, who played artistic couple Jack and Sally, brought their characters to life in this examination of modern living with all the stresses and strains of everyday life for middle class couples. The action was enhanced by a wonderful set which made the audience feel they were indeed looking into the lives of the hapless couple.

Our next production is Losing the Plot by John Godber.  This lively comedy drama, set in Yorkshire, sees married couple Sally (Linda McLaren) and Jack Monroe (Graham Hewitson) come to terms with changes in their comfortable lives.  Directed by Drew Barnett, the play is being performed in Studio 132, East High Street from Wednesday 15th to Saturday 18th November each night at 7:30pm. 

Tickets are currently on sale and can be purchased online at:

http://www.ticketsource.co.uk/forfardramatic

or by visiting Toppers, 150 East High Street.
Tickets cost £12 for Adults and £10 for concessions.  Refreshments are included in the cost of the tickets.

The Society will re-commence for their 2017 -18 season on Tuesday 22nd August by holding a reception for all donors to our recent, successful crowdfunding appeal to raise cash for new seating for Studio 132.  The appeal was extremely well received and we met our target of £5,000.  The seats have now been ordered and will be unveiled on the 22nd.

If you would like to come along and join us for the forthcoming season, either on stage or in one of the many off stage jobs required, email us at info@forfardramatic.com.  You will be assured of a very warm welcome.

Our “Seating for Studio 132” crowdfunder concluded at 9am this morning and we are happy to announce that, thanks to a late flurry of on/offline donations, we successfully reached our £5000 target!

A huge thank you to all that contributed to the cause – we are now in a position to move ahead with the purchase of the seating we desired and we look forward to seeing you all along at Studio 132 to try out the new seats in the near future.