The common adage is that William Shakespeare sheds a light upon every conceivable human experience and provides us with a universality with which we may all identify. Certainly, his poetry can strike a chord with many, and evoke the whole gamut of emotional responses, much like music. Over thirty years, a son and father with a shared love of Shakespeare, imparted to the younger by the older, write to one another about the common, sometimes overlapping, events of their lives. Over the decades, they thread their nuanced, often unspoken emotions through the lines they pen, never openly acknowledging their feelings other than through inflection and choice of vocabulary; and yet each knows the other. Here we present these poems, some for the first time: a literary, personal and intimate conversation interwoven with a few monologues from their favourite lyricist, Shakespeare. Be prepared to hear words from Hamlet, Twelfth Night, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, King Lear, The Tempest and Much Ado About Nothing amongst others, and to share in this intergenerational journey, a veritable whirligig of time.
If you would like to book a Stroudie Special (6 shows for the price of 5) - you will be able to do this through online booking. Select 5 shows and get the 6th show free
Venues and times may be subject to change
Sherlock's Excellent Adventure - Our Star Theatre
Follow Sherlock Holmes and his incomparable sidekick Dr John Watson on this riveting, hitherto unpublished case ...
Damsel in distress Lucy Matravers engages Arthur Conan Doyle’s famous sleuth Holmes and his partner Watson to resolve a dispute over a family will. Little do they know that this small case brings Holmes straight into the clutches of his arch enemy, James Moriarty!
This hilarious spoof is taken on by four actors, minimal furnishings and a ton of jolly-good fun!
Coming to Stroud straight from a critically acclaimed run at the Brighton Fringe Festival
The Old Town Hall Friday 10th September 7.30pm Saturday 11th September 6.30pm Sunday 12th September 3.00pm
Stories of Inspirational Women - Genevieve Robinson
‘Stories of Inspirational Women’ is a high energy interactive storytelling performance, exploring the phenomenal achievements of some of the most inspiring female figures from around the world. Girls and boys will launch a rocket with Mae C. Jemison, make scientific discoveries with Marie Curie, and travel through time and space with author Madeleine L'Engle. Join Genevieve in celebrating the achievements of astronauts, inventors and dreamers. Genevieve is a children’s storyteller and teaching artist with over a decade of experience working with children of all ages. Recently moved from London where she presented interactive educational science shows at the London Science Museum and facilitated Disney educational workshops, for The Lion King and Mary Poppins West End Shows. She is currently touring schools around the country with an empowering and creative storytelling project of her own creation; 'Stories of Inspirational Women and How They Changed the World’.
The Museum in the Park Saturday 11th September 1.30pm Sunday 12th September 1.30pm
The Alt Book Club - Shirley Halse
Alt Book Club is a comedy night crossed with a book club, but don’t worry there’s absolutely NO required reading… Featuring local friends and professional comedians dissecting anything Lit - from John Milton’s Paradise Lost to Kim Kardashian’s Selfie, and everything in between. This unconventional night is full of giggles AND interesting info: the opposite of studying poetry at school. As seen at the Cheltenham Literature Festival.
Weven Friday 10th September 7.30pm Saturday 11th September 6.30pm Sunday 12th September 4.30pm
The Anthony Monologues - Everyman Theatre
Commissioned by the Everyman Theatre and Stroud Theatre Festival, the Anthony Monologues are a series of short one-person plays, written by members of the Everyman’s Writers’ Lab: Gillian Cope, Martin Lytton, David Upsher and Karen Benjamin. Each monologue has the same opening line: “I can’t get hold of Anthony”. Each has their own interpretation as to who Anthony is and why he is so important. They can be seen individually in various Stroud street locations on Saturday; and altogether on Saturday night and Sunday afternoon.
St Laurence's Church Saturday 11th September 8.00pm Sunday 12th September 4.30pm
The End of the Pier Show - Jonny Fluffypunk
Theatre, puppetry, poetry and lo-fi music all battle it out to tell a story about a doomed seaside pier and a rapping handyman, a refugee mermaid, and a bedridden trapeze act who might just have to pull together to save it. A show about pulling together, about celebrating difference and opening your arms to the world. Warning: fans of throwing plastic in the sea will be made to feel awkward.
The Museum in the Park Saturday 11th September 11.30am, 3.00pm Sunday 12th September 11.30am
The Insect Circus - String Theatre
The magical world of The Insect Circus invites the audience to forget reality and become immersed in the strange and beautiful world of insects. Beetles and grasshoppers, wasps and dragonflies, demonstrate their dexterity with great skill and humour. Presented using marionettes and specially commissioned music, the show breathes new life into the traditional techniques used in Victorian trick marionettes.
Well, That Was Different! - Cotswold Players
Two intriguing plays for the price of one – the first is very short; the second not so short; the first is serious but funny; the second funny but serious. There’s astonishing value for money here! - one person singing; two stepladders, the odd football reference, and rather a lot of rhyming couplets. And way more bin bags than you get in your average show. These entertaining pieces are written by Festival regular Philip Douch. They’ll make you laugh, think and possibly even get emotional. Carrying On reveals two women’s very different responses to an apparently grim world. The Visit gives an unlikely pair of visitors pause for thought as they check out the mysteries of human behaviour. And, really, there’s a quite exceptional number of bin bags.
St Laurence's Church Friday 10th September 7.30pm Saturday 11th September 5.00pm Sunday 12th September 6.00pm
What Myra Did - LouDeemy Productions
Myra suffers from Dissociative Identity Disorder (D.I.D.). Her experience of life is chaotic, disjointed, patchy and often delusional, as she battles with the various aspects of herself, seeking a core self with which she may finally connect with the world. Sometimes a victim, or a child, sometimes reflective, at other times a highly functioning, if neurotic woman, Myra allows us a glimpse into her world. She can be poetic or cynical, introverted, psychotic, or sane and sensible as she takes us along on a rollercoaster ride through her conversations with the highly critical Arym, along with her monologues and her poignant poetry. “What Myra DID” explores the seemingly often paradoxical dark and humorous aspects to living in the grips of mental illness and the distress that so often accompanies it as we learn a little of what it is like to live inside Myra’s head.
The British School at Star Anise Saturday 11th September 8.00pm
Yoga Teacher Ate My Pet - Rose Wadham
Join white, posh and terribly sorry stand up comedian Rose Wadham as she discusses her fear of cleaning ladies, motherhood, cocktail parties, yoga teachers, married sex, village life, Russian cats, Australians and Joan, the puritanical bitch who lives in her head.
Weven Friday 10th September 9.00pm Saturday 11th September 8.00pm Sunday 12th September 7.30pm
Stroud Theatre Festival is run by Spaniel in the Works Theatre Company www.spanielworks.co.uk