THE PROGRAMME :

​Amazing Stories of Blues and Soul 
- Ken Wood and the Mixers

Amazing Stories of Blues and Soul aims to reconnect audiences with the energy, excitement and raw emotion generated by the pioneering R&B and soul acts of the 40s, 50s and 60s. Crafted by long-running cult R&B band Ken Wood and the Mixers, the show uses words, music and a dynamic stage show to tell the story of soul.
In this fast-paced musical tour the eight-piece band recreates the pounding R&B of the 1940s through to the smouldering sounds of Stax records. The band punctuates the show with stories of their musical heroes and recreates the original spirit of the legendary singers and foot-stomping soul classics that sound-tracked a generation. Anecdotes, humour and the songs of Otis Redding, Sam and Dave, James Brown, Smokey Robinson and many more are all brought together through performances crackling with energy.
As performed at Edinbugh and Brighton Fringe Fesitivals and Stroud Theatre Festival.

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Lansdown Hall
Lansdown, Stroud GL5 1BB
Sunday 12th September 3.00 p.m.
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Attention Seeker
- That's Enough Drama

The shy, anxious jokewriter for a famous comedian accidentally crashes into the standup spotlight and decides to
stay. Equipped with blind panic, paralysing fear and jokes the comedian didn’t buy, he sets out to prove who’s really
the funny one, and the rest, as they say, is history (except history is normally written by the winners). Experience the
vicarious thrill of telling jokes on stage to 10's, 100's even 1000's of people and then back to 10's again without the
sleepless nights and crippling self-doubt in this regrettably true story of fragile egos, low impulse control, and the
best worst comedy gig of all time.

Solo Comedy Award, Buxton '18
Best Solo Show, Nelson '16
★★★★★ Incredibly smart & funny - Edmonton Journal
★★★★★ SWFringeGeek, Minneapolis
★★★★ never less than riveting - Bath Echo
★★★★ - Saskatoon Star-Phoenix
Hugely talented, a cut above most storytellers - Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
Very funny, reminiscent of Woody Allen in his early 60s stand-up years - Pioneer Press, Minneapolis
Beyond engaging into downright hypnosis… I loved every minute of it - Art Murmurs, Wellington
Absorbing, moving, generous and funny. This is the work of a writer and performer at the top of his game - Buxton Fringe Review

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The British School at Star Anise
1 Gloucester St, Stroud GL5 1QG
​Friday 10th September 6.00pm
Saturday 11th September 9.30pm
Sunday 12th September 3.00pm
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Bertie Bassett is 50 Something and Sad
- Spaniel in the Works Theatre Company

"When you're younger you can eat what you like, drink what you like and still get into your 26 inch waist trousers and zip them closed. Then you reach that age......"
So what makes John "Bertie" Bassett sad? Could it be that reaching the age of 50 Something the world seems strange, curious, sad and quite frankly annoying.
Part stand up, part personal reminiscence, part observational, part rant, part shout at the world this show will certainly ask the big questions that none other does like what do Barry Cryer, Dave Gahan and Steve Baker MP have in common and why are there only two women on Tracey Island.
Contains strong language but no nuts!
​16+

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Weven
16 George St, Stroud GL5 3AG
Saturday 11th September 9.30pm
Sunday 12th September 6.00pm
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Brains on Toast
- Fergus Ryan

Brains! Brains! Brains! It’s all about how we think, what we think, if we think, and what happens if a bit of your brain gets removed or something else put in there with it. Like an indestructable Scots stunt bunny called Rabbie. 
Having been threatened with serious taunting if he repeats his Ivor Cutless show this year, Brain injury survivor Fergus Ryan teams up with Rabbie to bring you the best in current affairs, quantum and social engineering, mind control and consciousness evolution! Find humour in your tumour… marvel at the most inept puppetry and ventriloquism you’re ever likely to see! Catering note: please bring your own toast. ​

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The Old Town Hall
The Shambles, Stroud GL5 1AP
Friday 10th September 6.00pm
Saturday 11th September 8.00pm
Sunday 12th September 7.30pm
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Can We Talk About Phil?
​(a mock documentary)  
- Fire Donkey Productions
(Film screening - part of a double bill with The Fire and The Smoke - White Hippos)

​Due to various mitigating circumstances the Fire Donkey team will sadly not be present in Stroud for this year’s festival, so instead they have decided to make a special film: a mock documentary about everyone’s favourite death cult, The Church of Phil, a new-age movement of almost 300 people worldwide, who worship the child-star of an obscure migraine-relief commercial from the 1990’s.
Following an investigation into rumours about what goes on at their run-down caravan holiday park in north Pembrokeshire, Liam and Polly, along with several camp members both past and present, are put in the spotlight. Expect an absurd cast of characters (including a talking banana, a psychotic chimp and Barry, a terrifying children’s mascot) taking you on a psychedelic murderous adventure through the Welsh countryside, complete with strange camera angles, niche references to 90’s pharmaceutical adverts, and severe levels of what can only be described as “intrigue”.
If you’ve not experienced the “gleefully absurd” world of the Church of Phil before, you won’t want to miss this hilarious lo-fi cinematic epic, featuring interviews, caravans, puppetry, animation, catchy music, and perhaps even the definitive answer to what really happened to the movement’s enigmatic leader Phil?​

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Lansdown Hall
Lansdown, Stroud GL5 1BB
Friday 10th September 7.30pm
Saturday 11th September 6.30pm
Sunday 12th September 4.30pm
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Circus of Desertion
- Hexagon Theatre Company

Due to a positive Covid test from one cast member this event is sadly cancelled.

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Confessions of a Memory Thief 
- Through The Square Productions 
(Film screening)

Confessions of a Memory Thief is about Al: A misunderstood and innocent fluke of nature; a disease consumed with guilt. Maybe it's the bright lightor it could be the intense scrutiny of the scientist peering through their microscope at Al. Either way this perfectly incised slice of brain in a snappy purple suit is galvanised into the performance of a lifetime. Al is delighted to reveal all, confess, spill the beans and is frankly relieved it is all over. 
This unusual short film was created for last year's festival and explore the effects of degenerative mental illness in a lively and quirky way,

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Lansdown Hall
Lansdown, Stroud GL5 1BB
Saturday 11th September 3.30pm
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From Age to Age
- Dramestics

​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.

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The British School at Star Anise
1 Gloucester St, Stroud GL5 1QG
​Friday 10th September 9.00pm
Saturday 11th September 6.30pm
Sunday 12th September 7.30pm
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Fruit Salad
​- Severn Wonders

Alex, Gill and Rachel have been going bananas to ensure that Fruit Salad will go as smoothie as possible. So don't give into pear pressure and get in a jam, make a date with our peach team. The time is ripe to cherry pick our show!
The South West's funniest comedy sketch performers return with a show featuring a trio from our troupe performing brand new sketches.
Strap yourself in for a giggle as we offer our never-been-tested-before material to you, the unsuspecting audience. Sorry, no returns!​

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Lansdown Hall 
Lansdown, Stroud GL5 1BB    
Friday 10th September 6.00pm
Saturday 11th September 8.00pm
Sunday 12th September 6.00pm
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Improv Comedy From Box of Frogs
- Box of Frogs

​A fabulous night of improvised comedy from Birmingham's premier improv troupe. The multi=talented and quick-witted Box of Frogs players bring a night of high-octane improvised comedy. Hilarious scenes, sketches, songs, all based on siggestions from the audience.
"Guarantee you'll be laughing throughout" - Love Midlands Theatre
"The brilliant and bouncy Box of Frogs is definitely a group to see at least once before you croak." - Bum on a Seat

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Lansdown Hall 
Lansdown, Stroud GL5 1BB 
Friday 10th September 9.00pm
Saturday 11th September 5.00pm

The Old Town Hall
The Shambles, Stroud GL5 1AP  ​
​Sunday 12th September 6.00pm

​John Thelwall (The Most Dangerous Man In England)
- Radical Stroud

"Citizen John" Thelwall, "that Jacobin Fox", "the most dangerous man in England" spent the summer of 1797 at Nailsworth, Chalford and Bowbridge, after walking out from London to stay with Samuel Taylor Coleridge at Nether Stowey. He was also an associate of William Wordsworth, a poet, a radical walker, and a charismatic political orator.
The quill of Stuart Butler and the voices of guest performers like Jonny Fluffypunk and John Bassett will bring Citizen John's life and times back to life. We hope there will be no spies of Prime Minister William Pitt in the audience. But Citizen John is used to that.

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St Laurence's Church
52 High St, Stroud GL5 1JL
Friday 10th September 7.30pm
Saturday 11th September 6.30pm
Sunday 12th September 7.30pm
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Miserus
​- i.e. Theatre

Classic Greek stories told properly.
By Romans.
Join the blind seer Tiresias and his mostly mute companion Vox Nihili as they recount a dismal selection of Classical Greek Myths through some traditional storytelling smashed to bits with live music.
A production 2000 years in the making.
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The British School at Star Anise
1 Gloucester St, Stroud GL5 1QG
​Friday 10th September 7.30pm
Saturday 11th September 5.00pm
Sunday 12th September 4.30pm
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Ominous Folk of Hopeless, Maine
- Ominous Folk of Hopeless, Maine

Ominous folk is the performance tentacle of the Hopeless, Maine project, which started its life as a graphic novel series and is now oozing its way into all sorts of media. Wrecked on Hopeless is a comedy horror show which contains folk, folklore, and original material (some with four part harmony) . Shipwrecked on Hopeless, Maine, James Weaselgrease tries to survive encounters with the strange inhabitants. Maybe unsuitable for delicate children. Come to Hopeless, Maine, a haunted island lost in time. You may never want to leave. (You may never be able to).

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The Old Town Hall
The Shambles, Stroud GL5 1AP
Sunday 12th September 4.30 pm

Seb and Polly Planet on their Ocean Quest - Jackanory Style
- Michelle Cassar

Inspire children (and their grown ups!) with a ‘Jackanory’ style with a twist. A live reading with the author of Seb and Polly Planet on their Ocean Quest.
 
A fun, unique and timely kids book encouraging simple solutions to plastic pollution.
Join the adventures of Seb in this highly acclaimed and beautifully illustrated chapter book. Created to empower kids (and grown-ups!) to PALL: Plastic A Lot Less.
 
“Seb and Polly Planet is a beautiful tale of the planet, plastic, empowerment and how positive environmental action gives hope to us all, and for the future of Planet Ocean.” Hugo Tagholm, CEO Surfers Against Sewage
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Age range 6-11 (and their adults and younger siblings) ​

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The Museum in the Park
Stratford Park, Stratford Rd, Stroud GL5 4AF
Sunday 12th September 11.30am
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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

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The Old Town Hall
The Shambles, Stroud GL5 1AP
Friday 10th September 7.30pm
Saturday 11th September 6.30pm
​Sunday 12th September 3.00pm
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​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’.

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The Museum in the Park
Stratford Park, Stratford Rd, Stroud GL5 4AF
Saturday 11th September 1.30pm
Sunday 12th September 1.30pm
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 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.​

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Weven
16 George St, Stroud GL5 3AG
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.

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St Laurence's Church
52 High St, Stroud GL5 1JL
Saturday 11th September 8.00pm
Sunday 12th September 4.30pm
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Street performances on Saturday
​- Performance sites to be confirmed
Monologue 1 - 12.30pm
Monologue 2 - 1.00pm
Monologue 3 - 1.30pm
Monologue 4 - 2.00pm

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.    

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The Museum in the Park
Stratford Park, Stratford Rd, Stroud GL5 4AF
Saturday 11th September 11.30am
Saturday 11th September 3.00pm
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The Fire and The Smoke
- White Hippos

(Film screening - part of a double bill with 
Can We Talk About Phil? (a mock documentary) - Fire Donkey Productions )

On a distant farmland there was a fire. One morning it swept out of some nearby woodland and set fire to the crops and hedgerows... Does this story sound familiar?
It should

White Hippos return to Stroud Theatre Festival for the fourth time with this short screening. Originally made for this year's Barnstaple TheatreFest this powerful piece appears as part of a double bill with other short films from companies who couldn't travel to Stroud this year.
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Lansdown Hall
Lansdown, Stroud GL5 1BB
Friday 10th September 7.30pm
Saturday 11th September 6.30pm
Sunday 12th September 4.30pm
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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. ​

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St Laurence Church    
52 High St, Stroud GL5 1JL
Sunday 12th September 1.15pm - 2.00pm
​Sunday 12th September 3.00pm - 3.45pm


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​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.

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St Laurence's Church
52 High St, Stroud GL5 1JL
Friday 10th September 6.00pm
Saturday 11th September 5.00pm
Sunday 12th September 6.00pm
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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.

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The British School at Star Anise
1 Gloucester St, Stroud GL5 1QG
Saturday 11th September 8.00pm
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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.

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Weven
16 George St, Stroud GL5 3AG
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