THE PROGRAMME :

Absolutely NOT The New Normal
- pd Productions

Scarcely normal pre-Covid, Sarah Hitchcock and Philip Douch now seize the opportunity to prove nothing much has changed. Seeking revenge on the Universe, they’ll spend an hour inflicting their slightly off the wall short stories on anyone sufficiently frustrated at the absence of live entertainment to consider signing up for something barely alive and perhaps only loosely entertaining. With different stories at each show, you could even come along twice, just to check that you weren’t hallucinating at the first one.
It’s sometimes said (by Sarah and Philip actually) that a good short story makes its mark not just from the content but from the delivery. This gives our intrepid writer-performers double the chance to screw up. And since there’s two of them, the chances of disappointment mushroom further. See you there then.
Recommended for 16+

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The Amphitheatre, Stratford Park, GL5 4AJ
Sat 3rd Oct 7.00 p.m., Sun 4th Oct 7.00 p.m.

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

DUE TO THE COVID RESTRICTIONS THIS EVENT HAS HAD TO BE CANCELLED.

​APOLOGIES FOR ANY DISAPPOINTMENT

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And So, Now That You're Dead...
​- Foulisfair Theatre

Welcome through the doorway.  We hope you had a good life.  If not… (oops – It’s a little too late!)  Never mind, maybe it’s still worth considering what death means to you, and to explore the possibility of becoming ‘death-positive’? The Appreciation of Mortality Society has put together a star-studded cast for this informative event: Grim will be there to welcome you, and Catrina La Calavera from Mexico - where they really know how to celebrate the dead! Also, the famous Greek Goddess Demeter will be dropping by, though we can’t promise she’ll be in a celebratory mood.  And woven between these great immortal voices, you may just hear a quieter tale of personal loss – one that nevertheless unites us in our imperfect mortal state - having as much to do with love as facing the final goodbye.

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Lansdown Hall and Gallery, Lansdown, GL5 1BB
Fri 2nd Oct  5.30 p.m., Sat 3rd Oct 7.00 p.m., Sun 4th Oct  5.00 p.m.
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Apocalypse Kernow
- OMF Theatre

Apocalypse Kernow is a comedy about a zombie apocalypse in Cornwall. That’s it. It is also a social commentary about rights and immigration.
Apocalypse Kernow is a series of linked sketches by Greg Winders, that trace the story of how the disease of brain addiction came to Cornwall, with rumours circulating it could be the pasties.
The story moves on to how all areas are affected, from whether super markets or Trago Mills will have to close down to the National Trust café subduing infected with cream tea. Then deciding whether to kill them based on whether they go cream or jam first. The Cornish are then ordered to find shelter but the only place offered is Plymouth, so few take this up. Those that do must pass a Devon citizenship test.
The story is a comment on modern society and the lengths people will go to not to offend, with a restauranteur committing murder to feed a zombie customer brains and a referendum on whether the murder of zombies should be acceptable.

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The Orangery,  Stratford Park, GL5 4AJ      
Sat 3rd Oct 7.00 p.m., Sun 4th Oct  3.00 p.m.
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Back Door Parole
- Journeymen Theatre

Ron’s spent a lifetime in prison and the outside world is no longer beckoning. He, like thousands of others, will see out his days inside, otherwise known as Back Door Parole. Kathy becomes part of Ron’s life as a newly appointed Quaker prison chaplain. Ron is something of a spiritual tourist before arriving at the Quakers. She, in turn, is both idealistic and overwhelmed by what she experiences.
The play explores the complexities of the UK penal system and how this impacts upon both inmates and those who work within it. In particular, it exposures the pressures and stresses caused by the increasing number of elderly men who will see out their days in prison cells.
Suitable for audiences aged 16+
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The Goods Shed Station Approach, Stroud GL5 3AP 
Fri 2nd Oct  9.30 p.m., Sat 3rd Oct 5.00 p.m., Sun 4th Oct  3.00 p.m.
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Beowulf Needs You
- Anthony Haddon

This is an opportunity to get inside the story of Beowulf with Anthony acting as your guide, provocateur, narrator and fellow traveller on this journey from the known to the unknown and back again, but not to the same place where we began. Beowulf is the name of a Viking warrior and we will follow his fortunes as he and his warriors cross the sea to the land of the Danes in order to rid their country of a man- eating monster called Grendel. Why risk your life for other people who live so far away? If they have failed to rid themselves of this monster, then what is our plan?
Beowulf needs warriors to go with him on this quest and Anthony needs your help to explore this story. This is a 60 minute active storytelling session for children (suitable for seven-year olds upwards) and adults.
Anthony Haddon is theatre director, writer and performer who specialises in theatre for children and young people. Anthony was a founder member and Artistic Director of Theatre Company Blah Blah Blah in Leeds from 1985 to 2014 and now works with the education teams at Opera North, Leeds Playhouse and Bradford Museums.

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The Pavilion, Museum in the Park, Stratford Park, GL5 4AF
Fri 2nd Oct  3.30 p.m., Sat 3rd Oct 11.30 a.m., Sun 4th Oct 11.30 a.m.

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Courtship
- Stroud Theatre Company

​Ros and Tim have had very different lives. Ros is a much-travelled woman of the world who has tasted adventure as an expedition doctor and left a trail of shattered relationships behind her. Tim is a craftsman rooted in the Cotswolds, recently widowed after a long and stable marriage.
When Ros comes across Tim in Cheltenham's museum, they each find themselves attracted to the other's way of life. For both Ros and Tim it is a glimpse of the road not taken, the life they might have had.
Is this a chance, late in life, to take that other road?
This is a playreading of Frank Hatt's latest play.

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The Goods Shed Station Approach, Stroud GL5 3AP 
Fri 2nd Oct  7.30 p.m., Sat 3rd Oct 3.00 p.m.
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Isolated But Open
​- Cotswold Players

Pictures by Jack Boskett

A set of six riveting, personal narratives from today’s challenging world. These stories are all tinged with loss, redemption, sadness and growth, but all are lit up with real heart, warmth and humour through their texts. The writing is superb and moving and has been a joy for our actors to work with. Subjects range from wild swimming, pop star impersonation and trees, through to a ‘vlogger’ on the edge, the heat death of the universe and advice from a fish counter. We hope to be the first company to perform these pieces ‘live’. They were commissioned by Papatango Theatre Company, in response to the lockdown crisis, and were filmed by young professional actors. Papatango selected 12 monologues from 2,063 submissions, and these were published by Nick Hern Books. We have selected 6 to perform live and are thrilled to be making our debut at the 8th Stroud Theatre Festival.
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Lansdown Hall and Gallery, Lansdown, GL5 1BB
Fri 2nd Oct  9.30 p.m., Sat 3rd Oct 5.00 p.m., Sun 4th Oct  7.00 p.m.
Extra performance Thurs 1st Oct 7.00 p.m.

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Journey Into Space
​- Knapsack Productions

​In space no one can hear you scream, especially if your aren’t wearing a spacesuit and your capsule springs a leak, or is hit by a meteor, or burns up on re-entry, or any of the other terrible mishaps that could really put a dent in your plans for a weekend away on the moon.
Join Paul to explore how rockets get you into space, how spacesuits keep you alive, how you can survive re-entry and along the way avoid some of the other traps, disasters and toileting errors that the cosmos has waiting for you.  

​Paul Hill is ESERO Space Ambassador, Fellow of the Royal Society of Astronomy and presenter of the worlds most popular Astronomy Podcast - Awesome Astronomy.

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The Bandstand, Stratford Park, GL5 4AJ
Sat 3rd Oct 3.00 p.m., Sun 4th Oct  1.00 p.m.

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Messages From the Gods
- Dramestics Theatre

​DUE TO UNFORESEEN CIRCUMSTANCES THIS EVENT HAS HAD TO BE CANCELLED.

​APOLOGIES FOR ANY DISAPPOINTMENT

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Natural Verbosity
- Chloe of Midnight Storytellers

Instead of celebrating 20 years of tales, Chloë of the Midnight Storytellers totters into her 6th decade fuelled by cake, chemotherapy, cat fur and, frankly, dragon sized grumpiness. The more she rants, the more you’ll giggle…
What happens when a girl learns to deter blokes by showing her functioning brain cells?! Why only two cats when she loves them all?! What if your only talent earns more sneers than cheers? And why Natural Verbosity?
Continuing her slightly faltering mission to boldly take story cabaret where it’s never gone before, Chloë presents an interactive wordfest of comedy and story. More or less unscripted, especially the story. That’s where you come in… 
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Picture by Anthony Thompson - Thousand Word Media

The Amphitheatre, Stratford Park, GL5 4AJ
Fri 2nd Oct  7.30 p.m., Sat 3rd Oct 5.00 p.m., Sun 4th Oct 5.00 p.m.

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Normal
​- Downpour Theatre

​“I didn’t have to prove him innocent, just insane”
Justus Werner, a naive young lawyer, thinks of himself as normal. When appointed to defend Peter Kurten, the real-life serial killer whose horrific crimes terrified Dusseldorf in the late 1920's, he thinks he has a straightforward case. Kurten is not innocent but neither is he sane, or is he?  Described as theatre of cruelty at its best, Anthony's Neilson's Normal, is a brutal, no-holds-barred play with a chilling insight into the mind and life of a psychopath, begging the question: What is normal?
This show is not suitable for under 16s (contains strong language, and scenes of a violent and/or sexual nature).

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The Goods Shed Station Approach, Stroud GL5 3AP 
Fri 2nd Oct 5.30 p.m., Sat 3rd Oct 9.00 p.m., Sun 4th Oct 7.00 p.m.
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On Air!
- Curious Move and Red Dog Theatre

​Four actors, and a musician take to the outdoor stage throughout Gloucestershire.
Expect cut glass vowels and vintage glamour as the cast recreate scripts from the heydays of the wireless. Throughout the performance, sound effects are created live by the actors  -  balloons imitate creaking doors and a variety of  household objects provide the soundscapes to a selection of spiffing yarns !

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The Bandstand,  Stratford Park, GL5 4AJ    
Fri  2nd Oct 7.30 p.m., Sat 3rd Oct 7.00 p.m., Sun 4th Oct 3.00 p.m.
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Railway Trips and Railway Time
Railway Lines and Railway Rhyme
- Keith Butler, Stuart Butler, Andrew Budd and Jonny Fluffypunk

The branch line from Swindon to Stroud ... and beyond ...
Tales from the footplate and the platform,
Poems from the station's edge.
Ponderings during lockdown
on pubs, pastimes and past times.

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The Goods Shed Station Approach, Stroud GL5 3AP
Sat 3rd Oct 7.00 p.m., Sun 4th Oct  5.00 p.m.

The End of the Pier Show
- Jonny Fluffypunk

The debut performances of a brand spanking new family show from 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 Goods Shed, Station Approach, GL5 3AP                           
Sat 3rd Oct 11.00a.m., Sun 4th Oct  11.00 a.m., 1.00 p.m.
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The Indomitable Rise of Dmitri Kominski
- Spaniel in the Works Theatre Company

​Who is Dmitri Kominski? How did he rise from humble Northumbrian upbringing to such a position of power ? Will he manage to Get Breakfast Done? Or will his own quest for a full English be his undoing? And what is his involvement with the Russian Beetroot cartels?
A satirical look at UK politics  incorporating song, puppets and poetry to explore our own political landscape (or what is left of it!)

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The Bandstand,  Stratford Park, GL5 4AJ    
Fri  2nd Oct 9.30 p.m., Sat 3rd Oct 5.00 p.m., Sun 4th Oct 7.00 p.m.
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The Trials of Harvey Matusow
​- Monkeydog Productions

“Y'know, the thing about McCarthy – the thing they never tell you – is this: Joe McCarthy was a 
son of a bitch; but he was the nicest son of a bitch you ever met.”
England, the late ’60s. Harvey Matusow is a long way from home. Home, for the record, is New York, but it’s been a while since he was welcome there. 
Still, he keeps himself busy.
In fact, there’s barely a moment when Harvey isn’t writing, broadcasting, playing the Jew’s harp, organising music festivals, inventing toys or burying pianos in the garden (his wife’s an avant-garde musician). 
In fact, Harvey never really stands still. 
Perhaps he’s afraid to stand still. 
Perhaps if he did he’d have time to reflect on the events of the previous decade, when  political flirtation with such as Joe McCarthy led his younger self from national fame to national infamy to jail – and finally into exile.
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“The best one-hander I have seen this year”
Plays International  

“What is unequivocal is the sheer powerful brilliance of Cohen’s script... And then there’s the performance – pitch-perfect, adroit, vivacious and charming.  Harvey’s the kind of guy you’d lend your last dime to, even if you knew damn well he’d betray you with it.” FringeGuru

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The Lawn, Museum in the Park, Stratford Park, GL5 4AF
Fri 2nd Oct 7.30 p.m.,  Sat 3rd Oct 7.00 p.m., Sun 4th Oct 3.00 p.m.

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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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Lansdown Hall and Gallery, Lansdown, GL5 1BB
Fri 2nd Oct 7.30 p.m., Sat 3rd Oct 9.00 p.m., Sun 4th Oct 3.00 p.m.
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Whose Shoes
- Knapsack Productions

Whose Shoes is a show about a child's exciting journey of imagination. Rosie can't sleep after her exciting trip to the aquarium, so instead she explores an underwater world where sea-creatures wear shoes!  Combining music, storytelling and puppetry, the show is interactive in a socially distanced world. Young audiences are encouraged to bring their own blanket and teddies to play with Rosie and immerse themselves in the deep-sea stories.   Suitable for children aged 3+. 

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The Amphitheatre, Stratford Park, GL5 4AJ
Sat 3rd Oct 11.00 a.m., Sun 4th Oct 11.00 a.m.

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Woman Up!
- Charlotte Levene

​She’s a wife, a mother, a grandmother… but most of all she’s a woman up a tree. And she’s not planning on coming down anytime soon. 
Performed by Jude Emmett in a real treehouse, Charlotte Levene’s dark comedy explores isolation, judgement and the fight to be heard whilst being left the hell alone. 
“Scared?  I held your father’s hand as we crossed the picket line in front of Scargill in ’85.  You don’t know the meaning of fear until you have 47 burly lads from Otterly throwing rocks at you.  The most likely thing to hit me in the face up here is a bit of gingham bunting.  I think I’ll be ok.”
Seventy year olds shouldn’t climb trees. Especially when they’re angry. 

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Special Location - (To be revealed when ticket booked)
Fri 2nd Oct  9.30p.m., Sat 3rd Oct 7.00p.m. , Sun 4th Oct 3.00p.m.

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Stroud Theatre Festival is run by
Spaniel in the Works Theatre Company
www.spanielworks.co.uk