Autumn season brochure out on 19th August

Local talent opens our new Autumn Season with JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT by The Young Musical Theatre Company (20th – 22nd August 7pm). In October, Strode Musical Theatre Company entertain with their production of the hilarious Mel Brooks show THE PRODUCERS, followed in mid-November by Street Theatre’s great British comedy NOISES OFF, and in early December by Wells Cathedral School’s production of the musical LES MISERABLES (School Edition).

In this year’s panto slot after Christmas, Glastonbury & Street Musical Comedy Society are bringing festive entertainment for all the family in a slightly different format: the traditional family Christmas show PETER PAN.

Music of many hues is on the menu with the rock band QUEEN’s tribute act QUEEN II in October, the MID-SOMERSET ORCHESTRA performing Antonín Dvorák’s Cello Concerto plus works by Beethoven and Schumann in November, Strode College students presenting their successful mix of seasonal, rock, jazz and classical tunes in early December, and the ever-popular ABBA tribute SENSATION returning just before the Christmas break.

Music also features strongly in the new season’s cinema broadcasts and the film programme at Strode. As well as the superb opera transmissions from the Royal Opera House and from English National Opera, you can see the one-off relay of the fabulous ROCKY HORROR SHOW LIVE in mid-September, the unique concert film ROGER WATERS THE WALL at the end of September, as well as the heart-breaking documentary film AMY (cert 15) about the life of the late Amy Winehouse and the intriguing bio-pic LOVE & MERCY (cert 12A) about Beach Boy Brian Wilson.

Film fans are in for a double treat this autumn!

Firstly, of course, we have again got the cream of the new releases, from mainstream entertainment (e.g. SPY, THE CHOIR, THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E., ABSOLUTELY ANYTHING, THE INTERN etc) to the quirky and unusual (LONDON ROAD, THE LEGEND OF BARNEY THOMSON), the thrilling (THEEB, SLOW WEST, DARTMOOR KILLING, MARSHLAND, EVEREST, MACBETH), the thought-provoking (FORCE MAJEURE, MISS JULIE, 45 YEARS, MANGLEHORN, SUFFRAGETTE) and the heart-warming (A WALK IN THE WOODS, GEMMA BOVERY, RICKI AND THE FLASH, BROOKLYN).

And secondly, the Theatre is in the final stages of creating its new upstairs Studio space with 64 seats, where a new monthly programme from October will include many of the smaller, foreign language, documentary and classic/archive films which might not fill a large theatre but which Strode want to re-introduce in greater number for local people to enjoy.

Great theatre productions also come via satellite link to the Strode screen: from the West End there is Oscar Wilde’s witty IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST with David Suchet as Lady Bracknell; from the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-on-Avon comes the much talked-about new production of OTHELLO with Hugh Quarshie; from the National Theatre we get the hilarious Restoration comedy THE BEAUX’ STRATAGEM; and no Benedict Cumberbatch fan will want to miss his electric performance as HAMLET from the Barbican – and that’s just in the first couple of months.

With fascinating speakers on the historical subjects of WARTIME CODEBREAKING and the MAGNA CARTA, presented by the high profile historian DAVID STARKEY, the seasonal QUIZ NIGHT, the ARTS AND CRAFT FAIR and some stunning EXHIBITIONS by local artists completing the offering, there’s really no excuse to be bored this autumn!