What's in the Theatre this week? (Mar28 - Apr03)

Oxford Playhouse:

War and Peace
- Shared Experience revives its thrilling production in two parts, an epic masterpiece of Russian society set in the Napoleonic era.

Molora - Exploring South Africa's experience of apartheid and its legacy through reworking the Greek classic of the Oresteia.

Old Fire Station:

Alun Cochrane - Alun Cochrane is a laid back comedian who makes his living chiefly by recounting everyday things that have happened to him in life or in cafes. His comedy is warm and intelligent and has led to appearances on several radio shows including 'Just A Minute' and TV performances on 'Have I Got News For You', '8 Out Of Ten Cats', 'Mock The Week' and 'Never Mind The Buzzcocks'. He is a regular at the Edinburgh Fringe with three consecutive highly acclaimed sell-out solo shows, winning the Writer's Guild Award in 2004.

Honk! - George Stiles and Antony Drew's heart warming story flaps its way into Oxford this spring. Based on the Hans Christian Anderson fairytale 'The Ugly Duckling' this Olivier award winning musical for all ages is one not to be missed!

Burton Taylor Studio:

Luke Wright, Poet and Man + Support from Dockers MC + Tom Sutton - 2007 4Talent Award winner Luke Wright is one of the UK's leading poets, after a storming run at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2007 his new show Luke Wright, Poet & Man now tours the UK. Married and mortgaged at 25, Wright looks at what it takes to be a proper grown-up chap in the 21st Century, featuring sharp stand-up and his trademark blistering verse.

The Wedding Story - A new play with music for young children and their families. Once upon a time, there was a wedding. And everybody loves a wedding! But why is there a boy hiding under the table, whilst his mum, his grandmother and his new step-father search for him? Drawing on traditional Jewish and East European folk tales, and featuring live music, magic, animation and juggling, Wedding Story explores the challenges of family change, of a child trying to come to terms with a new world.

Irene/Blue (Double Bill)
Irene by Gwillim Scourfield. Presented by S-Zone Productions -
Irene, a feisy young woman of 95 is forced to accept care in a nursing home. Reminiscing over her years as a Shakespearian actor, she puts her finger on what makes life 'significant'. This play is a hilarious hymn of praise to live theatre.

Blue by Heather Dunmore. Presented by The Old Gaol Theatre Company and Abingdon Drama Club - Leo is struggling: "There's nothing blue about my world. My world is completely grey." Meanwhile on her deathbed, his mother is finding a new, comic way of looking at life. A moving account of debilitating illness by Oxfringe director Heather Dunmore.

Train Of Thought - Albert Pantygirdle, buffet steward on the 07:15 Manchester to Brighton, struggles through a chronic lack of sleep to take you on a surreal journey along the absurdly curved branch lines of Customer Service Railways. Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle, The Eurovision Song Contest and BHS underpants provide unreliable support.

I Wish I Had A Sylvia Plath - Following a Fringe First Award and a sweep of praise at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival this year, Edward Anthony's moving and darkly funny new play uses the last ten seconds in the life of a suicidal housewife to lay open the heart and soul of one of the most elusive and unsettling American icons of the 20th century, Sylvia Plath. Elisabeth Gray's award-winning live performance cleverly combines with exquisitely funny film in this highly original piece of theatre.

New Theatre:

Boyz II Men - Boyz II Men is an American R&B/soul singing group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Chris Rea - British singer and guitarist Chris Rea has enjoyed a run of popularity in Europe during the late '80s and early '90s after almost a decade of previous recording.

Sinatra - Legendary performer Frank Sinatra's latest, greatest and most ambitious comeback, captured at the peak of his career, singing his greatest hit songs direct to the audience in ultra-rare and some never-before seen footage. Ground-breaking creative use of cutting-edge technology puts him centre stage, larger than life on multiple moving screens, and lets him perform with a brilliant company of dancers and singers, supported by a live orchestra - together performing some of the greatest music ever recorded.

Pegasus Theatre:

Journeys to Freedom - The wise woman Buktu, based on the African storytelling tradition, is a keeper of stories. Travellers who pass by her home leave small tokens of their passage and Buktu keeps their tales alive by passing them on to us. Many have visited her - Anansi, King Mansa Musa, Aesop, Malcolm X and Nelson Mandela.

Headington Theatre:

Les Misérables - Oxford Youth Music Theatre presents 'Les Misérables'.

The Fortune Players in association with the Student Union present The Wiz - Oxford Brookes University's award-winning musical performance company presents this funky Motown take on the musical classic, The Wizard of Oz. Featuring a cast of well-loved characters including Dorothy, Toto, the Cowardly Lion, the Tin Man, the Scarecrow and a full quota of witches, this promises to be a fun-packed evening of music and song. A must for musical fans of all ages!

Miscellaneous Theatre:

Measure for Measure - A black comedy in which nothing, and no one, is as it seems. In Vienna, morality is a matter of life or death. In the supposed absence of the liberal Duke, strict sexual laws are resurrected by his deputy Angelo, resulting in a death sentence for Claudio after his girlfriend becomes pregnant. His sister Isabella, desperate to save Claudio's life, has a choice - watch him die, or accept an indecent proposal from Angelo… The North Wall Arts Centre

The Mary Rose: a boat of ill repute - Moser Theatre. Sex in the (post war) suburbs! A boat, a brothel and a long forgotten law. It all adds up to some pretty racy goings on in Wolvercote… Wolvercote? Yes, Wolvercote! Kate Saffin's one woman shows have brought tears and laugher to audiences from Oxford to Edinburgh - and waterways between.

The Case - Moser Theatre. "I can see he's trouble, from the moment he gets on the train..." From an encounter with a headcase to a murder case at the Old Bailey. A nightmare journey through the legal process from the viewpoint of an innocent eye-witness. A play which explores the "fear of getting involved" from the pen of a Fringe First winner. "Fast-moving, tautly structured, polished writing ... hits the target." - Scotsman

Do Something, Martin! - In 2005, Martin White exchanged a lucrative City career for the life of an impoverished comedian. This is the story of how that came to happen, a story of doomed office romance, accordion music and Cornish pasties, told through stand-up, storytelling and songs. "Littered with bright and funny moments." - Metro

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