Latest News

August 2014

Very excited to be able to announce our cast and crew for Twilight Dancer, rehearsals start next month so look out for updates and photos as we get underway

In the role of Lola we are delighted to welcome Tanya Myers to the team, Tanya’s credits include Casualty, Silent Witness, Doctors and Holby City for the BBC along with Emmerdale, Heartbeat and The Marchioness for Yorkshire TV. Theatre work includes Nottingham Playhouse, Derby Playhouse, Lakeside Theatre, Birmingham Rep as well as writing and producing her own work with Meeting Ground Theatre

Judy Tcherniak joins us playing Sandra, alongside touring in Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Suffolk, Judy has worked extensively in the London Fringe venues include The King’s Head, Old Red Lion, Brockley Jack, The Tabard, London Theatre, Barons Court and Love Brixton Theatre 

 

Bedfordshire’s very own Mike Aherne takes on the role of Mr Hall, great to finally get to work with Mike who is currently at The National Theatre. Other work includes Chichester Festival Theatre, touring with Pentabus,  Eastern Angles, Cheekish Productions and London Fringe venues Finborough Theatre and Theatre 503 TV and film work includes Holby City, Tease, The Last Superheroes, and Long Walk Home

Another first timer with us is Paul Huntley Thomas playing the troubled Justin. Paul has worked all over the world touring with companies such as Proteus Theatre Company, New Perspectives, Pukka Theatre Co, and Theatre Nomad. He is currently researching the life of Lord Byron for a one man show next year

 

Playing loveable rogue Mark is Aidan Dooley originally from Galway Ireland, Aidan has worked extensively in theatre as actor, writer and director, touring with Bristol Old Vic Theatre Co, and appearing in London at the Wyndhams Theatre, Criterion Theatre and The White Bear. Aidan’s hugely successful solo show Tom Crean – Antarctic Explorer won best solo show at The New York Festival. He has also been nominated for awards at The Dublin Fringe Festival, Adelaide Fringe Festival and The Elliot Norton Theatre Critics Award Boston and in 2006 won the prestigious Fringe First at Edinburgh

The lovely Valentini Kalpini is taking on the dual role of Stage Manager and playing Paquita, we are really looking forward to working with such an accomplished team member! Valentini studied theatre in Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece. While in university she worked as an actress in many shows, including shows that were part of Athens Theatre Festival 2010.  She moved to the UK in September 2013 recent work includes Theatre 503, The Yard, The Cockpit, King’s Head and the Etcetera

Another Bedfordian joining the team is Costume Designer Ilona Kahn who also designs and makes props for hire and sale, along with constructing sets, hats, jewellery, armour, ‘corpses’, puppets and masks: the more bizarre the requirement the better! Recent credits include Icarus Theatre Collective tour,  Theatro Technis, River productions, and The Courtyard Theatre. Ilona has also worked onLegal Eagles for theBBC

Bedfordian and Venue Manager of The Place Alex Levene is designing our set and we would like to say Thank You for all the local support not only for this production but for all our projects

July 2014

We are almost fully cast for Twilight Dancer, posters and flyers have arrived and production meetings are taking place. All very exciting.  We have also had confirmation of funding for our World War One Poetry and Music evening in November, more details to follow soon on that one

April 2014

Pre production has just started on our next show Twilight Dancer, a new piece of writing by Claudette Lawrence which will be at The Place later in the year

March 2014

Great to see so many people over StageWrite week including new audience members who have only just discovered us and The Place! A fantastic week of new pieces

The countdown has begun to StageWrite 2014. Scripts are being prepared, actors are in place and tickets are on sale….. we can’t wait to get started. Check out the SW page for further details of the week

February 2014

Scripts have been submitted for this years StageWrite, now begins the process of casting, if you are interested please have a look at the dedicated page for more information. Tickets are now on sale at The Place £7 (£6) or for £20 you can come along to all four evenings. Audience opinions are invaluable to the writers, the bar will be open and we are very much looking forward to getting scripts up on their feet

 

November 2013

Pleased to say we all came back safely from the Spooky Halloween Cruise and hope to do it all again next year! Thanks to all those who got involved

 

October 2013

Family Fun. Spooky Halloween Cruise on the John Bunyan Boat, Sunday 27th October in partnership with Get into Bedford, Little Monkey Parties and The Cheese Kitchen. We will be sailing down the Great Ouse River in Bedford on the hunt for spooky clues to the mystery surrounding Bedfords little known Pirate John! Tickets are available on 0795 5866738 or from The Cheese Kitchen, Castle Road, Bedford £9, £11 Family ticket £36 includes Mini Buffet & Goody Bag

September 2013

We are now on the hunt for new scripts for StageWrite 2014, if you are interested please get in touch! Details on the SW page.

July 2013

Four Star review from Bedfringe for Castle Mound performance. Very happy with that. Read it in full on our Much Ado page

Amazing last show on the Bedfringe Stage in Harpur Square, fantastic weather and nearly 300 people in the audience. Such a different way to play it after all the open space we’ve been used to, but everyone stepped up to the plate and made it happen. We are sad to say good bye to the Much Ado team it has been a glorious summer

Stanwick Lakes just perfect. Performing Shakespeare in front of the lake as the sun set behind us, yet again so lucky with the weather. We will definately be back here next year

Happy to report that Castle Mound was a roaring success, the cast performed in blistering heat for the matinee while the audience fled to the shade (sensible people), in the evening conditions were perfect with lots of people asking why there are not more performances done there. A good question we think ……..

Two shows at Tofte, sunshine all the way and two very lovely audiences. This is why we we do open air Shakespeare in The Shire!! Could not have asked for better, fingers crossed the weather holds for the rest of the run

First shows at Hinwick were very well received, we had both ends of the scale for weather but our Great British Audiences were not deterred! Some lovely feed back from one audience member “Just to say,despite the cold and wet (we felt very sorry for the female actresses, especially “Margaret”!), how much a friend and I enjoyed “Much Ado” at Hinwick House on Friday, 28 June” Well we certainly enjoyed ourselves too. Fantastic venue. Now looking forward to Tofte Manor this coming weekend

 

June 2013

Tofte Manor is so lovely, great fun rehearsing there this week

We count it as a good sign that so far we have been able to rehearse outside pretty much all the time, it’s just a case of being prepared for every kind of weather in the space of an hour!!

 

Rehearsals for Much Ado are well underway and our lovely cast are working hard in the sunshine. We asked Natalie Castka how she was feeling about it all she told us “Much Ado About Nothing’ was the first Shakespeare play that I performed professionally back in 2008, so I am extremely excited to be revisiting it this summer. Last summer with No Loss was my first experience of outdoor Shakespeare and I loved every second of it. I can’t wait to perform another fantastic play in our beautiful venues this year.” Thanks Nat we love working with you too!

Jacob recently graduated from the Birmingham School of Acting making Much Ado his first theatre job out of training he told us “I feel very lucky to come out of drama school and straight into a Shakespeare play, it’s a great start to my acting career and a great way to spend the summer”

 

May 2013

Tickets for Much Ado have just gone on sale. Have a look at the dedicated page for details of dates, times and venues. Cast will be announced later in the month.

March 2013

Busy looking at Open Air Shakespeare venues at the moment. We are booked into the Harpur Square Stage for Bedfringe 25th July and have confirmed Stanwick Lake as another stunning venue. Dates and details will be posted in April so look out for our Much Ado about Nothing publicity in the spring…. when it gets here…. which we are sure it will eventually

Fantastic week of StageWrite, thanks to all the actors and directors that made it possible, great feedback and comments from audiences. Hoping to make this an annual event and expand our pool of writers

January 15 2013

Stage Write is on the horizon. A new writing festival in collaboration with LifeBox Theatre will be our next project.  Please have a look at the Stage Write page for more details

23rd November 2012

It’s been a busy first week of rehearsals but we managed to grab a quick chat with actor Tom Carter who describes his character Prongs as the Captain Mannering of the Wild Things.

Whilst many of the cast and crew have loudly proclaimed their excitement at being involved in an adaptation of the popular children’s book, Tom however was slightly less familiar with the tale:

 “I had never heard of it before. I had a vague recollection of something about a movie being made recently about the story but it wasn’t a story I read as a kid growing up. I knew nothing about it but having worked with Cally I knew this was going to be, as much fun if not more fun than the show last year.”

His appearance as Killy Kranky in last years Christmas production of Roald Dahl’s George’s Marvellous Medicine was his first foray into children’s theatre, something he was initially reluctant about, he said:

“I had never done a kids show or a Christmas pantomime type show before. To be honest it was never something I’d thought about doing. Cally called me about George and said there was the role of the Dad available and would I like to have a crack at doing something different. I have to be honest, I was initially pretty reluctant but in hindsight now I’m incredibly glad i did because it was such a wonderful experience, like nothing I had ever experienced before. What’s wonderful about it is the kids engage so much with the characters on stage, with what is happening on stage. They can suspend their disbelief so much more than adults and they are caught up in the world of the Wild Things and that’s really special.”

 

Tom has been acting for almost 30 years and has vast experience in a wide range of disciplines, something he believes is essential for an actor, he said:

“I like doing them all, which is probably why my CV is so varied,  I don’t want to do just one thing. I think an actor, a real actor, really wants to be doing or taking part in every medium that they can be involved in.

“I think most actors would say they prefer the theatre. I think that’s why you get into acting that connection, that live connection with an audience. There is nothing to beat it. Film is a completely separate discipline it’s great fun because you get opportunities to do things again, specifically when you get things wrong, where as in theatre you get it wrong you can’t go back and change it you have to keep going so there’s a different energy that you bring to both.”

For Tom theatre also presents an opportunity to expose children to real drama and the magic of theatre, he explained:

“I think anything that can get kids to come to theatre is something that’s worth pursuing. As a nation now we are so inundated with reality tv that people don’t get to see good drama, good acting, good performances and what we have to do is find a way to get them back in to traditional ways of seeing that, such as theatre.

“It’s not pantomime that is a completely different discipline. It’s a good show,  it’s something the kids can engage with, they can see actors properly acting characters on stage and they can get the first flavour of real theatre whilst being entertained and having a lot of fun at the same time.”

Tom has several other projects in the pipeline including a feature film which he can’t talk about just yet…well that certainly has us intrigued. But while we anxiously await more juicy details what can we expect from his charcter Prongs?

“Prongs is kind of the leader of the wild things and he’s very pompous. He’s kind of like the Captain Mannering of the wild things because he likes things done his own way. He’s a little bit spoilt and a very grumpy wild thing and occasionally he gets a bit frustrated with how childish the other wild things are.

“Rehearsals are going very well. In fact we are only on day four and I can see at the moment the show’s looking really good. I think the audience is in for a real treat this year.”

For more information on Tom and his showreel visit http://www.spotlight.com/4054-6724-2649

 

16th November 2012

Why the Wild Things? The brains behind the operation producer and founder of Dumbstruck! Productions, Alex Levene tells us how he came to chose Maurice Sendak’s iconic book for this year’s show…though we’re not sure he even knows!

“After the success of George last year, Cally and I got together in January and started to plan how we were going to attack this year and what we wanted to do. We both started playing around with ideas thinking about things that might work for children but might work in the local audience as well. Looking back on it now I can’t really remember what made me go, definitely that. I hadn’t watched the film until after I decided to do it, I don’t even think I owned it as a book.

 

“It’s a fantastically well known book and I think I was trying to work out how we could use David. I started to think about ideas that take advantage of the fact that we have got this really keen illustrator who wants to work with us and started to think about projects that would inspire him. That sort of got me thinking about ‘Wild Things’ but instead of just creating the Maurice Sendak monsters, because I know adaptations of it have been done in the past, I thought no I want to break away from that a little bit and to sort of re-imagine it for our audiences working with a local illustrator who’s well known and established in the area and give him a chance to do something that would be exciting. But ultimately I wanted a project that would work well on stage and I think Wild Things will”, explains Alex.

After achieving a degree in theatre arts management, Alex along with a friend who had taken a directing course decided to set up their own theatre production company and Dumbstruck! was born, he said:

“My friend and I decided we might as well start our own company because that way we would have more control over what we wanted to do. I wanted to work in Bedford because I’m from here originally so I came back and saw that there was a market that hadn’t really been tapped into properly by professional companies . I saw that there was the opportunity to set something up that was a bit different to everything else that was going on around.”

Since then Dumbstruck! have developed a reputation for delivering new adaptations of classic texts including ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’ and ‘Doctor Faustus’, he said:

“For us it’s about telling a story that already exists and sometimes you don’t have to tell the whole story it’s just about picking the important parts out of it and telling that bit of the story. We tend to stick to adaptations of other things, hence Wild Things and we are hoping to do an adaptation of Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson in April as well.”

As well as his work with Dumbstruck!, Alex is also the venue manager of The Place Theatre, which Alex believes is a truly community orientated theatre, he said:

 “We are by far and away the busiest venue in the town for local people. The Corn Exchange is busy and has a variety of different events but it’s almost entirely professional organisations being brought in by touring management companies. The place is run by people from the town, 75% of its programming is put on by people based in and around Bedford and it has got a really high community ethos. We are all about how we can benefit our users as much as possible.

 

“As a venue it’s an exciting venue because it’s on three sides and because its 135 seats its very intimate, it’s very immediate. There’s no detachment between the audience and the performers so it’s fantastic for actors because they can sense immediately how an audience is engaging with the piece and it’s great for the audience because it’s like they are in the action, which is why it works so well for kids shows. The kids are right there, they are sat there in the forest with the Wild Things not 50 metres away somewhere in the stalls watching this thing like it’s a television. They’re right there and they are immersed in what’s going on around them.”

With rehearsals starting next week it’s not long until opening, so what does Alex think makes the show so great?

“I think what makes it something that needs to be seen is that although everyone feels like they know ‘Where the Wild Things Are’, this is not quite that. We’ve come at it from a slightly different angle. We wanted to make our mark and put our stamp on this story. People will come along and they’ll be like ‘we know where it’s going to go’ but they don’t know how it’s going to get there and I think that’s the most exciting part about the show.”

The Place Theatre runs a wide variety of shows to suit all tastes throughout the year. For more information follow @ThePlaceBedford or visit: http://www.theplacebedford.org.uk where you can also purchase your tickets for Wild Things.

 

9th November 2012

Natalie Castka is no stranger to No Loss Productions, with appearances in George’s Marvellous Medicine and the Merry Wives of Windsor. Now she is back to take on the role of the easily frightened Eightees.

“When Cally mentioned Wild Things I went a bit mental because I absolutely love the book. It wasn’t quite begging  but I was very keen,” explained Natalie.

Natalie started dancing at the age of four, the move into acting is something Natalie describes as an ‘accident’, she said:

 “I gave up dance and mum sent me to a local theatre group and then I went to university and there wasn’t really anything else I liked to do so I carried on with that and here I am.

“I’m always looking for something new. I’ve had a varied career so I look for things that are new and different. I normally get put as the nasty, evil role but I think that’s more fun than playing a nice girl. I’m a nice person but its nice to embrace your inner bad girl.”

This summer Natalie performed to the world at the opening ceremony of the Paralympic Games but it is in the theatre, particularly performing to children, where her true passion lies, she said:

“I’ve done a lot of touring doing children’s theatre in schools and then I’ve also done work performing to older children but the younger ones they seem more up for it. They have such vivid imaginations and they’ll accept anything you throw at them, so it’s exciting.

Natalie is clearly excited about her return to No Loss and the opportunity take on a completely original script , she said:

“Last year for George’s Marvellous Medicine it was a small cast but we all came together really well and it will sound really cheesy but it was like a little family. Everyone put so much into it and I couldn’t wait to get back and do the Shakespeare this summer. It was a bigger cast but again everyone was so friendly. It’s such a lovely company to work for.

“Wild Things is exciting because there is no one to tell us what we can’t do. So we can run free with it, go a bit wild. I’ve got a few ideas up my sleeve so we’ll see what happens in rehearsals.”

For more information on Natalie, visit  http://www.nataliecastka.com/  or follow her on Twitter @nataliecastka on Twitter.

 

5th November 2012

No Loss newbie, Beth Miller has swapped the glitz and glamour of performing Romeo and Juliet on Italian balconies for a wild rumpus as the ditzy but loveable Fuzz ball…sounds just like our kind of girl!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Beth started acting as a hobby, following her older sister to drama group at the weekends. Years later this hobby has developed into a full time profession.

“After leaving the theatre group I developed my passion and rather than have it just as a hobby I thought do you know what I’d really like to do this for a living. Over the last couple of years I have been touring with different productions.

“What I love about theatre is the live audience and depending on what show you’re doing and depending what kind of audience it is, you know it’s going to be a different show every night because of the way the audience will react to that. I do love the raw energy of theatre.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was through the power of social media that Beth came into contact with No Loss Productions and she is thrilled at the opportunity to be part of a story she knows so well, she said:

“I didn’t actually grow up with the story of the Wild Things it but I got into it through reading it to my 3-year-old niece and I thought this is quite a good one. So when it came up I thought ah!

“ It’s quite interesting because it’s quite a short story so wondering how it would be as a piece and from looking at the company on their website and seeing the quality of production that they put out I thought it would be something quite exciting. Being able to see the passion involved when I was at the workshop was good and it made me quite excited at the possibility of being  involved in the piece.”

So what can we expect from her character, Fuzz ball?

“She’s little bit ditzy, I’d say. I feel reading through the script Fuzz Ball’s a bit young and a bit stupid. Completely harmless not doing it to be horrible or anything.

“I’m excited about work-shopping it and playing around with the character to find the right shape, and voice and figuring out how she  interact’s with the other characters, but I think it’s going to be a fun one.

You can see Beth aka Fuzz Ball in action from 12^th December. Tickets are available from http://www.theplacebedford.org.uk/cgi-bin/basket_displayshowpage.pl?show=273

To keep update with all things Beth follow @Bo_Miller on Twitter.

 

27th October 2012

When you hear the ‘Monster Song’ it will be in your head for weeks! Meet the person behind the catchy tune…composer Sophie Viney.

 

 

19th October 2012

It’s what you have all been waiting for, the interview of the year with the wonderfully talented…Cally Lawrence.

 

 

 

 

 

YOU MAY recognise Cally from appearances in some of Britain’s best loved shows; Emmerdale, Heartbeat and Corrie, but to name a few. She went on a cringe-worthy date with Ricky Gervais during his Office days (lucky girl!) and she’ll even be popping up in Peep Show later this year. This Christmas however it will be her directing skills on show when she takes on the Wild Things. So what can we expect from the show?

 

“As far as I know there is a musical of the Wild Things, a film of the Wild Things but there isn’t a play, a theatre piece that has been done before in this way. It’s going to be multimedia so there’s going to be projections, puppets, singing, actors, we have even got some new songs that have been created specifically for this production,” said Cally.

 

Unlike George’s Marvellous Medicine, the Christmas show last year, ‘Where the Wild Things Are’ by Maurice Sendak leaves a wider scope for adaptations, something that excites Cally, she said:

“We wanted a story that people knew but there was scope to create a lot of new stuff. People who know the original picture book and story behind it know that the story itself only has something like 14 lines in the actual book, so it’s all about the children reading or listening to the story and using their imagination.

 

“Everyone has got a massive amount to think about. It’s a very exciting project to do. Rather than getting a script that’s already there and we just work from the script, we are getting everything from scratch.

 

“With Roald Dahl he is very well known and the characters are well loved. A lot of the audience come knowing the story so they have certain expectations, so it was about doing the characters justice”, she said.

 

 

No Loss Production’s first collaborated with Dumstruck! Productions on ‘George’s Marvellous Medicine’ last Christmas and following the success of last year’s show they decided to come together once more. If you went to see the show last year you will be pleased to know that the audience will once again have a chance to take part:

 

“What we learnt from the show was how brilliantly the audiences loved to get involved so last year the audience helped George to make the medicine and this year they will have a chance to help Max on his journey from his bedroom all the way across the sea and to the place of the Wild Things,” said Cally.

 

With nearly two decades in the business, the Manchester trained actress has numerous theatre credits, including a role in James and the Giant Peach, to add to her extensive television appearances. Directing however was something Cally unintentionally fell in to, she said:

“I have directed a wide variety of shows. Directing hadn’t been something I had thought about doing professionally. Over the years I have developed my directing skills alongside my acting skills. I describe myself as a jobbing actor so wherever the work is, wherever it takes me, I am happy to go and do it.”

 

The Wild Things is shaping up to be a great show, but just in case you need any more convincing:

“I think from a practical point of view it’s on their doorstep, it’s a good fair price and there’s plenty of free parking. On a creative level, the majority of the cast will be local professional actors who are all based in Bedfordshire, as are the back stage creative team. I think there will be some nostalgia for some people who perhaps grew up with that story and it might be nice from them to come and see that in the theatre. It’s a family show with something for everyone, no matter what their age”, said Cally.

 

Now it’s time to see her in action:

Cally Lawrence Showreel

To keep up to date with Cally’s work follow @actorcally on Twitter.

There are still tickets available for Wild Things performances, please visit http://www.theplacebedford.org.uk/WhatsOn/Shows.shtml to book yours now.

 

12th October 2012 – 2 months to go!

In the run up to Wild Things we thought we would treat you all to a series of web articles featuring the cast and crew of our Christmas show.

To kick of the proceedings, here is the man behind the artwork…..David Litchfield