programme for
may 2006 to july 2006

Sat 6th - Sat 20th May 2006

Take a fresh look at a familiar text, suspend the usual assumptions about the characters and plot, and ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ is revealed as an intensely political play. The dynastic marital machinations of Duke Theseus and Queen Hippolyta, are disrupted by the refusal of his courtier’s daughter, Hermia, to marry as required. Hermia and her lover, Lysander, flee to the ‘freedom’ of the forest where the order of the Athenian court is distorted into chaos by the jealous squabbling of Oberon and Titania, with their feral pack of fairies. As usual, the poor Athenian workers, ‘the mechanicals’, are caught in the middle.

Not at all the light, tinkly confection we thought we knew, New Venture utilise their flexible Studio to produce a promenade production which surrounds the audience in the playing out of very dark themes of desire, instability, manipulation and sacrifice.

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Tue 23rd - Sun 28th May 2006

Sam and Bernard are the worst therapists in Brighton. By placing small ads in local newspapers, they have been able to carve out a desperate career offering advice to the needy. Legend has it that Bernard thought that playing '19' by Paul Hardcastle to a shell-shocked soldier, might help to 'snap him out of it'.

But time is running out. With eviction on the horizon and their iron obsessed landlord Charles on their trail, the Therapists have one patient left. Meanwhile, in 1944, therapist Harold Reader and his patient Edna, are about to embark on an affair. But Charles' grandfather, the feared Brighton air raid warden, has one more light to put out.

Their paths could not possibly cross! Or could they? Come and witness their collision in this rollercoaster of endless gags. Not to be missed!

The Therapists... Counselling: Redefined.

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Sat 22nd - Sat 29th July 2006

“It all started on an ordinary day in the most ordinary place in the world… the refreshment room of Milford Junction station.”

This is the story of an ordinary woman and a kind stranger, whose accidental meeting leads to a doomed love affair. Set against the backdrop of 1930’s middle-class morality, Still Life charts the troubled waters of adultery between suburban housewife and mother, Laura Jesson and GP Dr. Alec Harvey, a story more familiar to many as the classic film Brief Encounter.

The danger, guilt and thrill of that illicit liaison, offset by the working-class banter of the ticket inspector and the proprietress of the tearoom, charges our emotions and responses and give the play its rich texture.

A romantic classic from a master of English social commentary.

Between Mouthfuls is part of Alan Ayckbourn’s five interlinked plays, Confusions, but is an equally engaging piece in its own right. It is set in a restaurant and focuses on the revealing conversations of two disfunctionl relationships. These dialogues are experienced by the audience through the fragments that the waiter overhears as he moves between the tables. On one table are a middle aged couple; bossy, bickering and business-like. On the other are a slightly younger couple; distanced and disinterested in each other. However, as the story unfolds, the characters reveal their true colours and feelings.

The piece is portrayed in a highly amusing way through the deadpan manner of the waiter but, at the same time, as we are invited to laugh at these situations, the play also highlights some of the great truths about human nature.

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Please note:

Please check performance times with the box office before booking your tickets.

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