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AUTUMN 2020

PLAYHOUSE PLAYS ON e m o H n w o r u o y n i e n i l n o & e g a t S Liv e on

e m o c l e W

Interesting times call for creative approaches – to theatre as much as to life! 2020 has brought many challenges for us all, not least how to stay creative whilst our beloved theatre is closed. This Autumn, the Playhouse Team has curated a diverse, exciting programme of work which spans live shows, digital commissions, streaming, great talks and much more, to keep us connected as the nights draw in. It’s not business as usual, but we hope these events will engage and entertain our loyal and eager audience while we’re lending our building to the University to house socially-distanced lectures. Consider it a snack before the feast of a season we will present when shows start touring again!

Louise Chantal Joint Directors/CEO

Vanessa Lefrançois

Liv e

Yes that’s right. We said Live! We’re delighted to open up the Playhouse this autumn for a number of special reduced capacity, socially-distanced shows, with some of our favourite comedians and speakers. For those not able to get to the Playhouse, where possible we’ll live stream them as well. Also, look out for Oxford’s Christmas Light Festival, live in the city centre.

Liv e

Sat 10 Oct 8pm

Sat 17 Oct 8pm

Sat 24 Oct 8pm

Comedy Club Avalon Comedian, actress, writer and singer, Jayde Adams, heads up this evening of comedy live from the OP stage. She is co-host of BAFTA nominated series Snackmasters, as well as Channel 4’s TV Choice award nominated show, Crazy Delicious.

Comedy Club Avalon

Flo & Joan, multi award-winning musical comedy duo, and sisters, Nicola and Rosie Dempsey head up this season’s first live event. This hugely acclaimed piano/percussion pair has headlined and played to sold-out audiences across the UK, North America and Australia and wowed with numerous Edinburgh shows. Travis Jay, stand-up comedian, actor and radio presenter and comedy circuit favourite, MCs the evening. He brings with him his reputation of being a funny, entertaining and sometimes controversial storyteller. The line-up is completed by two of the best up-and-coming comedians of this generation; Luke Kempner, combining his contemporary take on pop culture mimicry with his incisively accurate imitations and Pierre Novellie, co-host of the hit podcast BudPod with Phil Wang.

TICKETS: £15

AGE: 16+

Find out more / booking info

Jayde will be joined on stage by Jacob Hawley, creator and star of BBC Radio 4’s Welcome to Britain and presenter of BBC Sounds’ Jacob Hawley: On Drugs and Jacob Hawley’s Job Centre. He has rapidly generated interest as one of the boldest new voices on the circuit with his astute observations and political passion. The line-up is completed by Double Edinburgh Comedy Award ‘Best Show’ nominee Ahir Shah. Recognised for his blend of philosophical inquiry and political vigour and sweet gags, Shah is one of the fastest-rising comedians of his generation. Comedy Store favourite comedian and writer, Tania Edwards will MC the evening. Tania’s many accolades include Best of the Fringe jokes in the Evening Standard, Telegraph and Mirror.

TICKETS: £15

AGE: 16+

Find out more / booking info

Live at the Playhouse with Sara Pascoe Show And Tell Four of the best stand-up talents around, live on the OP stage. Headlining is Sara Pascoe, one of the finest comedians in the country, best known for her BBC2 stand-up special, Sara Pascoe Live: LadsLadsLads, her best-selling books Animal and Sex Power Money and her numerous TV appearances, such as Taskmaster, Q.I., The Jonathan Ross Show, hosting Live at the Apollo, hosting Comedians Giving Lectures and more. Sara is joined by Mock The Week regular Rhys James, highly-acclaimed rising star Sophie Ducker, and Live at the Apollo star Ivo Graham.

TICKETS: £21.50 LIVE STREAM: £11.50

Find out more / booking info Performance link will be emailed prior to the performance

AGE: 16+

Liv e

Sun 1 Nov 8pm

Sat 7 Nov 8pm

Sat 14 Nov 4.30pm & 7.30pm and Sun 15 Nov 2pm & 5pm

Nina Conti: The Dating Show (Work-in-Progress) with special guest Lou Sanders

The Dragprov Revue

Under The Mask

Show And Tell

Christian Adore and Eaton Messe are a gloriously musical drag king and queen doubleact who will improvise a tuneful medley right in front of your eyes! Using your suggestions, this formidable pairing of lovable soft-boy and sassy queen will create dazzlingly vibrant cabaret from Broadway songs, to sketches, and spontaneous freestyle raps.

Jericho Comedy

British Comedy Award-winner and OP favourite, Nina Conti, pioneers her new dating show for this live and live streamed event. She’ll be like Cilla Black with masks. Derailed. Not so much a blind date as a re-voiced one. There is no promise that true love will be found but a firm guarantee that big laughs will be had in the reign of this quick thinking queen of ventriloquism. Conti will be joined on stage by a mighty special guest: Lou Sanders - reigning Taskmaster champion, whose highly-acclaimed solo shows have sold-out across the UK, LA and New York.

TICKETS: £21.50 LIVE STREAM: £11.50

Find out more / booking info Performance link will be emailed prior to the performance

AGE: 16+

In this uproariously wicked show, RuPaul’s glamour meets Whose Line is it Anyway?, serving wit as sharp as their contour; jinks as high as their brows; memories that will stick with you longer than last night’s glitter!

A Tamasha & Oxford Playhouse Co-Production. Supported by Sennheiser A binaural listening event on OP stage In March 2020, hundreds of final year medical students finished their studies early, and started work on the frontline of the Coronavirus pandemic. On her first day at work, Jaskaran is deployed to her hospital’s Covid Intensive Care Unit. Nothing prepares her for what she finds. Recorded on location in real Covid wards using fully immersive, 360° binaural sound, Under the Mask gives a doctor’s perspective on the pandemic, putting you, the listener, into their shoes to uncover a remarkable story of fortitude, hope and strength. There will be a Q&A after each performance. Saturday with Shaan Sahota, Sunday with Sita Thomas (Director).

TICKETS: £15

AGE: 16+

Find out more / booking info

TICKETS: £15

AGE: 14+

Find out more / booking info

Liv e

Fri 20 to Sun 22 Nov

Playhouse Plays On...

Sat 21 Nov 8pm

This season of work all contributes to the survival of Oxford Playhouse.

Oxford’s Christmas Light Festival... celebrating our communities

Michael Spicer: The Room Next Door – Hybrid Addition

Commissioned by Oxford City Council and presented by AOFS, Tandem

PBJ Live

Collective & Oxford Playhouse. Open air artwork For this year’s Oxford’s Christmas Light Festival, OP has teamed up with Arts at the Old Fire Station and Tandem Collective to present a mobile art installation by artist Nor. The installation will pose the question ‘What would you put in an empty parking space?’ and between now and the festival weekend we’ll be asking you that very question. Help us to envision what Oxford could do with all the space currently taken up by cars! Your ideas will feed into the design for the mobile parklet, which is set to pass through our Oxford neighbourhoods during the weekend of 20 to 22 Nov 2020. More information will be available from the festival website from 1 Oct www.oxlightfest.com

TICKETS: Free non-ticketed roaming installation

Find out more / booking info

If you are not able to join us for one of these events but would like to help to save the Playhouse in these uncertain times please

Ahead of his 2021 tour, The Room Next Door Live – Hybrid Addition provides an entertaining insight into the internet sensation of 2020. In this original, produced only for Oxford Playhouse, sixty-minute show for a live audience and simultaneously streamed on YouTube, Michael Spicer, YouTube sensation, talks about his life-making comedy under the radar, his viral hits of the past and of course, brand new Room Next Door sketches.

TICKETS: £17 LIVE STREAM: £11.50

Find out more / booking info Performance link will be emailed prior to the performance

or to donate £10 to the appeal by text, please text PLAYHOUSE10 to 70085

AGE: 16+

#PlayhousePlaysOn

Liv e

Sat 28 Nov 8pm

Sat 5 Dec 8pm

S n o i S S Commi

As part of this season of work, Oxford Playhouse is proud to have commissioned six world premieres during lockdown, inviting audiences to experience theatre in a new way. These works bring together the work of over 150 artists who are embracing bold and brave new ways of working. From an immersive, listening event experienced on the OP stage itself to real-time Zoom experiments with actors working together but remotely from across the globe, this hugely exciting range of performances promise new adventures. Under the Mask Ever wanted to experience a show while sitting on the Oxford Playhouse stage? Now you can! <see page 5>

Comedy Club

PBJ LIVE

An evening of comedy at Oxford Playhouse and our final comedy live stream of this season. Join MC Sean McLoughlin (Ricky Gervais Tour Support, The Stand-Up Sketch Show) for a night of laughter and entertainment as he’s joined by Tiff Stevenson (Mock the Week, 8 Out of 10 Cats, People Just do Nothing), Rachel Fairburn (All Killa No Filla, Funny Women Finalist) and Jamie D’Souza (BBC Asian Network’s Big Comedy Night).

The Show That Must Not Be Named Jericho Comedy

This is an entirely improvised adventure into the famous world of witchcraft and wizardry. Our witches and wizards will show a brand new story entirely made up on the night based on your suggestions. This pre-Christmas adventure will take you into the magical world of potions, spells and fantastical creatures! Previous adventures have told magical tales of heists at Gringott’s bank, unionising dementors, Hufflepuff horcruxes, naughty house elves, time travelling goblins, exploding hippogriffs, weird Welsh dragons and trolley witch conspiracies... Join us as we magic you to a corner of the wizarding world - forbidden and never seen before! No two adventures are the same. What will yours bring? And what name will you give The Show That Must Not Be Named?

TICKETS: £15 LIVE STREAM: £11.50

Find out more / booking info Performance link will be emailed prior to the performance

TICKETS: £15

AGE: 9+

Find out more / booking info

Oxford’s Christmas Light Festival... celebrating our communities We have commissioned local artist Nor, to co-create a mobile installation which asks communities what else we can do with spaces currently taken up by cars! <see page 6> small hours Performed by four young actors from across the globe, this piece probes the mysteries of sleep. <see page 10> The Great Big Story Mix Up For families, OP family favourite company, Roustabout, creates an improvised fairy tale, led by your own suggestions and interventions from your home to theirs! <see page 7> Do You Love Me Yet? A funny, touching, live experiment into human intimacy. <see page 10> Take Up Space Jennifer Jackson will be inviting a group of 30 womxn on a journey to ‘Take Up Space’ as part of a commission for a new piece. <see page 11>

OP Commissions has been made possible by the generous support of our partners including Arts at the Old Fire Station, Bristol Ferment, IF Oxford, Mandala Theatre, Oxford City Council, TORCH (University of Oxford), and Sennheiser, Tandem Collective, Tamasha Theatre.

e n i l n O

Whilst we’re not back to a full season of theatre on the stage just yet, we’ve both commissioned and handpicked digital theatre for you to watch from the comfort of your living room. Fun, interactive and thought provoking, OP Online includes three digital world premieres that Oxford Playhouse has specially commissioned, alongside the crème-de-la-crème of digital touring productions.

Online

Wed 23 Sep 7.30pm (virtual doors open at 7.00pm)

Thu 15 Oct 8pm

Sat 17 Oct 11.30am, 3pm & 7pm

Romantics Anonymous

Telephone

Escape Zoom

Wise Children Live Stream from Bristol Old Vic

Coney Live storytelling via Zoom

Coney A live interactive theatre game via Zoom

Angélique is a gifted chocolate maker crippled by social anxiety and Jean-René is the boss of a failing chocolate factory. Angélique is so timid, she faints when people look at her; Jean-René so awkward he relies on self-help tapes and is prone to embarrassing sweating. When Angélique takes a job in Jean-René’s struggling factory, a fragile love affair unfolds. Funny, tender and painfully awkward, Romantics Anonymous is a delicious love story about breaking the mould and finding the courage to be happy.

Telephone is a live storytelling performance. Bringing together a playing audience of strangers, this gently interactive show is different every time.

You’re the naval crew of a nuclear submarine in the year 1964. Cruising through deep waters, you hear a sudden cracking sound. You’ve collided with an iceberg and the hull is breached! The captain has been knocked unconscious, so it’s up to you to figure out how to open the escape hatch before the submarine walls cave under the pressure...

Written and performed by Tassos Stevens and hosted in the Coney Zoom Bar, Telephone weaves together stories and games about connection across all kinds of distance, through a short and mostly true history of telecommunications.

Directed by Emma Rice (Malory Towers, Wise Children, Tristan & Yseult), this beautiful new musical was meant to be on a tour of USA before the pandemic struck. Wise Children is delighted to be able to present this fully staged live stream, direct from Bristol Old Vic, to audiences at home, in all its glory!

LIVE STREAM TICKETS: from £16 per device

Find out more / booking info Performance link will be emailed prior to the performance

Escape Zoom invites you into an online world of secret passages, hidden codes and B-movie storylines. With your fellow players, solve puzzles, visit strange worlds, and grapple with what it means to get out of our bedrooms right now.

LIVE STREAM TICKETS: £10 per device

Find out more / booking info

Performance link will be emailed prior to the performance

Online

Mon 19 to Sun 25 Oct Anytime

SEE DIARY

Thu 22 & Fri 23 Oct 7pm

SEE DIARY

Mon 2 to Wed 4 Nov 8pm Sat 7 Nov 2pm & 8pm

SEE DIARY

small hours

Love Letters At Home

Do You Love Me Yet?

Written by Ava Wong Davies. Co-Produced by IF Oxford and Oxford Playhouse with scientific advice from the University of Oxford Sleep & Circadian Neuroscience Institute. Directed by Yasmin Sidhwa, Film by Ben Johnston, featuring music from Duotone.

Uninvited Guests & Fuel Live Digital Theatre via Zoom

Commissioned by Oxford Playhouse with support from TORCH (University of Oxford) as part of the Humanities Cultural Programme, developed with support from Ferment, Bristol Old Vic. Performed via Zoom

Streaming available via IF Oxford, the science and ideas Festival. Why do we need sleep? What happens when we go without it? small hours probes the mysteries of human circadian rhythm, the daily pattern of wakefulness and sleep, and how this can be either disrupted or adjusted. Join this journey of self-exploration and see where it might lead you.

In response to our desire for connection in an age of distance, Uninvited Guests brings to you a completely digital, wholly personal and wonderfully live experience in Love Letters At Home. Each evening will be a unique experience to its audience, featuring your song dedications and the stories attached to them, declarations of love, past and present. Join us online via Zoom as we raise our glasses to long lost loves and current lovers, to mums and dads, and to absent friends!

small hours will be available for you to view at a time to suit you from Mon 19 Oct at 7.30pm to Sun 25 Oct at 8.30pm.

What is your most treasured memory? When did you last cry in front of another person? Do you have a secret hunch about how you will die? Two actors meet for the first time on Zoom. Unknown to each other. Unrehearsed. They are invited to be brave. Be spontaneous. Be themselves. Do You Love Me Yet? Is a funny, touching, live experiment into human intimacy. Professor Wes Williams, TORCH Knowledge Exchange Champion, will lead a 45 minute Post-Show Talk with Jocelyn Cox & Samuel E. Taylor after the performance on 4 Nov.

Post-show Q&A: Sun 25 Oct, 8.30pm

STREAM TICKETS: Pay What You Decide

Created by Jocelyn Cox & Samuel E. Taylor and designed by Grace Venning.

LIVE STREAM TICKETS: £10 per device

Find out more / booking info

Event link will be emailed prior to the event from IF Oxford

Performance link will be emailed prior to the performance

LIVE STREAM TICKETS: £6 per device

Find out more / booking info Performance link will be emailed prior to the performance

Online

Weekly Tue 3 Nov to Tue 15 Dec 6pm

Fri 6 Nov 7.30pm

Tue 10 & Wed 11 Nov 7.30pm

Take Up Space

The Believers Are But Brothers

The House Never Wins

Jennifer Jackson Weekly (Tue) online workshop via Zoom

Javaad Alipoor Company Written and performed by Javaad Alipoor Co-directed by Kirsty Housley Live stream from HOME

Kill The Cat A Live interactive theatre game via Zoom

Jennifer Jackson (she/her) is researching an idea for a new physical theatre/dance show about violence and gender - with the working title wrestleladswrestle. Based on Jennifer’s experiences of learning Judo as a teenager, her love of Pro-Wrestling, and her mother’s relationship to the UK, she is exploring how womxn take up space. As part of her research, Jennifer is currently looking to create an online gang of womxn. She is looking for anyone who identifies as female - trans, cis and non-binary fem(me), any age, any physical ability, from a wide as possible range of backgrounds- to join her in a series of workshops to explore how we use our bodies and what it means to ‘Take Up Space’. Her hope is to create a UK Wide group - a virtual ‘Girl Gang’. The final show will feature a large gang of womxn demanding to take up space. Please note, participants must be available for all sessions.

STREAM TICKETS: Free

Find out more / booking info Workshop link will be emailed prior to each workshop

We live in a time where old orders are collapsing. From the post colonial nation states of the Middle East, to the EU and the American election. Through it all, tech savvy and bloodthirsty groups like ISIS run through European drawn border lines. Amidst this, a generation of young men, find themselves burning with resentment; without the money, power and sex they think they deserve and this crisis of masculinity leads them on a journey into an online world of fantasy, violence and reality. Written by Manchester based Javaad Alipoor, this Fringe First award-winning and Total Theatre Nominated (Experimentation & Innovation) multi-media show weaves together their stories. One of the word of mouth hits of last year’s Edinburgh Fringe, this is a play both in and of our times.

LIVE STREAM TICKETS: £10 per device

Find out more / booking info Performance link will be emailed prior to the performance

Our House is on fire. Come play live and gamble with the planet’s future. The House Never Wins invites you to play what seems to be a simple game of blackjack in the casino. However, there’s a catch. Whilst trying to pit your luck against the dealer, you also must keep The House alive. Interacting through game play on Zoom, and with WhatsApp pinging you visual messages, surveys and puzzles, can you work together to keep The House afloat, or will the lure of a real cash prize be too much to resist? A new interactive game theatre piece that you can play from the comfort of your own home. Exploring climate crisis, self-isolation and gambling with the planet’s future.

LIVE STREAM TICKETS: £10 per device

Find out more / booking info Performance link will be emailed prior to the performance

Online

Sat 24 to Wed 28 Oct 11am & 2pm daily

Tue 17 & Wed 18 Nov 7.30pm

The Great Big Story Mix Up

SEE DIARY

Roustabout Theatre Via Zoom

Rich Kids: A History of Shopping Malls in Tehran Javaad Alipoor Company Co-created by Javaad Alipoor and Kirsty Housley Streamed via YouTube and Instagram The global gap between rich and poor is growing. As the world decays, the spawn of the powerful dance like everyone is watching. This darkly comedic, dizzying show about entitlement, consumption and digital technology invites you to use Instagram to explore what is happening in the world.

e n i l n O S e i l i m a F

The show that YOU make up! The hit improvised play for families has gone online - and you’re in charge! You choose the characters. You choose the costumes. And, by sending us your drawings, you even design the set! Watch as your wild and wonderful ideas are brought to life by our troupe of storytellers and more than a little computer wizardry. An hour of never-before-seen fairy tales, all from the comfort of your own home brought to you by the creators of OP’s One Small Step. For everyone aged 3+.

In this online version of Rich Kids Javaad Alipoor and Kirsty Housley explore a way to bring a genuine interaction between the digital and the theatrical, to bring out the pervasiveness of the original work, and really explore those parts of the show that speak to the feeling that our world is falling apart.

Created by Roustabout

LIVE STREAM TICKETS: £10 per device

LIVE STREAM TICKETS: £5 per device

Find out more / booking info Performance link will be emailed prior to the performance

Directed by Toby Hulse Performed by Robin Hemmings, Toby Hulse and Shaelee Rooke

Find out more / booking info Performance link and details of how to send us your drawings will be emailed prior to the performance.

Online FamilieS

Released Mon 26 Oct

Sat 14 Nov 11am & 2pm

Fri 27 Nov to Fri 22 Jan

Live online musical experience for babies aged 6 to 18 months and their grown-ups via Zoom

Rock Pool

Kaleidoscope Concert

The Gift of Winter

Created by Inspector Sands in association with Trigger. Based on original stage play by Inspector Sands. Conceived and co-created by Inspector Sands. An audio drama for 4 to 7 year olds

Filskit Theatre

LYNGO Theatre A Play You Can Make At Home

A big storm leaves two very different creatures stranded in a lonely, little rock pool. Prawn and Crab must learn to get on swimmingly if they’re to survive hunger, boredom, deadly seagull attacks, and each other. All this whilst unexpectedly forming the world’s most banging underwater rock band! Dealing with themes of isolation, boredom, upheaval and the climate crisis, Rock Pool could not be more relevant to children’s experiences in these strange times. Rock Pool is a funny and superbly acted audio drama (with songs) for 4 to 7 year olds and their families/carers. Rock Pool will be available to download from the OP website from Mon 26 Oct to Tue 1 Dec

TICKETS: Free to access on our website

Find out more / booking info

Blink. Blink again. What do you see? Day by day your world is filling up with colour, little one. Reds and blues, yellows and greens. Twinkling lights that glisten and gleam. Your reflection is staring back at you. Wide eyed and full of hope. Mirrors, lights, colours and sounds. The world is your Kaleidoscope. Inspired by research into how a baby’s sense of sight develops and how they instinctively begin to categorise colour, watch as a multi-coloured Kaleidoscope is brought to life for you and your baby. Adapted from Filskit’s original theatre production, Kaleidoscope Concert features sounds from live musicians, visuals and sensory activities for parents and babies to explore colour together. The concert will last 30 minutes and be facilitated by a member of Filskit Theatre and feature musicians playing live for you and your baby.

LIVE STREAM TICKETS: £4 per device

Find out more / booking info Performance link will be emailed prior to the performance

In the beginning of years, when the world was so new, the four seasons lined up t o get their colours and crowns, their toys and their moods. When it came time for Winter there was nothing left exept a wet white blanket which made him so sad that he pulled it over his head and wouldn’t come out to play... until a child took him on a journey through a garden of delights, climbing the ladder of the trees up to a shining star... This show is for you do at home, not just watch! Follow our fun videos in the weeks leading up to Christmas. Make props and table-top sets from recycled materials and household objects and take a creativeplay journey together through a garden of delights. We’ll send you the music, songs and narration so you can tell the story of how Winter got its colours. You’ll make, play and stay together which, after all, is the true meaning of Christmas!

DOWNLOAD TICKETS: £10 per device

Find out more / booking info Link and content will be emailed on the date selected when booking. Book by 14 Dec.

N o i t a S r e v In Con Three unique livestreamed In Conversation events with writers and performers Inua Ellams, Lemn Sissay and Amrou Al-Kadhi giving readings of their work and answering your questions about their extraordinary lives.

In Conv erSatioN

Thu 5 Nov 7.30pm

Thu 12 Nov 7.30pm

Thu 19 Nov 7.30pm

Inua Ellams: Search Party

Lemn Sissay: My Name is Why

Amrou Al-Kadhi: Life as a Unicorn

Written and performed by Inua Ellams Live reading and conversation via Zoom

Written and performed by Lemn Sissay Live reading and conversation via Zoom

Live reading and conversation via Zoom

Award-winning poet and playwright Inua Ellams (Barber Shop Chronicles, The Half-God of Rainfall) brings a special, audience-led poetry event to OP via Zoom.

This is Lemn’s life story: a story of neglect and determination, misfortune and hope, cruelty and triumph.

Pick a word, any word. Prompted by audience suggestions, Ellams will search through his extensive archive of work and perform a reactive and spontaneous selection. Across his work, Inua mixes the old with the new: traditional African storytelling with contemporary poetry, pencil with pixel, texture with vector images, with an emphasis on themes of identity, displacement and destiny. His Barber Shop Chronicles has played two sell-out runs at the National Theatre and a world tour, visiting OP in 2019.

He will read from his Sunday Times bestselling memoir and a recent Radio 4 Book of the Week, reflecting on a childhood in care, self-expression and Britishness, and in doing so exploring the institutional care system, race, family and the meaning of home. Infused with all the lyricism and power you would expect from one of the nation’s best-loved poets, this moving, frank and timely event is the result of a life spent asking questions, and a celebration of the redemptive power of creativity.

Amrou Al-Kadhi is an award-winning British-Iraqi writer, performer and director. Their recent sensational debut memoir Life as a Unicorn about queer, Islamic intersectionality won a Somerset Maughan Award and universal acclaim. Work for television includes Apple’s Little America, the eagerly anticipated series The Watch (BBC America) and Veiled (ABC); and their own horror series about racial tokenism, Targets. Closer to home, Amrou wowed OP audiences as the evil and glamorous villain Judy Hench in Jack and the Beanstalk at Christmas 2017. Join Amrou as they read from Life as a Unicorn, followed by an in-conversation session.

Followed by a Q&A.

LIVE STREAM TICKETS: £5 per device

Find out more / booking info Performance link will be emailed prior to the performance

LIVE STREAM TICKETS: £5 per device

Find out more / booking info Performance link will be emailed prior to the performance

LIVE STREAM TICKETS: £5 per device

Find out more / booking info Performance link will be emailed prior to the performance

n o i t a p i c i t r a P Join in with online workshops, courses & activities.

Our regular Participation projects and classes continue online across the Autumn. Oxford Playhouse has a bursary scheme for anyone who wants to take part but may need help with fees. To apply, email participation@oxfordplayhouse.com

Participation

Wed 23 Sep to Wed 11 Nov 5pm

Thu 24 Sep, Thu 22 Oct and Thu 26 Nov 10am

Sat 3 & Sun 4 Oct

Mon 5 Oct to 30 Nov 11am

KEEN Drama Workshops

Knit & Natter Online

Digital Fun Palace

Hey Diddle Diddle

Online sessions via Zoom

Arts & science fun on our website

Online musical fun via Zoom

In partnership with KEEN Oxford, our inclusive online drama workshops return for the Autumn Term on Wednesdays at 5pm on Zoom.

Knit & Natter is temporarily online, with monthly sessions taking place on Thursday mornings at 10 to 11am.

Local people sharing skills, creating tiny revolutions.

Hey Diddle Diddle returns for another term of musical fun every Monday morning from 5 Oct to 30 Nov on Zoom!

Our 8-week scheme of sessions provides a supportive opportunity for people of all ages and abilities to have fun and be expressive through performance, with this term’s theme exploring the fictional world created by Roald Dahl. Sessions are accessible to disabled and non-disabled participants to ensure everyone can comfortably get involved.

A great reason to be creative, enjoy a chat and make new friends and meet new friends along the way, Knit & Natter is open to anybody who enjoys knitting and crocheting. Our members have the chance to share tips with each other, show off their knitting creations, and connect with other creative people from across the county.

To sign up to our inclusive drama workshops, email KEEN at: keen@keenoxford.org

Duration: 60mins

TICKETS: Free, but booking is essential

Find out more / booking info

Fun Palaces believes in the genius in everyone, and that creativity in community can change the world for the better. An annual nationwide weekend of action – activities and workshops in arts, science, craft, tech, digital and sports – Oxford Playhouse is delighted to be hosting its seventh Fun Palace and this year we’re going totally digital!

Join us for “the best music session for toddlers in Oxford” (Parent feedback). The perfect fun, friendly and musical way for you and your child to start the week, Hey Diddle Diddle is a sing-along and play session for pre-school children and their adults.

Join us anytime on our website on Sat 3 and Sun 4 Oct for video workshops and activities that you can complete in the comfort of your home, or print out to share with your friends in your community.

Ages: 5 and under Duration: 30mins

TICKETS: Free to access on our website AGE: 11 and under

TICKETS: Free, but booking is essential

Find out more / booking info

Participation

Tue 6 Oct to Tue 1 Dec 5pm

Wed 7 Oct to Wed 2 Dec 5pm

(no session Tue 27 Oct)

Sat 24 Oct

(no session Wed 28 Oct)

Thu 8 Oct to Thu 3 Dec 5.30pm (no session Thu 28 Oct)

12|16 Young Company online

17|25 Young Company online

Playhouse Adult Company online

Online classes via Zoom

C.O.V.I.D. (a Clown’s Overly Vivid Imagination & Desire)

For anyone aged 12 to 16 with an enthusiasm for theatre-making, we’re back for another 8-week term of Zooming!

The 17|25 Young Company returns for another digital 8-week term of theatre-making on Zoom!

We’re back for another term of Zooming! Thursday evenings at the revised time of 5.30 to 7pm.

During this term we will explore a wide range of theatre-making skills, including sessions in voice and movement from guest facilitators. The end results will be performed to family and friends in an end-of-term sharing.

For anyone aged 26 and over interested in exploring and enjoying the ways into theatre-making. Across the term, we will be working with a variety of performance skills where participants can discover and progress their enthusiasm in a friendly and collaborative setting. Members will be working towards a performance that will be shared with family and friends at the end of term.

During this term we will explore a variety of skills including devising, creative writing, movement and building characters, along with a host of fun games and exercises. In the second half of the term we will be working towards creating performances which will be presented in an end-of-term sharing to family and friends.

Ages: 17 to 25 Duration: 1hr 30mins

Ages: 26 and over Duration: 1hr 30mins

Ages: 12 to 16 Duration: 1hr 15mins

Clowning Masterclass on our website A video masterclass delivered by Mark Curtis (Small Nose Productions) introducing theatrical clowning as a level of play for those who study theatre and those who are developing their craft as an artist, practitioner or facilitator. Find our clowning session on the OP website this October, where we will be exploring our silly selves through improvisation, game play and slapstick skills, and where mistakes are a must. Red noses on! “During a time of crisis, don’t we want to laugh?” Ages: 16+

TICKETS: £40 for the term

TICKETS: £50 for the term

(Bursary places available)

Find out more / booking info

TICKETS: Free to access on our website Find out more / booking info

Participation

Across the Autumn term

Throughout the year

Supporting ArtiStS Artists are at heart of everything we do at Oxford Playhouse, and we’ll do as much as we can to support them during this challenging time.

Sound Stories

Community Playmaker

Primary Playmaker

Audio workshops on our website

Supporting you to write your own play at home

Supporting schools digitally

In partnership with Oxfordshire Association for the Blind, join us for our series of online audio workshops across the Autumn Term, accessible to both children and adults who are blind or partially sighted. Released on our website, our themed downloadable audio workshops take participants through the development of their own story, using dialogue, sounds and everyday objects to build the worlds created by imagination. Workshops will be released on the following dates: Sat 3 October, as part of our Digital Fun Palace Fri 23 October, ready for Halloween Fri 20 November, ready for the festive season For more information on our Sound Stories workshops, please contact: community@ oxfordplayhouse.com

Further information

We want to get people of all ages and all different levels of experience writing and sharing their plays with us and the community. Our Community Playmaker initiative invites people from across Oxfordshire to have a go at playwriting, with help and guidance from the Playhouse team. To help you get started, we’ve brought together resources and blog posts for you to use and download from our website. We will read all submissions and provide feedback as quickly as we can, and if you’re happy for us to do so, we’ll share your play on our website too. Send your play to us at: playmaker@oxfordplayhouse.com

Further information

Primary Playmaker is going digital - our most popular scheme for primary schools to help bring literacy to life in your classroom through playwriting. A series of ten workshops ideal for Year 5 or 6 pupils, this is a unique opportunity for pupils to learn how to conceive and write their own short play and understand the development process which leads to a professional production. A selection of your pupils’ plays will be performed on the Oxford Playhouse main stage by professional actors later in the year, with participating schools invited along to watch. If you’re interested in signing up your school for Primary Playmaker or learning more about the way we support schools, email learning@oxfordplayhouse.com

Further information

We’re delighted to be working with The Plot, a self-organising, diverse group of later-career playwrights, to develop their own voices and practice. Formed in 2015, the group supports its members to be at the helm of the creative process, empowering them to curate their own voices in conversation with communities and speak to the concerns of today. With theatre buildings closed and the industry on hold, The Plot is exploring what theatre is for, how it works and what comes next? Join The Plot at Oxford Playhouse! If you are interested in developing new work and can commit to online monthly meetings for peer to peer feedback & creative exploration, please contact us. Send an example of your work and tell us about a group workshop you could lead to give us an idea of where your artistic interests lie. Email playmaker@oxfordplayhouse.com by 30 September 2020. We particularly welcome applications from later-career Oxfordshire-based playwrights who identify as Black, Asian, MENA, Latin and all Global Majority Ethnic heritage. The Plot is the latest addition to OP’s extensive artist development programme, which includes Evolve, Playhouse Playmaker and Advice Sessions for local artists. To learn more or get involved, visit Support for Artists on our website and email artistdevelopment@oxfordplayhouse.com to join the Artist Development newsletter.

Thank You TO ALL OUR SUPPORTERS

Trusts Anonymous The Arts Society Oxford The Estate of the Late George Law Cawkwell The Ernest Cook Trust The Lord Faringdon Charitable Trust Doris Field Charitable Trust The Hugh Fraser Foundation Groundwork UK The Late Mrs Margaret Guido’s Charitable Trust The Emmanuel Kaye Foundation The Kobler Trust The Mactaggart Third Fund St Michael's and All Saints Charities Mr & Mrs J A Pye’s Charitable Settlement The Still Point Fund The Thompson Family Charitable Trust

University of Oxford College Members All Souls College Campion Hall Lincoln College St Hilda’s College The Queen’s College Pembroke College St Cross College as supported by a private donation Green Templeton College

Learning and Productions Support

12|16 Young Company Sponsors

Equipment and Technical Support

Building Support

OP Business Club

Platinum

Gold

Silver

zipabout the secret of every successful journey

At Oxford Playhouse we are passionate about what we do and hope that you are too. By supporting the Playhouse at this time, you are helping to ensure the theatre will survive. If you can, please consider making a git to support our survival. Gifts of all sizes are greatly appreciated.

Friends of Oxford Playhouse Applause Rev Charlotte & Mr William Bannister-Parker Mr & Mrs David Barnett Sandy & Danby Bloch Prof Sir Clive & Lady Margaret Booth John P H Bradley Anthony W Budgen Alex Duncan & Felicity Bryan Marion Frostick Simon & Alison Jeffreys Keith McCullagh Elizabeth Paris Dr & Mrs Popat Sue Staunton Timothy & Marion Stevenson Jens Tholstrup Dr Trudy Watt Ovation Anonymous Prof Sir Richard & Lady Elizabeth Brook Debbie Dance Dr Sos Eltis Richard Gladstone John & Margaret Leighfield Prof & Mrs Colin Mayer Malcom Osmundson John Parrott

Standing Ovation Anonymous Edward & Anna Bernard Lucy Group Ltd. David & Sue Jackson Donors £100+ C S & D Alexander Mary E Allen Edwin Antill Louise Armstrong B Attley Lady Helen M Baker Andy Beaumont Jonny M Bell Dr B J Birch Prof Jonathan & Mrs Nicola Black John Bleach Valerie Boasten A J & N Boughton Dr Julie Bowdler Prof John & Mrs Gillian Carey Magda Charlton Helen M Chinner Christ Church Oresteia Cast and Crew Richard Clapham Brendan Coffey Elizabeth A Dalziel Beverly Davies Valerie Davies

Prof Paul Davies & Ms Saphié Ashtiany Prof and Mrs Raymond and Sandra Dwek Catherine Eddy Mr & Mrs John Edmond Gill Emberson Kathleen Emmens Dr Lorraine & Mr James Foreman-Peck G B Fox Michael Gillibrand Sheila & Peter Glazebrook Prof Richard F Gombrich S M Goodwin Prof Alan Grafen Diana Griffin Alison Gunn & Tony Walton Matilda Hadcock Richard & S Hayes Neil Hicks Dr Leofranc Holford-Strevens & Dr Bonnie Blackburn Ronald Howes Dr Jane Impey R J Isaac John Jones Sarah Jones Anthony M Joyce Dr & Mrs Frank E Kenyon Timothy Kidd Elizabeth M Knowles

A special thank you to all Patrons Volunteers Trustees Donors Anonymous Donors

The above list is correct as at February 2020 - for further information please click here. We would also like to thank our anonymous supporters, donors who have given less than £100 in the past year, and donors who have supported us in previous years whose names we are unable to list here but whose help makes such a difference at Oxford Playhouse. Oxford Playhouse Trust gratefully acknowledges the support of its core funders:

Bronze

Susannah M Lankester Geoffrey B Lescott John F Luke Prof Peter Mackridge Ann Magnani John C May Julia Miles Dr David W Millard M J Morris Sue J O’Hare Mike & Jane O’Regan Richard Osmond Brian W Plater Robert Vernon Porter Mr & Mrs P Rippon David W Rischmiller Joan M Swindells Edward D J Thomas Mark R Tolley Peter Vandermin Dr Catherine Walter George A Webb Colin & Susan Webster P G & P A Wells Dr S J Williams June R Wright

n o i t a m r o F n I l u F e US

Oxford Playhouse is delighted to be welcoming audiences back into our theatre. Please be assured that the safety of our audiences is of the utmost importance to us. For your safety and assurance, we are following the safety and hygiene measures set out by the government in its guidance for performing arts. Please note that all audience members will be asked to wear face masks throughout their time at the Playhouse, unless exempt for health reasons. These may be removed once seated whilst you are enjoying your pre-ordered refreshments. In the event that a performance has to be cancelled, you will receive a full refund. If you are unwell and unable to attend please contact our Ticket Office team who will do their best to help you. For further information click here

Current Building Opening Hours

Online Events

Our Ticket Office remains closed to the public except for 2 hours before a live performance starts. It will close once the live show has started. Our Café Bar is also closed (refreshments for a live event are available to pre-order online at the same time as booking your ticket). Please collect all your refreshments from the pre-order collection point on arrival.

Booking for events held online will close 3 hours prior to the performance start time (unless otherwise stated).

Ticket Office: 01865 305 305 The Ticket Office phone line is open Mon to Thu 10am to 6pm and Fri 10am to 5pm. On Sat & Sun the Ticket Office phone line is closed unless a live performance is scheduled, when phone lines will open 2 hours before the start time. The Ticket Office phone line will close once the live show has started.

If you purchase a ticket for an event taking place online, you will receive an email confirmation and e-ticket on booking. You will also be emailed a link to the event, at least 2 hours prior to the stated start time. If you do not appear to have received the link by this time, please double check your junk folder or contact the Ticket Office for further assistance.

Stay in Touch Be the first to find out what’s happening at the Playhouse.

Live Events Booking for live events will close 3 hours prior to the performance COVID-19 Industry Standard start time (unless otherwise stated). Tickets will not be available to purchase after this time and must be booked in advance. On booking In Partnership with; you will receive an email confirmation and an E-Ticket if you have The National Tourist Organisations of Great Britain and Northernchosen Ireland this option. You can either print a copy of your e-ticket or show it on your mobile device on entry. If you have chosen to collect In recognition that this business has confirmed that they have followed your tickets, these will be available from the Ticket Office 2 hours government and industry COVID-19 guidelines, ensuring processes are in place to maintain cleanliness and aid social/physical distancing. prior to the performance start time. We ask that you only opt to collect tickets if the E-Ticket option isn’t an option for you. Valid 2020

Oxford Playhouse Beaumont Street, Oxford OX1 2LW Ticket Office: 01865 305305

www.oxfordplayhouse.com

Diary AUTUMN 2020 Date Day

Production

Time(s)

Where?

Extra Info

Page

7.30pm

Online | Livestream

September 2020 23

Wed Wise Childrenâ€™s Romantics Anonymous

October 2020 10

Sat

Comedy Club

8pm

OP Mainstage

Thu

Telephone

8pm

Online | Zoom

Sat

Escape Zoom

11.30am, 3pm & 7pm

Online | Zoom

Sat

Comedy Club

8pm

OP Mainstage

Mon small hours

Premieres 7.30pm

Online | Video Link

Tue

small hours

Anytime

Online | Video Link

Wed small hours

Anytime

Online | Video Link

Thu

Love Letters At Home

7pm

Online | Zoom

Thu

small hours

Anytime

Online | Video Link

Fri

Love Letters At Home

7pm

Online | Zoom

Fri

small hours

Anytime

Online | Video Link

Sat

The Great Big Story Mix Up

11am & 2pm

Online | Zoom

Sat

small hours

Anytime

Online | Video Link

Sat

Live at the Playhouse with Sara Pascoe

8pm

OP Mainstage

Sun

The Great Big Story Mix Up

11am & 2pm

Online | Zoom

Sun

small hours

Anytime until 8.30pm

Online | Video Link

Mon Rock Pool (Available through to Tue 1 Dec)

Anytime on OP website

Online

Mon The Great Big Story Mix Up

11am & 2pm

Online | Zoom

Tue

The Great Big Story Mix Up

11am & 2pm

Online | Zoom

Wed The Great Big Story Mix Up

11am & 2pm

Online | Zoom

& Post show Q&A

Livestream also available

4 12

& Post show Q&A Access via www.oxfordplayhouse.com

10 13 12

2pm

Unless otherwise stated, booking for online shows will close 3hrs before the event to enable time for links to be emailed

12 12

Diary AUTUMN 2020 Date Day

Production

Time(s)

Where?

Extra Info

Page

8pm

OP Mainstage

Livestream also available

November 2020 1

Sun

Nina Conti: The Dating Show (Work-In-Progress)

Mon Do You Love me Yet?

8pm

Online | Zoom

Tue

Take Up Space

6pm

Online | Zoom

Tue

Do You Love me Yet?

8pm

Online | Zoom

Wed Do You Love me Yet?

8pm

Online | Zoom

Thu

Inua Ellams: Search Party

7.30pm

Online | Zoom

Fri

The Believers Are But Brothers

7.30pm

Online | Zoom

Sat

Do You Love me Yet?

2pm & 8pm

Online | Zoom

Sat

Jericho Comedy: The Dragprov Revue

8pm

OP Mainstage

Tue

Take Up Space

6pm

Online | Zoom

Tue

The House Never Wins

7.30pm

Online | Zoom

Wed The House Never Wins

7.30pm

Online | Zoom

Thu

My Name is Why: In Conversation with Lemn Sissay

7.30pm

Online | Zoom

Sat

Kaleidoscope Concert

11am & 2pm

Online | Zoom

Sat

Under the Mask

4.30pm & 7.30pm OP Mainstage

Sun

Under the Mask

2pm & 5pm

OP Mainstage

Tue

Take Up Space

6pm

Online | Zoom

Tue

Rich Kids: A History of Shoping Malls in Tehran

7.30pm

Online | YouTube & Instagram

Wed Rich Kids: A History of Shoping Malls in Tehran

7.30pm

Online | YouTube & Instagram

Thu

Amrou Al-Kadhi: Life as a Unicorn

7.30pm

Online | Zoom

Fri

Oxford’s Christmas Light Festival

Outdoor

See www.oxlightfest.com for timings

Sat

Michael Spicer: The Room Next Door - Hybrid Addition

OP Mainstage

Livestream also Available

Sat

Oxford’s Christmas Light Festival

Outdoor

See www.oxlightfest.com for timings

8pm

Post-show Talk

2pm

8pm

Unless otherwise stated, booking for online shows will close 3hrs before the event to enable time for links to be emailed

Diary AUTUMN 2020 Date Day

Production

Time(s)

Where?

Extra Info

See www.oxlightfest.com for timings

Page

November 2020 22

Sun

Oxfordâ€™s Christmas Light Festival

Outdoor

Tue

Take Up Space

Online | Zoom

Fri

The Gift of Winter (Available through to 22 Jan 2021*)

Online | Video Link

Sat

6pm

A Play You Can Make At Home!

*Content is available to view until 22 Jan but must be booked by 14 Dec.

Comedy Club

8pm

OP Mainstage

December 2020 1

Tue

Take Up Space

6pm

Online | Zoom

Sat

Jericho Comedy: The Show That Must Not Be Named

8pm

OP Mainstage

Tue

Take Up Space

6pm

Online | Zoom

Tue

Take Up Space

6pm

Online | Zoom

Unless otherwise stated, booking for online shows will close 3hrs before the event to enable time for links to be emailed