The Roses Review Autumn 2019

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The Roses Review Autumn 2019

Welcome...

What a summer it has been here at The Roses!

We’ve had a fantastic blockbuster season with The Lion King, Toy Story 4 and Horrible Histories coaxing the kids out of the sun (read: torrential rain and thunder). Sales for our Autumn season and this year’s panto, Aladdin, have got off to a flying start (pun intended), and we are delighted to announce that we have received a £19,100 grant from Tewkesbury Borough Council towards updating our stage lighting to LEDs and a new project coming in Autumn focused on 15-25 year olds.

However, our most meaningful moment has been hosting Milestone School’s Roses Project (pictured right). Since January a group of 15 children, who attend Milestone School for special needs in Gloucester, have been devising and rehearsing a show about their experience of school before and after they joined Milestone.

The aims of the project were to improve confidence and communication, and the results have been a testament to the positive power that the arts can have on our lives. We saw an extraordinary change in the children, with some finishing the project being able to talk in public for the first time.

There was not a dry eye in the house at the end of their show on 11th July.

The project was the start of a range of participatory initiatives we’ll be announcing throughout the Autumn, including the launch of a community programming panel. We hope that some of you will get involved.

As always a huge thank you to all our Benefactors, Patrons and Friends for your support. We’ll be holding an informal event on Monday 23rd September at 6pm, to meet the venue team and find out more about future plans and programming. Save the date and hopefully see you there!

The Roses Board of Trustees

Panto Casting Update Although panto, and Christmas, might seem a long way off, summer is the time when we start searching for the next group of stars to grace our stage.

Booking Dates Booking dates for this brochure are as follows: Patrons & Benefactors: Thursday 15 August Friends & Seat Donors: Monday 19 August General Public: Thursday 22 August

We’re very pleased to confirm that two of the most popular members of our company, Michael Watson-Gray and Ben Eagle (pictured right) had already signed up for this year’s Aladdin before we even went to audition.

They are both looking forward to their fourth consecutive visit to Tewkesbury this Christmas.

We have also cast the remaining five actors following a successful audition process in London recently, and will be announcing their names very soon - keep an eye on our social media in the coming weeks to find out more!

Backstage Pass

Georgia Shire

Georgia, what’s your role at The Roses?

I am one of the Front Of House supervisors and I also work on Box Office.

What is your favourite part of the job?

Our Choir Get Creative It’s no secret that our resident choir are a pretty amazing bunch of people.

But did you know they are such an artistic group too? We were surprised and delighted when they decided to make these absoutely stunning paper roses to represent us at Tewkesbury’s Medieval Festival Parade (our name, of course, being directly inspired by the battle that the town is famous for). We’d like to thank each and every person that helped to create such a beautiful display.

I love being in a creative environment the theatre is one of my favourite places.

And your least favourite?

I’m quite new so I haven’t discovered it yet!

Where would you like to see The Roses in 5 years?

I’d like to see more dance and theatre because it’s something I’m passionate about.

How would you improve The Roses if money was no object?

I’d expand it and get more youth projects up and running. Developing the technical space would also be a priority.

How do you switch off from work?

Netflix!

Finally, what are you most looking forward to this year?

Starting my masters degree in Dance Producing and Management at London Studio Centre. I already have a BA Hons in Ballet and Contemporary Dance from Rambert. I’m incredibly excited about the future!

The Magic of the Musicals This autumn, we are participating in BFI Musicals: The Greatest Show On Film, a nationwide campaign celebrating the spectacle and craft of Musicals on film.

The BFI have these “blockbuster” seasons every Autumn; we have participated in such seasons on a smaller scale in the past, but this year we are applying for funding for a much more ambitious project at The Watson Hall.

We want to immerse audiences in the diverse worlds the musicals inhabit; be it turn of the century Paris, the Austrian mountains, a school classroom or an opulent Indian mansion. With live music, singalongs, sumptuous food and dressing up opportunities,it promises to be a a treat for all the senses.

Ever since cinema had sound, there have been Musicals. The first talkie was a musical, and the genre quickly became one of the most popular forms of entertainment, sparking The Golden Age of Hollywood.

While many people’s first thoughts often turn to the classic show tune driven MGM Musicals of the 1930s 1960’s, musicals have featured many forms of music including rock, pop, folk and rap, and often deal with dark subject matter in entertaining and accessible ways.

See pages 30-31 for a full list of events, and expect more information to be released soon!

Staff Picks

Alan Tickner

Box Office “As an old rocker from the 60’s & 70’s I can’t wait to see Wishbone Ash and the Blues Band “Rock the Roses”. Turn it up to 11!”

Georgia Shire

Front of House “As a contemporary dancer, my choice has to be Shobana Jeyasingh Dance with Staging Schiele. I can’t wait to see that”

Molly Heckford

Administrator / Assistant Stage Manager “Having grown up performing in panto, and then working and understudying on panto ever since, I’m going to have to say... Aladdin! ”