The Winter’s Tale Bear

The Winter’s Tale is over but thanks to the lovely cast – we shall always be able to exit pursued by a bear (as long as someone else is holding him).

The Winter’s Tale – Ticket Deal

We run until Saturday 27th February 2016 and have a new last minute ticket price!

Tickets are now £10 / £6

with no hidden booking fees when you buy your tickets online:

http://www.webstersglasgow.com/events/a-winters-tale-2016-02-24/

Come & see our tragic – funny – magical play!

Here is a very blurry photo of the cast in action on opening night:

The Winter’s Tale – nearly first night!

Tomorrow is our tech/dress stumble through & then we’re open to the public… Last minute tasks include making a baby bump, emailing everyone about everything, and washing suits fit for Gentlemen Born.

Our soundtrack is a mix of soul, country and Celtic harps… Our bear decision is made… all we need is YOU – our lovely audience.

Tickets can be purchased here:

http://www.webstersglasgow.com/events/a-winters-tale-2016-02-24/

The Winter’s Tale – Why?

Tickets Here: http://www.webstersglasgow.com/events/a-winters-tale-2016-02-24/

People have asked why we choose to do The Winter’s Tale – one of Shakespeare’s later, romantic tragi-comedies, known for it’s odd structure and abrupt resolution – and we have lots of reasons.

One – we’re clearly tapped into the zeitgeist – since it was announced as part of The Kenneth Branagh Theatre Company’s season  at The Garrick shortly after we made the decision to stage our own version. http://www.branaghtheatre.com/

And beyond that – so much of it seems to resemble childhood fairytales… Winter, Spring, wild animals, a babe lost and rescued, the dead miraculously brought back to life, ghosts, oracles, tyrannical parents, and lovers put through ordeals before they can live happily ever after.

The story has magic, loss, sorrow, regret, love, redemption, a strong sense of cyclical time and Pantomime in the characters of rogue, Clown and Shepherd who clash over money, class and deception.

In short – it’s a strange, beautiful, funny play & well worth revisiting.

The Winter’s Tale – Propmaggedon

Props are terrible things designed by demons to be forgotten, tripped over or left on stage when they should be removed.

Props should be kept to an absolute minimum – unless you’ve got a well-trained army of guerrilla stage hands ever ready to ambush a wine glass lingering into a scene set in a hospital (etc etc) – but even then – there still comes a time when the revolting critters have to be rounded up and plonked on the props table.

Luckily Shakespeare pretty much wrote everything to bellowed at the gallery without too much palaver.

The worst thing we’re facing is working out exactly what he means by a fardel (it’s the box – the damn box) and the best thing is that there’s only 20 or so small items on our list…

Although – we may be in denial about the prospect of finding Rosemary and Rue in Glasgow.

Come and see if we succeed next week! We open on Wednesday 24th February it runs until Saturday 27th.

http://www.webstersglasgow.com/events/a-winters-tale-2016-02-24/

The Winter’s Tale – Cast

UPDATE: due to unforeseen circumstances we’ve had to sadly lose the brilliant Ron Stirling & gain the equally brilliant Stewart Macdougall as Leontes and Daniel Sweetman as Antigonus/Steward, the role Stewart was originally playing & still knows all the words to! 

This week in rehearsals for The Winter’s Tale we’ve been discussing the famous stage direction – Exit pursued by a bear... There are many ways of doing ‘the bear’ from a person dressed as a bear, to a real bear, to a projection, to nothing but a sound-effect… At the moment we seem to have settled on an Ewok singing Yub Nub (it may take us a while to get permission from Disney).

In the meantime – you can get your tickets here:  http://www.webstersglasgow.com/events/a-winters-tale-2016-02-24/

We’ve also had some requests for a full cast list – so here it is:

Jericho Reid – Mamillus, Clown

Eleanor Casson – Emilia, Mopsa, Dion

Greg Wylie – Officer, Gentleman, Servant

John Jebavy – Florizel

Nora Smyth – Perdita

Will Speirs – Autolycus

Daniel Sweetman – Antigonus, Steward

Megan Green – Hermione

Gary Hurr – Camillo

Aaron Pennie – Polixenes

Stewart Macdougall – Leontes

Elisabeth Holland – Shepherd, Knight

Gillian Massey – Paulina, Dorcus

Christian Zanone – Mariner, Time, Lord, Gaoler, Cleomenes

The Winter’s Tale – Rehearsal Pictures

Here is the cast of The Winter’s Tale rehearsing at The Vale www.valebar.com 

and The Flying Duck www.flyingduckclub.com 

Tickets can be bought here: http://www.webstersglasgow.com/events/a-winters-tale-2016-02-24/