Grand Duke Box Office now open!

The Box Office is now open for our next production of The Grand Duke and tickets are already selling! This is a chance to see a real G&S rarity with a hilarious production from our Gondoliers director, Graham Breeze.

In the nation of Pfennig-Halbpfennig, the citizens are well and truly fed up with their ruler, the Grand Duke. A local theatrical company led by Ernest Dummkopf is involved in secret plans for a coup, but all are thrown into disarray when leading actor Ludwig inadvertently spills the beans to the Grand Duke’s detective. Chaos ensues when people try to save the day through a series of non-violent statutory duels with playing cards, where the loser legally ‘dies’ – starting a chain of 4 weddings and at least 2 ‘funerals’, together with political scheming. Into all this confusion come the Prince and Princess of Monte-Carlo with their newly-invented game of roulette… Will it be a happy ending? All bets are off! 

You can order your tickets by clicking on the button above for full online booking via the Queen Mother Theatre Box Office. For booking queries tel: 01462 455166.

The Queen Mother Theatre
Walsworth Road
Hitchin
SG4 9SP

Gala concert on Sunday 25th in Ampthill

Rehearsing with Ampthill Concert Orchestra

Great rehearsal today for this fabulous Gala Concert with Ampthill Concert Orchestra and Redborne School Choir on 25th November. It was great to sing O Fortuna at full fff volume with the orchestra going full blast. That blew the cobwebs off the ceiling! And our men's chorus got to sing 'A Wandering Minstrel, I' with International tenor Bonaventura Bottone, the original Nanki Poo from Joanthan Millar's Black and White Mikado. This is a lovely programme of Verdi, Puccini, Orff, a bit of our usual G&S and much much more. Please support us and all the young people from Redborne School Choir for a great evening of music.

Tickets available through Eventbrite.

Grand Duke Cast!

After brilliant auditions all round, which made things very difficult for the Panel, here is the cast for our production of The Grand Duke so far:

Rudolph	Robert Kendrick
Ernest Dummkopf	Graham Breeze
Ludwig	Stephen Hoath
Dr Tannhäuser	Jessica Hallett
Prince of Monte Carlo	David Crew
Ben Hashbaz	Andrew Hodges
Herald	Annie Parker
Princess of Monte Carlo	Claire Moore
Baroness von Krakenfeldt	Sue Wookey
Julia Jellicoe	Paula Fraser
Lisa	Ruth Harley
Olga	Nicole Santelmann
Gretchen	Uncast
Bertha	Louise Thonger
Elsa	Uncast
Martha	Katharine Crew

Well done everybody - this is going to be a fantastic show!
.

Gala Concert with Ampthill Concert Orchestra

PBGS is really looking forward to performing in this fabulous Gala Concert with Ampthill Concert Orchestra and Redborne School Choir on 25th November. There are some stellar soloists - Bonaventura and Rebecca Bottone, and Jennifer Dakin - and a lovely programme of Verdi, Puccini, Orff, a bit of our usual G&S and much much more.

We had our first rehearsal last night and rocked the rafters with 'O Fortuna' and the 'Anvil Chorus' (who needs real anvils?).

Tickets available through Eventbrite.

Grand Duke Launch

Our next production will be Gilbert and Sullivan's The Grand Duke in March 2019. Show Launch Night will be from 7.45pm on Tuesday 23rd October when we will hear about the production from Director Graham Breeze and Musical Director Graham Thompson.We hope that you'll join us for this little seen work which will be updated by our Director Graham Breeze. Graham brought us our recent all singing-all dancing production of The Gondoliers, so definitely not one to be missed. The Grand Duke is rarely performed to this is a great chance to get to know it and tick it off your G&S To-do list (don't we all have one?). There is some great music including a roulette song and even a number about sausage rolls!

If you would like to join us onstage or off, please contact paulafras@aol.com. We rehearse at Streatley Village Hall on Tuesday nights with Sunday afternoon principal rehearsals. See our Contact Us page for directions. New members are always welcome - just come along and introduce yourself to anyone wearing a committee badge.

Auditions will be on Sunday 4th November at 3pm with Tuesday 30th October to go through music. You will find all the pieces from The Grand Duke at The G&S Archive: Grand Duke. If you click the song you want to learn, you will find a midi file link at the top left which will lead you to an electronic accompaniment with your notes to practice along with.

You can familiarise yourself with the characters, plot (especially convoluted!) and audition pieces here:

Grand Duke Audition Material

To whet your appetite, here is a photo from the finale of Act 2 of our last production in 2001. I think our latest one may look very different!

 .

Thank you!

A big, big thank you to our audiences for joining us for a feast of Sondheim and supporting our production of A Little Night Music. The feedback has been a amazing and has made all our hard work worthwhile. A big thank you too to our Director Richard Syms, Musical Director Derek Blyth and all the many people who worked their socks off behind the scenes pulling off this technically challenging show. You know who you are...

Our next production will be Gilbert and Sullivan's The Grand Duke in March 2019. We hope that you'll join us for this little seen work which will be updated by our Director Graham Breeze. Graham brought us our recent all singing-all dancing production of The Gondoliers, so definitely not one to be missed. The Grand Duke has a roulette song and even a number about sausage rolls!

If you would like to join us onstage or off, please contact paulafras@aol.com. We rehearse at Streatley Village Hall on Tuesday nights with Sunday afternoon principal rehearsals. See our Contact Us page for directions. Show Launch Night will be from 7.45pm on Tuesday 23rd October when we will hear about the production from Director Graham Breeze and Musical Director Graham Thompson. New members are always welcome - just come along and introduce yourself to anyone wearing a committee badge.

Photos: Ralph Rapley of XMO4 Production Photos

It's Show Week!

After all our hard work A Little Night Music has finally arrived and we can't wait for you to see this show. Set in Sweden in 1900, A Little Night Music explores the tangled web of affairs centred around an actress, Desirée Armfeldt, and the men who love her. A Little Night Music is a glorious musical comedy with wit, waltzes and the heartbreaking “Send in the Clowns”. Sondheim is a challenge for any theatre group, amateur or professional, both for those onstage and those behind the scenes! But it's one that PBGS has relished and we hope you will come and support us and enjoy the fruits of six months of planning and rehearsals.

This is a rare chance to enjoy this wonderful show and tickets are still available for each performance (including a Saturday Matinee) at The Queen Mother Theatre, Hitchin. Buy your tickets online directly from the Theatre here:

A Little Night Music opens 10th October!

Not long until we arrive back at The Queen Mother Theatre in Hitchin with out latest show, Sondheim's witty and poignant tale of loves lost and found - A Little Night Music - which contains one of his best loved songs, Send in the Clowns.

Set in Sweden in 1900, A Little Night Music explores the tangled web of affairs centred around an actress, Desirée Armfeldt, and the men who love her: a lawyer by the name of Fredrik Egerman and the Count Carl-Magnus Malcom. When the travelling actress performs in Fredrik's town, the estranged lovers' passion rekindles. This strikes a flurry of jealousy and suspicion between Desirée; Fredrik; Fredrick's wife, Anne; Desirée's current lover, the Count; and the Count's wife, Charlotte. Both men – as well as their jealous wives – agree to join Desirée and her family for a weekend in the country at Desirée's mother's estate. With everyone in one place, infinite possibilities of new romances and second chances bring endless surprises.

This is PBGS's third Sondheim musical - last year we presented A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, and in 2014 we presented Into the Woods. With all these Sondheim challenges stretching us, we are thinking we should be called Putteridge Bury Gilbert and Sondheim Society!

This is a rare chance to enjoy this wonderful show and tickets are already selling at The Queen Mother Theatre, Hitchin. Buy your tickets online directly from the Theatre here (performances include a Saturday Matinee:

NODA East District 3 Award for Bryony Reynolds, Nigel Harvey and Elizabeth Bottone for Best Duo/Trio in a Musical

Elizabeth Bottone, Bryony Reynolds and Nigel Harvey in The Gondoliers

PBGS were delighted to receive two Noda East District 3 Awards Nominations this year, both for Best Duo/Trio in a Musical.

Congratulations to Bryony Reynolds, Nigel Harvey and Elizabeth Bottone who were joint winners of the category for their fabulous Duke and Duchess of Plaza Toro and their daughter Casilda in our Spring 2018 production of The Gondoliers. 

Peter Sayers and Sue Wookey were also nominated in the same category for their performances as Senex and Domina in our Autumn 2017 production of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.

It's wonderful to see performances from both of these shows nominated after all the hard work put in by everybody. 

Peter Sayers and Sue Wookey in 'A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum

Bryony and Sue with their certificates

A Little Night Music rehearsal photos

Graham Jackson as Count Carl Magnus

Paula Fraser (Desiree) discussing the production with Producer Richard Syms

Some great photos of rehearsals for our October production of  'A Little Night Music'. Thanks Stephen and Al! Our cast are working hard - Sondheim presents many challenges - but it's well worth it to present one of his most loved shows.

Graham Breeze (R) as Frederik with Graham Jackson (L)

Liebeslieders tackle the dancing!

Set in Sweden in 1900, A Little Night Music explores the tangled web of affairs centred around an actress, Desirée Armfeldt, and the men who love her. A Little Night Music is a glorious musical comedy with wit, waltzes and the heartbreaking “Send in the Clowns”. This is a rare chance to enjoy this wonderful show and tickets are already selling at The Queen Mother Theatre, Hitchin. Buy your tickets online directly from the Theatre here:

Photos:
Top and centre © Stephen Hoath
Bottom © Al Saunders