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A big thank you too to all the PBGS team that worked so hard to bring this Show together. You are all stars! Thanks are also due to Woodside Hall and Hitchin Thespians for making us welcome and being so helpful.
We had a whole week of magic!
It's show week and we are performing Gilbert and Sullivan's early work 'The Sorcerer' at a new venue for us, Woodside Hall in Hitchin, right next to our usual venue at the Queen Mother Theatre.
There are still plenty of tickets left for all nights and we have a Saturday Matinee! Just click on the 'Buy Tickets' button on the top right of this page to go straight to the Box Office, or scan the QR code below.
The show is full of magic and mayhem when a Sorcerer arrives in the village of Ploverleigh with a love philtre, and all kinds of chaos ensues! Full of wonderful music and comedy, this is a rare chance to catch a lesser known G&S. And here are some more production photos to tempt you!
Have you got your tickets yet! We are really looking forward to presenting our magical production of 'The Sorcerer' at the Woodside Hall, Hitchin. This is a new venue for us, right next to our usual home at the QMT and with the same ample parking.
This two-act comic opera was the third collaboration between W.S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan. The plot satirically challenges the Victorian class system and creates the sort of topsy turvy storyline we now expect from their work.
Alexis, the son of Sir Marmaduke Poindexter, is captivated by the idea of love as a way to level all social ranks and distinctions. He invites sorcerer J. Wellington Wells to his wedding celebrations and asks her to give them a love potion for use on the villagers. This causes all those who drink it to fall in love with the first person they see, resulting in some comic mismatching. To overturn the spell, either the spell-purchaser or spell-caster must pay with their life. This aspect of the drama is brought to the fore in this production, which highlights the moral ambiguity of the characters who are perfectly happy to sacrifice an outsider to ensure they get their classic G&S happy-ever-after.
Book your tickets now by clicking on our Order Tickets button to go straight to our Box Office or by scanning our QR code here:
Booking is now open for our fantastic and fantastical production of Gilbert and Sullivan's The Sorcerer!
You can buy your tickets online now by clicking on our booking link wherever you see it or by scanning the QR code.
"This two-act comic opera was the third collaboration between W.S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan. The plot satirically challenges the Victorian class system and creates the sort of topsy turvy storyline we now expect from their work.
Alexis, the son of Sir Marmaduke Poindexter, is captivated by the idea of love as a way to level all social ranks and distinctions. He invites sorcerer J. Wellington Wells to his wedding celebrations and asks her to give them a love potion for use on the villagers. This causes all those who drink it to fall in love with the first person they see, resulting in some comic mismatching. To overturn the spell, either the spell-purchaser or spell-caster must pay with their life. This aspect of the drama is brought to the fore in this production, which highlights the moral ambiguity of the characters who are perfectly happy to sacrifice an outsider to ensure they get their classic G&S happy-ever-after.
The opera was first shown in 1877 and then revived in 1884 and was so successful that Gilbert and Sullivan went on to write ‘HMS Pinafore’ and a string of other hits culminating in ‘The Mikado’ and ‘Yeomen of the Guard’."
Our NODA East - District 3 representative, Nova Horley, has made her personal nominations for this year’s best local musical Am Dram performers and contributors, onstage and off, and there are a lot of PBGS nominations this year! Huge congratulations to:
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| Emma Crew as Phoebe |
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| David Crew as Sergeant Meryll and Sue Wookey as Dame Carruthers |
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| Katharine Crew, HMS Pinafore Director |
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| Margaret Johnson, HMS Pinafore Musical Director |
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| Manda Fraser, Yeomen Costumes |
The Launch Night for our next production will be on Tuesday 16th May at 8pm at Harlington Methodist Church Hall and we really hope you'll join us there to hear more about Gilbert & Sullivan's The Sorcerer! We will also be serving some light refreshments, very appropriate for a show that actually has a song listing everything that makes a perfect high tea.
We always welcome new members so please feel free to turn up and introduce yourself when you arrive. If you are not a singer but would still love to join in we'd be equally thrilled, you have no idea how much work happens before show week and behind the scenes off-stage to make a successful production!
We look forward to seeing you all and sprinkling some Sorcerer magic.
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| Harlington Methodist Church |
What a week! We were a sell out so a big thanks to all our audiences - your clear enjoyment and enthusiasm for our 1940s Pinafore has meant so much to us. The response to this show has been amazing and we really appreciate your support! It takes a lot of hard work and a lot of people, on stage and behind the scenes, to put on a Show like this. There are far too many of you to name (it would be a very long list) but you know who you all are. You have made this Show such a success! Bouquets to you all and here's to the next one!
Meet lovelorn sailor Ralph Rackstraw with 1940s singing sensation the Porter Sisters, Sir Joseph Porter's famous relatives! Tickets are now selling very fast for our fabulous production of HMS Pinafore, so if you want to be sure of a seat then it's time to book at the Queen Mother Theatre Box Office. Here is a little taster of the show and the Porter Sisters version of A British Tar!
Pinafore rehearsals are really coming along as you can see from these photos! We are hugely enjoying this WW2 set production where every member of the chorus is a real character on board the training ship HMS Pinafore. We have sailors and WRENs, the ship's cook, engineers, the ship's nurse, deck scrubbers, a war artist and many more for you to spot, all going about their duties!
With the usual Gilbertian twists and turns (and a few of our own) and Sullivan's fabulous stirring music this is going to be a special production. Buy your tickets from the Queen Mother Theatre Box Office here.
"Gilbert & Sullivan’s classic tale of forbidden love and long-kept secrets is transported to the bravery and glamour of the 1940s, with sailors and WRENS aboard WWII training ship HMS Pinafore.
Naval trainee Ralph Rackstraw is in love with his captain’s daughter Josephine. But she is being pursued by First Lord of the Admiralty Sir Joseph Porter who has accompanied his relatives, singing sensations ‘The Porter Sisters', onboard to boost the troops’ morale. Meanwhile the Captain comes to realise what it is to love across class boundaries as he finds himself attracted to local spiv Buttercup.
Will true love prevail? Will jealous Deb Deadeye tear the couples apart? And is the ship’s cat really to blame for the racket during the blackout?"
A terrific Quiz to exercise your brain and delicious desserts to go with it. Sounds like the perfect night out!
Pick your team and fill out our booking form here. Or you can fill it out as 1 person and we will add you to a team.
Tea and coffee is provided, but you are welcome to bring other drinks along with you.
You will find more about Harlington Village Hall LU5 6LS here.
Let the fun begin!
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Our Box Office is open and you can now buy your tickets for our wonderful 1940s production of Gilbert and Sullivan's HMS Pinafore wherever you see this button:
With Sailors and Wrens aboard the 1941 Naval Training Ship HMS Pinafore, the scene is set for the usual Gilbertian topsy turvy plot twists and much more besides. All our chorus are characters in this very funny production and, of course, there is Sullivan's wonderful music. We set sail on the 12th of April, with a matinee on the Saturday, and we look forward to seeing you aboard! As a taster here are some photos from our recent rehearsals:
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