Images courtesy of Richard Batson
Songs signalled the reopening of Sheringham Little Theatre’s Hub café after a month-long closure for a facelift.
The new-look Hub held its “premiere” with an opening ceremony on Saturday morning (Feb 11) that mixed music, mingling, poetry and performance.
BBC Look East presenter and reporter Jenny Kirk cut the ceremonial ribbon, praising the project and encouraging people to support the venue’s investment in its future.
She said it was the first time she had been back in town since another reopening – a street party in 2019 to mark the end of works to repair a high street sink hole, when she was also impressed by the town’s community spirit.
Theatre director Debbie Thompson thanked the main funders of the revamp – the Norfolk County Council social infrastructure fund, and building landlords North Norfolk District Council. The project was only made possible by major grants.
She also praised the input of local interior designer Robert Moore who gave his time to steer the theme of the revamp, which has a classic art deco style with a showbiz vibe.
Visitors heard a special poem The Show Must Go On read its creator and town councillor Peter Pegnall, along with songs from the theatre’s youth chorus, and community musicians Tina Blaber and George Crawley. The Hub is now open from 10-3 Monday to Saturday.
Earlier in the week the theatre’s annual general meeting looked to a rosier future after some troubled times.
Director Debbie said 2022 had been “horrible” with café takings and ticket sales down, along with redundancies resulting from Covid. But she felt 2023 would be a happier, more positive year – helped by the Hub project, which was sparked by a water leak, but resulted in a fresh new look aimed at attracting new audiences and events.
The project, and Covid losses, were covered by one-off grants, and a website rebuild was thanks to a generous donation, so she countered any misconceptions the theatre was “rolling in funds”.
Plans for 2023 include a full summer season with:
Two concerts are also planned for Mannington Hall – a Lee Vasey Big Band party on July 21 and a classical picnic concert on July 22.
For more details visit www.sheringhamlittletheatre.com
A comedy spoof version of a classic Sherlock Holmes thriller is part of the summer drama season at Sheringham Little Theatre. And the play’s director Nick Earnshaw has been doing some sleuthing of his own - into the original play’s North Norfolk links.
The summer show will see a trio of actors give a new twist to the Hound of the Baskervilles, using multiple costume changes, slapstick humour, fun and clever effects.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s well-known dark murder mystery goes back 123 years when it was first printed in the Strand magazine. It was set on the murky moors of the West Country, but its inspiration came months earlier when Conan Doyle visited North Norfolk.
A tragedy-hit seaside family is trying to get life back on song through music in a new comedy drama premiering at Sheringham this summer.
Shanty is the story of a Cromer crab fisherman and his two daughters, all grieving after the sudden death of their wife and mum.
Their rebuilding journey, laced with music and humour born out of adversity, is explored by up-and-coming young playwright and poet James McDermott who lives near Holt.
“It is a drama drawing its comedy from the family’s attempts to form a band, the mess of grieving and being a young person clumsily trying to find a new way forward,” he explained.
There aren’t many shops where you can literally feel the waves crashing against the beach but you can in the little shop at Sheringham Lifeboat station and they are looking for volunteers.
Opening from the Easter holidays until October half term every year, the shop at RNLI Sheringham station is open 10:30am until 4:30pm and run entirely by volunteers. The role doesn’t require any previous experience with full training given but it’s not just how to work the till – the shop volunteers are often the face of Sheringham RNLI when people wander along the prom so you’ll also be given information about the lifeboat to help answer their questions!
Each volunteer does a 3 hour shift and volunteers can do as many or as few shifts as they like, based in the secure cabin at the lifeboat station with toilet & tea-making facilites on hand.
A free arts event celebrating two famous British characters will raise the curtain on a new fundraising appeal at Sheringham Little Theatre.
Prose, poetry and music will punctuate an afternoon of performance on Sunday April 23 which coincides with St George’s Day and the birthday of William Shakespeare.
Entry is free during the event which runs from 3pm to 5pm, in the Hub which will be serving cream teas as well as cakes, savouries and drinks. But donations will be invited to help kick start a £5000 appeal to upgrade the venue’s curtains.
No More Heroes? looks to explore well known and unsung icons of British culture. Works will include a new version of the St George story, and the words, plus a parody, of the Bard, as well as music from British composers ancient and modern.
He’s a bus station busker, whose songs are just the ticket for travellers. But who is he and why does he do it?
They are the questions tackled in new one-man comedy drama penned and performed by a north Norfolk entertainer.
Greg Powles’ show The Busker takes a journey in song, stories and humour that delves into the mystery street performer. As well as singing his songs, he explains how they fit into his life.
It will be staged at three East Anglian venues in May – Pakefield, Sheringham and Norwich – ahead of plans to take the new work to the Edinburgh Festival next year.