Malvern Theatres Summer 2021
Malvern Theatres are delighted to announce a full programme of events to reopen the theatres and cinema this June, following one of the most difficult and uncertain years in the establishment’s history.
The Festival Theatre will reopen on 8th June with Cold War thriller A Splinter of Ice presented by the award-winning Original Theatre Company. Oliver Ford Davies (Game of Thrones, Star Wars) and Stephen Boxer (The Crown) star in this new play by Ben Brown.
Later in July, Ralph Fiennes stars in a world premiere adaptation of T.S. Eliot’s Four Quartets. Compelling, moving and symphonic, Four Quartets offer four interwoven meditations on the nature of time, faith, and the quest for spiritual enlightenment. Mostly written during WWII when the closure of playhouses during the Blitz interrupted Eliot’s work in theatre, the four parts (Burnt Norton, East Coker, The Dry Salvages and Little Gidding) were the culminating achievement of Eliot’s Nobel Prize winning literary career.
To add to this prestigious line-up, Jodie Prenger stars in Andrew Lloyd Webber and Don Black’s classic musical Tell Me On A Sunday, and, inspired by real life events, Charlie and Stan is the remarkable story of the greatest comedy double act that nearly was.
Also in July we have work from two of Britain’s greatest living playwrights. Alan Ayckbourn’s comic masterpiece Absurd Person Singular is a social satire set in 1970s suburbia and Michael Frayn’s multi award-winning masterwork Copenhagen is an historical detective story set in Nazi occupied Denmark. When David Mamet’s Oleanna opened nearly thirty years ago, it caused global uproar. Addressing issues which are strikingly current today, this is a fascinating opportunity to see this landmark play from the perspective of our #MeToo era.
Malvern Theatres Young Company returns in August with Sophocles’s Electra. Following the success of their previous productions of Under Milk Wood and Antigone, Electra will be presented ‘in the round’ and with no charge for admission.
Tickets are also available for the previously announced world premiere stage production of Looking Good Dead, starring award-winning actor and EastEnders icon, Adam Woodyatt, and the classic must-see thriller The Woman in Black.
The Forum Theatre will also play host to some fantastic stars of the stage and screen, including Marti Webb, Beyond the Barricade and The Simon and Garfunkel Story. There’s classical music from the celebrated Armonico Consort, who are joined by international soloists Ian Bostridge and Sir Willard White in Bach’s St Matthew Passion, while guitarist Miloš will perform a varied programme that ranges from Dowland to The Beatles. For our youngest visitors, Tall Stories presents
The Snail and The Whale, a magical musical play inspired by the book by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler.
Malvern Cinema is also set to reopen from 3rd June with a stellar programme of films including the Academy Award winning Nomadland, The Father starring Anthony Hopkins, Minari, Sound of Metal and Judas and The Black Messiah.
Chief Executive Nic Lloyd said: “We have been overwhelmed by the support we have received since the beginning of the pandemic. I’d like to thank our generous community for your continued support. Without our loyal audiences we would not be here today. As our doors reopen, we look forward to this next chapter with renewed confidence; a bright future where we can enjoy live theatre together once again.”
Performances taking place before June 21st will be sold at half capacity in line with Government guidelines. Prevailing Government guidance on face coverings and distancing will be observed and enhanced cleaning routines will remain in place. Please see our website for the latest updates on Covid Safety Guidelines.
All tickets are now on sale online at malvern-theatres.co.uk or by phone 01684 892277 (9:30am-5:30pm Monday-Saturday).