Programme
CHILDREN'S SATURDAY DRAMA WORKSHOPS
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Performances in Aberdeen Arts Centre
Wednesday 14 – Friday 16 May at 7.30pm
Studio Theatre Group
Brimstone & Treacle
By Dennis Potter
Tickets: £9 (Con £7.50)
Dennis Potter’s play is best known through adaptations for BBC television and a 1982 film co-starring Sting.It follows the fortunes of a middle-aged, middle-class couple whose undergraduate daughter lies in a coma. For a couple of years, Tom and Amy Bates have been struggling to cope with their transformed lives, their daughter Patricia having been severely injured in a hit-and-run accident. Pattie is strapped down to the living room sofa, unable to wash or eat by herself or talk, merely uttering unintelligible sounds. Although poorly-educated and gullible, Amy Bates firmly believes that Pattie is able to understand what is being said in her presence, whereas Tom Bates has given up all hope of her recovery:
Their existence is dramatically changed by the arrival of a mysterious young stranger.
Saturday 17 May at 7.30pm
Fleeman Productions
Amang The Craws
by Charles Barron
Tickets: £9 (Con £7)
How does Donnie Finlayson, an ordinary young lad from a North East farm, end up on Death Row in America? Who is to blame for his fate? Alternating between Donnie’s prison in the USA in 1992, and his mother’s home in Aberdeenshire 15 years earlier, Amang the Craws tells his dramatic story. With humour and compassion, Charles Barron portrays the characters who influenced Donnie’s early life – an influence that led inexorably to a distant death cell. Beneath the familiar comedy of domestic life in the farm runs a darker thread: what, or who, made Donnie the man he is today?
The cast includes Scott Neish in the part of Donnie, Liz Loggie as his mother, Jill Hay as his granny, Sheila Reid as the family’s neighbour, Sarah Alexander as his girlfriend and John Stott as his American lawyer. The play is directed by Charles Barron and Roddy Begg.
Sunday 18 May at 7.30pm
Buddy Holly & The Cricketers
Buddy Holly’s Official 50th Anniversary Year
Tickets:£14 (Con £12)
This year’s spring tour is very special: it is 50 years since Buddy Holly and his original band, The Crickets, made their only visit to these shores, playing 25 dates back to back all over the land, in March 1958. For this special anniversary show, the multi- talented Cricketers not only present their usual knockout performance but are primed to surprise Buddy with guest appearances by other legends from the golden age of rock ‘n’ roll.
Wednesday 21st and Thursday 22nd May at 7.30pm
Sunset Song
by Lewis Grassic Gibbon
An amateur production by Aberdeen College adapted for stage by Alistair Cording
Tickets £6.50 (Con £5.50, block bookings of 8 or more get one free ticket)
It is the story of Chris Guthrie, a young ‘quine’ from Aberdeenshire.
The play begins in the year 1911 where we meet the people of ‘Blawearie’ in ‘Kinraddie of the Mearns’. Focusing on her childhood in the country we see how the land was before the start of the WW1.
Chris is torn between going to university, as her friend Margret has done, and staying at home to work on the land, which she loves. Cruel circumstances at home coupled with the beginning of the war quickly decide Chris’s fate for her and how her life is to change.
Tuesday 27 – Saturday 31 May at 7.30pm
(Saturday Matinee at 2pm)
Aberdeen Youth Music Theatre
Calamity Jane
An amateur production performed by arrangement with Josef Weinberger Ltd
Tickets: £10 (Con £9)
This hilarious western musical is adapted from the stage-play and film. ‘Calam’, who is far from lady-like, attempts to help the saloon by promising to fetch a star from Chicago. Despite being a comedy it has tender moments and famous numbers, including Secret Love and Windy City. The Intermediate group of Aberdeen Youth Music theatre will take you back to the Wild West with this wonderful production of Calamity Jane. Tomboy Calamity Jane is surrounded by cowboys, townsfolk and Wild Bill Hickock. After a mix-up in the talent pool at Deadwood’s saloon-theatre, Calamity goes to Chicago to bring the glamorous actress Adelaide Adams back to Deadwood but instead returns with her maid, Katie Brown. After it becomes clear that Katie is not the famous actress, Calamity and Katie become close friends until Calamity realizes that Katie has caught the eye of Lieutenant Danny Gilmartin. Katie persuades Calamity to shed her tomboy persona to attend the ball and not until then, does Calamity realize that she has a “Secret Love” for Bill Hickock, and it is not long before they are declaring undying love for each other.
With many other memorable songs such as The Deadwood Stage, and Black Hills of Dakota this is a “feel good” show not to be missed.
Thursday 5 – Saturday 7 June at 7.30pm
and Saturday at 3pm
AAPA Productions
The Wizard Of Oz
Performed by arrangement with MusicScope
Tickets: £11 (Con £9)
AAPA Productions showcases the talent of its young members in this well loved story of Dorothy and her adventures ‘Over The Rainbow’. It begins when a little Kansas farm girl, Dorothy Gale, and her dog Toto are blown away in a tornado and land in a fairyland named Oz. Here she meets a very unusual cast of characters - the Scarecrow, Tin Woodman, and Cowardly Lion, and together they go on a quest to see the Wizard of Oz, each of them seeking what they want most in life. Making their way along the Yellow Brick Road through a series of hair-raising encounters, they arrive at the Emerald City only to be told by the Wizard that they first must kill the Wicked Witch of the West before he will grant their wishes. They eventually overcome many dangerous challenges and dispose of the witch (although quite by accident), and return only to find that the Wizard is really just a humbug. He craftily addresses everyone's wish but Dorothy's, which is to return home to Kansas. So once more Dorothy and her friends set out, this time to find the Good Witch of the South. These last adventures end happily with Dorothy and Toto returning home, thanks to something she had all along.
Tuesday 10 – Saturday 14 June at 7.30pm
Saturday Matinee at 4pm
Attic Theatre presents the UK amateur premiere of
Daddy Cool
By arrangement with Robert McIntosh & Franz Farian
Tickets: £9.50 (Con £8.50)
Daddy Cool tells the story of ‘Sunny’, a young man who lives for his music. Caught up in local rivalry between East and West London crews, he meets and falls in love with ‘Rose’, daughter of the East End’s notorious club owner ‘Ma Baker’. Echoing Romeo and Juliet, the lovers’ relationship fuels the hostility between the two gangs, leaving their families face to face with past secrets and forcing them to confront their future. Set to the music of Boney M this new and exciting musical includes classics such as Rivers Of Babylon, Brown Girl in the Ring, Ma Baker and Mary’s Boychild.
Tuesday 17 – Friday 20 June at 6.30pm
Saturday 21 June at 11.30am, 3pm and 6.30pm
Karen Berry School of Dance
Musical Magic
Tickets: £9.50 (OAP and Child £7.50) available from Danscentre, 89 Hutcheon Street. Tel. 647341
The grassroots talent of the school will be showing off their love of dance by twirling, skipping and tapping their small feet across the stage. From the cuter than cute creatures of the night garden to the enchanting magic of Harry Potter with a finale of funky High School Musical jams, this is a show to ‘awe’ at for more reasons than one!
Tuesday 24 – Saturday 28 June at 7.30pm
(Saturday Matinee at 2.30pm)
Phoenix Youth
Oliver!
By Lionel Bart
An amateur production performed by arrangement with Josef Weinberger Ltd.
Tickets: £12.50 (Con £10.50)
Phoenix Youth Theatre presents the ever popular Oliver which with its large cast of vividly drawn Dickensian characters, its large scale chorus and dance numbers and, of course, a succession of well loved songs provides the perfect vehicle for a young talented cast - and a great night’s entertainment for audiences. The list of hit numbers is endless. Just a very few are Where is Love? As Long As He Needs Me, Consider Yourself At Home and Oom-Pah-Pah.
Sunday 29th June - 8.00pm
Fred MacAulay - 2008 Tour
Tickets (inc booking fee) £15.40 and £13.20
Catch Fred doing what he does best as he presents a brand new package of witticisms about life and living in Scotland today. Effortlessly warm and conversational, Fred’s affable demeanour belies a sharp and sometimes dark wit that really shines in his stand-up. No matter whether an audience is divided between young and old, alternative or mainstream, the broad appeal of Fred MacAulay always adds up to a side-splitting night out.
‘MacAulay had the audience in stitches’ Hollywood Reporter
'Rib-achingly funny, one of the funniest men alive' Sunday Times
'Rapier-sharp' Scotsman
Tuesday 1 - Thursday 3 July - 7.30 audience to be seated by 7.15
The Flying Pig Radio Show
Tickets £9 (Conc £7)
Following on last year’s snortingly successful run at the Arts Centre, they are back with another six radio shows to be recorded live.
Book now to be part of this hilarious take on Aberdeen, Aberdonians and choochters a’wy!
Friday 4, Saturday 5 July at 7.30pm
Saltmine Theatre Company
The Cross And The Switchblade
1950's New York is a city of gangs and violence where only the toughest survive. David Wilkerson is a country preacher in a comfortable parish. So what could possess him to go to New York to care for the fighters, hookers and addicts? This pulsating play has toured across the UK to packed houses and critical acclaim.
‘A hard-hitting tale of courage and redemption which is genuinely inspiring’
Three Weeks
‘Strong. Stylish. Profound’
The Big Issue
Tuesday 8 – Saturday 12 July at 7.30pm
(Saturday Matinee at 2.30pm)
Giz Giz
Annie Get Your Gun
Tickets: £9 (Con £8)
more details to come
Thursday 17 – Saturday 19 July at 7.30pm
Castlegate Theatre School
Sweeney Todd – The Shock & Roll Show
Tickets: £8 (Con £6)
Were you one of the unfortunate souls who missed Sweeney while it was in cinemas earlier this year? Well never fear, Castlegate Theatre School is here as they present Sweeney Todd: The Shock and Roll Show. This show presents the ghastly tale of the Demon Barber in a more upbeat and humorous light. Be entertained with a selection of toe tapping tunes, a horde of hilarious mad-cap characters and a chilling scene or too. We may not be able to promise you Johnny Depp, but a good family night out we can guarantee.
Monday 21 - Wednesday 23 July at 7.30pm
Present Tense Productions
Strangers On A Train
By Craig Warner
Tickets: £9 (Con £7)
Present Tense Productions are delighted to take part once more in Aberdeen Arts Centre Summer Carnival following their successful Glengarry Glen Ross production last year. The play begins with Guy Haines meeting Charles Bruno on a train journey. Bruno is rich, spoiled and used to getting what he wants. He draws Guy into shared confidences telling him 'You can trust me. You'll never see me again. You can tell me anything.' Bruno is obviously drunk, and seems harmless, so Guy does just that. He tells of his marital problems, his work and the fear that his estranged wife will ruin that project for him. Bruno counters with stories of his controlling father. In seeming jest, Bruno suggests that maybe it would be the perfect murder for them to swap victims. Guy never expects to see or hear from Bruno again. Cast for this production are all well known actors on the Aberdeen drama scene, Richard Jack, Kevin Delaquaglia, Lindsay Cromar, Andrew Youngson, Tom Forbes. Lisa Cameron and Margaret Bramwell.
Friday 25, Saturday 26 July at 7.30pm
The Pike & Mair Families & Friends
Side By Side
Tickets: £10 (Con £8)
more details to come
Thursday 31st July – Saturday 2nd August at 7.30pm
Attic Theatre presents :
Nunsense
By Dan Goggin
An amateur performance given by arrangement with Samuel French Ltd
Tickets : £10 ( £8 conc)
Nunsense begins when the Little Sisters of Hoboken discover that their cook, Sister Julia, Child of God, has accidentally poisoned 52 of the sisters, and they are in dire need of funds for the burials. The sisters decide that the best way to raise the money is to put on a variety show, so they take over the school auditorium, which is currently set up for the eighth grade production of "Grease". Featuring star turns, tap and ballet dancing, an audience quiz, and comic surprises, this show has become an international phenomenon.
Sunday 3 August at 8pm
Comedy Connections presents
Tickets: £8
The Snafu Media Monkey - Cert 15
Think, 'Drop the Dead Donkey,' meets the Doric Express - this tongue in cheek comedy cabaret is a veritable bevy of satirical sketches, stand up comedy, silly songs, funny films and amusing pics celebrating the recent lives of the people of Aberdeen City and Shire.
This light hearted and laugh out loud comedy show is written and performed by members of the Aberdeen Comedy Collective who have done their best to avoid the use of strong language and scenes of an extremely violent or sexual nature. Also expect cameo appearances by local celebrities such as John McRuvie, Duncan Guthrie, Donald Trump (t.b.c) his adversary Michael Forbes (t.b.c) and the sneak thief Sammy the Seagull (whose use of strong language and extreme violence is beyond our control).
Monday 4 August - Tuesday 5 August - Wednesday 6 August
African Showtime Dancers
Aike Raes and Cie Ph/f/ase - from Belgium
Gastana Danco - from Israel
Georgia Dance Theatre Legacy
and many more....
Tickets £9 Concessions (Friends of AIYF, under 26s, over 60s etc £5)
Special ticket offer for the dance and theatre programmes at Aberdeen Arts Centre and the Lemon Tree - buy tickets for 2 performances, choose a third performance for free!
The Festival presents an exciting programme fusing classical and modern ballet, traditional and contemporary dance, drawing influences from Africa, Europe and Central America.
Ground breaking, vibrant and theatrical - don’t miss this fantastic opportunity to see the world’s leading young dance companies on stage.
The line up for each evening will be announced in the Festival Programme, which will be available in early June. Tickets go on sale 7 June 2008.
Thursday 7, Friday 8 August at 7.30pm
Ocean’s 3
The Best Is Yet To Come
£10 (Con £8)
Following the success of last years show, Ocean's 3 are back to take the arts centre stage by storm. Aberdeen's premiere Rat Pack style swing trio will once again bring the very best songs from the great crooners mixed in with their own brand of humour. Steve, Dan and Ryan have had a busy year playing to audiences all over the north-east, but have put their heads together to come up with what they hope to be their most spectacular show to date. As well as some of their favourite Rat Pack songs the boys will be performing some new songs from their ever growing repertoire. And there may be a few surprises along the way! So come along and join us for a great night of music and fun. And even if you have seen us before then be prepared because 'The Best Is Yet To Come!'
Saturday 9 August at 7pm
Comedy Connections present
James Campbell
Comedy 4 Kids
Tickets: £8 (Con £7)
Followed by
Funny Kids
When kids are funny it's normally an accident. These kids are different.
Come and support this unique stand up comedy performance featuring a selection of the regions newest and youngest comedy hopefuls who have taken part in a week long comedy writing and performance workshop during the Arts Centre Carnival. The performance is appropriate for all young people as well as their parents and is weaved together by an established North East comedian.
Get in touch with Wendy on 01224 492561 if you are under 18 and would like the chance to perform.
Sunday 10 at 6.30pm, Monday 11 August at 7pm
Mrs Gerrard’s Accordion Band
Tickets £10 (Con £8)
more details to come
Tuesday 12, Wednesday 13 August at 7.30pm
The Ambassadors Big Band
Tickets: £10 (Con £8)
The Ambassadors Big Band originated in Peterhead, in the mid 1940's, and was a 12 piece band consisting of, mainly local, musicians. They had a residency in the Palace Hotel, Peterhead from that time until around the early 1960's, when economics and changes in the music scene led to their decline. This decline was a common feature of that era and, coupled with the advent of the Beatles and other such groups, led to the near extinction of the Big Band sound.
Some 30 years later, however, several of the original band members decided to get together and give the Ambassadors another airing in their, now, retirement years. During the 1990's the re-formed band had a sporadic existence. As the older members gave up playing, or passed away, there were difficulties in finding replacements. Then, around five years ago it was decided to try and introduce more musicians from out-with the local area.
This decision led to an increased scope in the repertoire, an improved profile for the band, and has also raised enthusiasm within its ranks.
As far as possible the Ambassadors try to play the music of the big band era, but they also introduce some of the more suitable "modern" tunes, such as "Route 66" and "Feelings".
Thursday 14 August at 7.30pm
The Aberdeen Chorus of Sweet Adelines International
Aberdeen Chorus on a Sentimental Journey
The Aberdeen Chorus of Sweet Adelines International is a chorus of around 80 women from Aberdeen, Scotland who sing in four part harmony a cappella style. It is one of the top ladies barbershop choruses in the UK having won the UK Championships no less than 6 times. In May 2007 the chorus was placed 3rd in the Sweet Adelines Competition for the Quartet of Nations Region which encompasses the UK, Ireland and Holland.
Sweet Adelines International is a worldwide organisation of women singers dedicated to advancing the musical art form of barbershop harmony through education and performance.
Friday 15 – Sunday 17 August
Elvis Festival
more details to come
Wednesday 27– Saturday 30 August at 7.30pm
Triple Threat Youth
Bugsy Malone
Libretto By: Alan Parker
Music & Lyrics By: Paul Williams
An amateur performance given by arrangement with: Warner Chappell
Tickets: £10 (Con £9)
After their phenomenal "sell-out" production of "High School Musical" in 2007, Triple Threat Youth return to Aberdeen Arts Centre with the classic family musical "Bugsy Malone"
Set in 1920s Chicago, "Bugsy Malone" follows the rivalry between two half-witted street gangs and the washed up, well-intentioned, one-time boxer who steps in to take control of Fat Sam’s gang and give Dandy Dan and his boys what they’ve got coming. In this film noir spoof, the message is one of good, clean fun; the characters are wonderful cartoon cutouts; and the weapons of choice are "splurge" whip cream
guns, flour bombs, and custard pies.
Bright costumes, lively costumes and classic songs including: "Fat Sam’s Grand Slam", "Bad Guys", "Tomorrow" and "You Give A Little Love" makes "Bugsy Malone" the perfect show for all the family.
Saturday 6, Sunday 7 September at 7.30pm
Boldean Productions presents:
Roger Dean sings the Johnny Cash Story 
Tickets: £12.50 (Con £11.00)
Roger Dean has spent a lifetime in the entertainment business as a singer, actor and cruise director.
He made his television debut at the age of 14 and his first radio appearance soon after singing a Johnny Cash song. On the subject of Cash he knows the score!
Like Johnny Cash he is gifted with a "storytellers" voice who better to pay tribute to this great artist and to celebrate the legacy of the fabulous Johnny Cash.