Playing Sardines Behind the Bike Shed.

Just to give you an idea - and it really is just an idea! - of the space in which we presented our Dream on 14th January. This, ladies and gentlemen, is the Bike Shed Theatre. And what a magical place it is.

Half a dozen of us arrived to set the whole thing up and the organiser asked if we were all here. She paled visibly when we told her that there would be another 16 of us arriving between now and the off. At one point we thought that the cast might outnumber the audience - capacity at the Bike Shed, at best, is 50 - but as it turned out, we were two thirds full. It was, I think, possibly the most fun we've had in a space for quite a while. The guys who run the place couldn't have been more helpful or welcoming and we're looking forward to being able to take another (smaller!) production back to the Bike Shed later in the year. Watch this space.

We still have another performance of The Dream to give, in the open-air in May in the beautiful surroundings of Hole Farm - details to follow - but the next big thing on the agenda is the workshop and auditions for Taming of the Shrew, the 2014 Dartmouth Shakespeare Week production. Loads of interest and the prospect of spending the afternoon with not only a great bunch of people and having a laugh or three, but also getting to grips with Commedia Dell'arte at the hands of our facillitator for the day, Gareth Ballyn. He's been in a couple of our earlier productions and was an extremely scary Tybalt in Romeo and Juliet. A drama teacher par excellence and a curator of no mean repute, it promises to be a lively and informative session.

Gareth - smiling before he does for Mercutio!

 We had our annual get-together the weekend after the Bike Shed gig, the perfect chance for everyone to let off a bit of steam and look forward to the Shrew and all that it will entail.
Large thank you's go to Kate and her crew at the Cafe Alf Fresco, who laid on a splendid bite of lunch...the chocolate bread and butter pudding was particularly excellent.

Once again we have had a large number of people contacting us, via the website, asking to be involved in this year's production. It always lovely to see new faces and we can always find things for people to do...but the majority of the 'expressions of interest' have been from people of the female persuasion. Brilliant! But we need more MEN! So if you know of any(male)body who would like to have a bash at treading the boards up at the castle, point them in our direction! It would be really splendid to meet them! Got a couple of interesting possibilities in the pipeline which will appear here should they come to fruition, but for the moment, everything is concentrated upon casting the Shrew and thinking about all the extra bits 'n' bobs for this year's DSW. 

We certainly hope to have more stuff going on about the town, which we managed to achieve for the first time in 2013, but it all takes warm bodies to make it happen. Presentation of our donations for 2013 will be happening quite soon; the recipients have been informed, we're just waiting for the moment to get the cheques to them. For those of you who haven't heard who we are supporting this time around, here they are, in no particular order:

• Dartmouth Caring
• Dart Area Landscapes Access Group 
• Fr. Will Hazelwood's Youth Group
• The Renaissance Historical Dance Society
• Stoke Fleming Junior School

and, as you will have read in the previous blog, the first award made by way of the Inn Theatre Company Bursary for Young People, which went to Freya Hoben.

Here's to the next round of theatrical insanity!

First of the 2014 Batch!

...AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

First, a very large thank you to everyone, wherever you may be, for reading the blog. Hope it helps...certainly helps us!

Just about to start the next batch of rehearsals - more catch-up's really - for A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Bike Shed Theatre in Exeter (get your tickets soon, cos word on the street is that they are moving with a wonderfully shocking rapidity!) and, as if that wasn't enough, we have the auditions for this year's Dartmouth Shakespeare Week production, The Taming of the Shrew, happening on 26th of the month.
Details for that, if you're interested, are on the Friends of the Inn Theatre Company Facebook page...look in the files section! The more the merrier.
AND if that wasn't enough, we've just launched the Inn Theatre Company Bursary for Young People!

As you're probably aware, we donate to local charities and causes every year from any surplus we make from Dartmouth Shakespeare Week (close £15,000 thus far) and this year - well, in 2013 anyway! - it was no different. However, we decided that the time was right to try and support not only the local charities but to also give a helping hand to the wealth of talented youngsters that live in the South Hams.
There are plenty of details on the website  and 2013's recipient (the first) will be announced in the press very shortly.
The bursary will be awarded to a different young person every year and nominations for 2014 are now open! 
The nominations must come from a parent, carer or guardian and the youngster nominated must be between the ages of 10 and 17, living in the South Hams.

I've got...we've all got...a really good feeling about 2014, as far as the Company is concerned: building on the successes of last year and moving on to even better things. This year's DSW, obviously, the promenade performance of The Dream coming up in May and plans to mark the hundredth anniversary of the start of the First World War in a very special fashion. More news on that as it happens.
So thanks again for reading and please, drop us a line or comment sometime; makes us feel we're not just chatting to the ether!