A brand-new production of the Olivier Award-winning comedy based on the well-loved Jeeves and Wooster books is to set off on a 17-week tour of the UK, taking in over 30 regional theatres and arts venues and an additional selection of venues on the rural touring circuit. Aristocratic buffoon Bertie Wooster has hired the theatre for the night to present his one-man show detailing a recent and rather spectacular series of misadventures, including the theft of a novelty cow creamer and a narrow escape from unwanted matrimony. The only trouble is Bertie hasn't worked out who's going to play the parts. Will the show be a disaster? Will the scenery stay upright? Or will his trusty manservant Jeeves step in and save the day?
In a joyous reimagining of the classic P.G.Wodehouse characters, three actors hurl themselves from role to role as they race to tell the story of Bertie's own farcical adventures. Jeeves and Wooster in Perfect Nonsense was created by the Goodale Brothers, adapted primarily from P.G. Wodehouse's The Code of the Woosters. The show premiered at Richmond Theatre in 2013, with the lead roles being played by Stephen Mangan and Matthew Macfadyen, then transferred to the Duke of York's Theatre in the West End. It won the 2014 Olivier Award for Best New Comedy.
The show is being produced by two Cotswold Theatres, The Theatre Chipping Norton and the Barn Theatre in Cirencester, and is directed by Chipping Norton Theatre's Artistic Director John Terry.
Bertie Wooster is played by Matthew Cavendish, who performs regularly with Mischief Theatre, appearing in The Play That Goes Wrong in the West End and on Broadway, as well as Peter Pan Goes Wrong and A Comedy About a Bank Robbery in the West End.
Director John Terry said, "If ever there was a time when the world needed the sunlight optimism and wit of PG Wodehouse, it might be now. Anarchically, brilliantly funny, and a huge theatrical challenge to bring to the stage, we are delighted to be remounting this fantastic comedy. As two of the smallest producing venues in the country, it is incredibly exciting and rewarding to be able to deliver such an ambitious tour - almost 40 venues across 17 weeks of playing, spanning from 80 to 800 seats. Our production brings a gently contemporary freshness to the Goodale's brilliant stage adaptation. From live Foley sound effects to an original score of contemporary swing music, and the most ingenious box-of-tricks you have ever seen, this production should suit Wodehouse novices and experts alike."
Chipping Norton Theatre is an ambitious and furiously busy theatre, cinema and arts centre in the Cotswolds, welcoming over 50,000 people a year to a town of little over 6,000. Winner of The Stage award for Outstanding Contribution to Regional Theatre, Chippy Theatre is one of the smallest producing houses in the country, making 3 or more productions each year for local and national touring audiences. Recent tours and transfers include Skylight by David Hare (National Tour), The Island by Athol Fugard (tour and Southwark Playhouse), The Kreutzer Sonata (Arcola Theatre transfer) and The Rise and Fall of Little Voice (Greenwich Theatre transfer).
5 - 15 Feb The Theatre, Chipping Norton
2 Spring Street, Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, OX7 5NL
Mon - Sat 7.45pm, Sat matinee 2.30pm, BSL signed 7.45pm 11 Feb, Relaxed 2.30pm 12 Feb | £15 (£13 concs, £5 U26s)
www.chippingnortontheatre.co.uk | 01608 642350
18 Feb The Castle, Wellingborough
Castle Way, Wellingborough NN8 1XA
7.30pm | £15 (£12 concs)
thecastle.org.uk | 01933 270007
19 - 20 Feb Tacchi-Morris Arts Centre
School Rd, Monkton Heathfield, Taunton TA2 8PD
7.30pm | £16 (£15 concs, £12 student)
www.tacchi-morris.com | 01923 41 41 41
21 Feb Corn Exchange Wallingford
Corn Exchange, Market Place, Wallingford OX10 0EG
7.45pm | £12
www.cornexchange.org.uk | 01491 825000
22 Feb Norden Farm, Maidenhead
Altwood Rd, Maidenhead, West Berkshire SL6 4PF
8pm | £16 (£14 concs)
www.norden.farm | 01628 788997
24 - 26 Feb Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds
6 Westgate Street, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk IP33 1QR
7.30pm, Weds matinee 2pm | £28 - £10.50
www.theatreroyal.org | 01284 769505
27 - 28 Feb Marina Theatre, Lowestoft
Marina, Lowestoft, Suffolk NR32 1HH
7.30pm, Fri matinee 2.30pm | £19
www.marinatheatre.co.uk | 01502 533200
29 Feb Rhodes Arts Complex, Bishops Stortford
1 - 3 South Road, Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire | CM23 3JG
7.30pm | £16.50 (£14.50 concs)
rhodesartscomplex.co.uk | 01279 710 200
2 - 3 Mar EM Forster Theatre, Tonbridge
Tonbridge School, High Street, Tonbridge TN9 1JP
7.30pm | £16 (£14 concs)
www.emftheatre.com | 01732 304 241
4 Mar Hazlitt Theatre, Maidstone
Earl Street, Maidstone ME14 1PL
7.30pm | £20
www.parkwoodtheatres.co.uk/Hazlitt-Theatre | 01622 758611
6 - 7 Mar Broadway Theatre, Hertfordshire
Broadway Cinema, Eastcheap Letchworth, Hertfordshire SG6 3DD
7.30pm, Sat matinee 2.30pm | £19 (£17.50 concs)
www.broadway-letchworth.com | 01462 681088
10 - 11 Mar Lincoln Drill Hall
Free School Ln, Lincoln LN2 1EY
7.30pm | £14 (£8 concs)
www.lincolndrillhall.com | 01522 873894
13 Mar Biddenden Village Hall (rural touring venue)
14 Mar All Saints Church, Allhallows (rural touring venue)
15 Mar Robertsbridge Village Hall (rural touring venue)
17 Mar Pomegranate Theatre, Chesterfield
Corporation Street Chesterfield S41 7TX
7.30pm | £25.90 (£24.90)
www.pomegranatetheatre.co.uk | 01246 345222
18 Mar Key Theatre, Peterborough
Embankment Road, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire PE1 1EF
7.30pm | £15.50
www.vivacity-peterborough.com | 01733 207 239
19 Mar The Mill Arts Centre, Banbury
Spiceball Park, Banbury, Oxfordshire OX16 5QE
7.30pm | £16
www.themillartscentre.co.uk | 01295 279002
20 Mar Bampton Village Hall, Oxfordshire (rural touring venue)
21 Mar Mollington Village Hall, Oxfordshire (rural touring venue)
22 Mar Cassington Village Hall, Oxfordshire (rural touring venue)
24 - 25 Mar The Atkinson, Southport
Lord Street, Southport PR8 1DB
7.30pm | £17 (£15 concs)
www.theatkinson.co.uk | 01704 533333
26 - 28 Mar Dukes Playhouse, Lancaster
Moor Lane Lancaster LA1 1QE
7.30pm, Sat matinee 2pm | £18 - £10
dukes-lancaster.org | 01524 598500
31 Mar The Roses Theatre, Tewkesbury
Sun Street, Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire GL20 5NX
7.30pm | £20 - £14.50
www.rosestheatre.org/ | 01684 295074
14 Apr Hertford Theatre
The Wash, Hertford SG14 1PS
7.45pm | £18 (£16 concs)
www.hertfordtheatre.com | 01992 531500
15 Apr Theatre Royal, Wakefield
Drury Lane, Town Centre, Wakefield, West Yorkshire WF1 2TE
7.30pm | £21.50 - £16.50
www.theatreroyalwakefield.co.uk | 01924 211311
16 Apr Cornerstone Arts Centre, Oxford
25 Station Rd, Didcot OX11 7NE
7.30pm | £14 (£12 concs)
www.cornerstone-arts.org | 01235 515144
17 - 18 Apr The Haymarket, Basingstoke
The Haymarket, Wote Street, Basingstoke RG21 7NW
7.30pm, Sat matinee 2pm | £23 - £21 (£12 U25s)
www.anvilarts.org.uk | 01256 844 244
21 Apr - 9 May Barn Theatre, Cirencester
5 Beeches Road, Cirencester GL7 1BN
Mon - Sat 7.30pm, Thurs and Sat matinee 2.30pm | £34.50 - £11.50
barntheatre.org.uk | 01285 648255
12 - 16 May Tobacco Factory Theatre, Bristol
Raleigh Road, Bristol BS3 1TF
7.30pm, Sat matinee 2.30pm | £23 - £10
Tobaccofactory.com | 0117 902 0344
19 May South Hill Park Arts Centre, Bracknell
South Hill Park Mansion, Ringmead, Bracknell, Berkshire RG12 7PA
Times and prices TBC
www.southhillpark.org.uk | 01344 484 123
20 May Dorchester Corn Exchange
The Corn Exchange, High E St, Dorchester DT1 1HF
Times and prices TBC
www.dorchesterarts.org.uk | 01305 266926
21 May The Landmark Theatre, Ilfracombe
Promenade, Ilfracombe, Devon EX34 9BZ
7.30pm | £21
www.northdevontheatres.org.uk/landmark.php | 01271 324242
22 May Teignmouth Pavilions, Devon
Den Crescent, Teignmouth TQ14 8BG
Times and prices TBC
www.pavilionsteignmouth.org.uk | 01626 249049
23 May The Swan, Worcester
Huntingdon Hall, CrownGate, Worcester WR1 3LD
Times and prices TBC
www.worcesterlive.co.uk | 01905 611 427
24 May Kenton Theatre, Henley
19 New Street, Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire RG9 2BS
Kentontheatre.co.uk | 01491 525050
26 - 27 May Oldham Coliseum Theatre
Fairbottom Street Oldham OL1 3SW
7.30pm | Weds matinee 2.30pm | £22.50 - £16.50
www.coliseum.org.uk I 0161 624 2829
30 - 31 May Theatre Royal Winchester
Jewry Street, Winchester, SO23 8SB
Times and prices TBC
www.theatreroyalwinchester.co.uk | 01962 840440
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