Monkeywood Theatre

5 reasons to see Maine Road with martin on whatsonstage.com

There’s been more fantastic support for Monkeywood this week! The Peggy Ramsay Foundation have commended Sarah’s writing of Maine Road by funding its redevelopment.

Peggy Ramsay was one of the best-known play agents in the United Kingdom during the second half of the Twentieth Century. When she died in 1991 her estate was left for charitable purposes to help writers and writing for the stage.

Dan Fitzsimons, Monkeywood’s very own Leo in Maine Road, will be performing Not in my Name at The Brindley Runcorn this week with Fuse Theatre.

Not in my Name realistically portrays the aftermath, community impact and personal consequences of a fictional terror attack as told from the perspective of a group of young characters.

For more info and tickets… Not in my name

Rehearsals began this week for the forthcoming tour of Maine Road. All of the original cast have been reunited to work on Sarah’s script which has been developed again for the stage since the adaptation for BBC Radio 4. The tour begins on Friday 12 March at 8pm in The Lowry’s Quays Theatre (tickets still available at The Lowry), then in the Studio for Thu 18 – Sat 20 March (the only tickets available are for the 2pm performance on Sat), then to Whitby Hall in Ellesmere Port on Sat 10 April, Saltburn Community hall on Sat 24 April and Halifax Square Chapel on Fri 30 April.

The cast are Dan Fitzsimons (Leo), Marie Critchley (Elaine), Sarah McDonald Hughes (Jade), Thomas Aldersley (Clive) and Francesca Waite (Donna/Landlady). Maine Road is directed again by Martin Gibbons with sound by Mat Clowes and stage management by Miriam Ainsworth.

This afternoon Sarah took a walk down Maine Road with local Man City player, Nedum Onuoha, talking about what it was like when City still played at the old stadium. Nedum was asking Sarah about what had inspired her to write the play, what her memories of Maine Road were and whether she is a City fan (you’ll have to check back to find out the answer!) Sarah then turned the tables, asking Nedum what the ground meant to him and whether he’d ever done a bit of carminding himself!

The chat was being filmed for the Man City website, so we’ll put the link up here as soon as we can.

Little known fact… that Nedum actually went to the same 6th form college (Xaverian in Rusholme) as 3 of the cast, Sarah, Francesca and Marie – just not at the same time!

Thanks to Neil and Nedum for a fun (if freezing) afternoon!

Lovely Drama Student Magazine have written an update piece about our fantastic Arts Council news. This follows some great coverage they gave us last Summer before we perfromed Maine Road at the 24:7 Theatre Festival. Drama Student Magazine are celebrating their 1st birthday with another fantastic issue. Check out the Monkey business article here

Monkeywood have had some fantastic news this week! Not only have we been granted funding for the Maine Road tour through the Arts Council England’s Grants for the Arts initiative, but we have sold out 3 nights at The Lowry so have had to add TWO extra dates!

The Maine Road tour 2010 now kicks off at The Lowry’s Quays Theatre on Fri 12 March 2010 at 8pm. It has been promoted to the plush, red haven that is The Quays for one night only for a special preview performance.  In view of the great interest and the huge demand for tickets we have also added a matinee performance on Saturday 20 March at 2pm in The Lowry Studio.

Tickets for the opening night in the Quays theatre are priced at £10 (£8 concession) and are available online  here or by calling 0843 208 6000. Group Discount is 1 in 10 free. We urge you to buy your tickets as soon as possible as the demand for tickets at The Lowry are so high!

Maine Road premiéred last summer at the 24:7 Theatre Festival.  However, following production of the radio play by BBC, the play has undergone significant development. The new production tours from The Lowry to Action Transport Theatre on Sat 10 April, Saltburn Community Theatre on Sat 24 April and finally Halifax Square Chapel on Fri 30 April 2010.  This tour is supported by Arts Council England and has been awarded funding through the Grants for the Arts initiative.

We hope very much to see you there

Francesca, Martin & Sarah

Monkeywood Theatre

Thanks to superb sales for Maine Road at The Lowry an extra matinee performance has been added on Saturday 20 March 2010. Click here to book tickets online.

Maine Road will be broadcast live as the afternoon play on BBC Radio 4 on Friday 15 January 2010 at 2.15pm, 2 months in advance of the theatre tour beginning at The Lowry. Sarah McDonald Hughes had a radio script commissioned of the play which was recorded at the end of last year. Not only did Sarah write the script, but she also appears in the drama as Jade, alongside Siobhan Finneran as her mum, Elaine, and Lee Boardman as Clive.

If you missed the live broadcast, you can always listen again on the iplayer.

Sarah and Marie Critchley from Maine Road will play mother and daughter again at The Lowry this week in Northface Theatre’s Be My Baby. Written by Amanda Whittington, the play is directed by Jason Hudson who recently directed Last Orders by Monkeywood for the Royal Exchange’s PUB season.

Be My Baby runs from Fri 8 – Sun 10 January 2010 – get your tickets online at The Lowry fast as they’re almost all sold out!

Set in 1964, Be My Baby follows the fortunes of Mary Adams (Sarah McDonald Hughes), aged 19 and seven months pregnant. Sent to a mother and baby home, Mary and her fellow inmates have to cope with the shame of their pregnancy and the dawning realisation they must give up their baby for adoption. Yet despite the daily battles with a no-nonsense Matron, the girls’ effervescence shines through. As they escape into the girl-groups songs they love, a touching and funny piece of work unfolds, which is not only punctuated but defined by the songs of the day.