LEICESTER’S PUB THEATRE

SEASON GUIDE AUTUMN 2014

Upstairs at the Western70 Western RoadLeicester LE3 0GA

@UpstairsWestern www.upstairsatthewestern.com

WELCOMEto our Autumn 2014 season at Upstairs at the Western, Leicester’s pub theatre. Leicester has a great reputation as a festival city and this season we are delighted performances from not one but two festivals feature as part of our full programme. Everybody’s Reading is England’s largest community reading festival and an important event in the city’s calendar. Several well-known performers will be making their way Upstairs to perform their words just for you.

We are also thrilled to be one of the venues supporting the UK Young Artists Festival, coming to Leicester 7 - 9 November and showcasing a wide variety of work produced by some very talented 18 - 30 year olds.

Upstairs at the Western programmes brave, inspiring and engaging performances, all performed in an intimate theatre space above The Western in Leicester’s own West End - what could be better than that?

We hope you enjoy browsing our programme. Book your tickets online to be sure of a seat at Leicester’s first and only pub theatre.

We look forward to seeing you Upstairs at the Western.

Off the Fence Theatre Company www.off-the-fence.com @OfftheFenceTC

For tickets and more information www.upstairsatthewestern.com

@UpstairsWestern

Brochure design by Libby Sidebotham. Cover photo, Amsterdam All photos supplied by artists

by Tom Glover, directed by Gary Phillpott

11 - 13 September

7.30pm, £8/£6

Following its sell out debut in March and a successful run in London in May, England Expects returns to launch a UK Autumn tour. Vesta Tilley was one of music hall’s most popular figures and considered the greatest male impersonator of the day. Her role in recruiting thousands of men made her the darling of the establishment but as the brutal reality of war became known she had a decision to make: whose side was she really on?

“ England Expects dispenses humour and pathos in equal measure” Western Park Gazette

Off the Fence Theatre Company presents

England ExpectsA play with songs starring Teresa Jennings as Vesta Tilley

Crouch, bind, set: come Upstairs and get Intimate with Leicester Tigers’ hooker and hero George Chuter. The first player to reach 250 Premiership appearances in May 2012, over 200 starts for Tigers and the instigator of numerous pranks, George made a big impression at Leicester’s legendary club. Find out more about the beards, the bans and the banter from one of Tigers’ most popular players.

George will be donating his proceeds from this event to Scotty’s Little Soldiers, the charity dedicated to supporting children who have lost a parent whilst serving in the British Armed Forces www.scottyslittlesoldiers.co.uk

Upstairs and Intimate with George ChuterTuesday 16th September, 8pm, £10/£8

With two big name poets and ten open mic acts, Find the Right Words is one of the most electric poetry and rap nights in Leicester. Created and compered by Jess Green, headliners for 17 September are Emma Jones and Hannah Silva and for 15 October, Bohdan Piasecki and Becci Louise. Headliners for November and December to be confirmed. For updates see www.upstairsatthewestern.com

Open mic sign up from 7.30pm

Find the Right WordsWednesday 17 September, 15 October, 19 November & 10 December 8pm, £5

Join the team from Off the Fence Theatre Company and Coventry’s Silhouette Press in a series of workshops for all writing abilities with an opportunity to develop your own work for performance, whether that is poetry, prose or plays.

And what’s more, the workshops are free and provide you with space to write and opportunities to share your work with others. An important part of the writing process is gaining feedback and invited guests, including local poets and performance artists, will provide helpful comments and suggestions on the work you produce and on performance.

All workshop participants are invited to take part in a special Celebration of Spoken Word Open Mic Night at Upstairs at the Western. This is open to everyone so why not be a part of Leicester’s vibrant writing community, sign up for an open mic slot and enjoy the 100% legal high of performing your work in front of a paying audience.

Writing for Performance Workshops & Open Mic Night

Workshop 1 at West End Neighbourhood Centre: Sunday 21 September, 2 - 5pm, FREE

Workshop 2 at Upstairs at the Western: Saturday 4 October, 2 - 5pm, FREE

Celebration of Spoken Word Open Mic Night at Upstairs at the Western: Sunday 5 October, 7.30pm, £3

To attend either or both workshops or to find out more, email Sally Jack at sj@off-the-fence.com

An Everybody’s Reading Festival event

Would you like to hone your writing skills? Polish your performances? Have you always wanted to read your writing on stage? Our workshops will help!

A murder mystery set on a dementia ward.Written and performed by comic, poet and reformed psychiatric nurse Rob Gee (“A witty, skilful storyteller” Chortle), Forget Me Not has just completed a sold out run across Canada.

***** “ Cluedo meets Memento… Brilliant!”

Victoria Times

***** “ Smart, witty, and razor-sharp… funny and heartbreaking as hell” Canadian Broadcasting Corporation

Best Male Solo Show – Victoria Fringe

Forget Me Not - The Alzheimer’s Whodunit Rob Gee presents

Thursday 2 October, 8pm, £8/£6An Everybody’s Reading Festival event

Word! presents a one night only double bill of powerful poets. Andrew Mulletproof Graves performs comedy spoken word and will launch his new collection, Light at the End of

the Tenner. Maria Taylor will read from her recent collection, Melanchrini and more. The night is compered by poet and performer Lydia Towsey and features guest performances from rising stars Shruti Chauhan, James Mccatear and Jitendra Bhatt.

“One of the funniest and sharpest stand-up poetry sets I have ever seen.” Anna Saunders (Cheltenham Poetry Festival co-ordinator) on Andrew Mulletproof Graves

“In its mystery, precision and surprise, Melanchrini shows the truth of a powerful new writer.” – David Morley on Maria Taylor

Age guidance: 14+

Maria and The Mullet WORD! presents

Friday 3 October, 7pm, £8/£6An Everybody’s Reading Festival event

Forget Me Not - The Alzheimer’s Whodunit

If you missed Jonny McClean’s 5*, sell-out performances in March, don’t miss this powerful play as it begins a UK Autumn tour.Clamber Up the Crucifix begins at the end: midday, 11th November 1918. To the officers, Parker is invisible, hardly more human than the telegraph key he operates. Earlier that day, and privy to certain information, Parker had caused serious offence. His sentence is due, footsteps approach. Clamber Up the Crucifix is a play for one actor playing five different roles and explores the life of a telegraph key operator in the trenches and the mind of an ordinary soldier caught up in the long waits and terrifying bombardments of life at the Front.

Billed as Die Hard meets the Naked Gun on stage, Joe Bone’s multi award-winning Bane arrives in Leicester. Action, comedy, music and drama are shaken together in this one-man one-musician work featuring Ben Roe’s live score. The show follows tough talking hit man Bruce Bane, as he journeys down back alleys and comes up against vicious foes, all performed by Bone’s multi-character shape shifting.

“Bane is well-written, well structured and sharply accurate. It’s a remarkable achievement.” The Stage

Clamber Up the Crucifix

Bane

Off the Fence Theatre Company presents

Whitebone Productions presents

by John Kitchen, directed by Gary Phillpott

Sunday 12 October, 7.30pm, £10/£8

Tues 7, Weds 8 & Thurs 9 Oct, 7.30pm, £8/£6

What happens when you abandon your responsibilities to chase your dreams? Life is about taking risks. This is a big one.

Seduced by the attractions of Amsterdam and a charming Surinamese man she met on holiday, Chanje liberates herself of all the possessions that define her, in favour of a voyage into the unknown. What will be her fate?

Amsterdam is an ambitious project fusing spoken word, theatre and music into the high powered, super-modern 21st century play of love and lust.

AmsterdamAfrique Performs presents

by Chanje Kunda

Friday 17 October, 7.30pm, £10/£8 Age Guidance: 16+

Meet Eve, covered in a huge overcoat. She may epitomise the homeless bag lady but that’s not the whole story. As she peels back the layers, through her passionate rants and reflections we discover that not only is it OK to be angry, sometimes it’s essential for our survival.

Marcia Layne’s brave new play will take you on an exhilarating rollercoaster ride as it challenges and celebrates the notion of the angry and strong black woman.

Age guidance 14+ (contains strong language)

Bag LadyHidden Gems Productions presents

by Marcia Layne directed by Amanda HuxtableThurs 23 & Fri 24 October, 7.30pm, £10/£8

Inspired by astonishing true stories, INSIDE is a psychological drama that explores the effects of Stockholm Syndrome on a kidnap victim desperate to keep hope. Locked in a basement for twelve years, the victim has survived physical and psychological abuse by escaping to her childhood and recording video messages to her Mum. But to find a way out she’ll have to break through something much stronger than just the basement door. Age guidance: 16+

INSIDEStrawberry Blonde Curls presents

written and performed by Rosie MacPhersonSaturday 25 October, 7.30pm, £10/£8

Dan Nicholas makes a triumphant return from Edinburgh Fringe with his chat show like no other.

Joined by co-hosts Lewys Holt and Jack Britton, Dan invites you, the audience to join him on stage for a series of searching interviews and silly challenges.

You’ll clap, laugh and possibly cry as Dan, Lewys and Jack come to the end of their tour, back on the stage where it all started.

Age guidance: 14+

Dan Nicholas’ Conversation Garden: And That’s It Friday 31 October, 8pm, £5

Coinciding with the 30th anniversary of the Miners’ Strike, Meet the Real Maggie Thatcher is a highly original concept in modern drama and provides an engaging insight into one of the most notorious political leaders of our era. The performance contains no strong language - only the truth.

Includes Q&A with cast and writer.

“ Surprisingly funny and upbeat … an educational and evocative piece that resonates especially well with those who were affected by Thatcher, but is equally just as entertaining for those who weren’t.” -The Daily Fringe

Meet the Real Maggie Thatcherby Mike Francis CarvalhoSaturday 1 November, 7.30pm, £8/£6

Gerundagula Productions presents

Upstairs at the Western is delighted to be a host venue for the UK Young Artists Festival to be held in Leicester and which features the best of the UK’s young artists and performers.

Come and see these talented artists present an eclectic mix of performance styles and genres.

Further information available at www.youngartists.co.uk

UK Young Artists Festival Saturday 8 - Sunday 9 November, FREEArtists and performance times to be confirmed

Meet The Blanchards, pioneers of the hot air balloon, showmen and most importantly general buffoons. Follow them on the fringes of The French Revolution as they cross the channel, befriend Napoleon and both meet their untimely deaths.

Blanchard’s Balloon contains live original music, clown, storytelling and comedy. The music is Skopera (from Skiffle-Opera), where skiffle is not in homage to Lonnie Donegan but is music made of homemade objects playing punchy, storytelling songs packed with humour. Opera is soap-style rather than Puccini.

Blanchard’s BalloonSaturday 15 November 2pm for Ages 8+, £6/£4 7.30pm for Age 16+, £6

Umbrella Theatre presents

A warm welcome guaranteed at The Western.

LEICESTER’S PUB THEATRE

We have 7 real ales, guest ciders, a large range of whisky and rum, and some rather nice wines.

Situated in Leicester's West End, we have a large beer garden, a log burning fire and regular food, drink and music events.

For more info, make friends with The Western Leicester on facebook, visit our website: www.steamin-billy.co.uk/western

or even better, pop in for a chat.

Proud to support Upstairs at the Western

“Really cool, intimate venue”Audience member, Summer 2014’

If you would like to hire Leicester’s first pub theatre Contact Verity at vb@off-the-fence.com

Maximum capacity of 60 seatsLight set up and speakersEnd on stage, raked seating

Theatre of Warby Sally Jack

Sports commentators have a difficult task, filling in breaks in play with facts, figures and bon mots. Whilst we often ridicule their resulting mangled metaphors, more often than not, the language of sport is fuelled by the

language of war, with the reporting of war often euphemistically referred to in theatrical terms.

Sport is of course closely linked to performance; the Ancient Greeks took this a stage further, successfully combining entertainment, sport and war with games played to the death by opposing factions in front of a paying crowd.

Terms such as battleground, stun and under the radar are now found in equal measure on the front and back pages of most newspapers; how often does a battling team stage a comeback?

It is also very much on our radar that 2014 has and will continue to feature many events commemorating the centenary of the outbreak of World War I, a war that irrevocably changed the world’s social and political orders. Accounts of battles and brave soldiers on all sides will be re-told in different branches of the Arts, particularly theatre, but it is often a small, local anecdote or detail that cuts to the heart of the human experience of war.

Since 1892, Leicester Tigers, one of the world’s best supported rugby clubs, have performed at ‘Fortress’ Welford Road and share a nickname with the Royal Leicestershire Tigers Regiment (now the Royal Anglian Regiment). Nowadays, die-hard rugby supporters often bemoan the effect international duty has on their team’s season when top players are called up to represent their country in Six Nations or World Cup fixtures.

One hundred years ago, Leicester Tigers players made up a fraction of the many thousands of local men called away on duty for their country in France and Belgium.

Seventeen Tigers never came back.

BOOKINGPlease book in advance to be sure of a seat. Visit www.upstairsatthewestern.com or buy at the bar at The Western.

Alternatively, tickets may be available at our Box Office 30 minutes before performance, dependent on availability.

PLEASE NOTE As Upstairs at the Western is a small and intimate venue we are unable to admit latecomers. Thank you for arriving promptly.

ACCESS Unfortunately, due to the nature of the building there is no wheelchair access.

PARKING Upstairs at the Western is located in a residential area. There is pay per hour parking during the day as well as free parking after 6pm on Western Road and surrounding streets. Please check signs carefully – some streets are resident permit only.

CYCLISTS The Western is a bike friendly pub and has a bike park adjacent to the beer garden. Bikes left at owners’ risk.

HOW TO FIND US The Western Pub 70 Western Road Leicester LE3 0GA

Our supporters: Westcotes Community First

O2 Think Bigger

SEPT

NO

VThurs 11 England Expects 7.30pm - Sat 13

Tues 16 Upstairs & Intimate with George Chuter 8pm

Weds 17 Find the Right Words 8pm

Sun 21 Writing for Performance 2 - 5pm Workshop 1 (at West End Neighbourhood Centre)

Sat 1 Meet the Real Maggie Thatcher 7.30pm

Sat 8 UK Young Artists Festival tbc - Sun 9

Sat 15 Blanchard’s Balloon 2pm & 7.30pm

Weds 19 Find the Right Words 8pm

DATE PERFORMANCE TIMEO

CT

Thurs 2 Forget Me Not - 8pm The Alzheimer’s Whodunit

Fri 3 WORD! presents Maria and The Mullet 7pm

Sat 4 Writing for Performance 2 - 5pm Workshop 2

Sun 5 Celebration of Spoken 7.30pm Word Open Mic Night

Tues 7 Clamber Up the Crucifix 7.30pm - Thurs 9

Sun 12 Bane 7.30pm

Weds 15 Find the Right Words 8pm

Fri 17 Amsterdam 7.30pm

Thurs 23 Bag Lady 7.30pm & Fri 24

Sat 25 INSIDE 7.30pm

Fri 31 Dan Nicholas’ Conversation Garden 8pm