Cambridge Arts Theatre unveils a feast of many flavours for its autumn season
Cambridge Arts Theatre has announced its upcoming programme of events, which span genres, art forms and shows for people of all ages.
This year’s pantomime will be Dick Whittington and his Cat (December 1, 2022-Sunday, January 8, 2023). An adventure paved with gold and starring Cambridge’s number one dame Matt Crosby as Sarah the Cook and the Pantomime Awards-winner Rolan Bell as King Rat, the magical rags-to-riches tale will feature side-splitting jokes, sing-along songs and traditional panto mayhem for the whole family to enjoy.
The West End comes to Cambridge with a host of musicals, including the five-star comedy sensation that is Pride & Prejudice* (*sort of) (November 14-19), a unique retelling of Jane Austen’s most iconic love story jam-packed with pop classics.
From Tudor queens to pop princesses, the six wives of Henry VIII take to the mic to tell their tales as the international smash-hit musical Six (February 14-25) makes its royal return to Cambridge. Meanwhile Fisherman’s Friends: The Musical, based on the remarkable true story of the chart-topping Cornish singing sensation, is a feel-good voyage about friendship, community and music which smashed box office records in Cornwall.
The award-winning amateur dramatics group Cambridge Operatic Society paints the stage pink with the fabulously fun musical Legally Blonde (May 10-13) and younger theatre-goers can enjoy two brilliantly fun page-to-stage adaptations this autumn: Eric Carle’s iconic children’s story The Very Hungry Caterpillar (November 8-9) and David Walliams’ hilarious children’s tale Demon Dentist (May 31-June 4).
Ready to have you on the edge of your seat are three spine-chilling thrillers featuring a host of famous faces. Maxwell Caulfield, Juliet Mills and Michael Praed star in Michael Punter’s gothic Victorian horror, Darker Shores (on now until Saturday, November 5).
Susie Blake, Joe McFadden and Sophie Ward star in Agatha Christie’s gripping mystery-thriller The Mirror Crack’d (January 31-February 4) and Giovanna Fletcher, Clive Mantle and George Rainsford star in the latest instalment of best-selling author Peter James’ Detective Superintendent Roy Grace series, Wish You Were Dead (March 6-11).
For a feel-good theatre trip brimming with laughter – and tennis! – look out for Crimes on Centre Court (November 6) and The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (November 22-26), based on The Sunday Times best-selling book and star-studded film. The play is a joyous comedy about taking risks, finding love and embracing second chances, starring Hayley Mills, Paul Nicholas and Rula Lenksa.
Also to come, Miles Jupp and Justin Edwards star in the very funny stage adaptation of the classic 1951 Ealing comedy The Lavender Hill Mob (January 16-21) and Liza Goddard, Steven Pacey and Antony Eden star in Alan Ayckbourn’s beautifully crafted, uproariously funny and charmingly English comedy Relatively Speaking (February 7-11).
Distinguished dramas of the autumn 2022 season include University of Cambridge’s drama troupe The Marlowe Society, returning with Shakespeare’s greatest comedy, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (January 25-29), while My Family and Death in Paradise star Kris Marshall tackles cancel culture, gender politics, online abuse and power struggles in Ryan Craig’s new play Charlotte and Theodore (March 27-April 1).
Real-life mother and daughter Caroline and Rose Quentin star in one of George Bernard Shaw’s wittiest and most provocative plays, Mrs Warren’s Profession (April 4-8), and last, but by no means least, is a variety of renowned music and one-night events.
The Grammy Award-winning jazz singer and songwriter Kurt Elling (November 12) makes his Arts Theatre debut with an unmissable night of music, top jazz vocalist and radio broadcaster Clare Teal (November 20) returns with an uplifting event, and Cambridge-based saxophonist Dan Forshaw transports you to the jazz clubs of post-war Paris in Our Music in Paris (February 5).
Scottish wildlife filmmaker and presenter Gordon Buchanan (April 2) tells his remarkable story, looking back at his incredible 30-year career working both behind and in front of the camera, and if all that wasn’t enough, English Touring Opera (April 13-15) returns to Cambridge with three stunning operas: Giulio Cesare by Handel, Il Viaggio a Reims by Rossini, and Lucrezia Borgia by Donizetti.
[Read more: Cambridge Arts Theatre stages moving production of 84 Charing Cross Road]
For more information on any of these productions, or to book tickets, visit cambridgeartstheatre.com.
