The Mission
The Hothouse
It’s Christmas Day and the director of a psychiatric institution, Roote, is left reeling in the wake of an unexpected birth and a mysterious death among his patients - who are all known only by numbers and so are all too easily confused.
His staff include the scheming Gibbs, the alcoholic Lush, and his mistress Miss Cutts who also happens to be having an affair with Gibbs.
And then there’s the new recruit, Lamb, in charge of checking that the inmates are locked up. Why did his predecessor leave in mysterious circumstances?
And what’s happened to his suggestion about a “progressive approach” to dealing with patients?
Who, if anyone, knows what’s really happening in The Hothouse?
Next Stage Theatre Company presents this Harold Pinter play.
Mon 29th November to Sat 4th December, 7.30pm. Tickets £14.50 (12.50 concs). First 25 student/job seeker tickets £5. Next Stage Box Office 01225428600, online www. missiontheatre.co.uk/tickets. Email nextstagebath@aol.com.
Kate Bush Stripped!
Kate Bush Stripped offers a rare opportunity to see and hear the music of Kate Bush performed accurately and affectionately with plenty of love and emotion, capturing the atmosphere of Kate’s songs perfectly.
This performance features two members from the Kate Bush tribute band Moments Of Pleasure: The Music Of Kate Bush. Hear the passionate and stunningly authentic vocals of Lisa-marie Walters together with ‘stripped back’ piano arrangements by Mark Feven.
The performance will contain many singles together with popular tracks from albums such as The Kick Inside, Lionheart, Never For Ever, The Dreaming, Hounds Of Love and The Sensual World.
Thursday 4th November at 7.30pm. Tickets £15 (no concs). Online www. bathboxoffice.org.uk. Bath Box Office 01225 463362.
Abigail’s Party
Platform 8 Productions invites you to spend an evening at Beverly and Laurence’s for a drinks party.
They have invited their new neighbours, Angela and Tony, and also Sue, another neighbour whose daughter Abigail is hosting a party at their house. The evening starts off in an uncomfortable way as the neighbours tentatively gather.
Abigail’s Party is a situation comedy of manners, and is a satire on the aspirations and tastes of the new middle class that emerged in Britain in the 1970s.
The play was originally improvised by the cast with author Mike Leigh’s then wife, Alison Steadman (Pam in Gavin and Stacey) playing
Beverly and establishing it as a classic comedy role.
Platform 8 is a Bath-based theatre company and is delighted to return to The Mission Theatre.
We promise you a night of shameless 70s nostalgia combined with acutely observed character-based comedy.
Warning – this show does contain pineapple and cheese on sticks!
Wednesday 10th–saturday 13th November, 7.30pm. Tickets £13 (no concs). www.ticketsource.co.uk/ platform-8. Bath Box Office 01225 463362. www.bathboxoffice.org.uk.
The Sorcerer
The award-winning company that staged sell-out performances of its festive-themed Iolanthe back in 2019, Bath Gilbert and Sullivan Society returns to The Mission with a brand new production of the famous Gilbert and Sullivan’s first full-length comic opera, The Sorcerer.
In the village of Ploverleigh, a privileged but progressive young couple conduct a rash experiment.
To help their frustrated and lessprivileged neighbours to overcome class barriers and find their soulmates, Alexis and Aline hire a cutrate London sorcerer, John Wellington Wells, to concoct a love potion and distribute it amongst the villagers at a tea party. With comically mismatched couples, the hilarious and not so hilarious consequences become apparent. To reverse the potion, someone has to sacrifice themselves, but who should that be?
First staged in 1877, The Sorcerer has all the topsy-turvy ingredients and a wonderfully tuneful score to make this an undoubted late-autumn treat for all the family!
Tuesday 16th–saturday 20th November, 7.30pm. Matinee Saturday 20th, 2pm. Tickets £14 (children 16 and under £7). Bath Box Office 01225 463362. Online at www.bathboxoffice. org.uk.