Pretenders launch with classic comedy
A NEW theatre company has launched at the Newbridge Memo – and its first production will be A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
The Shakespeare epic is the debut work produced by Marvellous Pretenders, formed in 2016 and working in partnership with the newly refurbished theatre. The only producing theatre company in the area, they aim to produce classic plays linked to the English and Drama GCSE and A level syllabus, as well as works by local authors and a family Christmas show.
The position of Newbridge Memo means many school students will be able to access excellent drama on their doorstop. A Midsummer Night’s Dream is one of Shakespeare’s comedies and portrays the magical events surrounding the marriage of Theseus to Hippolyta. The play unfolds with the adventures of four young Athenian lovers and a group of six amateur actors (the mechanicals) who are controlled and manipulated by the fairies who inhabit the forest in which most of the play is set.
Marvellous Pretenders’ director Suzie Rees trained at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama in Cardiff and has been acting for 30 years. Suzie has played roles in plays as diverse as King Lear and The Adventures of a Bear called Paddington alongside appearing on television in dramas such as Casualty and in films.
She said: “I set up the Marvellous Pretenders to give schools and communities a locally based, professional theatre company and I’m delighted to have found Newbridge Memo as a partner for this venture. It is a privilege to be working with The Memo bringing quality theatre to the schools and people of Caerphilly County Borough and further afie ld.”
A Midsummer Night’s Dream will be at the Newbridge Memo from March 1 to 4; 7.30pm with a matinee performance on the Saturday at 12.30pm. Tickets are on sale from the box office and online at www.newbridgememo. co.uk priced £8 or £6 for concessions/ school groups. Groups are advised to contact the box office or email enquiries@newbridgememo.co.uk Call Newbridge Memo on 01495 243252.