BaCStage have been in swan mode recently.  Our outward appearance, judging by this blog, has been one of calmness, serenity and, to put it bluntly, not doing very much.  Beneath the waterline though our little swan legs have been paddling busily, propelling us towards future productions.  The BaCStage elves (nothing if not seasonal – Ed) have been beavering away on our next two shows.

So what have the swans, elves and beavers come up with?

Our autumn show this year is entitled 7 Ages of Man.  This year, as you may know, is the 400-year anniversary of the death of some beardy brummie who made something of a name for himself through “writing”.  Many events have already taken place to mark this historic event and, not wanting to be left out, we decided to jump on the bandwagon.  We will be presenting an evening of scenes, sketches and poems themed around Shakespeare’s (for t’was he that did poppeth his clogs) 7 Ages of Man, namely “infant, schoolboy, lover, soldier, justice, pantaloon and old age”.  We will add an eighth age, “interval”, accompanied by a ninth age known in common parlance as “raffle”.  The show will include comedy, tragedy, pathos and – if it all goes wrong – farce.  No sonnets, though.  That’s a promise.

Having got ourselves a bandwagon, we will be taking it on tour.  We will be performing for two nights, the first in Colne Village Hall.  It’s been a while since we performed anything in Colne; too long, in fact, given that we are the Bluntisham and Colne Stage Group, and we’re looking forward to a long-overdue return.  For our second performance we are going to exotic and far-away places, specifically Pidley.  We’re already getting our passports and jabs up-to-date in preparation.

7 Ages of Man performance dates: Friday October 14th 2016 (Colne), Saturday October 15th 2016 (Pidley)

Next February we will be returning to our ancestral home and performing Beauty and the Beast at Bluntisham Village Hall.  We’ll be having an open audition in September for anyone who would like a part.  You – yes, you! – could have a starring role, whether you’re a beauty or a beast.  Oh yes you could!

Beauty and the Beast performance dates: Thursday 16th – Saturday 18th February 2017 (Bluntisham).  Auditions on September 17th & 18th at the Old Day School, Bluntisham.

More details on both of these shows will be published soon, so watch this space!

So… a world tour then?  A world tour?  Well… all the places we’re playing are in the world, therefore it’s a world tour.  A bit like the Superbowl winners being the “world” champions.  Strictly speaking we could have claimed it as a galactic tour, but that would have been silly.  As my mother used to say, “I’ve told you a million times, do not exaggerate!”