Clear decks for the Blue Aces (From Wharfedale Observer)

Ilkley Playhouse

4:23pm Thursday 17th May 2012 in Leisure

Coming up next in the Wildman Studio is a touring production of Playhouse Creatures, by April de Angelis, presented by touring theatre company Blue Aces Theatre Ltd, telling the story of the first actresses to tread the boards following the closure by the Puritans of all playhouses.

Set in Restoration England, the play takes famous real-life figures including Nell Gywn, Elizabeth Farley and Doll Common, and gives a moving and comic account of their lives. The production comes to Ilkley for one night only on Saturday, May 26, at 7.30pm. Tickets, £8.50 and £4.50 (for students), can be booked through the playhouse box office or you can come along on the night and pay on the door.

This coming Sunday, there will be an afternoon screening of Made In Dagenham, in the Wharfeside Theatre at 2pm. The film stars Sally Hawkins and Bob Hoskins and is a dramatisation of events in 1968 when women working at the Ford car plant in Dagenham went on strike for equal pay. Supported by Barbara Castle MP, the strike was a landmark case in the introduction of equality laws in the workplace. The film is an engaging human story with a nice line in wry humour. The screening is one of the playhouse’s regular social events. All are welcome – tickets are £5 each and include tea and cakes. You can book tickets in advance or pay on the door.

Rehearsals are well underway for the next Wharfeside Theatre production – Tom Stoppard’s The Real Thing, which opens on Wednesday, May 30, for a 10-night run. For tickets for all these events, ring the box office on 01943 609539. www.ilkleyplayhouse.co.uk