JOIN Ilkley Playhouse to welcome Grace and her host of Entertaining Angels in January.

Grace – a role originally played by Penelope Keith – is a clergyman’s wife who has spent her life on her very best behaviour. Following the death of her husband, she is relishing her new-found freedom and questioning her life that went before. As she puts it herself: “I’ve poured two hundred thousand cups of tea, made four thousand six hundred medium-sized quiches, and personally baked two tons of light crust pastry. And for what?”

Revelations and reflections ensue, following the return of her sister, a missionary, and the arrival a new vicar in the village. Entertaining Angels is a sharp comedy of love and compassion, full of well-observed humour layered with a depth of feeling and insight. The story is touching, with life’s vicissitudes superbly expressed by the wonderful cast, who explore this story of human relationships with sensitivity and much humour. It’s an uplifting antidote to the darkest time of year.

For one night only, as part of the Fringe season Ilkley Playhouse is thrilled to bring you a rehearsed reading of John Osbourne’s groundbreaking Look Back in Anger. (A rehearsed reading is rather like a live performance of a radio play. The set will be dressed to represent the flat where the action takes place and there will be other visual prompts, but the words themselves are centre stage.)

Look Back in Anger was chosen by the Fringe Committee as a seminal play with resonating themes, yet it’s little-seen in recent years. As director Patrick Hebbert puts it: “As politics becomes more polarised, examining someone like Jimmy Porter – whose grievances with the world mirror many of the frustrations people have today – gives a really interesting look back at what has or hasn’t changed over 60 years. There are also some fantastically emotional moments which make it a really absorbing play.”

Patrick’s passion for the fringe season is infectious. “The Playhouse fringe gives us the opportunity to put on shows outside the normal season which we otherwise may not get to see on the main stage. It’s a great way of putting on either new plays or old classics in a more stripped down way. A rehearsed reading gives us the chance to focus more on the text and the characters. Look Back in Anger has some wonderful speeches and dialogue and as it’s all set in Jimmy and Alison’s flat it gives us the chance to get as much as we can out of them.

“There are also some wonderfully descriptive stage directions, which lend depth to what’s happening on stage and with the characters. The rehearsed reading gives the audience the chance to hear these directions and get something different out of the play which they may not have got from a normal performance.”

Look Back In Anger is on in The Wildman Theatre at Ilkley Playhouse on January 14. Tickets are just £5. It’s a perfect way to experience a classic play in a new way.

Finally, all of us at the Ilkley Playhouse would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas!

Do your loved ones love theatre? Why not get them an Ilkley Playhouse voucher that can be put towards any production in the current season? Call our Box Office and spread the magic of theatre this Christmas.

Entertaining Angels runs from January 18 to 28, 2017. Look Back in Anger is on January 14nuary 2017.

For all our performances, you can book tickets online at www.ilkleyplayhouse.co.uk, or phone the Box Office on 01943 609539.

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