<img src='' title='Event Category: Drama' alt='' id='templ_icon_' width='' height='' /> Event Category: Drama

Puzzles welcomes you back to Hatchetfield!

A normal town with high schools, coffee shops, abandoned houses and… ghosts?! When Peter Spankoffski gets beaten up for talking to the mayor’s daughter, this small group of nerds must be brave and stand up to their bully.

When the plan goes astray, this group of unlikely friends finds out that the past really can come back to haunt them!

Will Pete, Steph, Richie, Ruth and Grace be able to escape from the death grip of Max Jagerman or will they meet their tragic demise.

With original music by Jeff Blim, and book by Nick and Matt Lang, join Puzzles Productions for one more trip to Hatchetfield for this horror comedy musical!

Featuring new and returning cast to bring you this captivating story!

AN AWARD-WINNING ROMANTIC PHYSICAL COMEDY FROM SKEDADDLE THEATRE & SHODDY THEATRE IN ASSOCIATION WITH YORK THEATRE ROYAL

Inspired by the timeless genius of Mr Bean, Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton, A Brief Case of Crazy is a heart-warming and hilarious physical comedy told through slick choreography, mime, clowning and puppetry.

Meet Thomas, an awkward, introverted office worker with a quiet crush on his equally shy colleague, Daisy.

His quest for love must contend with a boisterous boss named Simon and a rather bothersome briefcase that drags an awkward introvert into extraordinary events.

Will his quest for love fail? Or will he discover, it’s what’s on the inside that counts?

A Brief Case of Crazy is a silent love story with a very loud heart.

Running Time: 1 hour, no interval

Trailer :https://youtu.be/p4yWlkf0T6Q

QUOTES

“Excellent…A Brief Case of Crazy is an impeccably timed rom-com delight.” – Everything Theatre

“Definitely a company to watch…this is pure theatre” – Broadway World

“Completely electric…like witnessing an evolution of silent film humour into the 21st century, full of sharp timing, goofy charm and unexpected depth” – The Young(ish) Perspective

“Incredible skill in physical theatre and story-telling…an expertly performed piece of theatre” – The Theatre Reviewer

Don’t miss this fantastic STAFFORD PLAYERS production.

Among the bustle of Drury Lane, a spirited orange-seller catches the eye of actor Charles Hart – and soon the entire King’s Company.

Armed with nothing but her wit, warmth and fierce determination, Nell climbs from the pit to the stage, becoming one of the first – and most celebrated – female performers in Restoration England.

Her natural comic talent wins over audiences, but it’s her bold, irrepressible charm that captures the attention of King Charles II himself.

GROUP BOOKING OFFER: Buy nine tickets and the tenth person goes free.

The King Stone

A haunted love story

By Charlotte East | Directed by Hannah Stone

“I reckon you’re Jupiter and I’m Saturn, and every now again you over take my orbit and we have this amazing conjunction”

The misty hills of the Derbyshire moors. Nine stones stand in a circle. A tenth looms higher up the hill – The King Stone.

Bonded in their search for a mysterious figure said to wander the Peaks, Kristen and Phil meet nearly every Sunday at The Nine Ladies stone circle. Throughout Scouts and school and the growing pains of adulthood, the mismatched pair are forever in each other’s orbit. But as secrets are revealed their bond begins to fray and the figure they’ve been searching for waits within the shadows. Growing up in a town where ‘Man-Up’ is deemed a term of endearment, can this star-crossed pair remain connected and break free of others’ expectations?

“Beautifully real and human- you can see both what pulled them together and pushed them apart” (Audience member)

After the performance Monday 23rd Feb, audiences are invited to stay for a Q&A with members of the creative team and local mental health practitioners, exploring the themes of the show and the work happening in the community to support mental wellbeing.

The King Stone was developed with the support of the National Theatre’s Generate programme and Nottingham Playhouse, Mansfield Palace and Curve Leicester.

Age recommendation: 14+
Running time: 1 hour, 20 minutes (no interval)
Show warnings: some strong language, flashing lights, haze, themes of grief, reference to death by suicide, reference to sexual assault

Hauntings – performed by Gerard Logan Directed by GARETH ARMSTRONG – Music by SIMON SLATER Hauntings is an evening of three tales of the supernatural from two of the world’s greatest writers of ghost stories, E.F. Benson and M.R. James.

Age recommendation 11+

BACK BY HUGE DEMAND

England, 1953.

Renowned American parapsychologist Doctor Roy Earle, famous for discrediting hauntings and exposing fake mediums, is invited to attend a seance in England’s most haunted building, Blaine Manor.

But his arrival at the manor has awoken something horrific. As a raging storm closes off Blaine Manor from the outside world, Earle and the others find that what is waiting there is not nearly as horrific as what has entered with him…

‘A horror masterclass from one of our best and busiest writers.’ The Salford Star

‘O’Byrne has a knack for the classic ghost story.’  The Manchester Theatre Awards

Written & Directed by Joe O’Byrne

Age restriction: 10+ with parent/guardian

It’s another great Stafford Players production.

In this lively, contemporary dark comedy, Judy and her estate agent husband Johnny indulge their love of all things 50s, from clothes to jiving, by fully embracing a nostalgic 50s lifestyle and all the expense that entails.

Judy is a stay-at-home housewife who decants her internet grocery shopping into 50s containers at her formica table. She does not let the dust settle on her carefully sourced 50s furnishings and has learned to cook the lightest of chocolate chiffon cakes.

There are no children, so what exactly does Judy do all day wonders her feminist mother, Sylvia?

The couple’s passion for the 50s is shared by their friends, Fran and Marcus – up to a point. Johnny’s boss, Alex, is not convinced.

What does Johnny really think, and is Judy really as happy as she would have everyone believe?”

BREAKING: Claire Louise Amias wins the Hamilton Deane Award for her performance in ‘Haunted Shadows: The Gothic Tales of Edith Nesbit’.

An expert at chilling the spine and curdling the blood, Edith Nesbit relates three of her best Gothic tales while recalling her own childhood terrors.

In The Shadow, a repressed housekeeper encounters an abominable entity, while in The Pavilion the shadow of a long-dead necromancer envelops a social gathering. Finally, a deranged young woman harbours a deadly secret in a rediscovered story called A Strange Experience.

Following the success of The Masks of Aphra Behn, Claire Louise Amias returns to Stafford Gatehouse in this gripping insight into the darker side of Edith Nesbit, author of The Railway Children. Renowned horror expert Jonathan Rigby directs this chilling one-woman show.

Age guidance 12+

Mark Gatiss: “E. Nesbit was far more than just the creator of The Railway Children. In this beguiling one-woman show, Claire Louise Amias takes us into the dark heart of the legendary writer’s ghost stories – unexpected, wonderfully weird and with a very particular Edwardian atmosphere.”

★★★★ West End Best Friend

‘A dazzling display of versatility … a must-see.’

★★★★ Reviews Hub
‘Frightening … Amias plays Nesbit brilliantly.’

★★★★ London Theatre 1
‘Deliciously creepy … Highly recommended.’