Stafford's longest running comedy club returns to The MET Studio! Bringing FIVE exciting comedians for just £12!
This year they are bringing their biggest headline act yet!
DANNY BUCKLER is an entertainer like no other. Beginning his career as a magician, Danny fronted his own magic show for Channel 4 'Danny Does Tricks' before becoming the host of BBC1's prime-time Saturday night show 'The Secrets Of Magic'.
A decade ago Danny broke out as a stand-up comedian, touring the UK with Jon Richardson, opening for legends like Bob Monkhouse and Ricky Gervais and going on to star in BBC3's Live At The Electric, and has been hailed as "A Hancockian treasure!” by Russell Brand
Opening the show will be FREDDY QUINNE, regarded as one of the best new comics in the country, Freddy is in-demand by many of the top comedy clubs on the circuit.
Other acts on the bill include the hilarious KATE McCABE and HANNAH SILVESTER. The show will hosted by JUICE Comedy's resident MC Mr. PAUL SAVAGE.
We spoke to JUICE Comedy promoter Rob Halden about the upcoming show and the history of JUICE:
"JUICE Comedy began ten years ago in the back room of a Stafford pub. We've spent a decade plugging away at bringing grass-roots comedy to the County Town, in a variety of strange and unusual places (coffee shops, Indian restaurants, muddy tents). So it's with immense pleasure that we're now able to bring top, professional shows to The MET Studio"
"We're told time and time again from the comedians we book, that The MET Studio is one of the best rooms for stand-up comedy, anywhere in the country. It's a space that comedians just LOVE to perform in.
We like to stand-out from other comedy nights by delivering five comedians and putting on an entire evening of entertainment. As well as having top professional comedians Opening and Headlining the show, we cherry-pick two up-and-coming acts from our grass-roots comedy club"
We have four tickets to give away, so if you fancy a top night of comedy with your mates then enter our easy competition.
All you have to do is email the answer to the following question to ehogan@staffordbc.gov.uk by 5m on Wednesday 3rd June. The winner will be notified by email.
Q. Who is headlining JUICE Comedy on Saturday 6th June?
A. Danny Buckler
B. Danny Dyer
C. Dannii Minogue
Good luck!
You can find out more about JUICE Comedy and book your tickets here.
We've got a fantastic line-up for Comedy In The MET on Saturday! It's not too late to join us, tickets are just £10 and the show kicks off at 8pm.
Rob Rouse
Rob Rouse got his first break in comedy by winning the So You Think You're Funny? new act competition in 1998. As well as stand-up, he also performed as part of the Big And Daft trio with Ian Boldsworth and Jon Williams from 1997 to 2002, taking three shows to the Edinburgh Fringe. In 2002 he took his first solo show to the Fringe, and returned the following year.
His TV credits include presenting the first series of The Friday Night Project on Channel 4, the C4 sketch show Spoons, and playing Mike in the first series of he BBC3 sitcom Grown Ups.
Brian Higgins
Brian is one of the most experienced headline acts on the comedy circuit. He started learning his craft in 1993. Four years later he went professional and hasn’t looked back since. Slowly and steadily he worked his way through the ranks of comedy clubs and has been regular headliner at all the top clubs for the last twelve years. Not only in the UK but also as far afield as Hong Kong, the Middle East, South Africa, Caribbean and Perth Australia.
He has worked cruise ships, theatres, universities and festivals and he rarely fails to deliver the goods. That might be the reason why he’s one of the busiest comics on the circuit.
Liam Williams
Liam is a Former Cambridge Footlights member who was nominated for best show at the 2014 Fosters Edinburgh Comedy Awards – a year after he was nominated best newcomer. He came on to the stand-up scene in 2010 when he was a runner-up in the So You Think You're Funny? new act competition.
Tickets are still available for Saturday night and are just £10. You can book your tickets by clicking here or by calling our friendly box office team 01785 619080.
Please note this line-up is subject to change. Comedy In The MET is recommended for ages 16+ only.
We are thrilled to present the fantastically talented cast that will be taking to the stage at Stafford Castle this summer. The cast start rehearsals on Monday 1st June and we can't wait; we think they are going to make our 25th anniversary show very special indeed.
Without further ado, here's the full cast...
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| Sherry Baines |
Sherry Baines - Beatrice
Sherry has an extensive theatre career including I am a Camera (Southwark Playhouse), Round the Horne…Revisited, Angela Carter’s Cinderella with Improbable Theatre at the Lyric, Hammersmith, Beauty and the Beast at the Young Vic and Euripedes’ Orestian trilogy Agamemnon’s Children at the Gate. Sherry worked for 18 months with Alan Ayckbourn’s company at Scarborough and on tour, appearing in the 25th anniversary production of Bedroom Farce and Callisto 7, both directed by Ayckbourn.
Her TV credits include The Royals, Call the Midwife, Waterloo Road, Doctors, Casualty, EastEnders, A Touch of Frost, William and Mary, As Time Goes By and the voice of Cherie Blair in the award-winning satirical series, Double Take.
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| Philip Bretherton |
Philip Bretherton - Benedick
Most recently, Philip has been playing Tony Benn in a one man play by Andy Barrett Tony's Last Tape, directed by Giles Croft. Other recent theatre work includes Somewhere In England, God of Carnage and As You Like It at Theatr Clwyd, Educating Rita at the Lowry theatre Manchester, Hayfever at West Yorkshire Playhouse and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? at the Royal Exchange Manchester.
His television work includes Young Dracula, The Syndicate and Strikeback. He also played the German team manager in the first two series of Footballers' Wives, spent six months in Casualty, was one of Sally's flings for seven months in Coronation Street and played Alistair for ten series of As Time Goes By with Judi Dench and Geoffrey Palmer.
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| Dan De Cruz |
Dan de Cruz - Borachio
Since performing to critical acclaim as Tybalt in the 2012 Stafford Festival Shakespeare production of Romeo and Juliet, Dan has been in numerous productions, including; Beast/Prince Promising in Beauty and the Beast at the New Wolsey Theatre, Mortello in The Man Who Stole The Circus at the Iris Theatre, Vincent in Lemon the Musical at the Arts Theatre, and DS Troughton in Run For Your Wife at Queen’s Theatre, Hornchurch. Dan recently worked on Jackie The Musical (Gardyne Theatre) as Assistant MD to Ben Goddard.
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| Jake Ferretti |
Jake Ferretti – Don Pedro
Jake trained at Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts. His theatre credits include Julian in Polly at Theatre 503, Grainer in Fijiland at Oxford Playhouse/Southwark Theatre/Three Streets, Ensemble in Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time at the Apollo Theatre / National Theatre. His Film credits include The Other Boleyn Girl and television credits include Sense and Sensibility for BBC.
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| James Haggie |
James Haggie – Balthasar / Watch / Friar
James has performed with Stafford Festival Shakespeare in Romeo and Juliet 2012 (Balthasar), A Midsummer Night’s Dream 2013 (Flute) and in As You Like It 2014 (Le Beau / Silvius)
His theatre credits include: Simon Zealots in the international tour of Jesus Christ Superstar, Seymour in Little Shop of Horrors at the New Wolsey Theatre and the Birmingham Rep, Titch in Mods and Rox at the New Wolsey Theatre, Joe Vegas in the national tour of Fame, two national tours of The Roy Orbison Story playing Bobby Vee, Paul McCartney and Bruce Springsteen, Emmo in Our House National Tour and Vernon Hopkins in The Tom Jones Story.
He can also be seen as a Russian Gulag Prisoner in the Disney movie Muppets Most Wanted.
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| Phylip Harries |
Phylip Harries – Dogberry
Phylip was last in Stafford performing in A Midsummer Night’s Dream 2013 as Quince / Peaseblossom. His theatre credits include The Eye of the Storm, Jack and the Beanstalk, Somewhere in England, Midsummer Songs, Tom the Musical, Rape of The Fair Country, Blavatsky's Tower, Aesop’s Fables, The Merry Wives of Windsor, The Secret of Belonging, A Tale of Two Dogs, Cyrano De Bergerac, Contender, A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum, The Merchant Of Venice, The Winter’s Tale and Under Milk Wood.
Phylip’s television credits include a tribute to Tommy Cooper, The Kennedys, Hinterland, Noson Lawen, Torchwood: Children of Earth, The Story of Tracy Beaker and Axon. His voice credits include the animations Ben 10 and Otherworld.
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| Genevieve Helson |
Genevieve Helson - Ursula
Genevieve trained at Rose Bruford graduating with a BA Actor Musicianship, First Class.
She composed, arranged and played the music for Twelfth Night, arranged the music for Lady In The Dark and was a Musician in The Seagull all whilst training. Genevieve was also a dancer in McBusted’s Air Guitar Video.
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| Catherine Lamb |
Catherine Lamb - Hero
Catherine may be recognised from her recent appearance in the television show Cucumber for Channel 4. Her other television credits include Frankenstein & The Vampyre – A Dark and Stormy Night for Oxford Scientific for BBC 2.
Her theatre credits include Somewhere in England at Theatr Clywd, The Flame Haired Dynamo at Hull Truck Theatre and Machinal at the Edinburgh Festival 2012.
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| Tom Palmer |
Tom Palmer - Claudio
Tom trained at The National Youth Theatre. He began work in the sketch duo Totally Tom (nominated for the Foster’s Comedy Award in 2011). He has written and performed in various comedy pilots including E4’s Comedy Lab and High Renaissance Man. His television includes Hutchinson in Dr. Who, Adam in Siblings, Dan in Bamboo, Tom in Live At The Electric, Crispin in Common Ground. Other credits include Cardinal Burns and Uncle. His stage credits includes Waiting for Godot at The Arcola, Romeo and Juliet for the Thelma Hoult Japan Tour, Totally Tom at Soho Theatre, Wreckers at The Underbelly and most recently, Posh at Nottingham and Salisbury Playhouse.
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| Kate Robson Stuart |
Kate Robson Stuart – Margaret
Kate completed an MA Hons in English Lit and Music at Glasgow University before going on to drama training at Guildford School of Acting, graduating in 2006.
Her theatre Credits include: Mrs Fezziwig/Mrs Cratchitt/Beth in A Christmas Carol at Derby Theatre, Mrs Roach/Princess Elizabeth in Betty Blue Eyes at the Mercury, Colchester/West Yorkshire Playhouse/UK Tour, LV in Little Voice at Queens Theatre, Hornchurch, Singer/Actress and Musician in Craig Revel Horwood's Strictly Confidential UK Tour, and the title role in Cinderella (King’s Theatre, Glasgow);
Kate has worked with a variety of music artists in the UK as both a vocalist and violinist.
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| Charlie Tighe |
Charlie Tighe - Conrade
Charlie has just finished a year's run in the Disney/SFP co-production of Shakespeare in Love as a part of the original cast performing the roles of Nol, Musician, as well as the shows Counter Tenor. This July he appears in the BBC One drama A Song for Jenny. Charlie was a member of the NYMT and the NYT before going on to train at the Royal Academy of Music. As a singer Charlie has performed as a backing singer with Elton John at the Royal Opera House, and on Britain's Got Talent and The X Factor. He has sung in venues all over the world including the Royal Albert Hall and has performed for Classic FM and BBC Radio 3. Film and TV credits include The Slammer, series 1 & 2 for BBC TV.
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| Jon Trenchard |
Jon Trenchard – Don John / Verges
Jon trained at the London Academy of Performing Arts and was part of the cast of the 2010 Stafford Festival Shakespeare production The Merry Wives of Windsor. His theatre includes The Caucasian Chalk Circle for Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh, Fiddler On The Roof National Tour, She Stoops To Conquer, A Government Inspector for Northern Broadsides, A Midsummer Night's Dream for Bristol Old Vic, Handspring Puppet Company, Swallows and Amazons for West End and National Tour, Great Expectations for the New Vic Theatre and Leonardo's Last Supper for Regent's Park Open Air Theatre.
His Film credits include The Da Vinci Code and television credits include My Family.
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| David Westbrook |
David Westbrook – Antonio / Sexton
David studied piano for a year at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama followed by a degree in English and Drama at Sheffield University. He was a core member of Sheffield’s Compass Theatre Company for many years, performing in (among many others) The Dumb Waiter, Waiting for Godot, A Christmas Carol, The Caretaker, The Wind in the Willows, The Merchant of Venice, Measure for Measure, King Lear, Hamlet and The Tempest.
His TV credits include: DCI Banks, Prisoner’s Wives, Waterloo Road, Stepping Up, Coronation Street, Emmerdale, Heartbeat, Cold Feet, Extreme Rescue and Nature Boy.
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| Edward York |
Edward York - Leonato / Watch
Edward has worked at theatres all over the country and also with some of the leading touring companies, including Hull Truck, Paines Plough and Communicado. His one man show comprises Alan Bennett's "A Chip in the Sugar" and Samuel Beckett's "Krapp's Last Tape". In 2002 he played Tevye in an award-winning, actor/musician production of "Fiddler on the Roof" at the Watermill Theatre in Newbury.
Eddy is delighted to be back in Staffordshire, his old stomping ground. He lived in Tunstall, in Stoke on Trent, for 15 years and appeared in nearly 40 productions at the New Victoria Theatre in the '90's.
They will be lead by Director Pete Rowe and Musical Director Greg Palmer, who both have many wonderful ideas in place already for the show.
Tickets for Much Ado About Nothing are proving popular and you can book yours by clicking here or by calling our friendly team on 01785 619080. The show opens on Thursday 25th June and runs until Saturday 11th July at Stafford Castle.
Summer School auditions are this Sunday! Here's a few helpful bits of information for those auditioning for a part in The Wizard of Oz:
*Your photo just has to be passport sized. It can be taken on a phone and printed off in somewhere like Boots - it doesn't have to be an official passport photo as long as it is passport sized and good quality. This is a much cheaper option!
*We will need measurement forms filling in before the audition. There are some printed off to collect from our box office, or you can write down the following information with your full name and age and hand it in on audition day:
-Height
-Chest
-Waist
-Hip
-Collar
-Head circumference
-Shoe size
-Side waist to ankle
All measurements are to be given in centimetres please (except for shoe size!)
*Don't forget to fill in your completed audition form which can be downloaded here
*Make sure to wear comfortable clothes and sensible shoes and bring a drink.
*Don't forget to check your dates - Summer School is from Monday 20th July until Saturday 8th August and all participants must be available for all rehearsals and performances.
*Finally, enjoy it! Audition day is great fun and you will get to participate in lots of workshops throughout the day.
If you have any other questions before the audition day please get in touch with us on 01785 619080 or by emailing gatehouse@staffordbc.gov.uk
If you're 7-21 years old and love performing then don't miss out your chance to be in our Summer School musical as auditions for the Wizard of Oz are just a few weeks away.
The iconic musical features favourite songs including; Over The Rainbow, Munchkinland (Ding Dong! The Witch Is Dead), If I Only Had A Brain, If I Only Had A Heart, If I Only Had The Nerve, We're Off To See The Wizard (Follow The Yellow Brick Road) and many more that the whole family will be singing along to.
The open auditions are the only way to gain a place in the show. Places are available for youngsters aged between 7 and 21 who live in or attend a school in Staffordshire. Previous years have seen up to 150 children battle it out for one of the lucky spaces in recent productions which have included Doctor Dolittle, Whistle Down the Wind and Peter Pan.
Auditions are on Sunday 17th May at Stafford Gatehouse Theatre. The first session is at 9.30am for 7-12 year olds, followed by a session at 2pm for 13 – 21 year olds.
Summer School will start on Monday 20th July, with the production opening on Wednesday 5th August and running until Saturday 8th August. All candidates must be available for the entirety of Summer School.
Further information can be obtained by calling Stafford Gatehouse Theatre on 01785 619080 or by visiting www.staffordgatehousetheatre.co.uk
We have an exciting opportunity for 14-16 year olds to participate in theatrical workshops lead by a professional West End actress as taster sessions for Stafford Gatehouse Youth Theatre (SGYT)
There will be a total of four workshops on Monday evenings from 5.30pm - 7.30pm throughout June for new members to try SGYT ahead of the new Autumn term.
Each two hour workshop will feature songs, scenes and dance routines from four different West End musicals:
June 1st: Wicked
June 8th: We Will Rock You
June 15th: Legally Blonde
June 22nd: Sweeney Todd
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| Katie Kerr |
The workshops will be lead by Katie Kerr, whose professional debut was as Chiffon in the award winning production of "Little Shop Of Horrors" at the Menier Chocolate Factory alongside Sheridan Smith, later transferring to the West End.
She then went on to star in "Fat Pig", as Helen, directed by Neil La Bute also in the West End and has subsequently gone on to perform in several other plays and musicals such as Bridget Baines in "A Chorus of Disapproval" (UK Tour), Lynne and Sylvia in "Stepping Out" (UK Tour),Big Sue in Boy George's TABOO (Brixton Clubhouse) and, "Wicked" (UK Tour) where she played Shen Shen and understudied Madame Morrible.
Katie most recently has been seen performing alongside Emma Thompson and Bryn Terfel in the English National Opera's production of Sweeney Todd at London's Coliseum.
She also appeared in BBC 1 drama "What Remains".
Each session is £6 and pre-booking is essential as places are limited. Places can be pre-booked at the box office, from Tuesday 5th May. You can book by popping in to the box office or by calling 01785 619080.
A membership form will also be given. Any members who do not return the membership form will not be able to join. Places must be booked by Friday 30th May.
Any further information can be obtained by calling the administration team on 01785 619080.
Other acts on the bill include the hilarious KATE McCABE and HANNAH SILVESTER. The show will hosted by JUICE Comedy's resident MC Mr. PAUL SAVAGE.
