Alison Whismore produces the fourth SHOTZ! London on 30th August at The Courtyard Theatre as part of the Camden Fringe Festival: a 55-minute show: 7.30pm & 9.00.
Originating in New York in 2008, and now in 5 cities, Shotz! is a theatrical pressure cooker that, every few months, gives six groups two weeks to write, two weeks to rehearse, two hours to tech, and one evening to perform all-new short plays.
The theme for August is SHOTZPOCALYPSE NOW.
Writers include Meryl Walker and Hannah Brecher.
Jazz with Teresa Jennings and Stefan O’Gooderson and a fab trio of musicians: The Northumberland Arms, 11 High Street, Brentford opposite Holiday Inn: Sunday 30th August at 18.00. Free entry - cheap bar.
Gregory Cox writes
“I have just become the voice of the global environmental organisation CDP (link below: click Play video).
I have also recorded the first three episodes of a drama series set in Victorian times called The Damned Banshees, available soon on Spotify.”
Alexander Gordon-Wood appears in the Cambridge Shakespeare Festival in St John’s College Gardens:
as Leonato in Much Ado About Nothing from Monday 13th July to Saturday 1st August;
then as Friar Laurence in Romeo and Juliet from Monday 3rd August until Saturday 29th August.
Frank Mariani writes:
“David Pinner played PC Buttress in all 7 episodes of Roy Clarke’s 1975 sitcom The Growing Pains of PC Penrose. Here’s one of them on YouTube.”
Kate Pinner adds:
“My goodness. That’s a real oldie. When they cast the series they forgot to ask did any of the actors drive. David certainly didn’t at that stage. It was bicycles or nothing.”
Ianthe Bathurst is one of six actors in the first ever Glyndebourne Festival Opera production of Tosca, where she appeared in ten performances in May and June, returning for a further ten performances in August.
Kenneth Michaels will be directing three plays for WHT in Germany in August-September: Macbeth, A Pinch of Salt (a version of the source tale of King Lear) and Light Fingers (a play for teenagers about the pressures to achieve at all costs). All the plays are destined for European touring until Spring 2027.
Joseph Creaser appears in all three plays, including the eponymous role of Macbeth.
Vaughan Evans writes:
“Stefan Chanyaem recently completed his 100th take as Christopher Wren in The Mousetrap at St Martin’s Theatre. Audience response has been terrific, with a recent reviewer giving the production five stars and Stefan’s performance ‘comedy gold’!
You may have seen the play once or twice over the last 74+ years, but this production, directed by Denise Silvey, is a cracker. Stefan will be on stage until early November – and he can arrange for well discounted tickets for AWLie friends. Just let me (Vaughan) know at the bar when next we meet on 7th September…!”
Mansel David writes:
“A new version of Arnold Ridley’s story as a monologue is now confirmed for World’s End Studios in Chelsea from 4th to 6th September. Performance includes a Q&A with myself, director Graham Pountney, and author Nicolas Ridley.”
Louise Bangay stars alongside Vaughan Evans in Brad Sutherland’s Hammersmith Bridge is Falling Down from Saturday 5th to Friday 11th September at the OSO Arts Centre in Barnes. Directed by Lucy Appleby.
There are limited tickets available for a play centred around the continuing disrepair of Hammersmith Bridge, a subject that has angered so many locals.
Based upon the relationship between Harold Wilson and the fiery Marcia Williams, the play is described as Master Builder meets Death of a Salesman.
Time Piece, four interlinked plays by Liam O’Grady, Wally Sewell, Richard Fitchett and Sally Sheringham, is playing at the Bread and Roses Theatre, Clapham, as part of the Lambeth Fringe, on Friday 25 and Saturday 26 September at 7.30 pm.
Starring AWLies Stephen Riddle, Joanna Strafford, Amanda Holt and Billy Kingston (plus a pocket watch that gets passed around in a never-ending Escher-like continuum), the show is directed by Anthony Shrubsall.
Brad Sutherland’s play The Girl in the Mask, first read at AWL in 2025, receives its premiere production at White Bear Theatre from 6th to 17th October 2026. Orsolya Nagy directs.
Prior to touring, David Hampshire’s ‘Gracie’ The Gracie Fields Story plays at the Water Rats Theatre, Grays Inn Road, London on Monday 26th October at 7pm. AWL members who would like to take advantage of a ticket discount please ask Kenn Michaels for the code. Booking link below.
Other dates include The Core Theatre, Solihull (31st October), The Esher Theatre, Esher (8th November), Banbury Mill Arts Centre (12th November) and Buxton Pavilion (15th November).
The show features 15 songs from Dame Gracie’s career and details her extraordinary life from the age of 10 through to her death aged 81. Staging and Styling are by Crissy Mullen.
Mansel David gives the premiere performance of a new play, a 75-minute monologue about the life of actor & playwright Emlyn Williams: Emlyn - A Divided Life by Wayne Drew: The Fan Museum in Greenwich on Saturday 14th November at 7.30pm.
David Pinner’s play Newton’s Hooke, first read at AWL, will receive its premiere production at the White Bear Theatre from 1st to 12th December, directed by Anthony Shrubsall. The production will be dedicated to the memory of David, who died in December 2025.
Mansel David’s Solo Dramatic Reading of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol is now booking for a 2.30pm Matinee at Grove Theatre, Eastbourne on Sunday 20th December.
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