The headline sponsor has been announced for a traditional summer theatre season in Suffolk.
Theatre on the Coast, run by award-winning Matthew Townshend Productions, will be heading to Southwold from July 10 until August 31 to present four shows, each playing for a fortnight at Southwold Arts Centre.
It has now been revealed that holiday cottage letting agency, Suffolk Secrets, has agreed a three-year sponsorship deal.
Matthew said: “We are thrilled that Suffolk Secrets has come on board with Theatre on the Coast.
“It is an incredibly exciting project and we are looking forward to honouring the great tradition of entertainment on the coast.”
Sally Owen, brand marketing manager at Suffolk Secrets, added: “We are delighted to have agreed a three-year headline sponsorship deal with Theatre on the Coast.
“Summer repertory theatre is much-loved on the Suffolk coast and we are looking forward to the 2019 summer season.”
Southwold-based Adnams hotel and restaurants, The Crown and The Swan, have also come on board to support Theatre on the Coast.
The venues will be offering an express menu to coincide with matinee and evening performances.
Daniel Ayers, business development manager for managed properties at Adnams, said: “We are proud to support a local venture which has become a staple of the East Anglian arts scene.”
The season will start from July 10-20 with The End of the Line by Patrick Marlowe, who also directs – an East Anglian writer and actor who has appeared at the National Theatre and closer to home with Eastern Angles. He has written many plays for Frinton Summer Theatre, which is where ‘The End of The Line’ was first produced in 2011.
Next up from July 23-August 3 will be A Bunch of Amateurs by Ian Hislop and Nick Newman, directed by Matthew Townshend and Sarah Redmond. Ian Hislop (editor of Private Eye, star of BBC TV’s Have I got News for You) and cartoonist Nick Newman first wrote ‘A bunch of Amateurs’ as a film; released in 2008, it would be one of the last cinema releases to star Burt Reynolds.
The third show in the run from August 6-17 is The Woman Who Cooked Her Husband by Debbie Isitt, directed by Sarah Redmond. Debbie Isitt is now as well known for her hit comedy films Nativity and Confetti.
And, to end the season, one of the greatest classics of the British stage, Harold Brighouse’s immortal Lancashire comedy Hobson’s Choice will run from August 20-31. Starring John D Collins, best known from BBC TV’s smash hit Allo! Allo!, this new production has already earned four-star reviews across the board and will tour again following its Suffolk revival.
Alongside the season of plays, there will be a rock ‘n’ roll night featuring the Ben Goble trio with JS and the Lockerbillies on Sunday, August 25.
There will also be two full days of magic, shipwrecks and fun with Young Theatre on the Coast.
Those aged eight to 18 can work with an actor from Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, a musician and a costume and property maker on August 7-8 to create their own performance inspired by the history of Aldeburgh’s Tudor Moot Hall and the tales of Shakespeare’s actors visiting the coast.
The sessions will be held at the Aldeburgh Music Room at Aldeburgh Primary School from 10.30am-3.30pm and cost £7 per child per day or £12 per day for two siblings.
Contact mtp at [email protected] for information.
Additional events are also in the pipeline.
Show ticket prices range from £11-£18 and can be bought via the box office on 01502 772572 or online via www.mtproductions.co.uk/theatre-on-the-coast/
For more information about Suffolk Secrets, visit their website via https://www.suffolk-secrets.co.uk/.
Buy your tickets through Ticketsource – www.totc.co.uk.
ENDS
For more information contact Angharad Pearce at Prominent on 01473 276126 / [email protected]
Image caption (L-R): producer Matthew Townshend, Sally Owen, Suffolk Secrets brand marketing manager and general manager Liz Cook. Photo credit: Prominent