Shinfield Player Show Reviews
Many of our shows are reviewed by NODA and the local media:
Calendar Girls - The Musical
The death of a much loved husband prompts a group of ordinary women in a small Yorkshire Women's Institute to do an extraordinary thing. Blasting away all preconceptions of what it is to be in a Women's Institute, they decide to do an artistic nude calendar to raise money for charity.
Upturning preconceptions is a dangerous business and none of them expect the emotional and personal ramifications, but gradually the making of the fabulous and funny calendar brings each woman unexpectedly into flower.
The true story of the Calendar Girls launched a global phenomenon, a million copycat calendars, a record breaking movie, stage play and this musical which coined the term "craughing" - the act of crying and laughing at the same time.
And Then There Were None
And Then There Were None is a play by Agatha Christie based on her book of the same name. It is a classic mystery about ten strangers who are invited to a remote island and murdered one by one in accordance with a nursery rhyme.
Each guest has a secret or something to hide from their past and they soon realise that there is a murderer among them but no one knows who the next victim will be!
Just So - The Musical
A British musical based on Rudyard Kipling's Just So Stories about an inquisitive young elephant and his friend, the Kolokolo bird, who travel the world to find the giant crab Pau Amma. Pau Amma's playing in the ocean has caused tidal floods that threaten the other animals, and the Elephant's Child sets out to stop him.
Lilies On The Land
Based on interviews and letters from the original 'Land Girls' as well as songs from the 1940s, Lilies on the Land is a play about four women who join the Women's Land Army during World War II.
The play is a tribute to the women of the "Forgotten Army", and a revealing, funny, and moving portrait of Britain's unsung heroes.
Sleeping Beauty
King Gustav and Queen Charlotte want a child. But when their daughter Rose is born, the evil fairy Ruby casts a spell on the baby, saying that before her seventeenth birthday she will prick her finger on her namesake and die. Although the spell can’t be completely undone one of the three good fairies says Rose, and the Kingdom in which she lives, will fall asleep until she is kissed by her true love. Will Rose find her true love and be awoken from her slumbers?
Sister Act
When disco diva, Deloris Van Cartier, witnesses a murder, she is put in protective custody in the one place the cops are sure she won't be a found: a convent! Using her unique disco moves and singing talent to inspire the choir, Deloris breathes new life into the church and community but, in doing so, blows her cover. Soon, the gang is giving chase, only to find them up against Deloris and the power of her newly found sisterhood.
Chase Me Up Farndale Avenue, S'Il Vous Plait!
The Farndale Avenue ladies are at it again, and this time they're tackling a French farce trickier than a baguette stuck in a bicycle spoke! Expect a plot that makes about as much sense as a mime convention, more doors than a fancy hotel, and enough characters to fill a village fete.
With these formidable femmes at the helm, the only thing guaranteed is a side-splitting mess that's fizzier than a just-shaken bottle of champagne!
Anything Goes
The S. S. American is sailing between New York and England with a comically colorful assemblage of passengers: Reno Sweeney, a popular nightclub singer and former evangelist, her pal Billy Crocker, a lovelorn Wall Street broker who has come aboard to try to win the favor of his beloved Hope Harcourt (who is engaged to another passenger, Sir Evelyn Oakleigh), and a second-rate conman named Moonface Martin, aka “Public Enemy #13.” Song, dance, and farcical antics ensue as Reno and Moonface try to help Billy win the love of his life.
Nightwatch
Unable to sleep, Elaine Wheeler paces the living room of her Manhattan townhouse, troubled by unsettling memories and vague fears. Her husband tries to comfort her, but when he steps away for a moment, Elaine screams as she believes she sees the body of a dead man in the window across the way. The start of a chilling trail of events that makes for a stunning thriller.
Rapunzel
The famous story about a girl with beautiful long golden hair who was locked up in a tower by an evil witch.
The tale goes on to tell us how she defeated the witch and lived a happy life with her prince.
The Tempest
Shipwrecks! Spirits! Enchanted islands! Shakespeare's magical masterpiece and farewell to the stage is coming to Shinfield Players Theatre.
This was one of the shows that was cancelled due to the pandemic, and we're delighted to finally be bringing it to audiences.
Betty Blue Eyes
Set in 1947 and based upon a play by Alan Bennett called Private Function, Betty Blue Eyes tells the story of a banquet planned in honour of the forthcoming marriage of Princess Elizabeth and Philip her groom. Britain is still in rationing and raising an unlicensed pig is unlawful, but the Town Council set out to secretly raise ‘Betty’. When someone is not invited to the feast, they take matters into their own hands and steal the pig. Chaos ensues and the meat inspector searches for the pig.