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Share your views on new building purchase proposal – shaping the future of the Marina!

Recently formed Lowestoft Town Council is proposing to buy the Marina Theatre Building and the connected ‘Zenith’ Building (café and Box Office) which are currently separately owned.

Lowestoft Town Council owning and then leasing the two buildings to Marina Theatre Trust will ensure continuity and security for this vital community and tourism asset.

The building would be purchased through Lowestoft Town Council’s reserves and from a loan for the remainder (likely to be £200,000).

The loan payments would then be met through a 20 year lease arrangement with Marina Theatre Trust ensuring there will be no additional cost to the tax payer.

The Marina Theatre continues as a tenant of the buildings, as it is now.

Lee Henderson, Marina Theatre CEO said: “The security of the ‘Zenith’ building is fundamental to our financial resilience and future business planning to ensure the Marina remains a vital cultural and community asset for Lowestoft. We are delighted Lowestoft Town Council are assisting us in progressing with the purchase and we would encourage people to share their views.”

The council are keen to hear views on the proposal to buy the buildings and there is a short window to consider any views before the special town council meeting on 20 April 2018.

Please email or post to Lowestoft Town Council by 4pm on that date.

There’s a chance to give your views or ask questions in the public forum at 19.30, Waveney District Council offices, 4 Canning Road, NR33 0EQ.

Lowestoft Marina Theatre has a packed programme of drama, musicals, comedy and panto and a thriving community and education programme.

Send your comments to: info@lowestofttowncouncil.uk or call 0330 536019 by post Lowestoft Town Council, Hamilton House Battery Green Road, NR32 1DE.

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Q&A with Lawrence Knight of Bowie Experience!

A show that celebrates the music of one of the world’s greatest pop icons, will soon take to the stage at the Marina Theatre.

Bowie Experience is a breathtaking concert featuring all the hits from David Bowie and will take to the stage at 7.30pm on Saturday 14th April.

A must see for all Bowie fans, the latest production promises an unforgettable journey of sound and vision, featuring all the hits from A to Ziggy.

Bowie Experience continues to amaze audiences with an astounding attention to detail, bringing the golden years of David Bowie to theatres across the globe.

We caught up with Laurence Knight, who plays David Bowie, ahead of the show.

Could you describe how the opportunity to play David Bowie came about?

I had been in the music business for a few years prior to forming my David Bowie show as a musician, singer, composer, and had performed a few of David’s songs in public and on recordings. People around me started to comment that when I sung his songs I sounded like him and they said I should do something with that, so I did a couple of performances as David Bowie to test the waters and some more people said I should do something with it, so I kept on doing things with it and still do, so thanks to all those people who told me what to do.

What period of David’s career would have been your favourite, and what was your favourite song?

I am a fan of David Bowie’s so I am fond of (nearly) everything he did but if I had to choose for my sojourn on that desert island I would choose what they call his Berlin period (Low, Heroes, Lodger) up to and including the album Scary Monsters, and then from 1996 (Outside) up to the last album, Blackstar.

What aspects of David’s character are most fun to portray on stage?

All of David’s characters are a rich seam to be explored so to choose just a couple of aspects is like trying to unpick a woolly jumper, the fun comes in the shape of the pattern that emerges as you discover the more subtle sides of his imagination.

Was the show put together in direct response to David’s death or were there already plans afoot?

I started doing shows around nineteen years ago and during that time my presentations have been a response to changing times and moods and the desire to extend into the uncharted, so as a continuation of this practice I along with a very talented team began talks and plans around eighteen months before he died to put together the current show, our ideas didn’t include the notion that his death was predictable in any way, it just wasn’t on the horizon as far as we could see.

What has your proudest moment in your career been before now?

Pride? Now there is a thorny one, I am proud of the wonderfully talented people I have had and continue to have the pleasure to work with.

As for myself pride is not something particularly relevant, that implies a kind of selfish inflated ego and what I do is not about me, it’s about David and his work, I am fully aware that who he is and what he has done is way beyond what I could feasibly conjure, his talent is humbling to one such as me.

Is there anyone in the current music scene who you see as taking on David’s mantle?

That’s akin to asking if there is anyone in the current music scene who could take on the mantle of Led Zeppelin, or Nirvana, or Jimmy Hendrix, or The Beatles, or The Sex Pistols, I could go on but the point is David Bowie along with the ones I have mentioned, and there are more of course, had their roots in ground they shared with others, but they all flowered in their own unique way, so no here isn’t anyone on the current music scene who I see as taking on his mantle and to have a hope or expectation that there might be is a delusion.

How many costume changes will there be per show?

Luckily it’s the same number of costume changes as the sum of my fingers and thumbs, (I am fortunate to have a full set) so it makes it easy to remember, it’s um………..ten, yes, ten.

Could you tell us a bit about the supporting cast/band?

They are- Tim, Paul, Lidia, Stuart, Charlotte, Darren, and Emily on stage, and Amy off stage, each one is immensely talented with their own rich character, unique and irreplaceable, to know what each one does is to have come to a show. Their CV`s and experience are astounding to put it mildly, all are knowledgeable and qualified in their area and have worked with famous names all around the world, more details of their achievements are outlined in the show programme.

ticketindex-fullprice Full Price: £24.75  ticketindex-concessions Concession: £22.75  ticketindex-privilege Privilege Card: £21.75 – click HERE to book now!

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New season brochure launched at the Marina!

From gripping dramas to family performances and from live music to fabulous variety shows – there is something for everyone in the new Marina Theatre brochure.

Highlights include The Scarlet Pimpernel (June 9 & 10), presented by Tabs Productions and Sherlock Holmes: The Sign of Four (October 11 & 12) – from the returning Blackeyed Theatre.

For families, The Gruffalo’s Child (June 19 & 20) and The Snail and the Whale (September 26 & 27) are sure to prove popular, as is the welcome return of classical crossover star Russell Watson and his Canzoni D’Amore show on November 23.

Music fans can enjoy Abba Forever, Rock For Heroes, Elkie Brooks, Wannabe – The Spice Girls Show and 80s Mania in September  before Joe Longthorne, Roy Wood’s Rock and Roll Band and The Rolling Stones Story arrive before the end of the year.

The eclectic mix of entertainment continues with Jamie Raven: Making Magic, Jon Culshaw, Magical Mozart by Candlelight, Celtic Country, Robert Temple, The Nutcracker and Ladyboys of Bangkok arriving in October.

Not forgetting our exciting collaboration with the Seagull Theatre as we present Oliver! at the end of August.

Our Youth Theatre group will perform Past Perfect on July 7 and Shakespeare Schools Festival will also make a welcome return on November 14.

All of these shows feature in the theatre’s new brochure which runs from April to December 2018!

Privilege card holders have an exclusive booking period from Thursday, April 5 at 10am, with shows going on general sale from 10am Saturday, April 14 with patrons encouraged to purchase a Privilege Card to ensure they secure the best available seats.

Also announced are three concerts from the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra – as part of their 2018 principal residency at the theatre. A Night at the Movies (June 22), Last Night of the Proms (September 14) and A Night at the Symphony (November 16) can be enjoyed.

In October, the theatre will also be celebrating 30 years since it re-opened its doors and it is inviting all customers to join their celebrations.

And don’t forget this year’s pantomime, Peter Pan, which will once again feature popular funny man Terry Gleed. The production runs from December 13 until January 1 – for 32 amazing performances full of pirates and fairy dust!

Lee Henderson, chief executive at the Marina Theatre, said: “We are delighted to announce our programme for the rest of the year here at the historic Marina Theatre. We look forward to welcoming back some familiar faces throughout the year as well as saying hello to some new ones.  We hope our diverse selection of live shows will encourage even more people to pay us a visit.”

For more details, visit the website or call the box office on 01502 533200 to book.

 

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Once Upon A Festival to return to the Marina Theatre by popular demand!

A popular children’s arts festival will soon return to the Marina Theatre in Lowestoft.

Once Upon A Festival, now in its fourth year, aims to promote arts for everyone – and this year runs from Sun 10 to Fri 22 June.

The festival will allow young people to experience a vibrant mix of dance, theatre and poetry performances – featuring some of the best children’s performances companies from across the UK.

Led by Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds, the festival has other partner venues including Meet Up in Thetford, John Pell Centre Stowmarket and Market Place.

The festival runs a schools programme, where two enrichment workshops will be delivered by professional facilitators, and young people will then get the chance to enjoy a show at the Marina.

These family orientated shows include The Gruffalo’s Child on June 19 at 1.30pm and 4.30pm and at 10.30am and 1.30pm on June 20. The 10.30am show will be a British Sign Language (BSL) interpreted performance. Furthermore, The Little Mermaid from Ballet Theatre UK, can also be enjoyed at 7.30pm on June 13.

Currently, the Marina is working with 11 schools on the storytelling festival – for key stages one to three.

In addition, to help launch the festival, the theatre will be holding an open day on June 16 – from 10am until 4pm.

This will be run in conjunction with ROJO arts with plenty of exciting activities happening.

Last year the Festival provided 13 productions at partner venues with an additional 13 reaching families and schools. 61 events in total were programmed, 28 schools took performances in their own spaces for 32 performances and a further 8 schools visited partner venues making a total of 36 different schools participating in the Festival from Suffolk and Norfolk.

To help engage the children even further, 27 sessions were provided to deliver post-show enrichment workshops reaching a total of 1608 children. Overall the festival reached a total of 5602 audience members and there was some great feedback received from them.

Will Isgrove, head of young people and Outreach at the Marina Theatre, said: “We are delighted to once again be working in partnership with Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds to present ‘Once Upon A Festival’.

“We have a really exciting range of shows for young people to enjoy – with schools able to take part in professionally designed supplementary workshops to augment their experience.”

For more information about the performances at the Marina Theatre, call the box office on 01502 533200 or visit our what’s on page.

If you are interested in your school taking part, click HERE or email willisgrove@marinatheatre.co.uk