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Family shows to enjoy during the Easter holidays at the Marina!

As we enter the Easter holidays, we thought we would let you know about all the exciting shows and events we have happening at our historic theatre!

There are some top family performances on offer – we have something for everyone to enjoy!
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Wind in the Willows – The New Musical (U) – 30th March at 3pm and 7pm.

Stunningly brought to life in a spectacular new musical by Oscar-winning screenwriter and creator of Downton Abbey, Julian Fellowes, and captured live from the London Palladium.
All Seats: £10, Under 16’s: £5 – click HERE to book now!
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Where the Wild Things Are (PG) – 9th and 10th April at 10.30am

An adaptation of Maurice Sendak’s classic children’s story, where Max, a disobedient little boy sent to bed without his supper, creates his own world – a forest inhabited by ferocious wild creatures who crown Max as their ruler.
Tickets booked 24 hours in advance are just £4.50 – click HERE for more information.
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Brainiac Live! – 11th April at 2pm.

Strap on your safety goggles boys and girls, due to popular demand Science’s greatest and most volatile live show is returning with a vengeance.
Expect exploding dustbins, combusting microwaves and loads of live daredevil stunts!
Full Price: £14, Concession: £12, Privilege Card: £11, Family Ticket: £48 – click HERE to book now!
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Pop Divas – 12th April at 2.30pm.
Enjoy the best songs from all your favourite female stars in one fabulous fun-packed show.
With dazzling choreography, state of the art videos and superb vocals, Pop Diva’s Live! is suitable for all ages and will leave you wanting more!
Full Price: £10 – click HERE to book now!
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NT Connections 2018 – 19th April at 7.30pm.

Connections is the National Theatre’s nationwide youth theatre festival.
Our 13+ Youth Theatre group will present THESE BRIDGES by Phoebe Éclair Powell.
Full Price: £5 – click HERE to book now!
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The Greatest Showman Sing-A-Long (PG) – 8th May at 2.30pm and 7.30pm.

Ladies and gents, this is the moment you’ve waited for…
The world is singing along with the most entertaining movie of the year and now you can too with this special sing-along screening of The Greatest Showman.
Tickets booked 24 hours in advance are just £4.50 – click HERE for more information.
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The Gruffalo’s Child -19th June at 1.30pm and 4.30pm & 20th June at 10.30am and 1.30pm.
 
Tall Stories returns, bringing Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler’s award-winning sequel to life in this magical, musical adaptation.
*Signed performance on 20th June at 10.30am.
Full: £14, Children/ Privilege Card: £12, Schools: £11- click HERE to book now!
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And how about a treat for all you Strictly Come Dancing fans?
Giovanni Pernice – Born To Win – 27th April at 7.30pm.

After the huge success of ‘Dance is Life’ in 2017, Giovanni is once again set to get your hearts beating a little faster, showcasing a story of love and passion, with even more heat, even more energy, and even more drama than ever before!
VIP tickets £47, full price tickets range from £22-£27 – click HERE to book now!
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Key information ahead of Sound Around concerts with the RPO!

Coming along to our Sound Around concerts with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in the days ahead?

The Young Producers from Lowestoft Sixth Form College have been working hard to perfect their show, and wanted to be in touch with a few details before your visit.

Their marketing team have put together a visual story, so you can familiarise yourself with the theatre ahead of your visit. Click HERE to download it.

They have also created a one-page information sheet, Sound Around Suggested Listening Links, with a few clips that you may wish to use to prepare for your visit.

There is also a short video available HERE giving an introductory tour of the Marina for any students who may be a bit nervous about attending.

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The Sound Around Project will see the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO), led by music students from Lowestoft Sixth Form College, as a unique series of concerts are held at the Marina Theatre.

The students, aged between 16 and 18, have chosen the repertoire for the two exclusive shows targeted at local schools and another relaxed concert especially for families and children with additional needs.

The school performances will take place tomorrow, Friday, March 23, with the relaxed concert being held at 2.30pm on Saturday, March 24.

Sound Around is a large-scale audience-focused touring initiative, produced by Orchestras Live and the RPO. The aim is to create more opportunities for young people across England.

Every aspect of an orchestral concert will be produced by the young people; from on-stage presentation of the show, script writing and editing, to managing technical backup including lighting, vision and sound mixing, and front of house and stage management.

This concert features BSL interpretation and a supporting social story and at the end of the main concert, audience members will be invited to try out instruments, meet musicians and even learn how to conduct.

Orchestras Live Sound Around is presented in association with the RPO, Marina Theatre and Suffolk County Music Service and is supported by Strategic Touring Funds from Arts Council England.

Tickets for Saturday’s concert will be £8 for adults and £4 for children, carers will be free. To book, call the box office on 01502 533200 or click HERE.

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Q&A with Guess How Much I Love You costume and set designer!

A stage adaptation of one of our best-loved children’s books will soon be performed at the Marina Theatre in Lowestoft.

Guess How Much I Love You sees Little and Big Nutbrown Hare leap off the page and onto the stage in this magical journey through the seasons.

The performances take place at 1.30pm on March 27 and at 10.30am and 4.30pm on March 28.

Watch and join in as the characters settle down after a bedtime story and re-awaken to discover the delights and colours of each season as they compete to measure their love for each other in this timeless loveable story – based on the much-loved children’s book by Sam McBratney.

Explore this playful story of love and nature as it unfolds on stage through puppets, live music and play for children aged 3 and up.

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We caught up with Richard Evans, costume and set designer, to find out more about his role.

Richard trained at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (now the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland) where he won the Dean of Drama’s Julia Stewart Award. He now works across the UK and Internationally designing drama, dance, musical theatre and opera. He has designed international, national and regional tours, repertory theatre and stand-alone productions.

Richard’s recent work includes Love Song and Little Red and The Wolf (Dundee Rep), Democracy (Rapture, UK Tour) and Cinderella (High Time Opera) and of course Guess how Much I Love You, while his set design for the hit musical Avenue Q has toured the UK since 2014.

Alongside his theatre work, he has also worked extensively in TV and Film, as a buyer, art director and set dresser, including the BBC One series Justice, Moving On and Secrets and Words, the Children’s BAFTA-nominated Make A Musical and Bill – the first feature film of the incredibly popular Horrible Histories franchise for BBC Films.

Tell us a bit about your day to day in terms of working on the set and costume design for GHMILY, where do you start!?

The process always begins with the script, or in this case the script and the books!  We were lucky enough to be able to develop GHMILY through workshops with the full creative team and a cast of actors.  It meant that the whole process was fun and organic -something that I hope can be felt on stage!

 I took these initial ideas and went away and developed a 1:25 scale model of the set and drew up designs for the costumes and puppets.  From then I work closely with the talented set builders, painters, prop and costume makers to develop the technical aspects of the production and ensure that the vision Anna (the director) and myself had can be realised on stage.

Where do you start in terms of drawing your inspiration?

Usually I would pool ideas from a huge and varied range of sources – from art, photography, movies, but for this production the inspiration was straight from Anita Jeram’s beautiful illustrations (with some added ideas from the natural world around us).  It was a brilliant challenge to bring the drawings off the page and into 3-dimensions on stage.

What can people expect to see in terms of Costume and Set in GHMILY?

People can expect to see a fun, vibrant, energetic and playful interpretation of their favourite illustrations from the GHMILY books!  I have tried to remain as faithful as possible while still adding a little theatrical spin…

What is your favourite costume in GHMILY?

Although the hares are amazingly soft and fluffy, I really love Mother Nature’s costume.  She could really be whatever we wanted her to be and I loved playing with the idea that she was an artist who had created this world and is about to take you by the hand and lead the audience through the story.

What are the challenges in designing costumes for actors who will be playing animals?

Heat and feet!  How can we make a full suit of fur which isn’t going to make our cast pass out from over-heating and how can we represent over-sized hare feet while still allowing them to move freely about the stage.  After a lot of trial and error I think we made it work – although the actors may tell you another story….

You have had a very varied career designing sets and costumes across TV and the theatre in a number of genres, what has been your favourite project to date and why?

I don’t know that I could choose a favourite, but really I like working on anything that has a ‘heart’ to it.  Whether it is a musical, opera or a straight piece of drama if you can find the meaning behind the story then you are always on to a winner!

Full: £15, Concession/Privilege Card: £13, Schools and Group Rate £9.75.

To book, call the box office on 01502 533200 or CLICK HERE.

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Music students given unique opportunity to produce concerts for their peers!

An internationally renowned orchestra are being given the opportunity to work with a group of young musicians to make classical music more accessible to all.

The Sound Around Project will see the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra led by music students from Lowestoft Sixth Form College – ending with a unique series of concerts at the Marina Theatre.

The students, aged between 16 and 18, have chosen the repertoire for the two exclusive shows targeted at local schools and another relaxed concert – especially for families and children with additional needs.

The school performances will take place on Friday, March 23, with the relaxed concert to take place at 2.30pm on Saturday, March 24.

Sound Around is a large-scale audience-focused touring initiative, produced by Orchestras Live and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO).

The aim is to create more opportunities for young people across England, particularly children and young people with additional needs, engaging those who have had little or no access to live orchestral concert experiences with the world of orchestral music.

The relaxed concerts are designed to have a relaxed attitude to noise and movement, accessible to everyone, especially children and adults with autism, sensory and communication impairments or learning disabilities, as well as individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing, blind or partially sighted.

Some notable pieces that will be played include Nimbus 2000 from Harry Potter, Shake It Off by Taylor Swift and Flight of the Bumblebee.

Cerys Chittenden, music student at Lowestoft Sixth Form College, said: “As someone who adores seeing the orchestra, this is the opportunity of a lifetime for me.

“I hope to gain new skills and experience things I would otherwise be unable to.”

Every aspect of an orchestral concert will be produced by the young people; from on-stage presentation of the show, script writing and editing, to managing technical backup including lighting, vision and sound mixing, and front of house and stage management.

Fraser Gordon, Principal Contrabassoon in the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, added: “The process has been very rewarding with the young producers on their way to putting together a magnificent experience.”

This concert features BSL interpretation and a supporting social story and at the end of the main concert, audience members will be invited to try out instruments, meet musicians and even learn how to conduct.

Orchestras Live Sound Around is presented in association with the RPO, Marina Theatre and Suffolk County Music Service and is supported by Strategic Touring Funds from Arts Council England.

Tickets will be £8 for adults and £4 for children, carers will be free.

To book, call the box office on 01502 533200 or CLICK HERE.