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Attendees a special meeting on Thursday at Chorley Little Theatre voted overwhelmingly to change the name of the venue. The building will be called “Chorley Theatre” from 2020, after that option beat Chorley Empire Theatre and the current name. The vote was done in secret at a packed event, with 85% voting for change.
 
Chairman Ian Robinson said “Chorley Little Theatre is a great name and has served us well, but as we expand and face competition it’s time for a change. It was great to have so many people turn out for the vote, and now we will look at bringing in the new name while staying true to our heritage and ethos."
 
“Our new name is boldly saying we are Chorley Theatre and we are here for the town and community”
 
The new name will be introduced from 2020, by which time venue owners CADOS should be operating 2 stages and hope to use the extra space to give more opportunities to local performers.
 
Ian Robinson added “the important thing now is we can concentrate on all the great shows we’ve got coming up in 2019 and plan for further ahead"

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CADOS calls out for votes to bag a share of Tesco’s bag fund


CADOS is bidding to bag a massive cash boost from the Tesco Bags of Help initiative.

Tesco teamed up with Groundwork to launch its community funding scheme, which sees grants of £4,000, £2,000 and £1,000 raised from carrier bag sales in Tesco stores awarded to local community projects.

Three groups in every Tesco region have been shortlisted to receive the cash award and shoppers are being invited to head along to Tesco stores to vote for who they think should take away the top grant.

Chorley Amateur Dramatic & Operatic Society (CADOS) is one of the groups on the shortlist.

CADOS has been based at Chorley Little Theatre in the town centre since 1960 and are looking to expand into the empty restaurant next door. Money raised from this campaign will go towards fitting that building up to be a multi-purpose venue that will expand and enhance the entertainment CADOS offers to the town.

CADOS Chairman Ian Robinson said “This is an exciting time for us and the new space will enable to us to stage more shows and give more opportunities (on-stage and off) to local talent that can be enjoyed by the whole community. It needs a lot of work to get ready, so this scheme goes some way to helping us with that.

Voting is open in all Tesco stores in January and February and customers will cast their vote using a token given to them at the check-out in store each time they shop.

Tesco’s Bags of Help project has already delivered over £63 million to more than 20,000 projects across Britain. Tesco customers get the chance to vote for three different groups every time they shop. Every other month, when votes are collected, three groups in each of Tesco’s regions will be awarded funding.

Alec Brown, Head of Community at Tesco, said:
“Bags of Help has been a fantastic success and we’ve been overwhelmed by the response from customers. It’s such a special scheme because it’s local people who decide how the money will be spent in their community. There are some fantastic projects on the shortlists and we can’t wait to see these come to life in hundreds of communities.”

Groundwork’s National Chief Executive, Graham Duxbury, said:
“Bags of Help continues to enable local communities up and down Britain to improve the local spaces and places that matter to them. The diversity of projects that are being funded shows that local communities have a passion to create something great in their area. We are pleased to be able to be a part of the journey and provide support and encouragement to help local communities thrive.”

Funding is available to community groups and charities looking to fund local projects that bring benefits to communities. Anyone can nominate a project and organisations can apply online. To find out more visit www.tesco.com/bagsofhelp.

Vote at the following Tesco Stores:

Chorley PR7 1NW
Chorley Buckshaw PR7 7EL
Leyland PR25 2FN

Express Stores:
Leyland - Earnshaw Bridge - PR25 1XD
Leyland - Canber Road PR25 3ET
Clayton-Le-Woods - PR25 5TU
Preston - Blackpool Road PR2 1XJ
Preston - Church Street PR1 3BQ
Preston - Friargate PR1 2LD
Preston - Fulwood PR2 9PS
Preston - Ribbleton PR2 6RJ
Preston - Tulketh Mill PR2 2BT

 

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With this year’s Pantomime pretty much sold out, Chorley Amateur Dramatic & Operatic Society (CADOS) are already looking ahead to their new season of shows at Chorley Little Theatre

The season starts in February with Accidental Death of an Anarchist, a late-20th Century satire packed full of jokes and zaniness, as the slippery “Maniac” is interrogated by police and plots his escape. 

In April, the group stage Our Town A drama about every day life, it’s considered one of the great American plays. 

Ian Hislop writes June’s play, A Bunch of Amateurs a comedy in which a rural amdram group somehow hire a big Hollywood star to play their King Lear.

The story of seven women and one man at tap dance classes in a village hall going on to great things is the basis of the feelgood “Stepping Out” in September, and Alan Ayckbourn weaves reality and fantasy in Woman In Mind in October.

The season concludes with the pantomime Cinderella from the same award-winning team behind previous sell-out shows at the theatre.

CADOS Artistic Director Mark Jones says “this is a really strong season with, overall, a really positive vibe to it that we hope will connect with audiences. 2018 has been one of our most best-attended years ever so we’ll be building on that success.

Tickets for all the shows are on sale now via this website, Malcolms Musicland 01257 264362, Ebb & Flo Bookshop or whenever the theatre is open for shows.

Season Tickets are £49 per person for all six productions and available here (just let us know your preferred days and seats!)

The full season is:

Monday 25th February - Saturday 2nd March
ACCIDENTAL DEATH OF AN ANARCHIST
Written by Dario Fo
Directed by Robert Walsh

Monday 29th April - Saturday 4th May
OUR TOWN
by Thornton Wilder
Directed by Mark Jones

Monday 17th - Saturday 22nd June
A BUNCH OF AMATEURS
by Ian Hislop & Nick Newman
Directed by Barbara Wilcox

Monday 2nd - Saturday 7th September
STEPPING OUT
by Richard Harris
Directed by Rebecca Dickinson

Monday 14th - Saturday 19th October
WOMAN IN MIND
by Alan Ayckbourn
Directed by Dave Reid

Friday 13th - Saturday 21st December
CINDERELLA
Pantomime written and directed by Steven Catterall & Andy Burke

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We are delighted to have received 35 nominations for this year's NODA Awards. The winners will be announced on 9th February.

Best Supporting Female Actor – Drama
Emma Bailey – Be My Baby

Best Supporting Male Actor – Drama
Bobby Walsh – The Return of Sherlock Holmes
Steven Catterall – For The Love of the Game

Most Entertaining/Comedy Female Actor
Siobhán Edge – The Return of Sherlock Holmes

Best Female Actor in a Lead Role -Drama
Emily Cook - Be My Baby

Best Male Actor in a Lead Role –Drama
David Reid - The Return of Sherlock Holmes

Best Ensembled Leading Actors Performance
Guards Guards
Simon Lloyd as Captain Sam Vimes
David Greenfield as Sergeant Colon
Jacob McAllister as Corporal Nobbs
George Howard as Carrot Ironfoundersson
Leonie Judith English as Lady Sybil Ramkin

Best Staging Set/Technical – Adult
Guards Guards

Best Ensemble Performance
Last Tango In Whitby

Best Director – Play
Rebecca Dickinson – Be My Baby
Mark Jones – The Return of Sherlock Holmes
Steve Unsworth - For The Love of the Game

Best Play
The Return of Sherlock Holmes
Be My Baby

Best Original Script
The Return of Sherlock Holmes - Mark Jones

PANTOMIME NOMINATIONS

Best Female Actor in a Supporting Role
Kim Brookfield

Best Male Actor in a Lead Role
Lucas Burns

Best Entertaining/Comedy Performance
Tess Lucas & Cassandra Moon
Alan Levesley & James Clow

Best Choreographer
Rebecca Dickinson

Best Director
Zoe Jones

Best Panto

Best Female Youth In An Adult Production
Lucy Aspinall

YOUTH


Best Supporting Female Youth Actor in a Musical or a Play
Amelia-Jane Bowles - Popstars

Best Male Actor in a Lead Role Youth Production Musical & Drama
Callan Grimshaw Brown - Popstars
Charlie Kemp - James and the Giant Peach

Best Female lead Actor in a Youth Production Musical
Emma Threlfall - Popstars
Naomi Cook - Popstars

Best Ensemble Cast - Youth
James and the Giant Peach:
Naomi Cook as Miss Spider
Zach Eccleston as Centipede
Gemma Essery as Ladybird
Eadie Gosling as Earthworm
Leigh Palmer as old Green Grasshopper

Laura Ratcliffe Award for Choreographer Youth Production
Lucy Ellen McManus - Popstars

Best Musical Director-Youth Production
Paul Carr – Popstars

Best Artistic Director Youth Production Drama
Alice Charnley & Lucas Burns - James & the Giant Peach

Best Artistic Director Youth Production Musical
Eleanor Anderton & Lucy Aspinall - Popstars

Best Production- Youth
James And The Giant Peach
Popstars

Details

The power of community and working together is the heart of the new play at Chorley Little Theatre. “For The Love of the Game” is a brand-new play by local playwright Terry Wynn about a sporting apartheid that existed in rugby, and how it affects players, supporters, and families.

Based on a true story, Jack Vardy stars as Jason who plays rugby union while at university. Upon returning home to Wigan he finds himself barred from the League game thanks to antiquated rules. Soon his biggest battle is in the corridors of power as he takes on the bosses and tries to force change.

At the same time, the play features a small group of church-goers campaigning to save their building. The two battles for the future of a community come together in this uplifting, witty and heartfelt drama.

Set in the 1980s and 1990s, the play features cameos from real-life politicians Gerald Kaufman and Roger Stott, who is played here by his son Joe Mills.

Director Steve Unsworth says “Although the theme appears to be heavily rugby based, it isn’t really; it’s a play about community, social injustice, belief and values – it’s very human.”

An ensemble cast also features Steven Catterall as the church caretaker with strong ideas about Wigan rugby, Lucy Holden and Shaz Holstead as Doreen and Vera, two strong Northern women fighting to save their church.

The play runs from Monday 15thto Saturday 20thOctober at 7.30pm. Tickets from Malcolms Musicland 01257 264362 or www.chorleytheatre.com

  1. Panto (Beauty & The Beast) Audition Notice
  2. Box Office before Be My Baby
  3. Be My Baby
  4. Don't Panic! A Dad's Army Tribute Show on Saturday 19th May