A ‘MUSICAL comedy romp’ fit for the Queen comes to the stage of Rugby Theatre this week.
Rugby Operatic Society’s new production Merrie England is being staged in celebration of a number of upcoming milestones in British history, including The Queen’s 90th birthday in April.
And the group even took a chance by inviting Her Majesty along for a performance.
Society Chairman Stuart Esworthy said: “We rather cheekily invited Her Majesty to attend but she is booked up too many years in advance for that to be possible – though we did receive a lovely acknowledgement from the Palace wishing us success for the production.
“It is an historic time for the UK with Queen Elizabeth II having taken over as our longest serving Monarch in 2015 and celebrating her 90th birthday later in 2016.
“At the same time, there is a theatrical milestone with the 400th anniversary of the death of the Bard, William Shakespeare and we are celebrating by presenting our show in his ‘Global’ style, with a dash of 21st century technology to give a contemporary twist to events.
“The production is an absolute gem with such beautiful music and lots of strong characters, so we are lucky to have a very experienced collective of troopers willing to clown about, sing their hearts out and even dress up in drag!”
He added ‘Panto Man’ Mike Allen had offered guidance in honing the principal performances, whilst Peter Privett had led chorus rehearsals, built sets and produced props to illuminate the production.
He said: “The cast have enjoyed getting their teeth into this mammoth production and it has been hugely exciting to realise Peter’s vision of the show. We are confident that enjoyment comes across in the final version.
“Our thanks of go to the Rugby Theatre team who have patiently got behind our wildest dreams and turn them into reality – please enjoy the show and if you feel inspired to join us, come and sing.”
The show runs at Rugby Theatre from Tuesday (February 16) until Saturday (February 20).
Tickets are available from the Rugby Theatre box office, at www.rugbytheatre.co.uk or on 01788 541234.
