ARTISTIC YEAR END ROUND UP FOR 2024

 

 

We are still enjoying the warm glow from the samovar following such a splendid production of Uncle Vanya. The reviews were stellar, as was the entire company.  Every dimension of the show was applauded in the reviews, from the beautiful costuming, staging and lighting, to the performances and the specially composed music.  We were delighted to have the professional cellist, Sara Lane Rees, with us during the run. An immaculate piece of work from north to south, east to west.   

My thanks to David Fletcher for his exquisite direction and profound understanding of this playwright.  His version of this play, absolutely one of my favourites, was crystal clear and so accessible for a modern day audience.   

Up next is Glorious! The True Story of Florence Foster Jenkins, the Worst Singer in the World.  This play, by Peter Quilter, has garnered accolades worldwide since its premiere in 2005 and continues to delight audiences.  It is truly joyous and having been into rehearsals I know how much the cast have relished the fun.  Florence Foster Jenkins could of course sing, just not in tune and the deeply funny thing about her is that occasionally she hit the right note, but just not frequently enough! She made several recordings at the Melotone Studios in New York and lived in a New York hotel apartment. She knew about the negative opinions surrounding her, so weeded out potential critics by interviewing attendees for her concerts in person. As a New York socialite she was not short of a few dollars and could engineer it so that her concerts were high profile.  Her sell-out concert at Carnegie Hall in 1944 to an audience of 3,000 was an undoubted triumph for her and for varying, but somewhat different, reasons for the audience too!

James Suckling and his ‘glorious’ company will be presenting her and those around her to you for your delectation as an early Christmas gift. The perfect way to round off 2024.  We even hear a whisper that we might be expecting the playwright to join us on the opening night!

Immediately following the end of the run of Glorious! on Monday 9 December we are holding a special film night in the main auditorium. We shall be showing two short films – both about Leamington.  One is about Victorian Leamington, commissioned and made for the Leamington History Group and the other is the Loft’s Centenary film, also commissioned. Both were made by Mark Ellis, who will be with us on the evening and who will hold a Q and A  after both films have been shown.  There are very few tickets left, so if you are tempted, please do book with all speed.

Rehearsals for Medea in January 2025 are just kicking off.  This will be a contemporary version, which premiered at the National Theatre in 2014 with the late, great Helen McCrory in the lead.  The cast will have a full 12-strong Greek chorus and we are all excited about bringing this to the Loft stage under the direction of Craig Shelton.

After the last night of Medea, on Sunday 2 February, we are welcoming back the insanely talented Down for the Count jazz musicians and singers for their 2025 concert Swing That Music.  Always a sell-out at the Loft, we love hosting them, with their musical flair, their fun and an incomparable sound.  The tickets will go in a flash, so be a bit sharpish in booking.

Readings and auditions are coming thick and fast for 2025 productions and by the time you read this, we shall be pretty much cast for the first five productions of 2025.  This includes the reopening of our Studio Theatre, the first time since the pandemic, for a full scale production. We are delighted to have been given permission to stage The Just Price of Flowers from the pen of James Yarker, the Artistic Director of the highly creative Stan’s Cafe theatre company.  Mark Crossley, who normally struts his stuff on stage, will be in the director’s chair. 

As we head towards the year end, I want to give enormous thanks to all of you; those who work on and off the stage at the Loft as volunteers and to our audiences who come to see our work.  You are all sponsoring the arts and without you we would not have the Loft.  Across our history of 102 years we have never had grants like the professional theatre enjoys to help us survive.  We survive on our wits and good judgement and on providing what we hope is a high standard of theatre outside London, reflecting the kind of writing that has been much garlanded in major professional theatres.  A different offering we think and from your feedback, certainly one you find attractive.  Theatre is a special experience and at its best it enriches people’s lives. There is nothing more exciting than creating theatre for others to enjoy. Someone asked me the other day, after a launch event for the first half of our 2025 season, whether I got daunted pulling the programme together with the director team. I responded that I wasn’t daunted at all, but excited and if we continue to work to professional standards and be the best version of ourselves and do good stuff, then I hope the audience will continue to come. At our best, when we are flying, every dimension of a production comes together and yet sometimes just a single, subtle adjustment – a piece of wizardry from the tech team or an actor who hits the sweet spot can turn the theatre ablaze. I hope our future production programme tempts you in 2025.  It represents the best of what we do and who we are.  

We all wish you a joyous and peaceful Christmas with those you love and we look forward to welcoming you to the Loft again in 2025 to share great theatre with us.  We literally could not do it without you.  Thank you for helping us keep the vision of the founding members of this independent theatre company alive and flourishing.

Now….where are the mince pies….

Sue Moore
Artistic Director