Girls Night is a musical comedy by playwright Louise Roche. Roche first staged the play with her friends at a local community arts centre after setting up a theatre company with her husband in 2003. The couple then sent Girls Night on two medium scale tours in 2003 and 2004 to test the market, although the play would soon prove to be an astounding success. This programme cover is from the July 2006 performance at Hall for Cornwall when star names Lucy Speed and Gwyneth Strong were recruited for the play’s first Number One tour. Girls Night then toured for two years in America before finally premiering in New York and becoming a Broadway smash hit.
The Philharmonia Orchestra is a British orchestra based in London. It was founded in 1945 by Walter Legge, a classical music record producer. The Orchestera performed at Hall for Cornwall on the 22nd September 2006. This programme cover from their performance features a photograph of the orchestera which reflects the theatre and design trends of the time.
The Polish National Chamber Orchestra of Torun was established in 1978, becoming a full symphonic ensemble in 2006 after receiving generous financial support from the City of Toruń. The Orchestra performed a selection by Grieg, Chopin and Tchaikovsky at Hall for Cornwall on the 24th of November, 2006.
Hall for Cornwall’s annual reviews cover the activities which have taken place over the last year. They are designed to convey to audiences ‘who we are’ and ‘what we do’. They also cover audience figures as well as reviewing the success of initiatives such as improving awareness of and celebrating Cornwall’s culture, community partnerships and becoming a greener theatre. A statement of financial activities usually concludes the annual review.
The modern pantomine took form with Henry James Byron’s Aladdin, or the ‘Wonderful Scamp’, in 1861. Since then, Aladdin has become a regular feature at theatre’s across the U.K. during the Christmas pantomine season. Aladdin was staged at Hall for Cornwall in association with the Hiss & Boo Company Ltd between the 12th of December and the 6th of January 2007/08. The production featured the former Generation Game host Isla St Clair as the Genie and BBC Radio Cornwall’s David White returned to the HfC stage as the Emperor. The cast also featured Cornish actors Mark Buffery and Andrew Beavis, who played Aladdin.
The BBC National Orchestra of Wales is a symphony orchestra which was established in 1935 as a 20 member ensemble. The orchestra was then dissolved as a result of the war in 1939 and was again re-established afterwards as a 31 member ensemble, with Mansel Thomas as its first principal conductor. The orchestra performed at Hall for Cornwall on the 2nd of November 2007 and featured the conductor Takuo Yuasa and violinist Matthew Trusler.
The City of London Sinfonia are an English chamber orchestra that performs numbers from the Baroque period to the present day. The orchestra’s performance at Hall for Cornwall on the 5th of October 2007 was directed by Nicholas Ward and featured Mark Simpson on Clarinet.
Cornwall Youth Music Action Zone (CYMAZ) was a registered charity which provided extra cirricular music workshops for young people who wouldn’t otherwise have access to such initiatives. CYMAZ used trained community musicians to work with disengaged and disaffected young people up to the age of 19. Hall for Cornwall would regularly play host to these workshops and conduct them in collaboration with CYMAZ.
Hall for Cornwall runs a variety of community outreach and artistic performance programmes. Kernow Voice was a Hall for Cornwall project funded by the Community Education and Participatory Arts Department and offered the oppurtunity for children aged 9-14 to participate in singing and voice workshops at the hall.
The Shell Seekers is a 1987 best selling novel by Rosamunde Pilcher. Set in Cornwall and London between the Second World War and present day, it tells the story of Penelope Keeling who examines her past and her relationships with her adult children. The play was staged at Hall for Cornwall between the 8th and 13th of March, 2004.