Programme cover for The Shell Seekers at Hall for Cornwall, 2004

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 both 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.

Programme cover for Aladdin at Queen’s Theatre Barnstaple, 2005

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 Queen’s Theatre Barnstaple between the 15th of December 2005 and 8th of January 2006 by the North Devon Theatres in association with the Hiss & Boo Company Ltd.

Programme cover for The Play What I Wrote at Hall for Cornwall, 2005

The Play What I Wrote is a comedy play written by Hamish McColl, Sean Foley and Eddie Braben. Foley and McColl form a double act together called ‘The Right Size’ who feautre in the play as the characters ‘Sean’ and ‘Hamish’ alongside Toby Jones. The play celebrates the British comedy act Morecambe and Wise and explores the general nature of double acts. The play premiered at the Liverpool Playhouse Theatre in the summer of 2001 before opening in the West End during the winter. It was eventually staged at Hall for Cornwall between the 7th and 12th of March 2005.

Programme cover for the three Opening Lines plays at Hall for Cornwall, 2005

Opening Lines was an initiative devised by Hall for Cornwall to nurture and develop emerging and established play writes in Cornwall. The initiative emerged from Hall for Cornwall’s strong commissioning policy and a five day residency project in collaboration with The Royal Court Young Writers Programme, The Works: Dance & Theatre Cornwall, Kernow Education Arts Partnership and Creative Partnerships Cornwall. It began in the form of a short play competition, open to any writer of any experience level over the age of 15, who lived and worked in the South West or had strong connections to Cornwall. The three winners were Henry Drake with the play ‘Extreme Seafood’, Jane Pugh with ‘Jason’ and Victoria Field with ‘Blood’. All three plays were produced by Hall for Cornwall in July 2005.

Programme cover for Dick Whittington at Hall for Cornwall, 2006

The Dick Whittington pantomine ran at Hall for Cornwall between the 9th of December and the 7th of January 2006/07 in association with The Hiss and Boo Company Ltd. The production featured BBC Radio Cornwall’s Mid Morning presenter David White as the baddie King Rat, with Jeffrey Holland directing the production and also playing Sarah the Cook. The pantomine was choreographed by Tracey Tickle with Frank Kershaw in charge of costumes.

Programme cover for Girls Night at Hall for Cornwall, 2006

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.

Programme cover for Aladdin at Hall for Cornwall, 2007

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.

Performances at Hall for Cornwall

Described as one of the greatest operas ever written, the Magic Flute is an opera in two acts by Mozart which follows the adventures of Prince Tamino and the bird-catcher Papageno on their quest to rescue Pamina. The opera ran at Hall for Cornwall between the 19th and 22nd of November 2003. The first newspaper cutting praises the first night of the performance as a ‘marvellous relaxation and pleasure.’ The second newspaper cutting is an advertisement for coach trips by Mounts Bay Coaches Penzance which also featured in the same publication of the West Britton. The article advertises a coach trip to see the Wizard of Oz pantomine at Hall for Cornwall on Sunday the 11th of January.

The Shell Seekers

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.