All The Fun Of The Fete At The Lichfield Garrick

Two theatre companies will be adding an unscripted third act to the end of their evening performances at the Lichfield Garrick next month to raise money for the We Love Lichfield Fund.

Different Animal Theatre Group and the Lichfield Players, who are collaborating to perform Alan Ayckbourn’s pair of comedies ‘House’ and ‘Garden’ from 7th October, will be inviting audiences to spend their loose change after the curtain comes down at a variety of village fete themed stalls manned by the cast.

“As each play offers its own perspective on the same characters and the same annual fete, we thought it would be fun to extend the theme and host our own fete as a fundraiser,” said Dan Branch, director of Different Animal’s ‘House’. “By donating proceeds to the We Love Lichfield Fund we can help support local projects, who, like us, are based in Lichfield. And we’re very grateful to We Love Lichfield who have kindly offered to donate prizes for the after-show fete’s lucky winners.”

“10 stalls, ranging from Bat the Rat to Hoopla, will be constructed in the Garrick’s bars and foyer once audiences have returned to their seats after the interval. The fete will be declared open after the actors have taken their curtain calls, and cast will remain in character as they man the stalls. People can have their fortune told by Pearl as she is chided by her mother, be charmed by businessman Teddy whilst he is ignored by his long-suffering wife, try to spot Teddy’s jilted mistress who is hiding from everyone, and be entertained by the banter between couples as the relationships continue off-stage.”

The pair of plays offers a rare opportunity to see Ayckbourn’s masterpieces of timing. ‘House’ and ‘Garden’ require the same cast playing the same characters to perform two versions of the same day at the same time on two different stages. Those who have booked tickets for the Garrick Studio’s ‘House’ will follow the hilarious goings-on surrounding Teddy Platt’s luncheon for the village fete’s guests of honour. Whilst in ‘Garden’, performed in the Garrick’s Main Auditorium, preparations for the opening of the fete are well underway and it is not just the weather that looks stormy. Though the plays can be seen independently, audiences booking for both comedies will see the whole picture by the end of their second night.

Julian Fisher of the We Love Lichfield Fund said: “I’m delighted that a local voluntary organisation has offered to raise funds for We Love Lichfield and to help us give back to our district.  We have a large selection of prizes that can be used by organisations to help raise money via things like raffles for WLL.  If anybody is raising money for We Love Lichfield and needs some prizes they can use the contact form on www.welovelichfield.com

The after-show fete will run from Wednesday 8^th to Saturday 11^th October on nights when both plays are performed simultaneously.

Different Animal’s ‘House’ runs at the Lichfield Garrick Studio from Tuesday 7^th to Sunday 12^th October, with two matinee performances. The Lichfield Players’ ‘Garden’ in the Main Auditorium runs from Wednesday 8^th to Saturday 11^th October, evenings only. Tickets range from £10-£14. Joint tickets are available from £18-£20 to enable audiences to see both sides of the story at a specially discounted rate.

To book, call the Garrick Box office on 01543 412121 or visit www.lichfieldgarrick.com. More information is available at www.differentanimal.co.uk or www.lichfieldplayers.org.

Pictured is producer Kathy Bryers having her palm read by Rebecca Hyland who plays Pearl with two members of the public in Beacon Park.