Two Shows for the Price of One!

Storrington audiences will soon have the chance to enjoy a “first”, when Storrington Dramatic Society and professional touring company, The Knapper Experience, share the stage at Sullington Parish Hall for three sparkling evenings of entertainment on 17, 18 and 19 June, commencing at 7.45pm.

The Knapper Experience was formed in London in 2005 by Roger Kennedy and Dan Martin in order to create relevant, accessible, funny theatre that could be taken from venue to venue with no significant costs. Shows were performed not only in established venues, but also in pubs and music venues with no history of theatre production. The members of the company have written and performed six contemporary comedies in five years, in venues ranging from a community centre in Sussex to the Gilded Balloon in Edinburgh.

Starting the ball rolling at Storrington, SDS presents a one-act farcical comedy on a Sherlock Holmes theme with a modern twist - “Hidden Meanings” by Michael Snelgrove. Directed by Sue Goble, the play features plenty of well-known SDS regulars. As Holmes, Roy Stevens makes it clear that violin-playing and pipe-smoking are not amongst his many talents, while Michael Smith relishes the opportunity to eat his way through a sumptuous Victorian tea onstage every night as Watson!

Following the interval, The Knapper Experience takes to the Sullington stage with a light comedy drama written and directed by Dan R Martin. “Winter at Rushton Manor” premieres at the Brighton Fringe Festival this month (May) before touring a number of venues and Festivals throughout London and the South-East over the summer months. The play is a ghost story in the Oscar Wilde style, with witty, intelligent dialogue, combined with touches of innuendo, mystery and intrigue. It is performed by a company of young actors who seem set to become stage and screen stars of the future.

Producer of TKE is Camilla (Mill) Goble, daughter of SDS director, Sue. Mill was brought up in West Chiltington and involved in local amateur drama from an early age, before going on to study Drama at University and subsequently to work for the Ambassador Theatre Group. She has been producing professional fringe and touring theatre on a freelance basis since 2005, including a residency at the Canal Café Theatre in Little Venice and two shows at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Mill is pleased to be able to collaborate with her friends at SDS in what she hopes will be the first of many joint ventures to bring professional theatre to our local venue.

Tickets for the show, priced at £7, are available from Fowlers Estate Agents, The Square, Storrington, Tel: 01903 745844. Make sure that you don’t miss this unusual opportunity to experience both professional and amateur theatre on the same bill!

Return To News Page