Spring season at the ADC Theatre

This season features an emphasis on musical theatre, after the sell-out success of Jonathan Larson’s Rent in November. March sees the resident company, Cambridge University Amateur Dramatic Club, bringing perhaps the greatest musical of all time, West Side Story, to the stage.

Expect to be entranced by the beautiful melodies of Tonight and Somewhere, the irresistible rhythms of America and I Feel Pretty whilst being dazzled by the spectacle of dance and fight scenes alike in this definitive work in the cultural landscape of the last century. West Side Story runs from March 15–26.

Earlier in the season, Triple Loop presents Spring Awakening, a new musical. Based on Frank Weekend’s ground breaking 1890s play which was banned for over 100 years for being too sensationalist. Spring Awakening has changed the face of musical theatre. With an edgy rock score it expresses the anguish and ecstasy of discovering sexualities in a hard-hitting production. It runs from February 1-5.

A week later, camp cult hit Jet Set Go! runs from February 9-12. After high-flying runs in Edinburgh and London, Cambridge University Musical Theatre Society bring the one and only cabin crew musical to the ADC in one of the first ever regional productions of this new British musical comedy by Jake Brunger and Pippa Cleary.

The Way Through the Woods, a musical re-telling of the story of Snow White shows off home grown musical composition. With a new score and a twisted take on familiar characters, this is a devilishly dark retelling of the classic fairytale. The Way Through the Woods runs from January 19-22.

Marketing Manager, Richard Bates, said: “Musicals always go down well at the ADC so we’re pleased to be able to bring the best of both classic and contemporary Broadway to the stage this season. I’m sure our programme will be popular with both regulars and new audiences.”

There is also a wide selection of drama to look forward to The European Theatre Group kicks off the term with their production of Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew, after a successful winter tour around central Europe. This energetic company look set to delight audiences once again with a compelling production of one of the Bard’s finest comedies. It runs from January 18 - 22.

The Amateur Dramatic Club presents a special mid-season run of Michael Frayn’s celebrated farce Noises off. Set around the production of a play-within-a-play, Noises Off is a hilarious exposé of what goes on behind the scenes, and the mishaps that can so often happen under the limelight. The idea came to Frayn as he was watching a performance of one of his comedies from the wings. Frayn said: "It was funnier from behind than in front and I thought that one day I must write a farce from behind.” Noises Off, promises to be a riotous night at the theatre, and runs from February 9 – 19.

A unique feature of the ADC is the staging of two shows a night within University Term. After the curtain falls on the first performance of the evening, the stage is turned around in matter of minutes for the Lateshow at 11pm. This late evening slot affords the theatre huge flexibility in its programming. As well as the usual late night laughs from Footlights Smokers, and The Pin, a new sketch show from Footlights regulars, the theatre has range of diverse dramatic programming.

Lateshows this season include the truly powerful 2007 play Pornography by Simon Stephens, set around the motivations of a suicide bomber on July 7 2005. Other lateshows including Fantasmagoria, a prequel to the Frankenstein myth and a new adaptation of Henry Purcell’s 1680 opera Dido and Aeneas, presented within a more contemporary musical idiom.

Details of the entire season, as well as advance booking, are available online at adctheatre.com. Tickets can also be booked at the theatre, or over the phone on 01223 300085.