IMPORTANT - Readit is now on every other Monday - and will be in our new venue at Oldham Library (Greaves Street, Oldham, OL1 1AL). Time, however, is still 7pm to 9pm.
This Monday, 9th January, we will be reading John Godber's comedy "Happy Families". Written in 1991, this play is largely autobiographical - and shows John's path from schoolboy to drama teacher despite having to negotiate his way through encounters with his skeptical, though well-meaning, family.
This week we'll be reading Coyote Ugly by Lynn Siefert. It was first produced in 1985 by Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre Company (directed by John Malkovich). The play is set in rural Arizona, and its award winning portrayal of a dysfunctional family is both humorous and disturbing.
(Note. This play has no relation to a film called Coyote Ugly - which is about a bar in New York) Readit is at Oldham Coliseum Theatre on Wednesday 1st June, and runs from 7pm to 9pm (with, hopefully, extra discussion in the bar afterwards). It is free to attend, see http://coliseum.org.uk/index.php/Oldham/get_involved/adults
This Wednesday at the Coliseum we will be reading Hobson'r Choice, by Harold Brighouse. Although set in Salford, its first production was at the Princess Theatre, New York in 1915. It has become a much performed comedy ever since, and has been adapted for film on several occasions. Readit is at Oldham Coliseum on Wednesday 18th May. It runs from 7pm to 9pm and is free.
READit returns to the Coliseum this Wednesday at 7pm. This week we'll be reading and discussing East is East, the successful 1997 autobiographical comedy drama play by Ayub Khan-Din about the trials and tribulations of adolsecent life in an English-Pakistani family in 1970s Salford. The play was made into a hit film in 1999, this year sequelised as West is West. It was also staged at the Coliseum in 1999 and a photo from the production still hangs in the Circle bar. The above photo is from the 2009 production at Birmingam Rep.
The play for this Wednesday’s READIT at Oldham Coliseum will be Equus, by Peter Shaffer. Written in 1973, this tells the story of a psychiatrist who is called upon to treat a young man who has a fascination with horses which is both religious & sexual in nature. It is a play that has been revived many times, in many countries, since its original premier at the National Theatre. A notable one being the 2007 revival starring Richard Griffiths and Daniel Radcliffe, which had success in the West End, and subsequently on Broadway.
READIT runs from 7pm to 9pm at Oldham Coliseum theatre. The session is free, but please let the box office know you are coming, if possible, so we have an idea of numbers.
It is little known tthat Jules Verne was a succesful playwright, and that as well as being "the father of science fiction" he also wrote stage versions of his fantastical stories. The manuscript for this 1882 play was thought lost - however a copy was found in the archives of the French censorship office in 1978. This translation into English was paid for by the American Jules Verne Society in 2003, and is a remarkable record of how Verne adapted his stories for the stage.
We will be reading this play at READIT at Oldham Coliseum on Wednesday 16th March, from 7pm to 9pm (then probably discussing it the bar afterwards). READIT is free, but please phone the coliseum box office, if possible, beforehand so we have an idea of numbers.
This Wednesday we will be reading Karel Čapek's landmark 1921 play R.U.R. This was the play that introduced the word Robot to the world, and is one of the most famous examples of a science fiction story written for stage.
As usual Readit runs from 7pm to 9pm in the Studio at Oldham Coliseum Theatre. The session is free, so you can just turn up - but please book with the box office first, if possible, so we have an idea of numbers. http://coliseum.org.uk/ Box office: 0161 624 2829