Viva Youth Theatre Presents Smike the Musical
Tickets are selling fast for 'Smike', the next exciting project for Soham’s highly-regarded Viva Youth Theatre.
Smike is a pop musical based on ‘Nicholas Nickleby’ and tells the story of a group of restless school children who go back in time to the world of Charles Dickens - and see for themselves the advantages in living in the twenty first century!
“Smike was created by Eastenders' composer Simon May in collaboration with Roger Holman and Clive Barnett in 1973. It was mounted as a major BBC TV production that Christmas starring Beryl Reid,” explains Josh Schumann who is making his directorial debut with Smike.
“We're having great fun rehearsing it. I have the privilege of working with a wonderfully talented group of young people and I'm sure this will be a truly magnificent show.”
Smike will be performed at The Brook, Soham, from Thursday 2nd–Saturday 4th February 2012 at 7.30pm. There will also be a matinee performance on Saturday 4th February at 2.30pm. The venue will be transformed with stage extensions and tiered seating.
Tickets are £8 full price and £7 concessions plus there are special group discounts. To book call the Box Office on: 01353 722228, email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or pop into The Viva Centre, 7 Churchgate Street, Soham, Ely, Cambs. CB7 5DS.
Notes:
Established in 1997 by Daniel Schumann, Viva began life as a small youth theatre run by a team of volunteers. Its first performance, ‘Bugsy Malone’, was played to an audience of 400.
But Viva grew and grew with more children joining and grander, more ambitious productions and charity status followed. It now stages at least two major productions a year playing to audiences of up to 1000 and for the past five years has taken shows to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival – many of which have received five stars. And the awards keep coming, the latest being the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service – The MBE for Voluntary Groups.
An adult theatre group was established in 2007 – also an award winner – performing classics such as ‘Hobson’s Choice’ and ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’. Today it has 30 members who perform at least two productions a year.
And Viva has branched out into other areas as well such as after school drama clubs and accredited arts training such as LAMDA (London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts) and the Arts Award.
In 2008 it purchased its own premises, a converted Methodist Chapel in Churchgate Street, Soham, where it continued to run its successful charity shop and latterly a café in 2011, which generate core funds for outreach and performance work. Without a doubt, Viva’s roots are firmly planted in the local community and it continues to flourish.
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