Once Upon a Time in a Plague Year

Once Upon a Time in a Plague Year
Plague-ridden Tudor-era London, many of whose inhabitants have fled for the country side. A rich merchant, Sir Anthony, is lying on his deathbed, and a small group of loyal friends have decided stay by his side to the end. They include a famous plague doctor, his female assistant, a fiery-tempered young servant, who has his eyes set on the latter, and an elderly puritan lady. Will the doctor’s remedies for pestilence be enough, when they are joined by a strange beggar from the north, and other even less expected and welcome visitors? Could they, perhaps, even prove too effective?

Once Upon a Time in a Plague Year is freely based on two scenes in Dialogue Against the Fever Pestilence (1564), a collection of "Merry tales -- pills to purge melancholy at plague time", by William Bullein, an Elizabethan physician, whose other known works are medical treatises. It aims to bring the Mediaeval tradition of morality play alive on stage, and make it entertaining for a modern audience.

Written by William Bullein

Adapted and directed by Alpo Honkapohja / Thespians Anonymous

Cast

Roger: Aapo Rautiainen
The First Old Lady: Anna Rämö
The Second Old Lady: Katja Tiilikka
The Beggar: Pawel Blaszczyk
Doctor Burcot: Jussi Kajala
Sir Anthony: Ami Ganguli
Chrystina: Tatjana Kurikka (Thu 6 Nov) / Olga Kurikka (Sat 8 Nov)
The Puritan Lady: Lisamaria Markula
Avarus: Ace North
Ambodexter: Jenny Zukerman
Death: Bodil Knuts

Showtimes

19:45 Thursday 6 November
13:55 Saturday 8 November

Approximate duration 55 minutes

The Form

The FormPost-war reaction to Establishment authority spawned a plethora of absurdist British humour, from the Goons to Monty Python. N.F. Simpson’s office is set in the early 1960s, but, notwithstanding the computers, do official forms and office life make any more sense now than they did then?
Written by N. F. Simpson

Cast

Ms Whinby: Marietta Chela
Mr Haviour: Joe White
Ms Chacterson: Diana Hannikainen
Mr Ongew: Jonathan Hutchings
Directed by cast / The Really Small Theatre Company

Showtimes

18:00 Friday 7 November
15:05 Saturday 8 November

Approximate duration 45 minutes

 


Finders Keepers

Finders Keepers

During the search for the lost keys to the Kingdom of Heaven, St Peter meets three people, potential finders of the keys. Paula, the business woman, has found her keys in her reason. Maria, the air hostess, is struggling to keep her faith. As for Radu, he is involved in a process to find new keys to open the doors to a new way of thinking about the relationship between God and human beings. His interactions with the three humans gives St Peter insight into the soul of modern times. However, his focus is on retrieving the lost keys to the Kingdom of Heaven.

Written and directed by Oana Velcu / The Finn-Brit Players

Showtimes

18:50 Thursday 6 November
13:00 Saturday 8 November

Approximate duration 40 minutes

 


The Dark Lady of the Sonnets

The Dark Lady of the SonnetsOn a Midsummer night, an impudent playwright from Stratford, a man in love with women and words, sneaks into Queen Elizabeth's palace of Whitehall to meet his mistress, a Dark Lady. The course of true love, however, rarely runs smooth...

Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) was a prolific Irish writer known for his insight and wit. His works include Pygmalion and Saint Joan.

My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun;
Coral is far more red, than her lips red:
If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun;
If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head.
(From Shakespeare's Sonnet 130)

Written by Bernard Shaw

Directed by Rebecca Mills / Thespians Anonymous

Cast & Crew
Master Will Shakespear: Sedeer El-Showk
The Cloaked Lady: Joanna Hongisto
The Dark Lady: Marja-Liisa Helenius
The Beefeater: Matti Sillanpää

Photography: Sedeer El-Showk

Costumes, sets and props: Sedeer, Joanna, Marja-Liisa, Matti and Rebecca

Showtimes

18:00 Thursday 6 November
18:25 Saturday 8 November

Approximate duration 30 minutes

 


Between Mouthfuls

 

 

What, or who, did you do on your holidays? A pleasant topic for discussion with the spouse in a cosy restaurant, surely. But who is that at the other table? And is it really wise to discuss our private lives in public places? But the waiter never hears anything, does he?
Written by Alan Ayckbourn

 

Cast

 

Waiter: Yannick Pellet
Donald Pearce: Joe White
Emma Pearce: Joan Nordlund
Martin Chalmers: Jonathan Hutchings
Polly Chalmers: Angie Hämäläinen
Directed by cast / The Really Small Theatre company

 

Showtimes

 

20:55 Thursday 6 November
17:50 Saturday 8 November

 

Approximate duration 20 minutes