Lights Up!

Interview mid-tour with cast members Rob, Sophie and Jack of the Putney Theatre Company's Summer show, Much Ado About Nothing.

Putney Theatre Company On Tour brings Shakespeare’s dazzling comedy of romance,  deceit and self-discovery to open-air venues around southwest London and beyond.  This  concise, rollicking, sunny production (directed by Stuart Watson) will be “as merry as the day is long.” 

Performance dates and times
Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 July (both 6pm): Lillington and Longmoore Gardens, Pimlico Saturday 19 and Sunday 20 July (both 3pm): The Winchester House Club, Putney
Saturday 26 and Sunday 27 July (both 3pm): St Margaret’s Church, Putney Friday 1 (6.30pm) and
Saturday 2 August (5.30pm): Surrey Docks Farm, Rotherhithe
Saturday 9 August (3pm): The Hurlingham Club, Fulham
Sunday 10 August (3pm): St Mary’s Church, Mortlake

Cast
Beatrice – Megan Good
Benedick – George Nettleton
Leonato – Roger Blitz
Don John/Dogberry – Fahad Salman
Hero – Sophie Welch
Don Pedro – Clare McKervey
Claudio – Jack Willard
Ursula – Jessica Allen
Margaret – Helen Wood
Borachio – Rob Wallis

Tickets: https://www.putneyartstheatre.org.uk/event-6190719
Box Office: 020 8788 6943

_______________________________

The Putney Theatre Company at The South West End!
See us online – www.putneyartstheatre.org.uk/whatson

Host: Cait Hart-Dyke.
Producer, podcast editor and sound design: Nick Wells. 
Music is 'At the Tropicana' by Chalalatas, license courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.
Recorded at the Putney Arts Theatre.

A special edition with on-location interviews, including Helen Wood, Owen Thomas Smith, Megan Good, Geoff Saunders and Richard Seedhouse, separately discussing the huge collective effort and the incredible feast of entertainment for the June extravaganza. Over the first three weekends in June Putney Arts Theatre (PAT) becomes a key venue for the Wandsworth Arts Fringe (WAF). It features seven plays (six for adult audiences and two for children), together with workshops, new writing, cabaret, music and other activities. 

For tickets and other information, take a look here: PutneyArtsTheatre.org

_______________________________

The Putney Theatre Company at The South West End!
See us online – www.putneyartstheatre.org.uk/whatson

Host: Cait Hart-Dyke.
Producer, podcast editor and sound design: Nick Wells. 
Music is 'At the Tropicana' by Chalalatas, license courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.
Recorded at the Putney Arts Theatre.

An Australian Murder Ballad, Angus Cerini's The Bleeding Tree makes only its second appearance in the UK, so Cait talks with the cast, Michelle, Rachel and Indie about this challenging, entertaining new production directed by Paul Dineen.

In a dirt-dry Australian town, a gunshot shatters the still night. A mother and her daughters have just welcomed home the man of the house – with a crack to the shins and a bullet to the neck. With a body to dispose of and neighbours asking awkward questions, their story unfolds with a raw, rude, and sometimes brutally funny intensity.

Described as “dangerous, deep, and devastatingly beautiful,” it’s a razor-sharp thriller and a haunting exploration of revenge, complicity, and survival. With its dark humour, poetic beauty, and searing wit, it is theatre at its boldest and most unforgettable.

A Putney Theatre Company Production, at Putney Arts Theatre. from Tuesday 20 to  Saturday 24 May at 7.45pm, with a matinee also on Saturday at 3pm

The cast is: Mum played by Michelle Robertson with Rachel Syder as Ada and Indianna Dimmer as Ida. The Director is Paul Dineen. New music created for the production by Nick Wells.

_______________________________

The Putney Theatre Company at The South West End!
See us online – www.putneyartstheatre.org.uk/whatson

Host: Cait Hart-Dyke.
Producer, podcast editor and sound design: Nick Wells. 
Music is 'At the Tropicana' by Chalalatas, license courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.
Recorded at the Putney Arts Theatre.

Sarah (Madame Arcati), Daniel (Charles) and Katie (Elvira) are interviewed by Cait about the lastest production by Putney Theatre Company, Noël Coward's Blithe Spirit, directed by Tom Sainsbury.

Noël Coward's comedy classic tells the story of suave novelist Charles Condomine and his second wife, Ruth. They invite local medium, Madam Arcati, to conduct a séance to inspire him for his next novel. The evening doesn't go as planned, and the sceptical Charles is reunited with the ghost of his first wife, Elvira. Only he can see Elvira and she doesn't take kindly to Ruth having usurped her. Attempts by Madame Arcati fail to return her to the “other world”, and Elvira’s spirit transforms the lives of Charles and Ruth forever.

Cast
Charles – Daniel Jonusas
Edith – Nicole Pavlou
Elvira – Katie Kelly
Madame Arcati – Sarah Perkins
Mrs. Bradman – Emily Fellows
Mr. Bradman – Ian Wainwright
Ruth – Kirsten Millar

Blithe Spirit by Noël Coward
from 29th April 2025 to 3rd May 2025
at Putney Arts Theatre

_______________________________

The Putney Theatre Company at The South West End!
See us online – www.putneyartstheatre.org.uk/whatson

Host: Cait Hart-Dyke.
Producer, podcast editor and sound design: Nick Wells. 
Music is 'At the Tropicana' by Chalalatas, license courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.
Recorded at the Putney Arts Theatre.

Cast members Tom, Tim and Megs are interviewed by Cait, for the brilliant Putney Theatre Production of Accidental Death of an Anarchist by Dario Fo and Franca Rame, adapted by Tom Basden. Directed by Barney Hart Dyke and Owen Thomas James. 

An irrepressible fraudster known only as the Maniac is brought into Police Headquarters just as the officers are preparing for a judicial review of the recent 'accidental' death of a suspect in custody. Outwitting his captors, the Maniac dupes them into performing a farcical recreation of the incident, exposing the absurd corruption and terrifying idiocy at the heart of the system.

Dario Fo and Franca Rame's riotous satire has been widely performed around the world since its premiere in 1970. Tom Basden's acclaimed adaptation was first performed in 2022 (starring Daniel Rigby as the Maniac), transferring first to the Lyric in 2023 before moving to the West End.

Reviews of the original production

'A glorious comedy that leaps off the stage' – The Times. 

'Simply brilliant... The comic lines come thick and fast, but the underlying political punch is serious and to the point... A tour de force, a great night out… A must-see' – British Theatre Guide

Cast
Tom Everatt: The Maniac
Tim Iredale: Superintendent Curry 
Harry Pavlou: Joseph
Jacob Smith: Detective Daisy
Megs Vann: PC Jackson and Fi Phelan 
David Webb: Inspector Burton
Barney Hart Dyke: Director 
Owen Thomas James: Director 

Artistic Directors: Barney and Cait Hart Dyke. 
Podcast Editor and sound design: Nick Wells. 
Music is 'At the Tropicana' by Chalalatas, license courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.
Recorded at the Putney Arts Theatre.

_______________________________

The Putney Theatre Company at The South West End!
See us online – www.putneyartstheatre.org.uk/whatson

Host: Cait Hart-Dyke.
Producer, podcast editor and sound design: Nick Wells. 
Music is 'At the Tropicana' by Chalalatas, license courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.
Recorded at the Putney Arts Theatre.

Alligators come to Putney Arts Theatre! In this latest episode host Cait chats with Jim (Daniel), Alexa (Sally) and Lily (Rachel) about the tense, gripping drama by Andrew Keatley, brought to the Putney stage by director Amanda Benzecry.

Daniel Turner has it all. A devoted wife, two beautiful children and a teaching job he loves. But when allegations are made about his past, his world begins to crumble around him.
Can all the good he's done be erased by one pointed finger? What will it take to restore his loved ones' faith in him? And after this, can life ever be the same again.

Press Quotes:
“Andrew Keatley's Alligators has serious bite… his characters feel utterly three-dimensional, his dialogue segues smoothly between unshowy chit-chat and impassioned speeches, and his spiralling narrative drips doubt into the audience's minds like a leaky tap” – The Stage
“Has a claustrophobic power” – Guardian
“Feels all too relevant in these prurient times… a worthwhile work that will make viewers think”– British Theatre Guide

Cast:
Daniel: Jim Dixon
Sally: Alexa Adam
Rachel: Lily Barrett
Genevieve: Demi Wallace Orgill
Cathy: Carrie Cable
PC Worth: Matt Rimmington
WPC Clarke: Ellen O’Farrell

Artistic Directors: Barney and Cait Hart Dyke. 
Podcast Editor and sound design: Nick Wells. 
Music is 'At the Tropicana' by Chalalatas, license courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.
Recorded at the Putney Arts Theatre.

_______________________________

The Putney Theatre Company at The South West End!
See us online – www.putneyartstheatre.org.uk/whatson

Host: Cait Hart-Dyke.
Producer, podcast editor and sound design: Nick Wells. 
Music is 'At the Tropicana' by Chalalatas, license courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.
Recorded at the Putney Arts Theatre.

“Every time a bell rings, an angel gets its wings…”

Christmas Eve, 1946, Bedford Falls. Down-on-his-luck banker George Bailey feels life has passed him by, and he's at the end of his rope.

But when George's guardian angel pays him a visit, he's amazed to discover what life in his beloved town would be like without him. Maybe it's a wonderful life, after all?

Cait interviews the cast, Matt Hoisch, Nicole Pavlou, Rob Wallis and Ben Wheeler of the new production of It's A Wonderful Life, at Putney Arts Theatre, based on the critically acclaimed Frank Capra movie, reimagining a joyful story of love, hope and community.

Directed by Lois Savill and Kate Lawrence, adapted by Mary Elliott Nelson.

Artistic Directors: Barney and Cait Hart Dyke. 
Podcast Editor and sound design: Nick Wells. 
Music is 'At the Tropicana' by Chalalatas, license courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.
Recorded at the Putney Arts Theatre.

_______________________________

The Putney Theatre Company at The South West End!
See us online – www.putneyartstheatre.org.uk/whatson

Host: Cait Hart-Dyke.
Producer, podcast editor and sound design: Nick Wells. 
Music is 'At the Tropicana' by Chalalatas, license courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.
Recorded at the Putney Arts Theatre.

Cait interviews cast members for the new production of the Tom Stoppard move blockbuster, Shakespeare in Love, adapted for the stage.

Young Will Shakespeare has writer's block... the deadline for his new play is fast approaching but he's in desperate need of inspiration. That is, until he finds his muse – the courtly Viola de Lesseps. This beautiful young woman is Will’s greatest admirer and will stop at nothing (including breaking the law) to appear in his next play, disguising herself as boy-player Thomas Kemp. Against a bustling background of mistaken identity, ruthless scheming and backstage theatrics, Will’s love for Viola quickly blossoms and inspires him to write his greatest masterpiece.

The story is, at heart, a romantic comedy but it is also about the glorious world of show-business - nothing much changes in theatre and that London's Bankside in 1593 was much like commercial theatre today. Money men assert their power, scripts get rewritten, egos have to be massaged, rivalries develop and last-minute crises intervene. Yet, by the magic that is theatre - somehow Shakespeare manages to turn the distinctly unpromising Romeo and Ethel the Pirate’s Daughter into the masterpiece that is Romeo and Juliet.

Shakespeare in Love
Based on the Screenplay by Marc Norman & Tom Stoppard, adapted for the stage by Lee Hall
Directed by Jodi Rilot & Barney Hart Dyke
12-16 November, 7.45pm
16 November, 3pm

Artistic Directors: Barney and Cait Hart Dyke. 
Podcast Editor, sound design and interview: Nick Wells. 
Music is 'At the Tropicana' by Chalalatas, license courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.
Recorded at the Putney Arts Theatre.

_______________________________

The Putney Theatre Company at The South West End!
See us online – www.putneyartstheatre.org.uk/whatson

Host: Cait Hart-Dyke.
Producer, podcast editor and sound design: Nick Wells. 
Music is 'At the Tropicana' by Chalalatas, license courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.
Recorded at the Putney Arts Theatre.

An emergency episode in the absence of Cait, the cast of Death and the Maiden (by Ariel Dorfman, directed by the inestimable Kim Dyas) drop in for a chat, late evening, during a break in rehearsals.
Cast: Paulina Escobar (Sharon Czudak), Gerardo Escobar (Aidan Kershaw) and Roberto Miranda as Paul Dineen.
Set in a country that is transitioning to democracy. Death and the Maiden explores how - and if - a nation can start to heal its wounds after years of living in a dictatorship regime.
Gerardo and Paulina are married and have finally started to relax after years of living in fear. When a stranger visits their home at Gerardo's invitation, Paulina thinks that she recognises his voice as one of her torturers – "the Doctor". Determined to administer justice for herself, she takes matters into her own hands and makes sure he pays for his former sins. But, is this stranger really "the Doctor", or simply an innocent citizen?
A classic of 20th-century theatre, Ariel Dorfman's Death and the Maiden ran for a year in the West End, was a hit on Broadway and was filmed by Roman Polanski starring Ben Kingsley and Sigourney Weaver.
"A play for today, for the age of revenge, when dictatorships crumble right and left and the victims, the living dead, emerge from the shadows and present their accounts..." – Sunday Times
Death and the Maiden by Ariel Dorfman
15-19 October, 7.45pm. Matinee, 19 October, 3pm
The Studio, Putney Arts Theatre
Cast: Paulina Escobar (Sharon Czudak), Gerardo Escobar (Aidan Kershaw) and Roberto Miranda (Paul Dineen).
Crew: Kim Dyas (Director), Veronika Wilson (co-Director), Paul Tierney (Stage Manager), Rich Evans (Set and Lighting Design) Caroline D'Arcy (Production Manager), Loetitia Delais (Sound and Light operator), Nick Wells (Music and Sound Design).

Artistic Directors: Barney and Cait Hart Dyke. 
Podcast Editor, sound design and interview: Nick Wells. 
Music is 'At the Tropicana' by Chalalatas, license courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.
Recorded at the Putney Arts Theatre.

_______________________________

The Putney Theatre Company at The South West End!
See us online – www.putneyartstheatre.org.uk/whatson

Host: Cait Hart-Dyke.
Producer, podcast editor and sound design: Nick Wells. 
Music is 'At the Tropicana' by Chalalatas, license courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.
Recorded at the Putney Arts Theatre.

New episode for Flare Path a new production of the Rattigan play, directed by Ian Higham at the Putney Arts Theatre. Cait interviews three of the star perfomers, Emma Bugg (Patricia), Theo Leonard (Flight Lieutenant Teddy Graham) and Guy Robarts (Peter Kyle).

24-28 September, 7.45pm
Matinee  28 September, 3pm
Ticket link

Written in 1941 and first staged in London in 1942 Flare Path is based around Rattigan’s own experience as a tail gunner in RAF Coastal Command.

Set in a hotel near an RAF Bomber Command Airbase in Lincolnshire during the Second World War the play focuses on a love triangle between an actress (the wife of a Wellington Bomber pilot) and a Hollywood actor. The action plays out against a night time bombing raid on Germany, while the women wait together to hear about the fate of the crew.

Flare Path is a deeply moving, funny and compelling portrait of the bravery and stoicism of RAF Bomber crews and their wives during World War Two. This story and setting provides the perfect showcase for Rattigan’s unique ability to portray the struggle to keep powerful emotions hidden from view while presenting a ‘proper’ respectable face to the world, even in the hardest of situations.

Artistic Directors: Barney and Cait Hart Dyke. 
Podcast Editor and sound design: Nick Wells. 
Music is 'At the Tropicana' by Chalalatas, license courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.
Recording at the Putney Arts Theatre.

_______________________________

The Putney Theatre Company at The South West End!
See us online – www.putneyartstheatre.org.uk/whatson

Host: Cait Hart-Dyke.
Producer, podcast editor and sound design: Nick Wells. 
Music is 'At the Tropicana' by Chalalatas, license courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.
Recorded at the Putney Arts Theatre.