Bright prospects for Hall's outdoor shows

It may still be the short dark days of early February, but the prospects for the programme of four outdoor plays to be staged at Lytham Hall this summer are already distinctly bright.

Chapterhouse Theatre Company from Lincoln will come to Lytham Hall at the start their nationwide open air tour of Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations on Sunday 11 June, followed in early July by Illyria’s production of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Lost World on which the Jurassic Park series is based.

Julian Wilde, organiser of the open air season, is delighted with the response to the recent announcement of the programme for the summer months of 2017.

“Dickens and Dinosaurs is proving a fascinating prospect for the first two shows and there have already been plenty of enquiries about what size the dinosaurs will be!

The choice of Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Mikado in August and Hans Christian Andersen’s The Emperor’s New Clothes at the family show on the late Bank Holiday Sunday have also met with much approval,” he said.

Alison Plackitt from Plackitt and Booth’s Booksellers in Lytham’s Clifton Street, one of eight local ticket outlets, feels that the prospects for the season are excellent.

“It’s a well thought–out programme from two highly regarded touring companies. I think that the wide range of very strong characters in Great Expectations will make for a first class start to the season. Keeping all the plays at weekends too, without any ticket price increase, is a smart move”.

Illyria’s performance of Gilbert and Sullivan’s most popular operetta The Mikado may see a capacity audience on Sunday August 20 according to Marianne Blaauboer, the activities organiser at Lytham Hall.

“Their productions always draw enthusiasts from G and S Societies from all over Lancashire, Greater Manchester and Merseyside because of the quality of their singing and the inventiveness and humour of the cast. I am expecting a full house. ”

Tickets are already on sale on line via the Chapterhouse website www.chapterhouse.org for Great Expectations and an announcement about further ticket availability will follow later in February.