You have just one night left to catch Alice at the Derby Theatre Studio.

So far we have smashed our target to have over 100 people in the first three nights! This is by far one of the most important local stories to be retold! Don’t Miss Out!!!!

Not only can you see this first version of Derby’s lost suffragette but you can have input into the development of the play! You can feedback thoughts, comments and suggestions to help develop a derby story, a story from “an inconsequential parochial place, about a 51 year old women from Derby” who was tried and convicted of attempted murder of the Prime Minister.

This true story has been adapted and shaped into this version, but we hope you’ll help us take it much further and be a part of making theatre in the region, for the you!

We look forward to seeing you at the show and reading your comments.

Saturday is the last night of the first incarnation of Alice. We hope you can join us, at the Derby Theatre Studio, the show goes up at 8pm.

Tickets are still available, priced from £7 so book online or call 01332 255800 and get your seats.

Tonights audience were brill’!

Every audience is different and you can never say one group of spectators is better than another, everyone takes what they will from a performance but its always fun when the people watching audibly engage with the show.

At Sustained Magic we relish being able to interact with our audiences. It’s what keeps our work relevant. When someone comes up to us after a show to tells what they likes, what they would enjoy seeing more of or how we can improve it really helps us. After all an old teacher of Rhiannon and Ed’s was fond of saying, “interpretation is made at the point of reading (or watching) not the point of writing (performing)” so knowing how you interpret our work is vital for us to know if we are communicating what we hope to. It helps us build on our work and helps us go from strength to strength.

Our show, Alice is just the first step on a journey for us and this story. We hope to take it on to new highs and we hope you will come with us. In this spirit we would ask that if you have seen Alice could you take two minutes to fill out a short feedback survey (less than one minute if you only fill out the mandatory parts). We would like to use the information gathered to inform our work, target our audiences more efficiently and hopefully gain funding for our work in this time of austerity.

You can always tweet us as well as Facebook us or use the contact page to get in touch, but as we say, if you have seen our show and can spare the time to answer a few questions to tell us what you thought, we would be truly grateful.

With only two more shows left of the first incarnation of Alice we hope you can join us, at the Derby Theatre Studio, we are on until Saturday and the show goes up at 8pm.

Tickets are on sale now, priced from £7 so book online or call 01332 255800 and get your seats.

We rocked the second night!

You will all be glad to hear that the second night of Alice was a magical sucess! The audiance were really following the action and were getting all the humour as well as tradgy of the peice.

The vibrations from the rock concert happening on the main stage only gave a slight bassy shake throughout the entire theatre but the cast of Alice managed to keep the audience hooked the whole way through the show.

If you watched last night’s performance (or any of our performances for that matter) and haven’t taken a couple of minutes to give us some feedback on what you felt about the show, Sustained Magic would be very grateful if you could click here and give us your thoughts.

Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter, join our Facebook Group and check back here to see how the opening night went (but of cause, you will be there wont you).

There are still tickets for Alice, at the Derby Theatre Studio we are on until the 16th of April at 8pm.

Tickets are on sale now, priced from £7 so book online or call 01332 255800 and get your seats.

Opening night was a hit!

Tonight went really well. A huge thank you to everyone who was in the audience! You are our life and soul.

There are so many people to thank and there’s no way to fit them all into one blog post, even if the poster of this blog (Ed…Me) wasn’t rather tired after a very intensive rehearsal process and opening night to boot.

Personally I would like to thank my fellow cast members, Becki, Pardip and Rhiannon as well as Angela for writing such a fantastic and thought provoking piece and Matt for being our Director.

As a company we would like to single out a few (and there are so many more that deserve to be here so sorry for this list being short).
Firstly the Derby Theatre crew, for going above and beyond the call of duty and doing it with a smile. Paul Hurt and Jenny Roche have been fantastic! From the bottom of our hearts, thank you.

In fact everyone, and I really mean everyone at Derby Theatre have been wonderful. Thank you for making us feel at home in your theatre. We love it there so be careful…we might not want to leave on Saturday.

Next the University of Derby and in particular, Professor John Coyne for giving us constant support, rehearsal space and so much more. From the Student Union to the catering staff everyone is always fantastic. (We love the bree and cranberry baguettes).

And lets not forget the Derby Peoples History Group who will be presenting a talk at the Derby Theatre Studio at 2pm on Saturday. The talk will be free and will be a perfect companion to the show so why not come to both?

If you came to the show tonight (or any night) and would be willing to take two minutes to give us your feedback would would be very grateful. Feedback keeps theatre and the arts going, especially in times of funding cuts like these so please, please let us know what you thought.

Alice, at the Derby Theatre Studio from the 12th to the 16th of April at 8pm.

Tickets are on sale now, priced from £7 so book online or call 01332 255800 and get your seats.

The Dress Rehearsal

Damp Cell

Well, it has been an intense road but the hard work has paid off. Today was the dress rehearsal of Alice which culminated in cheers and a group hug of all involved. Tomorrow is the big day, we open at 8PM so please, we are asking you to support the arts, support local theatre, support heritage projects, support Derby Theatre and pretty please, support us – Sustained Magic.

We all know the arts have suffered a blow under the funding cuts and if you haven’t read in the Derby Telegraph or seen on the news, Derby Theatre has lost ALL funding so in times like this when the Arts and Culture are at threat why not show that Derby loves theatre and see our show. A local production, by a local company about a local historical figure with local actors.

Todays photos are from the dress rehearsal, we hope you enjoy.

Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter, join our Facebook Group and check back here to see how the opening night went (but of cause, you will be there wont you).

Frederick Watches

Alice, at the Derby Theatre Studio from the 12th to the 16th of April at 8pm.

Tickets are on sale now, priced from £7 so book online or call 01332 255800 and get your seats.

Lights, Sound, Action!

Post tech' notes session

Yet again its been a long day. The cast and crew of Alice worked hard and Im sure were hard work in turn so we would like to thank the wonderful Jenny of Derby Theatre for her technical skills and patience. Jenny also ran lights and sound for our last show Release so she is part of the family now.

Tonights blog will have to be short but as always please follow us on Twitter and join the Sustained Magic Facebook Group to get up to the minute news from the show.

Alice, at the Derby Theatre Studio from the 12th to the 16th of April at 8pm.

Tickets are on sale now, priced from £7 so book online or call 01332 255800 and get your seats.

Once more unto the Theatre dear friends…

Alice Rehearsal at the Theatre One

Oooh its good to be back at Derby Theatre. There’s nothing like walking into an empty theatre space knowing your going to bring magic to that black box.
It’s been a long day and that day continues. As this blog is being written the crew are plotting lights and cementing the technical aspects of the show. It’s going to be a long night but in the morning the stage will be set for a week of sustained magic to begin.

Todays images are from todays run in Studio Two at the theatre while the lights were rigged by the very kind Paul Hurt who came into work on a beautiful Saturday to bring our lighting plan to life in Studio One. Ed and Rhiannon were actually taught by Paul back when they studied Theatre Arts at the University of Derby together so it was a very pleasant reunion.

Tomorrow will be another tough day however so spare a thought for us as you watch the Malaysian Grand Prix, our tech run will just be beginning.

Please don’t forget to follow us on Twitter and join our Facebook Group and if you can click the ReTweet and Like buttons at the top of this page that would be very kind.

Alice Rehearsal at the Theatre Two

Alice, at the Derby Theatre Studio from the 12th to the 16th of April at 8pm.

Tickets are on sale now, priced from £7 so book online or call 01332 255800 and get your seats.

Did you see us in the Telegraph?

Winnie and Riza under the direction of Matt Green

Yes today we were featured in the (8th of April’s editions) QT section – find us on page 26. You can also find us at the This is Derbyshire website, if – as is likely – you are reading this after the days papers have been cleared away. Its fantastic to see the local media supporting local shows, so a big thank you to the Derby Evening Telegraph.

Today was also our last day of rehearsals at the University of Derby, from tomorrow we move operations to Derby Theatre Studio. How exciting is that? It has to be said, the University have, as ever, been fantastic. We here at Sustained Magic are continually grateful for the kind use of their rehearsal space, class rooms and refectory.

 
Tuesday the 12th aka “Opening Night” will be here soon so if you haven’t already, why not book your tickets right now? Or call 01332 255800 to talk to Box Office. You can always follow us on Twitter and join our Facebook Group (tomorrow things will really start hotting up).

Matt Green directing Alice

Alice, at the Derby Theatre Studio from the 12th to the 16th of April at 8pm.

Tickets are on sale now, priced from £7 so book online or call 01332 255800 and get your seats.

Shots from the rehearsal room

Riza and Frederick

As rehearsals for Alice progress we thought we would share some images from our second day. These were shot at the very kind and hospitable Derby University where those following our tweets will know fine bacon cobs can be found.

Don’t forget you can follow us on Twitter and join the Sustained Magic Facebook Group as well as checking back here for our daily Alice Blog so theres no excuse not to keep up with the news.

Left to right – Ed Kennedy (Playing Frederick),  Rebecca Mahon (playing Alice), Rhiannon Prytherch (playing Winnie) and Pardip Kumar (playing Riza)

Woman Warrior

Left to right – Ed Kennedy (Playing Frederick),  Rebecca Mahon (playing Alice) and Pardip Kumar (playing Riza)

Alice, at the Derby Theatre Studio from the 12th to the 16th of April at 8pm.

Tickets are on sale now, priced from £7 so book online or call 01332 255800 and get your seats.

Did Alice plot to kill the Prime Minister?

The Wheeldons of Peartree

One thing is for sure, Alice Wheeldon faced a hostile courtroom and the powers that were had it in for her.

Here you can see the Wheeldon family; mother and daughter protesting outside the site of their imprisonment – the Guild Hall, Derby.

The cast of Alice today met in Derby City Centre for a publicity shoot with the Derby Evening Telegraph so keep an eye on the news stands for us in the coming days. Joining Sustained Magic today was Keith Venables of the Derby Peoples History Group who will be presenting a talk at the Derby Theatre Studio at 2pm on the 16th of April. The talk will be free will be a perfect companion to the show so why not come to both?

For those wishing to attend the free historical presentation please contact Keith Venables.

Alice, at the Derby Theatre Studio from the 12th to the 16th of April at 8pm.

Tickets are on sale now, priced from £7 so book online or call 01332 255800 and get your seats.