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Panto a bit passé & a bit pricey too? Then try “In-House Theatre” this Christmas. |
Frantic Theatre Company will be bringing their latest challenge to the conventions and costs of theatre-going this Christmas with the launch of their latest breathtaking one-person musical comedy show, “Can I Do You Now Sir?” from 1st December 2008 until New Year.The venue? Frantic specialize in performing “In-House Theatre” - that is, taking theatre to peoples’ own living rooms, no matter how humble or grand. The 45 minute long one-person show can fit just about anywhere, and is available for bookings for living rooms, soirees and parties (including office parties) throughout December (and into early January 09) at just £250 per performance. Also, to attract first-timers to this intimate & exciting new experience, especially small families who would normally spend at least double that amount going out to see a panto (all true costs considered), a visit from Frantic Theatre Co, between the dates 27th – 30th DEC 08 only, will be available at a special ‘one-off’ fee of just £180. The experience of having a theatre show in your own living room is an exquisite new social phenomenon, the shows being a careful blend of high comedy aimed to appeal across the board, especially to audiences of mixed generations who might not be used to having such a good laugh together at the same time and for the same reasons. Usually an audience finds its singing voice too. Frantic know of no other theatre company in the world who do this sort of work as a going concern, and have for years been perfecting this experience. They have an expertise in ‘working the room’, and in turning each show into a unique and memorable ‘happening’. With four expert and well-mannered professional actors each travelling with their own show, Frantic can be in four places at once, doing up to four gigs at any one time. This year many people have chosen to book Frantic’s latest 45 minute show, “Can I Do You Now Sir?” for themselves and their families and friends, as a refreshing change from the ‘it wouldn’t be Christmas without going out to a panto’ mentality, and in the process are saving themselves a bob or two. To compare true costs, having a Frantic show delivered to your door, apart from their special offer days, normally costs £250, which for a party of 10 works out as around the same as a ticket price alone per person for an average panto, but without the huge extra costs of getting to the venue itself (and all that entails), and the ‘necessary’ spending on refreshments and extras once you’re there. An Arts Council study in 2005 put the real minimum average cost of just getting to a venue at around £8 per person outside the capital, and as much as £53* (see notes) per person in London itself. Even a conservative estimate of these costs, adding the further amount spent at the venue itself, and all the hidden extras, easily doubles (and sometimes triples) the cost of the ticket price. It can be the large real costs that put a lot of people off going to the theatre. Often the seasonal panto product of B-list celebrities, patronizing routines and tired ‘in-jokes’ can leave a lot to be desired too. So, the opportunity of hosting a Frantic Theatre show, which aims to be much more intelligent, personal, inspiring & truly universal, in the comfort of your own home to entertain, say, 8-10 (or more) people, is an increasingly attractive proposition, even seen as a culturally radical move to try new things, especially when its half the price and less hassle then braving the streets to go out to see a show. “Can I Do you Now Sir?” is an inspired cocktail of modern & ‘traditional’ forms of comedy, musical theatre & vaudeville performed with the sensibility of the most cutting edge stand-up & improvisation. ‘New-time music hall’ unapologetically takes diabolical liberties with the songs, skits, monologues of the past and recent past – from Gershwin to the Goons, from Marie Lloyd to Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, from Noel Coward to Tom Waits, all performed with high energy footwork, snappy costume changes, and a tour de force of quick character-work, by just one actor. It’s not just a cabaret, the songs and stories are acted out for real, adapted uniquely to each venue and audience, and the effect is very funny and engaging. ‘New-time music hall’ is also a truly universal form of musical theatre and comedy, which attempts to bridge cultural divides and age gaps, and allow a truly diverse audience to genuinely enjoy the experience. There’s nothing crude or offensive required in Frantic performances – just the highest calibre acting and singing, in a seamless and thought-provoking spectacle designed to take people out of themselves and give them a thoroughly good time. This is theatre at its simplest, most thrilling and most cathartic, and working on many levels. The company have developed this concept of ‘In-House Theatre’ over 18 years of performing non-stop tours of the UK & Ireland. Founded in 1990, Frantic’s reputation has grown purely from word-of-mouth, and to date over 11,000 performances have taken place in venues as eclectic as front rooms, stately homes, offices, & gardens, as well as the more commonplace theatres, village halls, arts centres, schools, and comedy clubs. Frantic have spent years perfecting the skills, material, universality & frightfully good manners required to make the experience radical enough to take an audiences’ breath away, as all good theatre should, whilst renewing hope in the ability of the arts to go out and reach its audience where it finds them – in fact in the best place to find them, at home, parked on a sofa. For an informal party of strangers or a dinner party of close friends, the show gets the evening off on great footing. If your home is your castle, Frantic wish to demonstrate what it like to have a court jester. Having a show in your own home is a new social phenomenon. A sort of ‘back to basics’ for the Arts. From coffee morning shows for a few close friends shrugging off the mornings financial losses, to a lunchtime concert in a conservatory with hardly enough room to swing a cat, to an afternoon tea birthday party, to a full-blown soiree or family get-together in the evening ‘in the living room’. The smallest gig Frantic have performed so far being in the doorway of a very small conservatory of a house in West Wales to an audience of three (mother, daughter and neighbour). Bonnie Greer in Time Out referred to Frantic’s performances as having an “anarchic beauty”, The Stage have called them “highly original”, The Big Issue said Frantic’s work was “truly inspired”, whilst The Irish Post wrote that “bellylaughs [were] guaranteed”. Frantic have literally thousands of ‘reviews’ from individual venues also available. To review Frantic’s latest work for your organisation or publication then please call the company a.s.a.p. to arrange your own complimentary (free) preview of an ‘in-house theatre’ experience at your own location – preferably in someone’s living room. Please note that there is strictly limited availability for these complimentary performances and they are booked on a first come first served basis. Telephone Patrick on 0870 165 7350 or leave a message with return contact details. |
| Frantic Theatre web site: www.frantictheatre.com |
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Tuesday, November 11, 2008 |
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