Hello! My name is Sophie and I play Margaret in our production of Much Ado. I’m chuffed to bits to have returned to SMP this summer, after joining the fun at the end of last year for Panto! They all said I’d get hooked and they were right…I couldn’t keep away!
I’m really happy to be involved in this particular production, not only because Much Ado about Nothing is my favourite Shakespeare play, but also because, I absolutely love the fusion of creativity that is being pumped into this performance. It’s becoming such a playful piece of theatre, featuring delightful music, gorgeous singing, charming dances and whimsical comedy moments!
I’m most excited that we are staging the show in the style of a promenade performance, and will be immersing our audience into the action right from the start! I think it’s really fun that we’re going to be encouraging them to become part of the ensemble, and guiding them around the beautiful gardens of Bury Lodge Park, as they follow Shakespeare’s classic story of love and mistaken identity. This personal interaction with our audience in such an intimate setting, outside in the fresh air (whatever the weather!), means that no two performances will be the same, and for me, that’s the most interesting and exciting bit! Anything can happen!
With only 4 weeks until show week, we are now starting to piece together all that we have been working on and interweave our scenes with the dance numbers. This has been awesome, as we are starting to see our performance come together and take shape and it’s looking fantastic! Our choreographer Jo, has done such a fabulous job coming up with such inventive and classy dances sequences that will complement the setting of the park grounds beautifully. It’s also been great working with David, our director, who has been brilliant at helping us define our characters and perform Shakespeare’s (often confusing!) text with confidence and understanding.
We are all extremely excited for our quartet of amazing singers to join us in the rehearsal room soon! They have been busy rehearsing separately from us (in secret!) with our musical director Kate, putting together the dreamy tones of their stunning voices to create a gorgeous soundtrack to our play, which we know is going to enhance it perfectly. I absolutely love the style of music that is being used, without giving anything away, it suits the production wonderfully! This week, we were treated to a teeny tiny sneak peak of what they’ve been up to…they sound incredible and everyone is in for such a treat!
There is a real buzz in the rehearsal room whilst working on our production of Much Ado…it’s fresh, new and exciting and something completely different to anything SMP have ever done before! Even if you’re not the biggest fan of ol’ Willy Shakey, we promise our performance will be an interesting, fun and unique experience! Come along and see for yourself!
Tickets are limited to 100 tickets per performance so please book early to avoid missing out on a unique show. You can order your tickets by clicking the banner below.
