MAINSTAGE
MAINSTAGE
The Talisman offers nine main stage productions every year at our Kenilworth based theatre. We produce shows from across a wide spectrum of different genres and styles, offering a thrilling, vibrant evening in the theatre.
Our reputation means that we attract dynamic directors and top local actors to our stage. We also welcome visiting companies to enhance our programme.
Each season brings something for everyone, including Comedy, Murder and Mystery, Thrillers and the Classics alongside Musicals and our ever-popular family Pantomime.
Check out our What’s On pages regularly to ensure you don’t miss out on these amazing shows.
LADIES DOWN UNDER
30th Jan - 4th Feb 2023
Sequel to ‘Ladies Day’.
After hitting the jackpot in ‘Ladies’ Day’, the fish-filleting foursome celebrate with the trip of a lifetime. This sequel to Ladies’ Day takes Pearl, Jan, Shelley and Linda from downtown Hull to the land of Oz in this fast-paced comedy.
While Shelley spends on luxury and glamour, the rest of the gang go native and camp out at Ulhuru. But Shelley soon discovers there’s more on offer than smart hotels and sun-kissed surfers, and Pearl has her own mountain to climb. What promises to be trip of a lifetime becomes a life-changing adventure for them all.
by Amanda Whittington
Director: Graham Buckingham-Underhill
AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS
16th - 18th March 2023
Talisman Youth Theatre Presents…
Around the World in 80 Days sees the fabulously wealthy Victorian gentleman Phileas Fogg wager his life’s fortune that he can circumnavigate the globe in just eighty days. Along with his hapless valet, Passepartout, he sets out on a dazzling escapade that takes him from the misty alleys of London to the subcontinent and on to the Wild West as they race against the clock on a dizzying succession of trains, steamers, wind-propelled sleighs and elephants.
Adapted by Laura Eason from Jules Verne’s classic novel
Director: Caroline McCluskey
DON'T DRESS FOR DINNER
22nd - 27th May 2023
Hilarious Boulevarde comedy – a slick and very sophisticated farce.
Expecting his wife to be away, Bernard has arranged a romantic weekend at his converted farmhouse with his Parisian mistress. As a cover story, he has also invited his best friend. A Cordon Bleu Chef is on her way to prepare gourmet delights. What might happen when his wife cancels her weekend at short notice? Only in farce and only in France!
by Marc Camoletti, adapted by Robin Hawdon
Director: Steve Smith
PRIDE AND PREJUDICE
26th June - 1st July 2023
Romantic comedy at its best.
The World Premiere of Jane Austen’s
Pride and Prejudice
Adapted for the stage by Andrew Davies from his award-winning screenplay
Pride and Prejudice has always been the most famous of Jane Austen’s books and has seen several reincarnations in film, television and theatre.
We are privileged to bring the world premiere adaptation of Andrew Davies’ BBC TV series to the Talisman stage. Theatre goers who love Jane Austen, will not be disappointed with this romantic comedy which is very much written in the best Andrew Davies style.
adapted by Andrew Davies
Director: Corrina Jacob
Made in 48 Hours Presents...HYDE & GO SEEK
Sunday 23rd July
Made in 48 Hours are back at the Talisman with a new twist on a classic tale
Based (extremely loosely) on the gothic story by Robert Louis Stevenson, people are being killed in Victorian London and the police are stumped. Reports of a mysterious figure roaming the streets at night, prior to the murders, catch the attention of scientist Dr Henry Jekyll as well as one the world’s most well known detectives. At the same time, Dr Jeykll is harbouring his own dark secret that must be contained at all costs….
Join us for the show at 7.30pm on Sunday 23rd July when we can promise you an evening of ridiculousness and laughter.
For anyone who hasn’t seen a Made in 48 Hours production, the cast and crew will be presented with the script on the evening of Friday 21st July, props and costumes will be sourced, lines will be learnt (sort of) and the show will be pulled together ready for the performance on the Sunday evening.
All proceeds go to charity and this year our chosen charity is Spencer’s Retreat, part of the Langdale Trust.
BLACKADDER GOES FORTH
28th August - 2nd September 2023
An evening of classic satirical comedy.
Come and revel in four episodes of the stage production of the triumphant World War I sequence of this much-loved BBC TV sitcom, including the inspired finale Goodbyee!
Join Captain Edmund Blackadder, Baldrick, Captain Kevin Darling, General Melchett, and other favourites in an evening of hilarity and nostalgia.
by Richard Curtis and Ben Elton
Director: David Draper
SWEET CHARITY
2nd - 7th October 2023
One of the great Tony Award winning American musicals – not to be missed.
Hapless but unflappable, Charity Hope Valentine desperately seeks love in 1966 New York City. In this exuberant, goofy, hilarious musical comedy, Charity tries again and again to find her dream and make something of herself.
The big Broadway score contains the hit songs Big Spender, The Rhythm of Life, If My Friends Could See Me Now and There’s Gotta Be Something Better Than This. The script has one laugh line after another by one of the masters of American comedy. A must see of the season.
Book by Neil Simon
Music by Cy Coleman
Lyrics by Dorothy Fields
Based on an original screenplay by Federico Fellini,
Tullio Pinelli and Ennio Flaiano
Director: Stephen Duckham
MURDER BY MISADVENTURE
6th - 11th November 2023
A classic murder mystery that will keep you guessing to the end.
What happens when two award winning writers who have worked together for years start to hate each other? Harry Kent invested wisely and now lives in a sun drenched luxury flat high above the Sussex coast. It is a hi-tech paradise with only one snag: it’s built on the site of an ancient British sacrificial stone where black magic was practiced and comes with strange noises in the night. Paul Riggs, has spent his fees on booze and birds, and lives in dread of the bookies’ heavies. Harry wants to break the partnership that is Paul’s lifeline, but Paul knows a sinister secret from Harry’s past. They find themselves locked together in a dance from which murder seems the only escape.
by Edward Taylor
Director: Dave Crossfield
BEAUTY & THE BEAST
16th - 30th December 2023
It’s that time of year again – Oh yes it is!
Join Prince Rowan who is travelling the country with his friend Thomas, his nurse Madam Lotte and her son Charlie.
They arrive in the village of Prettybelle where they meet Panisse, a merchant, and his daughter, Beauty. Rowan falls in love with Beauty, but he is already betrothed from birth to Princess Horridana. Vowing to return for Beauty, he leaves for the castle to break his engagement.
Horridana, who is really a Sorceress, brings the full force of her wrath down on Rowan and turns him into a hideous Beast. The only way the spell can be broken is if someone falls in love with him.
The story of how Beauty comes to be held captive in the castle, and how she eventually tames the Beast, is told in this traditional Talisman Pantomime with all the larger than life characters, comedy, music and spectacle.
by Stephen Duckham
Director: Amelia Webster
