News release
Thursday
March 1, 2018
CHOCOLATE-INSPIRED DRAMATIC SENSATION TO TAKE OVER
BEVERLEY STREETS AT EASTER
WHITE Rabbit Chocolatiers and all-female theatre
company She Productions have joined forces to run an Easter ‘Eggstravaganza’ of
family entertainment in Beverley.
They are working together on an all-original musical
play created by director of She, Annie Kirkman, called ‘Alice’s Eggstravaganza
in Wonderland’.
And the production, which includes a walk through
central Beverley from the East Riding Theatre venue in Lord Roberts Road, to
White Rabbit’s Dyer Lane shop, promises to be a veritable feast of
entertainment for all involved.
Ed Hawkes, Co-owner of White Rabbit, said the event is
all part of his family’s aim of building an imaginative experience around
chocolate, that brings families and the wider community together.
“Even more so than Christmas, Easter is probably THE
time for celebrating with chocolate,” he said.
“Easter eggs and other characters are all part of the
magic of this special festival which also marks the imminent arrival of Spring,
and so we thought partnering with She Productions again was a great way to
celebrate fabulous food and entertainment in one go.
“And of course, we particularly love the way our own
white rabbit emblem – which is inspired both by the sculpture in Beverley’s St
Mary’s church and a little by the magical tale of Alice, features centre
stage!”
Based on the classic ‘Alice in Wonderland’ story,
their version involves – yes, you’ve guessed it – a mischievous white rabbit
and a protagonist called Alice, with bags of audience participation. Aimed at
families, attendees are invited to get involved in helping Alice bring the
naughty bunny in line. And the dramatised tale even includes a
specially-written song about White Rabbit’s chocolate shop.
Here’s how She Productions are billing the production:
“Deep down the rabbit warren, things aren’t quite as they seem. A family feud
has shaken Wonderland to its core and the two cotton-tailed culprits have let
their jealousy get the better of them. And so, late last night, the White
Rabbit fled from her home in a rage, but she didn’t leave empty-handed.
“Today is the Queen of Hearts’ Annual Eggstravaganza
Party and she is relying on the Easter Bunny to deliver her prized chocolate
eggs. But, or course, the Easter Bunny has awoken this morning to an empty
basket and a missing sister. Alice needs your help to retrieve the eggs and
return them to their rightful owner or it’s ‘off with their heads’!”
And the performance promises to be quite a spectacle
too. Classed as a ‘promenade piece’, it involves cast and audience members
parading from East Riding Theatre to the White Rabbit Chocolatiers shop and
café on Dyer Lane, where the children will receive a chocolate treat and, on the
Friday and Saturday show days, will also have the chance to take part in a
chocolate egg-decorating workshop.
Alice will be played by Grace Christiansen, a local
singer-songwriter who has also worked with the renowned John Godber theatre
company.
“Both our organisations are passionate about helping
to put Beverley on the map and bring visitors to the town and surrounding area,
and we’re really hoping that our show will add to the Easter weekend ambiance,
said writer and She Executive Producer Annie Kirkman.
“It’s the second year that we’ve created a play with
White Rabbit Chocolatiers. The 2017 event was sponsored by Beverley Racecourse
and staged on that site, and we’re extremely grateful to them to helping us get
it off the ground.
“This year we’re bringing it into the town centre and
are hoping it’ll be even bigger and better.
“We’ve also tried to make it as accessible as possible
and give it real family appeal, to attract people who might not normally
consider attending the theatre, and encourage kids to experience the thrill of
live performance and leave their phones and iPads at home.”
Their first event, in 2017, was sponsored by Beverley
Racecourse in 2017, and was performed at the ground.
White Rabbit Chocolatiers are also running a
competition in collaboration with the local JustBeverley magazine and website,
giving away two tickets for the show on Thursday 29 March at 11am. Entry
details will be in the February/March issue of the magazine.
She Productions are currently company in residence at
East Riding Theatre, with plans to expand their offering and take some of their
productions on tour over the coming weeks and months.
Performance dates for Alice’s Eggstravaganza in
Wonderland are:
Wednesday 28 March, 11am and 2pm
Thursday 29 March, 11am and 2pm
Monday 2 April, 2pm
Friday 30 March, 2pm*
Saturday 31 March, 2pm*
Tickets cost £5 per child and £6 per adult, apart from
the performances marked with a *, which cost £6.50 per child and £7.50 per
adult and include a limited edition White Rabbit Chocolatiers’ egg decorating
workshop.
Tickets are available from East Riding Theatre, in
person from the box office, by emailing www.ert.co.uk or calling (01482) 874050.
ENDS
For further information,
and to arrange photographs or further interviews, please contact Tracy Fletcher
of By Tracy Fletcher Limited PR, on 07983 633385, or via
bytracyfletcher@gmail.com
Photos: Annie Kirkman and Ed Hawkes; Annie Kirkman
Notes
for editors
The cast for Alice’s
Eggstravaganza in Wonderland
Grace Christiansen
Alice
Grace is
a 21 year old actor musician from Beverley. She is currently in her final year
at the University of Hull, studying Drama and Theatre Practice. Previous shows
include 'The Kings of Hull’, 'The Loneliest Girl in the World’ and ‘Ruby
and the Vinyl’. She was crowned winner of the Hull Daily Mail Star Search in
2014. Her first album ‘Three Corners’ is available on iTunes, and she is
currently working on new music.
facebook.com/gracechristiansenofficial
Twitter
@GraceeElaine
Allison Saxton
Caterpillar/Cheshire
Cat/Queen of Hearts
Allison has worked as a performer for
over 25 years. She graduated from
University of Wales Aberystwyth with a degree in Theatre, Film and Television.
TV credits include, 'The Royal' and 'Shameless'. On stage she has played a
variety of roles from Gertrude in Hamlet, to Charlotte Bronte and even Edmund
in King Lear.
However, she has always had strong
links to theatre in education, touring schools and colleges as well as leading
workshops and storytelling days. Outside of performing Allison has a passion
for Archaeology and used her digging skills in an episode of Time Team
Rachel Shaw
White Rabbit
Rachel graduated with a First Class degree in
BA(Hons) Contemporary Theatre and Performance from Manchester Metropolitan
University. Theatre credits include ‘Dick Whittington’ UK Tour with The Stage
and Production House and ‘The White Rabbit in Easterland’ with She Productions,
2017. Film credits include ‘1921’ released this January.
She
Productions
She
Productions formed in 2015 after benefit performances of ‘The Vagina
Monologues’, in support of women’s charity, Hull Rape Crisis. Since then they
became Company in Residence at East Riding Theatre (ERT) and have written,
produced, and performed 9 original shows, including family musical ‘The
StorytEllas’ and their popular Halloween promenade show ‘The Lightless
Pumpkin’.
Other shows
include: ‘Beverley Does Broadway’, a cycle of musical theatre songs with a
Northern twist, which had a sell-out run in 2015 and will return in June 2018;
and ‘MissCast’, a comedic satire about the struggles of being an actor which
premiered in May 2017.
Most
notably they wrote and premiered new musical ‘It’s Different for Girls’ at ERT
in September 2017. Inspired by Hull 60’s girl band Mandy & the Girlfriends,
and supported by Arts Council England, this sell-out show received National
press coverage on BBC The One Show presented by Geri Horner.
Twitter
@ProductionsShe
Creatives
Annie
Kirkman, Writer
Annie
trained in Musical Theatre at Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts.
Theatre
credits include: Sparrow/The Butler
Dresses Again (East Riding Theatre & LAF, New Zeaand) Carol in Shakers (The John Godber Theatre
Company), Nancy in Oliver Twist (East
Riding Theatre & LAF, New Zealand), Diane Keaton in Being Woody (Prince of Wales) Jane Austen in Austen The Musical (UK Tour), Chorus/ Belle in A Christmas Carol (East Riding Theatre) Cinderella in Into The Woods (Ye Olde Rose &
Crown), Mary Arnold in Shellshock
(Waterloo East Theatre), Diana in I Love
You Because (Theatro Technis), Sofia in Days
of Hope (Ye Olde Rose & Crown), Fay in A Body To Die(t) For (Edinburgh Fringe Festival) and Alice in The Martyr (Soho Theatre).
Annie is a
founding member of She Productions. Since forming in 2015, Annie has co-written
and performed in Beverley Does Broadway,
The Three Kingdoms, The Lightless Pumpkin, The StorytEllas,
MissCast and It’s Different for Girls
as well as writing Alice’s
Eggstravaganza in Wonderland for the company and Beverley Racecourse. She
has also produced Honey, I Stereotyped
the Kids for Assemble Fest 2017 with SeeGold Productions.
Rachel Barnes, Musical
Director
Rachel graduated with a first in English
Literature from the University of Hull. Acting credits: Dancing Bear UK Tour (Jamie Fletcher & Company), I Hate Alone (Middle Child), Sparrow (ERT), The Three Kingdoms, Beverley Does Broadway (She Productions), A Christmas Carol (ERT). Rachel was also
co-writer, Musical Director and performer in It’s Different for Girls, MissCast and The StorytEllas for She Productions.
Tiffany
Wilkinson-Morris, Costume Design
Tiffany
is currently studying Model Design (Special Effects) at the University of
Hertfordshire. She has been working with She Productions since 2015 and has
designed and created costumes for The
Three Kingdoms, The Lightless Pumpkin, The StorytEllas & It’s Different for Girls.