Note: the performance on Thursday 2nd Oct is a matinee starting at 1pm. All other performances start at 8pm as usual.

An amateur youth production

Sixth Form pupils from St Columba's College and Princess Helena College, Hitchin in the RSC's version of the classic tale.

Tickets from St Columba's 01727 855185 from 8 September 2008

Performances start at 7:00pm

The Shakespeare Schools Festival and The Abbey Theatre are pleased to present again this celebration of Shakespeare

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The settled routine of a small Russian estate is thrown into violent confusion when the head of the household, an ageing Professor, arrives with his beautiful young wife. Hidden hopes, frustrations and desires come to the surface as Chekhov's finely observed characters face up to new directions and missed opportunities. A darkly comic masterpiece set in the 1890s, at once both tender and passionate

Matinee at 3pm on Sat 1 November as well as the evening performance at 8pm.

This musical Western is adapted from the celebrated stage-play and film. 'Calam' dresses like a man, totes a gun and drives the Deadwood City stagecoach. Well-meaning, but disaster-prone, she tries to help the local saloon proprietor out of a jam by promising to fetch a music-hall star from Chicago. A hilarious comedy, it nevertheless has many tender moments and some very famous numbers, including 'Secret Love', 'Black Hills Of Dakota','Deadwood Stage' and 'Windy City'.

An Amateur Youth Production by kind permission of Josef Weinberger Ltd.

Master-farceur Ray Cooney provides an action packed evening of hilarity and narrow escapes in another of his inimitable comedies. Take an MP behaving badly, an attractive scantily clad woman trying to avoid her irate husband, a mysterious dead body and lots of Parliamentary spin - and there is the recipe for a superb drama-filled evening with fun and frolics

This tender and funny play was included on the National Theatre's list of the 100 most significant plays of the twentieth century and a recent revival in the West End starred Clive Owen, and later, Eddie Izzard. Described by Michael Frayn as a "dangerous writer", Nichol's controversial play draws on autobiographical elements as he navigates a fine line between black humour and heart wrenching sadness in his depiction of a family coping with a severely handicapped daughter. Set in the 1960s, A Day in the Death of Joe Egg is a powerful piece of theatre.

Tidemark Theatre has strong links with the CoT and will be well-known to members for their productions of The Regina Monologues and Brian Friel's Faith Healer in 2006/7 as well as for their popular Christmas supper and theatre "do's". This year, the cast and crew of Joe Egg is fully populated with CoT talent including Nick Strudwick who directs, Jon Russell as designer, Ray Palmer as SM ably supported by others including Dorian Brook. The cast includes CoT members Brian Stewart, Rebecca Russell, Jo Emery, Tim Hoyle and Betty Rose.

Another evening of family entertainment from this popular local organisation.

Tickets and further information from the organisers, tel: 01727 761870

This funny and thought-provoking evening, based on the drama created by the Actresses' Franchise League, sheds light on a fascinating aspect of theatrical history. Playing for Power was originally performed in the 1990s in St Albans and Edinburgh with a short American tour. Time and Tide are reviving the show to celebrate two landmarks: the 100th anniversary of the Actresses' Franchise League and the 90th anniversary of women first getting the vote.

The Actresses' Franchise League was formed at the height of the suffrage campaign. The League, supported by the leading actresses of the day from Lillie Langtry to Ellen Terry, commissioned and performed a wide range of entertaining plays, sketches and songs to promote the suffrage cause.

Playing for Power is performed by Julia Porter-Robinson (you may remember her as Julia Hames in Two, Mrs Klein and Steel Magnolias) and Margaret Metcalf.

It's directed by Rachel Metcalf whose last show at the Abbey Theatre was Not About Heroes with Simon Gibson and Richard Crisp.

Performances at at various times (2:30pm, 5:30pm and 7:30pm) on different dates.

A little orphaned piglet brought up by a kindly old sheep-dog, Fly, begins the warm and touching story of Babe and his extraordinary rise to fame. The humorous and sometimes dangerous escapades of this gallant little fellow will delight the whole family, as Babe becomes the toast of the farmyard. This is Christmas entertainment with real heart

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In this elegant, shrewd and wittily written drama, Frances and Madeleine two clever and self-possessed women now in their sixties, take stock of their lives defined by, and around Martin the lawyer.

He was once married to Frances, and had an affair with Madeleine. Then he found a new woman, an American and moved with her to Seattle. Now Madeleine, a retired museum curator, independent and confrontational, suddenly receives a visit from Frances, who has recently found success as a novelist. The two women have only previously met once before and know little about one another. Questions, intrigue, anger and humour fill the air in this richly textured drama. Bitingly funny and often deeply affecting this is an unusual and fascinating evening of intimate theatre

Tomas and Maria perform passionate Spanish flamenco guitar solos and duets with castanets.

Their varied programme includes pieces which are energetic, light and fun, sensitive and soulful. They are known for their relaxed interaction on stage and their simple uncomplicated and sincere expression of this quintessentially Spanish andalucian art form

Set in 1912 , Shaw's comedic masterpiece tells how Henry Higgins, a professor of phonetics, in order to win a bet, trains Eliza, a cockney flower-girl, to behave like a duchess and speak beautifully.

At the same time it is a satire on the superficiality of class distinctions. This is made explicit in the character of Dolittle, Eliza's father - one of Shaw's best comic creations, and in the pathetic pretensions of the Eynesford-Hills, a snobbish middle-class family who have fallen upon hard times.

Before the first night in London Shaw was interviewed by a reporter from The Observer who asked him for a few words about the play. He said that it had already been translated into four languages, and had played with unbroken success in seven countries. He added 'There must be something radically wrong with it if it pleases everybody but at the moment I cannot find out what it is'

It has been said that no play anatomises more accurately post war Labour England. It was written by Priestley in the depths of one of the coldest winters on record in 1947 during a period of severe fuel shortages and food rationing. He is reputed to be the inventor of the state of the nation drama and in this play he succeeds in creating a microcosm of British society in those immediate post war years. First produced at The Duchess Theatre in London in 1947 it ran for a year and received critical acclaim and it was very successfully revived at The Orange Tree in 2006 to similar acclaim.

On the face of it the play is the story of a family reunion to celebrate the 65th birthday of Professor Linden, an idealistic historian who has forsaken Oxford to teach in a dreary provincial city and is under intense pressure from the new broom Vice-Chancellor to retire, the idea to which he is totally resistant. His wife is anxious to get away from their dull surroundings and enjoy life in his retirement. The attitudes of the members of the family differ as do their various lives, representing as they do, the differing sections of society in post-war Labour Britain. The domestic crisis which ensues shows us the disparate characters of each member of his family. As usual Priestley creates his characters with masterful accuracy making each of them entirely believable. It is a thought provoking play which, while reflecting life sixty years ago, contains many parallels to the present day.

Suddenly into the idyllic atmosphere of a Tuscan holiday villa bursts a dishevelled, injured man carrying a gun, and claiming to be on the run from agents of the Vatican.

A dangerous lunatic? A criminal? Or might he be genuine? This is the dilemma that confronts four stunned and terrified holiday makers who only moments before had been enjoying a quiet relaxing evening on their beautiful Tuscan terrazzo.

The fugitive claims to be an English academic, an expert in ancient manuscripts. He maintains that whilst working in the Vatican he has uncovered facts that will shake the very foundations of Christianity. He says that he is now in mortal danger from the Vatican authorities who want him silenced at all costs.

The holiday makers have very different attitudes to the shattering implications of the fugitive's story. Academic - or madman? Can he convince them of his story before his would-be captors catch up with him . . .

As you would expect from a playwright of Hugh Whitemore's calibre, this is a thought provoking thriller, exploring deep and fascinating issues.

Performances at 8pm except on Friday when they are at 7:30 and 9:15pm

Hughie by Eugene O'Neill is a one-act play, set in 1920's New York. It presents a beautifully woven hour where the audience comes to know the lives of the two characters, as contact between them is formed and warmth is generated by their fragile human souls.

Erie Smith, a small-time gambler wanders home to a seedy New York hotel after a grief stricken bout of drinking: Hughie, the once night clerk and captive audience for Erie's tall tales, has died

Among many themes the play deals with the exploration of the human spirit and our ability to be optimistic even in the face of adversity.

This very amusing but also touching play was first produced at Hampstead Theatre with Alison Steadman and Linda Bellingham and later transferred to the West End.

The action takes place in one bedroom at two different times in the 1950s. Six year old Tony inadvertently catches his dad Louis in bed with his mistress, just as his wife is about to give birth. The skeletons that subsequently get shoved into the bedroom cupboard only come to light almost fifty years later in the present day, as Tony and his estranged younger brother Reggie come back to their childhood home, accompanied by their wives Sheila and Elizabeth, for Louis' funeral. Reggie is a top lawyer and his wife Elizabeth a top jewellery designer - and they have two designer teenage children too - a boy and a girl both high achievers in their exams. Tony, by contrast, has always had to struggle and he and his wife Sheila have a daughter with Down's Syndrome. But there's much more to their rivalry and animosity than mere envy and what impresses here is not the revelations in the plot, which are not hard to second guess, but the psychology behind their deep-seated effects on the brothers and their wives. Underpinning all the relationships in the play is the importance of Jewish roots and the tension between being born Jewish and converting, between marrying-out and converting-in, starting with Louis, a Jew with a wife who is a convert and a Jewish mistress.

This event is part of the St Albans Festival

Nancy Kerr and James Fagan are well known as a duo for which they won the BBC Radio 2 Folk Award 2003. Nancy's earthy and exquisite fiddle and viola playing dances with the striking rhythmic texture of James's guitar-bouzouki, while their rich singing both as soloists and in harmony evokes the stories of the songs they choose and write. Robert Harbron is widely considered to be the finest concertina player of his generation and is much in demand both as a soloist and in his many partnerships with other musicians. Nancy Kerr, James Fagan and Rob Harbron started to work together as a trio in 2007. Both their debut CD 'Station House' and live performances have won them considerable acclaim.

'This is a joy to listen throughout, from the sheer beauty of Nancy's fiddle playing to the great story telling in song, it is the sound of three consummate musicians delighting in their art. Beautiful tunes, wonderful songs and tremendous musicianship.' Martin Simpson.

This event is part of the St Albans Festival

We are pleased to be presenting a programme of three of Beckett's shorter plays, representing the finest of his work over the course of three decades.

Play (1963) is one of Beckett's most challenging works. Buried up to their necks in large urns, a man and two women separately recount their history under the relentless prompting of a single interrogative light. The play is made up of short, occasionally fragmented sentences spoken in a rapid tempo throughout.

Footfalls (1976) is an affecting, haunting masterpiece in which a woman, May, obsessively paces a narrow strip of floor while conversing with her mother's disembodied voice. Footfalls is divided into four parts, separated by chimes, which grow fainter in each sounding. Beckett's intention was to dramatize deterioration with visual and aural diminuendo with May addressing her mother at various stages in their lives. The whole play is brilliantly paced with not an extraneous second, step or chime. The title suggests Eliot's Burnt Norton : Footfalls echo in the memory.

Krapp's Last Tape (1958), an elegiac reflection on memory and lost love, is one of Beckett's best-known and most popular plays. Every year on his birthday Krapp records his impressions of the preceding year. Now sixty-nine, he listens back to his younger self and ponders a lifetime of failed aspirations.

This event is part of the St Albans Festival

Myths, Legends and Fairy tales as you've never seen them before. Don't myth it!