Breaking the Code - the story of Alan Turing
By Hugh Whitemore Directed by Steve Gerlach. Review by Jo Hopkins "...the audience was riveted by complex mathematical and philosophical ideas one minute, and moved to tears the next by the human need for love and to be understood ...This was down to the intelligent, sensitive direction of Steve Gerlach and the conviction and brilliance […]
The Fringe at the Alton Arts Festival
An evening of extracts celebrating 36 years of Fringe productions. Directed by Louise Biddiss and others. Our contribution to Alton's inaugural Arts Festival in July 2024 - organised by the wonderful Guild of Optimists Photos by Ian Dumelow - click to enlarge
Play Readings
This week Steve led a reading of Beaking the Code by Hugh Whitemore - a fascinating and beautifully constructed account of the life of Alan Turing. Next week we meet again for a reading of Dylan Thomas' classic radio play, Under Milk Wood, led by James who directed it for the Fringe in 2006 (photos […]
Upcoming play readings
Tuesday Dec 5th - Hugh Whitemore Breaking the Code - Steve leading - re. Alan Turing Tuesday Dec 12th - Dylan Thomas Under Milk Wood - James leading Venues to be announced
Planning our next production
We have now completed the sequence of productions which were all originally conceived either during or shortly before the years of lockdown. Zigzag, Top Girls, The Plague, and now The Cherry Orchard, have all, in their delightfully contrasting ways, been tremendous successes. Each was a huge enterprise in its own right, dominating months of the […]
Cherry Orchard rehearsals going well
Four complete runs before we open on the 26th, two of them full dress rehearsals. Plus the technical rehearsal when we try out the sound and lighting and polish all the scene changes etc. With everyone of the book for several weeks we are well ahead of the usual schedule and it is looking very […]
The Cherry Orchard
by Anton Chekhov. Adapted for Alton Fringe Theatre by Michael Biddiss Directed by Louise Biddiss Performed at the Wessex Arts Centre, Alton College in October 2023 “A dozen varied characters - every one of them sharply captured. “ “So much more humour from Chekhov than I’d ever expected.” "...the whole thing was very well imagined […]
Emerging from the pandemic years in good heart
We have emerged from the pandemic years with two successful live productions under our belt, first ZigZag - our own Simon Applegarth's celebration of the life of Gilbert White of Selborne. Taking the form of a voice drama, he wrote it originally for Whites' 300th anniversary in 2020, but after a series of delays due […]
Goodbye '22 - Hello '23
So, 2022 is drawing to a close. It has seen two stage productions by the Fringe, one successful bring-your-own-item evening, and two play-reading evenings - Saturday, Sunday, Monday, and A Burial at Thebes - Seamus Heaney's verse translation of Sophocles' Antigone. I suppose we should mention that getting this new website up and running has […]
Upcoming Play-reading evening
Tues 13 Dec 7:30 The Burial at Thebes - Seamus Heaney's verse translation of Sophocles' Antigone.Led by James - Room 7, Alton Community Centre