Category: News

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Get your BATS Panto Beauty and the Beast tickets!!

So here we go folks… it’s that time again… – a heads up that Bats is back with our next Panto… Beauty and the Beast … we have our main cast and will soon be rehearsing.. put the dates in your diary for a pre Christmas treat not to be missed! It’s fantastic to be doing what we love again and entertaining you lovely folks.

Tickets are on sale and selling fast from Ticket Source!!

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Murder Mystery Performance – Available to all

 

BATS have a Murder Mystery Evening performance available to anyone who is looking to host such an evening.

 

The Waitling Players Murder Mystery.

 

You arrive on the eve of the opening of The Waitling Players latest production “Steel Magnolias”. Frought with tension, it is your job, with the help of Inspector Meltoya to determine who the murderer is. Is it the eccentric director? The bitter actress at the end of her career? The demanding theatre critic? The fledgling new comer? The attention-seeking celebrity? The trusted stage manager? Or the hippie, who just loves everyone?

For further information on this fantastic evening of entertainment, email us on bats.theatre.society@gmail.com or contact us on Facebook @BATSUK

Professional standards with Amateur prices.

 

 

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BATS are putting on a Free Evening of Entertainment

 

BATS Drama Festival entry short play “Trammel Net” will be performed on Monday 27th April 2020 at Trinity Methodist Church, Shortmead Street, Biggleswade, prior to its entry into the Welwyn and Cambridge Drama Festivals.

Doors open 20:00, curtain up 20:30. Estimated finish time 21:30.

Entry is Free of Charge.

Trammel Net is an original drama written and directed by a BATS member.

It explores the stories of 3 families, all seemingly separate, but all intricately linked. Their layers like the intricate design of a fishing net known as a “trammel net”.

A modern telling of family life today, how we cope with the challenges we face, how life endures through thick and thin, how we recover from past mistakes and how friendship is sometimes a stronger and more essential bond than family.

A strong cast of actors from BATS consisting of (in alphabetical order):

Caitlin Evans
Matt Evans
Katy Gardiner
Kerry Hewish
Natasha Leftwich
Erin Watson
Kelvin West
Kay Young

Written and Directed by Melanie Wilcox.

If you are interested in coming to this evening of free entertainment, please accept this invite and comment the number of seats you will require.

NB This play contains mature themes and language, so may not be suitable for young children

BATS Drama Festival entry short play “Trammel Net” will be performed on

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** THE ALL NEW COMMUNITY REVIEW – MEET THE CAST **

** COMMUNITY REVIEW – MEET THE CAST **

The show is on 23 & 24th November, so not long now – let’s take some time to meet the cast

In alphabetical order:

Louise Connolly

is 16 and has been a member of BATS for many years starting as a lost boy in Peter Pan, she has played principle roles (Prince Charming in Cinderella) and comedy roles (The Witch in Robin Hood). Louise also trains at drama college. Louise has really enjoyed being a part of the variety show & is looking forward to doing many more shows with BATS

Maxine Connolly

has been with BATS for 15 years and has loved the journey. She has played various principal and ensemble parts in drama festivals and Panto’s and has also enjoyed being the lead set designer for BATS. Maxine is also recently involved with a singing quartet called Q4.

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BATS’s new show is just around the corner!

THE ALL NEW COMMUNITY REVUE

Get your tickets at ticket source.co.uk/bats

7pm Sat 23rd november and 4pm on Sunday 24th November at the Weatherley Centre, Biggleswade

Something for everyone, Comedy, Shakespeare, Musicals, Ballet, Modern Dance, Medleys and generally a whole lot of fun to bring the community together.

So exciting to be part of this eclectic selection of brilliance with an even more brilliant cast and awesome groups from the local community including Sandy and Hitchin Dance Academy, St Neots Singers, Zanshin Karate Dojo and Q4 a barbershop Quartet.

 

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BATS’s “Steel Magnolias” scoop the “Best Drama Award” at the East Region NODA Awards today

It was such an honour and a privilege to be at the helm of this fantastic play last year. a phenomenal cast and crew team. so much talent on the stage.

Today we found ourselves at the NODA awards, 7 months on, having been nominated in Best Drama and Best Panto for “Cinderella”. Such an honour to be nominated let alone to win one of the categories.

It was a lovely day, with all of us looking tippy in our finest.  Food was excellent. It was truly fantastic to be in a room with 450 other exceptionally talented people of all ages, shapes, sizes and backgrounds. And such a great mix of fantastic shoes as well!

i couldnt be more proud of our achievements and this love story i have had with this play for over 20 years.

To quote Kay Young earlier today –  “We winned!!! Yay go us!”

Now, all i can think of is what should be next and “how do we top that”?

 

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IT’S A WRAP!

It’s a Wrap! Thank you to everyone who came down to support BATS with their Robin Hood Panto. We have a lot of fun putting in on and loved the response we received.

BATS are taking a break from Panto next year but watch this space for our up and coming shows.

Come see us at our Murder Mystery Evening on Saturday 30/03 – Great Barford Village Hall.

Tickets available at ticketsource.co.uk/bats

Also, look out for our Revue Show in November xxx

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** ROBIN HOOD THE PANTO 2019 – MEET THE DIRECTOR **

So you have met the cast and now over to the creative brain behind it all – our Director Kay Young.
 
This will be Kay’s 11th stint in the panto director’s chair, and the 27th that she has been directly involved with, and she has a whopping 30 years membership of BATS under her belt (yes she is that old!)
 
Unless you’re connected with it, it is hard to comprehend the hard work and level of commitment it takes to put on a show, particularly of a scale like this. there is a small army of a team who support and without whom, it just could not happen.
 
Particular thanks to Gareth Griffiths Kay’s right hand man and assistant director and all round good egg, Katy Gardiner, who is not only our chair & title role, she’s choreographer and has assisted in so much of the on stage action too. And of course our resident machine Mel Wilcox, aka: superwoman, who is producer, stage manager and leading on set as well as all the tasks associated with group secretary. These guys are the backbone and we couldn’t do it without them and all the others who give their time and talent.
 
The 20 plus company of performers have been fantastic to work with and Kay gets especially excited to put newcomers on the stage and this year we are lucky to welcome 4 newbies to Bats, in principal roles, plus new people to our crew and chorus too.
 
Kay would also like to extend a special “welcome back” to both Dave and Kate Maltby who are again providing all of the tech side, the lighting and sound, they are a magnificent team.
 
Thanks also to The Hitchin and Sandy Dance Academy for providing wonderful students to perform in one of the scenes, they made their debut last year and were so fantastic we had to have them back.
 
All in all – cast and crew have done Kay proud and she hopes that you enjoy the show as much as she has enjoyed putting it together with this amazing team.
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**ROBIN HOOD THE PANTO 2019 – MEET THE CAST **

Meet our swash-buckling hero, our leading man and a man so great they named a Panto after him… Robin Hood – played by Katy Gardiner!
 
Katy has been a member of BATS for over 9 years, joining shortly after the birth of her 2nd son and is now into her 3rd year as Chair of the group.
During this time she has enjoyed many roles on stage including Seraphina in ‘A Rose Tattoo’, Alice in our production of ‘Home by Christmas’ and Dandini in ‘Cinderella’. This will be her 7th Pantomime and her first as Principle Boy in the title roll ‘Robin Hood’!
Other roles undertaken within the group include Director, Assistant Director on ‘Wizard of Oz’ and many, many hours of choreography.
Katy is delighted to have been cast as Robin Hood this year, much to her surprise, as she is usually much more comfortable in a comedy sidekick role in the Pantomime world. She is also extremely proud to be sharing the stage with both of her sons, for the first time!
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** ROBIN HOOD THE PANTO 2019 – MEET THE CAST **

 

On this Valentine’s Day where we celebrate being in love, we wanted to introduce you to our own Valentine, Sweetheart and Leading Lady Maid Marion – Played by Lizzie Harknett.
Lizzie came to watch her sister in last year’s BATS production of Cinderella, thoroughly enjoying the show and incredibly talented cast. After a few shoves in the direction of the auditions for Robin Hood from said sister, Lizzie found herself singing for the first time in over 13 years and much to her surprise she managed to land the role of Maid Marion!
Lizzie performed in many productions during her childhood but after school got caught up in the rat race of life, now working as a crime analyst. Lizzie has been a type 1 diabetic for 30 years, is a mother to her two year old daughter and is married to her childhood sweetheart.
Lizzie is quite overwhelmed to be playing a principal part but has loved developing the strong minded character of Marion, she really is a live wire! Being out of the house two evenings a week to rehearse has been quite a challenge but, being part of the BATS family and to do something for herself has been such a wonderful experience and she is very grateful to be involved.