Welcome to Fast Forward Theatre

Fast Forward Theatre is the production identity of Richard Haighton, an actor with over 30 years' experience of all sorts of venues and all sorts of ventures. Don't miss our latest production - 'Will Kempe and the Nine Days' Wonder', with Christopher Talbot and Clare Robinson and Alan Booth in the stage manager's chair!

Catch us at The Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2007! Venue 234 understairs @EuroScot (The European in Scotland, 39, Palmerston Place, EH12 5AU) - Week 1 (Aug 3-11) @ 12:15 and 20:30; Weeks 2/3 (Aug 12-27) @ 12:15. Please note there is no performance on Aug 20th.

Or even earlier, at ...

•     Grouville Parish Hall - July 3rd 2007 @ 20:00

•     Jersey Arts Centre - July 10th 2007 @ 20:00
•  
•     Trinity Parish Hall - July 13th 2007 @ 20:00
•  
•     St Lawrence Parish Hall - July 24th 2007 @ 20:00

All preview performances now completed! Looking forward to Edinburgh, regardless of who is adminstering the venue!

Check out this review from Jersey Evening Post, by Richard Pedley.

TO EDINBURGH VIA NORWICH!

Combining Shakepeare, Morris dancing and music might not sound like a recipe for theatrical success, but the home grown play/musical 'Will Kempe and the Nine Days' Wonder' is an exhuberant creation, well worth a look. The play takes its structure from the fact that, in 1600, Will Kempe Morris danced from London to Norwich, non-stop, in nine days. The show follows Kempe, one of the leading actors at the time, as he frolics, then staggers to Norwich, interspersed with short Shakespearean scenes. The irony of using Shakespeare is that Kempe may well have made the decision to do the dance to a) get publicity and b) to give two fingers to The Lord Chamberlain's Men, who had just fired him. The Lord Chamberlain's Men were the pre-eminent theatre troupe of the day - in fact so pre-eminent that it even included Shakespeare as a member. As the trio head north,so the story changes from the slapstick of A Midsummer Night's Dream and The Comedy of Errors, to the heartbreaking moment in Henry IV Part II when Falstaff finally gets his comeuppance. Those who do not have a working knowledge of Shakespeare may want to browse the programme before the show starts, as the link between the story and the excerpts might otherwise be tricky to follow.

The show's main strength is in the performers (Richard Haighton, who also wrote the script, Clare Robinson and Christopher Talbot), who manage to switch from panto gurning to serious iambic pentameter at will, and each give an assured and polished performance with pace, energy and the impression that they are enjoying themselves as much as the audience.

They also manage to do something difficult, in making a Shakespearean comedy genuinely funny - the script reading in the style of Dylan is priceless.