The ADC Theatre, Cambridge is Britain’s oldest University playhouse. Plays have been performed on the site of the Theatre since 1855, when the Cambridge University Amateur Dramatic Club was founded, and the society met in the back room of a hotel.
Whilst every performer and technician is an unpaid volunteer, the impressive alumni list proves how many have gone on to great success in the theatre industry. The ADC presents two shows every evening during university term, as well as a range of other programming outside of term from touring and local drama groups.
We take a quick look at two highlights of their Autumn calendar, first up, the enthralling Cherry & Blossom relive the movies.
RELIVE THE HIGHLIGHTS OF THE SILVER SCREEN WITH CHERRY & BLOSSOM: A NIGHT AT THE MOVIES
Fresh from their success with Cherry and Blossom: The Girls Can’t Help It (2-6 March 2010, Corpus Playrooms), Emily-Jane Swanson and Eve Rosato return with another time-machine of a production: this time, a history of cinema from the 1920s to 1950s.
With song, dance and laughs along the way, Cherry and Blossom will take the audience on a whistle-stop tour of the Golden Age of Hollywood: from the melodrama of the silent screen to the opulence of the period drama; from the suspense-filled Film Noir to the joyful fifties musical. The show will immerse the audience in the fashions and fads of each era with sexy set and costumes, against a background of well-known songs from movies and musicals.
The characters of Cherry and Blossom debuted in Cherry and Blossom: The Girls Can’t Help It, a production which Grace Rigg described as, “A fun-filled night which will make you nostalgic for eras you never got to enjoy first hand” (The Tab, 5 March 2010).
Eve Rosato, a former member of the Welsh National Opera, and Emily-Jane Swanson who runs two fashion businesses, are a dynamic duo in all respects; the girls write, design and direct their shows.
This production is an attempt to bring back the Vaudeville Cabaret of the Jazz Age. Blending their own modern wit into this retro show, these glamorous girls are at the forefront of the neo-Burlesque revival.
As Giverny Tattersfield wrote of the first Cherry and Blossom spectacular, “You can’t help but get drawn into the little world that they tease you with” (TCS, 4 March 2010).
PERFORMANCE DATES
Tuesday, 19 October 2010, 11pm
Saturday, 23 October 2010, 5pm
Further information and details on how to obtain tickets can be found at the ADC Theatre website.
