Latest news from CADS
July 2026 newsletter
(July 01, 2026)It’s the Bard, Jim, but not as we know it
Rehearsals are now under way for our Arts Festival show – working title “Fakespeare” – which consists of two one-act comedies with a sort of Shakespearean theme. Ruby of Elsinore by American Bruce Kane sees the eponymous hairdresser at the Danish court exchanging wisecracks with characters from the play. The cast for this is:
Ruby -Rachael King
Ophelia – Emma-Louise Battom
Gertrude – Emma Daintrey
Claudius – Tim Johnson
Hamlet – Luke Francis
Ghost – Josh Rhodes
To be, or not to bother? - a brand-new play by old favourite David Tristram - is one of his “Little Grimley” series and sees the cast of the local amdram group attempting to put on an evening of iconic scenes from the Bard. Cast for that one is:
Gordon – Michael Young
Margaret – Issy McCann
Joyce – Heather Ormsby
Bernard – Darren Dunford
Worth noting that Tim, Issy and Heather are all performing for the first time with CADS.
The two plays will be performed on Thursday 17, Friday 18 and Saturday 19 September at a venue in Royston (we’re hoping to be at the new Royston Venue – see below!) and they’ve both been submitted as the CADS entries to this year’s Cambridge Festival of Drama at the prestigious ADC Theatre on Thursday 24 September.
More details once we have finalised them…
Venue know, you know
Work has been progressing on the conversion of the Town Hall space into the Royston Venue – regular Facebook postings have shown that the lighting and sound systems are more or less complete. CADS has made a substantial contribution, both financial and in terms of expertise, to this work, partly because we want to support a worthwhile community venture and partly to ensure that we have systems in place that will suit any production we might put on there….
Panto shout out
We’re still looking for a director for the 2027 Town Pantomime, which we’re hoping to perform once more at King James Academy in January next year. Although that might seem a long way off, work on the show really needs to begin in early October, immediately after the Royston Arts Festival and even before that we need to read possible scripts, so it’s really not too soon to consider putting yourself forward.
Don’t worry if you’ve not directed before but would like to give it a go - as is customary, there’ll be a whole bunch of people assisting you, from musical direction and production to technical crew, costumes, props and so on, hopefully leaving you as director free to concentrate on what happens on stage. It really is a large team and we’re all eager to see it succeed. If you’d like to be considered or if you have ideas for a show you’d like to see us perform, please get in touch with [email protected].
On the air again
We’ve recently reworked some of our previously recorded radio plays for the newly formed Meridian 1 Radio, which is set to begin broadcasting for a two-week trial period from 1 August. You’ll be able to listen to the station, which is based in the Melbourn area, via DAB radio, online or on smart speakers. We’ve sent them copies of four plays so far – Strangers on a Film (which includes a specially recorded introduction by Emma Daintrey and an interview with director Michael Young), The Hitch-Hiker, Sorry, Wrong Number and Losing the Plot. If all goes well, we’ll be looking to do some more recording, maybe later in the year, so watch this space!
For more information on the station, please visit www.meridian1.co.uk
Third Thursday
The usual reminder for your diaries that our next "Third Thursday" social will be on Thursday 16 July (from about 7.30pm onwards). Once again, we'll be meeting at the Casa Blanca bar in town for a few drinks, a few laughs and a general catch-up. We hope to see as many of you there as possible – all are welcome!
Committee
Our next committee meeting is on Tuesday 14 July; if there's anything you'd like us to consider or discuss then, please feel free to contact any of us at any time via the Contact page of this website.