Our next production is "Curtain Up On Murder"

By Bettine Manktelow

Directed by Alan Stockdill

Monday October 6th to Saturday October 11th, 7.30pm

An amateur drama company are rehearsing a play at the end of the pier. Storms roar overhead and the sea is raging, a fitting atmosphere for a thriller. Suddenly they discover that the doors are locked – they are trapped! Events take a sinister turn when a ghostly presence passes over the stage and when the assistant stage manager falls to certain death through a trapdoor deliberately left open the actors are thrown into disarray. Their panic increases when one of the actresses is poisoned. They are no longer acting they are in their own Agatha Christie play. A real murderer is in their midst. Who next?

This is a skilfully written piece of suspense, an engaging and entertaining thriller with plenty of laughs and suspense.

Introduction to the Theatre
Welcome to the website for our canal-side theatre in the heart of Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire. We are an amateur company aiming for professional standards, we produce five plays a year and cater for the local community and visitors to the area alike. The 120-seat auditorium gives the theatre a delightfully intimate atmosphere, and the bar and waterside patio make a visit to the Little Theatre a thoroughly enjoyable experience.

We are fully accessible to wheelchair users and have recently had a loop induction system installed for the hard of hearing.

Click on 'Current Season' at the side of the page to see information about our plays for 2008.

Booking and Prices
Telephone:
01422 843907. Reservations only - tickets will be on the door, on the night.
In person:
At 'Innovation' Bridge Gate, Hebden Bridge (Tickets available two weeks before play)
Seat Prices:
Mon - Fri £6-00 (£5-00 concessions) (Mon 2 tickets for £6-00)
Sat £7-00 (no concessions)
Season Tickets £24-00 (£20 concessions) contact Di Smith on 01422 843866

How to find us
From the Picture House, on the main Halifax-Todmorden road (A646), travel a short distance in the Todmorden direction to the traffic lights, and turn left onto Holme Street. The theatre is situated at the end of Holme Street, on the left, past the Post Office and Trades Club.

Waterside Bar
The bar is open before and after the performance for the benefit of theatre patrons. During the interval, coffee, tea and drinks from the bar are available, and bar drinks can be pre-ordered. The theatre enjoys a particularly attractive location by the canal, and it is possible to take drinks out onto the patio in good weather.

Our bar has recently been refurbished in an Art Deco influenced style, in keeping with the period in which the Hebden Bridge Little Theatre first came into being.

History
HEBDEN BRIDGE LITTLE THEATRE was formed in 1924 and has been producing plays almost continuously ever since, in places as various as the Co-operative Hall, the Picture House, the Band Rooms on the park, and for a prolonged period (1937 -1977) in the Ground Floor of the Trades Club. This came to an end when we decided to create our own premises by converting a coach garage on the present Holme Street site - a seventy seat, 'little theatre' in the truest sense.

For more than a decade audiences warmed to its intimate atmosphere, but it eventually became so dilapidated we had to embark on a major fund-raising and building project, that culminated in the opening of the present 120 seat theatre in 1993.

The society's logo, devised in the thirties, depicts art rising out of industry. The chimneys may have disappeared, but Hebden Bridge Little Theatre, in its latest, permanent home, is here to stay.

Support us
You can support Hebden Bridge Little Theatre financially, and find out more about what goes on in the theatre, by becoming a member. Membership runs from 1st January to 31st December. Current fees are: Full £15; Concessions £10; Children £1; Single play £5. As a member you will receive copies of our quarterly newsletter, 'Prompt'. Pick up a Membership Application form at the theatre, or write to the Membership Secretary, Di Smith, 7 Towngate, Heptonstall, HX7 7LW, enclosing name, address and telephone number.

Join Us
Because we are a small theatre doing 5 plays a year there are great opportunities to get actively involved. We are always on the look-out for new talent, on-stage and back-stage. Every production needs a director, set builders, stage manager, light and sound operatives, prompter, props and wardrobe, not to mention all the front of house staff.

We have open casting auditions for our plays, generally in the form of a read-through of the play. These are advertised in the local press, at the theatre, and in 'Prompt'. If you would like to get involved let us know, or come along to a read-through.