The Orchard Blog

Announcing our new season

noreply@blogger.com (Orchard Theatre) — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 11:07:00 +0000

Well what a morning we had yesterday! I’m Andy Hill, Theatre Director and I’m pleased to say we have taken delivery of our new brochure. A lovely man called Clive spent Sunday night travelling so we’d have them in time to send out and Premiere Card members have already started booking their tickets, with general booking available from Saturday 6 March. We now have over 900 Premiere Card members and I’m sure we’ll see many more with the fantastic offers available to them in our new brochure!

The brochure is a Girls Night Out extravaganza from a night in your heels, or a night with the whole family. This season is jam packed with a huge variety of shows but with one common factor - they are all at your local theatre!

So if a star of Strictly takes your fancy then we have Brian, Kristina or bad boy Brendan; perhaps the return of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra will be your top pick; Rory Bremner joins us on the 7th April for a very special night ahead of the general election and we’re delighted they can all join us – yes at The Orchard.

The local amateur dramatic society, DAODS, are going Over the Rainbow with the Wizard of Oz – do come and see this family favourite from our stunning local company whose shows are always truly brilliant.

I could go on as there is so much more to say but I will no doubt be blogging again soon.

And I must not forget – this year’s pantomime is Jack and Beanstalk, which I am looking forward to! It’s a pantomime that we haven’t seen here at The Orchard for quite some time and is sure to be GIANT – reserve your tickets today!

There's a Genie at The Orchard

noreply@blogger.com (Orchard Theatre) — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 17:59:00 +0000

Hello – it’s Richard, my turn to blog again. Today I’ve been learning all about Genies.

Don’t panic – you’re right! Jack and the Beanstalk is this year’s pantomime at The Orchard. I’m not talking about Aladdin’s genie who jumps out of a lamp.

The Genie I’m talking about is a piece of equipment that lifts people up into the air for working at high levels and will most probably be used mostly by our backstage team working on lights, etc.

So after a thorough health and safety powerpoint presentation, and then a test (which I passed) I was allowed to learn how to operate the machine. Moving forwards, backwards, left, right, up and down I’m pleased to say, in what felt very much like a Blue Peter challenge, that I am now a qualified Genie (and at the very least, a fully trained Genie operator).

The Rocky Horror Experience

noreply@blogger.com (Orchard Theatre) — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 15:09:00 +0000

Hello to all, David Hillman here, Assistant Front of House Manager. Being on the front line at the theatre I get to know a lot of our regular & loyal customers and enjoy welcoming new patrons to the theatre. This week we were in for a real surprise! It is always interesting to see how the crowds change from show to show and with the arrival of Rocky Horror Picture show comes all the fun and sauciness famously associated with this long running extravaganza. The outrageous David Badella raises the bar again returning as the cross dressing Frankenferter and brings all the camp chaos back to Dartford.

In the foyers too we are treated to eye popping costumes from the dedicated and 'game for a laugh' audience. Even though opening night was a Monday customers didn’t hold back, clearly relishing the chance to ‘drag’ out the fish nets and suspenders!

Theatre staff always look forward to ‘Rocky’ coming to Dartford, as every night brings a more risqué and flamboyant costume. As the sun went down last night and we got closer to show time one by one the high heels and feather bowers began to enter the foyer and that was just the men! For the uninitiated the sights entering The Orchard must have looked like an audience from another planet. The foyers were alive with colourful characters, Frank 'n' Furter’s, Janet’s and Brad’s and on this occasion I can safely say quite a bit of Riff Raff too!

The show is wonderful for breaking down boundaries and releasing inhibitions and even though some guys in drag would hesitantly walk through the doors at first wobbling on their high heels, by the time they had entered into the party atmosphere all self consciousness and fear had vanished, and perhaps giving Naomi Campbell a run for her money on the Cat Walk too! The fun begins even before you enter with the custom made Rocky Hearse parked outside the doors for customers to pose for a photo opportunity.

The saucy and absurd characters, innuendo and catchy songs all add up to a fun packed performance and this sort of show always brings the audience together in a unique way. The show traditionally has much audience participation and is famous for the interaction between actors and the fun loving crowds. In the foyer the banter began as soon as the first patrons waked through the door and the mutual appreciation form fellow patrons was great to see. As the show is so well known the theatre soon begins to come alive with the sounds of quoting lines and practicing dance steps. I don’t think any one is quite the same again once you have experienced Rocky Horror Picture Show!

Talkin’ Tolkien with Kirk Barker from The Hobbit

noreply@blogger.com (Orchard Theatre) — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 09:04:00 +0000

The next few months sees two productions inspired by J R R Tolkien’s works travelling over the Misty Mountains and through the wind, rain and hail to The Orchard, Dartford.

On 3 February we welcome Charles Ross’ One Man Lord of the Rings. Ross recreates the enchanting world of Middle-Earth armed with nothing more than a pair of elbow pads and his outrageous imagination. In the marketing team we’re so excited about this unusual production we’ve set up a pre-show talk with the man himself for audience members to learn more about taking the show to Edinburgh Fringe Festival and better still – it’s absolutely free if you book tickets to the show that evening!

For Tolkien fans that are looking for something a little more traditional – never fear! At the end of February (Tue 23 – Sun 28) Gandalf the Sorcerer leads Bilbo Baggins and his Dwarf companions to The Orchard in Glyn Robbins adaptation of The Hobbit.

Kirk Barker plays the Bard in this superb production, directed by Roy Marsden and he took some time out to chat with me about how he ended up in this adaptation of Tolkien’s beloved book.

RL: Before starting your training in musical theatre you spent 4 years working all over Europe as a windsurfing and snowboarding instructor. How does training for the outdoor sports vary to that of musical theatre?

KIRK BARKER: Its a world apart! My training at musical theatre college was extremely disciplined. We had ballet every day, singing lessons, acting lessons, tap, jazz, contemporary, modern. It was huge fun but the pressure was always on to be the best you could be, to improve your technique, constantly competing against the person next to you knowing that that was what it would be like in auditions. When I was doing ski/snowboard seasons it was so much more laid back, we were fit but as a result of doing what we loved every day. You always wanted to improve but it was more as a result of your mates egging you on to learn a new trick. Maybe it would have been different if I’d been professional but I was just having a great time and enjoying passing on my skills to whoever I was teaching that week.

RL: What made you decide to make the change and move into performance?

KIRK BARKER: It was an accident really. I had done 7 ski/windsurf seasons, I was 23 and it was beginning to dawn on me that although I was having the time of my life, I couldn’t be a ski/surf bum forever. I decided that after my final season in Greece I was going to enrol on a music course of some kind focusing on guitar and singing. Once back in the UK, I started looking at courses but quickly realised that I wanted to do more that just music. I danced on and off as a kid and had always fancied a go at acting and so started researching all inclusive performing arts courses, in my research I stumbled across the concept of musical theatre. An avenue I had never considered. I looked at the courses at a number of colleges and decided to apply with no idea if I’d even get an audition, let alone a place to study! My auditions seemed to go well and before I knew it I had offers from all the places I’d auditioned at including a scholarship at Laine Theatre Arts. I have to admit that it was a baptism of fire to start with but once I got into the swing of things I`ve never looked back!

RL: Another string to your bow is playing guitar in a band - when did you start playing the guitar?

KIRK BARKER: When I was about 19 I was on a surfing trip with friends. We were sat round a BBQ having a few beers. One of the guys was playing the guitar and everyone was singing along. I decided right at that moment that I had to be able to play the guitar too. When I got home I went out and bought myself a cheap second hand guitar and taught myself.

RL: You've just joined the cast of The Hobbit, which comes to Dartford shortly. What excites you most about this stage production and you're role in it?

KIRK BARKER: I`ve always been a huge fan of Tolkien`s work. As a young boy I read both The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings several times and the opportunity to actually be in a stage production of The Hobbit is a childhood dream come true!

RL: What do you enjoy most about touring?

KIRK BARKER: It’s great to tread the boards at so many different theatres. You get such different audiences in different parts of the country and it’s a real challenge as an performer learning to cope with constantly variable sizes of stage and different acoustics.

The Circle Restaurant's New Groove

noreply@blogger.com (Orchard Theatre) — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 14:06:00 +0000

It's my go - I'm Roddy, the Hospitality Manager here at The Orchard.

So The Circle Restaurant has been operating since the end of October and this is our third menu since opening. Our initial plan is to change the menu with the seasons, as well as offering original and themed menus depending on the show coming in to the theatre. Our opening menu was very much themed to the autumn seasonal foods, while during the pantomime we offered a family oriented menu that catered to both adults and the little ones. And for the upcoming Chinese State Circus, we’re planning a sumptuous Chinese buffet during the run, as well as a second service on Saturday and Sunday with stunning Valentine’s Day menu!

Steve Low, our Head Chef and I gathered a number of recipes from a variety of sources and even stealing one of my mum’s tried and tested specialties before altering the recipes, tweaking the ingredients and making them a new and original recipe to The Circle Restaurant. It’s a long process and many good (and some great!) recipes get thrown out because some are too complicated for the equipment and resources we have in the kitchen, some are too costly (the saffron veal topped with foie gras and black truffle sauce may have sounded delicious but would have cost a fortune) and we have to consider that everyone in the restaurant must be served their meal by show time so if the dish takes too long to make, it’s scratched from the list. Eventually we whittle the four-page long list of meals down to a few starters, a few mains and a few desserts and from that, we simply pick our favourites and that’s what ends up on the menu.

The kitchen brigade then get briefed on the new dishes they’ll be expected to serve and we have a dry run of each dish to work out how it’s presented on the plate and how it tastes, giving a critique afterwards to the chefs who then alter the recipe slightly if necessary and then it’s ready for the customers to eat. The tasting days are the best days of the job, if I’m being honest… it’s a bit like having your very own Saturday Kitchen!

So to correspond with the opening night of Never Forget, we’ve re-created the restaurant’s menu to a delicious winter feast! We’ve had a couple of attempts over this week to perfect the recipes and the presentation and this morning we plated up a few of the most popular dishes for some photographs to give everyone on this blog a sneak peak! Our signature dish is duck and black pudding rosti with a caramelised apple and covered in brandy sauce.

I’m not a big fan of black pudding, but I gave it a try and I have to say the flavours of this dish are absolutely amazing and it looks fantastic on the plate. We’ve also got a delightful new starter of lemon and garlic marinated prawns on an oriental noodle salad that makes my mouth water just thinking about.

And Colin, our Pastry Chef, has created a tangy lemon fool dessert served in a wine glass with homemade biscuits that everyone on the team seems to love.

Now that’s a fantastic three-course meal right there!

All in all, we’re all very pleased and excited about this new menu. Even though we’ve just started serving it this week, we’re already starting to come up with another list of meals for the Spring menu, so keep an eye out on the website and see what we’ve come up with. Or even better… come down to the Circle Restaurant and have a taste!!

Getting to know you #1

noreply@blogger.com (Orchard Theatre) — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 13:53:00 +0000

Well we've blogged a little about what goes on at the theatre, but what about what we do?

Julian's sat down with me (Richard) to tell us a little bit about himself:

RL: What did you do before joining The Orchard?

JO: I was the Creative & Operations Director for a company that produced musicals for cruise ships and hotels worldwide.

RL: You spent some time working on the Rocky Horror Show?

JO: I played the role of Brad in the European tour of the show which played in Italy for 6 months and Paris for 2. It’s a great show to be in and the audience participation segments are fab and help to bring it to life.

RL: What made you decide to move from on stage to off stage?

JO: After doing a couple of West End shows, I felt I’d achieved as much as I wanted to as a performer and decided I wanted to use my experience in other areas of the business.

RL: What does the role of Business Manager at The Orchard entail?

JO: The role’s quite expansive and looks after all operational aspects of the theatre’s running, whether that be personnel, suppliers, health and safety or putting up Christmas decorations…. Currently I’m trying to convince the Theatre Director to let me source a theatre cat so that we can be part of an age old theatre tradition.

RL: Where are you most likely to be found in the Theatre?

JO: Anywhere! There’s never a day goes by when I’m not having to check something out, find someone or talk to contractors. The perfect job for someone who doesn’t like to be too desk-bound.

RL: What show are you most excited about seeing this season?

JO: Thomas the Tank Engine! I love Thomas and I can’t wait to see him on The Orchard’s stage for the premiere of it’s Autumn tour.

New Year, new us!

noreply@blogger.com (Orchard Theatre) — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 13:45:00 +0000

2010 is here and it's time for resolutions, so here in the office we thought we'd tell you some of the fantastic ones we’ve come up with:

Suzannah our Marketing Manager has given up dreams of being Peter Pan and is getting prepared for her wedding in 2011 (very exciting)! So, as every new bride does, Suzannah has set herself resolutions of losing weight and saving money. I'm sure you'll be seeing lots of Suzannah around the theatre as she trades her nights out for nights at the theatre - particularly during Never Forget.

Vikki our Press Officer has decided to add to her shoe collection - think we'll be hearing a pair of stiletto's strutting down the theatre corridor in the not so distant future.

As for me (it's Richard by the way) - I'm going for something a little different, and am going to start writing in my spare time and perhaps by the end of 2010 you'll be able to pick up a book by me in the local WH Smiths.

We'd love to hear everyone else's New Year's resolutions, and we'd love even more to hear how they're all going in a couple of months time.

Happy New Year from all of us, and we look forward to seeing you at the theatre soon.

A hive of activity

noreply@blogger.com (Orchard Theatre) — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 11:45:00 +0000

Tamara here, I’m the Creative Learning Officer. Last weekend, (12th December) The Orchard was a hive of activity with three shows running back to back. Inspired by this years' pantomime Cinderella, The Orchard Youth Theatre gave the professionals a run for their money. All three youth theatre groups took to the main stage for their first performances. And what performances they were! It's not easy playing to a large theatre but with the support of friends and families the groups performed their shows with energy, verve and chocolate.

As the curtain went up and the house lights dimmed our actors took tentative steps onto the stage. Behind the scenes was a little more frantic with dresses pinned, wigs styled and at one stage face packs applied (as part of the show of course).

All shows were created and rehearsed in less than ten sessions over the term. Improvisations from the groups themselves led to Doris' Difficult Dilemma (6-10 year olds). Cindy-ella, a modern fairy tale (11-14s) and Life's no Fairy Tale - A Jeremy Giles Special (15-19s). A massive well done to all members of the group, we'll see you on 16th January for the start of the new term. Things to look forward to include a workshop with Matt Slack (Buttons in Cinderella), dance, singing workshops and an exciting new project!

In the meantime, have a fantastic Christmas from all of us at The Orchard.

Let it snow!

noreply@blogger.com (Orchard Theatre) — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 09:02:00 +0000

With a warm cup of hot chocolate from the Coffee Shop (Oh yes, it's open!), another sweet from the advent calendar and snow falling outside it certainly feels like Christmas here at The Orchard.

Panto Fever strikes at The Orchard

noreply@blogger.com (Orchard Theatre) — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 15:23:00 +0000

RICHARD

I went and picked up our Christmas Party hats in Dartford today...

JULIAN

Thanks Richard.

RICHARD

I just couldn't get over how busy it was - and not just in town! I was almost crushed as I left through the Theatre foyer as the audiences flooded in for Cinderella...

JULIAN

Really?

RICHARD

And then when I got to the shops it was just as manic. I was poked, I was prodded, I was pushed, I was shoved... I'll be going again tomorrow.

Gushing with praise

noreply@blogger.com (Orchard Theatre) — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 16:45:00 +0000

Julian here and having succeeded to get hot water across the building, I felt it was time to switch my attention to the world of online blogging.

Yesterday was a very important night for all of us at The Orchard… Press Night for the theatre’s first Pantomime since HQ theatres took over management of the venue. The Marketing team (Suzannah, Vikki and Richard) sprang into action to greet members of the Press, the great and good of Dartford, and representatives from our Head Office amassed in the upper circle bar. The bell sounded and everyone headed off into the auditorium in eager anticipation. The theatre was packed with excited theatergoers and the buzz was fantastic.

From start to finish, the show was a winner and the theatre vibrated with the laughter of nearly a thousand people. Superb performances from the entire cast led by Lesley Joseph, stunning costumes, wonderful dance routines and side splitting comedy created a truly spectacular night. The cast took several curtain calls to satisfy the need of the audience to applaud, applaud and applaud some more. I have to admit to being incredibly proud that we have such a stunning production at The Orchard and, most importantly, that it was such a roaring success with young and old alike.

After the show, the Press (including a reviewer from The Stage newspaper) and guests were gushing in their praise for the show. Roddy Fraser (our Hospitality Manager) and his team put on the most superb spread of food which was quickly devoured by all in attendance. The topping to the evening was the arrival of the cast who received a rousing round of applause as they entered the bar. All I could hear for the rest of the evening was praise, congratulations and laughter…. A perfect end to a superb evening!

Live from the Theatre's Plant Room

noreply@blogger.com (Orchard Theatre) — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 18:54:00 +0000

Today I, Richard Loftus (Marketing & Press Assistant), sat down with Julian Ochyra (Business Manager) and we decided it was time The Orchard was thrown into the world of online blogging. As we began discussing the ins and outs of what we were hoping to achieve Julian was rushed off to attend to a hot water incident…

Deciding that this was not the time to let go our conversation I followed with camera in hand. Unbeknown to Julian, this would in fact be our first blog!

Both Backstage in the dressing rooms, where the stars of this years pantomime are eagerly anticipating their dress/tech rehearsal, and front-of-house, where our second Comedy Curry is due to take place, we were unable to get hot water in any taps. A situation that needed resolving instantly saw Julian snap into action. With instructions coming from his mobile phone, Julian hot footed it to the plant room.

After climbing a ladder, fiddling with valves, filling a bucket and climbing back down I am pleased to announce that in a matter of minutes hot water has returned to The Orchard – all in good time for the evening’s events.