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The Ministry of Entertainment was formed by two actors, Kate McNab and Joe Hobbs, to produce theatre based on oral histories from the era of the Second World War. They had met in 1997 during Bristol Old Vic’s premier run of Up the Feeder, Down the Mouth which was directed by Andy Hay and written by A.C.H. Smith about Bristol Docks from the stories of the dockers themselves. During the run Joe and Kate persuaded fellow performer Kit Morgan to be musical director for their new venture. more…

As one theatregoer put it,
“If it’s The Ministry of Entertainment you know it will be excellent theatre, great humour and lovely music”.

Doris Day was good at everything… except picking husbands!

A one hour, ten minute roller coaster of song and drama in this bijoux Edinburgh Fringe-style intimate theatre in the heart of Clifton Village.

Doris is having a clear out. She’s been looking through her vast wardrobe and some of those old gowns from her filming years will fetch a pretty price at auction; her dog charity needs all the funds it can get. She comes across an old photo album. Personal photos taken with her old Kodak camera. Terry, Mom, Les Brown, George, Ernie. There are blanks where she took out those early photos of Al. The ones of Marty are clipped in the back with a paper clip. Maybe she’ll forgive him and fix them back in. Maybe she’ll just throw them away. Water under the bridge. The last few pages are yet unfilled…

Doris Day – Hollywood’s ‘Calamity Jane’ and girl next door – the girl who could do anything but pick a husband. ‘Sentimental Journey,’ ‘Secret Love’, ‘Que sera, sera’: just some of Doris’s hit records when she was America’s top female singer in the 1950’s. She never wanted to sing but her dream of being a dancer was destroyed by breaking a leg. While recovering, she started singing and her career soon skyrocketed. Hollywood grabbed her and Doris found out she could do anything required; sing, act and dance; do anything that is but have a successful marriage. Three men, three disasters. Que sera, sera.

TICKETS: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/doris-the-girl-next-door-tickets-1302301271159

BERYL'S DAY OUT

It’s 1962 here at Bristol Zoo. Beryl is having a well-deserved day out…

Away from her hectic salon in Weston-Super-Mare and not to mention those incessant blue rinses, Beryl wanders happily through the gorgeous gardens and enclosures. She daydreams about the excitement of trips here in her childhood when her whole family came on day trips. Nothing much has changed really. She recalls of the excitement of seeing those familiar animals right up close. Chatting to the staff, and the animals, heading for a Cona coffee in the restaurant, Beryl muses how perfectly calm and serene it is on this warm autumnal day.

Meanwhile… behind the scenes, all sort of mayhem is breaking out. The queue is getting longer and longer at the entrance. Who is that woman? It’s mucking out time in the elephant enclosure and someone’s kicked the bucket. A camel called Betty has gone missing. Or is she a dromedary? How do you pick a poisonous snake up? Will the grumpy aye-aye attack Barry again? How on earth will he mend the gorilla’s cage door? Who is Johnny Morris anyway?

Heading for the exit after the last fish has been thrown to the seals at 4.15, Beryl thinks she might just make it down to Broadmead in time to walk round that wonderful new Fairfax House. A perfect day out.

Why not put this wonderful show for your event or theatre programme? Contact 07745 957 593 for all booking enquiries.  

MRS. GERRISH’S HALF HOUR Just the ticket for that lull between the main course and the arrival of the sweet trolley! Treat your guests to thirty minutes of wry humour, witty observations and songs in the company of that rather bonkers 50s guesthouse landlady, Mrs. Gerrish. PM all enquiries… Photography by Alan Moore