First of all, our apologies for not updating this site sooner. We've both been so busy recently, but we're very pleased to say that our latest production of "Charley's Aunt" was very successful for the company and a big hit with our audiences and reviewers! While Rachael has been working extensively in London, I have now finished my degree at Northumbria University and shall be moving to the capital at the end of the Summer.

We'd like to thank everyone who supported us by coming to see "Charley's Aunt". We hope you enjoyed the evening and our unique adaptation of the classic farce. We thoroughly enjoyed every aspect of it, so much so that we're currently planning a summer tour of the show, hopefully starting in July! You heard it here first! As in keeping with Hambledon Productions, we shall initially be visiting venues in our area, and promoting the local talent to the local public. For those who missed it the first time round, and for those who wish to see the show again, please keep visiting back to the website as we shall be posting details very shortly.

Signing off now, so here's wishing all our supporters and visitors a very happy Summer!

John



 

Hi all,


Things are progressing very comfortably for our latest production - "Charley's Aunt". At the minute, running concurrently with our rehearsals, is our major publicity push - flyers, posters, emails, notices will be popping up all over Lincolnshire! Our recent listing in the local theatrical brochures have already created quite an interest, with our Louth venue coming close to selling out, with nearly two months to go!


Tickets are still available for all three venues however - please check out our "Charley's Aunt" submenu from our home page for the contact details.


It promises to be a hilarious night of entertainment!

Christmas was indeed a very busy time for us both. Rachael was Deputy Stage Manager for the successful pantomime "Peter Pan" in Hayes managed by Qudos, which began it's run in December, while I've been drumming for the local pantomime at Louth Playgoers. I also took time out from the essay writing to write a pantomime, "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs", for my secondary school to perform. I'm pleased to say it was very well received, and I thoroughly enjoyed writing it.

During the Summer, when "An Apple a Day" was behind me, I was wondering what would I want to do with Hambledon Productions next. With the pantomime writing and various writing assignments for University, I wasn't too keen to begin writing a new play straight away. I was fortunate enough to stumble upon an old copy of the farce "Charley's Aunt" by Brandon Thomas. I snapped it up immediately! It held a lot of memories for me, as it was the very first production I saw at my local amateur dramatics society, Louth Playgoers, back in 1996. I was mesmerised by the funny performances, the eccentric characters, and the outlandish plots. Within two days of buying it, I'd read it. Within a week, I'd already begun revising the script. And now, we are about to begin the rehearsal process for what will ultimately be taken on a short tour of Lincolnshire this April!

"Charley's Aunt" is one of the most reverred farces. It's a classic example of the genre, and contains the most basic ingredients; communication problems, several doors, innuendo and slapstick, all wrapped up in the fantastic premise of a man masquerading as a woman. It's forever being performed worldwide, receiving big screen versions starring the likes of Jack Benny and Arthur Askey, and remains a popular effort since it took the West End by storm.

We're currently compiling a few venues and publicity for the show and all the details will be up on this website shortly!

Watch this space!

Hi readers,

Things may appear quite on the "Hambledon" front, which I can assure you, very, very rarely happens! After completing work for BBC's MAESTRO, Rachael is now touring the country with the latest Hull Truck offering "Ladies Down Under", which begun mid September and continues until December. Meanwhile, I'm beginning my third and final year at University and I'm also performing in a local production of Lorca's "Blood Wedding" at the People's Theatre in Newcastle, while any spare time is devoted to writing no less than three pantomimes for various people back in the Lincolnshire area! Snow White will never be the same again!

John

More on Hambledon Productions later, but for the time being, tune in to MAESTRO every Tuesday at 9pm on BBC 2 to witness Rachael's excellent camera skills! (and it's a jolly good programme....

First of all, a huge thank you to those who supported us in any way during our last tour.

It was, by far, our most ambitious project yet. Growing on the success of last summer's tour of "STOP!...You're Killing Me" we expanded as a company to cover a more nationwide scope of theatres and performance spaces, taking our actors to a variety of new environments. The response from the audience was incredible - the feedback received both through word of mouth and our surveys prove that we provided an excellent night of entertainment. Speaking as the writer and a performer, I can speak for all involved (our director, Jane Crawshaw, and fellow cast members Laurence Mager and Adam Shannon) that we thoroughly enjoyed our experiences "on the road", improved as practitioners, and felt was gave something to the community.

Once again, thanks to all who came to see the show and for your words of encouragement, criticism and praise. 

Here we are again. The opening night of News.... how time flies! Why is that? Why is it when you could do with a few more hours in the day it seems like yesterday was last week! Incredible. Just about everything is ready to go. News... has sold really well and we're pleased with how rehearsals have progressed. Really, it's just up to the audience now!
Very much enjoyed my stint on BBC radio Lincolnshire yesterday. It was a lot of fun and hopefully a few listeners may be inspired to come and see either of the plays. Today I'm doing BBC radio Humberside and then dashing back across the bridge to make it in time for curtain-up! Then it's straight back to London for more rehearsals and last minute tweaking before we all head north for the opening of THE COLLECTOR. The drama continues.....

Well, I can almost match John on his manic rehearsal schedule! It's a little more complicated for me as our rehearsals are underway in London with the three of us living (and working) in three completely separate locations!
We had an all-day rehearsal today in which we concentrated on Act 1. I find these rehearsals extremely exhausting. As there are only two of us in the play, we are both on stage for the whole time and of course there are lots of lines to remember. The Collector couldn't be more different from News... John's primary concern lies with the delivery of his jokes and his own direction of his own script, where he is able to see exactly what he wants. Whereas with our play, it's the characterisation of the two individuals and the emotions explored within those characters and their situation which eats away at our rehearsal time. When it all gets a bit much I tend to succumb to uncontrollable silliness and it's up to Laurence and Jonathan to drag the rehearsal back to its sombre and sinister tone.
I'm pleased we've managed to make the Grimsby Telegraph ahead of the News.... opening. Hopefully more people will get to hear about us and hopefully we might interest them and then.....hopefully......they may find themselves in the audience for one of our productions. If you're one of those people, I say: give it a go. You won't be disappointed.
I worry that my passion for what we are trying to do may have come across in a different way in the newspaper article. My ambition with Hambledon Productions is to bring professional theatre to our community and local people. I want our area to have the opportunity to experience new, contemporary, diverse, challenging and most of all accessible theatre. In no way do I doubt that there is 'serious' theatre being produced in our area. My aim is to do something completely different artistically and at the same time to relive those days of old when professional companies passed through our town on a regular basis, allowing the Grimbarian theatregoer a spoilt choice in what they could see.
I know as well as anyone the extraordinary richness of talented and inspiring performers in our region. That's why we set up Hambledon Productions. It's a journey. AND I have been informed that the Caxton Players produced a version of Othello recently. I can't find out exactly when it was (if someone could help me out on that, that would be great!), but I am very sorry I missed it. It's so hard to stay in the loop when you're so far from home.
Thanks for reading, and please please come and visit us. We'd love to see you!
Rachael

Rehearsals carry with them a tremendous amount of emotions. Not all rehearsals go swimmingly, far from it, and it would be eerie if they did, for only by working through the "nitty-gritty" side of things do we advance our stage in the overall process. This has certainly been the case with the rehearsals for the past week - ten o'clock till three practically everyday, running and re-running the show tweaking little pieces here and there at every new time, and asking the actors and backstage crew to take on board the new instructions.
Only a closely-knitted team of individuals, who by this stage have become friends, acting in a professional environment and with professional attitudes, can maintain this rate of work without disintegrating into chaos. If you haven't gathered by now, "News at Two Minutes Past Six" has all the ingredients to be the funniest, funnest production an actor could wish to be a part of. But of course, everything comes with it's price. Often the most funniest and iconic comic moments are physically dangerous (Del-Boy falling through the bar, Basil Fawlty's falling moose head, Frank Spencer dangling off a cliff, not to mention the hoardes of silent clowns before them.) "News..." is equally as slapstick driven and ambitious. Taking a serious approach to presenting the funniest of physical set-ups is essential - the jokes almost have to be performed so regularly to make them unfunny for the cast to rid the production of crack-ups on stage. The reward comes when the audience are in hysterics at what we are performing. And the reward, at least by today's standards looking back at our rehearsals, will be well-deserved.
Ticket sales are equally impressive - one night is sold out, and the other two are catching up fast! We're so grateful for the support we get from the theatre and it's patrons, but we continue to publicise the shows further afield - to Grimsby, Cleethorpes, Lincoln, Market Rasen, Horncastle, Spilsby, Alford, Skegness and Mablethorpe in the hope of attracting different people to the theatre.
The opening night looms...cue's need to be picked up quicker, another stage hand needs to be found, programmes are being printed, and press articles are being released! It's going to be a hilarious riot!

Hi everyone
If you're reading this, there's a chance that you may know me, and there's also a chance that you don't know anything about me; who I am, where I'm from and where I'm trying to get to. Hopefully this post will fill in all the gaps and take you on the rollercoaster ride that has been The Collector so far!
My name is Rachael, I'm 23 and I was born and raised in Great Grimsby. I started acting in school plays (St Joseph's RC primary and St Mary's Catholic high) and I joined Louth Playgoers theatre when I was about 10. I loved theatre from the very first moment I visited one and I have to say I simply cannot imagine my life without being involved in theatre. When I was 17 I got into the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School (after my A levels at Franklin College) and it was while at Bristol that I was able to develop and expand my passion and ambition for working in theatre. Since leaving Bristol I've done many exciting theatre and telelvision jobs, starting off with the BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall. The Proms is an extraordinary festival of the most exteaordinary music incorporating world-class composers, orchestras, conductors, soloists and all the incredible television people along the way. After the Proms I did OTHELLO with the Birmingham Stage Company, which also transferred to London. After which I went straight into panto-land; ALADDIN to be precise at the Cochrane Theatre in London. Such fun but extremely hard work! Then came another BBC TV spell on the live show LIVERPOOL NATIVITY with Geoffrey Hughes, Jennifer Ellison and Gerry Marsden (more about him later...) After Christmas I found myself in Andrew Lloyd Webber's music library at the Really Useful Group where again I was reunited with my great love of music. I even got in on JOSEPH at the Adelphi with the lovely Mr Lee Mead. From there I went on to THE VIEWING ROOM at the Arts Theatre which is a new play and starred Leonard Roberts from HEROES. Having just finished that job, it's now time to concentrate on THE COLLECTOR which I am sure is my biggest challenge yet.
My little theatre company was set up over a year ago by myself and my brother John. He's a writer and an actor and we wanted to produce our productions on a more professional level after having worked on our own shows for years and years without a company name! Hambledon is the name of out family home and we thought the name would work well for our company.
The idea of doing THE COLLECTOR came after I saw a wonderful production whilst at theatre school. Jessica Ellerby played Miranda and Adam Ewan played Clegg. Those performances have stuck in my mind so stubbornly that I have thought about that show constantly as a piece of rivetting theatre ever since. After graduating, I wanted to do something that would get me back into acting with my own company and so the idea was born. I'm not sure I realised what I was getting myself in to...
One of the biggest hurdles was finding an actor to play Clegg. All two-handers require spot-on casting and this was no exception. I contacted all the actors I knew and read through with many of them but I wasn't convinced I'd found my man. Hambledon Productions is all about showcasing local actors so ideally I was looking for a local lad to play the role. Cue my old drama teacher Rick Dring and his extensive knowledge of local actors! I got in touch with Laurence Brown and he came round for a read through. We auditioned him with the director and the rest is history! Laurence was on board, we're ready to go!
Our director is Jonathan Rigby. I just cannot say how extremely lucky we are to have him as a director. Jonathan is also an actor and originated the role of Kenneth Horne in ROUND THE HORNE...REVISITED in the west end. It ran for 18months and some of you may have seen Jonathan in the BBC4 adaptation of the play. Magnificent stuff. Jonathan is best know for directing Shakespeare, but I managed to convince him that our production of THE COLLECTOR would be well worth his expertise and eye for detail. Eventually he agreed and now rehearsals are well on the way with him at the helm.
Since we run the company ourselves (John and I) everything is down to us when producing a play, and I mean everything. Putting on a play costs an astonishing amount of money and I knew I had a lot to raise before we could go any further. I wrote hundreds and hundreds of letters to local businesses and the like and applied for 5 different grants and funds. Nothing came back. This was absolutely devastating to us. I just couldn't get anyone to support us and the frustration was beginning to build up. I was very dismayed and disheartened and I began to lose sight of my dream. But I wasn't going to let this stop me. We got a small donation from Cosalt, but the rest we have done ourselves. I am eternally grateful to my family who have run around for us and been there every step of the way.
The next hurdle was finding somewhere to rehearse. We started of in our living rooms and soon realised that we really needed a space of our own. Once again my notepad and stamps came out and I wrote to almost every school and church hall in London. Because Laurence, Jonathan and I live and work in London we had to find somewhere convenient for us to rehearse around our jobs. Soon enough we got a space in a lovely little church hall and a proper drama studio at the Islington Arts and Media School, what a result!
I'd been trying to get the performing rights for THE COLLECTOR for a very long time. The novel was written by John Fowles and I had to contact his estate who work in conjunction with Samuel French (the publishers) in giving rights. I then had to contact the dramatist Mark Healy's agent to get the joint rights for the venues and the performers. This turned out to be a very long drawn out process (and expensive!) but we got there in the end. In fact, Mark Healy himself called me to wish me luck with the production. Once again I had a smile on my face.
I have to say, I think John Fowles is a magnificent author. The Collector is incredible. The story it tells and the characterisation within the story blew my mind. No wonder it was swiftly made into a film with Terence Stamp and Samantha Eggar. Very interesting film.
We had a full rehearsal yesterday which was great. I find rehearsing this play very exhausting and a bit of a struggle at times. We are both on stage all of the time and there are so many lines. The dialogue between the two characters is very intense and it is essential that the audience follows the two characters on their very different quests. Miranda's is to escape, Clegg's is to simply be understood by Miranda and given a little compassion. It's important that the audience sympathises with both characters and that takes a lot of work.
I tell you what, it's been horses work getting this play publicised!!! Those folks at the local newspapers and radio stations are so busy! Hopefully we will have mentions in the Grimsby Telegraph and the Louth Leader. I've already been on Compass fm and BBC Radio Humberside (which was a hoot! thank you to Lara King!) and I hope there are more to follow. I just want as many people as possible to see this play. It's a first-rate production which is going to London and it's right on your doorstep. I am so devoted to getting people in our area to the theatre, it's all I want right now and I just want you all to venture out and see the show. It's only a fiver. My grandparents talk about going to the theatre 3 or 4 times a week when they were my age. Now there isn't a single professional playhouse in the town and you have to travel to Lincoln or Hull to see a company. Come and see us! You won't be disappointed.
I really hope that I can get some local people to see this production who maybe haven't been to the theatre in a long time, or even never been at all. That's what I'd love. Please come.
Tickets are £5 each, available from the Louth Riverhead Theatre box office on 01507 600350.
Thank you!

Last year, I saw a wonderful production of an extraordinary play in a tiny theatre above a pub, hidden in the backstreets of uptown Bristol. Fringe theatre of this kind is a remarkable thing. Sometimes playing to audiences of a number one can count on both hands, the intimacy of watching the actors only a few feet away takes the audience member to a completely different plateau to anything they may have experienced before.

I started Hambledon Productions in January last year with my brother, John. We have been producing theatre in various guises for about ten years. But since we both wanted to take our theatre company more seriously, we launched ourselves officially and began planning our future. Our first professional play premiere STOP! YOU’RE KILLING ME sold out in a week and received standing ovations at each performance. It was such a success that we took the show on tour last summer, with a one-night-only performance on the fringe in London. The cast of seven were all local actors; it was written by John and opened at the Louth Playgoers Riverhead Theatre.

This Easter, we are producing two plays. The first is a premiere of NEWS AT TWO MINUTES PAST SIX written and directed by John Hewer, and the second takes us back to that show I saw last year in Bristol. THE COLLECTOR is a novel written by John Fowles, and this new adaptation by Mark Healy will transfer to London’s Etcetera Theatre in Camden Town in May this year. Rehearsals for THE COLLECTOR are underway in London, with Jonathan Rigby directing at the helm. Local actor Laurence Brown and myself are playing the two characters in the story. NEWS AT TWO MINUTES PAST SIX has a cast of ten local actors, who are rehearsing at the Louth Riverhead Theatre. As the opening nights for both productions loom, preparations are falling in to place and decisions are being made. There’s a lot to think about! I hope you’ll join us for two nights of fabulous theatre.

Hi everyone!
thanks for visiting.
Things are well on the way now for our two productions which are on next month. The programme really couldn't be more diverse! We start off with John's new play NEWS AT TWO MINUTES PAST SIX  which is a fast-paced farce. Following that we have the spine-chilling story of THE COLLECTOR which tells the tale of a kidnap. Rehearsals are going well for both, and we're looking forward to the forthcoming challenge!
Tomorrow (March 26) I am making an appearance on two radio shows. Firstly, at 9.30am  on Compass fm (96.4 fm) and  at 10.30am on BBC Radio Humberside  (96.9 fm). Hopefully it'll get the local listeners interested in our productions and encourage them to come and have a look!
Tickets are now on sale for both plays, available by calling the Louth Playgoers box office on 01507 600350 or by visiting  www.ticketweb.com for THE COLLECTOR at the Etcetera in London.
Hope to see you there!

Well, we finally have the news we've been waiting for! We've got the rights for our Easter production which will be running alongside John's new play - News at Two Minutes Past Six.
THE COLLECTOR is famous mostly for the film version released in 1965, starring Terence Stamp and Samantha Eggar. The novel, written by John Fowles and published in 1963, has been adapted into a play by Mark Healy.  It tells the story of a butterfly collector who becomes obsessed with a girl he's never actually met. He kidnaps her and keeps her in his cellar as a "guest".
THE COLLECTOR  will open  at the Louth Playgoers Riverhead Theatre on 24 April and will transfer to the Etcetera Theatre in London on  13 May. Cast and crew for both productions are to be announced shortly.
We are currently looking for sponsorship for THE COLLECTOR which also tours schools and national venues. If you would like more information about sponsoring us, or think you know someone who would be interested in sponsoring us, please email me at rachael@hambledonproductions.com
Thanks!

Huge congratulations to our Hambledon neighbours Havant and Waterlooville who beat Swansea in an incredible 4-2 match last night in the FA Cup. They play Liverpool at Anfield on 27th January - we'll have all our fingers crossed!

It's been such a long time since I've written a new blog, everything has been so busy and we've has our hands full with one thing and another. Some people just won't take a hint! We hope all our readers and audiences had a good Christmas and of course a happy new year.
I'm extremely busy planning our two new shows this year. I can't yet reveal what the first one will be, but the second is a new play by our very own John Hewer entitled NEWS AT TWO MINUTES PAST SIX. Hopefully, this will run a week in rep at the Louth Playgoers Riverhead Theatre with the other play. At the moment, the work lies with finding enough sponsorship to back the projects. If anybody is inteterested in sponsoring us, please contact me and I shall send you an information pack.
Thanks for watching and watch this space!

Well, I can hardly believe that our tour starts TOMORROW!! Our First Tour.  A major milestone in the life of Hambledon Productions. I can't wait. For many reasons.  I can't wait to get to work - the proper stuff. Getting a show into a different venue every day, some venues I have never even been to before. Adjusting the set, programming the lighting, rehearsing the tricky technical bits and making the thing work. That's what I love. Then there's seeing the different reactions of the different audiences. We can't possibly hope for a better response than that of the premiere - but most of these audiences know NOTHING about us. They're simply coming because they want to see the play. That is really exciting. Then there's seeing the months and months of hard work paying off. It's been such a task getting this project on the road, and I just want to reach that moment when it's DONE and THEY LOVE IT!!  So, we're all set. We're both chuffed to bits to be able to thank Lincolnshire  County Council for the grant they have awarded us for this project. I just hope we can get as many locals to our local venues as possible. I want to completely sell out so that everyone who wants to can get to the theatre this summer. The good thing about the show is that it's for everyone - there's something in it for everyone. I really hope that each audience member during the next week has a good laugh, and most of all, is glad they ventured out to the theatre (wherever it may be) this summer.
If you haven't booked your ticket....DO SO NOW!
Enjoy the show!

Well, everything is now arranged for the tour of STOP! Midsummer went down very well at the Old Vic and it certainly is an end of an era to be leaving Bristol for good. Everything is also lined up for We Will Rock You at St Mary's. The next few weeks are going to be extremely busy. The get in for Rock You at the School, and also visiting the local venues for STOP! just to make sure we're fully prepared!! And then as soon as Rock You ends, I am heading London-bound to start my job with the BBC on this year's Proms. Look out for the concerts broadcast on BBC1 and 2!  Excitement all round. We're very much looking forward to seeing familiar AND new faces at our tour dates - please get booking your tickets soon. It will be so interesting to see what the new audiences think of the show - and us.  So please come along, you're guaranteed a good laugh.

Finally, we have the dates and venues for the summer tour. We're doing a week in August, and with only one day off! Please have a look at the STOP! Tour page which has all the information. It's so important that we sell tickets for this tour - a lot relies on the number of audiences so please get booking!!  Hope to see you there.

We're now into tech week for Midsummer at the Old Vic. The set is absolutely huge - I have no idea how it's going to fit in. But of course, somehow, it will. The show opens on Thursday, and us graduates are feeling typically nostalgic, considering this is our final show.
Beyond this week I am well into the design stages for We Will Rock You which is on at St Mary's Catholic School in Grimsby at the beginning of July. It's a very big job, not one I would usually undertake on my own but it's not a production you can do successfully without sufficient lighting and sound design. And as well as all that I am busy arranging the STOP! tour this summer. We have a few dates confirmed but I am waiting until we have the whole schedule before I announce! So keep watching!
Thanks to our comments and guest book signings - keep them coming! In answer to Jim's message: the cricketing input to our company reflects the family roots behind our ambitions and achievements. And of course, Hambledon was the first village in England where cricket was played, and is therefore the name of our company! Maybe I should look them up for a venue for the tour...

A great stalwart of our theatre, Margaret Cronin once said to me something along the lines of "Great Oaks from Little Acorns grow". This woman was incredible. She was a fantastic artist and a great teacher, but most of all she was a magnificent director and lifelong devoutee to British theatre. She knew everything there is to know about Noel Coward, her knowledge was phenomenal. Unfortunately, she passed away a few years ago, but I shall never ever forget what she said to me....about the acorns, remember? She thought of me as her little acorn you see, and she taught me a great deal about theatre; and much of that knowledge I work from today. She directed me in the Neil Simon play "Rumours" and I assisted her on Coward's "Private Lives" - the last play at the old theatre, Newmarket, Louth.
Going back to the acorns, I returned to my old school recently and gave a lesson on theatre to about 27 children there. They were great. They listened attentively and were really interested throughout. The school are doing a production of We Will Rock you which I am designing, and some of the students are going to help me out when the time comes. I'm looking forward to it, despite the fact the school has NO technical equipment, and NO power to the stage. Impossible? you might think so. We'll see! But one thing's for sure - I saw many promising acorns in that classroom.
STOP! is going on tour in the middle of August. Dates to be announced in the near future, so if you missed it the first time round, or want to catch it again, keep checking for more details!!
Otherwise, if you can get to see A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Bristol Old Vic in June, PLEASE COME! Music by me! Great stuff.

I'm happy to report that the production was an enormous success. Sold out on both nights, waiting lists and we still had to turn people away on the night! (Sorry to those people, of course).  We received full standing ovations for both performances, and the feedback we've had has been extraordinary. Thankyou to everyone who came to watch, and thankyou to those who have said how much they enjoyed it - that's great to hear! We got  a super review in the Grimsby Evening Telegraph which I shall get on the site as soon as I can.
Of course now we're thinking about the next projects, which for me is the sound design and music for A Midsummer Night's Dream. But STOP! occupies a special space of affection to us both and we really hope we will see it again in the future.
Huge CONGRATULATIONS to Jane who has been accepted on the acting course at the Bournemouth Arts Institute, and also to Stef who is going to East 15 drama school in September. Well done girls, we're proud of you. Don't forget us!!
Please keep checking the site for updates and news - there's always something round the corner...

Well, here we are. Ready and rearing to go. Almost.
Rehearsals have been going well and the production is completely SOLD OUT and with WAITING LISTS on both nights! That is great news and has given us an extra boost. Our dress rehearsal yesterday had a few (too many) problems, but nothing that can't be sorted for tonight. I am so excited for our audiences - they have a tremendous show to look forward to. I only hope they laugh as much as I have been!
Apart from anything else, this has been a huge achievement for us, especially for me. All we have to do now is relax and and enjoy the ride.
If you're coming to see the show, have a fantastic time, and most of all - thankyou for coming to support us! See you soon.

Well, what a week it's been. The rehearsals for STOP... are well underway and everyone is putting everything they've got in to it. It's now time to tighten the reins for the final push on the production side. The lighting is just about done and the voiceovers are working well.
Please, if you haven't booked your tickets yet and you want to come,  do so soon as we're selling very well! This play is not to be missed!

Mr Grungepot asked if we could write specially commissioned plays. Well, John is able to write to any criteria and for radio, television, stage and film. Please contact John for more information about your idea, Mr Grungepot - john@hambledonproductions.com. Thankyou!

We had a great time yesterday doing our radio interview with Dave Bussey. He was really lovely to us. If you missed it, please go to the homepage and click on the green button to listen! And just now BBC RADIO HUMBERSIDE called us for an interview on Saturday! Things are looking good! Also a big thank you to the three people who have commented - great stuff. More comments welcome, good or bad.
We're jolly pleased to have Jane Crawshaw back from her adventures today. Jane's been a pillar of strength, inspiration and hospitality during the production process for STOP and I don't know what we would have done without her. Thanks Jane and welcome back!

Well the last few days have been a rollercoaster ride of excitement and emotion! My day with Ludovico Einaudi was, once again, fantastic. I am continually inspired by him and his happy group of musicians. I strongly urge anyone who hasn't investigated him yet to do so immediately (see links page...) and you'll never look back. I wonder if he'd ever in a million years look at this site? I bet he does, one day.
Unfortunately, the Rovers lost the game yesterday. Incredibly, Doncaster scored 2 goals within the first few minutes of the game and the rest of the match was a struggle. They did play very well in the second half and got 2 goals back to equalise but in the end they just didn't play well enough and consistently enough. It was such a shame. The fans were very disheartened and the whole thing was disappointing, especially to have got so far and fallen at the last hurdle. Never mind. Next time.
John and I have an interview tomorrow with BBC RADIO LINCOLNSHIRE so please make sure you tune in at 1.30pm. Alternatively, you can listen again on the website (links page...) and do let us know what you think! Happily this means I'm going home early for Easter where there will be proper gravy and proper custard aplenty.
And then...................to the Cricket Season!

I have learnt something about life. Life is all about overcoming problems and coming through the other side.

We've had our fair share of problems so far with STOP... but this is to be expected with it being our  biggest public performance. Added to the other things going on we're not doing too badly at all. The musical is rehearsing in the theatre most nights, so rehearsal space and time is becoming increasingly tricky although everyone is pulling together admirably. Last I heard, John was planning on filming some footage to be projected during the show. Now, this means several things. 1) Filming. 2) Editing. 3) Transferring to some sort of recognisable media for the projector (?)  4) Me learning how to use the aforesaid projector and ensuring there are no sudden outbursts of BLUE SCREEN or PAUSE signs at inapppropriate points in the play.  Oh dear.  I admit it doesn't sound too promising so far but I tell you what, you'll just have to buy a ticket to see what happens. If that's not a  good incentive to see the play I don't know what is!
I saw a jolly good orchestra at Clifton Cathedral on Saturday. BRUNEL SINFONIA (see links page...)  were superb and  positively inspirational. I am in the process of approaching them regarding  the music for MND. And hopefully this week the studio will be ready to  start being used and I'll be well under way with the actual writing. I told my mum yesterday that this  ambition of mine is one tiny microscopic atom away from being impossible. She was characteristically optimistic and very excited.
Back to London on Thursday for another day of working for Ludovico Einaudi (see links page...) which I am looking forward to very much. And please let's not forget the JOH NSTONE'S PAINT TROPHY final on Sunday at Cardiff between BRISTOL ROVERS (cheer) and Doncaster Rovers (boo). Now that will be a day to remember!

Hello and thank you for visiting our site. I hope you have enjoyed your stay so far. Since this is the first post there is quite a lot to tell - so brace yourselves! We're extremely busy at the moment. John is well into his studies at Newcastle and I am in between work placements - I'm back with the London Symphony Orchestra on Monday at the Barbican. As you may be aware, John has written a play and we are planning a full scale production (with brass knobs on!) next month. It is going to be superb and it is VERY funny. Please come and see it if you can, details are on the Forthcoming Productions page. It would be lovely to have a good turn out. Even if you really can't make it but would have liked to come, let us know and we'll tell you how it went. (and it'll make us feel sunny inside). Apart from STOP... I am thinking of ideas for the music for MND which is my graduation show at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. It's a big job and it's not going to be easy but I am determined and I'm not going to get another opportunity like this for a while.
That's it for now. Keep visiting for new ground-breaking news!
Rachael