Ralegh stalks the Great Hall once more to great acclaim

'Sir Walter's Women' by Rachel O'Neill 
Friday 14-Saturday 15 September (Great Hall, Winchester)








NEWS RELEASE    21 September 2018

Ralegh stalks the Great Hall once more to great acclaim
Winchester playwright’s ‘passionate and moving’ script

Last Friday and Saturday, Sir Walter Ralegh once again walked in the Great Hall in Winchester where he was tried for treason in 1603.  2TimeTheatre staged an original one-act play about this charismatic adventurer, poet and pirate in this unique setting in the 400th anniversary year of his execution for treason.

Accompanied by Renaissance music group, Courtlye Musick, and directed by Alice Kornitzer, Jilly Bond (Elizabeth I), Adam Kotz (Ralegh) and Lizzie Garland (Bess) brought Rachel O’Neill’s script to vibrant and dramatic life over three sell-out performances as part of Winchester Heritage Open Days Festival of history and culture.

This is what audience members said:

‘A wonderful professional writing debut’ – Deborah Edgington, Theatre Director

‘Hope there will be other chances to see brilliant @2TimeTheatre show SirWalter's Women - at Great Hall Winchester; stunning setting political thriller full of sex and intrigue by Rachel O'Neill, beautifully performed by JillyBond, L izzie Garland and Adam Kotz in classy  Alice Kornitzer production’ – Carl Miller, writer and lyricist.

‘Felt part of something special last night. I am sure your play will be performed many times in future but seeing it in Great Hall Winchester was a privilege’ – Madelaine Smith, organiser Winchester Poetry Festival

‘A riveting performance by @2TimeTheatre in the Great Hall’ – Dr Emma Cleary, University of Southampton

‘The mix of drama, history with a hint of humour was brilliant’ – Carol Hussey, Economy and Arts, Winchester City Council

‘Congrats team Sir Walter Ralegh’s Women. At Great Hall Winchester last night. Excellent and informative script by Rachel O'Neill’ – Angie Street, playwright and dramaturge

‘We had a wonderful time at The Great Hall on Saturday. The performance was so powerful; the costumes were wonderful to see and the use of the hall was done so well. I would certainly see them again should they be performing.’ – audience member

'It was amazing to see a world premiere in the very special surroundings of The Great Hall for free. The performances were extraordinary and the writing superb. And to think much of this national history took place right here in Winchester. More of this please!’ – audience member

Web: 2timetheatre.com  
Twitter: @2timetheatre  
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For other plays about Sir Walter in 2018, see

https://raleigh400.blogspot.com/2018/10/from-exe-to-axe-inspired-by-local-museum.html

'From Exe to Axe' by Steve Andrews. 

Tuesday 21 - Sat 25 August (East Devon)

FOR THE RALEIGH 400  CALENDAR OF EVENTS WORLDWIDE IN 2018 CLICK ON 

http://raleigh400.blogspot.co.uk/2018/01/raleigh-400-calendar-of-events-in-2018.html

Sir Walter's Women: Checking out the Great Hall

Continued from https://raleigh400.blogspot.com/2018/06/sir-walters-women-original-drama-to-be.html

Fantastic locations for this year’s dramas about Sir Walter to coincide with the 400^th anniversary of his death. First there was Hayes Barton – Raleigh’s birthplace just outside East Budleigh – for the first performance of Steve Andrews’ From Exe to Axe on 21 August.

And looking forward to 14 and 15 September we have 2TimeTheatre's production of  ‘Sir Walter’s Women’ in the Great Hall at Winchester, where Raleigh was tried for treason in 1603.

Pictured here, inspecting the location in advance of the performance, are actors Adam Kotz, Liz Garland and Jilly Bond who play Raleigh, Bess Throckmorten and Queen Elizabeth I.

Adam Kotz seeks inspiration from the history of Sir Walter Raleigh 

Where else for a play about Sir Walter? 

Could a possible location be the Tower of London, where Raleigh spent 13 long years as a prisoner after his trial in Winchester?

Performance dates and times of 'Sir Walter's Women':

19.00 – Friday 14 September

18.00 and 20.00 – Saturday 15 September

The Great Hall, Winchester, SO23 8UJ

Free admission

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FOR THE RALEIGH 400  CALENDAR OF 

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IN 2018 CLICK ON 

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Sir Walter’s Women: Original drama to be staged in The Great Hall, Winchester

Photo credit: Mike Hall

Performance dates and times:

19.00 – Friday 14 September

18.00 and 20.00 – Saturday 15 September

The Great Hall, Winchester, SO23 8UJ

Free admission

‘He hath been as a star at which the world has gazed, and like a star must fall’

Just over 400 years ago, the dashing Elizabethan hero, explorer and poet, Sir Walter Ralegh was convicted of treason in the Great Hall in Winchester. He was beheaded 29th October 1618.

Winchester-based 2TimeTheatre’s new production, Sir Walter's Women, re-imagines scenes from the life of this charismatic adventurer.  Staged in the 400th anniversary year of his execution, the drama looks at the influence of two extraordinary women in his life; one domestic, his wife Bess, and one political, Elizabeth I.

With a professional cast of three, and accompanied by Renaissance music group Courtlye Musick, this original one-act drama will have its premiere in Winchester's unique and atmospheric medieval hall as part of Heritage Open Days, the UK's largest festival of history and culture.

Writer Rachel O’Neill said: “Originally I wanted to stage his trial for treason in the very place where it happened, but as I researched his life, I realized that looking at his relationship with the two women in his life was inherently more dramatic, and perhaps illuminating as to why he ended up as he did; tried and executed for treason.”

Winchester Great Hall

Image credit: Image credit: Johann Bakker 

Nicky Gottlieb, Festival Director Winchester Heritage Open Days said: “We have a wealth of historically fascinating and important buildings in Winchester.  The challenge is to bring them to life so they become more than architecture. Sir Walter’s Women offers the opportunity to have the Great Hall animated by a drama about the people who actually appeared there.”

This production has been made possible with the kind and generous support of Winchester-based solicitors and mediators, Shenton’s, Hampshire County Council and Winchester City Council’s Cultural Innovation Grant.

About 2TimeTheatre

2TimeTheatre's performance arm was launched in October 2013 with a theatre production of Young Jane, short plays based on the early writings of a young Jane Austen and adapted by Cecily O'Neill. Young Jane is the first publication from 2TimeTheatre (September 2016), followed by Drinking with Dorothy (January 2017). Meeting Miss Austen, the second collection of plays based on the Juvenilia, was published May 2017 and performed as part of the Winchester Festival in July 2017.  Jane Austen and The Waterman, was written by Cecily O'Neill and Philip Glassborow for the SO: To Speak Festival, October 2017.  2TimeTheatre is co-producing new musical Lucky Petra and producing The Honest Soldier, written by Philip Glassborow for performance in July 2018. www.2timetheatre.com

FOR THE RALEIGH 400  CALENDAR OF 

EVENTS WORLDWIDEIN 2018 CLICK ON 
http://raleigh400.blogspot.co.uk/2018/01/raleigh-400-calendar-of-events-in-2018.html