The Gloucestershire Youth Players (GYP) group was founded in September 2007 by Edward Derbyshire, for young actors over the age of 16. The group was designed to complement the Gloucestershire Young Shakespeare Theatre, or GYST (the only UK based company for 12-16 year olds performing solely Shakespeare, uncut and unprompted) which began in 2005.   The GYP are an entirely voluntary-aided company dependent upon ticket sales and donations for our survival.

In 2008 the group performed Twelfth Night and were delighted to be invited to perform at Longborough Festival Opera and the RSC Dell Gardens, things continued to grow and in 2009 the group performed their production of Hamlet. 

In 2010 things the group performed A Midsummer Night’s Dream; there were four performances of this darkly humorous, highly-paced, energetic show at the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Dell Theatre, with audiences exceeding 250 per show. The group were also privileged to perform once again at Longborough Festival Opera. Amongst the reviews received, the group were thrilled to hear that they ‘engaged youngsters who were quite sceptical about Shakespeare’ and that it was considered ‘the best show yet by GYP.’

2011 looks set to be the biggest and most exciting season so far for GYP, with a return to Longborough Festival Opera performing The Taming of the Shrew. GYP are also delighted to have Felicity Montagu on board now as their Patron.

The Gloucestershire Youth Player’s aims are to bring invigorating versions of Shakespeare’s texts to audiences in and around Gloucestershire.  The focus is to give young people a springboard into the brilliance of one of the greatest playwrights in the English language by producing these seminal texts with an ensemble based company of serious young performers, attempting to make it accessible and imaginative in its interpretation whilst keeping as faithfully as possible to the text.

Find out more on the GYP website

So what have we got for you?
We’ll have demonstrations and workshops from cooking legends such as Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, Richard Corrigan, Yotam Ottolenghi, Fergus Henderson and Mark Hix. Hone your skills at the Daylesford pop up cookery school or get digging at a gardening workshop with Monty Don or Alys Fowler. We’ll be toasting your health at the HIX Champagne and Seafood Bar but also browsing the artisan producer market and sampling some of the finest street food the UK has to offer. We can’t possibly fit it all in here so please do check the full line up on the website.

The soundtrack to your weekend will be in safe hands. Our good friend KT Tunstall will headline Sunday night and we simply can’t wait to share the delight that is Fat Freddy’s Drop – all the way from New Zealand for Harvest alone this summer. The rousing Futureheads and newcomer Benjamin Francis Leftwich will be joined on the music stage by so many more bands – to be announced very soon. We’re also very proud to welcome Communion (Mumford & Sons side project) to Harvest who will be curating our second music stage along with the brilliant Notting Hill Arts Club.

We have a whole host of exciting and uplifting treats for all the family. Charlie and Lola will be bringing their award winning stage show, Best Bestest Play to the big top. The global hit spectacularly mixes 2-D and 3-D worlds adapted from some of the freshest and funniest episodes. We are also honoured to be welcoming Opera Holland Park and their adaptation of Roald Dahl’s classic Fantastic Mr Fox By Tobias Picker & Donald Sturrock.

In between these amazing roaming shows there will be adventures, games, street theatre, workshops (including conducting your own orchestra!), circus skills and bubbles. We love bubbles.

For those of you joining us for the whole weekend, we have teamed up with our great friends at Yurtel to bring you the Harvest Hotel. Forget everything you know about camping and treat yourself to an indulgent weekend of the highest quality glamping, Harvest style! Check out Alex James Presents Harvest for all the details.

Cat is one of Europe’s leading storytellers. Playful, strong and sexy, she combines her fiery female energy with wondrous tales and has a beautiful singing voice, whilst Kasper Sorensen is a master of improvisation with a fearless approach, enormous charm and great skill. A true stand-up storyteller.

Cat and Kasper have chosen to perform only 3 shows in the UK and Arlingham Village Hall is one of them. Tickets are strictly limited (and for 16+ yrs only) and at the time of writing are being snapped up by fans far and wide! Don’t miss out!

More information about Cat www.catweatherill.co.uk

More information about Kasper http://www.besttellers.dk/

July sees Open Air Theatre, Gloucester Carnival & the World Together Festival, whilst August includes Volleyball, Witches & Wizards, Seaside Fun and a celebration of Jamaican Independence Day.

Find out more at www.thecityofgloucester.co.uk/site/whats-on/summer-in-gloucester

Dark Tales Of Gloucestershire – 24th April

Hanged men, witches, sea serpents and drunken fairies can all be found in Spaniel In The Works Theatre Company popular one hour show Dark Tales of Gloucestershire.

Dark Tales of Gloucestershire takes traditional folk tales from the county and retells them in a lively, funny and exciting way using rhyme, music, dance and puppets.

Tickets can be purchased from Gloucester Guildhall.

To coincide and as part of 2009′s Severn Project, live performances of the poem have been set to voices and music by Stroud-based theatre group Taurus Voice, with music by   by Pete Rosser. 

An incredible place, the Severn.  Britain’s longest river, was named ‘Sabrina’ by the Romans and is home to Britain’s longest tidal wave.  Visitors these days head for Gloucester Docks or the Wildfowl and Wetland Trust at Slimbridge to encounter the atmosphere, history or wildlife of the area.

WOMAD Charlton Park is so much more than just first class world music festival and returning this year will be the popular ‘Taste the World’ tent where some of the artists will show off their cooking prowess and which, more often than not, turns into a impromptu gig. The Drum and Dance Tent will make a welcome return with early-bird yoga sessions to salsa lessons to night owl happenings. And for those who fancy a luxurious moment to themselves and a scrub up, the WOMAD spa, complete with treatments, spa pools, great showers and a cocktail bar, is the place to go.

God of Carnage played to packed houses, at Gielgud Theatre earlier this year becoming one of the most successful plays in the history of the West End.  Originally starring Ralph Fiennes, Ken Stott, Janet McTeer and Tamsin Greig, it now plays the Everyman Theatre in Cheltenham before returning to the West End with an equally stellar cast of Richard E Grant, Lia Williams, Roger Allam and Serena Evans. Running from 18th – 21st Feb 2009.