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A spooky mystery will unfold at The Bay Theatre at Weymouth College in February, and audiences are being asked to help discover clues and crack the case!
The award-winning, Bristol-based theatre company Brave Bold Drama will be bringing their brand new, playable family theatre show, The Midnight Mission, to Weymouth on Thursday, 8th February.
The interactive play has been inspired by the real-life events of the ‘Lost Summer of 1816’, when Lord Byron hosted an impromptu writers’ retreat in Villa Diodati on the banks of Lake Geneva, Switzerland. This retreat sparked two literary firsts – the first ever vampire story in The Vampyre by John Polidori, and the first sci-fi story in Frankestein by Mary Shelley.
Set in the present day, the audience at Weymouth College’s Bay Theatre will join creative agents Kahlo & Dali, from The Company of International Artists, to investigate the case of an apparently haunted artwork which hangs on the wall of Villa Diodati.
And even if it is haunted, why is it haunted?
Audience members will be issued an ‘agent kit’ as they arrive, helping them to discover clues, make notes and vote for different narrative outcomes during the show using a voting paddle.
Described at “Scooby Doo meets Cluedo”, The Midnight Mission is full of mystery, nods to horror classics and a broad streak of quirky comedy.
Suitable for ages 6+, the show seeks to introduce younger audience members to the rich literary heritage of Shelley and Polidori, and also introduces them to the form of portraiture, as well as expressing Brave Bold Drama’s core belief that art is for everyone, not just for the rich or the ‘expert’.
Audience reviews:
“Crazy but good! Very clever and entertaining show for children and adults too!”
“The show was great! I liked that you let us take part. I really liked the investigating!”
“I loved it! It was really funny and awesome because you got lots of choices in the show.”
Photo credit: Dougie Allward, Studio Duo
Encouraging families to engage with art
The Company of International Artists is a multi-form project created by Brave Bold Drama, but is also a postal subscription service for children, and is a form through which the company delivers arts award courses for children.
Several museums, including the Bristol Museum, Corinium Museum and Dorset Museum, have commissioned projects by the Company of International Artists to encourage families to engage more meaningfully with museum art collections.
You can find out more about this at bravebolddrama.co.uk
Brave Bold Drama will bring The Midnight Mission to The Bay Theatre at Weymouth College on Thursday, 8th February starting at 7.30pm.
Tickets cost £8 for adults and £7 for concessions, available www.ticketsource.co.uk/thebaytheatre or by calling the box office 01305 208702.
The Bay Theatre is based in the Kimmeridge building at Weymouth College’s Cranford Avenue campus. Free parking is available in the main College car park and arrangements can be made for accessible parking.
You can find more details on all upcoming events at The Bay Theatre here: The Bay Theatre – Weymouth College