Variety of workshops and performances planned for Bloom Festival at Theatre Royal

Workshops and stage performances are all part of plans for the second year of the Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds’ Bloom Festival, which is set to take place during April.

The event gives opportunities to the West Suffolk community to engage with theatre through two Youth Theatre productions and a variety of free workshops and activities for adults and young people hosted by skilled theatre professionals.

Taking place between April 8 and 17 there’s opportunities for aspiring actors seeking guidance, a curious novice hoping to dabble in the arts, or even a seasoned theatre veteran looking to expand their repertoire or pick up new tips and tricks. The Bloom Festival has something for everyone this Spring.

Theatre Royal’s Youth Theatre groups will perform a double bill of “Ginger Jones and The Sultan’s Eye” performed by the eight to 11 aged groups and “Wellington 24” performed by the 12 to 16 groups, from April 8 to 12.

Tickets for the shows start at £5 and are part of the theatre’s pay-what-you can scheme. 

“Ginger Jones and The Sultan’s Eye” by Nick Lane, is a children’s adventure. It’s Indiana Jones meets Alice in Wonderland … with added silliness. Ginger Jones is a girl with a vivid imagination. Her stories are as wild as the hair on her head. So when her school enters a storytelling competition, there is no doubt as to whom they should turn for inspiration … except that Ginger Jones has lost her imagination. Join her best friend Stan West as he describes the extreme tale of their adventures during the summer holidays. Featuring talking camels, sultans and a possible ruby or two.

“Wellington 24” is by Rachel Harper in association with Nick Hern Books. It’s an upbeat and empowering war time tale about teamwork, collaboration and beating the odds. It’s 1943, World War II rages on, and the men are gone. It’s left to the “women in the workmen’s boots” to pick up the pieces in the factory. They’re being relied upon to build the planes that could win the war and they take the responsibility seriously. On this particular day they’re attempting to build a Wellington bomber in record-breaking time: under 24 hours. As temperatures rise and prejudices bubble up, will they be able to pull together in time?

Bloom Festival boasts a series of free workshops for adults and young people designed to ignite creativity, foster artistic growth, and encourage personal development.

This year’s workshops offer an exciting range of disciplines including playwriting, special effects make-up, directing, songwriting, and loads more.

Attendees will learn from seasoned professionals, exchange ideas with fellow theatre enthusiasts, and unleash their hidden talents in a welcoming and collaborative environment.

They are:

• Introduction to Puppetry with Grethe Mangala Jensen, April 8: https://theatreroyal.org/events/introduction-to-puppetry/ 
• SENsory Creative Play, April 8. 6-12: https://theatreroyal.org/events/sensory-creative-play-6-12/ 13-18 https://theatreroyal.org/events/sensory-creative-play-13-18/ 
• Family Theatre Tour, April 9: https://theatreroyal.org/events/family-theatre-tour/ 
• Arts and Crafts with Art Branches, April 10: https://theatreroyal.org/events/arts-crafts/ 
• Improv for Adults with Harry Kershaw (“The Play That Goes Wrong”, “Peter Pan Goes Wrong”), April 10: https://theatreroyal.org/events/improv-masterclass-for-adults/ 
• Stage and Film Makeup Masterclass with Lorna Garside, April 11: https://theatreroyal.org/events/stage-film-makeup-masterclass/ 
• Directing Masterclass with Adults with Owen Calvert-Lyons, April 14: https://theatreroyal.org/events/directing-masterclass-for-adults/ 
• Improv Masterclass for Young People with Harry Kershaw (“The Play That Goes Wrong”, “Peter Pan Goes Wrong”), April 14: https://theatreroyal.org/events/improv-masterclass-for-young-people/ 
• Morning Storytime with Lynn Whitehead, April 15: https://theatreroyal.org/events/morning-storytime/ 
• Playwriting Masterclass for Adults with Eilish Mullane, April 15: https://theatreroyal.org/events/playwriting-masterclass-for-adults/ 
• Playwriting Masterclass for Young People with Eilish Mullane, April 16: https://theatreroyal.org/events/playwriting-masterclass-for-young-people/ 
• Dance Masterclass for Young People with Grace Harris, April 16: https://theatreroyal.org/events/dance-masterclass-for-young-people/ 
• Family Choir Workshop with Tom Appleton, April 17: https://theatreroyal.org/events/family-singing-workshop/ 
• Songwriting Masterclass with Kitty Morgan, April 17: https://theatreroyal.org/events/songwriting-masterclass/ 

Theatre Royal welcomes all members of the community to join in this extraordinary celebration of performing arts and the Bloom Festival is supported by Arts Council England, Ridley Godfrey Foundation, West Suffolk Council, Suffolk County Council and Gee Wizz Charity.