MALVERN’s famous Theatre Festival which became successful following the involvement of literature legends Sir Barry Jackson and Sir George Bernard Shaw, is to return later this year for the first time in 27 years.
Town charity Reaction Theatre Makers, which supports people with learning difficulties and mental health issues in performing drama productions, is leading the revival of the festival which was a major attraction for Malvern from the 1930s.
The three-day FEAST festival, the first to be held since it last took place back in 1989, will be held at Malvern Cube on November 11, 12 and 13 with performances from the Golden Thread Play-back company and FETCH Theatre as well as Adrian Berry’s ‘From Ibiza to the Norfolk Broads’, the story of a young David Bowie obsessive.
And an enticing appetiser to relaunch Malvern’s famous festival is on offer at the Albert Road North-based building next Saturday (October 15) as part of Mental Health Awareness Week with dance charity Everybody Dance putting up their aerial rig at the Malvern Cube followed by a performance of The Magnetic Diaries at 6.30pm.
There will also be a number of workshops encouraging people of all ages to get involved with theatre.
The idea to run the revived festival has been inspired by Reaction Theatre Makers’ latest production ‘WR14’ which aims to tell the story of Malvern’s famous links with the arts.
Tiffany Hosking from Reaction Theatre Makers said: “We are all really excited to be holding this festival for the first time and want it to be inclusive involving all the community.
“This will be Malvern’s first theatre festival of its kind in recent history and we are so glad our plans are now going to become a reality.
“I feel it is important for our members and the community to remember the historical facts and celebrate Malvern’s famous links to theatre and reviving this great festival will help do that.”
The Festival was established in 1929 by Sir Barry Jackson and George Bernard Shaw wrote ‘The Apple Cart’ especially for it.
It continued annually under Sir Barry Jackson until 1937 and was organised by Roy Limbert in 1938 and 1939.
In 1949, after the Second World War, the festival, directed by Roy Limbert, was revived and featured a new Shaw play at the time ‘Buoyant Billions’.
This was the last proper festival although there was The Malvern Pageant in 1951, the Bernard Shaw Centenary Week in 1956, and then Malvern Seasons in 1965 and 1966 which were run by the Malvern Festival Theatre Trust Limited.
In 1977 there was another revival, with a new three-week Malvern Festival, run by the Malvern Festival Society Limited, which continued until 1982 when it was taken over by Malvern Festival Promotions Limited up to 1989.
Shaw’s play ‘Pygmalion’ was staged in 1989 to celebrate the 60th Anniversary of the founding of the Malvern Festival.
Anyone wanting to get involved with the theatre should email [email protected] for more.
