"Wyrd Sisters" comes to South Manchester, 12th-14th August

[Chorlton Player]

Terry Pratchett’s Discworld is on a collision course with South Manchester as the Chorlton Players amateur dramatics group prepare to stage the theatre adaptation of his cult novel “Wyrd Sisters” each evening between August 12th-14th.

With a nod to the legends of Macbeth and Hamlet, the story weaves its way through a tale of murdered kings, guilt, time travel and revenge as three eccentric witches fight against overwhelming odds to restore the rightful heir to the throne with the assistance of a band of travelling actors. There’s plenty of spectacle and humour as the show progresses but Stephen Briggs’s script retains the questions posed in the source novel regarding the role of the monarchy and the manner in which propaganda can be used to shape history.

“Wyrd Sisters” is co-directed by Maggie Pycroft and Rohan Shenoy who explains his reasons for bringing the production to the suburbs of Manchester: “I’ve been a Pratchett fan all my life and with the current level of interest in his work, such as the tie-in on TV at the moment, it just seemed like the right time to stage the show.”

He continues: “I'm determined to make the play true to the original novel. We're not going to descend into pantomime or chase laughs at any cost. We have a number of very strong female actresses in Chorlton Players so 'Wyrd Sisters' was the most obvious one of the Pratchett plays to perform. I want the show to be just as enjoyable to someone who's completely unfamiliar with the books as it will be to someone who's steeped in the lore of Discworld.”

And fans could be in for an additional treat. It is a condition of staging “Wyrd Sisters” that two complimentary tickets are reserved for Terry Pratchett and Stephen Briggs. The pair have been known to visit local venues before so who knows who might be sat in the audience come the performances?

“Wyrd Sisters” will be staged each evening between Thursday 12th August - Saturday 14th August at the Church Hall on St Werburgh’s Road, Chorlton, Manchester M21 0TL. Doors open at 7.10pm with the show starting at 7.30pm. Tickets cost £6.00 each (£4.00 concessions) and are available in advance at the Chorlton Players website (nb: please Google the name to view the site, as forum restrictions prevent hyperlinks by new posters) or on the door.

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Chorlton Players have been a mainstay of the Manchester local arts scene for over 40 years. They have a reputation for their quality of acting and production standards. Recent shows have included “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest”, “The Graduate” and “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”.