Theatre-goers will see a difference as they step through the doors of Arundel’s Priory Playhouse Theatre to see the Arundel Players in action with The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.
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00:00Good afternoon, my name is Phil Hewitt, Group Arts Editor for Sussex Newspapers. Always
00:06lovely to speak to Stuart and Dawn Smithers. Dawn, Chairman of Arundel Players, Stuart
00:11Artistic Director of Arundel Players. Now Dawn, bit of a challenge for you. You've had
00:16to change director on The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time, and you have
00:20come in as director with just five weeks to go. But you're saying you've inherited a very
00:26willing, very supportive cast, haven't you? Yes, very co-operative, very supportive and
00:33experienced and just lovely. Really, we're all working together as a team and we'll definitely
00:38get this play on. Yeah, and there's no way with the change of director you would countenance
00:42the possibility of not putting something on. You were committed, weren't you? Absolutely,
00:47absolutely committed. And we've sold many, many tickets, so we have to do it. Absolutely.
00:51And Stuart, tell me a bit about the play. What makes it such a good play, such an interesting
00:55play? Because it is so, no, I shouldn't say so unique, it's unique. Because it tells a
01:06story, it's really a mystery, solving a mystery of how a neighbour's dog came to be killed.
01:14But the mystery is solved by a young autistic boy who investigates it. Because he's autistic,
01:23he sometimes finds it difficult to understand the information that's presented to him and
01:28how to resolve who actually did kill Wellington, the name of the dog.
01:35And I've certainly never seen anything of this sort before. And it's also
01:43very impressive for the visual effects. There's a lot of projection, not back projection,
01:50front projection onto the backdrop, which I think people will find very entertaining.
01:59So it is a unique production. I think it was a very popular show in London. Most people know of
02:05it, even if they haven't seen it. Many of them have read the original book. And I think in the
02:11number of seats we've managed to sell so far. And Dawn talking again about the visual side
02:17of things. People are going to see a difference when they come into the theatre, thanks to your
02:20husband and his team. You've had some refurbishment. In our entrance, up to the box office,
02:27up the stairs and into our bar. So we've painted, well not me, I don't do anything,
02:34have painted. We have someone to do that for you, yeah. Lighting, we've got new carpet,
02:39we've got new furniture. It's going to be absolutely beautiful. Fantastic. And that's
02:44all part of a really busy year for the players, as always, with some
02:48cracking sounding shows coming up. 24 Hour Musical up in June, which is all for charity.
02:54Chestnut Treehouse, Children's Hospice. We've got God of Carnage in June. And Wind in the
03:01Willows, the musical, in August, our festival production. And as part of the festival,
03:05Stuart's 13th short play. That's quite some record. I hope it's not unlucky.
03:14I'm sure it won't be. Brilliant. Well, good luck with the Curious Instant. It's in Arundel,
03:19and it's April, isn't it? April the 9th to the 12th, did you say?
03:247th to the 12th. Fantastic. Good luck with it. Lovely to speak to you both. Thank you.
03:30Thank you very much.