Peter Tinniswood Best Original Radio Drama Award Nomination 2022
We are delighted to announce that Myself And Other Parts has been nominated for the prestigious Peter Tinniswood Best Original Radio Drama Award.
Recording 24 episodes of Wonderful Wriggly Worm by Eugenie Summerfield(from left to right) David Horton (BHBN), Caroline Summerfield (Studio Direction) and Actors, Ellie Darvill and Bill Cronshaw
JANE AUSTEN AND THE CHELTONIANS
NOMINATED FOR WRITERS’ GUILD OF GREAT BRITAIN
THEATRE DRAMA AWARD 2021
We are delighted to announce that our touring production of Jane Austen and The Cheltonians has been nominated for the prestigious Theatre Drama Award from the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain. This is an annual award for outstanding theatre produced 2020/21.
NATURA CONTEMPORARY THEATRE AND RADIO DRAMA
We are delighted to announce our first radio theatre dramatisation. This is the serialisation of The Gardening Times by the Summerfield Sisters (Angela and Caroline Summerfield). For the next eleven months (until August 2021) this will be broadcasted on the Birmingham Hospital Broadcasting Network. We are supported in this by Arts Council England with a National Lottery Project Grant.
GLOWING REVIEW FOR JANE AUSTEN AND THE CHELTONIANS
Written and directed by Caroline Summerfield
14th September 2019 @2:00pm, Museum in the Park, Stroud (as part of Stroud Theatre Festival)
It is a truth universally acknowledged that a regular theatregoer in possession of Jane Austen’s novels must be in want of a good Jane Austen play – and Natura Theatre Company’s production of Jane Austen and the Cheltonians did not disappoint! This award-winning two-woman play, written and directed by Caroline Summerfield and performed by Abigail Halley (as seen in Random Acts on Channel Four) and Lynn Thomas (as seen in Doctors on BBC TV) was inspired by Jane Austen’s renowned novel Emma, alongside her visit to Cheltenham at the centenary of the town. The story follows Jane Austen and her friend Eloisa Fairweather devising the sequel to Emma, in which the famed literary heroine once again gives in to matchmaking temptation, meeting characters old and new and encountering a number of charming mishaps along the way!
The play’s venue could not have been more apt for this performance. Walking through Stroud’s park to reach the museum – which in itself looked like a manor out of a Jane Austen film adaptation! – set the mood perfectly for the performance to come, as did the room in which the performance was given. The set was simple but elegant, making use of the room’s historical features and minimal period decorations and props. The set was nicely complimented by the costumes, both of which were period accurate, aesthetically pleasing, and well suited to the performers and the central characters they portrayed.
The play itself was written very much in the voice and spirit of Jane Austen. It contained a lovely level of light-hearted humour – particularly in reference to Jane Austen’s views of society at the time, her infamous dislike of Bath, and of course, Cheltenham – and truly paid homage to her storytelling style. Both performers wholly embodied the Jane Austen spirit, too; Abigail Halley portrayed the characters of Jane Austen, Emma Knightly, and Captain Marsh with gusto and panache, while Lynn Thomas gave a warm and elegant performance as Eloisa Fairweather, Harriet Smith, and other ladies of society within the play……………….. some excellent voice work – including the use of different accents and languages – and a wide variety of facial expressions were used well by both performers to portray their many different characters. Overall, Jane Austen and the Cheltonians was a delightful, witty, and enthusiastic celebration of Jane Austen, and I would highly recommend that fans of the author make the trip to see it when it comes to The Everyman Theatre in Cheltenham between 6 th and 8 th February 2020.
Review written by Kattie Preedy for Glos Info Online Magazine
ARTS COUNCIL FUNDING SUCCESS AUGUST 2019
We are delighted to announce that we have been awarded Arts Council Funding for our forthcoming tour of Jane Austen & The Cheltonians by playwright Caroline Summerfield.
Phil Gibby, Area Director, South West, Arts Council England, said: “Arts and culture activities bring communities together and this tour of Jane Austen and the Cheltonians, supported through our National Lottery Project Grants programme is no different. This project will bring a range of community groups together to explore Jane Austen through new eyes, reflecting the diversity of contemporary England.”
Caroline Summerfield 