The OFFSTAGE Theatre Group

27/03/2026

WORLD THEATRE DAY...

We've been as far as Los Angeles, but not round the world.

So, let's take you back in time, instead, to the 1890's. Where we were having a very Earnest time (look at our faces) during one of our Summer Tours. It was Wilde! Ahem.

OFFSTAGE started out as an After-School Club, hence why the name stuck (as we weren't on stage, as such, being at school still) and then broadened out to become a proper travelling theatre troupe - mainly performing 'in the round' (again, off stage).

We give a heartfelt thanks to all the many and varied audiences we've had and the incredible casts and crew for each production.

Keep the lights on, always. Theatre is the proudly beating heart of the Arts.



Photo: (Back of the head) Keith Patrick as Jack, with Kim Jones as Gwendolyn, Lizi Brazier as Cecily, and Barnaby Eaton-Jones as Algy (on the chaise lounge sofa).

09/04/2025

HAPPY 80th BIRTHDAY...

Not to us, we've not being going quite that long. No, to our home from home - The Cheltenham Playhouse.

We've put on a fair few theatrical, musical, and improvisational productions there over the years (started and ended tours there, recorded an actual BBC Radio series there, and generally always wonder what else we can do there).

The staff have always been welcoming, generous, and eager to help. The audiences have been generous, supportive, and kind - and mostly sold out!

Here's to another 80 years, serving and enhancing the community for all Art's sake.

15/01/2025

A TONY REWARD...

Sadly, Tony Slattery passed away yesterday. An improvisational whirlwind and whom many will remember as a mainstay of the UK television series 'Whose Line Is It Anyway?'.

A couple of years ago, we devised a show around him called 'Crimes Against Improv', which sold out at the Cheltneham Playhouse theatre in Gloucestershire.

It was, as those on and off stage will attest to, a very chaotic and irreverent night.

Tony, although battling demons of the mind and the body, rose to the challenge and kept us all on our toes (and the audience too. Ahem).

As a tribute to him, here's a little selection of photos taken during the show, which we hope shows the anarchic and unpredictable moment-to-moment nature of comedy improvisation.

He was a madcap - if troubled - spirit, and the world is a little less colourful without him in it.

16/04/2024

LAST CHANCE TO SEE...

THIS WEEK!

Yesterday, was a mammoth-length 'I'm Sorry I'll Read That Again... Again!' rehearsal and this photo was taken at the very end of it. Look, we're still smiling!

Honestly, if you want to revel in the most joyous of shows - just pure comedy in songs and silly jokes - then come along this week and join in the celebrations.

We've kept the tickets prices low too!

If you can make these 60th anniversary shows a sell-out, we'd be hugely grateful. Do feel free to share this post, or alert your friends, family, or even enemies.

CHELTENHAM PLAYHOUSE (April 17th): https://cheltplayhouse.org.uk/CheltPlayhouse.dll/WhatsOn?f=1884600

CHIPPING NORTON THEATRE (April 19th): https://www.chippingnortontheatre.com/events/im-sorry-ill-read-that-again-again

12/04/2024

THEY'RE BACK... AGAIN!

'I'm Sorry I'll Read That Again... Again!' returns to the stage next week for two special 60th anniversary shows, with lots of 'new' material that hasn't been showcased before.

Here's the Farrington Four band (minus drummer) and our four perfomers during their first of a series of long rehearsals.

They were last all together in 2020 and they slipped back into the comedy groove like they've never been away.

You can catch these final shows (and there's only a handful of tickets left for each) at the Cheltenham Playhouse (17th April) or The Chipping Norton Theatre (19th April), in the broadcast anniversary month of the BBC Radio classic.

CHELTENHAM: https://cheltplayhouse.org.uk/CheltPlayhouse.dll/WhatsOn?f=1884600

CHIPPING NORTON: https://www.chippingnortontheatre.com/events/im-sorry-ill-read-that-again-again

Photos by Kim Jones (c) 2024

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06/03/2024

THE SIXTIETH ANNIVERSARY SHOWS...

'I'm Sorry I'll Read That Again' hits 60 in April 2024, and we've got a mostly brand-new show to celebrate this.

Join Barnaby, Ben, Dave, Hannah, and the Farrington Four in Cheltenham or Chipping Norton, for more parodies, puns, sketches, songs, and general silliness. Tickets links below...

THE PLAYHOUSE, CHELTENHAM: https://cheltplayhouse.org.uk/CheltPlayhouse.dll/WhatsOn?f=1884600
CHIPPING NORTON THEATRE: https://www.chippingnortontheatre.com/events/im-sorry-ill-read-that-again-again

11/09/2023

TOUR FOR 2024...

Unfortunately, due to unforeseen circumstances, we've had to curtail our planned tour of two new one-act plays - 'Pub Quiz' and 'Waiting For The End'.

We're really sorry if you bought tickets for The Cheltenham Playhouse date on November 8th, and the subsequent dates around many village halls in Gloucesteshire. All of which are now being rescheduled, once we've had a production meeting.

We're looking forward to being out on the road with this, hopefully, in around March/April/May time now. We'll keep you updated.

Thanks for all the support and sorry you've got to wait a few more months for the premiere of these comedy plays.

19/06/2023

COMING SOON...

More details on their way, for a new tour of two new plays by Barnaby Eaton-Jones.

Image by Robert Hammond.

22/12/2020

FESTIVE THOUGHTS...

In a year where the curtain came down and the theatres went dark for too long, we were saddened that our tour of I'm Sorry I'll Read That Again - Again. was curtailed, but delighted that Slapstick Festival and The Goodies kept the flame alive but allowing the filmed performance of our finale at Bristol Old Vic (for said festival) to be broadcast online for free.

We are determined to get back out there, when we can. But, for now, do your best to support live theatre and the people who run it and create it and crew it and produce it. They bring spirit and hope in dark times, giving you somewhere for your imagination to run wild away from reality for a few glorious hours.

Enjoy a strange Christmas and let's hope 2021 sees live entertainment able to return to its former glory and this pesky pandemic to fade into the wings.

15/07/2020

TIM'S TOTAL...

When we go back out on tour, we'll be doing so under the 'A Tribute to Tim' banner, raising money for Tim Brooke-Taylor's chosen charity (as approved by his lovely wife, Christine). There's an official fundraising page set up already by long-term fan, Olga Ruocco, and it would be so fab to have that modest total raised. Here's the link: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/olga-ruocco-daley4

Be warned, if you don't even donate a tiny amount, Lady Constance will come round and sit on you. You have been warned.