Andy Edmeads, Venue Manager of Camberley Theatre, has given an interview to John Tonks (Co-Editor of Hillbers). This follows Andy’s 6th Year anniversary in the role and despite COVID Camberley Theatre is has lots to offer. In an online post the Theatre explained “The show must go on” and wants you to be part of it.
John: Hi Andy, tell me about you and your role as Venue Manager at Camberley Theatre?
Andy: I’m celebrating my 6 year anniversary this year and have been Venue Manager since October 2016. I programme all our professional touring shows, produce our pantomime and organise lots of off site events too in the local area. I love the variety – no two days are the same and I like being involved in all aspects of the venue and I get to work with some lovely people too.
How has 2020 been for you and the Theatre?
Andy: Very difficult. The worst part for venues is not knowing when and what we were planning for. We tend to book things 12-18 months in advance so all of our plans for 2020 were thrown out of the window and are still not sure when we’ll be able to welcome full audiences again or if all our events in 2021 can go ahead. It’s been a worrying and frustrating time. It has been nice to have a moment to pause and take stock, do all those little jobs we’ve not had time to do, so we’re trying to find the positives! And it’s been lovely to be able to do our alternative Christmas programme from 2nd December – the day lockdown ended!
The Theatre has a new show starting from Saturday 19th December through to the 21st December?
Andy: Yes, In place of our pantomime which sadly can’t go ahead, we’ve put together A Camberley Christmas Wish which is a family festive concert. It features some of our previous panto cast and is going to be a real feel good show full of Christmas songs and carols. I’m really excited to have performers here working and creating this show. It’ll be a nice way to end the year for us. We’ve also got a range of other Christmas shows and films up until 23rd December.
You are asking for audiences to be part of the show, can you tell us more about that?
Andy: We want families, schools and businesses to send us their videos of them lip-synching to Mariah Carey All I Want For Christmas Is You. This will be projected on stage during the number so it’s a fun and easy way to be a part of our show without the traditional audience participation you get in Panto (which is currently banned at the moment!) Take a look at our website for more details and to upload your video…
Where can you buy tickets?
Andy: Tickets for all our shows and events can be found at www.camberleytheatre.co.uk
What is there to look forward to in 2021?
Andy: Tonnes! We’ve got a socially distanced season from January featuring 80s icons The Fizz, comedians Luisa Omielan, Ed Gamble, Daniel Sloss and Flo & Joan plus great music shows. Later in 2021 we’ve got the amazing House and Garage Orchestra playing an outdoor show for us, more big names from comedy and entertainment including Jon Courtenay, Steve Royle and Nabil Abdulrashid from Britain’s Got Talent, TV and West End star Lee Mead, comedians Iain Stirling, Omid Djalili and Jason Byrne, plus Russian National Ballet, live music and of course our Pantomime (oh yes we will!) We’ve also got a couple of new events for ’21 that we’re working on and very excited by.
Image Credits:
- Andy Edmeads: Andy Edmeads
- Camberley Theatre: Camberley Theatre
