A Sonnet For Anne - 25-7.04.12

Brilliant!!! 

The structure of it!  Perfect! 

Jo Hollingworth and Stephen Gillard.  Brilliant!!! 

Their make up.  Extreme! 

Their performances.  Hypnotic!  Linking the action so cleverly! 

The set.  Brilliant!!!  So simple and so effective! 

All the performances.  Brilliant!!!   And so many words to remember!  Amazing! 

And the writing.  David Owen Smith.  Brilliant!!!

Everything Brilliant!!! 

But most brilliant of all, Liz Lucas!  Mrs Shakespeare.   Narrow-minded, a snob, over-possessive, ordinary.  The woman next door.  A woman who loved her husband.  A portrait of a woman who loved her husband.  That simple.  That complicated.  So intricately portrayed.  And when Mrs Shakespeare cried, we cried with her. 

Brilliant!!!  Brilliant!!!   Brilliant!!!

-Jenny Clarkson, Box Office Assistant

Children's Festival 10-14.04.2012

After many weeks of looking forward to the annual Children's Festival it finally arrived! Four days jam packed of children's shows and workshops it was bound to be busy and a little frantic, but great nonetheless. 

In fact, if you were in Lincoln Centre on March 31 you may have noticed us walking around dressed as clowns/minnie mouse/woody, face-painting and finger-painting especially for the occasion!

Day 1 - "We're Going On A Bear Hunt" with amazing storyteller Kirsty from Rhubarb Theatre, followed by "Let's Make a Salsa Band" and "Travelling By Tuba" in the afternoon (we could hear salsa melodies and rhythms floating through our doors all afternoon!), and finally the Doctor Who TV Quiz in the evening!

Day 2 - Exciting adventures with "The Gruffalo" and Kirsty, brilliant children's author Jeremy Strong and the Waterstones bookshop and storytelling workshop with Pete Davis! Phew.

Day 3 - Face-painting, beautiful and musical performance of Red Riding Hood and for the film fans, a showing of everyone's favourite alien, E.T the extra terrestrial.

Day 4 - Face-painting, dress-up-as-your-favourite-storybook-character Diddy Disco, Caterpillar Club (a disco for toddlers and young-uns with disabilities) and, a night for the parents, the Slimline Papas!

We had an absolute blast with the Children's Festival, and really hope you loved it as much as we did! It was great to see the Drill Hall buzzing with so many families and kids. If you missed out on the Children's Festival but need something to entertain your little ones, please have a look at our family events on our website. 

See you soon!

-Hilary Shepherd, Marketing Officer

Back To The Future 80's Night - 31.03.12

The minute I encountered Simon Le Bon closely followed an exhuberant & stylish Adam Ant, I knew the evening was going to be a winner. My ears were already being assailed by the music & DJHeretic was cranking up the heat with the Jam, the Proclaimers & the Clash. 

Out on the dance floor the cocktail tray was doing the rounds, closely followed by shots of every colour, served up by a hot little sweetheart who wove her way between the Kids from Fame, the Boy George lookalikes & the punks. 

A kaleidoscope of colour & the movement of the crowd exploded like a paint ball onto the big screen behind the DJ & the requests just kept coming.

Out in the cafe bar more party goers threw  their shapes in a moving arena whilst Rod Hull & Emu laid traps for the unwary reveller. The live band  kept it coming & we just lapped it up - the good times were never better.

The 80's had hit town like a Christmas cracker & we all wanted a piece of it - with its flamboyant legwarmers to its glitzy black lace to the arrogance of the New Romantics. 

From Tears for Fears to Rick Astley to Ultravox & beyond! - we loved them all - we picked the music & we got what we wanted.

It doesn't get better than this when you turn back the clock & choose the best - one of the things the Drill Hall does well - they know how to throw a mean party! Even the staff were in the mood!

To the moment when we scmaltzed to the Slow-y then ripped it up to the reggae of the Ghost Town - we gave it our best shot.

So c'mon guys - heres to the next one - bring on the 90's night..............!

-Terri Newstead, Front of House

Earthfall: At Swim Two Boys - 28.03.12

I rolled up at the Drill Hall knowing a little about At Swim Two Boys, having heard SO many good things about it from the Drill Hall's director, Simon, and from seeing the crew set up the auditorium for the past couple of days, but still I was curious.

As the show started I must admit to having a few preconceptions about dance and physical theatre - my knowledge of both is very limited and ignorant!

However, as it progressed I began to form my own opinions about what I thought was happening - though there was no glaringly obvious storyline I still found myself in some way able to make a narrative of what I saw, and thoroughly enjoyed myself in the process.

The dancers themselves were amazing - I was breathless just watching all the moves they were pulling off! 

So as not to spoil the show for those of you who haven't seen it yet, I won't tell you the ending. But I will mention that by then my imagination was in full flow and as the lights went down I was on the edge of my seat with my fingers in my ears! 

If you see it, you will love it.

-Hilary Shepherd, Marketing Officer

(Also, you may have seen some paper boats around Lincoln and the Drill Hall made of the Earthfall flyers - that was me).