Theatre Group

This group visits productions at our two local theatres - The Merlin and The Memorial Theatres, Frome.

Emails will be sent to those who have expressed an interest in the group telling them about future performances. Sheets on which you can indicate your interest in upcoming productions will be available at the monthly meetings. Payment can be made by bank transfer or cash or cheque at the monthly meeting.

You are very welcome to bring friends or family who are not 3A members to any of the productions.

If you are not on the mailing list and wish to be added or have any questions then please contact me at: theatre@fromethirdage.com 

The shows for the remainder of 2026:

Thursday, 25th June 2026 at 7.00pm. NT Live with Les Liaisons Dangereuses at The Merlin

BAFTA Award-winner Lesley Manville (Phantom Thread) joins Aidan Turner (Rivals and Poldark) in a striking new staging of Christopher Hampton’s celebrated adaptation of the classic novel, where among the glittering salons of the super-rich, one misstep can mean ruin.

Marquise de Merteuil is a master in the art of survival. Alongside the magnetic Vicomte de Valmont, they turn seduction into strategy and weaponise desire.  But when their alliance collapses into rivalry, the battle between them threatens to destroy everyone in their path.

Tickets cost £18.00

Sign-up board for this production available at the May meeting, money to be collected at the June meeting.

Saturday, 8th August at 2.00pm.  Spellbound production of Singin' in the Rain at The Memorial

Spellbound, the youth section of Frome Musical Theatre Company, is producing Singin’ In The Rain as their 2026 summer spectacle!

Based on the iconic 1952 movie musical of the same name, Singin’ In The Rain is set in 1920s Hollywood at Monumental Pictures, where the story follows a film studio’s chaotic (and hilarious!) transition from silent movies to the brand-new “talking pictures.”

Packed with comedy, romance, and dazzling dance numbers, the show features unforgettable songs including “Moses Supposes,” “Make ‘Em Laugh,” “Good Mornin’,” and the title number “Singin’ In The Rain.”

An incredible celebration of classic musical theatre – audiences won’t want to miss this toe-tapping summer production!

Tickets cost £19.00

Tickets will sell quickly for the matinee and so the sign-up board for this production will be available at the May meeting, money to be collected at the June meeting.

The following two performance will be outdoors at the E.C.O.S. Amphitheatre at the Merlin. Please bring blankets, cushions, and chairs. Picnics are welcome, but please buy drinks fromthe Merlin bar. In the event of bad weather, this event will move inside. There are no reserved seats for productions at the ECOS. 

Sunday 23rd August at 6.00pm.  Illyria present As You Like It at The ECOS Amphitheatre, The Merlin.

In this play, Shakespeare explores Love in all its guises. Four pairs of soulmates meet in the mysterious Forest of Arden. One pair leaps straight into bed. Another pair is instantaneously dumbstruck by each other’s beauty and pledges their undying troth. The third pair torment eachother: he showers chaste love upon her, which she haughtily rejects – yet secretly she enjoys the flattery. The fourth pair go further still, playfully blurring their roles and identities to such an extent that flirting becomes more pain than pleasure, and Love itself is pushed to the limit of its endurance – and beyond.

Throughout the summer, Shakespeare’s iconic comedy will be performed where its action is set – in the great outdoors, by a 5-strong cast of classically trained professional actors. Multi-award-winning Illyria has an unmatched reputation for excellence, forged over three decades, that dominates the outdoor touring theatre sector. Join them this summer for a memorable night of laughter and romance under the stars.

Running time: 140 minutes plus interval

Tickets cost £18.00

Sign-up board for this production available at the July meeting, money to be collected at the August meeting.

Saturday 12th September at 6.00pm.  Illyria present The Pirates of Penzance at The ECOS Amphitheatre.

Frederick, accidentally apprenticed to Pirates as a child, is indentured to the Pirate King until his 21st birthday. On the day he reaches 21 he leaves the ship, announcing that he now intends to dedicate his life to the Pirates’ destruction. The Pirate King checks the contract’s small print – and realises that as Frederick’s birthday is 29th February on a leap year he has only had four birthdays and is actually indentured for another 63 years. With only the Penzance constabulary to protect him, will Frederick be forced to serve the pirates until he is 84? And will his sweetheart, Mabel, wait for him that long?

Performed by a six-strong cast of actors/singers with fully orchestrated accompaniment, The Pirates of Penzance boasts such gloriously memorable songs as “To be a Pirate King!”; “Modern Major General” and “A Policeman’s Lot is Not a Happy One”. With razor-sharp satire and glittering wit, it remains as fresh as if it had been written today.

Running time: 120 minutes including interval

Tickets cost £20

Sign-up board for this production available at the July meeting, money to be collected at the August meeting.

Friday October 16th at 7.30pm. Our Star Theatre Company presents The Three Musketeers at The Merlin.

Prepare for a hilarious and uproarious family farce brought to you by Our Star Theatre Company. This theatrical re-telling of The Three Musketeers is packed with laughter, lively audience participation and plenty of energetically silly performances.The story centres around a small troupe of performers gearing up for their highly anticipated debut performance of The Three Musketeers. However, as the curtains rise, all is not as it seems. What starts as a simple theatrical endeavour quickly unravels into a whirlwind of confusion, mayhem, and comical mishaps. From forgotten lines to chaotic set changes, the actors find themselves entangled in a series of laugh-out-loud blunders, much to the delight of the audience.

This delightfully entertaining production is brimming with wit, slapstick humour, and a dose of good-natured silliness that will keep you on the edge of your seat, laughing from start to finish.

Running time: 85 mins plus 20 minute interval

Tickets cost £18

Sign-up board for this production available at the September meeting, money to be collected at the October meeting.

Tuesday, 22nd December at 2.30pm New Old Friends present Crimes on the Christmas Express at The Merlin.

An all-new hilarious Christmas comedy thriller from the people behind Crimes Against Christmas last year.

Tommy Albyn, the whisky laird, has died, and an eccentric cast of characters who hope to inherit his wealth are summoned for a perilous train ride through the Scottish Highlands in the dead of winter before his will can be read. Will they all survive? Spoiler alert: no. But it’ll be fun to watch the ride.

The plot is sort of Succession meets The Traitors meets Murder on the Orient Express, but as with all New Old Friends shows is mainly a vehicle for the fun of watching four talented actors play multiple roles with lightning-fast costume changes, set pieces as clever as they are ridiculous, plenty of visual gags, and some wonderfully witty wordplay.

Running Time: 100 minutes plus interval

Tickets cost £17

Sign-up board for this production available at the October meeting, money to be collected at the November meeting.

This year's pantomime by Frome Musical Theatre is Cinderella.  Tickets are already on sale.  I am proposing that we go to the matinee on Friday, January 1st at 2.00 pm at The Memorial. To get reasonable seats we will need to book early and I will have an expression of interest board at the June and July meetings, collecting money at either the August or September meetings depending on how sales are going. 

Thank you for your support for the productions in the first half of the year.  Any queries please contact me, Janet at theatre@fromethirdage.com 

If you are not on the mailing list and wish to be added or have any questions then please contact me on: theatre@fromethirdage.com 

BACK TO TOP