NEWS - ARCHIVE
21 Dec 2009 - Perfect last minute stocking filler for theatre lovers
Even if your stockings are not as long as Flatula’s (have you seen the Mercury pantomime yet?!) you might still need some ideas to help fill them in time for Christmas Eve. For the first time ever ...
15 Dec 2009 - Steve Scruton meets panto cast
Steve Scruton meets panto cast - listen live from 2pm or on Iplayer for the next 7 days! Having finished his Christmas shopping in Colchester town centre yesterday afternoon, popular BBC Essex pr...
14 Dec 2009 - Ugly sisters are Col U’s biggest fans this Christmas!
Cinderella’s comical ugly sisters Ratula and Flatula alias Shuna Snow and Christine Absalom, along with the Mercury’s very own snowman, took time out on Wednesday 9 December to meet up with one of the...
10 Dec 2009 - Panto Prize winners enjoy the show!
Panto Prize winners enjoy the show! Saturday 5 December was Winners Day at the Mercury Theatre. Over the past few months competitions and auctions have been held by numerous town centre locatio...
25 Nov 2009 - Mercury Pantomime Dame opens new pre-school
Dame Spatula (alias Tim Treslove) from this years Mercury Theatre Company panto extravaganza, Cinderella, officially opened the new St James’ Pre-School on Wednesday 25 November. The new pre-school...
2 Nov 2009 - New challenges
The latest Mercury Theatre Company production in rehearsal, Through the Leaves which opens in the Mercury Studio Theatre on Thursday 19 November, sees three Mercury women stepping up from their regul...
2 Oct 2009 - Mercury gets TMA nomination for 3rd year
The Mercury Theatre Company has been nominated for a TMA Theatre Award for Best New Play for The Lifesavers by Fraser Grace. This co-production between the Mercury Theatre Company and London’s Theatre...
23 Sep 2009 - Assisted performance feedback groups needed
In the coming months the Mercury Theatre is inviting patrons who have attended any of their Captioned or Audio Described performances, or anyone who has an interest in making theatre accessible for Bl...
15 Sep 2009 - Star on the Mercury Stage this Christmas!
Calling all talented youngsters aged 10 to 15 years… Can you sing, dance and act? If so, we have some exciting news for you: The Mercury Theatre is once again starting its annual search for talented y...
27 Aug 2009 - Round The Horne
Following their star appearance at our season launch back in July Kenneth Williams (Robin Sebastian) and Kenneth Horne (Jonathan Rigby) arrive back in Colchester next week for a fortnight of Round The...
22 Jul 2009 - Mercury Associate Artist at Chichester Festival Theatre
Mercury Theatre Company member Gina Isaac can currently be seen starring alongside Sorcha Cusack, Christopher Timothy, Oliver Cotton and Damian O’Hare in Jonathan Church’s production of The Grapes of ...
2 Jul 2009 - Mercury Company 10th Anniversary Season
2009 marks the 10th anniversary of the Mercury Theatre Company and celebrations continue this autumn with an exciting new production - Depot will be the Company’s 80th production and performed not on ...
2 Jul 2009 - Visiting Companies at the Mercury Theatre
Alongside the home-grown drama provided by the Mercury Theatre Company, Colchester’s premier theatre also hosts some of the best touring theatre, dance, comedy and music in the country. This season, s...
2 Jul 2009 - Theatre for Children and their Families
This autumn, the Mercury Theatre has some of the finest theatre productions for children and their families, culminating in a fantastic, festive traditional family pantomime - Cinderella. On Satur...
29 Jun 2009 - Local Telephone Exchange issue
07:30am 29/06/2009 Due to a failure at our local telephone exchange over the weekend, we are still without phone lines and our on-line ticketing services is also unavailable. 08:00am 29/06/2009 ...
15 Jun 2009 - Michelle Collins Toddled in Colchester
Today, Actress and Barnardo’s Ambassador, Michelle Collins, joined Colchester mums, dads and children’s groups at Colchester Zoo for the UK’s number one fundraising event for under 5s; the Barnardo’s ...
10 Jun 2009 - Town Centre Roads Closed for Tour Series Cycling Event
We have been notified by the Borough Council that due to the Tour Series Cycling Event on the 18th June North Hill will be closed from 9:30am to Midnight. There will be access to the Theatre for Disab...
1 Jun 2009 - Wanted: local residents, traders, business men, students
Wanted: local residents, traders, business men, students If you are aged over 16 you are invited to join professional actors and artists this summer to uncover the darker hidden secrets behind Col...
19 May 2009 - TV stars in Colchester summer season of Drama
A handful of well-known TV names will be making their way to Colchester this summer in three top quality dramas at the Mercury Theatre. Soonest to arrive are Eastenders baddie Michelle Collins and ...
27 Mar 2009 - GIFT FREE Workshops
As part of the 10th anniversary celebrations the Mercury Theatre Company are offering FREE workshops each weekend in May as part of the GIFT project. GIFT is an adventurous new project of discovery...
27 Mar 2009 - Share your stories of Colchester
Do you have a story you would like to share with us about local people or places in Colchester that mean something to you (really anything goes from where you had your first kiss to an early memory of...
27 Mar 2009 - Artists of the Future
If you thinking of a career in the performing arts then don’t miss this amazing FREE course! Tue 28 July – Fri 7 August The Mercury Theatre in collaboration with Essex County Council, is offerin...
25 Mar 2009 - FREE Dance Theatre Workshop
FREE Dance Theatre Workshop with Maresa von Stockert’s Tilted Productions Monday 6th April, 7pm-9pm Mercury Theatre Studio Colchester CO1 1PT After sell-out shows of Glacier in 2008, Tilted re...
20 Mar 2009 - Another 'Goon' offspring at Mercury
Jane Milligan -the daughter of comedian Spike Milligan – is all set to appear on the Mercury Stage between Monday 23 and Saturday 28 March as Mary in Blonde Bombshells of 1943. Jane’s visit follows s...
10 Mar 2009 - FREE Tickets given away at Mercury
Almost 300 young people have already signed up to the FREE theatre ticket scheme which the Mercury Theatre is participating in over the next two years. The scheme is called A Night Less Ordinary an...
10 Mar 2009 - Cindy Beale Caught in an Another Act of Deception
The Mercury Theatre today announced that former EastEnders star Michelle Collins, best known for her conniving TV character Cindy Beale, has been cast in the star role for a gripping new play at the M...
18 Feb 2009 - Tickets on sale for Colchester Lecture
One of Britain’s best-loved broadcasters and writers, Adam Hart-Davis, will be this years’ keynote speaker at the annual Colchester Lecture at the Mercury Theatre in June. Tickets priced £10 per pe...
10 Feb 2009 - A Night Less Ordinary
A Night Less Ordinary Mercury offers 2,000 FREE theatre tickets to Under 26’s The Mercury Theatre is delighted to announce that it has been selected to be part of the new Free Theatre Initiative c...
2 Feb 2009 - A Chorus of Disapproval
Mercury Company actors Roger Delves-Broughton, Christine Absalom and Miranda Bell are busy rehearsing Alan Ayckbourn’s witty comedy A Chorus of Disapproval under the direction of New Wolsey Theatre Ar...
9 Jan 2009 - Panto
97% of all tickets have been sold for this year’s Mercury Panto and with just four performances to go records could be set. Panto at the Mercury Theatre this winter has proved just as popular as ev...
9 Jan 2009 - Art Stop : Bus Stop
This Saturday 10 January firstsite’s Arts Stop: Bus Stop London rolls into the Mercury between 11am – 3pm. Families are invited to get creative alongside artists Valerie Osment and Linda Theophilus a...
9 Jan 2009 - Mercury Theatre awarded funds for young people’s free theatre scheme
Arts Council England has announced that the Mercury Theatre has been allocated a £10,000 grant to help more young people come to the theatre for the first time. Attendance at arts events tradition...
9 Jan 2009 - First show of Company season in rehearsal
The first Company production of the season The Lifesavers started rehearsals this week in London. Starring Company actor and Associate Artist Gina Isaac (Two, Julius Caesar, Small Miracle) The Lifesa...
15 Dec 2008 - See A Voice
In November three theatres from the Eastern region signed up to become the Suffolk / Essex membership of See a Voice. From January 2009 all three theatres will be extending and improving their access...
15 Dec 2008 - Stuck for a Christmas pressie ideas?
Stuck for a Christmas pressie ideas? How about buying tickets to see… Two of Britain’s finest classical actors performing at the Mercury Theatre from Wednesday 11 to Saturday 21 February. Peter Eg...
3 Dec 2008 - 80% of Panto tickets sold already!
Dick Whittington & the Pi-rats of the Caribbean looks set to break Box Office records with 80% of all available tickets now sold with two days to go before the first performance. Despite high street ...
3 Dec 2008 - Panto characters help charity
On Friday 21 November Mercury Pantomime characters Long John (alias Ignatius Anthony) and Jim Lad (alias David Tarkenter) helped open the St. Helena Hospice Christmas Bazaar which took place at the Un...
3 Dec 2008 - Mercury announces new play for the spring!
Roll up roll up …hot off the press and ahead of our normal season launch the Mercury announces new play for the spring! Tickets priced from just £8.50 are on sale NOW for the first co-production be...
28 Oct 2008 - Memorial exhibition for local actress
Memorial exhibition for local actress Monica Stewart Digby Gallery, Mercury Theatre, Colchester Running daily 10am – 8pm (not Sundays) until Monday 3 November An exhibition celebrating the life...
28 Oct 2008 - Did You Know….
Popular TV actress Hermione Norris (who can currently be seen on BBC TV in Spooks) made her stage debut at the Mercury Theatre in 1989 in A Midsummer Nights Dream – she then went on to play Felicity R...
28 Oct 2008 - Arts workers discover Colchester
Arts workers discover Colchester A team of five arts professionals working on GIFT, will be out and about in Colchester over the next few days discovering for themselves what hidden treasures make...
14 Oct 2008 - The Boy with a Bomb in his Crisps
The UK Premiere of The Boy with the Bomb in His Crisps at the Belgrade Theatre Coventry last week received great feedback from audiences: 'Intriguing, touching and passionate...' 'Excellent prod...
8 Oct 2008 - Associate Artists
Since 2004 the Mercury Theatre Company (MTC) have had a team of Associate Artists whose role is to bridge and strengthen the communication between the acting company and the rest of the management and...
29 Sep 2008 - How you can help!
Did you know at the Mercury Theatre there are a number of ways in which you can help? Mercury Volunteer: These generous spirited people give the Mercury their time and hard work. Most often they ...
4 Sep 2008 - Community and Education Update
Actors go back to college Cast members of David Copperfield, performed by the Mercury Theatre Company this autumn, will be heading down the hill to the Colchester Sixth Form College for a week-long...
3 Sep 2008 - FREE rehearsed reading of ‘Collapsing Colonies’ by Kenneth Emerson
FREE rehearsed reading of ‘Collapsing Colonies’ by Kenneth Emerson Mercury Studio Theatre Sat 6 September 7.45pm Thurrock based playwright Kenneth Emson’s ‘Town and Countryside’ trilogy burst ont...
1 Sep 2008 - Wanted: Committed little Rats with star quality!
Is it too soon to mention the Christmas word? Well not if you work in a theatre. Scenery is already being painted and costumes being sewn for this years Mercury Panto extravaganza Dick Whittington &...
4 Aug 2008 - Famous faces at Mercury
Over the past few months audiences at the Mercury have been rubbing shoulders with some of Britain’s greatest living actors. On Saturday 7 June Edward Woodward and his wife Michelle Dotrice watched t...
4 Aug 2008 - Community Update
Mercury Theatre Company actors Miranda Bell, David Tarkenter, Christine Absalom, Charlie Morgan, Marshall Griffin, Nadia Morgan and Natasha Rickman have spent the past three weeks working with 180 you...
4 Aug 2008 - Success for Youth Theatre Members
Three Members of the Mercury Theatre Youth Theatre have beaten off thousands of other hopefuls to gain places at Drama Schools this autumn. 19 year old Natasha Rickman, who has been a member of the Yo...
4 Aug 2008 - Company actors and what they are up to
Popular MTC actor Shuna Snow, who was seen at the Mercury playing Clytemnestra in IPH… has just taken part in the Hotbed Festival in Cambridge. Hotbed 2008 offers 13 World Premieres of short plays by ...
12 Jul 2007 - First Festival for Mercury Youth Theatre Groups
This summer, for the first time, members of three Mercury Youth Theatre groups have the chance to perform in a week-long Festival of plays on the main stage, directed by Mercury Associate Actors, Dire...
3 Jul 2007 - Mercury Theatre Company Announces Biggest Challenge Yet
The Mercury Theatre Company has been presenting quality classic plays and new writing for eight years and is getting ready for its biggest, most ambitious season to date. Autumn 2007 will see over...
21 Mar 2007 - The Good Friday Service 2007
‘This Jesus can bring tears to your eyes. You will be deeply moved - a powerful experience’ original 1941 review of The Man Born to Be King by Dorothy L Sayers The Good Friday Service 2007 c...
19 Jan 2007 - Storms force show to be cancelled
We would like to apologise to all of our customers who had booked tickets and were looking forward to coming to see Mozart by Candlelight by The Locrian Ensemble yesterday evening. The extremely w...
15 Jan 2007 - Record-breaking sales at Mercury
Colchester’s Mercury Theatre is celebrating the New Year with a bumper start as spring 07 season sales (including tickets for Essex book festival and Invitation to view) have soared higher than ever b...
20 Dec 2006 - RIA Novosti provide image
The Mercury would like to thank RIA Novosti in allowing us to use this fabulous image for THE PROMISE. Please see below for information on their current exhibition Soviet Times : Russian Times 1...
6 Dec 2006 - Revolutionary Storytelling at Mercury Theatre
One of the most legendary story’s ever written, The Hound of the Baskervilles, is set to visit the Mercury Theatre, Colchester next Spring in an exciting high tech production. Ahead of it’s usual s...
2 Apr 2006 - A Midsummers Night's Dream
This play replaces the advertised production of Gilgamesh from the 1st to the 16th June 2006. Midsummer’s Eve night. Fairies and Hobgoblins are about and at their most powerful. Out to create mis...
19 Dec 2005 - Mercury Company Premieres World’s Oldest Story
World premieres of the earliest written story and a new comedy set in Cork sit alongside a comic classic, two great twentieth century dramas and a spectacular outdoor show in the Mercury Theatre Compa...
11 Oct 2005 - Humphrey Lyttelton and His Band
Tuesday 25 October 7.30pm Stalwart of the British Jazz scene for many decades, Humphrey Lyttelton returns this October with not only some new faces in his band but also with one of the brightest vo...
11 Oct 2005 - Mid Wales Opera return
Mid Wales Opera presents Carmen by Georges Bizet Fri 28 & Sat 29 Oct 7.30pm The award-winning Mid Wales Opera returns to the Mercury to perform the scintillating tale of Don Jose’s tragic obsessi...
11 Oct 2005 - Panto time is nearly here!
Beauty & the Beast by Janice Dunn The Mercury Panto Gang bursts back onto the scene from 8 December 2005 until 15 January 06 with Beauty & the Beast, another knock-out dose of high quality, side-a...
10 Oct 2005 - Devil’s Advocate
The Mercury Theatre Company presents the world premiere of Devil’s Advocate, by the celebrated American political playwright Donald Freed in the Mercury Studio Theatre from 9 until 19 November 2005. ...
15 Aug 2005 - Standing room only at the Mercury
Colchester theatre-goers will be in for a pleasant surprise when the Mercury Theatre re-opens for its autumn season later this month. The theatre is installing new seats, selected especially for thei...
17 May 2005 - Dis:Play presents: Matters Arising by Paul Bishop
Thu 26 – Sat 28 May 7.45pm Following the success of last year’s production, Babble, Dis:Play returns to the Mercury Studio Theatre with Paul Bishop’s new comedy Matters Arising from Thursday 26 – S...
16 May 2005 - Mercury Theatre Company Actor Recieves Special Commendation at National Award Ceremony
Mercury Theatre Company actor David Nicolle received a special commendation at the Sunday Times Ian Charleson Award Ceremony held at the National Theatre on Friday 13 May. David was nominated for the...
6 May 2005 - Colchester play heads to the Big Apple
The Mercury Theatre Colchester’s award winning play The Pull of Negative Gravity has been invited to perform in New York this May. Colchester’s Mercury Theatre Company received a prestigious Scotsm...
29 Apr 2005 - Gangster Cauli’s for Ele’s
Victor Gardner and Sarah Fildes of Mercury Theatre, Colchester feed ele’s their cauli treat! The Mercury Theatre’s latest play The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui has required an unusual prop and one ...
2 Apr 2005 - Dress down for Charity Day and win tickets to the theatre
Is Jimmy Cagney, Humphrey Bogart or Edward G Robinson one of your all time hero’s? Ever fancied playing at being a Gangster just like them– even if it is just for a day. Well now’s your chance. O...
1 Apr 2005 - FREE Meet and Greet: ARTURO UI
Have you ever wanted to go to the theatre but have felt unsure about it: not sure if you understand the title let alone understand the play or would feel out of place? You are not alone. Or are you a...
15 Nov 2004 - Christopher Martin Jenkins joins Sticky Wicket
Test Match Special stalwart and Times Cricket Correspondent Christopher Martin-Jenkins will replace Jonathan Agnew when Sticky Wicket visits the Mercury on Monday 22 November. Jonathan Agnew is unabl...
2 Nov 2004 - Mercury Theatre Marks 10 years of National Lottery Investment in the Arts with Free Cake!
Mercury Theatre Marks 10 years of National Lottery Investment in the Arts with Free Cake! The National Lottery celebrates 10 years of arts funding with the first National lottery day on 6 November....
13 Oct 2004 - Mercury Theatre Company Soars to New Heights with Mockingbird
Following the popular and national critical success of The Pull of Negative Gravity at the Edinburgh Festival, the Mercury Theatre Company is toasting success in its native Colchester. The Company’s ...
4 Oct 2004 - Audio Description Service at the Mercury Theatre
We are pleased to announce the launch of our new Audio Description Service. The service, which is intended to help visually impaired people get full enjoyment from our shows, works through the infra r...
5 Sep 2004 - St Mary's Car Park Closure
Colchester Borough Council has closed St Mary’s Car Park for essential maintenance. They estimate that the Car Park will re-open in early November. During the closure customers are advised to make...
19 Aug 2004 - Colchester Play Receives Prestigious Fringe First Award
Colchester’s Mercury Theatre Company has received a prestigious Scotsman Fringe First Award for its production of The Pull of Negative Gravity. The play, by Colchester playwright Jonathan Lichtenstei...
19 Aug 2004 - ONLINE DAMEING
Widow Twankey from the Mercury Theatre Company’s pantomime Aladdin launched the Mercury’s new online ticketing system on Wednesday 18 August from the comfort of her launderette. Ms. Twankey comme...
12 Aug 2004 - Colchester Play becomes talk of Edinburgh Festival
Colchester’s Mercury Theatre Company has become the talk of the town at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe Festival. The Pull of Negative Gravity by Colchester playwright Jonathan Lichtenstein has been cho...
18 Mar 2004 - New Facility for Hearing Impaired Visitors
The Mercury's new facility for the hard of hearing is now up and runnning. The Sennheiser Infrared system replaces the theatre’s existing hearing loop and amplifies sound from the stage to anywhere wi...
4 Mar 2004 - Become a Young Consultant
If you are aged between 14 and 25 and like to “tell it like it is” then you could be come one of our 20 Young Consultants. Young Consultants will need no previous experience and will qualify to se...
4 Mar 2004 - New Adult Theatre Workshop
Whatever your experience, if you have a serious interest in theatre then sign up for our two-part Adult Theatre Workshop with Mercury Theatre Company Chief Executive and Artistic Director, Dee Evans. ...
13 Feb 2004 - Naked Talent Revealed
The names of the twelve semi-finalists in the Naked Talent 2: Essex Playwrights Festival were revealed at a ceremony in the Mercury Theatre on Friday 13 February. The festival, organised by the Essex ...
16 Jan 2004 - Mercury Theatre Company Celebrates 5th Anniversary
The Mercury Theatre Company celebrates its fifth anniversary year with an entertaining and exciting programme of events for spring 2004. The Mercury Theatre Company season opens with Macbeth, the ...
10 Jan 2004 - Sexy & Sophisticated: Tango Madness
The sophistication and sexiness of Latin American dance arrives at the Mercury Theatre at 7.30pm on Wednesday 21 January in Tango Madness. Twelve years on from the death of Astor Piazzolla, the ge...
9 Jan 2004 - The Strangest Show on Earth!
The strange and sensational Circus of Horrors makes its much anticipated Colchester debut at the Mercury Theatre at 7.30pm on Thursday 22 & Friday 23 January. The Circus of Horrors brings you to fa...
15 May 2003 - Slammers
A MERCURY THEATRE COMPANY PRODUCTION 11 – 21 Jun 03 in the Mercury Studio SLAMMERS Three new plays: The Angina Monologue by Janice Dunn directed by Tony Casement. Martha and...
8 May 2003 - Three Sisters
Fresh from their collaboration on The White Devil director/designer team David Hunt and Michael Vale conclude the Mercury Theatre Company’s spring programme with Anton Chekhov’s Three Sisters. Th...
8 May 2003 - Music at the Mercury
MAY MUSIC AT THE MERCURY: Sun 25 May The Academy of St Martin in the Fields Fri 30 May Music Theatre London The Mercury Theatre plays host to two superb concerts of classical music in May. ...
18 Apr 2003 - The White Devil
A writhing entanglement of infidelities, political intrigues and bloody vengeance is skilfully woven into captivating horror and macabre comedy in John Webster’s The White Devil, the second play of th...
20 Jan 2003 - Jacqueline Dankworth & Field of Blue
Jacqueline Dankworth and her band Field of Blue present an evening of beautiful and imaginative music infused with the spirit of jazz, blues, folk, pop and gospel when they return to the Mercury Theat...
20 Jan 2003 - COLCHESTER’S FINEST COME TO THE MERCURY
This spring the Mercury Theatre host’s three special events with a distinctly Colchester flavour. Colchester United Football Club return to the Mercury on Monday 31 March at 7.30pm for an evening’s...
16 Jan 2003 - Charity Performance to Bring Curtain Down on Panto
With a final flourish, a special charity performance brings the curtain down on Dick Whittington, The Mercury Theatre’s acclaimed pantomime on Saturday 18 January at 7.00pm. The local businessmen of ...
13 Jan 2003 - THE FINEST MUSIC COMES TO THE MERCURY THIS SPRING
The Mercury’s spring season overflows with the best in classical music and jazz, offering a wide choice of great shows for music-lovers. The season opens with a swing on Thursday 3 April at 7.30pm ...
8 Jan 2003 - FROM COUNTRY ROCK TO FUNKY 70’S DISCO AT THE MERCURY
The Mercury Theatre Colchester presents a spring season bursting with the brightest pop, loudest rock and funkiest Seventies sounds. First up, the B’Eagles recreate the sound of America’s West coa...
8 Jan 2003 - CELEBRITY COMICS PROVIDE CHUCKLES FOR COLCHESTER
The Mercury Theatre Colchester promise to help beat the New Year blues with a superb selection of comedy for Spring. This season, the theatre introduces the Comedy Ticket, allowing comedy fans to see ...
13 Dec 2002 - MERCURY THEATRE COMPANY ANNOUNCES THRILLING SPRING SEASON
Colchester’s Mercury Theatre Company today announces a new spring season of thrilling theatre. Following the success of their nationally acclaimed Struggles to Love season of Autumn 2002, the Mercury ...
22 Nov 2002 - Mercury Team
A team from the Mercury Theatre will on Sunday Dec 1st, walk across HOT COALS to raise money for a local charity. A Mercury Theatre spokesman said " The Mercury Theatre is delighted to support to s...
14 Nov 2002 - Dick Whittington and Dame Sarah the Cook to Switch on Culver Square Christmas Lights
6’1” new Mercury Theatre pantomime dame, Dame Sarah the Cook (Mark Roper) is to introduce herself to the Colchester masses at the switching on of Christmas lights in Culver Square, Colchester at 5.00p...
8 Nov 2002 - New Production Opens
The Mercury Theatre Company opened its new show last night. The Europeans by Howard Barker, was greatly recieved by the audience, who left in near silence as the play had provoked so many thoughts ...
4 Sep 2002 - Re Furb Complete
The Mercury Theatre opened its new look Front of House last week. New Toilets, New Box Office and a New Lift, complimented by a complete new look....
9 Aug 2002 - Not just a Playhouse.
Recent Events • Two teams of four Mercury Company actors delivered week-long residencies in eight schools and colleges during June and July 2002, working with over 350 students. • Four Mercury C...
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