Join in the fun at Putney Arts Theatre's 50th anniversary weekend

Putney Arts Theatre (PAT), and it's resident companies, have been at the heart of the arts in Putney since 1964. To celebrate their milestone birthday and the wonderful community they belong to, they are holding a weekend of fun events and free activities that will unite the theatre with their friends and neighbours.

PAT is a community theatre. Driven by a community of active voluntary members and a small team of staff, that includes local Putney residents, people from the borough of Wandsworth and from further afield throughout London.

A spokeperson said: "Being the base of both Putney Theatre Company and Group 64 Youth Theatre, we are driven by the hard work of our adult members and the playful experimentation of our youth; our anniversary weekend is the perfect time to celebrate this unique combination and you are invited!"

Performances are at the heart of their birthday celebrations. Firstly, a gala performance of Polly Teale's Brontë will take place on the Saturday night in the Antony Bridge's Studio. On Sunday, Group 64 rule the roost when they will be premiering their 50th anniversary film, featuring their own performances charting the last 50 years of PAT. They will also be exclusively performing Mind the Gap, which they wrote, devised and performed specifically for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. The final showdown is September's Always Be Comedy, the new material night that the theatre hosts every month.

The weekend is punctuated, on both Saturday and Sunday, with an Open House; PAT ambassadors will be offering members of their community tours of the theatre, the opportunity to sneak in on rehearsals for current productions and a chance to meet the members.
The Sunday of the birthday weekend is time for the kids (and the big kids) to have some fun with free arts activities taking place in and around the theatre from 1pm. Make a birthday card, learn how to make your writing more creative and play some really fun games.

The spokeperson continued:
"Our 50th birthday is a celebration of how we have come to be and where we are going. It is about what we have achieved so far but also what we want to achieve in the future. Most importantly, we want to share our birthday with our community and say thank you for the support over the last 50 years. We look forward to seeing you at the party!"

August 8, 2014