Check out what we’ve achieved in the past with the archive list of projects and shows below.
Key achievements to date:
• Establishing North Walsham Pop-up People’s Theatre, turning a town centre building into a 100-seat venue for plays, concerts, cabaret and pantomime. Our programme included new plays and adaptations including Bingo Wings and Dracula.
• Online activity during lockdown (2020-21) from singing to drama and creativity and wellbeing, including Sunday Night at the Interweb.
• North Walsham People’s Choir has been running since 2013; we support various community and charity events throughout the year alongside our own concerts.
• Shakespeare in the City (2019); a huge summer project working with young people to present promenade performances around Norwich City Centre.
• Our open-air performances, touring around local parks and open spaces presenting free shows.
2023
| North Walsham People’s Theatre | Titania Trust is Damned If I Do | April 2023 |
| North Walsham People’s Theatre | North Norfolk Youth Theatre Easter Holiday Workshops | April 2023 |
| North Walsham People’s Theatre | Songs on a Sunday for Mother’s Day | March 2023 |
| North Walsham People’s Theatre | Adult acting course | Spring 2023 |
2022
| North Walsham People’s Theatre | Christmas family pantomime: Sleeping Beauty | December 2022 |
| North Walsham People’s Theatre | Free family workshop: making paper roses for Sleeping Beauty | November 2022 |
| North Walsham People’s Theatre | Free family show: Jude and the Space Monkey | November 2022 |
| North Walsham People’s Theatre | Free family workshop: making stars and moons for Jude and the Space Monkey | November 2022 |
| Free Creative Workshops | Various | August – December 2022 |
| Free Adult Acting Classes | Varous themes | August-November 2022 |
| Creative Advisory Board Meetings | Various themes | Ongoing |
| North Walsham People’s Choir | Songs on a Sunday (informal concert) | October 2022 |
| Halloween Ghost Walks in North Walsham and Cromer | October 2022 | |
| Free Creative Workshops | Various | August-December 2022 |
2021
| North Walsham People’s Choir | Christmas Sing and Social | December 2021 |
| New Stages | North Walsham Ghost Walks | October 2021 |
| North Walsham People’s Choir | Reconnect | October-November 2021 |
| Online People’s Choir | Sing and Social online workshops | August 2021 |
| New Stages and Zest Wellbeing | Motivation and Creativity online workshops | August 2021 |
| New Stages | Norwich Fringe 2021 The first fringe in 8 years, developing new work. Arts Council England. | March 2021 |
2020
| Online People’s Choir | Christmas Sing and Social | December 2020 |
| North Walsham People’s Choir | Tour of care homes and hospitals | December 2020 |
| New Stages | North Walsham Ghost Walks | October 2020 |
| New Stages | Sunday Night at the Interweb Free weekly live online variety show in lockdown | March-July 2020 |
| Online People’s Choir | Free online choir and workshops | April-September 2020 |
2019
| North Walsham People’s Choir | Our Favourite Christmas Songs | December 2019 |
| North Walsham People’s Choir | Tour of care homes and hospitals | December 2019 |
| Youth Theatre Summer School | Shakespeare in the City Weeklong course with promenade performance around Norwich City Centre | August 2019 |
| North Walsham People’s Choir | Summer Concert | July 2019 |
| NNYT | Spring Showcase | April 2019 |
2018
| North Walsham People’s Theatre | NYE Adult Panto | December 2018 |
| North Walsham People’s Theatre | Snow White Traditional family pantomime | December 2018 |
| North Walsham People’s Theatre | Dracula A new adaptation by Joseph Ballard | November 2018 |
| North Walsham People’s Theatre | An Evening with Titania Trust | September 2018 |
| NNYT | Summer School | August 2018 |
| North Walsham People’s Choir | Strawberry Tea and Summer Concert | July 2018 |
| North Walsham People’s Theatre | Bingo Wings A new play by Joseph Ballard | June 2018 |
2017
| North Walsham People’s Theatre | NYE Adult Panto | December 2017 |
| North Walsham People’s Theatre | Jack and the Beanstalk Traditonal pantomime with a twist | December 2017 |
| North Walsham People’s Theatre | The Infamous Covert Cabaret | October 2017 |
| New Stages | North Walsham Ghost Walks | October 2017 |
| North Walsham People’s Theatre | Jack the Ripper A new play by Joseph Ballard | October 2017 |
| NNYT | The House A new play by Joseph Ballard | October 2017 |
| New Stages | Established North Walsham Pop-up People’s Theatre, a 100-seat venue in the town centre | October 2017 |
| NNYT | Summer School | August 2017 |
| NNYT | The Pied Piper Open air performance | August 2017 |
| New Stages | Hansel and Gretel Open air tour of free performances | August 2017 |
| North Walsham People’s Theatre | A Small Town For Murder A new play by Joseph Ballard | May 2017 |
| NNYT | Shooting Truth Molly Davies’ gripping play | April 2017 |
Regular groups and classes
| Adult Acting Classes | 2016-2018 |
| Creativity and Wellbeing Workshops | from 2017 |
| North Walsham People’s Theatre Company | 2017-2019 |
| North Norfolk Youth Theatre (NNYT) | 2016-2019 |
| Various youth theatre workshops and adult drama workshops | 2016-2019 |
| North Walsham People’s Theatre | from May 2013 |
Workshops will be run by professional creative practitioners, including New Stages director, Joseph Ballard. All workshop leaders and helpers are DBS checked and have the training and experience of working with the community and young people.
| All workshops (unless stated) take place at: Sacred Heart Parish Hall (Church Hall of the Sacred Heart Catholic Church) Kings Arms Street/Park Lane, North Walsham, Norfolk. NR28 9JP There is free parking on site and the venue is accessible for wheelchairs. |
acting classes for adults
Monday 8 August, 7.15-8.45pm
Introduction to acting technique, warm ups and some script work.
Monday 22 August, 7.15-8.45pm
We‘ll look at staging some scenes from new scripts.
Join us for a relaxed workshop for adults, which aims to inspire you with the pen! Maybe you fancy giving it a go or you haven‘t written for fun in a while, get to grips with simple writing prompts and short exercises designed to unblock your creativity! There is also the potential for your work to be developed into performed with the acting workshops.
Learn how to build confidence and enjoy yourself on stage! We‘ll look at creating characters and how to use a script. We run very friendly and welcoming sessions and no previous experience is necessary – come along and find out for yourself!
discussion: creativity and wellbeing
Monday 8 August, 6-7pm
Join us for a relaxed discussion event about how getting creative in the community helps us connect with others and the world around us – especially in a post-lockdown world. All welcome. We’ll provide the tea, coffee and cake that will help fuel the conversation!
north walsham people’s choir
free taster session
Tuesday 9 August, 7-9.30pm
A friendly group of people who enjoy singing together. No previous experience is necessary and we’ll make you feel most welcome in our range of abilities, voices and ages (adult). We sing a wide range of songs – from pop, rock, the musicals and some world music too. Most importantly we sing for fun; both for ourselves and our audiences!
This is a free session on the 9th, and the choir meets every Tuesday evening throughout the year. All are welcome to join. Read more about the choir
creative writing for fun
Thursday 11 August, 7-8.30pm
Join us for a relaxed workshop for adults, which aims to inspire you with the pen! Maybe you fancy giving it a go or you haven‘t written for fun in a while, get to grips with simple writing prompts and short exercises designed to unblock your creativity! There is also the potential for your work to be developed into performed with the acting workshops.
youth theatre workshops
Friday 12 August
1.15-2.15pm ages 10-13
2.45-4pm ages 14-17
Saturday 13 August
10.30-11.30 ages 10-13
11.30-12.30 ages 14-17
North Norfolk Youth Theatre will be exploring the different skills needed to make theatre, from acting to team work and stagecraft. All sessions are fast-paced and energetic, accompanied with drama games and confidence boosters.
Read more about North Norfolk Youth Theatre
dance workshop for children
Sat 13 August, 9.15-10.15am
A fun energetic taster session for 6-10 year olds – show us your moves! Come along to have a go and learn an easy routine. This workshop is led by local dance group Dance For Fun, who usually meet regularly in Smallburgh. You can find out more about them at the session or get in touch with us! Read more about Dance For Fun.
creative workshops
Wednesdays throughout August, 9.30-11am
Explore your creativity in a relaxed atmosphere amongst like-minded adults, who may come along for something different, to keep social or to boost creativity and that buzz feeling we get from achieving something new!
It is an informal group and all are welcome to try something different. We‘ll be easy going and will always make time for a chat over a cuppa and some pastries or cake.
Wednesday 3 August
Playing with clay isn‘t just for children, it‘s for adults too! We‘ll be encouraging you to get creative with modelling, moulding and using the tools to make something spectacular (and unique). Trying something new or different helps us relax, take stock and gives us that memorable moment as we share it altogether!
Wednesday 10 August
We’ll be doing a bit of town planning for a fictitious town. We’ll use drawings or models to create the best town centre – how could it work for all residents? What does a community need or want? How does the ideal town we have created compare to North Walsham’s present or past?
Wednesday 17 August
All about food! What‘s the latest food trend? What does healthy eating look like in 2022? How can we all plan to eat healthily with prices going up? How does factoring in climate change affect our diets? There will also be the chance to taste some of the latest crazes, from smashed avocado to vegan sweet treats and exotic fruits!
Wednesday 24 August – Laughter Yoga has been replaced with a new plan
Bev has just got in touch and unfortunately she is unwell so the Laughter Yoga workshop will not take place. We will schedule that in for another date in the future. Rather than cancel the session, we will be providing another workshop in its place. It is still focused on self-structured wellbeing.
Relaxation, breathing and reflection
In today’s busy world with many different things going on it can be harder to ‘switch off’ and make some time for yourself. Learning to relax, on your own accord can be helpful on a day-to-day basis. After a refreshment break of tea and cake, the second part of the session will focus on what bring us joy and peace in our everyday lives.
What to expect:
Part 1: After a discussion about relaxation and breathing, we will all have a go at a relaxation technique. Then, seated in your chairs, the session will guide you through a relaxation exercise. We’ll then talk about how it felt and if we managed to ‘switch off’.
Part 2: After a refreshment break we will continue our discussion on how we can find joyful moments in everyday life.
The session will be led by Joseph Ballard. Joseph is a qualified and registered hypnotherapist and as a professional actor, also practices relaxation exercises based on the Alexander technique.
Wednesday 31 August
We‘ll be having a go at some poetry – taking inspiration from the world around us. From starting points to rhyme or reason, all are welcome in this relaxed session.
New Stages 