Star acts will be taking centre stage this weekend as Canterbury's Marlowe Theatre celebrates its fifth birthday with a showcase of what there is to look forward to.

There will be a weekend of festivities in and around the Canterbury venue, which will include workshops, tours, street theatre and live music and the weekend is to be topped off with a gala performance on Sunday, October 9.

The line-up includes a special appearance by the National Theatre’s War Horse, inspired by former Kent primary school teacher, Michael Morpurgo’s book.

Pantomime will be represented by popular dame, Ben Roddy – who is also hosting the gala – with Stephen Mulhern, Phil Gallagher or Mister Maker as he is better known, and Maidstone’s Shaun Williamson. The Royal Shakespeare Company will perform an excerpt from A Midsummer Night’s Dream and the Northern Ballet will present Jane Eyre.

The night will also feature two new productions co-created by the theatre plus excerpts from Chicago and The Bodyguard.

Mobile, a show about class, family, aspiration and belonging by renowned company the Paper Birds, is staged in a caravan, to just eight people at a time. The caravan will be on the Marlowe forecourt.

Lemn Sissay and a group of local artists and young people will present an original show at the Marlowe Studio with Wise Words Festival, Warrior Poets, which will feature work from children in care in Kent.

Check out the Marlowe's story here.

DETAILS

The Marlowe 5 weekend of festivities will run on Saturday, October 8 and Sunday, October 9.
The gala performance will be at the Marlowe Theatre on Sunday, October 9 at 5pm. For tickets from £35, call 01227 787787 or visit marlowetheatre.com