Welcome to ENCORE!
Encore! Educational Theatre Company (in Hebrew, Hadran), established in Jerusalem in 2006, presents the classics of the musical stage as well as lesser-known and original works, in order to expose audiences to this repertoire and, in particular, encourage young people to be the theatre-going public of the future.
Coming in December
This season, Encore! plans to produce the melodramatic opera, Ruddigore.
December 28, 2010 - January 9, 2011
Encore! wins Ko-Ko Award for Yeomen of the Guard
Encore! Educational Theatre Company won the prestigious international Ko-Ko Award at the recently concluded Gilbert & Sullivan Festival in Buxton, England for its 2008 production of The Yeomen of the Guard. Cited as one of three outstanding groups around the world, Encore! was commended for presenting the "most traditional performance" by Festival director Ian Smith, who pronounced it "excellent" and invited the troupe to present a full-scale performance at next year's festival. The production was staged by Robert Binder, with musical direction by Paul Salter and choreography by Arlene Chertoff. Binder and Salter have appeared in two previous G&S festivals, accompanied by several principal members of Encore!
The production was also praised by G&S expert James Newby, who has arranged Sullivan's original scores for 15-piece orchestras. "I was absolutely delighted with everything about it," he wrote to the directors. "Your meticulous control of the music and the orchestra was splendid. The production was just as it should be done (and so seldom is) - for real with no gimmicks. The singing was great and the costumes looked perfect. With such a standard of performance, G&S is safe in the hands of a team like yours."
The directorial team is now preparing for the winter presentation of Gilbert & Sullivan's Ruddigore, a melodramatic opera that burlesques the conventions of Victorian theatre: the virtuous heroine, the dastardly villain, and the courageous hero who rescues the heroine "in the nick of time". Performances are scheduled at the Hirsch theatre, Beit Shmuel, for 28 December-6 January.