Recent Shows

The Wizard of Oz - A Pantomime
​by Sara Temple

9th, 10th, 11th, 16th, 17th and 18th January 2026
​The Little Theatre
For their 36th annual pantomime, the Idle and Thackley Theatre Group are visiting the magical land of Oz!

Dorothy Gayle lives in poverty with her Aunt Em and Uncle Henry in the Kansas dust bowl and dreams of a more colourful life somewhere over the rainbow. When a cyclone lifts her and her house and deposits them in Munchkinland, she inherits a pair of silver shoes and sets off with Tina Tumble and a group of Munchkins along the yellow brick road to meet the Wizard and ask him to send her back home. On the way, they meet a brainless scarecrow, a heartless tin man and a cowardly lion who join their group, each with their own requests of the wizard. Their journey is fraught with dangers as the Wicked Witch of the West seeks to halt their progress and claim the magical silver shoes as her own.

Join the Idle and Thackley Theatre Group as they traverse the Land of Oz with songs, jokes and all of your favourite pantomime elements along the way.

​Read a review of the show on the NODA website.

A Musical Theatre Cabaret

4th & 5th October 2025
​The Little Theatre
​Join Idle and Thackley Theatre Group for a Cabaret night to remember songs from musical theatre both classic and contemporary.
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Sing along to your favourite songs, have a drink at the bar and take part in our "Prize Quiz", to win 2 FREE TICKETS to one of our future productions. Even better, all tickets include 1 free drink on arrival!

Treasure Island - A Pantomime
​by Sara Temple

​12th, 17th, 18th, 19th, 25th, 26th January 2025
The Little Theatre
Join the Idle & Thackley Theatre Group for our annual pantomime! This year we will be performing the swashbuckling show… Treasure Island! Follow Jim, his friend Tammy and his mother on an adventure to find treasure and seize it from the clutches of the evil Long John Silver! With singing, dancing and jokes you are sure to have fun filled evening!

Read a review of the show on the NODA website.

A Bunch of Amateurs
​by Ian Hislop and Nick Newman

​7.30 pm, 24th - 26th May 2024
The Little Theatre
​Keen to boost his flagging career, fading Hollywood action hero Jefferson Steele arrives in England to play King Lear in Stratford – only to find that this is not the birthplace of the Bard, but a sleepy Suffolk village. And instead of Sir Kenneth Branagh and Dame Judi Dench, the cast are a bunch of amateurs trying to save their theatre from developers. Jefferson’s monstrous ego, vanity and insecurity are tested to the limit by the enthusiastic am-dram thespians. As acting worlds collide and Jefferson’s career implodes, he discovers some truths about himself – along with his inner Lear!

A Bunch of Amateurs, by the long-standing comedy writing duo of Ian Hislop and Nick Newman, was originally written for the big screen and premiered in 2008 at that year's Royal Film Performance.

Read a review of the show on the NODA website.

Snow White
​by Sara Temple

8th-10th and 15th-17th December 2023
​The Little Theatre
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​Join The Idle & Thackley Theatre Group as they take you on the magical adventure of Snow White!

Snow White is coming of age and is declared the fairest in all the land by the magic mirror. The Evil Queen Narcissa is enraged to learn that she is no longer the most beautiful in the kingdom and hatches a plan, with the help of her henchman Ollie and maid Sally, to be rid of Snow White for good and ensnare the handsome Prince for herself. Who will save Snow White from this terrible fate? Maybe her best friend, and secret admirer, Jessie and his housekeeper mother? Or maybe the seven mysterious Gold Miners who live in the woods? Or maybe even the Prince himself will save the day? 

To find out how the story ends, buy your tickets and be a part of a night full of music, dance, surprises and lots of laughs!

Dracula - A Comedy of Terrors
​by Gordon Greenberg and Steve Rosen

11th - 13th August 2023
​The Little Theatre
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Ever wondered what would happen if you took Bram Stoker’s legendary vampire tale and put in into a blender with the comedic influences of Mel Brooks, Monty Python and The 39 Steps? That’s just what happens in this lightning-fast, laugh-out-loud 90-minute gender-bending, quick-change magical romp.

​Famed female vampire hunter Jean Van Helsing and her motley company chase Count Dracula from the English countryside to Transylvania to “other frightening places.” Their antics brim with enough tongue-in-cheek mayhem to fill your cup of giggles.

50 Years of Musicals

12th - 14th May 2023
​The Little Theatre
Join Idle and Thackley Theatre Group ITTG for a Cabaret night to remember. A compilation of the best musical numbers from the 1970s all the way up to modern day.
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Sing along to your favourite songs, have a drink at the bar and take part in our "Guess the Musical Quiz", to win 2 FREE TICKETS and a £10 BAR TAB to one of our future productions. Even better, all tickets include 1 free drink on arrival!

Cinderella
by Sara Temple

9th-11th and 16th-18th December 2022
​The Little Theatre
In the not-so-far-off land of Boneidleshire, there lives a young and beautiful girl called Cinderella. She lives with her evil stepmother and two ugly stepsisters who make her life a misery. Join the Idle & Thackley Theatre Group as we follow Cinderella, her friend Buttons and the little mice, as they try to find a happy ever after. Be prepared for magic, balls, love and a lot of jokes!

​Read a review of the show on the NODA website.

Vicar of Dibley III - A Year in Dibley
adapted from the BBC television series written by Richard Curtis and Paul Mayhew-Archer

21st, 22nd, 29th and 30th July 2022
​The Little Theatre
​Richard Curtis and Paul Mayhew Archer's award-winning TV comedy returns to The Little Theatre in a brand-new adaptation for the stage which takes up the story from where we left the village in our 2015 production.

We re-join our well-loved characters back in Dibley for a trip through the four seasons, starting in Spring with the christening of Alice and Hugo's baby and a rather unexpected proposal for the lovely Vicar - will it end in tears? As we move into Summer, Dibley's existence is threatened by a drought, and as a result, the waterboard decides to take action, which leads to the villagers eventually taking drastic measures. Autumn sees the villagers planning the annual fair, which Geraldine is determined to make more successful than previous years - will their surprise guest shine brightly or just be a" candle in the wind"? The finale brings us to the close of the year in Dibley and sees Geraldine becoming a Christmas pudding as, rather than disappointing her friends, she ends up having to have one too many Christmas lunches, and a sprout-off with David!

​Read a review of the show on the NODA website.

Little Red Riding Hood - The Pantomime
by Sara Temple

25th - 27th March and 30th March - 3rd April
​The Little Theatre
Idle and Thackley Theatre Group's 32nd Annual pantomime.

(Very) loosely based on the fairy tales of Charles Perrault and the Brothers Grimm, but with guest appearances from characters from other fairy tales and nursery rhymes, this is a traditional family panto with all of your favourite elements, dances and songs a-plenty, jokes old and new, double-entendres, slapstick, and lots of audience participation!

Will Little Red Riding Hood escape her monochromatic wardrobe and meet the prince of her dreams or will the wicked witch thwart her happiness by conjuring a wolf from sheep's clothing? Will Clive the lumberjack get wood for Polly, and will she be impressed by the size of his chopper? Will Matt and Boza ever achieve any qualifications and graduate from High School? 
Read a review of this show on the NODA website.

'Allo 'Allo
by Jeremy Lloyd and David Croft

Wednesday 3rd - Saturday 6th November 2021
​The Little Theatre
Read a review of this show on the NODA website.
Listen very carefully...I shall say this only once!

'Allo 'Allo, the classic BBC comedy series parodying Secret Army and other wartime resistance dramas brought to the stage by Jeremy Lloyd and David Croft, is returning to The Little Theatre on the 3rd-6th November courtesy of the Idle and Thackley Theatre Group!

This uproarious comedy relates the adventures of a hapless cafe owner, Rene, in occupied France. You can see all of your favorite TV characters in the flesh, including Rene's tone-deaf wife Edith, master of disguise Monsieur Leclerc, British SOE agent Officer Crabtree and the Gestapo officer Herr Flick!

Rene and his wife have stashed a priceless portrait stolen by the Nazis in a sausage in their cellar, where two British airmen are also hiding until the Resistance can repatriate them. Communications with London using the wireless that is disguised as a cockatoo add to the many embarrassments this intrepid proprietor endures in the company of his patrons. News that the Führer is scheduled to visit the town inspires tricksters disguised as Hitler to frequent the cafe. Meanwhile, Rene summons all the wit he can muster to save his café and his life.

Peter Pan
by Dave Ayres

17th - 26th January 2020
​The Little Theatre
Join Wendy, Join and Michael as they fly to Neverland with Peter Pan to thwart the evil plans of Captain Hook in J.M. Barrie's timeless tale adapted for pantomime by Dave Ayres.

Ben Hur
by Patrick Barlow

12th - 14th April 2019
The Little Theatre
Written by the Olivier and Tony Award-winning author of A Christmas Carol and The 39 Steps.
They said it was unachievable...
They said it couldn't be done...
But now, the greatest book ever penned is brought to the stage by a towering team of just 5 actors - turning the Little Theatre into one of the most authentic versions of Ancient Rome ever seen.
A decadent and unexpurgated Roman orgy (suitable for all ages)!
An authentic sea battle (with REAL water)!
A 103% bona fide chariot race (with REAL chariots)
Stunning combat (featuring the latest 3D technology)!
Ben Hur is the epic to stir your very soul!

Beauty and the Beast
by Dave Ayres

18th - 20th, 24th, 25th, 27th January 2019
​The Little Theatre
For the Idle and Thackley's 30th Annual Pantomime we returned to France and the timeless tale of Beauty and the Beast.

Amdram is Murder
by Karen Ince

28th - 29th April 2018
The Little Theatre
The Marchfield Amateur Drama (MAD), a community theatre group, are rehearsing, of all things, a murder mystery, when suddenly their lives are taken over by a murder.

Eye-witnesses come forward and the suspects are identified and interrogated by the audience who try to spot the murderer.

Join us for an evening of murder and mystery and solve the puzzle of who is the murderer - and why the crime was committed. Prizes for the most correct, and the most imaginative, solutions.

Aladdin
​​by Dave Ayres

1st - 10th December 2017
The Little Theatre
In 2017, for our 29th Annual Pantomime, we presented a new interpretation, written by member David Ayres, of the old family favourite pantomime, Aladdin.

Read a review from the Bradford Telegraph and Argus.

Blackadder III
​​by Richard Curtis & Ben Elton

22nd - 25th June 2017
​The Little Theatre
Regency London. Whilst King George III talks to the flora and ends his sentences with the word 'penguin', his son, the future King George IV, is Prince Regent. Widely regarded as the most stupid man in London, Prince George is arrogant and foppish with a passion for socks, enormous trousers and women of negotiable virtue. 

Assisted and thwarted in roughly equal measure by his butler, Edmund Blackadder, and his dogsbody Baldrick, the Prince aims to better himself through literary patronage, increase his popularity through public speaking and swell his finances through a propitious marriage before spending a potentially fatal evening of passion with a pair of Wellingtons.

​The Hunchback of Notre Dame
by Dave Ayres

​ 21st, 22nd, 25th-29th January 2017
The Little Theatre
This year for our 28th Annual Pantomime we presented a new interpretation, written by member David Ayres, of the gothic Parisian tale, The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Based on the Victor Hugo novel, it recalls the story of Quasimodo and Esmerelda as they defy evil Judge Claude Frollo in pursuit of acceptance.

Who Killed the Holiday Rep?

​ 23rd and  24th September 2016
​The Little Theatre
​It’s Monday August 7th 1989 and while Britain shivers on its wind-battered beaches the tourist season is at its peak in Benidorm. Sweltering days give way to sultry evenings and as the sun dips slowly over the Mediterranean there’s a collective appetite for sangria, paella… and also, for murder!

Join us for an evening of murder and mystery (in 1980s Spanish holiday attire if you wish) and solve the puzzle of who killed the holiday rep. Prizes for the most correct, and the most imaginative, solutions.

Supper is included in the price of the ticket and will be served during the show. Table ticket includes complimentary jug of sangria or mocktail. A licensed cash bar is available.

Blackadder II
​by Richard Curtis and Ben Elton

6th - 9th April 2016
The Little Theatre
Tudor England. Queen Elizabeth, the Virgin Queen, cuts a frustrated figure as she tries to lose the sobriquet whilst courtiers aim to gain her favour without losing their heads. Lord Edmund Blackadder, a minor noble with ideas above his station, is no exception as he seeks to increase his standing in court and swell the size of his purse. Ably hindered by Baldrick, the worst servant in London, and Lord Percy Percy, intellectually challenged heir to the Duchy of Northumberland, will he succeed in sidestepping the Queen's advisor, Lord Melchett, and fulfil his ambitions?
​Read a review by Judith Smith at the NODA website.

Robin Hood
​and the Babes in the Wood

3rd - 13th December 2015
​The Little Theatre
Maid Marion, Robin Hood and his Merry Men try to thwart the evil machinations of the Sheriff of Nottingham in this new panto adaptation by Dave Ayres.
Read a review from Judith Smith on the NODA website

The Vicar of Dibley II - Love is in the Air
by Richard Curtis and Paul Mayhew-Archer

9th - 12th September 2015
​The Little Theatre
​Richard Curtis' award-winning TV comedy returned to The Little Theatre in a new adaptation for the stage by Bob Cochrane and Alyson Hunter which takes up the story from where we left the characters in our 2013 production.

It's Spring in Dibley and love is definitely in the air. After 26 years, will Hugo and Alice's relationship progress beyond shaking hands? Will Geraldine find true love - or at least an alternative to Owen's advances - which rivals her relationship with Dairy Milk? Will Mrs Cropley finally get the recognition she deserves as a pioneer of molecular gastroenteritis?
​Read a review by Judith Smith at the NODA website.

Beauty and the Beast

5th - 14th December 2014
​The Little Theatre
​“Beauty comes from within, no matter what any of us look like...”

For their 26th annual pantomine, the Idle and Thackley Theatre Group present a brand new version of the classic fairy tale, Beauty and the Beast. Join Rocquel, the castle gargoyle, as she tells the story of Belle and the Beast, and how true love can transform even the scariest monster back into a prince.  Joined on their journey by a crazy cast of characters, including Miss Coffey the castle maid, Bouton the servant, Smyth the castle guard, and the evil Lemal, this panto is filled with songs, dances, jokes and slapstick, which will delight audience members both young and old. 
Read a review by Judith Smith at the NODA website.

Blackadder Goes Forth
by Richard Curtis and Ben Elton

24th – 28th June 2014
​The Little Theatre
​"A war hasn't been fought this badly since Olaf the Hairy, High Chief of all the Vikings, accidentally ordered 80,000 battle helmets with the horns on the inside."

It's 1917 in a trench near Passchendaele: Capt. Edmund Blackadder, Lt. the Hon. George Colthurst St Barleigh and Pte S. Baldrick await Gen. Sir Anthony Cecil Hogmanay Melchett's invitation to join the 'big push' to "advance Field Marshall Haig's cocktail cabinet six inches closer to Berlin".

The three men view the prospect very differently. For George, this is an opportunity to put the skills learned on the playing fields of Eton into practice "to give Harry Hun a darn good British-style thrashing, six o' the best, trousers down!" For Baldrick, it's a terrifying experience which he is not looking forward to. For Captain Blackadder it's something to be avoided at all costs with the assistance of a succession of ever more cunning plans.
Read reviews of this show by Pam Booth at the NODA website and Catherine Anne Hulme at the West Yorkshire Theatre Network website.

The Odd Couple - Female Version
by Neil Simon

22nd - 25th April 2014
​The Little Theatre
​Unger and Madison are at it again! Florence Unger and Olive Madison, that is, in Neil Simon's hilarious contemporary comic classic: the female version of The Odd Couple. Instead of the poker party that begins the original version, Ms. Madison has invited the girls over for an evening of Trivial Pursuit. The Pidgeon sisters have been replaced by the two Constanzuela brothers. But the hilarity remains the same.
Read a review by Judith Smith at the NODA website.

Cinderella

10th - 14th December 2013
The Little Theatre
Our 25th Annual Pantomime was the much loved story of Cinderella.

Read a review by Judith Smith at the NODA website.

The Vicar of Dibley
by Richard Curtis and Paul Mayhew-Archer

12th - 14th September 2013
​The Little Theatre
​Richard Curtis' award-winning TV comedy in a hilarious new adaptation for the stage by Alyson Hunter and Bob Cochrane. When the long serving vicar of Dibley, Reverend Pottle, dies during Sunday Service, the replacement appointed by the Bishop of Wykeham, Geraldine Granger, splits local opinion. Shortly afterwards the stained glass window of St Barnabus' Church is shattered in a storm and Geraldine realises she will have to use all her charm and ingenuity to win over the eccentric locals and, with their assistance, raise the money to replace it.

Read a review by Judith Smith at the NODA website.

Blithe Spirit
by Noel Coward

​19th - 22nd June 2013
The Little Theatre
​Socialite and novelist Charles Condomine lives a reasonably contented life in Kent with his second wife Ruth. One evening, as research for his forthcoming book, he invites local medium and clairvoyant Madame Arcati to conduct a séance at his home with has unforeseen consequences...

Read a review by Judith Smith at the NODA website.

Little Red Riding Hood
by Emma Burton and Liam Hunter

8th - 15th December 2012
​The Little Theatre
​A new pantomime loosely based on the classic European fairy tale, written by Idle and Thackley Theatre Group members Emma and Liam.

​Directed by Richard Knowles.

Read a review by Judith Smith at the NODA website.

'Allo 'Allo
​by Jeremy Lloyd and David Croft

7th and 12th-14th July 2012
The Little Theatre
​The classic BBC comedy series parodying Secret Army and other wartime resistance dramas brought to the stage by Jeremy Lloyd and David Croft. 

​Directed by Emma Burton.

Read a review by Judith Smith at the NODA website.

Jack and the Beanstalk

27th January - 5th February 2012
​The Little Theatre
​The classic pantomine where Jack saves his family from being cast out from their cottage with a little help from a giant's horde, a dancing cow and a handful of beans.

Through the Years

6th - 8th October 2011
​The Little Theatre
​A compilation of numbers from a century of musical theatre, from old favourites like Anything Goes, Oklahoma and Hello Dolly!, through Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and 42nd Street, to modern classics such as Miss Saigon, Blood Brothers and Rent.

Billy Liar
by Keith Waterhouse and Willis Hall

11th - 12th May 2011
​The Little Theatre
​Billy is a world famous poet, a celebrated thinker, a decorated soldier and a great lover. Unfortunately he is only any of these things in his imagination. He continually fantasizes his life away to avoid facing the more mundane truth of his life at home with his parents and grandmother, his engagement to Barbara and his job as an undertaker's clerk.

Puss in Boots

February 2011
​The Little Theatre
​Puss in Boots is a panto with plenty of jokes, great characters and fabulous singing and dancing for the audience to join in with. Join our Dame as she struggles to pay her increasing rent, but finds happiness when her son, thanks to a talking cat, falls in love with the princess, becomes the Marquie of Carabas and gains riches beyond their wildest dreams. Laugh as the village idiot Stewart Smallpiece entertains the audience with jokes and comedy scenes with a little help from Ivana Itch and Ida Scratchett and be enthralled as the Demon Wolf is overpowered by Fairy Mary.

Thoroughly Modern Musicals

​A lively all singing and all dancing show which puts together your favourite numbers from contemporary musical theatre with a few you may not have heard before.

Shakers
by John Godber and Jane Thornton

​It's the 80's and Shakers Cocktail Bar is the place to be after work. It’s a place where girls can meet guys, guys can meet girls, and, whether you’re celebrating or drowning your sorrows, the drink will flow. In John Godber’s sparkling comedy, four young waitresses in the bar reveal the lives of its staff and customers and offer an insight into their hopes, dreams and disappointments.

Rokella
​by Peter Aveyard and Alyson Hunter

​Rokella lives in Norveden at the edge of the Arctic circle. Norveden's only export is Dryvita a tasteless crisp bread made from cardboard. Rokella has a dream, to be a sh-tar but what chance does she have living in the far flung wastelands of Scandinavia?

Enter Hugh Rynal, impresario of the famous Shaft Lifters bar in the North of England. Rynal offers Rokella a chance to represent his club in this years Euro Idol Competition. She has the talent to succeed but no one counted on Das Underband the dastardly German electro nerds - hell bent on winning at all costs.

Queen of the Air
​by Peter Aveyard

​The story of aviatrix Amy Johnson’s struggle for equality in a man's world, and her love for her married mentor Jack.