Woking Youth Theatre stages The Lion in Winter at the Buzz Theatre, 3 to 7 November, at 7.30pm with a Saturday matinee. Tickets £15, students £12.

Bruce Hazelton has wanted to play King Henry II since he was a 16-year-old member of Woking Youth Theatre. Forty years on, he gets his chance: the youth theatre, where he is now creative director, stages James Goldman’s The Lion in Winter at the Buzz Theatre in Woking from Tuesday 3 to Saturday 7 November.

Opposite him as Queen Eleanor is local actor-director Karen Brooks. The two last shared a Woking Youth Theatre stage 35 years ago, in a 1991 production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. And leading Henry’s three scheming sons is Bruce’s own son, Alex Hazelton, who plays Richard the Lionheart.

When and where

Evening performances are at 7.30pm each night, with a Saturday matinee at 2.30pm on 7 November, according to the production poster. Tickets are £15, or £12 for students, and are booked through the youth theatre’s page for the show, which links to its TicketSource booking page.

The Buzz Theatre is, in the youth theatre’s words, “located at the top of Victoria Place Shopping Centre adjacent to the theatre box office”. For getting into town and where to leave the car, see our guide to parking in Woking.

Two generations on one stage

Seven members of the cast of The Lion in Winter posing together in front of a red curtain between two carved wooden bedposts
The cast of Woking Youth Theatre's The Lion in Winter. Photo: supplied by Woking Youth Theatre

The production is by the youth theatre’s seniors. Alongside the two adult leads, the cast is drawn from what the theatre calls “a talented, age-appropriate cast of the youth theatre’s senior members”, and it describes the run as a milestone: two generations of WYT members “acting alongside one another to bring two generations of royalty to life”. Both Bruce Hazelton and Karen Brooks started out as members themselves.

In its pitch to us, the youth theatre set out why this one matters to it:

“A 40-Year Dream Realised: Our WYT Creative Director, Bruce Hazelton, is playing King Henry II, a role he has wanted to do since he was a 16-year-old member.”

“A Real Family Affair: Leading the treacherous royal heirs on stage is Bruce’s real-life son, Alex Hazelton, playing Richard the Lionheart.”

The play

Goldman’s play is set at Christmas 1183. The youth theatre’s own summary puts it like this:

“Henry is determined to secure the future of his kingdom, but his estranged wife, the formidable Eleanor of Aquitaine, has very different ideas. Their three surviving sons, Richard, Geoffrey and John, each believe the crown should be theirs, and each is prepared to scheme, bargain and betray to get it.”

It calls the piece “a wickedly funny, fiercely intelligent portrait of one of history’s most extraordinary families”, and its covering note has a line for anyone dreading December: “If you think your festive family gatherings are challenging, try spending Christmas with the Plantagenets!”

This is an amateur production, presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Samuel French.

What it means for you

  • Six performances: 7.30pm Tuesday 3 to Saturday 7 November, plus 2.30pm on Saturday 7 November.
  • Tickets: £15, students £12, through the Woking Youth Theatre website.
  • Venue: the Buzz Theatre, top floor of Victoria Place, next to the theatre box office.

Woking Youth Theatre is a registered charity (no. 1181493). For more on stage this autumn, see what’s on in Woking this month.

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