Titchfield Festival Theatre is delighted to participate again in next year’s Connections, with members of the Youth Theatre (TFYT) performing in a brand new play written by Molly Taylor: Old Times.

Old Times is a story about a group of 17/18 year olds, who meet up again for the first time in five years to discuss the events of the past.

The play is performed through a series of flashbacks to when they were 13 years old, and the experiences which caused them all to lose contact. A crime was committed, resulting in one of the group being sent to prison for the offence; what is not clear however is whether this individual was guilty or not. The person has been released, and they come together again.

Stuart Hibbard is TFT’s Director of Education and is director of Old Times:

“Old Times is part crime story and part drama, a superbly written play about relationships; between friends, between siblings and other family members.

“The play takes place at different times and in various locations; it is about the lives of a group of young teenagers – the Ansten crew – who live on the fictional Ansten estate. Years later, we find out how they had drifted apart. Life though has not been kind to them as they have got older; and soon we see how the wonderful innocence of youth has been replaced by the burdens of adulthood.

“Old Times is a complex play with moments of real fun written specifically for teenagers. It is a multigenerational play as well, with actors who play themselves aged 13 and five years older. We may also see them as parents and grandparents in the play.

“Connections is a fabulous collaboration for TFT. It enables us to work with new writers like Molly Taylor and gives brilliant opportunities to our actors, designers and technicians of the future.”

Old Times will be performed at Titchfield Festival Theatre on 1 – 4 March 2023. The play then transfers to the Minerva Theatre at Chichester Festival Theatre for a one-night performance on the 30 March 2023.

For more information about TFT including booking tickets, please go to http://titchfieldfestivaltheatre.com/  or contact our Box Office on 0333 666 3366.

INTRODUCING MOLLY TAYLOR

Molly Taylor is a playwright and theatre-maker, based in London. Molly’s other work includes Cacophony, a full-length drama play and Extinguished Things, a series of monologues.

The inspiration for Old Times came whilst researching for another play. Molly discovered that the UK was the only country where the age of criminal responsibility was so young – 13 years of age as opposed to 16, the norm on mainland Europe.