TheatreFirst moves again

Seems like we’ve written this sentence before — because we have.

TheatreFirst, the intrepid small theater company that just will not give up, is moving again.

The itinerant troupe always seems to find itself without a home after having been promised a permanent home. After bouncing from rec room to church to make-shift theater space, Clive Chafer’s group finally found a home in the Oakland YWCA. That worked out …until it didn’t.

Then they nabbed a storefront space in Old Oakland. That worked out … until it didn’t.

But Chafer (above with L. Peter Callender) is not one to give up. He recently announced that TheatreFirst will present the U.S. premiere of Stephen Brown’s Future Me, a London hit that had its premiere in a pub.

And where will the show go on? Chafer says that he has entered negotiations for a building in the nascent arts district of uptown Oakland (near the Paramount Theatre).

“If all goes well,” Chafer writes, “the company hopes to announce a four-show season there, opening in the fall of 2008.”

Meanwhile, “Future Me” will open at the Berkeley City Club on April 4 (after a preview on April 3) and continue through May 4. Tickets are $23-$28 (previews are $10). Patrons younger than 25 are half price.

The Berkeley City Club is at 2315 Durant Ave., Berkeley. Call 510-436-5085 or visit www.theatrefirst.com.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *