RAFTA Projects

RAFTA, the Royal Air Force Theatrical Association, exists to "Improve theatre in the RAF" and provides a central body to which RAF station clubs and serving and civilian members can belong. RAFTA helps clubs to keep in contact and organises competitions, workshops and

Once every two years a project is put together by RAFTA, starting with proposals from Directors to the committee and ending, over a year later, with a one week run at a professional theatre recently working under the name Adastra Theatre Company.

Each project may involve up to 100 people, often over 40 on stage, and cost well in excess of £10,000. Project members are expected to rehearse for a full weekend each month and to travel across the UK to wherever the rehearsals are held.

All of the project members are active theatre people in their own rights, performing, directing, designing, adjuducating etc. The project gives us all a chance to 'do it large' and to explore each aspect, from promotion to performance, in more detail.

For this project we are privileged to be working with a number of RAFTA members with professional experience both on and off stage.

Previous projects have included: The Gypsy's Revenge (1984, Liverpool), The Recruiting Officer (1986, Swindon), A Midsummer Night's Dream (1988, Lincoln), On the Razzle (1990, Lincoln), Chorus of Disapproval (1992, Lincoln), Last Tango in Whitby (1994, Lincoln) & Habeus Corpus (1997, Lincoln). Independently, as The Merry Roosters, members of RAFTA produced Oh! What a Lovely War (1999, Lincoln), Ariabian Nights (Peterborough, 2001), Oklahoma! (Colchester, 2003), Sweeney Todd (Oxford, 2005), Tom Jones (Weston-super-Mare, 2007), Hotel Paradiso (Lincoln 2009).

Adastra

Some projects were undertaken under the name of the ADASTRA Theatre Company, in part to mask the RAF connection. Website