Welcome to Weekes Baptiste’s Independent Theatre Group
Spears Independent Theatre
The Rose Crown
The Rose Crown
The play is set in a world not too dissimilar to that of William Shakespeare’s a Midsummer Night’s Dream. The Rose Crown aka ‘Carved with love’ is loosely based on Oscars Wilde’s-The Star Child. ‘This family show is set in medieval times and tells the story of Jack-Rania Edwards- a very wayward 12-year-old orphan, who has to change his wicked ways in order to receive the most prestigious honor ever bestowed to anyone in the village, that of… The Rose Crown
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Colour Me Frances
Colour Me Frances, like the majority of my works, started life as a film script, first written in the summer of 2010, as a follow up to’ Sweet Voices’ 2009, a short film about knife crimes.
‘Frances’ actually started to take shape shortly after the success of our recent production ‘Tempest’- performed in and around Northamptonshire in 2013. I wanted to tell this age-old story of separation from a different perspective. This wasn’t necessarily a hard task for me, especially as it dealt with an emotion, we’ve all had to deal with, in one way or another, bereavement!
I wanted to stay away from the usual theatrical convention and focus instead on monologues, my preference was to allow the audience to hear and see the characters reflecting on how they felt about their own personal situation, all in the privacy of their own safe environment. I knew I would be using music to explore the pain and anxiety the characters would be feeling, and not wanting to use existing music, by the ever reliable famous five, Goldsmith, Bernstein, Morricone, Barry or Newman, but original composition.
Having put some feelers out. Gary Kelly, whom I have collaborated with on many short films back in the day and who incidentally is one of the founder members of Spears Youth Theatre, approached me and said that he had material which he felt would be appropriate, and so, in the early part of 2013, we met and pondered on how we could combine the two, and the rest as they say, is history.
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Homeward Bound
Event 01/04/2022
Homeward Bound ‘Septimus’ a fallen angel, returns home to his family and is quizzed about his time spend on earth by his fellow angels. Although happy to be accepted back, what he announces to the angels and in particular his father Natas, is not the news they were all hoping to hear
The Rose Crown
Event 01/05/2022
The Rose Crown. A children’s play Written by Weekes Baptiste.
The play is set in a world not to dissimilar to that of William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer’s Night’s Dream. The Rose Crown aka ‘Carved with love’ is loosely based on Oscars Wilde’s-The Star Child. ‘This family show is set in medieval times and tells the story of Jack-Rania Edwards- a very wayward 12 year old orphan, who has to change his wicked ways in order to receive the most prestigious honour ever bestowed to anyone in the village, that of…. The Rose Crown.
Caribbean Soldiers
Event 01/06/2022
About two years ago, I was invited by Robert Henry an historian, to do a presentation at a local school in Northamptonshire about the contribution made by young black men and women from the Caribbean islands during the greatest conflict the world has ever known, the Great War. 1914-1918. Now, please forgive my ignorance, but I have to confess, at the time I wasn’t fully aware black soldiers actually fought in the First World War, I thought this dreadful conflict was between the English, French, and Germans and had nothing what so ever to do with West Indians. After the presentation, I asked one of the teachers how he thought the demonstration went and in particular, the contribution made by the Caribbean Soldiers. He too was totally oblivious of any involvement made by people from the commonwealth. It wasn’t until much later as I resigned in the comfort of my armchair, that the overwhelming desire to relay my discovery of these brave young soldiers to the general public, became ever more apparent. if a qualified teacher wasn’t aware, then how many others, living in the 21century, would be ignorant of this fact. As I began my research, I came across various photographs of young black and Asian soldiers, their young fresh Caribbean faces, was enough to encouraged me to create a stage production which became a reality in March 2016.
Genevieve
Event 01/06/2022
Genevieve written by Northampton playwright Weekes Baptiste (Caribbean Soldiers – A Reluctant Hero) tells the story of a young mixed-raced girl Genevieve (Rania Edwards) who, like hundreds of other children, during the height of the Second World War, was evacuated from the capital- London- to the rural countryside.
For the duration of the war, Geneviève, was cared for by a very kind and considerate woman, Betty (Gina McCrystal) who in turn, introduces her to a working farm and the people who would eventually have a profound influence on her, both as a child and well into her successful adult life.
This ensemble piece of theatre, performed by members of the Spears- Indi- Theatre, is set during the Second World War. Genevieve is a story of innocence, self-discovery, friendship, and above all love.
Steve While- Gina McCrystal-Simon Rye – Rania Edwards and Francesca Till, in Weekes Baptiste ‘Genevieve
The Spoken Words - 40 Years Of Spears Theatre
About Us
First established in 1982, we are one of the longest running self-funded community theatre company based in Northamptonshire. Our overall aim is and always will be, to develop, structure, and perform community projects, in all guises, i.e. from theatre workshop to stage and film productions. Our objective is to introduce students of all ages, race, gender and ethnicity, to an affordable world of self-expression, and creativity. In the many years I have been a theatre practitioner, I believe passionately in the integral role theatre arts plays in a well-rounded education. ‘Spears- Indi- Theatre’ prides itself in giving performance opportunities to young people who have a real desire to perform, but have no realistic opportunities to develop and socialize. Since its inception the organization/company, have used theatre-based workshops and extended learning to encourage such youngsters, many of whom have since gone on to university to study Creative Arts and having graduated, they utilized their experience to give them access to professional setting. “We believe that the study of theatre is as important to the learning process as any other subject. It develops critical thinking, communication skills, team-building, self-confidence, and above all self-discipline.” Action, as they say, speak loader than words. We very much want to be easily accessible and engaging, to provide a safe and sustainable outlet for creative minded people who are willing to participate with us in any given task, however demanding. We want more than anything, to, make an overall difference, to reinstate confidence, trust, desire and leadership. New works written and undertaken by the company over the years, have been, A Swan in the Attic’ Homeward Bound’, ‘Caribbean Soldiers’, ‘Princess Treble’ The Rose Crown and ‘Genevieve’.
New and up and coming projects are-
‘There I was’- aka- The Guest -2021/22
The family Christmas pantomime, Aladdin 2021/22
For the Deco theatre
Weekes is a talented writer and theatre Director with a keen intuition for exploring the human condition with accuracy and sensitivity within his work. It has been my pleasure to workshop his plays and I always look forward to hearing of any new pieces.
Greetings, I recently acquired your email from a friend of mine who had mentioned your name whilst talking about the acting and theatre scene in Northamptonshire. I'm simply writing to enquire about any projects you are currently working on, if so, I would love to participate or help out in some way. As an actor who is based in Northampton it'd be great to work with like-minded people and connect with a community of theatre-lovers in the local area.
Weekes inspires your every molecule