Dan Schumann, founder and chair of Trustees of the Viva Theatre Group writes for the Ely Standard.

I am thrilled to be writing this column to introduce our season of top-quality entertainment at the new Viva Theatre in Soham, and to tell you a little of our activities.

Viva was established in 1997 and since then has provided countless opportunities , both within Soham and beyond, for genuine community involvement in drama, music, and stage production as well as delivering a wide range of plays and shows which have entertained all.

The opening of our new home at Spencer Mill in has given Soham its own unique community theatre and activity hub, and where we have been proud, during this year, to present a fantastic programme of events and productions.

Our aim now, as it has always been, is to try to provide something for everyone with a mix of theatre, cabaret, comedy, music and more. We are pleased to continue our partnerships with the National Theatre Live programme - bringing the best of British theatre to our very own cinema screen, but over and above that, our own wonderful Viva productions, some outstanding touring shows, and our excellent children’s theatre, give lots to choose from and look forward to.

The coming weeks will see the continuation of our monthly professional stand-up Custard Comedy nights, on November 4 and December, 16, as well as sensational comic act Twin Possible on November 11. We also have an outstanding touring production of the Steptoe and Son Radio Show, based on the much-loved TV series, on November 19.

An excellent children’s theatre production Twisted Tales by Horrible Histories author Terry Deary will be performed on November 12, and Michael Morpurgo’s brilliant new wartime play Private and Peaceful can be seen on November 26.

And, of course, no theatre year would be complete without a trip to panto-land, so we are very excited to launch our very own homegrown professionally produced Pantomime – Cinderella, which will run from December 2-11. Do book early to ensure the best seats!

As always, there are also many ways to participate, including our youth Saturday School, our Christmas children’s holiday workshop based on ELF the musical, our new martial flow dance classes and our regular monthly silver screenings which are subsidised for all pensioners. All of this and more can be found at: www.viva-group.org.uk where you will find full details of forthcoming shows, events, and productions, and at which tickets can be booked.

And finally – we are looking for talented young people between the ages of 9 and 18 to form our cast for the youth theatre production of Seussical – the Musical. Open auditions are being held at the Viva Theatre between 2pm and 4 pm on Saturday, November 5. Please come along !

Thanks very much for your support and, if you have yet to see it, we look forward to welcoming you to our new theatre soon.