Bringing the new midweek stage production ‘An Evening With…’ to life
Having watched the all-important dress runs before Easter in an almost-empty theatre, we were excited for the launch of this new production. Featuring some of your favourite faces at Hopton-on-Sea, it feels effortless, intimate, and polished.
“That’s what happens when you’re working with such a talented crop of performers who all know each other so well,” says Ben Carruthers, the show’s producer and former Potters Theatre Company favourite.
Ben Carruthers is the man behind Hopton-on-Sea’s latest productionThat indeed is the magic of An Evening With… — the very concept of it, in fact. With over 100 years of history at Potters between them, you’re literally watching friends get together on stage, perform, laugh, and entertain you in their familiar way.
But as ever, there’s still been a whole new show, setlist, and steps to learn. Rewind just a few weeks, and the team of Sion Hathway, Rachel Baade, Aaron Bolton, Brian Graves and James R Hearn were being put through their paces by Ben, and Assistant Creative Producer Saskia Dean — the stage marked out with tape, scripts scattered across seats, music cues being tested, reset, and tested again.
A Show in the Making
Go back a little further and you’ll find the team in a room filled with discussion as much as singing, one step along from Ben’s original creative vision. Scripts were constantly evolving. Stories were refined. Musical arrangements adjusted to suit individual vocal strengths. Moments were added, trimmed, and reshaped entirely.
“We wanted to create a space where storytelling and performance could breathe,” Ben explains. “Unlike PTC shows with fixed choreography and established formats, this show relies heavily on tone, authenticity, pacing and connection. That all takes rehearsal time.”
And while there has to be a script, An Evening With… leaves space for spontaneity. Something that is more easily achievable when working with performers who have gained that confidence and trust across decades at Potters.
As rehearsals progressed, the show began to find that natural rhythm. Moments began to land naturally. Laughter arrived where it should, and the cast started to relax into the format.
“The turning point was when it stopped feeling like a ‘new show’ and started feeling like a conversation,” Ben reflects. “We’ve chosen numbers that complement each individual, and each other. And some changes to the setlist or its order were made along the way based on the cast’s suggestions.”
Opening Night
Fast forward again, and the show has just launched, exclusive to 4-Night Midweek Breaks at Hopton-on-Sea, complete with final costumes, lighting, sound and the cast’s positions all locked in place.
And all those early conversations, suggestions, tweaks, and ultimately, the cast’s camaraderie, have clearly made for a fabulous production.
There are moments of humour from unique personalities, while the numbers they perform carry emotional weight. The setlist features both old favourites and new surprises, while the show’s conversational format creates an intimacy that feels fresh.
Despite being renowned for big-stage numbers, choreography and dazzling costume changes with every production, An Evening With… stands apart. It complements the surrounding nights with class — and proves that spectacle doesn’t always mean scale.
And as you take your seat in The Atlas Theatre and the lights soften once more, it’s worth remembering the journey behind your effortless evening ahead. Those early run-throughs and discussions. The connection and trust the whole cast has for one another. Because while the final result may feel natural, the craft behind it is anything but accidental.
While feedback is yet to land, the standing ovation on opening night would lead us to take a confident punt, that if you’re visiting Hopton-on-Sea in the weeks ahead, this will certainly be one of its highlights.
‘An Evening With…’ features exclusively on Adult-Only 4-Night Midweek Breaks at Potters Resorts Hopton-on-Sea, alongside other Potters Theatre Company productions.
