A Beginners Guide to Christmas Budleigh
Christmas Budleigh, what's all that about?
Our relationship with the lovely seaside town of Budleigh Salterton in East Devon goes back a long way. Our love of the place probably stemmed from ICOS, our sister society - now the musical theatre society of Imperial College Union - who tour a production to Budleigh for two weeks in the summer.
Christmas Budleigh is the affectionate name for our annual long weekend spent in South West. It's much shorter than the summer tour, a lot more frantic, but loads of fun. Usually the first weekend in December, it's planned to coincide with local late-night Christmas shopping and general festive cheer. We join in by putting on a show in the town hall for just two performances - and are usually rewarded with good audiences. Sometimes it's the same as our Autumn show in London, but more often than not it's an entirely different production.
Typical timetable
FRIDAY
Everyone arrives in Budleigh either Thursday or Friday. The techies will normally be in the Public Hall by Friday lunchtime - if you're there in the afternoon, please come along - your help setting up the chairs, the stage and the backstage areas will be really appreciated!
In the evening there are late night Christmas Shopping celebrations on the high street. We gather outside the Tourist Information Centre to join in the fun with a spot of Carol Singing - this is our best opportunity for a bit of last-minute publicity, and people will be handing out flyers for the show as we entertain the masses.
19:00 - Meet outside the Budleigh Tourist Information Centre for Carol Singing
20:00 - Possible evening rehearsal in the Public Hall
SATURDAY
09:00 - An early start to a long day. Please come to the Public Hall nice and early to organise props and costumes, and familiarise yourselves with the stage.
10:00 - Dress rehearsal. There's no Tech, so we have to be wide awake to make this go without a hitch.
12:30 - Lunch. This is usually provided by one of our wonderful volunteer caterers.
14:30 - Matinee Performance
19:30 - Evening Performance
22:00 - We all go to The Feathers. There is often some informal carol singing, and we might get fed mince pies in order to keep us quiet!
23:30 - Dinner in the Public Hall - followed by games and general silliness until the small hours.
SUNDAY
10:00 - Everyone back to the Public Hall to help tidy up so we can all leave in good time
12:00 - Sunday Lunch in the Feathers, followed by the long drive back to London.
How to get there
Driving is the easiest way. If you're taking a car, please try to offer a lift to others. It's 170 miles down the M3 then A303 from London, and it usually takes 3-4 hours depending on traffic.
Click here for a map to the Public Hall. From the high street, turn up Station Road at the traffic lights (there's only one set!) and you'll see the hall on the left. There is a free car park up on the green in front of the venue.
You can also get a Train from Paddington to Exeter St Davids, then a local train to Exmouth. There are frequent bus services from Emouth Station to Budleigh Salterton during the day - but you could also get a taxi, or ask someone in Budleigh with a car to come and collect you.
Accomodation
There are several good B&Bs, small hotels, holiday cottages and other self-catgering accomodation in Budleigh, all reasonably priced for two nights' stay. Remember that Saturday will be a late night, so check that you'll be able to get back into your accomodation afterwards. For help booking somewhere try the very helpful Tourist Information Office on 01395 445 275. Although it's not the peak holiday season, please remember to book as far in advance as possible!
Places to eat
Lunch and Dinner are usually provided for you on Saturday, as the Public Hall has an excellent kitchen and we try and rope in a caterer or two. Each meal will cost a few pounds.
For other meals, there are several Tea Rooms (The Cosy Teapot is favoured by many), a Chinese Takeaway with unfathomable opening hours, an Indian restaurant, a Chip Shop, and of course The Feathers serves hearty pub food. Be warned that Budleigh shops/supermarkets have fairly traditional opening hours, so don’t expect things to be open very early/late.
The off-licence closes at 10pm - be warned!
Things not to forget
- Costumes and Props
- Makeup, tights etc - these can be tricky to get hold of in Budleigh
- Warm clothes - the seaside can be cold in December
- Carols for Choirs 1 (the Green one) - please bring it if you have a copy
- Music stands for the band