amateurstage THE INDEPENDENT MAGAZINE FOR AMATEUR THEATRE MARCH 2010 www.amateurstagemagazine.co.uk
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FORBIDDEN PLANET special feature
SUMMER SCHOOLS interview
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amateurstagemar10 FROM THE EDITOR Welcome to our March issue. This month we are pleased to welcome David Muncaster as our new playscript reviewer. We hope that you enjoy his reviews and find them useful when choosing your next play. Many thanks to all those who contacted us about becoming production reviewers. We are currently putting together the review system and are in the process of getting in touch to start the ball rolling. Please bear with us as we work through this. Lastly, if your group has a website, we’d like to invite you to link up with Amateur Stage. We’re now offering groups a chance to make money by referring subscribers to us. It’s a great way to earn extra cash for your group and we hope you will all take part.
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Enjoy! Doug
THIS MONTH 5
NEWS
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FIRST NIGHT INSURANCE
Robert Israel ASCII looks at insurance issues.
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MUSICAL PRODUCED RETURN TO THE FORBIDDEN PLANET
Mike Linham looks at his recent production.
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INTERVIEW: JERRY MITCHELL
We talk to the talented Broadway director/choreographer.
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PLAY PUBLISHING
Stuart Ardern provides some handy hints.
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PLAY IT AGAIN
Martin Bowley QC thinks some plays are overexposed.
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PRODUCTION DIARY
A quick guide to what’s on around the UK
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SUMMER SCHOOLS
Our guide to some of this year’s offerings.
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PLAYSCRIPT REVIEWS
David Muncaster looks at the latest playscripts.
News from around the country.
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THE FINAL WORD - DORIS
She’s back!!
Cover: Bugsy Malone - Guiseley AODS
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CREDITS Published monthly by Next Phase Media Limited Suite 404 Albany House, 324/326 Regent Street, London W1B 3HH P: 0207 622 6670 www.amateurstagemagazine.co.uk Publisher - Paul Webster : paul@nextphasemedia.co.uk Editor - Douglas Mayo : editor@asmagazine.co.uk Subscriptions/ Diary Listings : diary@asmagazine.co.uk Advertising : Zoya Berkeley: zoya@asmagazine.co.uk P: 0207 078 4893 All rights reserved throughout the world. No part of this magazine may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form or by any means, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the written consent of Amateur Stage. The views and opinions expressed by the contributors to this magazine may not necessarily represent the views of Amateur Stage.
AMATEUR STAGE | MARCH 2010
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TWICE UPON A TIME by James McKeon Twice Upon a Time is set in an Irish town in the mid seventies but it could be any town in Britain. The parents are trying hard to marry off their last remaining son, Jeremiah, but the reluctant son is scared of the female sex. His only friend is a little sow called ‘Susie’ who even goes to mass with him. The scheming mother arranges a marriage with a wealthy widow but it all goes wrong and, after many twists and turns, he ends up marrying his secret sweetheart. Act two is thirty years on with all the actors thirty years older and the now mid-fifties Jeremiah desperately trying to marry off his remaining son, but this wealthy, intelligent, womanising boy has no intentions of marrying until, eventually, at the end he gets his comeuppance in a surprise ‘match.’ The play humorously shows the different attitudes to religion, bad language and sex and how life has changed but does anything ever really change?
AVAILABLE NOW FOR AMATEUR PERFORMANCE Tel +353 21 434 1764 e-mail : jamesmckeon@hotmail.com
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NEWS
RESULTS OF 33RD BRAY ONE-ACT DRAMA FESTIVAL
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Best Overall Show The Librarian, by James Prideaux, Bray Arts Best Actor Des Cox, But Yesterday by Jimmie Chinn, St. Patrick’s D.S,Dalkey Best Actress Rosary Morley McPhillips’ Bray Arts Best Director Derek Pullen, Bray Arts Best Comedy Distracted Globe by Nick Warburton, Delgany D.S Lighting & Design Award Square One Theatre Group
DARLINGTON O S MOURN THE LOSS OF FAMOUS MEMBER Members of Darlington Operatic Society were saddened to hear of the death of John Reed on February 13th – his 94th birthday. For a generation of Gilbert & Sullivan enthusiasts exposed to the operas in the 1960s and ‘70s, John Reed was the greatest exponent of the comic baritone roles. Born in the village of Close House, John studied elocution, dancing, singing and mime from the age of eleven. During World War II he worked as a tool fitter and instrument maker. John began his theatrical career, after the war, in plays with a repertory theatre company, and as a dancer, winning medals for dance across the North-East of England. When his father became ill John returned home to work in his father’s business and performed in musical theatre for a number of years. It is at this point in his ‘career’ that John joined the Darlington Operatic Society. Over several years he was to play such roles as Alexander in “The New Moon”, Herman in “Rose Marie” and Benny in “The Desert Song” – comedy roles that would set him up well for his future career with the D’Oyly Carte Opera company. John also acted as director and dance instructor for the Darlington Education Committee, but he knew there were brighter lights waiting for him. John Reed made his debut with the D’Oyly Carte company in 1951 and was promoted to principal Baritone in 1959. He remained in that post until 1979, although he continued to sing with the company until it was closed in 1982 singing all those delightful Gilbert and Sullivan roles from Ko-Ko through the Lord Chancellor to Bunthorne. Those were the days when the Gilbert and Sullivan operas were still in copyright and had to be performed very much in the traditional manner; any change of nuance or delivery was frowned upon by the management – and the legions of G&S aficionados. It was very much to Reed’s credit as an artist that he kept the characters alive, individual and relevant. But it was those difficult Gilbertian “patter songs” for which Reed will be most fondly remembered. When he delivered the Nightmare Song from Iolanthe it was always greeted with huge applause.
ADJUDICATOR ANNE MEKITARIAN
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After retiring from the stage, Reed moved to Halifax, where he directed the West Yorkshire Savoyards and worked as a director and teacher. He was a keen supporter of the annual Gilbert and Sullivan Festival in Buxton until failing eyesight curtailed his activities. Ian Whitfield, Chairman of Darlington O S said “This is the end of a huge chapter in the history of Darlington Operatic Society. Several members have gone on to make a name for themselves in professional theatre but maybe none quite as big as John Reed. He will be sadly missed by all members, past and present.”
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NEWS
BOURNEMOUTH LITTLE THEATRE CLUB CELEBRATES NINETY YEARS Founded in 1919, Bournemouth Little Theatre Club is celebrating its 90th anniversary with a production of Diana of Dobson’s by Cicely Hamilton. The choice of this play marks the club’s first full length production when Diana was staged, on the 7th February, 1920, at the Hippodrome Theatre in Boscombe, a suburb of Bournemouth. All previous productions were ‘evening entertainments’ staged in the homes of club members. From these humble beginnings the Club thrived, eventually funding the building of its own theatre, the Palace Court, which opened in 1931 and remained the Club’s home for the next 38 years. Sadly, ever-rising costs and the increasing influence of television as a choice of entertainment affected the finances of many amateur dramatic societies, including ours, and in 1969 we were finally forced to sell the Palace Court. During those 38 years, however, the Club established itself as the home of amateur theatre of the highest and most professional standards. Between 1969 and 1975, the spirit of the Club was kept alive by touring plays to towns and villages in Dorset, Somerset and Wiltshire whilst a new permanent home was sought. Despite playing in a wide range of venues – from good to bad and everything in between – it was the camaraderie built up amongst cast and crew and the reception we received from our audiences (many of whom took their seats as our vans were being unpacked and stayed put until we packed up again and were heading off for a well-earned pint!) during this time which made it all worthwhile. In 1975, we moved into premises in Jameson Road, Winton (formerly a social club) and there we remain. We stage six shows each season (which runs between September and June) and the enduring loyalty and enthusiasm of our patrons mean that we regularly play to full houses. Although great improvements have been made, our theatre is still not without its shortcomings, including a rather small stage area, but the hard work and ingenuity of our members, particularly our talented set designers, enable us to offer a widely diverse selection of plays. Early in the 1980s we won the All England One-Act Theatre Festival (after several attempts) which not only gave us enormous pleasure but also opened doors to venues outside of Britain with invitations to the Republic of Ireland, America and the Dutch Caribbean.
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Re-staging Diana of Dobson’s to mark our anniversary has significance beyond simply the choice of play. The producer of the 1920 production was Miss Dorothy Rowe and the part of Sir Jabez Grindlay was taken by George Stone both of whom were founders of the Club. Portraits of Miss Rowe and Mr. Stone have been fully restored and were presented to the Club by our Chairman, Don Gent, on the opening night of the play (15th February). The portraits will then take their rightful place in the Green Room to watch over
proceedings for, hopefully, many more years to come. For more information on Bournemouth Little Theatre Club visit our website on www. BournemouthLittleTheatre.co.uk or telephone the secretary, Hugh Norris on 01202 761400 Photos: Andy J Clarke Top: Chairman, Don Gent, presenting portraits – 15.2.2010. Middle: The ladies’ dormitory at Messrs. Dobson’s Emporium. Bottom: Don Gent with the founder’s portraits
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NEWS
PEOPLE CALL HIM THE WEDDING SINGER The ESNA Players have announced the cast for their next production; the 80s based musical comedy, The Wedding Singer (April 20th – 24th at Loughborough Town Hall). Following in the footsteps of Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore from the classic film, Ashley Bright and Jess Vollar Bell will both be taking their first ESNA leads as Robbie Hart, the Wedding Singer, and Julia Sullivan, the girl Robbie falls for. The supporting cast includes Erica Makin as Julia’s best friend Holly, Gareth Wynne as Robbie’s best friend Sammy, Sam Aldridge as the very funny George and Darren Hart as Glen. Director Jez Malpas says “The casting process was very tough. We have so many talented people in the group that we could have cast the show a number of times over. The cast we have chosen though are of the highest quality and with the whole group having such a depth of talent the show is going to be a blast. I am overjoyed to be working with such a talented group of actors, singers and dancers!” “The show itself is hilarious, even funnier than the film, but also with some amazingly heartfelt moments, tracing the path of true love. With a range of superb musical numbers that will have the audience both laughing and crying this really is a must-see show” For preferential tickets for The Wedding Singer (April 20th-24th including Saturday matinee) please call the ESNA Box Office on 01509 828456 or Loughborough Town Hall Box Office on 01509 231914 or www.loughboroughtownhall.co.uk.
‘GLEE’ STYLE STAGE SCHOOL IS FAMILY AFFAIR FOR MUM AND DAUGHTER A mother and daughter duo are bringing a little ‘glee’ to their corner of Yorkshire with the launch of a new stage school linked to one of the UK’s most famous performing arts institutions. Amy Wilson and her mum Liz Monks are the first family business to be awarded a LIPA 4:19 franchise from the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (LIPA), which was co-founded by Sir Paul McCartney. Their LIPA 4:19 academy in Menston, Leeds will offer singing, dancing and acting lessons to young people aged between four and 19, who are hoping to follow in the footsteps of their famous idols. For 32-year-old mum of two Amy, launching LIPA 4:19 is the fulfilment of a long term ambition to run her own business, after she was made redundant from her job developing script writing talent. She said: “After I was made redundant I wanted to find something that would rekindle the fire in my belly for performing arts and fit in with the demands of having two young kids. When Mum presented me with the idea of opening our own stage school, I jumped at the chance.” Liz, who is a drama teacher, and Amy’s sister had both studied at LIPA, where they learned about the franchise opportunity. LIPA has run a successful Saturday morning stage school in Liverpool for six years and is now rolling the brand out across the UK. Former LIPA 4:19 students include Britain’s got talent winner George Sampson.
Amy continued: “My mum and sister had a great experience at LIPA, so we knew how professional and sophisticated the teaching is. LIPA 4:19 shares the same ethos and in Liverpool it has a huge waiting list. When we heard about the opportunity to bring the brand to Leeds we knew we wanted to make it just as successful. “Launching a new business is a huge challenge, especially when the country is just coming out of a recession, but we’re feeling confident. The success of Glee and High School Musical has created huge demand for quality performing arts training. We’re the new kids on the block in Leeds but, with the backing of LIPA, we’re aiming high.” Amy and Liz have launched their LIPA 4:19 in St Mary’s Secondary Catholic School and are offering free taster sessions. The LIPA 4:19 is the only stage school franchise linked to an established performing arts institute and offers a curriculum-based approach to its classes. Older LIPA 4:19 students are given the chance to attend master classes at LIPA in Liverpool, which in the past have included sessions with LIPA’s lead patron Sir Paul McCartney, Will Young and Sir Ian McKellen. For more information on how to attend the LIPA 4:19 academy in Menston please contact lipamenston@yahoo.co.uk.
PANTOMIMES By JOHN CROCKER
The Smaller Cast Versions ALADDIN “PEAK OF PANTO PERFECTION” Exeter Express & Echo MOTHER GOOSE “FUN FILLED SCRIPT” Western Morning News SLEEPING BEAuTy “ A RIP-ROARINg SUCCESS” Exmouth Herald CINDERELLA “TRADITIONAL PANTO AT IT’S BEST” Hampshire Gazette DICK WHITTINGTON “A CRACKER OF A PANTO” Evening Herald, Plymouth BABES IN THE WOOD “WONDERFUL NEW ChRISTmAS PANTO” Herald Express and the latest JACK AND THE BEANSTALK “gIANT ChRISTmAS TREAT” Tiverton Crediton, Culm Valley Gazette PLUS the much loved favourites with music and lyrics by ERIC GILDER CINDERELLA, PuSS IN BOOTS, DICK WHITTINGTON, ALADDIN, BABES IN THE WOOD, SINBAD THE SAILOR, MOTHER GOOSE, ROBINSON CRuSOE, SLEEPING BEAuTy, HuMPTy DuMPTy, QuEEN OF HEARTS, RED RIDING HOOD, JACK AND THE BEANSTALK And a zany potted panto sketch POTTy PANTOMIME Also a Rock Musical THE FRANKENSTEIN MONSTER SHOW By JOHN CROCKER and TIM HAMPTON Music by KEN BOLAM Lyrics by LES SCOTT All obtainable from SAMuEL FRENCH LIMITED 52 Fitzroy St, London W1P 6JR Ph: 020 7387 9373
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NEWS
40 YEARS ON ROBIN WELLS After Godalming Operatic Society’s evening performance of “The Yeomen of the Guard” on Saturday 20th February, a specially commissioned card signed by the company, was presented to Robin Wells, the Society’s musical director and arranger. The card comprised of miniature programme covers of all forty shows which Robin has conducted. After a short curtain speech reflecting on Robin’s talents, Michael Hartnall, the Society’s President, presented him with the card. The presentation was loudly applauded by members of the cast and orchestra, as well as by the many friends and supporters of the Society who were in the audience This year’s production marked a milestone in the history of this – or indeed any – performing group, as it was the fortieth annual production with Robin Wells as Musical Director. Robin trained at The Royal College of Music and is a Fellow of The Royal College of Organists. For many years he was the Director of Music at Charterhouse, Chairman of the Godalming Music Festival, Conductor of the Petersfield Musical Festival, and Director of The Charterhouse Summer School of Music.
BIRMINGHAM’S FESTIVAL OF ACTING & MUSICAL ENTERTAINMENT Saturday 27th February saw the conclusion of the BFAME Festival Week and the annual Peripatetic Festival. Under the capable hands of compere for the evening, Rob Phillips, the audience were treated to a lively performance by pupils of Wolverley CE Secondary School; and were then pampered to an Oscar-like presentation with the Lord Mayor of Birmingham, Councillor Michael Wilkes, and the Lady Mayoress Mrs Vivienne Wilkes presenting the trophies. During the week we were treated to a very high standard of twelve one-act plays, five of these from youth groups and six being original scripts. The Wednesday evening was devoted entirely to individual youth work, when twenty-nine young people all under the age of 19, captivated the audience with an excellent night’s entertainment. Reuben
Robin is also the Conductor of the Farnham and Bourne Choral Society. Robin is a highly experienced conductor of choral and operatic music with a deep knowledge of Gilbert and Sullivan. He has conducted all thirteen extant G&S operas, (some of them many times) including the rarely performed Utopia Limited and The Grand Duke. He has been responsible for the high musical standards for which Godalming Operatic is well known, with its strong team of Smith won the under-14 poetry with a super rendering of ‘King John’s Christmas’. Oceane Li-Le Dantec took the over-14 drama award and Luca Hoffman won the under 14 drama award with his splendid ‘Bugsy Malone’. Amy Richardson and Chloe Jones won the duologue section and Naomi O’Borne was awarded the Lillie C Johnson Trophy for her impressive singing of ‘Good Morning Baltimore’. The adjudicator for the Festival Week, Alan Hayes, GODA Associate, awarded the Alexander Theatre Trophy for the adult one-act winner, to Total Arts Community Theatre for their original production of ‘The Mother Tree’ by Peter Machen. The one-act youth winners were Impact Senior Youth with an original play by Chloe Mander, ‘Accused’. The groups going through to the Quarter Finals of the All-England Theatre Festival are The Really Serious Theatre Company with an abridged version of ‘Mine’ by Polly Teale and Stage 27 with ‘Crossing the Bar’ by Don Nigro. We wish them both every success at Highbury Theatre Centre on 10th April. The Guild’s President, Councillor Dave Osborne summed up the record twenty-nine entries in the Peripatetic Festival Year. The winners in the drama section were announced as Highbury Players with ‘My Cousin Rachel’ and Cradley Heath Amateur Operatic Society won the musical section with their performance of ‘Seven Brides for Seven Brothers’. The full results can be seen on www.bdtg.org.uk
principal and chorus singers and its excellent orchestra. Under his leadership GOS was invited to perform Iolanthe at the International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival in Buxton and Utopia Limited at the International Festival of Light Opera in Waterford, where it won an award. In addition, Robin directs the Society in performances of lighter music at performances in Guildford and elsewhere.
Liz Webster & Emily Armstrong in ‘Mine’
Next Month
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SNOW ALERT!
FIRST NIGHT INSURANCE
Robert Israel ASCII from Gordon & Co discusses the latest insurance issues affecting amateur theatre. Because of the recent inclement weather, I thought I would re-visit the snow position as it might affect a claim under the First Night Insurance Package Policy. Obviously the main risk is cancellation of a performance. I have to make it very clear that Cancellation Insurance Policies will not respond should a producer cancel a show if the audience fail to appear. If the performers are ready, willing and able to perform then “the show must go on”. A Cancellation Policy is designed to protect the insured against cancellation of the event, effectively due to causes beyond the control of the insured so if key members of the cast were prevented from appearing then, depending on the circumstances, a claim may well be accepted, however it must be borne in mind that insurers will look closely at the weather statistics for the region concerned and would also take into account whether other performances in the area have gone ahead. I make this point because, in February 2009 during the last “snow flurry” we had a significant number of professional performances cancelled due to the weather, as well as a number of amateur performances. However, during the current snow conditions, whilst we have had a number of enquiries from amateur societies about cancellation, none of the professional theatrical production companies have cancelled a performance.
The main reason is because we acknowledge that involvement in an amateur society is a hobby and not a business. Consequently, it is important for us to try and provide as wide a basis of cover as possible without placing the onus on the society to decide what classes of insurance cover they should buy. This has been brought into sharp focus in the last couple of weeks because an incident has occurred on one of our professional theatre companies that is not an insured peril under the standard professional wording but is covered by the First Night Policy. An actor was severely injured by some falling masonry as he walked past a building whilst he was on his way to the theatre. Had this been an amateur production then there would have been cover under both the Personal Accident and Cancellation Sections of the First Night Policy, whereas, for a professional company, they do have to decide exactly what covers to effect and, in fact, some companies do change the type of cover they carry depending upon the type of production and its content. Great stuff, this Insurance!!
Keeping to the subject of claims, a society has recently submitted a claim for the theft of some sound equipment, which the police have since recovered but are unable to return to the society at the present time as the items are needed for evidence purposes in a forthcoming trial. This has caused the society a problem because their performances are due to begin. The value of the items stolen is almost identical to the amount of hire charges they would have to pay so the question to insurers is can the society buy new equipment, or will the insurer agree to meet the hire cost, the argument being that, if insurers were not prepared to meet the cost of hiring then the society may be forced to cancel the production and therefore submit a claim for more money under the Cancellation Section. A further complication is that we do not, of course, know the current state of the equipment – is it damaged, can it be repaired, or is it completely written off? The decision by insurers is that they will allow the society to buy new equipment and, when the police release the original items, insurers will take ownership of the items as salvage and will then try to recover whatever money they can by re-sale. Over the last few years a number of societies have asked me why we have included the “peripheral” covers under the First Night Insurance package.
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THE MUSICAL PRODUCED
RETURN TO THE FORBIDDEN PLANET
Mike Linham discusses his production of Bob Carlton’s Return To The Forbidden Planet staged by Strode Productions.
PRE-LAUNCH
Inspired by the 1956 film ‘Forbidden Planet’ – which in its turn was loosely based on Shakespeare’s ‘The Tempest’ – this Musical first saw life in the mid 1980s in a tent in a selection of London’s parks. From there it grew and moved to the West End in 1989, where it won the Olivier Award for Best new Musical, beating ‘Miss Saigon’ in the process. All the songs are 1950/60s rock classics and this has undoubtedly created its strong cult following. The 2005 reworking, after yet another UK tour, brought an updated version into being. This updating did catch me out somewhat as I had previously bought a copy of the Libretto from the USA and discovered that some of my preparations had been superseded due to a few dialogue changes and adjustments to the songs included. However, I could see the benefits of the adjustment so decided to use the newer version rather than the previous version which is also available if you want to use it. This show is challenging but offers huge opportunities to everyone involved to be creative, so I was very pleased to be asked to direct it for Strode Productions, an amateur group who perform at the lovely Strode Theatre in Street, Somerset. The storyline for this show is, as noted above, taken from Shakespeare’s ‘Tempest’. It is moved well into the future when mankind roams the planets and we are onboard a rocket ship, under the command of Captain Tempest, which is drawn to an unknown
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planet rather than an island. Prospero and his daughter, Miranda, are the only inhabitants except for ‘Ariel’, a robot built by Prospero. On board the rocket ship is Prospero’s wife, Gloria, who thinks him dead and ‘Cookie’, who falls head over heels in love with Miranda. Miranda, of course, only has eyes for Captain Tempest and this drives Prospero towards a mental breakdown that causes a Monster to attack the ship. All the elements are there for a good piece of storytelling which all sort of works out, in the end. The Music used features 24 songs from the likes of The Beach Boys, The Byrds, The Animals and Jerry Lee Lewis. Of course, imagine my disappointment to discover a lot of my cast were much too young to even know the names of these amazing groups! The show was written to be performed by members of the band but I knew this would not be possible for us. We have a loyal following of cast members and I wanted to offer as many of them as possible the chance to be in the show. There are 8 principal roles and I decided to have two categories of crew to ‘work’ the spaceship that the stage and auditorium would become. I had ‘Flight crew’ who flew the ship, so were on stage for most of the time, and ‘Cabin crew’ who were the ‘passenger’ interface and a specialised dance team. Of course everyone was involved in both singing and dancing but this division of labour allowed us to set the goals a bit higher for the two disciplines. Auditions were preceded by
three workshops to allow potential cast the opportunity to get to know the show, its music and the style of movement. There is a CD of the original show but the revised version we used did have a few different tracks involved. I asked people to listen to the original 1960s recordings rather than the show version as I wanted to capture the feel of the era. I also included an introduction to Shakespearean dialogue by asking a friend with a lot of Shakespearean acting experience along to the workshops to help those who wanted to audition, to know what I was aiming for. As luck would have it, when I got to auditions, I had 24 people who wanted to be in the show, so after the usual head scratching to put the best combination of 8 principals together I could offer 8 ‘crew’ in each category to give me a superb symmetry to work with. I also wanted to be true to the original concept where possible and was pleased to find the cast had two guitarists – one of them also a drummer – and two flautists, so we set out to use them to support the pit musicians from the stage as practical.
THE TAKE-OFF
With the cast safely in place I was able to finalise my thoughts on the staging. We had decided to hire the set from Scenery and Property Hire of Newport. This featured two sets of steps up to a raised ‘control’ area which I felt would allow strong visuals. Sadly it was
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www.amateurstagemagazine.co.uk not big enough to put the band on stage but I could see a way to place a drum-kit there for the opening number – ‘Wipe-out’, which featured a double drumming requirement for full effect. I also wanted to add a seating area for the Cabin crew to be able to get into the auditorium quickly. I decided to use a stepped extension – two x two foots to allow the MD to have good visibility of the cast, two x four to allow steps up from the auditorium and finally two x six foots which we extended in to the walls of the auditorium to allow the ‘hostess’ seating space for the cabin crew. This allowed the Cabin Crew to interact easily with the on-stage action but also to be immediately available to go into the auditorium to encourage the audience to get involved in the action as the script requires. We also opted to extend the technical elements out into the auditorium. In particular, the show requires a significant number of video sequences on screen to move the story forward. To add to this effect of the audience being inside our spaceship, we added extra video screens in the Cabin crew area and also hanging on the side perches in front of the balcony thereby giving more of a ‘cabin’ feel. It also meant that, if anyone had problems seeing the main 50” plasma screen we had on stage, they would be able to see a ‘local’ screen. The technical brief was further expanded to include pre-show messages on these screens to add to the in-flight story. I also had our Cabin crew in the auditorium to greet the arriving audience and acting as flight attendants. This interaction allowed them free reign to ask people if they were prepared for the flight and to stress the importance of listening to the ‘safety’ messages. I also allowed ‘Flight crew’
THE MUSICAL PRODUCED
to circulate with the audience as if checking the craft’s status – and this was added to by some of them to include body scans with hand held devices and suitable comments to add humour. All of this created a lovely atmosphere before the show started, and the opening ‘safety’ sequence, when the audience are taught the ‘Polarity Reversal procedure’, went so well we didn’t need to repeat it as we had 100% involvement from the audience. The Monster attack is normally done using tentacles dropped in from above but I didn’t feel this gave quite the effect I wanted. I felt the libretto needed a little more as it ends Act 1 with Gloria being captured by the monster. Of course when Act 2 begins the action takes a different route in true ‘B’ movie style as used for Saturday morning film series – but again most people would be too young to remember. The scenario was, for example, like this, these films were made to be shown over 6 weeks and at the end of the morning’s film the hero is seen falling off a cliff. You return next week and it starts with him or her just about to fall but they manage to catch a branch so never actually fall over the cliff at all. I therefore wanted a monster that could capture Gloria and take her off at the end of Act 1 but which could be driven off by Ariel in Act 2. This was lovingly constructed based on a broken Tesco trolley donated to us by the supermarket and some cunning workings. It featured articulate arms that could go round Gloria and an opening mouth which she could sit in. As it vanished through the air lock door it was clear she would not be coming back – just as I wanted. Visually all the costumes needed to be ‘of the future’ and suitable for a space ship crew.
We found a good set of outfits at ‘Triple C’ in Stourbridge and their service was excellent throughout. We did have a problem in that the outfits were basically overalls so fit was much more critical to get right to allow free movement and all our needs were met with enthusiasm. I did, however, feel that the dancers would be somewhat restricted by overalls and we decided to have a set of short dresses, which would also look more like flight attendants. To these blue dresses we added corporate logos, blue tights and blue streaked wigs to give a lovely overall look to match the sets colour balance. Ariel’s outfit was well padded on knees and elbows, which was great as he was to be on roller skates as per tradition, but I did feel a crash helmet was essential as my actor had limited skating experience. We bought a suitable skater board helmet and sprayed it silver so it all looked fine. Props were not too numerous but the range of complexity was demanding. I wanted a ‘hand flasher’ so that, when Ariel ‘fought’ the monster in Act 2 he could make a flash gun type effect. This was achieved with a traditional magician’s hand-held flashing firing device. It has an AA battery which lights up a model aircraft ‘glow plug’. It is loaded with some flash cotton, which provides the ‘propulsion’ and also a piece of flash paper, which is ignited by the flash cotton and fired out for a range of 6 – 10 feet. The ‘Ray guns’ were also an interesting challenge as these are normally old style hair dryers. My clever props people found enough 1960s hair dryers to really match the launch date of the original show ! Great fun! One final item that is a little out of the ordinary, but probably quite wide-spread in availability was a Bosun’s
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THE MUSICAL PRODUCED Whistle so the ship crew’s Bosun can pipe the Captain aboard at the start of the show. Make-up again needed to find the right futurist ‘feel’ and we found a lovely eye make-up style similar to that used on an American TV show called ‘Elvira, Mistress of Darkness’ that went down well with all the cast. We also needed a few wigs, particularly a Marilyn Monroe one for Miranda to complete the classic film star look she adopts in her efforts to tempt Captain Tempest. Technically the show can be very demanding. It is not essential, of course, but I was lucky enough to have a venue and technical support who were really up for the challenge. Sound was not too complicated in terms of amplification as eight radio mikes and some floats for reinforcement were enough, but I needed some ‘interesting’ sound effects to give it atmosphere. Firstly, preshow we ran a recording of motors running and other mechanical sounds suggesting a lot of equipment in tick over state. A ‘dingdong‘ chime was used prior to any cabin announcements made to the audience, and air lock sounds every time the air lock doors opened and closed and so on. We also added effects to the dialogue from Ariel and also Prospero after he walked out of the air lock to his probable demise. Lighting needed to be ‘disco’ and really ‘busy’ in feel so we invested in hiring 4 moving lights together with a board to allow easy programming. This proved to be essential and the effects achieved were stunning. The additional technical ‘layer’ was the video work. This involves 18 or so sequences, such as an ‘old’ piece of film in black and white which I created a story board for and we filmed in a local college laboratory. Other sequences included a planet exploding, the ship leaving Earth behind (Royalty free
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internet sourced) and a sequence showing a monster moving towards the ship – which was made using a plasticine creation in a suitable setting. In addition to this we needed to film a newscaster reading text written in a very Shakespearean way. We were lucky enough to get a local BBC reporter to agree to do this, which did prove a bit of a problem in that this was made at the BBC studio (with permission, of course) but we found play back to be unreliable. A bit of head scratching and a change of equipment however soon solved this and he got the expected laughs from the audience every night. Finally, there is a part of the script where Prospero is on screen and has to sing a song. It was clear we could never cue this correctly so this was a ‘live’ section. I therefore decided that, since I had a live camera set-up, I would use this to provide close-ups of the solos as one might see at pop concerts. This was a real team effort and everything came off very well indeed.
THE JOURNEY
With 24 musical numbers – plus a ‘megamix’ of dance numbers we added at the end to showcase some of the company members who had not had a solo opportunity previously - I decided the first part of the rehearsal process should be about learning the songs. Then we added movement and I worked separately on text with the principals only. This did mean that some of the company got a little frustrated in the middle of the rehearsal period as the style of the show and their involvement was not clear but as soon as we ran the show they quickly understood all the things I had told them. When they realised the opportunities they had to improvise the flying control or passenger ‘interface’ actions they
really started to add some excellent activity. Musically, everyone on stage has 16 songs or more to do and we also decided that any harmony opportunity would be pursued. This required a lot of work and we then had to work with the cast instrumentalists as well. Choreography similarly had a huge workload and we opted to have two dance captains to support the learning activity. As I had split the cabin crew (dancers) into two groups to seat them on different sides of the stage I basically had a team leader for each side of the stage and the dance captain role was shared between them on a number by number basis. I generated a lot of written information for the cast to see what each number was intended to do as I felt it was too much for them to take on in a rehearsal situation. I asked them all to think up a name for their character that was in keeping with the style of the show, Polly Styrene, Isa Dorajar and Dee Tergent were just a few examples. I feel this helped them ‘unlock’ the creativity they put into the ‘business’ they generated when we had the audience ‘on board’. Being a cult show of course means it has to be sold well. We opted to hire the logo pack available from the rights holder as this image is well established. We were also able to use the BBC reporter’s name in the local press and then just keep reminding people to buy tickets. We certainly had good houses every night and the reaction of audiences was excellent. It was a lot of hard work for everyone involved and I was very proud of what they achieved. This is a fun show to be involved in and it gives everyone involved the chance to demonstrate their talents. It was very much an enjoyable show to do.
AMATEUR STAGE | MARCH 2010 08/03/2010 21:25:47
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INTERVIEW THE MUSICAL PRODUCED
MAKING MUSICALS DANCE Photo: John Ganun
Jerry Mitchell is the award winning director and choreographer behind some of the biggest musicals now on stage. He is currently in London choreographing Love Never Dies, the much awaited sequel to Phantom Of The Opera. Douglas Mayo caught up with him to talk about making musicals dance. Jerry Mitchell is a man who’s on an enormous career high at the moment. He currently has his name associated with three West End musicals (Hairspray, Love Never Dies and Legally Blonde – which he also directed). Currently in the middle of previews for the much anticipated Love Never Dies, I caught up with him during rehearsal breaks in the theatre bar. What’s immediately obvious about Jerry is that despite being only a week from opening this enormous show, he’s calm and collected and really enjoying the process. “I don’t think I’ve ever done a preview period that has been this short and fast for a brand new musical. In America we usually take four weeks even if it’s a revival – four weeks is the rule, and sometimes that’s on top of an out of town try-out period. With Love Never Dies we’ve had two weeks.” I talk with him about Director Jack O’Brien and Composer Lloyd Webber’s comments about the score being locked many months ago and he comments “We’ve changed many things along the way. There are always things you don’t plan on that need to be addressed, technical stuff, measures and more measures for instance, that piece of scenery moves faster than we planned so we can move forwards sooner. These things are always the last element of the musical. With dialogue we’ll notice things
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we’ve said a few times don’t need to be said again which allows us to tighten and cut. For our bathing beauty number we have all new costumes coming tomorrow and new choreography for the end because it just wasn’t quite right. With the Parisienne theme and the linking to the Oo La La Girl, it just needed to get a bit more naked as well as being fun”. Jerry has been camped out in the UK for the past several months. His other show Legally Blonde, based on the hit movie recently opened at the Savoy Theatre just across the road and he’s justifiably proud of the reception the show is getting there. “I’m in love with Sheridan Smith and indeed the whole cast of Legally Blonde. When I was first asked about doing Legally Blonde here I was at the Olivier Awards (He was nominated for choreography in Hairspray) and Sheridan performed Suddenly Seymour. I saw her after the show and suggested that she should come and audition for me for Elle Woods. She did her homework, she had seen the show and was keen to play the part. It was such a chance meeting, she came along and knocked it out of the park at her audition and I hired her. I knew she was funny but she is just spectacular. Everyone there is so fabulous”. So how does he feel having three huge
musicals running in the West End at one time? “A lot of people have mentioned that and it’s weird. You know you always dream of having just one show on, and that’s an accomplishment, whether it’s in the West End or on Broadway, but to have three is truly an honour. I know Hairspray is only on for another month, but then it heads out on a sell out UK tour with Michael Ball”. What did he think of Michael’s performance given the benchmark set by Harvey Fierstein on Broadway? “Michael was unbelievable, just truly amazing. Harvey, who originated the role, was spectacular, but Michael embraced the character of Edna and was just heartbreaking – I loved him. He’s such a fabulous person.” Given that with Legally Blonde he moved into the ranks of famed choreographers including Michael Bennett and Jerome Robbins, who both took on directorial responsibilities for some of their greatest hits, how does he feel about taking on both roles? “I worked with both Michael and Jerome and have just followed in the path of those great men who have gone before me and that I always admired. Most of the big directors I admired where normally dancers who became choreographers who then moved on to directing. I am far from the first, it’s just a natural career step. My relationship on Love Never Dies with Jack O’Brien makes it easy for me to come back and just be a choreographer, because Jack and
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www.amateurstagemagazine.co.uk I have had such an amazing relationship for over ten years now. We support each other.” Does he see a difference between the original Phantom and its sequel in its approach to dance? “Love Never Dies isn’t really a dance show. The original took place in an opera house where they were staging operas which required ballets and dance. Dance was part of the DNA of that show. The DNA of this show is the circus and carnival as it’s set in Coney Island circa 1907, so you have the contortionist, the trapeze, the balancing act and the fire artists, it was a different sort of thing we were looking for. Meg, the Oo La La Girl, is one element of dance but for the rest of the show, there’s no fancy ball element of pedestrian dance that’s written into this musical.” “One of the things that is most important in any show is that you stick to the story. Everything has to be part of the story you are telling and you have to be very clear as to what the parameters of the story are. That’s always the challenge of a new musical. For me, in Love Never Dies, it was trying to be there for Jack and to help him make the transitions from scene to scene and to keep the story on track and keep it moving. Love Never Dies is such a different world to Legally Blonde. If you’ve seen Legally Blonde you know that we don’t sit still for a minute, the whole show moves like a freight train whereas Love Never Dies is rich, beautiful and lush”. Given his association with so many successful shows over the past few years, I was keen to pick his brain about the formula for success. Did he have one? “It’s all about the music. The music always comes first. If I’m inspired by the score then I will want to be a part of it. There is also the matter of characters, the tentpole of any great musical is a central character who is larger than life, who’s emotions are paramount, their emotions are larger than speaking, they have to sing and dance. You get that with Elle Woods, Tracey Turnblatt, Dolly Levi and even with the Phantom, it’s the central most important thing in a musical.” There’s also the element that is the
INTERVIEW
audience. It has to be all about them. Everyone always thinks you have a final draft or version only to find that the audience is usually ahead of them and wants to move on to the next bit. The audience is your partner and you learn from them. If you listen to your audience they will usually guide you”. Given his earlier comments about out of town try outs, I broached the question with Jerry about how the process of developing musicals had changed if at all? “I think what has changed is the movie element. People always ask me why they are turning another movie into a musical and the answer is that many musicals have come from another source. I think the reason the source is predominantly movies today is that people read less books in general. We live in a digital age where it’s easier to grab the dvd and watch it than it is to pick up a book and read it. There are really two kinds of musical that are being produced, one that comes from a composer like Andrew Lloyd Webber who has an original idea, based on the continuation of a story, or you have Legally Blonde, where the rights have been rented or purchased by a group of producers who think it would make a great musical and a team is assembled to start writing it. You become a gun for hire so to speak.” “With Legally Blonde, it’s the lyrics which really tell the story, the shows lyricists are smart and witty. It’s hard at the beginning because you are confronted by sorority girls singing in very high pitched voices and a lot of people think, what’s going on, you’re scaring me. It was very hard to find the right tone for them to allow them to be scary but still not be turned off by their girliness. We’re in the Savoy Theatre for Legally Blonde so doing the number Gay or European? There is fun given its links to Gilbert & Sullivan. I wasn’t sure how that number would land here till I found out that most Brits don’t think of themselves as Europeans”. Over the past few decades most of the public have tended to have heard a cast recording or at least be aware of songs in any given score before they saw a show. With
Love Never Dies most haven’t heard a note, did that make audiences pay more attention when they came to the theatre? “ Perhaps, when Hairspray first opened in the UK, for the first three months the audiences would sing along, they knew all the songs! There’s no doubt that when an audience is familiar with the score, the status shifts. Just look at Priscilla, when Go West starts you can see the visible change in the audience as they open up because they all know it.” So what’s next for Jerry? “I am planning a nice vacation in the Summer at Fire Island. I’ve recently just re-opened my Las Vegas show. We did Catch Me If You Can which is scheduled for Broadway along with Love Never Dies next season. I am developing a revival of the musical Ballroom for Tyne Daly which I’ll be directing and choreographing, a musical based on a documentary called Mad Hot Ballroom and a musical based on the great British film Kinky Boots. That will take me through to 2015 at least.” Did he have any plans for doing films any time soon? “Oh I did films like In and Out, Drop Dead Gorgeous, Scent Of A Woman and The Mirror Has Two Faces whilst I was waiting to choreograph for Broadway. They were my bread and butter for many years. My preference is always stage work though, although with the recent trend towards film musicals I’ve been asked if I’m interested and I’d be keen to be involved. One of my favourite shows at the moment is Glee. Matt who plays Mr Schuster was our original Link Larkin on Broadway and I just love him. It’s great to see something so musical on television. It’s such a great showcase.” Only time will tell if Love Never Dies captures the public imagination the way that Phantom did. One thing is for sure: after a brief chat with Jerry Mitchell, his inordinate enthusiasm for musicals is contagious. There’s no doubt that he’ll be making musicals dance for many years to come and making us all sing along as we go. Love Never Dies has just opened at London’s Adelphi Theatre, Legally Blonde is now booking into 2011 at the Savoy Theatre and Hairspray is about to commence a UK national tour.
Jerry Mitchell rehearsing Legally Blonde and right with Sheridan Smith
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FEATURE THE MUSICAL PRODUCED
GETTING YOUR PLAY PUBLISHED In the January edition of Amateur Stage, Andrew Dickinson described the boom in playwriting. Here Stuart Ardern of Lazy Bee Scripts gives some hints about how those playwrights get their work published. Some time ago, there was a brief spat in these pages between writer Colin Calvert and an anonymous publisher’s editor. Colin wrote about going down the “internet publishing” route, to which the editor, from a “paper” publishing house responded, rather grumpily, that you could get anything published on the internet. He was right, of course. You can get anything published on the internet. What he omitted was the fact that you can also get anything published on paper. There are not just two different modes, there is a spectrum of publishing processes. These run from self publishing through vanity publishing into niche and mainstream publishing. The Internet is not the difference - it is a medium for marketing and sales - the issue is the publisher’s process. Publishers are commercial entities. Whilst most of us have highminded ideals about bringing artistic works to an audience, we don’t fulfil those ideals unless we have a sustainable business, which means that most of the works we publish have to have some prospect of sales. Vanity publishers are the exception. Since they make their money from the writer, not the reader, they can take works that are not commercial prospects. Playwrights going down that route need to consider whether the publisher has an editorial process (will the script be subject to proofreading and correction?) and, crucially for plays, whether the publisher has a process for licensing production and collecting royalties. From here on, I shall assume we’re dealing with “commercial” publishers who have processes for reviewing (and selecting) new scripts and processes for editing. One of the first things to consider is whether a particular publisher wants to look at your script. Look at their catalogue - do they ever publish scripts of this type? Not sure? Ask them! Some publishers are happy to accept unsolicited manuscripts, others want a query letter (or e-mail) first. If the publisher wants specific information, give it to them. It’s part of their screening process. Like the theatres described
in Dickinson’s article, publishers receive huge volumes of scripts. (Some of us aspire to a disciplined queue, rather than a “slush pile”, but the depth is similar.) That initial screening will avoid a waste of the publisher’s time and the writer’s. Do you want feedback about your script? A while ago, we examined our script review process and discovered that we were giving much more feedback on scripts we rejected than on those that we accepted. This seemed unfair on the published writers. Our response was to cut down on feedback about rejected scripts, so that now most goes as guidance where we believe a play would be publishable after rework. For those who want more, we created an “Appraisal” service; the writer pays for a thorough review and a rapid response. Such services are common for film scripts, less so for plays. As with films, Appraisal gives no guarantee of publication, but it does give timely, professional feedback. If a publisher requests a script in a particular format, there is probably a good reason for it. Thus if they want a paper copy, they’ll be annoyed if you send a Word file, and vice versa. The publisher will have a process for handling, filing (and crucially, retrieving) their specified formats, so if the writer deviates from that, there is a risk that the work will be lost or, at the very least, will take longer to process. This brings me on to queues: all publishers have them; only the length varies. We try to give estimates of the length of our queue, but we’re often wrong. (Patience is essential, nagging is counterproductive, but the occasional nudge to the publisher does no harm!) Finally, don’t be put off by a publisher’s rejection at any stage - it’s an opinion about what they can sell, and publishers are notoriously wrong. Stuart Ardern is the general manager of Lazy Bee Scripts (www.lazybeescripts.co.uk)
By Piers Chater Robinson
“Mr Mr To Toad oad is a truly great eat show s ecom mmend and I would recommend roup or school. it to any youth group eriennce for the A wonderful experience nd a certain performers and ucceess.” box office success.” ALISON ROBERTS Farnham Junior Operatic Society NODA Award-winner (2008) ‘Best Production’ for Mr Toad
A fun-filled two-act musical adaptation of Kenneth Grahame’s The Wind in the Willows Suitable for a cast of eight (plus chorus) or a ‘cast of thousands’ 15 wonderful, catchy songs Backing track available (Spring 2010) Study pack (perusal script & CD) available on request
www.MrToadtheMusical.co.uk International Theatre & Music Ltd Garden Studios, Betterton St, London WC2H 9BP Tel: 020 7470 8786 Email: richard@it-m.co.uk
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www.amateurstagemagazine.co.uk
COMMENT
Has Lady Bracknell overstayed her welcome??
about to see a second Private Lives in less than twelve months. He ended on a note of pessimism – “ no doubt we’ll all be packing up our bags for Elsinore again very soon”. Having seen at least twenty-five Hamlets in the past twenty years – and hoping for more this year – I don’t entirely share his pessimism. But there must be a case for a wide-ranging debate on the need for a much wider-ranging theatrical repertoire. Could I suggest that our editor should invite a number of directors of groups to provide a list of perhaps ten or a dozen plays they believe have been unjustly neglected and are now worthy of re-examination and revival? It should be fascinating to see how similar or dissimilar the various lists are. Comments to editor@asmagazine.co.uk, please!
David Tennant in Hamlet - One Hamlet too many????
PLAY IT AGAIN!
Martin Bowley QC examines the recent drama fare on offer and wonders how many older gems are often neglected. With the honourable exceptions of the RSC and the National very few London West End Theatre programmes are worth the glossy paper on which they are printed – let alone the exorbitant prices charged for them! But recently an article by Al Senter in a Garrick programme really set me thinking. His article “Play It Again” made the case for exploring and re-examining the long list of forgotten masterpieces and neglected theatre classics. He asked, rhetorically, “have we strolled around The Cherry Orchard too often, and why can’t we leave Lady Bracknell behind hungering for her cucumber sandwiches? Do we open up A Doll’s House to diminishing returns, and is even Elsinore beginning to lose its charm with repeated visits to the Danish court?” And he invited a random and unscientific group of theatre professionals to nominate for attention a neglected play they have seen, directed or performed. Within half and hour of returning from the Garrick I had produced my own list of well over twenty such neglected classics from the second half of the twentieth century alone. It began with two trilogies – Arnold Wesker’s Roots; Chicken Soup with Barley and I’m Talking about Jerusalem and David Hare’s Racing Demon, Murmuring Judges and The Absence of War. From the early fifties there were two plays by John Arden – Serjeant
Musgrave’s Dance and Armstrong’s Last Goodnight – and two by John Whiting – Saint’s Day and The Devils. My list included two very rarely performed plays by John Osborne – Luther and A Patriot for Me, two by James Saunders – Next Time I’ll Sing For You and A Scent of Flowers, two by Trevor Griffiths – The Party and Comedians and two by Peter Nicholls – The National Health and Privates On Parade. To them I added Edward Bond’s Saved, Peter Shaffer’s first play Five Finger Exercise and Wesker’s The Kitchen and Chips with Everything. From a slightly earlier period any list of fine plays, now very rarely seen, must include Henry Arthur Jones’ The Silver King and Mrs Dane’s Defence. Pinero’s The Second Mrs Tanquery, Shaw’s The Doctor’s Dilemma, The Apple Cart and Too Good To Be Good, Somerset Maugham’s For Services Rendered and – above all – Harley Granville Barker’s Waste and The Madras House. Even the RSC rarely performs All’s Well That Ends Well, Troilus and Cressida and Cymbeline. And when did we last see Webster’s The White Devil, Marlowe’s Edward II or Jonson’s Volpone? Senter’s article was published after London had seen David Tennant and Jude Law as Hamlet and Derek Jacobi and Richard Wilson as Malvolio all within a year. And we are just
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SHOWdiary>>SHOWdiary>>SHOWdiary>>SHOWdiar 42ND STREET
ANNIE
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST
11 - 15 May 2010 Kettering Operatic Society Lighthouse Theatre Kettering, Northants 01536 414141
03 - 08 May 2010 Taunton Amateur Operatic Society Brewhouse Theatre Taunton, Somerset 01823 283244
19 - 24 April 2010 Mossley A O D S George Lawton Centre Mossley, Lancashire 01457 870875
50 YEARS OF ROS
ANNIE GET YOUR GUN
20 - 24 April 2010 West Bromwich Operatic Society Grand Theatre Wolverhampton, W Midlands 0121 550 3667
13 - 17 April 2010 Gateshead A O & D S Dryden Centre Gateshead, Tyne & Wear 0191 477 6924
13 - 15 May 2010 Redditch Operatic Society Palace Theatre Redditch, Worcs 01527 527363
62ND ANNUAL ADULT PLAY FESTIVAL 24 - 29 May 2010 Skegness Playgoers The Embassy Theatre Skegness, Lincs 01754 765137
70, GIRLS, 70
14 - 17 April 2010 Curtain Up Amateur Dramatic Society Memorial Hall Freshwater, Isle of Wight 01983 754654
27 April - 01 May 2010 Garstang Theatre Group Arts Theatre High School Garstang, Lancs 01995 600649
27 April - 01 May 2010 Hartlepool Stage Society Hartlepool Town Hall Theatre Hartlepool, West Midlands 01429 890000 25 - 29 May 2010 BROS Musical Productions Alexander Theatre Bognor Regis, W Sussex 01243 841763
ANYTHING GOES
12 - 17 April 2010 Abingdon Operatic Society Amey Theatre Abingdon, Oxfordshire 01235 834383 www.abingdonoperatic.co.uk
ABANDONMENT
14 - 17 April 2010 COS Musical Theatre The Hawth Theatre Crawley, West Sussex 01293 553636
AFTER THE DANCE
20 - 24 April 2010 Alyth Musical Society Alyth Town Hall Blairgowrie, Perthshire 07523 284786 www.alythmusical.com
13 - 24 April 2010 Highbury Little Theatre Sutton Coldfield, W Midlands 0121 373 2761
13 - 17 April 2010 Carlton Dramatic Society New Wimbledon Studio Theatre Wimbledon, London 0844 871 7646
ALADDIN
01 - 03 April 2010 Lavender Hill Mob Theatre Company Princess Theatre Hunstanton, Norfolk 01485 532252
ALBERT NOBBS
13 - 17 & 20 - 24 April 2010 Formby Little Theatre Formby, Merseyside 01704 875821 www.formbytheatre.com
ALL SHOOK UP
26 - 30 April 2010 Waveney Light Opera Group Public Hall Beccles, Suffolk 01502 712329
AMADEUS
10 - 17 April 2010 HIADS Station Theatre Hayling Island, Hampshire 023 9246 6363 www.pad.hampshire.org.uk
AN INSPECTOR CALLS
22 - 24 April 2010 Stage Door Theatre Company The Spa Pavillion Felixstowe, Suffolk 01394 282957 25 April - 01 May 2010 Lichfield Operatic Society Lichfield Garrick Lichfield, West Midlands 01543 412 121 29 May - 05 June 2010 St Annes-on-Sea A O & D S Lowther Pavilion Lytham St Annes, Lancs 01253 658666 31 May - 05 June 2010 Saundersfoot Footlights Amateur Music Theatre The Regency Hall Saundersfoot, Pembrokeshire 01646 682058
ART
06 - 08 April 2010 Theatremask Productions Llwynpia Community Theatre Tonypandy, Rhondda Cynon Taff 07814 840008
BAD GIRLS - THE MUSICAL
20 - 24 April 2010 Ulverston Outsiders Coronation Hall Ulverston, Cumbria 01229 587140
21 - 24 April 2010 Finchley & Friern Barnet Operatic Society The Intimate Theatre Palmers Green, London 020 8482 6923
21 - 24 April 2010 Luxulyan Amateur Dramatic Society Luxulyan Village Hall Bodmin, Cornwall 01726 850515
BAKERS WIFE, THE
AND THE NOMINATIONS ARE... SONGS FROM THE OSCARS 30 April - 01 May 2010 Stewartby A O & D S Stewartby Village Hall Stewartby, Beds 01525 404573
20 diary.indd 4
26 April - 01 May 2010 Walmsley Church AODS Walmsley Parish Hall Egerton, Bolton 01204 305812
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST 02 - 12 April 2010 Kidz R Us Minack Theatre Porthcurno, Cornwall 01736 810181 www.kidzrus.net
07 - 11 April 2010 Halifax Amateur Operatic Society Victoria Theatre Halifax, W Yorks 01422 344319
26 April 2010 - 01 May 2010 Lyric Club Theatre Royal Glasgow, Scotland 0870 060 6647 27 April - 01 May 2010 Kirkcaldy Amateur Operatic Society Adam Smith Theatre Kirkcaldy, Fife 01592 583302 04 - 08 May 2010 Green Room Productions Wyllyotts Theatre Potters Bar, Herts 0208 360 1957
BLACK WIDOW
29 April - 01 May 2010 Locko Amateur Dramatics Spondon Village Hall Spondon, Derbyshire 01332 669138 www.derbyartsandtheatre.org.uk
BLITHE SPIRIT
12 - 15 May 2010 Rayleigh A O & D S Dixon Studio, Palace Theatre Southend on Sea, Essex 01702 351135
BLUE REMEMBERED HILLS 08 - 15 May 2010 Bolton Little Theatre Bolton, Greater Manchester 01204 334400 www.boltonlittletheatre.co.uk
BOOGIE NIGHTS
07 - 10 April 2010 Kings Lynn O & D S King’s Lynn Corn Exchange King’s Lynn, Norfolk 01553 764864
BOYFRIEND, THE
10 - 15 May 2010 Pickering Musical Society The Kirk theatre Pickering, N Yorks 01751 471553
04 - 08 May 2010 Trinity Players Sutton Coldfield Town Hall Sutton Coldfield, W Mids 0121 382 4214
29 May - 05 June 2010 Scarborough & District Light Opera Society YMCA Scarborough, N Yorks 01723 506750
10 - 15 May 2010 Watford Operatic Society Watford Palace Theatre Watford, Herts 01923 225671
BRASSED OFF
19 - 22 May 2010 The Hastleons White Rock Theatre Hastings, E Sussex 01424 462280
12 - 17 April 2010 Louth Playgoers Society Riverhead Theatre Louth, Lincolnshire 01507 600350 www.louthplaygoers.co.uk
BREAKFAST WITH JONNY WILKINSON
26 - 29 May 2010 Sainsbury Singers The Hexagon Reading, Berks 0118 988 2510
15 - 17 April 2010 Mickleover Players Murray Park School Derby, Derbyshire 01332 511867 www.derbyartsandtheatre.org.uk
BEAUTY QUEEN OF LEENANE, THE
BRIGADOON
BEST LITTLE WHOREHOUSE IN TEXAS, THE
19 - 24 April 2010 Scunthorpe A O S Plowright Theatre Scunthorpe, N Lincs 01724 851143
22 - 24 April 2010 Tenterden O & D S Tenterden, Kent www.tods.me.uk
11 - 15 May 2010 Larbert Amateur Operatic Society Dobbie Hall Larbert, Stirlingshire 01324 623365
BILLY
20 - 24 April 2010 Waveney Light Opera Group Public Hall Beccles, Suffolk 01502 712329
BILLY ELLIOTT
23 April 2010 STP Musicals Academy New Theatre Royal Portsmouth, Hampshire 023 9264 9000 www.pad.hampshire.org.uk
BITTER SWEET
20 - 24 April 2010 Bury St Edmunds A O & D S Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk 01284 769505
03 - 10 April 2010 Bridlington A O & D S Spotlight Theatre Bridlington, East Yorkshire 01262 604751
03 - 08 May 2010 Greasborough Operatic Society Civic Theatre Rotherham, S Yorks 01709 523573
BROADWAY PIRATES, THE 12 - 15 May 2010 Henfield Theatre Company The Henfield Hall Henfield, W Sussex 01273 495220
BUGSY MALONE
13 - 17 April 2010 Chapeltown & District A O S Rotherham Civic Theatre Rotherham, South Yorkshire 0114 246 8462
CALAMITY JANE
14 - 17 April 2010 March & District A O S Neale Wade Community College March, Cambs 01354 654380
AMATEUR STAGE | MARCH 2010
08/03/2010 21:29:58
Wdiary>>SHOWdiary>>SHOWdiary>>SHOWdiary>> 20 - 24 April 2010 Garforth Musical Society Miners Welfare Hall Leeds, West Yorkshire 0113 2863534
13 - 17 April 2010 Ringwood M & D S Ringwood School Theatre Ringwood, Hants 01425 461707
13 - 15 May 2010 Rayleigh A O & D S Rayleigh Mill Arts and Events Centre Rayleigh, Essex 01268 771751
13 - 17 April 2010 The Arcadians The Cresent Theatre Birmingham, W Midlands 0121 421 7278
19 - 22 May 2010 Coliseum O & D S Coliseum Theatre Aberdare, RCT 01685 882685
20 - 24 April 2010 Potters Bar Theatre Company Wyllyotts Theatre Potters Bar, Herts 01707 880017
CAMELOT
26 April - 01 May 2010 Huddersfield Light Opera Company Lawrence Batley Theatre Huddersfield, W Yorks 01484 430528
14 - 17 April 2010 Runway Theatre Company Glasgow University G12 Theatre Glasgow, Lanarkshire 0141 330 5522
CARAMBAS REVENGE 01 - 08 May 2010 Wilmslow Green Room Society Wilmslow Green Room Wilmslow, Cheshire 01625 540933
CAROUSEL
03 - 10 April 2010 Scarborough Musical Theatre Company YMCA Theatre Scarborough, N Yorks 01723 581260 05 - 10 April 2010 Musselburgh Amateur Musical Association Brunton Theatre Musselburgh, East Lothian 01620 826210
19 - 29 May 2010 Louth Playgoers Society Riverhead Theatre Louth, Lincolnshire 01507 600350 www.louthplaygoers.co.uk 25 - 29 May 2010 Crowthorne Musical Players Wilde Theatre South Hill Park Bracknell, Berkshire 01344 762380
CAVALCADE OF WEST END MUSICALS 19 - 21 May 2010 Edith Harrison Performing Arts Town Hall Theatre Hartlepool, Co Durham 01429 890000
CELEBRATION
14 - 17 April 2010 Upstage Theatre Company The Cornerhouse Surbiton, Surrey 0208 390 0334
CEMETERY CLUB, THE 22 - 29 May 2010 Rossendale Players New Millenium Theatre Rossendale, Lancs 01706 228720
CHASE ME UP FARNDALE AVENUE S’IL VOUS PLAIT 22 - 24 April 2010 Soberton Players Soberton Village Hall Soberton, Hampshire 01489 878724 www.pad.hampshire.org.uk
CHERRY ORCHARD, THE 21 - 24 April 2010 Adel Players Adel Memorial Hall Adel, Leeds 0113 2755585
21 - 24 April 2010 Leek All Saints A O S St Edward’s Junior High School Leek, Staffs 01538 383979
CHORUS LINE, A
21 - 24 April 2010 Musicality Academy of Performing Arts Penyrheol Theatre Gorseinon, Swansea 01792 897039
COLLIER’S TUESDAY TEA, A & ALBERT 15 - 17 April 2010 Lion and Unicorn Players Petersfield School Petersfield, Hants 01730 821491
CONFUSIONS 05 - 08 May 2010 Argyle Players Tovey Hall Bath, Somerset 01225 858112
CONSTANT WIFE, THE
CHESS
06 - 10 April 2010 Lytham Amateur Operatic Society Lowther Pavilion Theatre Lytham, Lancs 01253 658666 12 - 17 April 2010 Ripley & Alfreton Musical Theatre Company Alfreton Grange Arts College Alfreton, Derbyshire 01773 745082
06 - 08 May 2010 Abbey Foregate Drama Group St Nicholas Hall Shrewsbury, Shropshire 01743 356023
COPACABANA
12 - 17 April 2010 Coleshill Operatic Society Solihull Arts Complex Solihull, W Mids 0121 704 6962
Dollar Drama Club - Blithe Spirit
AMATEUR STAGE | MARCH 2010
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SHOWdiary>>SHOWdiary>>SHOWdiary>>SHOWdiar
BUGSY MALONE - GUISELEY AODS
COPACABANA
13 - 17 April 2010 Tamworth Arts Club Tamworth Assembly Rooms Tamworth, Staffs 01827 709618 27 April - 01 May 2010 Stamford Amateur Musical Society Corn Exchange Theatre Stamford, Lincs 01780 766455 29 April - 01 May 2010 Porthcawl A O & D S Grand Pavilion Porthcawl, Bridgend 07947 594578
COWARDY CUSTARD 17 - 22 May 2010 Seaford Musical Theatre The Barn Theatre Seaford, East Sussex 01323 492240
CRAZY FOR YOU 23 - 24 April 2010 Dunstable A O S The Grove Theatre Dunstable, Beds 01582 602080
04 - 15 May 2010 Hinckley Concordia Operatic Society Hinckley Concordia Theatre Hinckley, Leics 01455 615005 12 - 15 May 2010 Birkenhead Operatic Society Trust Empire Theatre Liverpool, Merseyside 0151 677 7084
22 diary.indd 6
Tho
CURTAIN UP ON MURDER
DEATH DEFYING ACTS
22 - 24 April 2010 Hambledon Arts Society Drama Grp Hambledon Village Hall Hambledon, Hampshire 023 9263 2800 www.pad.hampshire.org.uk
DISCO INFERNO
19 - 24 April 2010 The Progressive Players Little Theatre Gateshead Gateshead, Tyne& Wear 0191 478 1499 www.littletheatregateshead.com
CURTAINS
06 - 10 April 2010 Bristol St Mary’s Players Redgrave Theatre Bristol 0117 965 2303 21 - 24 April 2010 Players 2 Compass Theatre Ickenham, Middlesex 01895 673200
DARLING BUDS OF MAY, THE 27 April - 01 May 2010 Wellingborough Technical Players The Castle Studio Wellingborough, Northamptonshire 01933 270007 19 - 22 May 2010 Burnley Garrick Club Burnley Mechanics Theatre Burnley, Lancashire 01282 664400
DE JA VU
20 - 24 April 2010 Dalziel High School FP Easter Egg Club Clyde Valley High School Wishaw, Lanarkshire 01698 322867
18 - 22 May 2010 The Nomads Nomad Theatre East Horsely, Surrey 01483 284747 www.nomadtheatre.com
11 - 15 May 2010 Bedford Marianettes Amateur Musical and Comedy Society Bedford Civic Theatre Bedford, Bedfordshire 07508 857217
DISNEY KIDS - ARISTOCATS 29 April - 01 May 2010 Toppers School of Dance & Drama Beaufort Theatre Ebbw Vale, Gwent 01495 304269
EDUCATING RITA 12 - 15 May 2010 Nomads Drama Society Nomad Theatre East Horsley, Surrey 01483 284717
END OF THE PIER VARIETY SHOW 20 - 22 May 2010 Uxbridge Musical Theatre Iver Village Hall Slough, Berkshire 020 8848 8265
EQUUS
08 - 15 May 2010 Rugby Theatre Society Rugby Theatre Rugby, Warks 01788 541234
FAWLTY TOWERS 22 - 24 April 2010 Maldon Drama Group Maldon Town Hall Maldon, Essex 01621 856503
FEMALE OF THE SPECIES, THE 22 - 24 April 2010 Kingston Bagpuize Drama Group Southmoor Village Hall Southmoor, Oxfordshire 01865 820375 ww.kbdgshow.biz
FIDDLER ON THE ROOF 05 - 10 April 2010 Centre Stage of Exmouth Exmouth Pavilion Exmouth, Devon 01395 232830
FIDDLER ON THE ROOF 12 - 17 April 2010 Melody Makers Benllech Community Hall Benllech, Anglesey 01248 853263
19 - 24 April 2010 Abergavenny A O & D S Borough Theatre Abergavenny, Monmouthshire 01873 850805 20 - 24 April 2010 Falkirk Operatic Society Falkirk Town Hall Falkirk, Scotland 01324 637791 27 April - 01 May 2010 Bournville Musical Theatre Company The Crescent Theatre Birmingham, W Midlands 0121 643 5858
AMATEUR STAGE | MARCH 2010
08/03/2010 21:30:58
Wdiary>>SHOWdiary>>SHOWdiary>>SHOWdiary>> Iver Heath Drama Club - Jack & The Beanstalk
Thoroughly Modern Millie - Stockport Operatic Society
28 April - 01 May 2010 Petts Wood Operatic Society Stag Theatre Sevenoaks, Kent 01689 820448
FOLLIES
GIPSY LOVE BY LEHAR 09 - 10 April 2010 South Wessex Opera Company Layard Theatre, Canford School Nr Wimborne, Dorset 01202 692044
28 April - 01 May 2010 Wembley Operatic Society Winston Churchill Theatre Ruislip, Middlesex 07983 103444
GODSPELL
FOOTLOOSE
GOLDEN REVENGE
19 - 24 April 2010 Teesside Musical Theatre Company Middlesborough Theatre The Avenue, Middlesborough 01642 815181 26 April - 01 May 2010 Solihull Operatic Society Solihull Arts Complex Solihull, West Midlands 0121 704 6962
FULL MONTY, THE
12 - 17 April 2010 Erith Operatic Society Erith Playhouse, Erith, Kent 01322 222417
11 - 15 May 2010 Lyme Regis Operatic Society The Marine Theatre Lyme Regis, Dorset 01297 443382
12 - 15 May 2010 Oxted Players Barn Theatre Oxted, Surrey 01883 724852 www.barntheatreoxted.co.uk
HELLO DOLLY!
HALF A SIXPENCE
05 - 08 May 2010 Broxbourne Theatre Company Broxbourne Civic Theatre Hoddesdon, Herts 01992 441946
26 April - 01 May 2010 Abertillery Amateur Drama & Musical Society The Met Cultural & Conference Centre Abertillery, Gwent 01495 310792
27 April - 01 May 2010 Woodmansterne O & D S St Peter’s Church Hall Banstead, Surrey 01737 555009
13 - 17 April 2010 Bath Operatic & Dramatic Society Theatre Royal Bath, Somerset 01225 425509 11 - 15 May 2010 Three Towns Operatic Society Lowton Civic Hall Lowton, Cheshire 01942 883722
11 - 15 May 2010 West Wickham Operatic Society The Churchill Theatre,Bromley, Kent 020 8658 5117 www.wwos.org.uk
GRAND DUCHESS, THE
28 April - 01 May 2010 Kingsbury Amateur Operatic Society KAOS Theatre Kingsbury, Middlesex 0845 020 4240
HABEAS CORPUS
27 April - 01 May 2010 South Downe Musical Society Kings Theatre Southsea, Hampshire 023 9282 8282 www.pad.hampshire.org.uk
GONDOLIERS
11 - 15 May 2010 Salisbury A O S City Hall,Salisbury, Wiltshire 01722 434434 www.salisburyamateuroperatic.org.uk
FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM, A
24 - 28 May 2010 Crowthorne Musical Players Wilde Theatre South Hill Park Bracknell, Berkshire 01344 762380
08 - 14 May 2010 Haverfordwest Operatic Society Various Pembrokeshire 01437 781014
GUYS AND DOLLS
11 - 15 May 2010 Sussex Musical Productions Pavilion Theatre, Worthing, West Sussex 01903 206206 www.sussexmusicalproductions.co.uk
AMATEUR STAGE | MARCH 2010
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SHOWdiary>>SHOWdiary>>SHOWdiary>>SHOWdiar HELLO DOLLY!
11 - 15 May 2010 Durham Musical Theatre Company Gala Theatre Durham, Durham 0191 332 4041 www.dmtc.co.uk 25 - 29 May 2010 STC Musical Society Dolman Theatre Newport, Gwent 01633 676270
HIGH SOCIETY
11 - 15 May 2010 Wellington Arts Association The Wellesley Wellington, Somerset 01823 663597
HMS PINAFORE
13 - 17 April 2010 Haywards Heath Operatic Society The Hub Haywards Heath, W Sussex 01444 848004
HMS PINAFORE AND TRIAL BY JURY 21 - 24 April 2010 Melbourne Operatic Society Community College Castle Donington, Derbyshire 01332 863030
HOME FRONT REVUE
14 - 15 May 2010 Haworth-West Lane Baptist A O S West Lane Baptist Chapel Haworth Keighley, W Yorks 01535 603065
HONK!
04 - 10 April 2010 Why Not? Musical Theatre Company Carnegie Hall Dunfermline, Fife 01383 822501
HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES, THE
20 - 24 April 2010 John Lewis Partnership Dramatic Society John Gielgud Theatre RADA, London 020 7908 4800
HUMBLE BOY
11 - 15 May 2010 Stafford Players Malcolm Edwards Theatre Stafford, Staffordshire 01785 254653 www.staffordgatehousetheatre.co.uk
IMPORTANCE OF BEING ERNEST, THE
27 April - 01 May 2010 Marlowe Players Darley Abbey Village Hall Derby, Derbyshire 07961 607372 www.derbyartsandtheatre.org.uk
INTO THE WOODS
13 - 17 April 2010 Rickmansworth Players Rickmansworth School Perfoming Arts Rickmansworth, Herts 0844 745 1944
IOLANTHE
JEKYLL & HYDE
11 - 15 May 2010 Solihull Theatre Company Solihull Arts Complex Solihull, West Midlands 0121 7046962
JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR 12 - 17 April 2010 CODS (Crediton) Queen Elizabeth Community College Crediton, Devon 01363 773501 21 April - 01 May 2010 Darlington OS Darlington Civic Theatre Darlington, Durham 01325 244659
JUST SO
11 -15 May 2010 Mellow Dramatics Brewhouse Arts Centre Burton-on-Trent, Staffordshire 01283 508100 www.mellow-dramatics.org
KINDERTRANSPORT 20 - 24 April 2010 Forest Players Freshfield Hall Forest Row, East Sussex 01342 323640
KING AND I, THE
24 April - 01 May 2010 Dumfries Musical Theatre Company The Theatre Royal Dumfries, Dumfries and Galloway 01387 269437 04 - 08 May 2010 St Albans Operatic Society The Alban Arena St Albans, Herts 01727 844488
KISS ME, KATE
07 - 10 April 2010 Duns & District A O S Berwickshire High School Duns, Berwickshire 01361 883259 20 - 24 April 2010 Zodiac A O S The Brindley Runcorn, Cheshire 0151 907 8360 09 - 15 May 2010 Bromsgrove Operatic Society Artrix Bromsgrove, Worcestershire 01527 871426
LA CAGE AUX FOLLES 26 April - 01 May 2010 West End Operatic Society Theatre Royal Newcastle Upon Tyne 08448 112121
LADY IN THE VAN, THE 21 - 24 April 2010 St Ursula Players Newman Hall Westbury-on-Trym, Bristol 0117 962 4431 ww.stursulaplayers.co.uk
LET’S TALK ABOUT THE WEATHER
07 - 10 April 2010 Grantham Operatic Society The Guildhall Arts Centre Theatre Grantham, Lincs 01476 406158
22 May 2010 Godalming O S Electric Theatre Guildford, Surrey 01252 703376
19 - 22 May 2010 Chapel End Savoy Players The Deaton Theatre Snaresbrook, London 020 8527 0215
LIFE BEGINS AT SEVENTY
24 diary.indd 8
21 - 24 April 2010 Knutsford Little Theatre Knutsford, Cheshire 01565 873515
LIKES OF US, THE
13 - 17 April 2010 Long Eaton Operatic Society May Hall, Trent College Long Eaton, Notts 01332 874352 18 - 22 May 2010 The Elizabethans A O S Ossett Town Hall Ossett, W Yorks 01924 280344 20 -22 May 2010 Barnstaple Young Generation Queen’s Theatre Barnstaple, Devon 01271 324242
LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS 22 - 24 April 2010 Worle O & D S Blakehay Theatre Weston-Super-Mare, Somerset 07525484024
LORD ARTHUR SAVILE’S CRIME 16 - 24 April 2010 Lane End Players Lane End Village Hall Lane End, Bucks 07852 153914
MACK AND MABEL 14 - 17 April 2010 Blackpool Operatic Players Grand Theatre Blackpool, Lancs 01253 290190
20 - 24 April 2010 Oxted Operatic Society Barn Theatre Oxted, Surrey 01883 714103 www.barntheatreoxted.co.uk 21 - 24 April 2010 Little Theatre Company Palace Theatre Southend, Essex 01702 351135 17 - 23 May 2010 Redcar Operatic Society Middlesborough Theatre Middlesborough, Cleveland 01642 815181
MIKADO, THE
27 April - 01 May 2010 East Kilbride G & S Society Village Theatre East Kilbride, Glasgow 01355 248669 11 - 15 May 2010 Trinity Methodist Music & Dramatic Fellowship Civic Theatre Chelmsford, Essex 01245 606505 11 - 15 May 2010 Huddersfield G & S Society Lawrence Batley Theatre Huddersfield, Yorks 01484 430528
MOVE OVER MRS MARKHAM 16 - 24 April 2010 Haxey A D S Haxey Memorial Hall Haxey, Doncaster 01427 752877
MURDER AT SHAKERLEY HOUSE 07 - 10 April 2010 Milborne Port Opera Milborne Port Village Hall Milborne Port, Dorset 01963 250270 www.milborneopera.co.uk
MURDER HAS BEEN ARRANGED, A 15 - 17 April 2010 Staines Players John Crook Theatre Shepperton, Middlesex 01276 25208 www.stainesplayers.com
MURDER IN COMPANY 21 - 24 April 2010 Colyton Theatre Group Colyton Town Hall Colyton, Devon 01297 553641
MUSIC MAN
27 April - 01 May 2010 Chesterfield Operatic Society The Pomegranate Theatre Chesterfield, Derbyshire 01246 345222
MY COUSIN RACHEL 17 - 22 May 2010 St Austell Players St Austell Community Centre St Austell, Cornwall 01726 879500
MY FAIR LADY 12 - 17 April 2010 St Austell A O S The Keay Theatre St Austell, Cornwall 01726 226777
02 - 08 May 2010 Eastleigh Operatic and Musical Society The Point Eastleigh, Hampshire 02380 556749 04 - 08 May 2010 Whitby Area Musical Theatre Company Whitby Pavilion Theatre Whitby, N Yorks 01947 604855
NATURAL CAUSES
23 - 24 April 2010 Allestree Theatre Group St. Nicholas Church Hall Allestree, Derbyshire 01332 559193 www.derbyartsandtheatre.org.uk
NOISES OFF
13 - 17 April 2010 Wick Theatre Company Barn Theatre Southwick, West Sussex 01273 597094 www.wicktheatre.co.uk 12 - 15 May 2010 The Harrogate Dramatic Society Harrogate Theatre Harrogate, N Yorks 07770 630299
ODD COUPLE, THE
13 - 15 May 2010 Hemel Hempstead Theatre Company The Boxmoor Playhouse Hemel Hempstead, Herts 01442 234004
OKLAHOMA!
13 - 17 April 2010 Driffield Musical Theatre Driffield School Driffield, East Yorks 01377 253149 13 - 17 April 2010 Port Talbot & District A O S Princess Royal Theatre Port Talbot, Neath Port Talbot 01639 896228 20 - 24 April 2010 Horsham A O & D S The Capitol Horsham, West Sussex 01403 750220
AMATEUR STAGE | MARCH 2010
08/03/2010 21:32:01
OWdiary>>SHOWdiary>>SHOWdiary>>SHOWdiary>> Every two weeks you can read the complete, unabridged reviews of all the major national drama critics, reprinted with photos in Theatre Record. Send for a free specimen copy to:
Theatre Record PO BOX 445 CHICHESTER, W. SUSSEX
COSTUMES COSTUME HIRE, SHOWS KING & I, PHANTOM, LES MIZ, OLIVER, FIDDLER, KISS ME KATE, FOLLIES, PINAFORE, ANNIE, ALL PANTO SUBJECTS, ORIENTAL COSTUMES www.bpdcostumes.co.uk P: 01273 481004
11 - 15 May 2010 PHEOS Musical Players Watersmeet Theatre Rickmansworth, London 01923 711063 www.watersmeet.co.uk 12 - 15 May 2010 Herne Bay Operatic Society Gulbenkian Theatre Canterbury University, Kent 01227 780217
OLIVER!
ORPHEUS IN THE UNDERWORLD 21 April - 24 October 2010 Rochdale Phoenix Operatic Society Heywood Civic Centre Rochdale, Lancashire 01706 343163
27 April - 01 May 2010 Woodley Players Theatre Company Hatherlow Sunday School Romiley, Stockport 0161 430 5066
20 - 24 April 2010 Studley Operatic Society Palace Theatre Redditch, Worcs 01527 65203
06 - 08 May 2010 Battle Light Opera Group Memorial Hall Battle, E Sussex 01424 211140
20 - 24 April 2010 Ripon A O S Harrogate Theatre Harrogate, N Yorks 01423 502116
OUR HOUSE
19 - 22 May 2010 Penarth O & D S Paget Rooms Penarth, Vale of Glamorgan 029 2071 2260
ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO’S NEST 12 - 15 May 2010 Bonkers Theatrical The Masque Barton Seagrave, Northants 07857 186005
ONE VISION - A JOURNEY THROUGH THE WEST END 17 - 22 May 2010 Kingston Vale O & D S Kingston Vale Village Hall Kingston Vale, Surrey 07982 046210
20 - 24 April 2010 Ecclesall Theatre Company Ecclesall Parish Hall, Sheffield 0114 2308842 www.ecclesalltheatre.co.uk
14 - 17 April 2010 WBLOS The Memorial Hall Wootton Bassett, Swindon 01793 840455 www.wblos.org.uk
26 - 29 May 2010 Harrogate G & S Society Harrogate Theatre Harrogate, N Yorks 0113 250 2677
PIRATES OF PENZANCE
20 - 24 April 2010 Swansea A O S Grand Theatre Swansea 01792 202376
OVER MY DEAD BODY
04 - 08 May 2010 Lancaster A O & D S Grand Theatre Lancaster, Lancs 01524 64695
13 - 17 April 2010 Bristol G & S Society Redgrave Theatre Clifton, Bristol 0117 907 8079
13 - 17 April 2010 Epsom Light Opera Company Epsom Playhouse Epsom, Surrey 07957 469942
26 - 29 May 2010 Airbrush Productions Hazlitt Theatre Maidstone, Kent 01634 315620
PAJAMA GAME
PATIENCE
11 - 15 May 2010 Ramsgate Operatic Society Granville Theatre Ramsgate, Kent 01843 591750
PORTRAIT OF FEAR
17 - 22 May 2010 South Shields Westovian Theatre Society Westovian Theatre, Pier Pavilion South Shields, Tyne & Wear 0191 456 0980
PRINCESS IDA
12 - 17 April 2010 Tenbury Amateur Operatic Society The Regal Theatre Tenbury Wells, Worcestershire 01584 810061
PHEOS - Follies
AMATEUR STAGE | MARCH 2010
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SHOWdiary>>SHOWdiary>>SHOWdiary>>SHOWdiar SISTERLY FEELINGS 20 - 22 May 2010 Parish Players St. Mary’s Church Hall Merton Park, London 07546 065 267 www.parishplayers.net
SITUATION COMEDY
20 - 24 April 2010 Enville Street Dramatic Society St Thomas’ Church Hall Stourbridge, West Midlands 01384 374376
SONGS FROM FOUR SHOWS 15 - 17 April 2010 Bath Light Operatic Group The Guildhall Bath, Somerset 01225 863740
SORCERER, THE PRIVATE LIVES
01 - 08 May 2010 Halifax Thespians Halifax Playhouse Halifax, West Yorkshire 01422 365998 www.halifaxplayhouse.org.uk
PRODUCERS, THE
12 - 15 May 2010 Southend on Sea O & D S Cliffs Pavilion, Westcliff on Sea, Essex 01702 351135
PUTTING THEM TOGETHER
ROUGH CROSSING 22 - 24 April 2010 Hayes Players Hayes Village Hall Bromley , Kent 07905 210718 www.hayesplayers.org.uk
RUDDIGORE
04 - 08 May 2010 Eastbourne G & S Society Devonshire Park Theatre Eastbourne, E Sussex 01323 412000
29 April - 01 May 2010 Eldorado Musical Productions The Bob Hope Theatre Eltham, London 0208 690 2305
05 - 08 May 2010 East Norfolk Operatic Society The Maddermarket Theatre Norwich, Norfolk 01603 620917
QUARTTET: 4 ONE-ACT PLAYS
11 - 15 May 2010 Plymouth G & S Fellowship Devonport Playhouse Plymouth, Devon 01566 775557
12 - 15 May 2010 Quarndon A D S Quarndon Village Hall Quarndon, Derbyshire 01332 840007 www.derbyartsandtheatre.org.uk
RAISE A LAUGH
15 - 17 April 2010 Lion and Unicorn Players The Studio @ TPS Petersfield, Hampshire 01730 821491
REAL INSPECTOR HOUND & HARLEQUINADE 20 - 22 May 2010 Redbridge Stage Kenneth Moore Theatre Ilford, Essex 020 8553 4466 www.redbridgestage.co.uk
REGINA MONOLOGUES, THE & BOMBSHELLS 04 - 15 May 2010 Highbury Little Theatre Sutton Coldfield, W Midlands 0121 373 2761
RENT
07 - 10 April 2010 Gorleston Theatre Company Gorleston Pavilion Theatre Gorleston, Norfolk 01493 662832
RETURN TO THE FORBIDDEN PLANET 20 - 24 April 2010 Telford & District Light Operatic Players The Place, Oakengates Theatre Telford, Shropshire 01952 382382 28 April - 01 May 2010 Hayling Musical Society Station Theatre Hayling Island, Hampshire 023 9246 6363 www.pad.hampshire.org.uk
26 diary.indd 10
RUMOURS
29 April - 01 May 2010 Petuaria Players Brough Village Hall Brough, East Yorkshire 01482 668610 www.petuariaplayers.co.uk
26 April - 01 May 2010 Worthing Musical Comedy Society Connaught Theatre Worthing, W Sussex 01903 247999 27 April - 01 May 2010 Tunbridge Wells O & D S Assembly Hall Theatre Tunbridge Wells, Kent 01732 355363 27 April - 01 May 2010 Seaham A O S Vane Tempest Social Centre Seaham, Co Durham 0191 581 2838 04 - 07 May 2010 Broxbourne Theatre Company Broxbourne Civic Theatre Hoddesdon, Herts 01992 441946 25 - 29 May 2010 Sutton Coldfield Musical Theatre Company Lichfield Garrick Lichfield, Staffs 01543 412121 29 May - 05 June 2010 Cromer & Sheringham A O & D S Cromer Pier Pavilion Theatre Cromer, Norfolk 01692 67801
14 - 17 April 2010 Hereford G & S Operatic Society Courtyard Theatre Hereford, West Midland 01432 340555 27 April - 01 May 2010 Meersbrook Park Church Operatic Society Dronfield Civic Hall Dronfield, Derbyshire 0114 255 7634
SPEND, SPEND, SPEND
11 - 15 May 2010 Wakefield West Riding Operatic Society Theatre Royal Wakefield, W Yorks 01924 211311
SPLENDOUR
14 - 17 April 2010 The Nomads Nomad Theatre East Horsely, Surrey 01483 284747 www.nomadtheatre.com
SPOT OF MURDER, A 06 - 08 May 2010 Arrow Players St Edmund’s Hall Northwood Hills 020 8868 7785 www.arrowplayer.org.uk
SALAD DAYS
27 April - 01 May 2010 Hereford Musical Theatre Company The Courtyard Hereford, Herefordshire 01432 340555
SCARLET PIMPERNEL, THE 11 - 15 May 2010 Ebbw Vale & District O & D S Beaufort Theatre Ebbw Vale, Gwent 01495 350179
SEPARATE TABLES
21 - 24 April 2010 Wordsley A D S Kingswinford Methodist Church Hall Kingswinford, West Midlands 01384 273026
SEUSSICAL THE MUSICAL 08 - 10 April 2010 St Albans Youth Music Theatre Abbey Theatre, St Albans, Herts 01727 857861
SHADOWLANDS
14 - 17 April 2010 Harlequin Theatre, Northwich, Cheshire 01606 353534 www.harlequinplayer.co.uk
SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN
13 - 17 April 2010 Maidenhead Musical Comedy Society Maidenhead Town Hall Maidenhead, Berks 01628 605077
DIARY SUBMISSIONS Diary submissions are published each month for the two months immediately following publication. Please note that the submission deadline is the 1st of each month. Submissions should be sent in the format shown in the magazine to diary@asmagazine.co.uk Production photos should be emailed to editor@asmagazine.co.uk
AMATEUR STAGE | MARCH 2010
08/03/2010 21:32:57
Wdiary>>SHOWdiary>>SHOWdiary>>SHOWdiary>>
Deanery Players - Summer Holiday STEPPING OUT 14 - 17 April 2010 Nuneaton A O & D S Abbey Theatre Nuneaton, Warks 02476 738007
SUGAR (SOME LIKE IT HOT) 27 - 29 May 2010 Barking Music and Drama Kenneth More Theatre Ilford, Essex 020 8553 4466
SUMMER HOLIDAY
05 - 08 May 2010 Youth Onstage The Old Rep Theatre Birmingham, West Midlands 0121 474 2104
SURPRISE PACKAGE 15 - 17 April 2010 Worcester Park D S Adrian Mann Theatre Ewell, Surrey 01737 760163
SWEENEY TODD
11 - 15 May 2010 Sussex Musical Productions Pavilion Theatre Worthing, W Sussex 01903 206206
SWEET CHARITY
21 - 24 April 2010 Chesham Musical Theatre Company Elgiva Theatre Chesham, Bucks 01494 792754 26 April - 01 May 2010 Brookdale Theatre Brookdale Club Bramhall, Cheshire 0161 439 0505
03 - 08 May 2010 Blackburn Musical Theatre Company Thwaites Empire Theatre Blackburn, Lancs 01254 685500 10 - 15 May 2010 Kinver Light Operatic Society Edgecliff High School Kinver, S Staffs 01384 836963
SWEET PANIC
23 April - 01 May 2010 Company of Ten Abbey Theatre St Albans, Herts 01727 857861
TEMPEST, THE
21 - 24 April 2010 Stevenage Lytton Players Lytton Theatre, Vardon Road Stevenage, Herts 0870 777 7619
THOROUGHLY MODERN MILLIE 02 - 10 April 2010 Perth A O S Perth Theatre Perth 01738 621031
12 - 17 April 2010 Rutland Musical Theatre Uppingham Theatre Uppingham, Rutland 01572 822702 27 April - 01 May 2010 Stafford & District Operatic Society The Gatehouse Theatre Stafford, Staffs 01785 253595
TITANIC
UNEXPECTED GUEST, THE
14 - 17 April 2010 Milton Musical Society Regents Centre Christchurch, Dorset 01202 479 952
TITFIELD THUNDERBOLT, THE 20 - 22 May 2010 Shiphay A D S St John’s Church Hall Torquay, Devon 07595 306171
TO HAVE AND TOO OLD 20 - 22 May 2010 Kibworth Theatre Company Kibworth Grammar School Hall Kibworth Beauchamp, Leics 07950 306968
TOM, DICK AND HARRY 10 - 17 April 2010 Rugby Theatre Society Rugby Theatre Rugby, Warks 01788 541234
TRIAL BY JURY & HMS PINAFORE
21 - 24 April 2010 Melbourne Operatic Society Castle Donington Community College Castle Donington, Derbyshire 01332 863030 www.melbourneoperaticsociety.com
TWELFTH NIGHT 19 - 22 May 2010 Deben Players Seckford Theatre Woodbridge, Suffolk 01394 382240
14 - 17 April 2010 Stage Door Theatre Company Windmill Theatre Littlehampton, West Sussex 01903 723373 www.stage-door.org.uk
WEDDING SINGER, THE 20 - 24 April 2010 Esna Players Loughborough Town Hall Loughborough, Leicestershire 01509 828456 www.esna.org.uk
WHEN THE LIGHTS GO ON AGAIN 12 - 17 April 2010 Newquay A O S Newquay Tretherras School Newquay, Cornwall 01872 510373
14 - 17 April 2010 Sutton-In-Craven A O & D S Sutton Village Hall, Keighley, W Yorks 01535 632289 21 - 24 April 2010 Northallerton A O S Hambleton Forum Northallerton, N Yorks 01609 770936
WHEN THE REAPER CALLS 22 - 24 April 2010 Lyndhurst Drama & Musical Society Vernon Theatre Lyndhurst, Hants 023 80282729
WINSLOW BOY, THE 26 April - 01 May 2010 Keighley Playhouse Keighly, West Yorkshire 01535 604764
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SHOWdiary>>SHOWdiary>>SHOWdiary>>SHOWdiar
Sussex Musical Productions - Scrooge!
WIZARD OF OZ, THE 14 - 17 April 2010 Dartford A O & D S Orchard Theatre Dartford, Kent 01322 527165
20 - 24 April 2010 Blackwood Musical Theatre Society Blackwood Miners Institute Blackwood, Gwent 01495 227206
17 - 22 May 2010 Cotswold Savoyards The Everyman Theatre Cheltenham, Glos 01242 572573
YOU’RE THE TOP 16 - 17 April 2010 Guildford Opera The Electric Theatre Guildford, Surrey 01483 444789
WOW THAT’S WHAT I CALL MUSIC 3 09 - 10 April 2010 WOW Pavilion Theatre Weymouth, Dorset 01305 783225
WRITE ABOUT WHAT YOU KNOW 20 - 23 April 2010 Admirals’ Players Fisher Hall, HMS Excellent Portsmouth, Hampshire 023 9262 5265 www.pad.hampshire.org.uk
amateurstage is seeking
REVIEWERS In April 2010, we will be starting to review amateur productions across the UK. We are currently seeking interested volunteer reviewers and review co-ordinators in all regions across the UK. Interested parties should email editor@asmagazine.co.uk for more information.
YEOMEN OF THE GUARD, THE 22 - 24 April 2010 Wellingborough Arts Barn G & S Society The Castle Wellingborough, Northants 01536 710774 27 April - 01 May 2010 Ingatestone Musical Operetta Group Ingatestone Community Club Theatre Ingatestone, Essex 01277 352360
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OWdiary>>SHOWdiary>>SHOWdiary>>SHOWdiary>> By arrangement with Josef Weinberger on behalf of Music Theatre International of New York
SALISBURY AMATEUR OPERATIC SOCIETY PRESENTS A MURDER ON THE STAGE A HAUNTED THEATRE — A DUMB WOMAN — A GHOSTLY SPECTRE
A MURDER HAS BEEN ARRANGED
A GHOST STORY by EMLYN WILLIAMS
Based on the Motion Picture Released by Fox Searchlight Pictures Written by Simon Beaufoy, Produced by Ubeto Pasolini, Directed by Peter Cattaneo Book by Terence McNally Music and lyrics by David Yazbek
Director: Barry E McIlroy Musical Director: John Dempster
“Hats off!… To a ‘feel great’ production that combines the best of British film and Broadway musical”
Tues 11th - Sat 15th May 2010
City Hall, Salisbury Box Office: 01722 434434 www.salisburyamateuroperatic.org.uk
The John Crook Theatre, Halliford School, Shepperton
IES LAD ON T H NIG SDAY R U TH TICKETS: £11.50 - £13.50 ‘4 for 3’ on Tuesday Discounts for groups of 10 or more (not Saturday Matinee) Reg Charity No. 274782
April 15, 16 and 17 at 7.45 Tickets £9.00 and £8.00 concessions Box Office
01276 25208
THIS SHOW CONTAINS STRONG LANGUAGE AND SOME NUDITY – NOT SUITABLE FOR CHILDREN UNDER 15 UNLESS THEY ARE ACCOMPANIED BY AN ADULT WHO UNDERSTANDS THE CONTENT OF THE SHOW MurderPosterLogoTOP.indd 1
16/2/10 19:02:43
LINK YOUR WEBSITE TO AMATEUR STAGE AND MAKE ££££££££ FOR YOUR THEATRE COMPANY Amateur Stage is pleased to announce that we have just launched our affiliate programme. Theatre groups and websmasters are invited to sign up.
IT’S SIMPLE Visit our website - www.amateurstagemagazine.co.uk Sign up to the affiliate programme Place a banner on your website
EACH TIME SOMEONE CLICKS ON YOUR BANNER AND SUBSCRIBES YOUR GROUP WILL RECEIVE £5 SIGN UP AND START EARNING TODAY!!!
AMATEUR STAGE | MARCH 2010
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SUMMER SCHOOLS THE MUSICAL PRODUCED
SUMMER SCHOOLS It’s that time of year again when we invite you to consider taking part in Summer Schools or part-time courses being offered across the UK. In the following guide we are pleased to outline the courses on offer from some of our training partners here at Amateur Stage.
*Thought-to-thought impulses *Living in the world of the play
DRAMA ASSOCIATION OF WALES
Richard believes that learning should be fun and the course is suitable and accessible for beginners as well as more experienced actors who want to refresh their skills and approaches to performing Shakespeare.
Wales-based charity, the Drama Association of Wales (DAW), announces the launch of its latest training project – THEATRE SUMMER SCHOOL 2010. A week-long residential training holiday designed for amateur actors and directors. Reap the benefits of a week of working hard and playing hard at our Summer School all for the price of a last minute bargain holiday! And through some canny negotiations we’ve managed to keep the price the same as last year! ACTING THE BARD tutored by Richard Cheshire The course will utilise various acting exercises, techniques and methodologies used by leading contemporary theatre directors which are specifically designed to help actors of all ages. The workshops will focus on: *Acting verse and prose *Physicalising and embodying the language *Detecting Shakespeare’s clues for the actor *Discovering the given circumstances of the character *Objectives and intentions *The actor’s target
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Members of the group will explore characters and scenes from a selection of Shakepeare’s plays.
THE WORK OF HAROLD PINTER tutored by Peter Wooldridge The course will explore the work of Harold Pinter with particular reference to his play Betrayal. Still widely regarded as one of his greatest works, the play charts Pinter’s sevenyear affair with the television presenter Joan Bakewell. The course will also touch on the recently published memoirs of Lady Antonia Fraser and Bakewell’s autobiography The Centre of the Bed. As part of the exploration there may also be opportunities to devise scenes around the central theme of betrayal. Peter always introduces acting exercises into his workshops as a means to understanding and approaching the text. These have been tried and tested and have a relevance for the beginner as well as the more experienced performer. There will also be some time devoted to performing on camera.
We offer discounts to DAW Individual members which means you can book on to this course for as little as £440. And that includes tuition, accommodation and all meals! For full course details contact: Gary Thomas DAW, The Old Library, Singleton Road, Cardiff CF24 2ET (T) 029 2045 2200 (E) gary@dramawales.org.uk (W) www.dramawales.org.uk
MIDDLESEX UNIVERSITY SUMMER SCHOOL
Whether you want to learn a new skill, gain university credit or simply study for its own sake, join us at Middlesex University Summer School this July and August. Now in its fifteenth year, Middlesex University Summer School is the largest of its kind in the UK. Trent Park in north London forms the premier campus of the summer school and the base for most courses. We have the ideal setting for the small interactive group classes, which stimulate the learning process and form the basis for lasting friendships. If you have always dreamt of studying a music degree but do not have the required entry qualifications, join us on our music
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www.amateurstagemagazine.co.uk access courses. These have been designed as pathways onto degree programmes at Middlesex University after successful completion. SUM0043 Music Access course is a foundation level course which covers topics such as harmonic understanding, notation and score reading, music theatre, free and pastiche composition and aural work. If you are interested in gaining an insight into the music industry, why not take a look at SUM0046 Music Management? This engaging course provides an overview of record companies and the role of administrators, promoters, agents and managers within the music industry. SUM0071 Popular Music provides an overview of the theory, practice and history of popular music. If you do not want to progress to a degree, these courses will all provide a refresher in a range of musical areas. Apply before 19 May 2010 for a £30 discount on the course fee! We have over 70 courses available in a range of subject areas. For further information or to request a free prospectus, please contact the Summer School on 020 8411 5782 or visit www.mdx.ac.uk/summer for a full list of courses.
MOUNTVIEW ACADEMY
Summer Courses offer a great insight into life at drama college and the popular summer programme at Mountview is a rich and diverse range of short courses designed for young people and adults. With two-week adult intensive courses to one-week high-energy courses for children and young people, there C639A_AmStage:AmateurStage_1_4page really is something for everyone.
SUMMER SCHOOL
Adult performers can study Acting or Musical Theatre - and as the dates do not clash you could do both options. The two-week programmes for those aged 17+ provide intensive training, focusing on techniques employed by the professional actor and used in full-time drama training. These courses are structured with skills based training in the mornings followed by afternoon rehearsals with course directors working towards informal, end of course presentations. During the different skills based sessions students work with a selection of invited professionals and practitioners in their specialist areas. Both of these two-week Summer Schools also include a Theatre trip. If you are planning to audition for a full-time performance course then why not enrol on Mountview’s week-long Audition Technique programme. You can choose either Musical Theatre or Acting and you will work with experienced practitioners who know exactly what is required to make your mark. This course is aimed at increasing your confidence and your chances of success and the programme guides you in the selection and preparation of suitable modern and classical texts and songs. Each option is geared towards its own specific discipline and the week culminates with a mock audition, after which you receive feedback and guidance. Two years ago Mountview introduced a new and exciting Summer Course - Lighting Design and Technology, which has proved very popular. This Page one-week 1/3/10 10:59 1 course is aimed at adults who would like to develop their basic
knowledge of or interest in this area. In a busy but fun-packed week you will gain an understanding of the lighting design process from model box to plan drafting together with the basic practical skills required to rig, power, patch, focus and use the latest lighting kit including moving lights, LED equipment and state of the art consoles. Working with professional lighting designers, your week will end with a spectacular sound to light show using the knowledge you have gained during the course. There is always a big demand for places on Mountview’s one-week courses for children and young people. The programmes are designed to cover ages from 8 – 16 yrs and can be taken in either acting or musical theatre. This is a wonderful opportunity to learn new skills and make new friends in a safe environment. Students also benefit by developing confidence and one to one and group interpersonal skills. Working with experienced tutors, this fun-filled week culminates in a performance for friends and family. The Summer Programmes run between 26 July and 20 August. Summer at Mountview is an experience you will never forget - and a wonderful opportunity to experience life at one of the busiest and friendliest leading UK drama schools.
CURTAIN CALL ACADEMY
Curtain Call Academy is a newly formed not-for-profit theatre company dedicated to encouraging local young people to get
GUILDFORD SCHOOL OF ACTING
Photo: David Galloway
– Music Access (Four weeks, 1 July to 23 July, 12.45pm to 5.30pm Thursday and Friday) This course is intended to serve either as a refresher course in a range of musical areas or as a precursor to undergraduate study in music. Successful completion will guarantee entry to the first year of a BA Honours Music or Music and Arts Management degree programme at Middlesex University.
0
Study at our beautiful Trent Park country campus in north London, some 35 minutes on the Piccadilly line to Oakwood station. Achieve university credit or simply develop your interests or skills.
• Musical Theatre • Intensive Acting • Intensive Singing • Intensive Dance • Acting for Camera • Directing Musicals • Audition Techniques • Youth Theatre
u
28 June to 6 August 2010
G 1 N 20 KI O OM ry BO FR a
July/August 2010
r eb tF 1s
PERFORMING ARTS SUMMER SCHOOL
[12 – 16 years]
– Music Management (Four weeks, 1 July to 23 July, 2.15pm to 7pm Thursday and Friday) This foundation-level course offers an introduction to the music industry and enables you to develop skills in its key sectors. Successful completion will guarantee entry to the first year of a BA Honours Music or Music and Arts Management degree programme at Middlesex University.
– Popular Music (Four weeks, 1 July to 23 July, 2.15pm to 7pm Thursday and Friday) You will gain an understanding of song writing, harmonic understanding, performance and improvisation, free and pastiche composition and popular music history and genres. Successful completion will guarantee entry to the first year of a BA Honours popular Music degree programme at Middlesex.
– Shakespeare and Sexuality (Three weeks, 12 to 28 July, 1.30pm to 4.30pm Monday and Wednesday) Study texts by Shakespeare and contemporary dramatists in the context of Renaissance England and as manifestations of some important concerns of the culture of the time: the theatre and theatricality; identity and selffashioning; masculinity and femininity.
www.mdx.ac.uk/summer sschool@mdx.ac.uk MIDDLESEX UNIVERSITY, LONDON
Guildford School of Acting
Summer School
Stag Hill Campus, University of Surrey, Guildford GU2 7XH UK
Make the most of Summer
[
WITH US, YOU CAN
2010 For an application form/further details contact:-
Call for a brochure or visit our website.
0800 069 6128
Summer Schools
]
Tel: (01483) 684052 Fax: (01483) 684070 Email: gsasummerschool@gsa.surrey.ac.uk Web: www.gsauk.org
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SUMMER SCHOOLS involved with theatrical activities and develop their interest within the performing arts. The academy is run by four enthusiastic leaders with over 30 years experience in television and theatre between them, giving them a wide range of skills and extensive knowledge within those two areas. Curtain Call Academy’s first project will be a summer school workshop for ages 10-14, situated in Leyland, Lancashire. The 5-day-long workshop will include coaching within the three mediums of theatre (Drama, Dance and Music) and give the participants the environment and freedom to express themselves creatively, meet new friends and explore the stage in a way that may not have been previously available. Thanks to sponsorship from local businesses, the Academy’s first project has been heavily subsidised, making the workshop affordable for parents and allowing the experience to be shared by even more young people. However, places are limited, so book a place on the school so not to be disappointed. The course operates hours which make life easier for the working parent (8.30am-5pm) and is situated URC in the centre of Leyland, approximately a mile from the M6. For more information visit www.curtaincallacademy.webs.com. Week runs from July 26th-30th 2010.
ARTS ED
Open Day – Saturday 17th April 2010 The Open Day is open for anyone looking to enroll on any of our Part-Time Courses, including both the One-Year Foundation Courses, and Evening Courses. It is an opportunity to trial some of our courses, as well as getting a feel for the school’s atmosphere. Evening Courses - From picking up a new hobby, learning the fundamentals of performance, or enhancing your professional training, these courses are designed to offer manageable training, one evening a week during term-time. Courses are available in Acting for Stage, Acting for Screen and Musical Theatre, at two different levels; Tier 1 - for those with limited or no experience of the course subject, and are ideal for anyone looking to learn new skills, at an amateur level. Tier 2 - for those who have prior experience of the course subject, and/or are looking at enhancing their skills for a career in the arts. Foundation Courses - The courses on offer at Foundation level are particularly aimed at candidates looking to pursue full time training in either Acting or Musical Theatre, at undergraduate level. Places at drama schools are very competitive, and we aim to give our students the chance to develop these fundamental skills necessary for gaining a place at London’s top drama schools, including ArtsEd. Running three evenings a week during term-time, this course allows students to train, without building any excess debt, before undertaking full time training. The day will begin with an introduction to the courses on offer, from the Course Coordinators, and the Part-Time Courses Manager. After this there will be opportunities to tour the school, and participate in some introductory classes. The day will end back in the Main Reception, where you will be able to discuss particular courses with individual tutors, and enjoy a complimentary glass of wine.
would like to participate in a theatre training programme. Teachers come from all areas of the industry and GSA’s main school faculty including GSA’s Director, Peter Barlow. The Youth Theatre is for ages 12 to 16 years and all other courses are open to anyone over the age of 17; there is no upper age limit and no entry auditions. Everyone who joins the Summer School will be encouraged to work hard in order to gain the full and pleasurable experience of rehearsing and performing. At the end of every course each student will receive a diploma”. Places at Summer School are limited and early application is advised. INTENSIVE COURSES Do you want to go to drama school? Are your skills limited and hindering your chances? Do you need guidance and help? Do you need professional advice? Do you need to realise your full potential? If so, these courses are aimed at YOU! These courses cover the three disciplines Acting, Singing and Dance and are intended to improve the students ability and understanding of each discipline and how to improve audition preparation and presentation. Each course will end with a mock audition when students are given a comprehensive guidelines advising what is successful and what work still needs to be done in order to compete for a place at drama school level. If you want to be a all round performer then these courses are for you! Youth Theatre (12 16yrs) The Youth Theatre Summer School offers young people from 12 to 16 years who enjoy drama and acting, an opportunity to work with a group of like minded students on a given theme for a concentrated period of time and produce their own piece of theatre. The event introduces participants to various disciplines of theatre: Voice, Movement, Singing and Character
Residential training in 2010 Join us for NODA Summer School (over 18s) or Youth Academy (12 - 17 year olds) and bring out the star in you.
• Meet new friends • Have fun
Summer
School 2010 31 July - 7 August
Professional training for amateur theatre
• Acting skills- FULL* • Devising theatre - FULL* • Dance technique and style
For more information, and to book your place for the Open Day, please visit www.artsed.co.uk or phone 020 8987 6666.
• Musical Directors
• Singing for modern theatre - FULL*
These courses, which are offered at a reasonable cost, provide a stimulating refresher course or an introduction to basic theatre training for people of all ages with a wide range of theatre interests and backgrounds. Summer School Director, GerryTebbutt [Head of Performance at GSA] confirms “The Summer School is suitable for anyone who
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NODA Summer School: Loughborough University, 31 July - 7 August 2010
NODA Youth Academy:
Reach for the stars Youth Academy
• Directing a musical
Courses available:
• Directing a Pantomime • Hairspray (female) - FULL*
GSA has an international reputation for the high quality of its training and has been running Summer Schools for the last 20 years.
• Learn from the experts
Oakham School, Rutland, 6 - 9 April 2010
Courses to choose from:
Trial Classes cost £20 for evening courses & £30 for Foundation Courses. If you book 2 trial classes the second class is just £5.
GUILDFORD SCHOOL OF ACTING
At NODA Summer School and Youth Academy you will:
• Hairspray (male) • Miss Saigon (female) - FULL* • Miss Saigon (male)
• Musical theatre - junior • Musical theatre - senior • Drama - junior • Drama - senior
• Stage management • Lighting design • Set and costume design * Correct at time of going to print
Book your place today! Call: 01733 865 790 Email: info@noda.org.uk or visit our website:
www.noda.org.uk
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theatre summer school ‘10 a choice of 2 courses
“Acting the Bard”
tutored by Richard Cheshire
“The Work of Harold Pinter” tutored by Peter Wooldridge
the drama association of wales weeklong residential theatre course
Prices start from just £440
(No increase - same price as last year!) Fee includes: tuition,accommodation & all meals
aberystwyth university 15-21 august 2010 For full details or to make your booking contact Gary Thomas, Drama Association of Wales The Old Library, Singleton Road Splott, Cardiff CF24 2ET Tel: 029 2045 2200 Email: gary@dramawales.org.uk Drama Association of Wales Cymdeithas Ddrama Cymru registered charity number: 502186
work. No auditions are necessary, but regular attendance and commitment to the project and your fellow colleagues are essential ingredients. The Musical Theatre Summer School provides students with a huge learning curve in the performing arts and is aimed at those who wish to top up their skills or learn new ones. The GSA summer school is exciting and inspirational for anyone wishing to increase their knowledge and explore further the art of performance. You will learn and understand about the commitment and focus at professional level that is required to access training courses or the industry. We take the art of training for musical theatre very seriously and although this course is fun it is also hard work. We expect you to have achieved something by the end of the second week perhaps discovering a hidden talent, increasing and understanding your vocal range, awareness of your acting ability and movement skills. We hope to create an atmosphere that supports your needs and gives you confidence to experiment and try new ideas.
ARTS EDUCATIONAL SCHOOLS LONDON
Ad
04/03/2010
19:27 Page 1 SUMMER SCHOOLS
PART tIME COURSES open day Sat 17th April 2-6pm
COME AND SEE WHAT WE HAVE TO OFFER ON A PART TIME BASIS TRIAL CLASSES IN ACTING WRITING DIRECTING MUSICAL THEATRE
TO BOOK VISIT WWW.ARTSED.CO.UK
Accommodation Accommodation is available on the University of Surrey Campus. However, accommodation is NOT available for students attending Youth Theatre. Parents of students under 18 attending other Summer School courses should be aware that the University is not“in loco parentis”. This means that the University will not act in a parental capacity towards your child [UK law defines people under the age of 18 as children].We are not able to supervise your child while they are living in residence. Information on local bed and breakfast accommodation can also be supplied on request. Travel Travelling time to central London (Waterloo) by fast train is 32 minutes. Guildford has easy access to the M25,Heathrow and Gatwick airports.
Theatre Arrangements are made for students on Musical Theatre, Audition Techniques, Intensive Singing, Acting and Dance courses to visit London’s West End or, alternatively depending on the current programme, Audition Techniques (17yrs+) a visit may be arranged to the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford or the If you are serious and determined to pursue a career in the performing New Victoria Theatre, Woking. arts industry and want to gain a place at drama school, either on an acting or musical theatre programme, then this course is for you. Our GSA Summer School aim is to inform and give you experience through mock auditions and Stag Hill Campus, University of Surrey, classes for what you need to do to prepare for drama school auditions. Guildford GU2 7XH UK Guidance will be given on which material would be most Tel: +44 [0] 1483 684052 suitable for you as an individual, how to present Fax: +44 [0] 1483 684070 yourself and which areas you might need to consider improving in order Email: summerschool@gsauk.org to compete successfully and gain acceptance for your Web site: www.gsauk.org How to Direct a Musical (17yrs+) A course aimed at those who wish to learn or enhance their directing skills, concentrating particularly on musical theatre. You will work through the directing process from recruiting your production team to auditions through the rehearsal process and on to letting go when the opening night arrives. Ideal for directors working in the amateur theatre and those wishing to pursue a professional directing career or actors wishing to add musical directing skills to their cv.
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PLAYSCRIPTS
WELCOME TO DAVID MUNCASTER This month we are pleased to welcome David Muncaster as our new playscript reviewer. David is a playwright and journalist with a passion for amateur theatre. His plays have won festivals on both sides of the Atlantic, whilst his writing about theatre appears in several local newspapers in the Northwest of England.
ANOTHER AUGUST 919
AUTHOR: Monika Johnson PUBLISHER: Drama Association of Wales ISBN NO: 1898740836 CAST: 2M 1F Another August 919 won the Youth Section of the Drama Association of Wales playwriting competition in 2007 and tells the story of two brothers, Nic and Dan, and their friend Pam, who is also the mother of Dan’s baby. Dan has just completed his army training and is on home leave before going off to war. The hostility between the brothers is nicely captured and it is clear that they have never been close, but as Nic talks to Pam about his brother’s impending departure we began to get an idea of the complexity of their relationship. Nic seems very angry about his brother’s decision to join the army but we wonder if this is this is due to his belief that Dan doesn’t have the right to stand alongside decent men (as he claims) or does he perhaps have fear for his brother’s safety out of a deep seated love that he will not admit exists? Pam believes it to be the latter and does her best to bring the brothers together but somehow we know that we are heading for tragedy. The dialogue throughout seems natural and the characters are believable. Johnson has clearly spent time observing young adults and has captured their behaviour very well. Another August 919 is well written, moves along at a brisk pace, and I expect it will be popular with a teenage audience.
DAVID COPPERFIELD
AUTHOR: Charles Dickens adapted by Alastair Cording PUBLISHER: Nick Hern Books ISBN NO: 9781848420229 CAST: 13M 11F RECOMMENDED RETAIL PRICE: £8.99 Alastair Cording’s adaptation whisks us through the Dickens’ classic at a cracking pace as the story is told over forty six scenes. The speed of the action means that there is a danger that audiences may miss some of the more subtle elements, but those familiar with the tale will be pleased to note that Barkis is willing and the eccentric Mr McAwber is most confident that something will turn up. The humour comes over well, as does the cruelty inflicted on David and others by Uriah Heep, Murdstone, Steerforth and Mr Creakle. Audiences should enjoy this tale of relationships and how the behaviour of adults has such a profound influence on the children around them.
MONEY MAKES YOU HAPPY AUTHOR: Francis Beckett PUBLISHER: Samuel French ISBN NO: 9780573023880 CAST: 3M 4F
Jeremy is a writer. Well, he wrote a book once but he hasn’t really produced anything in years. He is idealistic and a bit of a dreamer. He worries about things that most of us would never think about. Ruth is practical, neat and tidy, organised; a woman who knows what she wants and how to get it. They haven’t got a thing in common; apart from the baby that is. Jeremy’s shock when, on a surprise visit to his former girlfriend’s home he discovers that he is a father, sends us on a comic journey as
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PLAYSCRIPTS
he is forced to confront the realities of the world of business and politics. His determination to take his responsibilities as a father seriously sees him having to make a choice between principles and cash. I suspect that most of us have met the kind of people that Jeremy is forced to deal with and Beckett’s script pokes fun at them with relish. Money Makes You Happy is a cheerful little play; it is witty and moves along at a fair old pace and it is all so good-natured that you hardly notice the little digs at the world in which we live. There is depth, though, and a happy ending that is sure to please.
ARABIAN NIGHTS
AUTHOR: Adapted by Dominic Cooke PUBLISHER: Nick Hern Books ISBN NO: 9781848420588 CAST: Min 9 RECOMMENDED RETAIL PRICE: £8.99 It is Queen Shahradzad’s wedding night. In the morning she will be put to death like all the queens before her. Will her gift for storytelling save her life? This is the well known tale of Arabian Nights, told here in a new adaptation by Dominic Cooke. As the action begins the scene is set by an ensemble of characters before we are into the first, and possibly best known, of the stories; Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves. Throughout the play the characters portray themselves, describing or acting out the action as we go along. This is an interesting way to make it easy for the audience to keep up with what is happening. If a character says “a page appeared” we know that it is the page that is speaking. Such reminders are essential in a play with around fifty characters! When this was first performed by the RSC at Stratford in 2009 a cast of eighteen played multiple roles. However, with further doubling, the play can be performed with just nine. The narrative style may not appeal to everyone. but there is no doubt that the stories themselves are as fascinating as they ever were. Characters such as Ali Baba, Sindibad the Sailor and the flatulent Abu Hassan make for an entertaining play and there is even the occasional opportunity for the audience to join in with the fun as Sidi needs help remembering his magic spell. Societies may feel that Dominic Cooke’s faithful re-telling of the tales make the play unsuitable for children, but it may still appeal if they are looking for something with a Christmas feel that isn’t a traditional pantomime.
IT FELT EMPTY WHEN THE HEART WENT AT FIRST BUT IT IS ALRIGHT NOW AUTHOR: Lucy Kirkwood PUBLISHER: Nick Hern Books ISBN NO: 9781848420816 CAST: 2F RECOMMENDED RETAIL PRICE: £8.99
Dijana is Eastern European and a victim of the sex traffic industry. She is in her flat waiting for the next client. This will be the twentysecond today and, she believes, the last one ever. She looks nice, her hair freshly washed with shampoo that she has stolen from Boots the Chemist: L’Oréal. Because she is worth it. As it happens, she knows exactly how much she is worth: Babac, her pimp/boyfriend, paid one thousand euros for her, and the next client will earn her the £30 she needs to give Babac the twenty thousand pounds to buy her freedom. Dijana is a victim, but she is a survivor and an eternal optimist. As we go on a journey through her mind it is at times heartbreaking, at times surreal, and at times very funny. One gets the impression that Dijana doesn’t want our sympathy, she just wants us to understand and this challenging piece of theatre has the potential to change people’s attitudes toward the industry in which she is trapped. Lucy Kirkwood wrote ‘it felt empty’ whilst working as the playwright in residence at Clean Break, an organisation that works with women who are, or have been, in prison and has used the experience to construct a play that gives us a sense of what it is like to live in captivity. As you would expect with a play about this subject, there is strong language and adult scenes throughout.
Samuel French Ltd The play publisher
NEW RELEASES! Duets a comedy in four acts by Peter Quilter
Cast M1 to 4, F1 to 4. sCene The living room of an apartment A very funny comedy by the author of Curtain Up! (Respecting Your Piers) and the West End hit Glorious! Four sets of characters, four crucial moments. Jonathan and Wendy are on a blind date and hoping to get it right this time even though they’ve never got it right before; Barrie is not really interested in women but Janet sees that as no reason to stop trying; Shelley and Bobby have decided to holiday in Spain to finalize their divorce; Angela is marrying for the third time to the dismay of her brother Toby. Duets is an hilarious tribute to the strength and madness of the human heart. May be performed as four individual one act plays. Price £8.95
Now you can choose from these and over 2000 other plays online! Visit:
samuelfrench-london.co.uk Carry Me Kate a one-act comedy by Rachel Musgrove Cast M3 or 6 F2. SCene Various simple settings When Kate and Dave meet at their mutual friend’s Tupperware party, they have no idea that the chance encounter will change the course of their lives forever. Cue a disastrous first date, a minibreak in the Lake District, a drunken misunderstanding and Dave finds himself somehow engaged to Kate. This funny, insightful play explores the opposing reactions of men and women when romance comes their way. Never mind its course running smooth, how do they know if it’s true love in the first place? Price £5.00
Café Brosse a comedy by Jean McConnell Cast M4 F4. SCene A café. George and Seraphine run a café in a small French town, and George keeps a mistress, Yvette. Seraphine is fed up with living a dull housewife’s existence and Yvette is equally bored of entertaining George in her dilapidated apartment, so the two women agree to swap lives for a while. Unfortunately for George, Yvette is not quite the homemaker that Seraphine was, and soon he is pining for his capable and efficient wife. Price £8.95
French’s Theatre Bookshop
52 Fitzroy St London W1t 5JR Tel: 020 7255 4300 Fax: 020 7387 2161 Email: theatre@samuelfrench-london.co.uk AMATEUR STAGE | MARCH 2010
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PLAYSCRIPTS
PLAGUE OVER ENGLAND
AUTHOR: Nicholas de Jongh PUBLISHER: Samuel French ISBN NO: 9780573113390 CAST: 10M 1F RECOMMENDED RETAIL PRICE: £8.99 A play that takes as its central storyline Sir John Gielgud’s conviction in 1953 following an arrest in a public toilet might, at first glance, seem to have a minority appeal, but with Plague Over England, Nicholas de Jongh has succeeded in writing something of interest to both mainstream and gay theatre. Any fears that this might be a worthy-but-dull look at the prejudices so prominent in our society just a generation or two ago are soon dispelled as de Jongh’s witty and lively script takes us straight into the action. This takes place over many scenes in many locations and most of the actors are required to play multiple roles. The stage directions are of a most precise nature. I know that a lot of directors like to ignore stage directions in order to put their own stamp on a production, but de Jongh has put a lot of effort into describing how certain lines should be delivered and how characters should look and behave. I believe that the author is, in this case, justified in going to such lengths. Anyone considering producing this would be setting a play in a world that most of us would find difficult to imagine in this day and age, so the help provided by the author would be vital to a successful production. The first act plunges us into the world of narrow minded judges and politicians, police traps and underground scenes, and culminates with Gielgud’s arrest and conviction. Portraying well known real life characters is never easy but de Jongh does it with ease. Gielgud and Dame Sybil Thorndike come across as naturally as Terry the police officer and Greg the young man who tries to come to Gielgud’s defence. Following his conviction Gielgud is portrayed as being ashamed of his action. He is seen to be openly gay amongst his friends but never in public and is said to have told his mother that the arrest was just a misunderstanding. The scene that I had expected to come at the end of the play actually comes fairly early on in Act Two. Gielgud’s dramatic first appearance on the stage following the media frenzy over his arrest is neatly done and we are then whisked forward, first by two years, and then by another twenty. It is now 1975; Gielgud has been cast as a gay character in a play by Harold Pinter and he still fears how the public may react to the role following the events of 1953. We do end on an upbeat note, however, when he is taken back to the scene of his disgrace and he finally seems to come to terms with the public awareness of his sexual orientation. The publicity that surrounded Gielgud’s conviction eventually paved the way for reforms and the eventual de-criminalisation of homosexuality and, although Gielgud never publicly associated himself with any gay rights movements, it was revealed after his death that he had donated financially to Stonewall, the campaigning organisation. The public loved Gielgud regardless of his sexual orientation and the audience clapped and cheered his first appearance at The Haymarket following his conviction. It is perhaps fitting that he should be the subject of a piece of gay theatre that has been such a massive mainstream hit in the West End and is now available for amateur performance.
A SMALL FAMILY MURDER
AUTHOR: Simon Brett PUBLISHER: Samuel French ISBN NO: 9780573142208 CAST: 4M (1 is voice only) (1F is neither seen nor heard!) A Small Family Murder was conceived, written and originally performed and directed by Simon Brett. Two brothers and their father are interviewed by a detective whose voice is heard in voice-over but his presence on the stage needs to be imagined by the audience. It is possible to perform this, as Brett did, as a one man show, or with a cast of four men. The three characters who are physically on the stage are each interviewed individually and are required to respond to questions that are put to them by a fifth character: Detective Constable Alice Parker who is neither seen nor heard throughout the play. This gives us a problem. The suspects are supposed to be responding to questions that
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www.amateurstagemagazine.co.uk she is asking so the only way that the audience is going to know the questions is if a suspect starts his answer by repeating the question. For example “How was she looking? Frail I would say.”, and “Do I know what killed my mother? Well, I assume cancer.” Brett is such an accomplished writer I had to wonder if this unnatural repetition of unheard questions was done for comic effect, or was it even a plot device? If it was the latter then it went right over my head. I found it all irritating and ridiculous and struggled to get beyond the first couple of pages. Plough on I did; but for little reward. I did like the father character. He floats between dementia and lucidity and has all the best lines. The scene featuring the father gives us a hint of the quality of writing that Brett is capable of producing but the two sons seem artificial, the voice-overs are unnecessary and, when the end comes, the explanation of who did what, and why, is far too drawn out and unnecessarily detailed. I have long admired Brett’s work but I am afraid that I can find little to recommend this play.
JUST THE TWO OF US
AUTHOR: Ros Moruzzi PUBLISHER: Samuel |French ISBN NO: 9780573121449 CAST: 1M 6F RECOMMENDED RETAIL PRICE: £4.75 Matt is struggling to write a novel. Ruth is his understanding wife and breadwinner. The two of them are portrayed as a happy, loving, and supportive couple. However, they don’t seem very much like real people due to the unsubtle scene setting which requires the pair to have conversations that people in real life just don’t have. The comedy is also disappointing: ploys such as being rude on the telephone before realising it is your partner’s mother - a mother who is bemused by mobile phones and who thinks lasagne is a Chinese dish give the play the feel of a rather tired TV sitcom. However, things do pick up with the arrival of Karen and her daughter Freya, who claims that Matt is her biological father, and the play benefits from the arrival of more characters and the quickening of the pace. The action really does hot up with the arrival of Bev, wittily described as Freya’s tummy mummy but, sadly, the humour seems to dry up towards the end and all we are left with is tantrums and accusations. Just the Two of Us is good in parts but, despite its contemporary storyline, is rather old fashioned.
PRESCRIPTION FOR MURDER AUTHOR: Norman Robbins PUBLISHER: Samuel French ISBN NO: 9780573113383 CAST: 3M 4F RECOMMENDED RETAIL PRICE: £8.99
Prescription for Murder is a rare thriller from the pen of an author more associated with farces and pantomimes. Of course, all the best thrillers have their fair share of humour, just as every comedy should have an element of tragedy and the assured comic touch of Norman Robbins is present here. The play was apparently written in 2008, yet it seems a little dated in places. There are videos rather than DVDs and, apart from a brief reference, nobody seems to possess a mobile phone. However, the problem doesn’t just lie with the props; the language and the way the plot develops give the play the feel of something written twenty or thirty years ago. Of course, it is entirely possible that Norman Robbins set out to write an old fashioned thriller, and I am sure that this will be popular with many audiences. The story concerns Barbara Forth who is not a well woman. Fortunate then that her husband is a doctor. Or is it? Early on all the clues point in one direction and from our perspective things don’t look good for Dr Forth. In fact, there were times when I wanted to shout at the other characters, ‘Its him! Can’t you see what he is doing?’, but Robbins is far too good a writer for it to be that obvious and, when the final revelation comes, it is really rather satisfying. Overall, despite its old fashioned feel, this is a good little thriller that I expect will prove to be a popular choice with amateur theatres.
AMATEUR STAGE | MARCH 2010
10/03/2010 10:57:16
John Morley’s Pantomimes “The Doyen Of Good Pantomime Writers (The Times 1994)
Cinderella Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Peter Pan Babes in the Wood Beauty and the Beast The Sleeping Beauty Puss in Boots Red Riding hood Humpty Dumpty Wizard of OZ Mother Goose “No one knows more about Panto than John Morley (Sunday Times) From Noda LTD. 58-60 Lincoin Road, Peterborough PE1 2RZ (01733 865790)
Aladdin Robinson Crusoe Goldilocks & The Three Bears Pinocchio Jack and the beanstalk The Wind in the Willows Sinbad The Sailor Dick Whittington “Written byJohn Morley, this is Panto at its best” (The Guardian) From Samuel French LTD 52 Fitzroy Street, London W1T 5JR (020 7387 9373)
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THE LAST WORD
Wisteria Cottage Garrick Road Campton Royal
My darlings! Have you missed me? I think I should explain the bijou hiatus last month. As I have made abundantly clear, on more than one occasion, pantomime and I do not agree. The very idea of rubbing pages with garish costume, silly stories and grotesque men in war paint brought me out in a very unpleasant rash. I did try to persuade the normally charming editor to run a feature on something more tasteful, but he would have none of it. I attempted to explain my antipathy, he said he was a man of the press, not a shrink, so wishing to be neither pressed nor shrunk (I’m barely 5 foot in my support hose) I slammed down the phone. After ten days of silence, imagine my surprise on discovering a large bottle of sherry on my doorstep. I was at first delighted thinking that Reverend Wilson was finally acknowledging my expertise. The last two rehearsals of ‘Murder in the Cathedral’ I have not been backward in coming forward. Indeed, I moved physically forward to deliver the lines ‘we have not been happy my Lord, we have not been too happy, we are not ignorant women’. And I have to say I delivered them with total conviction. However, when I discovered that the beverage came from AS, I flew into a fury. I am a woman of integrity and not to be bought with Amontillado. I would have tipped it down the sink, but frugality got the better of me. Then, an hour later, I received the most enchanting telephone call from the magazine. The delightful man reassured me that the sherry was no more than a belated Christmas gift and went on to explain that whilst he fully understood my resignation, many readers were devastated and had written in, desperate for my guiding hand to return. How could I let you down? It only remains for me to offer and explanation of my anathema. The truth is, I was traumatised as a small child. My father always sported a magnificent moustache – a badge of honour from his days with the RAF. A stalwart of the local dram society, he was cast in the annual panto and one fateful day, he brought his costume home and asked my mother to help him. Imagine the nightmare vision when they reappeared ,not only minus the moustache, (my father, not my mother that is) but with blonde wig and heavy make-up and a loud low-cut dress – I had two mothers!! That would have been enough, but I was dragged to dress rehearsal and the sight of a dancing skeleton with the voice of the man from the sweet shop, plus the dreadful vision of a cow that cut itself in half at the drop of a hat and I was scarred for life! So, I can only beg your indulgence. Yours
Doris Richardson-Hall P.S. Murder in the Cathedral takes to the pulpit in a couple of weeks. I can only hope that I stay the course.
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