PASSIONATE ABOUT AMATEUR THEATRE
OCTOBER 2013
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IN THIS ISSUE > Loserville is released > Making press releases work > Put the fun into fundraising > Playscript reviews
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contents | amateurstage Editor: Julian Cound
>contents
editor@amateurstagemagazine.co.uk Contributors David Muncaster, Robin Lambert
October 2013
Design Capacity Arts Marketing Published monthly by 3Fold Media Limited ISSN 00026867 3rd Floor, 207 Regent Street, London W1B 3HH www.asmagazine.co.uk Subscribe now Print version - UK Rates:
>editorial
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couple of articles following a recent
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survey of theatre by Whats On Stage - the results of which were quite eye-opening.
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It seems that more young people are
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to disappear. Now, far from being an old ‘fuddy-duddy’, I do think there are limits past which theatre audience
14
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must not go but with my marketing
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head on I realise the more restrictions
04 Overture
you put on people the less likely they
News from across the country
are to buy a ticket for your particular production. It is fabulous to read that theatre is a genre of the Arts that young people want to get involved in as
11 Dress for the occasion Spotlight on Harlequin Costumes
an audience member - we have to embrace this and use this as a spring-board to encourage more young people in to experience amateur theatre. To do this we may have to work even harder than we
13 Lighting states Robin Lambert revels in the bauty of the gobo.
currently do and think ‘outside the box’ in how we do this. We need to encourage links with local schools and colleges, get them involved in Cover Image: Music Theatre South - Lift
your production in any way you can, hold workshops or become part of
14 Casual state of theatre A recent survey reveals the casual side of theatre-going
a series of school lessons. Yes it’s all time intensive but we can’t just sit back and simply expect future audiences to turn up. It’s a battle that 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. ©2013 3Fold Media
needs time and patience to win. Julian editor@amateurstagemagazine.co.uk
28 18 Birthday treat
28 The Musical Produced
Stafford Players reach 70
Music Theatre South’s production of ‘Lift’
22 Joey on show
38 Playscript reviews
Theatrical icon moves to the V&A
David Muncaster reviews the latest script releases
16 Running in the family
45 Production Diary
Cassio members through the generations
22
What’s on offer throughout the UK
www.asmagazine.co.uk | 3
amateurstage | overture
>overture
news | events | products | competitions
West End War Horse screening
Robinson’s return
The National Theatre’s multi-award-winning production of War Horse will be broadcast live to cinemas for the first time from the New London Theatre on 27 February 2014 as part of National Theatre Live. Based on the novel by Michael Morpurgo, War Horse tells the story of a young boy called Albert and his beloved horse, Joey, who is requisitioned to fight for the British in World War I. Directed by Tom Morris and Marianne Elliott, the show features acclaimed puppetry work by South Africa’s Handspring Puppet Company, which brings breathing and galloping horses to life on stage. NT Live is an initiative by the National Theatre to broadcast live performances onto cinema screens around the world. According to the venue, since its first season in June 2009 over 1.8 million people have experienced the work of NT Live in 700 cinemas in 25 countries, with over 300 venues in the UK. As part of the National’s 50th anniversary celebrations, a series of ‘encore’ screenings - of Frankenstein, Hamlet and The Habit of Art - will be shown in October and November.
Delight at message from Dougal Ardal O’Hanlon, who starred in the famous TV sitcom Father Ted as Father Dougal, took time out of his busy touring schedule to wish Kirkcaldy Amateur Dramatic Society (KADS) good luck through a special video message ahead of their production. The company will stage the Scottish premiere of ‘Father Ted’ at the Adam Smith Theatre from October 24-26. The critically acclaimed TV show ran for three series from 1995-1998, with 25 episodes and received multiple BAFTA awards and the KADS team were delighted to receive the message from Ardal. John Gray, director of the KADS production, said: “What a brilliant surprise, and what a boost to the cast. Just the tonic we need as we gird our loins - and our cassocks - for the run in to our opening night. “Not only has Ardal taken time out from a busy schedule to wish a modest amateur company good luck, but he sends a warm and humorous blessing as well. What a guy! We’ll all be going to his show as a thank you.” There has only been one other stage production of the show previously - the world premiere in Leicester last year - after the
4 | www.asmagazine.co.uk
editor@amateurstagemagazine.co.uk
Time Team and Blackadder star Tony Robinson is returning to theatre for the first time in 16 years to play author Kenneth Grahame in the Royal Opera House’s production of The Wind in the Willows, which runs at the Duchess Theatre this Christmas.
First seen at the National in 2007, War Horse is currently marking its sixth year on the London stage and is now on a tour of the UK and Ireland. A German language production entitled Gefährten opens in October 2013 at the Theater des Westens in Berlin, and a North American production continues to tour throughout 2013 and 2014. The Broadway production of War Horse, which ran at the Lincoln Center’s Vivian Beaumont Theater earlier this year, won six Tony Awards. War Horse is adapted by Nick Stafford and presented in association with Handspring Puppet Company
writers gave permission for four episodes to be adapted for the amateur stage. The show will follow the hilarious misadventures of the priests of Craggy Island as they set about winning the ‘All Priests Stars in Their Eyes Lookalike Competition’, prematurely spending Father Jack’s legacy, paying a forfeit involving part of Bishop Brennan’s anatomy and mounting a dignified protest against that blasphemous film about St Tibulus. Taking on such well known and loved scenes and characters from the television show could be considered a bold move by KADS, however the society are old hands at this game, producing the Scottish premiere of ‘Fawlty Towers’ in 2006 and earlier presenting a successful stage version of the classic series, ‘Allo ‘Allo.’
The show, which runs at the Duchess from 11 December 2013 to 1 February 2014, is the first ROH production to transfer commercially into the West End. Grahame acts as narrator of the production. The cast also features Will Kemp (Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake), who will reprise his role as Ratty, Cris Penfold as Toad, Christopher Akrill as Badger and Clemmie Sveaas as Mole. Other members of the company include: Ewan Wardrop, Paul James Rooney, Kayleigh Gore, Connor Dowling, Kirsty Mather, Anna Martine, Jo Meredith and Aron Wild. Choreographed and directed by Will Tuckett, the production is in its tenth anniversary year and sees Kenneth Grahame’s classic retold through dance, song, music and puppetry. The Wind in the Willows marks Tony Robinson’s return to the stage for the first time since 1997. He has previously appeared in the West End, at Chichester Festival Theatre and the National Theatre, as well as with the RSC. His impressive list of theatre credits include: Stop The World I Want To Get Off at the Queens, Stephen D and Once Upon A Time at the Duke of York’s, The Beggar’s Opera at the Apollo, Follow The Star at The Westminster, The Apple Cart at The Saville, Piaf at The Piccadilly and Oresteia at the National. Robinson, who trained at Central School of Speech and Drama, received a knighthood in this year’s Queen’s Birthday Honours.
overture | amateurstage
“It is brilliant going to the theatre and being forced to sit and think about life. Almost a near-religious experience.” Emily Mortimer
£12,000 musical theatre prize launched The Perfect Pitch award is a joint initiative between Perfect Pitch,which supports the development of new musicals, and the Royal and Derngate in Northampton. It will give give a writer, or team of writers, a commission of £12,000 to complete a full draft of a new musical over a twelve-month period. During this time the winning writers will be supported and mentored by both Perfect Pitch and the Royal and Derngate. At the end of the year, once the show has been developed through workshops and readings, it will be presented as a professional staged reading. The award is open to all UK-based writers including playwrights, screenwriters, novelists and songwriters.
Perfect Pitch executive producer Andy Barnes said: “We are excited to be working with the Royal and Derngate to launch the Perfect Pitch award, which has been made possible thanks to the generous philanthropy of a number of our supporters. This award offers an exceptional team of writers the chance to be commissioned to write a full musical. We are looking to discover artists who haven’t yet had the opportunity to break through but believe they have the talent.” Royal and Derngate artistic director James Dacre added that the initiative “will see a team of exceptional collaborators commissioned and fully supported in the development, writing and showcasing of a full-length musical”. “Opportunities to develop new musicals are all too rare in Britain these days. Opportunities this good
Nation’s favourite play
Whitehaven woes
English Touring Theatre is marking its 21st anniversary next year by launching a survey to find the ‘nation’s favourite play’.
Show organisers have been forced to ditch plans to stage an event at Whitehaven’s doomed Civic Hall as the curtain is set to come down for the final time. The popular venue is earmarked to close in just two weeks’ time meaning that many upcoming productions have had to make alternative arrangements.
Audiences are invited to vote for the play of their choice via a dedicated website , with the top choices being staged by the company next year. The rules state you may vote for “any original, English language play from any period of time. Musicals, translations or adaptions will not be counted in the voting. Any member of the public will be able to vote online but will only be able to vote once for their favourite play.” Favourites are likely to include Hamlet by William Shakespeare, often cited as the greatest play ever written, and Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett, once voted the most important play of the 20th century in a National Theatre poll. Voting closes on 8 December 2013, with English Touring Theatre promising to include “as many of the favourites as possible” into its 2014 touring schedule as “either fully produced productions or public rehearsed readings”. ETT’s director Rachel Tackley said, “We want to make 2014 a birthday year to remember. Since the company has made its name taking high quality productions to theatres across the country we felt the country had to be at the heart of our celebrations. It’s a surprisingly simple yet tricky question: What is your favourite play? We’re very excited and curious to see what the nation votes for.”
Copeland council has recently reiterated that the venue will close on November 1, as previously announced, but that it is continuing to explore other management arrangements for the hall. A statement issued by the council added that “at this stage it is too early to say whether any of these will go ahead, or what the future arrangements will be.” Copeland Amateur Theatrical Society (CATS) has postponed its production of Return to the Forbidden Planet, which was due to take place
are unheard of almost anywhere. We look forward to the winning team’s residency with us and to the possibilities ahead of them,” he said. Stephen Fry, who is patron of Perfect Pitch, described the award as “the perfect opening for emerging writers to gain a foothold in this industry and cut their teeth while creating something truly original”. The award will be judged by a team including playwright Samuel Adamson, director Rachel Kavanaugh, Theatre Royal Stratford East artistic director Kerry Michael, and actors Michael Ball and Janie Dee. The winners will be announced in March, 2014 at the St. James Studio.
in the town centre venue next March and it will now move to Workington’s Carnegie Theatre in May. Whitehaven Theatre Group has also been forced to book Egremont Market Hall for this year’s pantomime, Sleeping Beauty. There are fears that the move from Whitehaven to Workington for the CATS production could result in falling audience numbers as Copeland residents may not travel to the new venue. Lynn McTiffin, the society’s publicity manager, said that they had no other option as there was no other suitable venue in the borough to accommodate the production. “It’s been an absolute nightmare,” she said. “The last thing we wanted to do was to take it out of Copeland. “We are devastated that the Civic is closing and it is a travesty that there is nowhere in Whitehaven that can cater for live theatre. It is the end of an era and is very sad.” However, she added that they were “enthusiastic” about moving to the Carnegie as it had a lot to offer and that they could attract audiences from across the whole of west Cumbria. Copeland Council revealed earlier this year that because cuts from central government, it must withdraw funding to the civic’s managers, North Country Leisure (NCL), and the venue will close permanently unless any group comes forward to run it without council subsidy.
www.asmagazine.co.uk | 5
amateurstage | feature
> tracking that social media sale Facebook and Twitter may be a God-send for amateur theatre marketing teams, but how do you track just how effective all your time and effort has been? I hear a lot of opinions about social media these days. A lot of them are positive, from people who have the time to experiment and build real relationships. And a lot of them are negative, from people who “tried it, but it didn’t work for us” or from those who say they can’t see any return on investment (ROI). The latter can be due to a variety of issues, but often it is due the difficult job of tracking social media movement. Think about wildlife trackers. They are skilled at seeing small signs and interpreting large results - a bent twig here, a small footprint there, the animal went that way. They see things others do not, because they have taken time to be trained to notice the small details. Tracking ROI on Facebook is similar, and subtle. If you get into the tracking mindset, you can discover a great many things, but even then you have to be ok with animals seemingly showing up out of nowhere at your box office. And the path they took to get there can jump many channels and be all over the place! Jumping channels As an example, let’s say I decided to see a production of The Drowsy Chaperone by a local amateur group. It was excellent. My wife and I leave the theatre talking about the show from a bunch of different angles (mostly trying to decide if the Man In Chair really showed enough vulnerability). I get home, and jump on Facebook and write my thoughts about the show. Several friends of mine comment on this post, saying how they loved the show too, as they too debated the actor’s sense of vulnerability. The next afternoon, another friend of mine called me and said “I just called the box office and my boyfriend and I are going to see Drowsy tonight because I saw your great post on Facebook!” I tell her that’s great, and to let me know what she thought. Late that night, I get a text message from her telling me how much she loved the show and how she would be recommending it to all her friends. I am pretty much in full observer mode at this point, wanting to see how much further it would go with the “pass along” idea. I’m sure the members of the society are loving me right now. My friend posted to her Facebook page that she had loved the show, and folks commented on it. That’s where my tracking of the story stops. So what happened here? Let’s recap. I saw the show in person, and
6 | www.asmagazine.co.uk
commented on Facebook (first jump of mediums, from in-person to Facebook). My friend saw my post and called me, and then the box office (2nd jump of medium, from Facebook to phone). She saw the show and then texted me after (3rd jump of medium, from in-person to text message) and then posted on her own Facebook page (4th jump of medium, from text message back to Facebook). And through all that, two tickets were sold (for her to see the show). But there is no way that the Society box office can track the purchase, since it all happened inter-personally and organically. To them, the phone rang, and somebody purchased two tickets. That’s it. What does this tell us about social media and theatre? First, your efforts to reach patrons via social media may have results that you don’t track as being attributed to social media, when people jump mediums and come into the box office a different way. Score one point for social media, even though it is hard to track. Second, people are using social media to discuss you, and in this case it didn’t matter if the society was posting their own posts on their Facebook page, as those posts didn’t come into the ticket purchase equation (although they most likely have an effect in other cases). So having your own posts is important, but positive things happen outside of what you post on your organization’s Facebook page. I’m not saying that the society should have become involved in the middle of our conversation or anything - that might have actually broken the spell. But believing that these conversations are happening about you is an important reason to be involved with social media.
In some ways, social media is incredibly easy to track - do a search for your name or your organization, and if people are talking about you, it’s pretty easy to find out. But tracking sales from social media is harder. It can be done, but you really have to be paying attention to lay feedback loops throughout the system - setting up twigs to be bent, and pouring mud in the path to see footsteps. Some examples of ways to do this include: • promotion codes linked only to social media • personalized urls to specific campaigns • separate phone numbers that allow you to track sources of calls • Facebook applications that help info to go viral • phone questions by the box office staff, or survey questions during the online ticket purchase • for some transactions, you may just find it impossible to track at all, but you still sold a ticket Believing in Social Media To me, belief in the value of social media is like believing in the value of press releases. Although direct sales from a release to the press are hard to track and not exact, you still believe that they are valuable to do right? Because the story may get picked up and have a good effect. Think of your participation in social media the same way - it’s important to get involved in these real conversations. Not only is the conversation itself good, as it leads us to discover more about ourselves and the work, but those conversations can lead to real results at the box office.
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| feature
>on their
merry way
As West End performers continue to bask in the glory of the 5 Star production of “Merrily we Roll Along”, a duo from Staffordshire are all set to prepare for their own production in 2014. Director Rachel Millar and Musical Director Liz Talbot, known for their work with theatre companies in the Staffordshire area fell in love with the Sondheim masterpiece when a local group performed ‘Merrily’ 10 years ago. Having worked on the production at that time, the duo recall with great affection the overwhelming effect this show had on both cast and audiences alike. “It was just one of those shows!” says Rachel, who was assistant director on the previous production. “The story is so wonderful, and Sondheim’s score is one of the most sing-able he has ever written.” When the Menier Chocolate Factory chose to perform “Merrily” last year, audiences flocked to see the show which received rave reviews. So successful was the production that it moved to the Harold Pinter for a further season. Receiving more 5* reviews than any other production in the history of the West End, this production is soon to be shown across the country in local cinemas courtesy of Digital Theatre. As Sondheim is always celebrated for his more famous work, “Merrily” has always sat towards the bottom of the pile when theatre companies are selecting shows to be performed. Originally teachers by trade, Rachel and Liz are great believers in educating local audiences through theatre. “Theatre-goers still enjoy the traditional pieces of course, but nowadays audiences are more open to something a little bit different and challenging,” says Liz. Although “Merrily” opened on Broadway in 1981, it has never been a popular choice for amateur societies. Following the lives and relationship of three friends, the show moves backwards in time, challenging the audience both mentally and emotionally. Moving the plot along is the ‘Greek style’ company who play a vital role in their commentary as the story unfolds. ARTZ, the performing arts company that is run by Rachel and Liz decided to put on their own one-off production of “Merrily” in June 2014 at the Stoke Repertory Theatre. Their aim is to bring together the best performers in the Staffordshire area. Rather than traditional auditions they will be holding a “Casting Day” on Sunday 8th December. This will give interested performers a chance to get a flavour of the piece, and workshop sections of the show. Anyone interested in being part of this production can email: merrilyrep@yahoo.co.uk or tel 01785 602830 for more details.
8 | www.asmagazine.co.uk
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Why not visit THE free online place for the amateur theatre community? Visit www.amdram.co.uk or for more information contact jane@amdram.co.uk
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focus on costumes | amateurstage
>get dressed up for the occasion
Harlequins Costumes prides itself on offering fully accessorised costumes for many stage, film and private events Nationwide. Julian Cound tried them on for size. Costumes can also be sent via courier or their own delivery service to your designated address so that those not able to visit the studio due to distance can still benefit from the great service Harlequins have to offer. And their services do not just stop at costume hire! They also have a selection of props and scenery items, and their shop contains dance shoes, show souvenirs, make-up, wigs, moustaches, tights and much more! Their shop alone is well worth a visit! Harlequins Costumes also works with an experienced Wig Mistress who worked for many years at the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford. Beautiful lace fronted wigs can be hired at very competitive rates in order to complete the look of any costume and production. Wig fittings can be carried out on the same day as costume fittings at their studio so that you can see the finished look, and a discussion can also take place during the initial meeting with Jonathan between Directors and Committees.
Proprietor Jonathan Southall has always had a passion for theatre and costumes. After years of performing on stage and completing his studies in Performing Arts, Jonathan set up his own production company ‘The Harlequins Drama Group’ where he directs and choreographs many shows each year. For these productions Jonathan made all of his own costumes, which were of such a high quality he made the decision to offer other groups and societies the chance to hire them. With a rapidly growing stock of costumes, Jonathan decided to have a custom designed studio and warehouse built in which to store all the costumes and to run the hire business from. Harlequins Costumes offers a unique and tailored service with many benefits alongside your hire. Each hire includes free principal fittings on site at their costume studio, free weekend hire so companies can use costumes for photo shoots and publicity events, fully maintained costumes and accessories, plus a delivery and collection service. Each costume is hand tailored and altered to meet the exact measurements sent by the hirer, ensuring the most perfect fit each time. All of their costumes are continually maintained, and along with his members of staff Jonathan ensures that each costume is cleaned, restored and refreshed before each hire. New wardrobes are constantly being added to the stock, including ‘Phantom of the Opera’ and ‘Grease’ which are new for 2014!
To book an appointment or to receive further information, call 01527 570073. Alternatively, visit their website www.harlequinscostumes.co.uk to book appointments, download measurement charts and look at costumes in their gallery.
Jonathan believes that each customer is important and therefore Directors and Committees are invited to attend a complimentary meeting with Jonathan to discuss ideas for their forthcoming productions. Refreshments will be served in the new costume studio, and you can take your time in finalising and deciding your vision. Harlequins Costumes is open Monday to Saturday from 9.00am to 5.00pm. However, they can also do weekend and evening appointments outside of these hours for those who work in the day or need to travel long distances to their studio. Located in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, the costume studio has close links to both the M5 and M42 (just a few minutes drive from each) with ample customer parking ensuring easy access
www.asmagazine.co.uk | 11
amateurstage | feature
>make sure it’s all in-hand
Hand In Hand Theatre have once again been chosen to take part in The Royal Shakespeare Company’s OPENSTAGES project.
> insight Band Call to Tech Rehearsal Stephen Jenner form Gillingham gives us an insight into their get-in day. Yesterday was a brilliant day for GDS Productions as we finally took over the Hazlitt theatre Maidstone. It was a extremly busy morning as we had to get our props from the Brook Theatre Chatham and take them over to Maidstone. When we got there the scaffolding was being unloaded so we all mucked in and help get that unloaded. Then came all our props, scenery and then helping the sound crew unload all their equipment as well. Everyone from the company helps out wherever they can and assiting in any area that we can, from helping the band move their equipment into the bar for band call to helping the Hazlitt’s theatre team changing the stage around. We then had band call and boy, was that fantastic it produced goosebumps all around, it was the first time we had heard the band. Rehersals had been to a piano and keyboard so to hear the full band was just amazing, under the leadership of Peter Bailey it is going to sound amazing for the cast as well as the paying public.
for the piece. He has worked with the group before and produced acclaimed sound and music. His last work for their 2013 production of The Crucible was taken up by two companies in USA for their productions of the Arthur Miller play.
The award-winning theatre group were part of the initiative in 2012 with their original sequel to A Midsummer Night’s Dream - After The Dream. This year over 200 amateur companies applied and 86 have been chosen; Hand in Hand were accepted with their proposal for a new adaptation of The Winter’s Tale which will be musical, visually stunning and accessible to young audiences. Director, Bev Clark is off to Stratford Upon Avon for a skills workshop along with the other chosen directors and said “Hand in Hand is delighted to take part once again and our production will take place early 2015 with a large ensemble cast including a dance troupe” Andy Taylor will compose an original soundtrack
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Before they can start work on The Winter’s tale, Hand in Hand have a busy 12 months ahead with A Very Victorian Christmas - a seasonal revue with songs, poems and extracts to take place throughout December at local venues. Then they will be producing a week-long festival of events – War, Peace and Remembrance as part of Wirral Remembers to commemorate World War One. This will include both well known poetry and prose along with new and original songs, poems and dramas on the theme and will take place at the end of October 2014 with some school performances planned. For further details please visit their website www.handinhandtheatreproductions.co.uk or email hihtheatre@gmail.com
We then moved onto a tech rehersal where the vision of the director Francene Harris started to unfold on the stage. With her picture of perfection in her head scene’s were stopped and marked, lighting was marked props where on and off until perfect. Now we have dress rehearsal to look forward to on tuesday and then we open Wednesday... no rest for the wicked!
lighting feature | amateurstage
>lighting states Robin Lambert continues his series on Lighting Design with an insight into the wonderful world of gobos. The lighting department tends to be the Cinderella on many am-dram productions. Once the set, wardrobe, props and publicity has been sorted, whatever’s left can be spent by the lighting designer. There’s not a lot you can do with twenty three pounds sixty seven pence. But wait! The fairy godmother has arrived. With a wave of her magic wand she places coloured gels in front of luminaires and with a couple of gobos the whole set comes to life. Now, for the less technical of you, a gobo is not an American railroad tramp with a head cold but a piece of metal, with shapes cut out, which fits into some types of stage lights.
When it comes to set changes, don’t forget that you can use a gobo in lighting the floor to give an impression of a surface texture. It’s not ideal for long scenes and doesn’t look as good as a decent paint job but can often get you out of a hole. However, what seems at first to be an ideal quick fix can cause hours of problems if not treated carefully. Obviously you need to be aware of any spill light from other units and avoid having a glossy floor surface. In fact try and convince your designer to avoid glossy surfaces generally.
If the light can’t be hung vertically or there isn’t enough height to enable the gobo to cover the area then consider using a mirror. I wouldn’t suggest hanging a glass mirror above the stage unless you want to instill a permanent feeling of fear and trepidation into the cast but you can get plastic or acrylic mirrors which will be a lot lighter, easier to install, far less dangerous and more than adequate for the job. With a bit of tweaking and careful placement it will enable you to get the distance (throw) which you need. This technique isn’t used very often nowadays but it can be a scene-saver for small halls or low ceilings.
The word gobo comes from “go between” because they go in between the light source and the lens. There are thousands of them available and they cost about a tenner each. Have a look at www.rosco.com/gobos/ and you will get slackjawed at the choice available. Now, in my travels, I’ve noticed that a lot of amateur groups use gobos, especially windows and doors, more like projections. They project the image of a window onto a blank wall to save painting or building one. This can be a valid use of a gobo but think about it... Pretending that the light comes from a window can be much more effective. Use the projection to represent the light coming into the set and let it land on the floor or the background and the audience can imagine that there is a window (or whatever) just offstage. Often subtlety is the secret to using gobos effectively. The temptation is to use them in such a way that it shouts to the public “Look! Here’s an effect! Good innit?” but a bit of restraint can go a long way. Fade ‘em down a bit, unfocus them a tad or add a colour. Then the audience will stop thinking “What’s that projected onto the set?” and just accept that the mottle pattern is coming through trees on a warm summer’s evening. When using cloud shapes in a sky you can give them depth by having two different gobos and project one much more out of focus than the other. I found this works particularly well with Rosco’s “layered cloud’ series. Adding a moon to a daylight sky can create a lovely “late afternoon” feeling. You can either use a glass gobo, the 82700 from DHA is my particular go-to but costs around £30, or the steel 77220. Again, be subtle. The effect should just be about visible, not appearing in the sky like the bat-signal in Gotham City!
Black wrap, also known as Cinefoil, is incredibly useful. It’s like black baking foil but much thicker, doesn’t melt and can be bent into all sorts of shapes. It can be cut with scissors or a sharp knife and should be in the arsenal of every lighting director. Keep it hidden away though as other departments tend to go all gooey eyed when they see it and start to find uses for it. It’s not expensive either and can be re-used, so a roll of the stuff will last for ever if kept under lock and key and don’t let the other departments know that you have it.
The most important thing to remember is that any objects or actors in the area will cast a shadow on the floor and have the pattern projected on them as well. The shadows can be reduced by having the light come from as near a vertical angle as you can get as this will restrict the pattern to the top of the head and the shoulders of your performers. If your actor is bald and you are projecting a strong grid or brick pattern it can result in him looking like “Pinhead” from the film Hellraiser! Not a good look in a period rom-com. Having the lighting on the actor increased a smidge will also help to lose the pattern on the talent but bear in mind that you will want to avoid as much light as possible falling on the gobo’d floor. Imagine the hours of fun you can have trying to get this combination just right. Afterwards, book a week’s holiday in a padded cell to recover. If the talent is moving this also helps to camouflage the pattern. However a dancing actor isn’t always an option, some amateur groups have trouble finding actors who can move at all! In which case it’s better to have a hint of a pattern on the floor rather than a full-blown effect on the actor. Also, think about having the pattern fade out towards the edge which can be achieved by careful placing of some black-wrap to vignette the gobo. This is particularly effective when used with semi abstract designs like Rosco’s 7787 Cobblestones.
Gobos do not last forever so be wary of buying secondhand ones. The better makes such as DHA/Rosco are made of slightly thicker, noncorroding metal but even they will start to break after extended use, especially in very hot fixtures like those found in commercial theatres. However, if you buy them new and look after them, they will last for quite a few productions. You can make your own gobos. In theory. So the books say. I’ve never managed it without injury and my efforts never look as good as “shop made” gobos. They also give hours of amusement as the cast and crew try and guess what it’s supposed to be. You can use black-wrap if the gobo won’t be cooked in a hot light or used for very long but it bends and tears very, very easily if you want anything remotely intricate. The interweb is full of advice about using foil cooking trays or lithoplate but since a brand new Rosco or DHA gobo costs just over a tenner, I suggest you think of your nerves, health and fingers and just buy one. So, that’s a general overview about gobos. What I suggest is that you check that you have a luminaire which accepts them, then find out which size it is (very important) and then have a play. In later issues we’ll be looking more closely at specific uses for gobos and how to get the most out of them.
www.asmagazine.co.uk | 13
amateurstage | feature
>dressing down
for a more casual theatre
An evening at the theatre was once considered the epitome of refinement, but it appears a new drive for younger audiences has ushered in an era of more casual standards. is known to have twice ordered a member of the public out of the theatre mid-performance, after they committed the same sin. Alistair Smith, editor of The Stage magazine, said he believed the changing notion of what was considered acceptable at the theatre was an “unintended consequence” of the drive for broader audiences. “I think that for quite a long time, probably at least a decade, it’s been gradually getting less formal,” he said. “Instead of a narrow demographic, you are getting people from a wider range and all walks of life which is undoubtedly a good thing. But I think it maybe brought with it the unintended consequences of people not knowing the old rules.”
A recent survey has revealed a new “code of conduct” deemed acceptable by modern audiences, with visitors confessing to checking their phones taking photographs of the performances, and even tweeting. The study, conducted by Ticketmaster and called State of Play: Theatre UK, takes into account the views of around 1,500 people, found three-quarters of theatre-goers have recently dressed casually for performances Four out of every five people admitted to whispering during plays or musicals, while 21 per cent had taken photographs during a live show. A third claimed they had checked their phone during shows, with one in ten arguing it is acceptable to tweet or use social media at live events. A further 26 per cent had walked out of a show, despite only one in eight believing it is really acceptable. The change in modern manners, which experts note has developed over more than ten years, is believed to be the result of a drive to encourage younger people to come to the theatre.
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Audience members aged between 25 and 34 confessed to being “most guilty” of checking their phones, and were found to be twice as likely to find it acceptable. Around half of those aged 16 to 19 tweet about a performance they see, with two thirds going away to read the script or synopsis to understand the show only after it has finished. The result reflects a trend in modern theatre of encouraging younger audiences, with companies allowing “comfortable” dress and selling vastly discounted tickets. The English National Opera last year introduced the “Opera Undressed” series, inviting new audiences to wear jeans to selected shows, while many now go to see West End shows in their daywear. Mobile phone usage also appears to be increasing, with more people carrying devices and feeling the need to check them during a performance. In 2011, Kevin Spacey lambasted an audience member in character as Richard III after hearing a mobile phone ringing. The late Richard Griffiths
When asked whether anything from a traditional code of conduct should be considered sacred, he said: “Anything that is distracting should be an absolute no-no. So anything potentially offputting, such as taking photographs during a Shakespearian soliloquy, is unacceptable in my opinion.” A spokeswoman for the English National Opera said it was “absolutely fine” for people to come in formal dress or otherwise, as long as they were considerate towards other audience members and performers. She added the dilemma was “exactly why” the company introduced their Opera Undressed series, “so people who’ve never been to the opera can come along, enjoy a pre show talk, a performance and a post show party - and see how relaxed a night at the opera really is.”
What are your thoughts on the matter? Please send them to: editor@amateurstagemagazine.co.uk
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feature | amateurstage
> running in the footloose family
The National Theatre may have the Redgraves but Cassio OS in Watford also has its own theatrical dynasty in the Nicholson family. Julian Cound investigates. Grandfather Alan was taken by his mother to see the then Cassio Amateur Operatic Society’s first production of ‘The Pirates of Penzance’ in St. Michael’s church hall in November 1949. Alan, at the age of 9 and wearing short trousers, sat on the heating pipes for a warmer and better view! Little did he think that he would join the society in 1962 on its move to the Watford Palace Theatre and meet his future wife, Vivien, in the chorus of ‘The Gondoliers’ in 1966. Vivien became an outstanding and well loved leading soprano in a variety of roles and was a particularly stunning Anna in ‘The Merry Widow’ in 1991. Vivien’s final role was Dolly Levi in ‘Hello Dolly!’ just a short time before her far too premature death. Alan and Vivien’s eldest daughter, Julie, actually made her first appearance for Cassio as a ‘bump’ under the costume worn by Vivien in ‘Camelot’. Julie appeared in many shows as a teenager and has since played many leading roles, including quite a bundle of Rodgers and Hammerstein Laurey, Julie Jordan, Maria and Anna. As both a singer and a dancer Julie has excelled in roles such as Polly in ‘Crazy for You’ and Sheila in last year’s production of ‘A Chorus Line’. Older members and supporters of the society were
thrilled by her magnificent performance as Dolly in 2011 which brought back fond memories of her mother but also confirmed Julie’s continuation of her family talent in her own right. The second Nicholson daughter, Kathryn, did not aspire to the limelight but has worked for Cassio backstage on many occasions and has also been Social Secretary - a role she also took on in organising a surprise 70th birthday party for her father. The youngest member of Alan and Vivien’s family, Jeff, appeared for Cassio at the age of 9 as Winthrop in ‘The Music Man’ with his own mother as Mrs. Paroo and went on to achieve a first class honours degree in Musical Theatre from Mountview. Jeff appeared for several years in ‘Les Miserables’ in the West End, often playing the role of Javert as chief understudy. He has also appeared on TV in a Susan Boyle show, sang the role of the Foreman in the 25th Anniversary concert of ‘Les Miserables’ at the O2 (also on DVD) he sang and appeared (albeit briefly) in the recent film of ‘Les Miserables’. Jeff was one of the small group of singers who travelled to Hollywood to perform some of the songs live at the Oscars ceremony.
Julie’s daughter, Evie, has already appeared in ‘The Sound of Music’ and ‘Oliver’ with other societies both before she was 11. She has attended Cassio rehearsals from a very young age and can’t wait to appear again! Julie’s son, Harrison, (17) is making his first appearance as Ren McCormack in Cassio’s forthcoming production of ‘Footloose’ and is excited about continuing the family tradition in leading roles. Harrison’s father, Kristian Evans, has also appeared for Cassio on a number of occasions, most notably as Fagin in ‘Oliver’, Zangler in ‘Crazy for You’ and John Wilkes Booth in ‘Assassins’. Alan is impatient to see whether Jeff’s daughter Ava, and Kathryn’s daughter India show inclinations for the stage but he’ll have to wait a while – they are nearly two years and one month respectively! Cassio OS’s production of ‘Footloose’ - directed by Martyn Knight - is at the Watford Palace Theatre from Monday 11th to Saturday 16th November evening performances at 7.45pm and a matinee on Saturday at 2.30pm. www.watfordpalacetheatre.co.uk
www.asmagazine.co.uk | 17
amateurstage | feature
> stafford
reach seventy
epic awards
The Stafford Players have been creating theatre for 70 years, Julian Cound caught up with them to join in the celebrations. In 1943 not only were food and clothing rationed but enjoyment and entertainment were also in short supply. It was then that a small group of Stafford residents decided to bring a little light relief to the grim restrictions of wartime England by putting on a play. It was called “Nothing but the Truth” and was performed at King Edward VI Grammar School for Boys. From these humble beginnings grew Stafford Players, now a thriving drama group presenting three plays a year in the Gatehouse Theatre and celebrating seventy continuous years. The school hall quickly became too small for the players’ growing popularity and the Borough Hall became its regular venue until 1958 when there was a move to the Oddfellows Hall which had opened as Stafford Arts Centre. In 1969 it was back to the Borough Hall. A group of volunteers, among them several members of Stafford Players, worked with Stafford District Arts Council to make the Borough Hall into an Arts Theatre. This was to be the home of Stafford Players for the next 10 years until the building was completely refurbished and modernized to create the Gatehouse and Cabin Theatres. Today the Society is fortunate to be able to use these fully equipped professional venues. Life was very different in the pre-Gatehouse days for both audience and players. There was no raked seating or air-conditioning. The walls were lined with portraits of Stafford dignitaries of the past. In the absence of a lift, scenery and furniture were hauled up the stairs usually by the cast themselves. Lighting, sound and set construction were all done by teams of volunteers. Sometimes council offices had to double as dressing rooms. The performers and audiences now enjoy all the facilities of Stafford’s professional theatre with its team of technical, box office and catering staff. In 1996, the small studio theatre within the Gatehouse, then known as the Cabin, was renamed the Malcolm Edwards Theatre in memory of a man who was a stalwart of Stafford Players for many years and a leading light in the artistic life of Stafford. Those who knew him are sad that the venue’s name has been shortened to the MET but his memory is preserved in a plaque near the entrance. Malcolm is also remembered in a trophy awarded by the North Staffs Drama Association for “Best
18 | www.asmagazine.co.uk
Male Actor” which has been won on several occasions by performers from Stafford Players. Stafford Players are members of the North Staffordshire Drama Association, which is affiliated to the British Drama Festival Association, and most of their productions are adjudicated as part of the regional and national full length play competition. They won their first festival awards in 1965 and have been presented with many more since that date. As winner of the NSDA (regional) Festival, the group has several times qualified for a place in the British All Winners Drama Festival, twice winning the Amateur Stage Award for second place in the national finals with Ronald Harwood’s “The Dresser” in 1988 and again in 2010 with “Humble Boy” by Charlotte Jones. Stafford Players continue to aim high in everything they do, staging a wide variety of plays from Shakespeare, Shaw and Sheridan to Pinter, Potter and Pratchett. The group’s success can be seen in the loyal following they get from the people of Stafford and district. Many plays in the Malcolm Edwards Theatre play to capacity audiences and even in the main auditorium audience numbers are the envy of many professional companies. The Players’ 70th Anniversary production will be “Spring and Port Wine” by Bill Naughton on the main stage in the Gatehouse from 6th to 9th November 2013.
The search for the most innovative and inspiring voluntary arts groups in the UK and Ireland is now on. The Epic Awards are an initiative of Voluntary Arts, and since 2010 have been shining a light on the diversity of amateur arts and crafts activity. The 2014 Epic Awards are now open for entry. Previous winners have included an all-male voice choir that took a novel approach to increasing participation, a breakdance crew who worked with the NHS to roll-out an anti-smoking project, a drumming group that aided mental health recovery, and an orchestra that became a YouTube hit when they performed an uplifting flash mob in their local bus station. From singing to knitting, amateur theatre to painting, over 60,000 voluntary arts groups across the UK and Republic of Ireland provide regular opportunities for cultural engagement in local areas. The Epic Awards celebrate their achievements. All voluntary-led arts groups are eligible to apply. Entries might include: groups who have formed new collaborations projects that engage with a local community or beyond activity that sets out to educate, inspire or increase participation groups who use new technology in innovative ways Application forms can be downloaded from www.epicawards.co.uk
feature | amateurstage
> addams family a fantastic new opportunity
They’re creepy and kooky and they’re headed to the UK. Amateur Stage are proud to announce this new release to amateur theatre groups by Theatrical Rights Worldwide. Following intensive negotiations, Theatrical Rights Worldwide and Amateur Stage Magazine are pleased to announce that The Addams Family The Musical is to be made available for amateur performance here in the UK. Applications for licenses opened of Friday 11th October and will remain open until 31st December 2013 for performances between January 1st 2014 to December 31st 2015. The show will be fully licensed once 100 applications for licenses are received by Theatrical Rights Worldwide. Not only does one lucky group have the possibility of hosting the UK Premier of the show but it is highly possible that they will be staging the Worldwide Amateur Premiere as rights are being simultaneously released in the UK and Australasia. The Addams Family is a musical comedy with music and lyrics by Andrew Lippa and a book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice. The show is based upon The Addams Family characters created by Charles Addams in his single-panel gag cartoons, which depict a ghoulish American family with an affinity for all things macabre. Numerous film and television adaptations of Addams’ cartoons exist, but the musical, which is the first
stage show based on the characters, is based upon the cartoons rather than the television and film characters. The original cast featured Nathan Lane as Gomez and Bebe Neuwirth as Morticia. An original Broadway cast recording was released on June 8, 2010. A revised national tour of North America began in September 2011 and is still running to great acclaim. This unique offer will make the show available to amateur groups across the UK before the show is staged in the West End and on tour throughout the UK. Jim Hoare, Director of Licensing for Theatrical Rights said “We are excited to have the opportunity to offer amateur rights to The Adams Family - The Musical. The UK market has been receptive to our rights offering for Grease over the past year and we are pleased to be able to offer this unique opportunity to such a vibrant community of performers”. Following the recent survey on the state of amateur theatre formulated by Amateur Stage it
was evident that amateur musical theatre groups nationwide have been crying out for the release of something new with an instantly recognisable title to attract audiences and performers alike. The Addams Family certainly ticks all the right boxes. Some things you should know: • Once 100 applications are received TRW will start licensing the show for groups in the UK. 100 Licenses is the minimum number required for amateur release but we are hoping that many more amateur groups will embrace this amazing opportunity • There are no restrictions on which groups can perform The Addams Family - The Musical • TRW will quote royalties with each applicant. Payment schedules can be negotiated with TRW upon request • Perusal material for the show can be downloaded for a nominal fee direct from www.theatricalrights.co.uk • The show has an orchestration for 12 players plus conductor. There are 10 named roles and a large ensemble required. As an additional incentive, Amateur Stage will be offering a full page advertisement, editorial and a mention in our weekly newsletter to the group who are first to perform the show in the UK. Any amateur musical society, school or youth group interested in obtaining the rights for The Addams Family should apply through the TRW website www.theatricalrights.com
What do you think about the news? editor@amateurstagemagazine.co.uk www.asmagazine.co.uk | 21
amateurstage | feature
> joey on show The V&A acquires the original Joey puppet from the National Theatre’s West End stage production of War Horse. The V&A has announced that Handspring Puppet Company have donated Joey, the original West End horse puppet from the National Theatre’s award-winning stage adaptation of Michael Morpurgo’s novel War Horse. War Horse tells the story of a young boy Albert, and his beloved horse Joey, who has been requisitioned by the army to fight in World War I. Caught in enemy crossfire, Joey ends up serving on both sides during the war before landing in No Man’s Land, while Albert, not old enough to enlist, embarks on a treacherous mission to find his horse and bring him home. War Horse, which continues its run at the New London Theatre, has been seen by over 4 million people worldwide and features ground-breaking puppetry by South Africa’s Handspring Puppet Company, which brings breathing and galloping horses to life on stage. Joey has been donated to the V&A by Handspring’s Adrian Kohler and Basil Jones who designed and fabricated the puppets in War Horse. The horse puppet acquired by the V&A made his stage debut at the New London Theatre on Saturday 28 March 2009, and subsequently performed in over 1,640 shows, during that time he was operated by over 20 puppeteers. Joey joined the V&A’s Theatre and Performance Galleries from 18 October 2013 in a specially created display showing how the life-size puppet is operated on stage. Three mannequin puppeteers in costumes designed by Olivier award-winning theatre designer and illustrator Rae Smith will be displayed with Joey and accompanied by a newlyproduced behind-the-scenes interactive video display created by 59 Productions. On stage Joey is operated by three puppeteers; the Head, the Heart and the Hind, who work together to create the character and noises of the horse. Using the Japanese Bunraku ‘exposed’ style of puppetry the manipulators can be seen on stage as they articulate the limbs of the horse and communicate its emotions and breathing with life-like accuracy. The puppet is made primarily of cane, leather and Tyvec (synthetic fibre) and its spine is reinforced with aluminium to allow for a rider on top. It takes eight months to build a complete set of puppets for War Horse all of which
22 | www.asmagazine.co.uk
are handmade in Cape Town, South Africa by 14 craftsmen and women. Martin Roth, Director of the V&A said: “War Horse is undoubtedly one of the most memorable theatre productions of the 21st century and is an example of one the most spectacular and captivating set designs in the theatre industry. We are thrilled to acquire the original horse puppet for the V&A’s Theatre and Performance collection. Joey demonstrates the skill and ingenuity of the Handspring Puppet Company in creating a remarkably life-like puppet which audiences across the world connect and empathise with throughout the performance.” Adrian Kohler and Basil Jones, Puppetry Directors of War Horse said: “Ever since we first started visiting the V&A in our late teens, it has been a source of inspiration to us as artists. How wonderful that something Handspring has created will now become a source of inspiration for a new generation. We are delighted and feel hugely honoured that Joey will have a permanent home in this great institution.” Nick Starr, Executive Director of the National Theatre said: “When War Horse opened six years ago at the National Theatre, it was inconceivable that the star of the show would find such an illustrious home. The production was the result of 18 months of intensive workshops with an
incredible creative team and a talented group of actors and puppeteers and of course Handspring Puppet Company, who improvised and experimented to transform a story with a horse as its central character into a moving and inventive piece of theatre. It is testament to this creative team and the many skilled puppeteers who have brought Joey to life over the years that a puppet made from cane, aluminium and leather is now in the world’s leading museum of art and design.” Handspring Puppet Company and Rae Smith have jointly received numerous awards for War Horse in the UK and around the world. Awards include the Laurence Olivier Award for Set Design, Critics’ Circle Award for Design, the Evening Standard Award for Set Design and a Special Tony Award for Handspring Puppet Company and a Drama Desk Award for the Creative Team of War Horse. The success of the stage adaptation is a result of the collaboration between a team of leading creatives. Michael Morpugo’s book was adapted by Nick Stafford, it is co-directed by Marianne Elliott and Tom Morris, puppet design by Adrian Kohler, set, costume and video drawing designed by Rae Smith, lighting by Paule Constable, and movement and horse choreography by Toby Sedgwick. The puppetry directors are Basil Jones and Adrian Kohler, video design by 59 Productions Ltd, song-making by John Tams, music by Adrian Sutton and sound by Christopher Shutt.
amateurstage | feature
>page to stage in three not so easy moves
Nigel Banks talks to Amateur Stage about getting a self-penned play from the page into production. My play Daddy’s Girls will receive its stage premiere in Canterbury at the end of October - all being well. One hesitates to tempt the theatrical Fates, and as there has been more than one hiccup along the way already, it would be unwise to take anything for granted. I’ve now written three plays, well three and a half if you count the one I’m in the process of rewriting. I’ve been involved in amateur theatre for over thirty-five years now, first as an actor, then a director, and latterly a writer. The progression was not straightforward. In 2001, alongside my day job of teaching English and Drama at a school in Dover, I co-founded a small-scale theatre company with four like-minded friends. We chose Ashcan as its name (for the simple reason that two of us lived in the Ashford area and the other three in Canterbury!), and our aim was to stage thoughtprovoking, yet entertaining works by serious, contemporary writers, which were to be staged with the highest quality of acting, direction and design we could manage, given our limited size and resources. Our first production was Someone Who’ll Watch Over Me by Frank McGuinness in 2002, and since then we’ve staged works by Albee, Chekhov, Mamet, Miller and Pinter, amongst others. In 2009 we hit a problem of not being able to find a suitable venue. There’s a dearth of small-scale venues in the Canterbury area. The solution came in an unlikely guise. A bar/restaurant/music venue called The Farmhouse was looking to diversify,
so we joined them in introducing the concept of “Café-theatre” to the Canterbury cultural scene. For a very reasonable price of £15 patrons would be able to enjoy a delicious two-course meal followed by a short play all in the same room. We erected a small, temporary stage at one end of the dining-room, built a set and brought in theatrical lights on stands. Our first play Elegy For A Lady by Arthur Miller was very well received and the concept took off. After a few more successful shows, however, we felt we were running out of suitable material, and so, as a result of a chance remark by one of my Ashcan colleagues that we should come up with something ourselves, I sat down in front of a blank screen and began to write a play. In truth, I never expected it to see the light of day as a performed piece, but my Ashcan colleagues thought enough of my efforts to want to stage the premiere of Vacant Possession, as I called it. This took place in October 2011, and was favourably received by audiences. By this time, I had written a second play Daddy’s Girls. It started out l as my attempt to create a comic version of the King Lear situation, in which a recently widowed father Edward is persuaded by his two daughters to quit his large house and divide his time with them. This apparently sensible arrangement is then ruined when he announces that he’s fallen in love with Leah, a divorcée with two daughters of her own, who is much younger than him. I adopted a
different method when creating this piece. I had written a couple of scenes but was not sure where to take the play next, so I enlisted the help of three local actresses, and held a couple of workshop sessions. This helped me enormously in shaping the plot, as well as developing the characters and their relationships. The finished play turned out rather darker than intended and would probably be classed as a poignant tragi-comedy. It has already been performed, but not on stage. I was able to adapt it for radio and thanks to the support of a newly established local internet station, it received its “global premiere” in July. Channel Radio may operate from a tiny studio in New Romney, but it has listeners all over the world. I’ve since recorded all three of my plays and had them broadcast by the station. Go to www.channelradio.co.uk my plays are available now on the Listen Again function. Rehearsals are now well underway for the stage version of Daddy’s Girls, which will be staged as part of this year’s Canterbury Festival Fringe at a new venue for us: Salt Restaurant in Canterbury. Again it will be a combined dining/ theatre experience. The acting space will be tight, but as the play is intimate, we do not need much. It will also sadly be Ashcan’s final show, as we’ve decided to disband. Illnesses and founder members moving away have forced us to accept the inevitable, but we can look back with pride on our achievements over the last decade. Go to www.ashcantheatrecompany.co.uk for more information.
24 | www.asmagazine.co.uk
Musicals from the Stagescripts catalogue
??
... new titles ... new challenges ... new rewards ...
On the Committee? Ask yourself four quick questions ...
??
x Do all our shows really have to be ex-mega-musicals from the West End? x With good marketing, and at the right venue, could we get an audience in to see something interesting - a musical with a familiar title, but just a bit different? x Would our cast and crew prefer to be creative - to develop their own characters and to design the staging - rather than being obliged to clone somebody else’s work? x With ever-decreasing audience figures, can we afford NOT to try something different?
Depending on your answers, these musicals might be just what you’re looking for!
“… A dark, brooding score; as fiery and dramatic as the subject …”
... the Australian Version!
“… an absolute hoot from beginning to end …”
“A musical journey into the soul of a person searching for a perfect way to live.”
“... a plethora of glorious melodies ... captures the mood of the book ...”
Winner : Best Book & Lyrics Greater Manchester Drama Festival, 2009
“... a wonderful night's entertainment, one which I didn't want to end ...”
“A fabulous cross between Celebrity Fit Club and Dad’s Army”
Plays from the Stagescripts catalogue ... new titles ... new challenges ... new rewards ... Playing Away (5m, 8f) 2 Acts
The Essence of Love (3m, 2f) 2 Acts
a comedy by Janet Shaw
a comedy by Philip Ayckbourn A mother and her daughter together with a father and his son find themselves on adjacent hotel terraces in Marrakech. There’s anything but love in the air for the four British holiday makers and when the gift of a magical elixir gets into the water, unlikely passions take root. This promises to be no ordinary spell in the sun! Overbearing Diana; her idealist daughter, Gemma; the aloof young artist, Tom and his skirt-chasing father, Martin, are in for a holiday they won’t forget. ‘The Essence of Love’ looks at the longings of the heart and what remains when passion has run its course. Stagescripts Ltd Lantern House 84 Littlehaven Lane Horsham, West Sussex RH12 4JB
It's darts time again at the Frog and Duck. The girls' team have made the final again and the lads, well, the lads are struggling. The excitement of the competition is overshadowed when a routine medical examination jeopardises the rock-solid marriage of landlord Alan and his wife Kath. Kath is pregnant, but Alan has had a vasectomy. Could it be that someone at the pub other than the darts team has been playing away? Add an interfering mother-in-law for Alan, an unintelligible Irish man and a pair of the town's worst dieters and you have the recipe for a night of hilarity fused together with just the right amount of pathos.
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feature | amateurstage
> toads
success with new play
Anna Reynolds tells Amateur Stage about the award winning new play “Dress Down Friday” by Austin Hawkins presented by the TOADS Theatre Company in Torquay. TOADS Theatre Company has been in existence for approximately 70 years. A succcessful and thriving group being in the fortunate position of performing in what we call The Little Theatre in Torquay, a beautifully converted church. We stage 10 productions a year and having been a member since 1991, I have been involved in many productions over those years, both acting and directing. Like any theatre group, we are always looking for new plays and are lucky enough to have a playwright in our midst. Austin Hawkins has written a number of plays and film scripts. A few years ago I took part in one of Austin’s monologues which was subsequently filmed and shown several times locally. When Austin said that he has written a One Act play, I jumped at the chance to read it, by then being well aware of his writing talents. I loved the play: the characters leapt from the page and I could visualise the whole thing – something which for me with my director’s hat on is a prerequisite to directing a play. Austin said he’d like to enter the play into the All England One Act Play Festival and asked me to direct it. For me it was a no-brainer! A well crafted play, interesting plot, great characters – it was a done deal! As TOADS Theatre Company had never entered a One Act Play Festival we had no-one to ask for advice, so we were on our own! At no time did Austin want to influence me with regards to casting, so once I had cast the play: only two characters, the challenge was to design a set that could be set and struck within the time limits of the competition: 10 minutes to set and 5 to strike and one that could be transported to the various theatres where the competition was to be held. The beauty of having the author on hand was being able to sit and chat with him to see what he had in mind in terms of set, when he wrote it and being able to put our ideas together. We decided on a simple two-piece set of a door and window frame with a few well chosen pieces of furniture. I wanted to present a small, tatty bedsit with minimum props and it worked beautifully. Briefly Dress Down Friday is about a man on his way home from work being approached by a prostitute. They go back to her bedsit, she thinking he is another client but he with a very different agenda!
Austin stated from the outset that he wouldn’t attend rehearsals; he didn’t want to interfere or influence my direction or interpretation of the text. Moreover I was allowed to change any lines that in my opinion didn’t ‘flow’ without of course changing the overall ethos of the play. Rehearsals were exciting! A new play and I was in the exalted position of being able to put my own interpretation to it. Austin had not included any moves, except for entrances and exits, preferring the director to use his or her own imagination. The characters grew and evolved and the actors developed a strong bond that showed in their relationship on stage. Towards the end of the rehearsal period, Austin popped in to see a run-through. I was nervous: how would he like my interpretation? Austin told me that in the writing process, he tries to visualise the scene, ‘hear’ the lines, imagine how the characters would react. There is not normally a collaboration between author and director, it’s as the director ‘sees’ the play, it’s his ‘baby’. However, because this was a new play, Austin was prepared for there to be a collaboration between us and as he had never seen one of his plays performed on stage, he wasn’t prepared for the ‘shock’ of seeing his play with a new interpretation: that of the director’s. Fortunately for me, he was delighted with the result and acknowledged that although some lines had been interpreted in a way other than how he had initially imagined, he was pleased with the end result. Of course playwrights as a rule don’t have the luxury of being able to have this debate with a director. For me, the delight of the whole experience was in the developing of a ‘virgin’ play, with no other actors having played those parts, therefore no comparisons to be made. My actors were those characters and they brought it to life in a way that neither Austin or I could have imagined.
daring to bare Film and TV actor, Steve Huison, best known for his role as Lomper in The Full Monty and Eddie Windass in Coronation Street, has helped Spa Theatre Company with costumes for their November production of The Full Monty. The group was having difficulty sourcing costumes for the six men in the final scene of the show when Steve contacted them. Liz Leigh of Spa Theatre Company said “Steve got in touch via our website and asked if we were interested in his set of Full Monty costumes and of course we said yes. We obviously can’t reveal too much about the costumes (the boys reveal enough during the show!) but there’s an awful lot of Velcro!” Liz travelled to Saltaire, Leeds, where Steve runs charity cabarets as his alter ego Squinty McGinty and also Shoestring Theatre, a charitable project that raises awareness of mental health issues. When Liz met Steve he had just come back from The Edinburgh Festival where he had played the lead role in John Godber’s production “Losing the Plot”. Steve was very supportive of the cast and show, saying “The costumes have been used for our popular cabarets and it’s great that they’ve found their way on to a Leamington Spa stage. The group will have a fantastic show and I wish them all the very best.” Raucous, poignant and laugh-out-loud funny, The Full Monty musical by Terrence McNally and David Yazbek is based on the 1997 British smash hit film. Set in Buffalo where unemployment is rife, six unemployed steelworkers decide to strip for one night only, promising to go the full monty. The show tells the story of a group of strong women struggling to help the men in their lives, whilst the men work through their fears, body issues and anxieties as they find strength in their friendship. The Full Monty is on at The Royal Spa Centre from 12 - 16 November 2013.
Dress Down Friday won the Western Division of the competition and went on to come second in the Semi-Finals at Warminster.
Got tour own stories to tell? Send them to: editor@amateurstagemagazine.co.uk
www.asmagazine.co.uk | 27
the musical produced | amateurstage
>musical produced lift
Music Theatre South are based in Southampton and are an ‘invite only’ amateur company. Over the past years they have produced less frequently performed pieces such as ‘Pageant’, ‘Eurobeat’, ‘The Boys In The Photograph’, [title of show] and Departure Lounge. Continuing it’s tradition of presenting new, british musicals, Artistic Director Adam Myers tells us about their recent production of new british musical ‘LIFT’. Introduction Lift is a new British musical written by Craig Adams and Ian Watson. The show explores the thoughts and possible connections between 8 ordinary people, during a 54 second trip in a London lift. Seen through the eyes of a London busker, this 75 minute musical explores the idea of what might happen if we just ‘say how we feel’. The characters are nameless, and include The Busker, The Lap Dancer, Bright Young Thing, Athletic and Wearing a Thong, Tall Dark and Handsome, The Ballet Dancer, The Secretary, and The French Teacher. Presented and developed by the exciting Perfect Pitch, who specialise in developing British musical, Lift received its UK premiere in January and February at the eclectic Soho Theatre. It played to great acclaim, and gained a buzz among the mainly musical theatre crowd. ‘As Artistic Director of Music Theatre South, I am an avid theatre goer, and often a supporter of new musicals.’ Explained Adam, ‘I am always looking for future projects, and having just had a success presenting Dougal Irvine’s ‘Departure Lounge’ a couple of times, was looking for the next project’
talent, and then invite them into the show. We work on a per show basis, therefore have flexibility and can be dynamic around the type of productions we do. I have been very lucky over the past years to have a lot of local people wanting to come and be in our shows, so I had the pick of everyone really. We rarely audition, and we usually scout local shows to look for people who may want to come into one of our productions. The cast is small, with 8 characters. The Busker is a bit like the narrator, and also plays guitar on stage as part of the small band, and is the closest thing to the lead role. I had already asked Jez Roberts to do the role when we saw the show in London, so he was already on board. I knew he loved the material, and Jez had already been in several of our shows over the year, so I was happy with that choice. I also wanted to appoint a director – I felt that the piece needed a more modern, younger approach than I could give. I had already had my eye on a local young director, Sam Quested, as he we had very similar outlooks. Sam had seen the show in London, and was delighted to be asked. We had a small issue, as we had already cast and planned our summer production, successful Broadway musical [title of show]. Due to theatre
and licencing availability, we ended up having to present the shows back to back – and rehearse over a very small amount of time. Vikki-Jo Keens, Jez Roberts and myself were already rehearsing for [title of show] – so it was quite an intense period of learning 2 shows at once. Other casting happened quite quickly with us being able to choose completely versatile and edgier actors than usual. Rehearsals We had appointed local composer Stephanie Amies as our Musical Director, and Harry Andreou, who is an avid Music Theatre South performer came on board as a ‘movement director’. The production team worked hard and cleverly together to get the best out of the small cast. Harry spent a lot of time staging subtle staged pieces which also remained naturalistic to the setting. The tube journey, a rainy London street and several flashbacks had to be presented in a natural non dance way – so this presented a staging challenge. Our cast were pretty much all dancers, as well as actor singers, so it was a challenge to keep this down to a subtle minimum. Sam’s direction was tight, exact and detailed. The script in Lift is very suggestive, and there is
‘The music is what attracted me to the piece first and foremost’ Adam explained. ‘I went to the show during its preview period, and it literally raised the hairs on the back of my neck, and the 2 friends with me agreed’. ‘I returned with my best friend later in the run, and he felt the same – I had a hunch at the time that we would at some point be doing the show, so had already sounded him out to being our Busker – which ended up being the case’. ‘I contacted Perfect Pitch almost immediately, and was after a bit of negotiating, offered the opportunity to produce the show’ Casting Being an invitation only company, we have the luxury of being able to scour the local area for
www.asmagazine.co.uk | 29
amateurstage | the musical produced
little story, although with the right direction and suggestion, everything you need to know about the thoughts and feelings of our 8 passengers is all there. Sam worked well with the actors, helping them to understand their characters, and trying to work on the subtle gestures, that would repeat themselves in several scenes to strengthen them. He also lead the company from the front, with demonstration and was also unusually hands on with the music process, directing the feeling and emotion in the singing from around the piano – which in my experience is unusual. Stephanie and Sam seemed to work well in this partnership. The show is 85% music, so the majority of rehearsals were spend on the complicated musical score. The staging was simple and stylised. Only some of the action takes place in the lift, so we had to use minimalist staging and setting to create and tell our story. We had block rehearsals, so had to make sure we knew our dialogue and music in preparation, as there wasn’t much time for learning when we were there. Set, Costumes and Make-up Because so much of the show, takes place in the minds of the 8 people in the Lift, we had to design
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and build a simple set. Our set designer and builder Alick, came up with a couple of designs, which were far out of our small budget, but we ended up with 4 trucks – each with a metal frame representing each ‘wall’ of the lift. These metal frames were also fitted with neon lights which then could be remotely activated to show the audience when the characters were ‘climbing’ in the Lift. These four pieces were then moved and connected by the cast to invent the other scenes. Costumes and make up were easy, as the musical is set I in the here and now, and each character had to look just like someone you would see on your usual commute to work.
us with ticket sales for that evening, albeit to catch a glimpse of Kerry!
Sound and Lighting Sound was key – we had a small rock tinged band which got quite loud, and 8 actors – all who spoke and sung, usually intermittingly. Our sound team worked with our production team at rehearsal to understand the show. Lighting was also concert like and striking. Our director Sam wanted a stark, modern feel to the show, so we used lots of vivid, clean and broken up light on mist, it ended up being very striking and original.
Conclusion Trying and presenting newer unknown shows often has its problems. With ‘Lift’ we experienced what I would call a ‘Marmite’ effect. Some people hated the show, some people loved it. We found ourselves explaining the show at lot, and also listening to audiences thoughts on what they thought was going on. Interestingly when the writer, Craig Adams came to watch, he explained that they had had a similar experience in London. Lift premieres in New York in November, so I will be very interested to see how the show is received there. Our reviews were great, with lots of praise for our Busker Jez and Sams direction. We also were excited to have Kerry Ellis come to the show, and shower compliments at the standard of acting and singing from the cast – so we were delighted with that. We are now considering the future of Lift. Whether the show is a hit or a miss seems to be a discussion point locally among our peers, and we have been asked by a local venue to present the show again, so very much like the story of the show itself, our journey with it seems to continue.
Marketing As with any other company, we struggle with audience numbers, especially with no membership, and trying to do unknown shows. We used social media to great effect, and tweeted regularly from rehearsals. As with the London production, we used our characters to promote the show, using arty shots of our cast in costume, in a industrial lift setting. Perfect Pitch kindly let us use their logo, and the logo that the London production used. We also used our company Facebook site to update pictures, video and music from rehearsal. We were lucky enough to be visited by Craig Adams the composer and he tweeted on the day he was coming that he was bringing his friend, west end star, Kerry Ellis. Whilst this prospect was scary for the cast, our ‘retweet’ of this new, certainly helped
We also used an ‘airline style’ pricing structure. We often take on new work, and are currently working out of the fabulous new Hub Theatre in Southampton. We try hard to make profits on shows so that we can continue, however this is hard. Basically our prices got more expensive the closer the show got. We started at £10 a seat and eventually went to £14.50 a seat. This gave an opportunity for early bookers to enjoy a decent discount, and also for us to get a feel for how the show would sell.
Lift by Craig Adams and Ian Watson is licensed through Perfect Pitch Musicals www.perfectpitchmusicals.com
awards feature | amateurstage
>coming up roses October 13th saw the annual Rose Bowl Awards ceremony celebrate all that is good in amateur theatre in the South West, Julian Cound reports on the event. the awards began. The award for Best Dramatic Production, which bears his name, was claimed by the Actonians, from Iron Acton, with their highly inventive presentation of The 39 Steps. You only had to move up the road from The Actonians’ base to Thornbury to find the Best Actor in a Drama, Phil Domaille, who played Salieri in Thornbury Amateur Dramatic Society’s Amadeus. You had to go further into Gloucester for the winner of the Best Actress in a Drama, Melanie Palmer who played Nora in Cotswold Players’ A Dolls House.
A capacity audience of 450 were present at the annual Rose Bowl Awards at the Winter Gardens Pavilion on the seafront at Weston-super-Mare, with a total of 91 entries representing amateur groups from Exeter to Bradford-on-Avon. The entries were made up of 35 plays, 48 musicals and 6 opera/operetta and 2 Shakespeare productions.
Then BAOS member George Capon was named as the winner of the Bristol School of Performing Arts Youth Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of the Pirate King in The Pirates of Penzance.
Well known actor Chris Harris, who has played the Dame in Bristol and Bath Theatre Royal pantomimes each Christmas for a number of years, in presenting the awards emphasised the importance of attracting younger audiences to the theatre and promoting youth theatre generally
The six adjudicators, who decide the winners from the 100 entries that contest the 18 categories each season, argued long and hard before deciding to give it to Tabitha Cox, who played Maria in Frome Operatic Society’s Sound of Music.
A master at dealing with a live audience, Chris presented the first award of the evening, Best Variety/Revue/Pantomime, to the Encore Northenders Theatre Company for its production of Goldilocks.
One of the most hotly contested awards was the Melanie Evans Award for Best Actress in a Musical.
The first Rose Bowl adjudicator was John Coe, who was the Bristol Post’s theatre critic when
One of the things Walter Hawkins and John Coe would be most pleased to see is the growing strength of young players and groups entering the Rose Bowl. The enthusiasm which greeted Danielle Wiley, when she came forward to receive the Barbara Macrae Youth Award for Best Actress, and Zenith Youth Theatre Company who took the Jean Fennell Award for Best Youth Production was deafening. Next season’s Rose Bowl is already under way and if the quality of performance and production matches that seen last term theatre goers have a great deal to look forward to. www.rosebowlawards.org.uk
Dazzlingly set up by Stage Electrics, whose award for Technical Achievement was won by Dursley Operatic and Dramatic Society for The Sound of Music, the awards evening with its video images, lighting effects, and music has truly became the Oscars night for west country local theatre enthusiasts. The awards were introduced 50 years ago by Walter Hawkins, then managing director of the Bristol Evening Post. The best musical production award was greeted with the biggest cheer of the evening. It went to Bristol’s oldest musical club Bristol Amateur Operatic Society for its production of Chess.
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amateurstage | feature
> news
from ltg groups
A round-up of news from the Little Theatre Guild and its members The Property Group at Tower Theatre, Islington continues to work hard in the search for a new home. Over the first three months of the year, three properties/sites have been inspected, with architects and surveyors, but competition with wealthy developers is proving formidable. However, the reputation of the theatre with local Councils, with English Heritage, and with the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings is widely respected. Great news at South London Theatre: the Building Preservation Trust has received initial support from the Heritage Lottery Fund to restore the theatre in West Norwood’s Old Fire Station. A development grant of £157,800 has been awarded to help SLT progress its plans to apply for a full grant of £1.5 million for the project. The building is a unique and amazing institution; it is included in the English Heritage ‘At Risk’ register. It has been disused as a fire station for over 100 years, yet retains a wealth of character rare for this type of building which usually loses most of the interior features. “We can look forward to seeing the building back in good condition and at the heart of the community.” At the Theatre Royal, Dumfries a new Redevelopment Project has been launched with high hopes of success this time round! The building in part goes back to 1792, and is associated with Robert Burns. The Guild of Players acquired the theatre in 1959, saving it from demolition. Their hopes for funding were dashed at the last moment a few years ago. But they are battling on! At Talisman Theatre, Kenilworth the long-term plan to relocate on a new site after the sale of the present site to developers (the Smalley Place scheme) is making slow but steady progress. Building plans have been costed, but progress with the local council is very slow. So the theatre has embarked on a three year plan to refurbish various areas of the present building, where it is felt that investment will be justified over the coming 3 to 4 year period. Refurbishment and restoration at the Miller Centre Theatre, Caterham is long term project, so much so that the theatre is now going to levy a charge of £1 per ticket sold to raise funds for The Park Hill Trust, the charity which owns the building. Immediate plans this summer are to extend and remodel the public toilets, the building and fitting out of which will cost £60,000. It is felt that a ticket levy will spread the fund-raising more widely across the whole range of activities and patrons.
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At South London Theatre, the Members’ Club is proposing to help the current appeal for funds by raising a levy on sales of drinks – for example, increasing bottled beer and wine prices by 20p might raise £2k, based on last year’s figures. The development at Chesil Theatre, Winchester is moving ahead again. “Just to recap: after many years of discussions, negotiations and design work, we eventually secured the land and obtained planning permission for our new extension. Then our partners in the development, St John’s (Winchester) Charity, found a better site for their part of the project – a new day centre – which left us having to alter the scheme to omit their buildings and seek a new planning permission. This was submitted last year and we were not successful. In the meantime (are you keeping up!), St John’s marketed the rest of the site to a residential developer and since then we have been working with Alfred Homes and their architect to produce a new scheme, with the theatre and a small dwelling at the front and further residential development behind. The Executive Committee is very enthusiastic about the new proposals, as are those closely involved with the project, including Tom Williams and Peter Bateson who have been working on it for 15 years! They all look forward to steering this through the planning and legal procedures so we can start building within the next couple of years. Let’s be optimistic! The drawings are now with the Council Planning Department for consultation and we await their views before submitting a fresh planning application.” Abbey Theatre, St Albans plans during the summer months to replace the studio rostra and refurbish all the studio seats, in addition to the usual summer jobs of maintenance and repair. At Bolton Little Theatre significant and expensive improvements were made to the lighting and decoration of the two auditoria, as well as to improve the heating and insulation, a problem that was highlighted during the coldest of days last winter! Many other member theatres have completed expensive renovation projects over the summer, to ensure that their buildings remain in good shape and attractive venues for their communities. As was emphasized at the Theatres Trust Conference in June, involving your theatre building as much as possible with the every day life of your community is a proven path to continued financial viability and success.
a word on plays For some years speakers from The Newcastle Players, based in North Staffordshire, have been giving a talk called A Word On Plays to other organisations about what goes on behind the scenes in the amateur theatre. They have now published an expanded version in book form. The author, Geoff Price, says: “The title is obviously a play on words and that sets the tone for both our talk and book. It’s a light-hearted look at what goes on behind the proscenium arch and in the amateur theatre in general: why we do it, how we do it and, to some extent, where we do it. You could say that we take the lid off the world of amateur theatre.” “It all began as a ten minute talk to a Rotary Club. We were then asked to give it to other groups such as Women’s Institutes, Probus Clubs, Townswomen’s Guilds and so on. They usually wanted a talk lasting about 45 minutes, so it was expanded. However, we soon found that even that length was not enough to cover everything we wanted to say. That’s why I eventually wrote the book.” The 142-page book, which contains a wealth of illustrations and amusing anecdotes, answers many of the questions people put to people involved in the amateur theatre such as: “How do you learn all those words?” “Who designed the set?” “What does the director do?” “Why don’t you do The Mousetrap? “How much does it cost to put on a production like this? A Word On Plays is available direct from the author at 103 Paris Avenue, Newcastle, Staffs. ST5 2QP at £7.50 plus £1.50 to cover packing and second class postage to UK addresses. Cheques should be made payable to G. H. Price. There is also a Kindle version (price £4.04) available from www.amazon.co.uk azon.co.uk
feature | amateurstage
> time to
focus on youth?
New research suggests that teenagers don’t think that theatre is just for their mums and dads. Maybe more amateur theatre groups should take note. Are theatre audiences getting younger and more experimental? According to a new report conducted by Ticketmaster, 16-19 year olds say they are more likely to attend theatre than any other age group. Those surveyed say they prefer new work to old and are keen on immersive theatre and comedy, and are not at all averse to experimentation and live streaming. Of course, there should be caution looking at any statistics as it is a well-known statistic that 57% of all statistics are made up on the spot. The Ticketmaster survey hasn’t been made up, but it is based on a very small sample of just over 1,500 people. What people say they might do and what they actually do can be quite different things. But the survey was commissioned because the company noticed a trend for more theatre ticket sales to younger and less affluent theatre-goers, and the data seems to confirm that trend.
I wouldn’t get over-excited, but I’m not all that surprised. There is often a perception that theatregoers are an ageing bunch recklessly spending their kids’ inheritance on trips to see Wednesday afternoon matinees of Alan Ayckbourn revivals in suburban theatres. Of course, there are many kinds of theatres in many places catering to many different kinds of audiences. As Gareth Machin of Salisbury theatre has suggested, risk means something different depending on where you are and if you are in a sleepy cathedral town or a bustling metropolis. But theatre itself has changed beyond all recognition in the past 15 years, and while that change is not always well represented in reviews pages and theatre features, there are plenty of younger audiences. They’re all finding their way to see the companies and theatre-makers who are transforming the face of British theatre and altering
the relationship between audiences and theatre makers. They often winkle these performances out in the same way they find their way to see new bands. It reminds me of the kind of explosion in dance audiences that took place during the 80s and 90s. Many of those young people are coming to theatre via participation, and others through the rising numbers taking theatre studies A-level (which tends to favour more experimental companies, particularly those who are canny enough to document their work), who are then studying theatre in some form in higher education. I suspect that the rise in quality of children’s theatre and the increase in family shows has introduced more young people to the art form, too. One of the interesting snippets in the report is that one in five theatre attendees write reviews about what they see, mostly using social media. Those reviews in turn create a word of mouth with their peers that encourage more theatre-going. It bears out the idea of a changing culture where the tools are now readily available so that everyone can be both reader and writer, audience and participant. Those companies and theatres who understand that, and act upon it, are likely to be the last ones standing. As the report says, the biggest barrier to attendance at theatres - for all age groups - is cost. If anything kills theatre off, it will be ever-rising ticket prices. But the other danger - particularly at a time when anxiety around funding is acute - would be if theatres sacrificed risk and experimentation as they try desperately to balance the books. It would leave a generation of fledgling theatre-goers believing that maybe, after all, the theatre is only for their mums and dads.
What are your thoughts on the matter? Please send them to: editor@amateurstagemagazine.co.uk
www.asmagazine.co.uk | 37
amateurstage | playscripts
>playscripts David Muncaster reviews the latest playscript offerings
PLAY OF THE MONTH ONCE O B Book by Edna Walsh. Music and Lyrics by M Glen Hansard and G Markéta Irglová M Nick Hern Books N IISBN NO: 9781848423107 9 CAST: 8M 5F C TYPE: Full Length T Musical M Once O was originally i i ll an O Oscar winning film starring Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová, who also wrote the songs. Edna Walsh’s stage adaptation has been a triumph, winning eight Tony awards, including Best New Musical, when it opened on Broadway. It is currently on in the West End, so rights may be restricted. Like all the best musicals, Once is a love story. Guy writes and sings beautiful songs and works in his Dad’s shop fixing vacuum cleaners. Girl is a
ANGELS Ronan O’Donnell Nick Hern Books ISBN NO: 9781848422773 CAST: 1M TYPE: One Act Nick Prentice is a security guard currently being questioned following the suspicious death of a ‘two-bit shoplifter’ at the premises where Nick works. We are in the interview room of a Glasgow police station where Nick sits wearing his company shirt, black trousers and no shoes. He speaks to us. What he says is at odds with his appearance. He describes how he struggled to form any question to ask his appointed solicitor which, he admits, was ‘in truth but a vain attempt to establish my presence as a personage of gritty depth and breezy wit’. Nick’s skill with words means that he enjoys writing but a notebook police have found in his flat isn’t doing him any favours. The inspector assigned to interview him feels that ‘Angels’ is admissible as corroborating evidence. He thinks that it shows Nick’s character in a ‘blistering light’, and even Nick’s solicitor is aghast at the pornographic story featuring a fantasised image of Scarlett Johansson.
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young Czech mother who has a vacuum cleaner that needs fixing. She doesn’t have any money so offers to pay with music. Guy asks if he has any choice. “No.” she replies. Girl’s way of speaking is quirky; partly because of her not-quite-perfect English, but also because of her unusual way of seeing the world. She is charming: we are just a few minutes into the story and we already love her. So, apparently, does Guy, but she resists his attempts to woo her. She knows that he is in “a bad place” and is concerned, at first, with turning his life around. She persuades him to ask for a loan so that he can use a recording studio to make a CD. She gets him to sing in public and suddenly he is performing as “Hooverman”. Fortunately, the name doesn’t stick. With the bank manager, Girl’s flatmate and Billy, who owns a music shop, they form a band. However, the fact that bankers are threatening to repossess Billy’s shop means that there is a certain amount of discord - as evidenced by the music that they play - but they do, eventually, manage to make beautiful music together.
The inspector raises his truncheon and whacks it on the metal desk. Nick passes out. As the monologue continues fantasy and reality, along with dreams and nightmares, merge into one confused mess until the fact that the police have found a suicide note and that Nick is free to go enters his consciousness. But first he must finish his story. The inspector supplies the paper. I found this difficult to read and I would imagine it would make uncomfortable viewing. There is little to like about Nick or the characters that he introduces in his monologue and, though the author successfully drew me into Nick’s world, it wasn’t really a place that I wanted to be.
CHIMERICA Lucy Kirkwood Nick Hern Books ISBN NO: 9781848423206 CAST: 7M 5F TYPE: Full Length I suppose that many of us have images that will always stick with us: Neil Armstrong planting a flag on the moon, Joe Strummer from The Clash smashing his guitar on stage; the napalm covered girl running scared and naked down a street in Vietnam; or the anonymous man in a
We might expect that, in the end, Guy and Girl will fall in love but things are not that simple. Girl has a husband who is planning to join her and Guy has an ex-girlfriend, now living in New York. It is for her that he wrote all the songs and he obviously still has some feelings for her. With Girl’s encouragement he buys an airplane ticket. Perhaps we will have a happy ending after all. Once is not just a stage adaptation of a film but a beautifully crafted piece of theatre in its own right. It is not often that I read the script to a musical and immediately go online to purchase the soundtrack but I did in this case. The songs are great. From the gentle Falling Slowly to the powerful Leave they are love songs that you can imagine Guy would write and they fit in with the story line perfectly. Once is a musical that will, I hope, be coming to a theatre near me in the not too distant future. I can understand why it has won so many awards and recommend that any musical society looking for something that is modern and exhilarating, with a relatively small cast, enquire when the rights might be available.
white shirt carrying two bags of shopping who became known around the world as Tank Man when he stood in front of the tanks in Tiananmen Square. The last of these is the inspiration for Lucy Kirkwood’s latest play. The play begins in 1989. Joe is a nineteen year old journalist on his first assignment and his hotel window overlooks Tiananmen Square. Students are protesting and the army is firing on them. Joe is on the telephone to his mother when he notices the tanks: he takes out his camera and is taking photographs when he sees Tank Man making his courageous stand against oppression. Joe is frightened. He wants to go home. The Chinese authorities are at his hotel room door. In the next scene we are in New York 2012. Joe still works for the magazine, and is covering the presidential election, but misses being at the cutting edge of journalism. His photographs, and others like them, have been seen all over the world but memories are short and the teaching of history can be subjective – especially in China. Then he learns that Tank Man may not be dead. He may be living in New York. Lucy Kirkwood’s greatest skill is her ability absorb her audience into the most extraordinary of situations without ever losing touch with the common things in life. Joe has a friend and colleague, Mel, with whom there is plenty of friendly, and often very funny, banter. There is also a woman, whom Joe meets on a flight to Beijing
playscripts | amateurstage who helps us understand Joe’s personality and provides a bit of love interest but at the heart of the play is a very good, if entirely fictional, detective story. This plays alongside an examination of the relationship between China and the USA. How easy it is to turn a blind eye to human rights when there is a chance of making a buck or two.
The character names alone are enough to give a flavour of the often bawdy humour: there are Mr Littledick, Spunky, Sponger, Masters WhoppingProspect and Muchly-Minted, and, my favourite, Truly Kidman, a prostitute who disguises herself as a nun in order to gain access to Mr Littledick’s wife.
By employing some rather unpleasant methods Joe does eventually get his man but by this time we are questioning his motivation and wondering if it is all worth it. We have also been introduced to the idea that there were two Tank Men. The one in the white shirt is a mystery; unknown probably even to the Chinese authorities. But the man who was driving the tank would certainly be known. Was his refusal to drive his tank forward not an act of defiance and bravery in itself?
Although Follywit succeeds in robbing his uncle whilst also being the hero of the hour, it is the police constable that ends up bound and gagged, Sir Bounteous does not seem unduly concerned. As he observes, “Who lives by cunning, mark it, his fate’s cast. When he has fooled all, then it’s himself fooled last.”
Lucy Kirkwood says that it took her six years to write this play and it is clear that a lot of that time would have been spent on research. Everything seems so true to life that it is easy to forget that this is a work of fiction, but any relief that the audience might feel by knowing that the story is imaginary will be tempered by the knowledge that stories like this are happening to real people every day. Chimerica is a major work from one of the UK ‘s most exciting young playwrights. I think it is fair to say that Lucy Kirkwood doesn’t write with the amateur stage in mind but she is certainly a name to look out for and when she does write a play that I feel I am able to produce, I’ll be straight on the phone to Nick Hern Books.
A MAD WORLD MY MASTERS
A MAD WORLD MY MASTERS Adapted by Sean Foley and Phil Porter from the play by Thomas Middleton Oberon Modern Plays ISBN NO: 9781783190195 CAST: 14M 7F TYPE: Full Length
Quentin Crisp described nineteen fifties Soho as the place where he lived la vie de bohème and I believe that he would have felt very much at home in The Flamingo Club where our play begins. As the band finishes playing, Dick Follywit leaps onto the stage and attempts to kiss the singer. There is a drunken brawl which ends when Follywit and his cohorts are thrown out. But Follywit is not the local hooligan that he appears to be: he is the grand nephew to Sir Bounteous Peersucker, an old and extremely wealthy knight, whose riches and influence allow Follywit to live life to the extreme. I was pleased to find that this adaptation has kept most of the language of the original, the only changes being to aid comprehension. The authors have found a lot of similarities between London of 1608 and post war Soho where people are concerned with deteriorating morals, changes to the class system, the position of women in society, and immigration. It is in this atmosphere that Follywit is going to have to live on his wits if he is going to gain access to his uncle’s cash.
There is a great deal of delicious, and very rude, humour, most of it lifted directly from the pages of the original play, but the authors have put their own mark on the text making it not only relevant in the twentieth century but also extremely funny.
GUTTED Rikki Beadle-Blair Oberon Modern Plays ISBN NO: 978178390164 CAST: 5M 4F TYPE: Full Length If you have seen the film Four Weddings and a Funeral then you will know the word with which Hugh Grant opens the dialogue. The number this word is repeated comes Th b off titimes th in for some competition in this play as we begin with Matthew attempting to find his ringing mobile phone. Matthew is a first division footballer waiting to be discharged from hospital where he has spent nine months following a mental breakdown. His brothers, Mark, Luke and John are waiting for him with their mother. The action is constantly shifting from the present day to periods in the past so that we see the boys growing up together. We see them stealing cars, learning to masturbate, training and playing football. John, at age thirteen, meets the charismatic Moses whilst in a detention centre and begins the process of converting to Islam. Later he meets Sunai, a Muslim girl that we feel is too good for him. However, as we learn more about the characters and what made them the way they are, we realise that no one is too good for anyone; nor are they good enough. Because the action is jumping backwards and forwards in time throughout the play, the pace is frenetic. Just as we think we are starting to understand something we are suddenly in another place and another time witnessing another crisis. However, the text is well constructed and, though we may become breathless, we never get left behind. I have read quite a lot of plays where the author appears to have deliberately set out to shock but, in Gutted, Rikki Beadle-Blair seems to have managed it quite effortlessly. Yet it isn’t gratuitous: in this case the author is describing the world that he knows where extreme language and taboo
subjects are the norm. Despite all this, there is hope, warmth and, most importantly truth. I am sure that many people would find this play distasteful but no one could deny that it is also powerful.
SOCRATES AND HIS CLOUDS William Lyons Oberon Modern Plays ISBN NO: 9781783190065 CAST: 3M 3F with doubling TYPE: Full Length Strepsiades is a troubled man. As the play begins he is sleeping the troubled sleep of someone with much h on hi his mind. i d Hi His son, Phidippedes, on the other hand, is sleeping like a babe; he is happy and carefree. The thing that is troubling Strepsiades is Phidippedes: his son has a penchant for gambling that, combined with an aversion to work, is likely to bring about their ruin. This is 4th Century B.C. and Athens is not the place to be in debt. Strepsiades has an idea: perhaps his son might make something of himself if he were to go to college. The cheapest one would be the academy down the road; the one that is run by Socrates. Unfortunately Socrates’ academy doesn’t turn out bankers, lawyers and vets, as Strepsiades has imagined, but he is undeterred. Just like the old British Telecom advertisement featuring Maureen Lipman, Strepsiades is excited by his son studying an ‘ology. On the cover of the script, Socrates and his Clouds is described as a serio-comic drama about the fragility of morality, the hazards of education and the burdens of being a teacher. These subject areas each get the philosophical treatment with a debate between reason and persuasion being the thing that has the most influence on Phidippedes as he translates the thoughts into actions. I found the concept of the play quite good and the philosophical elements are presented clearly and in a way that is easily understood, but I feel the whole thing is let down by the humour, much of which comes from Strepsiades’ mispronunciation of words or the use of strong language and seems at odds with ambiance of the play.
THE BARDS OF BROMLEY Perry Pontac Oberon Modern Plays ISBN NO: 9781849434270 CAST: 5M 2F TYPE: One Act A group of promising writers attend a writers’ workshop at West Bromley College. For A A Milne this is his second course at the college, he did Mongolian Country Cooking last year, and the course tutor, Mrs Swerdlow, is confident that this course will teach these aspiring writers everything they need to know to bring them success.
www.asmagazine.co.uk | 39
amateurstage | playscripts For example, another of the students, William Wordsworth, has shown great promise with his poem ‘Daffodils’, though Mrs Swerdlow thinks that it is, perhaps, a bit too sentimental. Meanwhile, George Eliot, whom Mrs Swerdlow calls Mr Eliot despite appearances to the contrary, has produced ‘Middlemarch’ which the tutor believes would be more grammatically pleasing if it were called ‘Mid-March’ or even ‘The Ides of March’. It is better, though, than Mr Strindberg’s ‘The Dance of Death’. Surely something like ‘MidWife Crisis’ would be more likely to attract the passing trade on Shaftsbury Avenue. Completing the group is Johann Wolfgang von Goethe whose two volume ‘Faust’ Mrs Swerdlow found to be quite a challenge. Beginning with Wordsworth, Mrs Swerdlow gives the students the benefit of her wisdom. The problem with ‘Daffodils’ is that it is just too “jingly”: the rhythm needs to be broken up; all the way through it is just “Ti-tum, ti-tum, ti-tum, ti-tum, ti-tum.” Goethe, meanwhile, accuses Wordsworth of stealing the theme of loneliness from him: something that the Lake District poet finds preposterous. He has been “wandering lonely as a cloud” all over Cumbria for years. They break for tea and things become less hostile. Milne and Wordsworth chat amicably whilst Eliot and Strindberg seem to be getting on famously to the extent that, returning from a walk outside, they both need to make adjustments to their appearance to hide just what they might have been doing out there! However, once the examination of each other’s work resumes, Strindberg turns on Eliot describing ‘Middlemarch’ as having no logic as though it was the work of a woman which, of course, he knows it to be. Goethe, on the other hand, implores the other writers to give up writing, the only exception being Milne whose ‘Piglet meets a Heffalump’ demonstrates that he has real talent.
There is much to admire in this clever parody. Using personalities that reflect their styles of writing, Perry has created a diverse group of characters that bounce off each other with ease and the result is a very funny and satisfying comedy.
THE LOW ROAD Bruce Norris Nick Hern Books ISBN NO: 9781848423183 CAST: 14M 6F TYPE: Full Length It is 1759. In a New England meeting house Adam Smith, the Scottish economist who advocated the free market, addresses his audience. With help from the ensemble he tells of Mohegan Native Americans, of poor American families and of Jim Trumpett; a young entrepreneur with a quest for wealth. Jim was brought up by a brothel keeper. The woman whom he called auntie found the babe on her doorstep with a note saying that a Mr G Washington of Virginia was the father and, with the child being illegitimate and the father being a man of prominence, Mrs Trumpett, without giving the matter too much thought, brought him up as her own. It was whilst working in the brothel that Jim began to wonder about the disparity between himself and the men whom he served. One fateful day, Mr Washington returns but his first name is Gilbert - not George, as Mrs Trumpett had imagined it to be. The best scene in the play so far follows as Mr Washington and Mrs Trumpett fight, first about the authenticity of the man’s claim to be
the father, then about the cost of raising the child. Unfortunately the man’s line of business is thieving and it is his intention to make off not only with Jim but also with the contents of the money box. That is, until Jim shoots him dead. The deed done, Jim climbs upon the dead man’s horse and sets off for Virginia and his fortune; via the low road, of course. The humour is very reminiscent of Monty Python: a market trader is shouting out his wares but instead of “Oranges”, or “Fresh juicy tomatoes” he is yelling “Negroes”; and a religious order has a congregation that includes men with speech impediments and mental deficiencies. These things are so far beyond offensive they become funny. By the end of the first act (page 78 no less) the audience are bound to be drawing comparisons with Monty Python’s Quest for the Holy Grail with, possibly, a bit of Blazing Saddles thrown in, but after the interval we come right up to date with a seminar about the current financial crisis which includes amongst the guests a descendent of Jim’s representing Trumpett’s international bank. The excuse given by the financiers, that they were only following the market, is echoed by capitalism’s founding fathers when we return to the eighteenth century, but silliness is never very far away and we end with the arrival of a simian bee-like race of people visiting earth to take a human sample in order to prepare for taking over the planet in the twenty-first century. With a running time of, I would estimate, over two and a half hours, and a cast of at least twenty, I don’t expect many amateur companies would take on The Low Road, but Bruce Norris has demonstrated with this script what an extraordinary talent he has for writing a very funny, highly entertaining, thought provoking and utterly compelling story.
>the wolf is re-born Children of the Wolf a macabre, psychological thriller by John Peacock is the next production by the Priory Theatre in Kenilworth.
is a real edge of the seat stuff that remains plausible despite being so shocking - it will have an audience gripped from start to finish.
Set in a deserted Georgian house, where twins Linda and Robin lure their mother, Helena, on their 21st birthday on the pretext of meeting her former lover and their father. Helena had given them up for adoption at birth.
The play was first presented by the Priory Theatre in 1978 when it made a lasting impression on some of our older members. When looking for a thriller from the 70’s for our 80th Season last year a play from each decade - Children of the Wolf was suggested However no-one had a script and the play had only been published in a collection of plays of 1970, long since out of print. After a lot of research over two years, the author, John Peacock, was contacted who put us in touch with his agent. As a result of the announcement on our website, we were contacted by a group in Australia who also
The play was first presented in Dublin in 1971 and subsequently transferred to the West End. The Guardian newspaper at the time described it as an “intuitive, psychological thriller with more than the usual dose of social conscience”, and in the July edition of Amateur Stage, the reviewer says that it
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knew the play and asked us who to contact for a licence to perform it. We feel that the Priory’s interest in this lost play in some way contributed to Children of the Wolf finally being republished after all this time. The cast of four is headed by Zoe Lander, a long time Priory member who travels from Nottingham to play the part of Helena, the mother. The twins Linda and Robin are played by Rachel Ann Johns and Darryl Hughes and the cast is completed by Alan Buckby, a newcomer to the Priory Theatre, as Michael. The play, directed by John Evans, runs from Friday 25th October to Friday 1st November at the Priory Theatre, Kenilworth. Box Office 01926 86333
feature | amateurstage
> playwrights spread their wings Snowgoose is a theatre group born out of necessity. Playwright Jonathan Hall talks about the group and how a playwrights greatest friend can sometimes be his local amateur theatre group. You’re a writer of theatre. You don’t have an agent, you don’t have much professional experience (you’re also over 25 and can by no stretch qualify as a ‘young writer’) Your main experience of attempting to do something with a script is that of it to a theatre or some competition only for it to return some six months later accompanied by three paragraphs of polite rejection. You find it virtually impossible to advance your writing in any meaningful way.
However I’d like to digress slightly here and make the vital point that although as a writer often all you want is to get your play put on that many times that’s actually the last thing the writer needs. A writer is on a constant steep learning curve; my journey as a writer has been as much about dealing with the problems and yes, the failures of script writing as staging its successes.
Two scenarios Recently I received an email from a prominent local professional theatre, a theatre that claims to support and develop new writing talent- a ‘new writing’ theatre. This email proclaimed ‘a bumper pack of fantastic offers for local writers’. Among said ‘fantastic offers’ were adverts for two new plays, a Q and A session with a writer plus a plug for the theatre’s own annual writing course. Checking the dates on these offers, was all but latter had occurred the previous week- and the deadlines for applications for the writing course was the following day. A few months ago our local theatre writers group, Snowgoose was having an evening reflecting on how the past year had been for us as writers. Out of the fourteen or so people sat round the room some twelve of them had had their writing staged in some shape or form during the previous twelve months - not necessarily full productions, but script in hand, workshops, readings- something that they felt had advance our writing in a positive way. How was this achieved? Not through any ‘bumper pack’ from any professional theatre. It’s a sad truth that in our experience professional theatre is by and large unable to support local writers in any meaningful way beyond a few talks and the odd course. This isn’t due to any ill will on their part, the hard truth is that the economic realities of staging live theatre means that the majority of their focus has to be geared towards staging plays that they can be reasonably sure will generate decent revenues- and that consequently theatre writers with an unproven track record end up lacking the support that they want, need and yes, deserve. Writing is a lonely business and writing for the stage perhaps the loneliest business of all. A natural part of the artistic process is the sharing of the created work, be it a picture, a novel, a garden
design. The picture can be hung, the garden strolled around - but for the theatre writer to achieve any sharing of their work a lot of resources are needed, predominantly human ones; actors, directors, technicians, an audience - plus of course some sort of theatrical space. For Snowgoose as a group the emphasis has been on our finding ways to develop our writing by accessing these resources - reading in a group is fine as far as it goes but we wanted more. For us the answer has lain with the amateur theatre - your local groups, sometimes producing twelve shows a year, with ready numbers of people who love theatre- who in our experience have been only too happy to engage with local writers on new work, especially work that doesn’t bring the price tag of a royalty fee. It’s important to point out that getting involved with these local groups doesn’t involve us striding up brandishing a script - it’s about developing a relationship. In my own case this meant getting engaged with the group, working backstage- props, prompting, directing, even acting. When I did one day present them with a script it wasn’t as an outsider, it was as Jonathan who did props on the Chekov and was third red herring in the Agatha Christie. The resources I needed to stage my play were on hand from the studio theatre, to the fully stocked wardrobe and props department to the giant tea urn in the theatre kitchen.
For me essential parts of the development of any script has been the work put in before any production is even mooted - readings, workshops, script in hand stagings. As a group Snowgoose evolved a number of these ‘tools’ to help the writer- readings either in private or to the group give the writer that invaluable first feedback. Regular script in hand stagings of short extracts in front of an audience enabled the writer start to see their work come to life. These are done six times a year and scripts are cherry picked from these to be given full productions to give the writer the experience of seeing their work proceed from script to stage. All of this is underpinned by regular group meetings, which are a mix of teaching and sharing work. There’s no money involved in any of this. We charge £2 per meeting which goes towards paying for a rehearsal space which is rented to us by a local Arts organization who rent out empty office spaces to local artists. Moreover none of us are trying to earn a living through writing. As a group we’ve been running for some seven years. In that time I’ve seen writers develop (dare I say) dramatically in their abilities - the obvious, elementary mistakes of the novice writer (making tea onstage seems to be a particular favourite) are eliminated, questions of character, structure, plot and subtext mooted, discussed, pondered and acted upon. True, much of our work hasn’t been perfect but then neither is a lot of professional theatre. This isn’t intended to be in anyway some sort of sugary ‘let’s-do-it-in-my-Auntie-Em’s-barn’ type scenario. As I said, it’s been a steep steep learning curve for all concerned, plus a lot of hard work involved - a commitment. But for all of us as we’re sat in a studio theatre- or in a rehearsal room - or even round my dining room table - there’s a vital ongoing degree of artistic fulfillment as the talking stops and we hear the expectant hush of a group of people about to engage with the work we have created.
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amateurstage | feature
>openstages
launched by the rsc
86 amateur groups selected to work alongside the RSC in the latest Openstages project - Julian Cound looks into the various successful projects. Macbeth performed in a Cardiff Shopping Centre, Much Ado About Nothing performed by serving members of the Royal Air Force, The Tempest in a quarry in Durham, and Richard III performed in Leicester Cathedral by Leicester University students where the King’s newly discovered body will be buried, are just four of the 90 productions that will be part of the UK’s biggest amateur theatre project – Open Stages. Having received nearly 200 applications from across the UK, the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) along with 6 partner theatres will work with the 86 selected amateur groups to support them with mentoring and workshops to create their own RSC Open Stages production in their own venue. The project begins on the weekend of the 28 September 2013 when all 86 directors will come together for the first and only time in Stratfordupon-Avon to participate in two days of skills workshops led by the RSC’s own team of theatre practitioners. Just a few examples of the huge range of work being done by over 2,500 participants (the oldest being 80 and the youngest 8 years old), include the Royal Navy performing A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Henry V in a Norman Castle, a Sci-fi Tempest in a village hall in Oxfordshire, a Gulf War
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set Titus Andronicus in Edinburgh, a female King Lear in London, and a Hamlet in the style of a Danish Crime Drama in St Andrews. RSC Open Stages producer Ian Wainwright commented: ‘The RSC is once again excited to continue to collaborate with just some of the million amateur theatre-makers in the UK. The RSC understands the skill, commitment, energy and passion it takes to make theatre happen. We therefore have a huge respect for those DIY, grassroots theatre-makers who create theatre in their spare time often on very limited resources. Open Stages looks to share some of the processes, techniques and ideas of professional theatre making, while allowing the RSC to learn about, and be inspired by, the work of people with a real passion for the craft of theatre.’ The most popular of Shakespeare’s plays to be performed by the participants is Macbeth with 7 productions, followed Twelfth Night with 6 productions. Other productions include 6 modern plays inspired by Shakespeare, and 16 new plays inspired by Shakespeare and written or devised by the amateur companies involved. The productions will be performed across the UK in a vast number of venues including 35 Theatres,
10 Village Halls, 7 Parks & Gardens, 6 Castles, 6 Town Halls, 6 Pubs, 5 Churches, 4 School Halls, 2 Community Centres, 2 Country Houses, 2 Universities, 2 Arts Centres, 2 Museums, 2 Pavilions, 1 Warehouse, 1 Barn, 1 Library, 1 Cathedral, 1 Island, 1 Coffee Shop, 1 Wood, 1 Campsite, 1 Bookshop, 1 Hotel and 1 Graveyard. Open Stages 2013 - 2016 will focus on learning, with each amateur company receiving training, director mentoring, feedback and support from the RSC and partner theatres. The project is part of the RSC’s commitment to transforming the relationship between amateur and professional theatres. Open Stages is the springboard for the recently announced ‘Dream16’, a nationwide tour of A Midsummer Night’s Dream to celebrate the 400th anniversary of his death of Shakespeare on 23 April 2016. The production, which opens in Stratford-upon-Avon, will be co-produced with partner theatres and amateur companies in all twelve nations and regions of the UK. In every location, Bottom and the rude mechanicals will be played by a local amateur group, and Titania’s fairy train by local schoolchildren. For more information about the project, please go to www.rsc.org.uk/openstages
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show diary | amateurstage
>show diary To get your productions listed here for free visit www.asmagazine.co.uk and go to the Diary Listings page - simples! Spring and Port Wine 06 - 09 November 2013 Stafford Players Stafford Gatehouse Theatre Stafford, Staffs 01785 254653 www.staffordgatehousetheatre.co.uk
Barretts of Wimpole Street, The 13 - 16 November 2013 Abbey Foregate URC Drama Group Abbey Foregate URC, St. Nicholas Hall Shrewsbury, Shropshire 01743 368932 www.abbeydrama.com
Checkout Girls 13 - 16 November 2013 AVENUE THETRE PRODUCTIONS Avenue Theatre Sittingbourne, Kent 01795 425380 www.avenuetheatre.co.uk
42nd Street 02 - 07 December 2013 Walton & Weybridge AOS The Cecil Hepworth Playhouse Walton-on-Thames, Surrey 01483 770130 www.wwaos.org.uk
Blackadder 2 10 - 14 December 2013 Playgoers Theatre Royal Workington, Cumbria 01900 602122 www.workington-playgoers.org.uk
Chorus of Disapproval, A 05 - 09 November 2013 Cliffe Theatre Egglescliffe Community Centre Stockton on Tees, Cleveland 01642 657229 www.communigate.co.uk/ne/cliffetheatre
Absurd Person Singular 30 November - 07 December 2013 The Rossendale Players The Rossendale Players Waterfoot, Rossendale, Lancashire 01706 228720 rossendale.players@gmail.com
Bouncers 21 - 23 November 2013 Amersham Playgoers Thatre Group Amersham Playgoers, Amersham Community Centre Amersham, Bucks 01494 726976 amershamplaygoerstheatregroup.co.uk
Christmas Belles 02 - 07 December 2013 Keighley Playhouse Keighley Playhouse Keighley, West Yorkshire 07599 890 769 www.keighleyplayhouse.co.uk
Aladdin 05 - 07 December 2013 Rayleigh Operatic & Dramatic Society (RODS) The Mill Arts & Events Centre Rayleigh, Essex 01268 771751 www.rods.org.uk 09 - 21 December 2013 The EK Rep Theatre The East Kilbride Village Theatre East Kilbride, South Lanarkshire 01355 261 000 www.sllcboxoffice.co.uk Ali Baba 10 - 18 January 2014 The Oxted Players Barn Theatre Oxted, Surrey 01883 724852 www.barntheatreoxted.co.uk Ali Baba & the Faulty Thieves 09 - 14 December 2013 Manifest Theatre Group Manifest Theatre Manningtree, Essex 01206 391309 www.manifesttheatre.co.uk All My Sons 30 October - 02 November 2013 Southside Players Chestnut Grove Theatre Chestnut Grove school Balham, London 07914657524 www.southsideplayers.org.uk Annie 12 - 16 November 2013 Centenary Theatre Company The Brindley Theatre Runcorn, Cheshire 0151 907 8360 www.thebrindley.org.uk Annie Get Your Gun 20 - 23 November 2013 CarpetBaggers Theatre Group Guiseley Theatre Guiseley, West Yorkshire 01535670354 www.carpetbaggerstheatregroup.com
Brush with a Body 21 - 23 November 2013 Worcester Park Dramatic Society Adrian Mann Theatre, NESCOT Ewell, Surrey 01737 760163 www.wpds.co.uk Bus Stop 20 - 25 January 2014 Keighley Playhouse Keighley Playhouse Keighley, West Yorkshire 07599 890 769 www.keighleyplayhouse.co.uk Calamity Jane 28 October - 02 November 2013 Settle Amateur Operatic Society Victoria Hall Settle, Nth yorks 01729 825718 www.settleoperatic.co.uk Calendar Girls 06 - 08 November 2013 Seaham Amateur Operatic and Dramatic Society Easington Social Welfare Centre Easington, Co. Durham 07515396459 www.saods.co.uk Captain Hook’s Revenge 12 - 14 December 2013 Woodfield Entertainers Ashtead Peace Memorial Hall Ashtead, Surrey 07763 568973 www.surreycommunity.info/ woodfieldentertainers Carmen 19 - 23 November 2013 Guildford Opera Company Electric Theatre Guildford, Surrey 01483 444789 www.electrictheatre.co.uk Carousel 04 - 07 December 2013 Stage-Door Theatre Company The Windmill Entertainment Centre Littlehampton, West Sussex 01903722224 www.inspireleisure.co.uk
Christmas Carol, A 02 - 07 December 2013 Erewash Musical Society Duchess Theatre Long Eaton , Nottinghamshire 01332 875350 www.erewashmusicalsociety.co.uk/ Christmas Evening with Gervase Phinn, A 15 December 2013 Theatre Fundraising Concordia Theatre Hinckley, Leicestershire 01455 847676 www.concordiatheatre.co.uk Cinderella 09 - 12 January 2014 Rainhill Musical Theatre Company Rainhill Village Hall Rainhill, Merseyside 0151 292 4458 rainhillmusicaltheatrecompany.wordpress. co.uk Company 19 - 23 November 2013 Sharnbrook Mill Theatre Trust Sharnbrook Mill Theatre Trust Sharnbrook, Bedfordshire 01234 269 519 www.sharnbrookmilltheatre.co.uk Dancing at Lughnasa 31 October - 02 November 2013 Dinghouses Dramatic Society Friargate Theatre York, North Yorkshire 01904653181 www.dringhousesdramaticsociety.org.uk Day of Reckoning 21 - 23 November 2013 Veryan Players Veryan Parish Hall Veryan, Cornwall 01872 501670 www.veryanplayers.org.uk Diary of Anne Frank, The 31 October - 02 November 2013 Lyndhurst Drama & Musical Society Vernon Theatre Lyndhurst, Hampshire 02380 282729 www.lyndhurstdrama.co.uk
Dick Whittington 03 - 07 December 2013 St Matthew’s Theatrical Society Rastrick West Yorks St Matthew’s Parish Centre Brighouse, West Yorks 01484 314587 Dick Whittington 17 - 25 January 2014 Thringstone Pantomime & Drama Society Thringstone Community Centre Thringstone, Leicestershire 01530 834575 tpads.org.uk Dracula the Panto! 15 - 18 January 2014 Action Community Theatre Co. The Terry O’Toole Theatre North Hykeham, Lincolnshire 01522 883311 www.terryotooletheatre.org.uk Entertaining Angels 27 - 30 November 2013 Burnley Garrick Club ACE Centre NELSON, Lancashire 01282 661080 www.thegarrick.org Evita 19 - 23 November 2013 Stoke Youth Musical Theatre Company Mitchell Arts Centre Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire 07854878987 www.stokeyouth.org Fawlty Towers 05 - 14 December 2013 Studio Theatre Studio Theatre Salisbury, Wilts 01722 342860. studiotheatre.org.uk Flint Street Nativity, The 25 - 30 November 2013 Droylsden Little Theatre Droylsden Little Theatre Droylsden, Manchester 0161 370 7713 www.droylsdenlittletheatre.co.uk 11 - 14 December 2013 Encore Productions Pyramid Arts Centre Warrington, Cheshire 01925 442345 www.pyramidparrhall.co.uk 06 - 09 November 2013 Knutsford Little Theatre Knutsford Little Theatre Knutsford, Cheshire 01565633000 www.knutsfordlittletheatre.com Footloose 11 - 16 November 2013 Cassio OS Watford Palace Theatre Watford, Herts 01923 225671 www.watfordpalacetheatre.co.uk 12 - 16 November 2013 Finchley and Friern Barnet Operatic Society Intimate Theatre London, London 02084826923 www.ffbos.com
www.asmagazine.co.uk | 45
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Unit 20 | Delta Lakes Enterprise Centre | The Avenue | Llanelli | SA15 2DR Tel: 01554 741 114 www.costumestogo.co.uk | info@costumestogo.co.uk
show diary | amateurstage Glanfa Stage 05 December 2013 Kinetic Theatre arts WMC Cardiff, Glamorgan 07557220155 www.kinetictheatrearts.com
Improbable Fiction 07 - 09 November 2013 RADS The Georgian Theatre Royal Richmond, North Yorkshire 01748 825252 www.richmond-ads.org.uk
God of Carnage 19 - 23 November 2013 Riverside Players Heswall Hall Heswall, Merseyside 08447 391296 www.riversideplayers.org
Ira Levin’s Deathtrap 14 - 16 November 2013 HODDESDON PLAYERS BROXBOURNE CIVIC HALL Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire 01992 465665 hoddesdonplayers.org.uk
Grease 31 October - 02 November 2013 Stage One Ferneham Hall Fareham, Hampshire 01329231942 www.stageoneyouththeatre.co.uk
Jack and The Beanstalk 08 - 12 January 2014 New Forest Players Memorial Hall New Milton, Hants 0845 166 8775 newforestplayers.com
Guys and Dolls 13 - 16 November 2013 Southend Operatic and Dramatic Society Cliffs Pavilion Southend-on-Sea, Essex 01702 351135 www.thecliffspavilion.co.uk
27 November - 01 December 2013 Pleasure Folk Ormskirk Civic Hall Ormskirk, Lancs 01695580755 www.pleasurefolk.co.uk
Half A Sixpence 05 - 09 November 2013 Worthing Musical Comedy Society Connaught Theatre Worthing, West Sussex 01903206206 wmcs.org.uk 21 - 23 November 2013 Felixstowe Musical Theatre Seckford Theatre, Woodbridge Woodbridge, Suffolk 01394 276770 www.seckfordtheatre.org Hay Fever 22 - 25 January 2014 The Tamaritans Theatre Company Devonport Playhouse Plymouth, Devon 01752 606 507 www.thetamaritans.org.uk HMS Pinafore 07 - 09 November 2013 Battle Light Opera Group Battle Memorial Halls Battle, East Sussex 01424 211140 www.battlelightoperagroup.org.uk Hot Mikado 27 November - 07 December 2013 Sedos Bridewell Theatre London, London Online: sedos.co.uk sedos.co.uk
Keighly Playhouse - The Unexpected Guest
29 November - 07 December 2013 Hook Players Live Theatre Elizabeth Hall Hook, Hampshire 07709214679 www.hookplayers.co.uk 03 - 07 December 2013 Gainsborough Operatic Society Trinity Arts Theatre Gainsborough, Lincolnshire 01427 676655 www.gaos.org 06 - 07 December 2013 Hempstead Dramatic Society Hempstead Village Hall Saffron Walden, Essex see notes www.hempstead-essex.org.uk/ dramatic%20society.htm 08 - 19 January 2014 Jersey Amateur Dramatic Club Jersey Arts Centre St. Helier, Jersey CI 01534 700444 www.artscentre.je 08 - 01 February 2014 Pantomine Company Concordia Theatre Hinckley, Leicestershire 07528 231379 www.pantomimecompany.com 22 - 25 January 2014 The Concorde Players Concorde Club Cranford, Hounslow, Middlesex
020 8513 2000 www.concordeplayers.co.uk Jekyll & Hyde the Musical 25 - 30 November 2013 The Cotswold Savoyards The Playhouse Theatre Cheltenham, Gloucestershire 01242 522852 www.playhousecheltenham.org Lady in the Van, The 02 - 11 January 2014 The Miller Centre Theatre Company The Miller Centre Caterham, Surrey 01883 349850 www.miilercentretheatre.org Larkin With Women 06 - 09 November 2013 Lighted Fools Theatre Company Riverhouse, Walton-on-Thames Walton-on-Thames, Surrey 01932-253354 www.thelittleboxoffice.co/riverhouse/ Last Minutes and Lost Evenings 03 - 04 January 2014 Gaberlunzie Malvern Cube Malvern, Worcestershire 07583856009 lastminuteslostevenings.webs.com Launch Night 01 - 01 December 2013 BMT Productions Days Hotel Bournemouth, Dorset 07854070162 www.bmtproductions.co.uk Les Miserables: The Memoirs of Jean Valjean 16 - 16 November 2013 The South Devon Players theatre company The Palace Theatre Paignton, Devon 01803 665800 southdevonplayers.weebly.com Life and Beth 24 - 30 November 2013 Altrincham Little Theatre Altrincham Little Theatre Altrincham, Cheshire 0161 928 1113 www.alttheatre.org Location Location 31 October - 02 November 2013 ISCaD Stour Space London, London 07946 347 631 www.iscad.org.uk Locked Room, The 11 - 14 December 2013 Guildburys Theatre Company
Electric Theatre Guildford, Surrey 01483 444789 www.guildburys.com Lord Arthur Savile’s Crime 30 October - 02 November 2013 Plays for Laughs Palace Theatre Westcliff, Essex 01702 351135 www.southendtheatres.org.uk Love Letters 02 - 03 November 2013 New Theatre Players - Studio Production Concordia Theatre Hinckley, Leicestershire 01455 611604 www.concordiatheatre.co.uk Macbeth 29 October - 02 November 2013 Sedos Bridewell Theatre London, London Online: sedos.co.uk sedos.co.uk Maskerade 04 - 07 December 2013 The St Ursula Players The Newman Hall, Grange Court Road, Bristol Bristol, BS9 4DR, Avon 0117 962 4431 www.stursulaplayers.co.uk Memory of Water, The 06 - 09 November 2013 Waterbeach Community Players Waterbeach Community School Waterbeach, Cambridgeshire 01223 880023 www.wcponline.org.uk Mother Goose 12 - 22 December 2013 Preston Musical Comedy Society Preston Playhouse Theatre Preston, Lancashire 07745745952 www.prestonmusicalcomedy.co.uk Musical Kaleidoscope, A 07 - 09 November 2013 Rhyl & District Musical Theatre Company Little Theatre Rhyl, Denbighshire 07587326920 www.rhylmusicaltheatre.co.uk Nunsense 30 October - 02 November 2013 Epsom Players Myers Studio, Epsom Playhouse Epsom , Surrey 01737 279289 www.epsomplayers.com
To get your production/publicity photos published simply email them to editor@amateurstagemagazine.co.uk
www.asmagazine.co.uk | 47
amateurstage | show diary Oh, Clarence! 04 - 07 December 2013 The Argyle Players Tovey Hall, Central United Reformed Church Bath, Somerset 01225 858112 www.bathcentralurc.btck.co.uk Oklahoma! 29 October - 02 November 2013 Northampton Musical Theatre Company Cripps Hall Theatre Northampton , Northamptonshire 01604 258666 www.nmtc.me.uk/index.php?page=boxoffice Oliver! 19 - 23 November 2013 Oxted Operatic Society Barn Theatre Oxted, Surrey 07530 528094 www.barntheatreoxted.co.uk 26 - 30 November 2013 Musical Theatre Salisbury City Hall, Salisbury Salisbury, Wiltshire 01722 434434 www.cityhallsalisbury.co.uk Out of Order 21 - 23 November 2013 Harefield Amateur Dramatic Society HADS ST MARYS CHURCH HALL HAREFIELD, MIDDLESEX 01895 253346 Patience 12 - 16 November 2013 Winchester Operatic Society Theatre Royal Winchester Winchester, Hampshire 01962 840440 www.winchester-operatic.org.uk
Winchester, Hampshire 0844 8700 887 www.chesiltheatre.org.uk
Hinckley, Leicestershire 01455 613345 www.concordiatheatre.co.uk
Producers, The 30 October - 02 November 2013 Mayhem Musical Theatre Company Arthur Cotterell Theatre Kingston Upon Thames, Surrey 07939 144610 www.mayhemmusicaltheatrecompany. co.uk
Rapunzel 18 - 21 December 2013 Swansea Little Theatre Dylan Thomas Theatre Swansea, Swansea 01792473238 www.dylanthomastheatre.org.uk
Puss In Boots 28 November - 07 December 2013 Codsall Dramatic Society Codsall Village Hall Codsall WV8 1PL, West Midlands 07792784908 www.codsalldramaticsociety.co.uk 29 November - 07 December 2013 Riverside Players The Memorial Hall Old Windsor, Berkshire 07717 671765 www.riversideplayers.com 30 November - 07 December 2013 PADOS PADOS House Manchester, Lancashire 0161 773 2033 www.pados.co.uk 10 - 18 January 2014 Broxbourne Theatre Company Broxbourne Civic Theatre Hoddesdon, Herts 01992 441946 www.broxbournetheatrecompany.co.uk/ 16 - 18 January 2014 Waterbeach Community Players Waterbeach Community School Waterbeach, Cambridgeshire 01223 880023 www.wcponline.org.uk
Peaches and An Extraordinary Little Cough, The 30 October - 02 November 2013 Swansea Little Theatre Dylan Thomas Theatre Swansea, Swansea 01792473238 www.dylanthomastheatre.org.uk
Quartet 19 - 23 November 2013 Woodford Players Woodford Community Centre Stockport, Cheshire 0161 439 7535 www.woodfordplayers.co.uk
Present Laughter 07 - 14 December 2013 Chesil Theatre Chesil Theatre
Railway Children The 03 - 07 December 2013 New Theatre Players Concordia Theatre
Rent- the Musical 16 - 18 December 2013 Kinetic Theatre arts St David’s College Cardiff, Glamorgan 07748840625 www.kinetictheatrearts.com Ruddigore 05 - 09 November 2013 Erdington Operatic Society Sutton Coldfield Town Hall Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands 01213606627 www.erdington-operatic.co.uk Season’s Greetings 28 November - 07 December 2013 Compton Players The Coronation Hall, Compton Compton, Berkshire 07767268634 www.comptonplayers.co.uk See How They Run 30 October - 02 November 2013 {Polegate Drama Group Polegate Community Centre Polegate, East Sussex 01323483348 www.polegatedramagroup.co.uk Semi-Detached 28 - 30 November 2013 The Gage Players The Gage Players Walton on the Hill, Surrey 01737 812 703 thegageplayers.co.uk Seussical Jr 30 October - 01 November 2013 Walsall Youth Theatre Forest Arts Centre Walsall, West Midlands 0845 111 2898 www.forestartscentre.co.uk
Singin in The Rain 05 - 09 November 2013 Chester le Street Operatic Society Chester le Street Operatic Society Chester le Street, Co Durham 0191 4151860 Sitting Pretty 21 - 25 January 2014 The Maskers Theatre Company The Nuffield Theatre Southampton, Hampshire 023 8067 1771 www.maskers.org.uk Sketch Is The Thing, The - Amateur Playwright Open Performance 2013 09 November 2013 Black Book Events Oxford House Bethnal Green, london (44) +07944949807 blackbookevents.co.uk/#/the-sketch-isthe-thing/4551532180 Sleeping Beauty 05 - 08 December 2013 PENARTH OPERATIC & DRAMATIC SOCIETY THE PAGET ROOMS PENARTH, Vale of Glamorgan 029 20712260 www.pods-penarth.org 16 - 25 January 2014 Knutsford Little Theatre Knutsford Little Theatre Knutsford, Cheshire 01565633000 www.knutsfordlittletheatre.com 21 - 26 January 2014 The Watson Players Guildhall Theatre Derby, Derbyshire 01773 882774 www.thewatsonplayers.org.uk Sleuth 30 October - 02 November 2013 New Forest Players Ballard School New Milton, Hants 0845 166 8775 newforestplayers.com Sound of Music, The 05 - 16 November 2013 Hinckley Amateur Operatic Scoiety Concordia Theatre Hinckley, Leicestershire
COSTUMES COSTUME HIRE, SHOWS, KING & I, PHANTOM, LES MISERABLES, OLIVER, FIDDLER, KISS ME KATE, FOLLIES, PINAFORE, ANNIE, ALL PANTO SUBJECTS. ORIENTAL COSTUMES www.bpdcostumes.co.uk T: 01273 481004 To include your show advert here for just £25 contact editor@amateurstagemagazine.co.uk 48 | www.asmagazine.co.uk
show diary | amateurstage
Steamie, The 09 - 16 November 2013 Farnworth Little Theatre Farnworth Little Theatre Bolton BL4 7AJ, Lancashire 0845 643 0808 www.farnworthlittletheatre.co.uk
Trapped! An evening of two one act plays The Kitchen Skirmishes and Snowed Under 15 - 16 November 2013 Wellingborough Cooperative Aamateur Dramatic Society Wellingborough Museum Wellingborough, Northamptonshire 01933 276838 wcads.org.uk
Stepping Out 21 - 30 November 2013 The Miller Centre Theatre Company The Miller Centre Caterham, Surrey 01883 349850 www.miilercentretheatre.org
Treasure Island 27 - 01 December 2013 Garden Suburb Theatre Upstairs at the Gatehouse Highgate, London 02077236609 www.gardensuburbtheatre.org.uk
Teechers 30 October - 02 November 2013 CADOS Chingford Mornington Hall North Chingford, London 02085244380 www.ticketsource.co.uk/cadoschingford
Treasure Island 05 - 07 December 2013 Mawdesley Amateur Dramatics Society Mawdesley Village Hall Mawdesley, Lancashire 07894587397 www.madsociety.co.uk
Third Week In August 22 - 23 November 2013 Salford Priors Amateur Theatrical Society Salford Priors Memorial Hall Salford Priors, Warwickshire 01789 773523 www.spatssalfordpriors.com
Tyneham - No Small Sacrifice 30 October - 02 November 2013 Generations Apart Bay Theatre Weymouth, Dorset 0844 8700 887 www.tynehamthemusical.com
07855 746520 www.concordiaos.co.uk
SIMADS
What’s All The Fuss About? 26 - 30 November 2013 Rockhopper Productions Stoke Repertory Theatre Stoke on Trent, Staffordshire 0844 870 0887 When We Are Married 06 - 09 November 2013 Ruislip Dramatic Society Compass Theatre Ickenham, Middlesex 01895 675343 www.ruislipdramatic.org Why Me? 16 - 18 January 2014 Loughton Amateur Dramatic Society Lopping Hall Loughton , Essex 07552 736 110 www.lads.org.uk/
10 - 12 November 2013 Rainbow Youth Theatre Harraton Community Centre Washington, Tyne & Wear 01914163454 www.rainbowyouththeatre.co.uk Yeomen of the Guard, The 20 - 23 November 2013 Maidenhead Operatic Society Desborough Suite, Town Hall Maidenhead, Berkshire 01628 671589 www.mos-uk.org
Wind in the Roses 21 - 23 November 2013 Charlbury Amateur Dramatic Society (CADS) Memorial Hall Charlbury, Oxon 01608 810896 www.charlbury-drama.com/productions. asp
presents
6th to 9th November 2013
Burgess Hall One Leisure, St. Ives
Tickets
Box Office
www.simads.co.uk Book by Richard Morris and Dick Scanlan New Music by Jeanine Tesori New Lyrics by Dick Scanlan Original Story and Screenplay by Richard Morris for the Universal Pictures Film
Wizard of Oz, The 12 - 16 November 2013 North Staffs operatic Society Ltd soke-on-trent repertory theatre (The Rep) stoke-on-trent, staffs 0178239333 ticketsource.co.uk/northstaffsoperatic
07516 484900
SIMADS St Ives Music and Drama Society
This amateur production is presented by arrangement with JOSEF WEINBERGER LTD. on behalf of MUSIC THEATRE INTERNATIONAL of NEW YORK.
GDS Productions - Jekyll & Hyde
www.asmagazine.co.uk | 49
amateurstage | curtain call
>my top five We’d like to invite you to contribute your ultimate list of plays or musicals. Tell us what you like about them and why they hold a place on your ultimate list. Email your choices and reasons to: editor@amateurstagemagazine.co.uk
Viv Hardwick is an old-school journalist, starting as a 16-year-old trainee weekly reporter who somehow managed to stumble through an interview with Eric Morecambe. For the past 28 years Viv has covered Arts and Entertainment in the North-East of England. Asked for a top five, Viv opted for musicals, in the hope that Amateur Stage Magazine might come back one day and ask for a list of top five plays.
1
Wicked Wicked is still the best musical in the West End, years after my wife and I paid something like £40 a ticket (face value around £20) because we had a few hours to kill in London. I’ve kept nagging NorthEast theatres about tour news and got excited when it was announced. First tour of the clever Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holzman production isn’t coming here… now that is Wicked!
2
Blood Brothers
3
Starlight Express
4
The Mikado
5
Martin Guerre
50 | www.asmagazine.co.uk
I got so tied up with the intensity of Willy Russell’s Blood Brothers on my first viewing that the shoot-out conclusion was like being a white stick user confronted by a taser-waving cop. I’ve seen nearly every touring version since 1995 and, horror of horrors, enjoyed every performance of a Nolan sister in the role of long-suffering Mrs Johnstone. Linda shades it for shedding real tears on demand.
Andrew Lloyd Webber, the under-valued Richard Stilgoe and Arlene Phillips’s choreography and the Apollo Victoria Theatre were a perfect match. Whoever thought that rickerty old roller skates could be turned into such a steamroller of a show? The tours to the Sunderland Empire were welcome proof that the region can stage the best of the best.
Tap dancing gravediggers might not be for G&S purists but the mid-1990s Mikado by the much-missed D’Oyly Carte Opera Company is unlikely to ever be surpassed in my humble opinion. Pirates is a very close second in this genre, but the wonderful little list (on which I just had to appear) and Simon Butteriss as a cavorting Ko-Ko were one of those nights to remember..
When it comes to Claude-Michel Schonberg and Alain Boublil the musical should be the masterful Les Mis or memorable Miss Saigon, but my choice is actually Martin Guerre which I love for the soulshredding song Bethlehem alone. I thought Cameron Mackintosh and West Yorkshire Playhouse had finally got it right in 1999, and the soundtrack has pride of place on my messy desk, but this remains the one that got away.
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