ookshelf participation encouragedthe conductors were nicholas wilks and carl clausen with soprano...
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romseyadvertiser.co.ukhampshirechronicle.co.uk4 7 Days December 6, 2012
AN all-star castis coming toBasingstoke forthe Christmaspantomime, Snow
White and the Seven Dwarfs,this year at The Anvil.
Lucy Benjamin, best known forplaying Lisa Fowler in the BBC’sEastEnders, stars as the WickedQueen. She is joined by Luke
Roberts, of CITV television showHi-5 as the handsome PrinceFrederick, while comedian NoelBrodie returns to the Anvilas Muddles.
The title role is played bySarah Louise Day, who is alsochoreographer, while directorIan Good will also play dameNurse Dotty Dettoll.
It promises glitteringcostumes, hilarious jokes andgreat songs with audienceparticipation encouraged.
The show runs from Thursday,December 13 to Sunday, January6. For more details and ticketscall the box office on 01256844244 or visit anvilarts.org.uk.
l7D PREVIEWSnow White and theSeven Dwarfs at TheAnvil, Basingstoke
Sarah Louise Day as Snow White, Luke Roberts as PrinceFrederick and Lucy Benjamin as the Wicked Queen
Dark day for Portsdown Hill poetry reading
Arts & Entertainment
Bookshelf
Celebrating 100years: Danemark toSt Bede 1912-2012FROM the team that in 2010produced the excellent Hyde inLiving Memory, this new bookchronicles the history of the schoolcurrently called St Bede.
When it opened in 1912 it wascalled City of Winchester DanemarkSchool and the 128-page book tellsthe story of its creation and how ithas evolved.
That could be a bit dry andlifeless but this elegant book is atriumph of research, with theauthors combining thoroughdelving in the archives withinterviews with former pupils andstaff (headteachers and dinnerladies, nice to see), including aprofile of one pupil, Ray Parry,who started there in 1929.
There are scores of evocativephotos as well as maps, plans,reports, exam papers, newspapercuttings and odds and ends thathelp bring the story to life.
Obviously it will be of primaryinterest to those who either attendedor whose children have links withthe school. But there is much toattract the general reader — thosefaded photos from the 1970ssparked instant memories of thiswriter’s schooling.
As well as educating tens ofthousands of children, Danemark/StBede has faced numerous challengesincluding the Luftwaffe and in 2000the Great Flood that saw the schoolexiled to Bereweeke Road for morethan two years. But out of adversitya new school emerged with muchbetter facilities and one that in thelast few years has proved sopopular that an extension had to bebuilt on part of the St Peter car park,opening at the start of this term.
So congratulations to the team ofGenevieve Baker, Venetia Bocchetta,Mandy Hodges, Sarah Perrin,Alison Royall, Madelaine Smith,Stella Swain and to the crisp designby Keith Woodall.
The book is available from theschool price £10. Excellent valuefor money.HHHH Andrew Napier
Participationencouraged
l7D REVIEWBenjamin Britten:War Requiem atWinchester Cathedral
WINCHESTER Music Club choirand orchestra, WinchesterCollege Glee Club and Quiristersand Southern Pro Musica cametogether for a concert in aid ofCombat Stress, a charitywhich supports serviceveterans with mentalhealth problems.
The conductors wereNicholas Wilks and CarlClausen with soprano ClaireRutter, tenor Justin Lavenderand baritone Stephen Gadd.
This concert began with avery effective move. ActorHarry Culverhouse, dressedas Second Lieutenant WilfredOwen MC, read one of Owen’sletters to his mother from theWestern Front, followed by
his famous poem Dulce etDecorum Est.
The opening funereal tread ofthe War Requiem was handledmost effectively — the dissonant,deliberately mournful sound ofthe choir contrasting with theangelic sound of the boys. In thevastness of the cathedral acousticmusical detail can often beswamped, but the large forcescoped admirably in the complextextures of the Dies Irae and Libera
Me. The Lacrymosa was mostmoving and soprano Claire Rutterfloated her sobbing phrases overthe choir with exquisite control,
while tenor Justin Lavender gavea poignant rendition of the poemFutility. Later on he was equallypoignant in One Ever Hangs.
Both male soloists made a fineblend in the Offertorium poemabout Abraham and Isaac. Theirnarration of the slaughter of the‘seed of Europe’ was excellent, aswas their final contribution,Owen’s magnificent StrangeMeeting, where the baritone,Stephen Gadd, held the cathedral
in absolute silence as hebrought the poem toits climax.
The great choral eruptionsof the Dies Irae and Sanctuswere suitably spectacular andthe Libera Me had moments ofreal terror. All credit to theMusic Club orchestra in thischallenging score: manyexcellent solos were heard inthe course of the performance.
The transitions to and from themain orchestra and Southern ProMusica (admirably conducted byHampshire Youth Orchestra’s
conductor Carl Clausen) wereskilfully handled and NicholasWilks presided over the massedforces with his usual flair andauthority. But, in the end, theevening belonged to BenjaminBritten: he modestly thought ‘theidea was good’, but we allrecognised a work of genius.
The concert raised in excess of£11,000 for Combat Stress. Thefinal amount has yet to beconfirmed. Duncan Eves
ANDREW JORDAN’S PoetryField Club ‘field trip’ (onSaturday November 24), one ofa number of events celebratinghis book Hegemonick, involveda walk and in situ poetryreadings on Portsdown Hill.
The day was dark. It wasalready raining as we approachedthe Royal Armouries Museum atFort Nelson. Once inside, wewent underground, following a
tunnel to a series of rooms.There, Jordan read Fieldnotes:
Fort Nelson and A PaulsgroveBestiary, the latter poemconcerning the ‘Paulsgrovepaedophile riots’ of 2000. It endswith a journey through thetunnels beneath Fort Nelson,where the poet unearths hisown childhood self: “My darkside,/a naked boy, like afossil/or root/ hauled from the
chalk...” Oddly, during thereading, we heard childrenscreaming in a distant tunnel.
The day was already remindingme of Stalker, Andrei Tarkovsky’sfilm, and this impression grewafter we left the fort and made ourway along the ridge of the hill.
Memorable moments includedNelson’s monument, theperimeter fence of PortsdownWest (a defence research
establishment where we wereconfronted by a picket line ofvideo cameras on poles) and theunderground fuel bunker portal, abrick built structure that outcropsin the middle of nowhere. This isthe tunnel exit referred to in thepoem Inside Mary Millington.
Portsdown Technology Park,another defence research facility,also held a peculiar aura, brightlylit in the gloom. Emily Trig
Large forces cope admirably with complex textures
Stephen Gaddheld the cathedralin absolute silence ashe brought the poemto its climax
‘’
Claire Rutter and Stephen Gadd