the boards november 2014
DESCRIPTION
The Boards November 2014TRANSCRIPT
1The Lace Market Theatre • Halifax Place • Nottingham • NG1 1QN
0115 950 7201 | www.lacemarkettheatre.co.uk
THE BOARDS Nov / Dec 2014
The in-house magazine for the Lace Market Theatre Editor: Andy Nash
The Pillowman3 - 8 November 2014
“Damages” Review
page 6
“For Services Rendered”
Review page 7Photo by David Alderson
Photo by Heidi Hargreaves
Happy Jack18 - 22 November 2014
White Christmas 12 - 20 December 2014
2
Member News 2
A note from the Editor 2
From the Chair 3
From the Artistic Director 4
Guy Evans: the Pillowman 5
Review: Damages 6
Review::For Services Rendered 7
Ivan McCullough 8
A day in the life... 9
NANDA: POY competition 10
NANDA: POY competition 11
Audition: The Stranger 12
Audition: Overruled 12
Audition: Swan Song 12
Audition: Bedroom Farce 13
Audition notes 13
My night with Steve 14
Who’s who 15
Diary Dates 15
Season at a glance 16
WELCOME TO
T H E
f o l l o w i n gnew members whojoined us since 29th July:
David Allcock Fatosh OlgacherPat Allcock John PeploeMercedes Assad Val PeploeTobias Baskin Jill PetchellDonna Billeter John PetchellRuedi Billeter Pauline QuivigerPatrick Craig Beth RoberstonEmma Fowler Jane RobertsonLaura Green Annie SharrattA Simpson Echo ZhengDavid LaneCraig Hopewell (Gordon)Stephen Hodgkinson
Youth Theatre:
Harris Allen George CollierLibby Crighton Finn DohertyAmara Frearson Roison KellyPoppy King Ruth PageBlythe Reaney Kellie Rigby
Many of the new members are alreadyinvolved with our productions either inan acting or production capacity so ifyou come across any of them pleaseintroduce yourself. Let’s make them feelwelcome. Some of the adult membersjoined us after coming along to anOpen Evening which confirms thebenefit of these events.Congratulations to our new youngermembers who have successfullyauditioned for a place in our YouthTheatre – we hope you enjoy your firstyear with us.
As at 24th September the membershiptotalled 234 and 63 Season tickets hadbeen purchased.
B AnthonyMembership Secretary
CONTENTS Member news...A note from
the Editor
WITH CHRISTMAS
JUST around thecorner, the
theatre is buzzing both theatrically andsocially. Two plays down, a couple ofsocial events completed and we don’tstop there. I feel that the social side ofthe Theatre is as important as thetheatrical side. It ensures that wemembers feel like a lovely “cohesivefamily unit”. (It also provides extra valueto the already excellently pricedmembership.) The open mic nightsafford people the opportunity toshowcase talents in other areas whilethe seasonal parties (Halloween) allowus to dress up in funny costumes andperform... oh wait hang on a minute.Anyway, the next social event to lookforward to is the Christmas Party. Bringout those Christmas jumpers, dust downyour special dancing trousers and bustsome moves to Slade!
How do people feel about the playreviews that we get? Do they benefitus or anyone? Normally an advocateI, just having finished Damages, wasleft feeling disappointed with AlanGearey’s review. Not because it wasa bad review but more about thecontent of the review. The play,Damages, was only a “four hander”,yet he failed to mention one of thecentral characters. I’ve noticed thaton previous reviews as well. It was thesame problem with the Left Lion review,different person this time though. I havealways felt uncomfortable commentingon reviews as it looks like “sour grapes”but when they are badly written canwe comment fairly and openly?Remember, the theatre provides freetickets to these “reviewers” and it couldaffect revenues. Also, it surprises methat the majority of our reviewers areMen. Come on, really? Letters to theeditor with your views about this!
Andy [email protected]
On thisday...
5th November1914 the 1stBattalion of the
Sherwood Foresters(Nottinghamshire &Derbyshire regiment) landedat Le Havre.
3
WE ARE NOW well into theseason and I hope youhave enjoyed it so far?
Don't forget to get your ticketsfor the upcoming productionsand encourage your friends tocome and see amateur theatreat its best.
The benefit of being acommunity theatre society suchas ours is that we can put onplays which would not makeeconomic sense for professionaltheatres. We aim to puttogether a balancedprogramme to include playswhich will appeal to a wideaudience (and hopefully fill ourseats) and those which may beof more interest to those with aspecial interest in theatre suchas our members. But, you cannever please everybody!Imagine the difficulty faced byMax Bromley and his colleagueson the Programme AdvisoryGroup as they strive to puttogether the 2015/16 season. Iwish them well.
You can't have failed to noticethat we've made some changesduring our (short!) closedseason. In particular the publictoilets have been refurbished.Do I hear cries of 'At long last'.A few teething problems butwe're sure they will beappreciated by our patrons.
Many of our members use the
FROM THE CHAIR...
Lace Market Theatre as astepping stone on theirprofessional career. And it's notonly those pursuing a life onstage. Martin Hawthorn was amember in the 1970s anddesigned the lighting for manyshows. This encouraged him toform his own lighting hirebusiness and from smallbeginnings Hawthorns hasgrown into the largestindependent stage equipmenthire company in the UK. Martincherished those earlyexperiences and the trainingthat the LMT gave him and hasnow generously donated a newlighting control desk to theTheatre. This is very timely as ourexiting one was beginning todevelop faults and we faced abill of around £5000 to replaceit. Thank you Martin.
Finally a plea which you willhave heard before. Everyperformance of every play weput on needs as well as thoseon stage and back stage, 8-10members to perform what maybe regarded as the lessglamorous jobs. But vitallyimportant. Without front ofhouse, box office, bar and otherstaff we couldn't run our shows.So, if you're not already on one(or more) of these rota's thenplease consider volunteering.Your contribution will be muchappreciated.
Philip Hogarth
The Pillowmanby Martin McDonagh
Cast:Matthew Hunt KaturianAjay Stevenson MichalRichard Holmes TupolskiAdam Worton ArielValentin Ruscan Parents & ChildrenOana Ionescu Parents & ChildrenRaphael Lindsay Parents & Children
Crew:Guy Evans DirectorKareena Sims Set D e s i g n Costume Design MusicHugh Philip Lighting Design
Peter Hodgkinson Sound DesignEcho Sheng Sound DesignDoreen Hunt WardrobeRose Dudley ArmourerEmma Fowler Stage Manager
TBC ASMGuy Evans Construction
Matthew Macfadyen
Did you know, our TheatrePatron, Matthew, won aBAFTA in 2010 for BestSupporting Actor in CriminalJustice (2008). He has alsoearned two nominationspreviously for Best Actor for“Secret Life” and “In myfather’s dreams”.
4
IT DOESN’T SEEM five minutessince the season kicked offwith a bang in the shape
of Damages and For ServicesRendered. I realised the otherday however that incrediblyabout half of the currentseason has already beencast following a recently well-attended audition for TheLion in Winter. There’s a realbuzz about the theatre withHappy Jack, White Christmasand One Act Play all inrehearsal alongside our nextoffering, the dark and intenseThe Pillowman, for which Ihave attended a full run justtoday.
We were extremely fortunateto obtain the rights to ThePillowman, the decisionhaving to be made by theplaywright Martin McDonaghhimself. The cast of fourassembled by director GuyEvans (including some newfaces to the LMT stage) areturning out uniformly strongperformances which reallydeserve your support.
FROM THE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR...
One of my hopes as ArtisticDirector was to find ways tomake more people aware ofthe great things we do at ourlittle theatre and I’m pleasedto say that several plannedevents are helping to get theword out there. Ourproduction of Happy Jack,for instance, will receive anadditional performance atSyerston Village Hall onNovember 28th and One ActPlay is also going to beperformed at a festival inSwindon.
November 1st sees the first ofour Plays That Got AwayDangerous Corner, which isa must for fans of J.B. Priestleyor anyone thinking ofauditioning for When We AreMarried later in the season.On Saturday November 29thwe are pleased to presentChekhov Unplugged: A Talkand Show by Theatre Mattersfeaturing our own CynthiaMarsh, Amanda Hodgsonand Piotr Wisniewski all for thebargain price of just £3.
One final word about tickets– at the last count WhiteChristmas was approaching60% sold/reserved andHappy Jack has few ticketsremaining for someperformances. It’s great thatour season is so popular butdon’t miss out by leaving yourbookings to the last minutebecause you might bedisappointed.
Paul JohnsonArtistic Director
Happy Jackby John Godber
Cast:Nic Adams Jack MunroeCarol Parkinson Liz Munroe
Crew:Beverley Anthony DirectorFatosh Olgacher Assistant DirectorPhilip Anthony LightingJack Harris Sound
Working on an adultproduction with the
Lace Market Theatre.
Having been part of theYouth Theatre for four years,I decided to try out taking apart of an adult production.When the role of Gertrudewas advertised to our groupI was eager to take up thechallenge. My first impressionsof the cast were how kindand welcoming they were:even though mine was aminor part I was given thesame attention as the otheradults and given constructiveadvice that I’m hoping to putinto practice in the youthgroup. Overall, it was a greatopportunity that has helpedmy confidence anddeveloped my acting skills.
Eleanor Watson
5
Guy Evans... The Pillowman.“Notes from a rehearsal room”
WE HAD A script ofstunning verbalbrilliance and a
fantastic cast who brought thecharacters palpably to life in theaudition room. Therefore theproduction has sought to reveal,in as stark a way as possible,their performances. Mydesigner, Kareena Sims, hastherefore conjured up a stageset which speaks of two things:firstly, a blank page - the make-believe world of story-telling;playing all possibilities and alldangers; a shared room of twobrothers; a shared empty spaceof child victim and adultperpetrator; the smallness andsimplicity of being a child - andsecondly the vast inhumanworld of a totalitarian state - itsuniformity, austerity, brutality,and machine-like emptiness.
So to the rehearsals. Well, Ijunked the obligatory read-through. Instead my castperformed the entire play,instantly, using an empty space,scripts, improvising everything.It was a messy, scratchy, ajumble of a performance, butalive. It had drama pathos,humour, chaos, danger, beauty.They walked and talked andbumped into the furniture.
The play was split intomanageable and discerniblydifferent units: ten or so pageseach. Each section wasrehearsed separately,searching for it’s particulardynamics, patterns, rhythms,textures, with no fixed set ofpre-planned moves or‘blockings’ but merely a vaguenotion of what might work. Gutinstinct, simply looking andbeing honest in my decisionswas how I worked. I trusted mycast and my own knowledge,skills and judgement, whilst alsoknowing nothing was fixed instone and readjustments canalways be made.
We initially rehearsed in theround using film scale of acting,abandoning any sense that thiswas a stage play. Once eachscene had become shapedinto a dramatic form mydirectorial decisions began verygently to open up theperformance to an auditorium,but without losing thoseconnections now made
between the characters. Mygoal was to encourage anddiscover what was the trueliving human behaviourbetween the characters.
I have tried, at least in the earlystages of rehearsal, to avoid theplay ‘making sense’ but seemreal and spontaneous flow ofevents, searching fortruthfulness in each moment.Characters aren’t consistentonly cliches are. Life andpeople don’t make sense fromthe outside, we are chaotic andabsurd, switching from onerandom moment to another.
Only now the play is comingtogether as a single entity canI begin to see what it mightmean as a whole. Thereforedecisions on performance,lighting, sound, can now beginto hint at some deeperthematic aspects but againwithout ever trying to spell themout or being ‘clear’.
This is now the final part of thejourney - to begin to shapewhat has been revealedthrough the rehearsal processinto a more dynamic theatricalform, yet keeping it alive to thepossibility of the inconsistentand the spontaneous.Rehearsals have never took astheir goal ‘practice untilperfect’: to present what we’vebeen practising; but itsopposite: ‘to prepare for itsbirth’.
Guy EvansDirector
Photo by Kareena Sims
Photo by Kareena Sims
6
Review: Damages17 September by Kev Castle
STAGED IN THE bijou and intimateupstairs space, "Damages" writtenby Steve Thompson is another one
of those little gems of a play that theLace Market Theatre are so good atfinding and staging. And what a littlesparkler this one is! It has been a whilesince I have had the pleasure ofwatching a play that gives you that"eureka" moment when you get the gistof what the previous sections wereactually building up to. It will draw youin and have you eager for the outcome,like unwrapping a parcel in pass theparcel, stripping away the layers to getthe eventual goodie at the finale.
Played out in real time,"Damages" isabout a newspaper steaming towardsits' deadline and the night editor andthe journalists deciding which story torun, and especially the front page"splash". They then receive a picture ofa topless children's TV star which isguaranteed to be a media smash. Butall is not as it first seems and the private,and not so private revelations, after thissupposed exclusive are as lascivious asthe proposed news story. Good job thatthey have Abigail, the "legal eagle" onhand to advise, now isn't it?
What an amazingly good cast!
Howard, played by Ian Bennett, is themore than dedicated editor in charge,proof reader, and the calmest of thenewspaper staff, staying way past histimeline to make sure the job gets done.Old fashioned and reliable and a anexpression can replace any number ofwords in the script.
He's likeable even though at first hecomes across as Mr Grumpy, thisexterior softens with the appearanceof Abigail, and he becomes theequivalent of your favourite elder uncle.
Abigail, the legal saviour of the play isplayed oh so stylishly andknowledgeably by Emma Nash.Bringing sexy back to the legal side ofthe newspaper, in more ways than oneas we discover that that legal advicewas not the only thing that Abigaildished out. The recipient of heradditional expertise being presented,in the not too distant past, to the"newbie" night editor, Baz, played byChris Moseley.
Chris plays Baz as the, possibly overeager and hungry to reach the top,Baz. The good looking office personwho is always a hit with the ladies,including Abigail, which via this airingof their dirty laundry, exposessomething that he may have wishedhad not been forced into the open,but needing to be revealed for the sakeof the story that Lister is adamant onrunning.
And finally there is Lister, trying to keepthe baying of Baz's hunger at bay. Thereis a really explosive scene whichinvolves Lister really losing it with Bazwhich is an absolutely brilliantly emotiveand explosive part of the play, and isalso an excuse for some morerevelations from Lister's past. JasonWrightam plays Lister with fire and inthese close surroundings you canfeel that fire directed at Baz and you'reable to see the veins standing toattention in Jason/Lister's facialexpressions.
Each of the four characters will evokean emotion from you and all are thekind you will find in any high flying anddeadline driven environment. Utterlybelievable and all quite likeable in their
own way.
Abigail, the legal saviour of the play isplayed oh so stylishly andknowledgeably by Emma Nash.Bringing sexy back to the legal side ofthe newspaper, in more ways than oneas we discover that that legal advicewas not the only thing that Abigaildished out. The recipient of heradditional expertise being presented,in the not too distant past, to the"newbie" night editor, Baz, played byChris Moseley.
Chris plays Baz as the, possibly overeager and hungry to reach the top,Baz. The good looking office personwho is always a hit with the ladies,including Abigail, which via this airingof their dirty laundry, exposessomething that he may have wishedhad not been forced into the open,but needing to be revealed for thesake of the story that Lister is adamanton running.
And finally there is Lister, trying to keepthe baying of Baz's hunger at bay.There is a really explosive scene whichinvolves Lister really losing it with Bazwhich is an absolutely brilliantlyemotive and explosive part of the play,and is also an excuse for some morerevelations from Lister's past. JasonWrightam plays Lister with fire and inthese close surroundings you can feelthat fire directed at Baz and you'reable to see the veins standing toattention in Jason/Lister's facialexpressions.
Each of the four characters will evokean emotion from you and all are thekind you will find in any high flying anddeadline driven environment. Utterlybelievable and all quite likeable in theirown way.
Image by Andrew Nash
7
keeps sneaking looks at theaudience for no dramaticreason, but is given some of themost entertaining lines of asometimes funny evening.
This is in large part a State of theNation play. The tragic Collie,well played by GraemeJennings, was dropped by theNavy because of the GeddesAxe and is presently strugglingto keep his garage businessafloat in the Great Depression.
Robert Suttle (Wilfred Cedar),David Pain (Dr Prentice),Malcolm Todd (Howard Bartlett)and others turn in excellentperformances.
This is Somerset Maugham nearhis best as a playwright. Anddirected by Di Richards, it’s alsoa solidly LMT, large cast, wellcostumed production. It’stherefore well worth getting thecoat on for.
NEAR THE START of thistraditional three-actpiece, after the opening
bars of Elgar’s First, some happyyoung things come on in whites,all hot from a game of tennis. Adead giveaway you might think.But this takes the “anyone fortennis?” genre and turns it on itshead. The action happensentirely on a semi-realisticdrawing-room set, but it’s nodrawing room comedy. This isyour dysfunctional family writlarge. And it all ends in tears.
The play is set in 1932, butemphatically harks back to theGreat War. Considering it waswritten as well in 1932, it containsmany prophetic intimations ofthe next war just seven yearshence.
Acting is generally excellent.Danielle Wain, as Lois, looksabsolutely right for the earlythirties; but the character is toocold and unmoving to have themen dancing round her as theydo. Newcomer Chris Sims, as thecynical Sydney, blinded in thewar, gives a brilliantly realisticperformance. And Maughamspeaks through him near theend to denounce the conflictas futile.
Gill Cook, as Gwen Cedar,
White Christmasby Irving Berlin
Cast:Paul Johnson Bob WallaceChris Moseley Phil DaviesJackie Dunn Betty HaynesLucy Bailey Judy HaynesDaniel Bryant Gen Henry WaverlyAlison Hope Martha WatsonElisabeth Rieley Susan WaverlyGareth Morris Ralph S h e l d r a k eImogen Lea RitaSally Nix RhodaSteve Parry ScooterMartin Pikett MikeChris Collins ChorusJenny Scott ChorusHelen Sharpe ChorusHellen Whittle Chorus
Dancers supplied by Lisa GailTheatre School
Crew:Linda Croston Director Set DesignSteve Parry MDLisa Lee ChoreographyNick Gale Lighting DesignSimon Carter Sound DesignBarry Holland WardrobeTBC PropertiesJane Herring Stage ManagerJayne McCormack DSMKeith Parkinson ConstructionMark James Construction
Review: For Services Rendered7 October by Alan Geary
Photo by David Alderson
11,000 men and women fromNottinghamshire died duringWorld War 1:
� 75% of casualties wereunder the age of 30
� 90% were soldiers� 9% were sailors� 1% were airmen� 70% were killed on the
Western Front
8
although not one of his favouritejobs, he helped construct andpaint scenery with son Tim andthere were three or four timeswhen all four McCulloughs,(Lorna, Tim, Carolyn and Ivan)appeared on the sameprogramme of plays in variousguises. He also did Duty Officer,Bar and FOH.
In latter years he concentratedon his music outside the theatre,and while I came to rehearsalshe would go to the churchwhere he was organist andpractice. He would then comeback to the theatre to pick meup – and that is how mostpeople remember him, with hishalf a shandy and a Kit Katwaiting patiently for me in theClubroom. He often told methat if anything happened tohim I would have the theatre togo to, so he won’t be at allsurprised to know that I will betreading the boards there nextJanuary, in a place we bothloved.
Lorna McCullough
FIRST, LET ME say a big thankyou to all the members ofthe theatre who sent such
lovely messages of sympathyon Ivan’s death. Many of themreminded me of things Ivanhelped with in the Club whichI had forgotten Also thanks toso many of you who attendedhis Thanksgiving Service wherewe heard about his happy lifeand listened to the music heloved played by members ofhis family.
And indeed it was music thatfirst got him involved with theLace Market Theatre, playingcarols at the Prose and PoetryChristmas evenings, then goingon to become musical directorof several shows, most notably‘Comedy of Errors’ (1986) whenhe appeared as conductorand bandmaster in abandstand with a small bandwhich played live on stage.(See Photo). He also appearedas the Pianist in ‘Comedians’1995.He occasionally did Sound,although not one of his
Ivan McCullough 31/1/34 – 7/9/14
Book now for “The Pillowman”
Either online or telephoning the box office
www.lacemarkettheatre.co.uk or 0115 950 7201
Our Theatre Patron, TimothyWest, has been featuring inthe BBC television soap,“Eastenders” for the pastyear.
His character, Stan Carter, aformer Billingsgate FishMarket trader, entered thesoap some time ago when anew family took over the“Queen Vic” pub. He hasbeen central to many of thesoaps juiciest plot lines
West, 79 is married to PrunellaScales (an other Theatrepatron) whom both made awonderful and touchingdocumentary for E4 called“Great Canal Journeys”. Ifyou haven’t had a chanceof seeing this program thenplease do see if you can getit on catch-up.
Photo: BBC
Letters to theEditor!
Please do send in your lettersand articles for publication.It makes such a differencewhen the Boards containsitems of interest from ourmembers.
9
Group Reps Meeting Update
Did you know...Members of the LMT canreceive a discount at thePitcher and Piano by showingtheir LMT Membership cardwhen paying the bill?
The audition for the YouthTheatre has been held with 36attendees. Twenty six existingmembers and ten new.Congratulations to all.
There are new "Fire Warden"armbands for Duty Managers,Front of House,
Stage Managers etc to be wornin the case of an evacuation.This is to allow the Fire Brigadeto easily recognise people incharge.
There are new gold sashes forFront-of-House. These areoptional but would help makeindividuals more visible and theexisting badges can bepinned/attached to them.
An issue on Box Office -transactions time out after 15minutes. It's causing a fewproblems at the moment withpeople booking for the wholeseason.
Friday evening of "One ActPlay" will have a post-showevent with the writer, Matt Fox.
The event with Steve Thompson,the playwright of "Damages"was very well received.
The next phase of the Archivingwork is almost complete.Doreen Sheard (with help fromJenny Timmins and PatRichards) has compiled anamazing list ofproductions/readings from theclubs past, starting in the late1920s. This will go to the
Nottingham Archives alongwith some programmes andother paperwork. Copies ofthe list will be stored at theTheatre for anyone interested.
The Studio cupboards havebeen painted by MartynHooper - Thank you!
The annual PAT testing, lanternmaintenance and variouscleaning / organising hashappened over the summerbreak. Thank you to everyonewho helped with this. A generalrequest - please flag updamaged items when theyhappen. Things break withwear and tear and it's easier toreplace them as we go alongthen finding damaged itemshidden away during thesummer clear-up. New curtainswill hopefully be being broughtsoon, and a new lighting boardis imminent for the Studio.
A request is going out for moreDuty Managers for show nights.Members can sign up to anyrota at any point in the season.
The next Plays That Got Awaywill be J. B. Priestley's"Dangerous Corner". It will clashwith the next GRM, also startingat 2pm on Nov 1st. As thetheatre is used more and morethis will happen. LornaMcCullough, the diary keeper,needs to know of meetings,rehearsals, etc. There is noguarantee if you turn up at thetheatre, there will be room!
Jayne McCormack
ALL MEMBERS ARE welcometo attend the GroupR e p r e s e n t a t i v e s
Meeting on the first Saturday ofeach month. It's usually at 2pmunless there's a show on whenwe meet at 11am instead.
The meeting covers the entiredaily running of the theatre andallows the different areas toshare news. Some recent itemshave included.
10
This political comedy is rarelyseen – probably largely due toit’s portrayal of the media andparticularly the British Press. Itcastigates the created world of‘Celebrity,’ those who make a livingon reporting on it, and the weirdapplications of corporateresponsibility within so-calleddemocracies. I loved it themoment I got past the first pageand felt something quite excitingwas going to happen. The first halfof the play contains only the seedsof the main plot; rather it robustlyexposes the condemned politicsof this aspect of our daily lives. (Iconfess that I gave up readingBritish newspapers in about 1985 forthe very reasons exemplified in thisplay!) The political, moral andsocial implications consequencesof Lister’s comment: ‘Don’t pretendto be appalled,’ and, Howard’sadamant declamation of thegreatest lie in modern times (viz:democracy must have a freepress), are well mulled over in thisplay: Why should I feel appalledthat people are making money outof the sordid reporting of celebrityculture; and why should I defenddemocracy for doing what appalsme? And what exactly is the natureof ‘Truth.’
The second half of the play bringsout the main plot – although sucha witty parody hardly needs one.It develops very quickly, changingfrom one line of thought to anotheruntil Lister reveals – well, the truth.It is a truth in an ocean of actualand moral falsehoods.
I deliberately did not read the lastfew pages of the script as I knew
something good was going tohappen and I didn’t want to spoilit. Lister was always destined to beboth the voice of reason and thedeus ex-machina whose commonsense sort of prevailed! Hisabsence just before thedenoument was telling, and hisre-appearance a ‘yes, here comesthe punch-line, folks.’
Direction:
The casting could not have beenbetter . They were exactly as theyappeared in my mind when I readthe script. The choice of staging,too was, I felt at first impossiblynarrow but the choice of neon striplights, a desk at one end and thefiling cabinet at the other wasabsolutely correct.
The use of swivel chairs (whichseemed on the end of theDirector’s elastic string, as theactors moved them up and downthe narrow acting area as they satin them) gave poetic resonanceto the politics of the play: (socialmobility, but always somehow tiedto one’s origins?)
This small area of the upstairs barat the Lace Market Theatre, oftenseems impossible to stage ‘large’works but the Director clearly gavehead to all the actors to allow thewriter’s words to stand up forthemselves. It was virtually a ‘thrust’stage setting which workedextremely well –even for me as Istupidly sat almost behind the desk,despite being offered a front rowseat with a cushion. The slightly obtuseview did not detract from a well-directed play as the Director used the
whole of the limited acting space andavoided using the desk as the onlyfocal point.
Andy Nash did a splendid job.
Acting:
All the actors lived-up to myexpectations having read thescript. Jason Wrightam wasimmediately hateful. Wouldn’t anywoman – or man – like to chop theb**llocks off that arrogant working-class-made-good ego. He foundexactly the right pitch: He left it tothe audience to decide if he wasan inverted snob; a poor boy on amission to balance the scales ofsocial justice; or just the asshole heappeared. Emma Nash’s ‘Abs’was the quietly restrained intellectwho understood her own needsand everyone else’s, through hersuperior emotional intelligence.She let her superiority shine throughonly at the appropriate and exacttime; Chris Moseleys ‘Baz’ can beseen in any office: assured of hissexuality and youth butdetermined to hone other skills forwhen his natural one’s fail. Heseems like he’s on the make butreally just watching his back; andLister: condemned to pace theoffice half an hour before the showbegan (wasn’t sure about this), heappeared hum-drum and straightin a way that told us he couldn’t
NANDA: PLAY OF THE YEAR COMPETITION 2014-15DAMAGES BY STEVE THOMPSONAdjudication by Dan Maddison
Date of seen performance: Tuesday 16 September 2014
Photo by Heidi Hargreaves
11
possibly be just boring; he definitelyhad something up his sleeve. IanBennet played this exactly right:the dull piece of furniture in thecorner, that has been inheritedand which many would considerdisposing of, only to discover it’sstuffed with the richest treasure ofall: the truth! I believe only IanBennett cold have returned to thestage towards the end of the playwith just the right level of covertsmugness.
I was convinced both the actingand the direction were class whenthey managed to get the therapistjoke across accurately. (Onemember of the audience neededit explaining it to them.) When Iread it I wondered if it would workand it is a testament both to thedirection and the acting that it did.
The dialogue may have been alittle too slick – but it was a slickcomedy production that didn’tlabour it’s morality, rather it showedhow a slip of the tongue, a falseinterpretation here or there canlead to very unwantedconsequences. No slickness, nostory! Had it been laboured, in anyway some of the decisions wouldhave been taken out of theaudiences’ hand. Wrightam’sodious character was perhaps theslickest and we all hate the greasyslickness of such people; yet here,too, we were eventually asked toreserve judgment. When he gavethe final decision to Baz was hereally daring him or did he havesome sense of decency after all?Was he, perhaps, thinking of hismother he’d abandoned at thetheatre? Perhaps she was/hadbeen an overpowering influencein his life which had made him soapparently callous. There wasdefinitely a suspicion that it was hismother who influenced andmotivated him most and not, ashe purported his father’s loss All thethey were as much victims as the
cast tumbled out their lines with theright amount of physical andemotional intensity that showedvictims they were reporting on. Itshowed how in the heat of cut andthrust journalism they had actuallycome to believe in what they weredoing because they hadn’t giventhemselves time to think about it,think of negative consequencesseriously. Their only fear was thefear of litigation, and in this itbecame a game: How muchdamage can we do without itdamaging ourselves?
Set design:
Ingenious use of neon strip lightingmust have come throughdiscussions with the lamp man.Either way it was an ingenious wayof setting that late-night, artificiallight atmosphere that highlightedthe hypocrisy of the play’sprotagonists. Similarly the inclusionof clocks around the world as wellas the one required in the script(GMT/BST) gave it an internationalfeel and helped with the feeling of‘deadlines’ being a bully. Thedisplay boards were displayed withnewsprint and superimposedquotes from Wilde (The truth is rarelypure and never simple), Socrates(The unexamined life is not worthliving) and others cogent to theplay were a stroke of brilliance thatadded to the intelligence of thisproduction. Authentic props, thelate-night skyline and the terrificswivel that should have got amention in the cast list, all gave atouch of class to this difficult spaceadjacent to the bar.
Sound and lighting:
Ingenious use of neon strip lighting– whose idea was it? Anyway, it washugely effective. There were fewlighting cues (on or off) but therewere some noises off of a busy outeroffice each time the door opened.It actually sounded a little too busy;
and a bit too like the same trackplayed over and over again.
Costume/wardrobe:
This was a modern dress productionand despite a mention of Baz’sArmani suits (which I wasn’t sure itwas) the cast were dressed veryappropriately. Baz’s suit andHoward’s jeans added to thecontrast between these charactersas well as build on them asindividuals. Similarly, Howard’sclean but uninspiring ‘cardi’ said itall, and the power dressed, insimple black, Abbie, was abackcloth for her power games.
FoH issues:
The computerised ticket system atthe Lace Market Theatre eventuallyfound my ticket. I chose not to sitin the reserved seat but hideinconspicuously in a corner! Hopethis didn’t upset anyone.
The bar facilities, as always, areexcellent (although I didn’t usethem).
The programme was a neat A5,double-sided, black on white cardwith just the information one needsand without any spurious, affected,or unnecessary information.
In all the PRESENTATION of this playwas excellent.
Dan Maddison
Photo by Andrew Nash
12
I AM THINKING THAT, as “TheStronger” is monologue with2 non-speaking women’s roles
where their reaction to thespeaker are vital, that it mightbe possible to cast the womenin those roles as the female rolesin “Overruled”. This depends onthe audition but please keep itin mind.
The Stronger (Strindberg)
[The translation we havecurrently may not be the onefor which we have a licence. Iawait copies of the correct one.However please look at the onewe have.]
A woman and her husband’smistress meet in café in early 20th
century. This is a challengingsituation for both of them – whowill emerge the stronger?
Madame X - an actress. Youngenough to have children under10. Someone who is or who canlook in her 30s. A demandingrole as it will involve learning agreat deal of text.
Mmlle Y- Also an actress. Sameage group as Madame X. Herreactions to the monologue infacial expressions and bodylanguage are an integral partin building tension during thecourse of the play.
Waitress – 30s – early 40s. Again,her reactions are important.
Audition piece initially - p142plus any other piece that an
Audition: The Stronger & Overruled
December 2nd 2014 at 7.30pm
auditionee wishes to present.
Overruled (GB Shaw)
Two couples at the turn of the20th century play with infidelityand the usual triangle here turnsout to be 4 sided.
Age group of characters – 30s– early 40s
Mrs. JunoMr LunnMrs LunnMr Juno
Audition pieces: pp17,18, 21, 23,25, but feel free to ask to do anyother part of the script.
Photocopies of audition piecesare in the bar store plus copy ofscript not to be removed butcan be read there.Please ignore stage directionsin these scripts
Please contact me if you haveany questions before theaudition
Gill [email protected]
07885418248
Audition: Swan song
December 4th 7.30
Characters:
VASILI SVIETLOVIDOFF, acomedian, 68 years old.
Needs to have goodphysicality as piece will include a lot of movement.
Could be played by a man45 onwards.
NIKITA IVANITCH, a prompter,an old man --- Could beplayed by a man 45 onwards.
The audition will be based upondifferent activities rather thanjust reading from the script butdon’t let that put you off. Pleasecome prepared to give yourbest Drunk impression!
Provisional scripts will beavailable at the Lace Markettheatre.
Don’t worry about learning linesjust gather an awareness of thecharacters.
Break a leg!
Alex [email protected]
13
Audition Notice - Bedroom FarceDirector: Graeme Jennings
Audition Date: Tuesday 11 November 2014Performance Dates 16 – 21 February 2015
Delia & Ernest are the parents ofTrevor, who is married toSusannah, but used to date Jan,who is now married to Nick. Sowhen Kate & Malcolm invite thetwo young couples over for ahousewarming party, whatcould possibly go wrong? Theplay is set in 1970s suburbia.
Ernest (playing age 50+)
Ernest is married to Delia, andthe father of Trevor. Reliable,kind, respectable, solid, middleclass. He has the views andopinions typical of a man of hisgeneration in the 1970s.
Delia (playing age 50+)
Delia is married to Ernest, andthe mother of Trevor. She canspeak for the both of them andoften does. She likes to gossipand be involved in otherpeople’s issues. She is verballyquick.
Trevor (playing age 25-40)
Trevor is married to Susannah.Previously he had been in arelationship with Jan. He is adeeply selfish man who has nopatience for his wife. He oftendoesn't listen to the otherparticipants in a conversation,especially when it’s not abouthim.
Susannah (playing age 20-40)
Susannah is married to Trevor.
Like him she is very self-obsessed.She is neurotic and lacking inany self-confidence and as aconsequence will try all sorts ofpositive thinking techniques. Sheis very emotional and thinks herhusband is repulsed by her.
Nick (playing age 25-40)
Nick is married to Jan. He hasrecently hurt his back and is bedstricken and milking it. Thisdoesn’t stop him from trying tomove a little too much.
Jan (playing age 25-40)
Jan is married to Nick and waspreviously in a relationship withTrevor. She is intelligent, quickwitted and can be quite sharp.Her marriage to Nick is rockywithout being on the rocks. Sheknows she is well to be rid ofTrevor, but that doesn't stop herfrom kissing him!
Malcolm (playing age 20-40)
Malcolm is newly married toKate. He is fun loving and ajokester, though he has his limitswhen it comes to crazy friendsin his new house. He likes to doDIY where his enthusiasm ismatched only by his lack oftalent. Malcolm and Kate areprobably younger than theother couples.
Kate (playing age 20s early 30s)
Kate is newly married toMalcolm. She loves to play and
joke with Malcolm though sheisn’t quite the trickster that he is.She is a calming influence whenhe begins to lose his temper andlikes to try to keep the peacefor everyone.
I will be auditioning actors forthe roles in pairs using thefollowing selections:-
Delia & Ernest – pages 16&17
Susannah & Trevor – page 18
Jan & Nick – page 46
Kate & Malcolm – pages 6&7
Please note that these are allquite short selections, so if youcan come to the audition withthe lines memorized it willcertainly help you to show mewhat you can do. If you intendauditioning for more than onerole I would advise you to tryand memorize the lines for atleast one of the characters youwish to play.
For copies of the auditionselections, or any queries youmay have please contact me.
Mobile: 07941 806 437,
email: [email protected]
Graeme JenningsDirector
14
My night with Steve Thompson
I’M DELIGHTED TO have heard somany positive commentsabout our stunning season
opener in the past few weeks.It was a particular treat for meto host the writer of the play,Steve Thompson, who attendedthe Friday eveningperformance and participatedin a question and answersession afterwards.
Steve’s story is a fascinatingone. Having spent many yearsas a Maths teacher, he refinedhis skills on the RADAplaywrighting course. Hisbreakthrough came soon afterwhen Damages was selectedby the Bush Theatre in Londonfrom the thousands of playssubmitted to them each year.Since then he has written forboth stage and screen but mostnotably for Doctor Who,Sherlock, and Upstairs,Downstairs.
The inspiration for Damagescame from his wife’s work as anight lawyer for The Times – ajob which ranged from hersimply reading the newspaperto having blazing rows with thenight editor over stories thatthreatened to put the paper inlegal hot water. Seeing a
potential storyline, he visited theoffices himself and in so doingencountered the inspiration forsome of his characters -including the older proofreadercomplete with hamper andbottle of wine. The resulting playwas an immediate hit and wonhim the prestigious Meyer-Whitworth Award.
Despite his success Stevecomes across as an incrediblygrounded individual. A fatherof 5, he explained to me theneed for writers such as himselfto have several projects on thego at any one time to make aviable career. He also felt theneed to explain why helaughed out loud several timesas I sat next to him during theperformance. It wasn't his self-indulgence but simply becausehe could still hear thearguments he had (and has)with his wife in the words of hischaracters.
I'd like to express my thanks toAndy Nash for inviting Steveand in so doing making a nightat the theatre even morememorable for cast, crew andaudience alike.
Paul Johnson
Image by Gareth Morris
LMT Festivemessages!
If you'd like to send a festivemessage to all of the members ofthe Lace Market Theatre, as analternative to purchasing hundredsof greetings cards, we are offeringmembers the opportunity to makea small donation to the theatre andwe will contact the membership foryou.
To take advantage of thisenvironmentally friendly alternativeto greetings cards, please selectyour donation amount (multiples of£5, in the same way you'd purchasea number of tickets for a show)before 25 December, type in yourmessage, and your message will besent out for Christmas and repeatedin the next edition of The Boards forthose without email.
This can also be done at the theatreover the box office desk.
The AuditionProcess...
To take part in a production,including the rehearsalprocess, you must be amember.
Every director will hold theiraudition differently but youwill usually be invited to readthrough the script or aphotocopy of the auditionpieces before the auditionnight. These will be availablefrom the bar at the theatre.
Audition notices for the restof the season can be foundon our web site.
http://lacemarkettheatre.co.uk
15
DIARY DATES2014 / 15
November1 Plays That Got Away1 LMT Halloween Party3-8 The Pillowman by Martin McDonagh11 Audition “Bedroom Farce”18- 22 “Happy Jack” by John Godber24 LMT Open Evening29 Chekhov Unplugged
December2 Audition “The Stronger”2 Audition “Overruled”4 Audition “Swansong”13 The editor’s birthday!12-20 “White Christmas” by Irving Berlin21 Ways With Words27 LMT Christmas Party
January9-10 “One Act Play” by Matt Fox12 LMT Open Evening13 Audition “King John”19-24 “The Lion in Winter”
by James Goldman
February3 Audition “Dead Ringers”16-21 “Bedroom Farce” by Alan Ayckbourn27 LMT Open Evening
Who’s Who at theLacemarket
Theatre
Board of Directors:
Phil Hogarth ChairpersonAndy Nash Vice-ChairJohn Anthony Hon TreasuryNevil Croston Company SecLinda CrostonMark JamesGill ScottNick GaleMarcus WakelyE A StewartRoger WatsonMichelle Smith
Other Responsibilities:
Paul Johnson Artistic DirectorMax Bromley PAG ChairPat Richards FOH RotaDavid Nightingale Bar ManagerGareth Morris Head PublicitySimon Carter Head LightingMartin Curtis Head SoundJayne McCormack Head GRMLinda Croston Costume HireMax Bromley Youth GroupGill Scott Theatre HireDoreen Hunt Exhibition spaceJanice White “Ways With Words” organiserGill Scott Stage DirectorHugh Philip Construction ConsultantRose Dudley Head PropsDoreen Hunt Head CostumeB Anthony Membership SecBex Mason Head of SocialB Anthony Child Protection
Set Design and SetConstruction
This is a call to action for all thosebudding set designers out there.
As you know, part of thespectacle and magic of thetheatre is the ability oftransporting an audience toanother place. Without that,then the play often falls flat.Lighting and Sound help hugelyin delivering that effect howevera major part of this conceit iswithin the Set Design. Afantastic set design has theability to turn a mediocre playinto a great play.
At the LMT we are lucky to havefantastic set designers andbuilders, however we need togrow our talent pool.
Although not just about drawingpretty pictures, or being goodat painting, our dedicatedteams can help those new tothe field (almost like anapprenticeship). You couldshadow current set designers togain confidence.
If you’re interested please reachout to Gill Scott, who is the LMTStage Director.
Last date for copy
Items for publication shouldbe submitted to the Editorno later than the 27thDecember. We aim topublish the next issue by the1st of the month.
Or the pigeon hole in thetheatre bar under “E” foreditor.
SEASON 2014/15Damages by Steve Thompson (16 – 20 September 2014)
For Services Rendered by W. Somerset Maugham (6 – 11 October 2014)
The Pillowman by Martin McDonagh (3 – 8 November 2014)
Happy Jack by John Godber (18 – 22 November 2014)
White Christmas by Irving Berlin (12 – 20 December 2014)
One Act Play by Matt Fox (9 – 10 January 2015)
The Lion in Winter by James Goldman (19 – 24 January 2015)
Bedroom Farce by Alan Ayckbourn (16 – 21 February 2015)
Three Short Classics: (3 - 7 March 2015)
The Stronger by August Strindberg Overruled by George Bernard Shaw Swansong by Anton Chekhov
The Caucasian Chalk Circle by Bertolt Brecht (18 – 21 March 2015)
King John (RSC Open Stages) by William Shakespeare (20 – 25 April 2015)
Dead Ringer by Charles Ross (18 – 23 May 2015)
Jumpy by April de Angelis (15 – 20 June 2015)
Yerma by Federico Garcia Lorca (30 June – 4 July 2015)
When We Are Married by J. B. Priestley (20 – 25 July 2015)
NANDA
16
NEW! Discount Food Offer
The Lace Market Theatre is proud to announce it's new relationship withEdin.
Any sandwich with a small glass of wine for £7 (at Edin's Kitchen); or a piece of cake and a largehot drink for £5 (at Edin's Deli Cafe and Edin's Kitchen).