No Ordinary Bank Holiday

‘Grinning as if it were all an August Bank Holiday lark’ 

these words from Philip Larkin’s poem ‘MCMXIV’ were the inspiration behind the latest offering from one of our favourite theatre companies  Northern Broadsides at the New Vic Theatre in Newcastle-under-Lyme.  Written by Deborah McAndrew especially for the start of the 100 years commemorations of the beginning of WW1.  It has all the humour, pathos and energy of other Northern Broadsides productions. I’m always amazed at the talent of the performers, acting, singing, dancing and playing musical instruments as well as moving their own props when necessary – which in this productions included the building up and breaking down of a Rushcart.

It's Wakes Week August 1914, the cotton mills of East Lancashire are closed and the Greenmill Rushcart lads are rehearsing for the Bank Holiday Rushbearing Festival.  Changes are in the air, not many young men are left to perform in this tradtional ceremony as who wants to stay in Greenmill on a Bank Holiday when the delights of Blackpool are on offer?  The old stalwarts like the Squire and Bagman are getting too old and heaven forbid women should be allowed to participate.  Looming on the horizon though is an even greater challenge to tradition and three of the young Rushcart lads are eager to enlist to escape the mill,  to seek new horizons and to do their bit for their county and country in the coming conflict that surely will be over by Christmas.   Who goes and who will return to Greenmill?  Whatever the outcome life will never be the same again.

We cried with laughter in the first part – we applauded the performance of the Denshaw Morris Dance, the building up and the taking down (in the interval) of the Rushcart, we applauded the women musicians who played on whilst this took place, we tapped our feet at the wedding dance and cried again as we learned the fate of the lads.

At the end the audience rose to their feet to say thank you for such a wonderful performance.  If this play comes near you – do go and see it.  I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Link  to trailer on YouTube

The Play's the Thing

It was pouring with rain as we drove into the car park at the New Vic, a warm, steamy kind of rain that had people dashing quickly into the dry welcome of the theatre foyer. We'd booked a table for a meal before the performance mainly because, as Paul works close by, it was easier to park early than for him to come all the way home and then to struggle to find parking later on, so I met him there. I was looking forward to this production, having seen quite a few by Northern Broadsides over the last few years I knew we would be captivated once more. As we found our table and joined the queue to order our food several of the cast members were in front of us ordering theirs, including the director Barry Rutter and Othello himself - Lenny Henry.

When I heard that comedian Lenny Henry was to play Othello for Northern Broadsides I wasn't sure what to expect but my faith in his abilities to pull it off were not in vain. He was a tremendous Othello. He has a huge presence on the bare, almost propless stage, just occasionally speaking his words a little quickly but oh, the gamut of emotions he went through as Othello spirals from strong, happy, dynamic soldier through tormented jealousy and rage to remorseful defeat was absolutely riveting.

My star of the evening, though, was Conrad Phillips who, as Iago, was the malevolent lynch pin of the whole production; on stage for almost all of the three hours of the production, he plotted and whispered and cajoled leading all the characters into his web of cruel deceit.

It wouldn't be a Northern Broadsides production without a bit of music and a bit of comedy and this was supplied by the actors themselves playing the instruments, with music written especially for the production by Conrad Phillips. The 'drinking' song used in order to get Cassio, played by actor Richard Standing, drunk was very funny and received a huge ovation at its end.

I always have trouble with Desdemona as a character and she was superbly portrayed by Jessica Harris and but for me, it was Maeve Larkin as Iago's wife Emilia who stood out giving a fine, measured performance. Not surprising then that the cast received a standing ovation as they took their bows at the end.

All in all a wonderful evening, I would say catch it if you can but unfortunately - well not for the theatre or the company of course - the run at the New Vic is completely sold out.

Edit30/4/09 - I forgot to mention that the New Vic is a 'theatre in the round' not a 'proscenium arch' theatre so the action all took place on a central, empty stage with props being brought in and out by the actors and some of the action taking place on the steps between the banks of seats. As we were on row B - second from the front we were almost involved in the action, in fact the lady front left of me ducked when Othello sent his dagger flying straight into his map board placed next to where she was sitting and I must admit that when a trumpet blew out, to herald that the battle was won, from the steps behind us I nearly hit the ceiling!

Thank You Mr. Shakespeare

Apart from being St. George’s Day, today is thought to be not only the date of the birth of William Shakespeare in 1564 but also the day upon which he died in 1616. As some of you will know I am a great lover of Mr. Shakespeare and his plays so I've decided today to acknowledge this with my recollections of some of the most memorable performances I have been privileged to see. The ones where I sat enthralled, almost unaware of my own existence; the ones that left me feeling as if Ihad been touched by magic; the ones that filled me with joy and the ones where I left the theatre floating on air.

My very first experience of Shakespeare was the BBC’s 1965 production of the Wars of the Roses, seen in black and white on a small TV screen. I remember staying up late to watch with my fingers crossed that there wouldn’t be a power cut, I was beside myself with happiness then, I lived and breathed every word – I was a teenager and my family didn’t understand. My first visit to the RSC's theatre at Stratford was to see Coriolanus with Ian Richardson in the title roll. Perhaps not the best play to start with but once I’d taken that initial step I returned again and again – I was hooked.

There are many memories of countless performances but those I remember without even searching through my programme collection are as follows. A gloriously joyful The Comedy of Errors at Stratford with a cast including Judy Dench and Michael Williams. The cast came out into the audience at the end and we all joined in the final song. A stirring Henry V, again at Stratford, with Alan Howard in the title role. Nottingham Playhouse in the early seventies two equally stunning performances of Hamlet, one with Alan Bates as the Prince the other with Ian McKellan. A stunning Richard III at the National Theatre again with Ian McKellan. A dreamy and colourful Love's Labour's Lost with Ian Charleston, Alan Rickman, Richard Griffiths and David Suchet. I remember sitting through three productions in one day when the RSC at Stratford presented The Plantagenets. We sat through it all again at the Barbican in London. Last but not least a magical amateur production of A Midsummer Nights Dream on midsummer's eve at the Stamford Shakespeare Company's open air theatre at Tolethorpe.

Thank you Mr. Shakespeare for some wonderful memories.