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DAVID
WALKER TELLS US HOW IT HAPPENED…
I
wanted to write a pantomime that the whole family
could appreciate; not a pantomime that only the
children would enjoy whilst the adults merely tolerate
it with an appropriate level of Christmas good-humour.
I wanted to write a show that the children
would find funny, exciting and fascinating – “a
typical Christmas panto” – but that the mums and
dads would also find genuinely funny, with a certain
harking-back to the humour of the past … back to
those comparatively naïve days of so-called “alternative
comedy” as well as to the humour that has its roots
further back in the Music Hall and Variety Show
traditions that culminated in the comedians, double-acts,
film series and sit-coms of the sixties and seventies.
I
grew-up watching the ’Carry On’ films, On the Buses;
Till Death Us Do Part; Dad’s Army; Morecambe &
Wise; The Two Ronnies; Tommy Cooper and Benny Hill.
I listened to The Goon Show and Round the
Horne. A little later it was Monty Python;
The Rocky Horror Show; Faulty Towers; Blackadder
and so many more. Many of the ideas behind
the jokes in ‘Pirates’ are blatantly plagiarised
from these periods. The whole panto is, of
course, completely coloured by my personal early-life
comedic exposures. Sorry about that.
There
is an undeniable ‘alternative’ sub-text in my script
but there are also all of the essential elements
of pantomime. The ‘alternative’ sub-text will
be recognised by those in the audience that are
attuned to it – i.e. mainly adults of a ‘certain
age’ (mainly mine). This is probably not to everyone’s
taste but it is combined with more traditional and
standard styles of comedy and intentionally not
overpoweringly ‘alternative’ in theme or style.
Adults
who recognise the old jokes from those periods will,
I hope, find them hilarious again, especially as
they’ve been shoe-horned into a normal Christmas
pantomime context. Yes it is a little subversive,
even mildly ‘off-colour’ in place, but it’s supposed
to be.
Younger
children will hardly recognise those old jokes as
my age-group would recognise them but will simply
take the action at face-value. Of course,
if parents choose to explain those old jokes to
their children, that’s their business … or equally
to great-grannies and great-granddads, though in
my experience the oldies are pretty clued-up on
such things.
I
admit that I’m aware of the current vogue for all
things “pirate” amongst the youngsters, engendered
largely by the Pirates of the Caribbean series.
My script, though, is really written via my
childhood memories of Robert Louis Stevenson’s little
classic as read to me in bed before sleep, by my
old dad … complete with renditions of ‘Fifteen Men
on a Dead Man’s Chest’, his Long John Silver voice
and his interpretation of Ben Gunn. If you
really want to understand my under-pinning inspiration
for this script then please; go and read Robert
Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island just one more
time.
David
Walker
TOP
LADIES
IN RETIREMENT
What
more is there to say about Ruth Nicholls’ production
last May of Edward Percy and Reginald Denham’s thriller?
It can only be one superlative after another.
With
a cast that included Jacki Evans, Richard Withers,
Christine Jones, Lesley Holland, Pat Gill, Ruth
Nicholls and – in the murderous role of Ellen Creed
our very own Lady Macbeth – Moira Welstead, a superb
production was assured.
Back-stage
the lighting and sound effects were in the capable
hands of Dave Collins, the set was constructed by
John Bond, properties and publicity was in the hands
of Debbie Ashton, ‘voices off’ came from Julian
Jones and David Walker, Paul Baker was curtain-puller
in chief, and the myriad of other jobs was undertaken
by members of Dolgellau Amateur Dramatic Society
and Theatr Fach.
Audiences
were appreciative of the quality of the production,
and audience numbers were tremendous, with ‘house
full’ signs going up for the closing performance.
This
really was ‘theatre’ as we strive to provide it.
However,
although by the end of the play, most of the loose-ends
had been tied-up; nevertheless Ruth has an idea
of what happened next. Read on …
What
happened next, as imagined by Ruth Nicholls
Having
heard of Ellen’s arrest at Decoy Farm, Sister Theresa,
who always kept her ear to the ground, made her
way to Estuary House, to assure herself that Emily
and Louisa were all right. She then obtained
permission from the Reverend Mother to remain there
for a while in order to look after them. One
day, whilst searching through bric-a-brac upstairs,
they came across an oil-painting which was subsequently
identified as ‘The Promenade at Margate’ by J.M.W.Turner.
It sold for an astonishing sum, whereupon
Sister Theresa renounced her vows and the three
ladies bought a house in a most genteel road in
Hythe.
A
frequent summer visitor to their home was Lucy,
together with the husband, the son of the owner
of Decoy Farm, who had been moved by her plight
and was bringing up Albert’s child as his own, despite
the infant’s piercing screams, inherited from its
mother.
Before
her trial, Ellen had been found unfit to plead and
had been incarcerated in a hospital for the criminally
insane. However, she escaped disguised as
a visiting non-conformist minister – those who knew
her said that she had always been a very good actress
– and nothing more was heard of her until one day
…
LOUISA
(picking up a postcard which has come through the
letter-box; their new home being provided with every
luxury):
Oh,
Emily! It’s from Ellen. She says she wants
us to know that she’s going to Retire.
EMILY
(peering over her shoulder):
Let
me look – you know you’ve always had a dyslexia
problem … She say she’s going to Tiree.’
LOUISA:
Oh
– Tiree, yes. She says she’s going with a
man, Emily. A man whose name begins with ‘B’.
What does she mean, Emily. Emily, what
does she mean?
EMILY:
Oh,
you’re always so stupid, Louisa. It’s Bates,
of course.
LOUISA:
Bates
… yes. Dear Emily, always so clever.
And
what of Albert? He is doing very well for
himself in Canada, thanks to his plausibility and
his skill with his hands. He is flooding the
North American market with oil paintings of Margate
promenade in its various aspects, signed ‘J.M.W.Turner’
: a gift which he was able to perfect during his
eventful stay at Estuary House.
THE
END
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VERY
HARD TIMES WITH PUBLICK TRANSPORT
As
part of their autumn 2011 touring schedule, the
Publick Transport theatre company will be visiting
Dolgellau, and appearing at Theatr Fach on Wednesday
9th November in their hilarious new play Very Hard
Times.
Publick
Transport is a small-scale touring theatre company
based in Bristol whose simple mission is not to
bore audiences. In Very Hard Times they tackle
the thorny issue of economic hardship with the mangled
secateurs of melodrama.
As
the lights fade-up we dimly perceive a low-income
couple with one child. A knock on the door
… and their lives are changed forever. Greed,
lust and song-and-dance numbers take hold and …
but that’s given away enough.
Very
Hard Times, written by Angus Barr, is being directed
by Phil Booth.
Tickets
cost £7 with £5 concessions for those 18 or under;
60 or over, or in full-time education.
Theatr
Fach Box Office: 01341 422 680
“…
you’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll laugh again,
then
you’ll cry some more …”
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FROM
HERE TO ABSURDITY
From:
John Bond
The
visit of the 2 Absurdity Theatre Company to Theatr
Fach produced side-splitting, gales of laughter
from the rapt and enchanted audience.
The
company at the Southernmost edge of their “Anywhere
but the South” tour, and only recently acclaimed
at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, mixed the absurdity
of political correctness and poked fun at the pretentiousness
and tensions of modern day life. Topics as
diverse as ageism, education, sexism, health care
and divorce all fell victims to their wit and scurrilous
comment.
The
cast of three ably supported by one sound and lighting
technician, presented some thirty short sound-bites
with scarcely time to pause for breath. With
the aid of little more than the occasional clip-board
as a prop, some supermarket carrier-bags, a white
coat and an undertaker’s top hat, they roamed almost
seamlessly from one issue to another.
Mercifully,
for the aching sides of the audience, there was
an interval, before the humorous assault on posturing
and contrasts between the life of yesteryear and
today began again.
The
show, written by various contributors to “Private
Eye” was a total success. Everyone present
will hope that the company will return again next
year to enchant and delight an even larger audience
with their latest From Here To Absurdity revue.
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WHEN
WE ARE MARRIED
Theatr
Fach is to have another of Ruth Nicholls’ stupendous
productions next Spring Bank Holiday, when she will
be directing and producing Dolgellau Amateur Dramatic
Society in J.B. Priestley’s comedy When We Are Married.
The
English novelist, playwright and broadcaster John
Boynton Priestley (1894-1984) published 26 novels,
notably The Good Companions, as well as numerous
dramas such as An Inspector Calls, which Dolgellau
Amateur Dramatic Society produced some years ago.
J.B Priestly was haunted by the smugness and
hypocrisy of the Edwardian middle classes, and When
We Are Married ranks, therefore, among the funniest
and most enduring plays that he wrote. It
was a big hit in London in 1938 and has been much
revived ever since.
When
We Are Married, set in a small West Riding town
in about the year 1900, centres on three upright,
self-regarding Yorkshire couples the Helliwells,
the Parkers and the Soppitts, who twenty-five years
ago, were married on the same day and by the same
person. They have now gathered at the Helliwell
home to celebrate their silver wedding-anniversary,
and are confronted by a respectability-busting bombshell.
But we shall tell you no more – not even about
the new organist; or that other person who did unauthorised
things.
J.B.Priestley
was born in what he, himself, described as an "ultra-respectable"
suburb of Bradford. His father was a headmaster;
his mother died when he was still an infant and
his father remarried. Grammar school educated Priestley
left school at sixteen to work as a junior clerk
with a wool firm. He used to write at night
and had articles published in local and London newspapers
and he was to draw on memories of Bradford in many
of the works he wrote, including When We Are Married.
After
his military service in the First World War, Priestley,
who was fiercely critical of the British Army and
in particular of the officer class, received a university
education at Cambridge and by the age of 30 had
established a reputation as a humorous writer and
critic.
During World
War II, he was a regular broadcaster on the radio,
and his Postscript programme, broadcast on Sunday
nights through 1940 and 1941, drew peak audiences
of 16 million; only Churchill was more popular with
listeners. But his talks were cancelled because,
it is thought, of complaints from Churchill that
they were too left-wing. Priestly was a founding
member of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament in
1958.
The University
of Bradford awarded Priestley the title of honorary Doctor
of Letters in 1970, and he was awarded the Freedom
of the City of Bradford in 1973. His connections
with the city were also marked by the naming of
the J. B. Priestley Library at the University of
Bradford, and by the larger-than-life statue of
him, commissioned by the Bradford City Council after
his death, and which now stands in front of the National
Media Museum.
Priestley
had a deep love of classical music, and in 1941
he played an important part in organising and supporting
a fund-raising campaign on behalf of the London
Philharmonic Orchestra, which was struggling to
establish itself as a self-governing body after
the withdrawal of Sir Thomas Beecham. In 1949 the
opera The Olympians by Arthur Bliss was premiered,
to a libretto by Priestley.
When
We Are Married will be played at Theatr Fach from
Thursday May 31st to Monday June 4th next year,
each evening (except Sunday) at 7.30pm, and on Saturday
afternoon at 2.30pm. If you would like to
be involved with this production in any way – on
or off stage – please call Ruth on 01341 430 637.
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POETRY
AND PROSE
Since
the last newsletter, we’ve had six Poetry &
Prose Evenings, with a wide-range of themes.
In
May, Peter Dudman presented us with a selection
of readings entitled A Comedy of Many Errors. Amongst
the highlights were a piece by an anonymous writer
telling hilariously about God’s exasperation with
‘the surburbanites’; Keith Waterhouse’s Dylan Thomas
send-up Drunk’s Christmas in Soho; and Alan Coran’s
The Hell at Pooh Corner. Amongst more serious
pieces was Tennyson’s The Charge of the Light Brigade.
June
brought us Evelyn Richardson’s programme Poetry
in Motion – the Rhythms of Life. Between a
prologue and an epilogue, the programme skilfully
divided the passage of life into a journey; this
sporting life; mating games; whimsy; hard work;
and the rhythms of the seasons.
Daffni
Percival’s Telling Tales in July included works
by Thomas Hardy, Roald Dahl, Mathew Arnold, and
GK Chesterton and an abundance of characters and
creatures including a forsaken merman, an Irish
terrier, a dead man telling no lies, a Russian penguin,
Tess of the d’Urbevilles and a speed-dating dog!
August
brought us Beside the Seaside, Beside the Sea which
examined aspects of going off to the seaside, being
at the seaside, rough seas, working at sea, messin’
about in boats, running away to sea, and fat ladies
in thongs. David Walker accompanied himself
on guitar and gave a moving performance of Scarborough
Fair, and a hilarious rendition of The Problem with
Prawns
Devised
and compiled by Bronwen Dorling, Wealth & Poverty,
the September programme, attracted more than a ‘full
house’ audience (an eclectic collection of chairs
appeared from the dressing room!). Together
with just over a score of readings, musical items
included the North Country folksong Poverty Knock,
and an Irish folksong the Praties they Grow Small
sung by Ben Ridler with his guitar, with three more
musical items sung by Ruth Nicholls and Pat Jones.
Readings covered all aspect of Wealth and
Poverty from Arthur Hugh Clough’s decadent How Pleasant
it is to have Money to Padraic Colom’s An Old Woman
of the Road. Tom Sawyer drew attention to
the value of an apple core when negotiating the
painting of a fence, and Flora Thompson’s tales
of Lark Rise and Candleford highlighted the wily
ways of travelling salesmen with china tea-sets.
Glenys Lawson’s robust Lancashire accent ensured
that Marriott Edgar’s story of Blackpool Tower and
Noah’s Ark, Three Ha’pence a Foot, would be a high
spot. Classic pieces from Jane Austen’s Sense
and Sensibility, Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of
being Earnest, John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath,
and Charles Dickens’ A Tales of Two Cities all added
to a wide-ranging study of the haves and the have-nots.
To end the evening, Moira Welstead read Tennyson’s
Merlin and Vivien.
For
the October programme, Ruth Nicholls delved rapaciously
into the Seven Deadly Sins, and having dismissed
some of the seven deadly ones as not being sins
at all, introduced an eighth – Mischief Making.
Ruth’s
rendition of Harry Graham’s The Postman and the
Life set the evening off well. We were especially
lucky on this occasion to be joined by Glyn Churchill
from Coleg Meirion-Dwyfor who gave some stirring
readings of works by Charles Dickens, Percy Bysshe
Shelley, Robert Browning, and William Shakespeare.
With Jacki Evans, Sally Kirkham, and
Ben Ridler also on the reading team, pride, envy,
sloth, avarice, gluttony, lust, wrath, and mischief-making
were well expounded!
TOP
DO
YOU FANCY ORGANISING A POETRY & PROSE EVENING?
Don’t
worry, you are not obliged to read or introduce
it if you prefer not to.
We
are delighted when members wish to plan the programme,
select the pieces to be read, and leave the ‘up-front’
business to others.
Poetry
& Prose evenings are already planned through
to next July.
YOUNG
PEOPLE PERFORM THEIR OWN VARIETY SHOW
After
months of rehearsing, a troupe of young performers
gave a delightful showcase variety show in August.
The
young people, who have been rehearsing at the theatre
regularly under the guidance of Richard Withers
and Jacki Evans, were aged between four and early
teens. The youngest of these, who presented
dance routines and songs in both Welsh and English,
were Lara Jones, Alaw Edwards, Freja Hooper, and
Erin Roberts.
Special
praise goes to Lois Hully who managed both to dance
her routine and give on-the-spot guidance to other
dancers who had stood-in at the last moment.
An
impressive mime play was given by Kyle and Sian
Harris, and a Punch-and-Judy act with ‘Peter and
Rita’ had the audience amused with quick-fire jokes.
TOP
THE
SMELL OF THE GREASEPAINT
Sadly,
nobody had anything to say!
The
Smell of the Greasepaint column is for members and
friends to recall their theatrical experiences –
from the distant past, the not-so-long-ago, or the
recent. On stage, off stage, in the audience,
pantomime, circus, music hall, professional, amateur,
successes, disasters, on-stage comedies, back-stage
dramas.
We
all have stories to tell – tell them here.
RETIRE
TO TIREE
Moira
and Bill Welstead, stalwarts of Theatr Fach for
several years, have moved to Tiree; one of the Western
Isles of Scotland.
Her
reading at the September Poetry & Prose Evening
was Moira’s last performance at Theatr Fach.
John
Bond made a presentation to Moira and offered her
the theatre’s good wishes, thanking her for all
that she and Bill had contributed to so many of
the theatre’s successes.
TOP
THEATR
FACH FUNDRAISING
GOES
WEBSITE-WISE
We’ve
had our first cheque from ‘Simple Fundraising’ –
the system works! Earlier this year, our treasurer,
Richard Withers, told us of the fundraising website
he had recently set-up.
Each
time you use the fundraising website to shop online,
each of the companies listed will donate money to
Theatr Fach, and there are already over 200 retailers
give us their support including household names
such as Amazon, Carphone Warehouse, HMV, Disneyland
Paris, Direct Line and many more.
Best
of all, it will not cost you any extra as these
companies pay Theatr Fach from their own profits.
For example Amazon will donate at least 2½%
on each order, Direct Line insurance up to £40,
and Carphone Warehouse will donate £20 if you buy
a contract ‘phone. All you need to do to join is
go to:
http://www.simplefundraising.co.uk/2993
but
if you want any more information give Richard Withers
a call on 01654 761 358
(There
will also be a direct link on the new front page
and all other pages of the redesigned website
in 2012)
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THEATR
FACH AT HEALTH AND WELL-BEING EVENT
With
the aim of promoting the therapeutic value of creative
activities, and in particular the amount of creative
activities possible in a theatre, John Bond, Ruth
Nicholls and Richard Paramor staffed a
stall
at the Annual Health & Well-Being Event on held
on October 18th at the Leisure Centre and Fire Station
in Dolgellau.
A
great many worthwhile enquiries were received from
potential members and volunteers.
During
the five hours of the event, the entire stock of
our newly-issued coming events list was handed-out.
Clearly, a presence at such public events
to promote Theatr Fach and DADS is worthwhile.
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FACEBOOK
GROUP
From:
Debbie Ashton
Many
of you who use the Internet regularly and who visit
websites for whatever reason will have noticed that,
increasingly, there is an option to follow on Facebook
and Twitter. It appears that social networking
is a great way of spreading the word, and if you
follow someone on Facebook, then share any news
from them, with your ‘friends’ (or on Twitter follow
someone- then retweet!) it helps to get the word
out to the community and will hopefully bring rewards.
Theatr
Fach is now on Facebook and the Group Name is simply
‘Theatr Fach Dolgellau’. We would like to
encourage all of our members, who have access to
the internet, to visit it and to ‘like’ it, as it
is where we can promote our shows and events, in
addition to the lovely website that Chrissie has
updated this year. It just gives anyone searching
for theatres another way of finding out about us,
and in a way that is an increasingly popular way
of getting information. If anyone wants to
add photos or contribute to any discussion, I’m
sure we can work out how to do it. So, to
begin with please look at the page. You have
to have a Facebook account which is reasonably simple
and costs nothing. Gradually, you will realize
how much Facebook is used, socially, and you may
find that people from your past (friends, hopefully,
and relatives) will find you, and re-establish contact
more regularly, which is a real bonus. Only
last night, did I hear from an old friend I had
trained as a nurse with over 30 years ago! It
is great for your ego, when people say they recognize
you, and you don’t look any different! If
you have family in other places and/or other countries,
it is a great way of keeping in touch in an informal
way, and sharing the latest photos of the kids etc.
or showing off the pictures of your activities in
the theatre, videos from you-tube, all kinds of
stuff you can do. You will be surprised how
many of your friends are already using it! So
go on, take the plunge and get yourself an account!
Once there, you will be able to keep up with
theatres or other places relevant to your personal
interests.
www.facebook.com
and put Theatr Fach Dolgellau into the search bar,
then ‘like’ us! I’m sure you won’t regret
it.
If
you are not currently active on the internet or
computer literate, it can open up your world so
much, and if you are ever in a position where you
can’t go out, it enables you to still do your own
shopping, be it from a supermarket, or other retailers.
You no longer need to be isolated. There
are lots of courses available, for absolute beginners,
or people who need to learn a bit more about IT.
There is one which is a sort of Computer Driving
License, which can be followed at Coleg Meirion-Dwyfor,
and also an ‘Understanding your PC’ course.
It
is well worth making some tentative enquiries, and
then you may find that it isn’t as terrifying as
you think it may be, the learning is generally hands
on, and at your own pace.
There
are a lot of older people, who are now learning
to use computers, because ‘if you can’t beat them
you may as well join them.’ Is that OK?
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TABLE-TOP
SALE
We
have been asked to hold our usual Christmas Table-Top
Sale in the theatre, and have therefore planned
this for Saturday 3rd December.
The
event will last from 10.00am to 4.00pm, and the
charge for a table is £5. Stall-holders will
be able to get into the theatre on Friday afternoon
and early on Saturday morning to set-up their displays.
To
book a table, or to offer help in arranging this
event, please call Dave Collins on 01654 710 096
TOP
THROUGH
MANY STAGES
PASSING
THOUGHTS TO FILL A BLANK PAGE
from:
Richard Paramor
It
could be argued that ‘theatre’, as such, goes back
to the religious rites of long ago when songs and
dances to worship the gods were performed by tribal
groups, priests and worshippers all dressed in animal
skins or foliage. Although these participants
were not called actors, they were, nevertheless,
‘putting on a performance’. As everyone seemed
to be involved in the activity as it was happening,
it was obviously a communal activity, although it
was a bit difficult to define what or who was the
audience, and which the catalysts; and, anyway,
as the stories were told in song and dance were
there any ‘actors’ (as we think of them today) at
all? Today, of course – usually – the
audience is separate from the actors, but there
would be no point in either group being there without
the other; it’s still communal by nature.
Probably
the first ‘theatrical’ age is that which developed
in Greece from about 400 BC, when ‘stories’ were
performed by ‘actors’ [i.e. not enacted by priests].
Furthermore they were performed in buildings
and in open-spaces that were not temples, and to
specific groups of onlookers (audiences). Our
search for a beginning could quite safely stretch
back to the time when ‘performances’ to a specific
audience mostly involved choruses of fifty men singing
in praise of Dionysus (the wine-god). This
set-up of a fifty-man chorus with an Altar of Dionysus
for a long period; gradually, though, stories relating
to lesser-Gods, or legends of heroic ancestors,
crept into productions, and the predominance of
Dionysus declined.
Inevitably
these re-enactments would begin to tell of feuds
and wars bravely fought; marriages – good and bad;
adultery and murder and so on, and more and more
reflected tense relationships of love or animosity.
‘Re-enACTments’ brought us acting, and dramatic
re-enactments brought us – drama. Some
of the re-enactments told tragic stories, whilst
some told of comic situations, and thus we had tragedy
and comedy. Mind you, that’s covering
a very long period, and a huge transformation has
been crammed into a nutshell.
Then
a guy called Thespis, the leader of one of these
choruses from a small town in the Greek hinterland,
brought his chorus and their belongings on a cart
to play at various festivals, en route to eventually
arriving in Athens. This merry band used the
tail-board their cart as a stage, and Thespis was
the first to win a prize at the newly established
Athens dramatic festival – the City Dionysia. Clearly
the touring theatre company with all its props making
uncomfortable journeys at inconvenient times, under
the direction of a bossy actor-manager had started
for real [and let’s not forget Oscars and Emmys
and ENSA]. The ‘magic’ of theatre, with all its
joys and deprivations, was with us, and so were
the terms ‘Thespian’ and ‘the robes of Thespis’.
So
we seemed to have progressed from a mish-mash of
priests and worshipers putting on a combined performance
in one spot; via fifty-man choruses who took up
the whole stage but had a separate audience; to
50-man choruses who took most of the stage, but
left a tiny area for an actor or two.
Gradually
poets and other such good-for-nothings were appointed
to write specific stories for specific actors –
so playwrights had been invented – and eventually
it became clear that ‘the play’s the thing’, and
the actors took-over more and more of the stage.
So the singers, the dancers and the actors,
each wanted hog the spot-light, and over many centuries
a sort of artistic compromise allowed singers with
their opera, and dancers with their ballet, and
actors with their infernal theatrical temperaments
to take up the whole stage … separately. The
musicians were stuck out of harm’s way, below the
stage.
Of
course, so far as ‘theatre’ (acting, that is) is
concerned there have been many different stages
(literally) along the way: the mediaeval theatre
with clowns and passion plays; Italian renaissance
theatre with its grand theatre buildings, stage
sets, and commedia dell’arte; Elizabethan theatre
with a famous poet-cum-playwright from Stratford-upon-Avon.
Then Restoration theatre as a relief from the 18-years
puritan rule that forbade theatrical performances,
bounced back with notoriety for its sexual explicitness,
a quality encouraged by Charles II personally, and
the rakish aristocratic ethos of his court. With
plays by the likes of Vanburgh, Dryden and Wycherley
and so on audiences became diverse and included
both aristocrats and their servants; the middle-classes;
and hangers-on from all quarters. There were
celebrity-actors, and even ACTRESSES! – and, inevitably,
the first professional woman playwright, Aphra Behn.
The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane opened in 1663,
soon to be burned to ashes and then rebuilt to designs
by Sir Christopher Wren.
And
so it just grew and grew – differently is some places
than others, but bringing many styles and traditions
as in Germany in the 1700s, and France before the
revolution,with the works of Voltaire and so on,
and the Comédie-Française. Then, from the
latter part of the 1800s, and throughout the 20th
century until today the progress has been colossal.
But
essentially ‘theatre’ is about performers performing
in front of audiences. It is, and always will
be, ‘communal’; people sharing their enjoyment with
each other. That is the ethos behind theatre
large or theatre small – THEATR FACH – Community
Theatre Serving the Community.
TOP
DRESS
HIRE CATALOGUE IS MOVING FORWARD
A
little while ago, Debbie Aston made the brilliant
suggestion that the costumes in our costume-store
should be available for hire; thus bringing in further
revenue for Theatr Fach.
Debbie
has already started on the laborious job of laundering,
repairing, photographing, labelling and plastic-bagging
the collection, and then ensuring the accuracy of
the catalogue details and descriptions. It’s
a long and seemingly endless job.
The
first selection of approximately 100 costumes will
be completed as soon as possible.
It
is then planned to include the collection on the
Theatr Fach website.
If
anyone wishes to lend Debbie a hand with this mammoth
task, please give her a call on 01341 250 884
TOP
PEN
PALS WRITING GROUP
‘Pen
Pals’ started-out in the Theatr Fach Clubroom almost
two years ago, but earlier this year transferred
to Llanelltyd Village Hall because day-time parking
availability in Dolgellau was difficult and parking
charges had become too expensive.
At
a Poetry & Prose evening earlier this year members
of Pen Pals read some of the writings by people
in the group. Progressing with a somewhat
odd chronology, the programme included subjects
that ranged from The Maiden, a slightly rude ditty
by Anne Anslow (yes rude and Anne in the same sentence!),
via Having a Baby, Mistaken Identity, and The Big
Wide World, to a final item that, while not including
a single naughty word, detailed a sexual intercourse
adventure after Imbibing Sweet Sherry.
Pen
Pals are back again with some more of their readings
at the Poetry & Prose evening on Friday 20th
January.
The
group comprises a dozen or so people who simply
enjoy writing for the pleasure it brings them. It
is certainly not a group for professional or particularly
experienced writers. The PALS with their PENS
meet fortnightly, on Tuesday afternoons; they are
totally non-competitive, and could possibly invite
up to two more people to join them. If you
are interested contact Richard Paramor on 01341
422 984. [Other Theatr Fach members who are
also PEN PALS include Brenda Gibbons, Bronwen Dorling,
Glenys Lawson, Pat Gill, and John Reece, any one
of them will be able to tell you more].
BEING
A MEMBER OF THEATR FACH/DADS
It
is the enthusiastic support of our members that
enables Theatr Fach and Dolgellau Amateur Dramatic
Society to flourish.
Our
membership continues to increase, and it would be
a huge help if those loyal, and valued friends and
supporters of the theatre who’ve not yet become
a member, would consider being a Theatr Fach member.
Membership
does not imply a commitment to acting, or doing
anything more than you’re doing already (although
it would be warmly welcomed if you did decide to
become more involved).
Membership
costs £12.00 per annum with a concession rate of
£9.00 for senior citizens, and a young person (under
18) rate of just £5.00.
Membership
runs from April 1st to March 30th each year, so
renewal of membership is due each year on April
1st (regardless of when in the year you first joined).
Our
membership secretary, Richard Paramor, will be pleased
to give you more information about Theatr Fach/DADS
membership. Telephone number 01341 422
011. r.paramor@btinternet.com
DOLGELLAU
AMATEUR DRAMATIC SOCIETY
Where
to find us if you need us:
John
Bond (Chairman) 01341 421 144
Julian
Jones (vice-Chairman 01341421 856
Richard
Withers (Treasurer) 01654 761 358
Anne
Anslow (Secretary) 01341 421 186
Dave
Collins (All Technical Matters) 01654 710 096
Chrissy
Moore-Haines (Website) 01766 540 382
Debbie
Ashton (Facebook and Twitter) 01341 250 911
Richard
Paramor (Membership Secretary and Newsletter Editor)
01341 422 984
Other
committee members:
Jacki
Evans, Sally Kirkham, Ruth Nicholls and Ben Ridler
Artistic
Planning sub-committee:
Dave
Collins, Julian Jones, Sally Kirkham, Ruth Nicholls,
and Richard Withers
THEATR
FACH, GLYNDWR STREET, DOLGELLAU, GWYNEDD, LL40 1BD
www.theatrfach.co.uk
INFORMATION
ABOUT DOLGELLAU AMATEUR DRAMATIC SOCIETY AND THEATR
FACH
Dolgellau
Amateur Dramatic Society (DADS) is a registered
charity (Registered Charity Number 518465). Theatr
Fach is owned by DADS, and is the permanent home
of the society. Theatr Fach and DADS is staffed
and run entirely by volunteers.
DADS/Theatr
Fach is grateful for assistance from:
Big
Lottery Fund,
Cyngor
Gwynedd,
The
Arts Council for Wales,
The
Foundation for Sport and the Arts.
The
Co-op Community Fund
CLWB
CERDD/MUSIC CLUB
Forthcoming
concerts
2011
November
4th – Mezzo-soprano, baritone & piano.
November
25th – Flute & Guitar
2012
January
13th – Piano.
February
10th – Violin, cello, & piano.
March
9th – Gipsy Jazz
March
30th – Kudos Percussion Duo.
Further
information about the Music Club from Anne Anslow
on 01341 421 186
OLD
THEATRES MAGAZINE
Britain’s
Unique
Magazine
of Theatre Nostalgia
To
order a copy of the latest issue please send a cheque
for £6.66 (inc UK postage and packing) payable to
T.G.Kirtland to 20 Rife Way, Felpham, Bognor Regis,
West Sussex, PO22 7BW
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