Welcome
Directors' Evening - Zooming into a new season
Our annual Directors Evening took place virtually via Zoom on Friday 14th May. Our intrepid reporter Carol Bush summarises an evening that welcomes in the exciting new 21/22 season at the Barn.
What a fabulous turnout it was last week when we switched on our laptops and, glass in hand, settled down to watch our ever-entertaining directors introduce their plays for the Barn’s come-back season, dramatically enhanced by a guest appearance from Sue Hantke’s handsome parrakeet and a starry short of Bob Thomson lounging around on a sofa somewhere across the Atlantic. In normal times we’d have been in the auditorium, loving each director’s presentation as they took to the stage, then off to the bar where Ian Colpitts would be dispensing booze and jokes as we stood around swapping theatre gossip. Not this time though: it was virtual. But, as Artistic Director Clive Weatherley said: ‘If it’s good enough for the Oscars, it’s good enough for us’.
We know it’s been a long dark lock-down, with the ghost-light shining eerily through the auditorium as the wardrobe women lay siege to the moth that had made themselves at home amongst the costumes. We’ve had some great streaming, with Danny Swanson’s performance of The Best Man which went on to win last week’s Welwyn Drama Festival and Simon Wallace’s Kitchen Sink Dramas that went national.
But now it’s over and, thanks to Clive, we have a terrific season to look forward to.
Cliff Francis, a vision in red, with the backdrop of the auditorium, introduced John Godber’s Happy Jack, which will open the new season. And he can’t wait to get back into a live rehearsal room.
With the emphasis on light-hearted comedy, we can look forward to A Bunch of Amateurs directed by Bob Thomson and Belinda Gee, and a mini-Roman season with Maureen Davies directing Up Pompeii and Keith Thomson directing Ben Hur, with his reassurance that ‘you might get blood on your toga, but you won’t be asked to kill a lion’.
The comedy darkens with Martin McDonagh’s Hangmen, directed by John Cook in his first (and much anticipated) Barn directing role in 20 years. Glyn Maxwell will pick up his 15-strong cast from where he left them last year, rehearsing City of Tomorrow for the celebration of the town’s centenary.
Siobhan Elam has been heard to say that she’d rather be eaten by a dog than direct the Christmas show – but who could resist Goodnight Mr Tom, even if the cast does include two children and Sammy the dog – and you know what they say about working with children and animals!
Linda Dyne directs The Audience, already cast with some of the Barn’s leading actors but as we go to press there’s some uncertainty about the Churchill role, so if you’re interested you can contact her on [email protected] / 07572 265207. And Simon Wallace closes the season with Ben Jonson’s farce The Alchemist, his absolute favourite show that he’s waited 20 years to direct.
The gold star for best presentation goes this year to Jon Brown for his sparkling introduction to Amanda Whittington’s Kiss Me Quickstep which he brings to the Barn stage in June.
Chairman Simon Parr closed the evening with thanks to Clive Weatherley, for putting together a terrific season in the most difficult of circumstances and, addressing audiences virtual and actual, said:
‘We’ve had to make some horrible decisions in order to keep you safe, and we’ll continue to stick to the rules and to keep you safe. So come back to the Barn – we’re going to make theatre!’
At this point we’d usually pile into the bar, but this time I made myself a cup of cocoa and piled into bed – don’t know what the others did!
Carol Bush
June 2021
From the Chair
Welcome to June’s Barn News
Hello and welcome to June’s Barn News. I’ve said before how fast the year seems to be going, and I can’t believe that we’re almost at midsummer’s day already. A hugely significant day I hope for all of us and our theatre, as, with everything crossed, it will herald the re-opening and a return to live theatre and an audience!
Hopefully you’ll have seen the advertisements and bought tickets for Class and My Old Lady – as I said last month we’re not counting our chickens, and are waiting until a bit nearer the time to see how many seats we can sell, but however many it is we can’t wait to welcome you back.
A lot more certainty is attached to next season – and what a season it promises to be! Clive and his directors have really done us proud. The aim was for an uplifting mix of plays to fill the theatre and bring a smile to our faces, and we’ve certainly got that! The feedback for our fabulous Zoom Directors Evening was wonderful – so good to see about 100 of you all joining in and starting to think about the fun we’re going to have getting back to doing something we all love so much.
Speaking of fun, your newest Council member Hannah Humbles joined us this week for her first meeting – Hannah has agreed to take on the role of arranging social events for us all to bring the Barn to life away from playing weeks. What a first meeting it was! Working with a small team, she’s mapped out almost a year’s worth of events for us already. No spoilers from me, but there’s going to be a lot of fun over the next year or so, never mind all the great plays we have lined up.
None of this would be possible of course if we were not financially strong, if the building were not in good order and if we did not have a whole team of people planning, checking and managing everything. I’ve name-checked a number of people already over the last few months but will add one more body to that list here. We are hugely indebted to Welwyn Hatfield Council for their support over the past 16 months. They’ve worked very closely with us and have approved grants to a total of £28,000 that have helped with upkeep. This has been incredibly helpful as you can imagine and allows us to start planning some new work in the building to improve our facilities for you – more of that next month.
For now though – please stay well. We’ve come a long way and can see a solid glimmer of light that signals the start of our return to life. Thank you all for sticking with us through this. One last push and we can welcome you all back. I can’t wait.
Simon Parr
Chairman
Membership & Council
Barn Council minutes April
Please find the minutes of the meeting of the Barn Theatre Council held on 3rd November 2020 via video conference
Our membership news depends on information we get from YOU
My Old Lady
Directed by Hannah Sayer
Cast
MathiasPaul Russell
MathildeJan Palmer Sayer
ChloeCelia Roberts
Crew
Stage ManagerTrevor Watkins
Assistant Stage ManagerSharon Francis
PromptMichal Parr
LightsJohn Cude
SoundJames Rowles
PropsBarbara Foster
CostumeAnne-Marie Austin
Happy Jack
Directed by Cliff Francis
Cast
JackSimon Parr
LizMary Powell
Crew
Stage ManagerSharon Francis
PrompterAnnie Woolmington
LightsNick Mogg
SoundJames Rowles
Set Dressing & PropsPeter & Kris Moore
Wardrobe Anne-Marie Austin
Dates for your diary
Class
Tuesday 6th July – Friday 9th July at 8pm
In the Studio and on Zoom
Contents warning: Strong language and adult themes.
Tickets available from:
https://barntheatre.ticketline.co.uk/class
My Old Lady
Directed by Hannah Sayer
Saturday 10th July – Saturday 17th July at 8pm
In the main auditorium
Tickets available from:
https://barntheatre.ticketline.co.uk/my-old-lady
New members
Julia Hallawell
Membership level: Ordinary
Interests: Acting
Becky Done
Membership level: Ordinary
Interests: Admin and finance, acting, box office, house managing, programme selling, set building, set dressing, stewarding, wardrobe
James Russell
Membership level: Ordinary
Interests: Acting, set building, set design, sound
Brian Rycroft
Membership level: Senior
Interests: Audience only
Maggie Lynch
Membership level: Senior
Interests: Box office, interval coffee
Monica Guzik
Membership level: Ordinary
Interests: Admin and finance, bar tending, box office, house managing, interval coffee, programme selling, stewarding, wardrobe
Welcome to the Barn!
Obituary
Pat Hughes
Pat Hughes died on 25th April – she was 100 years old. Pat often wrote excellent crits for the Barn. It’s been a fair few years since her last crit but I’m sure some will remember her. Pat was a member of Company of 10 and Wheathampstead Dramatic Society
Jan Westgarth
Letter to the Artistic Director
Well done on choosing an excellent selection of plays for the forthcoming season. It is so difficult to predict what you have to do to encourage the bums back to the seats, but this is an enticing and attractive selection. I’m particularly struck by Hangman, director John Cook. All power to his elbow; it is a terrific, and challenging piece.
Well done, y’all; I’m looking forward to it as an actor and as an audience member, too.
Jan Palmer Sayer
Audition notice
Production dates: 15th to 23rd October 2021
Synopsis
Keen to boost his flagging career, fading Hollywood action hero Jefferson Steele arrives in England to play King Lear in Stratford – only to find that this is not the birthplace of the Bard, but a sleepy Suffolk village. And instead of working with acting greats such as Kenneth Branagh and Dame Judi Dench, the cast are a bunch of amateurs trying to save their theatre from developers. Jefferson’s monstrous ego, vanity and insecurity are tested to the limit by the enthusiastic am-dram thespians. As acting worlds collide and Jefferson’s career implodes, he discovers some truths about himself – as he seeks to find his inner Lear.
The play is a very straightforward feel-good comedy. It’s a theatre within a theatre presenting a play within a play. The set is pretty much constructed during the show, and everyone (FOH / backstage) will be ‘acting’.
Cast
Jefferson Steele – A fading Hollywood star who’s arrogant, insecure, brash, gauche, demanding, vulnerable and ultimately aware of his own absurdity. Great role for an actor – needs to be able to provide a convincing American accent and eventually (after a lot of hilarity along the way) a superb Lear for the final dramatic scene. The character arc is significant as he goes from villain to hero in the course of the play and has to take the audience with him. Age can be from 35 upwards.
Dorothy Nettle – Director of the Stratford Players and the moving force behind keeping the theatre alive. Her sweet and accommodating manner conceals her inner steel. Another good part for an actor, very much the driving force of the play as she tries to keep the production on track despite the best and worst efforts of the rest of the team. Develops a close and touching relationship with Jefferson that hints of a possible future romance. Some adlibbing and audience interaction required at the start of the play. Age can be from 35 upwards.
Jessica Steele – Jefferson’s teenage daughter, who’s been neglected by her Hollywood star father and now wants to make him pay for it. Has a number of good scenes as she harangues her father for his past parental misdemeanours. Smart and sassy, she needs a good West Coast accent. Age 16-30.
Nigel Dewbury – Solicitor and leading light of the Stratford Players. Pompous, stuck-up, and self-regarding, he believes he’s the star of the show and should play all the leading roles. He also fancies his romantic chances with Dorothy. The comic turn as he’s furious at Jefferson usurping his star status with the players, threatening walk-outs on a regular basis, but he comes good in the end. Great comedic role but shouldn’t be played for laughs (they’ll come anyway). Has a good monologue and some verse speaking at the end. Age 40+.
Mary Plunkett – Owner of the Rectory bed and breakfast. Jolly, generous and unashamedly adoring of Jefferson although somewhat confused about which roles he played in his films, and how keen he is on her. A good comic role for a more mature actor.
Denis Dobbins – Handyman and village Mr Fixit. Avuncular though slightly dull, Denis is star-struck by Jefferson and fancies heading up his entourage of one. Has some good interplay with Jefferson as he seeks to become his friend. Is on stage a lot of the time building the set. Needs a good comic actor. Who can build a set. On his own. In 90 minutes. With not much help…
Lauren Bell – Thirty-something marketing executive, former physiotherapist and the sponsor’s wife. Passionate about the arts and smarter than her husband allows her to be, she’s treated as a bimbo because of her looks. Not the most well-written character but a lot of fun and has several good scenes, including probably the funniest when a massage she’s giving Jefferson is taken as being – well, you’ll have to read the play. Needs to be very smart and sexy.
AUDITIONS: BY APPOINTMENT ONLY
- Tuesday 8th June at 8pm
- Thursday 10th June at 8pm
- Sunday 13th June at 2.30pm
– all at the Barn in Room 1
Other dates can be agreed upon if required.
Please note: due to Government restrictions, audition times will need to be booked in advance.
Please email the production team:
[email protected] or [email protected]
Audition sections available upon request.
Bob Thomson
Spotlight on Chris White
Actor and more importantly, box office worker
What is your favourite show and why?
At the risk of being controversial from the start, I’m not a great lover of the classics. I’m a huge fan of Ayckbourn! Every character I’ve portrayed in one of his plays has been multi-layered and fascinating to get to know. I love Communicating Doors – a mixture of drama, romance and time travel.
What’s the best show you’ve been involved in?
I’m proud of every show I’ve ever been a part of: I know what a monumental effort it takes to put everything together. I’m going to give an honourable mention to Let the Right One In and Honk! – and Chicago with the Welwyn Thalians last year – but if pushed, I would say One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. A mentally exhausting part to play. A terrific cast, a director who was so supportive and a back-stage team that delivered in a quite extraordinary way. It was a big success and I look back on it very fondly.
What story does your family always tell about you?
They would say that I consistently bake surprisingly good muffins and that I’m terrible in traffic jams. For a calm, mild-mannered man, I turn into some kind of wild, screaming mad thing when caught in a non-moving traffic jam and don’t even get me started with tractors on roads,
If you could have lunch with any three people (real or fictitious/dead or alive), which three people would you choose and why?
My lovely mum and dad – I would give anything to see them for one last time – and Captain Jean-Luc Picard. I bet he would tell the best stories. Go on, ‘Make it so’.
If given complete freedom to start afresh, what profession would you choose and why?
I would be a sports journalist. I spent a few years as a voluntary radio reporter for a local station doing live Saturday afternoon reports from various grounds and found myself to be quite good at it. I’m never happier than standing in a field watching people kick a ball around.
What is the craziest thing you’ve ever done?
I’m really rather boring so it would either be buying tickets off a tout as a spur of the moment thing to see Earth, Wind & Fire (they were brilliant!) or agreeing to appear naked on the Barn stage in Tom Jones. I really didn’t think that through. The moment was over in a flash (excuse the pun), but it was hellishly draughty in the wings.
If you were to change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
My vision. ‘Never look the audience in the eye’ I was told. I can’t even see my cast-mates on stage, let alone the audience. Without my specs, I can honestly barely see a thing.
If you were stranded on a lonely beach, what are the five things that you would want to have with you?
A set of golf clubs to finally master a bunker shot. Yankee Stadium as I would love to hit there. A solar-powered Scalextric set. Three parts of a barber shop quartet so that I could click my fingers when bored and knock out a song or two with them. And a Slush Puppy machine – who doesn’t love an ice-cold one of those bad boys on a baking hot day?
What is one of your favourite quotes?
Why is abbreviation such a long word?
What is your most cherished childhood memory?
My first ever trip abroad, to Switzerland with my family. Such an adventure! On our first evening as we went out to eat, we bumped into a guy who lived at the other end of our street.
If given a chance to skip work for a day, how would you spend the entire day? May not be relevant in these weird days!
A morning run in perfect weather, a cooked breakfast, a game of non-league football in a pretty village, dinner with my girls, followed by a couple of episodes of Taskmaster.
Chris White
Travel options during lockdown
I’ve been in many places in my life, but I’ve never been in Cahoots. Apparently, you can’t go alone. You have to be in Cahoots with someone.
I’ve also never been in Cognito. I hear no-one recognises you there.
I have, however, been in Sane. They don’t have an airport: you have to be driven there. I’ve made several trips there, thanks to my friends and family. I live close so it’s a short drive.
I’d like to go to Conclusions, but you have to jump, and I’m not too much on physical activity any more.
I’ve also been in Doubt. That’s a sad place to go, and I try not to visit there too often.
I’ve been in Flexible, but only when it was very important to stand firm.
Sometimes I’m in Capable, and I go there more often as I’m getting older.
One of my favourite places to be is in Suspense! It really gets the adrenaline flowing and pumps up the old heart! At my age I need all the stimuli I can get!
And sometimes I think I am in Vincible but life shows me I’m not.
People keep telling me I’m in Denial but I’m positive I’ve never been there before!
I’ve been in Deepshit many times: the older I get, the easier it is to get there. I actually kind of enjoy it there.
So far, I haven’t been in Continent, but my travel agent says it’s on the list…
Author unknown
Alternative Dialogue
The Editor would welcome any new photos and captions for next month.
Please email them to us here:
Hover over the images below to see our ideas…
Photos: Courtesey of John Davies
Daytime play-reading
The sign of a good abridgement must be the feeling that, although you’re sure there is something missing, you can’t for the life of you think what it is. This version of William Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale met that criterion, for me at least. I don’t know who shortened it, or how we came upon it, but it worked.
The play brims over with plot, and if you don’t know it now, you won’t at the end of this column. There’s just too much. Themes, though, you can have a few of them. Jealousy, perhaps the obvious one, is the bedrock of the tale. But this is the jealousy of a king, one who can wreak vengeance on his supposed enemies. The king, Leontes, is surrounded by – thankfully – courageous and wise people, who are shocked by his growing obsession, and subvert his will, even when it may cost their lives. We observe astonishing degrees of forbearance and forgiveness, and find virtue in both humble and elevated characters.
Time is a character in The Winter’s Tale. The story is played out over many years. We don’t see them all, but we find that love endures, and repentance ripens. There are strong, noble women in this play – Paulina never wavers, and executes the plan that brings the play to its resolution.
This is the play with the celebrated stage direction ‘Exit, pursued by a bear’, which seems funny – until you read on. You have to wait until Act IV for comic relief, which comes from the rogue, Autolycus (but you have to be there).
After almost a year on Zoom we still forget to turn on, and off, our microphones and video cameras. Manipulating the script and the Zoom screen sometimes exceeds a body’s coordination. And reading Shakespeare? The last time we read the Bard’s words we were favoured by a tutorial from Jan Palmer Sayer, and I would repeat one point she made then. Watch the punctuation more carefully than the line breaks: it really helps bring the text to life. It’s beautiful language, but reading it cold, as it were, can be challenging. We need to use all the clues Shakespeare provided.
June’s play reading
We’re keeping fingers crossed that we’ll be able to return to the Barn and will be in Room One on Wednesday 30th June – 9.45am for a 10am start.
Stuart Handysides
100 years ago this week
100 years ago, on 28th May 1921, the first play to be performed in Welwyn Garden City took place. The amateur performance was by local residents and performed in the Brickwall Barn. The play was directed by CB Purdom who also played the lead with a supporting cast of 22. Purdom was one of the Founders of Welwyn Garden City alongside Ebenezer Howard – he also went on to create the Theatre Society in the town in October 1921.
Brickwall Barn was part of Brickwall Farm which was situated on the Great North Road (old A1). The farm is now Digswell Nursery, run by the St John of God Hospitaller Services. Brickwall Barn is no more as it was destroyed by a German incendiary bomb in WW2.
The play performed was The Shewing Up of Blanco Posnet written by George Bernard Shaw who lived in nearby Ayot St Lawrence (Shaw’s Corner).
The play is set in the American West. Blanco Posnet, a local drunk and reprobate, is brought before the court accused of stealing a horse belonging to the Sheriff. He had been found walking along a road out of town after having left his brother’s house in the early hours of the morning. The same night, the horse had gone missing from his brother’s stable. His accusers assume he has sold or concealed the horse. Blanco says they can’t convict him without evidence that he ever had the horse. He also says he was owed some jewellery belonging to his mother, which had been bequeathed to him, but his brother had refused to hand it over. Even if he did take the horse he did so as payment for the debt his brother owed. Unfortunately he was unaware that the horse was merely being stabled by his brother but belonged to the Sheriff. His brother, a reformed drunkard who’s now a church Deacon, lectures Blanco on morality and judgment but Blanco ridicules his brother’s view of God.
The play was to have been first performed at His Majesty’s Theatre, Haymarket, London. However, the censor demanded changes to the text because the statements made by Blanco Posnet about God were thought to contravene the Blasphemy Law. Shaw refused to alter the text, insisting that the views expressed were absolutely central to the meaning of the play.
The first performance eventually took place in the Abbey Theatre, Dublin in 1909 as originally written. It seems the Blasphemy Laws did not apply in Ireland. James Joyce, the Irish writer, was allegedly in the audience.
The Theatre Society went on to produce a number of other plays and established a theatre in a barn at the Lower Handside Farm, Handside Lane in 1932 which today is our thriving Barn Theatre.
Robert Gill
June 2021
Playing Away
As lockdown eases and other societies begin to open up again we thought it a nice idea to mention two local companies who will be performing in June. Our new member Howard Salinger, who has stepped into the cast of Class, will also be performing for SAMTC.
Other societies
St Albans Musical Theatre Company Open Air Festival
Roman Theatre, St Albans
Sunday in the Park is Yours
Open mic night
27th June at 8pm
Return to the Stage – Parts 1 and 2
A show-stopping medley of musical theatre favourites
28th June (Part 1) and 29th June (Part 2) at 8pm
You Can’t Stop the Beat
A bite-sized, interactive, live music event for primary school children and family audiences
29th June at 1pm and 5pm
The Company of Ten
The Abbey Theatre, St Albans
Two by Jim Cartwright
1st – 6th June
Skylight by David Hare
22nd – 26th June
Want to be in an indie movie?
A local film production company (the makers of The Strange Case of Henry Jekyll & Edward Hyde) are looking for a 25-40-year-old man to complete the cast for their next amateur film production. The filming will take place over the summer in various locations in Hertfordshire. The part will entail around five full days’ filming and five shorter sessions between June and mid-August. They’re also looking for supporting characters for a couple of small parts and a party scene that will be filmed in one day in one location.
To find out more please contact Laura at [email protected] or 07459 676933.