From the Chair
Welcome to March’s Barn News
Hello – welcome to March’s Barn News. Hopefully you’re all okay and looking forward to poking your heads out of doors a little more in the coming weeks as the weather and, hopefully, the state of the pandemic continues to improve. We moved this month’s Council meeting to the evening of the 22nd so we could make some firmer plans based on the announcements and guidance from DCLG, and this is what we’re planning on trying to do at this stage (pun intended).
Clive is still working with directors to check availability and obviously everything depends on the country being able to keep to the plan the Government announced but as things stand we will be able to rehearse again from a date in May and, with a lead-in time of a few weeks to get things ready, we hope to put on two productions in late June / early July with whatever rules are in place by then potentially limiting audience size. The first two, all being well and presuming everyone is available, will be Class and My Old Lady – exciting stuff. All being well, we will then open up as normal in September with a full season of mainstage and Studio productions which will, I know, gladden all our hearts.
Those of us on social media and following the Barn will have noticed a very lively presence, particularly on Facebook. We are fortunate that Simon Wallace, John Cook, Jim Kinloch, Bob Thomson and Mike Smith are now working together to make that important part of our reach a lot more active. Many of you will have seen the invitation to join the closed group for Barn members – a great idea, and one that will help us all keep in touch. Please help us keep it members only by not passing on invitations to friends!
Whilst I mention comms, a word for Carol Bush and her team of volunteers who have kept us visible in the local papers over the last year in particular – an enormous effort, and one that deserves a huge thank-you from all of us!
We’re also pushing to get the new website up and running for when we re-open so that we can get as many people back into the theatre as possible – although financially very stable we do need to get the income back up, as well as getting the buzz back in the building. I suspect we will all feel a little wary going out among groups of people again, but rest assured that we will only throw the doors open when it’s safe and legal to do so.
Finally a thank-you to all of you who have been able to stick with us as members – I know for some this last year has been very tricky, and some people have had to leave us, but the membership income has helped Ian keep our heads well above water so that we can get everything ready to get back to normal. The Barn is such a special place that it’s a shame more people don’t join us, so how about if all of us try and get one new person along to the first show we go to? That will help our ticket sales and, who knows, we might even find some new members.
We will watch the news and ‘unlockdowning’ very closely and keep you updated as soon as anything either changes or, hopefully, gets confirmed. In the meantime, stay well, and I hope the spring weather lifts all our spirits as we head into a happier time.
Simon Parr
Chairman
MARCH 2021
Barn Council
Minutes for the AGM
Please find the minutes of the meeting of the Barn Theatre AGM held on 28th Januaruy 2021 via video conference
DOWNLOAD CLUB MINUTES
DOWNLOAD TRUST MINUTES
Barn Council Roles
Following the recent AGM here’s a reminder of the Barn Theatre Council.
Voting members of the Council
Simon Parr – Chairman
Ian Major – Finance Director
Michael Merry – Facilities Director
Mike Smith – Marketing Director
Nigel Rive – Membership Director
John Davies – Administration Director
Sheila Grimmant – Non-Executive Director
Non-voting members of the Council
Louis Davis – President
John Cude – Stage Director
Clive Weatherley – Artistic Director
Linda Miles – Company Secretary
Kevin Dinnin
We were sorry to hear that Kevin Dinnin had a heart attack before Christmas, but glad to report that he’s making a good recovery. He tells us that he looks forward to seeing productions at the Barn and walking back from the pub again.
New Member
Mark O’Sullivan
Membership level: Ordinary
Interests: Bar-tending, Directing
Welcome back to the Barn!
Any ideas?
Following a recent Barn Council meeting and comments from members, we discussed how we should be keeping our membership entertained while our theatre’s dark.
So, ideas anyone? Suggestions on what we should be doing, and offers to organise them, are very welcome. If you have any ideas, please send them to our editor Mike Smith.
New on Facebook!
Are you missing the buzz of the Clubroom, a bit of backstage banter, or the opportunity to engage in theatrical discussion with fellow Barn members? If, like us, you have, then we hope we’ve found a solution. Inspired by Barn member Joyce Smith, we’ve now opened up a Members Only Facebook group, where club-related topics can be aired and discussed by the membership, away from the more public-facing Barn Theatre page. We liken it to a mid-way point, somewhere between Barn News and the Clubroom, where members can catch up on club information, keep in touch, float ideas, etc.
It’s hoped that this will start to bring the Barn community back together, and that the group will continue even after we’re allowed to open our doors again.
Should you wish to join the group, you’ll need to have a Facebook account and be a current Barn Theatre Club member. Click on the link below and you’ll be taken to the main page: select join, answer a couple of questions, agree to the admin rules, and you’ll be admitted. Sounds a bit draconian but it really is easy to do.
We look forward to hearing from you soon!
Simon Wallace
Zooming Ahead
In the world of lockdowns, closed theatres and no mingling, our much beloved hobby and pastime, putting on or going to see live theatre, has taken on the essence of a dream. Did we really muster together companies of dozens of people engaged in getting a play to stage? Could it be we had a theatre bustling with hundreds on show nights?
Each of us may be missing their involvement in and connection to the Barn and be relying on hope and memories that those days and nights at the theatre will return. As we go to ‘press’ it looks like theatres will be allowed to open in June. Time to put the long wait behind us and once more meet in the foyer and bar.
Since last March it’s felt that drama has been fading into the background, stifled by lack of appreciation of all kinds. What to do when something so close to your heart is in danger of becoming extinct?
Step forward Zoom. Who could have imagined that digital technology would become the saviour and lifeline for some to maintain their connection with live theatre and the Barn?
As Grayson Perry says, ‘Restriction is a gift to the creative’. And as any of us who have used Zoom during these stay-home days will know, the gift of Zoom also has its challenges. But with a community as creative as those involved in theatre we’ve adapted and learnt to use the tool to our advantage.
Talking to those lucky few who have been trail-blazing rehearsals on Zoom, we asked them to share what they think the pros and cons of the process are for them.
Both September in the Rain, directed by Cliff Francis, and My Old Lady, directed by Hannah Sayer, are currently in rehearsal. Catching up with them (via Zoom of course), both directors say they have had to adapt their preferred styles.
‘At my first rehearsal on Zoom I found it so difficult to keep still,’ Hannah said. ‘Those who’ve worked with me know I don’t sit down often or look at the script. I’m watching and thinking about every element of the production. But on Zoom I was reduced to swaying from side to side until one of my cast asked me to turn off my camera as I was making her feel sick!’ Hannah has since figured out where she can use Zoom to greatest effect, while keeping still.
Cliff says ‘I was daunted at first. I’m usually up on my feet, ideas popping into my head, listening and visualising how a move will look on stage. Now on Zoom I can only direct voices: it’s more like I imagine a radio play director would work. I spend more time saying ‘picture this’ and setting a scene for my actors so they can imagine what I have in mind’.
Hannah too has found she can enjoy concentrating on the text, voices and characters in the play My Old Lady, written by Israel Horovitz. ‘I love the language of the play, it’s so beautifully written and Zoom has helped us do what I call a deep dive into the text. We’ve had some great sessions nit-picking why a character says what they do. In my view each actor has to identify with who they’re playing, find what they like, can relate to. Then the authenticity of the part comes through. Some of the real-life, heated debates, between the mother and daughter characters, played by Jan Palmer Sayer and Celia Roberts, have mirrored the fictional ones, showing how far my actors identify with their parts.’
She adds that ‘Zoom forces us to be more static, after all you only can see our heads and shoulders. We wouldn’t have been able to do a play like Jeeves and Wooster, which relies so much on physicality. We did do a couple of rehearsals on stage, with sections marked off for social distancing. We blocked the play, set in a Parisian apartment, very quickly. The relationships and meaning have taken far more time to polish and get right’.
Cliff’s cast of two, Simon Parr and Mary Powell, had a couple of rehearsals before lockdown and now a few read-throughs. Mary commented ‘We’ll know the text back to front and when we can meet, we’ll be able to dive straight into the blocking and acting. It’s good to hear we’ll be on stage – there are some scenes that just would lose all intimacy on Zoom’.
Cliff loves his script by John Godber too: ‘It’s such a good script. The actors have to do Lancashire accents and a range of characters and ages, there’s singing and dancing, a lot of relationship drama and fun. The pros of Zoom are we can concentrate on voice, intonation, interpretation of character but I can’t move my actors, cannot experiment with stage pictures. It’s nowhere near the same as being present together and then of course the actors are sitting down – that can take the energy out of a creative moment’.
Paul Russell, the third of the cast members in My Old Lady, has also been involved in performing with CoPS and their experiments with ‘Zoom at Home’, a series of plays for audiences to join and watch on Zoom. So he’s been rehearsing and performing on Zoom.
‘I’ve a few random observations I would make during my transition to Zoom performing. Get to grips with the mute button – if you do nothing else make sure you know if your dog is making a cameo, or your monologue might be closer to Marcel Marceau! Rehearsals can be rewarding and frustrating. There’s much greater flexibility around meeting times, but you’re open to the vagaries of internet connections and webcam quality.’
He went on to say ‘It’s a challenge to find character, passion, sadness in a static and two-dimensional space. Do you look at the other actors or your camera? Do you learn the lines or can you get away with the script surreptitiously placed above the Zoom window? That’s very difficult to get away with when your eyes are scrutinised so closely in a headshot. Cue bite must be tight but must not overlap or words will be lost. I think you just have to embrace the whole odd process. There are some fantastic people who are really trying to push the boundaries of what can be done online, given all the restrictions and hurdles placed in front of us’.
For Hannah the pros and cons of Zoom are: ‘We’re still able to do what we love, to read, to play with ideas. Usually there would be limited time for rehearsal but we can get together three times a week if we want. Without Zoom we wouldn’t have gone so deeply into the characters. What I can’t do though is look at the shape of the thing, see props in situ, work with lights and music. I can’t decide the movement that’s perfect for highlighting mood or character or subtleties in the story’.
It’s fair to say that everyone involved in the current Barn productions are wanting to perform their work for you, the audience and preferably on stage rather than on screen. It will be fascinating to see what their hard work on character, nuance, mood and emotion will do to light up our evening back in the theatre.
Hope to see you in the Bar and Clubroom soon!
Yvana Reeves
Spotlight on Hannah Humbles
Actor
What is your favourite show and why?
I’ve seen so many wonderful shows over the last few years and the list of my favourites could go on! My all-time favourite would be Phantom of the Opera. I love the story, the music and the atmosphere. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve seen the show but each time I enjoy it more than the last and want to book another ticket straight away!
What’s the best show you’ve been involved in?
I’ve been involved in so many shows at the Barn and have thoroughly enjoyed every single one of them. My favourite would probably be either One Man, Two Guvnors or Our Day Out – two very different shows, but I enjoyed everything about them both.
What story does your family always tell about you?
When I was younger, I struggled to say the letter ‘L’ and I replaced it with a ‘Y’ which has now become a running joke in the family! Some of my classic lines were ‘I don’t yike yeeks’ (I don’t like leeks) and ‘you’ve got something on your yip’ (you’ve got something on your lip). Both my parents and grandparents still say ‘have some yunch’ instead of lunch. It’s something I’ll never ‘yive’ down!
If you could have lunch with any three people (real or fictitious / dead or alive), which three people would you choose and why?
Alan Rickman because he was an amazing actor and I just loved everything about him – can’t watch Harry Potter without fan-girling over him!
Orlando Bloom – let’s just say I’ve been in love with him since I was about 9 and would love to have lunch with him! I went and saw him in Killer Joe in London and met him by the stage door. Unfortunately Katy Perry (his fiancée) was there, otherwise we would’ve had dinner there and then!
My grandad – I lost my grandad nearly 5 years ago and would just love the chance to be able to have tea and biscuits with him again.
If given complete freedom to start afresh, what profession would you choose and why?
I managed to get the dream employer with ITV: I just need to work on the dream job, which would be a TV / film producer and director.
What is the craziest thing you’ve ever done?
Easy, it has to be jumping out a plane. I was only 16 and wanted to do something extreme for charity, I ended up raising over £1,000 for the British Heart Foundation.
If you were to change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
Just to be a bit more confident and put myself out there a bit more.
If you were stranded on a lonely beach, what are the five things that you would want to have with you?
Assuming this place wouldn’t have a mobile phone signal, I’d take with me the below: a lighter to make a fire. A good book to read to pass the hours. Sun cream. A first aid kit. Bear Grylls.
What is one of your favourite quotes?
“If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all.”
What is your most cherished childhood memory?
My grandparents used to live in Portrush in Northern Ireland and just a few miles along the North Antrim coast is the wonderful Giant’s Causeway, the scene of one of my best childhood memories. Stepping from stone to stone and getting just a little too close to the crashing waves to experience a natural shower. A place everyone should visit in their lifetime.
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!
I’d go shopping in London, have some lunch, go and watch Phantom in the West End and then go to a nice bar and have a few drinks, stay overnight in a nice hotel and repeat the next day!
Alternative Dialogue
Many thanks to member Barry Grossman who sent the following as alternative dialogue for the February pictures:
1. Thanks Bert, but I don’t think Lili Marlene is quite the sing-song we’re looking for.
2. For the last time, Blenkinsop, get that dress off and put on your uniform like the rest of us.
3. OK, it’s three against one – you can watch bloody Strictly and I’ll watch the football upstairs.
4. Mrs Thatcher’s a reasonable woman – she’ll soon see our point of view.
5. You don’t look very like your Tinder photo.
The Editor would welcome any new photos and captions for next month.
Please email them to us here:
Send your photo and captions to us!
Hover over the images below to see our ideas…
There wasn’t a thumb on the set when we saw it
Whose round is it?
Cough!
The hills are alive with the sound of music.
I don’t know why I bother doing the Lottery.
Comedy Corner
Apologies in advance. They were sent to me…
10 men and a woman were climbing a very steep dangerous mountain roped together but the rope was showing signs of breaking under the weight and they could all fall to their deaths. The woman made a very touching offer, saying that she was willing to let go of the rope because women are always making sacrifices for their husbands and children and are used to giving in to men without any reward. All the men were so touched by her offer they clapped! Never underestimate the power of women!
A man is lying on his deathbed in hospital with his family around him. He says to the nurse that he wants his final wishes to be recorded and asks for two witnesses to be present too. “Jim,” he says, “I want you to have all the houses in Green Lane and High Oaks. David, please take the flats and other houses on the east side of town. Laura, you can have the shops and offices in the town centre and Pauline, my dear wife, please have the care homes and other residential properties on the new estate.” The man slips away. The two witnesses and the nurse are flabbergasted. “Wow,” says the nurse to his wife, “my deepest condolences. I didn’t realise your husband had accumulated so much wealth and property”. “Wealth and property? Nonsense,” says his wife. “My husband had a window cleaning round!”
We don’t know how lucky we are to have the jobs we have. I had a bloke decorating my house for the last three days. I got chatting to him and it turns out he’s a Ryanair pilot on furlough. Sad times but in fairness he did a great job on the landing.
I bought a can of fly spray today. I sprayed it all over my body but I still can’t fly!
My friend made a terrible mistake while on holiday. He took his dog named Shark to the beach.
An old sailor was out walking on the dock one day when he met a former shipmate of his. They’d not seen each other for many years so they had much to talk about and many old memories to renew. After some time, one said to the other, “If you don’t mind my saying so, you don’t look very good, you must have experienced some bad luck”. “Yes,” the other one said, “I have. You see this peg leg? Well, one day I was out on deck and my leg become tangled up in a loose line and it was so badly mangled that they had to take it off at the knee”. His friend agreed that was bad luck. The other one continued: “You see I have a hook for a hand? One day I was out on deck when a shipmate of mine fell overboard. I leaned over as far as I could in an attempt to rescue him and as I extended my hand to him a shark took my hand off”. “My, you really did experience bad luck,” the other responded, “I see you have a patch over one eye. What happened to your eye?” “Well, I was out on deck again one day and just as I looked up, a seagull that was flying over, unloaded, and got me right in the eye.” “My, my, did that take your eye out?” “No, that was the first day I had my hook.”
How come there’s enough tarmac to make speed bumps but not enough to fill potholes?
I went to lunch with a champion chess player. It took him 8 minutes to pass the salt.
Set builders at Hertford
Courtesy of Nigel Rive and Eddie Washington
A Theatrical Anecdote
Courtesy of Barry Grossman
On the subject of theatrical anecdotes, an actor once told me he was recording a play for Radio 3 at Broadcasting House. When they broke for lunch, he went up to the canteen and found himself standing next to an attractive young lady in the queue.
‘What are you doing here?’ he asked casually.
‘I’m a dancer,’ she replied. ‘We’re doing Seaside Special. What about you?’
‘I’m in the Oresteia by Aeschylus.’
She gave him a long, hard look and finally said:
‘Well, it’s work, isn’t it?’
She was right, of course.
Barry Grossman
Crossword Solution
Here are the answers to Clive’s Amazing Technicolor Crossword from last issue.
Across: 8 Tomorrow, 9 De-icer, 10 Yellow, 11 Duckling, 12 Etui, 13 About-turn, 16 Red, 18 Blue, 19 Email, 20 Hope, 21 Eli, 22 Asterisks, 24 Grey, 26 Star Wars, 29 Ginger, 20 Purple, 31 Danforth. Down: 1 Forestalls, 2 Coal fire, 3 Brown, 4 Owed, 5 Odd Couple, 6 Violet, 7 Jean, 14 Black, 15 Represents, 17 Decimated, 20 High Noon, 23 Europe, 25 Agent, 27 Tout, 28 Soda
Play Reading
February Play Reading: A Midsummer Night’s Dream (abridged)
On 16th February we enjoyed a fantastic morning steeped in Shakespeare.
Jan Palmer Sayer began the session by introducing us to the differing poetic structures used in the play, illustrating her points with some of the loveliest and best-known speeches and sonnets. She gave us excellent advice on how best to read and interpret the clues provided in the prose or poetry, linking these to the three categories of characters in the play: nobility, mechanicals and fairy folk.
Several members felt that they’d learned more from Jan in that half-hour than in all of their schooling!
Derek Groves, one of the group, had alerted us the week before, that BBC2 was showing a programme on building your Shakespearean character. Actors and directors from the RSC would explore key scenes from A Midsummer Night’s Dream in order to unlock the meaning of language and development of character. This was perfect timing for us and many managed to see the excellent programme.
If you’re interested you can see the programme on iPlayer. Here’s a link:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01dd1jg/shakespeare-unlocked-2-a-midsummer-nights-dream
This, together with Jan’s presentation, set us up for success.
Well prepared, all 17 of the group were cast and had a chance to practise what they’d learned. We all read through the (abridged) play with renewed enthusiasm and enjoyment and hoped that we did Jan proud.
A quiet moment was spent in fond remembrance of the late Andrew Powell and his excellent production of Dream in 2009.
It was a thoroughly enjoyable and stimulating experience. Thanks so much to Yvana for organising it and to Derek Palmer for providing the technical support.
Rachel Thomas
Rubi Reflects
by Fenston Rubenhue-Janus
Looking back on the old Barn days, the days of my ever-fruitful youth, positive and lively, it never ceases to sprout a giggle and spirit a cough, when I reminisce on backstage antics and the wicked world of stage guffs! When I say guffs I don’t mean ‘gaffs’ – I do, in fact, mean guffs. Trouser pops, y-front whistling, peeling one awf, call them what you may, but even the most stern-faced wardrobe mistresses past or present – the elite of the Claxtons, the Classeys and the Coles – couldn’t help but raise a chortle when thinking about those inappropriate audio signals, punctuating one’s angst at the audience assembling just a short projection away. Slip-ups of this nature were bold-a-plenty in those good old days!
I remember dear old Billy Bleefelt, now performing on the largest stage in the sky of course, giving his Hortensio in Shrew. Donned in ladder-less tights and piece, bending over in greeting and passing-an-affair mid-bend –
‘Mistress, what cheer?’
‘Very little with that belch’d trump sir, faith, as cold as can be,’
came Katherine’s rather swiftly thought riposte.
The resulting pause for composure of course gave the audience time to consider and respond accordingly, however, the air was filled ‘mostly’ with a silence – they clearly knew not the script and perched happily none-the-wiser.
As you might imagine, the after-show bar was filled with laughter and cigar smoke! TTFN!
Cheers!
Dates for Your Diary
Tuesday 16th March at 10.30am
Online via Zoom
Daytime play-reading
Monday 1st to Saturday 6th March at 7.30pm
Online via Zoom
Welwyn Youth Drama Festival