A Small Reminder of What We Can Achieve!

Simple really: a play about which I was reminded...strange to have to be  reminded, considering I wrote it!...however, this is a short extract from said play.

Called 'Dominion', it is to date the thing in which I personally have most pride; due mainly to the fantastic actors that were involved in its production.

Hope you all enjoy it as much I did revisiting it...

The Cast - Some Additional Stuff!

It's always the way, isn't it? Make decision, go with it...and then thirty seconds later, additional info surfaces and throws all into confusion.

However, the additional info that dropped into my inbox was delightful to say the very least. Ben Hamilton has said 'yes' to taking on the part of the rather nasty, self-serving little toe-rag, Oswald: a sort Uriah Heep in the Royal Court. Oswald is as ambitious and sneaky as any of the characters, in his own way, but - and Ben will be particularly grateful for this - he doesn't have to wear a silly hat. Well, not as silly as the one in the picture.

 

 

And I also mentioned, when I published the (nearly) complete cast list that Jill would remind me if I forgot to mentio something...which she duly did! The above is shot from a play we produced in 2010 called 'Dominion'. Jill played a Siobhan (third from the right) and it was a powerhouse performance. Written by...modesty forbids, it tells the story of a woman who is dying from cancer and decides to find her husband a new partner before she passes. From the left you can see Ben Hamilton, who played Ken; Lesley Ash as Holly; Phil Scoble was Siobhan's husband Eddie; there's Jill Brock as Siiobhan; Gil Garland
played The Man...you decide who or what he was; and Jane Windsor-Smith played Kelly.
Thanks to Jill for reminding me of her, and everybody else's, fantastic dedication and belief in this play.

End of news flash!





 

Ladies & Gentlemen...The Cast. Almost.

I always had an inkling that the casting process might be more difficult than I envisaged: never ignore your inkles! Lesson one learnt.
Lesson Two: always read the notes you make during the process and make sure you read the information that others give you - this saves confusion and possible embarrassment at a later date!

However, to have such a talented bunch of actors from which to choose is a dilemma that many directors wish they had, I think. The only down side is that, as is the case with pretty much all of Will's work, there are all too few really excellent roles for the ladies. Those that are available, particularly in King Lear, are some of the most sought-after in the canon. And so it was with this casting process; I'm just really sorry that some were, inevitably, disappointed. I hope that everyone is as happy as I am with the final list; I believe that we have the most amazing and talented cast and I am so looking forward to getting down to the nuts 'n' bolts of this production.

We start the blocking process on April 23rd at Dartmouth Castle - a slight change to previous years -  so that the actors can get the sheer size of the stage firmly embedded in their minds before we move indoors to start on characterisation and the finer moves. This is the bit I love, getting everyone cooking and throwing ideas around, getting a real feel for the people that we're bringing to life. And these are the people who will start that journey in the not-too-distant future.

• King Lear   -   Jon Miles. This is Jon's fourth outing with the company, having played Tubal in  The Merchant of Venice, Puck in A Midsummer Night's Dream and Adam in As You Like It.
• Goneril   -   Shaunagh Radcliffe. Shaunagh joins us all fresh and shiney for her first time in a speaking role with the company. She appeared as part of the dance troupe in The Tempest and also produced the beautiful artwork for our tenth anniversary production of Twelfth Night and has done the same again this year for King Lear.
• Regan   -   Jill Brock. Jill has appeared as a goddess, a fairy and Hero in Much Ado About Nothing as well as one of the Witches in Macbeth. She also designed and made the costumes for said Witches, as well as making sheep outfits for Audrey's flock in As You Like It. I'm sure she's done a load of other stuff too...she'll let me know if I've missed anything really vital!
• Cordelia/The Fool   -   Sally Feetenby. I do not envy our Sal. Not a bit. This is one heck of an ask, but I know she's more than capable of pulling it off. Sally's an old hand at this Shakespeare lark these days, although she wasn't so sure about it in 2007 when she tried her hand for the first time playing Helena...or was it Hermia...in The Dream. Anyway, she obviously enjoys it, cos she agreed to my insane plan to have her play both parts!
• Albany   -   Rob Wilcocks. Or is it WilCOX? Let me know Rob, need to get it right for the programme! Rob has sung loudly in Twelfth Night as well as being a fine serving-person and was as regal as you like when he played Lennox (or is it LennOCKS?) in Macbeth. Which is what prompted me to ask him to play Goneril's put-upon husband.
• Cornwall   -   Vernon Davis. Welcome back Vern! Our Macbeth in 2010 took a wee break when his daughter was born and we thank Phoebe for allowing him out to play this year :-) A big presence on-stage, Vern is precisely the man to play against Jill's Regan. They are going to make a formidable pair, I know!
• Edgar   -   Sam Duberley. Sam joined us for the first time last year, playing Sebastian in Twelfth Night...and tore it up! Although not a huge part, Sebastian has one of those speeches that even a non-Shakespearean type-person knows: 'This is the air, that is glorious sun...' and Sam nailed it beautifully, along with rest of the character. This is a challenge for him, but he said he's up for it, so...on your own head be it! No, hang on...that'd  be my head then.
• Gloucester   -    Ernie Wingeatt. Ernie's third foray into Dartmouth Shakespeare Week, having played in Macbeth and, last year, opposite Sam as Antonio. Seemed sort of appropriate that we keep a winning team together...and Ernie has the gravitas (and the beard!) to play a sympathetic and moving Gloucester. Dunno how he is at screaming though.

Because of the number of smaller parts in Lear, I decided to amalgamate a few of them and give these actors a larger bite at being on-stage and creating more than one character. It might seem an easy thing to do, but it ain't. Kudos to these guys for taking up the gauntlet.

• Burgundy/Servant 2   -   Fred Radcliffe. Fred is a definite first-timer with the company and read with confidence and aplomb at the audition. He may well end up being a soldier, a servant and a flag-waver as well...but I haven't told him that yet!
• Doctor/Servant 3   -   Malcolm MacIntosh. 'Nuff said. Malcolm stepped down as Artistic Director at the end of 2012 but has graciously agreed to take on these two small but pivotal roles...and I can tap him for some advice if needed!
• Katherine   -   Lucy Nichols. Who's Katherine? OK, she was Curran but she's not anymore. No, we're not doing a sex-change version of Lear, that would just be odd and not a little spooky.

I'm still awaiting acceptance/refusal of four parts from very busy guys, but I'll let everyone know when I've got my Kent, Edmund, Oswald & Knight One (another new Frankenstein-type character) in the bag. And by Frankenstein I mean stitched together, we're not doing a zombie/horror version, that too would be odd and not a little wrong!

And that just leaves a load of extras for the servants/soldiers to find. But we're working on it. Our lovely Lynne Deller will be assembling the Bedlam Beggars for our little twist in the tale, ably assisted by Xowie Brandt, who will also be part of the Stage Management team, with special responsibility for organising the servant/soldiers and beggars, making sure they are where they need to be when they need to be there! AND Xowie will also be doing the make-up...quiet day at the office for her then. She'll probably wave a flag or two and move with the beggars as well...
Sophie Griffiths, who has been on-stage a couple of times for us, as William in As You Like It and Fleance in Macbeth, has kindly accepted the role of Stage Manager this year. Thank you Sophie and also thanks to S.O.D.'s, who gave the S/M role in this year's L'il SOD's prduction of The Frog Prince.
(And if you missed that, you missed a blinder!)

AND we have an excellent new tech team on-board this year, led by the inimitable Dan Nichols with Ben, Ross & Will. Another new member is Caiomhe McKenna, who is our set-designer and will be working in conjunction with myself, tech and our lovely Head of Costume, Jenny Gould. And Jen's team is augmented this year by another inductee to the joys of Inn-age, Sophie Tope, stitcher extraordinaire.

So when I know, you'll know. Let me know what you think!

...And They're Off!



Anthony, Jon, Vern, Kate and Ben getting ready to rehearse at the Castle.

This is the stage at which we hope to find ourselves in the not-too-distant future: a great gang of people enjoying bringing some of the most incredible characters to life on a stage that is probably second to none! These guys on the right are just a few of the actors from our 2011 production of

'As You Like It' having a small discussion about who owns which script. We took the first step towards this stage of our King Lear production yesterday afternoon, when we held the first auditions for the show.

 

Not everyone was able to make it to the venue, so there will be another date set, quite soon, so we can give everbody who wants to be involved a fair crack of the whip. Then we can get down to the serious business of casting the production, after which we block up at the castle then get into the meat and potatoes of the thing and begin rehearsing seriously! Or in our case, rehearsing seriously between the bouts of lunacy and larking around!

 

I had kind of hoped that my initial thoughts on cast for Lear would be confirmed when we all got together at the auditions, and in some ways they were. However the people auditioning, as always seems to be the way, read with such believability and verve, that I find myself making lists of potential actors for the parts, thinking I've got some of them nailed down, then pause, scratch out what I've written and re-jig. Can't see the floor for scrunched-up bits of paper! And that is one of the joys of this company: so many great actors that it's really, really difficult to settle on one person for a particular part. Unfortunately, I'm going to have to make a definitive list soon and disappoint some and put the fear of lots of lines into others. But this I do know: whoever gets to play whichever part, they will be excellent, putting their all into it and coming out the other side with a smile on their face.  And the picture below epitomises to me what we're all about. Enjoying what we do and, hopefully, sending our audiences away with a smile as big as those in the photo.

 



We've also been lucky enough to welcome several new people to the Company this year, not only actors but some great people who are going to help with the set and costumes. Already it promises to be a mega-year for us, the enthusiasm at the audition was brilliant, really enjoyable. I hope everyone there had as much fun as I did!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

Every Picture...

I have been accused of being many things (some not very nice!) but I think this is probably the first time, ever, that I've been told that I'm over-prepared.
Somebody should tell my old form tutor that, she'd have a laughing fit and call you a liar!
In the spirit of that 'over-preparedness', may I present to you all a rough draft of the poster/programme drawing for King Lear?

 

 

 

Massive, massive thanks are due to Shaunagh Radcliffe who seems to be able to work miracles at the drop of gouache pot. I don't what you think, but this, for me, captures the energy, pathos and torment of the entire play in one hit!

 

Shaunagh tells me that she has an idea for a differently themed poster, which I will put here, and elsewhere, for your opinions and suggestions. Let me know what you think.

I love it.