Festival - What Festival?

When I read in The Stage that the Strike-A-Light team had received an ACE grant for the first time, I was understandably excited. I may not have lived there for 20 years but I’ve visited Gloucester regularly and noticed the major decay that has set in. Gloucester has a rich and diverse history but it’s a city that finds it difficult to celebrate that history. There is racial and social friction, a major drug and alcohol problem and high rate of unemployment. OK, that probably describes many towns in the UK that are suffering in the wake of recent financial crises. The sound of seagulls in Gloucester always used to remind me of the seaside.  Now it’s the boarded-up shops and the empty parades that give the impression of a costal town, down-at-heel and in desperate need of some TLC.

Of course, there is a positive side. Gloucester has a rich sports heritage and an enviable network of sports facilities and venues. What it lacks, and has done for a long time, is an arts venue. A space where the community can congregate and celebrate the rich cultural diversity of the city and its history. When I lived in Gloucester in through the 1970s and 1980s, I saw how the arts developed in the city first hand. The closure of the major sports hall and stage at the local leisure centre marked the end of major concerts - anything from Lenny Henry to Siouxsie and the Banshees used to play here. The council converted the old guildhall in the centre of town into a burgeoning arts hub, while local am-dram group the GODS stepped up their game, renovating a bingo hall into the mid-scale Olympus Theatre at 450 seats. The more modest King’s Theatre of about 150 seats, was also renovated and operated by a collective of small-scale amateur companies.

Over the next twenty years things changed dramatically. The Olympus has long since closed - sadly a business cannot run on love. The money raised by loyal volunteers over the years was squandered on vanity projects and bad management. The King’s is still running, operated by a cabal of middle-class, middle-aged amateurs determined to keep it a closed shop. The Guildhall, once a major hope for the city's arts scene has been stripped of any charm and energy it may have once had.  The handsome stone edifice is now more reminiscent of a mausoleum, with nothing on the outside indicating the potential of the interior.

There have been noble attempts to rally the local arts community but the people who hold the purse strings to any funding are, perhaps understandably, keeping them tightly closed. Strike-A-Light's NPO status came at just the right time. I watched from afar, to see how things progressed and plotted to attend the opening of the festival. They appeared to be engaging with the community and encouraging experimentation with form in theatre, dance and music. Great stuff!

Before the launch I thought I’d pop down and see some friends in an amateur pantomime in Gloucester at Christmas in the Guildhall. What was very obvious was the Guildhall’s inability to market live entertainment at its venue. I said as much at the time on social media and the Strike-A-Light team assured me that things would be very different for its week-long festival in March.

So off I went to Gloucester in March. Well it seems as if I was the only person who knew that the festival was happening. The Guildhall as I passed it, was the same dead space as it had been at Christmas. Nothing outside to engage passers-by or to even indicate that ACE was helping fund a week-long event. No bunting; no flyering; no street theatre; nada.  In fact, there was one poster, outside the Tourist Information Centre and inside there, 4 sets of flyers to indicate the professional gigs that were taking place. There was nothing outside the Blackfriars complex either, where tonight’s gala was about to happen.

Strike-A-Light are committed to engaging with the Gloucester community, programming 2 festivals a year; delivering  a year round Artist Support Programme that provides nationally significant partners for emerging artists and developing a year round Arts Participation Programme for children and young people led by professionals.

There was absolutely nothing to indicate that Gloucester was having any sort of festival. What you have here is a huge marketing failure and I can't help wondering where the support from Gloucester Council, Gloucester Marketing, Gloucester Guildhall or indeed the new Gloucester Culture team was. It certainly didn't appear to be in the promotion of this event and yet, judging by the guest list, representatives from each were all present at the gala launch.

Top Ten of 2017

I realise that there are plenty of these lists knocking around at this time of year. Mine doesn’t appear to contain the usual suspects but it does reflect the diversity of the productions that I’m lucky enough to see.

In no particular order.....

Salome, Hoxton Hall
The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Menier
And The Rest Of Me Floats, Rose Lipman
He Shoots! He Scores!, ATS
Rapunzel, TRSE
Spring Offensive, Omnibus
Superhero, Southwark Playhouse
We Are Lions, Mr Manager, Tara Arts touring
All Our Children, Jermyn Street
Gabriel, Richmond touring

A Huge Weight On My Mind

I am putting on weight. It’s not happened quickly but it’s been steady and pretty unrelenting. I put it down to several things. Firstly, contentment. It's a pretty well known fact that that happy and contented people can put on a few pounds. I am pretty happy in my life, albeit there have been some major stresses and strains this year that have affected my wellbeing. Stress is another factor for putting on weight. For nearly four years now, I have been out of a daily routine. Work is forthcoming, but my hours are far from routine and I get very angsty about combining a work/life equilibrium. 

Anyway, the upshot of this is that I need to seriously consider re-jigging something in my life to make this work. I adored running. Absolutely loved the ease and the freedom of it. Sadly, it didn’t love me. The strain on one of my big ‘ole flat feet was too much and I have been trying to nurture them back to working order for the last 6 months. The podiatrist has suggested that I don’t take up running again very soon. 

My go-to cardio exercise has always been swimming, which I still do as much as my time/energy levels will allow. I’m still a 2k in 40mins swimmer, which isn't bad. A decent pool is hard to find however and while Epsom has a great gym, its pool is poorly managed. I get a better swim at Wimbledon but of course, that adds 10k to my commute to work. Cycling is a decent cardio exercise of course, but I’m no racer and get a bit stressed cycling in torrential rain or wind - it’s an age/confidence thing, I think. Also, even on a good day, packing an inordinate number of clothes when I leave the house. For example, if I am at work and have a play in the evening, I may have to pack a gym or swim kit, a formal shirt and tie for work, a casual shirt and trousers for the theatre and possibly an extra pair of shoes/trainers, depending on the weather. Apart from anything else, the forward planning can become pretty draining. 

Age is also an important factor and at 52, it’s not going to get easier to loose weight.

Anyway, I need to shake things up a bit and I’ve got a few days ‘off’ coming up. Needless to say I have a writing deadline in that mix, but hopefully things will be a bit clearer. The reason I am writing this post is to help me try and identify the changes that have happened in my life in the last four years that have affected my weight. Oddly the big things that have happened include: a personal trainer, regular sports massages, increasing my swimming/gym membership, the increased use of apps and the addition of an activity tracker. It’s almost as if that since I started to invest in my fitness, I started putting on weight. I wonder if this is a common occurrence?  

When I first met Sean, I had put on quite a bit of weight, which may well have been related to giving up smoking. I then proceeded to go on my most successful diet ever, loosing approximately 23 kilos or so over the period of about a year. I don’t need to do that again, obviously but I do need to find the sort of routine and commitment that I once had. I got down to about 85 kilos and I guess, I’d be happy now at with being under 90 kilos. If I get under 90 kilos, I might be able to - carefully - start running again. 

I guess that I am looking at loosing about 15 kilos over the next 12 months. It seems doable on paper, but there again, I’ve been trying to do it for four years and progressively failing. Lets see how I get on over the next week or so. Autumn/winter is never the best time to diet - I think my body naturally craves pies, stews and dumplings through this season. But there's also Stop-tober, which I should aim for - drinking is not just shite for calories, it also encourages bad food choices. Let's see what I can put in place over the next week or so to begin with. 

Autumnal Shades

Yet again it's been a week of contrasts at the theatre, for me at least. My week began with at the New Wimbledon with Selladoor's production of Flashdance, a musical stage adaptation of the 1980s hit movie starring Jessica Beals. It was disappointing not least because I have now seen a few Selladoor productions and rather enjoyed them. This was simply a bad choice of show featuring a lazy and surprisingly dated book and a score that oddly lacks dynamism. I felt my review for The Stage pretty much said it all but it didn't stop the Stage Manager from questioning my criticism on Twitter.

I was back in Wimbledon the following evening for Child ofthe Divide at the Polka. This was my first ever visit to the Polka, although I pass it regularly on the way to the gym, but I have to say it's a lovely space. Of course, it doesn't have a bar but it is a children's theatre so what would you expect. I found Child of the Divide enlightening, although the speech before and after the show is critic catnip as far as I'm concerned - save it for the aftershow party.

My third theatre trip was to the Stratford Circus - a venue I hadn't been to for at least 15 years. It's changed a great deal, feeling much more like the Arts Centre it professes to be. I liked the show too - Big Foot, a story about what it means to be a man, at least amid the South London Guyanese community.

I will say at this point that the unifying feature of each show so far was that every one had gone up late. In total, I had spent more than half an hour longer than I should have waiting for the lights to fall in auditoriums.  It only annoys me because I am usually early for a show and will expect it to start on time. You'd think that after 20 years I'd have gotten used to it.

Anyway, my final show of the week was the one I was probably looking forward to the most. The Soulless Ones at Hoxton Hall is an immersive piece in the manner of the classic Hammer horror movies. Sadly, it was neither scary nor exciting. There was a big, chewy script and a decent nod to the design but I began to lose interest quite quickly after I'd checked out every room. What concerned me the most however was the cost of the ticket. Of course, I didn't have to pay but at £48 is far too much for what was more a promenade production rather than real, immersive theatre. I didn't feel involved in the action in the slightest, merely an observer. It's a great idea but Hammer need to rethink it's creatives if they are planning this again. For £48 I'd at least expect to taste the blood of Dracula!

Theatrical Diversion

For me, theatre is a constant source of diversity and this week has been no exception. I’ve seen a new adaptation of an old 1970s made-for-television movie and a touring production of a classic 1990s play that became an international hit as a movie. I caught the revival of a 1990s devised musical based on the songs of Louis Jordan and a new production of a play based on a 1990s best seller. I’ve also seen two completely new pieces of work and it was one of these that really caught my attention. 

And The Rest Of Me Floats features a cast of trans/non-binary/gay performers addressing how we categorise gender. It was a beautiful piece of devised theatre and definitely worth a look for anyone hanging around Hackney with just over an hour to kill. 

The thing is, that for all that I read about the lack of diversity in theatre, it’s fantastic that you can have a week like this. Jack Rosenthal’s The Knowledge at the Charing Cross featured an understandably Jewish sensibility, as does Driving Miss Daisy. I have to say however that the overarching theme of ‘Daisy’ wasn’t so much anti-semitism or racism as much as it was about the process of ageing. Five Guys Named Moe opened at a pop-up theatre in Marble Arch and features an all-black cast in a hugely entertaining music and dance show and Above The Stag staged arguably Australia’s biggest love story Holding The Man. Oh, I almost forgot Deadpan’s play about the afterlife called Gate.

Gays, Jews, the Dead, Trans, Blacks, Australians - my theatre is awash with diversity and that’s a huge reason to celebrate. Of course, the pantomime season will be along soon, and that usually alters the balance - but things are changing. 

Follies

I managed to get a ticket to the National Theatre's production of Follies and was a little nervous about what I would make of the show. I have always made it perfectly clear that while I like some of Sondheim's work, I am not a wholly devoted fan. I came to Follies pretty late in life and the first production I saw didn't impress. I wondered at the time if it was the show that I didn't like or simply that production?

The show does contain some of Sondheim's greatest stand-alone songs including I'm Still Here and Broadway Baby but having caught the National's production, I will stick my neck out and say that I am still not a fan. Also, I feel that the National have done a good job, rather than a great one. The decision to run straight through for 2 hours 30mins is questionable and it has nothing to do with being desperate for a pee, although I realise this must be an issue with some people.

I was so thankful for Who's That Woman?, a big production number in the first 'half', because by then, I was completely over the story of those two unlikeable business men and their ex-chorine wives. I found myself far more engrossed in watching their younger selves emote around the stage.

I rather like Tracie Bennett as Carlotta but the Loveland sequence at the end dragged the show out a good 20 minutes longer than it should and the anthem Loosing My Mind, appearing so detached from the story, ultimately fails to move me. I can't help but feel that this final sequence serves the writer much more than it serves the audience.

I've been fairly ambivalent toward Janie Dee in the past, but I think she steals this show as Phyllis from right under the nose of Imelda's mad Sal. The set is a triumph and the 1970s and Ghostly Girl costumes excellent but don't get me started on the poster. Originally Follies won seven Tony awards and lost money. It's changed shape a few times over the years including the insertion of an interval but from my point of view it's an over inflated work, padded out with some strong production numbers.

Time Is Money

In the last year, the trend for event theatre seems to have taken a foothold. By event theatre, I mean the epic four to six hour drama that may or may not appear in two parts. Harry Potter and Angels In America come to mind but there's also the Roman plays at the Barbican and several other pieces that will not only take a chunk out of your purse but also out of your weekend. It's not a fashion I warm to particularly and in many ways, it's just as elitist as hoiking the price of the tickets up to £130+ a piece.

I probably spend more time in a theatre in a month that many people will spend there in a lifetime. I am extremely grateful for this luxury but who except ardent fans and theatre critics have time to spend a day in a theatre? I work five days a week and will often be at a theatre in the evening. Two days off will mean catching up with feature writing, conducting interviews and, well, living....

One of the joys of being privileged enough to spend time at the Edinburgh Fringe is that you will invariably see shows that have a running time of no longer the 90 minutes. Most of them are an hour long but part of the joy is experiencing tightly crafted pieces that work within that kind of time frame.   Edinburgh is not exempt however, as The Divide runs at about six or seven hours and despite being written by the estimable Alan Ayckbourn, turns out to be a pretty ropey affair that could probably have been successfully edited to an hour. It is transferring to the Old Vic and God only knows how they're going to sell it on the back of such 'mixed' reviews. 

By all accounts, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child and Angels In America are both fine pieces of theatre although in truth, I was far more sorry to have missed the Roman plays. My point is however, that for most people time will be far more valuable than sterling. Keeping the prices low may open the theatre up to more people but asking them to stay for the day just assumes that they are part of the leisured classes.