The Gloucester Arts Council

The other more pressing matter that arose while I was away was that of the Gloucester Arts scene. For several years Gloucester has been a city in crisis. Extended poverty in the urban areas and the gradual erosion of core arts groups combined with a general apathy from the City Council have finally led to a rallying of the troupes. A meeting was called for all interested parties to discuss the situation and suggest proposals for the raising of a Gloucester Arts Council.

The primary aim of the meeting was to bring together artists, directors, writers and venue managers and discover how things can be improved. The brainchild of local businessman Phil McCormack, this first meeting immediately established that pretty much every arts group - amateur and professional - had the same gripe, namely a lack of effective marketing facilities and a decent skills and resources data base.

In the arts, communication is power and this meeting exposed that a flaccid local council has fobbed the arts community off for long enough. Personally, I believe that moving forward, the rise of the Gloucester Arts Council is a tremendous idea. A genuine network of groups, organisations and individuals creating a valuable resource, offering support and advice which will enrich the community. It will not be easy, of that I am sure but it's early days and Phil McCormack's genuine interest and affection for the arts scene in his city is fairly infectious.

Why The Long Face?

This weekend I mixed business with pleasure with business. First and foremost, it was a time to catch up with friends old and new. The Tygers, Rowena Davies community theatre company is producing A Midsummer Night's Dream, which is being performed at in the open-air at Blackfriars Priory. With my old am dram society well and truly fractured by mis-management and money troubles, it is good to know that there is still a thriving theatre focus to my visits. I can't really offer The Tyger's anything other than support - London has been my home for nearly 20 years - but I can make the odd hat/prop/accessory and enjoy the banter of the disparate company members.

I was delivering the fairy crowns that I'd made and they had to be fitted to each of the actors and I had to complete Puck's little percher, which I completed on my first morning. I was also polishing off the asses head for Bottom, which I was especially proud of. I also ended up creating a fairy bower for Titania and accessories for Oberon too.

Rowena has a vast array of crafting products, materials and costumes - all sourced on a tight budget - so it was a great opportunity to bounce ideas around with her about the look of the show. Another hot topic was its second annual production of Macbeth, which is taking place at Halloween. The auditions were held on Sunday and I was invited to sit on the panel and I have to admit that it was intriguing to see who would be wearing the crowns this year.

The whole weekend was not about theatre and thankfully I was able to catch up with David and Katherine in Longlevens and see their lovely home. David was - and still is - a talented fine-artist and I found his work with acrylics inspirational. I am sure I shall see them again soon - hopefully at The Dream, but until then I feel fuelled enough to experiment some more. It was also good to catch up with Andy Doyle too, who popped by on Saturday night where we sat until the early hours, chewing the fat and reliving old times.

Just Go!

Honestly, do yourself a favour and book a theatre ticket this week. The UK is very lucky at the moment with two wonderful, very different options open to theatregoers. Gypsy at the Savoy is currently stunning audiences and running until November. It's been 40 years since this show has been in the West End and the Chichester Festival Theatre production, starring Imelda Staunton and Lara Pulver has received glowing notices all round. It's great fun to see on Facebook various friends posting their own reports of how great the show is. When I took Sean to see it in Chichester last year, he admitted it was probably the best piece of theatre he had ever seen. For me, it was the first 5-star review I had ever given.

The second show is a little more ephemeral and certainly won't be around until November. JM Barrie's Peter Pan is currently running at the Regent's Park Open Air Theatre and it's easily the best adaptation I have ever seen.  More often than not seen at Christmas, this production still has all the magic of the original but uses the events of the First World War as a catalyst to the story. It's a genuine piece of theatrical magic and features the most courageous and imaginative flying sequences you are ever likely to witness.

There is a mini heat wave approaching so with that guarantee of good weather, make a day of it. Catch a matinee of Peter Pan and an evening of Gypsy - or vice versa. It won't be a cheap day out but seriously, commercial theatre doesn't get much better than this.

Out And About

Despite the hectic schedule I occasionally have to run, I do still get time to catch the odd show which isn't on my review schedule. I've had a run of these recently, starting with a Jerusalem at The Lost Theatre on the Wandsworth Road. For whatever reason, I was one of the 17 people who never saw Jerusalem when it was on in the West End. Jez Butterworth's play starred Mark Rylance originally at the Royal Court and then transferring to the Apollo and was one of those performances that EVERYBODY was talking about.

I am a big fan of The Lost Theatre so I made a point of not missing their sell-out production last week. It was a real treat, although I had not quite expected for it to set so close to home. Although set in a fictional town on the Wiltshire/Somerset border, the accents were deeply familiar to me and the poetry and rhythm of the dialogue made me laugh out loud on more than one occasion.

Mark Magill's set and James Thacker's costumes caught the squalor perfectly and Jack Bowman's thoughtful direction  wisely allowed the play to weave its own magic. The performances were uniformly strong but kudos must go to Ryan Davies playing Jonny 'Rooster' Byron. A mammoth role for any actor, Davies was utterly mesmerising, capturing the ripe mix of hedonism and fatalism vital to the character. I may have missed Rylance's award winning performance but I think Davies probably gave him a run for his money.

I spent the day in Essex on Tuesday and while I was scheduled to see Hot Stuff at the Queen's in Hornchurch, I also managed to catch The Panto Bus Ltd tour of Goldilocks, The Three Bears and The Mayor Of Porridgeton. It is quite common now for panto production companies to mount half-term shows throughout the year catering to a young audience. Anyone who knows me, knows of my love of pantomime although it was very odd to be hearing the kids excitement mount as the lights went down and the music kicked off.

The production was great fun and although the setting and costumes were fairly basic, the colour and energy were palpable, the story engaging and the performers had the kids in the palm of their hands.

On Wednesday I finally got along to The Lonely Soldier Monologues at the Cockpit Theatre. I had been planning to see this much earlier in its run but my work diary put a stop to that. Written by Helen Benedict, the play bears witness through verbatim episodes of life for a woman the US army before, during and after the war in Iraq. It's a hard play to sell but Prav MJ's production is a real winner, blending startlingly honest monologues with slick, stylised military manoeuvres on stage.

Benedict's play sheds light on inbred misogyny within in the military and raises awareness to the lack of attention or care given to those women who came back from the front with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Friday night, I cycled over to Fulham and the Drayton Arms Theatre for a new musical, The Theory Of Relativity. I have to say, it did not augur well. I was pretty tired from a busy week and when I asked what the musical was about, I was advised that it was a 'song cycle'. My heart sank a little, as I enjoy a good story and the phrase 'song cycle' tends to leave the impression that the writers couldn't think of one.

As I have stated before, a new musical appearing on the fringe is really a work in progress. Writer Neil Bartram has a distinct style and has written some powerful ballads for Theory but more light and shade may be required in the future. The really pleasant surprise was the book by Brian Hill, which crafted a fascinating story artfully connecting the disjointed tales together with empathy and humour.

Bartram's striking score, Hill's book and Christopher Lane's staging combine to create a really agreeable piece of modern musical theatre and a strong calling card to future producers. I will certainly be keeping an eye on Bertram & Hill's work in the future. I don't imagine that The Theory Of Relativity has much of a future life beyond the fringe in its current state but I could quite easily see the piece taking off as a student showcase.

Of Late

I had a fairly packed schedule lately and caught some really great shows on the London fringe, from Fanny& Stella at the Above The Stag Theatre in Vauxhall through to The Ted Bundy Project at Shoreditch Town Hall. The two couldn't be more polar opposites in terms of subject and style but that's what I love about the job I do - you never know how an evening is going to unfold. Will songs move me? Will I relate to the characters? Will it drag? Is there an interval? In a rather new turn of events, I found myself wanting more from Skin In Flame, which sold itself way too short for such an engaging socio-political drama.  

The Roarscars 2015

Last week - was it only last week?- I travelled back to Gloucester to join in the festivities surrounding Tyger Productions annual Roarscars ceremony. The brainchild of my dear friend Rowena Davies, the Roarscars celebrate the best and funniest moments of a year in community theatre.  I have to say that I enjoyed last year's event and this year simply raised the stakes - due in no small part to the excellent work from Mark Scales as MC and AV.

I need to start work now on A Midsummer Night's Dream - I'm doing some head pieces and of course, the asses head.

Closer To Recovery

Another drawn out period of not blogging is matched by an hectic theatre-going schedule and a chest infection that floored me for nearly two weeks. I'm not very good at being ill but Sean took great care of me and managed to put up with the night sweats and shivers that seemed to accompany the illness.

After that, I seemed to be at the theatre every night - and sometimes during the day - all over London and beyond. I caught The Elephant Man at Hornchurch, which didn't thrill me and The Heart Of AdrianLovett at Theatre Delicatessen, which did. I travelled to Nottingham with Sean to catch Jonathan Harvey's glorious BeautifulThing staring Charlie Brooks and I cycled over to the Union to see Jonathan Harvey's far less impressive contribution to Closer To Heaven. The image above is Connor Brabyn as Mile End Lee, one of the more impressive aspects of the show.

Amid all this theatre I have managed to get back up to speed in the pool and in the gym - almost - although this week has been a bit of a washout - mainly due to the hectic schedule but mostly through indolence. Oh well, I have just under two months until James and Tom's Wedding so I shall start a rigorous schedule after the Bank Holiday.