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OAST NOTESOAST THEATRE
TONBRIDGE February 2017
2
DATES FOR YOUR DIARY
Tuesday, 2nd February Audition:
“Murder, Margaret & Me”
Sunday, 5th February Audition:
“Murder, Margaret & Me”
MONDAY, 6th FEBRUARY LAST DAY FOR COPY FOR
MARCH OAST NOTES
Saturday, 11th to Saturday, 18th
February inclusive
Play of the Month
“Honour”
Monday, 20th February “The Donor”
at The Barn Theatre Oxted *
Tuesday, 21st February “A Thing of Beauty”
at The Barn Theatre Oxted *
Thursday, 23rd February “Stolen Secrets”
OYT at The Barn Theatre, Oxted *
The three above (*) all entered in the One Act Play Festival
Friday, 3rd March Audition
“Three Men In A Boat”
Sunday, 5th March Audition (recalls)
“Three Men In A Boat”
NEXT MONTH’S PLAY – “The Country Wife” by William Wycherley
4th – 11th March. A very bawdy Restoration comedy. A truly delectable
romp!
3
PLAY OF THE MONTH
“Honour” by Joanna Murray-Smith
“Honour” is a poignant telling of a long marriage coming under
stress. Unusually, because of its even handed and well observed
style, it gives the actors and the audience a wonderful opportunity
to identify with each one of the four characters. This is a multi-
level play with a surface plot as old as the hills but with
perspectives as fresh as yesterday. For some it may stir old
wounds but it is different in many ways from the traditional one
sided story and it could equally be part of the healing. You are
invited to book your tickets, enjoy the acting and listen to this
well written and thoughtful play.
Some adult language – as you might expect.
Stuart McCreadie
Director
As the Director says – “book your tickets” – but book them
EARLY or you may be disappointed. You have three alternative
ways of doing this – online at www.oasttheatre.com or by
telephone on 01732 363849 or by post using an Advance Booking
Form available from the theatre.
4
AUDITION
“Murder, Margaret And Me” by Philip Meeks
Auditions: Thursday, 2nd February, 2017- 8.00pm
in the Bar Lounge
Sunday, 5th February, 2017 – 2.00pm
in the Janet Young Room
Performance dates: 24th June – 1st July, 2017
Director: Nadia Higson – 01732 883097 or
07796 128538 or [email protected]
It’s 1961 and Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple is about to be portrayed on
film by Margaret Rutherford – but neither of these great ladies is enthused
by the prospect. As the two become more closely acquainted, Agatha
realises that there is more to Margaret’s reluctance than a dislike of the
‘sordid’ business of murder, and becomes obsessed with rooting out her
new friend’s dark secret. However, Agatha has her secrets too … and
then there is The Spinster – who observes, goads and drives the pair
towards the revelations that they both must make.
CAST
Agatha Christie and Margaret Rutherford were both about seventy at the
time but this is not a naturalistic play, and the actors’ ages (within reason)
matter less than their ability to bring out the contrasts in the characters’
public and private selves. The Spinster calls herself ‘a little old lady’ but
again this does not have to be taken literally.
5
AUDITION
“Murder, Margaret And Me” contd.
Margaret: As ‘Margaret Rutherford’ she is exuberantly
eccentric, flamboyant in character and dress, with a huge zest for
life. As ‘Peggy’, the private self that few see, she is vulnerable,
wrestling with demons.
Agatha: Highly intelligent and highly inquisitive, Agatha is
uncomfortable whenever she feels she is not in control. She
combines a genteel manner with a waspish tongue, but is not at
bottom an unkind person.
The Spinster: ‘A sweet little old lady on the outside, as sweet as
strychnine within’. The Spinster has a wicked sense of humour
and subtly dominates the other two characters. She takes on
several other personas during the course of the play.
Please contact me (the Director) if you have any queries or would
like a copy of the script.
6
SOUTHERN COUNTIES DRAMA FESTIVAL FOR
ONE ACT PLAYS
THE BARN THEATRE, OXTED.
Monday, 20th – Saturday, 25th February
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday & Saturday at 7.30pm
Thursday & Friday at 7.00pm
Once again we are entering plays for this annual festival and we
would very much appreciate some Oast members in the audiences
to “cheer us on”!
Tickets – price £8.00 – are available from 30th January – ring The
Barn Box Office on 01959 561811
The Oast entries are being performed on the following dates:-
Monday, 20th February –
“The Donor” by Branco Ruzic
Directed by Andy Taylor
Cast –
Anna – Karen Dix
Andrey – Steve Hemsley
This play was presented as part of our New Play Readings a short
while ago to much acclaim.
7
SOUTHERN COUNTIES DRAMA FESTIVAL FOR
ONE ACT PLAYS Contd.
Tuesday, 21st February –
“A Thing of Beauty” by Charles Kray
Directed by Sandra Barfield
Cast:
Prioress – Annie Young
Colonel – Nick Smith
Benedicta – Elizabeth McCreadie
This play was entered in the Leatherhead Festival last year and won
awards as Best Actor & Best Actress for Nick and Elizabeth.
Thursday, 23rd February-
The Youth Theatre are performing
“Stolen Secrets” by Fin Kennedy
Directed by Jason Lower
For Cast – see Youth Theatre Notes in this issue.
Described as ‘Urban Fairy Tales for the 21st century’.
A pillow fight on a tower block roof. A mother & daughter afraid of
the truth. A sickly smell in the twilight air. A speechless girl with
blood in her hair.
We dare you to watch!
8
AUDITION
“Three Men In A Boat” by Jerome K Jerome
adapted for the stage by Daniel O’Brien
Audition: Friday, 3rd March – 8.00pm
Recall if needed: Sunday, 5th March – 2.00pm
Both in the Janet Young Room
Performance dates: 22nd – 29th July
Director: Phillip Holden – 0790 4021382 or
Three male characters –
J/Jerome – Jerome K Jerome. Actor/aspiring writer.
Harris – Perhaps physically larger than J.
George – Some musical ability. Works in a Bank.
All aged 20s – 40s
The characters are only briefly sketched (and, to some extent,
interchangeable) so the casting will depend on getting the right mix.
When the story takes place (1890s) the three are in their 20s, but, as
they are looking back and recounting the stories, they could be in their
30s or 40s. More important is that they fit together and could
conceivably be best friends.
The actors will need to be able to sing. There are (as it stands) 11
pieces of music – sung or performed in one way or another. I’m
9
AUDITION
“Three Men In A Boat” contd.
likely to ask an actor to play the trombone (badly) and all three actors
to learn to play some tunes on the ukulele. I’ve already identified a
uke teacher!
Actors will need to be able to move (!) and they will, in effect, build
the set as they go along. A certain amount of falling over, balancing
and climbing as well as falling into the river etc. may be called for as
well as audience interaction.
There is certainly mime involved – acting with only rudimentary
props or costumes to evoke strong comic characters in a series of
sketches where the challenge is to distinguish each scene and each
moment. Actors will switch between the friends, the characters they
each portray, directly addressing the audience and … being the dog
Montmorency!
Rehearsals may be flexible to some extent as it’s a small cast but we
are starting early and gently as soon after casting as we can (probably
from 10th April) for some early readings, workshops, music and
general larking about.
For the audition I’d like you to prepare a piece, though you don’t need
to learn it – Jerome’s long speech on p.60.
If you are interested and need a script and the audition piece, contact
me – Phil Holden – Director.
10
ONE POINT OF VIEW
“Around The World In 80 Days” by Jules Verne, adapted by Laura Eason
As soon as I saw the simple set I had a feeling that this was going to
be an interesting piece of theatre, but I was not prepared for the fun
and highly entertaining evening that I was about to experience!
We were skilfully and energetically transported round the world in
the hands of two narrators played by Frankie Gahan and Cameron
Rout. These two actors were a perfect balance for each other. Their
energy and stage presence drove the production along and provided
plenty of humour on the way.
Of course, it was essential that the actor playing Phileas Fogg was
able to dominate a scene with his presence, and this Luke Morrison
certainly did. He gave us a very cool and sophisticated character who
never had any doubt that he would win his bet. A very mature
performance.
A complete revelation was the multi-talented Phil Burns as
Passepartout. He captured the character perfectly and entertained us
totally from his first appearance. His accent was well maintained
throughout and his scenes with the Hoppers demonstrated their
confidence in him and his ability to get the very best out of them.
Nadia Higson, as Mrs Aouda, the private detective, gave us a
delightfully eccentric character who wove her way throughout the
play, and again added much to the humour of the piece.
I loved the work of Faye Bedding, who appeared in so many different
guises. She provided us with some very humorous and varied
characters and was an example of a true ensemble player providing
strong support for whoever was on stage with her.
11
“Around The World In 80 Days” contd.
Although I have commented on some of the principal performances,
this was a truly ensemble piece, in which everyone gave one hundred
percent of themselves. It is because of this that the production was
so good and flowed seamlessly from one place to another.
Congratulations must go to each and every member of the cast.
Huge congratulations must go to Alison Miall, Judy Beer and the Oast
Costumiers for their wonderful costumes which were so cleverly
created. I particularly enjoyed the ‘Floating Gardens’ sequence with
its brilliant array of flower covered hats! It gave the audience so
much entertainment. Congratulations too to Amelia Honnie Smith
and Zephanie Marten for their work with props and costumes. They
must have been kept exceptionally busy!
I do wonder whether ‘The Lion King’ production team might be
getting nervous. The Oast’s Elephant, which was totally brilliant and
hilarious, would certainly give theirs a run for its money!
The lighting and sound was excellent and the storm sequences very
effective. Yet another area that contributed so much to the
production’s success.
This was a very well directed piece which provided one of the most
entertaining evenings I have had at the Oast in a long time. So much
thought and creativity had gone into it. So lovely to see the adult
members, Youth Theatre and Hoppers working so wonderfully
together. Everyone can be so proud of what they have achieved.
Thank you Jason.
Maggie Hoiles
12
ONE POINT OF VIEW
“A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens, adapted by John Mortimer
I much enjoyed John Mortimer’s adaptation of Charles Dickens’ “A
Christmas Carol” when I saw it on the Wednesday. This was an
unusual interpretation and the staging, lighting and imaginative back
projections and special effects worked very well. Early on in the first
act, however, the hand held battery night lights (obviously battery for
health and safety reasons) proved to be, to my mind, a distraction and
were rather irritating. They would not have been so obviously
“battery” and much less of a distraction if they had been kept still –
then the effect would have been lovely.
Generally the acting was of a high standard and one could almost hear
every word, so to single out any one person would be unfair although
special mention should be made of Gary Warner’s powerful
performance as the main character of Scrooge. There were some nice
cameo roles in the Tableau scene of “Christmas Yet to Come”,
notably Robbie Rickard, but there were no weak members of the cast.
The young treble (Matthew Ferdinando) had a pure sweet voice.
The costumes generally were up to the usual Oast high standard apart
from the wig of The Ghost of Christmas Past which seemed to pay
homage more to Marilyn Monroe rather than to the period in which
‘A Christmas Carol’ is set. The costume may also have benefitted
from long sleeves. I felt Scrooge’s trousers were too modern when
he was changing towards the end and his tie did not reflect the era. I
appreciate time was of the essence but I think he would have been
able to tie a piece of long back ribbon into a bow to better effect.
13
“A Christmas Carol”contd.
All in all a most enjoyable evening and these minor points I have
mentioned are just that – minor! Thank you to the Oast and the Oast
Youth as well as everyone else involved behind the scenes.
Neil Cleverton
BOX OFFICE RESULTS
“Around The World In 80 Days”
A complete sell out with 5 full houses, plus 6 tip up seats sold.
A total of 560 tickets were sold – 136 (24%) of these being Season Ticket
holders, 148 (27%) Members, 226 (40%) Non Members, 46 (8%)
Students and 4 (1%) Associate Members.
A total of 416 bookings were made online, being 75% of the total
bookings.
“A Christmas Carol”
Another sell out with 5 full houses, plus 13 tip up seats sold.
Of the 560 tickets sold – 117 (21%) were to Season Ticket holders, 135
(24%) Members, 273 (48%) non Members, 31 (6%) Students and 4 (1%)
Associate Members.
A total of 423 bookings were made online, being 76% of the total
bookings.
Brian Perryman
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NEW MEMBERS
A warm welcome to the following people who have joined us at the
start of this New Year:
Sandra Dedman joins as an Actor and to help with props.
David Nicholls also joins as an Actor and Director, Stage Manager
and to work in the Lighting box.
Jeanette Tippins joins as an Actor too.
Roger & Roberta Beck Andrea Welch
and
Peter & Christine Buxton
have all joined as Audience Members.
Lovely to have you all with us and we hope you will be pleased you
joined.
INTERESTING MESSAGE
The current number of members (all categories) of the Oast Theatre
is 926. The figure as at 1st January 2016 was 938.
Brian Perryman
15
SUBSCRIPTION/MEMBERSHIP FEE
As stated in last month’s Oast Notes, it was agreed at the AGM
that with effect from 1st August 2017 the subscription fee to
become a member of TTAC will be £20.00 per person, including
Hoppers and Youth Theatre members. There will no longer be a
reduced rate for people living at the same address.
The cost of Season Tickets and seat prices remain unchanged.
For anyone who currently pays by standing order or who now
wishes to pay their membership and/or Season Ticket fees by this
method, when making contact with your bank, please could you
request that they include a reference (if you have not already done
so). Ideally the reference should be your surname plus
membership number(s). This will make the administration a bit
easier and avoid any potential confusion.
For anyone wishing to set up a standing order, it should be
payable to TTAC on 1st August each year to:
HSBC
Sort Code – 40-44-20
Account Number – 21656422
If you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Your co-operation is much appreciated.
Brian Perryman
Membership Secretary
16
THE OAST PROFILE
For the first in a new series, Steve Hemsley talks to Jean Erxleben
about her experiences on The Oast stage and beyond.
When Jean appears as Alithea in our March production of “The
Country Wife” she will celebrate five years performing at the Oast.
Her first involvement with the theatre, however, was way back in
1993. She was involved with Pantiles Players who were invited to
bring their show “Taking Steps” directed by Sheila Hook to our
theatre. This was the only show Jean appeared in with her late
husband. The next year Jean brought a double bill to the Oast for
Pantiles Players – “Black Comedy” and “Dumb Waiter” which she
directed. Her first real ‘Oast’ show was “Bazaar and Rummage”
directed by Helen Thorpe in January, 2012.
Jean began acting at a young age and was encouraged by her mother
to join the John Wesley Players in Maidstone. Her first role on a big
stage was at the Hazlett Theatre at the tender age of 17 playing Bunny
in “Laughter in the Dark”.
She has had a few memorable moments acting at the Oast.
“Generally what always goes through my mind is: - ‘Is my costume
secure?” says Jean. “In “The Woman who cooked her Husband” I
swear John Ewens was trying to get the table off the rostra (if you
saw the play you’d know). I also remember Elizabeth McCreadie
taking a fantastic tumble off the steps at the curtain call”.
Away from acting Jean works full time at an orthodontic practice in
Tonbridge. She loves to socialise, go walking and spend time with
her 21 year old son and 19 year old daughter.
Steve Hemsley
17
100 CLUB – DECEMBER RESULTS
£50.00 Mrs L Moore
£25.00 Mrs S Barfield
£10.00 Mrs S Biggs
£10.00 Mr & Mrs Adams
£10.00 Mrs J Sells
£10.00 Mr E Prescott
Be IN for a chance to WIN!
It only costs £13.00 per year!
It helps to raise money for your Theatre!
Prizes every month!
Ring Rita Carpenter on 01732 358282
or email on [email protected]
You can join at any time!
But why not make in NOW!
Numbers available-
107: 150: 166: 167
One of these could be your lucky number.
18
COFFEE BAR – SITUATIONS VACANT
I’ve been organising (trying to organise) the Coffee Bar rota for
getting on for eleven years now, and I’d quite like a break from this
particular little duty; I hope you will think this is reasonable. To be
honest, it’s not a difficult job but it can get a bit wearing, show after
show! I seem to remember that I did hand it over to someone else for
a while, but it was handed back to me sometime later.
I’m hoping that someone would like to take over and do their bit for
the Oast in this way; I’d be happy to explain what’s involved and pass
on my contact list of people to call on who are prepared to do a turn,
either regularly or from time to time. A suggestion has been made
that the rota organisation could be run as a job-share – I’m not sure
how that would work, but it’s worth a thought.
Please, if you think you could help your Oast with this, give me a call
(01892 723459) or an email ([email protected]), and we
can talk about it.
Thank you.
Valerie Armstrong
THANKS FROM THE YOUTH THEATRE
A big thank you to Ron Adamson and Jim Scrivener for the new
lighting in Ken’s Place – a vast improvement to the existing lights
(which remain) that allows for much more flexibility. If you get a
chance, I recommend taking a look for yourself!
Jason Lower
19
OAST YOUTH THEATRE
LIGHTS
Hopefully by now you have all seen the new lights in Ken’s Place. If not,
they are a treat and give us a lot more flexibility in what we can do. A
big thank you to Ron Adamson and Jim Scrivener for doing the work that
made it possible (as well as fixing the ceiling).
“STOLEN SECRETS” AT THE BARN, OXTED
Thursday, 23rd February – come and see it! Amy, Ollie, Kate, Luke, Ebony
and Jess are all taking part and it promises to be a great show. Let me
know if you want to come and I can see if we have space for lifts and can
help with tickets.
WORKSHOPS
Thursday, 2nd February – 7.30-10.00pm
Thursday, 16th February – 7.30-10.00pm –show week; pick-up at the front
of the theatre or at the Hilden Manor only.
CALENDAR All of our upcoming dates can be found in the OYT calendar:
http://oastyouth.co.uk/oyt-calendar
Jason
OAST THEATRE
TONBRIDGE
THE OAST THEATRETonbridge Theatre & Arts Club
OFFICERS
Box Office: (01732) 363849 [email protected] ROAD TONBRIDGE KENT TN10 3AN TEL: (01732) 350261
www.oastheatre.com
Tonbridge Theatre & Arts Club Registered Charity No. 227035
PHIL PORTER [email protected]
DAVID KEITH [email protected]
ELIZABETH PORTLOCK [email protected]
BRIAN PERRYMAN [email protected]
ANNIE YOUNG [email protected]
PHIL PORTER
LYN PORTER [email protected]
MAGGIE HOILES [email protected]
JO PIERCE [email protected]
JASON LOWER [email protected]
Chairman
Honorary Treasurer
Honorary Secretary
Membership Secretary
Editor
Premises Manager
Hirings and Rehearsal Bookings
Publicity
Wardrobe Representative
Youth Theatre
01732 835460
01732 458876
01732 300551
01732 354368
01732 352084
01732 835460
01622 813573
01892 528166
07812061753
01732 835460
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