And now, another review from Roy Atterbury in the Kentish Times, plus a second feature in his regular column...
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August is always a very quiet month for non-professional theatre and staged events in general. This year, however, the recent outdoor production of 'Oliver' by the Riverside Players was the 100th major production to be staged by the Eynsford group which was first formed as the Eynsford Players in 1932.
From its early beginnings, the group was always a popular feature in the village primarily because, other than some nice pubs, the magnificent remains of the Lullingstone Roman Villa, an old 15th Century gatehouse, the ruins of a Norman castle, and beautiful countryside, village life in Eynsford was generally fairly uneventful and really doesn't seem to have changed much with the passage of time.
The first time I went to a Riverside Players' production was to see a pantomime which had been written by a member of the group called Alan Cremer. It was probably in the early '90s and although I enjoyed the show for its exuberance and unusually high level of audience participation, much of the humour went straight over my head. There were jokes about the local vicar, butcher, publican and others which had the audience nearly crying with laughter. I also found it odd that the actors and musicians seemed equally amused until I suddenly realised that the local vicar, butcher, publican and others were also among the actors. Fortunately, straight drama was taken a lot more seriously as was musical theatre.
Regarding the latter, however, it seemed that the company had recently finished performing an outdoor production of the musical 'Camelot' complete with specially-built raked and covered seating, knights on horseback, an orchestra, and an impressive set. I was sorry to have missed the show but really could not come to terms with what the production had apparently achieved. After all, the players were just a village group with their home in the Village Hall (now completely upgraded and refurbished) but I was assured that the event had been an outstanding success.
However, I made sure that I went to the next outdoor event which was a comedy by Richard Harris, the writer of 'Stepping Out.'. This play is about cricket lovers, their wives, and girlfriends, and it is largely set in a cricket pavilion. The Players, therefore, took over the Eynsford cricket ground and again built covered and raked seating. The audience looked down at the cricket pavilion which was wired up for sound and turned into one of the most credible sets I have ever seen with the sense of realism heightened by the fact that the cricket match associated with the performers was actually being played on the cricket pitch. With the addition of radio microphones, the production brought a new meaning to the concept of outdoor theatre.
Other productions have included 'Oklahoma' when the Players built a typical town from America's Wild West while, for 'Fiddler on the Roof', a superb creation of a Russian village brought considerable applause from the audience.
Yet another theatrical contribution to the area is the expertise of the Riverside Players in producing its own version of street theatre which moves to a variety of locations. Here, a version of 'The Canterbury Tales' was among its bigger success.
The company was featured a few years ago in a television production about Eynsford. Indeed, the village has quite a volatile history including some torrid stories associated with two well-known English classical composers, Ernest Moeran and Peter Warlock, who lived in the village for several years during the mid-1920s. Apart from their music, they created problems for villagers and the local constabulary alike because of their frequent drunken revelry.
A few years later, Carey Blyton (a nephew of the children's writer Enid Blyton) was to move from his original home in Beckenham to a house near Eynsford. He too was a classical composer but for many, he is best known for writing the story lines and music for the television children's series 'Bananas in Pyjamas'' as well as the incidental music for several episodes in the 'Dr Who' series.
Roy Atterbury
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Dartford Times
31 August 2006
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ANYONE who read my first Column last week might have flinched at the concentration on amateur theatre and, in particular, on the recent open-air production of Oliver! by the Riverside Players who are based in the beautiful surroundings of Eynsford in Kent.
This week, therefore, I want to state my intention of taking readers behind the scenes of so-called amateur Arts productions and endeavour to pass on some of my experience which has been gained over a very long period of time that seems to have passed all too quickly.
As a professional critic I have been a writer on books, classical music, drama, musical theatre, and opera. And my experience has encompassed both the professional and amateur sectors.
When I first started covering amateur events, my attitudes had been coloured by snippets of amateur shows I had seen on television in programmes that showed some of the disasters that had been captured on viewers' videos. Actors falling off the stage, a stage set disintegrating, and so on, but, invariably, the general standard of performance also seemed awful. I decided to ask a highly respected critic how I should balance a review of an amateur show when compared to a professional production. The answer was unequivocal - "You don't."
When I queried his answer, he simply stated that if someone pays to go to an event, they deserve value for their money. If the event is rubbish, it doesn't matter whether it is amateur or professional - it should be assessed only on what it presents on the occasion that is reviewed. Obviously, many amateur groups perform only for fun and their audiences are aware of this, do not expect high standards, and are prepared to pay for nothing other than a few hours away from the television. But, in general, the standards set by most amateur companies in the area covered by this paper are of professional quality and there is little difference in the performances other than that amateur shows run for little more than a week (because the performers have to carry on with their day jobs) and there is no remuneration.
There are, however, exceptions. A few years ago, Channel 4 television was filming a documentary about the life of one of Fleet Street's greatest journalists and characters, the irrepressible Jeffrey Bernard who was a long-time columnist for The Spectator.
Bernard had recently died in his prime from a wide variety of alcohol-related diseases and his writing was quirky and funny. Most of his time was spent in the bar of his favourite pub while the rest was spent sleeping under a table in the same pub as he struggled to awaken himself just before closing time.
He wrote a lot of columns (sometimes quoted as being a series of suicide notes) but many deadlines were missed because of his alcohol abuse and the editor of 'The Spectator' simply put the following words in a box: "Jeffrey Bernard is unwell."
These words were to become the title of a very successful play about Bernard by his friend Keith Waterhouse. Channel 4 decided to use excerpts from the play in the documentary and filmed a production in the Edward Alderton Theatre in Bexleyheath where Alexander Catto was giving an acclaimed performance in the title role. Everything associated with the production was non-professional but Catto was the star of the documentary. And the theatre rightly received a welcome fee. So much for the difference between 'amateur' and 'professional' acting!
And amateurs work as hard as most people in the Arts. I have mentioned Oliver and the Riverside Players and this outdoor event was conceived in February 2004 and the research and planning commenced. Over 100 actors and singers auditioned for parts and there were 3 rehearsals per week from the beginning of March for the show which began early in August. Insurance was taken out to cover the vagaries of the weather together with an alcohol licence.
Because the venue was Eynsford Castle, talks had to begin with English Heritage, the police, the local Council, and others while contractors were hired to build the covered auditorium and the stage Thousands of man (and woman) hours were taken up by set building which included a replica of the old London Bridge, while chaperones had to be found for the many youngsters in the show. And car parking had to be arranged while, of course, there was the publicity.
The attendance was almost 6000 patrons and over 98% of the seats were sold - many to people who visited the show 2 or 3 times. Yes, amateurs can work very hard and, again, yes, the production was a triumph.
Roy Atterbury
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Here is the text of our first full review.
Oliver! Review Dartford Times 10th August
Consider Yourself Castle Conquerers
The ruined splendour of Eynsford Castle in Kent provided the ideal backdrop for Riverside Players’ recent production of Lionel Bart’s Oliver!, writes Mark Campbell.
An enormous amount of work had gone into the staging of the show. A covered auditorium was specially built, while a cast of almost 90 performed on the huge multi-level set designed by Trevor Farmer and Shula Fitzgerald.
Oliver! might be considered a rather twee slice of Victoriana (Dickens’ novel is considerably darker), but there’s no denying the catchy tunes, Food Glorious Food, Consider Yourself and Pick a Pocket Or Two are three of the more memorable songs that were given full reign by the enthusiastic ensemble cast on opening night.
On such a large stage and in such diverting surroundings, the performances needed to be several times larger than life, and I’m happy to say this was very much the case.
Fergus Gordon made a very charming Oliver: his solo Where is Love? tugged at the proverbial heartstrings. Ray Currier (Bumble) and Cathie Parker (Mrs Corney) played up the laughs in their comic duet, while the former dealt with the loss of a key prop with humorous aplomb.
Special mention goes to Clive Stanyon whose interpretation of the pickpocket Fagin was a delight. A cross between an underworld crime lord and the Pied Piper, Stanyon fully inhabited the character every second he appeared.
Ian Slipper was suitably lugubrious as the undertaker Mr Sowerberry, Matthew Friett was confidence personified as the Artful Dodger, Kelly White made a feisty, yet vulnerable, prostitute Nancy, and Martyn Puddick looked every inch the part of violent sot Bill Sykes, complete with bull terrier.
As night descended and the castle walls were bathed in blood-red lighting, so too Oliver! found its darker half in Act II. Oliver is kidnapped by Fagin’s gang, Bill Sykes brutally dispatches Nancy, and Sykes himself gets his violent comeuppence.
It was impossible not to be impressed by the huge amount of effort had put into the production.
Directed with military precision by Julie Lovelock, expertly choreographed by Debbie Beard, and with a strong musical support from Lynda Newton and her orchestra, Eynsford’s Oliver! was a unique spectacle.
(Posted 11/08/06)
The press are starting to sit up and show interest in Oliver! Shula and Julie spent half and hour chatting on Radio Kent recently trying to find a dog to play Bullseye, hopefully there will be an invite to go back nearer showtime to drum up interest.
There have been articles in Kent News, Dartford Times and This Is Kent over the last week, next stop The Telegraph and The Guardian!
Below are links to these articles.
Dartford Times
This is Kent