'He Fell Over The Battlements….. Eventually ’
EDITED BY MARK WAKEMAN
HTML coding by Robin Hall
Ladies and gentlemen, this edition of Bench Press is bought to you by the
committee and if it lacks Mr Wakeman's wit then we are very sorry. Mark
has been excused from duty since he is just a teeny bit busy with our upcoming
production - which he happens to be directing!
So don't forget to come along
and support the show, bring a friend. Terry Pratchett writes fantastic books set
in an amazing world which Mark and his cast are bringing to life with wonderful
results.
| DATE | EVENT |
|---|---|
| Wyrd Sisters performances, HAC, 7:30 + Saturday matinee 2:30 | Tues 26th Feb - Sat 2nd March |
| Get-out followed by a meeting to discuss play selection. | Sun 3rd March |
| March Club Night – Play Selection | Thurs 7th March, 7:30 for 8pm |
| Thurs 4th April, 7:30 for 8pm | April Club Night |
| "Female Parts" (HAC, 7:30, not Sunday or Monday) | Thurs 18th Apr – Sat 27th April |
| Club Night | Thurs 2nd May, 7:30 for 8pm |
| Our 9 Days In May evening - "Goodbye Mr Chips" | Fri 17th May |
| June Club Night | Thurs 6th June |
By now many of you will be aware that we will not be performing John's
'Hollywood Play' in April.
If was perhaps an overly-optimistic selection and
after two large cast productions we are not able to find the actors we need to
go ahead at this time.
Look out for a chance to see this play some time in the future (perhaps it will have an outing if Supernova II comes to fruition in September…) but this left us with a vacant slot to fill.
Four women, four lives, four voices. One purpose.
Sometimes great things arise from apparent desperation, and the signs for this production are very good. Sam Emery and Damon Wakelin have come forward to direct an evening of four female monologues by Dario Fo and Franca Rame.
In turns comic and deeply moving, these four monologues represent the
pinnacle of Fo and Rame's theatrical collaboration. Encapsulating the personal
as well as the political whilst exploring and developing the traditions of the
minstrel, the griot/storyteller and Commedia dell'Arte, these are tales full of
traps, deviations and well-chosen exaggerations.
"High grade feminist farce",
said Michael Billington in The Guardian.
The show will consist of the following four monologues :
A Woman Alone:
A prisoner in her own home, a prisoner in
her own life, a housewife finds liberation through a journey of fear, farce and
fumblings.
Rise and Shine:
You know the feeling. You're late. The
baby needs feeding. You can't find your keys. The baby needs changing. Last
nights row is buzzing round your head. The baby needs changing again. And then,
the final straw…
Medea:
A Medea for our times. This is a Medea abandoned
and in despair, but who comes to realise that she is a victim of centuries of
male oppression rather than a pawn in the hands of the Fate. Accordingly, her
children must die in order to break the chains of oppression.
Same Old Story:
A woman bearing an unwanted child and an
uncaring lover tells a scatologicial children's story of a little girl with a
foul-mouthed dolly. Sexual exploitation and exploding engineers follow with
girls everywhere telling "the same old story".
Dario Fo is a Nobel Laureate in Literature who emulates the jesters of the Middle Ages in scourging authority and upholding the dignity of the downtrodden.
Featuring explicit references to adult situations and containing strong language and imagery these plays do not pull any punches but are gripping and should not be missed.
18th to 27th April - Sam and Damon are at 02392 478926
Tim Taylor
Last November's club was not entirely straightforward. Three plays were put forward for two slots, all needing large casts and despite some misgivings and a request (which was not, with hindsight, sufficiently strongly phrased) for careful consideration, the membership voted strongly for two of the plays. However, because of the need to decide on the second slot depending on what was voted in for the first slot, we had to have a second round of voting and I admit it was all a bit messy.
In the end, we got a result, but the committee went away feeling there must be a better way. We spent much of the next two committee meetings discussing how the system might be improved (and, yes, I know that's a committee perennial; I remember it from my last tour of duty), but we have tried other systems since which have not proved much better.
Then we found that despite the strong support it had received in November, we could not cast the April selection and this has only served to emphasize the failings of the system.
Subsequently, several members have put forward ideas for alternative ways to select our plays. Should we have a specific 'Play Selection Committee' whose sole responsibility would be to select the productions and find the cast and directors? Some other groups operate this ways and find it successful. Should the membership make a recommendation to the Committee but leave it to them to make a final decision, with the power to overrule the recommendation if they felt the choice was unsuitable / too difficult to cast / not producing a balanced season? Should we keep the present balloting system, but perhaps require members to put their names on the voting slips? Or have a public show of hands rather than a secret vote? Should the members in fact be asked to take more responsibility for their choices? Is the present system, patently power without responsibility, what causes the problems?
There is not room in Bench Press to publish all of the views that have come forward, and the best forum to discuss these issues is at a meeting of members.
And there is an urgency to all this: play selection is looming again. In March we need to make choices for July, for September and for November (and there is no reason why we cannot look further ahead than that) so we need to decide before March 7th how best to do make those choices. This is why we have decided to call a special meeting of all members on Sunday March 3rd to discuss this and decide on the method we will use in March. This is not an EGM or anything as dramatic as that, but this is an important topic which greatly affects the way the company operates and where it is heading. It is also a topic on which people have strong views, so please come. Please make your views known.
The problems over the April slot have also brought forward comments about the responsibilities of members to the company as a whole and these too need to be considered. However, this is not going to be a 'blame-storming' session. We need to look to the future to decide what is the best way forward given the new regime for our slots at the Arts Centre as well as our own different work commitments. What will work best to keep the Bench dynamic, interesting and thriving?
I hope to see you there.
PS In connection with this, questions have been asked about pre-casting plays that are put forward and it is worth restating our agreed policy. It is perfectly allowable to pre-cast, either in whole or in part, in some cases is a good idea, in others essential. HOWEVER, you must be honest and tell the company what you plan to do. It causes a lot of ill will (and people will be unwilling to work with you again) if you try to conceal it.
As mentioned at the last Club night, we have got a slot in the theatre during
Havant Council's Nine Days in May Arts Festival when John Scadding will be
performing a one-man show, Goodbye Mr Chips. Many of us heard an extract at the
last Christmas Club Night and were very moved, so now is your chance to hear it
all.
Normal ticketing applies, ie free to members and BackBenchers and
normal prices for the public.
At our next club night, Thursday March 7th, we will be hearing play
proposals. The committee would welcome ideas not just for the slot in July but
also from anyone who would like to put forward something further in advance. We
are guaranteed a two week slot every November, April and July, and usually if we
ask for optional one week slots in September and/or February the Arts Center are
able to offer one.
Please bring along anything you would like the Bench to
consider.
Tim Taylor (Chair): 023 92 484730 or email timbotee@cix.co.uk
Paul Millington (Secretary): 023 92 423 452 / pmillington@btinternet.com
Robin Hall (Treasurer): 023 92 423 452 / rhall@btinternet.com
Mark Wakeman (Bench Press Editor): 023 92 713169 / MAWakeman@aol.com
Main postal address: Bench Theatre, PO Box 144, HAVANT, PO9 1XB
Box Office: For tickets and information on performances
please contact Havant Arts Center box office on 023 92 47 2700.
(Many thanks
to the Back Bencher who pointed out that it would be helpful to give this number
here!)
(Robin Hall)
The last issue of Bench Press was sent out at the very end of January and unfortunately our membership secretary Paul was away on business at the time.
He was able to leave us all of the paraphernalia we needed to send out the issue - labels, membership cards and receipts to be included and stamps. I lead a team to stuff/stamp before a rehearsal.
It is with some distress that I have learned that a number of members have received Bench Press unstamped, and have therefore had to trek to their local sorting office and pay a fee to collect their mail. Worse still, some people might not have received their copy at all.
I can only apologise and say that the whole process is more complicated that I realised and needs a more careful coordinating hand than I gave, in a rush to get the rehearsal started.
If you have had to pay for your copy of Bench Press (or have any concerns about membership cards that might have gone astray) please contact myself or Paul (details above) and please accept my apologies and our reassurances that we will in future be very very careful.
Bench Theatre
Registered Charity No. 291935
Bench
Theatre, PO Box 144, HAVANT, PO9 1XB