January 2019 Ladies inLavender

Adapted for the stage by Shaun McKenna Based on the film written and directed by Charles Dance From a short story by William J. Locke 19th - 26th January 2019 8pm (Sunday 3pm) Tickets £11 (Sunday £10) members £7.50 www.oasttheatre.com tel: 01732 363849 An amateur production by arrangement with Samuel French

Registered Charity Number 227035 2

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

SUNDAY, 6TH JANUARY LAST DAY FOR COPY FOR FEBRUARY OAST NOTES

Saturday, 19th – Play of the Month: Saturday, 26th January incl. Ladies in Lavender

Friday, 1st February Audition - “Nunsense” Sunday, 3rd February Audition - “Nunsense”

Sunday, 3rd February New Play Readings

Wednesday, 6th February Re-calls – “Nunsense”

Sunday, 17th February Performances of Festival One Act plays

NEXT MONTH’S PLAY – “Things I know to be True” by Andrew Bovell 9th – 16th February. The story of a family and marriage as seen through the eyes of four grown siblings struggling to define themselves beyond their parents’ love and expectations.

A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL OUR READERS. LET’S HOPE THINGS SORT THEMSELVES OUT ‘BREXIT’ wise but don’t hold your breath! 3

PLAY OF THE MONTH

“Ladies In Lavender” adapted by Shaun McKenna from a screenplay by Charles Dance – based on a short story by William J Locke

“Ladies in Lavender” is set in 1937 when the dreadful prospect of another great European war began to seem inevitable. Two sisters have lived their lives in an isolated cottage on the Cornish coast, one having lost her ‘Peter’ on the Western front and the other who never had a ‘Peter’ to lose. Then like a Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale, a young man is rescued from the sea needing their love, care and attention while his broken body heals. Peppered with many humorous asides, this play is an enjoyable and tender story and is surely one of the must-see plays of the season.

Stuart McCreadie Director

You will surely want to see this production so do BOOK EARLY as it is bound to be a sell-out. Tickets can be obtained from the Box Office website, www.oasttheatre.com, by telephone on 01732 363849 or by post using an Advance Booking Form which you can pick up from the theatre foyer. Oh, and do bring some tissues just in case! 4 AUDITIONS

“Nunsense” a musical comedy by Dan Goggin

Auditions: Friday, 1st February 2019 – 7.45pm Janet Young studio Sunday, 3rd February 2019 – 7.00pm Kens Place Re-calls: Wednesday, 6th February 2019 – 7.45pm Janet Young studio

Please check on www.oasttheatre.com under auditions for a full description of the play/characters and audition requirements, and pieces.

Performance dates: 18th – 25th May, 2019

Director: Helen Thorpe [email protected]

The play is based in New York. 7 of 19 surviving Little Sisters of Hoboken discover their cook has accidentally killed the other 52 residents of the convent. In order to raise funds for the burial of the last 4 of the deceased nuns they decide to stage a variety show. Fraught with hilarity we watch the nuns try to perform their planned performances amidst chaos and calamity.

CAST

Mother Superior, Sister Mary Regina – 40s-60s . Range mezzo/soprano belter B3-.F5. A former circus performer who cannot resist the spotlight. 5

“Nunsense” contd.

Sister Mary Hubert – 30s-60s. Range mezzo/alto belter G3-F5. Second in command, competitive but dignified.

Sister Robert Anne – 20s-50s. Range mezzo belter G3-D5. Streetwise from Brooklyn and a constant source of aggravation for Mother Superior.

Sister Mary Leo – 20s-30s. Range mezzo belter G#-G5. Novice determined to be the world’s first ballerina nun.

Sister Mary Amnesia – 20s-50s. Range soprano belter Db4-C6. Very sweet, lost her memory after a crucifix fell on her head.

Additional ensemble – jovial nuns with great personalities & singing voices

Sister Mary Angelica of the Annunciation - A character of your own choosing. Involved in all the main scenes/numbers with a small bit of scripted dialogue.

Sister Agnes Thomas Aquinas – A character of your own choosing. Involved with all the main scenes/numbers.

ALL CAST WILL NEED THE ABILITY TO LEARN CHOREOGRAPHY, INCLUDING A SMALL AMOUNT OF TAP (DOESN’T HAVE TO BE PERFECT).

Feel free to email the Director with any questions. Read a sample from the musical at http://www.samuelfrench.com/p/748/nunsense 6

A NOTE ON THE YOUTH THEATRE’S APRIL PRODUCTION

The Youth Theatre’s April production, currently titled in the Season’s programme – ‘The Oast Youth Theatre Perform a Show’, has been decided! We will be performing “The School Film” by Patrick Marber, a play produced for the National Theatre Connections.

The play centres on a school assembled to watch the black and white version of ‘Great Expectations’ from the 1940s. As the young viewers absorb the adventures of the characters in the old story they begin to discover what their own expectations might be.

In an exciting opportunity for the Youth Theatre, we will also be performing the show at Trinity Theatre, Tunbridge Wells on Friday 15th (evening) and Saturday 16th (matinée) March. Both at Trinity and the Oast, the shows will be presented as a double bill of one act shows alongside “Variations” by Katie Hims, performed by Trinity Youth Theatre and also directed by me.

As a result of these extra performances at Trinity there will no longer be a Wednesday performance on 3rd April at the Oast, and the double bill will instead be performed here on Thursday, 4th - Saturday, 6th April.

Both plays are exciting pieces of new writing and in performing at two theatres both groups get to experience different environments, set ups and also get the opportunity to work with the different casts and learn from them.

I hope to see you at one of the five performances and that you enjoy the shows

Jason Lower Oast Youth Theatre Director 7 NEW MEMBERS

A warm welcome to the following people who have just joined us:

Mostly this month for the Youth Theatre

Oscar Carson Libby Hoey Bruno Page Maddie Sanderson Jacob Watson Phoebe Winter

You all join a very exciting and talented group of young people. and the following old(er) folk:

Andrew & Shelley Cornish who join as Audience members.

Robert Grist who is interested in acting, directing, stage management, lighting & sound and helping in the bar.

Rachel Kerry is also interested in acting, directing and theatre workshops.

AND A NOTE FROM THE PAST… FROM DRUMMOND ABRAMS

“I have recently moved to a care home and despite the rather ominous name ‘Care Home’, I am in very good health for an 85 year old. That could make me the oldest past Chairman living, I guess. I value my membership, even (though) getting to shows is now very difficult.

All the best to anyone who remembers me and good to receive a nice cheque from the 100 Club a short while back.

I gave up being Chairman after two years on the job. George Kirk was Chairman during the building from a drying Oast to Theatre Oast, and then getting organised to pay back our loans. A lot of money in those days.” 8

ONE POINT OF VIEW Pat Barker’s “Regeneration” adapted by Nicholas Wright As our nation marked the centenary of the end of WW1 there were many beautiful and moving memorials to those who fought; many towns and cities had elaborate poppy displays and silhouettes of soldiers. Here at The Oast this anniversary was marked with this splendid production of “Regeneration” directed with care by Valerie Galbraith. It was a production that I enjoyed very much. The play told the story of life at the Craiglockhart War Hospital, Scotland, 1917 – and, in particular, the meeting between the poets Siegfried Sassoon and Wilfred Owen. Their relationship forms a deep, inspirational bond, one that is perhaps the heart of this play – portrayed with care and sensitivity by Symon Hamer and Cameron Corcoran. Their physician, W H R Rivers, ably played by Neil Harris, worked tirelessly to support them, assisted by Fiona Dunn as Sister Rogers – a sympathetic and very believable performance. Alongside these a variety of other soldiers, all deeply affected and shell-shocked by the horrors they had faced in battle, were played well, with conviction and clarity. There were some genuine affecting performances amongst these men, and I was very impressed by Matthew Kelly as Billy Prior who gave a performance rich with nuance and honesty. I must also say how much I enjoyed Chris Miall’s dark and energetic portrayal of Dr Yealland – an unethical physician with shades of Sweeney Todd! The ensemble all added interest and texture to the play. There were times I felt that the acting needed more energy and spark, something Chris definitely brought to the stage. All cast members delivered lines clearly and confidently, but at times I found myself wanting more depth. All were well directed in movement and voice, but I personally felt deeper character development or understanding would have enhanced their performances even further. The set was an inventive and elaborate thing and congratulations must go to Peter Galbraith and the Playgroup for its design and construction. It captured the essence of the hospital location well – with a sterile look, supported to good effect by appropriate projections and authentic set and props. The fake wall that allowed large set items to be brought on quickly was well thought out and generally worked very well. I would have preferred it to have been used more consistently with some changes in blackout, and others fully lit. I suspect a constantly visible transition would have been accepted by the audience, who had 9

“Regeneration” contd. quickly clocked what was happening there. There were points in the play where set changes took some time and this interrupted the flow particularly in the early scenes which were often quite short with lengthy set changes between them. Once the show found its flow, however, it really found its voice and its power. There was clearly a well-oiled machine working very hard backstage!

Technical elements were all very good. Lighting and sound were used to good effect with music enhancing the play throughout and giving a sense of time, emotion and location.

Projections were excellent and really helped create a sense of place and atmosphere. They did not detract from the play but enhanced and supported it.

Overall I think Valerie is to be applauded for bringing such a demanding and ambitious play to our stage so successfully. It was clearly a labour of love and one for which she has earned my utmost respect. Ensemble pieces, with multiple narrative strands and a complex and demanding variety of sets are difficult to manage, and the success of “Regeneration” is testament to how hard she and her team worked. I know many of the audience thoroughly enjoyed it, with one person telling me it was ‘mesmerising’. The success of any production, ultimately, is in its audience – and they were clearly very pleased. My congratulations to all involved. Ian Tucker-Bell

BOX OFFICE RESULTS A total of 835 tickets were sold for “Regeneration”, being 93% of the capacity. There were 145 (18%) Season Ticket holders, 268 (32%) Members, 420 (50%) Non Members and 2 Associate Members. 648 transactions were booked online, being 78% of the total bookings.

Brian Perryman 10 DATES FOR YOUR DIARIES Sunday, 3rd February – NEW PLAY READINGS – 2.00pm start in the Janet Young Studio. Sunday, 17th February – We are performing on stage at 2.00pm the One Act plays which are entered in the local festivals. Please come and support us! Sandra Barfield

AGM 2ND DECEMBER Thank you to all who came to this year’s AGM. I have the pleasure to inform you of your new Management Committee.

Phil Porter – Chairman Valerie Galbraith – Vice Chairman David Keith – Hon. Treasurer Elizabeth Portlock – Hon. Secretary Sandra Barfield – Drama Director Maggie Hoiles – Publicity Jason Lower – Youth Director Gordon Court – Art Group Representative Jo Pierce – Wardrobe Representative Cathryn Gahan – Chaperoning John Perry Shirley Browning Phil Holden Nick Blessley – A big welcome to Nick! Geoff Daniels – co-opted on to the committee – Technical Director The Management Committee would like to thank Brian Perryman for his contribution to the committee. Although he has stood down he will still be running the Oast Membership. Elizabeth Portlock Hon Secretary 11

NOTES FROM THE WARDROBE

Last month we looked back 100 years, now in January, 2019 we go back only 50 years with a genuine Laura Ashley dress and cape of the 1970s.

Laura Ashley and her husband Bernard first began production with tea towels and neck-scarves which were hand printed on their kitchen table. By 1970 they had a flourishing factory in Wales making what we would now call ‘retro’ clothes. The designs were influenced by garments on display in various museums.

This dress and cape in heavy corduroy is inspired by a gentleman’s coat of the 1850s and is featured in Laura Ashley’s biography written by Martin Wood.

Jean Bruce

100 CLUB – NOVEMBER RESULTS

£25.00 Mrs C Gregory £10.00 Mr & Mrs G Abbott £10.00 Mrs L Kirk £10.00 Mrs L Moore £10.00 Mr & Mrs P Galbraith

You can join our fund raiser at any time. Ring Rita Carpenter on 01732 358282 or email at [email protected]

It only costs £13.00 per year. For available numbers check with Rita. OFFICERS Chairman PHIL PORTER 01732 835460 [email protected] Honorary Treasurer DAVID KEITH 01732 458876 [email protected] Honorary Secretary ELIZABETH PORTLOCK 01732 300551 [email protected] Membership Secretary BRIAN PERRYMAN 01732 354368 [email protected] Editor ANNIE YOUNG 01732 352084 editor@oasttheatre Hirings and Rehearsals LYN PORTER 01732 835460 Bookings [email protected] Premises Manager PHIL PORTER 01732 835460 Publicity MAGGIE HOILES 01622 813573 [email protected] Security Manager DEREK ROSE 01732 358845 [email protected] Wardrobe JO PIERCE 01892 528166 Representative [email protected] Youth Theatre JASON LOWER [email protected] 07812061753