PART TWO 1986 - 2000

"Battling On"

By

ERIC STEVENS

1988: TRYING TO IMPROVE

Diary

January: "The Cherry Orchard"; Twelfth Night Party, Chocolate theme; "Charlie & The Chocolate Factory".

February: Round Two.

March: AGM; Acting Workshop 1; "Victory of the Cross".

April: "You Never Can Tell"; Jumble Sale.

May: Visit to "Salad Days" at the White Rock Pavilion; John Wesley celebrations.

June: "Deathtrap"; Acting Workshop 2.

July: Barbecue; Barn Maintenance; Carnival Float.

August: "The Merry Wives of Windsor"; Actors Meeting; Barn Maintenance.

September: Acting Workshop 3; Chichester visit; "Ring Round The Moon"; "Time And The Conways".

October: 'Lone Pine' walk.

November: "Romanoff And Juliet"; Bric-a-brac stall; New seat and subscription prices.

December: "Ali Baba And The Four Tealeaves"; "Brush Up Your Shakespeare".

As can be seen from the Diary, 1988 was a much busier year for the BATS The first two plays, however, were hangovers from 1987 and have already been dealt with. As their rehearsals took up much of December and January there was no room for a mini-pantomime, which in turn was postponed until December. "Ali Baba And The Four Tealeaves" (tealeaf is Cockney rhyming slang for 'thief', in case you didn't know) was well received at the usual venues, but there was no opportunity for a performance in the Granary. The script was what the Society had come to expect from Eric Stevens.

There were other disappointments during the year. The Bexhill Theatre Supporters Club had first of all to postpone their Summer Fair, and then cancel it, but we had a bric-à-brac stall at the Scout Headquarters in November. The annual walk 'On The Trail Of The Lone Pine' (From the Malcolm Saville children's story 'The Gay Dolphin Adventure' set in Rye and Winchelsea - read it for further details) was put off twice by the weather and was finally accomplished by just two members. There was the usual response to the appeal for help in cleaning the Barn when only one of our 208 members turned up - things were slightly better at the second attempt. In September a proposed Barn Dance had to be cancelled at the last minute when Rother District Council said we couldn't hold it in the Barn without a licence. On the plus side, we had two theatre visits, a jumble sale and a successful tour of a Lent play, the last two organised by Dorothy Osborne.

The General Committee decided that the time had come to do something about improving our performances, and so a series of weekend workshops was arranged with tutors from the British Drama Association. The theme in March was 'Voice and Movement', in June 'Acting and Improvisation' and in September, 'Directing and Text Interpretation'. These were well attended in spite of costing members £5 a time to participate, although interest decreased as the series progressed.

'Round Two' consisting of two plays, "The Real Inspector Hound" by Tom Stoppard directed by Gordon Leonard and "The Browning Version" by Terence Rattigan directed by Val Major, built on the experience of "Confusions" in 1987. The chief problem was how to provide adequate lighting. The Elizabeth Room of the De La Warr Pavilion is too low to get high-angled illumination, and there always has to be a compromise between lighting the acting area and shining spots into the eyes of the audience. It was not until 1999 that someone had the inspired notion of reflecting light off the ceiling. There are also two awkward pillars to negotiate, but in the end the format works. To obviate turning people away as happened last year, an extra evening and a matinee performance were added to the run. Chauve Souris commented "The total audience was up by 35 or more, but we noted the absence of many BATS members. We know that some people are traditionalists and miss the glamour of scenery and remoteness. Both the local newspaper critics, however, noted the feeling of involvement and excitement created by the intimate setting, and the skilled playing by actors performing without the safety net of a prompter". Acting without a prompter is part of the challenge of Theatre in the Round, and many of our members have successfully walked this particular tight rope.

After Stoppard and Rattigan came Shaw's "You Never Can Tell" - that's the one with the first act taking place in a dentist's surgery. Gordon Green and the workshop produced some very attractive sets, and the production, described as "economic", made a profit, having been seen by 666 people - "not a high figure" said Chauve Souris, which gives an indication of our, expectations in those days. The production was memorable for young Mark Feakins' performance as the dentist, Valentine, and Denis Brooke in a kilt.

Mark followed this up by directing Ira Levin's "Deathtrap". One member of the cast had to have some rapped knuckles for taking advantage of Mark's youth and inexperience, and there were several complaints from the public about inaudibility - ironic since three of the five actors had attended the 'Voice and Movement' weekend. This is another of our perennial problems and is partly due to the acoustics of the De La Warr Pavilion: there is a notorious 'black area' in the centre stalls. With "Death Trap" the cast were speaking up all right as the T-loop system for hearing-aid users had to be turned down. The audience was lower than anticipated, but the Bexhill Observer thought that it was "a satisfying evening's theatre in which all concerned can take pride."

A performance of a totally different nature was made in May by Denis Brooke: he rode a white horse through the town as John Wesley in part of the celebrations for the 250th anniversary of his conversion. The steed made his own contribution in Sackville Road. Also taking part were Rita Pike and Gordon Green, the latter as General Booth of the Salvation Army.

Our outdoor production of "The Merry Wives Of Windsor" was given a curtain raiser with our float in the Bexhill Carnival procession which usually takes place on the eve of our dress rehearsal. It is only occasionally that we take part, mainly because all the hard work involved falls on the same shoulders each time. The Manor Gardens still bore evidence of the ill wind of last October, so some green screening was borrowed from Little Common Football Club to fill the gaps. The production had more than its fair share of problems, including Gordon Leonard dropping out once again in the middle of rehearsals for health reasons. Eric Stevens, the director, stepped in to repeat his interpretation of Sir Hugh Evans, first seen in 1973, but as he had arranged to leave Bexhill to go on holiday by the last train on Saturday, the lesson scene with William had to be omitted at the final performance, which was hard on Debbie Clarke who played the pupil. The weather behaved itself, and Sam Wanamaker sent his best wishes, being unable to attend this year.

"Time and the Conways", one of J B Priestley's, time plays, was our September offering directed by Chris Lacey who was a Priestley enthusiast. Chauve Souris commented on the excellence of the acting "all the more pleasing because so many of the cast were young and relatively inexperienced. The more experienced members of the cast gave what some might think their best performances to date"; on the set by Denis Brooke "both functional and delightful"; and on the costumes by Julia Dance which "looked delightful and ... exactly right". The last row of dots replaces the phrase "with one exception which was against her advice" which conjures up one of those backstage disagreements which, happily, are rare in our productions.

The final presentation was "Romanoff and Juliet", Peter Ustinov's reworking of the old story, directed by Denis Brooke and with Eric Stevens in the meaty role the author wrote for himself. Denis made sure that he had a good set, by designing it himself. It included a magnificent clock complete with live figures of saints and Father Time who appeared on cue. The Bexhill Observer said: "The well-cast production had no weak links ... the picture of the BATS back on top form was happily complete", and the Director of Tourism and Entertainment wrote to report favourable comment on how clear the diction was!

All the major productions had talk-ins led by experienced outsiders, but after "Romanoff" Chauve Souris wondered about the practice and asked for comments. "The theory is that we get an informed opinion from an outsider with the object of improving future productions. In practice, are we able to take criticism without feeling the need to defend ourselves?"

One unwelcome piece of news was received during the year when the Rural District Council decided to review our rent at the end of our first seven years in the Granary. In consideration of the money we had spent converting the building to our use, the initial rent had been low - £52, but now the Council wanted to increase it astronomically. Fortunately we were able to reduce it to £800, and then obtain a grant to bring even this large sum down to a more affordable £300.

At the AGM the Secretary and Treasurer were returned to office, and Denis Brooke was elected Chairman unopposed. A hiccough resulted in five votes for the General Committee being overlooked at first; when they were included later it was discovered that two candidates tied for a place. The Officers, with the agreement of the President who had chaired the meeting, deemed that the appropriate action was to elect both. Later in the year as a result of the rent increase just referred to, subscriptions and seat prices were raised. Seats went up to £2.50, £2.00 and £1.75, and subs to £5.00 for Acting Members, £5.50 for Theatre Associates, £2.50 for Associates and Students, and £1.50 for Juniors. The subscriptions increases would take place from January 1st 1989, and would need, therefore, retrospective ratification at the next AGM unless a Special General meeting was requested by the membership. It wasn't.

To round off the year, there was "Ali Baba" and "Brush Up Your Shakespeare". The latter was an entertainment devised by Sally Clifford, Mark Feakins and Dominic Campbell, based on scenes from Shakespeare, including songs by Cole Porter. Other BATs were roped in to help and all concerned were rewarded by a full house at the Granary. There was a collection and a raffle, as a result of which £75 was sent to the Armenian SSR relief fund and £11.75 to the Globe Theatre Project.

Our indefatigable wardrobe mistress, Julia Dance, was feeling in need of a rest in 1989. She would remain in overall charge, but would like volunteers to costume each of the productions; Pat Ramsden had already been responsible for the pantomime. It remained to be seen if anyone else would step forward.

The Real Inspector Hound, 1988: In the Round - Mark Feakins, Gordon Green, Liz Nuttall, Val Major

1989: CHANGES ALL ROUND

Diary

January: 12^th Night Party, Winter Games Theme.

February: "The Day After The Fair".

March: "The Vigil"; Jumble sale; "Murder On The Nile"; AGM.

April: Visit to the Globe theatre for "Lettice and Lovage".

June: "Before The Party"; Walk, Berwick-Firle.

July: Barbecue; Visit to Chichester for "The Heiress"; JAMBATS at St Mary's School.

August: "The Merchant Of Venice"; Bexhill Theatre Supporters Club annual bazaar.

September: "See How They Run".

October: Actors meeting; Barn Dance.

November: "The Crucible".

December: Club Nights start.

The year's programme had been decided by the usual democratic process in 1988. Over 60 suggestions for plays had come in, reduced to 20 for the actor's meeting in August. The General Committee had then looked at the six final choices and rejected two on practical grounds. By the start of 1989, of course, some of them were already in production, with auditions for two or more coming up in January. Generally auditions were well attended, so the programme proved popular with the Acting Members. The same could be said of the audiences, except for those for "The Crucible".

We didn't put on a pantomime this year as last year's had taken place in December, so first before the public was "The Day After The Fair". This was one of a number of adaptations from literature which were proliferating at the time. The reason for this may have been that fewer plays were being presented in the West End, now dominated by long running musicals, and so amateur companies were looking for stage versions of well-known books and stories. "The Day After The Fair" started life as a short story "On The Western Circuit", one of Thomas Hardy's "Life's Little Ironies", and "Before The Party" is an adaptation of a story by Somerset Maugham. "The Fair ..." was our third, and Val Major's third, In the Round presentation. It was much praised: "a little gem", "an assured and intuitive interpretation of Hardy, sensitive, yet economic in its expression", and the six members of the cast were warmly congratulated, not forgetting the director and crew.

In March, Dorothy Osborne's production of "The Vigil" by Ladislas Fodor toured four local churches. The play is an unusual consideration of Christ's resurrection, being in the form of a trial in the courthouse of a small town in the USA first produced at the Prince of Wales Theatre in May 1948. Of course, we performed short extracts, not all three acts, and the tour was a success. We 'got away with it' this time but 'were caught red-handed' when we put an extract on again in 1996.

"Murder On The Nile", produced by Jean Barnett, followed at the end of March. "A respectable number of Christie fans came to see this one and find out whodunit" commented Chauve Souris, "This meant a very healthy increase in our bank balance for the second time this year. Let's hope this trend continues." The Bexhill Observer review started well: "(the play) began with such atmosphere and promise. Arab beadsellers hawked their wares among the De La Warr Pavilion audience, guests walked up a gangway to a stage transformed in to the paddle steamer Lotus, a glimpse of Egypt could be seen through the windows." But ended on a sourer note: "the production … lacked a single portrayal with a hint of the inspired."

Alan Livermore's production of "Before The Party" was our June presentation. This depiction of post-war middle-class snobbery made a contribution to our funds, and was thought by the Bexhill Observer to be one of our better efforts. Evidently we had a reputation for turning out performances of inconsistent quality, according to the local paper. Their critic praised Barbara Brock, John Scotcher and Jean Barnett for rescuing the production after a rather hesitant start.

August saw us once more in the Manor Gardens, but in a different location. Gordon Leonard moved everybody up on to the lawn away from the lily pond gnats in an endeavour to promote a greater rapport between the cast and the audience who were all on the same level. This caused some difficulty with seeing, apart from the uninterrupted front row, so the following year rostra were introduced in an attempt to overcome the problem. Our second "The Merchant Of Venice" was well received and attracted good audiences - to the extent that the actors were without chairs in the dressing tents on some nights. Gordon had assembled a very strong cast of stalwarts and newcomers: Shylock was played by Peter Mould from the Stables Theatre in Hastings, Portia by Val Major, Antonio by Rob Kay and Bassanio by Mark Feakins. If the Bexhill Observer did not warm to Val it went overboard with Mark, who, it thought, stole the show: "Young Mark Feakins is shortly to go to drama school. His portrayal of Bassanio bodes well for a glittering future. Out of a strong cast he shone." Mark did become a professional actor and was seen by BATs on several occasions. However, after a few years he got tired of the touring life and went into Box Office management.

Another modern classic was presented in September, Philip King's ever-popular clerical romp "See How They Run" directed by John Molecey. Chauve Souris observed that "the press review was mixed but the performance succeeded by an important criterion: the audience enjoyed it, laughing enthusiastically in the right places."

Arthur Miller's powerful historical drama "The Crucible", directed by Rob Kay, was the final offering of the year, with a large cast who gave committed performances. The Bexhill and Eastbourne newspaper critics were full of praise: "The BATS have proved once again that when they have something to stretch and challenge their dramatic talent, they can grasp the nettle and produce a truly powerful performance.", "More please". Unfortunately, the audiences were on the small side, but an added bonus was the opportunity of a full-dress performance at the Library Theatre in Eastbourne after the end of the De La Warr run.

Apart from the move on to the lawn at the Manor Gardens, there were several other changes in the Society during the year. At the AGM Gordon Leonard moved from Hon secretary to Chairman, a post he held until his untimely death in 1992. Peter Bradbury stepped into his shoes as Secretary. After three years bombarding the Press, Brenda Stevens retired from the post of Publicity Officer. She was succeeded by Liz Nuttall until Liz's other commitments proved too demanding, when Len Jeffreys took over. In her short period in office Liz obtained programme advertisement revenue and sponsorship for the Shakespeare. There was a general review of publicity. It was decided to issue our annual programme in the form of a brochure instead of a broadsheet, and to have a standard design for our programmes, handbills and posters to give the Society a new look. A competition was opened, but, as usual the BATs were very bashful at coming forward, and in the end it fell to Denis Brooke to design the lot with his graphic and artistic skill. Well done, Denis. A new starting time, 7.30, was introduced for all our activities when the Pavilion requested the earlier curtain-up.

In the Granary itself there were physical changes. It was felt that the locations of the props and wardrobe should be swapped to make it more convenient for the actors to be fitted out. Up to now they had had to go out in to the cold night air, round the building and up the external stairs to gain admittance to the Wardrobe, and the former cowshed was more convenient and accessible. So a grand changeover was arranged and we realised just how many costumes and property items we actually had. The cost of the move and the attendant improvements was helped by an anonymous donation of £200 from a long-standing member. The post of Wardrobe Mistress was not filled, and an ad hoc system was in operation for each production. This was not really satisfactory, as it meant that no one person was keeping track of our vast stock. Gradually Joan Jeffreys was left with responsibility for more and more plays and eventually, in 1990, took over this important department.

It was 'welcome' to a new sub-group and 'welcome back' to an old one. There was general rejoicing when Vanessa Hall undertook to revive the JAMBATS in April with regular weekly meetings on a Wednesday evening. The membership was soon up to 18, including 10 boys! In July, they presented a workshop evening at St Mary's school for special needs with warming-up exercises, improvisation, tongue twisters, and a Sherlock Holmes spoof written by BAT Anthony Vent. Anthony was also involved with the Aristobats, a three-man band who made us known at various venues during the year.

One last change occurred in December when a monthly Club Night was introduced for the first Friday of every month, productions permitting. It was an attempt at keeping members in touch with the Society if they were not involved in any play currently in rehearsal. Other social activities consisted of theatre visits, our own Olympic Games staged at the Twelfth Night party, a jumble sale, a barbecue, a barn dance and a walk through the rural 'Bloomsbury Group' settlement at Charleston Farmhouse near Firle

The Merchant of Venice 1989: Sally Clifford, Peter Mould, Anthony Vent, Rob Kay, Lawry Rhodes, Mark Feakins