FIFTY    BATTY   YEARS -  some reminiscences by Sheila Harper

I arrived in Bexhill at Christmas 1961 aged just 30, with a five year daughter, very little money, and a failed marriage behind me. My parents had retired to Bexhill a few years previously and they were glad to give us a home. After a happy family Christmas I started work at Hankham Primary School, which involved walking [or more usually running] a mile or so to Collington Halt, then just time for a cigarette before getting out at Westham station and cycling up to Hankham. Although 1962 was the coldest winter for many years, everything went well except that I had no local friends and no social life. My father had heard of the BATS so I thought I would try to join them, as I had had a little experience of acting at college, but as it was an all- woman establishment, I was usually cast as a man.

At that time there must have been about fifteen acting members of the BATS and we met above a sweet shop in London Road. It was fine except that the floor was a bit dodgy so it was as well to keep near the sides of the room! [no health and safety then!] and I was soon cast in a one act play to be performed in the Hastings Festival. I remember being terribly nervous, but the adjudicator said I was “a natural” and although we didn’t win it gave me some much needed confidence.

The BATS did three or four plays a year and always at the De La Warr Pavilion, and although there was a repertory company installed we had good audiences. Of course we could only do plays we could cast, but if we needed a few more actors, we got our friends or our children; no thought of insurance then!

Daughter Janet and me in Pink String and Sealing Wax – 1968.

As I was the new girl, I was often the maid in cap and apron announcing “Dinner is served” in the drawing-room comedies which were popular then. Gradually I graduated to more interesting roles, and in one, I forget which, I had to laugh uncontrollably, becoming hysterical and ending in floods of tears. The producer suggested I practise

this at home but my daughter and mother hated to hear me carrying on, so I decided to give it a go while cycling up the deserted country lanes to Hankham. So one day I was well into it when I suddenly noticed an elderly farm worker gazing at me over the hedge. I managed to stop, red faced and panting, when he said “Be you the new teacher up at the school? Don’t worry now me dear-you’ll be all right soon!”

Another embarrassing thing happened about that time: it was the custom then to present the leading lady and leading man with a bouquet and bottle at the end of the last performance. My dear dad thought I deserved something too so he had a huge bunch of flowers sent up for me- with the smallest part and at the far (right) end of the line-up!

   -  was quite chunky then!

I think we had a club night every Friday, often a play reading to see if a particular play might be suitable for us, the side effect being that it certainly improved my reading at sight. I remember lots of parties too, with laughter and fun, punctuated by screams of “Keep near the wall!!”

The number of members was growing and eventually we moved to a basement under one of the Collington shops which was certainly bigger, but also dark and damp and cold. Furniture needed for the set was borrowed from the Hastings Old Town second-hand shops and sometimes from members’ homes. I remember an open- top lorry with my settee on it driving away from my house and one of the BATS hanging on to it shouting “And just keep up the payments in future!” We kept costumes in our houses and garages and painted scenery outside the men’s loos at Sidley House.

In 1972 Open Air Shakespeare was started at the Manor Gardens. The sets were elaborate and beautiful, often including a little Tudor house for the prompter. Although the set was up for over a week it was never marked by animals or graffiti artists. Shakespearian parts that I specially loved were being one of the Merry Wives, the Queen in the Winter’s Tale and the nurse in Romeo and Juliet. Just once we did Macbeth in the Pavilion, when I was one of the witches; we were the traditional witches, pointed hats and blacked out teeth and we danced round the cauldron singing weird songs. Then one evening when Macbeth hurled a goblet at Banquo’s ”ghost”, it really hit him on the forehead when he was in the wings with us, so we had to clean him up,  no doubt silently cackling!

Of course, lots of scary things have happened over the years which hopefully the audience didn’t realise; when I was a nun in Letter from a General and had to light a candle at a dramatic moment and on a darkened stage, there were no matches in the drawer! Then the famous occasion when an actor didn’t turn up so we had to improvise on the spot.

Another time I was trussed up so tightly in silver foil as the Runcible Spoon in the Owl and the Pussycat I could barely move,  never mind go to the loo, or in a Shakespeare play when I suddenly felt everything under my skimpy skirt starting to move downwards so I had to sidle off picking up various underpinnings on the way! But I think the worst thing was when I was in charge of the record player and had to put on the National Anthem which was played before every performance. But when I did it, the music came out at the wrong speed! I can’t remember now whether it was too fast or too slow but either would have been disastrous, and then I daren’t alter it in case it went too far the other way! I do remember the director coming round in the interval and telling me I’d ruined the play- I just hope it was a comedy!

We used to have regular days out to Chichester Festival Theatre, to Lewes and Hastings Little Theatres and to shows in the West End. We saw Shakespeare’s Globe being built. Sam Wanamaker came to one of our Shakespeare productions [and I even shared a rug with him!] and now we go every year to see a play there.

A really frightening thing that was sometimes done was when someone would try to make another actor laugh in the wrong place. This was only done during the last performance but the directors strongly disapproved needless to say.

Anyway, I‘ve had lots of lovely parts in my time and specially remember being Dolly Levi in The Matchmaker, Mrs. Conway in Time and the Conways, the old lady with the parrot in The Ghost Train, Mrs. Danvers in Rebecca, of finally coping with all the malapropisms in The Rivals, being the mother in The Winslow Boy , lots of super Alan Ayckbourn  comedies, Muriel in Talking Heads and many more.

Of course by this time we were in the Granary Barn but it was in a terrible state, to start with (above). There was no inside ceiling, no loos, the present costume department had been the cowshed, no inside staircase to the props and electrics storerooms, and of course no central heating, just smelly oil stoves.

BATS members worked hard to clean it up and many of them donated cash to help pay for the professional builders so that after a year or so we held a Grand Open Day, I think in 1981 (above).

Nevertheless we had some hilarious parties there with square dances and barn dances [of course!] silly games, even sillier team games and fancy dress competitions.

The After Show parties were something else ; the cast  and backstagers all provided a plateful of tasty titbits which  were collected from the Pavilion by a couple of House Committee members who arranged them in the Barn and then welcomed in the mayoral party. Meanwhile the Pavilion lot changed into party gear and charged down to the Barn for the jollifications.

In the 1980’s and 90’s auditions were quite competitive and after all the contestants had had a try at a part, the director would come in and say “ I want you and you and you two and the  rest of you can go home and better luck next time!”

Another thing we had then were Talk-ins when an experienced member from another group would review the play we’d just done. That was rather nerve racking but even worse was watching a video of the show and seeing all the things you could have done better.

In my time I’ve been [ to mention a few ] a bad tempered nun , a prostitute , a past-it prostitute, a naughty nurse, lots of posh ladies and a few pathetic losers.

I’ve done quite a bit of directing too, and was even called the Murder Queen at one time, as I know that audiences love a good murder, especially if there’s some comedy in it too like Find The Lady and Murdered To Death. Other plays I’ve really enjoyed directing were Pack Of Lies, Confusions, Spider’s Web and Jane Eyre.

Of course in my time I’ve been in many Lent plays and pantomimes; I remember taking a panto to St. Mary’s boarding school no doubt making the children wildly over excited just before bedtime [poor teachers!] but when we performed at the care homes it could be the opposite; some of the residents went to sleep or even called out loudly “Is it teatime yet?”

So many happy memories!  I’ve had marvellous fun and made so many friends –some of them have gone on ahead but will never be forgotten.

So, although I’m slowly easing out, the BATS continues to move forward – with over 100 members and an exciting programme for 2012 - so WATCH THIS SPACE!