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2. “And then the schoolboy …”
Junior actors have been in demand for parts in plays since the beginning. And the beginning was Patrick Cargill’s appearance in the first play staged at the De La Warr Pavilion by the BATS, the Society newly formed by his parents. The Cargills had previously started a small group which put on plays for its own amusement at the old Kursaal, which stood where the Sailing Club now does. Patrick’s part in “Road House” was only a small one, and earned an also-ran mention in the Observer’s review. He continued to be involved in the BATS plays, and particularly excelled when they entered the British Drama League competition. Following the family tradition, he joined the army, but soon gave up the idea of a military career to become a professional actor. In the 1960s he was for a time the President of the BATS, but this did not continue for long, as all his family having died or moved away from the town he no longer had any strong ties with Bexhill. Patrick was invited to visit us during our Golden Jubilee year. Although professional engagements did not allow this to happen, he remembers with affection his early acting days with the group.
With the war in progress, the De La Warr not available, and members lost to play their parts in the armed forces, it was inevitable that the early impetus should suffer a slight setback. But in the summer of 1941 BATS members who were available presented two performances of Noel Coward’s “Hay Fever” at the Egerton Park Pavilion. The first was in aid of “War Weapons Week”, and the other in aid of the hospital. The flavour of those times can be gauged from two other performances given in that year, also in Egerton Park, of a merry farce entitled “Baby Mine”, these latter two being in aid of the Civil Defence Comforts Fund.
The rest was silence for the BATS until the spring of 1946, when a letter appeared in the columns of the Bexhill Observer asking all members still resident in the town, and interested in the future of the Society, to write forthwith. The De La Warr Pavilion had been newly redecorated, and the stage was set for the return of the BATS. The Society unfortunately had difficulty in getting its act together again, and was able to mount only one play per year at the Pavilion from 1946 to 1948, instead of the former two. The total membership at the AGM of 1947 was only 32: 19 acting members and 13 associate members. Sketches, one act plays and musical items were, however, presented at various venues in the town, and taken out to surrounding villages as well.
By 1949 there was an influx of new members and the BATS were back to presenting two plays a year at the Pavilion, and also entered the revived Hastings Music Festival. Despite this success, it was a very trying time for the post-war Society. There were seemingly endless rows and resignations on the Committee; professional producers were difficult to obtain; and unsuitable dates were being offered by the Pavilion as the only ones available. The Society gained the reputation at this point of being unfriendly and snobbish, and members complained that they were often unaware of what was happening.
The Society had been founded and continued to be run by a number of people whom one might describe as the leisured classes. People of independent means, who though great driving forces and stalwarts of the founding and organising of the BATS, perhaps saw the Society as the preserve of themselves and people of like mind. This led them to present an image of the Society as being somewhat different from other groups and to seem off-putting to would-be members of the “wrong” type. The ‘distinctive’ nature of the BATS was twofold: they played at the De La Warr Pavilion and had the services of professional producers. One man who helped to change the image was Ron Gregory. Ron was a member of the Bexhill Players, which had a longer history than the BATS, having been founded in 1919. After it folded, it was revived as St Peter’s Players, with some remnants forming the basis of the Little Common and Bexhill Players. Ron joined the BATS whilst still a member of the Players, thus helping to bridge the gap between Groups, and starting an honourable tradition of belonging to more than one company at the same time.
Nigel Gregory, the son of Ron and Mildred Gregory, was also an acting member of the BATS, and one of a number of juniors who have first trod the boards at the De La Warr and gone on to a professional acting career. Ron Gregory first appeared for the BATS in “The Tudor Wench” production of l953. Nigel appeared in “The Man In Grey” in 1955, “The “Paragon” in 1963, and in a revival of one act from “Flowers For The Living” in the Hastings Festival. Nigel had a successful career on stage and television, appearing in “Coronation Street”, and we were delighted to see him at the after-show party for our Golden Jubilee play, “Intent To Murder”.
There have been at least three attempts to create a Junior section of the BATS and maintain its existence, both for the benefit of the youngsters concerned, and as a source of child actors for the senior productions. The endeavours have, unfortunately, usually been fairly short-lived.
One was made during early 1967, after the Society had obtained its own clubroom. A BATS Junior group was formed by Len Baker, an acting member and schoolteacher. He was assisted by Sheila Hawkins, who had joined the Society two years earlier. A programme of interpretation of characters, mime and improvisation together with the presentation of the group’s own productions, was attempted. The perennial problem of maintaining the enthusiasm and actual attendance of any group of young people finally brought the project to a close. For a long time, whenever children or adolescents were needed for plays, they were borrowed from local schools, drama schools, or from members with children.
The most recent, and so far successful, attempt to run a junior wing is the JAMBATS, the title standing for ‘Junior Acting Members’. They were formed in 1978 following a suggestion from Gordon Leonard, who acted as Leader for a number of years, and was assisted at times by Julia Dance, Len George, Audrey Leonard and Paul Webb. The programme proposed was based on providing training in speech and acting skills, including improvisation and games, but also on using drama as a means of self development. The object was to enable the JAMBATS to stage their own shows and to be involved in BATS productions if required. The first public outing was at Sidley Community Centre with a short demonstration of improvisation and skill-training methods. Later at the same venue, they presented Alan Ayckbourn’s short comedy (originally written for radio) “Ernie’s Incredible Illucinations” with great success. Although the membership of the JAMBATS has been subject to constant change (it is still not possible to hold everyone’s interest) some of the original members stayed with the Society and took adult roles in BATS productions such as the last play of Golden Jubilee Year, “Dear Octopus”, “Macbeth”, “The Owl And The Pussycat Went To See...”, “The Winslow Boy”, “The Happiest Days Of Your Life”, and the mini-pantos, and in the BLODS “Annie Get Your Gun”.
Later, under the leadership of Tom Wade, assisted by Mark Feakins and Dominic Campbell, they presented several full length productions of their own at St Peter’s Community Centre. These included “Alice In Wonderland”, “The Scatterbrained Scarecrow of Oz”, and “The Heartless Princess”.
Golden Jubilee Year also saw the latest production by the JAMBATS. “Winnie The Pooh” was conceived and staged as a ‘joint production’ with the BATS and was most certainly a thorough mixture of the two, Leading parts were played by both seniors and juniors, and the production team was also composed of both, although front and backstage roles were sometimes played by the same people in the best tradition of theatre. The most notable of the latter was surely Julia Dance, who created all the costumes and also played Kanga, apparently during the Dress Rehearsal doing both things almost simultaneously. The whole effort appeared to be well worthwhile, as it was a production very evidently enjoyed by the oldest and the youngest - a considerable span - in the audiences. Finally, it is interesting to note that Christopher Robin was played by Christopher Bullock, whose first appearance for the BATS was as Mamillius, the young son of King Leontes (played by his father Stanley) in “The Winter’s Tale” in 1976.
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