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5. “And then the justice ...”
The 1960s had been the decade in which the fight to maintain the Society’s very existence had been won. The 1970s was the decade of expansion on all fronts; not only were the number of productions at the De La Warr Pavilion increased, but other outlets were found for the Society’s acting talents and also for its backstage talents with an increasing self sufficiency in scenery and wardrobe.
The decade opened with the BATS’ 30th production - Roland Pertwee’s costume comedy, “School For Spinsters”, and the third annual production was transferred from the community centre to the De La Warr Pavilion. This was followed in 1977 by a fourth play, filling the gap created by the departure of the repertory company.
“The Taming Of The Shrew”, the first outdoor production, was the last to use hired scenery. For the 1973 “Merry Wives Of Windsor” Gordon Green created a set from the BATS own scenery, and the stock of this, made in house or bought from the Penguins and even from The National Theatre, was built up to the point where in 1976 all sets were created in our own workshops. This has been the practice ever since. The late 70s also saw our wardrobe potential built up so that in general it was only necessary to hire for costume plays set several decades ago. The total design and creation of a set of costumes in house awaited the next decade.
In March 1973 a short religious play “The Way Of The Cross” was mounted for performance during Lent in a local church, and other plays have since been presented for the same period. “The Way Of The Cross” was repeated in 1985 and warmly received by clergy and congregation. A disappointing experience in 1974 was that a further attempt by the Chairman to revive the plan for a Bexhill Theatre Guild was again unsuccessful.
Sheila Harper produced a mini-panto at the Victoria Hall for St John’s church party in 1975 and this was taken over by the BATS as an annual event, touring old people’s homes and other venues each January. The first play was “Little Red Whittington” featuring Joe Morris and Denis Brooke as rival directors staging “Dick Whittington” and “Little Red Hiding Hood” and ending up as a joint mixture. The early versions were from mini-scripts of Samuel French, but Eric Stevens decided that he could write them equally as well himself and presented us with a script of “Snow White And The King-Sized Dwarfs”. He has continued to write more scripts. The BATS were thus able to provide some entertainment for elderly and disabled people who cannot get out and about, and do not necessarily see us perform at the Pavilion.
The Society has always had as one of its aims the giving of money to charities and other deserving causes, and has faithfully carried out that object: we have responded to all local appeals for funds, where we were satisfied that the money would be put to good use. In some cases the donation has also been of direct benefit to ourselves as well as helping others. Our donation to the loop system for the hard of hearing at The De La Warr Pavilion is a good example of this. The acoustics at the Pavilion leave a lot to be desired, and we have often heard complaints that actors could not be heard. Now that those people who wear hearing aids can tune in to the loop, they at least should have a better chance of hearing us clearly. The need for good projection in order to reach most parts of the auditorium remains.
It has only been possible to make donations and obtain equipment through careful management by the Hon Treasurer of the day and the Committee, and by raising money from other sources than the Box Office. BATS shows have more often than not made a profit, but the occasional loss has been offset and a healthy bank balance maintained by individual efforts in raising funds. Some of the unsung workers are the ladies (less often gentlemen) who provide refreshment for hard-rehearsing actors, and make a steady slight profit in the process. Again it is mainly the ladies who take on the work of running jumble sales and other unglamorous activities. A very good source of income, of about £300 a year, was for a long time provided by a small band of people who collected scrap paper from a number of sources in quantity sufficient to be sold for recycling. The demands made on the limited spare time of a few people with very large collecting rounds, and the difficulty of meeting the requirements of the dealers, finally made us decide to call a halt. Other forms of collecting for scrap value have been tried, but none were so financially rewarding. In 1978 Gordon Leonard discovered the Webb Ivory Fundraising service, which enables groups to sell Christmas and birthday cards and other goods, and to make a healthy profit without risking any capital. From a first year sale to acting members which produced a profit of £50, to selling to all members, families and friends which later produced about £350, this has proved a very useful source of income.
Other offstage work, without which our income would be lower and also our production standards suffer, has been performed by a very few people who are willing to give of their spare time to work on scenery at the Barn and to maintain the Barn premises. There is a vital need to supplement these people in the future.
Not all BATS activity is composed of hard work. The social activities of the Society have increased over the years, ranging from theatre visits to barn dances to dinners to playreading evenings. And although hard work is necessary for productions of high standard, the social side of rehearsals is a factor in maintaining the cohesion of a drama group. This is sometimes provided, apart from after show parties, by people with a devilish sense of humour. These can be the bane of a producer’s life if they carry it to excess during rehearsals and performances, but they do provide a source of fun and light relief. Among the jokers of the pack a prominent member was Gerald Witts, who was fond of wisecracks in rehearsal and practical jokes on stage. During the 1979 “You Can’t Take It With You” Philip Smith playing Donald had to carry offstage a tropical fish tank. He wondered why it seemed to get heavier each time he took it off. The reason? Gerald had been steadily adding to the amount of gravel in the bottom of the tank!
Philip Elms, who left the BATS to found Pebsham Players, was, like Gerald, fond of writing messages for people to read onstage. During the 1969 “Two Dozen Red Roses” he was acting with Sheila Hawkins, who was required to walk across the stage in a temper during an argument scene and put a disc on a radiogram. One night he left a note for her to read as she lifted the lid which read: “Sheila, your knickers are falling down” Sheila had a fit of giggles, but carried on the scene with her usual aplomb. Philip was less popular with the producer. Sheila showed great courage on another occasion when she tripped onstage during the 1979 “The Irregular Verb To Love”, landed face down and severely hurt her nose. Again she carried on regardless in the best tradition of theatre.
By 1974 the Society’s bank balance was showing a healthy profit, and by 1978 the membership stood at 154, including 32 Acting Members of whom 22 were men. The bank balance stood at £200 with £2,200 invested in the Bexhill Building Society.
The 1979 season opened with an American comedy, “You Can’t Take It With You”, which was followed by “How The Other Half Loves”. This was the first of a trilogy of Alan Ayckbourn plays, performed over three years, and produced by Christopher Lacey, which were very popular with audiences.
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Arms And The Man, 1965: Len Baker, Charles Couldrick,
Valerie Dent, Alan Livermore, Yvonne Robert |
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