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Sue McCormick writes: This week ends with our production weekend when Claire (Design), Mark (Lighting) and Fi (Costume) add their magic into the mix. Mark has been in the castle every waking hour with Stage Management Louise and Jan, rigging the lights that will create just the right atmosphere for each of our venues. Theatre in the castle poses problems that a purpose built building doesn’t have, from power supplies to sight lines and acoustics but the grandeur of the building pays massive dividends that are worth the effort. The play is really coming together now, with characters and their stories becoming defined and the cast settling into the rhythms of their individual and shared journeys. It’s a great story, full of love, laughter and tears and I think we’re doing it justice. All we need now is the final element – an audience. |
 
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Sue McCormick writes: This week we held an open rehearsal in the library for 60 pupils from Dallas Rd Primary School. Actors George Telfer (Don John) and Nick Camm (Borachio) worked with me on Act 2 Scene 2 and the young audience watched, discussed, debated and commented on the our efforts. Our favourites, among many excellent contributions were “Laugh from your heart” and “Why do people say Shakespeare is hard to understand?” Next week we are repeating the process with different actors in a different scene and this time the rehearsal is open to any members of the public who want to come along. Thursday 16th at 1.30 if that includes you. See you there!! Evening rehearsals continued at the castle with – dare I tempt fate? – no sick leave, although we lost the lovely Matt Ganley to a prior filming commitment for 2 days but on Friday I finally had the entire acting company at my disposal for the first time which was wonderful if a little overwhelming! We learnt a Morris Dance, plotted a chase sequence and rehearsed a wedding. All in a day's work! Next week we introduce costumes, props, settings and lights into the mix, some last minute tweaks and hey presto – another Demi-Paradise Shakespeare! |
   (l to r) Claire (Ursula) & Lisa-Marie (Hero) |
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Jude Glendinning writes: “The 1890's – that's going to be tough!” I said. And for a while it was! My choirs have had months of Fanny Mendelssohn, Gounod and other late 19th Century composers and various settings of folk tunes while I let ideas from the period gestate. It's only afterwards I realise everything I'd chosen for them was from this period. The next stage starts with a clarification of exactly what's needed – when I get a clearer idea of what the director is aiming for mood/atmosphere etc. At this stage I start putting lots of likely pieces of music into a pile. It gets clearer and clearer as we select music that is suitable with appropriate style, words, mood. The elements of the 1890's picked out from these discussions were parlour music, folk music, Morris Dance and wedding music. With an odd reference to G&S where possible. Oh, and of course, two occasions where the text itself indicates a song. So with the setting, the mood of each moment, the play itself all in mind, the pieces are chosen and then set with the specific group of performers in mind. But what a fantastic group of actors! Not just able to sing – I immediately threw some three part settings at them and they were great – but what a variety of skills they also offered. Accordion, guitar, clarinet, spoons, bodhran, concertina... I'm not sure we'll get them all in but brilliant to have such a wealth of instruments and ability. David Frederickson’s experience and background in Morris Dance is also invaluable. The first rehearsal was excellent. It's always the case on the first rehearsal – it all seems so difficult then it all settles then there's always a second layer of panic, I mean, learning and finishing when the music gets put in situ. But what a delight to begin to see how it might be brought in to support each specific moment in the play. A second special mention goes to Matt (Matthew Ganley) who has been landed the job of singing the two solos, 'Sigh no more', and 'Pardon, goddess'. I looked hard for settings of these – I knew they existed but luckily they were not to be easily obtained and Matt suggested he compose something. It became clear we were running out of time and he also had the part itself to learn so I took over again and started with his initial ideas combined with authentic folk songs collected by Cecil Sharp in the first folk revival of the late 1800's and a little bit of my own creativity. Somehow the whole lot morphed into something quite new but sounding rather authentic! These are my favourite bits with Matt's lovely mellifluous tones and the delightful additional harmonies supporting 'Pardon, goddess'. The Internet is such a wonderful source of information. Much of the material from the first folk revival has been made available with easy, free access. It has certainly made the research for the music for this period much easier and totally fascinating. I was able to trace a song's development as it became exported across the world. 'Froggy' is such a song and although we're using a pretty obscure version, it's possible to see its development from the first recorded version of 1580 that then became used by Bob Dylan, Woody Guthrie, Elvis and even the Muppets! As usual the project has been totally absorbing and great fun. And such a privilege to get to work with such lovely and capable actors and see once again how the end result always is far more than anything I could have expected. |
 (l to r) Steve Tomlin (producer), Sue McCormick (director), Jude Glendinning (music director)    company photographer |
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Sue McCormick writes: With the winter bug still working its way through the company, amending the rehearsal schedule has become my daily challenge! The lovely cast have adjusted cheerfully and courageously to working on bite-sized pieces of the play in anything but chronological order and so the work goes on. To counterbalance this episodic routine, we have given a lot of thought to through lines and journeys for each character and, as always, I’m lost in admiration at the creative imagination everyone brings to the process. The unspoken life of every character in the play is examined with the same attention to detail that we give the wonderful text and this helps to give every scene the clarity and vitality we are aiming for. Our first aim is to tell the story as clearly and fully as we can. Music is always an integral and valuable part of every Demi-Paradise show and this is certainly true of Much Ado which features more music than any previous production. This year we have glorious harmony singing accompanied by accordion, mandolin, guitar, cornet, clarinet, concertina, drums, bells and penny whistle – at the last count! Jude has unearthed some gems of Victoriana for us as well as composing beautiful settings for Sigh No More and Pardon Goddess and my multi-talented cast were filling the castle with wonderful sounds at the music call last night. Three weeks down and two to go - not long before you can come along and see what we’ve been up to! |
  (l to r) Richard S (Don Pedro) Richard H (Benedick) & James (Claudio)  (l to r) James, Gemma, Nicola & Lisa-Marie |
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Sue McCormick writes: Theatre companies work very closely together so if someone gets ill it isn’t long before everyone else falls victim to the bug, usually one at a time, going down like dominos. So it was with the Much Ado company in the second week of rehearsal but we soldiered on bravely and got lots of work done, except for Thursday night when at 8.30 I found myself sitting in the Shire Hall with a script and a pencil and no cast - I had quite simply run out of actors! Still there’s a silver lining to every cloud and it meant I was able to have a much needed production meeting with Mr Tomlin without interruption and by Friday, we had enough convalescents back at base to ensure a productive music rehearsal with the marvellous Jude Glendinning. Also this week we had our first rehearsal in the Priory which was a real treat. It’s the perfect setting for the scene in question and adding a new venue to our list is energising and exciting. Many thanks to the Rev Chris Newlands and his team for giving us access to their beautiful church. Demi-Paradise shows really do have the best stage sets I’ve worked on! So going into week 3, we are seeing characters develop and relationships deepen and we’re mining the wonderful text for more information and inspiration. I never cease to wonder at the genius of these plays written just about 500 years ago and still alive with insight into the human condition and relevance to the world we live in. It’s a challenge and a delight to bring it off the page and I’m enjoying every minute. |
 
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Sue McCormick writes: After months of planning the first day of rehearsals was finally upon us and it was lovely to have the whole company, cast and creatives, in the same room for the traditional read through of the play. After a meet and greet at The Merchants with hearty refreshments provided by the wonderful Mr Tim Tomlinson and his team, we retired to the Barristers’ Library in the castle to hear the play read by our cast for the first time. During the process we were sketched and photographed by our company photographer George Coupe and the MAAN Artists in Residence Kim Lewis and Cathy Duncan and are all looking forward to seeing the fruits of their labours as their work unfolds during the coming weeks. As director I listened with a mixture of pleasure and relief as casting decisions taken months ago proved to be the right ones! We have some of the best acting talent in the region in this production and I’m happy and excited to be embarking on the rehearsal journey with them. For the next 5 weeks, the court rooms, Hadrian’s Tower and, for the first time, The Priory Church will see us feel our way through this great play. Rehearsals are about asking questions and eventually, after lots of thinking, debating, laughing, trying, failing and trying again, we find some answers and with the invaluable help of Jude’s music, Fi’s costumes, Mark’s lighting and Claire’s design, we share them with an audience or two! Bring it on! And watch this space for more rehearsal news ... |
  
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DON PEDRO - Richard Sails DON JOHN /SEXTON - George Telfer CLAUDIO - James Jowett BENEDICK - Richard Hand LEONATO - David Frederickson CONRADE/MUSICIAN/FATHER FRANCIS - Matthew Ganley BORACHIO - Nicholas Camm DOGBERRY - Howard Chadwick HERO - Lisa-Marie Hoctor BEATRICE - Gemma North URSULA/ANTONIA (Antonio) - Claire Lever MARGARET/MRS DOGBERRY (Verges) - Nicola Jayne Ingram |
 (Back, l to r) Cathy Duncan, Kim Lewis, Jan Radford, Stephen Tomlin, Louise Manifold & Mark Alexander (Front, l to r) Clare-Louise Hall, Sue McCormick, Jude Glendinning & Fi Carrington |