“The Unbroken Leg”

Number five

The No Name Theatre Company Quarterly Newsletter

Fourth Quarter

 

Dear Audience of No Name,

 

Nearly Christmas 2005 and promising new year to look forward to. It is proposed next year to start the year with a three act “bums on seats” play to which as we speak a play is being selected.

 

The play, a full length 3 act-er, will take place in the spring.

 

In the summer, it is proposed a garden party with a Shakespearian theme, you know the type plants for sale, music, strawberries and cream, scenes from Shakespeare, lot of ladies with big hats and parasols.

 

In the fall we will probably take one or two, one act plays to the Wellington Drama Festival.

 

And if time permits something to cheer you up Christmas 2006.

 

 

 

The Local Booking Office.

Little Red Riding Hood

The stunning hilarious pantomime…

27th to 29th January 2006 & 3rd to 5th January 2006

The

Belfrey Theatre, Wellington Theatre Company.

Box Office Number 01952 22 22 77

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Theatre Reviews

 

“Secondary Cause of death”

The hilarious Comedy Thriller

Wednesday 26th to Saturday 29th October 2005

The Shrewsbury Questers at The Gateway, Chester Street, Shrewsbury.

I went to see this production, a very long play, but judging by the response from the audience a well received one. No one outshone anyone else; I found the play very competently produced, acted and packaged. The set was quite outstanding.

Exceptionally good value for money, terrible shame the Questers only do one production per year.

“Jack the Ripper”

Donnington Little Theatre.

Wednesday 2nd to Saturday 5th November 2005

A one set, very colourful production, lot of signing from a very witty, songy, music hall themed script.

All the cast sang nicely, and in key, and were clearly audible throughout the theatre with better then adequate costumes.

Good performances from Hannah Giles, Andy Reed, with good counter point harmony from Cynthia Shaw.

Festival Plays

I saw four plays at Wellington Drama Festival. The first, “Sequence of Events”

was “my kinda production” it was a dark play by George MacEwan-Green.

Directed by Tim Crowson.

I enjoyed it, especially old mate, Iain Wilson who did a “quiet underplay” of the father, Herbert Vole, which I thought was “spot on” The adjudicator however appeared not to like it. Never mind Iain, what does he know, he never mentioned once how good looking I am in our play, “Last of the Three of Us”.

I thought Beryl Edwards was good. I thought the hangman Rob Fisher would take Best supporting… but they both got Certificates of Merit.

This play is going into the All England Drama Festival. Anyone who wants to see it, in Birmingham, I can recommend it. If tickets are required by anyone phone me and I will point you in the right direction.

“Ashes to Ashes” by Harold Pinter was the first time I had seen this play. I’m of the opinion on two/ three handers and up to five persons Pinter is brilliant but  with multi cast plays… They do absolutely nothing for me.

Back to “Ashes to Ashes”a two hander, brilliantly directed by Beverley Powell.

I saw Gordon Stewart and Amanda Watkins in “Landscape” about six months ago, I thought they were knockout then; but “Ashes to Ashes” swamped the festival.

Whatever I wrote about this production would not do it justice. It would be nice to see this duo acting apart from each other in the future. Amanda Watkins has got to be one of my favourite actresses and the living proof the term “only amateur” is total, ill conceived, fallacy.

“Darlings you were Wonderful” captured the chaos, amateur drama companies all experience; ‘cept for ours of course. Yeh, yeh.

Good steady performances all round.

Well directed by Rowena Walker.

 

This is a true story as sure as I’m riding a three bike…

 

There was this “out of work” actor who looked like Abraham Lincoln, he dressed like him, his politics were the same as Lincoln’s, he fashioned his home like him, and he dreamed of one day taking a stage part of Abraham Lincoln. His dream was to come true, a travelling drama group put on a production at the local theatre and the lead part was suddenly left vacant due to illness.

The theatre advertised and our man, in question, applied for an audition. The actor gave a flawless rendition of the reading whilst trying to get the part. The producer surprisingly said “sorry can’t use you, next”.

“Wait a minute” said the actor, “my life is Abraham Lincoln, My eccentricities are Abraham Lincoln, I’m into the part of Abraham Lincoln and my reading for the part was perfect…

The producer interrupted him, “can’t use you, next”. The actor went home, soul destroyed, but decided on the “first night”  to go to the theatre to see what the successful actor’s interpretation was of his, all time, hero.

 

And someone shot him… True story that!

 

I saw this film on the Telly…

Gilda

I make no excuse, I love black and white films. Up till recently I had never seen Gilda. Its about a gambler, drifter (Glenn Ford) who becomes a right hand man of a casino owner (George Macready, The man’s voice, You could listen to him read the phone book). Ford, becomes unwittingly involved with the casino owner’s wife (Rita Hayworth) , who he knows from “way back”.

An entertaining example of film noir, good moments of tension with a rotten contrived ending; the type you could spot from the start.

The script, dear oh dear, one cliché after another, but the set was spectacular in taste and magnitude.

The high point, the point a mate of mine tipped me off to watch, was Haywood singing “Put the Blame on me Boys” where she did a striptease removing only one long black glove, that was enough, that female is a whole lotta woman.

 

Must go for a cold shower now.

 

Michaeljohn Butcher        Chairman, No Name Theatre Company.