"A Century of Stage and Screen"

It seems it is the Rector who should take the credit.  Not the current incumbent, as there is an interregnum at present, but a predecessor of 100 years ago.   He it was who called a meeting of interested parties to form an amateur dramatic society with the intention of raising funds for the new main hall in the Town Hall.  For an annual subscription of five shillings members could hone their thespian skills and entertain their fellow villagers with their efforts.  It would also take their minds off the new dance craze from the U.S.A.

Appropriately, therefore, this celebration opened with the full company displaying their steps in “The Charleston” but what else could they include to reflect the ten decades of their history? The sub-title of the programme referred to it as “an eclectic revue of iconic material from musicals, tv, film, dance, comedy and more”.  Indeed it was as we were treated to excerpts from various favourites from the stage; plays by Coward, Priestley, Ayckbourn and others were included together with musicals from Rodgers and Hammerstein, Kander and Ebb, Lionel Bart and more. 

Apart from the scene from “The Wizard of Oz” in which Dorothy meets her travelling companions, examples from the screen were those from television of the last 60 years or so, mainly our favourite sit-coms such as “Dinner Ladies”, “Fawlty Towers” and “The Vicar of Dibley”.   It’s always difficult in these cases to avoid making comparisons between portrayals of the characters “as seen on T.V.” and those on stage here but credit is due to all those involved for making a good job of their task in replicating the performances of their more famous counterparts.      

By contrast, Ellie Wilson made no attempt to impersonate Gracie Fields in her excellent performance of “Sally”, content to allow the song to show off her own fine singing voice.  This is a group mainly known for drama rather than musicals but the singing throughout, supported by Ed Williams on piano and Andy Thornton on percussion was of a good standard. 

In putting together a show such as this, it’s always difficult to know what to include when such a massive catalogue is available. Even when you’ve settled on a play or a show, you need to decide what to use as an excerpt for the five minutes or so you’re allowed.  Inevitably, perhaps, some worked better then others.  A highlight for me was the trip to Llareggub for Dylan Thomas’s “Under Milk Wood”, originally a radio play and so a good reminder of the sort of entertainment available in the pre-television era.  Many of the cast were involved and Welsh accents were excellent, enough for me to think I was back on my holiday there a few weeks ago.  I also enjoyed the scene from Jim Cartwright’s “The Rise and Fall of Little Voice” in which Mark Bamforth made a very good “Ray Say”, the somewhat less than trustworthy manager of less than first rate performers.

The Society’s recent history has seen them granted the rights for amateur premieres of both the play and the musical of “Calendar Girls”, a story which has, of course, strong local connotations. How appropriate that they should end this celebration with perhaps the best known song from the latter - “One more year in Yorkshire”.  Let’s hope it’s not just one more year but another hundred that they can continue to entertain and to raise money for this excellently-appointed venue in one of our favourite villages.                

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