Spectres, Spies and Flying Pigs

Billed, in the programme, as a sprint though Guilsborough’s Murky quirky past this compilation of a short history of the village was thr brain child of Pam Townsend who researched wrote and directed the piece – a vast undertaking!

We were led through the country lanes of history by a ‘traveller in time’ John Everyman and visited the past from Roman Settlement to 1945.  Some of the stories touched on happenings of national importance but, inevitably most were of local interest.  It would be impossible to detail all the event which were enacted so I will go for those which I carried away with me as further food for thought.

The most notable event took place at Naseby ( a village adjacent to Guilsborough) during the English Civil War.  The Parliamentary Army encamped in Guilsborough prior to the battle which proved decisive as the king, himself, was captured.

Then just before WWII one, Her Von Treck, rented Guilsborough manor house supposedly interested in the local hunting scene he drove around the countryside in a bright, yellow Mercedes Benz.  Later he was revealed to be a Nazi Spy checking out airfields.

I was amazed too, at the number of luminaries who visited or had input into the local community. These included William Wordsworth, Sir Edward Burne-Jones, The Duke of York (George VI), Sir Alfred Munnings and Douglas Bader.

The most telling part of the performance, in this year of special commemoration, was that dedicated to the two world wars.  This was extremely sensitively portrayed even down to the descent of the red poppy petals.

To complete a really eclectic mix were accounts of historic witch trials, ghostly visitations and one gory murder.

The ensemble all deserve A plus for effort as the piece was dependant for its smooth running on quick changes both of costumes and settings.  Good use was made of projections on to a screen helping to set scenes and highlight areas of interest.  On the whole the costumes had been carefully researched but did I spot a par of pink high heel shoes worn in the Roman era?!!

This was a unique piece of theatre, mainly of interest to those who, at present, live in or around Guilsborough but I also feel that in this day and age of renewed interest in our past maybe it will spur others onto investigate their own local history.

An extremely detailed and well-presented exhibition of memorabilia both of the village and GMADS provided extra interest for the audience and added to the evenings experience.

I hope everyone enjoyed their journey through history as much as I did – lots of hard work but very worthwhile.  Well don’t to everyone involved and especially to Pam – what an achievement!

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