Among the many who came to see A Christmas Carol, the more keen-eyed of you may have noticed that I was playing the role of Bob Crachit. This is a little bit of a departure from my usual zone of comfort, namely, being the one behind the audience, in a Read more…
As I write this I am sat in the control room watching Casablanca. Not for fun, you understand. This is work. And tremendously hard work it is too. The beautiful subtlety of the lowering houselights. The expert twiddling of the volume knob. The highly skilled manner of pressing ‘Play’. Not Read more…
Time for another blog, wouldn’t you agree? Well, regardless of whether you agree or not, another blog is what you shall be getting. Here goes: Last Friday we had some visitors – a troupe of actors. Good Lord! Actors?! In a theatre? What is the world coming to? A terrible Read more…
Directors direct. Actors act. And us? Well, we do what ever it is we’re told to do, really. It is our job to make sure that there is a set for the actors to perform in, and then to point lights at it. We are, for lack of a better term, the “techs”. (more…)
Regular visitors to Westacre might have spotted something of a trend in our plays over the last few seasons (apart that is from the usual high quality performances and, we hope, entertaining productions). It’s all about the numbers – of cast members that is. It would seem that, looking at recent productions, two is very much company on stage at Westacre.
Productions of plays for solo performers have been limited at Westacre to the work of one man – the inimitable Alan Bennett and his hugely popular Talking Heads series, many of which have been performed to great acclaim over the years in the studio theatre. And of course we’ve had innumerable plays that require three or more actors – Alan Ayckbourn usually peoples his plays with several couples at a time (I should know – I’ve played many hapless husbands to exasperated wives in several Ayckbourn plays). Musicals tend to require an army, but one that can sing and dance with military precision.
Absent Friends by Alan Ayckbourn
Just Between Ourselves by Alan Ayckbourn