23rd-27th November  Season’s Greetings by Alan Ayckbourn.   Half a dozen friends and relatives are celebrating Christmas with Neville and Belinda.  Petty and not so petty squabbles break out.   Christmas presents are rifled, mechanical toys are set off.   Hilarious highlights include a chaotically incompetent puppet show and a midnight love scene that goes wrong.   A final climax leads to what momentarily appears to be a tragedy as Clive, mistaken for a looter is shot by the trigger happy Harvey.    Tickets  £12.00 but £9.00 on Tuesday.

3rd-4th December S’Wonderful the songs of Cole Porter, Noel Coward, Jerome Kern and George Gershwin performed by Topaz – the Bookham based musical group.    For information on Topaz see www.topazmusicaltheatre.com

2011 13- 23 January The Likes of Us by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice.  This is an early musical full of soaring melodies that give a foretaste of what the two young writers would later achieve. It is set in London in 1866 and tells the story of Thomas Barnado and his struggle to provide a safe haven for destitute children.  There will be matinee performances on Saturdays and Sundays at 2.30.

GOING FOR GOLD/BERTIE BEAR’S ALL

At the Nomad Theatre, East Horsley 24^th/25^th July 2010

Two for the price of one!

Last week the Nomad Theatre acclaimed not one, but two, fine shows to triumphantly complete, a packed week, during which the cast of over thirty with joyful participation, entertained large audiences at the culmination of Play in a Week.  This year’s show was one of hundreds of events taking place to provide the largest cultural celebration in the history of the modern Olympic and Paralympic Games

This is the 12^th year in which the Nomads have presented a show-and every year, under the dedicated direction of Brandon McGuire, it gets better.  Performers from many local groups including Seeability, The Grange Centre and the Freewheelers, demonstrated what disabled people can, untrammelled, achieve when they are really “Let Loose”, in these days when technology provides so many more opportunities for original presentation.

Starting at 10 am on the Monday, the Theatre became, day and night, a scene of apparent confusion with set-building, making of properties, lighting, filming, singing, dancing and acting rehearsals taking place at so many venues (and thanks for the sunshine which enabled cast and helpers to cool off outside on occasion).  By Friday afternoon, the first run-through somehow took place and, by Saturday and Sunday, Going for Gold was ready for the audience.

All the ideas for the script were put forward by the cast in advance and, with one eye on 2012, the theme decided upon was the London Paralympics with four teams, the Freelands (green), Sunistans (yellow), Azura (blue) and Redskia (red, of course), joining in friendly (well, for the most part, friendly – there was a fair amount of skulduggery going on not only among the athletes but the very shady Hot Dog Salesmen (Julian Pindar and David Hatton) who were out to steal the Gold Cup.  This nefarious activity being brilliantly thwarted by a timely arrow pinning them to the wall.

“Free bun with every dog”!

All the original songs were written during the week by Musical Director, Jay Bristow, and learned and performed during the week.  Andrea Green returned as Choreographer and showed her expertise by choosing and teaching routines well within the capabilities of the cast.  Once again, professional writer. Anita Sullivan, produced a slick, pacy script.

The special effects, including the Olympic Flame, lighted arrows traversing the stage and various missiles propelled round the stage (and audience) by skilled operators, contributed excitement and originality to the whole production.

The sports illustrated were Boccia (a type of bowls for wheelchair inhabitants), the competitors for which were advised by Matthew James, who has played for England, Adaptive Rowing, with superb synchronisation from the Azura team, Dressage where, disgracefully, two of the “horses” had to be disqualified, and Goalball, where the ball, containing a bell, is propelled by athletes who, even if they are actually sighted have to wear blackout masks to level everything.  Even the audience actively participated in this event “tipping the ball over the bar”. All these sports are actual Paralympic events.

The whole audience played enthusiastic parts, joyfully waving their coloured flags and singing the team anthems to support their own teams. At the end, it was impossible to decide who had enjoyed themselves most – cast or spectators.

If you look up the website: www.nomadtheatre.com/let-loose-play-in-a-week you can see the film of the rehearsals and performances which will give you a taste of the tremendous entertainment provided by organiser, Sarah Thomas, and her splendid team of about 50 Nomad members and other volunteers who provided food, transport, support and encouragement for all the actors, among whom Jamie Bensted, with his fine singing voice, Oliver Forsyth, as a very rakish reporter, Andrew Marber as the Mayor, giving out the gold medals, (in his twelfth year!) and Nathan Farrell , who provided some wonderful adlibs at moments of crisis, stood out.

As a curtain raiser, the Freewheelers presented a short, magical film in which Jamie Bensted, Andrew Marber and Andrew Nelson performed an interview with enormous skill and effect. This is an extract from their moving new play, ‘Bertie Bears All’. See www.freewheelerstheatre,co.uk for further details of this excellent organisation.

Pity the poor reviewer who was trying to write notes, find his song sheet, manipulate the programme and wave his flag simultaneously.

Alan Wiseman 27 July 2010

18th – 21st August at 8pm – Tickets £9

Brandon wants excitement and little cares how he gets it. He persuades his weak-minded friend, Charles, to assist him in the murder of a fellow undergraduate. The two place the body in a wooden chest and, to add spice to their handiwork, invite a few acquaintances, including the dead man‘s father, round to a party; the chest with its gruesome contents serving as a supper table. The horror and tension are worked up gradually; thunder growls outside, the guests leave, and we see the reactions of the two murderers, watched closely by the suspecting Rupert Cadell.

The cast comprises: Brandon  – Stuart Tompkins

Charles – Nathan Farrell, Mrs Wilson – Annabelle Farrell, Ken – Matt Kalorkoti, Leila – Faye Doherty, Sir Johnstone – Colin Clyde, Mrs Debenham – Liz Cross, Rupert – Steve Rowland

What a mass of talent we have at our disposal. Of course, the audience was mainly comprised of proud parents, aunts and uncles and siblings who booked early and prevented regular patrons from getting tickets (a lesson to us all there). Of course, too, they were there in large part to cheer on their own participants but, believe me, this show would not have disgraced any Nomad audience.

About 60 Nomes, aged from seven to 15, mostly playing several parts, sang, danced. mimed, gagged and entertained us. Two complete casts, each performing twice – a mammoth effort. The singing and choreography was first rate. I nearly stood to cheer at the wild exuberance of It and the finale where the whole cast, liberally smothered in “splurge”, slowly returned to life as little Busy began slowly on We could have been anything that we
wanted to be, with the whole cast joining in for a rousing climax which had the audience rocking and rolling with them. But the big production numbers contrasted with the plaintiff ‘Tomorrow’ beautifully danced and sung by Busy and one one of the dancers.

What is a splurge gun?

Answer – a tommy gun which discharges a stream of bubbles to devastating effect. These were designed and made by David Martin – is there no end to his talents? I understand that, not only did David save the Company
a great deal of money, but the ones he made for this show have already been sold to another company for a further production. I loved the disposal of the numerous corpses, carried off completely rigid (how did they avoid
sagging?)

The Chicago mob-Italian accents were impeccable although there was a slight tendency to speak too fast for clarity in one or two cases. Both the Pins and Stripes teams suffered one small disadvantage – in both cases
Bugsy’s saviour, Leroy Smith, was played by the smallest member of the cast and I would have thought that a taller, broader lad might have been able to represent the amiable, talented but slow-witted prize fighter rather
more effectively. But what a small niggle. Costumes effectively portrayed the wild side of the Lower East Side, the dancers were sexy (and could dance!). As usual Helen (with a lot of work from everyone) had come up with a colourful revolving set against a backdrop of the Stars and Stripes and the St a t u e of  Liber t y Torch.  Q u i t e  rightly N i n a  g i v e s  e ve r yone she can a p a r t and it is t h e r e f o r e inevitable that a few stood out from each production due to age and previous experience. But I was amazed at how well the smallest members matched the old stagers in enthusiasm and skill if not, occasionally, in power.
The band of keyboards, drums, bass and trumpet never put a foot (or a note) wrong.

A truly wonderful experience.

Helen Teasdale was a brilliant Calamity Jane, but for a while at the start, the sparkle was just not there. then the excitement overcame the tiredness and she went on to bring the show to life. Fine voice, great acting and super delivery of her eight songs including The Deadwood Stage, Windy City, My Secret Love. Several of these were full chorus numbers excellently performed.

Joe St. Johanser is a professional and made a fine characterision of Will Bill Hickock. He performed a touching duet with Jane in I Can Do Without You. The role of Katie requires clever acting skill as she first has to appear as a theatrical dresser with dreams of performing, but little skill. But she gets her chance on the stage of the Golden Garter Saloon in the Wild West and is encouraged to throw aside her inhibitions and is brilliant. A tough job to perform something badly, but the Director, Jackie Shearer, rehearsed the “good” performance first and then got Catherine Peacock to do a downgraded one.

Calamity thinks she might be in love with the handsome, dashing army officer, Lt. Gilmartin. Dan Addison didn’t quite come over as all that, more a quiet gentlemanly performance with a good voice for his duet with Katie Love you Dearly. At which point Calamity realises it’s Bill she really loves so there is a happy ending with a double wedding.

The proprietor of the saloon is Henry Miller a fine characterisation by Jeff Wightwick as the chaos builds up over the arrival of the beautiful Francis Fryer. Who turns out to be a drag artiste!. Convincing performance by Chris Rozier. Nicole Woods as Miller’s niece, Elaine Burns as the Bartender and Dreen Legg as the glamorous Adelaide played excellent cameo roles. And of course there was the usual hard drinking cowboy propping up the end of the bar played by Alan Wiseman.

Derrick Graham

Do you see yourself as:

The Actress         The Professor            The Senator          The Ball Player?

Auditions for Insignificance (October 5th-9th 2010) will be held next Sunday, 11th July at 3 pm and the following Tuesday, 13th, at 7.30 pm in the Bar of the Theatre.

Director, Alan Wiseman, is anxious that we should present the strongest possible cast for this intense by exciting play, rehersals for which will commence in August. Much interest has already been evinced but all parts are up for grabs and will be cast from within the Nomad company if at all possible.

We need:

The Professor – white haired, bright eyed, around 70. Slight German accent

The Actress – a stunning blonde (the colour can be created so brunettes etc.are also welcome). 20-40 but carefully composed to look younger than she is. Californian accent.

The Senator – a fat, red, sweaty man -40-50  Mid-western accent.

The Ballplayer – all American boy and baseball legend. 40+,New York accent.

Don’t worry too much if your appearance doesn’t naturally match the descriptions. There is such a thing as make-up.

Every part/character is clearly and brilliantly written, with some fantastic speeches for everyone. Accent coaching will also be available.

Please contact Alan Wiseman on 01932 864166 or 07981146262 for a chat, audition pieces. or further information.

May 2010

Directed by John Norris

We left the theatre with the sound of laughter ringing in our ears. Yes, it was a terrific evening, very cleverly programmed and equally deftly performed.  Sincerest congrats to both John Norris and Elizabeth Cross.

In the first piece, Paul Asher’s Attorney’s simmering monologue was wonderfully interrupted by Steve Rowland’s (Attendant) sardonic, pan faced one-line interjections. Later we saw the Attorney “exploding” in frustration to be met by more of the same understated responses from the Attendant who said that there was no alternative but Hell.  Another touch of humour was offered by the back projection of a No Smoking sign that indicated the entrance to Hell.

In the second piece the wonderfully insecure Kim (played so imaginatively by Nathan Farrell) developed wonderfully into the “new” boy who took over the life and death Samaritan type service run by the acerbic Dr Russell (Annabelle Farrell) and the almost sycophantic and over confident Marty (played by Alex Hickman).

Kim ends the piece by putting these two firmly in their places.  His ploy in his attempt to retrieve the address of his “lost” suicide client is to tell the Police of a possible bomb threat in order to get them to take the search seriously.

The “villain” of the piece was Dorothy (Gilly Fick) whose misery was expressed in such a humorous way that we both laughed and cried with and for her. Dorothy was beautifully played by Gilly Fick who became so real that one felt like mounting the stage to put a comforting arm around her.

The third piece was by Woody Allen, the tragedy was totally obscured by the hilarity of the characterisation. There was absolutely dazzling interplay between all the characters but Phyllis (Mary Parsons) and Carol (Bernadette O’Sullivan) were outstanding.  The later entry of Howard (Steve Rowland) and Sam (Paul Asher) added wonderfully to the hilarity and confusion.

This was to become even more intense when Sam introduced his love of the moment, Juliet played by Claire Stimpson. Her frothy, dizzy and deliciously immature characterisation was the icing on the cake. Truly excellent performances all round.

Such performances don’t happen by accident.  The lighting and sound were, as ever at the Nomads, excellent and served to enhance the whole evening.  Props and Set were minimal and hugely effective.  Congratulations to all involved not least to the back stage crew without whom no show would leave the page.

If there is a weakness in the Nomad’s set up it is in failing to achieve bigger audiences.  This is a problem they share with even the biggest and best-known London theatres.  Surely there must be a local solution to our local problem of getting the audiences that the performers and supporting team deserve.

Any ideas?????

Polly

Reviews of Splendour
Studio Theatre
April 2010
Directed by Ian Nichols

Playwright Abi Morgan explains that, in Splendour, she is ‘trying to make sense of something that is overwhelming, trying to meet people on the other side of a big experience’. All she does, though, is to leave the audience thinking that she is still seeking as there are few pointers in this enigmatic, extended one-act piece, with its overlapping, slowly developing story as to how relationships between the four women involved will ultimately play out.
What Splendour offered was a vehicle for a quartet of fine actors to showcase their abilities close to the audience in the Nomad Studio. In turn they all talked more or less directly to the audience, reflected to themselves and, occasionally, conversed with each other, often in brief non-sequiturs yet cue bite was generally taut.

Mary Parsons made an impact as Micheleine, wife of a top military man in an un-named Eastern European country. She had the perfect measure of a vain, pampered woman, living her life through her husband’s glittering but now possibly crumbling career.

Diane Nichols, her less affluent friend, Genevieve, showed that she was not the ally initially thought, with an emotional if somewhat obscurely motivated breakdown.

Anna Langridge interpreted photojournalist Kathryn, the most strong-willed character, with clarity.

Wendy Denny was the unappealing Gilma – more interested in  filching whatever she could and, increasingly, reluctant to carry out her duties as interpreter.
If nothing else, Splendour, directed by Ian Nichols, enabled four talented actors to demonstrate their undoubted skills.

Tony Flook

—————————————————–

This was a very ‘different’ play in all respects and the intimacy of the studio certainly added to the intensity. Abi Morgan’s grippingly disturbing play depicts an evening in the lives of four women. The audience is invited to supply the missing imagery of the dictator of an unnamed eastern European state who never arrives – it is suggested in the portrait of him a photojournalist has come to take; the painting that was an artist’s final gesture of dissent, and his presence is felt in the city streets as they are blockaded and bombed. We are shown four characters trapped in a room- waiting. But no sooner is this claustrophobic scenario established than it is twisted and shaken in a pressure cooker.

As the absent dictator’s wife (Mary Parsons), her oldest friend (Diane Nichols), the photographer (Anna Langridge) and interpreter (Wendy Denny) sit anxiously drinking and making small talk, the scenes of the evening they are passing begin to repeat, like a jammed film, and shards of inner monologue are inter cut with dialogue – almost in a ‘stream of consciousness’. Secrets and painful histories emerge as the scenes are replayed. It’s an intriguing structure, which the cast clearly enjoyed working with. It must have been a massively difficult piece to master and the script calls for the actors to have total command of their lines – there are countless conversational loops to trap the unwary and a momentary loss of concentration would have spelt disaster. Those pitfalls were avoided.

The set was simple and stark cleverly maximising the very limited space. Lighting was also very effective. Movement was of necessity tight, but precise, and every ounce was squeezed out of the area. I particularly liked the floor – and floors are one of Ian’s specialties! It made the most of the studio. The cast handled a very difficult script with aplomb and there were some fine performances; the intense scream from Mary Parsons was piercing and full of drama, but suitably controlled so as not to deafen the audience member seated closest (who was me!!) but it lost nothing of it’s impact. Diane Nichols’ emotional breakdown was entirely convincing – I couldn’t help but feel that it was probably genuine since the lines were so very demanding! I’m not certain who was more challenged – the audience or the cast – and it certainly challenged me, but it was clear that everyone rose to the challenge and should be congratulated.

Gilly Fick

We don’t like barriers, rules or conventions. We welcome new members! www.freewheelerstheatre.co.uk Contact Viv Colvill 01932 860950 01932 860950

The Freewheelers Theatre Company is a Community Interest Company limited by guarantee, registered in England No 5994867. Reg.Office: P O Box 339 Cobham KT11 9BD

Have you met a non-disabled person who made you feel like you were from a separate world? Have you felt awkward about how to behave when meeting a disabled person?

We want your stories…
The Freewheelers are exploring the meeting point between two worlds that shouldn’t be separate – between disabled people and non-disabled people. And we are researching people’s stories of moments when they were treated by others as being different or separate. Or moments where they suddenly felt awkward, separate or apart.

Please send us your story… It could be in text, video, audio or another creative format. Please also let us know if you are happy for us to feature your story on our web site www.freewheelerstheatre.co.uk We are happy to make them “anonymous” so your name isn’t published. You can upload files at http://www. freewheelerstheatre.co.uk/projects/feedback-form or email kareng@freewheelerstheatre.co.uk

Our June meeting will be the last before the summer break. The speaker will be Tim Harrold who has recently retired as the Chairman of the Surrey branch of The Campaign To Protect Rural England; but remains Chairman of the Guildford Branch and is on the board of Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Beauty.

Our speaker in April was Bob Spackman. Bob has been involved, from the beginning, in the community fruit and vegetable growing co-operative for East and West Horsley. This project is aptly named Grace and Flavour and is situated in Dene Place on land owned by the National Trust. After two years of negotiations, planning permission has finally been granted. The project is open to every resident in the village, and anyone outside the village, wishing to take part, can do so by invitation. Sixty people have started the hard work of clearing the ground of rubbish and nettles. Bob said the ground was a wilderness and he had never seen nettles like the ones that had become established. He handed round photographs of the garden before the clearance and subsequently during and after the efforts of those involved. One of the photographs showed our Chairman, Charles Hope, hard at work. Work has involved planting up pots, clearing land which has revealed established paths, and making the garden safe. A photograph featured one of the founder members – Des Hollier, who sadly died recently. Des was extremely supportive of the walled garden project alongside many other projects in the village. The central path in the garden will be named Hollier Avenue in his memory as this was one of the areas that was cleared by Des. In the orchard there are a great variety of apples, many of them with the old flavours that are no longer to be found in our supermarkets. The old greenhouses have been turned into a herb garden and the bricks will be used to construct a car park. There are plans for a picnic and playground area. The potting shed is to become a meeting area for members with a creche etc. A pond is planned to encourage toads and newts . On behalf of our Prompt Corner members, I should like to wish Bob and all his volunteers the great success that they all deserve and trust that all the work that has gone into this superb venture will become a great asset to the Horsleys.

If any member, due to attend the next luncheon is unable to do so, please telephone 01483 283507 by Sunday, 13th June .

Mary Brooks