What a week of contrasts this has been. One night enjoying the delightful tale of Eliza Doolittle, and the next spent remembering the victims of war...life's like that!
SALOS (Swindon Amateur Light Opera Society) is surely one of Swindon’s great success stories. Strictly speaking, they aren’t really a Light Opera Society at all having made the transition many years ago into Music Theatre, but the “SALOS” brand is well-established and enjoys such an excellent reputation that it would be folly to change the name of the society! Their recent production of Lerner & Loewe’s My Fair Lady, which enjoyed a run of 10 shows at the Wyvern Theatre from 22 – 31 October, lived up to expectations and was a real treat. This production, so full of vitality, was easily better than some West End shows I have seen.
For the most part, Stage Director Russell Langdown, kept fairly close to the well known film version of the musical, perhaps most notably recreating the famous “black and white” race scene. Perhaps this scene, more than most, is etched into audiences’ memories and to have departed from the formula might have invited disappointment. However, the scene was beautifully staged, with elegance, precision and wit. On a very minor point – the horse race sound effects suggested that it was a bit of one-horse race - but such a small detail is easily forgiven!
Given the almost iconic nature of the original cast, the principals had a potentially daunting challenge on their hands but they really did a superb job. Heather Reynolds (Eliza Doolittle) not only coped admirably with having to change accents but delivered a thoroughly credible performance throughout, positively sparkling in “I could have danced all night” and bringing a real and endearing warmth to the character. She sang with passion and produced many of the show’s highlights. Ray Dance as the comically misogynistic Professor Higgins displayed a fine sense of timing and gave a wonderful performance that owed much to his obvious enthusiasm. He also sings better than Rex Harrison!
Courtenay Merchant (Colonel Pickering) was an excellent choice as the Professor’s urbane companion and Margaret Price (as the Professor’s housekeeper) was a perfect foil for the uncaring Higgins, acting extremely well and producing some wonderful expressions and gestures which undoubtedly were the result of meticulous preparation. Bob Desmond making his SALOS principal debut as Alfred P Doolittle was very watchable with his cheeky swagger and joie de vivre. Some of his lower register singing sounded a bit quiet but, in such a character role, it did not detract from a captivating larger-than-life performance for which he deserves much credit, especially as he was a late replacement for Mike Chivers. Daphne Brakespear was superbly cast as Mrs Higgins, reprising a role she played for SALOS in 1994, and Martin Read (as a delightfully nice Freddy Eynsford-Hill) gave a suitably lovesick performance of “On the street where you live” perfectly capturing Freddy’s innocence and naivety. His appearance in the final scene – owing more to George Bernard Shaw’s epilogue for Pygmalion than to Broadway, provided a nicely ambiguous twist to an otherwise assumed ending.
Sadly, when I saw the show on the Friday evening, one of the personal microphone packs was playing-up. I guess that the offending mike was turned off and for a while, stage mikes provided the feed instead. This had the slightly disconcerting effect of the principals’ voices fading in and out slightly as they moved around the stage. That’s the trouble with amplification – you can never tell when it will fail. Anyway, it was a minor distraction, nothing more, and the backstage team quickly resolved the problem. Talking of the backstage team, what a thoroughly good job they did. The set was fabulous, the lighting effective but unobtrusive, and the scene changes slick and well managed under Stage Manager Alan Wrixon.
The 19-strong orchestra under the baton of Swindon’s very own Maestro, Malcolm Webb, produced a nicely balanced and energetic sound, and Chorus Mistress Judith Sharp also deserves praise for the accurate and expressive chorus singing that was so evident throughout. Another Judith, this time Judith Hockaday, had also clearly been working hard to produce a slick and wonderfully choreographed series of dance routines.
SALOS can certainly teach other organizations a thing or two about staging “amateur” shows: First, the investment in decent scenery and costumes is well worth the additional expense. Even before the cast had uttered a single word or sung a single note, SALOS had created the impression of a highly professional production. Lesson No. 1: Don’t skimp on set design and costumes.
The other thing which was very evident was the excellent publicity SALOS produced for My Fair Lady. No wonder they can support so many performances: It was almost impossible to drive around Swindon in the weeks preceding the production without seeing striking banners or other advertising for My Fair Lady. Their publicity team deserves a special mention in despatches! Lesson No.2. Money spent on effective publicity is money well-spent.
Perhaps the underlying message is about confidence and having the courage to invest up-front in your production. I’ve seen too many well-meaning productions delivered on budgets that are too small and the end result all too often resembles an under-resourced school play. But there was no danger of that here! Congratulations SALOS on yet another superb production.
The next day, it was my turn on stage with the Wessex Male Choir. It was a genuine privilege for the Choir to be invited to take part in the Royal British Legion’s Festival of Remembrance at Bristol’s Colston Hall and I would like to think that we acquitted ourselves very well. The event was quite a spectacle and although Colston Hall was not packed out, there was a substantial audience. 2009 marks the 100th Anniversary of the Fleet Air Arm and part of the evening was given over to marking this significant milestone. Ironically, it was not the Senior Service that provided the music for the evening, but the Band of the Army Air Corps under the Direction of Captain Justin Matthews. As one might rightly expect, the Band of the Army Air Corps was hugely professional and made an excellent sound in the familiar, stirring military marches, but it also demonstrated its incredible versatility with a number of jazzy concert pieces which included an amazing clarinet solo which finished on a stratospherically high note of the type that normally only dogs can hear. Fabulous playing by the clarinet soloist whose name, unfortunately, I did not catch!
The principal (vocal) soloist for the evening was Tim Pitman. Self-styled as “The Voice of Somerset”, Tim claims to be “...one of the most natural classical tenors performing today” and has “…huge timbre to his voice which enables him, along with his 50 inch chest, to perform classical Aria’s [sic] with power and dynamics that are second to none”. The other soloist, 19 year-old Sophie King (soprano) has a promising but light voice that, even with amplification, frequently fought a losing battle with the Band.
From the Choir’s point of view, the Festival seemed to go very well – despite some necessarily convoluted stage directions which had half the choir off-stage at one point and the other half on stage singing hymns (without a copy of the words!). Still, with so many people to get on and off stage, it was not surprising that there were one or two very minor hiccups and I would like to think that the audience did not notice anything untoward. The Royal British Legion standard bearers performed with all the dignity and pride one has come to expect on such occasions and the format for the second half of the evening was essentially familiar, solemn and impressive. I think that for the choir, the highlight was singing the anthem Blades of Grass and Pure White Stones before the bugler sounded the Last Post. Having lost friends and colleagues in conflict, the words and sentiments expressed become extraordinarily personal and potent.
The Choir was directly below the cascade of poppy petals that fluttered lazily down during the two-minute silence. It was a poignant moment and one for reflection: Reflection on the sacrifices men and women have made (and continue to make); a reminder of the bloody cost of conflict; a tribute to the indomitable nature of the human spirit; and a warning for any who would commit their nations to war without a proper understanding of the consequences. Remembrance does not glorify war, but remembers with respect and dignity those who have fought and died for that which they held dear. World War One poet Wilfred Owen (who incidentally came from my hometown) witnessed at first-hand the horror of war and, in his famous poem Dulce et Decorum Est, offers timeless advice for those who would glorify war. The sentiment he expresses is as true today as it was then.
