Saturday, March 2, 2024

20 March: The Welkin

 

CANCELLED

My apologies.  We will do the Welkin on 24 April

 

 

Firstly, some very belated photos of our little trip to see Witness for the Prosecution in January.  I think we all really enjoyed it!  We had lunch beforehand and then had time to enjoy the beautiful architecture inside the old County Hall - I grew up in London under the LCC and yet had never been inside County Hall before, so I did, I'm afraid, find it quite exciting.  Anyway, the Council Chamber was an excellent setting for this play, the actors were very good and the stage well used!  What more can you want?










But back to the Brussels based activity!  Thank you again for agreeing to meet on 20th March!  We will read a play that might require some reader-gymnastics as there are so many characters, but let's just do it and enjoy it!


The Welkin by Lucy Kirkwood

 


 

Lucy Kirkwood is a young contemporary writer of some acclaim, and The Welkin was performed at The National in 2020.  Just before .... During Covid I watched another of her plays, Mosquitoes, via NT at Home which I am sure I have mentioned in the past (https://www.ntathome.com/)


The Welkin


I was attracted to the play mainly because of Maxine Peake, who was in the NT production, and who I trust to only be in good plays!  I do hope that you agree with this way of choosing plays!  


The year is 1759 and the country awaits the anticipated arrival of Halley’s Comet. The daughter of Lady Wax has been murdered and the residents of this rural town are out for blood. Sally Poppy has been found guilty of the crime, along with her lover who has already been hanged. Sally’s journey to the noose is dependent on whether she is really pregnant, as she claims, or openly lying. If she is pregnant, she will be transported and her life will be saved. Sally’s fate lies in the hands of twelve women, gathered together to make a unanimous decision one way or the other. Some of the women have reasons for being part of the jury, others cannot wait until their duty is over. Their status, age, and class is varied; one is in the first flush of marriage, another is in her eighties. One of the women is barren, another has had twenty one children. Amidst their bickering and teasing, one woman understands the importance of their presence in the jury room. The midwife, Lizzy, knows that, despite the mob baying for blood outside the window, the twelve women have the chance to make an important, life-changing decision in a world governed by men. However, there is a devil in their midst and the women must wrestle with their consciences to come to a decision.

 




 

 

Thursday, January 11, 2024

28 February: Wife After Death


Firstly, many thanks to Rina for providing the wonderful Galette des Rois, they really were fabulous.


And my thanks to you all for bearing with me as this year is going to be a bit of a bumpy ride for dates!


I'm putting this up in the hope that we can meet on 28th February!


Wife After Death 

by Eric Chappell

Comedian and national treasure Dave Thursby has died, and on the day of his funeral, friends and colleagues gather beside his coffin to pay their last respects. There's Harvey, who wrote Dave's material; Vi, Harvey's wife; Kevin, Dave's agent, and Kevin's wife Jane. Dave's glamorous widow Laura has arranged a funeral to remember, complete with a horse-drawn hearse and an attendant dog. An unfamiliar woman in flamboyant mourning clothes turns out to be Kay, Dave's ex-wife from before he was famous, and a series of revelations end with Kevin throwing a drink into the coffin and all the guests asking themselves if they ever knew the "real" Dave.

 

 Eric Chappell 

Chappell wrote the play The Banana Box, which was given a staged reading at the Hampstead Theatre Club in 1970. A production ran in Leicester in 1971, with Wilfrid Brambell in the role of the landlord, and was later produced in the West End in 1973, with Leonard Rossiter in the role.  This play later became the basis for sitcom Rising Damp, which aired from 1974 to 1978 and won the 1978 BAFTA for Best Situation Comedy.

 

  

 

Thursday, December 7, 2023

10 January 2024: Ulster American

 

I am tempted to start "Happy New Year!" but as you all know I'm writing this before Christmas ... "Merry Christmas!" too!

 

Our first play of 2024 will be one that was put on by the ITG a short while ago and which I loved.  A writer, an actor and a director meet to discuss a forthcoming play and their fiery debate covers so much that even if you saw it superbly performed by Jane McBride, Neale McDonald and Caraigh McGregor you may well wish to revisit their examinations of feminism; Irish politics; Brexit; being Irish; gender relations; world politics and almost certainly more!  Funny, fast paced and a great start to the new year.


The Guardian gave the Edinburgh production in 2018 a 5* review, so I'm hopeful that you will have a really enjoyable afternoon.

 


 


Monday, November 13, 2023

6 December: Andrew Biss - The Comedy Collection

 

I am still recovering from the discovery of how wonderful pumpkin pie is!  Thank you so much Judi, the empty plate proved just how good it was!

 

In December we will preview the ECC's spring production, a collection of 10 minute plays by Andrew Biss, which is described on his website as:

 

From the sublimely funny to the ridiculously inane, this unique compilation of some of the playwright’s most popular short plays runs the comedy gamut. Some have their roots in realism, while others wilfully and wantonly upend theatrical customs and conventions. Some are playful and light-hearted, while others hew closer to the realm of dark comedy. But whatever their milieu, they all share one common goal: to entertain and amuse.

 

I went to the auditions and really enjoyed the pieces, most are for 2 people and so it means that, unusually, readers will get to perform the leading role in an entire play!

  

 

 

As it is December we will have mince pies (thank you Debbie) and mulled wine!  Tea for those of you who don't like it (is there anyone??)




 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Wednesday, August 30, 2023

11 October - Allelujah!

 

In October we will be meeting on the 2nd Wednesday of the month and, because of the current interest in the film, read Allelujah! by Alan Bennett.


We read this play in 2019!  And it is incredibly hard to do as there are so many roles. So we'll just have to read it with great good humour and tolerance!  Everyone will need to keep on their toes!


Here's my information from 2019:


Allelujah! is Alan Bennett's new play which opened in London last year.  Unfortunately it has a cast of thousands (well, 25) which has made it difficult to prepare for the group.  Therefore, I hope you'll bear with me!


Allelujah! by Alan Bennett

Allelujah! is an NHS drama set in a friendly hospital in rural Yorkshire. Colin, an ambitious local boy turned metropolitan yuppie, has arrived from London to visit his sick father and he takes the opportunity to assess the efficiency of the hospital on behalf of his bosses at the health department in Whitehall. Meanwhile, a TV crew has found evidence that a staff member is murdering elderly patients to create vacant beds for new arrivals. 

In reality Allelujah! is a musical and not strictly politically accurate: the latter I'm going to ignore and the former will also be mentioned but we will not be singing and I will not be choreographing dance routines!


Thursday, August 3, 2023

30 August: Til Death Do Us Part

 

 An early September play reading!


Til Death Do Us Part by Safaa Benson-Effiom


Not to be confused with the film of a very similar name, nor the racist Alf Garnet on the BBC in the 1960s/70s!

 

After fifteen years of marriage, Daniel and Sylvia find themselves drifting further apart with each passing day. Until one morning, they find themselves abruptly united by every parent’s worst nightmare… A timely spotlight on love and loss, Til Death Do Us Part is the debut play of Safaa Benson-Effiom, and was a finalist in the 2020 Theatre503 International Playwriting Award and Soho Theatre’s 2019 Tony Craze award.

 

Monday, July 3, 2023

2nd August: Machinal

  

Before addressing August, please note:


The September Meeting will be held on Wednesday 30th August!

 

I hope that some of you will be back from your holidays by then!



August: Machinal by Sophie Treadwell

 

Another of my National Theatre purchases, and a slightly 'different' play.  It successfully ran in Broadway in 1928 with Clark Gable as 'The Lover'.  It arrived in London two years later, provoked a sensation in Moscow in 1933 and then forgotten until revived in New York and London in the 1990s.

 





"This is a play written in anger.  In the dead wasteland of male society - it seems to ask - isn't it necessary for certain women, at least, to resort to murder?" Nicholas Wright


The Plot:  The story of a young woman who murders her husband.  An ordinary woman.  Any woman.


The Plan:  The story is shown by showing the different phases of life that the woman goes through, none of which bring her any peace.  She is soft and tender.  Life around her is hard and mechanical.  The story is told by voices around her.   The play is named after the French word for mechanical.


Let's see how we get on!


Sophie Treadwell

 


Sophie Treadwell was a campaigning journalist in America between the wars. She covered the sensational murder case involving Ruth Snyder, who with her lover, Judd Gray, had murdered her husband and gone to the electric chair.  From this Machinal, a powerful expressionist drama about the dependent status of women and the living hell of a loveless marriage, was born.