The Play Produced A CHORUS OF DISAPPROVAL

By A/an Ayckbourn

For the second time within twelve months we are devoting an exceptional amount of space to discussion of productions under our "Play Produced" heading. Alan Ayckbourn's record breaking comedy was released for amateur production in January this year, and as with NOISES OFF, it is inevitable that this play will present an exciting challenge to societies, despite the demands made on their technical resources and their casting skills, for this is a play with a multiplicity of sets and a very large cast, of whom not only acting but a considerable amount of dancing and singing skill is reqUired.

It is interesting that these two plays, which will inevitably emerge as favourite for the next several seasons, are both con­cerned with theatrical companies - in NOISES OFF we have the backstage adventures of a tatty professional touring company and in CHORUS OF DISAP­PROVAL, the backstage dramas in a local operatic society.

Both of the companies who have contributed to this feature chose A CHORUS OF DISAP­PROVAL to mark a milestone in their history. In the first , Judith Dolley discusses her production for the The Runnymeade Drama Croup in Egham as their Iomh production to celebrate their 40th anniversary; and in the second John Cousins discusses his production for the Kelvin Players in Bristol to celebrate their Diamond Jubliee - a land­mark noted eleswhere in our columns this month. 0

RUNNYMEADE DRAMA GROUP

by judith Dolley

HE PLAY

My local company had . ached a double milestone in its

' ory; celebrating both its 40th c and lOoth production and

therefore looking for a

.r Slas' Iu'" 1989

suitable play to mark the occasion.

When we heard that "A Chorus of Disapproval" wa, released for amateurs it seemed the obvious choice. This multi ­award winning play, which many regard as Ayckbourn's best, concerns the trials and tribulations to be found behind the scenes of an amateur operatic society throughout the rehearsal period of their presentation of "The Beggar's Opera" by John Cay.

stage background for "The Beg­gar's Opera".

W e were fortunate to perform th e pla y in a large , well ­equipped theatre and so our backsragc team created a colourful "Beggar's Opera" set with a complete London back­cloth such as would be popular with the Pendo n Operatic Society. The side flats were also painted with London scenes and were hing ed to wheel round fo r the rehearsal scenes. With the backcloth low red and the backs

The Opening Chorus at Runnymede. Stumbling in to an early

rehearsal is shy, diffident, widower Cuy who, being that rarity in operatic circles, a fairly young man, is pounced upon with glee and given a minor role in the show.

Although completely guile­less, he rises through the ranks and through the rehearsals to become Macheath, the star of the show. But at what innocent cost, as the voracious am dram members discover.

That plotting is clever enough but, to add further to the inge­nuity of this prolific playwright, he weaves into the story many songs and choruses from Cay's old masterpiece - and these comment brilliantly on the vicis­situdes taking place during the rehearsal period.

Our company frequently stage musicals so that added extra frisson to our enjoyment and made the choice even more suitable.

But, as with all plays, "A Chorus of Disapproval" present some challenges problems to overcome.

does and

SETTING A first glan ce at the Acting Edition may frighten off some societies; five set tings plus a full

of the flats revealed, the neces­sary 'workshop ' appearance was achieved. We kept the various inse ts very simple but chose the furnishin gs with care. [ decided to store all the props, screens and furnishing s necessary for the various scene changes un stage and change the scenes in view of structed easily manoeuvrable,

'Youth's A Season Made for Joys' at Runnymede. the audience. The set achieved the des ired 'rehearsa l' atmo­sphere with new settings being created from the 'clutter' left tying around and found in most rehearsal rooms. Props were few but clearly indicated the char­acters who li ved in the various homes.

Our backstage tcam con-

si mple , free-s ta nd in g latti ce Screens which were moved at va ri o us time s to repr ~ e nt

Dafydd's living room , Fa y'. lounge, the pub. the cafe nd Rebecca 's garden.

We spen t a fair time rehears­ing the variou s scene changes so these do ve tai led w ith the action to ensure that the show ran smoothly. Ex tra member . f the "Beggar's O pera" chorus and o ur own stage management te, m effected th ese changes w ith slickness and ease and against a background of live o r recorded mu sic by John Cay.

AUDITIONS Ayckbourn's humour ari ses not from jokes but out o f the recog­nisable peo ple and relationships of his acutely dra wn characteri ­sa tions. To anybod y who has been involved in amateur drama the situations and characters in "A Chorus o f Disappro val" will seem painfull y and hilario usly rea l.

In considering the casting we had to choose actors who could create be.lievable peo ple, sustain the characterisatio n, explore the underl y ing sub-text and rela ­tionship and, in this particular comedy, sing.

As a society, we have staged a dozen or so musicals and seven of this playwrig ht 's po pular works so we had a pool of actors who can sing and move con vinc­

ingly and, in addition, have ex perience of achieving that deceptively difficult '/\yckbourn style'.

The acto r who pl ay d Dafydd , the energetic Welsh producer, had a w ide experience of playing maj or roles (Sa lieri in "Amadeus"; Norman in "The Dresser") and, in addition, si ngs

PAGE 11

very well indeed. A young man, he worked hard on Dafycid's shambling gait, his vigorm.s movement about the stage and his ambivalent relationship with his wife. He studied the Welsh accent and sustained the central role with bursts of wonderfuJ energy and volatile tem­perament.

On such secure foundations the serious scenes with Guy which come at the end of the play and have very pertinent lines about the 'real ' and the 'theatrical ' world were very telling indeed in performance.

The part of diffident Guy was played by a talented ador with a good singing voice and excelJent comedy timing and who achieved that Jla'ive charm of somebody who makes things happen by doing absolutely nothing (a favourite Ayckbourn persona ). His readions to the Pendon ladies were very funny and he achieved the develop­ment of growing confidence very well.

Hannah , the producer's downtrodden wife, had to be a believable age to be cast with our relatively young Dafydd. She is homely but Guy is attrac­ted to her; she lacks confidence at horne, yet 'on stage' she comes alive. Our actress had a fine singing voice and when she performed the musical numbers you could see ,vhy Dafydd and Guy fell for her. This contrasted well with her depressed feelings at home, and her later growing confidence as the relationship with Guy develops yet she was very touching as she came to terms with the fad that her relationship with Guy was not going to last.

Our Fay was played by an adress who has won several acting awards at local festivals and here she had a field day. She managed every predatory nuance and sexy move, while her VEAL scene was a comedy gem and an objed lesson in how to say a line and mean some­thing else.

Ian was developed as a seedy 'shady' business man motivated by money and greed, the modern equivalent of the char­acters painted in Gay 's opera about London's 'low life'.

Enid and Ted were success­fully played as cosy lookalikes in knitted jerseys and hats. Jarvis, a know-all Northerner, had won­derfully big 'gestures '. Crispin and Linda were very modern and clearly had other things on their minds than operatic rehearsals. The fight between Linda and Bridget was one of the show's comic high spots. Bridget grew into a wonderfully bossy,

PAGE 12

aggressive stage manager, while Rebecca made a country snob in the Penelope Keith mould.

Casting "v1r Ames might be difficult as he nliist play the rehearsal piano. In addition, there are opportunities for a neat cameo; our actor created a comic 'mummy's boy'

As this was RDC's 100th presentation and many of our

rately, later putting the whole thing together in the final stages.

The actors were given time to develop their characters and rela ­tionships. We worked on the looks, the pauses, those pregnant Ayckbourn 'Ah's' just as much as the full spoken dialogue. The moves and 'business' were well-established before we 'put it all toge ther'. The natural move

----~

'The Beggar's Opera' Company at Runnymede. members wanted to be associa­ted with this special production, we supplemented the scripted cast with a chorus of extras which gave the "Beggar's Opera" sequences added fun and colour. These players also appeared in the bar scene and some of the rehearsal sequences and, in addition, moved props and scenery for the changing locations.

The superfiCiality of the na'ive style of acting required for the "Beggar's Opera" contrasted well with the naturaL modern style of Ayckbourn.

moti va tion in modern Ayck­bourn had to contrast with the over the top choreography in "The Beggar's Opera".

THE SONGS Our musical director held sepa­rate music rehearsals in the ear­lier stages. Fortunately, our Mr Ames could play the piano but the music was given that special period Aavour with the musical director playing a synthesiser, sounding like a harpsichord. In addition, Autes, oboe and cello gave depth to Gay's rumbus­tious tunes and were creatively

Dafydd' Hou e. At Runnymede. REHEARSALS The rehearsals needed careful planning as I was anxious to have time and space to develop the characters and moves so that the true Ayckbourn style would be realised. At the same time, there a re the musical numbers and the crowd scenes, plus the need to have a smooth-running show where the joins are not apparent. Our schedule allowed us to rehearse the play in short scenes, with the chorus and singing sections rehearsed 5epa­

arranged by our musical diredor. We made sure that we

pointed the songs towards the on-stage action to help the audi­ence make the clever connection between Ayckbourn's plotting and Gay's lyrics. The lighting plot also helped achieve these links.

LIGHTING The lighting plot can be as complicated or as simple as you ~ or your board ~ allow. You can have enormous fun with the

LIGHTING REHEARSAL s where Raymond, the unhelr ­electrician, finds that his cues a all out of sync with the directl~~ This scene was very tricky . rehearse and learn, and it was time well spent in the theatr rehearsing this scene separate!: so that the full comedy potenti<l was realised.

Obviously, for the large chorus scenes, fuJI stage lighting will be used for the more inti­mate scenes, the lighting can be confined to the smaller acting area. Distinction needs to be clear between the obviously 'lit ' "Beggar's Opera" and the cold light of the rehearsal scenes.

COSTUMES Of course, each character must have at least two costumes ~ those for "The Beggar's Opera" and their modern clothes. Care was taken not to spend all our time on the former whilst not bothering with the lalter. Clothes should reAect those very different characters and the changing season as the rehear­sals cover the period from Feb­ruary to May.

Fortunately, our company had performed several Restorabion plays so had a fairly extensive wardrobe of Georgian costume. Perhaps Pendon Light Operatic Society are not excessively parti­cular about accuracy but we added colour and slightly ridicu­lous '.vigs to aid the comedy. .

Rebecca, showing off the costume she hated, appeared in bedroom slippers and curlers, whilst Jarvis's purloining Ted's boots was pointed well and achieved a particularly big audi­ence response ~ especially as the actor playing Jarvis made him such a boring old buffoon! Fay's mini 'leopard skin' number and the hint of suspenders added to the comic impact of that mar­vellously-written 'veal' scene.

We had a large number of mob caps and highwaymen's hats so our extended chorus members cut ~ what they thought ~ quite a dash! We were fairly careful to provide the right shoes and buckles or boots for the Opera, except where the comedy demanded the obvious 'faux pas'.

CONCLUSION To summarise the problems set by "A Chorus of Disapproval": I. Casting in depth believable characters, credible relationships handling the dialogue. 2. The music. Making sure tha John Gay's music sounds auther ­tic. is sung with confidence M ­

that it comments on the prest' . day action. J. Managing the main "Bega<r

'ct and the inset scenes _' and making sure that PI OUS transitions are , and efficien tI y effected. arsing the smaller scenes t rger chorus set pieces

• time is used profitably fi tting it all together at

, ming both the Ayck~

and John Gay characters ci ngly. these problems are over~

and the challenge faced, pesult can be a deafening b of approval from your l ence and your

-easurer! C

THE KELVIN PLAYERS by JO/Ill COlJsins

In 1987 I was asked if I was ailable to direct the Diamond ilee Production of The Kelvin

] 'ers in March 1989. I have n a member of the Club since

'>-7 and had directed for them ;ore but this was to be the

ardest challenge for me; to vose a play that was represen ~

t.3hve of the Club, both artisti~ li y and technically, that would

- could incorporate as many ""'e.mbers of the Club as possible

d of course, most importantly 'ha t would be successful at the _ x office,

Trying to amalgamate all . ese ideas I set about the

duous task (as we all know) of :' ay reading, visits to the library,

ing through the long lists of -pench's and Chappell's acting

itions but alw.1Ys in the back - ' my mind I wanted to direct a ~ ay that was new to Bristol ,.

lences. After moving house and ing through the laborious job

. unpacking boxes I came ~oss my collection of London

e atre programmes and ongst these I found the tionaI Theatre's production of CHORUS OF DISAPPRO­

-\L by Alan Ayckbourn . ..rring the late Colin Blakeley.

ad a cast of 13 plus extras . the central character is Guy, Idower, who joins the opera­society with the hope of

--'Ping his loneliness. He soon "ITles the comic victim of a rse array of characters in the

" who attempt to manipu­im for their own ends. It .old of the tempers and

s of local am dram. It had : (for . the company in .JS' were rehearsing Gay's

Beggar's Ope ra ') and • plus 12 scene changes. a long deliberation I t that this was the ideal

choice for the Diamond Jubilee Production.

My next problem was setting about finding who held the performance rights and if it was yet released for the amateur stage and if copies were avail ­able for reading. This part was eas y for there were reading

I

like Grand Op ra from days gone by or modern Opera! Musicals of today. It is almost a play with music and written in Old English form. A number of the tunes in the production were copies of songs sung at the time of writing but with different words. I also found the libretto

The Cafe Scene at Bristol. copies but the play had not been released and no date had been given for this. I was advised to wait until early 1988 when a decision would be made. I waited and then discovered that a touring version would be coming to Bath in the summer of 1988 and I wondered if this would affect our proposed pro­duction. [ was then informed

did not make for easy reading. (Often I pick up a script and will read it from cover to cover, but with this I kept putting it down.) However I got the gist of the production and what Ayckbourn was trying to say, I was given a recording of a production that was performed in Scotland and to my amazement I started to like the music. This was a t

Chez Guy and Hannan's At Bristol. that A CHORUS OF DISAP­PROVAL was to be released to amateurs on 1st January 1989 which would be just in time for a March production. There was no problem in obtaining the Com­mittee's approval and so I had my play with the added bonus of a West of England Amateur Premiere, and the Redgrave Theatre was booked for the week commencing Easter Sunday, 26th March 1989.

I had plenty of time to think about the set deSign, casting and most importantly of all in resear­ching 'The Beggar's Opera'. I also belong to the Bristol Musi ­cal Comedy Club and have directed a number of musicals for them and I thought this was going to be an easy task. But I was wrong. I cannot read music and The Beggar's Opera' is not

help as I was going to live with this show for the next nine months.

the main principal parts but I was left without a Linda and worst of all. my leading man Guy. A few telephone calls

The Fight Scene at Bristol. My next thoughts were on

the design of the set and as I have designed all my plays and musicals since I started directing

. I knew I had no problem in finding the set deSigner. Over the years I have learned of some of the pitfalls that companies get into by over design and using lots of scenery (especially in musicals). [ prefer simplicity by using just furniture and lighting to do the work instead of great scene changes. For 'Chorus ' [ wanted something technical to look at, but simple in operation. The play has 12 scene changes ranging from an actual perform­ance of 'The Beggar's Opera ' to rehearsal rooms, a pub, two sitting rooms, one with erotic drawings and a garden, with no real time for scene changes as this would stop the continuity of the play.

My only solution was a revolving stage with the rest of the set as a decorative border around. [ decided that the revolve should be split in half with a scaffolding walkway across at a height of 6'6" with two exits leading from the revolve and two more exits downstage right and left with a staircase leading to two more exits on the top level. The colour of the set was sludge green, black and brown with rags torn and dyed to match. All this was to represent the main production set of the 'The Beg ­gar's Opera' but would also be a g od background for the other scenes within the production. After talks with my Stage Man­agers and Lighting Designer it was finally decided that thi s was the set to use.

Now I had to sit and wait for the .1uditions and just prior to these my Musical Director was taken ill.

Auditions for 'Chorus' were interesting for not only did the company have to ad but had to sing and dance - a combination not known' to Kelvin. Allhough the company entered into the spirit of the production, after the two auditions [ could flll 11 of

PAGE 13

found me a Linda but still no Guy. My hope was with a member who had not acted with Kelvin for some time due to business commitments but once again I was unlucky for his wife was expeding their first child during the week of produdion. Some anxious days went by, when as luck would have it, my leading man entered from stag e right. (l ran into an excellent ador with whom I had pre­viously worked and who was available and who wished to join Kelvin). Ironically the story of 'Chorus' concerns a new man joining an am dram society and by the end of the show was playing the lead was made slightly different in that the leading man would start with the leading role.

Rehearsals started on 9th January with one problem - the Musical Diredor was still ill but he was out of hospital and would be ready to start work in two weeks. Work started on the initial blocking and was going well but still no Musical Director - he now needed a few more weeks convalescence and I began to smell a rat. Work on the danCing sequences in the show went ahead working with the recorded version. In mid February came the bombshell ­my Musical Director would not be returning. After a few choice words and a number of large drinks I set about finding a new M D. My problem was that the script had a charader called 'Mr Ames' who was the rehearsal pianist on stage and played the beggar in the opera. I needed someone who was willing to ad as well as play the piano on stage. At the end of a two week search and going through five pianists, who for various reasons would lov(' to do it but were unable to accept, things were getting serious. We had three weeks to go with no singing started and with not being a musical society I was getting concerned that the company would need time and confidence building as they were not used to performing songs or perfed that extra ability of playing to an audience - the difference between musicals and the "legiti­mate" stage.

I made an instant decision that if I could find a lady to take over the playing of the piano I would re-write the script to suit and one of the extras would take over the dialogue of 'Mr Ames'. The Gods smiled on me as my first telephone call was a success. The pianist with the Bristol Musical Comedy Club was avail­able and would be delighted to play, with only a few changes,

PAGE 14

all minor to the rehearsal schedule. So on we went. Some songs had to be rescored because they were too high, dance sequences were now able to be completed (by now the company that were complaining of aching limbs ) and the polishing and final touches were <ldded.

Early in the week before 'Chorus' opened I heard that the company that should have been in the theatre had cancelled their booking and so after a quick telephone call (my telephone bill was going up and up) it was confirmed that we could deliver the set and the revolve, which by this time had been collected from Oxford. on Good Friday which would give us extra time on the following Sunday and we would be ahe<ld of schedule. On Saturday the scaffolding was delivered. This was another piece of luck as I had picked from Yellow Pages, the nearest scaffolding company to my home and found that their designer was interested in drama. He was very helpful and best of all gave us a good financial deal.

The Sunday of the 'get in ' went smoothly with the revolve and scaffolding going up quite quickly. I then had another prob­lem to solve as over the weekend I lost one of my Stage Managers. So it was decided that [ would run the book for the week of the show and the other Stage Manager would run the set changes and r('volve opera­tions. This must have been a first - not only direding, designing, painting my own set but now running it.

The weekend and the days running up to the first night I find are the most exciting although hard work with not many hours sleep. To see your plans and thoughts come alive, the set you have designed work. to add the lighting and sound, the costumes and all the little extras that go towards a produc­tion is a rewarding experience.

The technical rehearsal. dress rehearsal and first night went without a hitch (the planning stages had worked). The audi­ence and the Press enjoyed it and most of all the Company which now comprised of 23 people on stage all acting, singing and dancing had enjoyed performing A CHORUS OF DISAPPROV AL.

By the end of the week all the problems that I had faced in the months leading up to the first night had faded into the back­ground and the only thought in my head was - "What's next". 0

THIS WAS A MAN standards and certainly not a By Noel Coward patch on THE VORTEX. Edwar

Tavistock Repertory Churt is a socie ty portra it Company (London) p<linter and his dilettante wife It was something of a coup Carol. to use modern parlance,

for the Tavistock Repertory "puts it about a bit". She has an Company to have the affair with "that cad" Harry opportunity to present the Challoner, but the pby is more British premiere of a lost Noel concerned with her e tra­Coward play. The script was ordinary seduction of M ajor found in the archives of the Lord Evelyn Bathurst who purports to Chamberlain, who had banned be the husband's best friend. the play on the grounds that I susped that, had the licence when the principal character in for produdion been issued, the play is told of his wife's Coward would have restrudured adultery in the final ad, he bursts many of the longer duologues out laughing. Coward 's which seemed, in this version, to comment at the time was, "The have been put in place to give board of censors likes the other actors enough time for commandments broken solemnly elaborate off-stage costume or not at aU." changes.

James Horne as Edward and Sheila Burbidge as Lady Margot

A feur Theatre Survey

Butler. This is early Coward and he

has not yet reached the heights of brilliant construction and charader development which were to make him the foremost satiric and comedy writer of his age. He is reliant on shocking his public, particularly in the setting

All of that said, it is arter a fairly ponderous plot setting first ad, a good fun play with good, old-fashioned escapism and modern audiences can chuckle merrily at the antics of such disgraceful behaviour which today would not cause an

James Horne as Edward and Karen Walk T as Zoe. of those 'outrageous' Twenties and it is interesting to see the early development of an epigramatic wit very much in these more immature days in the style of Oscar Wilde. That said, the play is slight by today's

eyebrow to flutter. Wirh one tiny exception, the casting j-

nothing short of superb and, f r this alone, director Sara Randal could be congratulated.

But this production was stage director's tOllr de forete