" LOUD HAILERS!"........

Here ( BELOW) are 4 Chester Youth Theatre STARS...all talented teenagers....with a great sense of fun...and already showing a dedication to theatre.... that's intoxicating ...and quite frankly... moving 

In my play " LOUD HAILERS!", they each played several parts...

On the left, E played Lillian, a Suffragette on her first March......H was part of our Suffragette Chorus and also a  cheekily affectionate  grandson.... AND also playing the most efficient Butler ever ....N was in the Chorus...and was a teenage granddaughter too....and E, also a grand daughter PLUS member of the Suffragette Chorus. 

AND I'm certainly NOT forgetting E ( not pictured unfortunately) .....who played Jack, loyal brother of Suffragette Felicea, and a strong supporter of the Suffragettes. 

IT WAS A JOY TO WORK WITH THEM ALL! 

HERE'S THE STORY OF HOW I CAME TO WRITE THE PLAY! 

Last  January, the Directors of CTC's Youth Theatre, asked me if I'd like to write a play about Suffragettes. I love that particular period,...so I was delighted to have this chance...

As a starting point, J and P told me of an incident in Chester in 1912...Scottish Suffragette Mary Phillips came here to join a Suffragette March...her intention being to "flour -bomb" PM Herbert Henry Asquith....as he arrived at Chester Town Hall. 

SO...I needed to discover more.

 I spent a couple of mornings in Chester Records Office...discovering news reports of the incident...and as I wandered home, I peered into Carluccio...and spied Ann, who  took part in my 1st play last year, " Mirror Images".

 I joined Ann...(I probably downed a hot choc) ....and I mentioned what I'd just been up to. She was very enthusiastic...because like me, she thought it great to tell a local story..... about something so important in women's history......and particularly to tell it with the help of Cestrians......young AND old!... in fact, Cestrians ages 15 -75!

So there it began.

For several weeks, I immersed m'self in researching that part of our History.  

I learned lots....the more I read/noted ...from the net, books, photographs, paintings, rhymes, songs, fashions, ...the more pleasurable I found the whole experience...the politics, aspects of society, family life, and  particularly women's  lives at the start of the twentieth century...

And of course I thought about my own family....my grandparents, mother, father, my aunts...and needless to say, I wished they were all "still available for this conversation!" . 

Then I wrote the play... introduced the script to J and P....the teenagers... and adult actors who were interested and off we went....... 

It was a very happy,  fulfilling time indeed! ... 

ABOVE: Here's a session with J and P after rehearsing....cast and directors making suggestions...adding their voice to the presentation...

And BELOW: A lively moment during rehearsing... !!

More pictures soon. 

"Viscerally Authentic! Compelling! Moving!" (SUNDAY TIMES)

Waverton Good Read's** Prize Winner, 2017, ex Soldier in Afghanistan, Harry Parker, was both celebrated/congratulated at Eaton Golf Club recently, with a tasty Dinner amid much  fun/laughter.

Then we listened to Harry's OWN story....along with the creation of his novel's story.... and yes, we listened with bated breath..and were delighted by this man's strengths.

His " ANATOMY OF A SOLDIER" tells the story of Capt Barnes, leading his troops into war, when he is gravely injured by an exploding IED. Parker writes vividly of this devastating time...and also the months following.

AND the story is told in the words of 45 objects...an intriguing way of storytelling.. telling a tragic... though marvellous story...

WE were both moved AND thrilled by Harry Parker's novel.

** www.wavertongoodread.org.uk

"DREAMING THE NIGHT FIELD....!"

Once again LITFEST welcomed the amazing ADVERSE CAMBER into its midst...at Story House... see www.adversecamber.org 

They are Story Tellers, Singers , Composers and Musicians, who do nothing less than weave sheer magic...see their website for full details. 

Hopefully the Magic Will Return! 

" Super Soap!" .

Lively Musical at Tip Top the other week....." The Great British Soap Opera"....based on an original production and now directed by the talented Phil Cross.                                                                                                                                                 LOVED IT!

"BLISSFULLY FUNNY!" said the publicity.....AND YES! IT CERTAINLY WAS...!

Superb evening of comedy and music from Rich Hall at his HoeDown at StoryHouse...scripted, yes, some of it...but his Ad Lib interaction with the audience...PLUS his vigorous (!) music...was great...and LOVED his ( anti-) Dylan! ...ALTHOUGH ( Hasten To Add) I shall NEVER be anti-Dylan m'self....

HOPE he returns to Story House...he may well after the reception he got...! 

" Didn't My Mother Wear Chiffon....?"

A recent trip to Lady Lever Art Gallery, Port Sunlight....to an Exhibition of Fashion and Photos from the 1950's......and WHAT an era..gorgeous "evening" dresses...classy suits...tweedy coats ...some with amazingly nipped-in-waists! )...herringbone...camel...satin and silk...chiffon...elegant shoes...( no boots like mine in sight!)....hats with brims and veils ( to hide/flirt behind!) .....and handbags...I could almost smell their leather ...exuding from the photographs.....

The Exhibition consisted of lovely snaps from the collection belonging to Jane Duncan. 

She was one of Britain's top fashion models in the 1950's. She modelled for Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, Vanity Fair...long before Jean Shrimpton ...Twiggy...and beautiful Marie Helvin apeared.

Loyts of dresses on show at Port Sunlight...mostly from ther collection of National Museums in Liverpool. 

Quote from Jane Duncan ( 1924-2014): " Sometimes I look at myself in the mirror and wonder if I dreamed those heady days at the peak of my career in the glamour and fashion world of the 1950's...."

" THE KILLING OF SISTER GEORGE..."

At the Forum ( Tip Top) Chester, a great performance of Frank Marcus's " The Killing Of Sister George"..
The 1968 film was memorable..watched several times...but this viewing as a play.... directed by Mark Newman...was a wonderful mix...poignant/sensitive/funny/quirky. Loved it!

Marian Newman shone as George...Fiona Wheatcroft as Childie..equally brilliant...as were Sally Dillon as Mercy....Pippa Redmayne: exotic Madame Xenia.
Cast are all well known at the Forum..." Shirley Valentine", " Fawlty Towers" " Bouncers"...SO MUCH MORE...but always entertaining...