SceneThe Newsletter of the Leicester Drama Society

October 2020

Inside

Editorial 2Rob Mullins 3Quiz Questions 4-5Notes from the OfficeDemoltion of the Anchor CentreFirst Aider recruitment 6

Sept Winners

CLUB200

LDS

1st prize - £250Share Number -

2nd prize - £100Share Number - 050

3rd prize - £50Share Number - 002

200 Clubreturns!LDS Chair, Andy Crooks, poppedinto the office on Friday 18September for a weekly update andthus, with three Trustees present in asingle space for the first time sinceFebruary we were able to hold a200 club draw. Yay!

Congratulations to the luckywinners and huge thanks to one ofthe winners who generouslydonated their winnings to thetheatre. Much appreciated!. • JennyHarding

Scene brings news. Great news!

At the Trustees’ meeting held in late September it was agreed that we should seekto re-open the Theatre on Tuesday 1st December! It was also agreed that our firstevent would be a Variety show – similar to the Gala Evening that was held last yearfor members. The show would be about two hours long, with a 30 minute intervalbetween each half.

The plan is to open for three shows that week; Tuesday 1st, Thursday 3rd andSaturday evening 5th December. The day between each show would allow us todeep clean the Theatre to make it COVID secure.

There is much to be done and nothing will be fully confirmed until we have signedoff on all that needs to be done, including confirming the availablity of the acts!Our plans to make our venue COVID secure will be accelerated in the next fewweeks, our volunteer members that run front of house will require an update onprocedures within the “New Normal” and “Rule of Six” and additional signage,hard ware and cleaning material needs to be purchased.

Our plan includes re-opening the bar with table service and to utilise the Studio,much as we do for Kids Club during the panto’ season. The bar will become abottle bar and go cashless with a new Point of Sale system purchased to facilitatethis.

Some detail still has to be worked out - the best one-way system in the Theatre forexample, but we think with a following wind, the help and support of our fabulousmembers and a slice of luck we can light the lights on the 1st December.John Ghent is in charge of the show and you all know with John that he’ll moveheaven and earth to deliver a show of quality and excellence that will appeal to awide audience.

In the next two months the backstage technical crew are going to be in the Theatreon Tuesday and Thursday evenings, having revised their regular “tech” nights. Forthe show the technical fit up will be completed on the morning of Sunday 29thNovember and the sound check for the acts on the Sunday afternoon.

The first performance may only be for members and somewhat of a soft openingso that we can test our COVID secure procedures before we invite the generalpublic in.So, exciting times and a real pleasure to report positive news to our long suffering

THE THEATRE RE-OPENS!

The Little TheatreDover Street. Leicester. LE1 6PW.

e: admin@thelittletheatre.co.uk

Theatre ManagerPhillip Royley (on furlough)

Leicester Drama Society LimitedBoard of Trustees(elected unless otherwise stated)

Chairman & Technical TrusteeAndy Crooks

TreasurerCharles Moss

Company Secretary (Appointed) &Co-opted TrusteeRob Thirlby

Honorary SecretaryMary Jones

Trustee for ProductionsJohn Ghent

Trustee for FacilitiesJeremy Thompson

Trustee for Front of HouseFrances Harris

Trustee for the StudioRussell Hughes

Marketing TrusteeVacant

Trustee for OutreachColin Hide

Trustee without specific responsibilitySimon Dickens

Other Board Attendees

Development Programme DirectorJenny Harding (Co-opted)

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Contributions to Scene are invited. Articles, images & ideas for stories aremost welcome and if you are a nervous writer Editors Emma (EB) & Colin(CH) can write for you. Our deadline is a week before the end of eachmonth - but if you have a story let us know before then to guarantee thatwe reserve space for you!

Contact us via email at scene@thelittletheatre.co.uk

All photos in each edition of Scene are by the fabulous Sally Evans, unlessotherwise stated.

If members use any images of Little Theatre productions in any socialmedia post please give a photo credit to the person who took the photo.In most cases, for production photos, this will be Sally Evans.

EditorialIT is such a wonderful thing. It kept us connected during 'the lockdown' andallows many of us to work from home. The Theatres IT system is alsopretty ritzy too. Rob Thirlby and Tim Neville are i/call things digital, and between them, they havemigrated our system to Windows 10. This, viaMicrosoft “Teams”, allows us to access all of theTheatres' administration files at home.

I was browsing one day and came across an“Archive” folder. Within is a huge body of workby Rob & Lisa Thirlby. It would appear theyhave taken all of the Society’s programmesfrom the 1930s and scanned them. Whilst theTheatre has a fabulous physical archive,digital media gives great flexibility as itemscan be viewed anywhere.

Sat in the Theatre in early October, exactly90 years ago you would have been treatedto the LDS production of “Loyalties”, a playby John Galsworthy. It was one of his mostsuccessful plays and was made later into afilm. You would holding a wonderfulprogramme – the cover of which is reproduced here. I particularly love thefont that the “The Little Theatre” appears in. It may even be hand-drawn as allattempts to identify it have drawn a blank. The surrounding artwork is terrific too- and I love the little graphic at the bottom.

Inside, the programme editor reveals that henceforth, programmes will not justbe about the show, but will also include news and comment about the Societyand its activities - The birth of Scene!

Enjoy the issue.

Colin & Emma

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Like Keyser Söze (name that film), Scene was convinced that Rob Mullins didn't exist. Sure, there were notes left for himon noticeboards that appeared, then disappeared, entries in diaries and a faint name on a signing in sheet each day.We were told that he existed but, like Keyser, had never seen him. Ever the Poirot, Fran Harris tracked him down.

Meet the Invisible Man

We are all familiar with the various departments that make our theatre runsmoothly, from performers, backstage, front of house, not forgetting the bar andthe office.

But there is one person that you may never see, but without whom the whole placewould not be so efficient.

I asked Rob Mullins, our caretaker, handyman, Mr Fixit, just what jobshe did and with his usual humour provided me with an A-Z of histasks.

A Auditorium reupholstering all the seats, air-con unitB Bar beer lines, bulb replacement, blackboard cleaningC Carpentry, carpark maintenance, cleaning, carerD Decorating, taking in deliveries, defrosting freezersE ‘Earing aid cleaning (sorry)F Floor maintenance, floor painting, freezer cleaning,

fire alarm testG General maintenance, glazingH HospitalityI Ice machine servicingJ JanitorK Kettle operatorL Litter pickingM Meter readings, multitude of repairsN Not much that I won’t have a go at!O Opening upP Pot washing, pressure washing, post man, photo

copierQ Question answered!!!R Replenishing toilet roll, hand towels and soaps,

rebooting computers, repairsS Stage floor painting, salt machine servicingT Tap running, touch point hygieneU Unblocking sinks, toiletsV Vacating the building at home time!W Window cleaning, weeding, waste bins, wheelchairs,

washing tea towel, etcX Xmas decorationsY Yesterday’s clutter sorter!Z Zillions of other jobs

Rob has been keeping the building ready and sanitised for reopening since closureeven after he had been knocked off his bicycle and had 20 stitches in his mouth.

This says it all except “Thank You, Rob, for doing what you do and being who youare.” • FH

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The Questions from our 1st Little Theatre Quiz

Films

1. In which Bond movie doesChristopher Lee play a villain withthree nipples?

2. Which was the last Disney movieWalt Disney actually worked on?

3. About whom did Tony Curtisrather rudely say “It was like kissingHitler”?

4. About whom did Noel Cowardsay – “If he’d been any prettier, itwould have been Florence ofArabia”?

5. Which 1968 epic directed byStanley Kubrick does not have asingle line of dialogue in the first 25minutes or the last 23 minutes? Alsomy favourite film

6. A Star is Born was first made in1937 and has been remade 3times. Who starred in and directedthe most recent version with LadyGaga?

7. Tom Hanks won Best Actor at theOscars two years in a row. Nameboth films.

8. Which South Korean film wonBest Picture at last year’s Oscars?

9. In which recent movie did MargotRobbie appear as murdered filmstar Sharon Tate?

10. How many films have therebeen in the Marvel CinematicUniverse? From Iron Man in 2008to Spiderman Far From Home in2019. You can have one either side.

Pip Nixon and The Little Theatre Elves (We don't know their names but one of them definitely wasn't Happy) were thesuperstars that hosted the first Little Theatre Quiz, live on Facebook on Friday 17 July. Many members and friends of theTheatre tuned in to the live event, but in case you missed it we reproduce the Quiz Questions here. Answers in theNovember edition of Scene, but if you cannot wait that long and have a brain worm gnawing away, ping us an email &we'll send them to you. And in case you want to see it "live" head to our Facebook page - it appears as a video there.

Opening Lines from books

1. It is a truth universallyacknowledged that a single man inpossession of a fortune must be inwant of a wife.

2. Mr and Mrs Dursley, of numberfour Privet Drive, were proud to saythat they were perfectly normal,thank you very much.

3. Marley was dead, to begin with.

4. I scowl with frustration at myselfin the mirror. Damn my hair – it justwon’t behave.

5. All children, except one, grow up.

6. It was the best of times, it was theworst of times.

7. It was 7 minutes after midnight.The dog was lying on the grass inthe middle of the lawn in front ofMrs Shears' house. Its eyes wereclosed.

8. Once there were four childrenwhose names were Peter, Susan,Edmund and Lucy.

9. So Now Get Up.

10. Last night I dreamt I went toMandalay again.

General Knowledge with a vaguelyLeicester theme

1. Richard the Third lost at the Battle ofBosworth. Who won?

2. Which American singer/songwriter wonthe Nobel Prize for Literature in 2016?

3. Who was famously exiled to the islandof Elba, only to escape 300 days later?

4. Leicester’s own Thomas Cook is said tohave invented the package holiday. Hisfirst ever package was a one day rail tripon July 5, 1841, from Leicester to whichdestination 11 miles away?

5. In which city is Anne Frank’s house?

6. Where were the Olympic Games takingplace in 1980 when they were boycottedby America?

7. Which Queen of England, who ruledonly for 9 days, is traditionally thought tohave been born in Bradgate Park inLeiestershire?

8. Which famous suffragette worked as aboot and shoe machinist in Leicesterbefore taking a lead role in the campaignfor Votes for Women. She was imprisonedfive times for crimes, including throwing abrick through a home office window.

9. What name was given to the project todevelop the first nuclear bomb?

10. What was the name of the Earl ofLeicester who in 1264 deposed the kingand called the first ever parliament withrepresentatives from every town and shire,thereby creating what would become theHouse of Commons. Lots of local stuff isnamed after him

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Plays - all of which have been performedat The Little Theatre

1. Which play by John Osborne, whichpremiered at the Royal Court in London on8th May 1956, is often said to havechanged British theatre forever? Legendhas it the audience gasped when thecurtain went up on an ironing board!

2. In the play, Hamlet, what is Hamlet’sdad called?

3. The title of which 1938 thriller by PatrickHamilton gives us the modern word formanipulating someone into doubting theirown sanity, memory or judgement?

4. Which play by Denise Deegan, about apoor girl overcoming the odds to triumphat a posh boarding school, won theOlivier Award for Best Comedy in 1983?The Little Theatre’s 2012 production isthought by some to be the greatest showever staged by the theatre.

5. If you google “funniest play of all time”,which play comes up first?

6. In 2013 the English Touring Theatreconducted a poll to ask what was theNation’s Favourite Play? Which AlanBennet play came out number one?

7. Shelagh Delaney wrote which taboo-breaking, Salford-set play about Jo, apregnant, working class teenager - whenshe was only 19? It was a massive hit forthe Theatre Royal Stratford East in 1958.

8. Which 1978 play by Harold Pinter tellsthe story of an affair backwards?

9. Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, SinbadThe Sailor and Aladdin all derive fromwhich collection of Middle Eastern tales?

10. In Guardian’s list of the 50 greatesttheatre shows of the 21st century (in theiropinion) – which play starring MarkRylance came first?

Name the Musical from the Lyrics

1. I'm gonna rouge my knees androll my stockin's down...

2. Don't be stupid, be a smarty/ Come and join the Naziparty...

3. I used to have a girlfriendKnown as Elsie / With whomI shared Four sordid rooms

in Chelsea.

4. I've given you sunlight / I've givenyou rain / Looks like you're nothappy / 'Less I open a vein!

5. No one really knows how thegame is playedThe art of the tradeHow the sausage gets madeWe just assume that it happensBut no one else is inThe room where it happens!

6. The devil will drag you under / Bythe sharp lapels of your checkeredcoat....

7. You could charm the critics andhave nothing to eat / Just slip on abanana peel, the world's at yourfeet

8. Five hundred twenty-fivethousand six hundred minutes....

9. Those who have seen your facedraw back in fear....

10. You can dance, you can jive,having the time of your life,

The top three winningpeople/teams on the night were:-

1st PlaceWho Turned the Lights Out?(led by Mary Harding-Scott)

2nd Place (joint)Titus Androniquiz(Radojka Radulovic) &2B or Not 2B: Can You Repeat theQuestion? (Rob Leeson)

3rd Place (joint)Mo Carberry & Karen Gordon

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Notes from the office

The start of September saw thetheatre’s administrative office openfor the first time since early April.Trustees Mary Jones and Colin Hideare currently staffing the officebetween 10am and 1pm, Mondayto Friday. Telephone and emailcontact is welcome, but we are notopen for personal callers at themoment.

We have recently sent out emailand letter reminders to memberswhose membership was due withinthe last couple of months. If youneed to renew your membership thesimplest and cheapest way to renewis to give us a ring and we canrenew over the ‘phone. You’ll needa card with you to make payment.

Whilst we are happy to writeletters and accept cheques it’s mucheasier and cheaper for the Society ifeverything is done electronically.The minimum cost of postage isnow 43p which all mounts up if alarge number of items are posted,whereas email is free. Chequesinvolve paperwork, trips to the bankand queues, card payment isinstantaneous and safer for all. So,we in the office would encourage allmembers to embrace electroniccommunication. But we’ll still loveyou if you don’t!

The Theatre has registered as adesignated site with the NHSCOVID-19 App that launched lastweek. At the stage doorand signing in station thereis a poster with a QR codeon. To use the Track &Trace system you’ll need tohead to your favouriteApp’ store and downloadthe app. NHS COVID-19 isthe app you are looking for. You

simply enter the first part of your postcodeto register. If you come to the theatre,simply scan the code with your smartphone camera and the date and time ofyour presence at the Theatre is registeredby the app. Thereafter, if we have aCOVID outbreak and you fall into the daterange for possible contact & infection youwill be contacted. When we re-open theseposters will appear throughout the theatre.

Our first job when we re-opened theoffice was to 'don the marigolds', makelike Kim and Aggie and deep clean thespace. It’s now super clean and smells ofalpine pastures with a back note of pineforest.

Busy bee Rob Mullins, our maintenancesupervisor, has been hard at workthroughout the closure period. So much sothat he is now in danger of beingswamped by the number of black bags fullof rubbish that he has accumulated. So, ifany member is driving by the Theatrebetween 10am and 1pm any weekdayand could pop a couple of bags in theircar and put them in their home rubbishbin, please pop in and grab a couple.They are clean and full of dry things only.And if you come in a van we’ll love youeven more!

Lisa Thirlby reports that Trustee meetingminutes for the last 8 months are nowavailable on the Society's internal website.

At the early September Trusteesmeeting, Trustees accepted an offer fromColin Hide to become Temporary Building

Supervisor for a short period.Work needs to be done toprepare the Theatre forreopening, and to work up a listof office tasks that volunteers cancomplete in the months aheaduntil a steady income stream isestablished that would allow

other options to become available • CH

As we begin to restart after the lockdown and get to grips with the "NewNormal" and the "Rule of Six", Trustees Mary Jones and Colin Hide havereopened the Theatre Office on weekdays. We report on the first months activity.

Demolition ofthe AnchorCentreCMEC Demolition Ltd ofNottingham began work on thedemolition of Anchor Centre onMonday 28 September. The centrewill be reduced to ground level withthe party wall to the Theatre leftexposed. LDS staff will take photosof the work as it proceeds tohopefully evidence damage to ourproperty in the event that there isany. Members are encouraged todo the same if they visit the Theatre,so that we have lots of photos of thework. The work is expected to takeseveral weeks.

Updating ourlist of registeredFirst AidersMembers will be aware of the needto have a qualified First Aiderpresent in the Theatre during ashow. In preparation for our re-opening, we are updating our list ofqualified First Aiders who areavailable to fulfil this role.

If you have a First Aid at WorkCertificate or know someone whohas and would like to join our listthen we'd love to hear from you.

First Aiders get two complimentarytickets to the show so they can bringa friend. In the unlikely event ofsomeone requiring First Aid duringtheir time at the Theatre, the FirstAiders are available to assist. Wehave posted an ad' for First Aiderson the Volunteering ActionLeicestershire (VAL) website that hasalready encouraged two newpeople to volunteer. Great News!