1The Lace Market Theatre • Halifax Place • Nottingham • NG1 1QN

0115 950 7201 | www.lacemarkettheatre.co.uk

THE BOARDS July / August 2015

The in-house magazine for the Lace Market Theatre Editor: Andy Nash

Audition notice: The

Pitman Painters - page 6

Audition notice: Who’s afraid

of Virginia Woolf - page 11

LMT wins NANDA“Play of the Year 2015”

Photo by Howard Whitehurst

2

Member News 2

Note from the editor 2

From the Chair 3

From the Artistic Director 4

Happy Jack 5

Letters to the Editor 6

Theatre Management 7

Letter to the Editor 8

2015/16 Season in full 9

Review: Dead Ringer 10

Review: Dead Ringer 11

Review: Jumpy 12

King John @ RSC 13

LMT History 14

Who’s who 15

Audition notes 15

Diary Dates 15

Season at a glance 16

New Members

Membership isnow open for the2015-16 seasonand new

members who havealready joined us for thisseason are:

Hoi Ki Fu (Stephanie)Joseph GatenVicky HeronJames Whitby

Stephanie has already beeninvolved backstage onJumpy and Vicky has donea Front of House shift. Josephand James are waiting toundergo their bar training soall will soon be activelyinvolved.

B AnthonyMembership Secretary

membership@lacemarkettheatre.co.uk

CONTENTS Member News

Letters to theEditor!

Please do send in your lettersand articles for publication.It makes such a differencewhen the Boards containsitems of interest from ourmembers.

Happy Jackis going to

Edinburgh - 17th -22nd August

See the details on page 5.

SADLY, THIS WILL bemy last note aseditor of “The

Boards”. Emma andI are embarking on anew adventure andmoving to the other

side of the Peaks to Manchester.

As well as beginning this newlife voyage, I am also starting anew career, well not quite yet,but it starts with me enrolling onLAW degree in October. So, infour short years will begin a newprofession. I still have, hopefully,35 years of gainful employmentleft, and this opportunity issomething I do not want to passup on. It is all change in the“Nash” household. Excitingtimes. My advice, don’t getstuck in a rut. If something isn’tworking, then change it.

Whilst only being member for arelatively short period I havehad the pleasure of serving onthe board, being part of somefantastic productions andmaking some glorious life longfriends. This is all testament tothe wonderful community,family, that the LacemarketTheatre has become to bothEmma and I.

One key thing that we will bothtake with us is the tremendousamounts of pride and passionthis membership holds for thistheatre. Indeed as I write this Iam sat in the shadow of theshield that was won at theNANDA awards dinner;something that could only beachieved through team work,commitment and passion forthe Lacemarket Theatre.

All the best folks!

Andy Nash

From the editor...

3

THE FIRST PLAY for nextseason has already beencast and the casts and

crew of our two remainingproductions this year are hardat work. The Theatre maynominally 'close' duringAugust but maintenance andrehearsals still continue. All inall our Halifax Place buildinggets more than its fair shareof wear and tear throughoutthe year. And it's beginningto take its toll. Some areas arebeginning to look tatty andsome of our technicalequipment is overdue forreplacement. Therefurbishment of the upstairstoilets last year shows whatcan be done.

The Board of Trustees hasdecided that a five-year planshould be put together. Thiswill look at what are the highpriority needs and how thecost of these can be spreadout and incorporated into ourannual budgets. One priorityis how to improve ouraccessibility for those withdisabilities. We are delightedthat Kerry Newcombe hasagreed to take the lead inthis work and will share moreinformation in the futureabout what is planned.

FROM THE CHAIR...You can help as well. MartynHooper will be leadingvolunteer working parties thissummer to make some muchneeded improvements to thedressing rooms. Look out fordetails of dates and how youcan get involved. The JohnLewis Partnership has verygenerously offered toredecorate the Green Roomthis summer as part of itssupport to local charities.These two projects will makea big improvement tofacilities for cast members.

To ensure that the Board canconcentrate on the 'bigissues' we have reconstitutedthe GRM as the TheatreManagement Committeewith a clear brief to managethe work of the Theatre on aweek-to-week basis. Detailsof membership etc will bepublicised soon.

Philip Hogarthphilip.hogarth@lacemarkett

heatre.co.uk

When We AreMarried

by J. B. Priestly20 - 25 July 2015

Cast:Stephen Herring Rev. MercerAlison Hope Mrs NorthrupAnne McCarroll RubyFraser Wanless AlbertGill Cooke LottieJackie Dunn MariaJohn Anthony JoeLinda Croston ClaraMatt Thomason GeraldRoger Watson HerbertRuth Page NancyTom Orton DysonJanice White Annie

Crew:Dan Maddison DirectorMax Bromley Set DesignPhilip Anthony LightingLesley Brown PropertiesChris Griffiths SM

JENNY TIMMINS HAS kindlyagreed to take on the roleof pub grub organiser as

from September 2015.

I would like to thank all theladies and gentlemen whohave given their time andhelp in providing excellentlunches over the past 5 yearssince I took over the job.

Please continue to giveJenny the support that yougave me.

Doreen Sheard

PUB GRUB ROTA

The refurbishment of the female,followed by the male, changingrooms will take place thissummer. The work will includerepainting the walls and ceiling,replacing the work surfaces,fixing shelving above the lightfittings and improvements to thelighting.

It is proposed that this work takeplace the week commencing 27July 2015. All offers of help toMartyn atmartynlhooper@hotmail.com.

4

WITH MY TIME as ArtisticDirector drawing toa close many would

think things would be quietingdown but nothing could befurther from the truth. In factthe events of the past fewweeks have been some ofthe most memorable of theentire season not leastbecause of our recentofferings to the main stage,Dead Ringer and Jumpy.Both were receivedextremely well by audienceson the nights I attended andmuch credit must go todirectors, casts and crews formaintaining the highstandards achieved thisseason.

JUNE 14TH IS a day whichwill stay with me for along, long time for that is

the day that the cast andcrew of King John got toperform on the stage of theRSC's Swan Theatre inStratford Upon Avon. Theculmination of almost twoyear's work for directorCynthia Marsh, the OpenStages process has providedrich opportunities for many ofthe theatre's members and

FROM THE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR...

the elation we all felt aftersharing our brand of theatrein that amazing space with apacked audience waswonderful to be a part of.

Following in the wake of ourRSC adventures was theannual black tie dinner forthe Nottingham andNottinghamshire DramaAssociation (NANDA) Awardslast Friday evening (19thJune) at the Crowne Plazahotel in Nottingham. Foryears I was astonished thatalthough being part ofNANDA we weren't in thehabit of putting up plays forconsideration for the awardsand so was determined tochange that. This year wehad two strong contenderswith Damages and BedroomFarce. The latter came in arespectable 7th place (witha special mention for setdesign) whereas Damagesscooped the awards for BestPlay and Best Actor for JasonWrightam. Needless to saythe champagne flowed andwe celebrated hard onbehalf of you all. We have alot to be proud of my friends!

I'm tempted to say that theRSC and NANDA experienceswere the cherry on the topof the cake for me thisseason but of course we havetwo treats yet to savourbefore I hand over the reinsto Max Bromley. I've seenexciting things at rehearsalsrecently for our final studioproduction, the powerfulclassic Yerma. The everpopular When We Are

Did you know...

Members of the LMT canreceive a discount at thePitcher and Piano byshowing their LMTMembership card whenpaying the bill?

Married is well on its way tobeing our third auditorium sellout and as Yerma is unlikelyto buck the trend of our otherstudio productions that haveplayed to capacityaudiences this season, doplease book soon. I havewarned you - don't delay!

Best wishes from one veryhappy Artistic Director!

Paul JohnsonArtistic Director

5

Prior to our appearance inEdinburgh some tour dateshave been organised asfollows:

June 27th - Mareham le FenVillage Hall

July 17th - Old Library Theatre,Mansfield

July 24th and 25th - ScothernVillage Hall

August 8th - Lace MarketTheatre

August 15th - Old Well Theatre,Moffat, Dumfriesshire

August 17th-22nd - QuakerMeeting House, Edinburgh

The reason for theseadditional performances is toraise funds for the trip toEdinburgh but also toincrease awareness of theLace Market Theatre. Weshall certainly be using theseopportunities to distributecopies of the new playbillwhich should have beenreceived from the printers bythen.

Please contact BeverleyAnthony onbsa@jmanthony.co.uk if youneed further information on

FOLLOWING ITS SUCCESSFULrun in the studio back inNovember the cast and

crew decided that it was aperfect production to take tothe Edinburgh Festival. Muchplanning and form filling hasensued and finally everythingis in place. The cast of NicAdams and Carol Parkinsonsuggested the trip and arenow excited about theopportunity. The originaltechnical crew are alsocoming along. The fullsupport team includesBeverley and John Anthony,Phil Anthony (no relation),Jack Harris, Keith Parkinsonand Peter Hodgkinson and allof us will benefit from thisopportunity.

We shall be performing atVenue 40 The QuakerMeeting House at 7 VictoriaTerrace on Monday 17th

August to Saturday 22nd

August at 6:15pm

Happy Jack Goes to the Edinburgh

Book now for “When we were married”

Either online or telephoning the box office

www.lacemarkettheatre.co.uk or 0115 950 7201

how to get tickets for any ofthese events.

The Edinburgh Festival is avery noisy marketplace andso we are determined totake every opportunity ofmaking our voice heard. Soif you, or anyone that youknow, happen to be inEdinburgh at any timebetween August 17th andAugust 22nd then we wouldgreatly appreciate thesupport.

Tickets are available fromthe Fringe Box Office ordirectly from the QuakerMeeting House on 01312206109 from August..

Beverley Anthonybsa@jmanthony.co.uk

Programme Sales

We are £32 in profit forprogramme sales, whichincludes costs of the“When We Are Married”printing all readyaccounted for - so everyone of those sold will be allprofit for the theatre.

A big thanks to Dawn andher team of programmesellers!

6

Letters to the editor

and recognise those who helpto promote such sales.

In the not too distant past suchinformation was relayed tomembers at the AGM, not onlyin the Treasurer’s Report but,also, by those in charge of theCommittees. As this doesn’thappen anymore suchinformation on the financialheartland of the theatre shouldbe printed in ‘The Boards’.

It is a way of keeping everyoneinvolved.

Yours faithfully,

Pat Richards

Ed. Hi Pat, yes a grand idea.We will make more of an effortto publish figures. These do getreported on at the AGM,however always good to shareprogress.

provide the in-depth analysison which future decisions couldbe taken.

We should appreciate the factswe can now garner. I wonderif there could be informationgiven on Programme Sales,which I know is close to Gareth’sheart.

Yours faithfully,

Pat Richards

21 May 2015

DEAR SIR, I wonder if I mightoccupy a column or twoof ‘The Boards’? In the

most recent edition of ‘TheBoards’ ( May/June 2015) yourequested letters from memberson issues.

In that edition I found theinformation on the two newtrustees most helpful andrelevant. Both trustees haveexperience and ability whichwill be most useful on The Board.Also, Gordon Parsons’ memoriesof Philip Pedley were a reminderof the work the Chairman of theearlier Trust did. I can onlywelcome, as you yourself, Sir,have done, these contributionsfrom members. Fascinating asthe Press reviews of productionsthat you publish are, theycannot express the workingroutines of the Lace MarketTheatre.

It was Gareth Morris’ article on‘Publicity and Marketing’, whichwas both informative andinteresting that revealed to usall the basic facts of ‘theatrebusiness’. The necessity ofkeeping figures and graphs fromwhich future plans, ideas anddevelopments may ensue is vitalto the running of any theatre.They provide essentialinformation for members of TheBoard and the ProgrammeAdvisory Groups etc.

The casual keeping of recordson scraps of paper as was thecase when I joined the theatre(there were no computers then)was, no doubt, accurate andenthusiastic but it could never

In Jason Wrightamwins NANDA Best

Actor award

The LMT’s very own JasonWrightam won the NANDABest Actor 2015 award forhis portrayal of Lister inDamages.

Well done Jason!

22nd May 2015

DEAR SIR, I wonder if I mightperhaps take up furthercolumns of the next

edition of The Boards? My lastletter ( 21 May 2015 ) set me offon a trail of thought that will notleave me until I havecommitted it to paper.

It is simply this. As Gareth hasinformed us of the details ofPublicity and Marketing it wouldseem to me most enlighteningif facts and figures of otherdepartments could, also ,appear in ‘The Boards’.

An occasional report on barsales could appear in ‘TheBoards’. Similarly it would bebeneficial if pub grub sales,coffee bar sales, ice creamsales and costume hire incomewere reported on. I’m surerecords are kept so printingthem in ‘The Boards’ would beno hardship. It would inform themembership of the importantbackground work that goes onwhile a theatre season is beingpresented. It would, also, reveal

7

Youth Theatre and Children intheatre:NANDA Youth Theatre Festival -Congratulations to John Watsonwho won the award for best newwriting for his play, "Fractures",Heather Pearson who won theaward for best actress, AaronConnelly and Alistair Mapperleywho jointly won the award for bestactor and Ava Stevens who won ahighly commended award.

Youth Theatre members, HeatherPearson and James Green, havebeen cast in "Jumpy"

Administration, membership andSocial:Membership currently stands at 353.

All current casts have paidmembership and from May newmemberships will run to August 2016

Lists of names to be invited to teaand cakes on July 25th to BAnthony asap.

Publicity and marketing:Post of head of this group still to befound.

Archive photos for White Christmasand Lion in Winter not yetproduced. It is being followed up.

Max Bromley is doing well withbrochure. Oliver Lovely is toproduce play images.

Box Office:“Dead Ringer” came in at 90%

“Jumpy” ticket sales going slowly.

Finance:Income up 31% on last year and£16,000 surplus.

Rationalisation of "floats" to beintroduced next season

Group Representatives MeetingHouse Managers to be asked to bevigilant.

PAG Report:Brochure - there are difficultiesgetting designers for the newseason and so designers' names willnot appear in the brochure.

Casting advisors found for first 4shows next season

Vigilance will be needed to seecasts for these renew theirmembership. Casting advisors nowasked to supervise this.

Services Group:Ideas for 5 year plan submittedJenny Timmins has offered to doPub grub rota if no on else offersNew display boards to be put up inbar area.

Light Night 2016 to be 5th February

Germany:Licences needed for play in hand.Means of transport beingresearched. Proposal to hire mini-buses.

From the Board:GRM to become The TheatreManagement Committee nextseason with reorganisation as yet inprogress. Extra Board meeting onJune 25th

Any ideas for 5 year plan to beforwarded to Philip Hogarth

NANDA and LTG:John Anthony attended LTGnational conference at Bingley LittleTheatre. Ian McKellan is steppingdown as president when he canfind a replacement.

NANDA - disappointed at responseto One Act Play Festival. 6 entriesfor play of the year.

Wardrobe:Last 3 shows well in hand

Costume Hire:Income c. £10,000 for the year.

Big hires falling off now and dealingwith small or individual hires.Increase in charges still underdiscussion.

Health and Safety:No accidents reported

New push bars on fire doors to beinstalled over summer.

Noise level of alarm in studio testedand found to be well within requiredlimits

Production Group:Stage Management for Jumpysorted

Thanks to all who rallied to finish setfor "Dead Ringers"

Problem of lack of set builders raisedand question of single set for allseason again mooted

Production group:Wish-list presented to Board forconsideration in 5 Year plan.

Artistic Report:Happy Jack in Edinburgh fromAugust 17th. They are in fringebrochure. They will be performingin several venues both before andon the way to Edinburgh. This shouldhelp with costs.

"Damages" company to attendNANDA Annual Dinner when playof the year winner will beannounced.

Noted that people talking in barduring a performance could beheard by those sitting on right hand

8

DEAR SIR, I can only craveyour indulgence further asI beseech you to ask for

further columns in ‘The Boards.’Even more thoughts are flickeringthrough my mind and will not letme rest.

I mentioned in my last letter ( 22May 2015) ‘ those in charge ofCommittees’ I suddenly wonderedif members know what Committeesthere are and who sits on them andwho its chair might be? I knowthere are several Committees eachdealing with aspects of running thetheatre, but there may be others,particularly on the technical sidethat I know not of. Thus it might beuseful to members if some sort of

‘Management Structure’ couldappear in the September editionof ‘The Boards’. These ideas maybe in the pipeline already and, ifso, it is most commendable.

I happen to know (I think, but Istand to be corrected ) that theGroup Reps Meeting ( the GRM )has now changed its name to, Ithink, The Management Group.Again I happen to know that theDuty manager on show nights isnow called The House Managerwith defined duties. I applaud suchchanges but feel clarification isnecessary.

It would be useful for members toknow or be reminded as to howThe Board and The ManagementGroup work and what their specificresponsibilities are. The relationshipbetween the Committees(technical, financial and social )and The Board or TheManagement Group could beexplained.

I think a detailed structure plan ofThe Lace Market TheatreManagement placed in ‘theBoards’ in its September editionwould be extremely beneficial toall members. Some members, whoare unaware of the necessarybackground Committees of TheLace Market Theatre, may wish tooffer their services. It is what aCommunity Theatre is all about.

I will now close, Sir, and thank youfor your hopeful acceptance of myletters which are meant sincerelyand designed to bringenlightenment. So much goes onand it should be relayed in yourhonourable publication.

Pat RichardsED: Hi Pat, there is a “Who’s who”contained within this editionhowever perhaps a more detailedstructure could be published.

Letter to the editor

Tue 8 Sep 2015 @ 19:30 - 21:30Performances: 14 - 19December 2015: Directed byGill Scott.

"Self-obsessed actor GarryEssendine delights in celebrity- rave reviews, the pick ofroles in the West End andadoring female fans. BUT,celebrity in the 1940s had asmany drawbacks as today;fans won't always stay at adistance and what about theentourage whose livelihooddepends on your fame?Throw an estranged wife andthe predatory wife of thebusiness manager into themix and what emerges is anoutrageous comedy that onlythe Master knows how todeliver”

Daphne Stillington – adebutante from thearistocracy. A verydetermined young fan, inlove with Garry Essendine .Age late teens/early 20sMiss Erikson – thehousekeeper of GarryEssendine. Needs to havenon-English accent which shecan sustain. Actual accentnegotiable, as is age.Fred – the valet/butler- anyage. A gem of a part. Notsurprised at anything hisemployer does or anythingthat happens around him.Age negotiable.Monica Reed – the longsuffering secretary of GarryEssendine. 40s/50s. Sharp andabrasive.Garry Essendine – a self -absorbed actor who lovesevery minute of his celebrity.Usually. Age 40, but youngerlooking.

Audition NoticePresent Laughter

Liz Essendine – the estrangedwife of Garry, but still part of theentourage, a writer. Age – in 30s.Smart, fashionable,sophisticated and attractive.Roland Maule – an aspiringplaywright. Hero worships Garry.Age early 20sHenry Lyppiat – Garry’s Businessmanager and Joanna’shusband. Age late 40sMorris Dixon – Garry’s producer.In love with Joanna. Age 30s.Slightly younger than Garry.Joanna Lyppiatt – Henry’s wife.A femme fatale, smart, sexy andpredatory. Age 30s.

Audition pieces available intheatre, as is a complete scriptwhich is not to be taken fromthe theatre. Please ask at thebar. During the dark season inAugust please contact thedirector for audition pieces.

Gill Scott

9

SEASON AT A GLANCE 2015/16

honourable publication.

SEPTEMBER 2015

22nd-26th MYSTERY OF THE ROSE BOUQUET [S]

OCTOBER 2015

12th-17th EDWARD ALBEE’S WHO’S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF [A] 27th-31st SCENES FROM AN EXECUTION [S]

NOVEMBER 2015

16th-21st THE PITMEN PAINTERS [A]

DECEMBER 2015

14th-19th PRESENT LAUGHTER [A]

JANUARY 2016

18th-23rd BEAUTIFUL THING [A]

FEBRUARY 2016

15th-20th A WOMAN OF NO IMPORTANCE [A]

MARCH 2016

1st-5th DANCE OF DEATH [S]16th-19th JULIUS CAESAR [A] - LACE MARKET YOUTH THEATRE

APRIL 2016

18th– 23rd A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM [A]

MAY 2016

3rd-7th BENEFACTORS [S] 23rd-28th COME BACK TO THE 5 & DIME, JIMMY DEAN, JIMMY DEAN [A]

JUNE 2016

20th-25th BETRAYAL [A] 26th YOUTH THEATRE SHOWCASE

JULY 2016

18th-23rd CAUSE CELEBRE [A]

[A] = Performances in Main Auditorium [S] = Performances in the Studio

10

SET IN THE 1980s and on theeve of a GeneralElection in the PM's study

at No.10, the fictional PM,Randolph Bolton has a heartattack in front of his cabinetcolleagues. What are they todo? They are ahead in thepolls and this is the last thingthe cabinet membersexpected, or needed, not justfor their party but forthemselves as well. All theyneed is some way to makethe country think that nothinghas happened to the PrimeMinister, just until he has beenconfirmed the electionwinner.

Fortunately Ms FrancesCowdrey, the Minister for theArts, has a brain wave andshe remembers an actor sheonce saw who was a deadringer for Bolton and offershim the role of his actingcareer. He decides that themoney for this gig is just toogood to turn down and takesthe role, but all is not as itseems behind the doors ofNo. 10 when ColonelHardacre of MI5 reveals thatBolton's heart attack may notbe quite as it first appeared!

This is a brilliantcomedy/thriller which willkeep you guessing right to

the very end. A classywhodunnit with several twistsalong the way and possiblyone of the best murdermysteries I've seen.

Prime Minister Bolton, and ofcourse the dead ringer isplayed by Lace MarketTheatre regular JasonWrightam, and possibly oneof the best performances I'veseen from Jason. Can't saytoo much about thecharacter of Gerry Jacksonthe PM lookalike as there maybe more to his role thanmeets the eye, but to seewhat that may, or may notbe, you'll have to see the play.Home Secretary Dick Marr isat first reluctant to go alongwith the dead ringer idea butis soon in over his wallet.Brilliantly acted by JohnParker, and he still reminds meof Leonard Rossiter, especiallywith a nod to one of MrRossiter's characters snuckinto the play as well for thesharp eyed and eared.

Bex Mason, always real joy towatch, as Ms Cowdrey. Thischaracter got me changingmy mind so many times, as allgood thrillers should do. A realtribute to the character, thescript and of course the actorfor making the audiencebelieve in the character, hermotives and what she had togain... or lose from Bolton'sdeath.

Andrew Haynes, played thethorn in every one's side in theplay, Ray Turnbull, the Foreign

Review: DEAD RINGER

Secretary. He's the one wholooked to have had the mostto gain from the PM's passing,well at least from his politicalstanding anyway.

And then there's Bolton's wife,Eva. They weren't getting ontoo well in their private life,but what would she gain fromhis untimely death, apart fromfreedom from what weassume to be a lovelessmarriage?

The PM had a PrivateSecretary and Nigel Harwoodwas played by Vejay Pal. Thescenes between Bolton andHarwood were similar to thescenes on "Little Britain"between David Walliams andAnthony Head, but not asovertly camp. From the startyou got the idea that therewas something more than aworking relationship going offthere, and this alsoinadvertently adds to thecomedy element of the play.Finally to Colonel Hardacreof MI5, the man who openedthe proverbial can of worms.Hardacre was played withgreat authority by CraigRussell.

So, was this just a tragicaccident after all, and if nothow did he really die, andwho did it. There are sixpossible suspects but if he wasmurdered, then why, andwho really had the most togain?

Kev Castle

Nottingham Hospitals Radio -Mon 18 May 2015

11

ON THE EVE of the generalelection the PrimeMinister unexpectedly

expires. Heartily disliked insidehis party, he's popular in thecountry at large; so some of hissenior cabinet colleagues ropein a lookalike, a strugglingjobbing actor, to impersonatehim till the election's out of theway. But things getcomplicated, then morecomplicated.

The play is set in the eighties.But characters and evensome details of plot aresuggested by real-life politicsand politicians from the sixtiesonwards; a fact thatcontributes to a lot of thelaughs.

It's a decent comedy-thriller,albeit with a surfeit of twistsand turns after the break, tothe point where you mightstop caring whodunit. But it'ssatirical and funny with nicelycynical characterisation ofthe politicians. And there's thegay relationship, maritalinfidelity, security bunglingand graft.

The production fields somestrong actors, JasonWrightam in particular. In asense he plays three distinctparts. He's first of all the PM,Randolph Bolton, then of

Review: DEAD RINGER

course he's Gerry Jackson,actor, finally, he's RandolphBolton as portrayed by GerryJackson. Wrightam is first-ratethroughout.

The excellent John Parkerand Bex Mason are Dick Marr,the Home Secretary, andFrances Cowdrey, Minister forthe Arts, respectively. Bothare portrayed as beingchildishly and touchinglyambitious for position andstatus. Parker has more thana touch of the surly bruiserabout him; Mason, as usual,looks just right in thosematching jackets and skirtsfemale politicians invariablywear.

Andrew Haynes is Turnbull,the token working-classDeputy PM with wanderinglanguage skills; and JemmaBennett is the PM's wife.Directed by Marcus Wakely,this is definitely worth a look,especially if you're trying tolift a post-election depression;or wanting to have anegative view of all thingsWestminster confirmed.

Alan GearyNottingham Post - Tue 19 May2015

Tue 14 Jul 2015 @ 19:30 - 21:30

Performances 12 - 17 October2015.

Directed by Michael Darmola.

Martha and her husbandGeorge are joined at theirhouse, by the younger coupleHoney and Nick, for late nightdrinks after a party during whichthe night reveals startlingrevelations and recriminationsas Honey and Nick becomedragged into Martha andGeorge's hell of a marriage. Thedrama takes place in 1962 andthis is a real tour de forceproduction with somesensational dialogue and setpieces.

Scripts will be available from 15June upon request, but auditionpieces will be in the cupboardfrom 22 June onwards.

Characters:MARTHA, Playing age 40s (strongfemale character and quiteopinionated and boisterous)

GEORGE, Playing age 40s (a bitover run by Martha but gives asgood as gets)

HONEY, Playing age early 20’s(Albee states blonde and nottoo tall and quite a bit dizzy/dim)

NICK Playing age late 20’s early30’s (Albee States blonde tall,athletic)

Michael Darmola

Audition NoticeWho's Afraid of Virginia Woolf

12

Review: JUMPY

JUMPY IS PRIMARILY a playabout a 50 ish woman who,in her youth was a

Greehham Common protester,but is now fighting her ownbattle with getting older, herhusband Mark, her relationshipwith her best friend Frances, andher daughter Tilly. Some wouldsay Tilly is a bit wayward but,being the father of a teenagedaughter, Tilly is just being anormal teenager who has aneed to be herself throughteenage expression.

There are various relationshipswhich evolve and disintegrateover the span of the play, mainlywith Tilly and her various"friends", who often appear onstage just in their pants, makingsure that we, the viewer, havea fairly good idea at what hasbeen going on.

Liza Pybus (Hilary) plays a verynatural mother who has all theworries over her daughter's outof school activities, but alsoplays out a very sympatheticview of the angst when youhave a teenage daughter whois at that age where she wantsto break free. A lovely comic,and at times sad portrayal of a"normal" mother, wife and friendwho just wants to do right byeveryone.

Tilly, the 15 year old daughter,is played by Heather Pearson.Heather is still of the age groupwhere she can worry a parentand by being of this clan, makesfor a beautifully realistic andbelievable character in Tilly. Isaw a lot of my own daughterin this characterization with thelanguage and attitude, but it

was also lovely to see thatmother/daughter interaction aswell as the bitter hatred from theteenager. Some nice black andwhite shades of character andyou can see the developmentof Tilly's maturity from the startto the end.

Frances is the comedy/sexycharacter here, and who betterto do sexy/comedy than thelovely Kareena Sims. There's ascene that combines both sexyand funny when, whilst onholiday with the families, shereveals her latest idea ofperforming burlesque. Again areal naturalness about the roleand Kareena's acting. I foundmyself making comparisons withsome of the strong female TVcomedy characters in sit coms;characters like Bev Callard'scharacter in "Two Pints Of Lager"and Lesley Joseph's Dorien in"Birds Of A Feather".

The play is more female focusedand the male roles, while beingplayed excellently, weredefinitely not to the forefront ofthe story, and that's good to seebecause there aren't too manygood plays that bring thefemale characters to the fore.It's like the women are theChristmas Tree and the malecharacters are the baubles andlights which are dotted aroundto make bits of the tree lookpretty. But while a tree looksgood on its' own, you'd miss thesparkly lights and baubles, sothey are important to the wholevisual image.

Thomas D Laing plays Hilary'shusband Mark, DanLongbottom (Roland), James

Green (Josh), Alistair Jack(Cam), Josh and Cam beingTilly's young sleep overs, andthen last but no means leastGrainne Cockrill-Pearson asTilly's pregnant school friend,Lyndsey. Grainne has a quiteemotive speech in Act 2 as shedeliberates on her life choices.

The set, while simple in design,is transformed with ease fromHilary's place to Dan and Bea'splace (Roland and Bea beingJosh's parents; Josh being oneof Tilly's piece's of fluff who doesmake an impression in the play),to the holiday setting. This settransformation is carried out bythe cast members and stagehands and the design by NeilDuckmanton is effective withoutbeing distracting.

There's some strong language,which may offend becausesome sections are quite strong,so the play may not be for theeasily shocked, but it's a grittystory which you'll associate withif you're a parent. If your not aparent, you'll still love the realismof the characters, the themesand the comedy of thesituations as well as the energyand emotion. Men will love it forFrances and the other femalecharacters and the ladies willalso have something to ogleover with the younger maleactors who, shall we say, didn'tovertax the costumedepartment, or the florist!

It's funny and it is well worthseeing all this week at the LaceMarket Theatre.

Kev CastleNottingham Hospitals Radio -

Tue 16 Jun 2015

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Season spotlight

Photos courtesy of the Lacemarket Theatre website

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THE LACE MARKET Theatre Trustdeveloped from twoamateur dramatic societies

founded in Nottingham in the1920s; the Nottingham PlaygoersClub (1922) and the NottinghamPhilodramatic Society (1926).

These two amalgamated in 1946to become the NottinghamTheatre Club. Their base from1946 to 1951 was the BluecoatSchool. In 1951 the Club movedto premises in Hutchinson Street,much closer to the city centre,and stayed there until 1970when they were ousted as partof the major slum clearance andredevelopment of the city ofthat decade. It was at this pointthat the then members took acourageous and decisive step:they raised the money to buyan old dilapidated paint store.This old build had once been asectarian Chapel, built in 1760,and later became a school,where William Booth, founder ofthe Salvation Army, was a pupil.

At the time they moved in ,1972,the Lace Market was a ratherrun down area of Victorianfactories, monuments to theonce great industries that madeNottingham a by-word for lace,hosiery and pretty girls. Tightfunds meant that most of theconversion had to be carried

Lace Market Theatre History

out by the members themselvesin their spare time. Whatemerged one year later was a118 seat auditorium and spacein the upstairs bar for studioperformances. The aim was,and has remained, to put onplays that were challenging foractors and the technical crewsand ones which otherwisepeople would have to go toLondon to see.

Training by doing was always apart of the club and theconcept of small scaleproductions in the bar areawhere first time directors couldcut their teeth was introduced.These productions were knownas "Fents" - a name taken fromthe off-cuts of lace sold atbargain prices and paidhomage to the area in whichthe theatre was situated. It soonbecame clear that more spacewas needed both for the stageand for equipment andrehearsals.

The opportunity came topurchase more land and it wasdecided that, to facilitate fundraising, the Lace Market TheatreTrust Ltd should be formed in1977. £40,000 was raised for athree storey extension at therear and a further £40,000 wasraised for its completion in 1984.The building was owned by theTrust and the Club rented it fromthem. While the Club continuedthe policy of challengingdrama, the Trust beganfurthering the educationalresponsibilities of a charity bygiving grants to students who

were going on to drama schoolas at that time drama studentswere only able to apply fordiscretionary grants from theLocal Education Authority andthese were in short supply.

Shortly after the completion ofthe extension, Prunella Scalesand Timothy West were invitedto become patrons of thetheatre and this they agreedto do so. By the year 2000 theClub were beginning to feelcramped. The extensivewardrobe had moved intorented premises, first in St.Mary's Gate and then in StoneyStreet in the heart of the LaceMarket District. The area wasby this time no longer the poorrelation of the city but at thecentre of plans forregeneration. In the process ofthe development the LaceMarket Theatre Trust hadacquired some land at the sideof the theatre and it wasdecided that this was themoment for redevelopment. Itwas also the opportunemoment to merge theNottingham Theatre Club withthe Trust and this was done in2003.

The Lace Market Theatrecontinues to present non-professional drama to a highstandard for its audiences whilstproviding opportunities forthose with ambitions to work inthe professional theatre as wellas those who want a creativeoutlet.

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DIARY DATES2015

July

20-25 “When We Are Married”by J B Priestley

September

1st Theatre opens

3rd OPEN EVENING

8th Audition PRESENT LAUGHTER: Director: Gill Scott

12th Audition Lace Market Youth Theatre 10.30

October

1st OPEN EVENING

6th Audition BEAUTIFUL THING: Director: Bex Mason

November10th Audition A WOMAN OF NO IMPORTANCE: Director: Phil Austin

December

4th OPEN EVENING

8th Audition DANCE OF DEATH: Director: Paul Johnson

20th Jingle Bells: a festive

Who’s Who at theLacemarket

Theatre

Board of Directors:

Phil Hogarth ChairpersonJohn Anthony Hon TreasuryNevil Croston Company SecMark JamesGill ScottNick GaleMarcus WakelyE A StewartRoger WatsonGareth MorrisLesley Brown

Other Responsibilities:

Paul Johnson Artistic DirectorMax Bromley PAG ChairPat Richards FOH RotaDavid Nightingale Bar ManagerGareth Morris Head PublicitySimon Carter Head LightingPeter Hodgkinson Head SoundJayne McCormack Head GRMLinda Croston Costume HireMax Bromley Youth GroupGill Scott Theatre HireDoreen Hunt Exhibition spacePeter Hillier Exhibition spaceGill Scott Stage DirectorHugh Philip Construction ConsultantRose Dudley Head PropsDoreen Hunt Head CostumeB Anthony Membership SecB Anthony Child ProtectionBex Mason Head Social

Last date for copy

Items for publication shouldbe submitted to the Editorno later than the 24thAugust.

We aim to publish the nextissue by the 1st of the month.

Editor@Lacemarkettheatre.co.uk

The AuditionProcess...

To take part in a production,including the rehearsalprocess, you must be amember.

Every director will hold theiraudition differently but youwill usually be invited to readthrough the script or aphotocopy of the auditionpieces before the auditionnight. These will be availablefrom the bar at the theatre.

Audition notices for the restof the season can be foundon our web site.

SEASON 2014/15Damages by Steve Thompson (16 – 20 September 2014)

For Services Rendered by W. Somerset Maugham (6 – 11 October 2014)

The Pillowman by Martin McDonagh (3 – 8 November 2014)

Happy Jack by John Godber (18 – 22 November 2014)

White Christmas by Irving Berlin (12 – 20 December 2014)

One Act Play by Matt Fox (9 – 10 January 2015)

The Lion in Winter by James Goldman (19 – 24 January 2015)

Bedroom Farce by Alan Ayckbourn (16 – 21 February 2015)

Three Short Classics: (3 - 7 March 2015)

The Stronger by August Strindberg Overruled by George Bernard Shaw Swansong by Anton Chekhov

The Caucasian Chalk Circle by Bertolt Brecht (18 – 21 March 2015)

King John (RSC Open Stages) by William Shakespeare (20 – 25 April 2015)

Dead Ringer by Charles Ross (18 – 23 May 2015)

Jumpy by April de Angelis (15 – 20 June 2015)

Yerma by Federico Garcia Lorca (30 June – 4 July 2015)

When We Are Married by J. B. Priestley (20 – 25 July 2015)

NANDA

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NEW! Discount Food Offer

The Lace Market Theatre is proud to announce it's new relationship withEdin.

Any sandwich with a small glass of wine for £7 (at Edin's Kitchen); or a piece of cake and a largehot drink for £5 (at Edin's Deli Cafe and Edin's Kitchen).