Tag Archives: Brough Village Hall

2022

October 31, 2021 Steve H Leave a comment

Traditionally, the end of October would have been the final performance of our current play. Two years ago at this time we were celebrating a successful run of Passing Strangers while unknown to us all a devastating virus was about to flourish. (Our next play, Say It With Flowers, would be performed in the following January oblivious to the lockdowns that would be in place only weeks later. )

None of us realised that, two years later in October 2021, we would still be inactive with no plays scheduled.

Many of you have been enquiring when we might resume, some assuming we are already in rehearsal, and it is rewarding to note the interest and desire to see us back on the stage to make you laugh, or cry or simply enjoy an evening of live theatre.

Plans for 2022

It is premature to make any announcements but the entire society is gathering in mid-November to discuss our return to the stage in 2022 and formulate our plans. You can be assured that we will keep you informed after the meeting and we hope that in a few weeks time we will be able to ask you to reserve dates in your calendar.

Have a scroll through the posters below as a reminder of our heritage of wonderful plays in the last few years. Looking at them brings back memories that make us all smile and be proud and act as inspiration for the future.

In the meantime, hang on, we are all waiting in the wings and eager to resume.

Petuaria Blog

Known Unknowns

May 17, 2021 Steve H Leave a comment

A status update on our future planning.

At last! Today is another milestone step on the nation’s roadmap to recovery as we open up a little more. But if anything confirms The Petuaria Players rational approach to not making premature decisions then the appearance and potential threat of the new variant that is now showing its ugly face is it.

Already there is talk within government that the total lifting of restrictions planned for June may be in jeopardy. That is one of the reasons that we have not scheduled a meeting of our planning committee until that time.

Like ourselves our followers and audience regulars are keen to see us back on the stage and are asking when that will be. The short answer is, we don’t know yet.

It is always a challenge at the best of times to find three plays that fit our cast and their availability and our stage. At the moment we are faced with too many unknowns. We are eager to get there but we need to be in a position – months ahead of a performance – where we know actors and backstage people can commit their free time to a play, are in a safe position to be rehearsing and performing in sometimes very close or intimate proximity and that they will not have to halt a production because a cast member has to self isolate. We have no stand ins. And then we have to know how we can safely bring an audience into our venue and pay our costs.

Many assume we are ready to return to rehearsals but both the rules and the above constraints mean that day is, sadly, still a little way off. Professionals are in a different position and new ways of performing to limited audiences are now in progress and that is to be welcomed.

Hopefully, next month we will have more clarity and be better informed to make decisions. And as soon as we have more news we will be posting it on here and on Facebook. Make sure you are following us to stay informed.

To sum up, our thoughts over these unknowns are about as clear as that infamous statement from Donald Rumsfeld.

….as we know, there are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns — the ones we don’t know we don’t know….
Donald Rumsfeld, US Secretary for Defence 2002

Stepping Out. We can all step out now, just not like this.

Petuaria Blog

‘The Ides of March’

March 15, 2021 Steve H Leave a comment

Soothsayer: Beware the ides of March.
Caesar: What man is that?
Brutus: A soothsayer bids you beware the ides of March…
[Act 1 Scene 2 Julius Caesar. William Shakespeare]

Julius Caesar isn’t the only one who had a bad day at the Forum on the 15th of March, known to the Romans as ‘The Ides of March’. We at Petuaria Players did too because it was exactly one year ago today that we met as a group for the last time. (Well, the 16th actually but it was a Monday and even Bill Shakespeare stretched a few truths.)

*The Forum – not in Rome but in Petuaria*

We were at the books-down stage in rehearsals for Alan Ayckbourn’s FlatSpin and whilst the first time without scripts in hand is always stressful we were all looking forward to putting on this play, not least new girl Sally who had been preparing for her first stage performance with a mixture of excitement and nervousness.

*Sally’s wait to get on stage is rather longer than she expected.*

Of course, it was not to be. That was the night that it had become clear that a performance at the end of April would be impossible and we made the decision that had been hovering over us for a few days to postpone the play.

*Early stages of rehearsal for FlatSpin*

At the time we wondered if we may be able to reschedule it later as our October 2020 play. Who knew then that even October 2021 would be shrouded with a mixture of optimistic promise and uncertainty. We shall see…..

Our last production – January 2020 – we look forward to our next, whenever that will be.

“Is there no play,
To ease the anguish of a torturing hour?”
[William Shakespeare. A Midsummer Night’s Dream: Act V, sc I]

No. But soon, we hope!

Petuaria Blog

Throwback #7

November 17, 2020 Steve H Leave a comment

CONFUSIONS (2008)

Was it really August since our last article was posted on here? When time should be dragging it seems to be rushing. Once again we have a flashback to 2008 to another Alan Ayckbourn play, one which kept everyone on their toes with numerous parts and characters to cope with.

Yes, remember 2008? The year of the financial crisis and start of a decade of waiting for recovery – and where are we today? On the other hand Obama became President of the USA with the promise of a great future. And where are we today? And Lewis Hamilton became F1 World Champion for the first time and…. well at least some things never change!

And in November of that year we took on the challenge of Confusions. This consists of five one act plays all loosely linked by either a character moving from one play to another, or the same location. But the themes of obsession, isolation and companionship appear in comedy form.

Richard Bateman produced the play and, by necessity, acted in it too.

Confusions by Alan Ayckbourn – a comedy in five acts, performed in November 2008

Act 1 – Mother Figure
A mother (Lucy) unable to escape from from her children bound existence treats her concerned neighbours as children…

Act 2 – Drinking Companion
Lucy’s errant husband Harry is away overnight on business and at his hotel desperately flirts with and attempts to seduce the attractive saleswoman also staying there…

Act 3 – Between Mouthfuls
The waiter at the hotel in Act 2 finds himself serving in the restaurant there, where two couples at separate tables find they have an unwelcome common bond…

Act 4 – Gosforth’s Fête
In this the most chaotic and farcical act, we find Councillor Mrs. Pearce (previously seen at dinner in Act 3) invited to open Gosforth’s village fete. But when one of the ladies’ personal news is accidentally broadcast over the site PA, a catalogue of disasters and embarrassments are revealed…

Act 5 – A Talk in The Park
In the same park where the Fete took place, sit five strangers on separate park benches, each with their own troubles. When Arthur sits next to Beryl to relate his story an uncomfortable Beryl eventually escapes and joins the person at the next bench – where she now relates her own feelings – and so it continues as each one moves to the next bench…. .