20 YEARS IN 20 WEEKS

This week’s Throwback Thursday is taking a look back to 2005 and the “Summer of Love” Season.

This was the company’s first “themed” season of work – and it would also be the last until 2012! As the company explored its theatrical identity in the intervening years, pinning down a theme for each season’s work proved unwieldy but, in 2005, the celebratory theme of “love” gave coherence to that summer’s programming. Young love, unrequited love, familial love and even love of Shakespeare himself came together to create a season of shows celebrating the joy, the passion and the drama of the Bard’s work.

The season opened with Artistic Director, Gordon Barr, revisiting “Romeo and Juliet” for the first time since his inaugural Bard in the Botanics production back in 2002. This time, instead of a small-scale promenade production, the story played out on a large “playground” of a set, the actors working as a company of “players”, accompanying the action with live music and fully exploiting the intimate relationship between performer and audience that is so integral to outdoor theatre.

He followed this up with another of Shakespeare’s great love stories – Bard in the Botanics’ first production of “Twelfth Night”. This wide-ranging promenade performance (it took in 7 different locations in total (not much time to settle in for a picnic in that production!) was set directly after the First World War – a setting designed to support the social hierarchy established in the play but also to capitalise on its pervasive sense of loss and melancholy.

In 2004, the Kibble Palace Glasshouse closed for a massive refurbishment & rebuilding project which saw the iconic Victorian glasshouse stripped right down and rebuilt from the ground up to ensure its safety & continued presence for generations to come. This meant that Bard in the Botanics had lost a performance venue but, thankfully, that year also saw the opening of Oran Mor – the now iconic bar, restaurant and venue directly across the road from the Botanic Gardens.

Still to establish itself as the busy performance venue it has since become (not to mention home of the iconic Play, Pie & a Pint lunchtime theatre), we were delighted to be able to secure Oran Mor in 2005 as the venue for a revival of Scott Palmer’s intense, unforgettable version of “Lear”, first seen at Gilmorehill G12 in 2002. Sarah Chalcroft & Jennifer Dick reprised their roles as Cordelia and Goneril respectively, this time joined by David Gallacher as Lear, Nicki Walsh as Regan & Kirk Bage as Perillus. Scott was tempted back from his new home in America one more time to direct and he & designer, Sarah Paulley, wasted no time in exploiting the “nightclub” setting of Oran Mor to create a 1930’s gangster feel to the new production, bringing together the story’s power plays with its intense family dynamics.

The “Summer of Love” season also saw us bring Cumbernauld Youth Theatre to the Botanic Gardens, in a production of “Macbeth” directed by Gordon Barr. Developing a love for Shakespeare in young people has always been a passion of the team at Bard in the Botanics and this co-production was our first opportunity to put that into practice as part of our season – its legacy continuing through the years.

Looking back on his second season as Artistic Director, Gordon Barr had this to say:

“2005 feels like a really significant year for the company with new venues, new companies and our first “theme” coming together to build on what we’d already achieved and introduce new ideas & possibilities. Not that it was without its challenges – I remember the police speeding up to the performance space of “Romeo & Juliet” one night because there had been reports of screams & violence in the gardens! I remember still casting the key role of Sir Toby Belch while we were in the middle of rehearsals for “Twelfth Night” – I think at one point I was so desperate that I was going to play the role myself, until several of the acting company pointed out what an insane idea that was (thank goodness – I am definitely not an actor!). And I remember being so incredibly proud of my youth theatre from Cumbernauld who knocked it out of the park in “Macbeth”, even when random quad bikes came roaring through the performance space during their curtain call! But its those random, unpredictable moments that make outdoor theatre so special – and so exhausting at times!”

FUN FACTS:

- 2005 saw another Associate Artist make their debut with the company – Tom Duncan, playing the Chief Player in “Romeo & Juliet” and Sir Andrew Aguecheek in “Twelfth Night”. Tom has gone on to play many memorable roles for the company, including Banquo (2009); Henry VI (2010); Laertes (2011), Ariel (2012) & Hotspur (2014) and is still an active Associate Artist, though these days he is more regularly seen filming our incredible trailers & digital content as well as taking our stunning publicity images with his company, Twin City Pictures. His work on video & photography in the past 5 years has really defined the company’s identity and, though we miss his performances as an actor, we’re thrilled to continue working with him in this capacity (make sure you check out all his work on the Bard in the Botanics YouTube channel)

- “Romeo & Juliet”’s multi-layered set remains our tallest ever stage design with Juliet’s balcony rising more than 2m into the canopy of the surrounding trees.

- While Artistic Director, Gordon Barr, wisely chose not to take on the pivotal role of Sir Toby Belch in “Twelfth Night”, he couldn’t resist making a cheeky cameo in the production as a policeman in the final scene – and he says he doesn’t like acting!

- Appearing in her third season for the company, Michelle Wiggins finally got to play her first female role as Benvolia in “Romeo and Juliet” – but she was back in another “breeches” role later that season, as Feste in “Twelfth Night”.

2004 COMPANY:

Kirk Bage (Actor), Gordon Barr (Artistic Director); Paul Boyd (Actor); Fi Carrington (Wardrobe Supervisor); Sarah Chalcroft (Actor); Paul Christie (Composer / Musical Director); Lois Creasy (Actor); Jennifer Dick (Actor); Imogen Dixon (Actor); Tom Duncan (Actor); Kenny Fulton (Actor); David Gallacher (Actor); Brian Gardiner (Designer – Romeo and Juliet); David Goodall (Fight Director); Kay Hesford (Production Manager); Neil Kent (Actor); Kirsty Mackay (Designer – 12th Night); Gerald McDermott (Crew); Scott Palmer (Visiting Director); Andrew Panton (Musical Supervisor); Sarah Paulley (Designer - Lear); Donald Pirie (Actor); Luisa Prosser (Actor); David Ramsay (Stage Manager); Pete Searle (Lighting Design - Lear); Justin Skelton (Actor); Laura Spring (Wardrobe Assistant); Matthew Swift (Actor); Diane Thornton (Actor); Nicki Walsh (Actor); Laura Walshe (Stage Manager); Michelle Wiggins (Actor)