20 Years in 20 Weeks - Looking back to Bard in the Botanics 2014
/20 YEARS IN 20 WEEKS
Our “20 Years in 20 Weeks” continues with a look back to 2014 for a momentous year for Scotland. The eyes of the world were on Scotland as Glasgow got ready to host the Commonwealth Games and the whole country prepared to go to the polls for the referendum on Scottish independence.
So, under the heading of the “What We May Be” season, Bard in the Botanics presented a series of plays which investigated notions of identity, nationality & leadership at a time when those issues were at the forefront of Scottish life – plays which asked questions about how a person, a community, a nation define their identity. What are those costs and compromises a person or a nation has to make to define or defend that identity? What should leadership look like and what should we demand of our leaders and ourselves?
But before we reached 2014’s summer season, the year kicked off with another incredible fundraising concert. “Bard on Broadway” took a witty, irreverent and heartfelt look at the songs and musicals which have been inspired by musicals. “Kiss Me, Kate” (inspired by “The Taming of the Shrew”) and “West Side Story” (inspired by “Romeo & Juliet”) were in there, of course, but also numbers from “Hamlet: the Musical” (yes, really!), “Return to the Forbidden Planet” (a rock & roll, sci-fi take on “The Tempest”) and songs from artists including Rufus Wainwright and Mumford & Sons. Four brilliant performers – Stephen Arden, Darren Brownlie, Lynne Jenkinson & Louise McCarthy – sang up a storm, compered by Jennifer Dick, with musical staging by Stephen Arden & musical direction by Linda Stewart. A brilliantly fun evening, it was the perfect start to our year.
The “What We May Be” season opened with a riotous take on “The Comedy of Errors” which reimagined Shakespeare’s wild farce of identical twins separated at birth into a very tongue-in-cheek vision of Scotland. A door-slamming, Mondrian-esque set by Gillian Argo was complimented by over-the-top costumes by Carys Hobbs in every colour of tartan under the sun to create a cartoonish world of larger-than-life characters and madcap action. Vivid images encapsulate one of the craziest, most hilarious shows ever seen at Bard in the Botanics – Nicole Cooper’s Adriana making her dramatic first entrance to lament her husband’s late arrival to dinner complete with blackened, smoking chicken (“It’s burnt!” she wailed to the audience while tottering on insanely high heels) – Kirk Bage’s sleazy Vegas-styled “healer”, Dr. Pinch, resplendent in gold sequins, attempting to conduct an exorcism in the form of a full musical number to the strains of Annie Lennox’s “Talking to an Angel” – or Robert Elkin’s Dromio of Syracuse returning from a trip round the town looking like an Edinburgh gift shop had thrown up all over him (complete with “See you, Jimmy” hat and new best friend – a stuffed Nessie!)
The company of “The Comedy of Errors”, 2014 (Photo credit: Tommy Ga-Ken Wan)
The second half of the season saw us produce one of our largest and most ambitious productions ever – “Henry V”. Staged to commemorate the centenary of the First World War, Jennifer Dick’s production began at a Glasgow school’s end of year fete & prize-giving ceremony in 1916, complete with stalls and games for the audience to enjoy. Shakespeare’s play was presented at the fete by the staff and students of the fictional “Gardenhill Academy” in medieval pageant costumes. As the play progressed, elements of these pageant costumes were slowly replaced by First World War uniforms and at the end of the play, we were left with the haunting image of the male students & teachers in uniform marching off to the front – a striking reminder of the reality of war and the sacrifices made by so many young men a century before.
The company of “Henry V”, 2014 (Photo credit: Tommy Ga-Ken Wan)
As a companion piece to “Henry V”, our Lesser-Spotted Shakespeare series continued in the Kibble Palace with a new adaptation of both parts of “Henry IV”, following the journey of Prince Hal as he becomes King Henry V. The production featured just 3 actors – James Ronan (Hal); Kirk Bage (Falstaff & King Henry IV) and Tom Duncan (Hotspur, Poins & the Earl of Westmorland) – switching effortlessly between the easy camaraderie of the Boar’s Head Tavern, the formality of the king’s court and the powerful energy of the battlefield, all in the Kibble Palace’s narrow strip of playing space. It is a testament to their immense skill that they captured perfectly for audiences both the epic sweep and the personal detail of what many consider to be one of Shakespeare’s best stories.
Kirk Bage (Falstaff) with James Ronan (Hal) & Tom Duncan (Poins) in “Henry IV”, 2014 (Photo credit: Tommy Ga-Ken Wan)
The final production of the season saw us resurrect our Emerging Artists Directors strand, providing a platform for young professionals with a passion for classical theatre. Director Alasdair Hunter was given a slot at the season and production support to create a new staging of “Hamlet”, with an immensely dedicated ensemble of actors led by Alan Mackenzie in the title role.
Last week, we spoke about the sad news in 2013 that the Byre Theatre – home of our annual panto – had been forced to close. Thankfully, it was to open its doors again in 2014, under the new management of the University of St Andrews, and we were delighted to return with “Jack & the Beanstalk” as the theatre’s opening production that Christmas. It was truly emotional to watch audiences react to the show’s final line – “And we’ve brought Christmas back to the Byre” – each night, a real testament to the importance of theatre to local communities. It meant so much to us to be able to return to the Byre and to re-establish the panto as an important annual tradition for St Andrews.
The company of “Jack & the Beanstalk” at the Byre Theatre, 2014
Looking back on 2014, Artistic Director, Gordon Barr, had this to say:
“2014 was a pivotal moment in Scotland’s history and it’s really heartening to look back and see that we matched that epic moment in time with a suitably epic year of work. Yet again, the whole team – from our actors to our designers to our production staff – rose to the challenges of these huge stories and created a really special season. Adapting two of Shakespeare’s plays – Henry IV Parts 1 & 2 – into a show for just 3 actors could have been a total disaster but I’ll always remember Nicole Cooper watching the first rehearsal run-through and just being overwhelmed by the performances of Kirk, Tom & James. They encapsulate the bravery of all our artists and the trust & belief they show in Jen & I and our crazy ideas – it’s what makes Bard in the Botanics such a special place to work.”
FUN FACTS:
- In “Bard on Broadway”, Associate Director, Jennifer Dick, not only displayed consummate hosting skills but had a chance to show off her pipes too as she sang “Honeysuckle Villain”. 11 years earlier, in 2003, she had broken audience hearts as Mistress Quickly in “Henry V”, in a speech describing Falstaff’s death – she reprised that performance here and followed it up with this heartbreaking lament to Falstaff’s dubious charms from the musical of “Merry Wives of Windsor” – not a dry eye in the house!
- Our core acting company are slightly obsessed with finding the “hidden” characters in Shakespeare’s plays – names that are spoken as though everyone should know who they are even though they have never been mentioned before and never will be again. In “The Comedy of Errors”, there is one fleeting mention of “Duke Menophon” and, each night, Nicole Cooper and Jennifer Dick (playing sisters Adriana & Luciana) would pay tribute to this unknown figure with a subtle onstage salute to his name.
- “Henry V” featured the most costumes ever seen on a Bard in the Botanics stage. More than 40 individual costumes had to be created for this one production – we’ve no idea how our small but dedicated Wardrobe team always manage to rise to the insane challenges that we set them!
- James Watterson first worked with the company as a teenager as part of our “B in the Big Show” initiative back in 2009, playing the “Boy” in Macbeth, and we were thrilled to welcome back as a professional actor to play the Dauphin of France in “Henry V” in 2014.
- The significance of our “Lesser-Spotted Shakespeare” series can be seen by the fact that our 2014 adaptation of “Henry IV” was the first time that a Scottish theatre company had staged the plays in more than 40 years!
- While we love a heatwave at Bard in the Botanics, the extended period of sunny weather experienced during the run of “Henry IV” was not pleasant for Kirk Bage in his dual roles of Falstaff & Henry IV. Given that the Kibble Palace is a glasshouse, it heats up extensively in the sunshine and Kirk was wearing a heavy fat suit as Falstaff, over which he had to layer up thick period clothing to swap between his two roles. To prevent him overheating and passing out, ice packs were sewn into his fat suit for each performance – and even these had to be swapped over at the interval. Kirk didn’t have time to remove his costume during the interval so our valiant stage manager, Suzie Goldberg, was the one responsible for fishing around in the sweaty fat suit to remove one set of icepacks and replace them with fresh ones – the glamour of working in theatre!
- 2014 saw the company introduce production trailers for the first time. As if performing in two shows wasn’t enough, Tom Duncan also worked with us to create brilliant video trailers for “The Comedy of Errors” and “Henry V”. Each perfectly captured the essence of the shows and Tom’s video work would become a mainstay of the Bard in the Botanics’ marketing campaigns from that year on.
2014 COMPANY:
The “What We May Be” Season
Gillian Argo (Set Design – Comedy of Errors & Henry V); Kirk Bage (Egeon & Dr Pinch / Falstaff & Henry IV); Gordon Barr (Director – Comedy of Errors & Henry IV; Designer – Henry IV); Kenny Boyle (Angelo); EmmaClaire Brightlyn (Fight Director – Hamlet); Darren Brownlie (Choreographer – Comedy of Errors); Graham Burk (Balthasar); Daniel Campbell (King Henry V); Amy Conway (Horatio); Nicole Cooper (Adriana); Paul Cunningham (Canterbury); Euan Cuthbertson (Nym); MJ Deans (Berri); Jennifer Dick (Luciana, Director – Henry V); Amy Drummond (Duchess & Luce); Tom Duncan (Antipholus of Ephesus / Hotspur & Poins & Westmorland); Robert Elkin (Dromio of Syracuse / Boy Chorus); Suzie Goldberg (DSM); Amy Hanlan (Westmorland); Tommy Herbert (Osric & Player); Carys Hobbs (Costume Design – Comedy of Errors & Henry V); Alasdair Hunter (Director – Hamlet); Joe Johnson (Guildenstern); Alexandra Kirby (Grey & Governor of Harfleur); David James Kirkwood (Dromio of Ephesus); John Love (Polonius & Gravedigger); Rachel Macallan (Deputy Wardrobe Supervisor); Alan Mackenzie (Hamlet); Keith Macpherson (Pistol); Jasmine Main (Ophelia & Fortinbras); Lewis McCutcheon (Bardolph & York); Ishbel McFarlane (Player & Priest); Barry McGinley (Bourbon); Finlay McLean (King of France & Fluellen); Kirsty Miller (Gertrude & Francisco); Emilie Patry (Montjoy); Joshua Payne (Music Supervisor – Comedy of Errors); Debi Pirie (Cambridge & Le Fer); James Ronan (Antipholus of Syracuse / Prince Hal); Marc Silberschatz (Fight Director); Jamie Smyth (Scroop & Gower); Flora Sowerby (Aemilia & Officer); Jessica Thigpen (1st Merchant & Courtesan); Wendy Turner (Assistant Director); Jason Vaughn (Claudius & Ghost); Amandine Vincent (Katharine); Ross Watson (Exeter); James Watterson (Dauphin & Ely); Alfie Wellcoat (Laertes & Player); Matt Wilson (Production Manager)
“Bard on Broadway” Company: Stephen Arden (Performer & Musical Staging); Gordon Barr (Director); Darren Brownlie (Performer); Jennifer Dick (Performer); Lynne Jenkinson (Performer); Louise McCarthy (Performer); Dara Stewart (Musician); Linda Stewart (Musical Director)
“Jack & the Beanstalk” Company: Stephen Arden (Jock; Choreographer); Gillian Argo (Set Design); Gordon Barr (Writer & Director); Simon Batho (DSM); Tom Duncan (Count Olaf von Moneybags); Robert Elkin (Jack); Ashley Foster (Young Cast Liaison); Sarah Haddath (Jill); Carys Hobbs (Costume Design); Rachel Macallan (Wardrobe Assistant); Lindsey Miller (Musical Director); Lucie Thaxter (Fairy Baubles McTwinkle); Alan Steele (Dame Nellie Numpty); Sam Ramsay (Stage Manager); Matt Wilson (Lighting Design)
