20 Years in 20 Weeks - Looking back to Bard in the Botanics 2019
/20 YEARS IN 20 WEEKS
It’s back to 2019 for this week’s “Throwback Thursday” and, although we didn’t know it at the time, it would be our last full season for a couple of years thanks to Covid-19 – but what a season!
For the fourth year running, we returned to the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland to co-produce two Renaissance text productions with their MA Classical & Contemporary Text course – informally titled, “The Devil Made Me Do It”! Bard Associate Director, Jennifer Dick, returned to Christopher Marlowe’s “Doctor Faustus” which she had first tackled at Bard in the Botanics in 2016 – but this time she had a cast of 12 (instead of 3) so Faustus had to contend with a host of angels and demons! Meanwhile, Marc Silberschatz tackled the strange & wild tale of “The Witch of Edmonton”, by Dekker, Ford & Rowley.
Faustus (Ben Noble) with his demons in Doctor Faustus at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland
Our 2019 Summer Season was entitled the “Muse of Fire” season, reflecting the extraordinary and inspirational nature of the characters at the heart of our four productions – Rosalind (As You Like It), Henry V, Richard III and Hamlet. We were delighted that our four Associate Artist Actors – Stephanie McGregor, Adam Donaldson, Robert Elkin & Nicole Cooper – would each take on one of these iconic roles, showcasing their incredible talents.
The production opened with a truly joyous production of Shakespeare’s great romantic comedy, “As You Like It”. Opening in a sleazy nightclub, complete with bare-knuckle fighting (substituting for the original’s wrestling match) and a distinct hint of Glasgow gangsters, this brutal world of toxic masculinity and petty power plays ultimately gave way to a Forest of Arden that presented an alternative lifestyle where love and acceptance took centre stage. The original play follows the adventures of 4 romantic couples and, in this production, these pairings represented a whole gamut of sexualities. “As You Like It” is often considered quite a slight play but, in 2019, with the world facing troubling times, the Forest of Arden’s ability to embrace everyone who came under its canopy became something truly touching and magical.
The company of “As You Like It” (Photo credit: Tommy Ga-Ken Wan)
In the Kibble Palace, Jennifer Dick’s production of “Henry V” saw a cast of 6 actors take on the roles of kids playing in the rubble of the Blitz of the Second World War. Together they acted out the story of Shakespeare’s play – their own experiences of war informing their approach. Curtains became cloaks, crowns were made of cardboard and hats & helmets borrowed from their parents swiftly encapsulated the play’s vast range of characters – a clever evocation of Shakespeare’s opening appeal to the audience’s imagination. The contrast between the innocence of the children and the brutal reality of war offered a powerful comment on the human cost of conflict.
After her success as Coriolanus & Timon of Athens, Nicole Cooper tackled another of Shakespeare’s major male characters as she took on the title role in “Hamlet” in the second half of the 2019 season. Her complex, intricate Hamlet was the beating heart of a production that, directed by Gordon Barr, took an intimate, personal approach to this great tragedy. Around Nicole’s stunning central performance was a brilliant ensemble of performers – including Alan Steele as the Ghost & Polonius, Alan Mirren as Claudius, Helen Logan as Gertrude & Stephanie McGregor as Ophelia – each creating finely drawn characters that took on a fully realised life of their own – and it was their humanity, with all its flaws, which ultimately moved audiences so deeply.
Nicole Cooper as “Hamlet” (Photo credit: Tom Duncan)
Meanwhile, Robert Elkin’s “Richard III”, directed by Jennifer Dick, entered the world of modern politics in the Kibble Palace. Richard is the ultimate master of spin and “fake news”, lying and manipulating (and, of course, occasionally murdering!) his way to the crown. Here, video footage shot on mobile phones created a public image for Richard at odds with his private behaviour while his own personal spin doctor, Buckingham (Adam Donaldson), whipped up the Kibble Palace audience to vocally support Richard or condemn his enemies. One of the most chilling moments in the production came when Buckingham and Richard encouraged the audience to join in their chant of “witch, witch, witch” against Vanessa Coffey’s Queen Elizabeth – it never failed to work! Eerily reminiscent of the bullying tactics employed against women in too many political arenas recently, it was also a powerful reflection of the easy manipulation of mob mentality!
Robert Elkin as “Richard III”
Finally, we were delighted to showcase a piece of new writing at 2019’s Bard in the Botanics. “Heavenly Touches”, written and performed by Jennifer Dick & Robert Elkin, imagined a relationship between Shakespeare’s wife, Anne Hathaway, and a young artist, John Taylor, often considered to be the creator of the famous “Chandos” portrait of Shakespeare. It was a tender exploration of love, loss, the reasons we make art and what it feels like to be in love with a man who happens to be a genius!
Christmas saw us return again to the Byre Theatre in St Andrews – this time to present “Mother Goose”. The show saw a host of fairytale characters come together to defeat the Snow Queen who threatened the very existence of the pantosphere – pretty much, it was the “Avengers: Endgame” of pantos! Alan Steele’s legendary dame got to take centre stage in a story which reminded audiences to be proud of who they were, to not judge others and to truly value their loved ones – all wrapped up in the most epic adventure ever to hit the Byre stage!
The company of “Mother Goose” (Photo credit: Viktoria Begg)
As 2019 came to a close, we couldn’t have foreseen what 2020 would hold for all of us – and the theatre world in particular – as the pandemic forced us to cancel our season for the first time ever, but the memories of an incredible year in 2019 definitely help to see us through the tough times!
FUN FACTS:
- “The Witch of Edmonton” might be one of the strangest stories we’ve ever been involved in staging – when the Devil turns up in the form a talking Dog, you know you ain’t working with Shakespeare anymore!
- Alan Steele is certainly in the running for the most roles played in a single season – in “As You Like It”, he juggled the very different personalities of Duke Frederick, Duke Senior & the vicar, Sir Oliver Martext – while in “Hamlet”, he appeared as a succession of real & surrogate father figures – the Ghost, Polonius, the Chief Player and the Gravedigger. Each of his 7 roles was fully realised and completely individual – no wonder we asked him in 2019 to become our fifth Associate Artist Actor!
- More than 600 individual stems of fake flowers were used to make the glorious floral centrepieces that marked the changing of the seasons in “As You Like It” – all hand-crafted by our incredible stage manager, Suzie Goldberg. For a theatre company based in one of Scotland’s most beautiful gardens, we do use a lot of fake flowers!
- In “As You Like It”, Robert Elkin’s Touchstone arrived for his wedding to Simon Lembcke’s Andrey (Audrey in the original play) in a blue sequinned tux jacket and full skirt, unashamedly being exactly who he was. One of Robert’s most joyous memories of Bard is hearing a young audience member breathlessly gasp – “He’s a princess!” – as he passed by them!
- The trailer for Henry V – which can be viewed on the Bard in the Botanics Youtube channel – delivered a tremendous coup de theatre (or coup de cinema, perhaps) as an actual Spitfire thundered over the head of Adam Donaldson’s Henry. Okay, so it’s a CGI spitfire – but it still looks pretty awesome!
- Part of the joy of looking back over recent years in these posts has been enjoying the beautiful publicity images that have been created for our seasons by Associate Artist, Tom Duncan. His photography and his imagination (supported by the graphic design skills of Jonathan McEnroe) have helped create an indelible identity for Bard in the Botanics.
- And to continue on that theme, each of our recent season photoshoots has been styled by the wonderful team at Belle & Blackley Hair & Beauty. They are brilliant partners to Bard in the Botanics – and it helps that it’s owned by Nicole Cooper’s husband, Scott!
- We are very lucky to work with such incredibly talented artists in all areas of our work and want to thank each and every one of them for the invaluable contribution they make to Bard in the Botanics.
2019 COMPANY:
Bard in the Botanics 2019: The “Muse of Fire” Season
Stephen Arden (Oliver & Amiens / Horatio); Gordon Barr (Artistic Director); Shelby Lynn Bias (Phebe); Rebecca Haley Clark (Assistant Director – As You Like It); Charlie Clee (Orlando / Laertes); Emma Clifton (Wardrobe Supervisor); Vanessa Coffey (Queen Elizabeth); Nicole Cooper (Jaques / Hamlet); Heather Currie (Associate Designer – Hamlet); Jennifer Dick (Director – Henry V & Richard III); Adam Donaldson (Henry V / Buckingham & Richmond); Robert Elkin (Touchstone / Richard III); Suzie Goldberg (Stage Manager); Emma Harley (DSM); Robin Hellier (Fight Director); Carys Hobbs (Season Designer); Eklavey Kashyap (Adam); Anne Klein (Silvia); Natalie Lauren (Queen Katherine); Simon Lembcke (Charles & Andrey); Helen Logan (Gertrude); Claire Macallister (Montjoy & Bardolph / Rosencrantz & Marcellus); Kirsty McDuff (Celia / Lady Anne & Tyrrel); Stephanie McGregor (Rosalind / Ophelia; Choreographer); Alan Mirren (Prince Lewis & Pistol / Claudius); Lynsey-Anne Moffat (Chorus & Exeter & Fluellen); Ben Noble (Canterbury & Nym); Sam Ramsay (Festival Manager); Siobhan Randle (Wardrobe Supervisor); Alan Steele (Dukes Frederick & Senior & Sir Oliver Martext / Polonius & Ghost & Player); Babette Wickham-Riddick (DSM)
“Mother Goose” Company: Stephen Arden (Snow Queen; Choreographer); Gordon Barr (Writer & Director); Rory Beaton (Lighting Design); Samantha Burt (DSM); Emma Clifton (Assistant Wardrobe Supervisor); Heather Currie (Wardrobe Assistant); Robert Elkin (Bruce the Goose); Ashley Foster (Young Cast Liaison); Kyle Gardiner (Peter Pan); Sarah Haddath (Rapunzel); Carys Hobbs (Designer); Cole McBride (ASM); Stephanie McGregor (Little Red); Siobhan Randle (Wardrobe Supervisor); Stephen Roberts (Composer & Musical Director); Alan Steele (Mother Goose); Sam Ramsay (Stage Manager)
