Following on from our article last week regarding open air theatre performances, Sammi O’Neill spoke to Gary Andrews from the Polesden Lacey Shakespeare Company about their production of ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ playing this weekend and next in the beautiful grounds of Polesden Lacey National Trust Property.
Gary Andrews a cartoon animator has been heavily involved in local theatre for many years. 25 years ago he joined the Archway Theatre in Horley as a fight director and has also been involved in Pitchy Breath Theatre Company at the Hawth in Crawley.
He was contacted by the Polesden Lacey Shakepeare Company to help them direct fights for one of their shows. Once involved; he then directed ‘A Comedy of Errors‘ a couple of years ago and has now joined the board as artistic director.
He tells Theatre South East about Polesden Lacey Shakespeare’s latest production.
The Venue.
The production takes place in the grounds of the beautiful National Trust property just outside Great Bookham in Surrey.
The custom built Open Air Theatre was built in 1951s as part of the Festival of Britain celebrations. Since then there has been a Polesden Lacey festival every summer and as part of that, an open air Shakespearean production (for the full list click here)
It is a lovely venue made even better because it was custom built, there is a bunker made of concrete with a stage built over it, there is even a pit for an orchestra. The lawn where people sit is steeped in front of the stage. It is absolutely glorious.
The Cast.
The cast and creatives are a real mixture of community minded people, amateurs, semi-pros and ex-pros. However this is a labour of love and no one is paid, we take part in Polesden Lacey Theatre because it is such a wonderful venue and production.
Funding.
For many years the National Trust were able to back our production but a few years back they had to unfortunately withdraw funding. A group of people led by a lady called Margaret Hunter set up Poleston Lacey Shakespeare so that the tradition didn’t die out. All productions are now self funding and non-profit and still take place in the idyllic NT gardens.
The National Trust continue to be extremely supportive of the company and help by maintaining the infrastructure, providing publicity and enabling the productions to go ahead.
Last year the company were saddened by Margaret’s death however her son actor Robin Sebastian is still extremely supportive and is involved as a patron and helps ensure Margaret’s legacy lives on.
Much Ado about Nothing.
One of Shakespeare classic comedies, Much Ado About Nothing will take place at 3pm on 4th-5th July and 11th-12th July. It is a wonderful show this year and we encourage as many people as we can to come along.
We usually have about 1500+ people over the two weekends and the nice thing about being in the outdoors means that there is no restriction on numbers
The Weather.
The Company press on come rain or come shine. The only time we would ever stop is if it was dangerous with thunder, lightning or high winds, but we have carried on throughout torrential downpours.
The audience put up their umbrellas and are very British and sit through it. The cast have large see-through ponchos to wear which means the audience can still see the elaborate costumes but they don’t get wet. There is such a tremendous atmosphere particularly when it rains.
What’s Next?
Much Ado about Nothing is the end of a four year plan so now we are starting on the next batch. Over the last few years we have only performed comedies because it suits the location, time of day and our audience. We are looking to open up now and expand to some of the romances now as the company is so established. The bottom line is that it needs to be entertaining.
Next year it will be the Tempest. It will be the company’s 65th anniversary which will tie in with the 400 anniversary of his death which should be quite fitting.
How do people get tickets for Much Ado about Nothing?
The Dorking Halls provides ticket sales in advance. Tickets are are also available on the day for people who turn up on spec.
Booking details here