Almost a year ago to the day, last year Woodwose came to the woods. UpShoot just scraped in, post new COVID-19 regulations of the Joy of Six, and we gathered in one of the last glorious weekends of September in Kaliwood, hungry for theatre. We were not disappointed, it was a blast. Michael Imison’s review is copied below.
Michael Imison review of GARDEN THEATRE 5PM SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 19TH KALIWOOD HOLTON HALESWORTH
It was an interesting situation, a show presented by Halesworth’s Cut Arts Centre, performed by Bungay’s Upshoot Theatre in a wood in Holton, owned by neither of them. It was one of a series of outdoor performances produced by Darren France to replace a production of ‘O what a Lovely War’ made impossible by Corvid regulations. Even in the open air, the audience was limited to forty.
Not surprisingly it was an instant sell out.
Outside a wooden cabin, adorned for this evening with sound equipment, the audience arranged their ‘bubbles’ on chairs or rugs they had brought themselves, under tall Hornbeams whose upper foliage was warmly illuminated by the spotlight of the evening sun. A local ukulele band kept us cheerful with foot tapping melodies until the show started. The first half was a selection of songs designed, appropriately, to echo the impact of the virus through the year so far. The stage was bare earth outlined by a rope, the background a faded velvet curtain propped up on poles, but the professionalism of a cast simply dressed in black soon made you forget you were not in a fully equipped theatre. There were also many informal touches that matched the picnic atmosphere of the setting. The actors were enjoying themselves and so were we.
For January ‘Pure Imagination’ from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory sung by the whole company expressed the initial dismissal of the Corvid threat and gently introduced our theme. Songs from ‘The Little Shop of Horrors’and ‘Moulin Rouge’ (a previous hit for the company) followed until ‘I dreamed a Dream’ from ‘Les Miserables’ movingly sung by Leila France, marked the March crackdown. ‘Sweeny Todd’ wittily covered the ensuing death toll with a suitably evil performance from Leon Bedwell as the Demon Barber. Appropriate songs including more from ‘Les Miserables’ and ‘Moulin Rouge’ followed delivered by an exuberant cast, of singers and dancers, well drilled by director Leila France, climaxing with the whole company singing ‘Give a little love’ from Bugsy Malone, with the lines ‘Have a little hope’ and ‘There must be a solution’ bringing the pandemic up to date.
After an interval with volunteers, led by Rachel Kellett, owner of the wood, serving refreshments and some audience members exploring the mysteries of Clarissa the compost toilet, the second half was given over to comedy. Costumes of sombre black were replaced by colourful doublet and hose and high headdresses, provided by Norwich Theatre Royal, as
the company brought Richard Curtis’s ‘Blackadder’ to the stage. They performed Episode One of the Second series. The challenge was not to disappoint those of us who remember the original production and they met it riotously. The speed of the TV script involved some hasty exits and entrances but the pace never dropped. Daniel Self and Judah Carter gave performances of Blackadder and Baldrick that were not mere imitations and to pick one out of the array of equally hysterical cameo performances, Luci Bedwell’s screeching young crone was suitably over the top. Laughter was continuous and the select audience left feeling privileged to have had such a varied and entertaining evening in a beautiful setting.
A member of the original caste, Helen Atkinson-Wood who played the role of Mrs. Miggins in all six episodes – a part originally written for her – arrived to see the performance complete with a delicious Apple Pie and raw cream, which was enjoyed by all the cast, and well deserved, while packing up at the end.
Michael Imison September 2020
Kaliwood 