RLS DRAMATICS

"... the threads about the annual Shakespeare play. I only remember one: the 1963 "MacBeth"...." Under Vic Slade's supervision in our time I don't recall any full length Shakespeare, although there was a wonderful version of the play within a play from A Midsummer Night's Dream in the House Competition one year. VS and his colleagues seemed to prefer more modern material, Beckett, etc for the main drama productions. I wonder how the plays were chosen? Was it entirely left to Vic Slade, did potential cast members or other staff have any say in it? (Tim Knights 1965-73)

I never knew him as Toby Trail but I think I know of its origin. I believe he played the part of Sir Toby Belch in a school production of 12th Night, no doubt alongside Richard (Dickie) Smart and Richard Bartholomew. Although well built, he was nowhere near as large as Sir T was meant to be. I remember a line about 'larding the earth' but cannot find it in my Shakespeare Compendium. (David Silverside)

I am fairly? sure that Toby Belch was played at one time during my brief tenure at RLS by the late lamented Graham Bond. Now he was built for the part. Mention of the Richard Smart name rings a bell ( much like Quasimodo). Was he not a blond young fella, always played the lead female role (???) and knocked about with one who rejoiced in the monica Royston Darlow. Why do I remember this? Cos I thought said RD to be a right little snot, thats why. (Phil Kingham)

The most renowned Falstaff of my (our) time was HM Ian (Davo) Davidson in Mr. Madell's production circa 1959. It is amazing how many of the lines from that play have stuck in my memory! Trivial little things like "tickle our noses with spear-grass...", "Beslubber our garments with the blood...", "Still run and roared as ever I heard bull-calf...", "If reasons were as plentiful as blackberries, I would give no man a reason upon compulsion, I" It must have been either a bloody good play or bloody good acting - or both! (DGM)

The Magazine for December 1960 reports on "Twelfth Night": 24, 25, 26 March... Michael Sanders (the Duke) ... Andrew McWhirter (Olivia) ... Peter Moulds (Viola) ... Richard Smart (Malvolio) ... Roger Trail (Sir Toby Belch) ... Richard Bartholomew (Sir Andrew Aguecheek) ... Anthony Bayfield (Maria) ... Max Hill (the Clown) ... D. Roast (the Priest) ... S. Barren (Fabian) ... (J. Steele (Antonio) ... M. Summers (Sebastian). Backstage workers included D. Silverside. (J. Alan Smith 1951-59) I was in 12th Night when I was 12! I still have the original program. The play was directed by J.R..Fox, the French teacher.(Graham Shuttleworth 46/53)

At The Halloween Thingy, fellow 63'er Keith Clark - Not Yet a Member - and I swapped reminiscences of Mike Brewer's musical offerings: we were 'villeins' in "The Sword in the Stone" (our singing ability far outstripped our acting ability!), but "The Pardoner's Tale" was after I left the RLS. Keith did a third year of 6th form, so it must have happened in the year 70-71.

Keith, now Headmaster of a secondary school in Hampshire, regaled us with a story wherein one of his pupils approached him, enquiring "Didn't you used to know Mr Watkiss when you were at school?". Upon replying in the affirmative, said pupil replied, "He's my Grandfather! "Sic transit gloria mundi!

My copy of the programme of "The Mikado" lists the following: Stage Managers: Robert Cubitt, Alan Holey Assistant Stage Managers: Timothy Knights (Props.) Vincent Leatt (Special Effects & Sound) Richard Smith   Memories, gentlemen? (Martin Jacobson)

…memories arising from the programme of "The Mikado"  Stage Managers: Robert Cubitt, Alan Holey I see HM Vince has taken up the Holey theme.  I can add that there were two brothers Cubitt, Roger and Robert, one was a 64er and the other a 60er.  Both were involved in the Stage Crew during the late 60s. Assistant Stage Managers: Timothy Knights (Props.)Vincent Leatt  (Special Effects & Sound) Richard Smith. Richard Smith was one of at least 4 brothers, his 2 older brothers were RLS, Brian in 6th Form when we arrived, and Ken (I think), who had left by then.  He had a younger brother but I don't know if he went to RLS.  Richard and I were associated with both Stage Crew and Transport Club.  He went into a career in Aeronautical Engineering.  I haven't heard from him many years. As for the other 2 ASMs listed, you know enough already. (Tim Knights)

Can anyone put my mind at rest and tell me which pupil, possibly some years above my level, did the most amazing impersonation of Captain Pugwash? I have a hazy recollection of him doing it on stage, but not sure whether it was part of the School Play or the House Drama competition. (Chris Stratford)

Attic: I was a member of the stage team for a while and remember accessing the attic above the assembly hall. Apart from dropping pieces of chalk through the ventilation grills on the crowd below (my word, we knew how to live on the edge in those days) I remember a collection of 1/3 pint milk bottles, tops off, all over the place. The contents had turned various stages of yellow & green and each bottle had a date written in the dust, some were over ten years old. Has this tradition died or are there still health hazards stored there? (Chris Broadbridge)

But the house Christmas parties were fun for me. As stage personel, we had to do the stage technical bit for all houses. There was an unwritten rule that we had to go to all parties to provide stage services for the parties. This was one of my greatest pleasures (at the time, you understand) because I was in charge of lights. Each house provided a continuity man (MC) and I always asked if there were any special lighting provisions. They all said not but at rehearsals they always wanted something but couldn't say what. So it was a time for great improvisation. To be fair, the stage crew always did their best for whatever house. But the acts were often poor. Some were specially written, others were bought in from 'The Gang Show'. Others were a delight. Albert Dance would play a mean piano (Russ Conway style), the Graham Bond band would play jazz saxophone. Someone would read poetry (would you believe) and Smart and Trail did the drama bit. I cannot remember which house did what but they were all different and all the same. We all smoked and that had to be good.
The stage crew was predominantly Roman in my time and we always reckoned the Roman party was the best. Well, we would, wouldn't we? And all of this came to show because we often won the House play competition. All crew put in as much effort and expertise as necessary for all plays. Each producer would ask for whatever and we provided. Of course, if the producer wanted to delegate responsibility for props or lights or whatever, he could.
I usually did the Roman lighting and sometimes the Norman, too. We learned our bit from the producers of the Shakespeare and VIB plays and I did a lot with the RDODS (Romford and District Operatic and Dramatic Society) who did G&S and other stuff with girls and women* and were allowed to smoke anywhere at any time.
I particularly remember Romans winning the Mankowitz play 'The Bespoke Overcoat'. It required a bare stage to be lit left, centre or right without any other part of the stage being lit at all. There were 20 or was it 29 changes? Anyway it was a lot. We did this using a couple of moving spots situated above and stage-side of the proscenium arch (and dedicated crew-members with a programme) a spotlight or two from the sides and the outside front of house lights. It looked OK but the centre was a real problem. We spent many unhappy hours in and out of school trying to light the centre without lighting the L&R. Finally, an hour before the performance, I gave in and simply stuck a shielded flood between the footlights. Sod it, it couldn't be done, at least there was light.
At the end of one scene, Fender dies and looks up to his heaven. He kept his eyes open even though my lighting copy (which I still have) says 'let him die before fading the light'. 'Die, you bugger, die', I muttered under my breath until I took the initiative and killed him myself. We had to lose. The adjudicator announced his conclusion in reverse order and Romans won it. 'That floodlight was a stroke of genius' he said. 'To see the little tailor grow from normal height to a big man as he moved from up to downstage in the opening scene was prophetic and set the whole tone of this brilliantly chosen play etc etc' 'And the dying scene, absolute perfect timing. Did you practice a lot?' he said, turning to my beaming face. Oh Yeah, Yeah. Practice. First produced by Alec Clunes, father, I believe of bigears in 'men behaving badly'. Does anybody remember it? (David Silverside)

I remember it very well; I was Fender. I was also co-director with Paul Romaine, who played Morry. The problem with that lighting script was that we failed to work out the consequences of it. I needed to make a quick silent exit once the stage was dark. To be sure that the light had been dimmed to darkness I had to keep my eyes open looking upstage so that the audience could not see them – the stage crew could see them of course. The result was that I was silently urging David to turn the bloody light out while he was wishing me dead. Had the school indulged us with adequate technical rehearsals (we were restricted to something like one hour) we would have avoided that particular Mexican standoff.
As David says the set was bare, all scene changes were effected by the David with resources that were good for a school at that time but were far below those of a professional stage. Everybody who saw the play agreed that the lighting was superb and made a major contribution to our winning. David will be pleased to know that I later drove another lighting technician, insane when I directed Osborne's "Luther" in St Giles Cripplegate; there were similar problems - wide open spaces - no moveable scenery - no curtains.
One of the other curious points about the adjudication was that my east-end Jewish accent was deemed to be slightly better than Paul's, who actually was Jewish. (Michael Course)

"There was a Christmas play about Mr. Punch in which a fellow called Watson starred as the title character. He sang and danced. "Mr Punch is a jolly good fellow, he dresses in scarlet and yellow" were the words. I had never imagined Watson as an actor, and indeed, he never was in another play. This singular performance however was virtuoso and applauded by one and all. For the rest of his school career ambitious producers, anxious to have a comedy success, asked Watson to help out. He steadfastly refused all offers. And thus a potential acting career died an early death. I wonder what became of Watson?"
He was strange. I could never understand how someone who was a one man show in that play, never again walked the boards. He was a natural comedian, just the way he walked and posed and generally projected himself. I really do wonder what happened to him? (Mike Merry)

The Annual RLS Revue Evening was held in the autumn term in the main hall with the stage and was attended by the headmaster, other masters and pupils with their invited family members. There would be various announcements, words about the year past by the headmaster, perhaps music by pupils and then each of the four houses put on at least one sketch, which were the main attraction for most pupils... to see older boys and friends being funny or - even better - making fools of themselves was something unusual.
One year before I also tramped those boards in a sketch for the Saxons, some boys (from another house) had put on a sketch which really had no real plot or point other than a slapstick fight with dough. The fight got out of hand, dough flying everywhere, the front row came under fire and even Newth was at last actually hit by a well-aimed piece... a daring, intentional move, that! I can't recall the name of the chief culprit, but he had a big reputation as a ne'er-do-well. Mr. Newth got up and stopped the proceedings then. What was worse was that the huge velvet stage curtains were liberally covered too, and no one cleaned them off - it seems - until the dough had set firmly into the velure. The curtains were new and I recall that they had cost the princely sum of £600 (how do such details stick in the mind?) and would cost a great deal to have cleaned, as they had to be taken down and sent away to a firm that could handle such large curtains.
Next year my turn came quite unexpectedly (1953). Languishing in class one day near the end of term, a message came for me that I was wanted on the stage. A friend called Hutchins thought I might help out with a sketch that he had... his job was stage manager and he would not do it himself or take any of the honour. It required at least 4 persons, so I went and cajoled some nervous but good friends into joining me... Colin Brown, Wren, and Hare(?).
Hutchins directed it excellently and, without a script, he got us to find out own lines, to project our voices really properly... so we rehearsed it and were ready for the revue next day. Heavily made up with grease paint, we were the Red Army Choir, our RLS jackets buttoned on backwards which gave an excellent USSR effect. Since the others all refused point blank to take the leading role - the officer conducting the choir - it fell to me.
Marched on the three men, lined them up - tallest on the left, shortest on the right - I presented the Red Army Choir in my idea of a Russian accent, who would sing The Sonk of the Fulgar Boatmen. After briefly praising Uncle Joe, the song began, "Yo Heave Ho, Yo HeeEAeVE...." and one singer soon hit a real bummer. I stopped the choir - apologised profusely to the audience. Marched them all off. A shot was heard. Then orders - and the remaining two were marched back on. The same procedure was repeated for each of them, with huge applause for each horrible note that was sung - especially Colin Brown's terrible broken-voiced screech - until only I was left. I ordered myself to march on etc. & tried to sing it - same strangulated 'heave'. Same apology. I marched myself off. A shot was heard. The curtain did not fall, however... no sound for a while. Then I sprang back on in joy shouting 'I missed'. Hutchins let the curtain down immediately. He taught us the timings to get maximum effect. He ought to have become a director in real life. Thunderous applause... Afterwards, even Mr. Fox was enthusiastic. Thus I became a shooting star! For five minutes I revelled in brilliance, thereafter to deprive the stage of my talents. (Robert Priddy)

It occurs to me that poor ole Dave Seymour can't have too many happy memories of one-to-one combat during his time at the Lib... Apart from his defeat at the gloved hands of the Miami Mauler, he starred (unless I am mistaken - Alan?) as Harry Hotspur in the Madell production of Hank Four, Pt. I circa 1959/60, during the course of which he was soundly - and fatally - defeated, in sword and buckler combat, by Peter Romain's Prince Hal on all three consecutive nights of the performance! I believe there was some talk of letting him win on the Saturday night but, in the event, Peter refused to "throw" the fight! Was there a programme note "Fights arranged by Mr. V. Schofield"? (DGM)

Henry IV Part 1: Mr Madell produced Henry IV Part 1 on 19, 20, and 21 March 1959. Among the cast were: R.J. Trail (the King); P.D. Romain [Paul, not Peter, from memory] (the Prince); D.E. Seymour (Hotspur); G.M. Butterworth (Worcester); W.N. Bowman (Douglas); A.J. McWhirter (Lady Percy); I.R.C. Davidson (Falstaff). [Source: Magazine, December 1959] (JAS)

It seemed to me that the March Shakespeare play was always that currently being studied for the GCE 'O' level English examination. It played on a Thursday, Friday and Saturday evening to a paying audience but the full dress rehearsal (usually with no interruptions) was played on a Wednesday afternoon to the 5th forms from the RLS, the RCH and other local schools.
One year we did Macbeth. Banquo appears as a ghost in one scene. This was a challenge to us stage electricians. To produce a ghost required lighting of sufficient intensity to see who it was but not enough to make the ghost look like flesh and blood. Yet the rest of the cast had to be adequately lit.
A single, special blue lamp was erected over a well defined area in centre stage surrounded by gauze and it worked well. Just before curtain-up at the dress rehearsal I did the usual last minute lighting check to discover my blue light had failed, yet it was working only a few minutes ago! I changed the fuse, it wasn't that. I quickly got another lamp, raised the ladder and ran up to change the bulb. My assistant tried the new lamp but still it did not work. I raced down to get screwdrivers and pliers to sort out the connection as the opening cast filed onto the stage. I worked at great speed, dropping things, seemingly never to win. I was atop the ladder as Mr Fox (who knew nothing of my plight) made his opening remarks from front of stage to the audience (about it being a dress rehearsal and he reserved the right to stop it for advice, if necessary) then, to applause, he descended the stage and repaired to the back of the hall. Oh bliss! The light worked and I practically fell down the ladder as Foxy shouted 'begin'. About 15 minutes later Fox was heard to shout 'what's that bloody ladder doing there?' Nobody seemed to have noticed except him.
At one time, Brian Wingfield was my assistant (it may have been him in this story, I can't remember). I will tell you next time of the fun we had making the smoke box for the opening scene on the blasted heath (ref Peter Underwood's recent posting). Cough! (David Silverside)

Here are details of the cast of 'The Merchant of Venice' from the December1957 Magazine: P. Romain (Shylock); R. Bartholomew (Portia); J.C. Steele and G.W. Slaughter (Portia's suitors); D.S. Morris (Bassanio); I.R.C. Davidson (Antonio); D.J. Polgreen and R.P. Mercy (Old and Young Gobbo); R.E. Smart (Lorenzo); P.H. Marshall (Jessica); and J.E. Ainger (Gratiano).(JAS)

Now, what news on the Rialto? I have just emailed a scan of a photograph of a school play to Andy, I think it is from the Merchant of Venice. I say 'I think' because it is not annotated but as the central character is wearing a robe bearing the star of David, holding a knife and looking at an important scroll, your average punter would guess he is a blood-thirsty, litigious Jew. A right Shylock. If this surmise is true, then the rather fetching lawyer with hands holding the robe to his left is, presumably, Portia, none other than our Richard Bartholomew, I'll wager.
The scene could be Act IV scene 1 at that point where Shylock discovers he may have his pound of flesh but (Portia) 'This bond doth give thee here no jot of blood; The words expressly are 'a pound of flesh': Take then thy bond, take thou thy pound of flesh; But in the cutting it, if thou dost shed One drop of Christian blood, thy lands and goods Are, by the laws of Venice, confiscate Unto the state of Venice....Thyself shalt see the act; For, as thou urgest justice, be assur'd Thou shalt have justice, more than thou desirest'.
Perhaps you guys might like identify the cast. Here are a few guesses butI'll stand to be corrected. Second from the right may be Ian Davidson. Immediately to his right might be Andrew McWhirter. Shylock might be Doug Fisher (bit shaky here, I take it from the stance rather than the face) and extreme left (a mere half a person) might just be Roger Trail. Many faces are immediately recognisable but I can't put names to them, sorry. Over to you guys. Apologies if the picture is a bit poor; it is 40 years old! (David Silverside)
'Macbeth' was performed in March 1957. Among the cast were:
J.P.R. Mitchell (Macbeth); J.A. Evans (Lady Macbeth); A.J. Richards(Macduff); R. Bartholomew (Macduff's son); J.E. Ainger (Banquo); R.P. Long(Duncan); P.S. Kingham (Porter); G.M. Butterworth (Malcolm); D.J. Polgreen(Donalbain); P.J. Tilbrook (Bleeding Sergeant); A. Searle (Lady Macduff);and D.S. Morris (Ross). (JAS)

Does anyone remember the production of the "Scottish play"? It must have been about 1960. We used smoke boxes to provide the atmosphere for the "blasted heath" (not a dated political comment!).
As the curtains opened on the first night, smoke cascaded over the front of the stage and enveloped the distinguished guests in the front row, gradually penetrating to all parts of the Hall. For the final scene, when the head of Macbeth is flourished, with the assistance of the Art room, we had produced a convincing (at a distance) head, suitably pallid, but were unsure how to add the necessary, dripping, gore. After some experimentation tomato ketchup (Heinz, not Crosse and Blackwell -- which was too runny) provided the solution. However, this eventually "went off", together with a small roasted pig which had provided the centre-piece for the Banquo banquet. The smell hung around for weeks. (Peter G. Underwood)

The Scottish Play: 'Macbeth' was performed in March 1957. Among the cast were:J.P.R. Mitchell (Macbeth); J.A. Evans (Lady Macbeth); A.J. Richards (Macduff); R. Bartholomew (Macduff's son); J.E. Ainger (Banquo); R.P. Long (Duncan); P.S. Kingham (Porter); G.M. Butterworth (Malcolm); D.J. Polgreen (Donalbain); P.J. Tilbrook (Bleeding Sergeant); A. Searle (Lady Macduff); and D.S. Morris (Ross). (JAS)

Who can forget RICHARD Bartholomew as Portia in The Merchant of Venice? (Clive W.)

The Merchant of Venice Gentlemen. Now, what news on the Rialto? I have just emailed a scan of a photograph of a school play to Andy, no doubt he will share this with us in due course. I think it is from the Merchant of Venice. I say 'I think' because it is not annotated but as the central character is wearing a robe bearing the star of David, holding a knife and looking at an important scroll, your average punter would guess he is a blood-thirsty, litigious Jew. A right Shylock. If this surmise is true, then the rather fetching lawyer with hands holding the robe to his left is, presumably, Portia, none other than our Richard Bartholomew, I'll wager. The scene could be Act IV scene 1 at that point where Shylock discovers he may have his pound of flesh but (Portia) 'This bond doth give thee here no jot of blood; The words expressly are 'a pound of flesh': Take then thy bond, take thou thy pound of flesh; But in the cutting it, if thou dost shed One drop of Christian blood, thy lands and goods Are, by the laws of Venice, confiscate Unto the state of Venice....Thyself shalt see the act; For, as thou urgest justice, be assur'd Thou shalt have justice, more than thou desirest'.
Perhaps you guys might like identify the cast. Here are a few guesses but I'll stand to be corrected. Second from the right may be Ian Davidson. Immediately to his right might be Andrew McWhirter. Shylock might be Doug Fisher (bit shaky here, I take it from he stance rather than the face) and extreme left (a mere half a person) might just be Roger Trail. Many faces are immediately recognisable but I can't put names to them, sorry. Over to you guys. Apologies if the picture is a bit poor; it is 40years old! (David Silverside)

Incidently not only was Dave S well involved in the stage, he was an excellent, committed and dedicated stage electrician whose contribution to the drama at RLS was totally underestimated an unsung. So he would have known precisely about the electrics! Changing the thrust a little, we have not had much said about the Dramatics (stage version) at the RLS. I do believe that it was something done extremely well. In my day the efforts of Messrs Fox and Maddell and the various House competitions must surely have done much to encourage the hidden abilities of many a boy. The cross dressing required in those days may not be politically correct today, names which particularly spring to mind include Ian Davidson, Mike Fisher, Andrew McWhirter, ?? Bartholomew. (Brian Boswell)

Does anyone remember the annual Shakespeare plays? I recall in the 50's, the presentation was always that, which was the English lit subject that year. Memory dims after such a time, but I starred?? in all, 53 to 57.
53 Julius Caesar was a woman in the crowd. (no lewd comments please)
54 Richard 2 Played Duchess of Gloucester at last minute, when Gregory (Aus) fell sick of the palsey
55 and 56 escape me
57 M****** the Scottish one: played drunken porter, a condition from which it has taken 40 odd years to recover.
jake or foxy took it in turns to direct. I also trod the boards in the inter-house plays-- must have been a potential thespian.(q.v.53 play)
While I'm on, there was also a school magazine published in the autumn term, some 20 pages, cross & crown on front, reviewing said artistic efforts, valete to pupils and god what else. My copies were amongst the low priority items left behind when 1st wife saw where she had gone wrong, and outed me. Never been seen since. Magazines that is, (wife don’t worry me!) Do we have any in the archives, or are they so precious that nobody will part with them?
This and the orchestra occupied most of my school year; it was painfully evident that academia was not going to call for me so 'twas all a good scive to get out of lessons. (Phil Kingham)

We have a review of said production (under the guidance of Mr Melnick) in our Library copy of the Dec 1955 School Magazine.[ ... School Years ... 1955-56 ... School Magazine ... pp.30-31] (Andy)

Using my 1 remaining memory cell, somewhere along the line was King Lear which I was in. If it helps identify the year, Ken Cracknell (a p*****t) played the lead. (Phil Kingham)

Andy said "1955 broke with tradition and presented Shaw's 'Androcles and The Lion'".
Androcles played by John Ainger, that I remember, however was Ken Saxby the Lion? I recall a sort of "lion" suit that was pretty mothy and a horrible colour more like orangy-red. Shutting my eyes and looking back I recall the lions cave was on the left hand side of the stage (as you faced it) and most of the action (which would be frowned upon by the RSPCA today) took place there. Come to think of it, old Ken could have probably done the part without the suit, he looked and sounded a bit lionish! John was very good (he was good at most things) but his Co-op underpants could be seen under the short skirt he was wearing every time he bent over! (Mike Merry)

Adrian (Thompson) has sent us an article from The Romford Recorder describing the School's Murder Mystery Play, Dec 2000. (Andy)

Phil K. mentioned the Lear play. Back in October I posted:
"Messrs Fox and Melnick were the producers in my day. I was Cordelia in King Lear etc… I believe this was the last time I was actually fully inside a dress. After that only my hands had the luck!. I can remember one line of that play: "Good my Lord" and bugger all else. I spent the last week of my summer vacations learning all the lines only to find that Foxy had cut 75 percent of them out of the play when we went to the first reading. I was rather PO'd about this considering how long it took! After that I think my voice broke and I started to shave, not the best attributes for the female lead!
I suppose things were different in those days and not much was made of having to be a female in a boys school play. I imagine that these days such antics would bring forth some rather harsh remarks but back then it was just something you did for the school. For those of you who haven't seen it there's an essay about RLS dramatics in the files. I enjoyed them myself and little things you learn on the stage can be applied to public speaking for example. Do they still do the classics as plays and do boys still play the female leads today at RLS? (Mike Merry)

While rummaging through the Library I came across the Cast List of the School's 1957 production of 'The Scottish Play'. Glancing down it I see that a P.S. Kingham played Porter. This is no doubt the Oscar-nominated performance referred to a few weeks ago (I recall the adjective 'drunken' being applied at the time). Malcolm was played by one G.M. Butterworth.
'Macbeth' March 1957 - Cast List
J.P.R. Mitchell (Macbeth); J.A. Evans (Lady Macbeth); A.J. Richards (Macduff); R. Bartholomew (Macduff's son); J.E. Ainger (Banquo); R.P. Long (Duncan); P.S. Kingham (Porter); G.M. Butterworth (Malcolm); D.J. Polgreen (Donalbain); P.J. Tilbrook (Bleeding Sergeant); A. Searle (Lady Macduff); D.S. Morris (Ross). (Andy Lee)

David Pettit: Starred as Mark Antony in the 1954 rendition of Julius Caesar, and very butch he was. (Phil Kingham)

A stage story. I can't remember the play, this is what I would like you to do. For some inexplicable reason, the producer wanted to change scenes without closing the curtains. As it was winter, the hall was in total darkness so I chose to shine two huge, powerful lights right into the eyes of the audience. The audience was blinded on the first occasion but soon learned to shade their eyes with their hands and see onto the stage. Of course some black-clad monkey thought that he couldn't be seen changing the props so pulled a face to the great amusement of the audience. In the end we had to close the curtains. Anybody know the play and the monkey? I don't. (David Silverside)

During my time as stage manager we were not troubled with problems from the unearthly dimension, apart from occasional visits from Jim Hardy or Jet Morgan who were, nominally, responsible for supervising our work. However, I wonder if the origin of such spirit visitations may not be traced back to an incident that occurred (and Jim Storey or David Silverside may be able to refresh our memories of the precise circumstances) during a production that involved Hell's Mouth and a flashbox. It may have been one of the Medieval Mystery plays. A first- or second-former had been cast as a spirit; his approach on stage was to be covered by a flash -- in those days caused by magnesium powder and an electric igniter; this device exploded at the precise moment that the unfortunate boy stepped over the box. History must have recorded his later progress through the school -- unless he was annihilated and the matter hushed up, perhaps?
On the other hand, it could be that those who were emotionally scarred by taking part in the production of "Someone at the door" occasionally assemble in ghostly form -- a collective "out of body experience", perhaps -- brought on by the terrible events. The play was put on by a small group of us, who had formed a theatre company outside of RLS and, on this occasion, we had offered to put on the production at the school. John Aylett (now a schoolmaster at St Edward's), Ted Taylor, Richard Harris took part; Howard Eldridge was the electrician and I did stage management.
The play is complex but revolves around two guns, one of which is concealed and fired as the actual murder weapon although the holder of another gun, which is visible in the hands of the apparent villain, appears to have done the deed; this gun is also actually fired at a later stage - so two guns have to go off. The victim is a copper, played in this case by John Aylett. For the occasion, we had borrowed starting pistols and loaded them with (obviously) blanks. One was a snubnose -- this was the concealed weapon -- whilst the other was a heavy revolver.
The night had not gone well -- trouble with the sound system (my fault) had resulted in the late arrival of thunder -- and there were several needs for the prompt corner. As the play reached the point where the murder takes place, Ted Taylor (the actual killer) found that the concealed gun would not work (he had inadvertently left the safety catch on) and, in desperate straits, whispered to Richard Harris (who was brandishing the revolver) "fire your gun". Richard did, with the effect that a flaming wad and huge explosion of smoke enveloped John Aylett who, rather than collapsing quietly, as per script, looked down, said "Oh", brushed off the charred debris and then recovered sufficiently to collapse.
Somehow we managed to bring the play to a conclusion! I have a feeling that, if the afterlife exists, I shall forever be locked into this production, doomed with those fellow-players, to re-writing it on stage so that it works.
The photographs of the company are in The Library. (Peter G. Underwood)

Peter may be right about the magnesium powder story although I have slightly different recollections. The play was Macbeth and it opened with the witches’ bubble bubbling on the blasted heath. A flash of the powders introduced them; might as well have a memorable start. Quite.
The equipment we used was a piece of wood about 2" wide, 1" deep and a foot long (apologies to our metric readers). Four holes of about 1" diameter were drilled through and the wood backed off with hardboard to make four cups. (One hole for opening the scene, one for closing, doubled up in case one cup did not work). A couple of terminals were placed on either side of each cup and wired directly to the mains, each cup with its own switch. A piece of fuse wire (again sorry to the younger members of the group) joined the terminals on each side and passing through each cup. Magnesium powder was placed in the cup, the switch closed and the fuse blew, being a direct mains’ short. Flash!
We needed lots of practice and several designs to get the equipment to work. The first time we did it with one full cup. We nearly blinded ourselves and could hardly see for fog. We reduced the powder and it was fine. Then we tried four cups but they were so close that they all went off together. So we started again. We soon got it right and became quite blase about the whole thing. The play ran four times, once for the local schools who were doing the play for 'O' level (basically a dress rehearsal) and three parent nights. The first three went fine but on the fourth we forgot to set it up in good time and had to get ready quickly. Unfortunately a little powder made a line between cups one and two maybe between the wood and hardboard. The switch to cup 1 was thrown and there was a measurable time lag before the second cup ignited. Witch one had started her lines. The heat of two cups then set the third and fourth alight. Most off-putting. We had contingency plans to pull back the kit and reload so all ended well. Nobody was hurt, though. We did all of this ourselves, no master ever involved. I cannot imagine this happening today. Image, a full mains short circuit being approved, let alone in a school play shown to the public. No way. (David Silverside)

I have just discovered the original bastardised script for the Macbeth Mystery Story - the Saxon entry for the play competition - 1974 I think?  Still retains much of the Thurber humour.  Did we come second?  I remember a fine performance from Kevin Francis who by coincidence I ended up studying with in Manchester (1982-84).  I think after his MBA he went off to Sydney, Australia to work in the financial community. (Jody Chatterjee)

Peter has sent some more details about the production of 'Someone At The Door', appended below. I have added these, and Peter's earlier identifications and notes, to the Library photos filed under ... School Years ... 1963-1964
"Andy. I remember 'No Hiding Place' very well. The opening titles rolled over a low-level shot (in black and white of course) of Inspector Lockhart's police car tearing round a corner with its bumper-mounted bell (yes – bell on police car bumper!) ringing loudly. Ripping yarns!
The play, Someone At The Door, was written by Dorothy and Campbell Christie, and published in 1936.
It is a comedy thriller in three acts. A reporter fakes a murder in a haunted house in order to capture a sensational story. When a real murder happens there, he's accused. The set included a hidden panel (very difficult to engineer) and, as can be seen from the photographs, involved a lot of detailed painting to create the wood-panelled effect. The "above panelling" sections were painted using a paint tint called "Cambridge blue"; it was the first time I became aware that I was colour blind -- because it looked distinctly green to me!
The Pygmalions were formed by a group of RLS pupils and others. The starting-point was a model theatre that Howard Eldridge had built, with quite elaborate miniature lighting equipment. Howard, myself and one other person, whose name I cannot remember, wrote a play for this "theatre". The characters were cut out of card and mounted on wire slides that could be moved about the stage (anyone who has seen a "penny plain and twopence coloured" Pollock toy theatre will recognise the set-up). The name of this early work escapes me (but given sufficient gin and tonic [Bombay Sapphire is finally available in Cape Town -- hooray!] this evening, it may come back!) but the theme music to which the curtain went up was that used for "No Hiding Place"; very much pre-"Z Cars"! Who remembers Detective Superintendent (later DCI) Lockhart of Scotland Yard (Raymond Francis), in this ITV Rediffusion series that ran from 1959 to1967? We put the play on in the living room of Howard's house before an invited audience who were suitably(?) impressed. Following this triumph, the group increased and we put on, in the same place, A Christmas Carol and at least one other production. Following this, our ambitions grew to a real stage -- the nearest available being RLS. Howard, John Aylett, Richard Harris, Steve Wilcox and I were part of the stage crew (directed by Jim Storey, then? Gambling Brian Wingfield was electrician) so this provided a real possibility of a full-scale production. This eventually came to be when Howard succeeded Brian Wingfield and I became stage manager.
Apart from Howard, who moved on into lighting design as a career - I think he is associated with the Harrow Arts Centre and am attempting to regain contact with him - none of us followed our thespian inclinations in anything other than an amateur capacity, though one could argue that lecturing comes a close second! (Peter G. Underwood)

One part in 'No Hiding Place' was played by Johnny Briggs who now appears as Mike Baldwin in Coronation Street. (Andy)

Stage memories Reading Peter's piece brought it all back!! I too was Stage Manager for a period. My main memory was slapping on gallons of size (is it used now??) as an undercoat on canvas flats. My main memory of backstage is of live (mains voltage) bare wires sticking out of the wall. One only had to relax and lean on the wall and yikes!! I have designed and built quite a few stage sets in later years... the latest was last month...but I always reckon my best was a backdrop of a night sky on the Embankment in London... and we cut out rectangles so that it gave the effect of lighted windows. I cant remember the play... anyone?? I think it must have been the Roman entry in the InterHouse drama Competition…which just shows how long ago it was!!.. probably about 1954. I think I already recounted the tale of the lad who was the thunder in the Tempest....and was lodged in an inaccessible part of the stage with a big metal sheet...and went berserk so that the actors couldn’t be heard!... and only silenced by throwing a plimsoll at him… which sailed across the stage. I never knew it was a comedy till then! (Colin Calvert)

J.A. Smith wrote "Would Brian King have been playing females leads in1953? He was in VI B in 1952-53. Moreover, the only performance of The Merchant of Venice I can find in the period 1951-59 was in 1958 when Portia was played by Richard Bartholomew." Then it could have been 1952 - actually more likely. Not only did I 'audition' for the role, which Brian won but I saw Brian play it myself when it was put on. I don't recall at what time of year the Shakespeare play was performed, but think it was early in the year because they often chose to put on the play that was on the syllabus for that year's GCE. So I'd go for 1952 - just possibly 1951. The preceding year it was The Tempest, I know with Pete Benson as Ariel. (Robert Priddy)

The Shakespeare plays I remember are King Lear, with a certain MJM as Cordelia, and Julius Caesar and in that order. I reckon Lear was staged in 52/53 with Caesar the following year.
I was one of the stage hands of whom MJM complains. The new art master Franklin painted scenery for Caesar but I don't remember him being around for Lear.
Llewellyn (?) a sergeant in the CCF (& Pr*f*ct) played the bugle for the various alarms for Lear, so he was in VIA at the time. (Peter Monk)

In the 1950s, the normal pattern was for the Inter-House Dramatic Competition to take place in the Autumn Term, the Shakespeare (or equivalent) in March, and the VI B play in July. The December 1951 Magazine reports on the Inter-House in 1951 and the VI B play ('The Chiltern Hundreds'). There is no mention of a Shakespeare (or equivalent) so either there was no such play in March 1951 or there was but it was reported in a Magazine published between March and July. The December 1952 Magazine states that the Shakespeare play in March was 'The Taming of the Shrew'. The December 1953 Magazine gives the Shakespeare play as 'King Lear'. The December 1954 Magazine gives the Shakespeare play as 'Julius Caesar'. (J. Alan Smith)

Yep, I did the first night and then got sick and Pete Oval took over. I don't remember complaining but if I did it was probably because the stage hands had beer and cigarettes and wouldn't share them with "The ghostly figure of Hare Hall".
The stage crew were a law unto themselves. Quite a non-conformist group. (You only have to talk with DES to understand what I mean!) They would never tell you why they were pulling on a particular rope or turning on or off a switch. They liked to keep it a mystery. They had their little hide-out under the stage where refreshments and smokes were available and they jealously guarded their territory. It seemed to be very enjoyable for them and they never complained about the extra hours they had to put in and the hard work they sometimes had to perform. It took a certain character to become Stage Manager, wasn't Stuart Gorman in charge there one time? (Mike Merry)

I also now recall The Taming of the Shrew, and realising that the shrew was in some ways not at all unlike the aunt in whose house I then lived!! But my uncle could hardly ever tame her swordlike tongue. Of one thing I am quite certain, however. The Tempest was put on and followed the year after by The Merchant of Venice! These simply MUST have been between 1949 and 1952. I'll put my money on Tempest 1950 and Merchant1951. I can be off on Julius Caesar by one year - as I new recall that it was a shame it wasn't put on while we were about to take GCE. Instead, we were bussed to some other boys' grammar school in the region (forget which) to see their version. (RP)

That "Julius Caesar" was at East Ham GS., Robert, and ruined the play for me for ever. The problem was that the soldiers' roman helmets were about twice as big as the lads' heads... so when they spun round… the helmets stayed where they were...we were totally helpless with laughter...I mean like hands and knees on the floor... because you knew it was going to happen every time they came on. For years I thought it was a comedy. (Colin Calvert)

That "Julius Caesar" was at East Ham GS... I wonder if the invitation to watch Julius Caesar at East Ham GS came via Peter Benson? I believe I'm right in saying that Peter's father was Headmaster of East Ham GS - at least he was around 1957 - 62. Also Peter clearly fancied himself as a bit of a thespian - Ariel in the Tempest, for example, - and I once saw him in operatic and dramatic mode in Kiss Me Kate at Ilford Town Hall, 1961 or 62! Can't remember what part he played. As his dates are only a year in advance of Colin's I wonder if Pete fixed the tickets? ...and got a commission? (David Maltby)

I don't remember Shakespeare being staged at the school either. I believe that Fox's departure may have had some bearing on this – I certainly remember reading a (post-retirement ?) article he wrote in the school magazine bemoaning the fact that the "yearly Shakespeare" was no more.
When we studied Macbeth for O level, we were all taken to the Hornchurch Odeon for a special showing of the Orson Welles’ film of the play. Welles had decided to set the play in its true time period rather than in medieval England like so many productions of the period. This meant that virtually everyone dressed in rags, and Dunsinane was a warren of burrows cut into the side of a cliff. The effect of all this on a schoolboy audience was to heighten the comic side of the play more than somewhat, so the entire film played to a background of sniggering.
A particular highlight was when Welles appeared wearing a "crown" which consisted of a thick metal ring with a set of 20 or so spikes placed equidistant around the ring so that they protruded horizontally - the effect was like he had ripped the rim from a bicycle wheel and rammed his head through the hub. At that time it was standard practise in our year to refer to anyone who wore spectacles as "bikehead" ; when the above vision appeared on the screen a certain Jack Waxman rose to his feet (a fairly short distance in his case) and shouted "Spikehead !" in a ringing voice. Cue dissolution of entire RLS 5th form into helpless hysterics... (John Bailey)

I seem to recall the full length film version of Richard III being shown in the school hall. Does anyone else remember this? (Peter Cowling)

With regard to The Merchant of Venice, there were two blond lads in it. One of them was one of the Smarts (there were three in the fourth year in1957-8 - wasn't he Portia and the other one Nerissa (McWhirter? 3rd year)? Anyway, it was rumoured that he had elocution lessons and people did impersonations of his 'The moon shines bright'. (Mike Butterworth)

From the Magazine, December 1958: The Merchant of Venice was performed on 20-22 March 1958. Richard Bartholomew played Portia; Andrew McWhirter played Nerissa (from my memory); Richard Smart played Lozenzo, Jessica's lover. At the time I felt that Smart's line, 'The moon shines bright...' really needed the interjection, 'Deep in the heart of Texas'. (J. Alan Smith)