Rebuked

My young friend, Robin,(see Adventures of Archimedes in links) rebuked me that I hadn't been keeping my blog up to date and that she was surprised to see the Best Beloved and I as the "Tale Tellers" at the Spring Arts and Heritage Centre last Saturday. This is another joint adventure that we have taken on in our retirement and comes in the middle of an insane period. I must learn to use that word which begins with n and ends in o.

Amanda, the beautiful director, talked us into doing a series of children's stories as storytellers on Saturday mornings through the Autumn. The Spring Arts and Heritage Centre officially opens this coming weekend and we are part of the opening activities. This means storytelling on Saturday and Sunday morning this weekend. All our stories are linked to the Spring's opening main exhibition, which is Shoes. Our first session last Saturday (billed as part of the Havant Literary Festival) was based on the Shoemaker and the Elves story. The Best Beloved softened up the audience of young children with several interactive rhymes and songs before I narrated the main story. I did it in the first person and wasn't entirely satisfied with it. Over the years I have told children in the classroom to write their own stories in the third person because it gives them greater flexibility - then I go and tell my first story in a very long time in the first person! No fool like an old fool!

The reaction from the children was very encouraging and their accompanying adults were equally supportive of our efforts. One Mum asked if we did children's parties. I blanched somewhat at the prospect but did think this could be another string to our bow if we wanted. We would need to develop a repertoire of three or four stonkingly good stories stonkingly well told. We couldn't build up our clientele from the party attended because they would already know our stories. If we could build up to a repertoire of 8 - 12 stories there might be a possibility.

Next week's stories are "Puss in Boots" on Saturday as told by me and "The Old Woman in the Shoe" as told by the Best Beloved. Her story is aided by the wonderful Shoe being built in the foyer of the Arts Centre, which will be big enough for individual children to enter.

Last week we got into the second week of the Bench Theatre production touring sixth form colleges. This is a 45 minute piece mainly consisting of monologues joined by some dialogue and action. It is a clever piece written by Jacquie Penrose. David Penrose plays Jack, Best Beloved plays Lulu and I play Alan. All three characters took part in a professional production of "The Cherry Orchard" three decades ago and now meet in their sixties. Jacquie wrote the play for the three of us. We were planning on doing Brian Friel's "Faith Healer" but the rights weren't available. I love doing the play and it is really illuminating to take part in the discussions and workshops with the young 17-18 year old students. The consensus appears to be that they weren't expecting to like the play or us when they saw our age but were pleasantly surprised. I was gratified by the kind and generous way this point was expressed. In fact the grumpy old man in me has been very impressed by the attentiveness and thoughtfulness of the students. They also seem to be bright and insightful in their comments and knowledge.

This week the Party Guest is on the back burner until Saturday evening when we do a public performance as part of the Literary Festival. So storytelling a.m. and Party Guest p.m. Last Friday and Saturday was horrendous with Party Guest on Friday afternoon, a new Cloak and Dagger ("Spirit is Willing") on Friday night and the Storytelling on Saturday morning. Lines galore swilling around in my head but most of them seemed to emerge from my mouth in the right order in the right play and at the right time! Hurrah!

This week I am involved with the Bench Theatre Ghost Walks of Old Havant. The performances are late night on Thursday and Friday. However before then we have a couple of runthroughs. I have written one story, Alice and Best Beloved have written one each and Mark Wakeman has written three. I am now learning my story and Alice's as one of three storytellers (Mark and David being the other two). I have to prepare the Nineveh as a ghostly location. The techniques of storytelling are the same but the material and audiences are somewhat different. My story is told in the first person so I wonder whether I am repeating my errors or whether it will work this time? (Puss in Boots is definitely told in the third person - I couldn't get into the boots!)

Finally this week I am playing William Cobbett in Old Bedhampton on Sunday. This requires learning an "interview" and a "Q&A" session by heart and then reading extracts from his "Rural Rides". This all has to be done in a Hampshire burr and appropriate costume. This will be my final contribution to this year's Havant Literary Festival before I get fully immersed in the accounts as Treasurer.

Next week the pace slackens with four performances of Party Guest, a second performance of the murder mystery and the start of "What the Butler Saw" rehearsals (the Bench Theatre November production). People have wondered if I would be pitching for a Bench production in July 2010, to which I have answered "No!"