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I am not sure where Ashok and one or two of the others have to come from, but since for the most part they do not attend this is not a problem for them.
Editors note. Although not implicit in Cook's entries for the period, in addition to Powell and Johnson, Raven also appears to have recruited several other members of the sixth form including Ashok Patel. Lee Burrowes as will be seen later was also involved and although his prominence in the production would suggest an extra, other references suggest he was a member of the "O" level group.
As a regular, I find myself standing in for several members. I am still puzzled that none of the O level people, the people that actually need this qualification are playing Todd, he is the - dare I say star o of this production.
It's occurred to me that I might as well have taken the O level myself since I guess I am doing 30% of the effort needed to get it without any academic reward. The written work in minimal and the level of acting skills required hardly demanding.
Raven says he is worried that we have yet to come up with a credible performance and our esteemed director may have a point. But we are feeling a little let down by TR who has perforce needed to divide his time between us and South Pacific one of the reasons that we are working on the play on a Sunday is the sheer lack of time. The cast grumble that if he had spent more time with us and less time with the theatrical abortion South Pacific we could all be down the pub.
To be fair I am not sure that Raven has spent that much in the other camp as it were. Several of our rehearsals have included Raven's English class of the moment, which was a little disconcerting but at least he is trying. I would normally expected Steve and Mark to be leading the complaints but in addition to being able to spend time with their ladies I have a sneaking feeling they are enjoying. Steve for example who claimed in the past to have no truck with thespians has authored several plays and one suspects would love to get the drama group to perform one.
I guess and we need all the rehearsals we can get!
Several members of the cast are not even close to proficient in their roles.
Mark: he seems to have got a handle on Rev. Lupin. He really is very good at playing the part of the dodgy vicar but less happy in the role of Smith, the engineer. He points out that he has a very quick change at the end of scene one and if he gets it wrong, the first meeting with Mrs Lovett (Diane) will be a disaster for us. The scenes with Diane are first class and they play off each very well indeed, its a shame that there is not more time to exploit this and maybe get a little comedy in there as well, since I doubt the melodrama will play well with a Gaynesford audience.1
Steve: he has decided to play Jonas Fogg (The madhouse keeper) as a sort of Dylan Clune or Monty Python like character, complete with eye patch and crutch. 2
Beverley: despite being one of the O level candidates she appears to have only one role and a fairly lightweight one at that, she plays the heroine, Johanna Oakley. She doesn’t really do much aside from some mildly amusing action with Lupin. She doesn’t appear to be that comfortable with her interaction with Steve, Mark, or Stuart.
In case anyone thinking I am being over critical, I should add that my own performance as Sweeney leaves a lot to be desired! Todd has pages of incomprehensible dialogue and just about every event is followed by a soliliquy from Sweeney. If he is not pontificating about some aspect of his life, he is abusing his assistant Tobias.
Aside from the fact that I almost certainly wrecking what little romantic content there might be, its also physical comedy and that needs lots of rehearsal if injury is to be avoided. A fact that become more apparent with every rehearsal. We have had to tone down some of the violence because someone will be out of commission before curtain up. Kim and I have definitely not rehearsed sufficiently to avoid some injuries on the night – all it will take is the usual adrenaline rush of first night nerves and scar tissue will result.
There are a couple of scenes where Toby is hurled to the ground and I suspect that could be a problem on the night. Just to add to the fun, we have, in the main rehearsed without props and scenery so its likely that we will only get one or two goes with the tiny amount of properties planned. Probably just as well there is not going to be much on the stage.
Editors note. Cook expanded on this in an entry evidently prompted by email correspondence between the now married Mrs Kim Istead and himself many years later.
Any GHS production was fuelled by adrenaline, beer and the stark knowledge that sooner or later you would be performing in front of the school. The big productions were easier in that you expected a fairly tolerant reception from parents and friends. But workshop budget of a fiver stuff like Todd was fraught with danger. The physical action in Todd threatened to do one or more of the cast a serious mischief at one time or another and this was only during rehearsals. Those of us with a couple of productions under our belts were already sucking a thoughtful tooth and trying to focus more times on those periods when we are punching, hitting and throwing things are one another. Both Stuart and I were careful to rehearse many times the scene where Todd and Mark Ingestre end up hurling a barrel at one another, especially since the barrel was real. But the scenes with Kim were marred by her lack of availability and experience. Ironically if I had fancied her and was therefore nervous around her and always seeking to be seen in a good light, I would have suggested that we spend a little time somewhere rehearsing the physical scenes! There's an irony here in as much as I am convinced that one of the things that did my cause with Kim no good was the many minor injuries she received during the show. Nowadays I can see the funny but at the time I was a bit angry that I was effectively writing myself out of the picture...
1. The plan seems to have been for the drama group to play in front of an invited audience in which would be the invigilators for the exam. There seems to have been considerable scope to alter the script so comedy could well have been the saving grace of the play.
2. Dylan Clune was the number under which Johnson had written a number of plays. Initially spoofs of historical dramas, they culminated in a pseudo history of the last days of the 1980 sixth form and a metaphyical story based around the song "A Forest" by the cure. The sixth form story was notable for the early part of the book which included some excellent observational comedy around the members of the group.
THURSDAY 17th APRIL 1980.
Today is the official opening of the sixth form centre. The sixth form gathers to gaze in awe at the splendour of our new domain, although courtesy of Stuart and his master key most have already used it
SATURDAY 19th APRIL 1980.
Back at The Sun for another birthday celebration.
SUNDAY 20th APRIL 1980.
We return to the hall in Wigmore for yet more rehearsal.
Editors note. A segment from a letter dated 1987 between Ron Cook and Mark Powell offers an early insight into what would form a major element in the latter part of the diary.
It was becoming apparent to Mark that Diane's attentions though initially focused exclusively on him had been waning in recent weeks and even the opportunities offered by rehearsals for Sweeney Todd had not proved beneficial in promoting his case. Diane's interest had moved in the direction of one of the other sixth formers also in rehearsals with them, Lee Burrowes.
A segment of a letter from Mark to Ron in 1992 offers some insight into what was going throughout his mind at the time. We have reproduced it below.
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…What I recall about the hall was that it was bloody cold. Ashok must have been with at the time, although I don’t remember when he was convinced to join. It was around this point that I realised that the relationship between myself and Diane was weakening. Lee offered to give her a lift to and from the next rehearsal and at that point I remember thinking “What the fuck is going on here…?” Mark Powell
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1 comment:
Truth is indeed stranger when pissed on.
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