Double bill of comedy delights in idyllic garden setting

SussexWorld

New Theatre Productions are promising an open-air double bill of Alan Ayckbourn and Victorian comedy melodrama for this year’s Festival of Chichester.

Transcript

00:00Good afternoon, my name is Phil Hewitt, Group Arts Editor at Sussex Newspapers and also Chairman

00:07of the Festival of Trichester. Now this is one of the great pleasures of the year. It's fabulous

00:11that it's such a fixture of the Festival of Trichester, new theatre productions in the

00:16Pergola Theatre at Westeen Gardens. Always great to speak to Peter Breskell. And Peter,

00:21you are keeping alive the spirit of the company founder, John Hyatt, particularly with one of

00:27your choices this year. You're doing Alan Eatbourne's Round and Round the Garden, but you are doing

00:32The Drunkard or Downward Demon Drink. And me too, I associate John with that play in particular.

00:39Yes, it was one of his favourites. And it sort of encapsulated all of his artistic brilliance,

00:48really. And we can only do our best to try and emulate it as well as we can. It's full of

00:54interesting characters. It has songs which don't have to be sung professionally, but they are

01:02put across by actors who've been very well looked after by Geoffrey Porter, who is a local musician.

01:13And he's been very patient with us and learned. He's taught us a few tricks, let's put it that way.

01:18And everybody's growing in confidence when you get a bit of help with that. It's surprising what you

01:25can do. And all the cast are loving it. So the whole play, it develops a lot of enthusiasm for an actor

01:38when you're practising and giving all the time up that you do. And we think and believe that we'll

01:44transfer that enthusiasm to the audience, because, especially if they've had a drink or two,

01:50which would be rather nice, wouldn't it?

01:53And you are directing and you're saying you make no bones about the fact the voice that you will hear

01:57in your head will be John, our dear friend John, who passed away a couple of years ago,

02:02looking down, telling you whether you have or indeed haven't got it right.

02:05Yes, very much so. I am actually also playing the villain, which is a wonderful role.

02:15Excellent casting.

02:16Well, probably a lot of people would agree with that. But yeah, I mean, it's just great fun.

02:23I mean, it's lovely playing a baddie, but it's a big contrast. There are lots of different characters.

02:28And all of the characters within their own rights are vibrant. It's colourful. And with the songs as well,

02:39it just makes for it. And it's ideal in the open air. We don't have a big set as such.

02:46It's very difficult in the open air to do that. But we do have the Westeen view,

02:53which is what a lot of people come for. And we will transpose what's on the page of the script to the audience.

03:03And that Westeen view, even more important, possibly even more important in the other production.

03:09Oh, yes, that's ideal.

03:11Round and round the garden. There you are at Westeen Garden.

03:14It is. Well, it's set in a Victorian garden. And I don't think you could ask for any better setting than Westeen for that.

03:22So I think the cast are really enjoying doing that.

03:25It's a contrast to The Drunker or Downward Demon Drink.

03:29And it's Alan Aitbourne. It's part of his trilogy, The Norman Conquest.

03:36Some very famous people actually did it originally.

03:39But the whole play is still relevant nowadays and will be good,

03:46enjoyable for people to sit and watch and have a contrast.

03:52I hope they come to the other one as well.

03:54Fantastic. Well, good luck with it. Lovely to have this on the horizon.

03:58Hope it goes brilliantly.

03:59Thank you very much for asking me, Phil.

04:01Great to see you.

04:02Cheers then. Bye-bye.

04:03Bye-bye.

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