Dear Members and Friends,
There are just three weeks to go before opening night for Jessica Swale’s Blue Stockings; the story of the first female students to attend Girton College Cambridge against a back drop of misogyny and ridicule. (Blood boiling as I think of it!) Of course now is the time when everyone involved is in a flurry of line learning, stage and large props building and painting,, small props collecting etc. etc. For my part I have a chaotic workroom with piles of fabric and homespun patterns as I attempt to create Edwardian outfits on the usual shoe string. The costume group have, as always ,come up trumps with the majority of outfits and the ‘to do’ list is shrinking by the hour. We’ve not staged a play in this period (1885) for as long as I can remember so the washing machine has been in near constant use as we attempt to wash away decades of accumulated dust and that musty smell which used to be the signature scent of the costume rails (ah, the memories!).
Blue Stockings has a cast of eighteen and it has been great to welcome back old friends to the stage, along with the newcomer Hugh and Jack Plowright who has come up through SPY theatre and last performed with us in Alice by Laura Wade.
One big, happy, noisy and potentially messy family!
Looking forward, we have a final audition for our February play, Accidental Death of an Anarchist; a modern adaptation based on the classic play by Dario Fo at 7.30pm on the 27th May. Directed by Vince Bowers.
We have also set the date for the Open Day and Next Season’s Preview: 21st June from 6pm. Book a seat to hear about up coming plays, concerts, films—in fact all about the societies that make up the Millgate family plus theatre tours and a chance to socialise in the bar.
Do check out the website for more information on films, National Theatre Live, shows and try to make it to Alan Stockdill’s new play ‘A Regular Terror’ on the 24th June. We all have warm memories of performing his ‘Grand Return’ and this play, following the story of Laura Annie Willson, a suffragette, is certain to have Alan’s heartwarming blend of humour and story telling.
CONTENT
- Blue Stockings – Directors Note Sue Borg
- Wait Until Dark Review
- Celebrating Saddleworth Concert Society’s 50th Anniversary by Hannah Siddiqui
- Millgate Library News by Caitlin Barrass
Saddleworth Film Society by Caitlin Barrass
A Proud Python, with a Polished Posterior by David Plowright
In My Shoes Theatre Group Welcomed us Home
Open Day and Season Preview 21st June
Verity