On With The Show!

Back in a theatre! Well, I say “in”, when in fact we were very much “out”doors for this, my first show back since we were all locked down. Annie Get Your Gun took place on a farmers field on the county border of Cheshire & Staffordshire, with the aims being to bring top-class theatre to this area, utilise the regional talent and bring work and future prospects to those involved. This followed a small outdoor concert last year, which I wasn’t involved with, but the ambitious plans to expand this to a full week of musical performances with a full cast and 7-piece band were duly realised.

As you may expect, much of my July was spent rehearsing. We had two weeks in a rehearsal venue in Crewe before moving into our marquees on Betley Court Farm. We were very lucky with covid, with no positive tests recorded across the whole run, and even luckier you might say with the weather, with all 8 performances taking place and not a drop of rain to delay proceedings. The only problem was the heat, with my thermometer closing in on 36C at one point in the band tent as the sun bore down! But it was a nice problem to have rather than worrying about cancelled performances for other reasons.

On our opening day, I assured the company that we would work steadily, expecting “match fitness” to be an issue after such a long lay-off for everyone. In fact, although we ensured to keep the pressure off, the process was so enjoyable that no-one ever seemed tired, even when working flat out. I think we were all just so delighted to be back doing what we love.

In the end, the production seems to have been a success with the audiences, most intent on returning for whatever Betley Court Farm do next year, and the company finished heartened at being part of this small corner of the restart of the theatre industry. Now I have some time off, largely to enjoy some Olympics, before more work beckons in a couple of months time! More news soon…

Betley Mere (L), Betley Court Farm and its temporary theatre (R) at sunset.