It's Panto Time! (Oh, yes it is!)

Hall for Cornwall’s pantomime, Sleeping Beauty is now well underway.  It’s a particularly special time of year for everyone who works at Hall for Cornwall because we see so many family groups.  Pantomime is often the first exposure to theatre for children and it certainly delivers!  Baddies you can boo, outrageous and funny characters, music, dance, colour and a happy ending. What more could you want?

This year we have plenty to keep everyone happy.  Of course, the Princess falls in love, and marries, her handsome Prince, but we also have the very talented double act of Richard Allen (Nurse Maivis) and Tweedy (pretty much playing Tweedy!) providing lots of laughs.

You couldn’t really wish for a nastier Carabosse then Julie Hobbs who manages to be utterly evil without being so scary the children will get upset!  With Cameron and Clegg, her “boys” she seeks to gain Beauty’s grace and good-looks for herself but she is consistently out manoeuvred by Fairy Crystal (Mary Woodvine) who is always one step ahead.

And if all those aren’t enough, there’s even a frog and a dragon!  Sleeping Beauty runs until January 3rd 2011.  There are a variety of show times during the run to suit all diaries and bed-times!

Decking the Hall

As panto approaches, Hall for Cornwall is in a festive mood.  We are particularly grateful to the students of Devoran and Penair schools who have worked hard to turn our bar area into Sleeping Beauty's Castle, trapped behind a wall of vines. Two Year 9 art classes were "volunteered" for the project by their teacher.  The first produced printed banners using themes and script extracts from the panto, whilst the second class supported the primary age children from Devoran to produce some really nice relief stone window frames and the vines/flowers that intertwine around them.

The artwork produced was combined with sections of the Really Long Scarf and some artistic input from our own staff here at HfC to produce some festive displays in the Trelawney Bar which will be enjoyed by thousands of people over the run of the panto.

 

Sleeping Beauty opens this Friday at 7.00pm and runs until the 3rd January 2011.  If you want to test your skill and reflexes, why not play our online Sleeping Beauty game?  Forward it to a friend after you have played and you could win Free Tickets!

Shoot-Out at Hall for Cornwall!

This probably isn't what you think!  There was a shoot-out at Hall for Cornwall last week but it didn't involve two members of our technical team facing each other at noon, hands hovering over their holstered pistols.

Some exotic lighting effects being created.

In fact, it involved manufacturers of some of the latest theatre lighting products putting their wares up for direct comparison against other manufacturers. Of particular interest on the day was the comparison of the industry leading ETC Source 4, with the new challenger - the Selecon SPX, from two of the leading manufacturers in the field of theatre lighting. Also represented were Martin Professional, GLP, Arri, and (courtesy of White Light)  I-Pix, Robert Juliat, Coemar and Look Solutions.  The purpose of the event was to inform opinion as we consider replacing some of our lighting stock.  This was a big significant event which attracted quite a bit of industry interest as well as the two companies sending their top executives from as far afield as Texas, USA and Denmark.

A display of colour from the wings of the stage.

Generally, lighting is demonstrated at trade shows in individual stands or by reps at theatres.  One of the two companies at Hall for Cornwall last week was ETC.  Their Source 4 lights are considered the industry standard with over 2.5 million sold. Phillips Entertainment, however, have recently launched the Selecon SPX in direct competition.  Their literature claims their product is superior - so we decided to find out and offered both companies the chance to trial their products at HfC side by side.  This was the first test of its kind in the UK.

These lights are the workhorses of our theatre.  Our current stock is aging; some is beyond repair, and it doesn’t perform to the expectations of the quality shows coming to Hall for Cornwall. Replacement also gives us the opportunity to make energy efficiency improvements -  For example the lights we tested last week offer the same light output as our current lanterns and do so at 600 watts (as opposed to 1.2kw). There is a 50% reduction in energy use which obviously offers financial savings and a reduced carbon footprint. LED technology has made huge advancements in the world of entertainment lighting and it was a fantastic opportunity to see these products on our stage with their huge potential for energy saving as well as creative advantages.

Other lights being demonstrated.

Ian, one of our stage technical team, explained that with touring companies there is a need to recreate the same show at every venue - and ideally the lighting approach and kit at each theatre needs to be as similar as the venue allows.  It is therefore important for Hall for Cornwall to keep its stock up to date and in line with other presenting theatres.

Whilst the technical teams from each company eagerly looked at the competing products in a very scientific way (white light is never "true" white but may be bluish or yellow in tint, for example) Ian explained that Hall for Cornwall needs to balance that aspect with more practical concerns, such as the durability and life expectancy of the equipment and how flexible it is in application.

Some of the other lighting products at the shoot out in action.

Hall for Cornwall were not alone in taking an interest.  We had representatives from Lane Theatre as well as Theatre Royal, Plymoth in attendance as well as several other lighting companies.  Matthew Pitman, from Martin Professional, explained that this was interesting for him as this was his first chance to see the two competitors side by side.

"Hall for Cornwall is taking a very thorough approach" he told me. "It's very unusual for companies to directly test their equipment side by side like this - there is a lot of professional pride at stake."  He also commented on the very gentlemanly conduct evident throughout the day.

The two lights side by side on stage.

The shoot out was a very successful event that left our technical team with plenty to think about as they weigh the options for the future.  They can now make their decision based on having seen the products for themselves in action, in the theatre.

Two products shooting it out!

Summer Fun at Hall for Cornwall

We're delighted to welcome back Birmingham Stage Company this week with their latest adaptation of a Roald Dahl classic. George's Marvellous Medicine opened this lunchtime and runs until 2pm Sunday.

This show stops in Cornwall on a national tour.  At each location the cast are joined by a couple of local children and in this case the lucky actors come from the junior section of Hall for Cornwall's own youth theatre group "Upstage".  "Upstage" runs during school terms and is designed for those with an interest in drama aged between 7 - 18yrs.  "Upstage" Sessions run throughout the day on Saturday by age group with the focus firmly on fun projects that develop confidence and drama skills.  The auditions for George's Marvellous Medicine are just one example of the type of opportunity that "Upstage" members are offered above and beyond the exciting programme of events run by the Youth Theatre itself.

Many of our readers will know about our Really Long Scarf already, but when word of it reached Erika Poole, who plays Granny in George's Marvellous Medicine, she immediately reached for her knitting needles!  As you can see from the pictures, she has knitted a fair length already (round the neck of the small chicken!) and she plans to continue knitting until the end of the tour in November when she will post the completed length to us.

George's Marvellous Medicine promises to be a great hit.  It's packed with Roald Dahl's unique kind of story-telling and humour with some impressive special effects to have you on the edge of your seat!  It is a great treat for all the family this summer.  

Cast in both pictures: Small Cornish Free-range Chicken, Granny, Erika Poole, Big Chicken, Jason O'Brian, George, Clark Devlin.  For the record, the Small Cornish Free-range Chicken in the pictures is one of our Upstage children!

Trailer for Columbo

What was going on at HfC This Morning?

Anyone Can Write performances this eveining

This evening sees the work of several local writers premiere on the stage at Hall for Cornwall.  The six plays selected from nearly 40 submitted have been handed to a small cast of professional actors under the expert directing team of Tim Brinkman and Anna Coombes.  This promises to be a great evening that celebrates Cornish writing talent, with live music and a series of short plays covering many subjects.  Tickets cost just £6 (Concessions £5) and can be bought on the door from Box Office or online (Click HERE).

Motionhouse - Scattered Trailer

At Hall for Cornwall May 18th 8pm. Book Tickets

Plays selected for performance at HfC

Following the huge volume of submitted scripts at the conclusion of the Anyone Can Write project, 6 short plays have been selected for performance at Hall for Cornwall on May 4th.  The play names, and their authors, are listed below along with the cast of professional actors who will be bringing the scripts to life for the very first time.

I Hope It's Good by Donal Fogarty (Wadebridge Group)
Hell Hath No Fury by Rosemary Robinson (U3A Looe Group)
Playing Host by Katy Eddy (Richard Lander Student)
Nozy Parker by Pam Douglas (WI Group)
A Skinny Latte by Mary Ann Bloomfield (Youth Workers Group)
A Bit of a Picnic by Sarah Russell (WI Group)

Tickets to the performance are available now and cost £6 plus £1 Theatre Fund.

Book Tickets Online Today

The cast for the evening's performances are as follows:

• Mark Buffery
• Elaine Claxton
• Heidi Dorschler
• Dean Nolan
• Juliet Welch
• Kate Wilde

Anyone Can Write play premieres at HfC

One of the short plays written through the Anyone Can Write programme was premiered on stage at HfC yesterday afternoon.  With Cornwall's WI holding their conference here, we felt it was an excellent opportunity to stage one of the short plays written by one of their members who took part in the writing programme.

"On With the Show" was a hilarious short play written by Jane Curnow who was in the auditorium to see her play come to life.  It followed the course of a small committee meeting to decide the "theme" for their stall.  There was a hint of "Vicar of Dibley" about the proceedings and much of the humour clearly struck a chord with audience members who recognised aspects of the characters that will be familiar to many; the nervous, officious chairperson, the well intentioned "helpful" person willing to donate anything from a whistle to a racehorse and the inevitable committee member who forgets to switch off their mobile.

Alongside the important business of the meeting there was some sharply scripted and funny gossip, including the women who had "gone out" after "finding him on the internet".  This was the subject of much discussion as he was far too big for her, and grey!  Only after some clever double entendre do we discover they are talking about a greyhound, not a man off a dating site!

"On With the Show" had a cast of four actors, including Kate Edney who played Princess Jill in last year's panto at Hall for Cornwall.  Kate met up with Jane  before the play for a photo (above) and told her the actors had really enjoyed working with the script which had had them falling about with laughter.  It was certainly very well received by the WI.

Six other plays written through the Anyone Can Write programme will be staged at Hall for Cornwall on May 4th.  Tickets are now available (Click HERE).

ANYONE CAN WRITE has benefited from funding from FEAST and the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation. We are also grateful to our stakeholders, Cornwall Council and Arts Council, England, for their ongoing support.

World Record attempt well underway!

Hall for Cornwall is pleased to report that the attempt to bring the record for the World's Longest Scarf to Cornwall is well underway.  Tied to this year's panto, Sleeping Beauty, HfC is coordinating an army of knitters from around the county and well beyond (including Canada!) to challenge the record currently held by Wales.

We've a very long way to go, but have had several scarf sections donated so far and we know of contributors working away all around Truro and Cornwall.  Staff at HfC have been learning too, with Knitting Masterclasses and socials arranged on a monthly basis (all welcome, novices and experts!).

The first of many ambitious milestones will be "A Mile by May" which we hope will see the first mile of scarf assembled in time for the Fal River Festival.  Anyone interested in getting involved with the attempt can email info@reallylongscarf.org.uk for a knitting pack or call into Box Office to pick one up.



The next Knitting Social and Masterclass is to be held at the Hall from 10am - 12pm on April 29th.

Why not pop by for a chat and to knit a few rows? In the meantime, scarf sections have been arriving at Box Office and will be assembled by our team of elite Knitting Ninjas!

Preview of Birmingham Royal Ballet in rehearsal.

Birmingham Royal Ballet rehearse Slaughter on Tenth Avenue from Rob Lindsay on Vimeo.

At Hall for Cornwall 4th - 5th June. BUY TICKETS NOW

Scripts pouring into HfC this week!

Hall for Cornwall has been inundated with scripts at the culmination of a year long writing project in Cornwall. “Anyone Can Write” was an initiative organised by HfC to encourage people from around the county to write their first piece of drama for the stage.

The scope of the project has been very great, reaching youth workers, community groups, students, and the WI. Each writing hub or group has had the support of a professional writer to assist them with the creative process as well as the support of their fellow participants. 

As the project draws to a close, completed scripts have been flooding into Hall for Cornwall’s offices with just over 40 scripts received at the time of writing. Hall for Cornwall’s Community and Education team have been delighted with the number of script submissions and are looking forward to working through all of this fresh material. All scripts will be reviewed by a panel of script readers and each writer will receive some useful feedback on their work to encourage further writing.

The four or five scripts that are considered to be the best of the project will be handed to a small cast of professional actors and will be staged as an evening of Cornish short plays at Hall for Cornwall on Tuesday 4th May. The evening promises to offer a variety of topics and themes as a new crop of Cornish writers will see their work come to life on the stage.

“Anyone Can Write” received support from FEAST and the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation. Tickets for the performance are available from Hall for Cornwall now.

Hall for Cornwall Video Guide - April

Serenading Louie - Preview

Serenading Louie is a very accessible play examining relationships at that moment of self introspection when you compare the reality of life with the dreams and aspirations of your youth.  With a small cast and “front-room” set, the audience is pulled irresistibly into the intimate home life of two American couples in the early 1970s.  The director, Richard Curtis, has resisted the temptation to re-set the play in a contemporary setting which is a wise decision.  The characters are of their time, and therefore sit comfortably among the period furniture and cultural references.

The essence of the play remains as relevant for 2010 as it was when written in 1970 however.  Relationships are timeless, whether it’s the long established friendships dating back to time in college or marriages that, after several years, have lost their way.  It is these relationships, and the communication, or lack of, at the heart of them that come sharply under the audience’s focus.  The process of soul searching is punctuated by moments of light and very quick humour, which bring a necessary connection with the audience and make the characters seem wholly human.

The four characters are, at heart, unhappy.  Rather than merely bemoaning their lot, however, for much of the time they appear to be grappling with the question of why.  The audience will probably have far more success in understanding this question then they do, which is what makes the experience so moving and thought-provoking.  In observing their failures you gain insight into some of the most fundamental questions behind personal happiness and achievement.

The acting is fully convincing throughout.  This is a very experienced and strong cast who will be familiar to many.  Geraldine Somerville, who plays Mary, has appeared as Lilly Potter in four Harry Potter films so far and also starred alongside Robbie Coltrane in “Cracker” as DS Penhaligon.  Her on- stage husband, Jason O’Mara starred as 1st Lt Thomas Meehan in “Band of Brothers” and in “Life on Mars”. 

Jason Butler Harner is an American actor for whom Serenading Louie is his UK debut. His TV credits include “The Good Wife” and “Law & Order” and his exasperation with wife Gabrielle (Charlotte Emmerson - Foyle’s War, Casualty 1909), is masterfully conveyed with the odd sigh and some quite awkward silences.

Serenading Louie is a solidly entertaining piece of drama.  It won’t leave you feeling elated – the play is not sugar-coated – but it does draw you into the lives of four people at a critical point.   It makes you consider some important questions and it will almost certainly move you with its conclusion.

ESF Awards - Success for HfC!

Hall for Cornwall was delighted to receive an award for its work on staff training and development through the European Social Fund.  The award recognised the work done at Hall for Cornwall to ensure the widest participation by staff in the training sessions.  When receiving the award, Tim paid tribute both to the staff who undertook the training and to Truro and Penwith College Business Centre who delivered the training programme and who nominated us for the award.

The award ceremony was an inspiring and at times moving event.  Some of the recipients of individual awards had overcome considerable barriers to achieve a great deal through ESF funded initiatives and it was good to hear their stories and to celebrate their success with them.

The awards were attended by the Rt Hon Jim Knight MP, Minister of State for the South West and Department of Work and Pensions.

A Night Less Ordinary - Room on the Broom

A group of our younger visitors recently came to Hall for Cornwall with their parents uner the A Night Less Ordinary scheme funded by the Arts Council. After seeing Room on the Broom, they went round to stage door to meet the cast for a quick chat and a few photographs.

This was a great experience for these young people and we would like to thank the cast of Room on the Broom for their time.

A Loving home for the "Poorly Cow"

Many visitors to Hall for Cornwall will have seen our "poorly cow" in the bar area, complete with bandages.  Clearly she is in need of a good home where she can be well looked after.  We've been pleasantly surprised by the number of enquiries we've received with offers of a home for poor Cleo and we'd like to thank everyone who extended an offer of a good home for her.

After much consideration, we decided to let Cleo go to Whitemoor School where she will not be short of caring attention.  A number of pupils wrote to us, offering Cleo a home, as part of their literacy activities.  We were very impressed by the quality of these letters which displayed the pupils' ability to write formal letters and make a pursuasive argument.

We also felt that Cleo's message; "Be the change you want to see" was a good one for the school's pupils to be reminded of.  We were able to let some of Cleo's new owners see her when they visited Hall for Cornwall to rehearse for the Kidz 4 Cornwall performance.  Cleo has now settled in her new home at Whitemoor.

A Magical Evening!

On Saturday 20th February, some of Cornwall's most enthusiastic young talent came to the stage at Hall for Cornwall for one night only.  Orchard Studios' Charity Gala Performance featured music, dance and comedy and starred young performers from across the county.

Unusually, the performers also experienced the show from the auditorium, since for the duration of the act they were not in they took seats as audience members and watched their fellow performers.  In this way they experienced both playing to the audience and enjoying Hall for Cornwall as a spectator.

With an audience of just under 600 in-house that evening these young people had a good and appreciative crowd to play to and they took full advantage of the experience.  The evening raised just over £2000 for Hall for Cornwall and we would like to thank, and congratulate, everyone who was involved in this successful production.

Image by Roger Croxon

A Night Less Ordinary - The 39 Steps

"A Night Less Ordinary" is a scheme run by Arts Council England which funds free theatre tickets for those under the age of 26. A group of young people from the St Austell area got a night even LESS ordinary last night when, in addition to receiving funded tickets they were given a post-show tour of The 39 Steps stage by Company Manager Justin Savage. The tour lifted the lid on this very complex production which is incredibly fast-paced and puts the cast of four through numerous costume changes and, on occasion, involves the rapid application of a carving knife to the back!  

Justin explained to the group how the stage was marked out and how each prop and piece of costume has its place backstage. They saw how the set of 39 Steps is constructed and inserted into Hall for Cornwall's stage which is in fact quite a bit larger than the area visible to the audience.

A few of the tour "Highlights" included Mr Memory's Moustache, Nessie, the knife that kills "Miss Schmidt" and the corpse. Justin also talked them through the process by which lighting and sound cues are followed during the production - a process he described as akin to "Driving for 2 hours on the motorway in thick fog". It requires absolute focus and concentration.

The group were very interested in the process involved in constructing the set - which is something of a technical marvel involving a lot of hard work! The set will be taken down the night of the last show then driven to its next tour destination over 300 miles away and immediately reconstructed.

A Night Less Ordinary is an ongoing scheme that Hall for Cornwall feels offers a great way for young people to access live theatre who might not otherwise be able to. If you are under 26 and would like to enquire about A Night Less Ordinary tickets (Wednesday performances only) please contact Box Office on 01872 262466.

Our thanks to Justin and the Company of The 39 Steps for taking the time to arrange and conduct the tour. Last night's event was arranged as part of "A Week Less Ordinary" which is a national week-long celebration of the "A Night Less Ordinary" scheme.