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The Curtain Calls....
As most will know, I didn't actually go to Sir William
Nottidge but I did visit the school on numerous occasions for
public events staged by the pupils.... and one thing that
remains etched in my memory appears in this 5th Year Class photo
kindly sent to us by Margaret Emery....
We will discuss the personnel elsewhere (see the "School
Life" page). For the moment, let me concentrate
on the location. The scene is set in the school hall and the
background comprises the heavy, brightly coloured and highly patterned
stage curtains of the 1950s.
Those curtains were raised on a whole stream of
major productions and memories of "play nights" will
remain forever. There was a real buzz about the place as parents
queued with their brightly coloured tickets, teachers hid
apprehension behind a smile.... and pupils generated a
thousand last minute questions for the director and producer.
The school embraced a wide spectrum of English
literature. I recall my brother heading off to a production of Twelfth
Night with a bag containing a bright yellow bunny outfit.
Early
1950s....
One of the earliest productions is celebrated in
this photo kindly sent to us by Sue Pidford
from her home in
New Zealand....
| Standing
(L to R): |
?,
Philippa Lee , ? |
| Kneeling: |
Kathleen
Allen, Susan Dancer (Pidford) |
It was taken circa 1954 or 1955.... but the name
of the production has been lost in the mists of time. Was it that
production of Twelfth Night? Did these fairies line up with the
bright yellow bunny from Railway Avenue? Perhaps someone can throw
some light on the matter!
The
Admirable Crichton in 1956...
Not all Nottidge plays were drawn from the
"safe and diplomatic" bookshelves of the classics. In December 1956,
the school magazine announced a production of the controversial
Victorian story, The Admirable Crichton
(click
here to view the magazine page).
Now, thanks to Pam Steward (Jordan), we can
supplement this with a fascinating photo of the entire cast from
more than half a century ago....
"The Admirable Crichton" -
on stage at the Nottidge School Hall in December 1956
(Photo kindly supplied by Pam Steward née Jordan)
Before we examine the names, let me provide some
background and explain why it was such an ambitious production.
The Crichton tale first appeared in 1902 as a
stage play called 'The Perfect Butler'. It was
written by J M Barrie (author of 'Peter
Pan') and centres on a family from the British
aristocracy. That family is headed by a "progressive but
largely deluded" Lord Loam and served by a very able
butler called Crichton.
Lord Loam is outwardly a keen supporter of
equality whilst the butler supports the class system of the day.
However, when the family is shipwrecked on a desert island, social
hierarchies formed by wealth and inheritance melt away and a new
order develops based on ability and 'survival of the
fittest'. This manifests itself in a complete role reversal
with Crichton firstly taking charge and then acquiring all the
status and trappings of an aristocrat while the family members
happily become subservient.
When the family is rescued and returned to Loam
Hall, the social hierarchy is restored and normality returns.
Well.... almost! Crichton leaves the family employ and, deep
down, Lord Loam realises that his superficial support for equality
is exactly that.... superficial!
In many ways, the play predicted the fall of the
aristocracy during the 1920s when, like a shipwreck, economic
depression would strip the upper classes of the very things that
kept them in power..... money and influence. Of course, by the
time the Nottidge pupils were treading the boards late in 1956,
social change had taken place but there was still much evidence of
the three tier class system to be seen in Britain. Thus, the play
still had a few points to make.
I suspect that it wasn't the easiest of
productions to direct as there were times when the stage was
heavily populated. Pam's photo shows the cast occupying the
drawing room of Loam Hall and she has been able to name many of
the actors/actresses .....
Crichton, the butler (played by John Stewart), can
be seen supervising the scene from the quiet recess of the French
window. Meanwhile, a footman stoops to serve drinks to a young
aristocratic lady who may already have had a "skin full"
as one of her stockings has descended below the knee! Another
footman tends a serving table in the background and the chef (far
left) has arrived from the kitchen to discuss menus with the lady
of the house. The rest of the Loam family are spread around the
room.
Of course, the Nottidge drama class wasn't the
only production team to resurrect The Admirable Crichton
story in post-Victorian times ..... nor was it the first. In fact,
there was a film version in 1918 and a TV adaptation in the early
1950s. However, by putting together their production in December
1956, they did manage to upstage some pretty big names. Just weeks later (in 1957), the British
film industry released the most lavish and most celebrated cinema version with Kenneth More in
the title role!
Xmas
Production ... Late 1950s
With most school plays scheduled during the lead in to
Christmas .... it is not surprising that many had a Nativity theme. One particular production remains a permanent
fixture in my memory. It took place in the 1950s and it was
amazing for the standard of acting, quality of the sets and sheer
innovation....
Ian Taylor
plays the part of "the elder"
As the hall lights dimmed and the dramatic strains
of the "Little Drummer Boy" echoed around the corridors
of Bellevue Road, the curtains were raised on a gipsy encampment
at nightfall.
Pressed by younger members of the gipsy group, the
elderly leader read the story of The Nativity and each gipsy
became a player in the story.....
Above:
The elder becomes a king
Below: The gypsies become the Nativity cast
Even now, any rendition of The Little Drummer Boy takes me straight back to those far off days of the 1950s!
The Funny
Side...
The enthusiasm of teachers and pupils often gave
rise to moments of hilarity.
One of my brothers arrived home in fits of
laughter after a rehearsal. Apparently, a member of the cast had
failed to summon sufficient enthusiasm for the line....
"Hark, I hear a pistol shot".
A teacher, possibly Mr. Murray, took over the role
to demonstrate the required delivery..... gaining an A+ for
enthusiasm and a D- for the wording.....
"Hark, I hear a shistol pot".
For several years thereafter all "pistol
shots" became "shistol pots".
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