22 Sep Weardale Gazette review for “As You Like It”

THIS Shakespearean comedy that turned the
traditional rules of romance on its head, chosen
especially to celebrate the year of the woman, was a
huge success, playing to sell-out audiences over four
nights.
Directed by Wearhead’s Liz Gill and Produced by Lucy
Taylor, originally from Stanhope, it was a stunning
production from start to finish with the actors word
perfect, the costumes, the scenery, the props – the
music just perfect in every way.
The fun began for some audience members with
a pre-show meal in the Dales Centre and at a fiver a
head, the steak pie and mushy peas that I enjoyed
would have filled two people! A guitarist, Ron Brown,
played acoustically during the meal and it reminded
me of being in the Savoy Theatre pre-show in London.
We don’t need the big cities to satisfy our theatrical
thirst – Stanhope and the Dales Centre did just
fine. It was the perfect start to a perfect evening of
entertainment.
Two young actresses, Lia Hamp and Nicole Briggs,
entered the café offering free newspapers, which
turned out to be the programme with some very
interesting information in it, not least just who the
cast were!
Producer, Lucy, then urged everyone inside and
some who were enjoying the early evening sun in the
courtyard, to follow her and the large group found
themselves to the rear of the centre, just off the car
park. There an ‘old lady’ and a young man were seated
on a bench – she knit as they conversed:
the play had begun….
I glanced at my programme only to find that the ‘old
lady’ was none other than Michelle Robson from
Ireshopeburn – obviously practising for her new family
role as a grandmother-to-be! The young man, I was
astonished to find, was Josh Conlon from Howdenle-
Wear who has won publicity over the years for
his youth work – as a youth himself. Now, here he
was beginning the performance of his life – what an
actor! He took the main part of Orlando with Michelle
as Anne, his faithful servant. In the original play by
William Shakespeare, the servant is male but Michelle
more than made up for the change in sex – and in any
case, as this play was deliberately chosen to coincide
with the centenary of women’s vote – why not have a
female servant?
Orlando’s older brother, Oliver, played by Henry
Dawson, arrives on the scene and immediately the
two brothers engage in a physical fight that results
in the younger brother having to flee the area. The
original play was written in the very early 17th century
and set in France. Our play was fast-forwarded to the
1920s and as we were about to see, the female parts
paid tribute to the Suffragette movement by wearing
their colours of black, green and purple.
The audience was gently encouraged to walk further
into the Castle gardens, to the exquisite area near
the pond and stream where two ladies were playing
a gentle game of croquet while a live ‘oompah’ band
played original music in the background. These were
Celia (Hollie Coleman), the daughter of Duke Frederick
who had usurped his brother, Duke Senior, to rule the
Duchy. The other was Celia’s cousin, Rosalind (Lily-
Rose Prior) – the daughter of the said Duke Senior. The
two cousins’ play was interrupted by the Touchstone,
a clown, played superbly by Ben Pearson. Two more
characters – Aenghus Hughes, playing a courtier,
and Iain Briggs as Charles, a wrestler. They spoke of
Orlando and how he would be taught a lesson. The
subsequent wrestling bout at the rear of the centre,
was hilarious but very well rehearsed and executed with some
real gymnastics from Josh!

Enter Harry French from Fir Tree as the evil Duke Frederick
who after a row banishes his niece, Rosalind, from the Duchy.
But Rosalind loves Orlando and he her so she decides to
dress as a man and Celia goes with her, as ‘his’ sister and they
remain in the Duchy. Rosalind’s plan works and she happens
upon poor Orlando where she hatches a plot. The play has
many twists and turns – and lots of laughs along the way with
the audience being taken on a physical journey, following the
cast around the castle gardens and into the churchyard where
seats were set for long scenes. In and out of the churchyard
we went, helped by actors out of scene.
Harry French played the dual roles of both Dukes, one nice
cop, one bad cop. And he wasn’t the only one with Drama
in Dale veteran, Lesley Swinney playing both a nobleman
and later, a country wench. Lesley entertained the audience
with song, her voice lifting in the air in the churchyard, above
Stanhope market place where life went on as normal; the
fish and chip shop, youngsters amusing themselves and the
pubs enjoying the usual trade. Little did they know of the pure
artistry going on in the grounds of the church. It had a magical
effect, difficult to describe but with a special effect of its own.
Young Dylan Hoar made his appearance as Silvius the
shepherd alongside Iain Briggs as Corin, the third actor to
play a dual role before the ‘melancholy’ Jaques entered the
‘stage’. Played superbly by Mike Steinbeck, this character has
some memorable lines, not least ‘All the world’s a stage…’ –
and so it is, or was in Stanhope that night. Even Paul Traves,
a well-known musician and member of Stanhope Silver Band
got in on the act, quite literally, making his acting debut as a
country vicar!

The sun went down and the lights came up in
the churchyard, the birds went home to roost and a bat flew
by. Owls hooted and the ambience changed as the dark skies
added to the excitement, the story unfolding under the stars.
Young Amber Pearson from Stanhope was well cast as
Phoebe, a beautiful shepherdess who fell in love with
Touchstone but was loved by Silvius, and executed her lines
perfectly. The story, as typically Shakespearean as you can
get, involves several complicated romantic couples, with a
woman dressed as a man, a noblewoman as a servant and brothers who
hate each other. But, of course, all was well in the end with couples galore
marrying altogether in the final scene, which took place inside St Thomas
church. Michelle Robson, as Anne, sang wonderfully from the pulpit before
the whole cast not only broke into song but performed a jolly, medieval
‘quadrille dance to finish off the most amazing evening of entertainment –
and right on our doorstep!
The audience – which incidentally included three of my granddaughters,
the youngest only three months old – broke into rapturous applause with
every single member thoroughly enjoying themselves.
Well done to each and ever person
who made the production probably the best yet!
These included the group of seamstresses, overseen by Costume Mentor,
Kim McDermottroe, who made the brilliant costumes. One lady had never
as much as sewn a needle before. The performance was so much more than
just the actors – but every one of those acted their part to perfection. The
backstage crew, the musicians front of house crew, lighting and everything
else.
It may have looked easy but a huge amount of hard work has gone into this
voluntary production. All credit to Liz Gill for a job well done and one so
professionally executed it was worthy of the Globe Theatre!
A thoroughly enjoyable night
and in the words of one of the audience
– when is the next one?