All change at Broadway. Next stop, Auschwitz

















The main gate at the former Nazi death camp of Birkenau. Note that this is inside the camp looking back from the loading ramp to the 'Gate of Death.' Photo by Angelo Celedon

Versatile, to say the least, is what I felt about those Imperial Productions people when I read of their latest stage plans. They've been coming to Budleigh Salterton for many years to entertain us with their wonderful shows, but of course we're not their only audience.

Only a few days ago at http://budleighbrewsterunited.blogspot.com/2011/08/guys-and-dolls-in-budleigh-salterton.html I posted news of 'Guys and Dolls', their 2011 Budleigh summer musical.

The last call is now going out for enthusiastic amateurs to help put together a rather different production. The director is the energetic David Phipps-Davis, responsible for last October's staging of 'Gigi', about which I wrote at http://budleighbrewsterunited.blogspot.com/2010/10/stars-to-add-sparkle-to-budleigh.html

I suppose there's a connection between that and Mr Phipps-Davis' latest venture, since it's about another Frenchwoman, but there the comparison ends.

Based upon the true story of Charlotte Delbo, a member of the French resistance who spent nearly three years in concentration camps, the play 'Who Will Carry the Word?' depicts the lives of twenty-three women while they share a barracks in Auschwitz. It is, as the director put it, "their story of hope, friendship and sacrifice to journey back and tell the truth to the world."

I think it's unlikely to come to Budleigh, but you never know.

Meanwhile, if you feel you'd like to see a darker side of Imperial Productions' theatrical ventures and happen to be in the London area in October you might like to make a note in your diary.

The show runs for two weeks from Tuesday 18 - Saturday 29 October 2011 at The Brockley Jack Studio Theatre, 410 Brockley Road, Brockley, SE4 2DH. There are only ten performances, Tuesday – Saturday nightly at 7.45pm. There will also be two preview performances (one in the afternoon and one in the evening – times to be confirmed) on Thursday 13 October 2011 at All Saints Arts Centre, 122 Oakleigh Road North, N20 9EZ.

For more information about Imperial Productions, click on http://www.imperialproductions.org/

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

WW2 100 – 3 July 1941 – ‘Our beloved son’: Private Stanley John Holloway (1914-41) 12th Battalion, Devonshire Regiment

Image
Continued from 11 June 1941 ‘A German platoon fired a salute of honour over the grave’ FLYING OFFICER PETER HAROLD HOWARD PRITCHARD (1921-41)   https://budleighpastandpresent.blogspot.com/2021/11/ww2-75-11-june-1941-german-platoon.html   Image credit: www.FindaGrave.com Stanley’s sad death at the age of 27 stirred various thoughts in me when I first read about it. He is not listed on Budleigh Salterton’s War Memorial, yet his grave is in St Peter’s Burial Ground on Moor Lane. His family were not local, yet he seems to have been killed while engaged in the highly hazardous work of protecting Budleigh against invasion.   The Commonwealth War Graves Commission records him as a member of the 12 th Battalion, Devonshire Regiment with the Service Number was 5627659. According to the same source, his parents were George and M. Holloway, of Hounslow, Middlesex.   Tackling this WW2 project chronologically as I am, it was clear that Stanley had died on the same day as Private Clifto
Read more

People from the Past: 3. Reg Varney (1916-2008)

Image
Reginald Alfred 'Reg' Varney was an English actor, most notable for his role as a cheerful Cockney bus driver in the 1970s TV sitcom On the Buses . For ten years he lived at Dark Lane House on picturesque Dark Lane in Budleigh Salterton, seen above.  Millions of television viewers remember him with affection. He has been described as belonging to the old school of comedians, with his dislike of much contemporary television and his pride in never using swear words to get a laugh. Varney was born on 11 July 1916 in Canning Town, which was then part of Essex but is now part of East London. His father worked in a rubber factory in Silvertown and he was one of five children who grew up in Addington Road, Canning Town. He was educated at the nearby Star Lane Primary School in West Ham and after leaving school at 14, he worked as a messenger boy at the Regent Palace Hotel, pictured above.  
Read more

A home that Hatchard-Smith built: Lavender House

Image
Lavender House, one of no less than 50 houses in Budleigh Salterton designed by Hatchard-Smith   Instantly recognisable with their red and white decoration and their front doors set within brick arches, the houses built by architect William Hatchard-Smith (1887-1987) are still sought after and appreciated by their owners for their elegance and comfort, their sturdy construction and their attention to practical detail. Plans for one of the houses designed by Hatchard-Smith Lavender House, on Moorlands Road , is a four-bedroomed detached family residence built by Hatchard-Smith in the late 1920s when it was originally named Lavenderhay.   Set within what are described as beautifully landscaped gardens of approximately an acre it has recently undergone an extensive refurbishment programme while retaining much of the original charm and character. The stained glass memorial in Budleigh Sa
Read more