Rehearsals for Ben's War are now well under way and ticket sales are very healthy. Having put the tickets on sale just one week ago more than half have already been sold.

The story of Ben's War is very personal. The idea came from Nick Ashman and Maggie Crane who wanted to put together a tribute to mark the centenary of the ending of the First World War. Both Nick and Maggie have spent time in the First World War battlefields and attended memorial events. Together they wrote a script describing the wartime experiences of two young people, Ben and Nellie, along with several army volunteers. Woven into the script are poems, real letters from the Front, popular wartime songs and a sprinkling of humour.

The production is being staged twice, firstly on Friday 9th November at Sainte-Dode and then on Saturday 10th November at Caillavet. Song sheets will be provided so that the audience can join in with such favourites as "Tipperary", "Keep the Home Fires Burning", "Pack Up Your Troubles", etc. Rations will be served and there will be a bar.

​Come along to this unique event and join the English Theatre Company as they pay their respects to the Fallen of World War One.

The idea was to have a social event for members of the ETC, but to give it some spice 'party pieces' were invited.
So on a Friday afternoon in early July forty or so gathered for a picnic at Au Carrau, Sainte-Dode. A performance space had been created and an audience area established. 

More than a dozen performances were given and it has to be said that the standard was high. We began with a monologue from Ian Warwick followed by an animated poem by Jacqueline. David Foster read a humorous poem by e.e.cummings entitled my sweet old etcetera — he explained that cummings did not believe in capital letters or punctuation. Then Sue Seth gave a marvellous rendition of Albert and the Lion.

Gill Foster then astonished us all by reciting a thought-provoking and funny poem that she had written herself. Several members encouraged her to enter her poem in suitable competitions. Dave Braney sang a poignant song by Max Boyce called 'Duw, it's Hard' and managed to get the audience to join in the chorus.

Sandy Notman introduced himself as 'Mr. Shakespeare' and gave a superb rendition of Launce's soliloquy from Two Gentlemen of Verona. This was followed by a piece by Stephen Fry and Hugh Lawrie from the Cambridge Footlights Review called "A Shakespeare Masterclass, An Actor Prepares" where Phil and Jon took to the stage.

Anne Dickens introduced her party piece from the film "The Matrix" with an excellent explanation of the film then recited from memory "Morpheus's Monologue". Maurice Shorter sang "A Hymn to Him", better known as "Why Can't a Woman be More Like a Man". Nancy followed up with a hilarious "Blonde's Story". Maggie added more laughs with a rendition of a Pam Ayres poem. Then Sue Seth presented a sequel to Albert and the Lion and finally Ben Brotherton gave us John Betjeman's Inddor Games Near Newbury.

​The party pieces were followed by a grand picnic and all agreed the event had been so much fun we would certainly repeat it next summer.

R & G, as we all called it, moved on from Lectoure to Maubourguet. The two theatres are so different. La Salle de la Comèdie in Lectoure has a fully raked auditorium that slopes up from stage level and allows the actors to get up close and personal with the audience. The bijou Sept Chandelles in Maubourguet has a much smaller stage that is raised above the first five rows which gives a different dynamic. Despite the difference in working stage areas, our travelling set looked good at both venues and much praise was received — particularly for the barrels.

Another challenge at Maubourguet was the backstage facility. During the play the very small Green Room had to be in total darkness and under a strict ‘silent running’ routine while accommodating twelve actors, three barrels and two stage crew. At one point there was a loud crash during the Friday night performance as Hamlet leant against a door that was not properly closed and he went flying into a corridor. As it turned out that was good practice for our final night when Hamlet went flying again — this time on stage while dragging Polonia’s dead body! It was difficult for Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to keep straight faces, but we managed. Apparently the Green Room was in silent hysterics!

Both Maubourguet performances went well and as a company we have received many warm and generous comments about the play, the performances, the set and, from members of another theatre group, some lovely comments on our envious level of professionalism.

As a member of the acting troupe I felt privileged not only to be part of such a meaningful and challenging play that remains a classic of English theatre, but also to be part of such a closely bonded team of players. It was a delight, for example, to have two French guys as part of the team — they were truly great. Also it was good to see some new faces take to the stage.

There were the usual suspects too. As an actor it is comforting to know you are in safe hands and with two major parts played by Maggie Crane (Rosencrantz) and David Allcock (The Player) I always knew I was part of a thoroughly efficient and talented team. We looked after each other on stage whenever needed. Bravo to our Director, Dave Barney, for trusting us to take on a play that would frighten off most non-professional companies. I learnt a lot of stage art and performance skills under his careful direction.

After the final performance we held an after-show party and Dave and Paula presented a cake decorated with the ‘Touch’ hand that featured so prominently on our posters and flyers.​

So there goes another production. . . months and months of effort from countless people that now become memories, but memories that will stay with us for a long time. Well done everyone!

Well, in fact there was no curtain.

For twenty minutes as the audience arrived both Rosencrantz and Guildenstern were on stage playing cards, reading books, eating apples, tossing coins and conversing — all the while ignoring the audience. As the start time approached they took their positions and as the house lights dimmed the play began. But it had not been without worry! After weeks and weeks of rehearsals a last-minute hiccup nearly put a spanner in the works when Maggie Crane (Rosencrantz) tore a calf muscle during the technical rehearsal and could not put any weight on her leg, let alone walk. A wheelchair came to the rescue and for both performances at Lectoure she wheeled herself about the stage.

Lines were added or modified to take into account her new-found mode of transport and many of the audience said how they felt the wheelchair had actually added to the performance. Both the Lectoure performances were very well received and we have had so many warm and generous comments, both in individual emails to the Company and as comments on our Facebook page. Two members of the audience had seen the much acclaimed Old Vic production starring Daniel Radcliffe and Josh McGuire and they referred to our performance as more intimate and every bit as entertaining. Humbling praise indeed.

We have two more performances at the bijou Sept Chandelles theatre in Maubourguet this coming weekend and the whole cast and crew are looking forward to putting on a good show again.
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The above photograph of the eponymous characters was taken by our friend Matthew Weinreb on the opening night. For more photographs see the Gallery page.

Why did you choose Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead?
Last autumn ETC decided we’d do three different productions in 2018 and I was asked to produce and direct the main play to be staged in May. I chose it because it’s a very funny, entertaining and thought -provoking play. Tom Stoppard has written some great plays, and this was his first that won major awards. It’s very well known and is often performed. And it’s just one of those plays that’s great fun to do, too.
We always want to perform good plays by well-known authors that will appeal to our audience. Other considerations are how to cast it and to give all members of the company a fair share of the acting parts. We try to spread it out over the year, so that if someone has a large part in one production, they play a smaller role in another. There are twelve characters altogether in the play.
R&G is particularly rewarding to direct because I spend a lot of time working in-depth with just three actors who play the main characters. This means that the process is very creative.

What’s the play about?
It’s a comedy about Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, two minor characters in Hamlet, and what they get up to when they aren’t directly involved in Shakespeare’s action. They are old school friends of Hamlet’s and have been mysteriously summoned to spy on him by his uncle, the King of Denmark. One is amiable and bewildered, the other a brainy clever-clogs. The audience travels with them as they blunder and blend into scenes in the Hamlet story; then come out the other side with a poignant awareness of their own mortality, yet still comically bewildered.

How well do you know the play?
Very well indeed. I played Rosencrantz in a very good production over 40 years ago. I love the play and have seen it several times over the years. I was sorry to miss the recent production at The National Theatre in London with Daniel Radcliffe as Rosencrantz. It had good reviews. I like him as a stage actor and thought he was great in Equus.

Rosencrantz is being played as a woman, why’s that?
Two main reasons. Maggie Crane is ideal for the part: she is a very funny actor and has the skills to do it. Secondly, there’s no reason why Rosencrantz shouldn’t be a woman. She provides a good balance to Guildenstern (played by Phil Faiers) and the Player (David Allcock), and it adds to the relationship between them.

How far into rehearsals are you?
We began working on the production over six months ago because there’s so much planning and preparation to do apart from rehearsing. It’s mid-March now and we’re in week seven of rehearsals. By the time we get to the first performance the cast will have put in over 1300 hours of rehearsal time between them. And that doesn’t include time spent learning lines or travelling to and from the rehearsal hall, which is over an hour away for some people.

How would you sum up what you do?
We try to do everything in the best possible way. It’s a real team effort with very high production values. Everybody works their socks off for months. I think our public get a very good 10 euros’ worth!

After all the preparations, planning and rehearsals it was a worry to wake up on the morning of our first performance to find ourselves under a deep blanket of snow.
 
We had a cast of fifteen living as much as two hours away from the venue and many were snowed in. However, the weather forecast was for a thaw around lunchtime, so we held our nerve and waited. Posts were put up on Facebook and messages placed on the home page of our website saying a decision would be made before 3pm as to proceed or postpone. All ticket holders were individually emailed keeping them up to date with the situation.
 
By 1pm the thaw had set in and after a call to the cast members everyone felt they could make it to the venue, so at 2.30 we decided to go ahead — the show must go on.
 
It meant the time allowed for lighting and sound preparations was condensed, but everything was in place as the first guest arrived. It was heart-warming to see around 100 people turn up despite the earlier atrocious conditions.
 
The cast of fifteen performed in front of the altar in the warm glow of our own stage lights and brought Dylan Thomas’s poetic masterpiece to life. The performance was a big hit and during the food and wine gathering afterwards there were so many kind and appreciative comments.
 
One of the reasons for staging the performance in the church at Sainte-Dode was because our Theatre Company is registered as an Association in Sainte-Dode and medieval frescoes had recently been uncovered during a routine restoration project. The significance and importance of the wall paintings dating from around 1450 has meant the commune now needs to complete a much bigger renovation project than originally planned and we felt The English Theatre Company might be able raise some funds to help.
 
After the performance in the adjacent hall we were able to announce that a retiring collection meant we were able to give €500 to the mayor of Sainte-Dode to swell the restoration fund.
 
So it is hats off to all the people who attended — especially the four ladies who drove more than two hours from Mézin. Well done too, to the cast and all the various helpers. Between us we managed to provide a cultural event, a social gathering and a worthwhile fund-raiser all in one evening.  

Auditions have taken place and we have several new members taking parts in Dylan Thomas's Under Milk Wood which will be staged at the delightful Parish Church of St Bartholemy in Sainte-Dode (28th February), the Foyer Rural in Cazaux-Villecomtal (1st March) and the Salle des Fêtes in St. Arailles (2nd March).
Our cast of 14 readers are sharing the 60 or so character rôles in Thomas's funny ‘play for voices’ about a day in the life of a quirky Welsh village. It is a beautifully written poetic ballad that pokes fun at a range of village characters such as the Reverend Eli Jenkins, twice-widowed Mrs Ogmore-Pritchard, blind Captain Cat, drunkard Cherry Owen, nosey postman Willy Nilly and the allegorically named Polly Garter, Lily Smalls and Nogood Boyo. Together their dialogue sparkles to paint a raucous vision of the bawdy, lovelorn, disgruntled, affectionate and tragedy-tinged lives of those who live in the fictional Welsh village of Llareggub.
​

Well that was fun. With our pop-up theatre of staging, lighting and sound system we took our two radio plays on tour around the Gers in November. The Far Side of the Moore told the story of how Patrick Moore came to present the BBC's Sky at Night programme for 55 years despite being an amateur astronomer. Yes Minister, the Right to Know was the radio version of an episode of the popular Yes, Minister television series. Both plays were performed either side of a lunch. Firstly on two dates at l'Auberge in Montesquiou, then at the Ferme de Flaran restaurant at Valence-sur-Baïse then finally at the delightful Salle des Fêtes in the lofty village of Cazaux-Villecomtal.

As a distraction while guests were waiting for their post-meal coffee, we played a game to celebrate an icon of BBC radio, the daily Shipping Forecast. We created Shipping Forecast Bingo using the Met Office's sea areas instead of numbers. The day's Radio 4 Shipping Forecast was read out and guests crossed off sea areas on their cards as they were announced. Of course we didn't want an ordinary game of bingo, so it was engineered that despite all the cards being different, they all had one common sea area — Malin. As that sea area was called out everyone shouted Bingo! For the French speakers among the audience the whole game was malin (clever). Everyone was declared a winner and guests got to keep their specially printed English Theatre Company pencils as their prize.

​We have been delighted with the number of really appreciative comments we received on the days of the performances and afterwards by email and on Facebook. It is rewarding for our Company to know that our audiences have been well entertained because that's why we do it. Oh, and for the fun we have too!

Our two radio plays have been in rehearsal this week, ready for the first performances on Saturday at the Auberge in Montesquiou. The Far Side of the Moore is an endearing account of how Patrick Moore became Britain's best-loved astronomer and Yes, Minister – the Right to Know is one of the funniest episodes of the popular Yes, Minister television series that has been adapted for radio.
The sound technicians, lighting crew and troupe of actors are all now ready and our own pop-up theatre will be installed at the Montesquiou auberge in time for Saturday's 1.00pm start. There are very few tickets left for Saturday and Sunday's performances are fully sold out with a waiting list.
After Montesquiou we move to the Ferme de Flaran, a superb restaurant near Valence-sur-Baïse, where we perform on Saturday 25th November. There are tickets available for this performance, but the following day's event at Cazaux-Villecomtal is almost sold out.
Rehearsals have been great fun and we have enjoyed working with some new faces in both technical and acting roles.
We recently held a premature first birthday party at which we announced our 2018 plans — Under Milk Wood in March, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead in May, and a Musical Theatre Review in October plus other events still at the planning stage. So keep watching the website for further news and information.
In the meantime, we hope you enjoy our two radio plays as much as we have enjoyed bringing them to life.

The English Theatre Company is fortunate enough to own its own staging, lighting and sound systems so we have a ready made pop-up theatre. This enables us to stage events at many different venues. One such was the delightful Château Herrebouc near Saint-Jean-Poutge.
In their ancient wine chai with its stone pillars and massive chestnut beams and vast vats of wine we created a 70-seat theatre with a backdrop, Last Thursday, 17th August, we staged our final performance of a Summer Revue at the château. The performance lasted an hour and included many classic comedy sketches as well as several song and dance routines. The audience was treated to organic Herrebouc wine before the performance and a supper in the courtyard afterwards — again accompanied by wines from the domaine.
​A good time was had by all!