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!

Our final performance of Absurd Person Singular was on Sunday 28th May in sweltering heat. As the final Act took place on Christmas Eve in a freezing cold kitchen all the actors were wearing wooly jumpers, hats, coats and scarves. Under the combined heat of 10,000 watts of stage lighting it was like a sauna, but as they say, if you can't stand the heat stay out of the kitchen.
Our troupe of actors enjoyed their time in the three different kitchens and were all sorry to come to the end of our successful run. We move on now to a Summer Revue on July 2nd (Sorry, Sold Out) and will be announcing additional venues soon.
​In the meantime, our abiding memory of Absurd Person Singular will be of Maggie Crane playing the part of Jane Hopcroft locked out of her own kitchen in the pouring rain.

Our first major production, Absurd Person Singular, opened at La Salle de la Comédie in Lectoure on Saturday 6th May and played to two very enthusiastic audiences. There were gasps from the audience at the apparent electrocution scene and roars of laughter when one of the players was 'accidentally' drenched.
As people filed down the stairs after the performances they were all smiles and made many lovely comments. 
Many thanks to those that contacted us after the show with comments and praise:
Enjoyed the play immensely. Last saw it in London and had forgotten how funny it is. Great cast too! (SM. Lectoure)
Chapeau! Set, costumes, stage crew and cast. Well done! (AN. St. Arailles)
Hilarious! Brilliant production. (MW. Fleurance)
Fabulously funny play, well done folks it was such a brilliant evening. (JL. Larroque St Sernin)
Outstanding performances from all your cast. (TL. Nérac)
Brilliant night in Lectoure — Absurd Person Singular, very funny, very talented actors. I can highly recommend it. (MS Caillavet)
We were there on Sunday and thoroughly enjoyed it. Make sure you don't miss it on 27th & 28th! (EB. La Sauvetat)

In the last few days we have received our brand new sound equipment — professional standard theatre speakers, along with a multi-channel mixing desk and dmx cabling. Our English Theatre Company polo shirts are due any day and the programme has gone to print.

Rehearsals are at that last-minute polishing stage and the set is all but ready. Today's rehearsal was the first time we used water for the 'accidental' drenching of one of the characters. Another of the characters also has to get soaked so we had much fun at their expense.

If our audiences enjoy the show half as much as the cast and crew have enjoyed the rehearsals then everyone is in for a treat.

We still have some tickets available for Lectoure on 6th and 7th May, but Maubourguet is all but sold out for both nights 27th and 28th May.

If you have not yet booked you had better get your skates on!

​Tickets available via info@engliishtheatrecompany32.fr or call our Box Office hotline on 05 62 67 12 99.

Below: The cast of Absurd Person Singular are ready to entertain you.