Leading ladies light up the stage
LAST week we looked back at women playwrights and some of the superb shows that we have performed.
This week’s focus in our series celebrating Women’s History Month is a look back at two more productions featuring strong female roles and both were directed by some of our wonderful women directors.
The bar production offering in 2016 was Bette and Joan by Anton Burge.
Burge is an actor and writer whose first play ‘Whatever Happened to the Cotton Dress Girl?’ was a one woman play about Bette Davis to mark her centenary in 2008.
He specialises in writing for women, and has also interviewed many actors who have portrayed Queen Elizabeth I.
Bette and Joan offers Burge’s interpretation of a look behind the scenes when famous feuding femmes Bette Davis and
Joan Crawford were filming ‘Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?’ in 1962.
The action takes place in the two dressing rooms, with the imagined mirror in each central and the actors largely contained to their own room and performing in monologue style.
The play premiered 10 years ago and starred Greta Scacchi and Anita Dobson. For our performance we cast the excellent Jan Hale and Sam Roberts, who really brought these iconic women to life under the dedicated direction of Celia Timmington.
The bar setting was perfectly suited to the intimacy of the piece, and offered comedy, cattiness and class which our audiences lapped up.
As the next season rolled around, our October offering was Ladies in Lavender. Set in mid 1930s Cornwall, we meet ageing spinster sisters Ursula and Janet Widdington whose lives are irrevocably altered when a young man washes up on the shore and they nurse him back to health.
Dames Judi Dench and Maggie Smith portrayed the sisters to critical acclaim and were nominated for awards.
English dramatist Shaun McKenna then adapted the story for the stage and his twoact play opened in 2012 with Hayley Mills and Belinda Lang in the lead roles.
We are fortunate to have a glorious repertoire of actors within our company and, under the detailed and tender direction of Robin Hirsch, they were brought to life for us by Celia Timmington and Anne Richards. Again, this was very well received and is a beautiful tale.
This week marks a year since the theatres closed en masse due to the Coronavirus Pandemic. Reflecting upon this, BBC Arts are holding a Lights Up festival and arts organisers and theatres up and down the country are marking the anniversary with the #16March hashtag in solidarity with workers facing ongoing challenges and to show their ongoing support for the arts.
We appreciate all of our patrons support and encouragement through reading our column, interacting with our social media and telling us you are looking forward to us coming back.
Whilst you await news of our re-opening you can see more images on the gallery of our website, or perhaps watch the films and plays we have recalled and are inspired by!
To share your memories, keep up to date with news and plans for the Little Theatre in Southport, Merseyside and find out the latest information on when we may be able to open, follow us on Facebook and Instagram.
You can also see some special performances and a virtual theatre tour on our new YouTube Channel - search for Southport Little Theatre.