Much Ado about lots

This week's bulging bulletin begins with a trip to London's South Bank for a National Theatre production of Much Ado About Nothing - the final splurge of a gift-token from son2 last year. Directed by Simon Godwin with a lavish two-storey set designed by Anna Fleischle & Evie Gurney's amazing rag-time era costumes, this seemed at first a bit too 'Post-Modern Jukebox meets Hi-Di-Hi' for dark themes of betrayal and redemption but, after a frivolous start, it steered its way into a lively, funny, clever production.  Much Ado is notoriously 'difficult' although a comedy: we have to relish a happy ending that involves a mistrustful bridegroom who publicly humiliates his bride, whose sassy friend promptly demands his death from her own fiancé… some productions simply give up on resolving these aspects, but this production really has a go and, for me, really succeeds. Much credit for this is down to Ursula Dowel, Beatrice’s delightful maid, and the director's decision to created a balcony scene which tricks her as well as the watching spies - there’s quite a bit of this kind of softening of some of the bard’s rough edges, which helps to maintain much of the glamour of the upbeat opening scenes throughout. 

The sequence when a team of inane watchmen ineptly uncover the treacherous plot to discredit Hero is direly unfunny in most productions, but in this one it's somehow hilarious - big credit to David Fynn's Dogberry and his Watch. Here they are (above), and here too are Benedict (John Hefferman) whose friends tricked him into wooing and Claudio (Eben Figueiredo) whose boss did his wooing for him, though both got their girls in the end. A great interpretation of a play that's mainly about gossip, well presented and performed.  (Press image credits Manuel-Harlan)

Still with the bard, this time al fresco with the wonderful Lord Chamberlain's Men at Dyrham Park. There’s something intrinsically funny about men dressed as women, and when a man dressed-as-a- woman dresses as a man, and is played by a man-dressed-as-a-woman-dressing-as-a-man, the comedy is inevitably compounded. It can get chaotic, of course, so this company deserves huge credit for their brilliant, clever, production of As You Like It, in which seven men played every role with clarity and enormous humour. Rosalind (Ben Lynn) and Celia (Jonny Warr) are both adorable, and the rest of the team are funny and feisty, as necessary.  Handsome Orlando (Andrew Buzzeo), smitten with love for Rosalind, is excellent; Jaques’s melancholy is less turgid than sometimes, and the romance between tiny clown Touchstone and beefy Audrey is funnier than sometimes, so win-win all round. 

The set was a bit odd, though: a turd-like monolith neither palace nor forest, but probably easy for touring. The company will doubtless be exhausted by autumn - their tour schedule involves 73 locations - but they will have made a lot of people very happy.  At Dyrham Park at least 200 of us gathered on the lawn with chairs, rugs, and picnics (in one instance with a folding table) and the multi-talented cast organised us seamlessly into best-viewing positions for all. It’s a great show - go if you can.

This double-drama concluded my week-long birthday bonanza which also involved classy dining & bibbing and wonderful walks with son1 and with friends, discovering places nearby but somehow previously unknown to me - here's  Horningsham Independent Chapel, the oldest Free Church in England, build-date of 1556 and still in regular use for worship. This is within the 9,800 acre Longleat estate, famous for costly attractions - stately home, safari park - but free for walking around the lovely wooded environs where workers' cottage gardens look like flower-packet pictures and new-laid eggs from free range hens are £1.50 a dozen.

Moving on to music now, with another session at The Guggleton in Stallbridge, the Arts Centre with a difference, a wonderfully supportive community venture to foster arts of all kinds, with the Open Mic nights regular well attended. The session on a sultry Thursday evening had some real highlights, one of which was talented duo The Davenports, aka Annie and Roger, with a moving version of that country classic Please Remember me, and a very lively finale from Alan, aka The Rhythm Junkie, with a Bob Marley mashup and mass Oasis singalong. Always a good night at The Gugg outdoor venue - with pizza and bar provided too.

A fizzing finale to this week and this month, at Bath's Komedia, Chortle award-winning 'Best Venue in the West & Wales' for comedy: here Rosie Holt, aka twitter's @RosieisaHolt, on Sunday night shared a preview of her Edinburgh Festival show. 'an hour of character comedy based on her hit satirical videos'. 

Rosie's horribly accurate parodies of political personalities both real & imagined are side-achingly funny, and the evil simpering of her inventions so appallingly realistic that confused commentators become apoplectic with virtuous rage. Rosie's show is already tipped by Time Out in their top 10 best comedy shows in the Festival - if you're up in Edinburgh in August, don't miss her!

Post-festival blues cancelled, everyone too busy

The festival is over, with Frome's response - predictably - along the lines of 'bring on the post-fest-festivities.' Merlin Miscast 'Cabaret Extravaganza' on Friday was a brilliant celebration of the talents of the contributing performers - an all-singing all-dancing reprise of twenty-two solo and ensemble songs from the last years' productions, atmospherically choreographed, with onstage band. Projected information kept the show fast-moving, with minimal but entertaining compering from super-glam Artistic Director Claudia Pepler & show director Ryan Hughes, and if this sounds overly fulsome all I can say is, it really was a great night for community theatre - and for the Merlin for nurturing so much creative activity.

Exhibiting a Paul Nash painting is quite a big deal for a small town art gallery, and Black Swan is making the most of having this one in their current exhibition: Arborealists and Guests will be in the Long Gallery until 2 September, and on Monday the Words at the Black Swan writing workshop met, with poet Louise Green leading, to respond to the theme of all things arborescent and dendriform. We looked at tree prayers and poems, created a small collective forest in words, and then focussed on a personal piece - some of these will be posted on the group facebook page here. This is a timely exhibition, in a year Sheffield - previously claiming to be 'Europe's greenest city' - has plans to cut down 20, 000 street trees in what Woodland Trust has called a tree massacre - while China has deployed 60,000 soldiers to plant trees to combat pollution. Frome meanwhile has an active tree-watch group, led by historian and expert Julian Hight who will be talking at the Gallery on August 16th. The exhibition is worth a visit: there are some wonderful images on display, though the drab Nash isn't one of them.

Here's a new thing for Frome: inspired by Bristol Rocks, we now have  Love on the Rocks happening around Frome: painted pebbles with cheery messages, secreted around the town for discovery and relocation. Toni from Fine Fettle discovered these two in Kingsway precinct. Bristol Post reports this fun-for-all craze has taken the city by storm. I have many pebbles of various sizes... I feel a rummage through the art drawer coming on.
To Bath now, for a spot of comedy at the Komedia for an Edinburgh Preview show by Holt & Talbot - Rosie & Christian to their friends - Mansplaining Feminism. Christian's commitment to this cause is upstaged from the start by Rosie who's upset because she heard a man shout ‘Great rack!’ - but not to her. Rosie’s grievance at her unappreciated mammaries continues rolling throughout the script like a cunningly-shot billiard ball as her partner writhes through varied situational sketches -mostly very funny anyway but all massively enhanced by the personalities of this combo.

Wallace & Gromit fans are probably aware already that a hunt for Gromits has been unleashed in Bristol this summer, with 67 differently-decorated models of characters from the movies positioned all around the city. A great idea for a Sunday family meet-up, we thought, and collected a trail map from St Mary's Redcliffe where the Bristol in Bloom Gromit sat. I can also report there's a Wallace in College Green, but all the other locations we planned to visit were overlaid by the weekend Harbour Festival so we had a terrific day out anyway.
Also in Bristol: South Western at Tobacco Factory is actually a production from the Wardrobe Theatre team, pulsing with their usual innovative energy and verve but in a bigger venue: their promo photos all look like they were snapped on a dark night in a dirty part of the docks and give absolutely no idea of the vitality of the show, so I've taken this image of the ensemble from their facebook page.  A cornish-pasty-style western rather than spaghetti, this revenge tale trails from Bristol to Lands End, full of local in-jokes but slickly produced and very funny. Think Hot Fuzz, with an echo of Thelma & Louise and a longing nod to Easy Rider. The best bits are the faux-film-making, with cuts and calls for close-ups, and calm technicians spraying fake blood, and the finale is superb. There are inspired ideas and marvellous moments and it's definitely a show you'd take your stage-struck children or students to show how challenging and transgressive and engaging and physical live theatre can be - but you might hope they'd use those qualities in a drama with more content than parody. On till July 27th.
Home news again, and Frome Unzipped continues to take baby-steps into the world: I'm delighted by comments in conversations and mini-reviews on facebook: 'It is superbly written' ... 'written in Crysse's inimitable lively and funky style'... 'beautifully written and so very well argued' .... 'all Froomies need to get a copy.'

Well there are copies in Hunting Raven, and a few more events coming up. As everyone is busy with jaunts camps and fesivals I've gone for series of 'soft' launches in different venues, and the first was hosted on Saturday by Martin Earley at Cornerhouse upstairs in the gin lounge - no author-reading, just biblophilic chats, and sales, and prosecco.

spring celebrations: satire, music, media, and birdsong

February 2nd is Groundhog Day (the all-knowing American rodent foresaw shadow, by the way) and the day of Celtic goddess of poetry Brigid: this is the time our northern hemisphere officially passes from dark winter days into the coming lightness of spring. The US ritual as we all know requires you to go to your metaphorical room and stay there till you say you're sorry, and for Imbolc celebration you invoke healing power with flame and prayer ~ definitely preferable ~ but I chose instead to go and see Jonathan Pie at the Komedia in Bath. Pie live delivers exactly what you'd expect: furious rants at every aspect of social order and disorder, with some especially pithy contempt for the UK party of opposition ("the Left have made themselves irrelevant - Labour have fisted themselves to death") using the dystopian irony of Children In Need's Pugsy as specific focus of his rage. As unexpected bonus, a very good warm-up spot from Andrew Doyle too.

Over in Warminster on the Community Radio station, 'Kowalski', aka John Walton, has an apt name for his show: Painting Coconuts in Paradise seemed just right for a pleasant Monday afternoon of music and chat about writing... discussion of poetry, blogging, and courses for writers all interspersed between african rhythms and 1960s hits... mm that's the way it's meant to be... (Anyone else remember Concrete and Clay? just asking...)

And linking chat to music with another question, does Frome need another Acoustic Club? As King Lear would say, reason not the need, just enjoy. The Artisan had a terrific session on Monday evening, neatly summarised by Paul Kirtley, himself a superb contributor: I believe the phrase 'eclectic mix' would be appropriate... ranging from soulful folk to a WW1 piece, to acoustic blues, to Americana, to modern "pop", to freestyle rap, to beat box (now I know what 2C-I is), to covers and original stuff.  Another good night and a free pint... what more could one ask for, pray tell?  MC Ross p was the brilliant rapper, and this enjoyable mix also included Julian (Bugs) Hight and Hello Hopeville.


This week's main guest at the Grain Bar Roots Session was Katey Brooks who combines soulful words with powerful voice and dramatic performance. In an unexpected highlight she quit the stage and sat on the bar for an 'unplugged' version of a her new recording Never Gonna Let Her Go: sometimes the sweetest things were meant to pass you by..


Sessions in different style filled the Cornerhouse on Friday, as more than a score of musicians and singers settled in for a night of celtic carousing with guitars, mandolin, banjo, fiddle, flutes, accordion, washboard, spoons, tambourine, bodhran, and much good humour. Great sounds and wonderful atmosphere of enjoyment and fun.


Frome town is on the telly again, this time with the story of our Food Fridge. Literally a free-for-all, exclaimed the voice-over in Jamie and Jimmy's Food Feast this Friday on C4, explaining people both donate and take... it's a simple solution to a massive food problem. Jamie suggests the system should extend across the country to supplement provisions of food banks. It ain't rocket science, he says, and he's started a community fridge scheme in Southend. It's not only for local growers with a surplus: supermarkets have signed up too, diverting their excess away from landfill. Now there's even an app for it ~ and it all started in Frome!

Looking ahead there's good news for Fromies with the reopening of Westway! Our much-loved independent cinema will be back in business later this month, refurbished and triple-screened, while retaining those invaluable features of movie-going: the licensed bar, the old-style intermission, and fixed ticket price of four quid... cheaper, as The List points out, even than streaming at home.

And good news for everyone: Frome Festival is already taking shape. Brochure entries are being assembled, and from the look of that motor-cycling Jane Austen, this one will be a scorcher. Those of you who saw our Nevertheless production Timeslides will realise we actually unwittingly anticipated this theme last year ~ but look out for a dramatic promenade piece with a hint of regency... And this year is the hundredth anniversary of the death in action of poet Edward Thomas who wrote about his travels close to our town so he will be featured too, with an Edwardian swimming party and Adlestrop moments at the Poetry Cafe. I'll leave you with birdsong, and thoughts of spring.