Outlook unsettled but magic still around

Let's start with a storm: the torrents sprayed wildly on the audience by wonderful Folksy Theatre  in Merlin's ECOS amphitheatre to get us all into the spirit of The Tempest on Wednesday evening. Musicians as well as actors, this endearing quintet held their audience rapt as they morphed between characters with speedy costume changes, from ethereal sprite & romantic lover to a couple of drunks, in the most impressively extreme case. 

Shakespeare was all about patron-pleasing, and while Good Queen Bess loved the vulgarity of the Merry Wives and the man-teasing of Malvolio, her 1603 successor James I didn't: he wanted magic and masques, which aren't so easy to graft into a popular rom-com. Perhaps that's why The Tempest is the bard's last play: Prospero's breaking of his magic stick is seen as symbolic of Shakespeare's decision to create no more stage dramas after this one, believed completed in 1611. Folksy's production wisely minimised the gratuitous mythical set pieces and focussed on clarifying the storyline and maximising the comedy. 

In both these aspects they did really well: Andrew Armfield was delightful as both Stephano the drunk and Ferdinand the lover (playing each with just a touch of Bertie Wooster), Ariel was enchanting and Miranda charming; Caliban as apparently an Ulsterman fresh from a brawl in his underwear was entertaining though without the poignancy sometimes found in this abused role, and Tom Hardwicke's Prospero was simply the best interpretation of this demanding role that I've yet seen anywhere. Huge credit to director Lee Hardwicke too. The audience sprawled across every level of the ECOS stones clearly loved it, and so they should: it was brilliant - well paced and full of energy and fun.  Here's Rachel Delooze as Ariel with her master, and as above as Trinculo with Stephano and Caliban (Gilchrist Muir).

While open-air theatre companies have had more chance to survive the last couple of years, problems for indoor productions have been intense and, despite some ingenious adaptations, most stage practitioners are having a really tough time. Acting For Others is the UK Actors Support Network and actor John Cragg runs a Youtube page of productions created to fund this charity for the industry. This week has the impressive addition of a zoomed reading of King Lear directed by Andrew Hilton, founder/director of the excellent Shakespeare at the Tobacco Factory company which, until he stepped down in 2017 after 18 years of high-quality productions, was always a high spot in my reviewing calendar. With a stunning cast headed by David Horovitch as the impetuous old king, this is so good that - even for nearly 3 hours - it's easy to forget that the boxed heads meet only in our shared imagination. Here's the self-deposed king at the start of his sufferings, losing his temper when reproached by his daughter and teased by his fool.

Eleanor Talbot's latest episode of Variations of a Theme has a focus on the Mind's Eye, and an interview with Pete Gage, previously best known as a fantastic keyboard player and singer - he was the voice of Dr Feelgood during the 1990s - who has now published a book of his poems and mandalas. His interview starts at 13.50 in (pausing for John Lennon's Mind Games at 26 minutes, and restarting at 37.00 -49.00) and is a fascinating account of Pete's creative sensitivity and processes, with a beautiful reading of his poem about Robert Schumann written in Bonn. Pete's readings show a sensitivity that may surprise many who know him mainly from his mega-popular blues band, and the mandalas are all quite beautiful - order from Pete here, or from Hunting Raven Books.

As we cautiously emerge into new national regulations, all balancing desire to maintain safe social barriers against the detrimental effects of isolation on our mental health, Frome's Sun Inn opened its newly-improved premises for a live gig from The Hoodoos. No dancing, seating spacey, masks worn at the bar, and the exuberance of this multitalented sextet all combined to make this one a must-do for me.  Live music is the life blood of our community, it seems, and as the long sunny evenings wane it will be hard to resist such events.

In fresh air again on Sunday for 'Open Gardens' day in Nunney village giving access to some splendid vistas: Eleanor and I travelled with Gordon Alexander and another friend to tour twelve of the superb gardens listed, choosing Midhurst as our favourite for its  layered layout, vibrant colours, and its feisty feline incumbent - but all of them really were gorgeous. Our trip was top'n'tailed with cake & tea in the church at the start, and excellent Sauvignon in The George before we headed homeward at sunset.

Concluding this week of dark clouds as well as sunshine with a look back at the Frome Festival at the start of the month, inspired by a great set of images sent me by official photographer Alan Denison - here's wonderful Liv Torc leading us off with me giggling in the background - and his fellow Frome Wessex Camera Club member, David Chedgy who caught the set-off moment of the Slavery Sedition & Sin walk around Frome, effectively led by historian David Lassman with me chipping in from time to time. 

Theatrically to Bristol & Peru, realtime in Wales & Frome

This is a good time for theatre enthusiasts. Restrictions now allow companies to find ingenious ways to rehearse, but are still tight enough for online productions to continue - and by now they're fairly sophisticated. So Bristol Old Vic is now offering Touching the Void as performed in "a bespoke sound-stage in its 255yr old auditorium which not only created the atmosphere of being in a theatre, but transported viewers to the mountain itself -from anywhere in the world." Devised by BOV director Tom Morris in 2018, this drama tells the true story of an outrageous attempt to scale one of the most difficult peaks in the Peruvian Andes, as explored from the perspective of a non-mountaineer marvelling that anyone would purposefully risk their life to purposelessly climb a crag. Which is most of us, I imagine.  In this dramatisation by David Greig of the book of the same name by Joe Simpson, the nearly-deceased climber, it’s his sister who takes the inquisitorial role, initiating the dramatic interaction by repeatedly asking why, until Simon Yates, the other climber, compels her to explore their drama via furniture & fittings and a vivid imagination. There's a good short summary here.  The initial, live & highly acclaimed, production came at the end of the Bristol Old Vic's long closure for a £26m renovation project so it's fitting that this revival celebrates the gradual ending of the plague closure. Fingers crossed, anyway. Fiona Hampton takes the prime role of Joe's sister, with Josh Williams as Joe and Angus Yellowlees as Simon, and Patrick McNamee as a random hitchhiker.  Set & costume design by Ti Green. (screen shots by me.)  

Also last week, Shakespeare at the Tobacco Factory offered an online medley of Shakespearean sonnets and speech extracts in a patchwork of recitations by 'five contemporary characters as we explore our relationship with our city and our culture.'  The Place At The Bridge is written - or rather, compiled - by Chinonyerem Odimba and directed by Helena Middleton, and has the immense bonus of constant accompaniment throughout by the brilliant Gambian kora player Sura Susso - here with Zachary Powell, an impressively strong presence throughout. (my screen shots.) 

Moving now from Peru via Bristol to Wales: to Tywyn, on the southernmost coastal tip of the Snowdonia National Park, an area of forests and lakes and - last week anyway - solid sunshine. Developed into a resort in the 1870s by benefactor John Corbett, it's now famous for its narrow-guage mini Talyllyn Railway which appears inspired by Rev W Awdry but was actually designed to service the slate mining up the hills in Abergynolwyn.  Slate is everywhere - even fences are sometimes made of slate.

Our basecamp was a well-equipped camper-van site between a broad, silvery-sanded beach rimmed by grassy dunes, and viridian fields filled with grazing sheep, extending to the distant undulating verdant hills. A lush scene.  And nearby, the amazing Dolgoch Falls descend across flinty rocks in a fern-filled forest, and a mere 4.7-mile-walk in blustery winds along the sand, there's the picturesque sea front of Aberdovey - 'front' being the operative term, as there's not much build beyond the line of gaudy buildings that look like Villajoyosa without the palm trees, but the cappuccino ice-cream is lush.

 We were back in Frome in time for the Saturday market in glorious sunshine, complete with Paul's Tribe busking on the bridge and for a sumptuous garden party hostessed by Frome FM broadcaster, podcaster, & all-round delightful person Eleanor Talbot. 

Silk Mill opened its doors at the weekend for an exhibition by artists in the Visionary Arts Collective: The Future Is Now features a diversity of psychedelic and visionary images in a range of media. Much of it is beautiful, even when menacing, like these extraordinary figures.

And there's welcome news from the Friends of Easthill that Mendip DC have agreed not to use this ancient field for their housing development.  This is a big relief in terms of preserving the green lungs and biodiversity of Frome but, as campaign initiator Bharati Pardhy wrote when reporting the decision, the need for affordable housing is still a community concern. And it remains to be seen how, and if, Frome can retain its independent integrity after the local government reorganisation. Fingers remain crossed.

The scrapbook edition: sunny walking, and talking about theatre

Picture of the week was a tough choice now that sunshine and car-repair allow a wider range of walking as spring brings bluebells and wild garlic along the paths and may-blossom dazzling in the hedges, with birdsong everywhere. Frome market yard on Saturday was a pop-up picture-book of enticing stalls, with creative crafts as well as food and flowers. Irrelevantly, but a new discovery to me, this majestic elm not far from the town centre is probably the last local survivor of the 1960s Dutch elm disease blight that killed off an estimated 20 million trees in the UK. Constable was mad about elms: his famous landscapes are thick with them and the V&A has a painting of an elm trunk by him that looks exactly like a photograph - you can see it here. 

As indoors venues are still off-limits and sunshine is enticing, the only performance to report this week is A Winters Tale from the Royal Shakespeare Company on BBC4. Although officially regarded as a romance and one of Shakespeare's comedies, the storyline is very dark.  A sad tale's best for winter, declares the little prince: his mother is thrown out by his deranged father and he dies of grief, so you could say he got what he wanted, but transposing the action to the 1950s & '60s - despite some powerful tableau moments and jolly revelry in the second half - doesn't alter the grim storyline and resolution takes nearly 3 hours with much angry shouting and that famous death by bear-pursuit. This BBC Lights Up production is available on iPlayer here, with a more comprehensive review here, and a couple of screenshots of from the opening and final acts. 

 

Speaking of the bard's works, Shakespeare at the Tobacco Factory has issued a series of podcasts focusing on the speculation What Would Shakespeare Do? in a pandemic, comprising recitations of speeches that have uncertain relevance and interviews with Bristol residents about their dreams and opinions. The first two - both out now - are quite niche, in a Home Service way, but free to listen here.

National Theatre more entertainingly offers filmed conversations of Life In Stages, with episode 1 on Thursday featuring its Artistic Director Rufus Norris talking with actress Olivia Colman. There's no attempt to make this seem an informal chat at a casual encounter, and both seem a bit uncomfortable out of their professional role, but the rapport is good, and interesting insights emerge about the apparent glamour of their profession - both admit to stress, and familiarity with 'imposter syndrome'.  Insightful and interesting - you can watch the series here. 

Also free, static but very well illustrated: a Webinar talk on London Theatreland from Andrew Warde, swooping entertainingly through the history of the city's 241 buildings, their owners and designers, their dramas and dramatists, their technicians and traumas, plus a peppering of spicy anecdotes. Our oldest theatre now is the Bristol Old Vic (opened 1776) but the first was built 200 years before that by Richard Burbage, and playhouses have survived closures for plague and civil war, often rebuilt after fires - they often burned down as stage lighting was by large candles until Drummond's 1816 invention of 'limelight'. The entire talk was crammed with fascinating detail and tasty soundbites - Samuel Pepys' view of A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Kings Theatre in 1662, for instance ("The most insipid ridiculous play I ever saw in my whole life,") and Sheridan's response when reproached for drinking as in 1809 he watched the Theatre Royal Drury Lane ablaze: "A man may surely be allowed a glass of wine by his own fireside?" A fascinating dramatic time-tour from Mirthy - worth checking out their topics.

Clare Reddaway, playwright, fiction writer, and since lockdown organiser of the Storeopathy online fiction events currently has a story with the Tempest Productions story project: Living in the Shadow of Venus, a delightfully quirky and satisfyingly upbeat tale of our times. Clare would have been one of the writers in I'm Talking to You, the planned event by Nevertheless Pub Theatre for the Frome festival last year.  It hasn't been possible to revive this project for 2021but there's plenty of good stuff in the offing for the festival's return, with a Frome Poetry Cafe session in ECOS, the town's famous amphitheatre - look out for more details of a whole raft of other events coming soon. 

Still with words: this week has been a good one for me, with the conclusion of a poetic project - wonderful to reconnect zoomily with my Live & Lippy partner Hazel Stewart for this - and the start of a fiction-related one. Partial release from lock-down still feels strange, neither total freedom nor the seclusion that allowed us - me anyway - to indulge in private pastimes like jigsaws, painting, online games and reading.  Several irresistible books are still as yet unfinished: the brilliant Book of Trespass and Who Owns England now joined by The Assault on Truth, countered by the optimism of Human Kind, and the compelling, sad, funny, account of his journey to death & back by Michael Rosen: Many Different Kinds of Love.  For a daily dip into etymology there's Susie Dent's Word Perfect (word of the day today was guillotine, which despite its menacing connotations was actually introduced in 1792 with the aim of reducing the unnecessary suffering of botched-job sword and gallows executions.)  Final footnote: if you go to this website and paste in a paragraph of your own work, you receive a comparative analysis of your writing style. Apparently my fiction is like award-winning novelist David Foster Wallace, while my non-fiction is more Arthur C Clarke, noted for his sci-fi. I tried to catch it out with an obscure chunk of Salinger, but it wasn't fooled, so maybe there's something in it... 

Sprightly Shakespeare, semi-soft satire, & some songs

Let's begin with Shakespeare at the Tobacco Factory and Much Ado About Nothing - actually much ado about quite a lot, as the plot centres on trickery from trivial to utterly evil, and the happy-ending bounce-back wouldn't convince most marriage guidance counsellors. But it's considered one of the bard's best comedies, and this is a terrific production with fabulous visuals, unflagging energy and brilliant actors. The young couples are both delightful, and the parents of sweet victimised Hero, Christopher Bianchi and Alice Barclay, are mesmeric throughout. Designer Jean Chan's costumes and set decoration are splendid - I loved the fancy-dress celebration where Benedick is spurned by Beatrice while dressed as a ninja turtle - and the modern setting allows for masses of fun trivia, as well as (mis)use of mobile phones. Elizabeth Freestone's direction is not only exciting but emphasises nuances in the plot which soften the brutality of Claudio's revenge as it seems his crush on Hero may have been fast-forwarded into wedlock by his controlling C.O, leaving him more vulnerable to Don Jon's faking her infidelity. My only reservation about the director's laudable decision to balance genders on-stage is that the least successful roles are the wicked sibling and the head constable who are both re-envisaged as women. It's partly the bard's fault that the scene when the Watch report their arrest to Leonato is a bit weak, as he often allocates lines of risible obtuseness to the 'mechanicals' in a way which while popular in his era tends to feel uncomfortable nowadays, but Dogberry's casting wasn't helpful here. But overall this is a terrific show and the three hours whizz by, so do go if you can make it to Bristol before 9th November.   Images (Mark Duet) show Beatrice falling for the happy trick that leads her to love, and Claudio facing the consequences of the unhappy trick that seems, for a while, to have destroyed his.

A different kind of stage comedy now, as Jonny and the Baptists brought their current touring show to Merlin Theatre on Friday - it's called, for one night only, Love Frome, Hate Bastards. The last time I saw this talented anarchistic duo was in Salisbury with Eat The Poor which was political agitation from start to finish, but this is a softer, more private-feelings-focussed product. There are a few minor assaults on church & state but the emphasis is now on their families and their own relationship. The Edinburgh reviewer gave this the thumbs-up on the grounds that "Men are not traditionally good at telling their best mates the affection they feel for them, so the emotional openness here is touching" but I like my satire razor-edged so although Jonny began and ended their set "You’re either against capitalism or you’re for the end of the world," for me it was disappointingly blunt in the middle.  I blame The Telegraph, which derided their 2014 anti-UKIP show for expressing concern that someone 'terrifying and dangerous' might end up in power. "Perhaps the country is sleepwalking towards Farage-o-geddon. I doubt it." wrote Dominic Cavendish disdainfully, a scepticism that apparently wounded Jonny as he quoted it on stage. I wish he'd found more resilience: there are enough songs already about babies and bromance.

Music now: Newly founded by Paul Kirtley, the monthly Acoustic Club at Three Swans on Monday comprised a small but talented troupe of musicians including, as well as Paul himself, several impressive new acts - here's sensational trio Mountain Speaks Fire, performing Vin Callan's fabulous song February Fields. Saturday's highlight was a sensational set from Back of the Bus at the Cornerhouse - their version of Gotta Have Faith is fearsome - further enhanced by the full Raggedy talent line-up... Here's how Teenage Kicks looked in the atmospheric lighting - congratulations all (and apologies to the hidden cajon player.)

A hot week - scorching drama, blazing bands, solid sun

The Elephant Man at Bristol Old Vic is a Theatre School production directed by Lee Lyford with Jamie Beddard in the title role of Bernard Pomerance's 1977 play. Joseph Merrick, whose appearance led to the nickname of the title, became the pet project of the London Hospital from 1886 when he was discovered aged 27, until his death in 1890.  Jamie Beddard is unforgettable in this role: he has a way of transmitting extreme anguish silently with the impact of that howling mouth of Francis Bacon's painting Head VI.
Merrick appears at first as a fairground freak and Caitlin Abbott's clever set design evokes this aspect of intrinsic containment and objectified existence, whether in a tent or a hospital ward.  Medical diagrams, projected captions, and poignant cello playing live on stage enhance both the historical actuality and the emotional impact of a story of surprising complexity: the play combines the Heart is a Lonely Hunter theme of an outsider who becomes a mirror to the private struggles of those who connect with him, the viciousness and prurience within Victorian society,  and the existential arbitrariness of chance, whether lucky or unlucky.
There's an insightful moment when Merrick attempts to argue with his benefactors over the dismissal of a nurse for peeping at him through the curtains. They assure him it is for his comfort.  If all that stared at me were sacked there’d be whole towns out of work Merrick says lightly and then with real concern asks if the sacked workers' children will have to go to the workhouse. Even in the safety of the hospital, Merrick's status would have remained as rescued freak without the wonderful Mrs Kendal, leading light of the Victorian theatre, whose genuine friendship opened the doors for polite society to shower Merrick with gifts he couldn't use in a contest to be the most open-minded. But there's a limit to what's allowed this man, and this is reached in a memorable and moving scene.  Gráinne O'Mahony as Mrs Kendal is outstanding even in this excellent cast of young actors. It's on until 7 July - book before it's sold out! images: Mark Duet

Another towering central performance in an impressive production: Henry V at the Ustinov, a Shakespeare at the Tobacco Factory production directed by Elizabeth Freestone which takes a very modern look at a play mostly known for its Crispin-Crispian speech and vaguely associated with valour. Ben Hall, outstanding even in a mostly strong cast, creates a character pushed into the kingly role and making the violence permitted by power his new drug of choice. Certainly the historical king invaded France for no good reason and some of his battle tactics have been reappraised as war crimes: an American 'trial' in 2010 argued the mass slaughter of French prisoners breached medieval moral codes of conflict. The ruthless punishments delivered on Henry's orders are not only referenced but delivered on stage in this graphic and visceral production, in which brutality would have overshadowed the comic relief of the foot-soldiers but for the charisma of Chris Donnelly as reprobate Pistol and the versatile Melody Brown. Also superb is Heledd Gwynn's Katherine, feisty French princess whose ultimate union with the English king was perhaps intended by the bard as some kind of reconciliation scene: her response creates an unforgettable lingering moment, one of many directorial touches that make this a memorable production from the start.  Lily Arnold's set design inspired by modern warfare seemed to me slightly 'over-thinked', its multi-purpose manipulation distracting from the dream/nightmare-like atmosphere otherwise very effectively developed, but I did like the costumes - realistic enough to evoke personality but very slightly weird. It's an interesting time to be reviving a play with so many themes that chime in our own era - cross-Channel hostilities, nationalism, and the line between leadership and self-seeking aggression - and overall this is much too good for me to fail to recommend, but be aware it's not easy viewing. In Bath until 21 June and then the tour continues until November: I found two and a half hours gruelling, I can't imagine how the cast will feel after six months. images: Craig Fuller

Meanwhile in Frome... a snazzy launch party at the Merlin for Dave Merritt's production photographs, a new exhibition from Steven Jenkins (aka Hogweed), and a terrific night of music at the Sun Inn, all on Friday. Hot new-on-the-scene band Back of the Bus got the dancing going, followed by the wonderful  Raggedy Men's stonking set of Undertones, Stranglers, Clash and more...  turning the temperature up to sizzling. To cool down here's a swan family at Stourhead from a peaceful walk on Monday.

- oh, and the proof of my book arrived, so hopefully there will be copies for sale in the festival. Huge appreciation to my patient editor/publisher at Hobnob Press who waited for the delayed copy and then grabbed it and ran, metaphorically speaking, completing all the edits and design in a matter of days - he's made it all look wonderful. Cover image if you're wondering is the wonderful SATCO street theatre players completing the Great Ascent of Cheap Street in the 2012 festival.

And finally, for anyone missing the womanly touch in this post:
Filmed in 1949 on location in the isle of Eriskay in the Outer Hebrides, Whisky Galore was one of Ealing Comedy's most successful movies ever. It was taken from Compton Mackenzie's book of the same name, based on a news item from 1941 when the SS Politician, heading from Liverpool to the States, foundered on rocks and was discovered by locals to have a cargo of 262,000 bottles of whisky. The story of  unofficial salvage operations by excited islanders has both a Robin Hood charm and comedic aspects, as the night-raiding fisherman apparently wore their wives old dresses to avoid tell-tale stains on their clothes. This particular absurdity wasn't available to the 'Pallas Players' in the production currently at Salisbury Playhouse as, in homage to the post-war all-female Osiris Players, the actors are all women. Taking on thirty roles requires many hats and costume accessories to assist comprehension, especially as the islanders all speak extreme scots. Philip Goulding adapted the book into this stage version, which Kevin Shaw directed to emphasise the elements of farce on a simple but ingenious set by Patrick Connellan.

Vaulting ambitions, dramatically o'erleaping

Shakespeare at the Tobacco Factory is ending its 18th year of spring seasons with a production of Tartuffe. It's a suitable tale for our times: a self-promoting groper whose fakery pushes him to a powerful position (no golf-course in Scotland but he does dabble in time-share), Tartuffe is a ruthless rogue with no redeeming features ~ not even kindness to kittens. In this present-day version of Moliere's satire, it's a sentimental Tory minister he deludes, using a fake autobiography and phoney tantra postures. This is a single-strand plot: will evil Tartuffe’s ludicrous lying be recognised by obtuse pin-striped Charles before he loses his family and his home? The predictable resolution is satisfyingly achieved by great performances, tight direction from Andrew Hilton, and a wildly entertaining script composed entirely of jingling verse, as Andrew Hilton and Dominic Power have recreated Moliere's rhyming couplets in modern idiom. This leads to some clever pairings like 'dressed in lycra' with 'a wretch in a Nissan Micra' and is very effective for full & frank exchanges: 'You’re just a frigid snob!' - 'And you’re a knob.'  Talking in ten-syllable pentameter does inevitably impose constraints on characterisation, but the cast all find distinctive personalites too. The politician’s mother Dame Pamela (Tina Gray) is fooled like her son, but she departs early leaving Charles to a barrage of complaints of his protege’s idleness, debauchery, duplicity, and lechery from his entire family and the stroppy Polish maid - Anna Elijasz is superb in this role, holding the stage whenever she enters. Daisy May and Joel Macey, Charles’ understandably indignant children, are both delightful and Saskia Portway gives a strong performance as his wife whenever her headaches allow her onstage, while Alan Coveney possibly found his finest hour in awful Des Loyal the tabloid hack. Christopher Bianchi plays the pinstripe Tory straight, or as straight as you can when speaking in rollicking rhyme, though since mis-lit as a genre is notoriously hoax-laden and met its backlash a decade ago, the mystery of how he fell under the spell of Mark Meadows' charmless charlatan remains unsolved.
Andrew Hilton is stepping down from his role as Artistic Director of STF so that’s another reason to go to see this great final show from the man who brought Shakespeare to the Tobacco Factory in 1999 and has enlivened every spring season since with two superb productions of classic plays.  STF will be back next year, but a new steerage, and in the autumn. images Craig Fuller  

Meanwhile in Bath there's a very different drama at the Ustinov Studio, though one also involving ego and ambition. The Mentor by Daniel Kehlemann, translated by Christopher Hampton, is the second German play in their European Season, and with an Academy Award winner in the title role plus direction by Laurence Boswell you'd expect this production to be a bit special. And you'd be right. It's 90 minutes of pure gold, never flagging for a moment and I wish I could say more about the action but I can't without spoilers so you really should go and see it. Writers are always fascinated by the topic of writing & as I'm currently mentoring that was another reason to appreciate the cleverly constructed script, and all of the five actors are outstanding. F Murray Abraham as Benjamin Rubin, the jaundiced mentor, is mesmeric ~ garrulous and wily one moment, witty and charming the next, then deeply moving as he recalls the 'savage melancholy' of his younger days. The three whose lives will never be the same after this seismic encounter are all superb: Daniel Weymann is the young literary lion, Gina Wegner his wife, and Erwin Rudicek the administrator at the venue of their sponsored encounter. Polly Sullivan's set is fabulous, with arty furniture and a tree whose falling blossom seems somehow to make more poignant the fragility of hope and reputation. Seriously, don't miss this one... images Simon Annand
 

All's Well in a busy week

Does the end justify the means? The notion has been debated for centuries by different example but probably none so bizarre as Shakespeare chose for All's Well That Ends Well, currently performed by Bristol's incomparable Shakespeare at the Tobacco Factory.

This is considered one of Shakespeare's 'problem' plays – not for anti-semeticism as in Venice or domestic abuse like in Padua, but because the heroine uses tricks to get her man, first winning him like a fairground teddy by curing the king and then, when he runs away to war after the wedding, pulling the 'bed-trick' by switching places with his new amour - initiatives which though successful were not regarded as genteel. A further problem is that the object of her affections is the most unappealing hero the bard ever created -snobbish, chauvinist, and petulant. Caliban had more redeeming features. None of which stops the current SATTF production at the Tobacco Factory from being massively enjoyable.

Theatre-in-the-round is an ideal format for a tale unfolded in cameo moments across different locations, and Andrew Hilton's incisive direction brings clarity to complexity. His team of actors are all superb: Eleanor Yates is totally endearing as feisty Helena and Julia Hills marvellous as the Countess who loves her as a daughter. The other plot strand, the comic buffoon brought low, is wonderfully funny despite (as with the Malvolio story) the bullying involved, as Alan Coveney convinces a blindfolded Paul Currier he has been captured by enemy forces. Chris Bianchi as the king and Marc Geoffrey as the little dancing teacher are brilliant. Production shots show the effective 19th Century costumes but can't convey the energy and humour of this terrific production, on till April 30th, highly recommended. (images Mark Duet)

Meanwhile elsewhere the lowest boughs of the elm tree are in tiny leaf, which would have stirred Robert Browning to homesick excitement, and Frome had a delightful Willow Festival in Rodden Meadow with all ages contentedly practising withy skills beside the river.
The Independent market returned in sunshine from an extended winter break after December's gridlocked event. Happily this Sunday there was more space, especially welcome for the artisan food stalls in Stony Street and the craft on Catherine Hill. Once again great acts on the Busking Stage - here's September Son. And as another reason to spend all weekend in town, the Frome Art Fair across three venues ~ Rook Lane, Silk Mill & the Round House ~ displayed the amazing diversity and talent of so many local artists, like Kate Cochrane who's also had a painting selected for the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours Exhibition.

Frome Writers' Collective's monthly meeting in the rather gothic upper room at the Three Swans this week featured a talk from Alison Clink on pitfalls and perils of self-publishing. Based on her own experience with The Man Who Didn't Go To Newcastle, this was informative, entertaining, and also encouraging.  Around half of the 70-strong membership were attracted by this theme and many had experience to share afterwards. FWC, like the artists' groups, is a great example of the value of networking, in my view the main reason Frome is so vibrant and creative a community. I'll end with another example: our local radio station, Frome FM, which is about to launch a season of script readings from productions by Nevertheless - if you scroll down to the player you can listen online here.