The Ballad of the Bournville (c) Liz Milner

The Ballad of the Bournville – down but not out!

Just as we thought the tinsel was in the attic for another year and the last mince pie had been eaten – the Ghosts of Christmas past finally arrived to jangle their musical chains on the Bournville Estate in Weston super Mare. Western Mercury caught up with the cast on a chilly January afternoon and the show, written and performed by Bournville residents and funded by BBC Performing Arts Fund, drew an appreciative crowd. Elaine Dedicoat echoed the thoughts of everyone: “Am so proud of James he was amazing yesterday. All the young people were fantastic and the adults weren’t bad either”. The show was originally scheduled for Christmas week, but alas, a virulent bug beat Santa’s sleigh to the finish, banishing cast and crew alike to their beds with a not so festive bout of sickness.  See photos on Flickr.

A set of wonderful photographic portraits of BoCo members,  created by Carl Newland has been on display over Christmas at the Weston Playhouse. Check out the images here.

Next up for the company are two exciting possibilities. The first is a filmed version of Just a Few Quid with Homespun films   – the company that brought you Taking the Biscuit  in 2011 – exploring the local scourge of loansharking and is generously supported by Alliance Homes and The Illegal Money Lending Team.  We need Just a Few Quid before we start filming!

Secondly we are planning a training programme with the group that looks into the serious business of entertainment: the collaborations, negotations, budgeting, contracting, fundraising and, above all, the creating. Theatre Orchard Project is applying for a grant to enable us to run this professional course to take BoCo to the next level of operation during 2012.

Phew, the tinsel is in the attic for another year and you’ve just eaten that last mince pie.  Well – hold on – there’s one final bite of Festive fayre to come, as Ghosts of Christmas past come to jangle their musical chains on the Bournville Estate in Weston super Mare this January.  The show, funded by BBC Performing Arts Fund, was originally scheduled for Christmas week.  Alas, a virulent bug beat Santa’s sleigh to the finish, banishing cast and crew alike to their beds with a not so festive present of a bout of sickness!

So please come along on 21st January and support your local community theatre group who return to the stage undeterred, to whisk you on a time travelling (and ever so slightly Christmassy) trip through past lives of the Bournville Estate.  Expect music, drama, tears and laughter….. in fact, expect the unexpected (with bells on!).

The cast of adults and children from Bournville Community Theatre Company have devised the play from scratch in conjunction with professional theatre practitioners Angela Athay Hunt (Director), Elizabeth Purnell (Musical Director) and Sarah Warren (Designer).  The theatre group is open to any newcomers, so why not make those new year resolutions a reality and try something new!  Enquiries to boco@live.co.uk
Director Angela Athay Hunt comments “This bunch of actors are role models for the whole community – they have come on leaps and bounds in the last year and have such fun together on stage.  Their confidence is infectious.  Huge thanks to the BBC Performing Arts Fund for making this project possible.”

All press enquiries to Fiona Matthews Fiona_matthews@blueyonder.co.uk
07757 711 783 http://www.theatreorchard.org.uk/

Yes, following the success of Fairymonsterghost in June this year (hard to believe that there was sunny weather back then as the hail crashes against my office window this afternoon!) we are already planning our half term tour with this family friendly show that explores the natural state as personified by ‘Memmie Le Blanc’,  a feral child. This is a story that upturns all our usual expectations about the relationship between a parent and a child. It also raises fascinating questions about the rights of the child and the meaning of civilisation.

WILD GIRL is performed by two actors and is designed for daylight settings, ie school halls, community spaces and outdoor settings and it is presented as a show and workshop combo lasting an hour and a half in total. We are now inviting expressions of interest from venues (some of which have already been received – thanks for that) and a tour schedule will be created dependent on the interest.

Provisional dates Half Term 2012 – 6th – 10th June, (although we will happily consider adding community shows alongside the school touring schedule if necessary). Costs of the tour will need to be underwritten by venues, or additional funding sought for those that have limited finances. And we are happy to chat about ways to get the money together. Print publicity plus press support will be available of course to venues nearer the time.

Theatre Orchard is also investigating the possibility of running community staging or seating construction workshops in partnership with Tangentfield with interested venues. Additional funding support would need to be secured for this element of the tour, but if anyone is keen and has money we will happily have a chat about the way this could work.

Any information regarding Theatre Orchard Project’s rural touring plans, please contact beckytheatreorchardproject@gmail.com

Made possible with an award from the BBC Performing Arts Fund in partnership with Theatre Orchard Project, be sure to catch the first drum roll of this irresistible musical at the Bournville’s Bandstand on Wednesday 21st December, 4.30pm. Told through the eyes of a disenchanted boy, the festive story will take us on an illuminating trip through time, with a generous sprinkling of magic bestowed on one and all by a very enigmatic cleaner and a smattering of poetry from Mr Shakespeare himself!  As with all good Christmas stories, the triumphant human spirit shines through, but, Be Prepared, along the way to that Happy Ever After, the Merry sometimes bumps up against the not quite so Merry and we uncover some ghosts of Bournville, past, present and future.

The cast of adults and children from Bournville Community Theatre Company have devised the play from scratch working with professional artists from Theatre Orchard Project including Angie Athay Hunt (Director), Liz Purnell (Musical Director) and Sarah Warren (Designer): Come and see our Ballad of the Bournville.  It’s full of drums, bells, singing and acting, and I love it says Mary Bardsley, age 10. “You’ll find out things about the Bournville you never knew – we’ve been underwater, hit by a tsunami, bombed by the blitz …. yet here we are still, all singing and dancing together.  That’s the real Christmas spirit isn’t it?  Oh, and you might get a free glass of fizz and mince pie too…. go on, join our Christmas celebration – you’ll definitely leave smiling!” says Vickie Bardsley, aged eternally 18, Mary’s mum. Director Angie adds “This bunch of actors are role models for the whole community – they have come on leaps and bounds in the last year and have have such fun together on stage, their confidence is infectious!” For more information on Bournville Community Theatre Company and for membership enquiries contact boco@live.co.uk.  All are welcome.

young boy, who has lost all faith in his family and in his environment. His sudden meeting with a mysterious and humorous cleaner sparks a surprising adventure of rediscovery.

Using original music, song, scripted and devised text as well as a sprinkling of Shakespeare, the Ballad of the Bournville promenades through the HLC and offers a timely reminder of our resilience and humanity at this festive time of year.

Angie Athay-Hunt (Director); Liz Purnell (Musical Director) Sarah Warren (Designer); Alice Mashier (Asst Director); Members of BoCo Bournville Community Theatre Company

Funded by BBC Performing Arts Fund

Adam Peck, Rina Vergano, Emma Callander and Tom Wainwright during the research and Development process for Bitter Tales in Coopers Loft at The Bristol Old Vic.

We heard about the ‘pot houses’ illegal drinking houses that were run mostly by women in the town, the rivalry that still exists between Shire Hampton and Pill from the days before the M5 bridge was built and the ferry ran between the two villages, about how the infectious diseases hospital used to be on a ship in the Avon before being transferred onto land, of Methodist John Wesley being pushed into a puddle by the towns people – his response ” Pill, a place famous from generation to generation, even as Kingswood itself, for stupid, brutal, abandoned wickedness” about the sailing pilots that inhabited the town for so many years.

As the sun broke through the clouds it was off to Bill’s Lake. What a magical place. Bill’s Dad one the place in a game of spoof in Barnstaple back in the day and sold it onto his son! After bringing up four kids alone on his income as a dustman he has decided to slow things down and spend most of his time down at the lake now. He has folk come down to fish for a small

charge. Stories of the Gray Lady ghost, the pranks he’s played on visitors and the size of the fish in the depths of the a lake kept us captivated for hours. It felt like being in an alternate universe. What a gift!

Off to Clevedon for a bowl of cheesy chips in the Moon and Sixpence then to Salsa a the Hand Stadium. A surreal experience, of disco lights in a concrete block in the middle of nowhere, but the joy that filled the room was lovely, especially when the teacher pulled the ‘Ghetto Fabulous’ move!

After a gorgeous feed at Rina and Olly’s a final drink at the Barn (where the halloween decor is like no other you will have ever experienced guaranteed!) it was off to bed to dream of Pill soundtracked by the legendary Adge Cutler… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9rZdEXRqt8&feature=related

I arrived by car, passing the oversized Esso garage and the much talked-about Tescos and parked in the free car park that might not be free for much longer. (Waitrose are talking about buying the car park, but if they are unable to do this and the council keep hold of it they will begin to charge to park  - locals are worried that will mean shoppers will come to the shop they came to go to and not hang around to peruse the other shops because of the cost of the parking).

I wandered around, trying to get a feel for the place, for the high street. Quiet. Calm. Almost too calm, like something was about to happen – a storm perhaps…. but it didn’t. “Nothing happens in Nailsea” said one teenager I started chatting to. “It’s boring”. “It’s bollocks” said his friend.

I interviewed the local estate agent who was more than happy to chat – he was a partner in the business, didn’t really like Nailsea, wasn’t very busy and looked quite pleased that the mundanity had been broken for the best part of an hour. “It’s mostly young families and old people who live here. Saying that there aren’t many bungalows so it can be difficult for people when they get that bit older.” It’s built on a flood plain too he told me, so building is pretty much ring-fenced by the geography of the area. That pushes prices up apparently. Also, the fact that Nailsea is conveniently placed in relation to Bristol, as well as being on the crossroads of the M4 and M5 also make it a desirable location to live if people want somewhere quite big and/or can’t afford to live in the place where they work, mainly Bristol, Cardiff, Exeter, even as far as London.

I took a few photos of the shop frontages – most of which are one of three businesses: charity shops, hairdressers, or estate agents. I counted five places to have a hair-do in a 200 yard strip of the high street. (Must be a lot of hairy people around here I thought!) (Or a lot of people with scissor-skills sat reading magazines for the best part of the day).

As I took photos I realised that i was being watched. By a gaggle of women from Reflections – a hairdressers obviously – who were wondering what this young fellow with a new iPhone  was doing taking pictures on the high street. A developer? A journalist? Up to no good no doubt. To allay their fears I approached the shop, at which point they all disappeared inside again, looking sheepish and giggling to one another as I entered through the front door. “What you doing taking pictures of the salon” asked one. When I explained relieved sighs were audible, and smiles forthcoming. Nailsea hasn’t got a night-life according to these 16-31 year olds. You’ve got to go to Bristol. And that’ll cost you £20 to get there and £45 to get back. An expensive night out in anyone’s book.

As I headed back for the car I bumped into five teenagers who were waiting for one of their mums to drop them some money for chips. They were going to head up to the skate park by Tesco’s after, because it was a school night. If it was Friday or Saturday “we’d go down the Golden Valley – the GV we call it – and get drunk.” What’s the GV I asked. It’s a field basically with some woods next to it. We get off with each other and muck about. It’s safe enough and our parents know where we are”.

If you could change one thing about Nailsea what would it be I asked. They were silent. They thought. And then they said they didn’t know. “It’s alright as it is” they concurred. “Maybe a cinema”. “Maybe some decent shops, like what Bristol’s got – a Primark and a H&M”. “It’s a bit boring and I’ll leave when I can, said one 14 year old girl, “but i’ll probably come back when I’m older – it’s a good place to grow up. I’ll bring my kids up here if I can.”

We hightailed off to meet Farmer Jeff, horse whisperer and beef breeder. What an amazing bloke… so… just bloody lovely and so open. I felt choked up when he said that he feels like a reincarnation of old Nez Perce native american indians who bred the same spotty horses that he breeds. He’s known he wanted to be a farmer since he was 3 years old, he said. He is surrounded by animals all the time – a pack of dogs of various sizes and ages who just flow around his legs everywhere he goes (including a 3 legged dog who pees by doing a front paw-stand, you have to see it to believe it), lots of bleating tiny lambs that we fed from bottles, cows with calves, sheep and about 100 horses. We were a little nervous around the horses : “Try not to get in between the stallion and any of the mares, he gets a bit frisky”, and frisky he certainly was. An amazing visit, it’s worth doing this R&D just to have met him…
Then on to the Blue Flame pub, via Old Noggins Fish Bar. We are starving but this is good fast food and Adam’s car now smells like a chippy (“don’t wipe your greasy fingers on my jacket, Wayne”). Blue Flame is like Steptoe & Son junk emporium, it’s actually a house that’s been turned into a pub and we’re sitting in what was the front parlour. Stuffed badger and owl, old lino in archeological layers going back into the past, orange cider… marvellous. We meet local roofer, TS, a jack the lad who’s unlucky in love. He tells some cracking tales of meeting and marrying his ex-wife and how it was all downhill from his wedding night on because she was a woman who wanted her own way unconditionally at all times.
The team is slightly on blink by now having soaked up so much info this week, me I’m just a tourist. Lovely stuff, looking forward to unpicking all this local knowledge and knitting it into a horse blanket week after next.
Rina x

The thing that has struck me as a motif is ‘keys’ – throwing defunct keys into a jar on the bar…. the keys to the pub that is closing down, the keys to the youth centre that is all dressed up with nowhere to go, keys perhaps thrown in optimistically from the thrill seeking Salsa addict (well if there’s nothing else to do in a village, debauchery becomes a viable option. I bet there was a bit of key swopping amidst the Bucks and Cox families in Pill in times gone by, appropriately named too). The link between disappearing services and moral decline, could be explored from a number of serious and amusing angles.
Fiona x