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 The
Argosy Players in: Thunder in Arden by Bill Brookes (Staff)
Staged: 08 to 10 December 1955 at Crane Theatre Hanover
Street Liverpool
“Worn-out cliches, schoolboy expressions and banal
remarks” – Oh dear, have we arrived at the
wrong play? Is this how Martins Bank magazine reacts to the Argosy players’
World Premiere of “Thunder in Arden” by Bill Brookes? Well, yes actually it is, and it seems they
don’t hold back in their exacting critique of this new play! For starters, it
seems to be a complicated affair to have ELEVEN people on stage at once, but surely
in the hands of one as experienced as Bill Brookes, there must be something
of quality to remark upon? The cast are praised for essentially “making the
best” of things, but despite this faint praise, and one or two constructive
comments, the reviewer makes it plain that new plays need to be tried out a
little more than this one has! Redeeming himself slightly, Mr Ellis – editor
of Martins Bank Magazine – who is no mean author himself, ends by thanking
all concerned for a “delightful” entertainment, which was also a happy
production for all concerned. Phew!
Dear visitor, you may now read on, with caution…
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Valerie Parish. Jean Boothman, Eric Wylie. Maureen Dempster,
Brian Isaacson, W. Brookes, Marlis
Harvey, Marshall Hesketh, Kathleen Horsburgh, Peter Kennerley,
Brenda Aked.
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 For their
Autumn 1955 show the Argosy Players gave the world premiere to a play by one
of their own members, none other than our own Bill Brookes, and his Thunder
in Arden was produced at the Crane Theatre for three nights, December 8th,
9th and 10th, by Sydney N. Rimmer. It is a considerable achievement to
write a play, and a still more considerable achievement to have it
produced, and we greatly admire the manner in which every member of the
company backed up the author and did everything possible to make a success
of the production. They were a grand team, both those on the stage and those
behind it, and the spirit shown was excellent throughout. As a writer (sort
of) myself, however. I feel it my duty to the author of this play and to
the Argosy Players to say that a new play should not be allowed to achieve
production until certain obvious blemishes have been removed.
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Eric Wylie, Sydney Rimmer and Bill Brookes
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Brenda Aked, Kathleen Horsburgh, Jean
Boothman and Bill Brookes
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Worn-out cliches, schoolboy expressions and banal
remarks occurred frequently in the dialogue which was much too wordy and
explanatory; too much talk and too little business and the real point of
the play—that the old grandfather had been forging the documents the
discovery of which was the cause of the whole action of the play (the
documents set out to establish that Shakespeare was not born in Stratford
at all. in the hope that there would be a consequent shifting of the
lucrative interest)—came so quietly and went so quickly that one felt the
need of an adequate and dramatic build-up to this ultimate revelation. With
regard to the actors, there was a large company of seasoned amateurs mixed
with comparative beginners. Jean Boothman portrayed the inconsequential
mother and threw herself into the part with tremendous /est. but the
high-pitched note on which she spoke her lines must have been as exhausting
to her as it was trying to the audience. Eric Wylie as the butler made the
fullest possible use of his opportunities, which were many, and played his
part with the easy assurance of the experienced actor. Brenda Aked. one of
the beginners, has the inestimable advantage of a good deportment and
contrived to look as pleasing and highly decorative as it was possible to
be and to say her lines with conviction and clarity; a commendable
performance. In some ways Maureen Dempster’s portrayal of the talkative
maid was the best bit of real acting as distinct from burlesquing in the
play. It was only a vignette of a part, but it was perfectly played.
Valerie Parish gave an extremely competent performance as the overbearing
mother of a son who was a perfect foil for her barbed shafts. This
completely inane type was played by Peter Kennerley, aided by an excellent
R.A.F. moustache, and the result was like something out of P. G. Wodehouse,
and brought its share of the laughs, though the scene in which he had to be
knocked unconscious by grandpa was not very convincing. The newspaper
reporter who makes the great “discovery” on which the play is based was played by Marshall Hesketh. He
was as good as he possibly could be but we felt that the wordy and
explanatory nature of his lines prevented him from measuring up to the
demands of an exacting and vital part. In the case of his attractive
opposite number, played by Marlis Harvey, we felt that the script did not
give her adequate opportunity for anything except visual acting. Sydney
Rimmer as the hunting carl, home from safari, as usual commanded the stage
and held it effectively on each and every appearance. and the author himself took the part of the naughty old
man, creating mirth in all the different situations he had devised for
himself. It was a happy production for everyone and not least for the
players themselves and Bill Brookes deserves the congratulations and thanks
of everyone for a very pleasant entertainment.
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