Phil Lowe. Actor and Writer

A Christmas Carol catch up with reviews

2012-02-08T04:24:00.000-08:00

These are an article and two reviews that recently got published in the Lace Market Theatre's journal, The Boards. For those who are interested and don't have a chance to read the paper document here they are online.

Taking ‘A Christmas Carol’ to Germany and back, by Phil Lowe.

Where do I begin? Well, I was certainly shown great hospitality from my hosts Gerd and Herrlich Lehrmann and their friendly dog Frickr and got a very warm reception at the Jakobus theatre from Markus, Carsten, Manfred and all my other friends there. Everything possible was done to make my stay and my performances as comfortable and easy as possible and I had a thoroughly good time. The dramatic readings had been very well advertised in the local papers and arts magazines too.

Alright, the weather was a tad inclement, raining nonstop for two days out of the three, but there ain't a lot one can do about that. The last day (Thursday) cleared up and I was able to be a tourist in the beautiful city of Karlsruhe without getting soaked to the skin. There were plenty of opportunities for chilling out and taking a host of festive photos and enjoying some mulled wine, coffee and warm apfelstrüdel and cream in a steamy café or two.

My friend Thorsten Feldman came to the first performance on Tuesday night and we met up on the Wednesday and enjoyed each other's company at the Christmas Fair over a glass of mulled wine: dining later at a student pub: and further, viewing the damp sights around central Karlsruhe in a downpour. I also went to the Theater "Die Käuze" with Thorsten and saw the fantastic set they had built for a production of Snow White or Schneewittchen und die sieben Zwerge.

Having a passion for discovering new food experiences I managed to find a fair few foodie joints to nose around and learnt some new names in German for the specialities on offer. I'm sure one exists, but I never got round to finding an indoors market to investigate. It seemed though, that on every street corner and sometimes one or two in between there was another Apotheke (a chemist). I have never seen so many in one city!

On Thursday I spent some time during the lunch period in * Café Bleu with a well deserved beer and also ate there later that same evening with Andrea, Gerd, and Herrlich. Lena Maia from the Jakobus theatre made a surprise visit to say 'hello' and it was nice to see her too since their theatre's visit to Nottingham. I feel that I have some real good friends in Karlsruhe formed through the twinning events that we all enjoy and, hopefully, I look forward to another visit with the Lace Market Theatre next May. Maybe, the weather will be better and warmer in the Springtime!

Regarding the performances, I enjoyed them both and enjoyed employing some subtle physical actions to enhance the verbal storytelling. Both the audiences were very attentive considering that the English was very flowery and Dickensian. I felt the idea of playing the music of Personent Hodie and creeping on as the Storyteller rather than just walking to the lectern really worked.

The bigger process of organising the events had been going on since August 2011, including making my own costume. From a performer’s point of view, even though I had been totally been re-writing the script and adding in some authentic German, the production was still a growing piece even as I actually performed it at the Jakobus theatre each night. That added to the excitement of the creative process and kept it alive for me and the audiences.

This development continued as I performed ‘A Christmas Carol’ for a final time this year at the Lace Market Theatre in Nottingham on the evening of Sunday 11^th of December. Back home I had to adjust again to a new staging and lighting style and edit out all the German. Over forty people attended the performance at the Lace Market and Mr Alan Geary was generous in his review. I would like to progress in this style of story-telling and see where it takes me professionally. I already have plans to approach the Nottingham Playhouse for next December as well as the Waterstone’s Bookshop in Nottingham.

Phil Lowe.

*For anyone who has been on the twinning events in Karlsruhe, the lovely Café Bleu opposite the Jakobus theatre has a special place in their hearts. I imagine that the Trip to Jerusalem will have a similar magic for the Germans when they visit us in Nottingham.

A Christmas Carol

Lace Market Theatre

December 11^th 2011

One –man show pays homage to Dickensian delivery.

Phil Lowe’s successful rendering of this Dickens’ classic is a development on the highly successful full-play version he presented three years back.

It is admirable that Lowe doesn’t attempt to usurp the author. This is an homage to the writer; a demonstration of his greatness. And it isn’t a play of the sort with one actor who keeps changing hats – that might have been an embarrassing error.

Rather, it’s an entirely engaging dramatic reading, the kind of show that Dickens himself took on the road. At the start, as soon has some jaunty carol music has faded, Lowe enters from the audience, goes straight to the lectern and gets down to business.

The narrative is beautifully spoken, of course. But Lowe also does the characters well, particularly the grotesques. And he evokes the colours the smells and the emotions. He brilliantly brings out the unfailing emotional tug of the story – Tiny Tim is as annoying as ever, but that’s always the price you pay for Dickens.

Storytelling is, alas, no longer a central part of our culture, but on the strength of this piece of work, it should be.

Alan Geary

Nottingham Post.

Second review.

The choir sings with purity and clarity as a bent up, decrepit looking figure makes its way to a lectern, divesting itself of its winter clothes and metamorphosing itself into an impish, spryer figure with a twinkle in his eye to begin to tell us a well known tale.

Though the story was familiar, some of the smaller details surprised me, such as the use of ribbons by the Cratchits to brighten up everyday clothes, and the cage like support around Tiny Tim’s lame leg (something I don’t remember seeing in any adaptations of the story, though I may be wrong.)

Phil Lowe’s dynamic rendition of the story, and Dickens’ own words, enabled the audience’s imagination to form rich and intricate pictures rivalling anything seen in the cinema. He kept our attention throughout the telling of the story as we eagerly awaited each and every word. His vocal acrobatics allowed each character to be distinguished from each other. The intensity of his performance both emotional and dramatic, was reminiscent of Steven Berkoff’s one man performance of Edgar Allen Poe’s, The Tell Tale Heart.

Having missed this show the first time round, but having seen and liked the ensemble version that that performance led to, I was curious to see this version. I was not disappointed.

Neil Duckmanton.

For further reading on this subject click on to any of the links below.

http://mugofstrongtea.blogspot.com/2011/08/christmas-thoughts-of-performing-in.html

http://mugofstrongtea.blogspot.com/2011/10/if-you-go-down-to-cemetery-today.html

http://mugofstrongtea.blogspot.com/2011/08/perculiar-yet-creaive-day.html

http://mugofstrongtea.blogspot.com/2011/11/not-long-now.html

http://mugofstrongtea.blogspot.com/2011/12/christmas-carol-in-nottingham-final.html

A Christmas Carol -One Man show

2012-02-01T10:59:00.000-08:00

Back in December 2011 I performed a one man show of A Christmas Carol in Karlsruhe Germany (two nights) and at the Lace Market Theatre in Nottingham. The German show was advertised on the Jakobus Theatre website as:

A dramatic reading by Phil Lowe

Gastspiel in englischer Sprache, geeignet ab 6 Jahren

Phil Lowe from the Lace Market Theatre in Nottingham will be performing his acclaimed One Man Show of Charles Dickens "A Christmas Carol" at the Jakobus theatre in Karlsruhe. The show - a dramatic reading - will be performed mostly in English and it promises to be a thrilling evening at the theatre.
Phil plays all twenty five characters and is looking forward to visiting Karlsruhe and re-uniting with some of his German friends.
The performances are at 8pm on 6th and 7th of December.
NOT suitable for children under six years old.

Unter den Weihnachtsgeschichten ist sie der absolute Klassiker: "A Christmas Carol" von Charles Dickens (zu Deutsch schlicht "Eine Weihnachtsgeschichte"). Am 19. Dezember 1843 erschien erstmals dieser Text, mit dem Dickens auf die bittere Not der Armen hinweisen wollte. Auch heute noch sind die zentralen Themen von Dickens Geschichte wie Armut, Ungerechtigkeit, Profitgier aber auch die Notwendigkeit von Familie und Freundschaft sowie das Verständnis und das Mitgefühl für Andere von Bedeutung und treten gerade in der Weihnachtszeit verstärkt in unser Bewusstsein. Nicht zuletzt ist diese Geschichte von Charles Dickens eine der meistgelesenen und bekanntesten weltweit. Dafür sprechen auch die unzähligen Verfilmungen und Adaptionen. Sie beinhaltet christliche und gesellschaftliche Grundwerte und hat seit ihrer Entstehung an Aktualität nichts eingebüßt.

Missing the theatre

2011-07-19T01:56:00.000-07:00

Since the last blog post way back when in December 2010 I have been busy at my new workplace and have had no real time for being involved with plays or even going to plays or the cinema for that matter. Well, as they say, all work and no play makes Phil a dull boy.

The last few months (June and July) have seen me making an effort to go to the theatre more often and of late I went to see a very good production of Into the Woods at the Lakeside theatre at Nottingham University. The standard was very high and a lot of my friends were in it from The Lace Market Theatre and it was directed by Martin Berry who directed my production of A Christmas Carol a few years ago. I also went to the Nottingham playhouse to see Eve Loiseau singing songs by Edith Piaf. Again, another great night out.

Inspired by my experiences as an audience member I have recently re-joined the Lace Market Theatre and hope to get involved in a production of Hedda Gabler which starts in May 2012 and tours to Germany as part of the twinning arrangement we have with two amateur theatres in the city of Karlsruhe.

latest news

2010-12-28T08:54:00.000-08:00

On the creative front I am still very active but after accepting employment from Tesco (I left the cafe job) in October this year I have no time for any acting or theatre work. To be honest I am happy in what I'm doing at Tesco and my other blog writing at http://mugofstrongtea.blogspot.com and photography keep my creative juices flowing.

Puck's speech from A Midsummer Night's Dream

2010-09-05T03:31:00.000-07:00

I played nutty Puck back in the 1980s for Derby Shakespeare Company so this rehearsed reading brings back a lot of fond memories. The script was written on the computer screen when I did this recording hence the sideways looks. :0)

Rehearsed reading from plays.

2010-09-02T05:38:00.000-07:00

I don't have any time at the moment to be involved with any theatre projects or plays but I have been thinking about how much I miss performing. Therefore I have made several short videos of rehearsed readings from plays that I have performed in or would like to do in the future. I shall be putting them all up individually over the next couple of weeks. I hope that you enjoy them.

present news

2010-07-15T10:17:00.000-07:00

I took a job in June which meant that I have been out of action blogwise for a month and I put a hold on any acting work and for a while curtailed any writing. By my own choice I am no longer in that position so life is slowly returning to normality for me. I'm back to looking for work but I have two things on the horizon so looking positive.

I have had some writing accepted and published regularly each Saturday in the Derby Evening Telegraph so that's been another achievement for my writing portfolio. I am going to try and get some more paid work with my writing and am not sure what I am doing regarding any acting auditions presently.

The other day I found a book called Screw Work. Let's Play. I am three quarters through it and finding it most inspiring.

Camille O'Sullivan

2010-05-15T04:18:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I went over to the city of Norwich for a long weekend break and quite by chance managed to catch the wonderful Irish singer Camille O'Sullivan in action at the Norwich Theatre Royal as part of their Arts Fest. I have been wanting to see her perform live for ages and whenever she has previously appeared at Nottingham Playhouse she has sold out.

Check out her other vids on Youtube and you will be as hooked as I am now.

My video was runner up in a competition! Yay!

2010-05-06T03:14:00.000-07:00

I am delighted to tell you that my Play it Again Sam video came second in the Broadway Cinema Screenlit competition.

Here's a link to see the four winners. http://screenlit.co.uk/competition

DVD heaven

2010-04-18T03:14:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure what it is about foreign language films that I like but when I go to the Fopp media store in Nottingham or FNAC in France I just can't help myself being magnetically pulled to the display to see if anything floats my bateau.. I think it all started with visits to the old Metro arts cinema in Derby when I was a twenty year old and on going. I think that the films often have a style of their own visually and story wise that appeals to the artist-writer and traveller in me. These days I am often found at the Broadway cinema in Nottingham where I can enjoy such films with other people and I have a moveable feast of foreign dvds at home to enjoy. Plus, I subscribe to Love Film and get my fix of various titles that I can't afford to buy through that postal system.

Some people aren't keen on sub-titles but I certainly prefer them to the awful dubbed films of the 1970s and 1980s.

The World Cinema display at Fopp.

Parody of Woody Allen in Play it again Sam.

2010-04-15T04:12:00.000-07:00

I love playing in comedies and a few years ago I performed as Alan Felix in Woody Allen's play 'Play it again Sam'. This morning I made this short movie for a competition. It is a parody of the scene at the beginning of the play where Woody's character has just finished watching Casablanca and is depressed because his wife has left him and he can't get a date. He idolises Humphrey Bogart and the ghost of Bogie comes to offer him advice.

Three years in arty heaven. 1989-1992

2010-04-13T01:46:00.000-07:00

My choice to study for the Creative Arts BA (hons) degree was made as a mature student and I was granted a place after two interviews covering performance and the visual arts at Nottingham Polytechnic, now Nottingham Trent University. I based my answers on the experience I had gained as an actor in amateur theatre and my love of photography, creative writing and experimental art works. Remember I had come from a working class background and spent most of my working life as a butcher and had no formal qualifications when I entered the life of a university student. It was a whole new and exciting world in the world of BACA.

The course started over at the Clifton Campus and moved to the city centre in my third year.

The students on the course gained experience and tutoring in various disciplines including performance, sound, music, visual art, sculpture, installation work and performance art. The skills of documentation through writing and other media were highly encouraged throughout the three year course as well as working with other students from other academic years. Emphasis was placed on the production of interdisciplinary or hybrid work in order for the students to acquire cross-disciplinary skills during the studies and to broaden the individual’s artistic outlook.

Although the course was structured in an academic form with dissertations and graded expectations the focus was on self development as an artist and working with visiting practitioners such as Neil Bartlett as well as seeking placement opportunities in the final year. The second year provided an opportunity to travel abroad to study art for a short period and whilst I studied I travelled to Berlin, Paris, Moscow and Leningrad to develop my skills and to gain influences for my self –penned performance pieces. Throughout the whole course I worked with students from other creative disciplines on performance pieces and art projects and we were all encouraged to be critical in an academic sense. There was also a strong emphasis on developing a structured opinion on one’s own projects and on those we visited at galleries, theatres and found spaces.

Jazz breakfast at The Old Angel pub in Nottingham.

On Sunday mornings I was often found at the Old Angel pub in Hockley for their lovely filling Jazz breakfast - a big fry up, a hot coffee and some hot jazz. Fond memories.

I was involved in many performance pieces during my time at the University and helped to write and devise many of them. It would take a long time to write about each performance piece individually so I am going to make a list which is by no means exclusive or indeed chronological.

Home: collaborative writer and performer

Friend or Foe: collaborative writer and performer

The Palm Wine drunkard. Collaborative devisor and performer.

Mountain Language: Pinter. Performer.

The Nonsense of Mr Lear: collaborative writer and performer as Edward Lear.

Beowulf: played Beowulf in Nottingham Fringe Festival show.

Cul de Sac: collaborative writer and performer.

Lovich’s Lightening Enlightenment tour. Writer/devisor/performer.

Taming a Cloud of Butterflies: writer and performer.

Apollinaire: writer and performer.

Bare-Bear: writer and performer.

Nellie Wallace: performer.

The Dresser: Norman lead role.

Les Misérables: Nottingham Playhouse. Various characters.

I was also involved in three or four student films as a performer and collaborative writer and engaged thoroughly in the practical theatre workshops usually centred around creating performance rather than using theatre texts or plays. I was very into performance poetry at the time and did my final ‘special study’ written dissertation on this topic and had a one to one workshop with Adrian Henri the beat poet from Liverpool. By the time of the third year the wackier the performance the more I was interested in being involved and Performance Art usually meant some performer sans clothes – to express themselves artistically, of course.

The visual arts side of the course saw me struggling initially with a lack of ideas and all the other young art students seemed to be so gifted and creative with their installations and ‘off the wall’ art pieces – fish hanging out of letterboxes and the like. It took me a while to catch up and I started by drawing cartoons of my fellow students and making fimo models. This wasn’t what the course was about really and I got my creative juices going with a move into photography and using that as my medium. Being around the other creative folk was very inspirational too. In my first year and having been out of education for such a long time I found the academic language difficult to decipher. They used terms like minor project and major project and I had no idea of their importance. The high art language used in some of the lectures confused me and often left me puzzled as well. Eventually it all started to make some kind of sense with the encouragement of tutors such as John Newling and Mike Carradice.
At the end of my second year my year end work was a photographic display of images dealing with male sexuality – the sensitive side of men being the point of the photo collection. On Wednesdays all the BACA students went over to the Broadway Cinema to study film. What a tough life!

Scene from Home.

Some of the course texts we were supposed to read were a great challenge to the students who all complained about the difficulty of the study. A few examples are Peter Brook’s The Empty Space, Augusto Boal’s Theater of the Oppressed and Ways of Seeing by John Berger. I’m sure that there are a few more that my brain has banned from returning to haunt me.

I found the whole experience of taking the degree as a mature student artistically valuable and it helped me to develop and hone my writing skills (articles, theatre writing, performance poetry, essays etc) as well as give me an education about the world of contemporary art/theatre and knowledge of cultural development historically throughout the arts.

some of my art student friends

Retrospectively, I feel that the course gave me some valuable insights and helped me to expand as a writer and theatre practitioner and helped to considerably broaden my creative perspective. In addition it gave me a flexible approach to acquiring the requisite skills needed to function and grow as a creative artist.

March 2010 theatre exchange

2010-04-05T03:11:00.000-07:00

Sometimes a week can go by far too quickly when you are having fun and I can certainly say that last week was fun. As previously mentioned I was involved in a cultural exchange that happens every two years between the Lace Market theatre and the Die Käuze theatre and the Jakobus theatre. Our theatre is based in Nottingham (UK) and the other two in the twin city of Karlsruhe in Germany.

scene from Die Hochmütigen

The Die Käuze theatre group performed a play called The Distainful (Die Hochmütigen), a stylised comedy with sur titles in English and the other group played Peter Shaffer's Black Comedy (Komödie im Dunkeln). Both pieces were in German and we were all delighted to get very good audiences for the shows. Each group performed their show three times with two evening performances and an afternoon performance and were well recieved. The Thursday afternoon show was graced by Mrs Jeannie Packer, Lady Mayoress of Nottingham.

We also arranged for Larissa Kaufmann and Manfred Paul to appear on BBC Radio Nottingham. I have to say, although I can speak some German I would have not be able to cope in an interview situation like this. Both of them sounded great and seemed to enjoy the experience despite being a bit nervous. Gill Scott from our theatre helped with some background details about our twinning arrangements and history.

Larissa, Manfred and Gill at BBC Radio Nottingham

The actors stayed in the homes of some of the theatre members here in Nottingham and all three groups spent a lot of time socialising and renewing old friendships from previous visits. I have written about the social side in my other blog http://mugofstrongtea.blogspot.com/.

I took a lot of photographs during their stay and enjoyed documenting the experience as well as having a great time with lots of laughter and fun with our German friends. I also had an opportunity to speak some German and was suprised at how quickly my limited language skills came back. Being able to speak with native speakers also helped to improve my skills. Try saying 'Blaukraut bleibt Blaukraut und Brautkleid bleibt Brautkleid' sober never mind a bit tiddly.

Phil with the Jakobus group

I really enjoyed the whole week and it was great to see old friends like, Markus, Thorsten, Carsten, Larissa, Manfred and Christian and to meet some lovely new people such as Michael, Lena and Volker. I will miss you all and look forward to our return visit in two years time. We all keep in touch via facebook and emails and I am even considering going over to Karlsruhe to perform a one man show in the meantime.

A new flickr site to showcase my theatre photography

2010-03-25T06:39:00.000-07:00

http://www.flickr.com/photos/phillowetheatre/

Currently there some images from A Christmas Carol, Our Day Out, The Lace Market Theatre Youth group, The Accrington Pals.

Accrington Pals.

Visitors from Karlsruhe.

2010-03-24T07:54:00.000-07:00

I am really looking forward to seeing our visitors from Nottingham's twin city of Karlsruhe next week and seeing their performances live at the Lace Market Theatre. They are performing two plays in German, Die Hochmütigen (the high and mighty) and Black Comedy. The box office number is 0115 9507201
or visit the website http://www.lacemarkettheatre.co.uk/ and book online. All tickets are free but they are going fast.

Latest update 25.03.10.

Wednesday evening is almost sold out. Still some tickets left for Monday 7.30pm and Tuesday for both performances of High and Mighty. Availability for Thursday 2.30pm and 7.30pm for Peter Schaffer's Black Comedy.

scene from High and Mighty

scene from Black Comedy.

scene from High and Mighty

scene from Black Comedy.

writing and theatre photography news.

2010-03-23T06:20:00.000-07:00

Aside from dilagent job seeking of late I have been concentrating on writing a piece for the Derby Evening Telegraph Bygones newspaper about my experiences as a young boy and teenager going to school in Derby. This is now completed as a well as a seven page piece about the history of the Lace Market Theatre and the cultural exchange they have with two theatres in Germany.

Phil at eleven years old.

Plus, as well as rehearsing for Three Sisters I have been practicing my photography by doing some photos to promote the Lace Market Theatre's Youth theatre production happening this week. I have never been so busy!

Photo collage

2010-03-13T07:14:00.000-08:00

This image is a big photo collage I have created for the Lace Market Theatre and the two German theatre groups mentioned in the last three posts. The Karlsruhe groups are coming to Nottingham at the end of this month with two plays to be performed in German as part of the Nottingham/Karlsruhe cultural exchange. The photo was taken as I finished attatching all the photos to the black card and was taken on my living room carpet. It will go on a big notice board at the theatre tomorrow as well as a smaller display of past productions that we have taken to Germany in 2004 and 2008.

Lace Market Theatre visit to Karlsruhe. May 2008

2010-03-13T03:05:00.000-08:00

Ausgezeichnet! Fantastisch! Super!

Translated as: Excellent! Fantastic! Great! All three adjectives could certainly be used to describe another hugely successful event with our friends in the German city of Karlsruhe. Again we took two plays to be performed at the two separate theatre spaces in and around Karlsruhe.

This time we shared a coach with the Karlsruhe Friendship Club run by a chap called Arnie. They were going to Karlsruhe at the same time and to travel together was deemed a cost saving exercise. Being of an older generation they like to stop over in Lille to break the journey and we acquiesced with their arrangements. There was a delay on the Eurostar train journey and this had the knock on effect of delaying our arrival at the hotel Ibis in Lille. However the Lace Market folk still found time to enjoy an evening meal at a bistro in a nearby shopping centre. The following day we continued on our journey without any issues and met our hosts at the bus station in Karlsruhe. After some worry, Alan Price, one of the cast in Hay Fever travelling independently, was found waiting for the coach at the train station! A few phone calls later he was returned to the fold after his mistake.

Cast of Hay Fever

As usual our German hosts were incredible in their friendliness and generosity and Linda Croston’s team at Die Käuze enjoyed mountains of delicious local food each day. Larissa and her team kept us all fed and happy despite her father Carl being very ill in hospital at the time.

I had the interesting experience of being hosted by a wonderful old lady called Ursula Roth. She lived on the fifth floor of a block of flats which I often had trouble finding as they all looked the same, didn’t speak any English, had a dodgy front door key, was very nervous about me staying with her as she thought we would have difficulty communicating and she was ill from the early stages of stomach cancer. From the moment I started to speak a little German we got on great! She made me huge breakfasts in the morning, spoke clearly and I leant so much German in her company that when I left she called me her ‘second son’. Bless her.

Monday morning saw another official welcome at the Rathouse for the Lace Market Theatre and our travelling companions, the Karlsruhe Friendship Club. As the Reiseleiter I was very proud to represent our group and particularly proud to do our presentation partly in German.

Cast of Satin 'n Steel.

Satin and Steel by Amanda Whittington played for three performances at the Die Käuze theatre in Waldstadt and Hay Fever by Noël Coward played three times at the Jakobus theatre. Both plays were ecstatically received by the German and English audiences. Incidentally, Markus Künstler tells me that the phrase from Coward’s play, ‘Will you lean on the piano in an attentive attitude? It’s such a help.’ has now become folklore at the Jakobus theatre. They joke that they may well include it in every play that they do.

This time I was with the group at Die Käuze and the two main evening performances were a sell out. The audiences loved the singing, the humour and irony of the piece. Although from a few puzzled faces I do think the Germans did struggle with the strong Nottingham accents portrayed. A few tears were shed over Alison’s handling of the scene with Mum’s ashes. Many thanks also to the Hay Fever crowd for taking the early morning tram to see Satin and Steel’s 10.30am show. It was hot weather even at that early hour.

Our group at Die Käuze made a pilgrimage to the Jakobus theatre one night to see our friends perform Hay Fever on an improvised set and it worked brilliantly. The cast were on top form despite the baking weather and put tons of style and energy into the play. Max was hilarious in his role and the audience gave them several curtain calls at the end.

Jakobus Theatre. Karlsruhe.

Most of the early part of the week itself was taken up with technical preparations and rehearsals in unfamiliar spaces in readiness for the performances themselves. In between times we enjoyed the delights of the city itself including the parks and woodlands of Karlsruhe, all bathed in beautiful warm sunshine. The bars, cafes and shops got a look in too! Not only did we go for a bite to eat but most of the group got bitten too by the bugs in the grass. The Karlsruhe chemists have now sold out of Fenisten gel.

After all the performing was over we were treated to a coach trip to the typically Germanic town of Bretten and spent some time relaxing in the old market place enjoying a cool pils and great company. For lunch we ate at a superb hilltop venue called Steinsberg. Again, lovely food including local asparagus in a creamy blue cheese sauce. From the top of the tower at the venue we saw fabulous views of the vineyards and nearby town. It was alright going up the tower but coming back down the very steep and worn wooden steps again was quite another matter!

Later that afternoon we went to the Auto & Technik museum at Sinsheim and had the opportunity to go inside a real Concorde jet (well, two actually – one French and one Russian) as well as to admire all the amazing cars and planes there. Some of us also chose to visit the Imax Cinema and had a virtual journey through space. All these things given to us gratis by our generous hosts.

Friday saw us making our own entertainment and I know that a group of the younger members went on a bike ride through the Black Forest and others simply hit the shops. The baking weather was still very close and I spent some time at the Zoo and enjoyed an ice cream or two. Later that afternoon the weather broke and there was a dramatic thunderstorm and refreshingly cool rain.

On the Friday evening there was a superb farewell party with gift presentations, some lovely food, plenty of drinks and a chance to relax and enjoy the company of friends. There was also some very funny entertainment in the style of a short pantomime sketch and some singing around the piano with Markus on the keyboard and Helen leaning against the wall in an attentive manner. It helped him. Apparently.

At some ridiculously early hour on the Saturday morning everyone and their hosts gathered at the bus station to say our 8am farewells and Auf Wiedersehens. I must admit that I did get a bit moist eyed as we all hugged and kissed and shook hands. All the English parties got on board, our hosts waved us off and we heard, en route, that the Karlsruhe Friendship Group had had an equally good time with their hosts and were praising Alison and Neil for their performances in Satin and Steel. I don’t think they got to see Hay Fever.

Enjoying some French food in Lille.

The long journey back through three countries gave us all an opportunity for an overnight stop at the same Ibis hotel on the outskirts of the city of Lille. After freshening up a group of us went into the city via the slick metro system for some food and fun and we spent a very pleasant time in a French Bistro. French food, French wine and great company! What a way to end the week! Fab!

Courtesy of Vance the coach driver we all arrived safely back in Nottingham mid afternoon on the Sunday. Many of us just wanted to stay in Karlsruhe and have the experience last forever and there were ideas flying around of maybe doing some of our future plays there in German or at the very least something by a German writer. Hold that page.

Theatre Exchange - Karlsruhe to Nottingham - 2006

2010-03-13T02:46:00.000-08:00

Karlsruhe Theatres visit to Nottingham. April 2006

When the Karlsruhe groups arrived in Nottingham in early April 2006 some of their group came early enough to witness the last night of the LMT production of Anna Karenina in which I was playing Levin with Alison Hope as the title role. Most of the others from Germany arrived mid morning on the Sunday morning. The Karlsruhe groups use individual cars and a van to travel and journey via ferry through Hull. It was good to see some familiar faces again and some new folk too. The Die Käuze group were performing Blauer Bahnhof by Kerstin Rothe and Jakobus performed a two person farce by Ray Cooney and Gene Stone with the German title of Bleib doch zum frühstuck or Why not stay to breakfast. Each show had three performances.

Blaue Bahnhof was a multi-media piece played by a young cast with Larissa Kaufmann in the lead as an unpopular girl learning some life lessons. Bleib doch zum frühstuck was very funny and quite raunchy in parts. Peter Grünewald , Christian Müller and Ana Purwa played the parts to perfection. With each play we got a sheet explaining the plots as both were in German. Fun and laughter translates as the same in both languages and there was plenty of that.

Scene from Blaue Bahnhof

Previous to the visit there was a lot of background organising to be done and we planned an official visit to the matinee of Blaue Bahnhof by the Lord Mayor of Nottingham and his wife. I recall that there was a lot of protocol involved regarding behaviour around and particular addressing of the Mayor and Mayoress. You certainly couldn’t just call him “You and your Mrs.”

As it was in Germany, various families and members of the Lace Market Theatre hosted our guests from Karlsruhe and there was lots of inter cultural socialising in terms of going out for meals at Pizza Savai, La Tasca and having a drink or two at the club bar and The Trip to Jerusalem. Our Karlsruhe friend Markus Künstler was very taken with the old Nottingham pub at the foot of the castle and he has told me since that going there was one of his fondest memories of the visit. For the historical aspects, natürlich!

During this visit I helped with the catering side of things, doing the teas and coffees, washing up and helping Max one day in the kitchen. It was great to be involved in it all and to be looking after our guests.

On the Friday we took a coach to Leicestershire for the big trip out and visited the Abbey Victorian Pumping Station – thus reinforcing the idea that the British are obsessed with toilets - and then to the National Space Centre for a fascinating look at space exploration and everything planetary including the 360⁰ planetarium experience. After all this excitement we called into an Indian restaurant at 139 Belgrave Road called Curry Fever and enjoyed an Indian meal with our guests. There was a little spare time after the meal and many of us went for a look around the Indian clothes and accessories shops. On speaking to our friends from Karlsruhe on our next visit in 2008 they loved the Indian food at Mr Sunil Anand’s restaurant and the ethnicity of the area.

On Friday night we gave our guests a fantastic party and they entertained us with the Die Käuze performers performing a jazz dance routine and Markus Künstler played the piano and sung some songs. There was live music from a jazz quartet too. More presentations and heartfelt speeches were given including a nice one from Carl Kaufmann saying how welcomed he and his family felt during their stay with us in Nottingham.

During the week Markus and I swopped tongue twisters in German and English. One of his that I remember was “In Ulm und um Ulm und um Ulm herum.” To this I countered with, “ She stood up in the balcony inexplicably mimicking him hiccupping and amicably welcoming in him.” He did give me another one with lots of words containing the letter F, something about Frisches fisch. I have forgotten it alas. One of the funniest things was trying to teach Manfred how to say “Ey up me duck” and explain what it meant colloquially. I assured him you cannot say “ Guten Tag meine Ente” unless you actually want to say hello to a duck.

Once again the following day meant that our wonderful friends from Karlsruhe had to return home and after a group photo outside the theatre and some fond goodbyes several packed cars full of smiling, waving Germans disappeared around the corner of Halifax Place and onwards to their homes in Germany. Like us they had a long journey ahead of them and we heard that they had plans to visit a particular place en route that allegedly sold great Fish and Chips!

Some of our German friends on their way home.

Nottingham - Karlsruhe Theatre exchange 2004

2010-03-13T02:27:00.000-08:00

A personal look at the Nottingham and Karlsruhe theatre exchange by Phil Lowe.

Known in German as the Deutsch-Englischen Theaterbegegnungen, an exciting exchange of theatre performance has been happening between the Lace Market Theatre, the Theater Die Käuze and the Jakobus Theater in der Fabrik since 1982 when the two amateur Karlsruhe theatre groups came over to perform three plays on our request to form a twinning arrangement through the medium of theatre. On that very first visit the Jakobus Theater performed Die Gewehre der Frau Carrar by Brecht as well as Kannst du zaubern Opa, a piece written by the Grips Theater (Berlin based) and Theater Die Käuze performed Der Meteor by Friedrich Dürrenmatt.

The atmosphere apparently, was electric, and since that foundation of exchange of presenting thrilling and unusual theatre work in another country the twinning event has gone on from strength to strength with many Anglo- German friendships blossoming along the way. In late March 2010 we at the Lace Market Theatre are looking forward to another visit from our friends in Karlsruhe and this will mark the 15th bi-annual exchange.

Lace Market Theatre visit to Karlsruhe May 2004.

My personal story of enjoying such events comes in regarding our visit to Karlsruhe in Easter 2004. I was asked by Max Bromley to play a small part in our production of ‘View from the Bridge’ by Arthur Miller and part of the deal was to also be in the production that was going to Germany to perform at the Jakobus Theatre in central Karlsruhe. I love travelling and speak some German so I jumped at the chance. There would be a short break between the LMT production finishing and the trip to Germany so we had a couple of post production rehearsals to refresh our memories. Max had been to the Karlsruhe theatre before, independently and through the LMT and advised us of the difference between our own stage and the performance space over there. We also got a hint of the hopefully rapturous applause and foot stamping we were likely to receive and the generous nature of our hosts. The Café Bleu, a bar across from the theatre was mentioned too. It all sounded very exciting.

Another two plays were to be performed at the smaller Theater Die Käuze on the outskirts of Karlsruhe, a venue run by the Kaufmann family and colleagues. It exists to perform plays for children. We were taking a one man show called Anorak of Fire by Stephen Dinsdale brilliantly performed by Neil Duckmanton and another larger cast show called Post Mortem by Brian Clarke and the lead woman even learnt some German to say in the show.

Majority of folk from the three productions travelled for fourteen hours on the hired coach and a ferry overnight. The route took us across France, Belgium, and much of Germany and the boarders of the Alsace region. Two of our younger members, Kate and Keith, very nearly got thrown off the coach for constantly making groaning bear noises as we passed through the heavily wooded Ardennes and onwards. Someone foolishly mentioned that there might be bears in the woods and that started them off. I won’t mention who that someone was but he is typing this article up.

The long journey was broken up with regular stops and a change of driver and it also gave rise to the theatre members having an opportunity to properly talk and get to know their friends at the theatre. It was said then and certainly since that although you get involved in a play, the time in rehearsals don’t always give you the chance to get to know your acting/director/backstage friends well. In relation to this I recall enjoying speaking to Andy Taylor about life and such and got to teaching him some German words and phrases, en route.

Once in the city of Karlsruhe we parked the coach outside the Jakobus theatre on Kaiserallee and saw a sea of grinning Germans all thrilled we had made it safely to their city. We dumped our bags and theatre costumes and props inside the building and enjoyed a welcome drink whilst being introduced to our fantastic hosts. John Parker and I stayed at the house of Andrea and Peter Voos and their daughters in Blankenloch-Stutensee. It was about twenty minutes ride away from central Karlsruhe on the beautiful old tramway system. They made us very welcome and comfortable throughout the stay despite poor old John not sleeping well because of his bedroom was practically next to a main train line. It was also part of the hosting tradition that we guests gave the host a small gift as part of the exchange experience. My friend John also had the pleasure of learning the German for cylindrical advertising column, namely Litfaβäule after a certain Herr Litfaβ. Remarkably he retains this knowledge today.

Neil Duckmanton in Anorak of Fire

The following morning we had all been invited to attend an official ‘Welcome to Karlsruhe’ ceremony at the Town Hall or Rathaus am Marktplatz. Once assembled we were indeed welcomed by a representative of the Lord Mayor of Karlsruhe, presentation speeches were made; Gill Scott making ours, and we watched a short film about the city and its industries, economy and attractions and its alleged Mediterranean climate. Afterwards we enjoyed a glass of wine and some light refreshments and felt very welcomed. Each person also got a cloth bag depicting the Karlsruhe logo as a souvenir.

At some point following the official welcome, our group performing ‘ View from the Bridge’ , met at the theatre again and set up the space for the performance later that evening. We had a couple of cast members unable to come on the trip so it was arranged that three actors from Jakobus would take on their small roles. It was quite an intense rehearsal with everyone getting used to the new space and the need to learn new movements. I took the chance to help Max and his team by working with Gerd Lehrmann and Manfred Paul (our new immigration officers) and I explained and rehearsed their performances separately using my basic German language. Gerd was so funny as he seemed dramatically compelled to play a serious part with a comic walk and voice.

The folk at the theatre gave us a huge and delicious lunch (the first of many generous meals) and we all took some time out in order to be fresh and ready for the first evening performance. The other team over at the Theater Die Käuze on Königsberger strasse would’ve had their own similar agendas for their two shows playing later that week.

The play went extremely well and we did get the massive applause and foot stomping we were hoping for and the audiences throughout our three performances were packed houses. After the last performance we even had a champagne reception and a chance to mingle with the audience including a lot of Americans resident in Karlsruhe. Most nights, post show, we all gravitated across the road to the Café Bleu until the early hours. They served nice food and the Hoepfner Pilsner bier was pretty good too.

Above: Image from our production of View from the Bridge.

Our friends over at the Theater Die Käuze reported that they were equally happy in their venue and extremely well looked after by Larissa Kaufmann, her family and host families. The ‘View from the Bridge’ group went over on the tram to support their shows. They had had standing ovations at their performances too and were thrilled by the response.

After the shows were all over we had some free time for relaxing and shopping and eating in nice cafes/restaurants in friendly groups. The flammekûchen, a regional dish with spinach, was delicious. A few people on the visit had decided to stay in hotels and so it was good to catch up with them too and have a relaxed chat over a coffee or glass of wine.

Several of the Lace Market crowd made their way independently on the train to the spa town of Baden Baden for the day and I went there with John Parker. He was great company despite being tired out from lack of sleep and we made the stupid decision to walk from the Baden Baden train station into town figuring it would only be a quick ten minute walk. Three quarter of an hour later we were still on the outskirts and the skies were threatening heavy rain. Finally as the heavens opened we dodged into a posh hotel and sheltered from the storm. A pot of tea later, we ventured out on to the newly wet streets. The town itself was quite small and we didn’t stay that long. Somewhere along the way we bumped into Roger and Gill Newman, had a chat and sandwich to eat and returned to the railway station, this time on the packed bus full of school children!

On Thursday all the English and German theatre collaborators went out on the tram (it is has many more lines than ours in Nottingham having been established in 1934) to a museum of music making machines, the Deutsches Musikautomaten Museum at Schloss Bruchsal and also to a big mansion that was housing a Salvador Dali exhibition including a dozen life size giraffe models in the courtyard. Afterwards we went to a stube (pub) for a meal via a walk through some delightful orchards.

On Good Friday we enjoyed an organised day trip out on a coach with the Karlsruhe groups to Heidelberg and its impressive Schloss. Afterwards some of grabbed a chance to have a nice meal in the town and mooch around the shops. In the evening we were thoroughly spoilt with a fantastic celebratory meal and party at the Jakobus Theatre. There was even a roast pig and all the trimmings brought in on a grand platter. On the tables were gaily coloured, little wooden Easter animals and hens as party decorations. We were really impressed and there were gifts exchanged from our theatre to the German theatres and vice versa. Max and our production presented them with a framed black and white image of the Brooklyn Bridge signed by the company. The other group from the Die Käuze theatre also made their presentations. It was a very pleasantly emotional time and I think we were all aware that the following day would be one for departure and the long journey back across mainland Europe and across the channel to England and home after such a good time.

After that wonderful last night of friendship and presentations and great food it was time to part the next morning. I’m getting tearful even as I write this thinking about our German host’s generosity and the experience of acting in Karlsruhe and new friends made. Our whole English entourage were given wax Easter eggs as a parting gift, big hugs were shared, hangovers quietly spoken of, photos taken and addresses swopped. Then there were some tearful goodbyes and at last the bus started up and we began the long journey home made more special by everyone’s chatter exclaiming what a great time they had had. And funnily enough there weren’t any bear sounds uttered on the journey home.

Three Sisters ....

2010-03-13T02:13:00.000-08:00

Well, we've had a few rehearsals now and I am starting to enjoy the text which seemed dry on the page yet when acted out really comes to life and is subtley comical in parts.

I have keeping busy with other creative endeavours too including writing a seven page document for a proposed book about the history of the Lace Market Theatre in Nottingham. I am going to reproduce it in the next three blog posts and even if the people themselves aren't familiar to you dear readers then I hope that the fun of perfoming in Germany will come across. I have deliberately kept the narrative light and fluffy as it is supposed to be a postive memory to be included in the book.

I am also planning to include more creative aspects in this blog re: showing people how to develop their own creativity through play and discovery.

A new role

2010-02-19T09:57:00.000-08:00

So after the voice work with the youth theatre on their production of Our Day Out I have auditioned myself for a role in Anton Chekhov's Three Sisters and I have been offered the part of Kulygin, husband of Masha. At this stage, one rehearsal in, I must admit I am finding the play as translated by Michael Frayn quite a mystery to grasp what the heck is happening. Or not happening. There seems to be a longing to go to Moscow and a lot of talk about philosophy, a fire in the garrison town where they live and a duel and a couple of affairs. The director is a professor in Russian studies so we have the benefit of being able to learn the correct way to say the characters names. Olga ain't Olga at all - it is pronounced Oil-ga.

Image from another production

I am hoping that the play is one of those that looks a bit tedious and long winded on paper but in the process of rehearsal something magical happens. I'll keep you posted.

Man of many voices

2010-01-24T14:17:00.000-08:00

I have recently been asked to work as a voice coach on the Nottingham Arts Theatre production of Willy Russell's Our Day Out. This time I am working with a big group of teenagers on polishing their Liverpudlian accents.

How do remember all those lines?

2009-12-30T05:55:00.000-08:00

The play to be performed is usually between two or three months away from the opening night and you tend to rehearse for three hours, three times a week say on a Monday Wednesday and Friday night. Nearer the performance week the cast may rehearse for some time on a Sunday - perhaps four hours. Is this enough? Usually not, and when I was working fulltime I would spend my breaks and lunch hour rehearsing privately as well as at home when I wasn't out rehearsing. So clearly putting in plenty of time going over the lines is important.

I have found that getting them learnt as early as possible really helps the final performance because once the script is out of your hand, and really, only then, can the character be worked on and your confidence in the words and part, grow.

A lot of actors would say that your physical place on the stage is very important for learning the lines as your brain associates where you are positioned with the lines delivered. I would agree. If you go marching off in a different direction during a performance or rehearsal you risk confusing the association and therefore the line. The same happens if another person isn't in the place they normally are.

In regard to the lines themselves I have used a variety of tricks from writing them out in big letters to looking at the lines themselves and how the words are spelt and linking them. Eg: The water was falling down all over him, Brian. Here I have connected the w in the word water and was and in my head I would also visualise what I was reporting. I also find that playing with the lines and saying them out loud and in a daft and very much exaggerated voice to myself can help. Sometimes I pace around the room at speed to build up an energy whilst saying the lines. Finding the rythmn in the speech and looking for light and shade helps too.

Once the lines are getting in my head I put the book down and try and do as much as I can without it. Naturally it is very important to be able to remember the other characters lines as well - or at least the gist of what they are saying and the cues. The cue is the block of words at the end of the previous line.

On top of all this is the useful habit of knowing the storyline backwards so you have an holistic grasp of the play. Then of course it is vital to know your character and build upon the interpretation in conjunction with your fellow actors and the director.

Two left feet and a voice to die for.

2009-12-27T02:59:00.000-08:00

My blogging friend French Fancy recently asked me if, as well as act, could I sing and dance. My immediate answer was “no” shortly followed with a little chuckle to myself. The private chuckle was a shortcut version of “you wouldn’t ask that question if you’d seen/heard me try.” Perhaps I am too unfair on myself, that way. I’ve grown up with a taste and liking for musical theatre and at one point in my life you couldn’t keep me out of London’s West End enjoying Lloyd Webber’s latest opus.

How can you ever say how something started? A germ of an idea, a song heard, an experience encountered somewhere along the way. A visit to a pantomime in childhood or parents playing music at home. Music was taught at my junior and senior schools and although I wasn’t a particularly appreciative or attentive pupil I do remember being struck by the poetic power of a recording of Peter Grimes and the music for Peter and the Wolf. And I was only a small boy- nine or ten at most.

I feel this personal admiration for musical theatre is worth investigating and want to see where this enthusiasm came from. I guess ‘home life’ would be good place to start. Now my parents weren’t theatre goers but they did like the circus and we possibly attended a panto or two along the way. They also liked Variety shows live and televised and so I would have heard songs sung through that medium and possibly some were show songs. We did go and see films regularly and some of them would have been MGM and Disney musicals – Show Boat – South Pacific – Annie get your gun – Paint your Wagon, Mary Poppins etc. I remember rather fancying Doris Day in Calamity Jane, too. I was probably in my early teens. One Christmas I got given a book called Gotta Sing Gotta Dance so I must have shown some keenness. On a Sunday my step sisters and I got sent off to Sunday School and we sung the hymns there too. Reluctantly.

Speaking to my mum she reminded me today that we had Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Paint your Wagon, Fiddler on the Roof, The Sound of Music, Mary Poppins and the Oliver film soundtracks on LPs along with other popular shows often playing on the record player at home in the background. My parents were also big fans of Harry Secombe and Shirley Bassey as well. Both of these artists vocally dramatic in their own right. This must have some influence, surely. Or is that Shirley? They liked Tom Jones too but that is not unusual. :0)

When I was around sixteen or seventeen I was a member of the Scout Association and got involved in the Scout Gang Shows in Derby. There was a lot of singing involved and these fun times would have been some of my early stage experiences. Then there was the group singing of songs that we used to sing around the camp fires and at scout meetings. Nobody minded if you weren’t note perfect. We just did it for camaraderie, all wrapped up in one’s badge filled and grubby campfire blanket, a cup of scolding hot tomato soup in a tin mug in hand and the sparks from the fire threatening to turn you into a singing fireball. The Gang Show singing had to be better as we had paying audiences and camp fires weren’t allowed on stage. Joking apart, I don’t remember the rehearsals being reliant on whether the young men were pitch perfect or not. I think enthusiasm and good spirit were the key to the entertainment.

Then I went to Belgium with the Scouts on a camping holiday. It was the first time I had ever been abroad and it was all very exciting. One day we went on a trip into the city of Brussels and I distinctly recall buying a cassette tape of the highlights of Jesus Christ Superstar, the original London production. I’m not sure now why I was drawn to this musical – did I know some of the songs already? Perhaps just the title song and ‘I don’t know how to love him’. Who knows? What I do know is that I played that tape to death and loved the idea of a story unfolding through drama and music. A lack of religious interest had nothing to do with it. It was the power of the drama set to music. Saying that, Opera has never done it for me. As time went on I was very much into collecting soundtracks from films and began to choose soundtracks from musicals too.

As I got into my late teens I had left the Scouts and discovered beer. Slippery slope. Going down the pub suddenly seemed a lot more attractive than the cold Scout hut on Friday night. I had also joined The Littleover Players and got to know people who liked to go the theatre for entertainment. Almost instantly I became very keen on going to the brand new Derby Playhouse in the Eagle Centre in Derby. I would go and see ‘every’ play they did, often two or three times – much to my dear old Dad’s dismay who saw going to see anything more than once and paying for the privilege a scurrilous waste of money. I got seriously in Godspell (saw it many a time) and The Rocky Horror Show and Trafford Tanzi and of course, Jesus Christ Superstar. I also thrilled to go and see the film versions of JCS and Victor Garber and bouncy cast in Godspell.

Naturally, I collected the albums and played them in my bedroom at home, interspersed with Leo Sayer, David Essex, T.Rex , 10CC, Queen, David Bowie, Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush, that is. They came under my fuddy duddy Dad’s heading of Modern Muck, so I loved them even more. What would he have thought of Ruiyichi Sakamoto?

As I was living at home until my mid twenties, I had plenty of spare money from my job as a butcher and started to go down to London to see the big shows. My very first outing in this way was to see the dance based show, A Chorus Line, at the Theatre Royal on Drury Lane. From then on I was hooked and went to see Evita, Chess, Les Misérables, Man of La Mancha, Joseph, West Side Story, Barnum, Cabaret, Song and Dance, The Phantom of the Opera, Billy, Starlight Express, Cats, Aspects of Love,The Hired Man, Martin Guerre, Miss Saigon and so on. Some of the shows got me particularly interested and for periods of time I became extremely (almost fanatically) keen on certain shows. The main ones in this respect would have been Cats, Phantom, Les Mis, Barnum, Jesus Christ Superstar, Godspell, Miss Saigon and The Hired Man. If there is such a thing as singalonga musicals then I have sunglaonga to those ones at home, very badly, but very enjoyably. Back then I collected all the programmes too as a paper remider of glorious theatre visits.

My step Mum has become a big fan of Phantom over the years and has been taken to a few shows in London and touring shows at the Theatre Royal in Nottingham. She’s great – she either falls asleep or hums along quite forgetting she’s in a public space with all with the various attendant siblings hushing her. Bless her.

At some point in my twenties and having joined Derby Theatre in the Round and been in the chorus in Cabaret myself (I look great in fishnets and frilly hot pants – joke) the name of a fella called Stephen Sondheim, composer and lyricist, entered my consciousness. Apparently, he was quite good. I went down to London to the English National Opera House near Covent Garden to see Pacific Overtures on recommendation and instantly became a fan. I can’t say that I’ve been lucky enough to see or hear everything by the man, but my favourites are Company, Follies, Sweeney Todd – demon barber of Fleet Street, Sunday in the Park with George, Into the Woods, Pacific Overtures and A Little Night Music.

Lastly, I confess I know nothing about notation or the understanding of musical writing. I don’t play any instruments (I failed the triangle auditions at junior school and was seriously out of tune with the comb and paper). Nor, in honesty do I sing well. I have, however a great admiration for those that can master these talents/disciplines and have worked with such folk along the way so far and have thoroughly enjoyed the experience. As for dancing… I would say that my modern ballet style has to be seen to be believed, and then quickly forgotten. lol

No such thing as a small part...

2009-12-22T14:55:00.000-08:00

No such thing as a small part, only a small actor. (meaning 'small' in outlook)

This is a theatrical adage or maxim I was party to learning many years ago. Sometimes in casting should one be lucky enough to get a part in a play, it may not be the largest, the main part or the sexiest part, but a 'bit' part - the servant, the spear carrier, the almost walk on or generally a tiny role in a production. Over the years, and particularly when I was with Derby Theatre In The Round I was often offered a diddy role to play when, as a young-enthusiastic, but naive actor, I really - heart of hearts - would have liked to have played the lead. Sometimes you are just not right for it and deemed keen, but inexperienced. It seems a tough choice at the time. However, it is often correct and strange as it may seem at the time, a good chance to learn.

Sometimes such a role can come out of the blue and be a great opportunity to be involved in a top class production and be just as vital to the piece as one of the main roles. In the Lace Market Theatre's recent production of Festen I was offered such a role (Kim the chef) because the original actor was alledgedly unreliable and unavailable a week before the production opened. My experience and reputation that I have built up over many years of theatre experience allowed me the opportunity to say 'yes' to such an offer and it proved to be one of he most rewarding small parts I've done in years and allowed me to meet a whole new bunch of good actors and work with them.

A Christmas Carol – an adaptation for the stage. The adaptor’s story.

2009-12-20T05:21:00.000-08:00

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens adapted for the stage by writer Phil Lowe

In the Spring of 2008 the Lace Market Theatre came to me to ask if I would be interested in adapting Charles Dickens’s novel for the stage. They were looking for something different and traditional to perform in the December of that year and they knew that there would be at least three pantos performed in the city of Nottingham alone at that time. This request was based on knowing me as a member of the theatre club and the fact that I had performed a one man show version twice in former years at a church venue for charity. However, despite writing and conceiving some pieces for performance in my University years (1989 -1992) on a Performance Art degree course, I had never written a full length play with music before!

Martin Berry directs.

The writing took approximately seven months of my own time and entailed reviewing my script for my one man show, re-reading the novel three or four times and watching three versions of the story on DVD for further inspiration. The Muppets Christmas Carol (fun though it is) got left out in the proverbial snow. I was working full-time during this period and so the work was done in my own time (ok, I did take a few naughty sickies from work when the deadline for the script to be presented to the panel loomed ever nearer) mostly in the evening. Working on a Christmas story in the summer is weird, I can tell you.

David Kimmins multi-functional set . Design copyright.

Over time the play was accepted and a director (Martin Berry) and set designer (David Kimmins) chosen. I remember too that the auditions were happening in the early part of September of that year. I had just been made redundant from my job at Capital One and was taking a much needed holiday in France. Using the internet from the French Media Store FNAC as my only contact medium I was getting snippets of information about who had been chosen for the parts. I was so excited and slightly frustrated being away from the action back home. I had written the piece with thirty one parts to played by an ensemble. Twenty actors actually played them and aside from Scrooge, all the parts were shared. A good proportion of children were engaged and we had two teams of Cratchit kids because of performance laws.

Nephew Fred visits Uncle Scrooge

The writing included some traditional Christmas Carols to add atmosphere and I did my best to be historically correct and use carols that would have been sung in the mid 1800s in Great Britain and a piece of sombre music for the graveyard scene at the beginning of the show namely, Bruckner’s Ave Maria. As the rehearsals progressed the director made some particular choices about casting the younger roles and a kissing scene between Topper and Betsy that would have been inappropriate for pre-teens to do. Martin had chosen that they be played by youngsters and that they be Fred’s kids playing a Christmas game. Martin works with children for part of his living so, although sceptical at first, I agreed to the changes. The whole piece was a work in progress during rehearsals which included some tinkering with the writing with mutual approvals.

Scrooge observes the Cratchit family

I wanted the piece to be part narrated by a constantly changing array of experienced and vocally good actors male and female. The last thing I wanted in my imagining of the work was a single ‘I’m Charles Dickens’ actor sitting on a stool telling the story. It was also extremely important that all the actors and actresses were clear in their speeches. The Lace Market Theatre is only a small venue but vocal clarity is vital to the enjoyment of the play, I feel. Any play really, but especially such familiar Dickensian language. Get it wrong and it would jar.

Festive market scene

After I returned from France I attended some of the early rehearsals. Actually I found it hard to be away! Most of the play had been cast although for while we had no Nephew Fred and I’m sure over the rehearsals I read in every single part – even Tiny Tim! God bless him!

Make up for for Ghost of Christmas Past

As time went on I went into the theatre in the day time to help David Kimmins and his team build the set and set to painting it in various muted washes in grey, black, brown and deep green. It was very exciting for me to see it all coming together and watch Martin and his cast develop my script and improvise the action of the story. One of the main things I asked for was for there to be as little usage of props as possible. Not even a goose for the Cratchits' dinner. It worked great through mime.

Young Scrooge

The wardrobe department at the Lace Market Theatre is brilliant and many of the costumes were designed from scratch and as always the ladies there put in hours of hard work to ensure that it all looked wonderful and authentic to the time.

The Fezziwigs scene

Looking back at some notes I wrote for a radio interview at BBC Radio Nottingham I see that the first draft of my play was only twenty-nine pages long and would have lasted just over an hour! The finished piece was forty-five pages long. In performance each half was forty five minutes long and we had a twenty minute break. Obviously, I realised that an hour wasn’t really sufficient and I built on each scene for narrative bulk.

The hardest scenes to write were the festive market scenes (so they didn’t sound corny) and getting the scene between Mrs Dilby and Mrs Jones with Old Joe to sound credible to a modern audience. I also had to invent ways of linking each scene so that it all flowed nicely and told the story well. Fluidity was key. As I concentrated on the writing I would often get mental snatches of how it might all unfold on stage. I suppose having many years stage experience helped with that.

The Ghost of Christmas Past and Scrooge.

November came and rehearsals were going well and the fine tuning of the piece was happening on stage with the performers and the director and the members of the theatre who enjoy the technical side of performance were creating the lighting effects and sound effects. I felt the show was particularly blessed in the folk we had doing that. The actors were doing a sterling job too, despite some Winter colds and sniffles going about.

Make up for Marley's ghost.

Sometime along the way I met up with a team of nine young women students and their tutor from a beauty and theatrical make-up course from Castle College in Nottingham. They wanted to be involved in the production as a work experience and they kindly gave their time and make-up skills free of charge. They did a brilliant job.

Phil Lowe

So, the original production ran from 8th December to 13th December 2008 with two shows on the last day. It was a complete sell out and got a rave review in the local Nottingham Evening Post from the reviewer Alan Geary who called it the Lace Market Theatre’s ‘Top show in a good year’ and listed it in his review of the year 2008 as one of the top ten shows to be seen in Nottingham, both professional and amateur. Martin Berry (the director) and I managed, by hook or by crook, to sneak into every performance and were thrilled by this show made magic by all involved.

Mark Breach as Ghost of Christmas Present

The show has had another outing this year as Chilwell School in Nottingham put on three performances at the studio theatre there. I went along to see their last night and was excited to see the piece again and the sterling job the school children and their teachers Sally Stevens and Nicole Foyster had done with it. Some very accomplished performances, particularly Ewan Turner as Scrooge.

Roger Newman as Scrooge.

The script is available for professional and amateur use. For further information please contact me at phillming@aol.com. Please head email re: A Christmas Carol performance. Serious requests only please.

PS: Thanks to my friend Marian for the inspiration for writing up this blog post.

Some of my favourite shows/plays I've been in.

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I've performed in and written a fair few shows over the years and wanted to have a light-hearted look at my faves. In no particular order they are:

A Doll's House: Nils Krogstad. Having seen this role played at Derby Playhouse I was delighted to be cast as the protagonist later in life.

Comedians: Gethin Price. There comes a time in an actor's life when one is in one's prime and ready to play a particular part. That happened with my first role with the Lace Market Theatre after graduating from my drama degree. It was great to play a bastard.

Play it again Sam. Great fun playing Alan Felix (the Woody Allen role) and a super cast and director.

An Inspector Calls. National Theatre tour. Just an extra in this one but a great show to learn from and revel in some sterling acting and production standards.

The Dresser: Averham Theatre. Playing Norman was a big challenge as masses to learn, very emotive script from Ronald Harwood and learning the part taught me a great deal about pacing oneself and variety of interpretation.

Cabaret: Just love the music and story so any tiny role in this is good to do. The first time was with Derby Theatre in The Round and I was into reading the Berlin novels of Christopher Isherwood at the time too.

The Crucible: Judge Danforth. Playing this role made me realise that you should never mis-judge the amount of work you need to put into learning the story and lines. I under-estimated the work and had to really concentrate on memorising the lines right up to the last minute. Scary stuff. Good role to play though.

Abigail's Party: Played Laurence Moss. Almost the same cast as Play it Again Sam. Just great fun to learn and perform and make folk laugh. Nice director too.

Anna Karenina: Levin. Good ensemble discipline and tense drama.

A Midsummer Night's Dream: Puck, first Shakespeare I ever did and it gave me a whole new interest in the English language. Never did Shakespeare at school.

Resting at last

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I've had a pretty busy last six months. The rehearsal period for a play is normally three months from audition to performance and my biggest commitment since writing an adaptation of A Christmas Carol last year and seeing it successfully performed to full houses on stage last December was playing Laurence Moss in Abigail's Party in September this year. This was for the Lace Market Theatre in Nottingham. I was happy to be working once again with a group of friends with whom I had worked in the past on various shows. It was great fun and all the hard work paid off.

Following that production I was straight into the next working as a German language tutor to the young woman lead in Kindertransport and also I was commissioned to take the promotional photos for the same studio production at the LMT.

I was expecting to rest up and spend some time finding work but last minute I was roped in to performing in the new production of Festen on the main stage. This time I had only one week to learn a small but important role of Kim the chef. I spent every day going through the lines and moves and by three rehearsals later I was ready for the first night. Phew.

In the last few days I have been watching Andrew Davies' BBC adaptation of Charles Dickens' Little Dorritt for the first time on dvd and my love of acting gave me the impetus to create this blog to record my thoughts about my passion for the theatre and cinema.

First post of my second blog

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I already have another blog at http://mugofstrongtea.blogspot.com/ which features my passions for food and drink and currently has over fifteen thousand hits since January this year. I have occasionally referred to my life in the theatre and have decided to start this seperate blog to let people know more of my creative life. I welcome any constuctive comments. Phil Lowe.

LMT refers to Nottingham's Lace Market Theatre.

Theatre/film and tv listings to date.

November 2009. Kim. Festen. LMT

October 2009. German language tutor. Kindertransport. LMT

September 2009. Laurence Moss. Abigail’s Party. LMT.

December 2008. A Christmas Carol. Phil Lowe Writer/adaptation for stage. LMT.

June 2008. Both Sides Now. Phil Lowe Writer/director. Short theatre pieces festival. LMT.

May 2008 The School for Scandal. Richard Brinsley Sheridan. Mr Snake. LMT.

February 2008. Richard the Third. Shakespeare. Derby. Bishop. Cardinal. Soldier. LMT.

September 2007. Charley’s Aunt. Brandon Thomas. Brassett. LMT

January 2007. Frozen. Bryony Lavery. Ralph. LMT

April 2006. Anna Karenina. Tolstoy adaptation by Helen Edmundson. Levin. LMT.

November 2005. The Diary of Anne Frank. Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett. Mr Kraler. Nottingham Arts.

June 2005. An Inspector Calls. J. B. Priestly. Ensemble. National Theatre tour. Theatre Royal Nottingham.

April 2005. The Crucible. Arthur Miller. Governor Danforth. Nottingham Arts.

September 2004. Play it Again Sam. Woody Allen. Alan Felix. LMT.

April 2004. A View From The Bridge. Arthur Miller. Immigration Officer. Jacobus Theatre Karlsruhe.

March 2004. A View From The Bridge. Arthur Miller. Immigration Officer. LMT.

October 2003. A Bright and Bold Design. Peter Whelan. Ulik. LMT.

December 2002. A Christmas Carol. Dickens. Devisor of one-man show/performer. LMT.

March 2001. A Doll’s House. Henrick Ibsen. Nils Krogstad. LMT.

December 2000. A Christmas Carol. Dickens. Devisor of one-man show/performer. Gotham, St Lawrence’s Church.

December 1999. A Christmas Carol. Dickens. Devisor of one-man show/performer. Gotham, St Lawrence’s Church.

Between 1991 and 2001 I also worked as a Equity professional supporting artist in Crossroads (ITV) Peak Practice (ITV) Boon (BBC), Signs and Wonders (BBC) Barbara (ITV) Doctors (BBC) video work for the OU, training film with East Midlands Arts (main lead male), US funded John Lennon film as doctor.

Performance Arts student writing and performing projects included (*). Also between 1989 and 1991 I would have been involved in a variety of performance pieces live and film as part of my degree. The (*) marked items are the main ones and usually involved considerable creative input.

September 1999. Dead Funny. Terry Johnson. Nick. LMT.

October 1993. Poppy. Peter Nichols. Emperor of China. LMT.

January 1993. A Chip in the Sugar. Alan Bennett. Director. LMT.

November 1992. Comedians. Trevor Griffiths. Gethin Price. LMT.

November 1990. The Dresser. Ronald Harwood. Norman. Averham Theatre. Notts.

June 1990. Les Misérables. Christina Reid. Ensemble. Nottingham Playhouse.

* 1991. Film project with Inter-media, Nottingham. Paid, post – graduate work. Actor.

* 1991 Co-creator and MC in The Life of Nellie Wallace. Nottingham Powerhouse theatre and LMT (hire).

* 1991 Writer/creator/director in ‘Apollinaire’. Nottingham Powerhouse theatre.

* 1991 Writer/performer with Emma Ghafur in EXPO festival of theatre and arts. Nottingham venues. (various)

* 1990-1 Performance Poet: Nottingham venues. (various)

* 1990 Writer/ co-creator/performer. “Home” performance piece about the plight of the homeless. Various Nottingham venues.

* 1990 Writer/ co-creator/performer. “Friend or Foe” performance piece about flat-sharing experiences. Powerhouse. Clifton Campus

* 1989 Writer/ performer in ‘Taming a Cloud of Butterflies’ Nottingham Powerhouse theatre.

* 1989. Beowulf. Devised by ensemble and Joe Robinson from classic Penguin text. Beowulf. College Street Arts. Nottingham Arts Festival.

Prior to moving to Nottingham from Derby I gained theatre experience by working with Derby Theatre In The Round, The Derby Shakespeare Company and the Littleover Players. I was also occasionally involved with a couple of amateur Opera companies in and around Derby although I certainly wouldn’t claim to be a singer! To my knowledge I don’t have specific months for performance dates. The DTITR performances were mainly in the small ‘black box’ studio venue at Derby Playhouse.

Derby Theatre In The Round 1980 – 1988

The Crucible. Arthur Miller. Ezekiel Cheever. Derby Playhouse Studio.

Breezeblock Park. Willy Russell. Nick. Derby Playhouse Studio.

Doctor Faustus. Philip Marlowe. Wagner. Derby Playhouse Studio.

Fools. Neil Simon. Snetsky. Derby Playhouse Studio

Saturday Sunday Monday. Eduardo de Filippo. Atillio. Derby Playhouse Studio

The Body. Nick Darke. American soldier. Derby Playhouse Studio

One Flew over a Cuckoo’s Nest. Dale Wasserman. Aide Turkle Derby Playhouse Studio

Andorra. Max Frisch. The Journeyman. Derby Playhouse Studio

The Thwarting of Baron Bolligrew. Robert Bolt. Obidiah Bobbleknob. Derby Playhouse Studio

In Camera. Jean-Paul Satre. Valet Derby Playhouse Studio

The Bald Prima Donna. Eugene Inonesco. Mr Martin Derby Playhouse Studio

Cabaret. Kander & Ebb. Ensemble. The Guildhall. Derby.

She Stoops to Conquer. Oliver Goldsmith. Roger Derby Playhouse Studio

The Lark. Jean Anouih. Ensemble. Derby Playhouse Studio

Of Cabbages and Kings. Co-writer and ensemble. Derby Playhouse Studio

The Philanthropist. Christopher Hampton. John. Derby Playhouse Studio

Beckett. Jean Anouilh. Ensemble. Derby Playhouse Studio

The Dresser. Ronald Harwood. Shakespearian actor. Derby Playhouse Studio

The Rose and The Ring. William Makepeace Thackery. Co-writer/performer. Derby Playhouse Studio

84 Charing Cross Road. James Roose Evans. Bill. Derby Playhouse Studio

When the Wind Blows. Raymond Briggs. Director. Catholic Club Derby.

Also played parts in annual Music Hall that we performed for the Catholic Club (rehearsal venue).

Derby Shakespeare Company. 1979 - 1988

A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Shakespeare. Puck. Guildhall Derby.

Romeo and Juliet. Shakespeare. Ensemble. Guildhall Derby.

A Winter’s Tale. Shakespeare. Clown. Guildhall Derby.

Central Operatic Company.

Salad Days Julian Slade. Troppo. Guildhall Derby.

Derby Opera Company

Cabaret. Kander and Ebb. Chorus/Ensemble. Derby Playhouse Main Stage.

Derby Colleges Musical Society.

Orpheus and the Underworld. Offenbach. Chorus. Derby College.

The Littleover Players. 1977 – 1980

In Sickness and In Health. Co-writer and performer. Revue. Littleover School.

Dry Rot. John Chapman. Flash Harry. Littleover School.

Full Treatment. Michael Brett. Wallcott-Brown. BBC reporter. Littleover School.

Sleeping Beauty. Linda Nelson. Fairy Goodanov. Littleover School.

The Emperor’s New Clothes. Linda Nelson. Comedy dancer. Littleover School.