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The uncut X-Beacon files August 1998
At Last! The 1978 PaDS Christmas Show!I would like to kick off this month by thanking all those hundreds of distraught readers who wrote in demanding to know what happened to the PaDS column in last month’s Beacon. I would like to, but strict adherence to the literal truth – an unfortunate necessity now that this column is scrutinised minutely by The Most Organised One – demands that I admit that no-one actually got round to putting pen to paper. Nevertheless, it was quite obvious to me that many of you spent an anxious, stressful month fretting over the Beacon’s PaDS-lessness. Stress being such a danger nowadays, I want reassure you all that nothing untoward happened: it was just that there were so many dramatic goings on (or about to be goings on) last month, that I was at a loss for words. (I wish - Editor). We had frenetic final rehearsals for the Evening of Victorian Melodrama plus all the Machiavellian manoeuvres associated with preparing for the PaDS AGM. The absurdity of the one was matched only by the melodrama of the other. You will note that I have carefully omitted to say which was which. Suffice to say that the Melodramas triumphantly plumbed new thespian heights, whilst the AGM astonished everybody by agreeing a new PaDS constitution without fisticuffs. As a result, the PaDS Committee (which for the last 12 months has operated in semi-legitimate limbo) has been declared fully legal, decent, honest and truthful. For the record, the Committee is: Jan Campbell (Chair), John Stephenson-Oliver (Treasurer), Jean Burgess (Secretary), Maggie Drake, Jacek Wolowiec, Louis Nayegon, Chris Bamford and Andrew Leach. And as if all this weren’t enough, we had auditions underway for a Christmas production of… well, that was the problem – we hadn’t actually decided what. Eventually, after a sequence of events far too exciting to relate here, we decided on Season’s Greetings by Alan Ayckbourn. This is a typically ingenious Ayckbourn comedy, set in 1978 and featuring the ubiquitous Christmas Family Gathering from Hell. Mad uncles compete with tired and emotional aunts, frustrated dads play with the kids’ new toys, frustrated mums threaten to carve up dads and kids along with the turkey, frustrated spinsters plan dangerous liaisons behind the Christmas tree…a perfect start to the Christmas Season! When is it? Friday, 4th and Saturday, 5th December at 7.30 pm, plus a matinee at 3.00 pm on the Saturday. Where is it? The Institute (where else?) Where can I get tickets? Painswick Post Office, Londis and The Shetland Shop What if I need help getting there? Call Jean Burgess on 01452-812 167 Will Santa Claus be there? Of course… Don’t you ask a lot of questions? Rehearsals are now well and hilariously underway with a very strong cast and a highly imaginative set. Incidentally, the plot calls for a puppet theatre and a number of wooden puppets on strings. Any offers, anyone? (I suppose these are in addition to the actors? – Editor) So there we are… At last! A full scale, three Act Christmas production, in the Institute, from a newly re-constituted PaDS. It will be the most challenging production for at least three years and PaDS is confident that it will be the best yet. I have just discovered how difficult it is to type with your fingers crossed! Jack Burgess At last! The Painswick Dramatic Society |
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