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The uncut X-Beacon files February 2001
At Last! The Millennium Review! But Future is Comically Black
For Painswick Players
A Painswick Players committee meeting is a serious forum where decisions of great dramatic importance are reached through the cut and thrust of intellectual debate. Consider the following exchange… ‘It’s a Review!’ ‘No, it’s not: it’s a Revue, as in the French!’ ‘Review!’ ‘Revue!’ The revue (or review) in question was (and is) our next sparkling production on 5th, 6th and 7th April, intriguingly entitled At Last! The Millennium Review (or Revue). The debate continued: ‘I tell you it’s Revue. Like Raymonde’s Revue Bar…’ ‘Raymonde’s Revue Bar! Raymonde’s Revue Bar is where they have strip shows! Are you really planning to convert the Painswick Centre into a strip joint?’ ‘It won’t be a strip joint! But it will be set out in cabaret style: a floorshow with lots of little tables with candles, bottles of wine, that sort of thing. Anyway, a Review is what they have in military academies when everyone passes out.’ Visions of a parade-ground full of fainting cadets prompted me to make a thoughtful contribution on the subject of French revues. I recalled that at the end of a French Naval Review (or possibly Navel Revue), the senior officer, resplendent in ceremonial uniform and tricolor sash, waves his hand and cries out to the assembled sailors, ‘A l’eau! C’est l’heure!’ (Literally: ‘To the water! It is time!’ or, more freely translated, ‘Hello, sailor’) As one, the sailors wave back and reply, ‘A l’eau! Du quai!’ (‘To the water! From the quay!’ or, just possibly, ‘Hello, ducky’) Curiously, no one seemed to see the relevance of this and the Most Organised One sent me out to make the coffee. So I never did find out whether it would be a Review or a Revue. Whatever it turns out to be, it will be titillating, tuneful and terrific fun. It will be even more tuneful, if we can find another pianist to accompany a couple of the songs. Any offers, anyone? Call the most organised Jean Burgess if you you’d like to help. Tickets at £5.00 each will shortly be on sale at Painswick Post Office and
the Shetland Shop. I returned with the coffee just in time to discover that our Summer production will be Black Comedy by Peter Shaffer (5th, 6th and 7th July) and that this most imaginative comic farce will be directed jointly by Lesley Wolowiec and…er… me (!) Apparently, according to The MOO, Lesley can keep me in order. Auditions will be held early in April. Watch this space for further revelations. Finally. Finally, as I write this piece, I have just heard that Dorothy Cox, one of the original Painswick Players, has sadly died. We remember Dorothy as a sparkling actress, whose performances spanned most of the last century. She was last on stage in 1997, at the age of 88, when she helped re-launch PaDS in the Acting Funny review. Predictably, she stole the show with what was supposed to be a walk-on part. She will be sadly missed not just for her acting but also for her generous spirit and her sheer love of life. I suspect that the after-life is now quite a bit livelier than it was. Jack Burgess, Painswick Players |
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