A real historical mystery; an exploration of friendship and memory; a voyage into the components of the atom. Michael Frayn’s Copenhagen is many things as it sets out to investigate the secret wartime meeting between Werner Heisenberg and Niels Bohr – two atomic scientists who found themselves on separate sides of the conflict, with the looming potential of an atomic bomb.
Michael Frayn’s wonderful, award-winning play explores themes of war, guilt and human motivations. The two men meet again in an after-life, under the critical eye of Margrethe Bohr, and try to reach some understanding of the past.
Taking up the challenge of directing this play is Susan Bilbey, whose 2004 production of Breaking the Code won the Best Play award from the Gloucestershire Drama Association.
Friday, 25 April 2008
Wonderful, wonderful . . . (Gloucestersire Echo Review 25th April)
WHY did a leading German physicist visit his erstwhile mentor in Nazi-occupied Denmark in the autumn of 1941?
Michael Frayn’s thought-provoking play Copenhagen attempts to find an answer to this question.
There are just three characters in the production – two giants of modern physics Werner Heisenberg and Niels Bohr, and Bohr’s wife Margrethe.
Liz Maisey was excellent in the pivotal role of the jealous wife helping to steer the drama along. Peter Osborn scored highly as the father of modern physics, never happier than when indulging in intense discussions and reminiscing about happier times.
But it was Jason Blackburn who dominated the action as the larger-than-life Heisenberg – gauche, passionate, egotistical, idealistic and at times deeply troubled.
The faultless production directed by Susan Bilbey offered a fascinating insight into the scientific mind and the theories which shaped the 20th century.
Roger Jones
Michael Frayn’s thought-provoking play Copenhagen attempts to find an answer to this question.
There are just three characters in the production – two giants of modern physics Werner Heisenberg and Niels Bohr, and Bohr’s wife Margrethe.
Liz Maisey was excellent in the pivotal role of the jealous wife helping to steer the drama along. Peter Osborn scored highly as the father of modern physics, never happier than when indulging in intense discussions and reminiscing about happier times.
But it was Jason Blackburn who dominated the action as the larger-than-life Heisenberg – gauche, passionate, egotistical, idealistic and at times deeply troubled.
The faultless production directed by Susan Bilbey offered a fascinating insight into the scientific mind and the theories which shaped the 20th century.
Roger Jones
Customer Feedback:
"Excellent – lots of mid-way discussion, also comments how brave and amazing that an amateur company should tackle it – and how good they were because of the huge chunks of dialogue and nowhere to hide."
"I and the rest of the audience really enjoyed the show. WELL DONE. I was aware the audience was still and attentive - always a good sign. You must be pleased."
Wednesday, 23 April 2008
Last Two Days of Frantic Activity
Now we’ve reached 23rd I finally have time to sit and reflect on the last two days.
On Monday morning, Martin Oakes was already programming the lighting when Helen Critchley, Alan Compton and myself arrived at the theatre. Does this man ever go home? I got out the black paint and went round the platform levels, Helen touched up some of the damaged artwork and Alan made an improvement to the ingot design. We worked under disco conditions as the lights went up, down, here and there all over the stage. Painting things black in the dark is tricky but you get good at it.
In the afternoon after a very pleasant gossip over sandwiches the others went back to set finishing while I sat with Martin to help him program Act Two. Helen decided that some gloss varnish lines would help relieve the large area of plain black on the front of the platform and set to work taping and painting. It was a great improvement.
Helping Martin took up the rest of my afternoon. We have one tricky lighting sequence where Heisenberg demonstrates a scientific principle. The lights need to coordinate with the actor’s moves. I played Heisenberg and we tried it over and over until it was smooth. We finished around 5 o’clock and then put white tape crosses down on the stage to help the actors find their feature lights.
I went home for food and a much needed drink. The work on the back stage refurbishment had put the kettle out of bounds and the haze machine had dried the air.
I had checked with Paul Scott in the Box Office and discovered that the audience have to be warned about the haze machine. Apart from anything else it could look as though the theatre is in imminent danger of bursting into flames. I promise it’s all very safe. We searched the pre-prepared notices for an appropriate one – no luck. Before I go back down I print one off and then promptly forget to hang it until the next evening.
The words Technical Rehearsal strike terror into the soul of all involved. For some odd reason that nobody can fathom they normally start late and can go on into the wee small hours. I was determined to start at 7:45 at the latest and succeeded.
A Tech Rehearsal is exactly as the name suggests: for the technicians to practice their side of the show and to ensure that the actors get used to using the stage and find their lights. Before we start Martin and I run Jason Blackburn through the tricky lighting sequence we worked on earlier. I also take the actors through their lighting marks. The plan is to only run the sections that contain technical elements. This show has over 100 lighting changes in 91 pages of script and that isn’t taking sound effects into account. Cutting bits of script out where there are no technical cues is called ‘topping and tailing’. Martin and I work out what we can miss. It’s a depressingly short list.
We start. Everyone remains in good humour. We finish at 11:30. The actors look a bit ragged but in fact the evening has gone far better than expected. Martin has decided that he needs to expand some of the light pools and needs a few more lights to fill in some dark patches. He is always hopeful that the cast will contain actors that can instinctively find their lights. It is a rare skill. Our actors don’t possess it. Martin’s search goes on.
Glenn Burns lost some of his train sounds into the ether but will work on this before tomorrow. But otherwise sound has worked well except when the line: ‘I pull on the familiar bell-pull’, resulted in the Flying Scotsman rushing through the countryside. Much humour. When you make a sound mistake there is no place to hide.
Next morning and the adrenaline punch knocks me out of bed early AGAIN. How long can this go on?
Today I want to do something about Jason Blackburn’s trousers and tie. He is not happy. His costume has been an ongoing problem. I cannot have a miserable actor. I straighten my neglected home and head off to the charity shops. The very last shop and I strike gold but then have to go back to one I visited earlier in the day to buy the matching tie. The relief!!
I take my purchases into the theatre and pop in to chat to Helen, Martin and Alan who are hard at work titivating.
In the evening we have the Dress Rehearsal. It was fabulous. I am so proud of my team. The performances have been excellent for some time but it was exciting to see the actors working comfortably with the staging and lighting. It was totally absorbing and gripping all the way through. Very impressive.
My cast are a very brave, talented and dedicated group of people to tackle such a difficult play. They have worked incredibly hard since January and have come such a long way in so short a time. I have thoroughly enjoyed working with them.
Break a leg tonight.
On Monday morning, Martin Oakes was already programming the lighting when Helen Critchley, Alan Compton and myself arrived at the theatre. Does this man ever go home? I got out the black paint and went round the platform levels, Helen touched up some of the damaged artwork and Alan made an improvement to the ingot design. We worked under disco conditions as the lights went up, down, here and there all over the stage. Painting things black in the dark is tricky but you get good at it.
In the afternoon after a very pleasant gossip over sandwiches the others went back to set finishing while I sat with Martin to help him program Act Two. Helen decided that some gloss varnish lines would help relieve the large area of plain black on the front of the platform and set to work taping and painting. It was a great improvement.
Helping Martin took up the rest of my afternoon. We have one tricky lighting sequence where Heisenberg demonstrates a scientific principle. The lights need to coordinate with the actor’s moves. I played Heisenberg and we tried it over and over until it was smooth. We finished around 5 o’clock and then put white tape crosses down on the stage to help the actors find their feature lights.
I went home for food and a much needed drink. The work on the back stage refurbishment had put the kettle out of bounds and the haze machine had dried the air.
I had checked with Paul Scott in the Box Office and discovered that the audience have to be warned about the haze machine. Apart from anything else it could look as though the theatre is in imminent danger of bursting into flames. I promise it’s all very safe. We searched the pre-prepared notices for an appropriate one – no luck. Before I go back down I print one off and then promptly forget to hang it until the next evening.
The words Technical Rehearsal strike terror into the soul of all involved. For some odd reason that nobody can fathom they normally start late and can go on into the wee small hours. I was determined to start at 7:45 at the latest and succeeded.
A Tech Rehearsal is exactly as the name suggests: for the technicians to practice their side of the show and to ensure that the actors get used to using the stage and find their lights. Before we start Martin and I run Jason Blackburn through the tricky lighting sequence we worked on earlier. I also take the actors through their lighting marks. The plan is to only run the sections that contain technical elements. This show has over 100 lighting changes in 91 pages of script and that isn’t taking sound effects into account. Cutting bits of script out where there are no technical cues is called ‘topping and tailing’. Martin and I work out what we can miss. It’s a depressingly short list.
We start. Everyone remains in good humour. We finish at 11:30. The actors look a bit ragged but in fact the evening has gone far better than expected. Martin has decided that he needs to expand some of the light pools and needs a few more lights to fill in some dark patches. He is always hopeful that the cast will contain actors that can instinctively find their lights. It is a rare skill. Our actors don’t possess it. Martin’s search goes on.
Glenn Burns lost some of his train sounds into the ether but will work on this before tomorrow. But otherwise sound has worked well except when the line: ‘I pull on the familiar bell-pull’, resulted in the Flying Scotsman rushing through the countryside. Much humour. When you make a sound mistake there is no place to hide.
Next morning and the adrenaline punch knocks me out of bed early AGAIN. How long can this go on?
Today I want to do something about Jason Blackburn’s trousers and tie. He is not happy. His costume has been an ongoing problem. I cannot have a miserable actor. I straighten my neglected home and head off to the charity shops. The very last shop and I strike gold but then have to go back to one I visited earlier in the day to buy the matching tie. The relief!!
I take my purchases into the theatre and pop in to chat to Helen, Martin and Alan who are hard at work titivating.
In the evening we have the Dress Rehearsal. It was fabulous. I am so proud of my team. The performances have been excellent for some time but it was exciting to see the actors working comfortably with the staging and lighting. It was totally absorbing and gripping all the way through. Very impressive.
My cast are a very brave, talented and dedicated group of people to tackle such a difficult play. They have worked incredibly hard since January and have come such a long way in so short a time. I have thoroughly enjoyed working with them.
Break a leg tonight.
Sunday, 20 April 2008
'Get-In' Day
Another long day following a short night. Dreamed I was building the set several times last night and I should have been exhausted by this morning, but no, the adrenaline kicked in and I was awake before my alarm.
First job for me this morning was to take advantage of the dry weather and fill the front boxes. By the time I’d finished the build had started and Sally Norman (Production Secretary) was suggesting a tea break. This was very welcome. I’d got cold outside. Even the blu-tack was so hard it wouldn’t stick.
Owing to his previous experience on the set of Kes, Tony Maisey constructed the forestage that goes out to Row A and in the centre across the first two rows. On stage, Helen Critchley was considering how to fix the organza to the back of the ‘ingots’ without causing a run in the material.
Next Martin Oakes (Lighting) needed to drop the lighting bars over the stage for rigging. We helped where we could but generally looked on admiringly. Once the back bar was up we could start to lay the platforms and put the ‘ingots’ in place. By now we had a huge crew – thank you folks – and the set build was powering along.
Keith Swinford (Prompt) was trying to decide where to sit during the performances. A prompt needs to be able to see the panicked or blank look on the actors’ faces and feed them the line swiftly and loudly to minimise the impact. In the end, he decided to sit at the front of the auditorium as opposed to up in the balcony.
By the second tea break at 12:30 both lighting bars had been rigged and hoisted back up and the stage was clear so that the rest of the set could go up and then the boxes could then be covered with hardboard.
By the time the actors turned up for their rehearsal with Keith and the cardboard set, the build was almost complete. Martin and his team were rigging bars over the auditorium; Adam Bottomley was hanging the legs – long thin pieces of black cloth to hide offstage activity from the audience; I was putting tape to hide joins in the set and Sally was painting the stage and boxes their first coat of black.
During the later afternoon Glenn Burns (Sound) took me through the various effects, lead-in music and pre-performance and interval music. It sounded great but he won’t be able to fine-tune it until the Technical Rehearsal on Monday evening.
By now we had largely finished and Martin and the Lighting Crew needed the stage clear to focus (aim) the lights. Once the rehearsal finished the actors had a walk round on the stage and then we all left the Lighting Team in peace.
It was a hugely successful build. A big thank you to Alan Compton (Stage Manager) and everybody who gave up their Sunday to help make it so quick and easy.
First job for me this morning was to take advantage of the dry weather and fill the front boxes. By the time I’d finished the build had started and Sally Norman (Production Secretary) was suggesting a tea break. This was very welcome. I’d got cold outside. Even the blu-tack was so hard it wouldn’t stick.
Owing to his previous experience on the set of Kes, Tony Maisey constructed the forestage that goes out to Row A and in the centre across the first two rows. On stage, Helen Critchley was considering how to fix the organza to the back of the ‘ingots’ without causing a run in the material.
Next Martin Oakes (Lighting) needed to drop the lighting bars over the stage for rigging. We helped where we could but generally looked on admiringly. Once the back bar was up we could start to lay the platforms and put the ‘ingots’ in place. By now we had a huge crew – thank you folks – and the set build was powering along.
Keith Swinford (Prompt) was trying to decide where to sit during the performances. A prompt needs to be able to see the panicked or blank look on the actors’ faces and feed them the line swiftly and loudly to minimise the impact. In the end, he decided to sit at the front of the auditorium as opposed to up in the balcony.
By the second tea break at 12:30 both lighting bars had been rigged and hoisted back up and the stage was clear so that the rest of the set could go up and then the boxes could then be covered with hardboard.
By the time the actors turned up for their rehearsal with Keith and the cardboard set, the build was almost complete. Martin and his team were rigging bars over the auditorium; Adam Bottomley was hanging the legs – long thin pieces of black cloth to hide offstage activity from the audience; I was putting tape to hide joins in the set and Sally was painting the stage and boxes their first coat of black.
During the later afternoon Glenn Burns (Sound) took me through the various effects, lead-in music and pre-performance and interval music. It sounded great but he won’t be able to fine-tune it until the Technical Rehearsal on Monday evening.
By now we had largely finished and Martin and the Lighting Crew needed the stage clear to focus (aim) the lights. Once the rehearsal finished the actors had a walk round on the stage and then we all left the Lighting Team in peace.It was a hugely successful build. A big thank you to Alan Compton (Stage Manager) and everybody who gave up their Sunday to help make it so quick and easy.
Saturday
Morning
My first thought on waking this morning? We must make use of the extra stage time to resolve one problem that has been nagging at me.
During rehearsal we have been representing the different floor heights of the set with large pieces of painted cardboard which I have laid down and taped to the floor every evening. The actors have sat on chairs placed on top but on the real set will be sitting on the boxes that make up the raised area. I have pondered whether this will work as well in reality as it does in my head – I suspect the actors have had their doubts as well but have been too polite to mention it. Since there has been no way until now to face the problem we’ve got on with it but the sooner I look into it now I have the opportunity the better. I pray that my fears are groundless but it is better to know one way or the other as soon as possible in case any minor redesign becomes necessary.
My first thought on waking this morning? We must make use of the extra stage time to resolve one problem that has been nagging at me.
During rehearsal we have been representing the different floor heights of the set with large pieces of painted cardboard which I have laid down and taped to the floor every evening. The actors have sat on chairs placed on top but on the real set will be sitting on the boxes that make up the raised area. I have pondered whether this will work as well in reality as it does in my head – I suspect the actors have had their doubts as well but have been too polite to mention it. Since there has been no way until now to face the problem we’ve got on with it but the sooner I look into it now I have the opportunity the better. I pray that my fears are groundless but it is better to know one way or the other as soon as possible in case any minor redesign becomes necessary.
Jack Boskett (Photographer) has sent me some excellent photos for the front boxes so that is the other job to be done. This will mean dusting off the old printer and coaxing it back to life.
Evening
We played with boxes on stage this afternoon and my fears were groundless. The set works!
Unfortunately bringing the printer out of retirement was less easy. Two new printer cartridges and a lot of hassle and finally I have some display photos. In the meantime the weather has turned foul and I can’t put them into the boxes in the rain as they run if they get wet. So enjoy them here instead and I’ll pray for sun tomorrow.
Evening
We played with boxes on stage this afternoon and my fears were groundless. The set works!
Unfortunately bringing the printer out of retirement was less easy. Two new printer cartridges and a lot of hassle and finally I have some display photos. In the meantime the weather has turned foul and I can’t put them into the boxes in the rain as they run if they get wet. So enjoy them here instead and I’ll pray for sun tomorrow.
Saturday, 19 April 2008
I took the finished programmes into the Box Office today. Much consolation, advice and laughter about my embarrassing interview on Radio Gloucestershire. I might have done the theatre some good, but Copenhagen, maybe not. It’s sooo difficult to put this play into sound bites that work well on the radio. In fact I am so close to it now that I can’t see the wood for the trees. Paul Scott suggested that I take prompt cards next time but in this case I doubt even that would have worked. Every time I’ve written publicity releases it has been a struggle to encapsulate the scope of the work. At least I know that I’m not the only person to fail. When the play was first performed in the late 1990s I can remember the reviews being strangely uninformative and uninspiring. All I can say is put aside any preconceptions you may have formed and come and see for yourself. It’s a wonderful play.
Paul Scott in the Box Office released the keys for Lighting and the Stage Manager so we are all set to go as soon as the maintenance crew allow us the stage. They have been busy drilling huge holes in the wall for cabling, painting the dressing rooms – hooray, happy actors – and clearing rooms so that the Wardrobe can be moved upstairs, safe from further flood damage.
We were thrilled that the exterior flood defences were going in today. The thought that after a year’s preparation and 40-odd rehearsals the River Chelt could pour through the building and force us to cancel the show is a depressing one. Hopefully future directors won’t have to fear this.
This evening we were back in rehearsal after a welcome day’s rest. The actors were tired on Wednesday and struggling so I stopped them because we weren’t achieving anything useful. Today they were back on form and better than ever. The performances were splendid and the pace faster than before. Act One is better than Act Two, which has not generally been the case, but Act Two has been neglected a bit in recent rehearsals and will come back into shape quickly. They have a run through with Keith Swinford (Prompt) on Sunday afternoon, which will sort this out.
Paul Scott in the Box Office released the keys for Lighting and the Stage Manager so we are all set to go as soon as the maintenance crew allow us the stage. They have been busy drilling huge holes in the wall for cabling, painting the dressing rooms – hooray, happy actors – and clearing rooms so that the Wardrobe can be moved upstairs, safe from further flood damage.
We were thrilled that the exterior flood defences were going in today. The thought that after a year’s preparation and 40-odd rehearsals the River Chelt could pour through the building and force us to cancel the show is a depressing one. Hopefully future directors won’t have to fear this.
This evening we were back in rehearsal after a welcome day’s rest. The actors were tired on Wednesday and struggling so I stopped them because we weren’t achieving anything useful. Today they were back on form and better than ever. The performances were splendid and the pace faster than before. Act One is better than Act Two, which has not generally been the case, but Act Two has been neglected a bit in recent rehearsals and will come back into shape quickly. They have a run through with Keith Swinford (Prompt) on Sunday afternoon, which will sort this out.In the workshop Helen Critchley (Set Designer) was spraying the set with glitter. Half way through the evening the maintenance crew gave us the stage – a day and an evening early. It was a godsend. Martin Oakes (Lighting) immediately left the rehearsal to start rigging and Helen and Alan Compton (Stage Manager) marked the position of the platforms ready for the build on Sunday morning.
The best news of all is that none of the Cast listened out for my interview so my humiliation is not totally complete.
Roll on Sunday. I will be burning plenty of adrenaline hauling heavy things around the stage. If I exhaust myself I might even manage more than six hours sleep that night.
The best news of all is that none of the Cast listened out for my interview so my humiliation is not totally complete.
Roll on Sunday. I will be burning plenty of adrenaline hauling heavy things around the stage. If I exhaust myself I might even manage more than six hours sleep that night.
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