The moment a saw John Ryder splashing blue paint over a simple, stark set at the balcony end of the hall, I realised that this production was to be a new concept in drama at our school. It had produced the rare phenomenon of an actor doing stage work, dirty work.
Michael Woods' and Stephen Games' plan was that the readings should reveal the contrasts inherent in a man's existence. The first two sections on Morning and Childhood were dull and it was not until the excerpt from "Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man" that the audience's interest was aroused. The acting of the scene was enthusiastic even though it was not very convincing. Far better performed was Suzanne Finch's passionate yet always mature and controlled delivery of the poem, "Daddy". This poem about a young person's revolt against the ideals of her dead Nazi Father was received with enthusiastic acclaim. A little later, in a different mood the audience was entranced by the fate of Diane Abbott in the "Castaway" whose coy, appealing manner was the perfect match for the poem about an apparent seduction that was, in fact describing the ravaging of a bottle of beer!
The section on Love was followed by John Ryder making an announcement called "Your Attention Please." It was a radio broadcast in the last minutes before a nuclear attack and the announcer's unruffled delivery as he said "Some of us may die. Remember statistically it is not likely to be you," produced a few nervous laughs. The Triumphal March was repetitive and obtuse, though ambitiously staged.
The constant changing of mood in the Section on marriage was of great value as it meant that the audience's attention was nearly always held. The pithy John Aubrey story was followed by the insensitive declaration of love and Elizabeth's amused refusal in the excerpt from "Pride..... and Prejudice." Yet another contrast was the formidable wife domination of Mrs. Ogmore, convincingly played by Gillian Spraggs, in the excerpt from "Under Milk Wood." The atmosphere was changed and suddenly we were in the lighthearted and charming company of Madeleine Pratt and Francis Matthews waltzing to "One More Dance."
In the teams determination to deal with the breadth of man's existence they included a poem called "Death of a son (Who died in a mental hospital aged one)". This, sympathetically read by Irene Fawkes, increased one's respect for the team's aims, but the poems complex images meant that it was difficult to appreciate and so was too ambitious.
The portrayal of the pressure of the society to make the individual conform was best demonstrated by Diane in the extract from "Brave New World." She completely captured the spirit of smugness of the Beta child who knows that she does not have to work as hard as the alphas, as she is not so clever but feels confident of her superiority over gammas and deltas.
The section on Old Age started with the inanities of "You are old Father William", but this frolicking atmosphere was soon dissipated by the poem, "Whispers of Immortality", which examined the way Webster and Donne wrote about death. Although this was read competently by Michael Portillo, the content and meaning of the poem were sufficiently difficult that, as with "Death of a Son", it was more suitable for classroom study. One of the best examples of non-communication of the writer's feeling yet the conveyance of the general meaning and atmosphere was Richard Salter's startling appearance on the balcony to read one of Donne's sermons. Contrasting strongly with the complexity of many of the poems towards the end, such as "Death, be not proud," was the final poem "Death of the Ball-turret Gunner" which finished with frightening simplicity: "When I died, they washed me out of the turret with a hose."
The music which was interspersed amongst the poems was suited to its position in the plan though it was not well reproduced. It ranged from "My Generation" by the Who to the first movement of Symphony No. 9 by Dvorak. A general criticism of the production is that the actors' faces were often solemn when there was no need for it.
This successful first production under the canopy of Convergence was, by itself, a justification of the principles behind the marriage of the boys' and girls' dramatic soieties.
Stewart Dresner
from Gaytonian, 1968