PALACE THEATRE ARTICLE 3
PALACE THEATRE ARTICLE - FEBRUARY 2007
FROM GHOSTS TO GUESTS – THE YEAR ROLLS ON!
The year of 2007 is continuing its steady incline of success through culminating so far in the famous Agatha Christie adaptation of ‘The Unexpected Guest’ which played to packed houses at the end of February. Starring Simon McCorkindale, Dean Gaffney and the ever elegant Tracey Childs, along with a strong supporting cast, this stylish adaptation brought audience members both new and regular into the Palace theatre over its duration. Just prior to this was the solid production of the spooky classic ‘The Ghost Train’ which brought the ghostly goings-on of a West Country station to the punters of South East Essex. Again, this infamous production drew both new and regular audiences from its inset and enjoyed an excellent run of good reviews and healthy box office figures.
Just after the furore of panto had died down, HQ kindly invited the staff of Southend Theatres to see one of their other many pantos which was playing in the nearby counties.’ Peter Pan’ at the Swan Theatre in High Wycombe starred Nigel Havers as Captain Hook and Sophie Lawrence in the title role. HQ laid on both travel and refreshments for those who took up the generous offer to see the alternative production on the other side of the M25 on January 10th. The production itself was excellent with Nigel Havers creating his very own take on the famous pirate who had more than a passing resemblance to another more modern day sea-faring creation – Captain Jack Sparrow from the blockbusting film trilogy of ‘Pirates of The Caribbean’. His side kick Smee (played by xxxxxx –can’t find the programme) bought the house down in his turn as his interaction with the young members of the audience that were invited up onto the stage to take part in the fun and games was skilfully handled and with every emphasis on allowing each young participant to have their turn in the spotlight. With the excellent standard of performance from all the company in the show, this made for a very enjoyable day out. The event was such a success in fact, that HQ theatres are looking to engage more with their staff with other such events and possibly internal celebrations within the company such as rewards for outstanding members of staff which can only strengthen the team spirit that already exists within Southend Theatres.
Returning to the subject of our own beloved rep theatre, the emphasis for the future will be focusing on the community and the place that Southend Theatres will hold itself in. The soon to be posted position of a Community and Education Officer will enable the full concentration of this specially created post to educate and inform the community in Southend and beyond about the work of Southend Theatres. This emphasis on community has always been a hallmark of these local theatre, especially the Palace, and is extremely timely in regards to the new East 15 campus that will be opening in Luker Road in September this year. A centre page spread in the Evening Echo last month highlighted this exciting educational development in the town centre and, amongst the four new performance modules, will be one concentrating solely on community theatre. David Giles wrote in his article quoting the new director of East 15, Professor Leon Rubin “….. It is going to be a major event for Southend. We think East 15 will make a big difference to the town….as there will be performances that focus very much on the local community”. David Giles also wrote that “….the community theatre course first taught at Loughton, concentrates on working with local people and issues’. So, hopefully, with this current trend towards recognizing and rewarding the immediate community, this will be mutually beneficial for both the residents of Southend and the artistic establishments within their environment.
Southend Spyglass.