TI1e news of the four-letter words and male nudity in Dead Fllnnlj created a stir amongst the membership prior to the audition. The adult nature of the themes requires such language, the nudity and the simulated performances of a sexual act. It also requires the ability to do impersonations and to throw sausage rolls and custard pies. All these elements are necessary if the play is to work.

The theme of the play is how British society is (was) sexually repressed and this is (was) reflected in the humour of the Music Hall and variety theatre comedians. The "death" of their kind of humour was as a result of a more open, possibly more human,e society. The play's themes are serious; its style and structure have more than a passing reference to a "Carry On" film or a Benny Hill TV show. At the end of the play, hopefully, the audience is left wondering whether it has been laughing at a tragedy.

The five characters in the play are Eleanor, married to Richard; Lisa, married to Nick; and their friend, Brian. All the characters, except Eleanor, belong to tl1<' Dead Funny Society, which meets to venerate and impersonate dead comedians such as Max Miller, Jimmy James, Morecambe and Wise, Frankie Howerd, etc. Eleanor does not belong to the Society and has little sympathy with it. Her biological clock is running out and she wants a baby. Richard and she have not made love for the' past eighteen months.

The' unease of their rela tionship and, later, of other relationships is implicit throughout the play wh.ich is set, significantly, at Easter 1992. Brian comes to tell Richa I'd as the current chairman of the Dead Funny Society of the death of Benny HilL Brian's entrance, in fact, interrupts an attempt at sexual massage by Eleanor on a nude Richard.

Brian and Richard decide to hold a celebration of Benny's life the following Wednesday and to invite the other members of the Society. During 'the celebrations Richard, Brian, Lisa and Nick "perform" the "Boom-Ooh-Ya-Ta-Ta-Ta" sketch of Morecambe and Wise, the "in the box" sketch of Jimmy James, plus impersonations of Frankie Howerd, Max Miller and Tony Hancock. As the party progresses the mood darkens as the tensions and revelations of the various also in society, as the nostalgia of

,".1

THE PLAY PRODUCED

DEAD FUNNY by Terry Johnson

Pat Richards discusses her production for The Lace Market Theatre, Nottingham

rela tionships come to the fore. Custard pies and sausage rolls are thrown.

TIle play argues for acceptance and understanding of sex in all its manifestations. Johnson, perhaps, sees change not only in comedy but

the Frankie Howerd era gives way to the more open and sexually aware Julian Clary.

To direct this extremely funny and thought provoking play it was essential to assem ble a cast able to accept its challenges and reveal all its aspects both light and dark. We

had to consider age as a signi fica

~

th

a _

tl

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factor for at least one character, ability to impersonate for otheand the need to suggest the tragl'J underlying the extremely fun n dialogue required from all players. After a fortnight and th auditions we had assembled experienced cast with ages rangin'from mid-twenties to sevent They possessed a wealth expertise on comics and were abl to provide knowledge from din'C experience or books about comedians mentioned in the pIa) Videos and tapes were listened k for the right intonation or correct little gesture. It was a grea pleasure to watch their confidenc grow as their impersonati n' developed.

I had given everyone at th~ audition a list of rehearsal dn t , and asked them to fill in dates the were not available. 1 then planm.­a rehearsal schedule (three nights . week and some Sundays) arou n.:. their availability. The basi plotting of moves, business WI th

props and set layout, discussio~

with technical staff on set, and lighting design plus the sound p lo had all been planned before th" audition. From a technical point view the show is not difficult.

In order to use players' tim, efficiently I planned a schedu le which included all one character ' appearances. This means I do n work in a linear way through t!w play but dot about. Some of th l players felt a little unsure wheT< they were in the early rehearsa b and kept worrying if they woul know which part was coming next After a time I trunk their worri ceased. I expect players to t'il k.­responsibility for learning their words, assimilating their mov , and forming their particular character. In the rehearsals \\'~

concentrate on the pace of particular scene, the relationshIp between the characters, how the, would react to the situation in a certain scene, Discussions OD

characters' motivations, or

mon

wh they say a certain line, also too~ place. As the rehearsals progr~ and the players' character> develop, the director 's inp becomes less directorial and supportive and encouraging.

We approached the nudity early or in rehearsals and, as the acto ' himself was happy with the scen everyone was greatly helped. Afte" two rehearsals everyone accepted j.

MAR(H 10

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BOOK CORNER ff holidays,

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and sorted ~Iumes. This ru turally into

- .pported each elf cues and

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of the play. . thl' routines pie throwing pa rtive, yet

.g . They became ments" in the play.

SCENERY _ " .

t: na nces and an arched \.; . painted red with

'O\'e and the exit up It was, he said,

svmbolise the a he'art which he :.l Id ti e in with

..... lica l connections. r had a pink carpet

e\' ervthing together.

~ ~ood , expensive­:nihu e, an expensive

l: a medical model of a leton and a television.

the torso w hich we ' .30 for three wee ks,

else was kindly "ee of charge by loca l

f props collected ,1 team together.

• m ps were availilble -: 3rt and the real p rops

t>eks before the

ta lk at the same time, _ 'd ed the props ea rly. p ie mixtu.res were and where the mixture u p. We made vilrious

' re the right one WilS ""\ new trifle had to be

"bon manual video t I, Sc. 1. The video

- t e sound of an orgasm. it on the count of three.

~ " first work on sound for !!3tre, and his first sound

ad Funny is not one you "r~' d ay of the week!

Another inte rest ing melange of publications for your perusa l.

To order any of the books below, or those listed in previous issues, call us on 020 7636 4343 and pay with your credit card or send a cheque made payable to Platform Publications Ltd. to Hampd en House, 2 Weymouth Street, London WI N 3FD. Happy Reading'

by Paul Gater Anecdotes Publishing £4.95 + 60p p&p

Book Corner does not normall y include play scripts among its offerings, but this unique book has other uses than just that of it book of scripts. It could easily be used for storytelling purposE's or for audition monologues. The author, Paul Gater writes in his preface, "This open-ended series of one­woman scripts depicting some of the many different aspects of love, has been written with an eye to the current trends in amateur thea tre, offering the opportunity for actresses to perform solo or in groups." A selec tion of these scripts may be used as an evening's e.n tertainment - se ts are minimal ,1I1d costuming is flexible. Also, the scripts may be performed without a fee, so long as the author 's name appears on any programme or promotional material. This book has proved very popular since we introduced it in the December iss ue!

Researched & Compiled by Jill Streatfeild Platform Publications Ltd £16.00 + £2.00 p&p

The newest edition of Tile Amateur Theal re YC11I'book has hit the sh.elves and is selling like crazy. Fully updated (all the new phone numbers which take effect from April are included), this book is the best refe.rence book you can buy and is designed specifically for those involved in amateur thea tre . It includes a directory of amateur thea tre assistance, a directory of venues throughout the country, a super index of suppliers, organisations, publishers and publications. Start the millennium off right with a book wh ich should be a part of every society's library'

'; - ,.

SHAKESPEARE'S; PLA,(S IN PERFORMANCE

by John Russell Brown Applause Theatre Books £15.95 + £1.50 p&p

In Shakespmre's Plays in Perfom1lll1ce,

a reader can at last behold the fuller meaning of the tex t as played. Brown in vi tes all Shakespeare lovers to seek their insights into Shakespeare's natural habitat: the stage. The book is broken down into three sections: The Text and the Actor, Action and the Stage, The Play and the Audience. For thos <' societ ies who perform copious ilmounts of Shakespeare, this book is for you.

THESTA~E~~ HANDB-OO~}...~,

5th Edition by Francis Reid A & C Black £13.99 + £1.50 p&p

This popular guide to s tage lighting, now in its fifth edition, is widely accepted as the standa rd work on the subject. It explains the process of des igning lighting for all . forms of stage production and describes the equipment used . This new edition includes the latest advances in technology and discusses their impac t on working methods. As a lighting deSigner, Francis Reid has lit hundreds of plays, operas, musicals and pantos. His wide thea tre experience also includes periods as Administrato r of the Theatre Royal in Bury St Edmunds and as Head of the Department of Theatre Design at the entral School of Art & Design in London. He lectures ex tensively and is the author of eight books (which have proved most popular in Book Corner), TIle ABC of Stage Ligllting, Desiglling for the Thell/re, Discovering Stage Lighting and Lighting tile Stage.

DESI~NIN~\FOR THE . THEATRE '

2nd edition by Francis Reid £9.99 + £1.00 p&p

Designing for the TI1elltre is established as the authoritative intro to the p rocesses of s tage design. Francis Reid discusses the contribution of costume, settings, props and lighting to a theatre production, and explains the processes involved in their design. This wide-ranging book covers the role of design, the theat-re building, visual s tyle, the control of space and time, new technologies, the practicalities of rea lising the des ign and its critical eva luation. A great book for anyone designing for the stage whatever the space.

v - ­ACTIN~ 'SKILLS1........ ___ l'T""~·

2nd Edition by Hugh Morrison £12.99 + £1.30 p&p

Acting Skills looks at the practicalities of acting, covering the

various techniques and how they can be developed and improved upon. The author discusses in a lively style the various disciplines: voice and speech, the voice in act ion, movement and body language, the imagina tion and creativity. Exa mples and exercises are g iven to help ac tors to unders tand and improve their craft. There is a chapter on the special requirements of acting in Shakespeare's pbys. The author exa mines A Streetcar Named Desire in depth but this example can be applied to any pla y. There is a special section on drama at GCSE level, inva luable for teachers and students. The author has taught at RADA, Webber Douglas, The Royal Scottish Academy and LAMDA.

AN ILLUSTRATED ~UIDE TO STA~IN~ HISTORY

Book 1: The Egyptian, Greek, Roman a.nd Medieval Theatre

May Woollard Cressrelles Publishing £14.50 + £1.50 p&p

During many yea rs teaching drama and theatrical studies, May Woollard found herself continually looking through a variety of sources to find just the right illustration to complete the s taging of a period play. What did Egyptian chairs look like? How does one cons truct a Greek helmet? How different were Roman sandals for men and women? What style crozier wo uld a med ieval bishop carry? And so on. The author has class ified the most frequent questions into a simple scheme and illus trated the first four grea t historical periods w ith nea rly 700 drawings. Getting the s tag ing historically correct is not easy but is essential for proper realisation of the plays. The first sec tion deals with the basic principals common to all productions: type of s tage; building steps, rostra and columns; using flats; using papier mache; scenic decoration; making of stage props. Each period is then taken separately. The development of the theatre, architecture and the stage sets required for the period are discussed. Then follows detailed drawi ngs of the dress, armour, furniture, pottery decoration and decorative borders and the construction of unusual items. Finally there is a lis t of suitable plays fo r the period . A very useful book packed with drawings and information. If you are planning a production of Camelot, A Funny Thing Hllp pened 0 11 lhe Way to the Forum, Beckett or multitudinous Shakespeare plays, this is for you.

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