NE Amateurs to Appear with the RSC

Published: 24 June 2015
Reporter: Peter Lathan

The Castle Players: Andrew Stainthorpe – Flute, Graham Fewell – Snug, Harry French – Quince, Jill Cole – Director, Ben Credit: RSC/Topher McGrillis
The People's Theatre: Michael White – Flute, Mike Smith – Starveling, Stuart Douglas – Snout, Chris Heckels – Director, Jo Kelly – Quince, Laura Halford-Macleod – Assistant Director and Pete McAndrew as Bottom Credit: RSC/Topher McGrillis

Six amateur actors from Newcastle and six from County Durham have been cast in the Royal Shakespeare Company’s forthcoming production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. They are from the People’s Theatre in Newcastle and the Castle Players in Barnard Castle (Co Durham). They will play the roles of the Mechanicals when the production visits Northern Stage from 16 to 26 March 2016.

The amateur cast will perform alongside a cast of 18 professional actors and a professional creative team, led by RSC Deputy Artistic Director, Erica Whyman, formerly Northern Stage’s Artistic Director. Initially the amateur actors from the People’s Theatre will rehearse in Heaton with their own amateur director, Chris Heckels, and Assistant Director Laura Halford-Macleod, while the Castle Players will rehearse at The Witham Arts Centre in Barnard Castle with their own amateur director, Jill Cole. The two groups will then rehearse with the RSC team from January 2016.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream: A Play for the Nation will visit 12 theatres in each region and nation of the UK between 17 February and 4 June 2016 and will involve 14 different amateur theatre companies. In each theatre, a different local amateur theatre company will play the Mechanicals, and local school children will take part as Titania’s fairy train.

The production opens in Stratford-upon-Avon in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in February 2016. After the UK tour, it will return to Stratford-upon-Avon in June 2016 and each of the 14 amateur companies will reprise their roles on the Royal Shakespeare Theatre stage.

Erica Whyman said, “I am absolutely thrilled to be directing A Midsummer Night’s Dream: A Play For the Nation, as part of the RSC’s plans to mark the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death in 2016.

"The experience of casting our amateur actors all around the UK has been inspiring and humbling. I have met so many wonderful people: talented, dedicated and brave. The standard has been tremendous, and the wonderful diversity of men and women who will be taking on these major roles is very exciting, and perhaps most importantly, they have really made us laugh.

"In every single region the cast we have chosen has a distinctive voice and a strong sense of connection to the place where they will perform. I think it will be a real treat for audiences everywhere to see Shakespeare’s most magical play with a properly local flavour.”

"We’re absolutely delighted to have this opportunity to take part in the RSC's Midsummer Night's Dream,” said Jill Cole from the Castle Players. “As a community-based theatre company, our core work is producing large scale outdoor Shakespeare, so for us it is a real honour to have a chance to learn from—and be inspired by—the greatest Shakespearian company of all.

“We don't have a theatre of our own in Barnard Castle where we are based, so it will also be very exciting indeed for us to have the chance to work at Northern Stage."

Chris Heckels from the People’s Theatre said, “the People’s Theatre ‘Dream Team’ is over the moon to have been chosen to represent our theatre and our city in the RSC’s Play for the Nation. The selection process has been challenging, exciting and a great learning experience for us all, and we can’t wait to get started.

“It will be wonderful for us to celebrate our 105th year of continually producing theatre in Newcastle with this ‘jewel in our crown’.”

From the Castle Players, the roles at Northern Stage will be played by Peter Cockerill (Bottom, the Weaver), Andrew Stainthorpe (Flute, the Bellows Mender), Harry French (Quince, the Carpenter), Ian Kirkbride (Starveling, the Tailor), Ben Pearson (Snout, the Tinker), Graham Fewell (Snug, the Joiner) and director Jill Cole.

The Castle Players was established in 1986, in the bar of the Old Well pub in Barnard Castle, when a group of customers decided to play charades to pass the time. Every year the company puts together an outdoor theatre in the grounds of the Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle for special outdoor productions.

From the People’s Theatre, the roles at Northern Stage will be played by Pete McAndrew (Bottom, the Weaver), Michael (Reg) White (Flute, the Bellows Mender), Jo Kelly (Quince, the Carpenter), Mike Smith (Starveling, the Tailor), Stuart Douglas (Snout, the Tinker) and Gordon Russell (Snug, the Joiner).

The People’s is one of the largest and oldest-established amateur theatres in the country, offering people from all walks of life the experience of participating in any aspect of theatre. The company stages up to 12 productions a year in its 500-seat main auditorium and a further 3 in a 90-seat studio. Many of its members have gone on to become professional actors, technicians and set designers.

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