I have always been a big fan of the Marine Theatre. As a younger man when I compered a number of events at the Marine I stood on that stage and extolled the virtues of our theatre-by-the-sea on more occasions than I care to remember.
I was also chairman of the Theatre Committee when I was a councillor in the 1980s when the Marine was owned and run by the council. It went through some very difficult times in those days before the town decided by referendum to transfer the ownership and the running of the theatre to a trust.
Since then the council has invested many thousands of pounds in helping turn the Marine into one of the very few small-town theatres operating 12 months of the year. It wasn’t all plain sailing but since the multi-talented Gabby Rabbitts took over as the boss, it has gone from strength-to-strength and now boasts a programme of which far bigger theatres would be proud.
A recent production at the Marine was a classic example. Jackie and I were invited to a performance of a specially written version of “The French Lieutenant’s Woman”, made famous in the 1980s by Lyme’s most famous author John Fowles, adapted by Mark Healy and directed by Chris Gill with a cast of talented local performers. I didn’t think it would be my cup of tea, but it was nothing short of fantastic. The cast were tremendous with stellar performances from Jody Glover in the role of the troubled Sarah Woodruff and Brian Rattenbury as the Vicar.
It was, of course, a sell-out at every performance. John Fowles was not an easy man to please, but I have a feeling he would have been very chuffed with this interpretation of his most famous novel about the love exploits of Sarah Woodruff.
I got to know John well when he was living at the lovely Belmont House at the top of Pound Street. After publishing a book on the worthies of Lyme I was foolish enough, whilst compering the Christmas Band concert, to recite a poem I had written entitled “I wish I was a worthy!” with a rider that said “I never got past page three”.
John was not a happy man and he invited – more like demanded – that I joined him for tea the next day. After ticking me off for being so rude and pointing out a number of grammatical errors in a recent story of mine he had read, we enjoyed a cup or two of Earl Grey whilst chewing the fat over the town we both loved.
Before bidding farewell, John suggested we should treat ourselves to a “snifter” and two bottles of Chablis later we were the best of pals.
The ironic thing about John was that he loathed the summer months when Lyme was so crowded with day-trippers, but he was responsible for attracting more visitors to Lyme than any other media through the world-wide success of “The French Lieutenant’s Woman”.
From one stage show to another. The Mayoress and I were also invited to Lyme Regis Pantomime Society’s production of “Aladdin”. In a 60-year career in journalism, I have covered dozens of pantos over the years. But I can’t recall seeing a more professional one than this. It was in a league of its own.
The staging of the show was fantastic, especially the flying carpet scene (how did they do that?). Costumes were rightly applauded at every opportunity by an appreciative audience and the dancing routines added greatly to the overall enjoyment of the evening.
It would be unfair to single out any of the cast; they were all well-rehearsed and their enthusiasm was certainly transferred across the footlights as the audience played their part by booing and cheering in all the right places. It was particularly pleasing to see so many young people enjoying themselves on stage, encouraged by a few old hands.
I can’t imagine the amount of time and effort put in by director Sara Causley and the backstage crew. I texted Sarah after the show to congratulate her. In reply she admitted it had been highly stressful at times but was worthwhile especially after receiving so many messages saying how much the show was enjoyed by so many.
Please Note: My Mayor’s Surgery, scheduled for Saturday, March 21st, has been postponed due to a wedding in the Guildhall. If you need to speak to me please feel free to contact me on 07796 951991 and I can arrange another meeting place.
Photograph credit: This is Lyme Regis