The article is online: “Sister act at the Swan”.  The Standard calls the play “powerful and funny”.

You can read more about The Memory of Water here on the play’s dedicated page, or at the Worcester Festival website’s event page.

The text of both articles follows below.

Sex can be ridiculous in controversial Swan play [Friday 25th April]

A BOLD play about sex, love and betrayal is at Worcester’s Swan Theatre next week.

The Swan Theatre Amateur Company (STAC) will stage The Blue Room from Tuesday. In Sir David Hare’s controversial play, adapted from cult film La Ronde, two actors portray 10 sexual scenes as five different couples, drawing on the idea that sex is often ridiculous.

“I think Worcester can handle it,” said actor Bob Churchill, who stars with Emily Portsmouth. “We’ve got a jazz trio accompanying the action, and the play’s funny too, in a poignant kind of way.”

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Directed by Worcester Live’s Chris Jaeger, it contains nudity, explicit sexuality and strong language. It runs until Saturday, May 3.

Tickets are available from the box office on 01905 611427.

And Chris Jaeger’s column on the production:

CENTRE STAGE [Friday 18th April]

Chris Jaeger of Worcester Live

I am directing two different plays at the moment, the Blue Room and the Taming Of The Shrew.

In some ways, they could not be more different but there are also some surprising similarities.

The Blue Room is based on a play called La Ronde which shocked European audiences in the 1920s, although actually there weren’t many audiences because it was banned for some years after its first performance! David Hare has written a modern version - it was a smash hit in the West End with Nicole Kidman in the title role. (Nicole was not available for the forthcoming Worcester version but I do have a very good alternative actress!) The play is for adults only and is controversial in that there is nudity, sex scenes and strong language.

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However, the play is a brilliant insight into human nature (seen through our attitude to sex) and in the end, it is the words in the play that are significant, not the actions.

Taming Of The Shrew is also a controversial play these days, with the apparent subjugation of a strong-willed woman by fairly strong chauvinist actions.

However, there are many ways of presenting a text, and as this was written as a comedy, I am playing it for all the laughs I can get. I am sure we will not be offending the female, or indeed the male audience.

The Shakespeare is outdoors at the Commandery in the middle two weeks of June. The Blue Room is at the Swan starting on April 29. Come on, be daring.

* Chris Jaeger is chief executive of Worcester Live.

Unique items and experiences are up for grabs, including theatre tickets, spa breaks, family days out, private tours of hte House of Lords, dinner at top Worcester restaurants, premier sports tickets and private film screenings.

This is an important fund raiser aimed at keeping STAC’s Swan Theatre open and the broader arts community surrounding Worcester Live… well, alive.

Chris Jaeger says “We are passionate about keeping the arts alive in Worcester but we need your help. Please come along on the night and join in the fun. It’s a great evening.”

The auction begins at 7.30pm tomorrow (Monday) night.

Chris Jaeger’s Centre Stage column in the Worcester News this week, mainly covering the pantomime, also delivers a wider Christmas message to arts patrons in Worcester.

May I take this opportunity to wish everybody a very happy Christmas? So many of you support us during the year, at the Hall, the Swan, the Festival and for the first time this year, at Shakespeare at the Commandery.

It is always tough financially in the arts, so your support is essential to the well-being of the arts provision in Worcester. So many of you do come regularly, and we love you! Please keep coming in 2008!

John Phillpot gives a very positive review in the Worcester News:

this is a rootin’ tootin’, rip-roaring rampage through a roster of one-liners, with the gags coming thick and fast. Not only that, but writers Paul Milton and Chris Jaeger also add some topical jokes into the festive mix to give the show extra spice and immediacy.

The cast is a glittering showcase of talent. Worcester lad Ben Humphrey returns to his native city to make a formidable Aladdin, ably partnered by Claire Rimell as Princess Jasmine.

Chris Jaeger has said, “We were blown away with the success of last year’s pantomime, I still have people come up to me in the street and comment on what a great pantomime it was! This will be our 5th pantomime at the Swan Theatre now and we’re confident that we have the perfect recipe for success.”

Aladdin is showing now and runs until Sunday 30th December. Tickets from £8.50 to £14.50 are available from the Worcester Live Box Office.

From the City Council:

People’s Millions
I-Play bid goes to the public vote!!!

Please call 08702 433 302
You can call from 9am to Midnight.
Each vote from a landline costs less than 10p.
Mobile calls will be a bit more.
You are allowed 10 votes from each phoneline.

A bid to turn a small, underused area of Cripplegate park into a play and meeting space for teenagers has won through to the final round of the ‘People’s Millions Project’. The bid is for £44,558 and covers the cost of the I-Play game, an up to the minute youth shelter and contemporary setting.

I-Play is a brand new concept in play, designed to counteract the current trend in obesity and ‘couch potato’ syndrome. It is solar powered and uses computer and mobile phone technology to motivate children into activity. Participants play the physically active game and compete with themselves or others in the park, city, or county in order to complete the game in the fastest time. One of it’s strongest points is that it can be played by children in wheelchairs or those who have hearing or sight impairment.

It is a trail blazing piece of equipment and how wonderful would it be if Worcester was one of the first places to install it?

We need your vote if we are to win.

A letter in the Worcester Standard, 9th November (note: the page online is inaccurately dated as the subsequent Friday, the 16th), had complained that “what is on offer generally at the Swan theatre these days” is too often like the recent tour, Get Naked. (This was a nude a cappella performance by a troupe of male singers, though even this was aimed more at philosophizing about attitudes to the male body than simple lude entertainment.) These shows, Joan Ritchie argued, “are not suitable for a mixed age audience. It seems a shame that a theatre that was brought about by the people, for the people now only attracts limited audiences.” (Her letter is reproduced below.)

Bob Churchill and Chris Jaeger’s responses can be found online on the Standard’s Letters page for the 16th November (or in full below). Bob talks from the perspective of his “own theatrical experience in Worcester (acting) … with the STAC”, detailing the shows STAC have performed in the last year or so, many of which were suitable for a wide range of audiences. And he also mentions the STAC Children’s Theatre shows: “they are very popular, and, I’m proud to say, they cost just £1.50 a ticket. If that’s not inclusive I don’t know what is!”

Meanwhile Chris gave a similar rundown of shows from the broader perspective of the whole theatre, concluding that the Swan “is a genuine community resource with a balanced programme, If you choose not to come, that is your prerogative, but please don’t pretend that there is nothing here for mixed audiences. There is something here for everybody.”

All three letters are reproduced in full below.

From Joan Ritchie, published 9th November:

Following your article asking for comments on the censorship of the ‘Get Naked’ poster (Standard, November 2), I wasn’t particularly bothered by the poster but do feel that it is inappropriate for posting in public places. What bothers me more is what is on offer generally at the Swan theatre these days. I used to be a very regular visitor to the theatre and saw many good plays and shows but have not been now for two or three years. Often performances are like the one in question which are notsuitable for a mixed age audience. It seems a shame that a theatre that was brought about by the people, for the people now only attracts limited audiences.

Joan Ritchie
via email

From Bob Churchill, published 16th November:

What is Joan Ritchie on about? She says that “these days” performances at the Swan Theatre are “often” like Get Naked, “which are not suitable for mixed age audience” (Standard, November 9). Now it has always been the case that “family” productions are only one part of theatre life (though even on television truly cross-generational programs are restricted mainly to the seasonal holidays, or the pointless rubbish on Saturday evenings.) But the Swan — valiantly — does cater very widely for a venue which is so often under-utilized by its would-be audience here in Worcester.

My own theatrical experience in Worcester (acting) is with the STAC (www.stac-worcester.com). In just over a year we have staged, on the main stage at the Swan, an old-time farce (Charley’s Aunt, October ‘06) and the Ayckbourn play Relatively Speaking (this October), both of which are mild-mannered and suitable for anyone from about age 12 and up. We also staged plays only suitable for much older children and adults: Misery (March ‘07), The Dresser (May ‘07) and Popcorn (July ‘07). All of these might have appealed to slightly different adult audiences. That’s not to mention the work we do in the Studio next door (about three productions a year).

In the meantime, we run Children’s Theatre shows once a month on Saturdays, from October to May. These shows, about 45 minutes long, are aimed at younger children; they have been running for many years, they are very popular, and, I’m proud to say, they cost just £1.50 a ticket. If that’s not inclusive I don’t know what is!

Meanwhile WODs may have performed the Fully Monty this year, which falls slightly toward the Get Naked end of the spectrum, but they have also just finished a successful run of Oliver! The grassroots theatre in Worcester is varied and often wholesome (it’s just that naked men tend to accrue a good deal of publicity!).

And true, many of the touring professional productions aimed at children are aimed slightly older, to coincide with the school curriculum, but they are still children-friendly and you don’t have to wait for a school to organise a trip to bring the family to the theatre! Also the annual pantomime is just coming up, in which the whole theatre is turned over to a family-friendly enterprise for two whole months. It seems like a very varied program to me!

It is impossible to cater to everyone all the time. I say, stop complaining about what you don’t want to come and see, and find out more about what’s on, so you can come and see the shows that do appeal. Because there must be something!

If Ms Ritchie has family of an appropriate age, it would be lovely to see her at next month’s Children’s Theatre, which is The Dancing Bear, Saturday December 8th at 10.30am and 11.45am. www.stac-worcester.com/childrens-theatre (I was in this month’s production and it’s always a delightful atmosphere).

Bob Churchill
Vincent Rd, Worcester

From Chris Jaeger, published 16th November:

Joan Ritchie (Standard letters, November 9) says that she has not been to the Swan for 2-3 years as we do not put on things for mixed audiences.

16 weeks a year are hires at the Swan, really good local amateur companies like WODS, WODYS, MMTG, Kay’s Pantomime, Great Witley, Worcester G & S, Academy Dance and many more doing shows like Oliver, The Mikado, Guys and Dolls, Old Time Music Hall and Mother Goose. The Swan stages a professional pantomime for 45 performances - last December, over 14,000 people saw Snow White, a fantastic family pantomime. (Aladdin this year.) Just two weeks ago, we staged an entire week of shows and workshops for young people during the half term week, many of which were sold out.

In the past 12 months a sample of what we have put on is Hull Trucks ‘Bouncers’ attended by over 20 schools and colleges, two Ayckbourn plays, Shakespeare’s ‘As You Like It’, 17 films for all tastes, Ballet Russe’s ‘Cinderella’, a world premier of a new play about Elgar, music of many genres, comedy including Pam Ayres, contemporary dance (where 80 per cent of the audience is under 18) and much much more. We have a Dancer in Residence, 7 youth theatres and classes for adults in addition to shows staged.

In the last year, we have had only 5 nights when there was a show which had an ‘adult only’ tag, and only three of those could be called ‘tacky’. 5 out of 365, You have no case Joan Ritchie, the Swan offers a huge eclectic range of events and is supported by large audiences (including the adult only nights.) It is a genuine community resource with a balanced programme, If you choose not to come, that is your prerogative, but please don’t pretend that there is nothing here for mixed audiences. There is something here for everybody.

Chris Jaeger
Chief Executive of ‘Worcester Live’

Jared Thomas joined the Swan Theatre Amateur Company last year, first playing a love-sick Jack in Charley’s Aunt (alongside Keith Thompson and Bob Churchill who are both currently playing in Relatively Speaking) and then playing the lecherous best friend in Babysitting Calvin earlier this year. He has since played one of the “rude mechanicals” in the Invitation Company’s Midsummer Night’s Dream this summer.

And now… he is the new Skell, leading Worcester Live’s ghostbusting tours for children around the city.

The Standard article can be found online: “Ghostwalk starts up for new series of fright nights”. Also see the Worcester Live Children’s Ghostwalk page.

He argues that because local authorities are constrained by their budgets “they always ask what things are going to cost”, and yet the arts are not a cost, they are an investment.

[Barcelona] just shouts culture’ - and surprise, surprise, it is one of the most desirable and exciting destinations in Europe.

People flock there, and the art contributes hugely to their experience.

It’s a sound argument! And with the nights closing in, why not make next week a time to delve into the artistic life of Worcester? There is dance, drama and music to enrich the Worcester experience!

STAC’s Relatively Speaking is running most of the week, from the Tuesday to the Saturday (9th to 13th October).

With veteran STAC director and Alan Ayckbourn fan Ann Moore at the helm, a great cast onstage and a diligent crew behind the scenes, the show is set to be a smooth and entertaining comedy

Also next Wednesday (10th October), Attitude dance company, based in Hereford, are performing a triple bill of contemporary dance theatre for one night only in the Spires Theatre, part of the Worcester College of Technology on Deansway. The show, whose title piece is Crossing Borders, features STAC’s very own Vicky Harrison, last seen in Popcorn in June. (See the Worcester News: “They’ve got a good attitude”. Also see the Facebook Event.)

And on Thursday night you can take your pick of music, with Jake Stigers‘ tour visiting Worcester at the Marr’s Bar on Pierpoint Street, or experience some eighties nostalgia with China Chris at Huntingdon Hall.

Who needs Barcelona?

Tickets for Relatively Speaking are on sale from the Worcester Live box office: 01905 611427.

And joining in the relaxed atmosphere down by the river at the quay fountains are a pair of peregrine falcons, who have become an attraction all of their own, with a RSPB tent setting up stall under the spire next to the college (see Worcester News).

Left: the RSPB telescope set up to train on the roosting male falcon. Center: A 3x zoom shot of the falcon on the spire from the ground. Right: A many-more-x zoom shot of the falcon on the spire, taken through the telescope.

Apparently the peregrine falcons may attack pigeons and even seagulls. Let’s hope Percy the Festival Peacock doesn’t get too close.