The Dukes’ 38th park production is sadly drawing to a close on Saturday. So, to reminisce over a magical production, we cast our eyes back to the beginning where we get to know our much-loved actors a little better…
What’s your favourite fairytale and why?
Joshua: The Boy Who Left Home to Find Out About The Shivers. It's hilarious.
Jessica: I'm currently making my way through Grimm's complete works and there are over 200! When I've finished I'll let you know.
Guy: Little Red Riding Hood. I remember as a child listening to the lead up to the “All the better to eat you with! “ moment. It’s so simple and of course you know what’s going to happen, but it’s just very exciting. The big ears, eyes, then hands and TEETH! The thrill of knowing all along what Little Red Riding Hood does not.
Shelley: Actually, Hansel & Gretel. I like that they push the old lady into the oven.
Ella: One of my favourites is The Red Shoes by Hans Christian Anderson. It's quite a macabre story but I quite like my fairytales a bit dark! I just think it's full of great ideas - the concept that a pair of shoes could control you and make you dance when you don't want to. Apparently it is based on something Anderson saw as a little boy. His father was a shoemaker and he was asked to make some red silk ballet shoes for a rich customer. He worked very carefully on them but when the lady came to collect them, she declared them 'trash'. So his father took some scissors and cut the shoes to pieces in front of her!
Gareth: I’m a big fan of Sleeping Beauty, mainly because it ticks all the fairytale boxes: a princess, a prince, a witch, a dragon, a fairy. It’s a heavyweight slugger of a tale!
Polly: Grimm’s The Raven because basically it is about a wilful and bumptious girl-child who is cast adrift but through her tenacity and patience and a relentless belief in humankind she is eventually rewarded by true happiness.
Hansel & Gretel are a famous fairytale pairing, who are your favourite double act?
Joshua: My mum and dad. Jessica: Torn between French & Saunders and Patsy & Eddie from Ab Fab. Love silly ridiculous humour.
Guy: My daughter Evie might say Ant & Dec. My son Christo would choose Tom & Jerry. He has a DVD box-set of their finest work. It runs in total at 888 minutes of cartoons (that's just under 15 hours). If we let him, he would watch the whole lot in one sitting, chuckling all the way. On the box cover it say 'Contains frequent, mild slapstick violence' – is there anything funnier? I’d properly go with this cat and mouse pairing too.
Shelley: My parents. Ella: You can't beat French & Saunders can you?
Gareth: I’d normally say Morecambe & Wise or Laurel & Hardy but as a Liverpool fan my favourite double act at the moment has to be Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge. Not quite as funny but certainly a deadly combination!
Polly: I am a big fan of Laurel & Hardy, Morecambe & Wise and the Two Ronnies…all comic geniuses! As are Matthau & Lemmon and the Cuckoo Pigeon sisters (Shelley and Evans). In modern times I think the two guys in The Wrong Man’s (Baynton and Cordon) are very funny and French & Saunders have always made me giggle. None comic double acts I admire are Wilbur & Orville Wright, Lewis & Clark, Kander & Ebb, Bjornstad & Darling, Lennon & McCartney, Simon & Garfunkel and the Coen brothers.
What’s your favourite sweet treat?
Joshua: Ben and Jerry's cookie dough ice cream. Jessica: I’m quite partial to a Tunnocks tea cake. Recently a friend gave me marshmallow fluff - that's pure sticky marshmallow in a massive tub. Guy: Baklava or tarte tartin – can’t decide between them. One reminds me of family holidays in Cyprus, the other of France. Both served with a lovely cup of coffee.
Shelley: Milk chocolate. If there’s any in the house I will hunt it down and eat it ALL.
Ella: I really love Revels. You never know what you're going to get...the orange ones are my favourite. I'm always a bit disappointed when I get a raisin...
Gareth: Cake! If someone made me an entire house made out of carrot cake I’m pretty confident I could get down to the foundations in a single sitting. Polly: Custard, Baklava, the red sauce you get on a Mr Whippy, Cadburys Marvellous Creations (the jelly bean and popping candy one) and my mom’s flapjack! I do have quite a sweet tooth.
Where would you choose to live happily ever after?
Joshua: I'm undecided.
Jessica: Anywhere, as long as I was happy!...or...maybe Greece?
Guy: Somewhere that has a river warm enough to swim in during the summer and that is well served by bus routes. Shelley: Denville Hall, the home for elderly actors, though they only take actors over 70 so I’ll have to wait a bit…
Ella: If the world was my oyster, probably Madeira. 365 days of warm weather, whales and beautiful scenery. More realistically - Cornwall?! It's got the beaches and the beautiful scenery, if not the weather!
Gareth: I’ve recently grown very attached to the Lake District, so a little Cumbrian cottage (made out of bricks, rather than straw or wood of course) would suit me just fine!
Polly: If I could live happily ever after it wouldn’t matter where it was. Cornwall and The Lake District have always been happy places for me - the sea and the fells, so maybe it would be one of those. I have a feeling though that it will be somewhere I haven’t yet discovered….and I can’t wait to stumble upon it.
What do you think will be the greatest challenges and benefits of performing outdoors?
Joshua: Are there many pigeons in Williamson Park? I hope not. They can be quite vicious.
Jessica: I think it will be incredibly freeing and liberating being exposed to, and inspired by, the elements and cannot think of a more a perfect setting in which to have such a classic fairytale retold. I also think it'll be a challenge physically and vocally to tell the story in the wide open air.
Guy: Last year's challenge was not to fall off a motorbike in Robin Hood. This year I'm glad not to be petrol propelled. I think I might have some outdoor quick changes in Hansel & Gretel so that will challenging (not getting wet socks when swapping footwear stood in a bush).
Shelley: Challenges – bad weather, uneven ground. Benefits – good weather, the beauty of the park in both the evening light and lit up in the darkness, the close relationship between performers and audience. Ella: I think the greatest challenge will be to keep our audience engaged, through midges, bright sunshine and at some point no doubt, drizzle!
The greatest benefits are that park shows are unlike anything else. You truly go on an adventure - I love that characters can pop up as the audience travels from one space to the next. I imagine it will feel a bit like being in a film, only without re-takes and waiting around in your caravan for the shot to be set up!
Gareth: Apart from the obvious challenge of potentially adverse weather conditions, I think the main challenge is connecting with the large audience that the park show draws over such an open and expansive space. We need to make sure that every member of the audience, whether they’re down at the front on their camping chairs or standing on a tuffet right at the back, feels connected to the story and the characters. And midges. I always get bitten. To them I’m a walking all-you-can-eat buffet.
Polly: Challenges I can foresee is the temptation for me to forget the subtle, to get caught up in the epic which is so often what outdoor theatre is about. At heart, Hansel & Gretel is a domestic story about the bond between twins and the very real dilemmas they face. My part in their story and threat to their survival has to be equally as real and felt. Albeit set against the fabulously epic backdrop of Williamson Park. I am quite excited by the challenges of weather and terrain and I think that any adverse conditions will add to the camaraderie felt within the group and amongst the audience.
Sadly it has to come to an end; Hansel & Gretel truly has been a magical run and much-enjoyed by all ages. All we can do now is look forward to next year’s Oliver Twist!
Bookings are now being taken with some fantastic early-bird offers. Call The Dukes on, 01524 598500, or go to www.dukes-lancaster.org for more information.
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