A Guest blog by Claire Shah - MHMTC Chair
As Mill Hill
Musical Theatre Company gears up to mark its 70th anniversary in 2024, we look
to pay tribute to our operatic past, celebrate a present based in musical
theatre sorely tested during lockdown, and strive to forge an exciting future
that hopefully will see us around for another 70 years.
We are lucky
that we have an archive of material to review and are able to
tap the memories of our President Grant Graves. His parents, Richard and
Margery, formed Mill Hill Amateur Operatic Society (as it was originally known)
in 1954, riding the crest of a post-war wave for live entertainment.
Professional theatre had been decimated during the war, and there wasn’t much
competition from other forms of leisure, with just one TV channel (ITV would
come in 1955), three radio stations and, if you could afford it, cinema.
Our first
production, Gilbert & Sullivan’s satirical operetta The Gondoliers,
was then itself 65 years old. A great success it was followed by Lilac Time
and My Lady Jennifer, a mix of other G&S favourites, and the likes
of The Merry Widow, La Vie Parisienne, Die Fledermaus and La
Belle Helene. Featuring large casts and bolstered by sell-out
performances, the classics of the genre would form the backbone of the society.
The
full-blown productions were graced with amazing costumes and hand-made scenery
and props constructed by Richard Graves and his talented team, including a
collapsible grand piano for Bitter Sweet and a grand curving staircase
for Perchance To Dream. In the late 1950s, we began organising
smaller social gatherings, accompanied by cheese and wine, which gave everyone
a chance to do some more singing, and especially allowing chorus
members to take centre stage. It also provided an additional opportunity
to build our Patron numbers.
Little did
we know that these informal spring “Patrons’ Parties” would morph into somewhat
bigger and more involved affairs, serving as a huge thank you to our Patrons
for their invaluable support. They do, however, retain an intimate quality,
which the cast enjoy as much as the larger shows. In addition, these
revues encourage the less experienced or anxious member to build up
confidence and enjoyment by taking on anything from a couple of solo lines to
verses and even songs. We’ve had many young members go on after these Patrons’
Parties to audition for – and secure – parts in a main show.
Moving into
the 1960s, the focus – and the bulk of the budget – was still very much on the
main shows. The group now used an orchestra rather than two pianos as at the
outset with a young cast – some of whom are still with the Company to this day.
The audiences were mainly from Mill Hill, and there were many groups who would
block book performances in those days, notably the Church Women’s Guild, the
WI, The Townswomen’s Guild, the Rotary Club, the Cottage Homes groups and the Anglo-American
Club (though the latter were a noticeable no show on the night JKF was shot).
One of the
most crucial aspects of MHAOS that helped keep cast, Patrons and audiences
committed was that the productions were excellently staged and performed. In
the 1970s Orpheus And The Underworld, Princess Ida and Merrie
England were staged for the first time. We would regularly get double-page
spreads in the local press, which, added to excellent word of mouth, ensured
shows were well attended. There was also always a rush by the cast to read the
reviews garnered in the likes of Mill Hill Times.
As the 1980s
approached, there seemed to be a pervasive shift in attitude from supporting
amateur theatre to wanting to watch the professionals – either on screen or in
the West End. Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice were foremost in
reinvigorating musical theatre. As a result, and during the relatively short
and forward-thinking chairmanship of Sue Graves, we began sampling the likes of
The Boy Friend and Salad Days within our Patrons’ Parties. It’s
fair to say, that this was a seismic shift for MHAOS.
However,
within the Society, operettas remained a firm favourite, with stalwarts Gipsy
Baron, Veronique, Tom Jones and the G&S hits getting repeated airings.
Having the multi-talented Margaret Dewar as our accompanist was a big bonus
(she also taught some of the casts tap dances routine on occasion). However,
even the most popular and grand operettas suffered from casting difficulties –
even for well-known Strauss’ Die Fledermaus, finding a strong tenor for
the main role was becoming increasingly difficult (a recurring theme!).
Turning into
the Noughties, the committee continued to weigh up casting and audience appeal
when choosing main shows – something that is still the case to this day. With a
large and supportive group of Patrons, operettas remained our stock in trade.
Musically we were still strong, with the baton having been handed to another
group of engaging younger principals, although as is the case for lots of
societies, these were mostly women, with the men still being in short supply.
We were still satisfying our Patrons and our core audiences, but
numbers were contracting, including on stage, with older members retiring and
some younger cast settling down to family
life.
I joined the
Society in 2001, keen to get back on stage after a short break following my
time in my university’s G&S Society. Coincidentally, my first show
with MHAOS was The Gondoliers – our debut back in 1954 – and somehow, I
was persuaded to direct the Patrons’ Party the very next year. In double-quick
time, the group became a very big part of my life.
While Grant
was Chairman, the focus had turned to MHAOS being financially secure enough to
withstand at least one financial failure if necessary. Thankfully, that never
transpired, helped in part by having prudent treasurers. This cushion stood us
in good stead, allowing us to make some bold decisions in the difficult years
ahead.
Audience
numbers were dwindling. Primarily filled with our Patrons, the Gala
performances, on Fridays and Saturdays, were always well attended and had a
festive atmosphere with a light supper served during the interval. Those
performances were always amazing, with a warm audience always appreciative of
our efforts. The other nights were hit and miss – and when only 16 people
attended opening night one cold Tuesday in October, it was clear to the
committee, led by Chairman Chris Hubbard, that a shake-up was required.
In 2008, the
Tuesday night show was axed in favour of a Saturday matinee. However, in 2011,
to improve audience numbers and to help with casting shows from within our
membership, we made our first major foray into musical theatre.
Our first
show of that genre was an easy pick – Guys And Dolls, an iconic smash
hit from a different era with a contrasting, more vibrant feel – a huge move
away from operetta. Originally planned for autumn of 2010, it was moved to
April 2011 due to a licensing issue: another break with tradition as our main
shows had always taken place in the autumn half-term because many of our
founding members were teachers.
For the
first time the Society advertised externally for a director and MD. We hit the
jackpot with Robin Scarborough as director and music student James Murray as
MD. We also threw a launch night, through which we secured some new
members. It was a huge success – every performance sold out.
It was a new
era in more ways than one, as it was also our final production in the old
Hartley Hall, which had been our much-loved home for 57 years. It was
idiosyncratic, draughty and aged, but had a great stage, decent rehearsal rooms
and loads of storage for our sets and props. We were also blessed that we could
use it to build and paint our sets, a team effort lead by our clever stage
manager Dave Smith, with Jill Kelly lending her artistic talents on painting.
However, our noble Edwardian stalwart was to be replaced by a new community
hub, complete with modern amenities and performance space.
We therefore
had the problem of locating a new base to rehearse and perform in for an
estimated three years on a very limited budget. We found a temporary home at
John Keble Church, slightly outside of Mill Hill – and, although we
managed to stage three Patrons’ Parties there, it was not possible to perform a
main show there in the autumn due to its arrangements with other long-standing
users.
In 2012, St
Michael and All Angels Church, Mill Hill, played host for our spring event – a
semi-staged production of HMS Pinafore which benefitted hugely from the
building’s wonderful acoustics. Upbeat Broadway classic Kiss Me, Kate
was to be our next autumn show, and after much searching, Copthall School (our
half-term show dates working in our favour) in Mill Hill East was chosen as the
venue.
Our main
issue with the loss of Hartley Hall, was not having a space to construct a set.
Long-term member Angus Henney generously gave the use of his garage and
driveway, where our set designer, Rob Barker (also our lighting director for
many years), devised an ingenious set of reversible backdrops and flats.
However, as Rob was in New York for much of this period, most of the work was
carried out by cast and committee. Following his hand-written instructions was
a challenge to say the least, with calls going back and forth to the US for
clarification – plus, the weather definitely wasn’t on our side! Luckily
everything came together and Kiss Me, Kate did very well – we
were delighted to receive some lovely feedback from our Patrons about how
enjoyable it was.
Not having a
proper base at this time made us very aware how lucky we had been
in Hartley Hall and long for its return! We made the difficult decision
not to find another venue to perform a main show in 2013 and opted to come back
with a bang in the new Hartley Hall for our 60th anniversary in 2014.
In 2013, we
had made official our intention to move away from operetta clear by changing
our name to Mill Hill Musical Theatre Company, and also updated our ancient
website. While most people were supportive for this update, sadly we couldn’t
hang on to some long-term members, who only wanted to sing the more classical
songs.
Wanting to
celebrate our birthday with a real crowd-pleaser and mark our return to full
strength with a vengeance, we chose Oliver! – including children in the
cast would mean lots of their families and friends in the audience! It did
throw up a lot of new and interesting issues, however, with the need for
chaperones and extra rehearsals.
It was a
nervous time, as we awaited news of Hartley Hall’s reopening, even going as far
as to pencilling in dates at an alternate venue. Thankfully, Hartley Hall was
ready a few weeks before curtain up. While vastly different from the old hall –
no wings and a much lower stage than previously – it looked great. We did,
however, have a steep learning curve getting used to the new hall and
using a hired set – we no longer had space to build or store one –
and using microphones for the first time.
Calamity
Jane
followed in 2015 and, although successful, some members wanted to return
to the occasional operetta – the saving in not needing a performance licence
was a definite bonus. In 2016, we staged The Pirates Of Penzance but, despite
the cast having a great time, ticket sales were sluggish, and we had to reduce
prices, including a two-for-one deal. The first night was notably problematic,
as some of the cast and half the orchestra got caught up in a terrible traffic
jam around north-west London and didn’t make it for curtain-up!
Financially
disappointed with our return to operetta, Sister Act was chosen as our
2017 production. An ambitious musical, there was plenty to keep the committee
busy, but it did attract lots of new members – most of whom are still with us
today. We were also lucky in finding the perfect and most simple set ever,
from A1 Staging – giving us wings at long last!!
The biggest
difficulty we had, though, was getting an MD. With such a complicated score, it
took a while to find someone willing and able to help. Thankfully everything
worked out and the show was a total joy. The cast thoroughly enjoyed every
minute, we sold out every performance well in advance of show week and received
standing ovations every night. It was a big turning point for us.
However, we
still had people living in Mill Hill who said they didn’t know we existed. We
decided to take a serious look at how we promoted ourselves, and make use of
social media, etc, going forward. We know it is vital in raising our profile –
attracting not just audiences but fresh blood to join the mix of more
experience cast stalwarts who are the backbone of the Company.
Moving to
2018, Fiddler On The Roof proved another huge hit, with every
performance sold out, helped by the large Jewish community in Mill Hill.
Through David Rose, who played Tevye, we secured the directing talents of David
Coleman, who is now a great friend and supporter of MHMTC, having helmed two
other shows for us. The production issues, however, included negotiating
another massive set. Getting the cottage roof down a flight of stairs (it
wouldn’t fit through the narrow stage hatch), was no mean feat – taking eight
of us to ease it around several tight corners, avoiding various fire alarms,
light fittings and a slanted ceiling! Pivot!
With a view
to keeping our more traditional supporters happy, we staged Oklahoma! in
2019. At this stage, we were in a comfortable position financially and with our
membership. But then things changed for us dramatically, as indeed they did for
the entire country in March 2020, when we cancelled our spring Patrons’ Party
weeks away from curtain up and went into lockdown.
We had
decided to postpone the week before lockdown was announced due to great concern
from our audience, and some of the cast, regarding the spread of the virus.
Little did we know at this point that the restrictions would last as long as they
did, or that the pandemic would impact everyone’s lives for such a long time.
We did, however, want to ensure that the Company stayed part of people’s live
and routines during these unusual times. We therefore continued to meet each
week on our rehearsal nights – through the miracle of Zoom – and staged play
readings, bingo nights and quizzes. Eventually, we met up in the park when
allowed to do so – socially distanced, of course!
Prior to
lockdown, we had chosen Made In Dagenham as our next main show. During that
period, it became clear casting (unsurprisingly the male roles) would be
problematic. We felt it was important to choose a well-known and loved show to
encourage members to take part and audiences to come and watch! The
obvious choice was Guys And Dolls – and proved to be an incredibly
pragmatic and fortuitous decision. Still under heavy constraints, with the rule
of six, etc, we held auditions without practising, staggered rehearsals
with cast waiting outside rooms until they could go in, wore masks in the hall
for the note-bashing, and taught choreography over Zoom – thankfully people had
missed it so much, they were willing to endure these rules.
We were also
hugely fortunate to have the support of our Mill Hill community, both at
Hartley Hall and the Sacred Heart church opposite. The latter was especially
useful in that we had access to a large screen and projector which we could use
for people isolating to join/lead rehearsals – this was especially vital when a
month before the show, three of the lead principals (one of whom was also
choreographer) all tested positive. As we wanted to make our audience feel as
safe as possible, we reduced the capacity in the hall to allow for distancing.
We were delighted that we sold out every performance and the atmosphere in the
hall every night was electric.
Kiss Me,
Kate
in 2022 was also a winner for us, playing out to packed houses, and garnering
overwhelmingly positive feedback. We didn’t believe it was the right time to
push a very modern show, or something we didn’t know would work. We felt we
were building our brand and the audience’s trust that they would get a good
night out, even if we put on something riskier.
I became
chair in 2021, taking over from Chris Hubbard, who had steered the Company
through the rockiest time in our history, overseeing many changes with a steady
hand. We all admire and acknowledge the diligent, unwavering work she
did.
I knew MHMTC
still had a lot of work to do in attracting young cast members, changing
perceptions, and making it a modern, slick outfit. We drew up a three-year-plan
to take us a step closer to reaching that goal each year. Kiss Me, Kate
was the launch point, with 9 To 5 the second step in 2023. We are
hopeful that the iconic title track and the movie, plus the redoubtable Dolly
Parton will attract a younger crowd, while keeping older audiences happy.
For our 70th
anniversary year, I was keen to stage a musical that would repeat the Sister
Act effect for both our membership and audience. Calendar Girls: The Musical
is that show! It’s definitely a leap into the unknown for us – and quite a test
logistically – but the story is truly uplifting. We are
delighted that Robin Scarborough is returning as director, working with our
super-talented resident MD Ricardo Fernandes (who joined us in 2019). We can’t
wait to get started!
Our 2024
Patrons’ Party, Our Platinum Years, will be a chance to celebrate 70
years of the good songs and the wonderful shows we’ve done, while a special
one-off performance in June of G&S staple Ruddigore will allow us to
show old and current members where it all started.
Staging
three shows in one year will be a challenge, with rehearsals for Calendar
Girls and Ruddigore running at the same time – and not forgetting
our quizzes and bingo and some festive social events for cast and Patrons. We
are under no illusions that it is going to be a huge amount of hard work
for the committee (and the cast), but we are also convinced that our MHMTC
family and its future is worth every moment.
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Guest blogs are always welcome, especially when they support local arts and culture.
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