It was a lovely summer morning, which, up to that point, was the only extraordinary thing about the day.

The day passed, and that evening I was sat at trhe computer with my wife trying to email photographs of our daughter’s recent wedding to overseas relatives. The telephone rang. Now this in itself was something of a novelty as we had only recently switched to “broadband”. Had we still been on the old “dial up” system, the telephone would never have rung while the computer was “on line”.

The gentleman introduced himself, and informed me that we had a mutual friend to whom he had mentioned his search for someone to play a married couple in an edition of the popular Granada series, “Bloody Murder”. This mutual friend had acted with me in the past, and suggested that he telephoned me. Would I be interested? Would I be interested? Do rabbits eat lettuce? After “treading the boards” with the “Culcheth Players” for 40 years. I was very interested!

“Can you find someone to play your wife?”

I certainly could, and a telephone call to another stalwart of the “Culcheth Players”, Margaret Fallon produced an affirmative answer.

We were asked to submit photographs and short “CV’s” which we did.

At this point we had no idea what type of character we would be required to play.

In my case, I experienced an early ego deflating situation. The photograph I had submitted was taken professionally for a local Operatic Society whose winter concert series I compere. I am dressed in Dinner Jacket (and trousers!), dress shirt, immaculate black bow tie, my grey hair glinting in the studio lights. I had scrubbed up well!

A couple of days later, the producer of the programme telephoned me to say that they wished us to play the parts, and that the script was on it’s way!

This episode of “Bloody Murder”, a series which retells famous past murder cases in the North West, concerned Alfred and Louisa Merrifield who obtained jobs as cook / housekeeper and handyman at the home of a Mrs Ricketts, an elderly widow, in Blackpool in 1953. They were not paid any wages, but had their “keep”, plus whatever Louisa could steal from the bungalow or fiddle from the housekeeping money. Mrs Ricketts, a sly old lady, attempted to retain the Merrifield’s loyalty by stating she was changing her will and leaving the bungalow to them. This is something she had done several times before to previous couples, always changing her will back again later!

Louisa decided to speed the process up, and poisoned Mrs Ricketts!

She and Alfred were arrested, but Alfred was released through lack of evidence. Louisa was found guilty, and hanged in Strangeways in September 1953.

That was the “plot”. Margaret was to play Louisa Merrifield and I was to play Alfred.

Alfred is described as 72 years old, deaf, constipated, with a “slate” missing, and a fascination for toilets!! Ant this is the part I landed from my suave photograph!! Ego deflation completed!

We were told all the filming would be done on location, and Margaret and I wondered on what exotic spot on this earth we would land. Rochdale turned out to be the place, but at least it didn’t rain! To be fair, Rochdale is a pleasant town surrounded by some beautiful countryside.

Now we had some idea of the characters we were to play, Margaret and I raided the wardrobe of “Culcheth Players” for suitable costumes.

Thus prepared, and script learned, we headed off to Rochdale, excited and a little apprehensive as to what was in store for us.

We arrived at our location, an end terrace house, and met up with the crew, and other members of the cast. We had a Director, Producer, Make-up lady, Cameraman and a young lady who looked after us, and everything else! All of the crew made us very welcome and put us at our ease from the start.

The filming took a Sunday, Tuesday afternoon and Friday afternoon, working until well into the evening.

We soon realised the different disciplines which applied to film acting as opposed to stage acting. With stage acting you have a great number of lines and moves to remember, you set your character for the evening, and off you go. The following performance your characterisation may be a little different from the previous performance, but again, would (or should!) be consistent throughout that performance.

In filming, scenes are shot out of sequence. Sometimes what ends up as a single scene may be shot in stages, shot days apart. The discipline here is not so much ensuring the continuity of props and costume, but the continuity of characterisation. You have to get your character back in the “mind set” that character was in during the earlier part of the scene. This is something that you particularly have to concentrate on if your character, like Alfred Merrifield, has definite physical traits or idiosyncrasies.

The other discipline needed, is to remember as exactly as you can, what you did during a sequence, as this sequence can be repeated several times to achieve different camera angles and close up shots. The actions have to be identical so that when the film is cut and the various camera angles set in, the actions appear “as one”.

Margaret and I had no rehearsal fo our roles. We discussed our characters between ourselves and how we would play them, and then “got on with it”. The vast majority of our scenes were achieved in one take. This is the great advantage of acting with someone who has not only been an acting partner of 40 years, but who is also a great personal friend. You have confidence in each other and, to a great extent, can anticipate the reactions of their character and so prepare your own character’s response.

The work was very concentrated, but there were lots of laughs in between.

When Alfred was being filmed inspecting a toilet, his hearing aid accidentally fell into the bowl! That shot was left in!

There is a tearful scene where Alfred and Louisa say their goodbyes just before she is hanged. We asked the director at what level he wanted the emotion between the couple, and he said he wanted them to kiss. Margaret, quick as a flsh, said “No tongues!” Everyone fell about laughing!

Although not exactly the “golden couple” (not so much “Scarlett” and “Rhett” as “Nora Batty” and “Compo”) we did get to calling each other “Vivien and Larry”!!

Pretentious? – nous?

One of the most demanding scenes was the “waxworks” scene. The Blackpool Wax Museum paid Alfred £500 to be sculptured in wax, together with Louisa. Margaret and I were made up to look like wax, and had to stand stock still in a roped off area to simulate our wax effigies!

All too soon, the Friday evening came when we had to say our goodbyes to the crew and the rest of the cast. Then came the agonising wait until 11.00pm on 8^th August, when the programme went out on air.

It is very strange to see yourself “on the box” in a character role, rather than as “yourself” in an interview. All I can copare it with is viewing your own decorating. When the finished product is displayed, and kind people declare it is “very nice”, all you see are the little faults and wrinkles you have done your best to hide. That’s how I felt about my performance.

Margaret’s performance was superb!

Now it is all over and gone! All the anticipation, the excitement, the expectations. Will we be asked again?

We don’t know, but whatever happens, we have had the experience, and fascinating and enjoyable it was too!

And to think that, if my contact and I did not share a friendship, had I not recently switched to “broadband”, I would never have received that telephone call.

David Hill
Culcheth Players

Following an exhausting summer The Club Theatre opened it’s new look bar with a Wedding Party. Helen Corrie and Paul Walker booked the bar for their wedding reception.

Extensive changes have been made starting with removing the ceiling and wall cladding. The walls were plastered and a new ceiling was installed with more adaptable lighting. The work was carried out by a combination of members and contractors. The final cost to the theatre was £6,000 plus a grant of £2,500 towards the job from the Lauriston Trust, a local charitable foundation based in Sale. The next project is to replace the bar tables – the money ran out before they got round to them.

Twelve months ago the future looked bleak with a shortage of members. An appeal was launched and with a new shorter name (“Community” was dropped) and new members “Gymn and Tonic” was presented in April. Now “See How They Run” will be staged in November and Wistaston Players are back in business.

A ninth trophy is now on display after Nantwich Players were presented by Cheshire Pride with the “Amateur Dramatic Group of the Year” award – and the don’t know who nominated them! The aim of Cheshire Pride is “to raise awreness of the performing arts”. Congratulations to Nantwich Players.

A small extension has given more foyer space ay Guild HQ in Bourne Street and increased audience comfort. Wilmslow Guild Players are getting larger audiences and plays planned for 3 nights now need a fourth night to meet demand. Sadly, parking is still a bit of a nightmare so always allow yourselves plenty of time.

I went along to Macclesfield to see “Disposing of the Body” – a play you may well like to consider for your programme. Billed as a drama / mystery it is a play about relationships. Did Henry murder his wife and where is the body? Or did she choose to walk out and “disappear”? The audience is left to make up it’s own mind and I’m sure after each performance the audience would have varying opinions and theories. It was a Tuesday night and thanks to Bob Nixon I was allowed a seat right behind the back row – in what is intended as a passageway. Yes - Tuesday – the second of a 6 night run and a full house – and it was the same throughout the run in an auditorium that seats 194. Obviously MADS publicity team could give many of you a lesson in getting bums on seats.

By the end of August Mike Leigh’s new play was a sell out – 16,000 tickets had been sold for a play opening on September 8^th and the play didn’t even have a name!

It was Leigh’s first play in 12 years. When the play actually opened to wide critical acclaim the title was “Two Thousand Years”. I am sure that many of us have heard of the way Mike Leigh develops his scripts through working with his actors. The script for “Two Thousand Years” was bang up to date, it included a discussion about Hurricane Katrina and at the time this had only recently happened.

You can catch up with the play when it visits the Lowry from February 14^th to 18^th 2006. This will be directed by Mike Leigh with the original London cast and its in the Quays Theatre the smaller auditorium so early booking could be a good idea.

From “The Crafty Art of Playmaking” by Alan Ayckbourn.

        1. The best comedy springs from the utterly serious.
        2. Good dialogue creates it’s own inbuilt pace and variety.
        3. All writers overwrite (including Shakespeare).
        4. Casting is everything.

John R Powell
Chairman