Final Summoning

It's been nearly five years in the making, but at last I'm bringing my much acclaimed version of The Summoning of Everyman to London.  I had a go with a one off a few years ago, but it didn't come off.  This time I'm doing a short run and I've got a new bonus feature for the show - after Everyman, and a short interval, we're doing a reconstruction of a lost play Dux Moraud.  Or Duke Moraud - another morality play, but one that is somewhat more... insane.  Or it will be by the time we finish with it.  The Duke will be played by my good friend Mr Simon Nader, whilst I will fill in the gaps of the rest of the story.  It's going to be a great show.  More details to follow soon...

Milk Bottle Productions Presents...

The Summoning of Everyman

Adapted and performed by Robert Crighton with Simon Nader

Everyman has been summoned by Death to meet his maker - and he doesn't want to go.  This interactive performance brings his struggle directly to the audience, asking them to become part of the story, to stand in the footsteps of Fellowship, Good Deeds and even Death himself.  Will you help Everyman make his peace?

Previous audiences have said of the show:  “A one man tour de force... gripped from start to finish... a mix of pathos and humour all done with a light touch... a real privilege and honour being there... having volunteered, with no acting experience whatsoever, was guided expertly throughout by Robert... an hour very well spent...  I’ve come to see it again!  What more do I need to say?  In awe of the intensity!”

The Bread and Roses Theatre, Clapham

Tuesday 8th to Saturday 12th August at 7.30pm

Tickets available here - www.breadandrosestheatre.co.uk/everyman

Frequently Asked Questions

In any long run you start hearing a lot of the same questions from the audience. There have been three frequent flyers for Everyman and they are as follows.
Question 1. How much is it?
See previous blog post.

Question 2. How do you learn all those lines?
This is a commonplace for actors, but it's particularly true of storytellers where the word count is in thousands and, in my personal repertoire, tens of thousands. Always one must bite ones tongue and not say, "it's my job".  I have considered printing business cards with a stock answer, but that might be a bit passive aggressive.

Question 3. Have you ever thought of performing in a church?
"Well, yes.  Yes I have.  In fact, I'm performing at one on Sunday.  See, it's on the tour schedule."
Again, I don't say this, it's a passive aggressive response to a reasonable question and the answer is interesting.

I haven't had much luck getting into churches or persuading church goers to see Everyman.  There is a history to such things of course - churches historically don't like drama.  It's a long bias, set up by the early Roman church, and it runs deep, even in a modern ministry.  There is a reason that even the early mystery plays and moralities were banished from the church; they were a distraction from the central purpose of the ministry, tainted by association with the pre-Christian pagan theatre.  This is compounded by the fact that modern Christianity has changed since medieval times and so even a Christian text can be considered suspect because it teaches things that have since fallen by the wayside.  Some people are openly suspicious and occasionally actively hostile to a dramatic performance in a church - the suspicion being that a heathen such as myself would present a mocking form of the play in their sacred space.  (This isn't actually an unreasonable suspicion - I have form.)  Were I a congregant this might not be a barrier, the audience for the shows being reassured that I followed at least one branch of Christian thinking and would play with a straight bat.

But, ask my questioners, there are shows in churches all the time.  Yes, I reply, but even though churches are often used for performance, it is almost always music.  Music is safer and there is a long tradition of music in churches; even if it isn't liturgical, it is in sympathy with the space.

Acoustically churches are not great for drama - a solo voice can carry, but the cut and thrust of dialogue gets lost in the echo.  Also, more importantly, the line of sight is terrible, so you're compromised on what people can actually see.  When I performed at St Mary's Church, Chilton, I was okay because it's fairly small.  (I also got to deliver God's speech from the pulpit, which felt delightfully naughty - I suspect I might have made a good vicar.)
Ideally Everyman shouldn't be seen in a church at all - a small chapel perhaps, but not a church.  I am always looking for a 'sacred' space, i.e. a space with atmosphere - which most village halls sadly do not have.  I first performed my version of Everyman in the Guildhall in Lavenham, which has the weight of history behind it.  When I performed the show at the Quay Theatre I spent hours trying to make the room I was using different, unfamiliar, in some sense atmospheric.  I have attempted similar with all the other spaces I've performed at, with greater or lesser success.

Despite the difficulties of performing in church spaces I have offered the show to them, sometimes just as part of a round robin, sometimes via direct intersession.  The result has been a blank.  No interest.  The only spaces where these plays are welcome are, ironically, secular, or in the case of St Mary's Church, infrequently used (though still consecrated) and that came about by a round about kind of route.  De-consecrated or seldom used churches and chapels are always more accommodating because, though they used to function as such, they are not longer as sacred a space as they used to be.  Only by the action of actor, text and audience (priest, liturgy, congregation) will a 'sacred' atmosphere appear - the similarity between the ritual of the liturgy and the ritual of theatre is a commonplace.

A sense of the sacred is abstract; a space isn't inherently sacred, it can have greater potential to act as a sacred space, but sacredness, as it were, is an active thing.  Like the tree falling in the forest, if no one is there to hear it, it doesn't make a sound - there's only a vibration in the air.  Without people inhabiting it, a space is just a place.  We make it something special.  And that's what I try to do with my show, if only for an hour or so.
It looks like Everyman will pop up again every so often, here and there.  Maybe more churches will get in touch, maybe I'll find more spaces with an air of the sacred - we shall see.

Hitching to Hitcham

After the first show in Offton I decided to only put out one row to start with -
so that it's full. I add more as the audience arrive.

Well, I didn't actually hitchhike to Hitcham, that would just be silly - it's just a nice post title.  Brief update, as I recorded a lot of footage last night which is taking an age to upload so no video yet.
Lovely venue Hitcham - by God is the heating good - and once I realised the odd banging noise was a couple of boys playing football round the back (I asked nicely if they could play further off and they were most pleasant about it - well brought up the youth of Hitcham) all was set up nice and easy.  Not many people from Hitcham in the audience itself though. Perhaps they were all watching the election debate - which I caught the tail end of on Twitter.  I think everyone lost, except the heckler, who will be forming a minority government.

No Bad Deeds for a while till I archive the shirt, so just a selection of Good Deeds for you...

Cleared a neighbour's wind-blown refuse from her front garden.
Comply with ---- processes ?? (unclear handwriting)
Nursed my son today
Taught my friends pupils for her when she was ill
Sorted my sisters phone out
Organised kids events
Looking after friends dog at her house.
Drink too little.
Fixed a ladies window blinds after they had fallen down
Taking flowers to a neighbour who had had bad news
Empowering others
Showing patience when taking my 96 year old father shopping

The Summoning of Everyman Tours March / April 2015
All shows will be Pay-What-You-Want and tickets can be reserved by phone or online.
Telephone: 07946 652 196
Email: contact@milkbottleproductions.co.uk
For emails or any phone messages please state your name, contact number, number of tickets and, most importantly, which date/venue you're booking for.

Maurice Rowson Hall, Gosfield                  -              Friday 3rd April at 7.30pm

Leavenheath Village Hall                            -              Sunday 5th April at 6pm

Hundon Village Hall                                   -              Monday 6th April at 7.30pm

Creeting St Mary Jubilee Hall                     -              Tuesday 7th April at 7.30pm

Assington Village Hall                                -              Thursday 9th April at 7.30pm

Brettenham Village Hall                             -              Tuesday 14th April at 7.30pm

Steeple Bumpstead Village Hall                 -              Wednesday 15th April at 7.30pm

St Mary’s Church, Chilton                         -              Sunday 19th April at 3pm

Boxted & Hartest Institute                         -              Monday 20th April at 7.30pm

Stisted Village Hall                                    -              Wednesday 22nd April at 7.30pm

All details correct at time of press – updates, corrections and directions to shows can be found online – or contact us direct.

Beautiful Boxford

From outside...

I have to say I was a little worried about Boxford - I hadn't had much of a chance to do much extra publicity there and the postering had been a bit patchy.  So, the small but select audience was a relief - there is always a possibility that if I don't have enough people I can't actually perform the show.

And inside...

It's also a venue I booked sight unseen - so it's always nice to go into somewhere and find that it is not just fit for purpose, but warm and welcoming.  It is a space for events and drama, not for sport, and I have yet to play a space with a really high ceiling and a badminton acoustic.  There are one or two borderline places - we shall see.

So, tomorrow Cavendish! It's looking like a good house - so do get in touch to book. (Details below...)

An we'll end with a couple choice comments from the audience:
"Excellent - Thank you!"
"Engaging + compelling evening - Bravo!"

The Summoning of Everyman Tours March / April 2015
All shows will be Pay-What-You-Want and tickets can be reserved by phone or online.
Telephone: 07946 652 196
Email: contact@milkbottleproductions.co.uk
For emails or any phone messages please state your name, contact number, number of tickets and, most importantly, which date/venue you're booking for.

Cavendish Memorial Hall                           -              Wednesday 1st April at 7.30pm

Hitcham Village Hall                                   -              Thursday 2nd April at 7.30pm

Maurice Rowson Hall, Gosfield                  -              Friday 3rd April at 7.30pm

Leavenheath Village Hall                            -              Sunday 5th April at 6pm

Hundon Village Hall                                   -              Monday 6th April at 7.30pm

Creeting St Mary Jubilee Hall                     -              Tuesday 7th April at 7.30pm

Assington Village Hall                                -              Thursday 9th April at 7.30pm

Brettenham Village Hall                             -              Tuesday 14th April at 7.30pm

Steeple Bumpstead Village Hall                 -              Wednesday 15th April at 7.30pm

St Mary’s Church, Chilton                         -              Sunday 19th April at 3pm

Boxted & Hartest Institute                         -              Monday 20th April at 7.30pm

Stisted Village Hall                                    -              Wednesday 22nd April at 7.30pm

All details correct at time of press – updates, corrections and directions to shows can be found online – or contact us direct.

Rumble in Waldingfield

It was another lovely audience for Everyman at Great Waldingfield - collected some nice good and bad deed - though I'm afraid for the Bad Deeds you will have to wait.  The shirt of Bad Deeds is getting so full that I'm in danger of repeating old Bad Deeds, so from now on you won't get the bad till I've finished with a shirt and can document it as a whole.
And one of the audience even offered me a some spare shirts for the future - so that will solve a problem I've been thinking about over the last few weeks.
Here's a short vlog and a selection of Good Deeds - which are easier to catalogue - next show BOXFORD (see below)!

Good Deeds:
Help a random stranger who was in dire need of medical attention
Child minding for free!
Helped a man with a serious heart condition
Donated money to charity
I gave my dinner to a homeless guy in Hammersmith
Driving my folks to + from the airport
Smile!
Helping an old lady who fell over and called Ambulance
Rescuing a cat from jaws of dog
Being a veggie
I meet a friend every morning
Gave someone a lift in my car

Audience comments:
"An excellent show and performance. I was completely transported back to the medieval period. Great work!"
"Thank you Robert for another tour-de-force. Well done!"
"Fabulous - so many words! Thank you & well done."

The Summoning of Everyman Tours March / April 2015
All shows will be Pay-What-You-Want and tickets can be reserved by phone or online.
Telephone: 07946 652 196
Email: contact@milkbottleproductions.co.uk
For emails or any phone messages please state your name, contact number, number of tickets and, most importantly, which date/venue you're booking for.

Boxford Village Hall                                   -              Tuesday 31st March at 7.30pm

Cavendish Memorial Hall                           -              Wednesday 1st April at 7.30pm

Hitcham Village Hall                                   -              Thursday 2nd April at 7.30pm

Maurice Rowson Hall, Gosfield                  -              Friday 3rd April at 7.30pm

Leavenheath Village Hall                            -              Sunday 5th April at 6pm

Hundon Village Hall                                   -              Monday 6th April at 7.30pm

Creeting St Mary Jubilee Hall                     -              Tuesday 7th April at 7.30pm

Assington Village Hall                                -              Thursday 9th April at 7.30pm

Brettenham Village Hall                             -              Tuesday 14th April at 7.30pm

Steeple Bumpstead Village Hall                 -              Wednesday 15th April at 7.30pm

St Mary’s Church, Chilton                         -              Sunday 19th April at 3pm

Boxted & Hartest Institute                         -              Monday 20th April at 7.30pm

Stisted Village Hall                                    -              Wednesday 22nd April at 7.30pm

All details correct at time of press – updates, corrections and directions to shows can be found online – or contact us direct.

First Night in Darkest Offton & Willisham

ROAD CLOSED.  Never a good sign.

I really liked these curtains as a back drop for the table...

As signs go, it's not up there with FREE SWEETS or WE ARE CURRENTLY RUNNING A GOOD SERVICE.  I wasn't worried that I wouldn't make it to the venue - I'd been forewarned, there was access - but that it might put off the audience, which when your show is Pay-What-You-Want is really not good.
I meet up with my generous hosts for the evening and set up.  And they really are good at Offton and Willisham Village Hall - welcoming, helpful and really enthusiastic.  I was put onto the space by a friend Mark, who was in The Juliet Inquiry last year and he suggested touring the show there.  It went well and so I was really looking forward to coming back.
Slowly an audience arrived and the ritual began.  Share your Good and Bad Deeds - and the conversion begins.  It's usually around how difficult it is to think of a Good Deed and how hard it is to choose a Bad.
And they're a good audience, they listen.  The space works well with the play - a slight echo, enough to create atmosphere, not enough to destroy clarity.
Afterwards it's time for tea (I'm on antibiotics at the moment so can't have alcohol - boo!) and a chat with the audience.  Finally home and this blog.  As per, here are some of the Good and Bad Deeds we shared.  And a v. short snippet of video - I didn't have time to film more.

Bad Deeds:
Believing that I haven't done a bad deed!
Cheated on a test
Eating Whale Meat (Yummy!)
White Lie
Drinking in Excess
Grumpy
Over Indulgence
Got Up Late
Road Rage
Not Listening
Shot a Rabbit
Did not clean my teeth
I / will have wasted a myriad of opportunities to do a good deed.
Didn't put the wife's Valentine flowers in water - they were a bit floppy by 14th Feb

And one for debate...
Deliberately letting a competitor win a race

Awaiting the audience...

Good Deeds:
Looking after Grandchildren
Raised a family who have raised a family and married a woman who cares for others
Always be kind
Giving your time to charity
Helping others
Raise money for good causes
Volunteered for the RDA
Friendship
Youth Club Sailing Instructor
Volunteered at youth group
Loaned money
Oiled kitchen cupboards
30 years on Hall Committee
Youth Offending Panel
Flowers to a sick friend
Helped a lady out by mending her clutch cable by the roadside
Cleaned my elderly neighbours wheely bin

Last of the Tryouts

I've completed my first round of tryouts for Everyman now - lots of work still to do, but some really great feedback and the show improves every time.  Last night I was performing for a play readers group in Hadleigh, where the discussion of the play afterwards lasted longer than the play itself.  I do like a good discussion.
As promised last post, the Bad and Good Deeds from the last few shows... (all spelling original)

Bad Deeds:
I put a bag of stones in the wheelie bin
Disciplined a student - he didn't deserve it.
Broke an ornament in someone's house and hid the evidence.
Parked in one of the co-ops disabled car spaces.
Forced someone to pay for a scratch on my car that I did.
Told my parents a lie and said I had to go to a meeting rather than seeing them.
Stole flowers from my neighbour's garden.
Played a trick on my sister said she fell over and hurt herself
I stole some sweets when I was a child.
Didn't count a putt in golf on my score!!
Ate sweets when I shouldn't / Ate too much chocolate
Serious murderous thoughts regarding Putin!

Good Deeds:
I take my neighbour's weely-bin out and put it back. : )
Learnt to smile
Helped with my granddaughter when she broke her arm. In fact solely in charge!
I donated my bike to the thriftshop Hadleigh.
To give hope where none exists.
Helped a friend in distress with financial matters
Visit elderly people who live alone.
Helping someone less fortunate than yourself
Started a community group who subsequently raised lots for charity
Helped someone who fell over in the street.
Helped to organise a surprise party for a friend
I took a German hitchhiker from Gibraltar to Calais and bought all his meals on the journey

And I'll leave you with a few more quotes from the audience...
"Something we are unused to - but enjoyed immensely... Thank you!  A first... Unusual and interesting... Terrific & thought provoking - thank you..."
And I even put together a little word cloud of the audience reviews so far...

The Summoning of Everyman Tours March / April 2015
All shows will be Pay-What-You-Want and tickets can be reserved by phone or online.
Telephone: 07946 652 196
Email: contact@milkbottleproductions.co.uk
For emails or any phone messages please state your name, contact number, number of tickets and, most importantly, which date/venue you're booking for.
I'll be keeping this blog post updated and there's a page on the microsite and shortly on my website.
If your local venue is not represented it's not too late to be added to the tour.  I'll come to churches, village halls, small rooms or even your home for a private performance for friends and family - just contact me and we'll see what can be done.  Have toothbrush, will travel!

Offton & Willisham Village Hall                  -              Tuesday 24th March at 7.30pm

Chappel & Wakes Colne Village Hall         -              Wednesday 25th March at 7.30pm

Great Waldingfield Village Hall                   -              Thursday 26th March at 7.30pm

Boxford Village Hall                                   -              Tuesday 31st March at 7.30pm

Cavendish Memorial Hall                           -              Wednesday 1st April at 7.30pm

Hitcham Village Hall                                   -              Thursday 2nd April at 7.30pm

Maurice Rowson Hall, Gosfield                  -              Friday 3rd April at 7.30pm

Leavenheath Village Hall                            -              Sunday 5th April at 6pm

Hundon Village Hall                                   -              Monday 6th April at 7.30pm

Creeting St Mary Jubilee Hall                     -              Tuesday 7th April at 7.30pm

Assington Village Hall                                -              Thursday 9th April at 7.30pm

Brettenham Village Hall                             -              Tuesday 14th April at 7.30pm

Steeple Bumpstead Village Hall                 -              Wednesday 15th April at 7.30pm

St Mary’s Church, Chilton                         -              Sunday 19th April at 3pm

Boxted & Hartest Institute                         -              Monday 20th April at 7.30pm

Stisted Village Hall                                    -              Wednesday 22nd April at 7.30pm

All details correct at time of press – updates, corrections and directions to shows can be found online – or contact us direct.

Home Coming

"Gosh! It was quite wonderful." * 

My first home show of Everyman this year was great fun - considering how serious the play is.  Normally I do comedy for home shows, or classic stories that hug people like a lovely warm blanket, so I was a little worried that a sombre play about death would jar.  Thankfully, it didn't.

"Amazing performance, although I knew it would be.  So thought provoking and moving.  At one point I thought I was going to cry!!"

I had also been warned that the cottage of my host was somewhat small, so there was a little bit of fear before hand that I wouldn't be able to make the show fit.  When I arrived this fear was dispelled, it was tight, but perfectly workable and my delightful host allowed me to move the furniture about and generally make a mess.

"A triumph! Thought provoking, light & dark, everything for a complete performance - superb!!"

The guests arrived in mixed batches of ones and twos and as they arrived I asked them to add their contribution to my list of Good and Bad deeds.  The Bad deeds were particularly good, but I won't publish them till after the next show, to preserve the anonymity of the confessional - for there were only seven guests in the audience and it is conceivable the dataset could be reverse engineered to reveal identity.  I say only seven guests (well, six plus host), but seven was ideal, and every one responded beautifully to the show. 'Confession' even put a comforting hand on my shoulder at one point, which was perfect.

"Fantastic performance, totally captivating from start to finish. Superb! Thank you Robert."

The only thing I forgot to do was remind people to switch off phones, though as it happened it was the house phone that went off.  And then went to answerphone.  The show survived.

"Fascinating and moving - thank you for an amazing performance.  Very thought provoking."

And after the performance, food!  By far my favourite part of doing home shows is afterwards - but I would say that, I've done my work and get to relax.  Then you get to discuss the play with convivial company before discussion diverts into more general areas and much fellowship is had.
I even got to take home some cheese.

*All quotes from audience members.

As you can see above, a home show can be great fun for everyone - and there's still time to book me so long as you're based in the UK - I usually work on a pass the hat round basis for home shows, but this varies depending on distance - just give me a buzz online or call the number below.

The Summoning of Everyman Tours March / April 2015
All shows will be Pay-What-You-Want and tickets can be reserved by phone or online.
Telephone: 07946 652 196
Email: contact@milkbottleproductions.co.uk
For emails or any phone messages please state your name, contact number, number of tickets and, most importantly, which date/venue you're booking for.
I'll be keeping this blog post updated and there's a page on the microsite and shortly on my website.
If your local venue is not represented it's not too late to be added to the tour.  I'll come to churches, village halls, small rooms or even your home for a private performance for friends and family - just contact me and we'll see what can be done.  Have toothbrush, will travel!

Offton & Willisham Village Hall                  -              Tuesday 24th March at 7.30pm

Chappel & Wakes Colne Village Hall         -              Wednesday 25th March at 7.30pm

Great Waldingfield Village Hall                   -              Thursday 26th March at 7.30pm

Boxford Village Hall                                   -              Tuesday 31st March at 7.30pm

Cavendish Memorial Hall                           -              Wednesday 1st April at 7.30pm

Hitcham Village Hall                                   -              Thursday 2nd April at 7.30pm

Maurice Rowson Hall, Gosfield                  -              Friday 3rd April at 7.30pm

Leavenheath Village Hall                            -              Sunday 5th April at 6pm

Hundon Village Hall                                   -              Monday 6th April at 7.30pm

Creeting St Mary Jubilee Hall                     -              Tuesday 7th April at 7.30pm

Assington Village Hall                                -              Thursday 9th April at 7.30pm

Brettenham Village Hall                             -              Tuesday 14th April at 7.30pm

Steeple Bumpstead Village Hall                 -              Wednesday 15th April at 7.30pm

St Mary’s Church, Chilton                         -              Sunday 19th April at 3pm

Boxted & Hartest Institute                         -              Monday 20th April at 7.30pm

Stisted Village Hall                                    -              Wednesday 22nd April at 7.30pm

All details correct at time of press – updates, corrections and directions to shows can be found online – or contact us direct.

A Reckoning in a Little Room

It's been a fraught few days as I get down to the nitty-gritty of rehearsing Everyman.  Ironing out those little mistakes (the same mistakes I was making 18 months ago!) and generally feeling like I'm not getting anywhere.  I am, it just feels sooooo slow...
Tomorrow is the last chance to get it right before a double bill of performances to students on Friday morning.  And they've read the play (in theory) so have a far higher chance of noticing any cock-ups.  Tomorrow I will also make my final choices regarding props, costume and additional bits and bobs.
That said, for all my due diligence for Friday, I've actually been mostly rehearsing the show for a performance next week which is at someone's home.  These rehearsals I've been calling 'a reckoning in the little room' - i.e. I've been rehearsing as though no one can move.  It's been interesting.  The only real problem I've had is for this exercise I've been rehearsing in my study, which means I constantly fight the part of my brain that's going - "ooh, I haven't read that book in a while".  Stupid brain.
Anyway, here's the first teaser trailer for the show - I've got material for two more, if I can find a moment to edit them.  Enjoy.  It's short.

Let's talk about Ibsen

Let's talk about Ibsen. Nothing to do with my current work, just because.  (Okay, there is a slight link, but mostly because talking about one thing for weeks gets rather dull.)
I bought a DVD box set - the BBC Ibsen Collection - a little while ago and it's pretty damn good. It has all the major plays and a hell of a lot of the lesser known ones - and that's just the extras, which include eight (yes, eight) whole radio plays to boot. (Though one is about Ibsen, not by him.)  That's sixteen in all - not a bad line up.
But - and here's an irritating thing - only two of these plays are commercially available in the UK.  Brand and Ghosts are to be found elsewhere (I already have them - Patrick McGoohan as Brand is fabulous) - but the rest are only found in this box set which is only available in the US.  This means I have to dig out the multi-regional DVD player and skip the BBC America ads.
I started with the radio plays first, as I don't really have time to watch anything, but I do listen to audio books when I go to bed. I've listened to Emperor and Galilean (which I've only ever read) and Peer Gent (which I've seen and staged) and have been enjoying The Pillars of Society and Rosmersholm (which, again, I've only ever read).  The recordings are from very different periods in the BBC's history and are mostly well executed.
But I really want to write about Peer. Listening to it, I've remembered so much I'd forgotten about the play and I've been inspired to want to stage it again. This is no abstract itch, I know how I'd do it. The last time I staged it I made a bit... well, not quite a hash of it, but it could have been a lot better.  I didn't have a proper plan, only a few half ideas (some of which worked very well) but it was mostly a production I moved from A to B.  But now I can see it.  A way to stage this monster of a play - it's simple, contained and yet epic. It would have a small cast and a very small stage space, it would be bounded in a nutshell and yet played on a canvas of infinite space.
I am, obviously, mad.
The radio version in the box set is from 1943, featuring Ralph Richardson and a full orchestra playing the Grieg incidental music.  I feel sorry for the Grieg incidental score - I think it's really very good dramatically.  It tells the story and evokes the mood - it is a bit too grand but it is a play that is too grand, too big, too busy - too clever, perhaps.  It is a score destroyed by a thousand associations, with adverts and cheesy, lazy broadcast soundtracks - diminished to contextless muzak.  As guilt by association it is largely doomed to live in bitesized chunks from the Suite on Classic FM.
On this recording the music is both an asset and a liability.  An asset because, in context, it works rather well (though the absence of Morning as Peer awakens is a testament to the fact that, even in the forties, the chocolate box odour already hung heavy).  It's a liability because the sound mix is poor (basically non existent) and the music overwhelms the microphones leaving the listener with a jumbled wall of noise.  This is particularly poor for any sung sections (intelligible) or where dialogue and music coincide.  It's a shame, but not an overwhelming one because the music is used sparingly.
The atmosphere of the recording is that of a concert performance, which it presumably was.  The acoustic of the hall is echoey and not intimate enough for dialogue, so it feels very stagy.  This is added to by the delivery, which is very much of its time.  It is brilliant in so many respects - the cast, plucked from a stage version for this recording - know their lines intimately, which pour out of them like water - fast and flowing, a beauty to listen to.  But, there is no depth.  Even Ralph (or especially Ralph) doesn't get at the meat of the emotion - he sings the part, and sings it well, but I don't believe there's much going on under the surface.  But, I suspect, this is the context of the time speaking - is it fair to judge the conventions of the past?  In one respect it has a clarity not to be beaten, which many an emotive performer can lose.  Balance is the key.
There were two other interesting elements to the recording.  The stage directions were not just read - they were made into an incredibly effective chorus, spoken by two actors.  They were turned into an extension of the poetry of the play - shaped presumably by the producer.  It changed the performance from a recorded play, into an epic poem (which is arguably what it is - discuss), and gave it an unique flavour.
Secondly, the cuts were telling.  At first I thought, as it was over three hours long and performed over two nights when broadcast, that it was largely uncut - and so it seemed until the final act, which had wholesale purges.  All of my favourite scenes, the ones that drew me to the play, were gone.  The second conversation with the Mysterious Passenger, the meeting with Satan, just gone.  (Was the appearance of the devil as a priest too much for the BBC in the 1940's, or was it also cut from the production?  One to research.)  Whereas the previous Act, where Peer is on his travels, left very much as writ.
When I produced my version in the depths of the Noughties - I cut Act Four completely.  It is a problem, Act Four.  The play is very neat otherwise.  Young Peer and his adventures in the first half, Old Peer returns home in the second.  The adventures abroad are important to the play in many of the images and recurrent themes, but they don't quite pay their way, they are deeply unsatisfying.  So, it made sense to take the pain and cut it.  This wasn't a perfect solution and it left some problems, but I'd done something similar with Doctor Faustus a few years earlier and it worked then, so why not again?
Marlowe's Doctor Faustus has many similarities with Peer Gynt.  The eponymous leads both make bargains and effectively sell their soul, then they go on semi-comic and problematic adventures, ending with a reckoning for good or ill.  When I did a semi-staging of Faustus I cut the already short play right down to the essential bargain and the consequences - but that production never pretended to be anything other than a playabout with the material, it never pretended to be a straight production of the play.  By going only halfway with Peer Gynt, hacking a chunk out and leaving the rest largely as writ (I've since lost my directing version, so I can't be certain of that) I did more damage to the play than good, because I didn't restructure the source to massage the joins in the cut.
What appealed to me were the scenes in the Troll Hall, brilliantly realised satire and witty dialogue, and the final Act with the Button Moulder and his re-meeting of characters from earlier in the play.
Here followers of my blog may see the thread that runs through this post.  These plays, Peer and Faustus, are thematically and historically linked to Everyman.  They have the same narrative, they have the same focus on a central character who is trying to escape death, to make a delay from meeting Death, Satan or the Button Moulder - and, once the inevitable happens, fighting for the best deal to save them afterwards.  Everyman is saved by his Good Deeds, Faustus damned by his Wan-hope, Peer sort of saved because he left his soul with Solvieg before he tried to give it to the Trolls.  The latter is, of course, the most vomit inducing.  (As well as staging it straight, I'd quite like to rewrite it - create a completely new play based on modern themes.  I planned to do something of this with the last story in my Trolls trilogy, but it didn't come together.  Next time, perhaps?)
This is why I'm drawn to go back to Peer - I see a trilogy of productions with the same small cast.  A double bill of Everyman with a radically cut Faustus, and a new production of Peer Gynt.  Maybe next year.  Or, more likely, 2017.  I've got other fish to fry in 2016.

Everyman Daily Report: X to Y

I stopped posting daily/semi-daily reports on Everyman because it was getting dull.  Basically, it's been a bit like this.
1. Did some admin.
2. Re-learnt some lines.
3. Put a couple of lines back in.
4. Took them out again.
5. Ran show.
Repeat.
So I stopped.  I also got sidetracked with other projects and by life, more of which on another day.

On Friday I'm performing the first of two tryouts to drama students, so this week is all about the runs.  Run the show, tidy up the edges and most of all, simplify.  The following weeks after I've a couple of private performances, one at someone's home and another for a play readers group and then it's TOUR!
And that's where I'm exhausting myself, because there's so much to get ready and none of it is about making the show happen.  It's all paperwork, it's all planning, it's all happening in a months time.  So, I'm excited and tired and stressed and lots of other ands.
But it's getting there.  Today was a good day, ran the play twice and felt confident.  We'll see how I feel tomorrow.

***

The Summoning of Everyman Tours March / April 2015
All shows will be Pay-What-You-Want and tickets can be reserved by phone or online.
Telephone: 07946 652 196
Email: contact@milkbottleproductions.co.uk
For emails or any phone messages please state your name, contact number, number of tickets and, most importantly, which date/venue you're booking for.
I'll be keeping this blog post updated and there's a page on the microsite and shortly on my website.
If your local venue is not represented it's not too late to be added to the tour.  I'll come to churches, village halls, small rooms or even your home for a private performance for friends and family - just contact me and we'll see what can be done.  Have toothbrush, will travel!

Offton & Willisham Village Hall                  -              Tuesday 24th March at 7.30pm

Chappel & Wakes Colne Village Hall         -              Wednesday 25th March at 7.30pm

Great Waldingfield Village Hall                   -              Thursday 26th March at 7.30pm

Boxford Village Hall                                   -              Tuesday 31st March at 7.30pm

Cavendish Memorial Hall                           -              Wednesday 1st April at 7.30pm

Hitcham Village Hall                                   -              Thursday 2nd April at 7.30pm

Maurice Rowson Hall, Gosfield                  -              Friday 3rd April at 7.30pm

Leavenheath Village Hall                            -              Sunday 5th April at 6pm

Hundon Village Hall                                   -              Monday 6th April at 7.30pm

Creeting St Mary Jubilee Hall                     -              Tuesday 7th April at 7.30pm

Assington Village Hall                                -              Thursday 9th April at 7.30pm

Brettenham Village Hall                             -              Tuesday 14th April at 7.30pm

Steeple Bumpstead Village Hall                 -              Wednesday 15th April at 7.30pm

St Mary’s Church, Chilton                         -              Sunday 19th April at 3pm

Boxted & Hartest Institute                         -              Monday 20th April at 7.30pm

Stisted Village Hall                                    -              Wednesday 22nd April at 7.30pm

All details correct at time of press – updates, corrections and directions to shows can be found online – or contact us direct.

Everyman Daily Report: 8

Over a week in and the printing arrives - Huzzah!  Which means I now have to distribute everything... booooo.  So, the next couple of weeks will involve my walking around a lot looking for places to take my flyers.  But it'll give me a chance to scout out some places I've never been to, take some lovely photos and pointless videos and maybe meet some new people.
Today has been mostly an admin day, getting press releases off and sorting advertising, but I have caught up with the last text work and even moved the text about a bit.  My basic plan is this - for the next seven days mix up general text work with specific blocking and movement work.  I'll then have ten days before the first performance - so it's a full run each day plus detailed work on a short section of the text.
And now, some video footage of boxes of printing...

Everyman Daily Report: 3, 4 & 5

Leavenheath Village Hall - 5th April at 6pm

The last few days have been an interesting mix of the eventful, uneventful and the unproductive.  Wednesday went really badly on the rehearsal front.  No rehearsal happened.  None.  Not a line was said.  I failed.
On the plus side, I did get a wonderful view of the A134.  Here's what happened.
I was going to view a couple of venues, sort out paperwork and generally scout round the area - these two venues being reasonably close together.  As it also happened my father was meeting up with some friends at the village of the first venue in Assington - so I tagged along and thought I'd walk to the relatively close Leavenheath.  In preparation I printed off a map from Google and planned a route - there were apparently footpaths, but I wanted to see how the roads looked and the last thing I wanted to do was get lost.
Unfortunately, the map I printed off placed my starting point on the opposite side of the road to where it actually was - so I gamely walked up to the A134 and tried to figure out how I could have got it wrong.
Eventually I was on the right path and made it to Leavenheath Village Hall and had a look round - I forgot to take photos inside, but I did take a picture outside.
Here's a short video from my day out.

I then caught a bus to Colchester to do some shopping and by the time I got home I was right royally knackered and so little work was done.
The last two days have been better and I've caught up with my line learning and my admin.  The last cheques have been sent, the tour is now fully booked and now it's adverts and permissions and the duller admin to do.  I'm very aware that I need to crack on with a lot of tasks, as I'm still riding a lot of deadlines close to the wind - but I'm refusing to let myself be rushed artistically.  The show is coming together on schedule, even though I lost time on Wednesday.  Tomorrow I'll be looking at the second half of the script, getting the last few sections in ready for next weeks more physical work - but I'm also going to be doing some photos and videos for publicity as well.

I'll be performing Everyman at Leavenheath Village Hall on Sunday 5th April at 6pm
Tickets can be reserved by calling 07946 652 196 or emailing contact@milkbottleproductions.co.uk

Everyman Daily Report: 2

Today I focused on the second quarter of the play - where Everyman asks for someone to go with him on his journey to death.  There are three/four characters he encounters - Fellowship (his friends), Kindred & Cousin (his relations) who are two people in the original, but combined into one in this version, and finally his Goods (his worldly possessions).  These are all external elements of his life, people or things outside of his person, who he is deluded into thinking he can take with him.  These rejections prepare us for the second set of delusions in the second half of the play, where he hopes to go to the other side with all his faculties - his senses, strength, reasoning and beauty.  But that's future.  Today, just externals.
As external characters they are mostly straightforward - your friends and relations are real people and (though generalised) are not abstract.  They tend to talk to you - so the dialogue is natural, fast, flowing - even funny.  Your Goods don't tend to talk to you - but the character of wealth is straightforward, deliciously slimy and evil.  To relearn this lines - or at least reacquiant myself with them - is great fun.  I don't think I made as much progress with the retention of lines as I did yesterday, but some solid groundwork was done.
In fact, I was surprised how much of what I went over yesterday had stuck - I briefly ran over my lines as I went for a walk this afternoon - here is a pointless video of the opening speech.

Tomorrow I'm out and about all day, looking at venues and sorting out the last paperwork for the tour dates (see blog post below) so I'm going to focus my spare time into going over the line learning and text work of yesterday and today.  If I can be fully books down on the first half at the end of the week - confident and strong on words - then real work can happen next week.  Huzzah!

First Dates

And we're off - the first dates of the The Summoning of Everyman tour are in the bag. Now, if you're based in Suffolk/Essex, or have friends who do, now's the time to book your tickets, or share this with those who might.
All shows will be Pay-What-You-Want and tickets can be reserved by phone or online.
For emails or any phone messages please state your name, contact number, number of tickets and, most importantly, which date/venue you're booking for.
If your local venue is not represented it's not too late to be added to the tour.  I'll come to churches, village halls, small rooms or even your home for a private performance for friends and family - just contact me and we'll see what can be done.  Have toothbrush, will travel!
So, the first week of the tour is Offton & Willisham Village Hall, Chappel and Wakes Colne Village Hall and Great Waldingfield Village Hall.  More soon, as details come in.

Offton & Willisham Village Hall                  -              Tuesday 24th March at 7.30pm

Chappel & Wakes Colne Village Hall         -              Wednesday 25th March at 7.30pm

Great Waldingfield Village Hall                   -              Thursday 26th March at 7.30pm

Boxford Village Hall                                   -              Tuesday 31st March at 7.30pm

Cavendish Memorial Hall                           -              Wednesday 1st April at 7.30pm

Hitcham Village Hall                                   -              Thursday 2nd April at 7.30pm

Maurice Rowson Hall, Gosfield                  -              Friday 3rd April at 7.30pm

Leavenheath Village Hall                            -              Sunday 5th April at 6pm

Hundon Village Hall                                   -              Monday 6th April at 7.30pm

Creeting St Mary Jubilee Hall                     -              Tuesday 7th April at 7.30pm

Assington Village Hall                                -              Thursday 9th April at 7.30pm

Brettenham Village Hall                             -              Tuesday 14th April at 7.30pm

Steeple Bumpstead Village Hall                 -              Wednesday 15th April at 7.30pm

St Mary’s Church, Chilton                         -              Sunday 19th April at 3pm

Boxted & Hartest Institute                         -              Monday 20th April at 7.30pm

Stisted Village Hall                                    -              Wednesday 22nd April at 7.30pm

All details correct at time of press – updates, corrections and directions to shows can be found online – or contact us direct.

Venue list again - this time with addresses and post codes! 

Offton & Willisham Village Hall                   -              Tuesday 24th March at 7.30pm

Lower Coney Grove, Offton, IP8 4RA

(For information call 01473 658547. No reservation required)

Chappel & Wakes Colne Village Hall         -              Wednesday 25th March at 7.30pm

Colchester Road, Wakes Colne, Colchester, CO6 2BX

Great Waldingfield Village Hall                   -              Thursday 26th March at 7.30pm

Lavenham Road, CO10 0SA

Boxford Village Hall                                         -              Tuesday 31st March at 7.30pm

Stone Street Road, Boxford, Sudbury, Suffolk, CO10 5NP

Cavendish Memorial Hall                              -              Wednesday 1st April at 7.30pm

Melford Road, Cavendish, Sudbury, Suffolk, CO10 8AD

Hitcham Village Hall                                         -              Thursday 2nd April at 7.30pm

The Causeway, Hitcham, Ipswich, Suffolk, IP7 7NE

Maurice Rowson Hall, Gosfield                  -              Friday 3rd April at 7.30pm

Church Road, Gosfield, CO9 1TL

Leavenheath Village Hall                               -              Sunday 5th April at 6pm

Suffolk, CO6 4NW

Hundon Village Hall                                         -              Monday 6th April at 7.30pm

North Street, Hundon, Suffolk, CO10 8EE

Creeting St Mary Jubilee Hall                      -              Tuesday 7th April at 7.30pm

Assington Village Hall                                     -              Thursday 9th April at 7.30pm

The Street, Assington, Sudbury, Suffolk, CO10 5LW

Brettenham Village Hall                                 -              Tuesday 14th April at 7.30pm

30b The Street, Brettenham, Ipswich, Suffolk, IP7 7QP

Steeple Bumpstead Village Hall                 -              Wednesday 15th April at 7.30pm

Finchingfield Road, Steeple Bumpstead, Haverhill, Suffollk, CB9 7EA

St Mary’s Church, Chilton                             -              Sunday 19th April at 3pm

Chilton, Sudbury, Suffolk, CO10 2ZB

Boxted & Hartest Institute                           -              Monday 20th April at 7.30pm

The Green, Hartest, Suffolk, IP29 4DH

Stisted Village Hall                                           -              Wednesday 22nd April at 7.30pm

Rectory Road, Stisted, Braintree, Essex, CM77 8AL

Everyman Daily Report: 1

Christ it's cold. It isn't really that cold, by my rehearsal space isn't great thermally, so I'm mostly not using it - I'm doing text work. So, progress report on Everyman. I know the first speech to buggery and the God speech in chunks, all the right notes, just not necessarily in the right order. The Death sequence has undergone a few minor changes and I remember from last time how difficult it can be to get right. This is the first section that requires real work on the physical text. I want to really pull the confrontation of Everyman by Death apart. And here I have a new toy to play with - or will when the weather warms up a bit and I got from text to movement. For the moment it's all in the words baby. But the words are mostly in my brain still, even after over a year has passed since the last performance.
The last bit I looked at today was the speech Everyman makes just after meeting Death - which is brilliant and terrifying. I'd quite like to sign the speech as I say it - hell, I'd love to be able to sign the whole play, but baby steps. So, I'm looking for a signer people - anyone know someone who can help? Internet, can you hear me?
Tomorrow, between the admin for the tour (so much to do!) and food and stuff, I'll be working on the first rejections of Everyman up to Good-Deeds. I'm hoping to have reviewed the whole text by the weekend, relearned most of it, and be ready to explore the physical realm next week.

Gazumped-ish...

Typical, you wait ages for one production of Everyman and two come along at once.  No sooner than I'm ready with my tour of Everyman than the National Theatre announce they're doing one - AT EXACTLY THE SAME TIME.  My immediate reaction was facepalm/whyme! - followed by a lot of swearing.  But then I had a cup of tea and calmed down, because really I'm rather pleased.
Firstly, it raises the profile of the play, or at least the title of the play, for early indications suggest this isn't a production of the play, it is an adaptation of the play, so we're not doing the same play at all.   It is notable that their play is simply called Everyman and not The Summoning of Everyman - and that the blurb suggests a more secular take on the narrative.  Death gets a lot of notice, God not one.  So, quite a different play, if the pre-publicity is to be believed.
Secondly, following on from the above, the National production will give the hashtag #everyman a bit more prominence and probably gain me more audience than it will lose me. It's not impossible that you've been dragged to this blog by said hashtag.  (If you have, earlier blog posts go into detail of my staging of the play and some of it might be quite interesting!)
Thirdly, if they bugger about with the text I can say my version has a certain authority.  Even though my production isn't exactly conventional, it does use most of the text and largely as the unknown author left it.
Of course if the National production is a huge popular success I could be screwed.  It coincides almost exactly with my tour, but we are reasonably far apart geographically.  Their production will be live streamed in July, which IS a sod, as that's when I'd be doing tryouts if I make enough money to go to Edinburgh for the Fringe.  And I don't see that a later tour in Autumn/Winter is as much of a goer now.  But we shall see.  I will weigh up my options as I go along.
So, I'm largely positive. Power to the moral interlude people, power to the morality tale!
For more information about my small tour - for small rooms and little theatres only - do have a look at this blog post.  

New Knowledge

Now that I have a blog dedicated to plays before Shakespeare, I'm a bit torn on where to post about The Summoning of Everyman.  I started here, with the one man version I performed over Easter which I am currently reviving.  I've decided to keep any active rehearsal of play posts on this blog, to continue the narrative, and write a compilation meta post for the other place.
So, I'm now into full rehearsal for Everyman again and it's good to be back.  Less than two weeks now before performing in London and I'm overhauling the whole text, going back to originals, looking at line readings and looking to see if there's any material I want to put back into the show.
I've cut, for the most part, very little.  As it's for one person, I've tried to rationalise some of the dialogue, making some of it into longer speeches, rather than back and forth.  There are only a couple of bits that I'm thinking of putting back in, but maybe only for a later performance, as I don't want to throw myself this close to the first show.
However, I did make one huge cut.  It's towards the end of the play, where Everyman is encouraged to see a priest and receive last rites and forgiveness before heading to his grave.  As he does this, two other characters discuss the goodness of this act and of priests in general.  There were three reasons why this had to go.
1. I spend most of the play as Everyman, stepping into other parts.  The idea that I could feasibly work a scene where he isn't technical present was too much to ask the audience to swallow.  Clarity was important.
2. One of the characters speaking was Knowledge - who I cut as a speaking role.  Knowledge became a visual symbol, a book that Everyman is given - and much of his dialogue was reassigned.
3. It's one thing to have a play that discusses the morality of doing good through a Christian lens, it is quite another to present what reads as direct propaganda.  It was just too obvious an exhortation, telling not showing, and had to go as it stood in the play.
So cut it was, and, also being very worthy and so the dullest part of the play - there is nothing at stake in the dialogue - it wasn't missed.  But I hated taking out such a large chunk of the play, even for good reasons, and I kept thinking about it.  And then I had an idea.
Irritatingly it came as I was watching an encore cinema broadcast of Eugene Onegin, which I was enjoying very much, until my brain defocused from the drama and played the idea around in different variations.

Play the text as a pre-show performance, play it as a street preacher, play it as speakers corner.

This adds two benefits - one, if gives the audience something to watch whilst some of the fiddly pre-show business is sorted (they have to write down their good and bad deeds) and two, it gives the speech bite - because then the character has a reason to be giving the speech, beyond discussing theology with someone else.  He is exhorting people to save their souls.  He cares.  We, the audience, however, are distanced.  The speech stops being worthy, it becomes something else.  It'll say something about a character, albeit one who is not in the play - unless I make him the same character as the Doctor who opens and closes the play, which I will look at when I rehearse it.
I haven't finished cutting the two speeches into one yet and I won't be using it in London on the 26th October (probably) and I may give up on the idea - but I think it has legs and it will restore to the play the full (ish) text.
Of course, I'll have changed the nature of the text, but the live shows are not about rigid conformity to the original source.  That is, to some degree, what the online Before Shakespeare project is about.  And that's why this post is on this blog, not in the other place.

Milk Bottle Productions Presents...

The Summoning of Everyman

An Immersive Theatre Production

Adapted and performed by Robert Crighton

The Summoning of Everyman is a powerful morality tale, written by an unknown author in the late medieval period, telling of the struggles for one man, for every man, to let go of his life.  This interactive performance brings this struggle directly to the audience, asking them to become part of the story, asking them to stand in the footsteps of Fellowship, Good Deeds and even Death himself.  It’s a question that each generation has to answer: can you really take anything with you after death?  Moving, beautiful and thought provoking – ultimately the Summoning comes to Everyone.

This is an immersive performance, everyone will be asked to help create the show in various simple ways.  Don’t worry this isn’t Pantomime, there are no songs or catchphrases.  The audience is moved around the space by Robert as characters in the story – the performance is personally addressed to you.  No acting skills required, just to stand, sit and be yourself, guided by Robert through the story.

Tickets are Pay-What-You-Want, so you choose at the end of the show how much you want to give for the show at the end.  For general booking enquiries us at contact@milkbottleproductions.co.uk – or call 07704 704 469.

Performing Saturday 26^th October at 7.00pm

Doors open 6.30pm, show starts 7.00pm – NO ADMITTANCE FOR LATECOMERS

The London Theatre - New Cross, The Lower Space, 443 New Cross Road, London, SE14 6TA

Tickets Available from wegottickets.com - http://www.wegottickets.com/event/236696

Website:  www.milkbottleproductions.co.uk

WHAT THE AUDIENCE SAID: Guildhall Lavenham, Easter 2013

“We were so impressed... Robert Crighton is a one man tour de force he has you gripped from start to finish.”  DC Starpop

“A rewarding experience both as an audience member and a participant!  A fascinating interpretation of this medieval morality tale and I recommend it highly... a compelling one man show.”  Nick Elliott

“Touching and inspirational.”  Phil Hope

“With absolute ease he made the text accessible to a contemporary audience...” David Owen-Bell

“I would certainly recommend Robert and this 5 star performance to Everyman and Woman!!   A truly sensational performance by Robert!”  Dan

“... a compelling and engaging piece of storytelling...”  Annie Eddington

"A veritable tour de force..."  Rev. Stephen Earl

“Great acting, and what a memory!”  Arthur