Taste Productions

Buxton Fringe 2006

Taste Productions returned to the Buxton Fringe in 2006 with great successes. Performing two works, in a combination of locations, reviews are shown below. The festival also saw an nomination for Florence Jones as Best Young Actor, for her part in Where's Waldo?

The Magdalen Whitewash
Buxton Methodist Church Upstairs Room (Market Place).
July 2006

The first Fringe performance of this play, written by Somerset-based playwright Valerie Goodwin, took place in the New Mills Church of St. James the Less. This 19th century church, with its fine stained glass windows and vaulted ceiling, is - if bids for funding are successful - to become New Mills' new arts centre. Taste Productions is a youth theatre group with members ranging from 12 to 25.
The Magdalen Whitewash Laundries provided a "home" in which "fallen women", often young women were deposited by their families to "hide the shame" or until their "babbies" could be placed with adoptive parents. Sometimes, as we see in this stageplay (which predates the film, incidentally), women could end up spending the rest of their lives there. They lived lives not of their own choosing, whose hardships and small comforts were entirely governed by the whims of the nuns and priests running the place. These nuns and priests were variable in their motivations, and their position of power was unassailable.

One of the strengths of the script is that, at strategic points throughout the play, the right questions are asked - often by "new" characters arriving at the Convent. Why is it that the women who have become pregnant are regarded as "fallen", whilst the men who have fathered their babies - often ruthless, opportunistic "pillars of society" are regarded as having been tempted or led astray? And, if their babies have been adopted, why are the women still living there, years later? Crucially, when the adopted daughter of one inmate returns in adulthood to "fetch" her birth mother, to "take her away"; who, in the end, decides what is actually best for this woman who has lived there for over two decades?

The life stories of the young, and not so young women, unfold: their hopes, their losses, their joys, their agonies. This is by no means a bleak portrayal of these women's' lives: they can be supportive, companionable, and humorous: they are Irish after all! The crunch though, is this: can a bunch of teenage actors from Somerset transport a New Mills audience to a convent in the west of Ireland in the 1930s? You bet they can. Playing the "Maggies": Keira Simpson (Mary), Florence Jones (Nancy), Ethne Grey Still (Angela), Emily Smith (Martha), Matt Slate (Old Marie), Vicky Parker (Assumpta), Lucy Martin (Bernadette), and Florence Jones (Pauline) give strong, skilfully-directed performances. Selina Tracey (Sister Ignatia and also the waitress) , Ben Hansen Hicks (Sister Margaret),Kirsty Moore ( Sister Gabriel), Jamie Isaacs (Mother Superior), Edd Eckersall (Father O'Connell), and Toby Eckersall (Father Doyle) represent the clergy with fervour and conviction. Sean Clothier (Jim) and Matt Slate (Donal) are thoroughly credible as the opportunistic, philandering laundrymen, and Kirsty Moore is chilling as Mrs Doolan (Pauline's mother). Last but not least, Jennie Poulten plays the ten year old "orphan" Patricia who is, in fact, Bernadette's daughter.

The performance makes full use of the opportunities afforded by the space, and ready-made "set" (the altar). Costumes and laundry implements seem era-appropriate. Sheets - as you might imagine - play a major part; folded, shaken, wrapped, and bundled - sometimes for practical purposes, sometimes symbolically. This is Taste Productions' first appearance at the Buxton Festival Fringe. I hope it won't be their last - we need more youth theatre groups of this calibre. It'll make you laugh, it'll make you sigh, it'll anger you, and it might make you cry......... but don't miss it.

Susie Muncaster|

Where's Waldo?
St James the Less Church, New Mills
July 2006

Verdict - A sort of 'Comic Book Presents' version of Scooby Doo...without Scooby...who's, erm, replaced by an Elvis impersonator! Despite the amiable pre-watershed content there are enough sharper cuts of script (especially towards the end) to appeal to those with a darker, oops sorry, alternative sense of humour, especially if they originally saw the 70s BBC broadcasts (in colour!). Also worth seeing for some well played parts too. I smiled more as I drove back after the show, so definitely an enjoyable out-of- town experience - fortunately the next two shows are on your doorstep.
Essentially a series of sketches played by a young cast, with intervening dance routines (to backing songs), this show transports the 4 original human members of Scooby Doo to the alligator-ridden swamplands of the deep American south whilst also increasing gang membership by 50%. This Hexet (?) did successfully make their debut at last years fringe and like all Superheroes, they're back in a sequel, or maybe it's a prequel; the truth is no one, including the cast knows, as the play centres around the construction of a plot and, more importantly an ending. We effectively watch a combo of a rehearsal + simultaneous on-stage script meeting (works fine).

The 'gang of 6' interacted well with a suitable level of bitching amongst certain members, sorry, females...always the case. Ted (Ben Hansen Hicks) was interestingly played - a sort of hybrid between Matt Damon (face/some mannerisms) & Uncle Quentin (mannerisms/voice) from the 'Five Go Mad' series of the 80's. Alvin Graceland (the 5th member) was great with his impromptu Elvis bursts...which always attracted scorn (unfairly) from everyone else ...his subsequent facial expressions each time were spot on. Waldo (Ethne Grey Still) was always worth listening too, especially in the later stages when she started to question her sexuality! The undoubted gang leader though was Zelma (Florence Jones) - even her altar stained glass window-shattering attempts to sing were top draw. For me, she came pretty close to matching my memory of Velma in the cartoon series.

Naturally there were villains. Sinister Uncle Rebus (Matt Slate) was brilliantly hammed up and clearly had lineage traceable back to Vlad the Impaler. Naturally the Uncle of Darkness was equally well assisted by Mini-me Rebus (Jamie Issacs) who managed a great impersonation of Antonio Banderas playing Ygor. His continually changing facial expressions never failed to catch the eye. Oh yeah, he played a mean sax to boot, banging out a couple of short but sweet tunes.

Finally there was the Old Hag of an Evil Housekeeper, no doubt replacing the Evil Caretaker on this occasion on the grounds of sexual equality. Known as Mrs Dietweller, (Jennie Poulten), though I may have heard her called Mortilda. She certainly looked the part and was an entertaining live wire throughout the performance taking care to administer her nastiness in just the right doses, manic dancer too (keep taking the Glucosamine Hun).

My favourite dance sequence was the opening scene, some of the others seemed to make the show a bit 'choppy' but on reflection that may have been the intention so as to give the production a 'rehearsal' feel.

Suggestions for improvement - an 11pm version for Pauper's Pit

Stoon

Best Lines: Upon not being able to read the info on the long lost secret treasure map left by his

Great Uncle Waldo, Uncle Rebus explains why - "He was a Dr"

After revealing that he'd cut the eyes out of various paintings so as to spy on the kids, Uncle Rebus reassures us "No more pervy type of stalking, it's a pre-watershed cartoon"

Unique Fringe Moment: Hearing the Word 'Freakin'

Bad News: No Scooby Snacks for the audience

Buxton Fringe 2005

In the summer of 2005, Taste Productions took two shows to the Buxton fringe.

A select cast performed two of Valerie Goodwin's works. Firstly, an adaptation of Bram Stoker's Dracula - unusually cast with a female lead.

Also, was Space Rox! - Valerie's own Sci-fi Rock'n'Roll musical comedy!

Both plays received positive reviews, which you can read here:

Dracula - Curse of the Undead

Space Rox!