Rye Players, like most community groups, had to ‘go dark’ in 2020. Hard on the heels of their sell-out January panto, Red Riding Hood, came the announcement of the first lockdown.
Professional and amateur theatre across the world had to press pause, not knowing how long that would have to last. CommunityAd caught up with Patricia Driver to find out some more about this club that has been delighting Rye audiences for over 100 years.
Pat is one of six members of the committee and looks after the publicity. She credits Janet Stott the chair with “keeping the show on the road with regular meetings and the leadership” that’s so important for a group like the Rye Players. As well as answering our questions Pat is quite capable of acting and directing, both of which she was lucky enough to have done this summer just gone.
There’s no doubt the lockdown hit theatre, live music and local entertainment the hardest of all. Pat describes those as ‘difficult days’ and one where the lights were turned off and no one knew when they were to be flicked back on. The players kept in contact, initially trying Zoom but Pat recalls those calls as “a comedy sketch in itself, and we used most of the free forty minutes shouting “Unmute!” at each other”. When the Players were allowed to meet once more they wasted no time in doing so.
Getting together for a read-through of whatever they could get their hands on before “Dilys Mayor, founder of the much-loved Rye Shakespeare Company and a long-serving Rye Player, found a script that eventually became our outdoor theatre production this summer. Canterburye Tales was performed at various locations before we took it indoors for a star turn at the Mermaid Inn where we performed it three times on the last day of the Rye Arts Festival in September. That comedy script by Andrew Mayor helped us raise much needed revenue to allow the group to carry on and plan for the future”.
And what does that future look like?
It’s bright! It’s noisy and very very colourful. We’re beyond thrilled to have assembled a fantastic cast and crew for the town panto, Snow White and the Seven People of Various Sizes and Ages (we’re working on that title). Once again, the panto is in the capable hands of Helen Gray, who led a fantastically-attended reading in the Queens Head, Rye, followed by two nights of auditions back in our beloved hut. Helen is currently putting the cast through its paces to ready the show for the Rye Community Centre on January 28th and 29th. Readers can download the free A Rye Good Time app for ticket details and timings.
Performance and theatre bring so many benefits to an individual’s wellbeing. Have you seen this or experienced it yourself?
Yes, every time. And never more so than in our comeback show this summer. We couldn’t wait to do each one and we were still laughing at the script at the end, as much as at the beginning. We try to make each production the best it can possibly be and there’s a real benefit in collaborating with other people to do something so creative.
There’s evidence of this natural high in the inevitable low point that everybody experiences once a run ends. The only cure is to get cracking on the next production. Even if you’re not in it, there are always jobs that need doing backstage and front of house. You could even run into somebody you haven’t seen in years! Venetia Sanders, who plays Junior (the tallest short person in Snow White) came face to face with Kevin Williams in our rehearsal hut. Kevin plays Ma Bumble, the outrageous Dame. It took them a couple of minutes but then they realised they’d been school friends many years ago. They look forward to playing together again in front of an audience this time.
If any readers are perusing this article and thinking to themselves ‘I’m a bit of a thespian. I’d like to give that a go’ what would you say to them? Why should they and why should they do so with the Rye Players?
I would say keep an eye on our social media and come along to watch a rehearsal or to take part in a playreading. Jonathan Breeds at The Queen’s Head, Rye is a long-term supporter of the Players and he generously gives us his back room for our theatrical goings on. New member Mike Nower held a reading from Confusions by Alan Ayckbourn there in October and we plan to do many more. We recognise that people want to do different things and we try to provide those opportunities.
Oddly, the pandemic seems to have energised us. We have new members and younger people stepping up with ideas which we welcome with open arms. Why Rye Players? Because you’re welcome and we try to have fun while we create seriously good work.
Why is it so important for the local community to support theatre productions and local theatre groups now more than ever?
Quite apart from the fact that we love to perform to a full house, we really believe that community exists in sharing events and experiences. We’ve all been forced onto our screens and we’ve appreciated the sense of connection that technology was able to bring to some pretty dark days. But collective laughter, love and enjoyment of a concert, a festival, sports, art exhibitions, book clubs, all of these are just better in real life. It really is a case of use it or lose it and so we’re grateful to every single person who buys a ticket and shows up. Our rental and utility costs didn’t go away during the pandemic and so community support is vital to our continued existence.
Finally, what would be your ideal audience?
Any audience in Rye! It’s a great place to live and the town’s arty credentials are not too shabby either. There’s a real appreciation for all of the performing arts and, for us, there is no better sound on earth than a packed theatre ringing with applause.