Setting the stage for a Globe in the North
An ambitious young company hopes to build Yorkshire's own Globe Theatre in the grounds of Ripley Castle. Arts reporter Nick Ahad on the plans.
Let me paint you a couple of pictures.
It's four years ago. My email inbox is full of companies asking me to come and see their plays – and another email appears. Sprite Productions want me to go to see their show.
With the West Yorkshire Playhouse, York Theatre Royal, Stephen Joseph, Hull Truck et al, all demanding evenings to review their plays, there's little time spare, unfortunately, for the region's smaller companies.
But something about this email catches the eye.
I agree to see Sprite Productions perform a very well worked A Midsummer Night's Dream.
Unlike many companies who perform Shakespeare in the open-air, they don't rely on the combination of the great outdoors and the greatest playwright to suffice. They strive to bring their own distinctive style to the material.
Here's another picture.
Earlier this week, it is a gloriously sunny day at Ripley Castle and Liam Evans-Ford is enthusiastically outlining plans for an even grander adventure.
He wants to build a theatre, a smaller version of Shakespeare's Globe, in the grounds of the castle.
Four years ago, a young couple, both actors, decided to set up their own company.
Liam Evans-Ford trained at the Bristol Old Vic and Hester Evans-Ford was acting with the RSC.
Liam had appeared in an open air Shakespeare production and had a less then enjoyable experience.
The production, he felt, was lazy and he knew he could do better.
With the naivete, arrogance and exuberance of youth – they were in their early 20s at the time – Liam and Hester decided they would set up their own company and produce Shakespeare outdoors. But where?
Youth carries with it a wonderful enthusiasm undimmed by bitter experience. Hester grew up in Ripley village and knew the castle and its grounds well.
Why not ask Sir Thomas Ingilby, owner of the estate, if they could perform in the grounds? Why not indeed.
An experienced campaigner might have known a number of negative reasons. But when you're 22 and have a dream, what's to stop you?
One can't help but wonder at Sir Thomas's reaction when first asked for a meeting by Liam and Hester.
To his credit meet them he did, quite possibly out of nothing more than politeness and a vague curiosity.
It is easy to see why Sir Thomas would have been convinced. Liam is a bright, eloquent and, above all, passionate speaker and would have made a good case for his company.
Sir Thomas handed over the keys to the castle grounds and Sprite Productions acquitted itself impressively. It attracted 2,500 people through the gates and a commitment from Sir Thomas that they could return. A year later, Romeo and Juliet was seen by 4,000 people. In 2007, Much Ado was blighted by atrocious weather, but failed to dampen spirits.
This year, it will stage Twelfth Night and it has landed a two-year 20,000 sponsorship deal with estate agents Knight Frank. It has done well so far, but is the building of a mini Globe
a step too far? Honestly, I think not.
Liam is sincere when he tells me that it may take a lifetime to achieve this latest aim but, as he says, what a project for a lifetime's work.
The couple have already achieved more than they set out to when they first went to Ripley Castle. Earlier this week, Liam showed me the part of the forest where the theatre would stand.
It's hard not to get carried away with his enthusiasm, but one must be realistic.
The Arts Council has recently removed funding from a host of companies. And the credit crunch is on the way. But a Globe theatre built on this site would enrich the cultural life of the region enormously.
At the minute, the excellent productions by Sprite are seen by schoolchildren, but mainly schoolchildren from privileged backgrounds who might well encounter Shakespeare anyway.
The Globe Liam dreams of would put education at its heart and introduce Shakespeare to more than the privileged few.
Shakespeare was a man of the people. His productions were performed in the bear pit of the Globe, with no seating and a shared experience between the stage and the audience.
If this comes off, Evans-Ford might be creating a work that will last much longer than his own lifetime.
As Sir Thomas says: "Getting an Elizabethan theatre funded, built and established is a big challenge, especially in the current economic climate, but I wouldn't bet against them succeeding – they have a habit of proving me wrong!"
For more information about the project, log on to www.spriteproductions.
co.uk. Twelfth Night runs from June 17 to July 13.
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Saturday 11 February 2012
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