Theatre more than just walk in the park

Despite the vagaries of the British weather, open air theatre is very much a part of the summer arts scene.

One could say it is a particularly brave venture in Yorkshire, but Ripley-based theatre company Sprite Productions have been going strong for almost a decade and are currently preparing for their ninth show which opens next month. As with all their previous productions, the play will be presented within the magnificent grounds of Ripley castle.

Hester Evans-Ford set up the company with her husband Liam in 2004 and when we speak she is in the process of casting their latest production, The Comedy of Errors – not an easy task as it requires finding two sets of twins.

“It’s almost impossible to cast,” she says, laughing. “There are 37 working sets of twins in the UK but they weren’t suitable. Liam and I have both been professional actors for 12 years so it’s about pulling in friends who are not working and matching them with others who look really similar. We try to do a comedy every year if we can because it’s easier for our audience to come out and watch. We have done Macbeth and Romeo and Juliet, and they are both incredible plays, but we have to put on some comedy. The audience want to come out afterwards feeling happy.”

Sprite’s past shows include As You Like It, Much Ado About Nothing, Twelfth Night and The Taming of the Shrew and for the audience it is a unique experience as they follow the actors around promenade-style through woods and parkland. Hester is originally from Ripley and grew up playing in the grounds of the castle – those childhood memories were instrumental in providing the inspiration for the company.

“In 2001 my husband was doing an outdoor production of Shakespeare in Preston and I thought we must be able to do something like this elsewhere,” she says. “I had the idea that Ripley would be great for it.” She took Liam to look around the grounds one cold winter’s day and the couple then approached Sir Thomas Ingilby whose family has been resident at the castle for over 700 years. A great supporter of the arts, he gave them the go-ahead and Sprite was born. “For the first one we did A Midsummer Night’s Dream and we invited all our friends who weren’t working to come and stay for six weeks in Yorkshire and then go back to treading the boards in London,” says Hester.

“That first year it was all so basic but we had a hundred people a night coming to see the show. We were madly changing costumes in the bushes and all sorts but we had a really great time.”

Since then the company has gone from strength to strength and for the past three years Hester has been running it single-handedly as Liam has become sought after as a producer, staging the York Mystery Plays last summer and working with York Theatre Royal and Pilot Theatre. The couple now live in Ripley permanently with their two children aged five and two. “Since I took over the company we have become much more female,” says Hester. “I don’t know if that is something that I have done consciously or not, but on this production, for example, we have a female producer, director, assistant director, musical director, stage manager, designer and design assistant. They are all doing brilliantly in their chosen careers; there is a way that strong women who are generous to each other work well together.”

One of those strong women is director Charlotte Bennett who has worked with the company for around six years while also running her own theatre company in London focussing on new writing.

“I think what she enjoys about Sprite is that it’s very freeing and experimental,” says Hester. “When you are working in London you are very vulnerable in a way. Here she can try out new things without being judged and that applies to our actors too. We can really play around with the show because they feel so relaxed.” The current production has a 1920s circus theme and setting which offers plenty of opportunity for experimentation.

“We don’t generally like imposing themes on to Shakespeare,” says Hester.

“But it’s a complicated play that involves hierarchy and slaves, so we wanted to choose a theme and era that people would recognise. The circus world of the 1920s has an interesting hierarchy and we thought the play would lend itself to that setting. It also means that the twins could be clowns so we can camouflage them!

“I love rough and ready theatre and with this gutsy theme it means that we can include things like fire pits, chickens and lots of music.”

Having the vast grounds of Ripley Castle at their disposal also means that each production can create its own very special world as staging possibilities are endless.

“We sometimes think we have used everywhere, but if you put the audience in a different position, then it changes,” says Hester. “And this time we are using areas that we haven’t used before.

“The grounds are slightly different every time because trees have grown or have gone. And then there is the incredible woodland. We have a wonderful time performing there.”

Times have been tough for Sprite recently but they have received strong support from their audience.

“They are so generous,” says Hester. “For the past three years we have not had any funding from the Arts Council or Lottery, we rely totally on private sponsorship to get the show on its feet. We got halfway through last year and I thought ‘this is not doable’, but after relaying that to our audience they said they wanted us to keep going. So we are still here. I think we have made the right choice.”

The Comedy of Errors, Ripley Castle, June 25-July 14. 01423 770632. www.spriteproductions.co.uk

Struggle for sponsorship

Sprite Productions is a professional theatre company that has been in artistic residence at Ripley Castle for nine years.

The company was set up by Liam and Hester Evans-Ford in 2004.

Every summer the company presents a Shakespeare production in the grounds, gardens and woods of the castle.

Audiences are invited to picnic in the grounds before the show starts and then follow the actors as the story unfolds.

For the past three years the company has not received any Arts Council, Lottery or Government funding. The company has relied solely on private and corporate sponsorship to put on their shows.