Un Success d’estime!
The stunning performance of La Nonna by our friends Les Baladins de Marly-le Roi in Great Marlow School drew long cheers and tumultuous applause from an enthusiastic and utterly engrossed audience. The tragicomedy had provoked laughter, shock, surprise, pity, and suspense. Throughout the evening the totally credible characterisations, the physicality of the acting and the deeply felt performances of the group had held us all in awe at the skill of this remarkable French company of amateurs ( though how anyone could think this group anything but professional to the core is hard to believe ). The set beautifully suggested, through the simple use of washing lines and electric cables and beer boxes and a few beautifully chosen accessories a slum in Argentina where the family struggles to survive , drawn to enslave themselves to feed their voracious grandmother, surviving from day to day on pane, formaggio, vino by selling whatever they can, including their hope and their dignity, to the point of ultimate destruction, all in the context of a totalitarian regime.
The actors transformed themselves by the power of their imagination into heartwarming and utterly believable characters, where every movement, down to the chopping of a courgette, had meaning and conveyed the inner life, slowly seeping away. The contrast of the two acts moved us from laughter in the first to a silence in which you could hear a pin drop at the end.
Surrounding this wonderful evening of theatre were parties galore: a Welcome Supper in the Garden Room on Friday, an After Show bash at Alison’s beautifully lit house and garden on Saturday night and Sunday morning , and a Farewell Lunch in Gloria’s spacious sun room for Sunday lunch ( dining on John’s home smoked trout with accompanying thunder and lightning as the final sound and lighting effects ) .
This was a most successful event artistically, financially, socially and civically as a result of very careful planning by the committee, tremendous work by the Publicity sub committee, detailed liaison with Great Marlow School and the sympathetic care and attention shown by Michael and his GMS team, and the generosity of those providing bed and board to our dear friends.
We must thank the Town Council for their generous grant towards this major feature of the joint Marlow-Marly activities which have been part of Marlow life for over 50 years.
As was said when presenting Les Baladins with a memento of the occasion ( a gilded glass from Windsor Castle ) it is “with love” that we do this: the love of theatre, the love of a joint enthusiasm, the love of dear and long forged friendships.
With less bleary eyes we need to get on with Marlow Players events in the next months.
There is the AGM in June, and maintenance evenings (weeding and reducing vegetation which threatens the Studio fabric, and this year renewing the preservative all over the exterior). We are also seeking to place new noticeboards on the Car park side of the Studio to keep the local community informed of upcoming events.
We have three theatre visits planned to Hall Barn, Wargrave, and Hughenden Valley. Throughout July, we will be reading through possible plays for next year on Tuesday nights one of which we hope to take to Marly ourselves next year, and we will have our usual performances of Murder Mysteries at Liston Hall and The Royal Oak next Autumn. David has an exciting vision for the Hallowe’en weekend so there is much to look forward to!
