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10th January


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Latin (2003)

Click to see a larger picture of Latin Directed By
Jane Martin

Producer
Lisa Arnold
Production Type
Nomads Production

Production Location
Main Theatre

Production Photographs

Genre: Comedy Turnout: 77% Length: 1hr 10mins

User Rating: (3.8/5 with 7 votes)

Flier Summary:

by Stephen Fry

Part of a Production Double Bill. This will be followed by Jane Martin's
Secrets.

An extremely funny play which takes a tongue-in-cheek look at life in a boys' prep. school, from the sexual deviance of its masters to the lamentable endeavours of class 6B to pass their Latin Common Entrance exam. This is Stephen Fry at his wittiest and most outrageous.
THIS PLAY MAY CAUSE OFFENSE.


Description:

Extracts from Stephen Fry's programme note
from a 1989 production of Latin

Now Latin has come back to haunt me. It is very difficult for a chap trying to make his way in the world, earn the respect of his peers, the affection of his friends and the hard cash of his paying customers suddenly to be confronted by the deeds of his wild youth. It is almost like meeting yourself as you once were. I am making the play sound like the most precocious juvenilia there ever was: In fact I wrote Latin when I was twenty-two and, you may think, in a position to know better.

Strangely enough, the subject matter of the piece was the least of my concerns. I had long ago decided that it would be interesting to start a play in which the audience were addressed as if they were fictional characters and then, suddenly, with no more than a lighting change, to have the `third wall' of theatrical distance erected in front of them - to change them from participants to spectators in a flash. In choosing the subject of an English prep school, I followed the simple maxim of algebraic problem-solvers and novelists everywhere: `Write down what you know.' Prep schools I knew...

...the writing of Latin was ... an experiment in the techniques of theatre and comedy, combined with a not entirely disgraceful undergraduate desire to shock. Death, homosexuality, incest, sadism and Thatcherism had all been proudly paraded on stage for years and the senses of the theatre-going public were quite anaesthetised to any of the horrors that those topics could engender: Pederasty on the other hand could still, I hoped, set a few ganglions quivering....I had the most terrific fun writing the play and acting in it in Cambridge and Edinburgh: I wish you a quarter of as much pleasure in watching it. Valete.

Notes from the Director - how it all came about

When I first expressed my interest in directing a production for the studio Latin was immediately suggested as a possible choice. I accepted this suggestion readily, knowing very little of its content but being certain that, written as it was by Stephen Fry, I would love it. I did and do even more now having worked so closely with the text over the rehearsal period. I hope that you too will delight in the richness of its language and outrageously bizarre behaviour of its characters. Soon after agreeing to direct Latin, it was pointed out that the play only lasts about an hour and so, in a rash moment of self-confidence, I asked if I could write something to perform after the interval. I have had the idea for linking Christopher Marlowe and William Shakespeare together in a romantic way for some years and thought this was the opportunity to do so. Choosing a modern setting had advantages and disadvantages. Obviously it made language and cultural references easy, but there were problems.

Marlowe was a radical figure in his time. He was a notorious homosexual in an age where, although sexual activities with boys were accepted as a social pastime (Dominic Clarke would have been in his element!) long-term, adult same-sex partnerships were frowned upon. Also, having studied for to join the clergy, he was an atheist - not as bad as being a Catholic or a Puritan in the Elizabethan era but nevertheless not a safe theological standpoint. Times have changed and these aspects of his character no longer have much dramatic impact. I chose, therefore to focus primarily on his role as government agent. Marlowe was involved in gathering and passing information that smoothed the way for the execution of Mary Queen of Scots. He was eventually murdered by 'friends' who also worked for the government. Though the case was dismissed as self-defence, there has been continued speculation that his death was a political assassination. The parallels were strong enough to lead me to adopt one of the conspiracy theories that abounded after the death of Princess Diana and to lead Chris Marlon to his death in this way.

William Shakespeare was not known to be homosexual but did write 126 sonnets to an unknown male. There are mixed views as to whether this young man was a lover or merely a friend. To my mind the contents of these sonnets transcends the level of floweriness that was common between men at the time. They talk of love, jealousy, infidelity, beauty and pining. At the time of Marlowe's death, Shakespeare was yet to make any great impact on the London stage and, of course, he had his estranged wife and children in Stratford. The stage was set for two men living double lives to be thrown together as fellow writers and lovers - Secrets was born.

All the biographical details are authentic to the best of my knowledge, though gleaned from the writings of others whose research I trust to be sound. I thank them all for saving me a lot of hard work! I thoroughly enjoyed writing Secrets and have learnt an enormous amount about stagecraft from the experience of both writing and directing. Thank you to the cast and crew for all their incredible dedication and hard work and thank you for your support in coming along to watch - I hope you enjoy our double bill.

Jane Martin, May 2003



Production Dates & Prices:
(Please note Booking Information)

 Date
Time
Members Price
Non-Members
Price
 
 Tuesday 20th May 2003
8:00pm
£6.50
£6.75
 Wednesday 21st May 2003
8:00pm
£6.50
£6.75
 Thursday 22nd May 2003
8:00pm
£6.50
£6.75
 Friday 23rd May 2003
8:00pm
£6.50
£6.75
 Saturday 24th May 2003
8:00pm
£6.50
£6.75


Cast: (in programme order)
Damien de Roche ... Dominic Clarke
Tim Spencer ... Herbert Bradshaw

Crew: (in programme order)
Jane Martin ... Director
Lisa Arnold ... Producer
Julian Pindar ... Front of House Manager
Susan Pindar ... Front of House
Adrian Bathurst ... Front of House Manager
Tracy Davis ... Front of House
Judy Tweedale ... Front of House
Patricia Yehia ... Front of House Manager
Martin Lawrance ... Front of House
Clive Mott ... Front of House Manager
Jackie Mott ... Front of House
Peter McKinley ... Front of House Manager
Sylvia McKinley ... Front of House
Tracy Davis ... Front of House
Tom Thomas ... Set Construction
David Payne ... Set Construction
Stuart Bangs ... Set Construction
Anna Murray ... Set Painting
Gordon Hilliker ... Set Painting
Lisa Arnold ... Set Painting
Tracy Davis ... Set Painting
Zoe Triantafillou ... Stage Manager
David Armitage ... Stage Crew
Zoe Triantafillou ... Stage Crew
Lisa Arnold ... Stage Crew
Helen Longes ... Prompt
David Armitage ... Sound Operator
Tony Hansford ... Sound Operator
David Armitage ... Lighting Operator
Zoe Triantafillou ... Lighting Operator
Laurence Armitage ... Lighting Operator
Lisa Arnold ... Costume Design
Lisa Arnold ... Properties
Phillip Griffith ... Poster Design
Juliette Rainbird ... Box Office
Jane Martin ... Costume Design

Act1:
Scene 1 Takes place in a school for boys in Hampshire. The time is present.


Official Review:
Latin the review
One of the things 1 enjoyed the most about this show was how the action of the play started before the audience were even in the auditorium. In fact the school caretaker came out into the foyer ringing a bell to hurry us all in after 'break'. As we took our seats we were watched from the stage by Dominic, the Latin teacher at Chartham Park Preparatory school, who was sat at a desk marking books. For the opening scene of the play we were spoken to as the boys in Dominic's class, verbally abused with books thrown at us as our Latin homework was returned. This engaging first scene was well handled and the humour exploited to the full. Clearly a decision had been made to enjoy Fry's wit and humour and to this end the director, Jane Martin, and both actors succeeded. However as the play progressed 1 felt that the humour became a barrier to any reality in the piece and therefore any form of engagement with the characters denied. Damien de Roche revelled in the camp nature of his character. Dominic, and Tim Spencer as Bradshaw, a senior member of staff at Chartham, convinced as an older, quieter man. The lighting and set were appropriate for a classroom and cleverly converted into the modern day living room for Secrets. Set changes were blended into the play as the caretaker, in full light, made any necessary adjustments between scenes. This was a bold choice of play but for me the irony of the piece sadly missed.


Related News:
Oct 2003 Woking Drama Festival
Sep 2003 Two Club Nights
May 2003 Secrets and Latin, a MUST SEE!
Apr 2003 This years double bill: Latin


Recommendations:
The Liar - by Stephen Fry


User Reviews:

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