Camelot
About the article
This is a digitised version of an article from The Cayman Compass's print archive. Occasionally, the digitisation process introduces transcription errors, or other problems.
See the article in its original context from April 1996.
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He asserts that both choice and production of a play should be influenced by the size of the theatre as well as the size of the budget, by what audiences may expect as well as what the company may envision.
The Cayman Drama Society has chosen to present the popular musical Camelot. The degree of greatness they achieve may be judged tonight, tomorrow and for the next three weekends at the Prospect Playhouse. The play was scheduled to open last night.
The challenge of the physical constraints of the theatre includes 12 different scene changes. While some settings can be suggested by backdrop, others must complement the pageantry one associates with the legendary court of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table.
It's easy for Mr. Spencer to suggest that amateur theatre societies rent sets; he is writing, after all, primarily for groups in the UK. Peter Phillips, CDS stalwart, could probably write an equally useful guide to staging productions on an island.
Cayman's Peter is not only stage manager and lighting expert, he is an integral part of the set design team, set construction crew, set decoration party. He knows which elements must be as solid as a house and built from scratch; which can be borrowed, temporarily disguised and later returned to their original state.
Artists, carpenters and handymen include Judy Steele, Penny Phillips, Peter Pasold, Peter Webster, Joseph Turnaretscher, Anne Hetley, Kim Phillips.
With stage projections, centre aisle usage and an orchestra pit to accommodate, director Alan Hall has indicated he Cont'd on facing page Cont'd from facing page. can arrange audience seating for 100 - 125 people.
Other physical challenges include costumes and props that will suggest the opulence of medieval royalty without being anachronistic or unwieldy. If the apparel looks appropriate it will be because of the efforts of Heidi Reinebeck, Caroline and Tanya Beresford-Wylie with other assistance.
The cast
Of course, the greatest challenge is to come up with a cast equal to the undertaking. Alan has already expressed delight with his principals: Neil Rooney as King Arthur, Wendy Moore as Queen Guenevere, Kevin Redfern as Lancelot. Supporting actors include David Godfrey as Merlin the Magician; Tony Rowlands as Pellinore, the "comic relief"; Peter Riley, John Oliver and Nical Carter as the knights who challenge Lancelot. Roger Healy is Mordred, a young man with a deep voice and deeper hostilities. Laura Powery is the other-worldly Morgan le Fay.
Then there are members of the court and their attendants, maypole dancers, woodland faeries. They are essential not only to atmosphere but, in certain scenes, to forwarding the action.
The director explained his approach to working with his cast. "I find it easier to direct individuals because you can allow them a lot of latitude to play the character as they perceive it and I just sit back and watch. If there is something I particularly see in the script I point it out, but most of the time it's not necessary.
"It's much more difficult to direct a large group in concert. You can't allow them to act independently," Alan said. "Fortunately, we have a good group of people, from old hands to promising newcomers."
Expectations
Since Camelot has been a consistently popular musical, many theatre goers in Cayman are likely to have seen it or the movie or listened to the sound track.
That familiarity inevitably invites comparisons.
Beyond the level of entertainment, the romance of Camelot took on a whole new aura when, after President John Kennedy's assassination, his widow Jackie revealed that the theme of Camelot had been his favourite song. Writers started referring to the thousand days of his presidency as America's Camelot.
In exploring the development of her character and Guenevere's relationships, Wendy said, she came to admire the ideas King Arthur had for "changing civilisation, making us a peace-loving people. It's still a hope we share today."
History and hope are heavy burdens to lay on any drama society. But they are wonderful ingredients for achievement.
