 A SCANDAL IN HAMPSHIRE
FARNHAM HERALD, 7 April 1995
NOT QUITE THE PLAY EWSHOT EXPECTED!
IT sounded like a good night out for the people of Ewshot. A new play billed as "an hilarious comedy" just the thing for a Friday evening. But they got far more than they bargained for.
The play, set in pre-war Fascist Italy, began with a scene in which the main character, Aldo, dressed as a veiled bride and lying on a table, simulates giving birth. Apparently, this was a spectacle the Fascist bigwigs enjoyed enormously, but the Ewshot audience was less than impressed.
It quickly became clear that Aldo was gay as well as a transvestite
(Author's note: scandal!)
- and far more interested in his landlord's son than any girl his mother could find as a match.
(Author's note: scandal!)
While everyone agreed that the acting, direction and live music were top class, reaction to the content was swift and trenchant.
"Shocking and bizarre," said one, "Taxpayers money not well spent," said another.
The advance publicity had boasted that it was "a hugely entertaining theatrical experience" and led people to expect a risque farce.
(Author's note: which it was - partly! So why are they shocked?)
"It's winter 1926", ran the billing, "and in an attempt to increase the number of baby boys to fight in his armies, Mussolini has imposed a tax on celibacy. By March 31, all men of marriageable age must be married and have started a family. It's just that Aldo can't find the right girl!"
"The Price of Love" written by award winning playwright, Michele Celeste, was staged by Proteus, a touring theatre company based in Basingstoke and funded by Hampshire County Council.
They are well known throughout the county for their innovative productions.
(Author's note: it is not a contradiction that an innovative company gets complaints for doing an innovative work?)
But this performance left organisers of the event in Ewshot fielding a barrage of complaints from disgruntled villagers.
Jennifer Kelly, a parish councillor, spoke for many, when she complained:
"I was not amused.
I am angry that people who advertise one thing deliver another. People who want to go and see that sort of thing can choose to go. We should not have it foisted on us. The sort of audience you get in a village hall does not want to be exposed to what should have been club or fringe material. People in theatres are driving ordinary people away.
It was not entertainment."
Norman Sovig, who invited Proteus to the village said: "I am very embarrassed because I feel responsible. Our Committee takes great care about selecting the events from a wide range on offer. Proteus have been to Ewshot ten times in the past, but this play was unsuitable".
Defending the show, James Brining, Artistic Director said: "It's not a gay play, it's a play about the freedom to be what you are and the relationship between the son and the mother. There is always going to be a certain amount of unpredictability when creating new work, so there is an element of risk. But sometimes ruffling a few feathers isn't necessarily a bad thing.
"The play doesn't set out to offend people, but doing plays of this nature, you're always going to upset a few people."
Proteus conceded that the billing was misleading - it was not the hilarious comedy expected,
(Author's note: anyone I talked to after seeing it found it very hilarious - in parts)
but they hope it made people think.
Revealing that the play had been billed before it was written, a situation which does occasionally arise with new works, Proteus said it would not be changing its commitment to producing new writing and staging challenging theatre. "We are thoroughly supported by our funding bodies. Not many others do what we are doing", said their spokesperson, Ellis Rothenberg.
Pauline Bray, of the Hampshire County Council's Arts Office, said: "We fund Proteus as an independent arts company. We don't censor what they produce. They have a completely freehand."
I think that it was a play that went wrong somewhere between the original concept and the finished play.
We want people to go to the theatre in their village halls and
we're sorry when the plays don't meet with approval,
(Author's note: thank you for apolosing in the name of art)
but we would defend the right of the theatre company to stage the plays of their choice. We will make sure that Proteus take people's views into account."
Norman Sovig believes that in the long term people will not be put off. He will, however, make sure that he studies the publicity leaflets very carefully and speaks to Proteus about any forthcoming productions. "We will book Proteus again - they do some very good things." he added.
However, Jennifer Kelly has promised to boycott the village hall entertainments in Ewshot for a full year as a protest.
(Author's note: she'll be sorely missed)
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