Performed by Lancaster Royal Grammar School (RLGS)
and Lancaster Girls' Grammar School (LGGS)
The Grand Theatre, St Leonardgate, Lancaster
Monday 28 to Thursday 28 April 2005

Education, Enlightenment, Exploitation – and Emotions
My partner and I are both interested in anything that relates to the political and social debates on the 'North-South divide' – even if it comes from Romantic literature, which is not one of my favourite literary genres. 'Still', we thought, 'we've seen students from Ripley St Thomas School turning out a credible performance of Timberlake Wertenbaker's Our Country's Good at The Dukes, so let's see how the City's two Grammar Schools do things at The Grand.'

A landmark production
Mrs Gaskell's North and South has commonalities with her friend and publisher Charles Dickens' Hard Times , which is generally agreed to be based on Preston. Her novel in fact celebrates its 150th anniversary this year, and it is always good to mark literary milestones. In the same year Tennyson's Maud and the Charge of the Light Brigade came out (Into the valley of death … , oh dear), and George Meredith published The Shaving of Shagpat [sic],: an Arabian entertainment, but I shan't go on ..

Gaskell, an ‘enlightened woman', tells of an extended family moving from the rural comfort of Devon to "a world of violent extremes', that is, the more brutal, industrial metropolis ‘oop north', and focuses on the emotional, social, romantic and even political events that ensue.

"North and South I see now as states of mind.'
In that interesting reflection, we are drawn into the tale of love, workplace cruelty, self-improvement classes and, yes, the inevitable sham, exploitation and hypocrisy which are still, for many, the largest and worst hallmarks of the Victorian age. Perhaps even now it is a state of mind – but so were the Victorians' notions of love, which strike some contemporary minds as overly sentimental.

Local talent
Be all that as it may, the treatment meted out to Gaskell's finely-placed original was highly striking and individual. And locally-grown, too: Ryecroft and Davies have both taught at LRGS. The "Musical Play' was first written some fourteen years ago and apparently then premiered at The Grand Theatre [does anyone have any information about this?; we will be pleased to publish recollections – Ed] and has been revised for this latest 150 milestone celebration.

Textually, and understandably, the original has been suitably abridged, though not sanitised to the WASP-ish Disney or Lloyd Webber slush/flush level. The political and social issues are happily and openly dealt with, and the musical version, always tasteful, balances curious pastiche and sensitive orchestration with some (not infrequent) lovely moments.

But it all worked. Any small quibbles about the text or score were soon swept away by the sheer professionalism of the direction and production. Since Gaskell, Dickens, Hardy and even Shaw utilise and even celebrate the making of lists in their writings, we think we shall do too, since the extensive credits warrant clear citation.

Critics' credits
The outstanding features of this production were, then, as follows:

We were both impressed with the simple staging, with effective choreography - especially the striking ‘wheel dance', a vivid metaphor for the daily deadly ritual of dragging round the cogs of commerce and capitalism. There were stylish and authentic period settings, from manorial sitting-rooms to factory-workers' hovels, street scenes and more – all achieved with swift and adept scene changes and no loss of pace;

The lighting and sound were imaginative and evocative, and all designed and executed by the students; along with some very stylish costume;

There was some fine orchestral playing with a clear and honest lead from Conductor/Musical Director David Prescott.

Excellent singing from all: main parts, minor roles and chorus too. Their diction was excellent – clear vowels and consonants, no ‘swooping' or unnecessary vibrato, and plenty of emotional and dynamic light and shade. The three school staff made some interesting contributions.

There was an added musical and dramatic bonus the night we went with the ‘extras' – the visiting Finnish choir from OSKARI (Tampeeren normaalikoulun kuoro) who were in Lancaster to perform at the Ashton Memorial as part of the Schools' International and Exchange week. Good for them – they provided some added vocal, visual and dramatic impact to the performance.

Also noteworthy was the judicious use of ‘freeze-frame', or tableau. This useful time-honoured technique, though seemingly unfashionable these days, was well employed to exploit, expand and further the dramatic narrative of the text.

The imaginative and vivid if plain staging – with good blocking and intelligent use of The Grand's well-raked spaces – was strikingly effective, even though we were sat well to stage left. Lighting and sound, too, were sensitive, and judiciously highlighted the action and dramatic impetus.

It is not easy - perhaps invidious - to pick out individual performances of excellence, but …

We were both particularly impressed with the both the acting singing of the Mrs (Aunt) Shaw and Mrs Hale (the Hannahs Mechie and Peel respectively), whose duets were a sheer joy to listen to. The ancient General Shaw (John McKeever) was played exquisitely with gravitas, sharp wit and without the slightest bit of ham.

The Rev Hale (Jonathan Reed) was a brilliant and uncannily sharp portrayal of Yorkshire's glory (and Thora Hird's alleged long-lost love) Alan Bennett - whom one of the writers has met. The whole character – as in body language, accent, and delivery well suited Rycroft's sharply-honed lines – was beautifully executed, and pure Bennett.

Despite all that, equal credit must go to all the rest of the cast, crew and team, including the meanest triangle player in the band, the smallest cameo part and the humblest costume-stitcher. They all played equally valid parts to contribute to a show of outstanding excellence on all fronts. We have seen local amateur groups recently in The Grand who really should eat their hearts out …

"Give ‘em an inch and they'll take a ruler'.
So says the tyrannical capitalist Thornton, played by a confident yet assured Gavin McPhail. He was right, in both the sentiment and his part, beyond his years. Like the rest of the cast, and the band too, they all sang and played with remarkable panache, control and precision not often seen in even undergraduate ensembles. This group of youngsters will go far. Just like the students at Ripley St Thomas, they have abilities of future professional potential as well as for present delight.

Yes, they have been lucky in that they have had mentors of insight and foresight, and others are not so lucky. But that should not stop us celebrating the excellence that can be achieved – and that is just what Gaskell and Dickens were writing about. They may even make the artistic and musical rules in twenty years' time.

Class, social division and the rest are immaterial. Above all, we have some wonderful young talent here in Lancaster, and we sincerely hope that we shall see more of them all on stage very soon. A joint production with Ripley St Thomas or, even better, with HM Lancaster Farms YOI, would be a stunning vindication of the underlying message of North and South and Our Country's Good.

So what are Ripley St Thomas, RLGS, LGGS - and others - doing next?

Copyright © 5 May 2005 Michael Nunn and John Burkinshaw