March 2006
Before the main event local actor/director and scriptwriter Val McLane led a workshop on the theme 'writing memoir.' Those who were there got lots of ideas, and produded good material.
Val also worked as a teacher and broadcaster, before setting up the Live Theatre in Newcastle with director Geoff Gillham in 1973, since then she has appeared in numerous theatre, television, film and radio productions. Most notably she played Norma in ‘Auf Weidersehen Pet' for television and Florrie in ‘Andy Capp; the musical' at the Aldwych. She has written for stage and screen and most recently edited ‘The Prison Plays' by Tom Hadaway. Her main interest is in writing about Women and her native North East.Val is the present Drama Leader at Sunderland University.
A refreshing and original prose reading came from Alice de Smith Alice was born in Cambridge, but now lives in Spital Tongues. She is the author of Our Kind of Fun (Live Theatre 2005), Briefs (with Gez Casey, Live Theatre 2005) and The Cinderella Group (Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough 2005). She has also written features and travel articles for many national publications, including The Times, The Telegraph, The Independent, The Mail on Sunday and Cosmopolitan.
The music for the evening was provided by the melodic voice and guitar of Jennie Redmond who has roots in Liverpool but was brought up in wigan and North Wales, and has early memories of singing 60's classics at family gatherings, before moving to Newcastle to study performing arts, where - attracted by the sophistication of the material - she began performing as part of a jazz duo. Interpreting the standards helped shape her voice and delivery, while her own music has a folk lilt, influenced by Irish standards and such artists as Joni Mitchell.
Standing in at very short notice for Sylvia Forrest , who was unfortunately indisposed, we had a fine reading of poetry from the one and only Ally May. Ally is well-known locally for his short and delicate insights into the human condition.
A weekend of misfortune for some of our readers, as Carmen Thompson was also taken ill at the last moment, and was unable to travel up from Stockton for the event.