‘Wild Folk People’ by Beans on Toast

Beans on Toast is a folk singer that I’ve seen quite a few times. I love his music, he is a fantastic storyteller and folk singer. In this book he tells some heartwarming, rebellious and deeply human stories about various people who have inspired. They are the stories he often tells during his gigs – I’ve heard a few of these recently – they talk of connection, creativity and the beautiful mess of being alive.

People are everything, and people shape the world with the stories they tell and the songs they sing. So sing your song. Live your life. Love each other and always be wild.

The idea was to go to the theatre once a month, plus the added challenge of trying to go to different venue each month. Along the way we would, of course, rank productions.

Here are 8 thoughts after the successful completion of the challenge.

1. Ranking them is not as easy as you think. How can you compare a professional production against an amateur dramatic production? What about comparing a college theatre performance against an outdoor performance that blends theatre, outdoor and technology? We did, of course, come up with a ranked order. You’ll find it at the end.
2. We probably needed to plan slightly better, that’s another thing that we thought would be easier. We thought there would be plenty of shows and venues to pick from. It wasn’t that easy.
3. You have to be prepared to pick shows that you might not be naturally drawn to. We experienced quite a collection of shows which was great, even the really bad ones.
4. Lots of these small little theatres have exactly the same foyer and decor. Somewhere between the 1930s and 1950s.
5. Ticket prices. It is possible to get a decent night’s entertainment for a good price. You just have to look around. Rarely did we pay £20+, most ticket prices were around £12-15.
6. Solid ice cream selections at most venues during intervals.
7. Audiences vary a lot by venue. For example, white middle class at Southwold Theatre, much more arty and inclusive at Norwich’s Maddermarket Theatre.
8. These places would not remain open without some fabulous volunteers who care about the arts.

After a year of visiting various venues, we came up with this as the final ‘chart’:

1. An Inspector Calls – Theatre Royal Norwich
2. Dracula – Norwich Playhouse
3. Things We Do For Love – Southwold Theatre
4. Jekyll & Hyde – The Maddermarket Theatre
5. Charley’s Aunt – Sewell Barn
6. 1984 – Beccles Public Hall
7. Oklahoma! – Platform Theatre
8. Norwich Spooky Walk – Streets of Norwich
9. The Long Drop – Diss Corn Hall
10. Metamorphosis – The Emmerson Studio Maddermarket Theatre
11. Shakespeare Revisited – The Seagull Theatre
12. Edgeland – Sweet Briar Marsh Norwich

The big West End finish to celebrate the completion of the challenge didn’t happen. Partly because we never actually got round to sorting it, and partly because we were invited by a former student I used to teach to see her college performance.

So, December’s outing, the last of the years, went something like this:

Production: Oklahoma!

Venue: Platform Theatre

It was a sold out show on the last night of the City College Production. Considering the production was put on by first and second year musical theatre students, it was an entertaining evening.

Having no clue about the plot of Oklahoma! – except for a google on the way in the car – it turns out it’s a very simple story about a farm girl and her courtship by two rival suitors. It also turns out, we knew a lot of the songs!!

Goes in at number 7:

1. An Inspector Calls
2. Dracula
3. Things We Do For Love
4. Jekyll & Hyde
5. Charley’s Aunt
6. 1984
7. Oklahoma!
8. Norwich Spooky Walk
9. The Long Drop
10. Metamorphosis
11. Shakespeare Revisited
12. Edgeland

One year. 12 productions. 12 venues. Done.