amdram.co.uk

Jane, how I agree with your article about Amateur Dramatics. I just love it all, even to the extent of now becoming an adjudicator for the Greater Manchester Drama Federation, but it seems that the cliched “youth of today” are not that interested in anything that doesn’t have to be plugged in. It’s sad, but I take some comfort in the fact that theatre, over the centuries, has had peaks and troughs and will reinvent itself. In my opinion, the professional theatre’s (especially London’s West End) preoccupation with musicals about absolutely anything has cost “straight” theatre (by which I mean drama and comedy) dearly. G&S and operatic groups aside, most amateur drama groups do not have the voices or musical capabilities needed, and neither do they want to be forced into that corner.

I’m excited about murder mystery evenings, and have started a group myself called Dyning4Dinner. Aside from being another outlet for plays scripts (I tray to survive by writing plays), it’s an exciting new form of theatre. With traditional plays each actor knows, prompts aside, what the feed lines will be and how to respond, but with a murder mystery the actors have no clue whatever what they will be asked, so they really do need to know the story, rather than just the lines, and need to be alert and in character at all times. (And, surely, the usual ADS productions would benefit if all the cast knew the story to that depth and were always alert!)

I do know that the feeling of a “high” when completing one of these evenings is at least as good as a traditional play, though it’s not for everyone. But it’s a great way to raise funds doing what you like doing.