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Posted: Tuesday 06 September, 2011
Next Stage Theatre Company has just returned from a triumphant week at Cornwall’s open-air cliff-top venue, The Minack Theatre near Land’s End.
Next Stage produced their sell-out Bath production of The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Jay Presson Allen, adapted from the novel by Muriel Spark, to full houses over 7 performances. Hailed in Bath in July as “theatre and entertainment at its very, very best”, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie received equally rapturous reviews from the 5000 people who saw it in Cornwall last week.
A cast of 20 of Bath’s finest Youth and adult actors brought this gripping production to The Minack’s large arena without losing any of the play’s intimacy and maintaining the pace and tension of the piece.
Twelve girls from Next Stage’s Youth theatre aged 11-18 gave outstanding performances every day, with the four leading parts alternating each performance. The girls were all extremely professional and are to be congratulated on coping with all the demands of school and exams throughout the rehearsal period, with a number of them getting A, AS and GCSE results during final rehearsals or last week’s performances.
Caroline Groom as Miss Jean Brodie received glowing accolades from The Cornishman’s reviewer, as did Joanna Bowman as Headmistress Miss Mackay, with all the cast and production team receiving an A-plus!
Miraculously in a week of turbulent weather, all 7 performances were blessed with sun and fine conditions.
Acclaimed by The Minack’s Theatre Manager as the finest production he has seen by Next Stage over its 7 visits since 1998, he and the company are looking forward to Next Stage’s return to The Minack in August 2013.
The play’s director Ann Garner said: “It has been a pleasure and a privilege to be associated with this production. For me, The Minack is the most beautiful theatre in the world and it is wonderful to be asked to perform there. However, it is always a challenge to take a production from an indoor venue and place it on a cliff-side stage that is exposed to all the elements, and is also a tricky shape for actors to work in. This is the company’s seventh visit and each time I direct a play at The Minack I learn more and more about what works down there. I always try to use Rowena Cade’s stunning backdrop, bringing a minimalist set and allowing the play’s storyline and its talented actors to work their magic. They did this in spades last week and it was a joy to see so many Bath friends and supporters in the audience each night. All in all with cast, crew, family and friends, between 100-150 Bathonians travelled to The Minack and celebrated the talent and commitment of some of the best of Bath’s non-professional actors.”