The last few weeks have been busy leading up to ur Mystery Play on Saturday the 5th of July. Then I’m getting involved in an opera about Molly Leigh the Burslem witch. That’s at the end of July. Between now and then I’m waiting for the results of my CT scan. Whatever happens I’ll keep going…..
Hot day, hot even in the shade. And as we rehearsed in costume it felt hotter still…..
“Hello everyone, let’s get straight to it shall we…..” I’m narrating and I start the show. I only have a few lines but I ended up reading from the script because I just couldn’t keep the jumbled words in my head.
When I finally got home I had a hot cup of tea, ond then an ice cream! Weird combination but I just needed rehydration.
Two quiet days and now I’m exhausted again. I need shopping but I’m waiting for it to cool down. The weather app says 30°C likely tomorrow. Long term weather forecast is for 20°C and sunny with a light breeze next Saturday on Mystery day. Wish us luck.
Something is being planned. Over several years the Penkhull Mystery Plays involved the local community in theatrical projects to bring people together. The plays bought a mixture of fact and fiction, history and spirituality together to create a one day festival of fun to penkhull village Green. Usually in early or mid July.
Up to 400 people would be involved in making props and costumes, acting and setting up the play and other work. All these activities built around the central performance where local adults and children got together to bring stories such as the history of the Trent and Mersey canal, Jonah and the Whale, the song of Solomon, a history of the 1842 peasants revolt in the Potteries and other interesting and fun stories onto the village green as a substantial play.
The organisers also included singing and making music for the shows. Writing scripts, putting on seperate performances for the day including morris dancing, maypole dancing local choirs, brass bands, Ukelele players and a tower of song where individual musicians could perform. There was also an annual tug of war competition and circus skills workshops on the village green. A recent introduction was the Titchy Theatre where new writing was put on as playlets by a small number of volunteer actors. There were also stalls for such things as bakers and crafters and local charities together with plant sales. It was only as Covid began that the Mystery Plays were toned down and had to be suspended. But with the 100th anniversary of the uniting of the six towns into the City of Stoke on Trent and the 20th (is it 25?) Anniversary of the Mysteries it feels like an important time to bring it back to Penkhull.
Panto rehearsal started tonight. I’ve offered to help paint the scenery again and I might get a few lines to speak. It’s been a couple of years since we did it because of covid.
This is a picture of me painting a banner for a mystery play that we did a few years ago (based on the willow pattern). I love getting involved in these projects.
Theatrical mask made by a friend for 2019’s Penkhull Mystery play. Strange that sux months later we had to wear real masks! I painted this up with my hubbies features. He had to sit still at a potters wheel and pretend to be a mannequin until the cast were transported back in time. Then he took it off and became Thomas Doodey, Master Potter.
To be honest I really miss the fun we had on that day. Crowds of people watching the action. Molly dancers, a hurdy hurdy man, Punch and Judy, and a maypole. Lots of stalls.
This year we are going to do a virtual Mystery play. I’m hoping to do a copy of the Mona Lisa I an hour and a half. Numerous other ideas are being considered.
Next month we would probably have been holding a Barn dance in aid of the Penkhull Mystery play (that didn’t happen in July). We would also have started rehearsals for the Penkhull panto, both events, ( the mystery play and the panto) had big audiences. Now our government has decided to cut the number of people who can live in England down to six both inside and out. No more crowds. Sad….
More a mask? Made of papier mache for last years penkhull mystery play in July 2019.
My hubby played the master Potter. At the start he was like a shop dummy, wearing a painted mask. Then as two children go back in time to experience life in the 1840’s for poor children, the Potter discards his mask and turns into a real person. We couldn’t do a real potters wheel so I painted a papier mache pot to look like wet clay.
Hubby made a perfect potter. He really enjoyed the play. We were really sad that it didn’t happen this year.
You know the world has gone mad when you offer a single loo roll as a raffle prize! That wasn’t my idea but I went out and got a bottle of hand cleanser to go with it.
My hubby has a cold (not The Virus), but I decided to help set up for the Mystery Plays Barn dance tonight. It’s an annual thing we do to help raise funds for the Mystery day in the summer. However I’m not going to the actual dance because I don’t want to catch anything else after having the cold myself for the last couple of weeks.
I did go to buy toilet roll later, the local shop was empty of it, so I walked round the corner and guess what? The local convenience store is full of the stuff! What a strange world…..
Almost done. Tomorrow we do the mystery play. Museum scene, travel back in time, work in a pottery, get thrown out of your house, end up in the workhouse. Escape to go to school. A Sunday school performance, finale. Songs, humour, tragedy, history.
Penkhull Mystery Play event, Saturday 13 July 2019. Free event, starts in the church at 10am then on the church green from 1pm. Stalls from 11am. Lots to see and do… Sorry to keep going on about it!