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Blue Remembered Hills
Click on the images to view larger versions. Photographs by George Coupe
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| VANESSA CLARKE (Angela), GLYN PRITCHARD (John) |
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| GLYN PRITCHARD (John), ANTONY BESSICK (Peter) |
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| GLYN PRITCHARD (John), ANTONY BESSICK (Peter) |
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| GLYN PRITCHARD (John), VANESSA CLARKE (Angela) |
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| HOWARD GOSSINGTON (Donald Duck) |
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| ANTONY BESSICK (Peter) |
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| CLAIRE VOUSDEN (Audrey), ANTONY BESSICK (Peter) |
A glorious evocation of short pants childhood...
"The carefree cruelty of children, their casual lies, bravado and bullying are captured perfectly...Currently staged by the Dukes in Lancaster, the play has lost none of its edge; its bitter humour. As the 'children' mock and taunt knowing deep down that it's wrong, so the audience laughs through its hands at actions they know they shouldn't find funny - but do.
Fans of Potter will not be disappointed, along with those unfamiliar with his work." - Lancashire Evening Post |
"Ian Hastings has a rare feel for the works of Potter that faithfully captures the spirit of the medium and the message for the stage leaving the audience entertained and deeply affected at one and the same time. Not only are we taken back to our own “blue remembered hills” but also we are reminded of the child that is still within us potently influenced by our past yet leaving its mark on the present.
"Congratulations yet again to the Dukes for this slick, fast-moving white-knuckle ride of early childhood that seems to pass in the twinkling of an eye just like life itself!" - Morning Star |
| "Visually, it was breathtaking. Emotionally, too, it was stunning. From beginning to end...the audience was riveted." - Virtual Lancaster |
"The interplay between the children is beautifully observed and prompted gales of laughter from the audience as the various characters vie for the leadership of the gang and the affections of manipulative schoolgirls.
"The actors convey the politics of childhood, the fears, joys and heartbreaks, perfectly, and the play is guaranteed to delight adults and children alike." - Westmorland Gazette |
"I would strongly recommend a visit to the Dukes this month to anyone and everyone. Regardless of your sense of humour, I can guarantee you will at some point find yourself tittering.
I you do decide to pay a visit, you find two types of tears among the audience - that of laughter and also some of sadness." - Lancaster University SU SCAN 2 magazine |
| Originally shown on TV, Dennis Potter’s deceptively simple tale
relates the activities of seven West-country seven-year-olds on
a summer afternoon during the Second World War, in a wood,
a field and a barn.
The children (all played by adult actors!) play, fight, fantasize and
swagger, their aggressions, fears, hostilities and rivalries a microcosm
of adult interaction.
Easy-going Willie tags along as burly Peter bullies stuttering Raymond
and is challenged by fair-minded John. Plain Audrey is overshadowed by pretty Angela and takes out her angry frustrations on the
boys. All of them gang up on the terrified ‘Donald Duck’ who,
abused by his mother and ridiculed by his peers, plays his own,
dangerous game.
Blue Remembered Hills is a glorious evocation of Dennis Potter’s
short-pants childhood in his beloved Forest of Dean - a more
innocent but in some ways more brutal age. |
 | the Dukes
BLUE REMEMBERED HILLS
Supported by Fentimans botanically-brewed beverages - available from the Dukes Bar
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| SPECIAL EVENT |
 | DENNIS POTTER
1935-1994:
A Seventieth Birthday Celebration
Saturday 26 February 2005
Dukes Gallery
the Dukes
Moor Lane, Lancaster |  |
| Our production of Blue Remembered Hills coincides with the seventieth anniversary of Potter’s birth and we are delighted to offer the chance to celebrate with a birthday symposium on Saturday 26th February.
The Symposium is open to everyone but will have most appeal to those who have enjoyed Potter’s works on TV and on stage (including, we hope, our own production!), and literature and drama students and teachers/lecturers.
For more information, go to Potter symposium |
Meet the Cast
 | Antony Bessick plays Peter. Antony comes from Bolton and this is his first time at the Dukes. He has just finished playing Robber King in The Snow Queen at Bury Met and before that played Porthos in Feelgood Theatre's tenth anniversary open-air production of The Three Musketeers in a very wet and soggy Heaton Park, Manchester. |  | Darren Cheek plays Raymond. Nominated for Best Newcomer in the Manchester Evening News Drama Awards for his portrayal of Rob in Great Monsters of Western Street, Darren most recently appeared at the Rose Theatre in Kidderminster as rising porn star Dave Pearson in Shagathon, and as catholic nun Sister Augusta in Crisis Management! Darren works for The Krazy Kat Theatre Company as a performer and educational outreach officer. |  | Vanessa Clarke plays Angela. Vanessa was recently seen at the Dukes playing Ange in the phenomenally popular Abigail’s Party. Vanessa trained at the Guildford School of Acting. TV Credits include: Smack the Pony, Casualty, 999, Crown and Country, It’s a Mystery and presenter for MTV Extra Hot!
|  | Eamonn Fleming plays Willie. Eamonn trained at East 15 Acting School. Theatre work includes SEARCHLIGHTS OVER BENNY at the Tobacco Factory in Bristol, NEVILLE’S ISLAND, WHEN WE ARE MARRIED, APRIL IN PARIS and THE DERBY MCQUEEN AFFAIR at York Theatre Royal; DEPARTURES, BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, SEPTEMBER IN THE RAIN, FRANKENSTEIN, and GOLD for Hull Truck; NEVILLE’S ISLAND at Salisbury Playhouse; Shylock in THE MERCHANT OF VENICE at the Orange Tree Richmond; Pozzo in WAITING FOR GODOT at the Brewhouse Taunton. For BBC Radio 4 he has worked on three plays produced by Enyd Williams. |  | Howard Gossington plays Donald Duck. Howard is delighted to be back at the Dukes. His last appearance here was in Children of the Wolf, and before that in Mojo and Skylight, all directed by Ian Hastings. Other theatre includes national tours of Tom’s Midnight Garden and The Hobbit, The Rivals (Salisbury Playhouse), Privates on Parade (New Vic, Stoke), Madame Bovary (Northampton Royal Theatre & tour), The Snow Queen (Chester Gateway), News Revue (Canal Café, London). TV credits include The Basil Brush Show , Battle Plan: El Alamein, both for the BBC. |  | Glyn Pritchard plays John. Glyn trained at the Webber Douglas Academy and started his professional career at Regents Park Open Air Theatre playing Flute in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. He appeared at the National Theatre in Nicholas Hytner’s Ghetto and Fuente Ovejuna, directed by Declan Donnellan and also at the Royal Court with Stephen Daldry in Body Talk. His most recent theatre credits include The Marriage of Figaro at the Royal Exchange and Much Like You and Me for the new Welsh National Theatre. Glyn is a native Welsh speaker and has been involved in many Welsh and English TV productions and films. |  | Claire Vousden plays Audrey. Claire is delighted to be returning to Lancaster having just appeared as Sue in Abigail’s Party. Claire trained at Rose Bruford College. Theatre includes David Copperfield, touring nationally playing Mrs Micawber, and Peggotty for Eastern Angles. She has appeared in repertory at Harrogate, Hornchurch, Cardiff, Farnham, Exeter, Chichester, Ipswich and Theatr Clywd. Claire’s favourite roles include Nancy in Steaming, Maggie Thatcher in Anyone for Denis, Jane Zorza in Taboo, Worst Witch in With Cheek by Jowl and Helena in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Clare’s TV credits include; Casualty, Little Britain, The Bunker, Happiness, Van Gogh, The Bill and Sweethearts. |
Dennis Potter web links
The Official Dennis Potter Website and the best and most detailed single web resource for Dennis Potter, compiled by Dr Dave Evans, Fellow of the College of York St John, University of Leeds, including an exhaustive bibliography:
http://www.yorksj.ac.uk/potter/
Dennis Potter, Bob Dylan and the ‘English disease’ of nostalgia:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/arts/fridayreview/story/0,,1210634,00.html
A useful Dutch site (partly in English) based at the University of Utrecht on Dennis Potter:
http://www.oudenaarden.nl/potter/start.html
New Statesman snubbing Dennis Potter (again – there are several such pieces):
http://www.compas.demon.co.uk/Publications/AUTHOR.htm
National Service in JSSL (Joint Services’ School for Linguists) and playwrights:
http://enjoyment.independent.co.uk/books/reviews/story.jsp?story=349892
http://enjoyment.independent.co.uk/theatre/interviews/story.jsp?story=114600
Obituary of Brian Gibson, director of the film of Blue Remembered Hills and other earlier Potter works:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/obituaries/story/0,,1117356,00.html
Observer on Potter’s family and the recent debate:
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,1371985,00.html
Potter’s work in print from Faber & Faber:
http://www.faber.co.uk/xview_author.cgi?author_id=4196
BBC4 Potter series:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour/cinema/potter/whats-on.shtml
The BBC Shop with details of Potter items for sale:
http://www.bbcshop.com/bin/venda?ex=co_wizr-xapian&threshold=50&bsref=bbc&searchfld=&searchpage=&searchinvt=1&searchstry=&searchlike=1&srchopt=V&itemsperpage=10&searchex=dennis+potter&V=
A good review of the second edition of his biography of Potter in The Journal of Popular Film and Television is at:
http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0412/is_3_28/ai_66354095
Academic resources with Potter specialities:-
Psoriasis and cancer of the pancreas references:-
Dennis Potter’s works:-
The Forest of Dean:
http://travel.guardian.co.uk/saturdaysection/story/0,,1162813,00.html
Forest of Dean railwayshttp://www.deanforestrailway.co.uk/
http://www.forestofdean.gov.uk/
House prices:
http://www.opinion.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2004/11/13/nprop13.xml
Wild Boar:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,1363372,00.html
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-1456638,00.html
Forest Potter Festival
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/gloucestershire/3841071.stm
http://www.voicesintheforest.org/
Local Heritage Initiative in the Forest of Dean:
http://www.lhi.org.uk/projects_directory/projects_by_region/south_west/gloucestershire/voices_in_the_forest/index.html
Famous people connected with the (now) Royal Forest:
http://www.visitforestofdean.co.uk/famous_people_from_dean.htm
There is a thriving Archæological Society in the Forest:
http://www.deanarchaeology.org.uk/
There is also a fascinating ‘Living Gloucester’ site about the people of the county, including the story of a Ukrainian expatriate who was a prisoner of war in the area at the time of Blue Remembered Hills:
http://www.livinggloucester.co.uk/histories/cultural_life/social_clubs/ukrainian/pylypczuk/
Some local Potter puffery:
http://www.fweb.org.uk/dean/deanhist/dennis_potter.htm
which ends with the exhortation: “Today you can explore the enchanting Forest landscapes of Dennis Potter's childhood with self guided walks around the area. All are available with accompanying maps.” One dreads to think what Potter would have made of that …
Webnotes by Michael Nunn
- buy online now with your Visa/Mastercard (we cannot accept Maestro/Switch for online bookings). You can book up to nine tickets for one event at a time. Please allow a few seconds for the secure link to be established
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