Lydney Grammar School
DRAMATIC
SOCIETY - EARLY DAYS
When the school started in 1903 there was a certain amount of doubt
in educational circles as to the wisdom of co-education beyond the
ages of 12 or 13. Dual schools, as they were then called, had been
tried elsewhere but not always successfully. Both Mr. Frank Dixon and
Miss Sybil H. Buckley (Music Mistress between 1905-32) reminded us
of this in their articles in previous special magazines. It is perhaps
interesting to note how the educational mind has turned through almost
180 degrees since co-educational schools are now considered by many
to be probably the best type of school, instead of simply the only
economically viable type some areas could maintain.
I mention this merely to emphasise the fact that by nature they contained one
intrinsic advantage upon which those who laid the foundation of the school
were quick to seize - namely the education of boys and girls side by side which
led to less difficulty in the choice and casting of plays. In view of what
happened afterwards it is interesting and amusing to read that one of the first
pupils, Mrs. Grace Gazey (nee Pritchard), tells us that amongst the numerous
rules that were strictly enforced was one that forbade boys and girls to fraternise.
How those who took part in those plays performed during my period at the School
(1931-1961) must laugh at such strictures, especially those connected with
such memorable productions as for example “Hassan” in 1951
.
In 1904 , at the first Speech Day, two pieces were presented by the drama group: “The
Sleeping Beauty” and scenes from “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”.
In the former, one notices amongst the cast the names of Kathleen Smale (mother
or Deborah Kerr, famous film and stage actress: and Phyllis Smale (Mrs. Luscombe
of the B.B.C. radio series). In the Shakespeare excerpt familiar Lydney names
like Harold Goold and Stanley Jarrett appear. Miss Phyllis Smale (now Mrs.
Forster of Bristol tells me she left the school at the age of nine in 1906,
so clearly only very young children took part in “The Sleeping Beauty”.
Helen Dixon, (who was the younger daughter of the first Headmaster and won
her way to St. Hugh’s Oxford, later becoming Mrs. P. Lamb, wife of the
Principal of St. John’s College, York [1945-71] after 25 years producing
plays, writes “few schools can claim a dramatic tradition more notable
than our. No year has passed when the school has not produced some sort of
play. Even during the lean days of the Great War the scarcity of funds could
not daunt us, and our necessity proved often the mother of rare invention:
there was always something specially intimate and genial about the make-shift
productions in the School Hall.”
1909 provided “Rumpelstiltskin” (with Marjorie Dixon amongst
the cast) and scenes from “Twelfth Night”. In 1910, there were
scenes from “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” and here one notes
that Mr. Coxon took a bow as producer though it is fairly certain that the
Headmaster took rather more than an interested observer’s part in the
production.
In 1911 “A Christmas Carol” was put on, presumably at the usual
December Speech Day. As Helen Dixon states, many considered this to be their
greatest triumph. Mr. John Hill, a youngster of 76, recalls that as there was
no electricity available the usual “limelight” of the period was
used and one special effect was to use a “magic lantern” on the
back stage to bring out the name on the tombstone of “Ebeneezer Scrooge”.
1912 is a year worthy of particular note since after some school songs came
a fair play “The Slave of the Lamp”, followed by more songs and
a scene from R. B. Sheridan’s “The Critics”. In this Marjorie
Dixon and Walter Martin took the leading parts and Martin’s performance
as “Puff” was described by the Chairman (then Mr. Charles Bathurst)
as at least equal to the best he had ever seen in that part. In any case it
proved good enough to earn him a scholarship at R.A.D.A. Martin indeed started
his course there but joined up when war broke out and unfortunately lost his
life on the Arne in 1916.
In December 1913, the Speech Day audience was given scenes from “A Midsummer
Night’s Dream” with Denys Clark and Helen Dixon in leading roles.
Dixon - Cleaver Period
By this time Miss R. L. M. Cleaver had arrived on the scene as Senior
Mistress in charge of English and Drama, and then began what might
really be called the Dixon-Cleaver regime of drama.
Until sometime in the middle twenties the Speech Days provided all the school
public performances. Starting at 6.30pm. With speeches and prize-giving they
were followed by songs from the choir before and after short plays or scenes
from plays - usually one of Shakespeare’s works or some classical play.
This continued but the Dramatic Society became more ambitious than ever and
turned to full length plays usually in the spring.
There is a clear indication that Mr. Dixon - without interfering with Miss
Cleaver’s direction - took an active, lively interest in every play.
He was, as his younger daughter recalls, especially interested in the diction
and saw that Lydney Secondary School; productions not only had grace of movement
and effectiveness in grouping and colour ( to quote a pupil of the time, who
became later an experienced producer) but that the words could be heard in
good English without too many overtones of the Forest dialect. I should also
add that Miss Sybil Buckley gave her friend and colleague magnificent support,
especially with the music which forms an integral part of many of the Shakespeare
plays. Here I should perhaps pause to pass on a tribute to Miss Cleaver paid
by one former Head girl (now Mrs. G. Leach, then Cicely Jones). She recalls
that Miss Cleaver cheered some of her players, who had pronounced Forest accents,
yet at the same time reminding them that when they moved into a wider world
they would find it useful - to say the least - to be able to speak the Standard
English of the day.
After the war, Nell Richardson (now Mrs. R. Aitken of Chepstow) scored a great
personal triumph in “Kathleen in Houliham” by W. B. Yeats. No doubt,
as she herself if partly Irish, she was particularly suited for the part. Helen
Dixon wrote later, “That those who saw her will long remember the spell
she put upon them”.
After this came a performance of “The Princess” a medley by Tennyson,
dramatised in 1919 by Elsie Fogarty and containing many beautiful songs. This
was, therefore, a joint production by Miss Cleaver and Miss Buckley and featured
Iris Birt (later to be a School Governor and now Mrs. Iris Watts) as the Prince,
Kathleen Meek as the Princess and Nell Richardson as Lady Blanche.
In 1921 the school presented “Julius Caesar” by William Shakespeare
with Marjorie Bennett as Caesar, Nell Richardson as Calpurnia, Stanley Cooke
as Mark Antony, Chesney Horwood as Casca and Iris Birt as Portia. (Nell Richardson
is still very active in dramatic work in Chepstow and Monmouth and retains
a beautiful speaking and singing voice).
In 1922 there was a production of “Pygmalion
and Galatea”, a mythological comedy not in the usual W. S. Gilbert style.
Galatea was played by Millie Ward, and Helen Dixon played Pygmalion since she
tells how the reviewer in the local press “politely opined that the H.
Dixon of the programme might well have been called Herbert or Harry”!
In view of the truly feminine roles she played later it simply shows she was
a good actress, but she recalls she was not amused at the time.
In 1923 the
main activity was a production of four scenes from “A Winter’s
Tale” with May Thomas and Helen Dixon in leading roles; whilst in the
following year there were scenes from “Coriolanus” at the December
Speech Day with Denys Clark (son of Mr. Charles Clark, who later became a governor
of the School) in the name part, Helen Dixon was Volumnia and Dorothy Burgess
played Vergilia.
In 1925 “The Sleeping Beauty”, a joint dramatic
and musical production was put on - but I refer to this more fully in the musical
section.
In April 1926 the School produced “As You Like it”, which
featured Cicely Jones as Rosalind and Lucy Clark (later Senior Mistress in
a London school) as Orlando. The cast also included Ruth Cooke, Una Macey,
Dorothy Burdess, Helen Dixon, Pearl Allen, Gwen Hillier and Ena Goulding, but
not a single boy.
The December Speech Day of 1927 provided “The Land of Heart’s Desire” by
W. B. Yeats with Joan Bennett in the lead, and the following spring “The
Tempest” with Betty Woodruffe-Ford in the principal role. The school
magazine states “after repeated disappointments the Dramatic Society
has procured the much-sought-for services of the boys”. In this production
the Musical Society provided the masque music. A medieval interlude “Thersytes” was
given at the Prize Giving in December and was warmly received. Writing of this
and of casting difficulties in particular, Betty Woodruffe-Ford wrote: “It
seems strange after the numerous sarcastic remarks concerning the noisy qualities
of the inhabitants of the school that so few people possess good ‘stage’ voices.
The invention of boys, who lose control of their vocal chords at the very time
which they begin to acquire the skill necessary for a part, was a great mistake.
As for the girls, they appear to be cultivating ‘a voice soft and low,
an excellent thing in a woman’. Where were Shakespeare’s dramatic
instincts when he wrote that?
In March 1928 the Dramatic Society reinforced by Mr. E. T. Hirons, the Chemistry
master, gave “Quality Street” with Betty Woodruffe-Ford, Betty
Huzzey and Gwen Hillier in leading roles. Oddly enough, the players were unusually
fearful of its reception but it proved a great success and to quote Gwen Hillier “the
gentle laughter of the audience bore testimony to the appreciation of Barrie’s
characters so sweetly touched with his peculiar and almost indefinable humour”.
The Speech Day of 1929 provided “The Singing Sands” by Gordon Bottomley
and whilst the performance was successful Betty Huzzey writes, “I doubt
whether the audience were interested in this type of play”. The following
year’s Speech Day saw a performance of “The Trojan Women” by
Euripides, and there were hopes of producing “She Stoops to Conquer,
in the spring of 1931 but it ran into unnamed difficulties. Thus the next production
was “Twelfth Night” in March 1932. The cast included Enid Parry,
Marian Knight, Betty Hodges, Barbara Yeatman, Gwynneth Jones, Bartie King,
Joyce Jones and Beryl Morgan amongst the first: the boys included Vernon Clark,
Bertram Lewis, Charles David, Wilson Whereat and Angus Luker - all of whom
played extremely important parts in the life of the school and in other spheres
as well.
In 1933 “She Stoops to Conquer”, postponed from as far back as
1928, was given very successfully and Miss Cleaver ended her work as a producer
with an equally successful “A Winter’s Tale” in February
1934. Barbara Yeatman (now Mrs. Steele) wrote at the time that it was “perhaps
a questionable choice for amateurs, but understandable considering the unshakable
loyalty we all have towards Shakespeare. We hope and really think that the
play was a success; if the local press speaks the truth, it was.”
She went on to add a special word about Miss R. L.M. Cleaver “we , whose
privilege it has been to be introduced to amateur theatricals by an expert,
have learned much not only of the art of acting and scrupulous attention to
details of production, but of the patience and restraint necessary at a time
when all nerves are on edge.” This is a fair and well deserved tribute
to Miss Cleaver’s work over a long period. Lydney Secondary School (changed
to Lydney Grammar School on Mr. F, Dixon’s suggestion when he retired)
is fortunate indeed the the same could be truthfully said of every subsequent
producer.
Before going on to the rest of the story I should also tell of still more activity
of this early period. In 1923 a Playgoer’s Society was formed and the
Literary Society read and studied many first-class plays ancient and modern. “Antigone” by
Sophocles was given before a school audience in 1923; “Quality Street” and “Dear
Brutus” by J. M Barrie were read in 1924; also “The Lady of the
Lamp” by Reginald Berkeley in 1929 to mention only a few. The Juniors
were also inspired to emulate their elders and Helen Dixon writes “of
the delight they gave to the audience and themselves with productions of ‘Rip
Van Winkle’, ‘Robin Hood’, ‘Friar Tuck’, ‘Aladdin’s
Cave’ and Rumpelstiltskin’ once more.
When one recalls the boundless and very successful activity on the Sports field
and the continued progress in Scholarship and other examination successes in
a relatively small school one can only be filled with admiration for the pupils
of this period and the staying power, enthusiasm and energy of the Staff.
J. H.