The Tempest - rain and church bells

As I walked through the church yard at dusk, making my way down to Caversham Court gardens, I could hear a haunting melody floating up from the river. I was on my way to one of the final rehearsals of The Tempest and the music was coming from the live musicians who provide all the music and sound effects for the performance.

It was coming from the live musicians and the passing disco boat. One of the hazards of an outdoor production is the extraneous noises. In the Abbey Ruins, where we used to hold our outdoor productions, it was the shouting of inmates from Reading prison. Sometimes they even quoted the speeches they had heard many times in rehearsal. At Caversham Court it is the disco boat - that luckily comes past in the interval -  and the church bells. When the bell ringers are practicing  it is impossible to hear anything on the stage but they have kindly agreed not to ring during the performance week.

The cast and crew have been showing the best of British pluck rehearsing in the recent bad weather. Producer Coral Last was explaining the contingency plans for rain, including the potential to move the time of the interval and having on hand a supply of clear rain ponchos for the cast. There are currently still tickets available on the gate so if you've been put off buying a ticket because of the weather you can wait for a sunny evening and come down then.

Don't forget that there is no fixed seating so bring your own blanket or low backed chair to sit on, there will also be a number of chairs available for hire. Stewards will be guiding people to a seating space to ensure that everyone has a good view. It really is a beautiful setting,  right by the river and an exciting production so keep your fingers crossed for some good weather or be really British and come and enjoy some outdoor theatre whatever the weather.




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Open air production The Tempest by William Shakespeare 23rd - 30th July 2011 Caversham Court Gardens

Auditions for The 39 Steps Wednesday 3rd August 7.30pm and Sunday 7th August, 2pm at Progress Theatre


See Progress Theatre website for details of all our productions and auditions.