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 Hands up who'd heard of Zoom back in February 2020? Anyone? I thought not.
However, it became absolutely central to the life of the Tower Theatre from March right through to August as we (like so many other organizations) had to abruptly stop performing live in our lovely auditorium - abandoning the exquisite finished set of The Norman Conquests, just before its opening night.
However, nothing can stop us theatre types from showing off - and we certainly weren't going to let a national lockdown quash our collective creative spirit. John Chapman (tech-savvy theatre blogger extraordinaire) suggested to our ever-careful financial director Nick Insley that we get a Zoom licence and bring people together for play readings. "Do you think anyone will come - will it be worth it?" asked Nick worriedly "Of course they'll come," said John - and he was right.
On we jolly well went every Tuesday for 19 weeks - initially grappling with the technology and trying to establish competence with when to mute and unmute and when we should be off camera, but soon easing into the protocols of performing on this new platform.
March 31st : The first Virtual Tower evening : The Real Inspector Hound by Tom Stoppard
And what an incredible variety of productions we managed. No stilted play-readings from scripts these. Proper rehearsed productions often with props and costume, and sometimes even sympathetic virtual backgrounds-- who knew that the Zoom format could be so flexible?
One of our first evenings was a heart-rending drama, About 500 written and directed by Simona Hughes. This had been in rehearsal for live performance in a theatre, which couldn't go ahead (for obvious reasons). It was an extremely polished performance of an outstanding piece - and set high expectations for later Virtual Tower events.
April 21st : Apocalypse Then by Michael Staniforth
Another memorable evening was The Lockdown Review (week 9). Again, this had been thoroughly rehearsed for a live performance a while back. The collection of songs and sketches worked well in the Zoom format - and it was a great way to revive an enjoyable production.
April 28th : A Visitor from New York from Califormia Suite by Neil Simon, with Simon Lee and Janet South
There was something to savour in every week's show but there were definitely some personal favourites. I would select the Edwardian Enactments of week 6 as a highlight - a couple of entertaining short plays by Stanley Houghton and Harley Granville Barker, directed by Stephen Brasher. Week 12 - A Riddle of the Palms and Crocodiles by Femi Euba, directed by Landé Belo - was very engaging, and wins the prize for Outstanding Virtual Backgrounds. Week 15 - Appetite & Ambition - saw a fantastic performance of Oscar Wilde's short play Salome, with Emily Carmichael giving an electric performance in the title role. A Midsummer Night's Stream (week 13) was a wonderful celebration of some of Shakespeare's Best Bits - as well as a recreation of the Tower's star turn in providing a top team of mechanicals for the 2016 ‘Play for the Nation' collaboration with the RSC (no less). I very much enjoyed the vampire-themed pair of plays of week 17 - an amusing contrast between an absolutely up-to-the minute piece of new writing by Chris O'Dea and a hilarious melodramatic one-acter by Dion Boucicault. There was some further, excellent new writing in week 18 by some of our own Tower Talent : Emily Carmichael, Jessica Irwin and Dan Usztan.
June 2nd : Bubble by Kieran Hurley
The inaugural Virtual Tower season ended on week 19 with an interactive murder mystery event. Hugely enjoyable - though I didn't guess the murderer.
It was an amazing feat of organization and commitment to pull a virtual production out of the bag every Tuesday. As always in our business, there was a core team of committed individuals who made it not only possible, but a real treat to attend. John Chapman who set the whole thing in motion and then kept it going - as well as directing and performing at some of the evenings. Colin Guthrie who made many of the evenings sound marvellous - as well as putting in a few performances himself. And then the directors/stage managers many of whom worked on a few separate occasions : Landé Belo, Stephen Brasher, Simona Hughes, Matthew Ibbotson, Simon Lee, Ruth Sullivan … Lots of those who directed also did a star turn in other productions - if I list all the directors and all the actors who did such a great job, it will just be a long list of names. I apologise to those who I haven't mentioned. I thought you were all marvellous.
June 23rd : A Midsummer Night's Stream, with Annemarie Fearnley | 
July 7th : Salome by Oscar Wilde, with Emily Carmichael |
We learned a lot over the 19 weeks. I felt the shorter evenings worked better, but I generally feel that about live theatre anyway. However if it's a longer evening, the Zoom format does allow for treating the evenings like a radio drama and getting on with a spot of knitting while you listen. Its's a great way to road-test new writing without committing to the expense of a full production - and as we move into our second Virtual Tower Season we'll be seeking out more of this sort of material. Going forward, I foresee a lot more current writers adapting their work to suit this new format - now that we've established it can work brilliantly.
July 7th : Blood Wedding by Federico García Lorca, with Angharad Ormond and Pam O'Brien
Equally, it's fun to dust off some of the forgotten, out-of-copyright dramas of bygone days. Before cinema and TV, so many plays were written, by both established dramatists and novelists - that this a particularly rich seam to mine.
Another unexpected benefit of having to work within the virtual format (apart from the crafting opportunities) was that people who can't easily travel to the theatre were able to join us. For example, our friends in Paris (the Tower Bridge group who help us by selling tickets on our annual visit there), could be included and experience something other than the Tower Theatre doing Shakespeare.
July 14th : Engaged by W.S.Gilbert, with Sean McMullan, Ailsa Dann and John McSpadyen
And by the time you read this this we'll be into Virtual Tower Season Two (kicking off on Tuesday 8 September). It's a slightly less frantic schedule (fortnightly), and there's lots to look forward to.
Don't hesitate to get in touch with John Chapman if you have an you have an idea or even half an idea for a Virtual Tower Evening. We don't know how long we'll continue with the Virtual Tower - maybe even after we open again - but there's clearly an appetite for it, as our 1,000 log-ins for the first season indicates.
July 21st : Coffee Date by Chris O'Dea
Look forward to seeing you in the Zoom Virtual Auditorium soon!
August 4th : The final evening of the first season : A Legal Murder by Ian McCutcheon
Roanne Insley has been a Tower member for a very long time now, mostly stage-managing, marketing and forcing her children to get involved.
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