The Tower on Tour in Cornwall

The Tower's first visit to Sterts Open Air Theatre

(Pictures of the show itself are here.)

July 2011 saw the Tower venturing to a new tour venue - the Sterts Open-Air Theatre in East Cornwall. We were made to feel very welcome by the staff at the venue, and our production of The Boy Friend received enthusiastic acclaim from the audiences. Despite pretty miserable weather all week, the company had a good time, and there is already talk of a return visit in the future.

Photography by Jessie Walters & Laurence Tuerk

Lizzy Barber, a member of the cast, reflects on her first experience of acting with the Tower ...

"What struck me the most about my first experience of a Tower production - playing Polly in The Boy Friend - was that happily there didn't seem to be a Tower "type". I think the nature of the production had something to do with the diverse make-up of the cast: as a company that doesn't specialise in musical theatre, The Boy Friend attracted a great mix of performing talent. From the well-known names of the Tower's musical theatre scene (who have been in every Tower musical past), to veterans of the company taking on their first musical (and lured in by the promise of a Cornish Cream Tea), there was a vast array of experience to draw from and learn from. Tower stalwarts were on hand with everything from practical advice, such as how to get from the dressing room of the Bridewell to Stage Right, to tips for future productions ("you should invest in a wig, if you're planning to do more period productions"). For newbies such as myself, this could have been intimidating; entering into a production in which many of the cast were long-time members, expecting lots of in-jokes and trips down memory lane to plays past, but instead I was welcomed with words of encouragement and a genuine wish to involve all the newcomers in future productions, which I, for one, will certainly take them up on. Now, what to audition for next ..."