Bradfield 175: Looking back… Midsummer Night’s Dream 1978

We recently had contact from Penny Allum, nee Askew, whose mother Mary Askew worked at Bradfield until 1997 and whose grandfather, Leslie Price (SCR 32-72), taught Chemistry and was Head of E House. Penny’s mother ran the College bookshop and helped with costumes for Greek plays for many years.

In 1978, Charles Lepper (A 36-40), who had worked at Bradfield since 1967 in the English Department, produced the summer play Midsummer Night’s Dream. The production was very much a whole community affair. In need of some fairies, Penny remembers a request sent out for children of College staff and local girls to join the cast. Only seven years old at the time, it was a real dream to be part of the production…

Penny remembers that the fairies were given a set order in the programme and on the stage based on their height. Unfortunately this method didn’t account for growth, so her sister – who started as the smallest – grew considerably over the course of the rehearsals and somewhat distorted the intended order. During the performance itself she remembers waiting nervously to go on stage with all the other fairies in the music block, while the boys were at Pool House, no longer in existence today.

Penny also remembers that her mum, Mary’s, main mission during the performances was to keep Bert, the make-up artist and wigmaker for many Bradfield productions, happy ie fed and to make last-minute alterations to costumes. Her mum made some of the fairy costumes and former Chaplain Denis Mulliner’s wife, Chamaiporn, made the headdresses.

Many members of its audiences subsequently wrote to say that they thought it the best Bradfield Shakespeare they had seen.

‘This is above all a tribute to Charles Lepper, who, with the assistance of Christopher Stace, has managed to instil an astonishing degree of professionalism into untrained actors and whose use of the Greek Theatre is admirable. The difficulties of sightlines and audibility with a circular stage and a vast, outdoor auditorium should not be underestimated; and this year, as always, it was possible to see and hear from the farthest recesses of the theatre.’

Reviews also described the comic aspects of the production as outstanding. The actors playing the Mechanicals gained high praise and Charles Aram’s (H 75-79) Thisbe ‘whose impassioned commitment to her role, oblivious of trouser bottoms from protruding beneath the skirt’!

Special mention in reviews also came for make-up artist Bert, working on Bradfield productions for many years and whose father, from whom he took over the job, used to make up Charles Lepper as a boy at Bradfield in the 1930’s. ‘As much as anything else, the consistency of his skill was responsible for the professional effectiveness of the play.’