Productions

Cloud Nine is a two-act play written by British playwright Caryl Churchill after workshops with the Joint Stock Theatre Company in late 1978.

The two acts of the play form a contrapuntal structure. Act 1 is set in British colonial Africa in Victorian times, and Act 2 is set in a London park in 1979. However, between the acts only twenty-five years pass for the characters. Most of the actors plays one role in Act 1 and a different role in Act 2 - the characters who appear in both acts are played by different actors in the first and second. Act 1 parodies the conventional comedy genre and satirizes Victorian society and colonialism. Act 2 shows what could happen when the restrictions of both the genre of comedy and Victorian ideology are loosened in the more permissive 1970s.

The play uses controversial portrayals of sexuality and obscene language and establishes a parallel between colonial and sexual oppression. Its humour depends on incongruity and the carnivalesque, and helps to convey Churchill's political message about accepting people who are different and not dominating them or forcing them into particular social roles.


Cast:
Act 1
Clive - Iain Kerr
Betty - Christopher Barbour
Joshua - Stephen McFarlane
Edward - Caroline Mathison
Maud - Siobhan McGovern
Ellen - Gillian Massie
Mrs. Saunders - Mary Orman
Harry Bagley - Ross Hope

Act 2
Betty - Caroline Mathison
Edward - Christopher Barbour
Victoria - Shirley Pettigrew
Martin- David Grimes
Lin - Gillian Massie
Cathy/Soldier - Iain Kerr
Gerry - Stephen McFarlane


Crew:
Stage Manager - Andy Ellis
Set Design and Construction - Gordon Craig, Andy Ellis, Sue Ellis, Nigel Jarvis
Lighting Designer - J. Gordon Hughes
Lighting Crew - Sean Campbell, Jonathan Towers
Sound Designer - Jane Graveling, Richard Graveling
Original Music and Choreography - Mary Woodward
Costume Design - Ross Hope, David Grimes, Lorna Slater, Susan Wales
Properties - Kirsty Grant, Jacquie Clayton
General Manager - Claire Wood
Production Finance - Jo Butt
Press and Marketing - Ross Hope
Publicity Design - Lorraine McCann
Photographer - Jon Davey
Program Layout - David Grimes
Rehearsal Prompt - Mary Woodward

With thanks to: Killin Players, Leitheatre, St. Serfs Players, St. Brides, Alec Purves, Brian Nesbet, Fiona Dow and Esther Gilvray


Cloud Nine has been entered into the SCDA 2009 Full Length Play Festival. Here are the remarks we've received from the ajudicator!

Act 1: Appropriate and striking music to begin, opening into a strong stage picture representing a Victorian photograph. A simple set offering a good acting area, though limited space on rostrum. Basic furniture and dressing – perhaps a little bare; more ‘richness’ required – greenery, plant pots? Appropriate dressing and props – a lovely Victoria! Good costume, appropriate to period and to characters. Good use of lighting and sound effects throughout; very effective ‘deep midwinter’ lighting. Perhaps sound or music could have been used to cover scene drops, but not essential; good scene change during Christmas song.

Act 2: similar set – flats reversed with appropriate graffiti suggesting the period; effective tree and bench. Appropriate costume (even flared trousers!) Good use of lighting with wellhandled cues – night-time scene lighting perhaps set too far DS or actors too far US as heads weren’t lit when standing (sorry, just a wee niggle!) Technically secure throughout.

Act 1: rather regular and level pace set to begin; a tendency for characters to pick up each other’s tone; more variety and emphasis required at times – a touch more Victorian grandiloquence and self-importance might have been appropriate – impetus came with Harry/Betty scene and a great injection of movement and life during the lively and enjoyable Clive/Mrs Saunders scene. The stage was well used throughout with good movement and grouping – though a little cramped on the rostrum leading to occasional masking. Excellent later scenes – e.g. Harry/Edward and Betty/Ellen, Betty’s declaration of love for Harry – all handled with good variety in delivery; very well handled ‘Boy’s Best Friend’ number; great reactions and good movement between Clive and Harry in their scene together; a strong ending.

Act 2: a cracking pace set and maintained, with plenty of variety in delivery and many well timed lines e.g. “I think I’m a lesbian!” Plenty of natural movement with good grouping. A succession of lively, excellently worked and very effective scenes – Lin/Vicky, Gerry/Edward, Lin/Vicky/Edward orgy (lighting a little low here?) and excellently delivered monologues; wellhandled Martin/Vicky scene and Cloud Nine sequence; flashbacks successfully handled. A smooth, varied and very effective Act with very natural and expressive performances and a strong ending.

Well contrasted characters, good team playing, and good support for each other; a bit more effective and convincing in Act 2 than in Act 1. Clive/Cathy/Soldier; good attack, but occasionally a little restrained as Clive, more ‘heartiness’ perhaps required at times; a delightful and believable Cathy; maybe lacked a touch of ‘roughness’ as the Soldier. Betty/Edward; a fine figure of a woman, an enjoyable characterisation; very well observed and sensitive playing as Edward. Joshua/Gerry: a restrained and under-stated performance, with the steeliness occasionally showing through as Joshua; natural and believable playing as Gerry. Edward/Betty: good attack and projection, with plenty of liveliness and variation of expression in both roles. Maud: the mime/reading-in combination worked remarkably well. Ellen/Lin; a little quiet at times, but plenty of expression and variety in delivery as Ellen; lively, expressive and very effective as Lin. Mrs Saunders: a very effective characterisation. Harry: suitably ambivalent, though a little restrained at times; excellently handled characterisation in Clive ‘ homosexual’ scene. Victoria: a very expressive and believable characterisation. Martin: a good performance – very expressive with good attack and varied delivery.

A fairly slow start to the production, with a rather ‘grander’ Victorian style of performance perhaps required for Act 1 as conviction was occasionally lacking, but every member of the cast was totally at home with the more ‘modern’ style of playing established in Act 2, delivering assured and convincing performances. Ultimately a most enjoyable and proficient production of a most challenging play.