COMMUNITY PLAYS
  • Home
  • Claque
    • What is a Community Play?
    • Gallery
    • Past Plays >
      • Aldgate Project 2018
      • Happy Highways 2022 >
        • Happy Highways Performance
        • Devising Highways
      • Legends of the Rocks 2019 >
        • Legends Events
        • Legends Devising
  • Claqueur Impro
    • Past Impro Shows & Events
  • Blog
  • Empty Gallery
  • Contact

Peter Terson 1932-2021

4/12/2021

1 Comment

 
Picture

Farewell my dear friend

 .
Peter Terson (Patterson) 'Pete' died in the early hours of April 8th aged 89. He had been  living with Parkinson's disease for the last few years, stoic and good natured throughout and supported by his wife Shelia, who has been his rock through their 66 year marriage. Shelia had asked me to write an obituary for their local paper The Ross Gazette in Ross on Wye (See below) but I wanted to add some more reflections on his life and my memories of him. i first met Pete in 1985 at a weekend writers retreat in Monkton Wilde, Dorset that I had set up so I could meet writers and enthuse them about the community play genre. Peter Terson, David Cregan, Nick Darke were among them. I have to confess I was daunted by Pete's energy and frankness, he was a heavy cider drinker at the time and would disappear from the conference with Nick and they would come back somewhat paralytic.  As a result I was somewhat nervous and it took five years to invite him to write a play for Bradford on Avon "Under the Fish"and Over The Water (1990) . I then collaborated with him in developing two community operas in Southborough "Have you seen this Girl" (1991) and "Twin Oaks"  which were also performed in Lambersart and Lille in France with an Anglo French Cast, directed by Mark Dornford May. I then commissioned him for a second large scale promenade play in 1999, "The Sailors Horse" (Minehead and Watchet). Pete was the most diligent in meeting the community' face to face. These plays can take up to two years to develop. Pete not only made flash visits, the more common approach by busy writers committed to other projects at the same time, he would come and live or holiday in the town with Shelia. As a director I never worked harder having to keep up with Peter. In Minehead he wanted to know about Butlins, both as a holiday maker and behind the scenes, so he insisted I organise a week end stay. We followed the day in the life of a Bluecoat, and the holiday maker, We sang Karaoke, joined a quiz  team and played crazy golf with a family, He'd given up drink by then thankfully though we sat in the bars in order to meet the punters and drank juices. Peter watched, listened and most particularly picked up the rhythms, accents, turns-of-phrase of local people. He incorporated these experiences and their personal stories into the play..
The play scripts emerged over the weeks, inspired by events of the previous day or some newly discovered research. Odd scenes would arrive in no particular order. Eventually the full script would arrive in the post. Typed on an old Olivetti typewriter with an old ribbon on various lined, plain yellowing paper or opened envelopes pinned and sellotaped together. There were amicable exchanges of ideas to get to a rehearsal draft, I was to learn that Pete didn't consider a script finished till the show was over. He attended many more rehearsals than any writer and sat on the edge, often with a pile of script papers and listen and watch, seldom interfering. One regular thing he did do ,however ,when a community actor came out with a line in his or her own natural framing, because he or she wasn't yet word perfect, Pete would call out something like "that's not it... "that's not what I wrote" followed by  "but. it's better, say it like that."  He recognised it sat more comfortably with the actors vernacular, and was therefore more truthful..
Picture
,Over the years Pete, Shelia, my wife Bec and I holidayed together, and built a long and lasting friendship. Pete regularly made spontaneous phone calls to ask if I knew some obscure fact about whatever subject he was writing about or a word he was challenging Shelia on over a game of scrabble.  I rarely knew the answer, so have no idea why he persisted in calling. He was a sore loser at scrabble and an even worse winner, He would remind you many times over the day that he was  "two games ahead."  Bec eventually refused to play with the old curmudgeon. Even when you weren't together  you were not out of the firing line. A sketch cartoon would arrive in the post with a version of himself or myself along with some satirical comment  He gave me a copy of Zigger Zagger as a prize for losing a few scrabble games in a row, with this drawing inscribed on the inner cover. ​
Picture
`I don't believe in the latter years that Peter Terson got the credit he deserved, Age did not weary him nor did his talent diminish. He was undoubtably one of great playwriting talents of his age. In a self written short biography he wrote that the sixties and seventies were his 'glorious days' a period in which he wrote  and had produced somewhere in the region of eighty plays for television, radio and the theatre. He went on to say "but I'm not dead yet and just coming up to my peak `~~(confidence and mad optimism  is all to the playwright.) that was Peter Terson to the last, until Parkinson disease robbed him of the capacity to write. Peter Terson's plays are social dramas as relevant today as ever they were. It is beholden on the theatre and those who can to resurrect past plays and produce the more recent ones; we still have a lot to learn from him. He should be as honoured as a dramatist equal to Harold Pinter and Arnold Wesker, especially as he never abandoned his working class roots.

​OBITUARY 
PETER TERSON (1932-2021)


​The television, radio and stage playwright Peter Terson, died on 8th April 2021, aged 89. He lived in Western Grove Ross on Wye.  Peter wrote a noted series of BBC Plays for Today about three Yorkshire miners (their leader played by Brian Glover) who were determined to expand their cultural horizons. The scene in Shakespeare - or Bust , where they meet Janet Suzman and Richard Johnson, the leads in Antony and Cleopatra , on a canal boat on the Avon at Stratford, was shown last autumn in the BBC's celebration of the 50th anniversary of BBC ‘s Play for Today . Terson was a leading figure in the regional theatre movement of the 1960s and 1970s, writing a huge amount for the theatre-in-the-round, Victoria Theatre. Stoke-on-Trent, under its visionary director Peter Cheeseman.  His play about football hooliganism for the National Youth Theatre, Zigger Zagger, was a huge success when premiered and has been frequently revived and produced internationally. The successful west end play Strippers, about redundant workers' wives resorting to striptease, as an alternative income was a precursor of The Full Monty by thirteen years. Overall, Terson had over 80 plays performed on stage, television and radio.
 
Born Peter Patterson on February 24, 1932, in Tyneside England; the son of a joiner, Peter Patterson and Jane, who he described as a mother worn out with ‘work and worry. He grew up in a world of empty shipyards and dole queues, left school when he was fifteen and worked in a drawing office, attending Newcastle-upon-Tyne Technical College. After national service in the RAF (1950-52), where he trained to be a ground wireless mechanic, he trained as a teacher at Redland Training College, Bristol (1952-54), where he met and married Sheila Bailey, on May 25, 1955. They had three children: Bruce, (now deceased) Neil, and Janie. He then spent ten years as a teacher of physical education, without ever mastering the rules of basketball. During his teaching years he wrote plays and had “enough rejection slips to paper the wall”.
 
Eventually Terson sent A Night to Make the Angels Weep to Peter Cheeseman, director of the Victoria Theatre in Stoke-on-Trent, an in-the-round Theatre committed to regionalism. He was then nominated to become resident playwright and wrote them sixteen plays over the next ten years that included The Mighty Reservoy (1964), I’m in Charge of These Ruins (1966), The Knotty (1970), and The 1861 Whitby Lifeboat Disaster (1971), as well as a number of adaptations.  While still writing for Stoke, The National Youth Theatre director, Michael Croft, commissioned him to write Zigger Zagger. Other plays followed including The Apprentices (1968), The Fuzz (1969) and Good Lads at Heart (1972).  He wrote several plays for children including a musical version of Aesop's Fables at Stoke, focussing on the slave Aesop’s quest for freedom.

Terson's work for BBC televisions Play for Today series, included a noted trilogy of plays The Fishing Party (1972) Shakespeare or Bust and Three for the Fancy  (1973). His other television work included an adaptation of his stage play Mooney and His Caravans (1966), The Heroism of Thomas Chadwick (1967), The Last Train through the Harecastle Tunnel (1969) and The Dividing Fence (1972), Put Out to Grass (1979) and Altantis (1983). His play Strippers was produced by the Newcastle Playhouse in 1984, and then at the Phoenix Theatre in the West End the following year.  His radio plays included Play Soft, Then Attack (1978), The First Flame (1980), The Overnight Man (1982), the documentary The Romany Trip (1983), and Tales My Father Taught Me (1990), starring John Gielgud. Terson was co-winner (with Peter Nichols) of the Arts Council’s John Whiting Award in 1967, and he won the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain award for best radio play in 1972.

Terson’s influence in British regional theatre has been considerable, and more than any other contemporary dramatist he carries forward the ideas of social drama. In an essay about Terson in the Dictionary of Literary Biography, Gillette Elvgren compared the playwright to such luminaries as Arnold Wesker, John Osborne, and Harold Pinter, who also came from Britain's working class. But unlike some works of these playwrights, his own plays continue to reflect and draw sustenance from this heritage. Terson imbues his characters with a kind of colloquial relevance and delightful eccentricity that never loses touch with the sources of work and class from which the writer sprang.
 
Personal Reflection from Jon Oram
In the 1990s Peter turned to writing community plays, collaborating with me as Artistic Director of Colway Theatre, now Claque Theatre, on Under The Fish And Over The Water (Bradford on Avon, 1990) directed by Mark Dornford May, and The Sailor's Horse (Minehead, 1999) which I directed. There were no pretensions about Peter, in finding the play he was diligent in his research and, more significantly, connecting with the community he was writing for; he steeped himself in their lives, lived among them, frequented their places of work, and leisure. He listened to people, picked up the rhythms, and manner of their speech. Pater sat in rehearsals and would regularly change the script to suit the nature of a particular actor. He incorporated others’ ideas readily, a script was not finished till the show was over. This flexibility went hand in hand with being a tough defender of the play as a work of art, in the service of the community.
In September 2020, during a brief period of respite from the covid lockdown, my wife and I were able to take Peter and Shelia to a revival of Mooney And His Caravans at the Malvern Theatre. They treated him like a member of theatre royalty that he rightly deserved. It was his last visit to a theatre in a long and distinguished career.
Peter is survived by his wife Shelia, his children Neil and Janie, his grandchildren Tom, Heather, Sean, Sophie and Dominic and by his great granddaughter Keya
                                                                                                                                   Jon Oram
1 Comment

With Keith Johnstone at the Royal Court

9/15/2017

0 Comments

 
Picture
Jon Oram second left, Keith Johnstone sitting centre, Roddy Maude Roxby seated far right on the Royal Court Stage
Theresa Dudeck, writer of 'Keith Johnstone a critical biography' is making a documentary film about Keith Johnstone and organised an on stage interview with the him and some to the original members of Theatre Machine.    The Royal Court Theatre was Keith's early theatrical home. He had been appointed Literary Manager of the Court, reading and selecting scripts, when Bill Gaskill invited him to run the writer's workshop 50years ago. The philosophy was not to talk if you could show or do - action over words. So when Edward Bond was struck with the idea that a chair could be a character on stage,  the writers had to stand up to demonstrate it.  John Arden, David Cregan, Edward Bond, and Ann Jellicoe were among the writer's in the group.  It was an extraordinary reunion in the week that Ann died; Keith especially found it a poignant occasion. The writer's group had a huge influence on Ann, the writing of the Knack came directly out of those workshops, and the idea of "don't tell but show" became a big part of her directing as well as writing  style.  Alongside the writer's group Keith started developing improvisation with actors and formed Theatre Machine. Here they discovered the significance of status to make performance more natural, and many of the games and rules such as "yes..and "  are now the fundamental basis of impro.  Keith told us " we laughed so much in the writers group I wanted to perform improvisation to audiences to check that it wasn't just us that found it so amusing. The audiences laughed even more, and louder."  When Keith left England for Canada in the mid seventies, Theatre Machine continued performing and developing their own style. Roddy Maude Roxby has a big influence on their style, especially with his love of masks. Keith' work and his book Impro has had a dramatic influence worldwide on theatre performance. There was also no improvisation in drama schools then, now its an essential part of the actors training. 
PictureJon Oram and Phelim Mc Dermott
In in 1985 when I first took over Colway Theatre from Ann, I ran ten day a course with Keith at Monkton Wilde in Dorset for a select group of  twenty actors, directors, writers and drama/theatre teachers. Among the group were Julian Crouch and Phelim McDermott, who were to go on to found Improbable Theatre.  Phelim McDermott.  Keith introduced 'The Life Game' for the first time on this course. When I ran to Phelim again at this event he told me he "vowed to put on "The Life Game' himself"  Twenty years later he made a serious theatre show of it and  toured it world wide . Improbable regularly return to it.  A collaborator of "Life Game" and Improbable is Lee Simpson who was also at the event. Co-incidently Lee told me he remembers me in Norfolk when I was a drama Advisor and he was still at school. His Drama teacher insisted that we meet me and Lee did an audition for me. Extraordinary he remembered after so many years. I was apparently helpful. 

Picture
Lee Simpson, Jon Oram and Keith Johnstone
It was amazing to spend a brief moment with Keith again. I do remember the ten days he taught at Monkton Wilde and how in the evenings he would come back to my house, Rose Cottage,  just a short walk away and we'd talk about they day. I learnt more about teaching in those few days than I did in three years of teacher training. We talked about teaching again but mostly about Ann.  Keith was genuinely heartbroken, they have been close friends for sixty years, he was unable to attend the funeral because he has a flight back to Canada booked, and he struggles now with walking.  As left I told Keith I would be the celebrant at Ann's funeral in a few days and whether he had anything he wanted to say about her. He didn't hesitate - "Yes" he said "Ann always wanted to be truthful, and she always was. Tell them that."  I  did.
0 Comments

John Marshall - Tribute to a Friend

1/19/2012

0 Comments

 
 On January 19th 2012 a memorial service was held for John Marshall in the chapel of Tonbridge School. Over 500 people attended. The CREATE Choir, Tonbridge School Choir and Quintus – sung some of John’s favourite music. Tributes were made by Geoff and Charles Marshall (John’s father and brother) Mike Morrison (representing the school) and myself as a friend and colleague. John was a member of Claque Theatre Board and an inspiration and collaborator in the Camden Road Community Play. This is my ‘Tribute to a friend’
 
Before I talk about John I want to ask his parents: what wonderful spell did you weave to produce two such remarkable sons?  On behalf of everyone here, thank you, thank you for John. And thank you, Charles, for taking on the new role of a big brother to all of us. Your strength and affection has helped us all hold it together.
Some years ago John asked if I would do a community play in Tunbridge Wells. I made some excuse but obviously wasn’t emphatic enough because, from that day on, he relentlessly reminded me of the pending local play I’d promised. In time hypnotised by John’s enthusiasm to do something spectacular I said yes. How could you say no to that face? I have a spaniel that gives me the same look.
John was able to present a quiet and gentle manner that one could easily mistake for ‘sensible’. Yet he was an ardent Impresario and risk taker. He fearlessly undertook big projects. He loved the high arts, thrilled at seeing, listening, and especially working with the best in their field.  He was so motivated and proud of his dear friends in Quintus.
John was central to the success of Camden Road the Musical and supporting two years of projects that culminated in The Vanishing Elephant.  Following the play, as a founder member of CREATE he tirelessly collaborated in sustaining cultural events for Camden Road. He was a board member of Claque. John had personal ambitions and dreams of his own that he wanted to fulfil, but, put them on hold because he was more and more consumed helping others fulfil theirs.
Over the past few years John was re-inventing himself, tackling things just out of range, just to see what he might learn.  One such was the CREATE choir. John was a paradox, because, however talented we all perceived him to be, his humility verged on self deprecation and however encouraging and optimistic he appeared he was haunted by the thought that he wasn’t up to the task of leading a community choir. How wrong he was but he felt it all the same. It took a step of courage, but facing his devils was a better option to him than letting his friends down. In the process something changed.
I want to say to the choir, that his joy of working with you went through the roof. Through you, he was beginning to see in himself something of the inspirational teacher he could be.  He had the ability to teach you and learn from you at the same time and it allowed him to be both leader and member of the choir and to transform you from being a community to being a family.
Many beautiful words have been written about John recently, what’s telling is that everyone refers to how he lit up a room. But I’ve not heard anyone say why. Well I think it was you, he lit up because he’d seen you. He simply lit up when he saw any of us.
And when you talked to John it was the “you and he and here and now” that mattered. He really knew how to attend. It’s what made us all think we were his best friends. I don’t just mean that this chapel is full of his best friends, of course it is, but that most of us will be thinking, “I was John’s best friend.”  How is that possible? Well John was a social magician.
There’s a 40-second video clip that Alex put on face book of John playing with his baby nephew James. John is lying on the floor and James is tapping at John’s face. There’s a moment when John buries his face into James’s tummy and inhales. Talk about living in the present. It’s where children live, but it’s where John lived too.  Most of us lose this in adulthood, John didn’t.
When Dennis Potter was told that he had as little as three months to live, he gave a last interview.  John and I both loved this passage:
Below my window in Ross, the blossom is out in full … it’s white, and looking at it, instead of saying “Oh that’s nice blossom” … last week looking at it through the window .. I see it is the whitest, frothiest, blossomest blossom that there ever could be, and I can see it. Things are both more trivial than they ever were, and more important than they ever were, and the difference between the trivial and the important doesn’t seem to matter. But the nowness of everything is absolutely wondrous, and if people could see that, you know. There’s no way of telling you; you have to experience it, but the glory of it, if you like…. The fact is, if you see the present tense, boy do you see it! And boy can you celebrate it.
 
John saw it. But he filled every moment of each day not because he thought it would be his last but because he knew the worth of a day and the value of a moment.
I’m not looking for reassurance. This depth of grief we feel is because we loved and were loved and it seems this pain is the price we pay. But, Oh, the joy of him, how privileged we all are.  I don’t want to construct some reason why John died it would diminish him for me.  There simply isn’t one, not when he had so much more to do, and to give; and so much more to experience.  It is wrong in every sense.  And as much as we would like to call John back and indeed yearn to, we can’t. I need to come to terms with that and somehow redefine the relationship.  I do know where it look for it, – it’s to be found holding him in my head and heart, in remembering his ideals, what he stood for, what I understood of his values, his sense of justice and injustice, his ridiculous sense of humour, his vision, dreams, compassion, hopes, fears, his unanswered question, these are things of him, in me now that will continue to influence my life. He was and will always be an inspiration. He has become an integral part of the inbuilt compass. It’s nothing like as good or accurate as the real thing, but it will have to do. Most of all, I must try to absorb at least a little of that remarkable talent he had for living.
0 Comments
    Picture

    DIRECTOR'S
    BLOG  

    Jon Oram

    Artistic Director 
    Claque Theatre

    Categories

    All
    Cityplay Diary
    Community Plays
    Devising The Legend
    Education
    Legends Of The Rocks
    People
    Personal Reflections
    Promenade Theatre
    Talks And Articles

    Archives

    May 2022
    May 2021
    April 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    December 2018
    September 2018
    September 2017
    March 2017
    August 2016
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    February 2013
    January 2013
    November 2012
    March 2012
    January 2012
    October 2011

    RSS Feed

Claque Theatre Limited & Claqueur Impro
(Formerly Colway Theatre Trust) Established 1979
Registered in England Company Registration No. 1464536 Registered Charity No. 279311
Artistic Director: Jon Oram   Board of Directors: John Harries – Chair, Andy Brett, Brian Blunden
​Websites: Community Plays. Empty Gallery Claqueur Impro
Facebook
  • Home
  • Claque
    • What is a Community Play?
    • Gallery
    • Past Plays >
      • Aldgate Project 2018
      • Happy Highways 2022 >
        • Happy Highways Performance
        • Devising Highways
      • Legends of the Rocks 2019 >
        • Legends Events
        • Legends Devising
  • Claqueur Impro
    • Past Impro Shows & Events
  • Blog
  • Empty Gallery
  • Contact