All Beginners!
Next month sees the return of Innerleithen & District Amateur Operatic Society (“The Opera”) with their first show since 2019’s ‘Sister Act’. The Society had rehearsed and was polishing ‘Dolly Parton’s 9 - 5’ in March 2020 before the show was cancelled in cruel and heartbreaking circumstances less than a fortnight before opening night as the scale of restrictions for Covid 19 became clear. I suspect some unresolved trauma still surrounds that necessary decision - hopefully the return of the Society this year can help with that. Three years on and great excitement surrounds the comeback show - ‘Shrek - The Musical’, being performed for the first time in The Borders between Monday 27 March and Saturday 1 April. Demand for tickets is high among cast and Honorary Members - the public gets their chance to buy them at 10am on Saturday 25 February at The Memorial Hall. I advise anyone wishing to go to get in quickly…
That’s the sales pitch out of the way (for now…), but what is ‘The Opera’, and why is it called The Opera when there isn’t a Rigoletto or Magic Flute in sight? The name comes from the Edwardian era in which the society was formed. Innerleithen founded it’s ‘Choral Society’ in 1908 (the name change to IDAOS occurred soon after). And for the first few decades Light Opera or Operetta was the Society’s stock and trade. Amateur, but very gifted, singers giving voice and character to the works of Gilbert & Sullivan to entertain the people of the town and surrounding district. For decades the work of this famous duo was performed - ‘The Pirates of Penzance’, ‘HMS Pinafore’, ‘Trial by Jury’ and all those classics. This style is perhaps out of fashion in the 21st century, however there are plenty of us who would love to perform a modernised, satirical Gilbert & Sullivan as the wit in the songs still holds up almost 150 years on. Moving into the 1930’s and the repertoire was extended but we are still in the style of the time - Operettas such as ‘The Wildflower’ and ‘The Acradians’. It wasn’t until after the war that the Musical as we know it now was born with ‘Oklahoma!’ arriving like an explosion in America - and that style eventually made it’s way on to the Innerleithen stage, with ‘Mr Opera’ Jimmy Mercer at the vanguard, delivering a style of show that had never been seen before. In 1954 ‘Annie Get Your Gun’, a wonderful musical very much in the ‘Oklahoma!’ vibe and written by Irving Berlin was given it’s Scottish Premiere in Innerleithen, and the success was so much that it ran for several extra days - as did the next years show, an unthinkable proposition now. Musical ‘Book’ Theatre had arrived, with songs, words and dance working as a cohesive whole (most of the time…) and would become the dominant style for IDAOS to this day. As an aside, many of the other local societies have incorporated Musical Theatre Company into their original Operatic name or just changed name completely. I understand that thinking given it’s more accurate of the here and now, but personally hope Innerleithen always maintain the name and heritage - it’s the quality of experience that attracts members, not the name.
In 1994 Brian McGlasson, long term leading man dating back to the 1960’s, took over as Producer, a role he still holds today for ‘Shrek - The Musical’. If Mercer brought the Musical to Innerleithen then Brian brought it into the 21st century, with staging and technical advancements that defy belief in the shoebox like, blank canvas that is The Memorial Hall. Of course, while The Producer is the figurehead and driving force behind any show it takes an army of hundreds to put the sort of shows Brian demands at Innerleithen. Far too many to list here, but the people hours put in across 6 months, but particularly show week and the weeks around it is mind boggling. So if you attend ‘Shrek’ (and you must!), have a wee look around the Hall and remember than in a couple of days it will be completley empty again…
In my blurb for this post I noted that this was a personal history of The Opera and at this point it’s probably worth getting into that a bit more to explain why I was moved to write this post, a bit off brand to my usual hillwalking based musings. I was a playing member of the Society for several shows and am a non-playing member today (retired thesp). So any hint of neutrality is banished to a dark corner - I am very proud to be a member of this Society and can say without hesitation some of the highlights of my life have been on the Innerleithen stage. My story with the Opera started as a kid, going with Grannie to see the likes of Calamity Jane, The Sound of Music and Viva Mexico. As childhood became teenage years then into my 20’s I drifted away from attending, the only one I can remember going to in the early 00’s were 2004’s Taming of the Shrew inspired ‘Kiss me Kate’ (as I fancied myself as some sort of intellectual Shakespearian at the time, but was really a bit of pretentious twat) and ‘Copacabana’ in 2006 where mum and I got to sit in the wee row of seats under the balcony which are, alas, no more! Then in 2008 I attended the Society’s centenary concert and, seeing that it looked like a laugh thought why not give that a go? The deal was sealed later that night in the St Ronan’s Hotel with drinks, a night that ended up in a late night hot tub party with the police called. The tone was well and truly set for years of Opera fun.
Of course, you then go to rehearsal and realise you can’t sing, act or dance. Oh dear. Not the end of the world. You also discover that just the simple act of walking and standing properly on stage is really hard. So the first couple of years were learning experiences, taking advice from the old hands, working hard, learning lines and turning up on time. Do all of that and even a tiny bit of talent can go surprisingly far!
Rehearsals start in September, with weeks of battering musical notes and roles being cast. This is essential to the success of a show, putting the work in throughout the winter to feel comfortable with the show, then finessing it later. By the time it comes to swap the rehearsal piano for a 15 piece orchestra at Easter time you are in the zone and ready to go. Technical rehearsal day arrives, two days before curtain up, and it can be a long one. It’s now that the players get to see how much work goes into lighting, sound and staging. I used to hear legend of these days going on until the wee small hours but never experienced it myself - until The Wizard of Oz. The clock had gone well past 3am by the time we finished that year - that’s a chunky 17 hour day. I was playing the Cowardly Lion, and the second run through started well after midnight, by which time I’d been wearing the ludicrously heavy and hot costume for 12 hours. All I recall about that second run through was any attempt at a character accent was gone, it was pure Innerleithen, with very little feeling, but it didn’t matter - it wasn’t for us, we needed to do it to make sure the show worked technically. And the truth is it was well and truly worth it. - the audiences loved the show. You can’t anticipate what a live audience will make of a show once it’s out there, in fact it can be dangerous to second guess them. I learned early on not to rely on laughs in the rehearsal room transferring to a performance - when the audience doesn’t laugh at something you think is hilarious it can throw you - then they will laugh uproariously at a line you thought was innocuous. It’s utter magic, performance needs an audience and when you and those 350 watching are relaxed and on the same page, well there’s no better feeling.
I did 10 shows in all, and picking a favourite isn’t hard - Guys and Dolls in 2017. What a week, everything seemed to click on stage, even the inevitable mishaps were bizarrely enjoyable, and we made Brian happy - never a bad thing! I enjoyed every show in different ways and feel fortunate to have played a variety of different parts including being a background proverbial spear carrier which is great fun - running the fine line between being interesting to look at on the stage but not upstaging those down the front (and not always succeeding).
From the start the show parties were a highlight. Wednesday on the stage, Friday night in the pub (danger zone this one with two shows on the Saturday, twice I nearly came a cropper here…) and the big Saturday blow out, with party pieces and very occasionally getting just a bit out of hand. I’ve spoken to more than one opera stalwart who says the hour or so of singing at the Saturday party is a highlight of the year for them, and I’ve seen people close to tears. I get that, it’s a special coming together of old friends and the benevolent ghosts of those who’ve gone before us, a whirlpool of emotion.
That’s enough reminiscing and self indulgence, I’ll end with another plug…
“Shrek The Musical is a funny, happy, upbeat production that will burst onto the stage at the end of March”
I hope this has whetted your appetite for this years show. I guarantee an enjoyable night and if you’ve not been before your likely to be impressed - although it’s taking place in a small town hall, it’s a tens of thousands of pounds production, as professional as an amateur show can get in Peeblesshire. So the last word goes to President Pam, come and see Shrek for a fun, upbeat night out and watch ‘The Opera’ write another new chapter in its long and storied history.
