Waiting in the Wings: A Mad World, My Masters!

The Department of Theatre, Film and Television is the only representative of the performing arts on Heslington East. The state of the art building is still a mystery to most students and remains unseen by many of the core audience for the performance societies on campus.

Out of the Blue is the theatre company for the Department of Theatre, Film and Television. Founded in 2002 by Mike Cordner and Mary Luckhurst, it aims to give professional-level experience to the department’s students. This week will see the company’s first performance in the new building, A Mad World, My Masters!, by Thomas Middleton.

This version has been adapted and directed by Mike Cordner with the assistance of Tom Cantrell and Mark Smith. I met with Mike on the scenic stage to discuss the production. Preparations of set and lighting were well underway. Mike explained how the set was fully movable and very versatile, with “some surprises” - it even “creaks like a ship”.

Out of the Blue uses the staff and students of the department to form the company. Only two people external to the department were used: the professional designer, Alex Lowde, who has extensive experience across many well-known UK theatres and won two awards for theatre design last year, and the composer, Odinn Hilmarsson, a current philosophy student at York.

The scale and ambition of this production was only possible due a generous donation from the Sylvia and Colin Shepard Charitable Trust, which provided a large amount of the budget for the production. Thanks to this, the staff and students involved have been able to full explore the resources of the building. Mike was delighted to be able to offer this opportunity to the students and said it was fantastic to see “students taking control of the theatre”.

Mike also spoke about the difficulty of choosing the first script for the company in the new building. A Mad World, My Masters! had been on “the to-put-on list for a while”, he explained. Middleton is rarely performed and as a new edition is currently out it seemed an excellent opportunity to give the script a chance to shine. Mike remained very cagey on details of the script. There are lots of twists and turns; the audience will be in for a bizarre ride as the mad world begins to make sense, and in the end they should all “slowly begin to understand how and why they are mad”.

The script provided great challenges for Mike and the actors. The lighting design also has a tricky time in the last scene, but I’m not allowed to tell you why! Mike reduced the script and also changed some lines so the audience would have an easier time with the language. The performance is also in modern dress. However, “All lines were taken from other Middleton plays,” so if you know your Middleton, you can try and spot the twenty-five lines that are snuck in from elsewhere. As well as a famous drag performance, the play has two tricky scenes Mike had “always wanted to have a go at”. One is spread across three rooms (a possible point where the set will reveal a surprise?), and a hastily improvised play-within-a-play. Mike sounded very happy with how these have come out, and praised all his actors who “have been a joy to work with”.

Out of the Blue will no doubt do more plays, using all of the performance spaces within the department, and A Mad World, My Masters! hopes to set the bar for the future.

A Mad World, My Masters! is showing on the 23rd, 24th and 25th of June at 7.45pm in TFTV on Hes East. Advance booking is via the York Theatre Royal Box Office over the counter, or by phone - 01904 623568 - or online at www.yorktheatreroyal.co.uk, or on the door. Tickets are £6, Students £4, Group Bookings: 10 for the price of 9.

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