A Short History of
Serendipity Productions.
In the spring of 1996, Jonathan Hunter was invited to give an interview
on BBC Radio Norfolk about his time in weekly Rep’ at The Little Theatre
in Great Yarmouth. The local producer, Tony Mallion, remembered being taken
to there when he was a boy and was keen to find out what had happened to
members of the Company.
Initially an 8-minute slot, the interview overran. It was soon realised that
there was enough material to make a full-length feature. Jonathan was asked
to try and contact some of the company, whilst Tony set about interviewing
local people who had made up the audiences.
Later in the year, Ruth Kettlewell and Donald Adams returned with Jonathan
to record their memories. They were also taken back to the theatre (now part
of a cinema complex and were shown the original dressing rooms and the stage. In December the completed programme 'A Play By The Sea' was broadcast on Christmas day and repeated at Easter the following year
After their final recording session Ruth Donald and Jonathan were dining
at The Swan Hotel in Lavenham, and met up with Peter Durrent (the hotel’s
then resident pianist. By the end of the evening SERENDIPITY PRODUCTIONS had been formed. A special programme of music and poetry was devised and
in the Autumn they performed ‘This England’ at Hintlesham Hall, followed
by ‘In All Directions’ at the Quay Theatre in Sudbury.
A return to Hintlesham was planned for the following year. However, the untimely
death of Donald Adams caused this to be cancelled. For a while the Company
was dormant. Then Ruth persuaded Jonathan to accept the position of SERENDIPITY’s
Artistic Director and in October 2000 a critically acclaimed production of
Frank McGuiness’ ‘Someone Who’ll Watch Over Me’ began its tour of East Anglia.
Since then the Company has toured John Mortimer's classic 'The Dock Brief . together with 'In Room Five Hundred and Four' by Jimmie Chinn - Ayckbourn's 'Confusions' and The Sneeze' , Michael Frayn's hilarious translation of Chekhov's vaudeville sketches.
April saw a return visit to Hylands House in Chelmsford for a performance of In Another Direction. Once again, four members from E.N.O joined the company and the evening was a great success.
During May 2006 a tour of three one-act plays by Coward took place. Please see Past Critique . And in November, Jonathan's adaptation of the Radio Play 'Billy Mason From Gloucester' was previewed at The Cramphorn Theatre in Chelmsford. This production will be toured in the Autumn of this year.
As well as these major productions in studios and theatres, we enjoy taking our programmes of poetry, words and music to some of the outlying villages in East Anglia. Our World War I and II productions devised by Jonathan, get regular airings. We like to join forces with the local branches of The Royal British Legion for these special evenings of remembrance. Please see Coming productions for details.
Thank you for reading this and for your continued support. We look forward to meeting you at some of our future productions. If you would like us to visit your area please contact us and we'll be pleased to consider the possibility.
February, 2007
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