Do you remember Martyrs: A Community Play for Newbury?

Forty years ago, in June 1984, Newbury staged its first historical community play. In June 1984, a piece of wasteland in West Mills, just metres from St Nicolas’ Church, temporarily became a bustling Tudor fair by day and the scene of a dramatic re-telling of the trial and burning of the ‘Newbury Martyrs’, who died for the Protestant cause in July 1556. It was a huge undertaking, a leap of faith. It turned out a triumph, one still talked about in local amateur dramatic circles today. Do you remember Martyrs: A Community Play for Newbury? We look back with BRIAN HARRINGTON

Pictures courtesy of Geoff Fletcher, Howard Payton & Brian Harrington

In June 1984, 40 years ago, Newbury staged its first community play, Martyrs.

In keeping with the ideas of Ann Jellicoe, the famous playwright (The Knack etc) who pioneered community theatre in 1978, it featured professionals working alongside amateurs to create a play based on a piece of local history.

Ed Wilson, then known as an actor in programmes such as When The Boat Comes In, Angels and The Likely Lads and who was just three years later to become the artistic director of the National Youth Theatre in London, was selected as director and Christine West chosen as the playwright.

The subject was the burning at the stake for their religious beliefs of three ‘martyrs’ in Newbury in 1556.

@newburytoday Arts Editor Trish Lee remembers well the production’s striking and poignant finale, with St Nic’s stained glass window dramatically lit by the reflections of the pyre’s blazing flames, reducing the audience to absolute silence.

N2 reviewer BRIAN HARRINGTON was involved in the project from the start and played martyr Julins Palmer. He recalls the project:

“A period of research followed in which it was discovered that the accepted history of this dark event, notably Foxe’s Book Of Martyrs, which was first published in 1563, in our local history was inaccurate and that the name of one of the men who was put to death was wrongly attributed. Subsequent historians had simply copied each others’ errors across the years.

“We learned that the records office in Trowbridge had information, but that much of it had been mis-catalogued.

“In a remarkable twist of fate the actual trial transcripts were suddenly rediscovered, some handwritten in Latin, some in old English. These yielded not only the correct names of all concerned but the actual words of the accused and of their prosecutors at the trial, which took place at St Nicolas Church.

“An open-air theatre was constructed from scratch on a piece of derelict land just metres from the church but, most importantly, St Nicolas church agreed to Act 2 of the play being staged there, where the trial actually happened and allowed their church hall to be a venue for costume design and manufacture.”

Local businesses came on board, helping with everything from construction materials to meeting rooms above The Globe public house and a publicity drive started with the appointment of press officer Vicky Methuen.

Information went out to local schools, drama groups and the public, with workshops being organised to begin the search for a cast.

A musical director, Brian Archer, was appointed and began to create a powerful music score.

“Of course there were plenty of ‘doubters’ as cast member Dawn Sellick recalls, there were many people who didn’t believe a town the size of Newbury could successfully stage a community play. Most of the plays staged elsewhere had been in smaller communities.

“Help in translation of the Latin manuscripts came from St Barts and Christine incorporated sections, especially those in which several observers corroborated each other's descriptions.

“By this stage the sense of duty, and the obligation to be historically accurate, primarily because we understood the gravity of re-enacting the trial of three men in the very same place in which they were convicted of heresy, was keenly felt by all involved. Specifically they were Protestants at a time when Queen Mary the First, otherwise known as Bloody Mary, a devout Catholic, was attempting to restore Catholicism.”

Auditions, casting and rehearsals got under way.

Woolhampton smallholder and rare breeds farmer, photographer Howard Payton was brought onboard as assistant to Ed Wilson and as director and organiser of the Tudor Fair on the site of the theatre in which the first act of Martyrs would be performed.

This provided audiences with authentic sights, sounds and smells of Tudor Newbury via a number of stalls selling food, drink, pottery and more, including, as Howard recalls, ‘indulgences’ allowing buyers forgiveness for their sins. There were also animal pens with breeds that would have been around in the 16th century. A procession through town with (Howard’s) horse and cart and the entire cast provided yet more publicity for the event.

“Come the first night, Martyrs received a standing ovation, but as Bruce Peterson recalled there was also a ‘rocket’ from director Ed Wilson warning the cast not to become complacent. As I recall, we took that advice to heart. The rest of the run was sold out.”

Martyrs was a huge success and as well as forging lifelong friendships, led to more Newbury Community Plays featuring local events and collaboration between amateurs and theatre professionals: Newbury Community Theatre went on to stage Speargrass in 1986, The Flower And The Nettle in 1988 and Ghostwalks in 1990 .

There is a two-and-a half-minute clip on youtube of the opening, click here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lEDtBN_VyDo