Production Notes for Between Two Shores

Director Alex Holmes

Between Two Shores, by Brian Keaney, was originally written as a  community play for Richmond, West London.  The first time Oliver and I came across it we realised its considerable potential: the dynamics of the scene transitions and the potential for adventurous experimentation with the Chorus helped convince us to go ahead with directing it.  Yet not only that: the theme and context of the play itself are immensely topical and tragically relevant.  The Arab-Israeli Conflict is one that has dominated the world scene since 1949 in a way that only the Cold War has surpassed.  It has had ramifications across the globe: not least as far away as the North of England.

Britain is now by its nature and to its credit a multi-cultural society.  Yet the extent to which it has become one, seeing as society implies racial integration, is a topic of much debate.  Communities in cities such as Bradford, where Between Two Shores  is set, are in many ways divided.  Devastating inter-racial riots tore many of such cities apart.  There are certainly isolationists, such as the adults of the two families represented in the play, who do not wish to see further cultural integration.  Yet hope arises from the play in the form of youthful innocence, determined to break down barriers of culture and religion in order to bring about a more peaceful and prosperous future.

Back in November, when Mr Scully asked Oliver and I if we would like to direct Between Two Shores after the February Half-Term, we jumped at the chance.  We saw it as a great opportunity to try something that we had been keen to do as a team for a long time.  After over two months of strenuous rehearsal, the play opens.  Oliver and I, while you are reading, are probably striding round somewhere beset with worry yet with a calm smile on our faces so as not to agitate the wonderful cast.

I have thoroughly enjoyed directing Between Two Shores: it has been a valuable experience that I will never forget.  Mr Scully indeed took a gamble in allowing students such a free hand in directing the school production, and I hope it has paid off.  I should like to take this opportunity to thank a few of those who have helped to put on this play: Oliver Munnion, a great mate, creative influence and one without whom this play wouldnt have been the same; Mr Scully, who has been a constant support and whose experience helped us get out of a temporary yet significant creative dead-end; the Cast, which I have thoroughly enjoyed working with, Miss Blanchard, who was enormously helpful as Stage-Manager; the Crew and the rest of the Production team.

Plot Synopsis

Daniel Day is a leader of a group of dead people who have lived as spirits for 250 years. They congregate around Fairlop Oak every year to celebrate Fairlop Fair. Mortals who come across this fair are invited to share their problems with Daniel and his followers. Daniel uses magical powers to show the mortals the consequences of their actions and the solutions to their problems, by getting his followers (the chorus) to act out the individual scenes.

In Between Two Shores, Susan, a student teacher, and Tom her school colleague, accidentally come across Fairlop Oak and inadvertently reveal that they have a problem. Susan has a student in her class called Meera who is a sixteen year old Muslim girl. She is in the middle of a relationship with David, who is an eighteen year old Jewish boy. At the moment their respective families are not aware of the relationship.

Daniel sees that, despite mankinds advances over the last 200 years, the basic human problems do not change. Onlookers from the past, powerless to influence the course of events or their outcome, or to solve the problems of the present, can only offer hope for the future and show that human beings can be strong enough, within themselves to overcome the problems and anxieties of the modern world.

Between Two Shores Co-director Oliver Munnion writes

Rehearsals, big cast, complex script, costumes, juvenile delinquents, rioting, blocking and political correctness no problem right? Wrong. If Alex and I have learnt anything from the play, its how much work goes into a school production, and how lucky we are to have such a great team working with us. What Alex and I have been doing barely scratches the surface of what Mr. Scully does every year, and we realised very quickly that we had a huge task ahead of us considering we had never directed a play before! Despite this, we were, and, as you read this, still are determined to put on a great play and continue the high standard of theatrical performance for which St. Julians has earned a reputation. 

We were amazed at how successful the casting was, as we managed to choose a committed and talented cast who all shared the same desire as us to put on a play to remember. Alex and I tried to make sure that rehearsals were fun and productive and, judging from feedback from the cast, the rehearsals have worked very well. Working with such a big cast has been a challenge but thankfully the cast members have only been delinquents when in character, and not out of it! One thing that Alex and I decided we would do from the start was a lot of experimenting followed by feedback from the cast, to make it clear that we werent going to assume the role of dictators and that we would always be ready to listen to suggestions for improvements from the cast.

Alex and I feel it important to show that St. Julians pupils are aware of global issues, and that, especially through drama, we can understand situations such as the Arab-Israeli conflict. We do not wish to offend a single audience member in any way; we are a group of extremely privileged students who want to highlight a large rift in our global society and, as accurately as possible, show the audience and indeed the global community its effects on society.

Alex and I both agree that the experience we take away from the play will be invaluable. It has been a real test of dedication, commitment and leadership on our part, and we are grateful to come out of the experience still as friends and still seeing eye to eye! Despite the hard work, we have enjoyed the whole experience and, as we approach the performances, we cant wait to show you the end result. We hope the entire audience has a great time watching the two plays and gets as much out of them as we have.