‘A lark ascending’

This is the latest news from Theatre by the Lake, Keswick, offering behind-the-scenes insights, production updates, and artist stories from one of the UK’s leading producing theatres.

‘LARK RISE to Candleford‘ at Theatre by the Lake is a sublime piece of theatre that spirals to great heights and at the same time, despite the relative simplicity of the storyline, touches on far deeper issues of life, love, loss, death, ambition, work, rights, grief, joy, nature, yearning – in short, the whole damn thing – without being overbearing or melancholy.

The overriding feeling of this theatrical triumph is one of total enjoyment (the lark ascending) and on leaving the theatre my instinctive reaction on being asked ‘what did you think of that then?’ was quite simply “sensational.”

It really is that good and you would be remiss to miss it. April 18 is the date of the last show at Keswick.

Everything but everything about this production is to be cherished. Nothing skips a beat and it is seamless in its presentation. We all strive for perfection (allegedly) and this comes close.

“Lark Rise”, written by Tamsin Kennard (also composer and musical director), based on the book by Flora Thompson and directed by Bryn Holding, takes its central character, the country loving and bookish Laura (brilliantly portrayed by Jessica Temple) out of her comfort zone, a for the most part happy home in a serene location, and into the big village nearby and the dizzy heights of a top job in the metropolis that is Candleford Green Post and Telegraph Office (and general stores).

There she encounters a wider world through which she eventually, via a circuitous route, comes to appreciate more readily the importance of home and love, despite darker undertones such as the loss of her brother Edmund (Alex Wilson) in the war.

The writer Flora Thompson’s books, in part a social history of the English countryside in the early 1900s, were published as a trilogy “Lark Rise to Candleford” in 1945. Her favourite brother Edwin was killed near Ypres in 1916, while she also lost her youngest son in World War Two. So, her life was not without tragedy.

In “Lark Rise” the play, the book’s concertinaed and rearranged plot for the theatrical version features a fair amount of music and song.

Personally scarred by memories of Cliff Richard perpetually breaking into song on his endless summer holidays (well, a week or two) I have never been a great fan of music interspersed with drama. The pure spoken word is more my pigeon. But on this occasion the song (original music) and dance did not jar. In fact, quite the contrary; to say it worked would be a massive understatement.

The cast collectively and individually were superb: Rosalind Ford (Dorcas Lane and onstage musical director), Christopher Glover (father and uncle John) Zrey Sholapurkar (Godfrey Parish), and Rosalind Steele (mother). Not forgetting, of course, the aforementioned Jessica Temple and Alex Wilson.

The set was rustic, simple and effective and the use of a gentle mist ethereal (mists of time). In one scene, where Laura’s father sat stationary on a simple chair to the rear of the set he resembled for all the world a spectre from the past.

The impassioned speech made by Laura towards the end of the show was astounding in its range and meaning.

And on leaving the theatre after this memorable evening (a trip to the theatre is a great social occasion as well as a show) six words from the script stood out: “Nothing dies that was ever loved.”

Make of that what you will.

Keith Richardson.

FOOTNOTE:

“Lark Rise to Candleford” is a Theatre by the Lake and Watermill Theatre co-production, in association with Hammerpuzzle Theatre Company.

The writer of this review, Keith Richardson, of Keswick, is a former newspaper and magazine editor and the author of four award-winning Lakeland-themed books ‘Ivver Sen’, ‘Jack’s Yak’, ‘Joss’ and ‘The Greta.’

WHEN AT THE THEATRE FOR ‘Lark Rise’ or visiting the café/bar, why not take time out to look round Julian Cooper’s big landscape exhibition of mountain paintings in the main building.

This article is part of our ongoing Theatre by the Lake news series, sharing stories from across our productions, artists, and creative work in Keswick.

Explore what’s coming up and plan your visit…