| Like many great ideas, Ashcan evolves over a pint in a
pub. Alan Pope, Brian Ross and Nigel
Banks had been acting together in a production of Beckett’s
“Waiting For Godot” in June 2001 at the Gulbenkian Theatre
in Canterbury. Caroline Lamoon, an experienced Drama teacher, was the
lighting designer and operator for the show. They had all so much enjoyed
the experience of working on a challenging, small-cast text, which was
both thought-provoking and entertaining, that they decided to form a new
company to do that kind of theatre. They had all had negative experiences
being involved with larger-scale companies, so they hoped that as “small
is often beautiful”, the new company would provide the control and
artistic satisfaction they all craved.
By January 2002 a first play had been chosen and some new members recruited:
Mike Ayris and Bob Lamoon. Mike was an experienced ex-professional actor
and Bob, as Head of Design Technology at Simon Langton Girls’ Grammar
School, Canterbury had various practical skills the company could employ
– as a first-rate photographer for a start!
A name for the company was now needed. As some of the members lived
in Canterbury and Brian Ross lived in Ashford, the two place names were
“shoe-horned” together to make “Ashcan”. Bob designed
a suitably eye-catching company logo and fears that the name’s “trashy”
connotations might be off-putting to a potential audience were thought
to be off-set by the “quirkiness” factor. Ashcan would be
different, and the quality of the “product” would be anything
but “rubbish”!
Rehearsals for the inaugural production began in the spring of 2002.
The play chosen was “Someone Who’ll Watch Over Me” by
the Irish playwright Frank McGuinness. Based on the true-life experiences
of Brian Keenan and John McCarthy, the play focuses on the plight of three
Westerners (an American, an Englishman and an Irishman) taken hostage
by terrorists during the civil war in Lebanon in the 1980s. It had all
the ingredients Ashcan was looking for in a play: meaty, dramatic content;
interesting, rounded characters; humour and pathos.
The next challenge was to find a suitable venue. It had to be intimate
and affordable. Caroline and Bob, who both live in Faversham, suggested
The Arden Theatre. The “joint” was duly “cased”
and deemed “fit for purpose”. Performance dates were fixed
for the end of May. Ashcan was on its way!
Audiences were sparse for the three performances, but the reaction was
universally positive. Many people assumed they were attending a professional
production. The enthusiastic reception led to an invitation to reprise
the play at that year’s Canterbury Festival in October. The venue
was St Mary’s Hall (owned by King’s School). Both cast and
director, Alan Pope, felt that the second run was even better, having
benefited from some judicious re-direction.
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Between 2002 and 2004, Ashcan mounted three further productions, before the
company went into suspended animation. Nigel Banks went back to Cumbria
in August 2004 for personal/family reasons, while the others pursued individual
projects – some theatrical, some not. Nigel’s return to Kent
in September 2006 provoked a phoenix-like revival of Ashcan and saw a
return to The Arden Theatre, Faversham. Harold Pinter’s “Old
Times” was the piece chosen to mark Ashcan’s revival. Brian,
Caroline and guest actress S. J. Vant formed a strong cast, with Nigel
making his directorial debut for the company. The play was performed in
April 2007.
In 2008 Alan Pope was persuaded out of retirement to direct Ashcan’s
production of the West End hit “Art” by French writer Yasmina
Reza, which saw the reunion of Brian, Mike and Nigel on stage together
for the first time since “Someone Who’ll Watch Over Me”.
Needless to say, a good time was had by all!
In February 2009 Ashcan returned to the Arden with “On An Average
Day” by John Kolvenbach. This contemporary American drama featured
Brian Ross and a newcomer to the ranks, Mike Rivarno. The show was directed
by Nigel Banks. Despite critical acclaim (see Review),
audience numbers were depressingly low. Staging a little-known play by
an unknown writer in this country, during what turned out to be the worst
week of winter weather this year, probably didn’t help.
Feeling that the Arden might no longer be best suited to its needs,
Ashcan looked for an alternative venue back in Canterbury. Things did
not look promising, as St Mary’s Hall was no longer available and
The Gulbenkian was too big and too expensive. The answer came in the unlikely
shape of The Farmhouse, a new bar, restaurant and live entertainment venue
in Dover St., Canterbury. The owners, who also organise the prestigious
annual “Lounge On The Farm Festival” were keen to extend the
range of their live entertainment. Thus, the idea of a joint venture into
the world of “Cafe Theatre” was born. For an all-in price
of £15 patrons would be able to enjoy a 2-course meal followed by
a 1-act play. The piece chosen was a little known Arthur Miller play “Elegy
for a Lady”. The two roles were taken by Brian Ross (who also designed
the ingenious Tardis-like set to fit into the small space available in
the restaurant) and, making a welcome return to the Ashcan ranks, Sarah
Gooch. Nigel Banks again directed. The audience numbers were encouraging
and the overall customer response extremely positive for this experimental
format. At the time of writing no firm plans have been made, but the expectations
are that Ashcan and The Farmhouse will repeat the Cafe Theatre experience
in the New Year.
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