Director • Land of Lower Gardenia, The Girls & Wulf Theatre (Alice Flynn) for Bournemouth Arts by the Sea Festival • Bournemouth, UK • September 2012
Land of Lower Gardenia was a special commission for Arts Bournemouth as part of Bournemouth Arts by the Sea Festival. It was created and produced by British pop art duo The Girls – Zerelda Sinclair & Andrea Blood – and Alice Flynn (as Wulf Theatre).
This site-specific live art performance drew upon and subverted Bournemouth’s history as a seaside holiday destination. Alice was responsible for the theatrical direction of the performance aspect of this piece, including the logistical and technical aspects from conception to delivery. As director of performance, Alice oversaw a cast of 35 local participants.
The cross-disciplinary performance took place on the festival’s opening weekend in Bournemouth’s Lower Pleasure Gardens, England, on Saturday 29th September 2012. A team of over fifty local people, mostly volunteers, were involved in its production.
Credits:
Artistic Direction by The Girls and Wulf Theatre
Performance Direction by Alice Flynn
Visual Direction by The Girls
Chorus Direction by Ali Sharpe
Sound Design by Thomas ‘Nebulous’ Flynn
Film Production by Many Chefs Broth
PLAYERS
Ivy Flosswick………………………Miss Catherine Gilchrist
Eugenie Lovelast…………………Miss Sammy Lee
Gillian Grintassential…………..Ms Kate O’Malley
Veronica Bristlethwaite………..Ms Chanti Porter
Yvonne Pond-Etchels…………..Ms Gillian Roberts
Bernie Starks………………………Mr Caine Stanton
Brenda Winsome-Punch………Miss Portia Barrow
Gaynor Fair………………………..Mrs P
Barry Weather ……………………The Chairman
Frances Dance…………………….Miss Felicity Crabb
Sedimenta Pebble………………..Miss Hazel Evans
Mr Chicken…………………………Mr Daniel Kalkowski
Gladys Crumb-Emmanuel……Mrs Susan Northcott
Blanche Burdenlock…………… Mrs Nicola Rider
Mrs A Sharpe……………………..Mrs Ali Sharpe
Norbert Albright…………………Mr Craig Norman
Dorothy Albright…………………Mrs Leah Watts
Lucille Albright……………………Miss Sophie Griffiths
Ned Albright……………………….Miss Stacy Stroud
CHORUS
Mr Rien Doorn
Miss Rosemary Edwards
Mrs Helen Gialias
Dame Jo Gullespie
Mrs Tracy Herman
Ms Noel Holmes
Ms Linda Joyce
Mrs Cathy Jupp
Miss Sarah King
Mrs Melinda McCheyne
Mrs Sarah McDonald
Mr Bob Sharpe
Mr Isaac Sigley
Ms Solange Sira
Miss Maxine Sira-Byrne
Miss Brunhilda von Austrasia
COSTUMES / PROPS DEPARTMENT
Installations / tableaux conceived by The Girls and Wulf Theatre
Large head (rockery tableau) modelled by Holly Tomkins / HT Modelmakers
Props Consultant: Denise Poote
Props Man: Marcus Edgar
Costumes / Props / Set Painting:
The Girls
Denise Poote
Sarah Bounds
Rose Courage
Marcus Edgar
Rosemary Edwards
Melinda McCheyne
Susan Northcott
Bren Rudland
Leah Watts
Installation Team (Lower Gardens):
Chris Anderton
Lyle Anderton
Marcus Edgar
Andy McCheyne
Make-up Design: Denise Poote / The Girls
Make-up / Wardrobe Team:
Denise Poote
The Girls
Ilse Black
Anne Hunter
Alison Summers-Bell
Still Photography: Mel Bray
Identity: Bear & Bird Design
Sound Technician: Jordan Cooper
Special thanks to:
The Bournemouth Arts by the Sea Festival team, especially Carol Maund, Kerry Curtis, Stuart Barrett, Sue Buck. Councillor Ian Lancashire, Marcus Edgar, the Everitt family, the Flynn family, the Ross family, Matthew Kreyzig, Ali & Bob Sharpe, the Poote / Anderton family, Mel Bray, Bren Rudland, Sarah Bounds, Melinda McCheyne, Alison Summers-Bell, Ksusha Ksenia Nova, Pat Phethean / St Peter’s School, Lorna Rees, Lisa Northover, Holly Tomkins / HT Modelmakers, Parks Team Bournemouth, Bournemouth Street Lighting Team, Pavilion Bournemouth, Pavilion Dance, YMCA Southbourne, YMCA Winton, Sutton Vane Associates, Bournemouth Echo.
A huge thank you to everyone involved who generously contributed their time to this project.
Images: Mel Bray/The Girls/Wulf Theatre
Image: Many Chefs Broth
The following poem is an imagining, my response to what might or might not have happened on the night. If you were there you might, or might not, have seen this. Such is the way of things in the Land of Lower Gardenia.
Ice-cream Melts
Pebble, Pond-Etchels,
Flosswick and Starks,
Lovelast & Alrbight all stuck in the past.
Grintassential, Crumb-Emmanuel
Bristlethwaite too
smiling, at your service
we’re having fun, aren’t you?
Pack your bags and
say hello
as promettes bustle by
“Enchanté” is thrown away
a toothy, desperate decoy
“Busy, Busy!”
Gladys Crumb-E and Brenda
Winsome-Punch
thrust a map into your hand
and whisper
“Time to run!”
Mrs. A. Sharpe feels rather flat
as the choir rehearse their words
her shining cast of summer dregs
all straining to be heard.
They drop props and do their best
for their fifteen minutes on loop
the same old show
forevermore
they jump and miss her hoop.
Mrs. A, she screeches
As the choir sings cheerfully on,
camp guests, in Techinicolor best.
This show, it must go on.
Sedimenta Pebble was a star of stage and screen
now a living statue
she is rapidly turning green
moss grows and the cracks now show
she stands as you pass through
counting the hours until her lunch
in this endless summer revue.
Gaynor Fair & Barry Weather:
tricks and jokes abound,
they laughed their hardest long ago
yet still they tramp the grounds.
“Is this your card?” Of course it is,
time for a biscuit now, oh how we danced,
let’s sing a song
“Altogether now!”
Happy is the family
that trips around all day
delighting in simple pleasures
that don’t change in any way.
Norbert’s flask won’t open
Wet picnic, the kids are in tears,
Pose for the photo now, says Mummy,
and grin from ear to ear!
Frances Dance has
no red shoes, but she carried a watermelon.
Summer romance, hesitant feet, ripped up blouse and fading dreams,
Frances
dances
on.
Blanche and Mr.Chicken
think thoughts they’ll never share
to run away into the night
a passionate love affair.
Disguised as he is, a mascot,
he’d take her under his wing.
But Blanche Burdenlock
is stuck
in this everywhere in between.
She’s packing and unpacking
pacing to and fro’
ready to go and
just arrived
in perpetual paradise.
Welcome campers, welcome all!
Under the moonlight sun:
days and nights suspended
a constant state of fun
half way up and half way down
half a smile and half a frown
L-O-L-G
Sing it louder!
Shout it out!
L-O-L-G
We
love you!
(And now repeat.
Yes, you)
