Gerard Gould Evening

Gerard Gould: an evening celebrating the 'fantastic and unstinting support Gerard Gould has given the actors, and to the Oxford Playhouse' was held on Sunday 30th October 2005. Among the audience were several OTs, and others that had come into close association with the School. Geoff Goodall (with wife Marion) gave the key speech. Geoff of course is now retired and lives off Cumnor Hill in Oxford. Another retired teacher (and looking years younger) was Robert Wilson who taught English in the late '60s and early '70s. His last post was as Head of 6th at Merchant Taylor's. Jackie Kiers also belies her age. Still living in Oxford, she often directs and produces and currently is rehearsing a play on Sherlock Holmes that will be performed at the Old Fire Station in Oxford during December. She asked after many students - if you want to meet up with her get along to the production. Peter More was another distinguished teacher who was present. Nigel Cooke was one of the alumni that took to the stage that night. He is currently performing in Stratford with the RSC, will tour in the next few weeks and will be performing in London during the New Year. Ben Foster is, as he informed us in his hilarious skit, living in Chiswick, is married to a Swiss/Spanish lady and most of his time now appears in commercials. He did tell us how many children he has but this was lost in the laughter. As he said, 'Gerard would never approve of all the commercials I do - sorry Gerard but needs must.' Cate Fowler has been acting for 34 years and now lives in South London. Another actress living south of the Thames is Maggie Evans, more precisely in South Norwood. Her parents still live in Tiddington and Maggie has been doing much work recently with audio books for the blind, and is starting to work with a comedy duo. Hal Fowler was there with wife Kim Wilde and impressed the audience with his singing. Meg Davies (then Margaret Griffin) first met Gerard in 1964 and appeared in War and Peace, Hamlet and Post Mortem. She went on to The Central School of Speech and Drama and this was followed by a varied career in the profession. She now lives in Norfolk with her husband Brad and two dogs. And finally Martyn Read. He first met Gerard in 1957 when he was 12 and Gerard had come to the School to teach English. The highlight of Martyn's school acting career was, he says, playing Maria in Twelfth Night when he had to sit on the knee of the Head Boy playing Toby Belch. Now he is often seen (and heard) as Captain Birds Eye. (Indeed a radio commercial was heard that very same day.) Also among the guests were Sir Roger and Lady Bannister, and Tish Francis, Director of the Playhouse who came on stage to tell the audience how unstinting has been Gerard's support for her work. Nigel Cooke spoke about Gerard's early life. He'd fled from Nazi Germany as a teenager leaving his parents and family behind. Having arrived, he'd been directed to Oxted where he was taken-in by Edward and Marjorie Pease who were founder members of the Fabian Society and who could number George Bernard Shaw and the Webbs among their house guests. He was sixteen when War broke out and immediately he was labelled as an enemy alien and made to appear before the Bench in Reigate - who would determine whether he should be interned, allowed to remain free but under certain restrictions, or whether he could live freely with no restrictions. The dyed-in -the-wool Tory Chairman noting that he was living with the Pease's decided that restriction were necessary and whilst he was spared internment was told he couldn't use his bike and had to report to the local constabulary daily. Mrs Pease on hearing this soon had the decision reversed and Gerard was allowed to live with no restrictions. Nigel also spoke of spending time with the Gerard and Eileen Gould in their house in France - in particular Gerard's love of patisserie and his wonderment at anyone who could do DIY. Geoff Goodall recounted three anecdotes. In the first, he told the audience that in December 1963, some months before he was to join the School, he'd received a letter from Gerard welcoming his imminent arrival. Whilst this was very much in the generous character of Gerard, Geoff Goodall subsequently learnt that Gerard wanted to make sure that drama was seen as an essential element of the curriculum, not least because he'd fallen out with the incumbent headmaster John Nelson who had placed restrictions on how much drama could be done after he had fallen out with Gerard's leading man Terry Connor. Drama of course did flourish and Geoff's second anecdote concerned the only time that he and Gerard had come close to their own falling out. Toby Bourgiene was the leading man in Electra but also one of the stars of the 1st XV. The first night of Electra coincided with a game against Bicester Grammar School - always an important game. Gerard didn't want Toby to play. Geoff did. It was left to Toby to make his own decision and he decide to play...only to be concussed during the match. For a number of hours he was in no fit condition to go on stage - not least as he'd forgotten his words. But miraculously minutes before the curtain went up the words came back. The final anecdote concerned a severe case of bullying in the School. A whole form were ganging up on one boy. Around the same time, Gerard and a number of others including Robert Wilson, had written a book about how to use a pupil's own experiences in life to help them understand their lives and the world of English Literature - an example of the direct method of teaching. It was decided that for two weeks, that class would be subject to the direct method focussed on the issue of bullying and using the play Unman Wittering and Zigo as their study piece However, they had no idea that this was being done because of their own bullying; they merely thought it was part of their English class. After two weeks the bullying had stopped. Of course, they were never told even subsequently of the method that was used to gain this result. So what was everyone saying of Gerard? Perhaps the best way to sum this up is to use the notes that were written in the programme. 'Throughout his time at Lord Williams's School, with the Young Oxford Playhouse Association and, in recent years, with the Oxford Theatre Guild, Gerard has been the most marvellous of teachers - patient, wise, caring, always drawing the best of out everyone. He has touched the lives of so many people, and they have responded to his teaching by striving to be the best they can. Under Gerard's tutelage, many of his former pupils have become professional actors, directors, designers or involved in many aspects of the stage, progressing from drama school auditions to major stage, film and television productions. Gerard continues to help: he has just helped two of tonight's guests reach drama school, and the Playhouse receives his constant care and attention. Gerard has always been there to support and encourage all of his protegees: every year he travels hundreds of miles to watch them perform, whether on the main stage in Stratford or the national or in the tiniest pub theatre in London. And he still finds time to devote his affection to friends and family.Thank you Gerard for the tremendous gifts you have given us all.'

Programme

Chorus, Henry V, William Shakespeare - Martyn Read

Jacque, As You Like It, William Shakespeare - Nick Rawlinson

Prospero, The Tempest, William Shakespeare - Peter Malin

Extract from Private Lives, Noel Coward - Debbie Morris (Amanda) and Daniel Bennet (Elyot)

Richard II, Richard II, William Shakespeare - Jonathan Gunning

Thersites, Troilus and Cressida, William Shakespeare - Darren Ormandy

Professor Higgins, Pygmalion, George Bernard Shaw

Richard III, Richard III, William Shakespeare - Nick Rawlinson

An Address - Geoff Goodall

'The Audition' Ben Forster - Ben Forster

'Les Sylphides' Louis Macniece - Cate Folwer

Me Mother Doesn't Know I'm on the Stage - Martyn Read

One Day, Rupert Brooke - Hal Fowler

Extract from Copenhagen, Michael Frayn - Meg Davies (Margrethe Bohr), Martyn Read (Niels Bohr), Darren Ormandy (Werner Heisenberg)

An Address - Nigel Cooke

Some notes on the Plays

Gerard'd first production was The Merry Wives of Windsor performed in 1957. At that time the performances were held outside with the Chilterns providing the backdrop. Mr Lilley rigged up the lighting and the costumes came from the Old Vic. A review said it was a production 'full of vitality, which rolled irrestiably on...Mr Gould must be congratulated on the performances which he obtained from the cast.' Falstaff was played by N Woolfrey who gave an outstabding performance. The women Logan and Bevan were admirable foils and Laycock was another comic success as Sir Hugh Evans. 1958 saw two plays mounted: Antigone by Jean Anouilh and The Scamp Scapin, a farce by Moliere. Antigone was played in a modern setting with Mark Hassall as the Chorus (who gave a memorable performance), Frank Fleming as Antigone (was tense but succesful), and Creon was played by Jonathan Jessup - and was always a regal figure. That Scamp Scarpin was a contrast and was mounted with imgination and inventiveness. The pace was good and the playing zestful with Gerard using clever devices to while away the length of some of the explanatory text. Joanthan Polden was Scapin, Colin Laycote was accomplished as a comic actor and Kim Miller was confident taking the female role of the gypsy girl. In 1959, the world premiere of Clemence Dane's The Lion and the Unicorn was held at Wheatley Secondary Modern School. And over the summer of that year, Twelfth Night was first performed at the Rectory, Rotherfield Grey, the Little Theatre, Abingdon and then at the School before being taken on tour of Germany. In 1960, The Taming of the Shrew was performed in Thame Town Hall. Once again the production was well-received (remarkable unity and attention to detail) for the quality of the performances and the fact that refreshingly the farcial possibilities were exploited with such gusto. Katherina, the Shrew was played by Terrence Connor tamed by David Martin as Petruchio. Peter Benham was Lucentio and Martyn Read Tranto. John Alyward played both Sly and Peter. Cyrano de Bergerac was mounted in 1961, this time in conjunction with Holton Park Girl's School. Tom Hassall was praised for his lead performance and Mary Stokes was said to have brought a golden touch. John Alyward bubbled with wit and honest joie de vivre that made his Ragueneau irresistible. Other performances were said to be highly competent but pedestrian. The hand of the Producer, it was written, was obviously firmly in control. The next year, 1962, Gerard selected a range of Shakespeare's scenes performed under the title, 'A Range of Passions' that contrasted love and evil. Martyn Read, Terrence Connor, John Aylward, Mary Stokes and John Fulkes all received praise. In 1963 because of the falling out of Mr Nelson with Terrence Connor, there was no production. With Mr Nelson leaving, drama returned to normal and War and Peace performed in 1964 was excellent as the actors were trained to a certain level of technique and a certain pattern and then let to take over. As a play about the universal problems of young people it was unsurpassed. Above all it was cheerful, put down to the pace sustained by the whole cast and the clarity of the production. Margaret Griffin found the wit in Countess Rostova and Mr Vine had good humour as the narrator. The principal parts were played by Hugh Webbon, John Fulkes, Lynda Davies, Kenneth Smith, Michael Daplyn, Barbara Slamon, Dilys Hicks, and Christopher Legge.Hamlet was chosen for 1965 and then was toured in Germany in the summer of '66. A fast-moving, lucid, and very exciting producing clear, satisfying answers to the traditional academic conundrums with Mr Gould's stage-craft in the major scenes beyond all praise and criticism. Some of the parts had different actors in the touring company. John Fulkes played Hamlet in both and gave an outstanding interpretation. Margaret Evans was intelligent and very affecting as Ophelia but Linda Fahy had the greater fire. Mary Stokes and Margaret Griffin played Gertrude. 1966/7 was a busy academic year: Post Mortem was played; English drama lessons played a not inconsiderable part in a documentary film entitled 'Up the Theatre' about the work of Frank Hauser at the Oxford Playhouse and Gerard spent the whole of the Spring term on sabbatical leave while carrying out an investigation into the relationship between the professional theatre and school up and down the country. Post Mortem of course was the world premiere of Coward's play. But a flawed play and a difficult one to stage. It was a brave and detirmined attempt. John Fulkes played John Cavan, and Lady Cavan by Margaret Griffin. Andrew Gibson played Perry Lomas, Toby Bourgein took the part of Tilley and Lynda Davies was Monica Chellerton. Two plays were twinned in 1967: Sophocles' Electra and The Ridiculous Young Ladies by Moliere.In Electra, the Tutor was played by Alan Gibbon, Orestes by Toby Bourgein, Electra by Jennifer Earl and Clytaemnestra by Pippa James. The sloping set was sparse; the music was composed by Christopher Wintle for flutes, percussion and piano and played by a sextet of boys. The ridiculous young ladies were Linda Howard, Janet Wood and Linda Prosser - they gave a most amusing performance, it was written. Julius Caesar was chosen for 1968. It toured Germany in the summer and then played at the School during the Autumn. Tim Daplyn was Caesar, John Charlewood Brutus, David Cann Cassius, Toby Bourgein Antonius, with Portia played by Jane Freebury and then Nicola Clapton. In the Tamensian review it was said that one of the most noteworthy features was Mr Gould's handling of the crowd. In all crowd scenes both grouping and dynamics were skillfully controlled. 1969 saw another double-bill: The Browning Version and Unman Wittering and Zigo. The Browing version is a difficult play for a school to bring off successfully and as smooth as Gerard Gould's production was, it left many problems only partially solved. For example, the transference of the play's setting from 1948 to 1969 made quite a lot of the dialogue sound odd and dated. Of the actors though, David Cann stood head and shoulders above the rest as Andrew Crocker Harris. Margaret Evans was at her best when Cann was on the stage. David Shaw's performance as Frank Hunter was said to have been too subdued. Nicola Clapton was Mrs Gilbert and her husband Peter was played by Tim Daplyn. If The Browing Version didn't quite work, with Unman Wittering and Zigo the general consensus was that Gerard as Producer and John Clibborn the set designer and builder had surpassed themselves. Will Cooke and Peter Garner were outstanding, David Cann was said to have 'lived' his part. Clive Dickenson, John Charlewood and Tom Eason played their various teachers perfectly. And Mark Crampton-Smith was the perfect Wittering. In 1970, Colin Brookes mounted Ross. 1971 was to be Gerard's penultimate major production at the School and by all accounts he reached a pinnacle of excellence with Macbeth. This had first toured triumphantly in Bavaria over the summer. Macbeth was played by Martin Hutchings and Lady Macbeth by Margaret Evans. Will Cooke took the part of Malcolm, Peter Garner was Banquo and Clive Dickenson Macduff and Nicola Clapton Lady Macduff. The production was designed by Charles Boyle and Martin Hutchings, music composed by Robin Nelson, and the dances by Jackie Kiers. In 1972 Murder in the Cathedral was produced by Richard Adams and in 1973 Gerard returned with Erik XIV. Gerard's final production was Romeo and Juliet in 1974 with the two lovers played superbly by Nigel Cooke and Madline Hutchings - with authentic spark. Ian Beverely was Mercuttio, Stephen Watkiss an elegant Benvolio and Antony Saunders' Tybalt had tension. Others in the cast included Louis Busuttil, Susan Orchard, and Kate Buswell.

In 1978, Richard Adams wrote a farewell in the School magazine after Gerard had retired from teaching. He talked of being offered a post 'to be given the opportunity to work alongside and under the guidance of one of the most remarkable teachers this country has produced. And that's not just flattery, it's fact - substantiated in a host of ways: by his being seconded, while still teaching to advise on English and drama teaching throughout Oxfordshire; by his being asked to serve on government committees, to lecture on a score of specialist subjects throughout the UK and abroad.'