Preview: WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR, RABBLE Theatre
Reading-based theatre company, RABBLE Theatre, are building a reputation for innovative and creative productions, as well as reaching out into the local community to work with young students and ensuring that finances are not a barrier to their engagement in the Arts. Their wonderful production of Beth Flintoff’s Henry I was staged within the Reading Abbey ruins, giving an insightful glimpse into the brutality of Medieval England, the squabbling nobles and Royal family who fought to grab the power, marriages of political convenience rather than love, and the emergence of a national identity away from the Norman/French roots. Beth Flintoff’s latest historical play for RABBLE goes back further in time to a more famous historical tale, the defeat of Harold Godwinson by William The Conqueror ( Henry I ‘s father) at the Battle of Hastings in October 1066. Everybody knows the famous moment of the battle when Harold is killed as depicted in the Bayeux Tapestry but surprisingly for such a historic moment, the backstory is far less known.
RABBLE are planning to tour this production when complete around the UK to regional theatres and perhaps some evocative settings like the Reading Abbey Ruins. They shared their workshopped rehearsals with an enthusiastic group of supporters over three sessions in the equally evocative St Laurence Church in Reading. The church’s historical claim to fame is that it was the site of a World War II bomb in 1943, and the shrapnel marks are still visible in the external walls although it originally dates from the Norman period. This was not a full sharing of the play but an insightful glimpse into the process of creating a new work with short talks by the creative team including writer Beth Flintoff, director Hal Chambers, movement director Gareth Taylor, composer Benjamin Hudson, and Rabble’s Artistic Director Toby Davies. For anyone with a passion for live theatre, these experiences are not to be missed as they provide a glimpse into the decision making and creative process that produces a show. How often when we see a show do we reflect on why they did it in a certain way? Choices have to be made, and these workshops provide an opportunity to try different things and get audience feedback so that a show can be developed to successful outcome creatively and financially. The video capture will no doubt be invaluable in the funding raising and tour booking process ahead.
Is it a story worth telling ? Is it easy to connect an ancient tale to a modern society where the news is dominated by invasion, fake news and ambitions political monsters ? Absolutely! Edward the Confessor is dying with a direct heir, so the political noble classes are positioning themselves for his crown. Harold Godwinson’s claim was that as a powerful nobleman whose sister was married to Edward the Confessor, he was appointed by Edward on his death bed. William’s claim was that he was a first cousin of Edward and had been promised the crown in 1051. A third claimant was Harald Hardrada, a Viking, supported by Harald’s exiled brother Tostig who was a distant relative of King Cnut (King, 1016-1035). All three were powerful military men and Harold G had to defeat Harald H at the battle of Stamford Bridge in the north of England on 25 September 1066, before marching south to fight William who landed on the south coast on 28 September 1066 for the decisive battle on 14 October. Did the right man win? Were they evil monsters or dynamic heroes fighting for what was right? You are left to decide!
The challenge with a cast of seven is how to stage the two crucial battles that define the period. At Stamford Bridge, 15,000 Anglo Saxons fought 11,000 Vikings and at Hastings, a depleted and exhausted Anglo-Saxon army took on an invading army of up to 8,000 armed with crossbows and mounted on horses. The solution shared and being developed is a combination of using parkour free running technique and pools of sharply defined light to focus on individual engagements. It promises a dynamic and dramatic depiction with the correct lighting and staging. Add to that the impact of the arrival of Hayley’s comet for three days over England in April 1066 offering another lighting challenge!
Of course, any story needs more to engage us, and this tale promises intrigue, love and political manoeuvrings revisiting those family rivalries and those ambitious driven men that shaped the country we met in Henry I. We meet Walter, Duke of Maine and his wife (played with deep mistrust by Toby Davies and Sain Goff), another potential heir, and learn their fate at the hands of William and his wife Matilda (played with chilling menace by Aiden Kelly and Audrey Brisson). In England, Harold and his long-term partner Edith are played by Simon Darwen and Amy Conachan whom he appears to be willing to set aside for a more valuable marriage to another woman. Harold’s rescue of a soldier from quicksand near St Michel in 1064 provides another theatrical moment as well as insight into his personality, while William laying siege to Norman towns reveals his driven ruthless motivation.
While this is still clearly work in progress, it is such an important moment in English history with some fascinating and driven characters determined to succeed at any cost that it promises an exciting show. We saw enough creativity to believe that this team can bring this to the stage in 2027; they just need to find the venues and backers to finance it to the next stage and then we can all experience 1066 and all that on stage.
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Nick Wayne