Frankie and Johnny
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IN TICKET see P AGE S! 5
Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune It’s a sun-soaked day in Chipping Norton, and I’ve got an appointment at the Theatre with John Terry, director of the upcoming Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune - a bittersweet story of two jaded singletons, set in a night-time New York apartment. Here in this honey-stoned country market town, the electric vistas of nocturnal Manhattan seem completely alien. Yet come this September, theatre-goers will be fully immersed in a transatlantic love affair.
“It’s something that’s really exciting to work on: Can we get that New York feel into a little theatre in the Cotswolds – the feeling of being lost in a massive city?”
Before we launch into F&J, John treats me to a tour of the building. Turns out this place is quite the Tardis. The ‘structure’ of the site encompasses the old Salvation Army citadel – which contains the stage and auditorium, where a set for The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists is in mid-build – and two re-purposed cottages that provide offices, studio space and dressing rooms. There are more people working here than I was expecting, all dotted throughout a number of cosy rooms (“people don’t realise quite how big our team is!” John remarks). The stage, too, is surprisingly large – big enough for Theatre Chipping Norton’s grand ambitions. Behind the scenes, the atmosphere is warm and almost homely, which must be the benefit of working from ex-residential. The Green Room, vibrantly plastered with posters and fliers, has a similar vibe to a well-kept student kitchen. Yet despite the comfortable atmosphere here, there’s no doubt that this is a polished and highly professional operation. For its last pantomime, the Theatre Chipping Norton sold 96% of its tickets across 80 performances. John tells me of patrons who routinely fly from places as faraway as Italy and New York – specifically to watch the performances held here. We settle at a café table overlooked by Graham Rust’s fantastic murals – paintings of beloved pantomime characters that caper around the foyer. It’s a good place to talk about the bold new direction the Theatre will be taking with this new play.
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Cotswold Homes Magazine
Caroline Lawton plays Frankie