|
|
The Murder of Maria Marten
(or The Red Barn)
A Melodrama by Brian J
Burton
Directed by Keith Pollard.
Musical Director: Mr. Iain Kerr
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cast |
| William Corder (The Squire's Son) |
Andy Godfrey |
| Maria Marten (Daughter of Thomas Marten) |
Sarah Coleman |
| Thomas Marten (An honest rustic molecatcher in
the vale of years) |
Roland Garrad |
| Mrs. Marten (His wife) |
Marion Pollard |
| Tim Bobbin (A simple rustic) |
Tom Miller |
| Anne Marten (Maria's younger sister) |
Aisling Tigwell |
| Meg Bobbin (Tim's younger sister) |
Vicky Veness |
| Johnnie Badger (A young man in love with Maria) |
Ben Burford |
| Nell Hatfield (A gypsy woman) |
Libby Annetts |
| Petra Andrews (A gypsy) |
Carol Ardley |
| Rosa Post (A gypsy) |
Amy Shortman |
| Carmen Jones (A gypsy) |
Wendy Hatch |
| Alice Rumbold (Corder's maid) |
Pauline Lucas |
| Pharos Lee (An Officer of the Law) |
Keith Miller |
|
Notes
The Murder of Maria Marten is, in all the main
essentials, a true
story. Maria Marten was born in Polstead, Suffolk in 1801. There she
met Willim Corder, by whom she had a child who died infancy. In 1827,
Corder murdered Maria and buried her body in the Red Barn. Because of
his wife's recurring dream, Thomas Marten searched the barn and
discovered the body of his daughter. Corder was arrested in London,
where he had married. He was tried and convicted and, in 1828, was
executed at Bury Gaol.
During
the 19th Century many plays were written and performed on the subject,
including The Late Murder of Maria Marten (performed at
Polsead
Fair before Corder had even been tried), The Red Barn or The Gypsy's
Curse, Advertisement For Wives, The Red Barn or The Mysterious Murder,
and The Red Barn or The Prophetic Dream. The first printed
version
was performed at the Star Theatre, Swansea in 1842. Since then, there
have been many versions written for stage, film, radio and TV.
This
revised version, by Brian J Burton, was first presented at the Swan
Theatre, Worcester, on 6th December 1978. An earlier Brian J
Burton version was performed in 1972 by the Clacton Amateur Dramatic
Society, in which Keith Pollard appeared as Tim Bobbin alongside his
wife, Marion, as Anne Marten.
|
 |
Director, Keith Pollard, had a particular reason for choosing The
Red Barn, having been a member of the cast some years earlier when the
same melodrama was staged by the Clacton Amateur Dramatic Society.
In
the picture below, he is seen as Tim Bobbin, along with his stage
sweetheart Anne Marten, who is better known to us now as the real life
Mrs. Marion Pollard (seen to the left as Mrs. Marten).
Although
it would be romantic to be able to report that history had repeated
itself in respect of their two modern day counterparts, that it not the
case. However, check out the picture above ... does one detect a spark
between Tim and his sister Meg? And if so, would that be legal? |
 |
 |
 |
|
Review
by Ann Rachlin
The Villain is always the central character in
Victorian Melodrama
and the Fairlight Players production of ”The Murder of Maria Marten or
The Red Barn” boasted a sensational performance by Andy Godfrey as
William Corder, the villainous murderer of the innocent Maria . Never
overplayed, his subtle asides to the audience matched by his flamboyant
dastardly gestures and dramatic outcries, made him the lynchpin of a
superb production. The characters, homely naive peasants, scheming
revengful gypsies and of course the innocent Maria all revolve round
the Villain, just as the villagers danced round the Maypole in the
opening scene, weaving together the intrigues of this tale of Innocence
Betrayed with the joy of a Villain who gets his comeuppance on the
gallows.
Called upon not only to act in the traditional
Victorian melodramatic style, The Fairlight Players excelled
themselves, skilfully delivering a variety of dialects and accents,
singing, dancing and cavorting merrily with such a wealth of talent
that the first night audience found themselves involved in the tragic
story of Maria Marten, hissing, booing at Corder, commiserating with
Maria’s grieving parents, laughing at the clumsy peasants and sighing
with sympathy at the heroine’s fall from grace and consequent
demise.
Libby Annetts as the revengeful Gypsy Nell was a
sensationally sensuous gypsy with a wonderful voice that gave the new
updated lyrics of “The Gypsy” a brilliant performance. Tom Miller as
the Rustic Idiot and Aisling Tigwell as Anne Marten made a delightful
and hilarious pair whose duets were charming and beautifully performed.
Keith Miller’s Irish policeman was hysterical. The silent movie chase
brought howls of laughter from the audience. Marion Pollard and Roland
Garrad portrayed Maria’s bereaved parents with the perfect mixture of
pathos and humour. Sarah Coleman, as Maria, was exquisitely pretty in
the role and sang her solos with sensitivity and appealing gestures –
still very young, she will grow into an accomplished little actress for
she shows great promise. For me, one of the many highlights was the
trio of gypsies which closed the First Act – the show is worth seeing
for that alone!
The teamwork both on and off stage was
impressive. The sets, sound effects and costumes were outstanding, and
the smoothness of the performance shows what a well-oiled team the
Fairlight Players are.
 The direction by Keith Pollard was
masterful, combining the traditions of Victorian Melodrama with
marvellous tongue-in-cheek contemporary humour that made it all seem
very 21st century. The audience loved it and got all the innuendos,
ancient and modern. Throughout Iain Kerr at the keyboard, gave his
inimitable magical support to the cast, with his witty musical asides
and quotations which were a sheer delight. How clever too to set the
mood by getting the audience to sing along with him before the arrival
of the “travelling players”.
“The Red Barn” may seem a
simple enough tale but it is, in truth, a complicated production to be
staged and Keith Pollard and his talented team, both on and off stage,
are to be warmly congratulated..
A splendid evening out – not to be
missed.
Ann Rachlin
Note
- This review appeared in
part
in the Hastings Observer and the Rye & Battle Observer on 4th
May
2012, but crucial elements were lost during editing. We are pleased
here to reproduce the text in full so that the world may read Ann's
exact words.
|
|
|
