Analysing the weather and workings of the WI

A THEATRE company established 50 years ago is staging two plays with quintessentially British themes at Goring Lock, arriving as part of a UK tour on an old working narrowboat.

Mikron Theatre Company, which is based in the village of Marsden, at the foot of the Yorkshire Pennines, has been touring up and down the UK annually since 1972 on the boat, which is named Tyseley.

A double bill is to be presented over the two evenings of next Thursday and and Friday. The first, Red Sky at Night, tackles that ubiquitous British conversation starter, the weather, while the next night’s Raising Agents takes a humorous but affectionate look at the inner workings of the Women’s Institute, which is 125 years old.

Both plays will be performed by a cast of four actor-musicians, who are Hannah Bainbridge (flute), Thomas Cotran (guitar), Alice McKenna (guitar) and James McLean (accordion).

Producer Peter Toon says that the actors have an affection for Goring as a stop on the tour. He says: “We perform near the road bridge in Goring, next to the lock. It’s a beautiful enclosed area, it’s like a natural amphitheatre. So we perform, our actors face the river and everyone brings picnics and chairs and sits and looks, towards the trees and bushes behind us, and it’s just absolutely idyllic.”

Red Sky at Night (The wild and wonderful world of weather), written by Lindsay Rodden, which is in its premiere run, is an ode to all things meteorological.

Directed by Marianne McNamara, the music has been composed by Sonum Batra, with musical direction by Rebekah Hughes and costume design by Celia Perkins.

Peter says: “Mikron tells uniquely British stories, whatever that means to whoever that means. We’ve got an obsession with the weather, haven’t we? We’ve tried to encapsulate hundreds of years of humans trying to work the weather out in an hour-and-a-half, so there’s lots of fast-paced script.”

In the story, Hayley (Hannah Bainbridge), a weathergirl with a PhD, takes the audience on a tour through the history of studying weather phenomena. Accompanied by Eileen (Alice McKenna), or “Mother Nature”, there’s also bumptious TV channel producer Nigel (James McLean) and green cameraman Zeph (Thomas Cotran).

Marianne says of Hayley: “She’s not the most charming — she’s quite strait-laced and all about the information. She has to learn to be more charismatic to present the show.”

The play presents people from history and interesting footnotes, such as Sir Francis Beaufort’s wind scale and details of the formation of clouds. Marianne says: “When audiences come to see Red Sky at Night, they will be entertained, they will laugh and they might learn something along the way, too.”

There’s plenty of food for thought on climate change and the need to look after the environment, illustrated through the song Nobody Owns the Skies.

Meanwhile, the next evening, the theatre company is reprising 2015’s Raising Agents, written by Maeve Larkin, directed by Rachel Gee and designed by Celia Perkins. The music has been composed by O’Hooley and Tidow, who also wrote The Fragile for BBC One’s series Gentleman Jack.

The play tells the story of Bunnington Women’s Institute, which is in need of new members, extra funds and a bit of rejuvenation. When a new member with a background in PR joins, they welcome her as a breath of fresh air — until she suggests they become the “Bunnington Bunnies”. The WI fights to define its future — will it be reconfigured and will it save itself?

Director Rachel Gee says that the play shows the WI to be a “formidable force” and this is augmented by Maeve Larkin’s “naughty humour”, with choice lines such as “You leave my aspirations out of it. They drop when you get to my age”.

Peter says: “There’s more to the WI than just ‘jam and Jerusalem’. There’s a brilliant line in the play: ‘We don’t get on bandwagons, we drive them’. There’s a big anniversary and the things the WI campaigns for, they’re amazing.”

The Mikron Theatre Company’s only interruption in 50 years was been down to the coronavirus pandemic. Peter Toon says: “We were very grateful, we got some of the Culture Recovery Fund and that meant that we didn’t haemorrhage money. Then we diversified — we helped run a food bank and we helped with food deliveries and all sorts of things. It was a mad time for everyone.”

There has been a resurgence in recent years of a “liveaboard” lifestyle, with more and more people being attracted to houseboats. Peter says: “There’s a great new community of people that are literally owning their bit of the water and it’s a good way to live. I tell you what, it’s a brilliant way to tour.”

• Mikron Theatre Company’s production of Red Sky at Night comes to Goring Lock on Thursday, July 28 at 7pm, while Raising Agents will be performed there on Friday, July 29 at 7pm. No tickets required but there will be a collection after the show. Bring a picnic, chair and blanket. For more information, call 01484 843701 or visit mikron.org.uk