30 July 2013 - Lady Godiva Rides Again & The Yellow Balloon

Ruth Ellis's one and only, blink-and-you'll miss her, appearance on film was in the 1951 comedy Lady Godiva Rides Again (known as Bikini Baby in the States). I must have blinked as I did miss her (and Joan Collins in her debut too). Mind you, it's not easy trying to ascertain detail on an iPad mini screen. The film itself is quite entertaining, wittily written by John Dighton and Val Valentine and briskly directed by Frank Launder, he of the St Trinian's series fame. Most notably there is a fabulously sassy performance by the young Diana Dors as 'Delores August', a confident young beauty queen (and god knows the film needs it as the main character, Pauline Stroud's Marjorie Clark is a bit of a whiny drip). There is also a very funny cameo from the always brilliant Dora Bryan.

There's a rather dark edge to the comic proceedings though, with all these nubile youngsters being constantly peered over or seemingly procured by lecherous old men, the promise of a career in films (or at least an 'expensive looking' mink coat) on offer for... well, who knows. Watching the film in parallel to reading 'A Fine Day For A Hanging' it becomes ever more apparent why young women would turn to this seemingly glamorous lifestyle, in order to escape the endless austerity of post-war Britain. Ellis herself posed for risqué photographs for the Camera Club, knowing that she had what it took to raise male interest (so to speak). Her ambition even prompted her to change her appearance, from brunette to peroxide blonde in keeping with the 'blonde bombshell' look of the period's starlets - Marilyn Monroe, Jayne Mansfield, Dors herself. It reminds me of the line in Whittington's play, where Ruth taps her newly-blonde locks and utter the single line: "Hollywood". 

In order to get a feel for the atmospherics of London in the early 1950s, I have queued up a list of films produced and filmed in the capital at that time on LoveFilm. A DVD set called The London Collection was available, which the 1953 film The Yellow Balloon was part of. I had absolutely no idea what this film was about - perhaps some breezy children's caper set in the bombed out shells of London buildings. It certainly sets out that way, with a poor-but-happy domestic setting established and a jolly incidental score tripping lightly in the background. But boy does it turn dark - quickly and quite shockingly. And it gets darker from there on in, with the young protagonist Frankie (Andrew Ray) falling in and with and manipulated the rather unpleasant low-life Ray (a creeped out performance by William Sylvester). The theme of darkness persists right up to the finale, it's tense, noir-ish events playing out in an abandoned, bombed out Underground station. As with Lady Godiva Rides Again, the sense of austerity pervades the film, and the question of the effect it has on youth hangs in the air; the former lightheartedly suggesting young girls entering into what is essentially a form of prostitution, the latter a young boy inadvertently drawn toward the thrill of petty crime. It's an interesting period in our not-so-distant history, one that I am intrigued to discover more about.

On a separate (more trivial) note, this journey into the world of Ruth Ellis has brought to my attention certain links and connections. For example, Ellis appeared in Lady Godiva Rides Again featuring Diana Dors. Dors appeared in the film Yield To The Night, allegedly based on the Ruth Ellis story, directed by J. Lee Thompson. J. Lee Thompson was a prolific director in the UK, whose films included - 

The Yellow Balloon.

Creepy, huh?

27 July 2013 - Dance With A Stranger

The touchstone film quoted by both Amanda Whittington and Carol Ann Lee as inspiration for their respective works on Ruth Ellis. I remember watching Mike Newell's film around the late 80s, most likely because it had Rupert Everett in it, who I fancied like mad after seeing him in Another Country. I can't exactly recall how I felt about the film at the time, but I do remember being impressed by Miranda Richardson as Ruth.

Watching it again now in preparation for The Thrill, I could appreciate the film a lot more, from the sharp script by A Taste of Honey writer Shelagh Delaney to the stripped down cinematography from Peter Hannan to the splashes of sax-led incidental music by Richard Hartley. And then of course, there is the performance from Richardson - maybe, as Lee puts it, 'a screaming mass of neuroses', but also tempered with moments of vulnerability and tenderness. And she really does look stunning, peroxide blonde, perfectly shaped eyebrows, slashes of vivid red on lips and nails, all in check. 

Complementing Richardson is the support from Ian Holm as Desmond Cussen and Everett's performance as Blakely, a pouty, spoiled brat of a character who flails with his fists when he doesn't get his way. (Incidentally, I thought young Everett looks a bit like Matthew Goode does now. Or is that just me?). On the downside, I thought Stratford Johns was just too nice to portray the outright sleaze bucket that was Morrie Conley, a truly gross character in all respects.

It was a nostalgic experience watching Dance With A Stranger again - it reminded me of the other low budget British films that were being produced at the time, such as My Beautiful Laundrette and Letter To Brezhnev, which I would go and see at the temples of cinematic goodness in Oxford at the time; the Penultimate Picture Palace and Not The Moulin Rouge. Only one of which exists now, sadly.

It also gave me a better appreciation of Whittington's play in comparison too; The Thrill delves deeper into the Ruth Ellis story by focussing on the key female characters in Ellis's world (and includes one fictional male character who acts as narrator). Dance With A Stranger is a strongly dramatic film, but The Thrill of Love, I believe, is a powerful play which highlights a chain of tragic events that ultimately affected a change in the UK law regarding capital punishment. All too late for Ruth Ellis though.

25 July 2013 - Gatherings

The first full meeting of the cast and technical crew of The Thrill of Love at the Mike Barlow theatre. While the 5 strong cast went off to read their lines, Jules assembled those who will be involved as techies and stage crew in one of the meeting rooms at the YMCA.

Here we discussed costume, make up, props and set - all a challenge given the very specific colour palette chosen for the design of the production (or lack thereof).

Video was touched upon too, but specifics of these will be discussed at a later date. But even the brief outline had me defecating ceramic building materials, if you'll pardon the expression. The video inserts for the Players pantomime 'Robin Hood' last January took me into unknown territory video-wise and had me dipping my toe into the creative waters of the Final Cut Pro application. I can envision 'The Thrill' chucking me headfirst into the rapids.

All good stuff though and I am genuinely looking forward to working with a wonderful group of creative individuals.

16 - 26 July 2013 - Backgrounds

Where to start on this journey into the life and death of Ruth Ellis?

Well, the play itself would be a good idea. Fred provided me with a copy and I read it in an afternoon. At work, in my coffee breaks. (Ok then, at my desk when I should have been working - but once I started I really couldn't stop... it's that good and the finale moved me to tears). She advised me to read it through once and try not to think of it in technical terms. Easier said than done; my mind would occasionally wander from a particular stage instruction and think 'ooh, how are we going to achieve that...'. But it was Amanda Whittington's dialogue that was the hook, particularly the snappy exchanges between the four female characters. I knew that casting would have to be spot on, but knowing Jules and the experience of 'Glorious!', she would find the right talent to bring these characters to life.

Additionally, I have borrowed 'A Fine Day For a Hanging' by Carol Ann Lee from the library, a comprehensive biography of Ellis's life from birth to death. The first chapter 'La Vie En Rose' which retells in great detail the final day of Ruth's life right up to the hanging is some of the most harrowing writing I have ever read.

Alongside plowing through this compelling tome, I have compiled a list of Ellis-related movies to view - the obvious starting point being Dance With A Stranger from 1985, with Miranda Richardson as Ruth. I've not seen this for years, so will be a welcome rewatch.

And finally, a CD of Billie Holiday songs; her music forms much of the aural backdrop to the play so I think it would be useful to have this playing when creating the visuals. (I do intend to listen to it, but I have PSB's rather wonderful 'Electric' on heavy rotation at the moment.)

I've stopped short of having my hair dyed peroxide blonde and having it permed. It's too short for a start.

The search begins...

A few weeks ago it was announced by the Cardiff Players that their next production is to be Amanda Whittington's 'The Thrill Of Love'. Freshly finished from a run in London and only just made available for amateur groups, Whittington's retelling of the story of Ruth Ellis - the last woman to be hanged in the UK - is to be adapted by director Juliet Lake.

Our Jules helmed the highly successful production of 'Glorious!' last year, into which I was recruited to provide video backgrounds and serve as projection manager on the four night run. It was my first time ever to be involved with a theatre group of any kind, but provided me with a relishing challenge. 'Glorious!' was a highly ambitious production, with the Players utilising video projection for the very first time and that threw up a whole load of technical challenges which needed to be resolved. Luckily, technical director Fred Skilton had done much of the ground work before I got involved, sourcing material for screens, researching the right type of projector for the job, locating another projector at the last minute when the first one blew its lamp... It was a sometimes fraught but ultimately rewarding production to be involved with.

For 'The Thrill Of Love', Jules has raised the technical bar to vertiginous heights, the likes of which will make the challenges of her previous production seem like a primary school panto. I have already been informed that this production will 'break' me. That remains to be seen...

The purpose of this blog is to document the journey to the Thrill from my perspective. And, unlike 'Glorious!' I am involved right from the very beginning. The play is due to open at the YMCA Mike Barlow Theatre on 9 October. It seems a long way off but in theatrical terms it may as well be tomorrow.

So, buckle up - the time machine is set for the neon-drenched, peroxide-bleached, 1950s London...