The second of two programmes
An Invitation to Return
The children of the Oldham Theatre Workshop are rehearsing the musical Bugsy Malone for performance in the Tameside Theatre, Ashton-under-Lyne. The cast is 300 strong.
'When we go into the theatre, I don't want a bill for damage to dressing rooms,' says director David Johnson. 'What I do want is an invitation to return.' The problems of production come thick and fast. People in the design department have to build a yellow Rolls-Royce with working lights. Props are having trouble making the 'splurge guns' fire foam over everyone. The revolving stage has yet to work properly and the stage manager has to work out how to cope with hundreds waiting in the wings.