The Henfield Hall stage is buzzing with activity as the photo shoot for the October BN5 cover image gets underway. Henfield Theatre Company’s ‘official’ photographer, Neville de Moraes, is breaking every health-n-safety rule, teetering halfway up a towering stepladder as three members of the cast of HTC’s latest production, Terra Nova, do a convincing portrayal of making camp in sub-zero temperatures at the South Pole.
This incredible story is a real page-turner (or seat-filler in this instance). The play is set during the final weeks of the journey to the South Pole and the return struggle of Scott and his team. Events occur just before the horrors of the First World War and within weeks of the Titanic disaster. It explores the 1,600mile man-hauling trek to the South Pole, using reference to the diaries left by Scott and his men, and culminates in the tragic end to their return journey.
Trevor Hodgson is the director of this production, which is likely to be another box-office smash for HTC (don’t leave it too late to get your tickets!). It’s his first outing as director and he has a personal interest in this fascinating story. Trevor explained: “Robert Falcon Scott and I share the same birthday. Since being taken to an exhibition about him in Oxford as a small boy I have been inspired by his life and expeditions to Antarctica. The story of an epic walk across a frozen wilderness in temperatures of –40c and below, with equipment (that although cutting edge at the time) was no more than canvas and fur, would capture any child’s imagination and those stories have never left me. When the opportunity to stage such an exciting production came up I jumped at the chance.”
Staging a play of such historical importance does come with complications. Trevor is almost obsessive in his attention to detail and he’s discovered that the team of amateur experts at HTC is more than capable of creating props, special effects, costumes, lighting and sound effects to make his ambitious ideas a reality.
Costume manager Lyn Fryer said; “Working on Terra Nova gave us some interesting and unique challenges. Making the parkas look less than pristine left us dying them with tea (and starting again when they shrank!) and then reverting to spray paint, it was a good lesson in problem solving! Our aim was to give individuality to each character. Our team is always looking for people with vision, people who enjoy a challenge, because there’s more to the role than the construction of the costumes.”
Trevor designed and commissioned a life-size and historically correct sled, crafted by local carpenter Doug Parrott. Touches like this make the job of the actors a little easier as they transport themselves back to those times of incredible change, at the outbreak of WWI. Tony Westwood, who plays Evans, said; “Having authentic props and costumes makes it feel like true life for us and Trevor’s passion for the story has rubbed off on all of us. We feel the emotion of the play very deeply, it helps our performances enormously to immerse ourselves in the story of their hardships and incredible strength of their personalities. I really feel I am Evans when I’m on stage, we all have a deep affinity for our characters.”
When the ship Terra Nova returned to England in November 1912 with the news that the Southern Party had perished, there was a worldwide outpouring of sorrow. A memorial fund was set up which raised money to pay the men’s widows and families. Enough money was raised to found an Institute in Scott’s memory; the Scott Polar Research Institute, which still carries out polar research today.
The staging of this very moving play, in the year of the centenary commemorations of the start of WWI, is a fitting tribute to the men of the ill-fated expedition.
Emma Osman
The Henfield Museum is very fortunate to have been loaned artefacts from the Scott Polar Research Institute in Cambridge. This exciting display will coincide with the performances of Terra Nova being staged by Henfield Theatre Company. The loan was organised by the Company and consist of objects and photographs from Scott’s ill-fated Terra Nova expedition to Antarctica.