From being invited for coffee by Kenneth Williams, to bargaining stall fees with rock band merchandisers and appearing in a stage musical written by a colleague, freelance author and translator Chris Bayton – a former Director General of Orchestre National de Lorraine – enjoyed a memorable couple of years working in our iconic building…
I worked at Poole Arts Centre, as it was then called, between 1979 and 1981 with John Slaney the Operations Manager. I was one of his assistants. I used to spend a lot of time with Barney, Delia, Mick, Dave and a Scottish guy called Graham. Also with Gary Rigler, who worked in the technical service in my time.
As far as memories of that period are concerned, the production of Dreamer has to be one of the most important. Barney White [who worked in the marketing department] wrote the show and [we] rehearsed for months to get the production mounted on a shoestring budget and people did come and see it. We were a close-knit group of friends, but many of us subsequently moved away from Poole and lost touch, which is why I would love to touch base again, in particular with Barney.
One major event of 1980 which I remember from Poole Arts Centre, was something which almost brought the centre to a close – it was the very serious fire that broke out in the Wessex Hall overnight. I was duty manager the evening before the fire started, and so you can imagine my surprise when I learned the horrifying news the following day. The fire happened during renovation work when the Wessex stage floor was being sanded down to be revarnished and the dust from this procedure was put into plastic bags. The theory at the time was that something ignited one of these dust bags. The damage was very serious, and the hall was closed for quite some time. For some unknown reason, the fire detectors had been turned off!
A fonder memory I have is of me putting together a choir of volunteers to sing Christmas carols in the foyer. I am a Musicology graduate from London University and so I was well placed to accomplish this delicate task, which again was great fun.
One of my fondest musical memories is of a complete Beethoven string quartet cycle given by the Lindsay String Quartet. I attended the complete cycle and therefore got to know quite a few of the people who were fans of the Lindsays. I decided therefore before the end of the cycle to organise a fundraiser in order to buy the quartet a present to show the Poole audience’s appreciation of their Beethoven interpretation. The initiative was quite successful and at the final concert, I presented the members of the quartet with some fine examples of Poole Pottery to remember us by.
I also have a memory of meeting Kenneth Williams and Lorraine Chase who appeared in a play together called The Undertaking. I remember seeing Kenneth Williams backstage and him saying to me in that plummy, rather camp voice of his, ‘Oo, you look like Tom Conti’. He invited me to have coffee with him and Lorraine Chase in the Foyer. My claim to fame.
I remember seeing at the Ashley Cinema, my first David Lynch film, his rather surreal experimental film Eraserhead, and as for the major touring bands were concerned, it was always my task to negotiate with the merchandisers, their stall fee, which could sometimes be a hard bargain to drive…
Do you know what happened to Chris’ friends from Poole Arts Centre? Perhaps you worked with Chris? Perhaps you have a story to tell about Lighthouse or Poole Arts Centre? Did you see or do something extraordinary, or meet someone special? We’d love to hear from you at marketing@lighthousepoole.co.uk.
(NC)