With the clocks now turned back and the official end of British summertime the St. Albans dart league finds it's self happy and content snuggled up in the blanket of winter darkness. Gone now are the crowds of tourists that flock to these parts for the long summer days and barmy summer nights to quench their thirst on some of our local brews or to feed their hunger pangs with a wide array of flavoured quiches. Just a few remain and they can be seen sporting the latest in digital photography equipment as they try to capture the last of the summer sun as shafts of light pierce the abbeys stained glass windows and paint their pictures in the darkened corners of this magnificent religious theatre. As they tamper with the latest Nikon one can only imagine what theatrical masterpieces have played themselves out within these walls over the centuries and what intrigue there is to come.
For now the play is out on tour, torn from the abbey's grand stage and left to play out in the vaudeville's of the villages local pubs. For one such vaudeville, the Rose and Crown the doors open at seven, there you can watch some impromptu rehearsing from the Rose & Crown Players before the curtain goes up at eight thirty.
Witnessing the Rose & Crown players strutting their stuff on the boards of this most unlikely theatre is one would have to say an experience never forgotten. Alan Turner (above) directs his cast with a certain aplomb skillfully orchestrating proceedings pairing off his cast so that they may play to the crowd. Alan is truly an exponent of this dying art, an art that has so crudely been ripped from his hands during the summer season. No longer are these artful dodgers allowed to ply their craft and pit their wit and knowledge against each other in the increasingly farcical summer season, a season that has torn the heart out of the art of captaining one's side and left it all to chance. Years of experience in choreographing success or bowing to the better craft of a worthy opponent wiped out with the deal of a card. During the winter however such important issues are most certainly not left to chance and each pairing is chosen and played with great care. The cogs can be seen turning from behind the bespectacled master as the pairings are carefully selected on ability, craft and average weight. With this recipe Alan masterminds the downfall of many local sides and tonights opponents are no exception.
With the stage set the soon to be departed Chris Wilson enters with the enigmatic Neil Crosby. The curtain goes up and graceful duo seem to float around the dartboard exuding an air of impregnability. The once unbeatable hapless ex postman Carl Bolding can only look on from the stalls and count his remaining millions as the leading pair launch each dart as if they were delivering a line from a Shakespeare comedy. How tonight's opponent's The Pear & Partridge wish they had a stock of rotten tomatoes at hand as their team slowly stutters its way through the first act.
The stalls are a titter with talk of fly fishing and a usually silent Tony Scott is berated for daring to deliver laughter between scenes. One-Nil quickly becomes two with Dave Noble and Paul Mullins delivering another well rehearsed act. You can almost smell the juice of rotten tomatoes wafting through the theatre when Tony Scott and Tom Wilson deliver a near word perfect dialogue to make it three, only a blip from Mr Turner himself and the evergreen John Goode prevented the stocks from being brought on stage. At three-one surely it wouldn't be long now before the trap door opened and let the theatrically devoid Pear & Partridge side slip under stage and back into the dressing rooms. Chris Wilson and Neil Crosby were only to happy to oblige and twas as if each pulled a release chord that let them fall through into obscurity once more.
For now the play is out on tour, torn from the abbey's grand stage and left to play out in the vaudeville's of the villages local pubs. For one such vaudeville, the Rose and Crown the doors open at seven, there you can watch some impromptu rehearsing from the Rose & Crown Players before the curtain goes up at eight thirty.
Witnessing the Rose & Crown players strutting their stuff on the boards of this most unlikely theatre is one would have to say an experience never forgotten. Alan Turner (above) directs his cast with a certain aplomb skillfully orchestrating proceedings pairing off his cast so that they may play to the crowd. Alan is truly an exponent of this dying art, an art that has so crudely been ripped from his hands during the summer season. No longer are these artful dodgers allowed to ply their craft and pit their wit and knowledge against each other in the increasingly farcical summer season, a season that has torn the heart out of the art of captaining one's side and left it all to chance. Years of experience in choreographing success or bowing to the better craft of a worthy opponent wiped out with the deal of a card. During the winter however such important issues are most certainly not left to chance and each pairing is chosen and played with great care. The cogs can be seen turning from behind the bespectacled master as the pairings are carefully selected on ability, craft and average weight. With this recipe Alan masterminds the downfall of many local sides and tonights opponents are no exception.
With the stage set the soon to be departed Chris Wilson enters with the enigmatic Neil Crosby. The curtain goes up and graceful duo seem to float around the dartboard exuding an air of impregnability. The once unbeatable hapless ex postman Carl Bolding can only look on from the stalls and count his remaining millions as the leading pair launch each dart as if they were delivering a line from a Shakespeare comedy. How tonight's opponent's The Pear & Partridge wish they had a stock of rotten tomatoes at hand as their team slowly stutters its way through the first act.
The stalls are a titter with talk of fly fishing and a usually silent Tony Scott is berated for daring to deliver laughter between scenes. One-Nil quickly becomes two with Dave Noble and Paul Mullins delivering another well rehearsed act. You can almost smell the juice of rotten tomatoes wafting through the theatre when Tony Scott and Tom Wilson deliver a near word perfect dialogue to make it three, only a blip from Mr Turner himself and the evergreen John Goode prevented the stocks from being brought on stage. At three-one surely it wouldn't be long now before the trap door opened and let the theatrically devoid Pear & Partridge side slip under stage and back into the dressing rooms. Chris Wilson and Neil Crosby were only to happy to oblige and twas as if each pulled a release chord that let them fall through into obscurity once more.
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