Headley Theatre Club are on the road again with their latest ’Lark Rise’ play, to commemorate the centenary of Flora Thompson’s arrival in Liphook. They have chosen interesting venues: Friday saw them at the Triangle in Liss; Saturday afternoon and again that night the group performed the play in Liphook’s Village Hall and on Sunday it was the turn of The Rural Life Centre in Tilford.

I chose this time to see ’Lark Rise’ fittingly in Liphook, on Saturday night, and what a night it turned out to be. This Steve White directed play kept the audience entertained throughout the evening with a combination of genres that gelled so well together.

Liphook’s Village Hall was turned into a theatre in the round, with the atmosphere created to give us all the sense, smell and feel of rural living in one of the poorest rural villages in Oxfordshire, Lark Rise, in the latter part of the 19th century. The story covered a day in the life of the folk living and working in Lark Rise.

It had a cast of twenty eight, many who played multiple parts. I shouldn’t single out actors really, but I will mention that the two youngsters, Emma Worman and Sid Levin, who played the Timms children, played their parts excellently as their individual story threaded throughout the play.

The play was also kept moving along by the inclusion of traditional folk songs that were brilliantly performed by the combination of musical instruments played by local “Folk Singers” and interspersed with members of the cast. The sound of the Squeezebox, helped create the atmosphere and the “Folk” voices of Tim Stansfeld and Barbara Parry blended brilliantly with the actions and words of the assembled cast. We even had a Morris Dancer to entertain us, as likely did the folk in the 1800’s. It was a thoroughly entertaining evening, and one, if you get a chance to catch it, you should. ’Lark Rise’ was dramatized by Keith Dewhurst from Flora Thomson’s celebrated novel ’Lark Rise to Candleford’.

Having performed three times last weekend, Headley Theatre Club move on to three new venues this weekend. Friday 15th July you can see them at 8pm at Butser Ancient Farm; on Saturday afternoon (2.30pm) they appear at Haslemere Museum; finishing their tour at home in Headley Village Hall on Saturday evening at 8pm. Tickets can still be arranged through www.headley-village.com/drama or 01428 717358, alternatively you can pay on entry.

Dave Rowlandson