Show’s cast promised a ‘high’

Press, 19 August 1985, Page 8

Show’s cast promised a ‘high’

On the opening night of this year’s scouting Gang Show, cast members will be promised a “high” of their own making, one not induced by drink or drugs, says the director for the ninth time, Mr Peter Henwood.

The Gang Show, a fastmoving kaleidoscope of sketches, slapstick comedy, drama, and song and dance, has become a family tradition in Christchurch since it started in 1956. It is now held once every two years. The opening number for the show, “We’ve Got Our Show,” and “Youth Scene,” an item in the first act, were written by Mr Henwood. The last verse of “Youth Scene,” which incorporates the theme, “give youth a chance,” has been set to music. “Each opening night I promise them (the cast) a high which they will make for themselves by hard work and discipline, not one of artificial motivation,” he said. A cast of 76 scouts, venturers, and rovers in the Christchurch area, including

Kaiapoi, has been rehearsing six hours a week for 17 weeks in preparation for the week-long scouting show, which will open on August 31 at the James Hay Theatre.

Each segment includes four songs by the producer Of the first Gang Show in London in 1931, Ralph Reader. ‘“Youth Scene’ also includes a piece on Cathedral Square and possibly the Wizard”, said Mr Henwood, who was not giving any secrets away.

“Youth Scene” was not specifically written for International Youth Year, as the scouting movement had always gone for youth. “That’s what scouting is all about,” he said. Another song written for the show by Mr Henwood may bring back childhood bath memories for some people. “Duckies” is a fun song about the ducklings painted on wavelets that used to adorn some “highclass” tin bathtubs in the days when the bath water was heated over an open fire in big black kettles.

Producing the Gang Show had been a total training experience, said Mr Henwood, who has directed the show nine times since 1951. He has had to start “from scratch” with each east.

“It’s a completely amateur operation. Everyone has to be taught to move, speak, act, sing and dance,” he said. “Co-ordination can be difficult at times with such a large cast. Now each show must have a lot more movement than in the early days. Then, a series of images may have been all right to serve to audiences, but the influence of television, movies, and videos now means the show has to be fast-moving.” This year’s cast is probably the youngest that Mr Henwood has drilled. Sixty of the cast are aged 18 and under, and another 10 are aged between 19 and 24.

The rest of the cast varied in age from 30 to 50. The Gang Show is not an all-male review. Fifteen of the cast are from female adventurer and rover groups in Christchurch.

Mr Henwood admits to being a hard taskmaster. “I’m intolerant and hard, but it’s the only way to get a show out. But I'm also kindly and I can still laugh with them.” Producing the show is a part-time activity which also takes up all Mr Henwood’s spare' time. “I love being involved with the show. Without a family as supportive as mine, I could never have achieved what I have.”

He believes the success of previous shows lies in the fact that members are given an opportunity to express themselves and to gain self-confidence. “Every show, parents come to me after only a few weeks rehearsals to say how much their children ' have changed for the better,” Mr Henwood said.

“Great changes take place. They become more confident and speak better.”

Seeing the resulting character growth in cast members gives him more satisfaction than making money.

The budget for the show is $28,000, a figure Mr Henwood does not consider outstanding. “A commercial show would probably have a budget of nearer $80,000,” he said. “This would include paying people involved in the large amount of backstage work, including make-up artists, stage carpenters, stagehands, wardrobe mistresses.” Those services were given voluntarily. This year’s show will also benefit from the experience of Mrs Adrienne Harwood, the wardrobe mistress, who has been associated with the show since the 19605, and Mr Barrie Cheyne, the assistant producer, who has been associated with scouting and the show for many years. Mr Henwood's eldest son, Gregory, is the choreographer. A new executive role has been established with the appointment of a wardrobe director, Mrs Pam Taylor.