1972-1974
Berkeley Square – A
Penthouse
Teenager to Adult
Some more details.......
Joining the Oval Theatre Club - Run
by “Joan Mills”
How Peter discovered Joan Mills and the Theatre Club at Oval
House escapes me. Joan Mills – was engaged by the Royal Court Theatre to encourage youngsters to participate
and become involve with the Theatre's work; directing and commissioning new work
for young people; leading weekly theatre workshops for young people; directing
Summer Projects; originating and developing a writing competition into the
Young Writer's Festival from 1972 onwards.
Joan Mills
The Oval House Theatre!!!!! It was just a ‘place’ to us – but
we had little idea that it was a place that played a key part in supporting the
experimental theatre companies of the '60s and '70s. Later it would see the
emergence of gay, lesbian and women's theatre in the 1970's and 80's and the
development of new Black and Asian writing in the '90s and into the next
millennium.
All I remember is turning up with him and a handful of others
in its shabby cafeteria, where we smoked and laughed. And then there was Joan’s
workshops, every Wednesday evening, in the plain and basic theatre room with
its small stage. A dozen (or so) young people laughing as we improvised simple
activities – where we learnt the basic principles of “Acting”.
IT’S A
DOG – IT’S A CAT ??
“What?” I hear you say. It was a game that Joan taught us, a simple enough psychomotor skill game that involved passing an imaginary cat and dog in different directions around a group of us all sat in a circle. It is difficult to describe in writing. But suffice it to say it has us, a group of young 15 year-olds howling with laughter. 40 Years later I would teach the same game to qualified and experienced Doctors, Nurses and Paramedics – and watch them laugh as they learnt that even simple psychomotor skills can be difficult to master.
“What?” I hear you say. It was a game that Joan taught us, a simple enough psychomotor skill game that involved passing an imaginary cat and dog in different directions around a group of us all sat in a circle. It is difficult to describe in writing. But suffice it to say it has us, a group of young 15 year-olds howling with laughter. 40 Years later I would teach the same game to qualified and experienced Doctors, Nurses and Paramedics – and watch them laugh as they learnt that even simple psychomotor skills can be difficult to master.
And Joan Mills – The Young Youthful Director
of the Young People's Theatre Scheme, The
Royal Court Theatre (1972 – 1976). To us
she became a mentor, a role model, a wise friend and confidant. In short we
idolised her.....
Acting in a Play at the Royal
Court
And so at the age of 15 in 1971 I would
take a lead role in a short play on the main stage at the Royal Court. A
curious cryptic little play directed by Joan – it ran for just two nights but
was a howling success as far as the droves of parents and friends who attended.
Mandy, Yolanda, Alison Steadman,
future actresses
Inevitably our acting interests via Joan
brought us into contact with aspiring actors.
We met and made friends with Yolanda Palfrey, Alison Steadman and Amanda Wise.
A Young Yolanda
A Young Alison
A young Mandy and Steve
Steve went on to become a Costume Designer at the Royal Opera House
(his dream job)
Sadly he died in the Mid 1980s - AIDS
And in all that
glitterati we flirted, and affairs were had and soon completed. It was Peters
delight to recall the evening that Mandy ran across Victoria Bus station to
beat me with her handbag, screaming abuse, as I had “split up with her”. It was
delight to recall how he and Steve had collapsed in hysterics as they observed
this.
A New Musical – A Life Changing
Moment
In August 1973 Peter arrived at School
one day breathless with excitement. He had been to see a new musical at the 230
seat Chelsea Classic Cinema on the Kings Road. He insisted that we all had to
go and see it – and so later that week Wendy House booked in for an evening
performance of the Rocky Horror show. It was a beginning of a life long love of the
outrageous. We loved it, adored it, we Time Warped on the Circle Line and danced
Sweet Transvestite across Hyde Park. We went twice a week until the cast knew
us in person. Later that year it transferred to the King's
Road Theatre (another cinema house) even further down Kings Road and still we
attended – we were 17 years old, and we were having fun, such allot of fun.
Thirty nine years later in Golders Green
Crematorium, in 2012, I sat in emotional silence, tears flowing, as I stared at
Peters coffin, whilst listening to the music and lyrics of the Rocky Horror
Show - “'Cause I've seen blue skies, Through the tears in my eyes, And
I realize I'm going home”.
Other Music
We were teenagers of our time. Pink
Floyd, the Rolling Stones, Hawkwind, the Pink Fairies and Moody Blues. We saw them all - live at
venues around London. Some at grand Hyde Park Concerts with audiences in their tens
of thousands, others in murky small college venues, crowded and smoky. And Peter
and I sat and listened to our treasured Long Players (LPs - Vinyl's) on our even more treasured record players, we grew to adulthood together.
1974 My Family
Sue had grown to be a beautiful young
woman and had boyfriends in abundance. This caused my parents some real anxiety
as she launched into all busy London social life. She would meet a Welsh man
called Charles, fall in love and marry him. Sue flew the coup for a flat on the
Edgware Road. Finally, after sailing the world with Charles, an officer on
Merchant Ships, she would settle in the beautiful village of Ferryside near
Carmarthen. Ferryside would become a very special meaning to me in later life –
the burial place of my parents and Sue herself in the quite ancient church of
St Ishmaels.
Sue on the roof of Berkeley Sq House
Sue and Charles Wedding Day
My Mother and Father were getting older –
and in the following years they were to both be afflicted by serious illnesses.
Mother in the Downstairs Flat Berkeley Square
My Father on the Beach at Ferryside around 1976
Drugs, Alcohol and Girls (Wine, Women and Song)
By 1974 I was a tall young man, and
perhaps good looking. Happily I was mostly unaware of this and focused a great
deal of my time focused on drinking and experimenting with recreational drugs.
Ganja, Speed and occasional Acid formed a background to parts of my social
life. And of course Girls – much time was devoted to female company and I had
already had several girlfriends. This fondness for a party life style led to me
dismally failing my 3 ALevels, Chemistry, Biology and Physics. Then I left
School and went to South Bank Polytechnic (as was then) to resit them.
Me outside the Charles Lane - St Johns Wood Flat around 1976
It was at College that I would
meet Sophie – and everything would change, and I would leave home....... And nothing would be ever the same again...
The Spanish Mountains outside Benidorm around 1976
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