Letter: The Guildford Shakespeare Company is Important to the Fabric of Guildford

Published on: 21 Jan, 2019
Updated on: 21 Jan, 2019

Burchatts Barn – Photo Mandy Millyard

From Vivien Parry

actor

I have recently been in correspondence with GBC about the proposed re-homing of the Guildford Shakespeare Company (GSC) as I had heard a rumour that their bid had been unsuccessful and I was perturbed and intrigued as to why.

I am sending you this edited version of the questions that I raised to Caroline Reeves, my local councillor and my reasons for hoping that GSC’s bid would be successful.

Whether or not one goes to the theatre or not, one cannot miss how important the Guildford Shakespeare Company is to the fabric of Guildford and the people who live here. Their continuing artistic endeavours and growing confidence as a company are to be applauded as they attempt to embed themselves in a provincial town and not cut their losses and head to London.

I have seen numerous productions and each and every time they have created magical pieces on a shoestring.  Every production has been packed and their reputation continues to grow.

Anybody with any insight will realise that if the company continues to flourish then it will continue to attract actors of a high calibre.  This will mean national press reviews, and in turn, more visitors to the town where they are based, bringing in revenue and kudos to a town that is determined not to be seen as provincial and backward thinking.

Of equal and possibly more importance, GSC is committed to outreach and educational work and it seems to me that Burchatt’s farm is the ideal space for all of this to be based.  I believe that the whole remit of Burchatt’s Farm, once refurbished by the council, was community projects.  If GSC were able to be based under one roof then their energies could be spent developing their productions and focussing on continued work in the community.

It is reported that the council were considering leasing Burchatts Farm to a private company, thereby breaking the purpose of the farm’s remit, ie that it is a community space. I had also heard that car parking was an issue.  Car parking is an issue throughout the whole of Guildford and seems a pretty spurious excuse to me.

In any time of austerity or difficulty, the arts provide a vital lifeline for not only escape but much-needed reflection and pause for thought.  Nobody understood this better than Churchill who, in 1938 stated, “Ill fares the race which fails to salute the arts with the reverence and delight which are their due.”

If Guildford Borough Council is to escape their reputation of provincial backward thinking and rumours of corruption, then it behoves them to help a company that is attempting to contribute positively to this town.

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