On Thursday, the curtain will rise for the first time on the long awaited third play, “Team Meeting” by Dorothy Gale. It will be performed in an unusual venue in Uxbridge Town Centre, away from Gale’s usual Charter Place home. More of an installation than a play in the traditional sense, it has been only partly scripted by Gale and her long suffering writing collaborator Mr G.W. Glinda.
In the opening scene the troupe is seen gathered together, sat around a table. One notes the obligatory dodgy chairs, a playful postmodern reference to Gale’s love for Graham technique no doubt!
The dialogue starts low key with Gale’s and Glinda’s run of the mill script but then is cleverly developed by the able cast using their well honed improvisation skills. This approach ensures a different experience for the audience each time the play is performed. Indeed the group have taken steps to subvert the usual flow of theatre dialogue and include audience participation by encouraging audience members to suggest topics to be debated by the cast by contacting the company with ideas a week before the performance. However not all suggestions will be taken up, they politely rejected my idea of jargon bingo.
In addition to the different subjects available for discussion, Gale and Glinda have a list of stars invited to make special one off appearances. These range from Branson-esque Cameo appearances to a full evening long performance alongside the regular company members.
As Gale strikes out in this new direction it is yet to be seen if it will be a success. However, It should if nothing else, prompt some discussion about the format of traditional plays and what that means for the actors and their audiences.
Team Meeting from the 3rd May playing “Upstairs” at Pizza Express, Uxbridge, tickets still available from the Box Office
I’ve made the action turn, its done. It went pretty smoothly actually, I would even go so far as to say I enjoyed it. The feedback to date has been positive and constructive, we have some more ideas for the next meeting too, all good stuff.
A Pair Of Ruby Slippers 