A PMac Production Old Herbaceous

Old Herbaceousby Reginald Arkell

dramatised by Alfred Shaughnessy

“...charming, witty, touching & funny.”

“It s Downton Abbey with gardening tips.”

A PMac Production

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“A garden is like life itself – a mixture of goodand evil.” Herbert Pinnegar – sage wordsfrom the man himself – here are some otherthoughts on gardens...

“What is a weed? A plant whose virtues have neverbeen discovered.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

“If you have a garden and a library, you haveeverything you need.” Cicero

“A garden is a grand teacher. It teaches patienceand careful watchfulness; it teaches industry andthrift; above all it teaches entire trust.”Gertrude Jekyll

“Gardening is not a rational act”.Margaret Atwood

“There is no gardening without humility. Nature isconstantly sending even its oldest scholars to thebottom ofthe class for some egregious blunder.”Alfred Austin

“How fair is a garden amid the trials and passionsof existence.” Benjamin Disraeli

“Our England is a garden, and such gardens arenotmade by singing: ‘Oh, how beautiful!’ andsitting in the shade.”Rudyard Kipling, The Glory ofthe Garden

“When you have done your best for a flower, and itfails, you have some reason to be aggrieved.” Frank Swinnerton

“What a man needs in gardening is a cast-iron back,with a hinge in it.” Charles Dudley Warner

“Fie on’t! O Fie! ‘tis an unweeded garden, Thatgrows to seed; things rank and gross in nature.Possess it merely. That it should come to this!”Hamlet

“I found that even if I worked in my garden forevery minute I could spare during the week, it wasonly when my husband cut the grass at theweekend that the garden began to look good.”Sheila Macqueen.

“If only we could have the last twenty years all overagain! I should like to go back and make a greatmany changes in the planting. Beastly garden.” Vita Sackville-West.

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GARDENWELCOME TO THIS PMAC PRODUCTIONOF OLD HERBACEOUS

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The WriterREGINALD ARKELLReginald Arkell (1892-1959),author of the novel on which the stage adaptation of OldHerbaceous is based, was born in Gloucestershire and trained as a journalist. He wrote severalnovels and many musical shows,including adaptations of 1066 andAll That and Die Fledermaus. OldHerbaceous was published in 1950,reissued in 2003 and remains inprint. Arkell also wrote abiography of the nature writerRichard Jefferies and publishedthe Green Fingers series,collections of poems aboutgardening, between 1934 and 1956.

Produced and performed by:Peter MacqueenDirector:Stefan EscreetDesigner:Martin Johns

A special thanks to:J&R Bennett Nurseries, Ken Price,Mr & Mrs Pemberton-PigottAndrew J Lindsay, Matt Hall, Patric Gilchrist,Rachel Swift, Trudi Ford & all the staff atTheatre by the Lake; the Arts Council.

The AdapterALFRED SHAUGHNESSYAlfred James Shaughnessy (1916-2005) was an Eton-educatedaristocrat who became a producer,director and scriptwriter. He usedhis experience of life in grandhouses (he once entertainedGeorge VI at Windsor Castle withan impromptu cabaret) when heworked as writer and script editoron ITV’s Upstairs, Downstairs. Hisadaptation ofOld Herbaceous wasfirst staged at Salisbury Playhousein 1979 starring Roger Hume (BertFry in The Archers). Hume starredin the play again in London,recorded it for television and radioand took it on tour to Australia,Zimbabwe and the US.

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Old Herbaceousby Reginald Arkelldramatised by Alfred Shaughnessy

The setting is a greenhouse in the garden of a Gloucestershire ManorHouse. It is the late 1970s.There will be one interval of 20 minutes

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“I’ll have a chicken korahi, mushroompilau and sag paneer, please. Thankyou… I’d love to do a one-man show.Any ideas?”

That was the beginning of aconversation several years ago in a southeast London curry house, the eventualfruits of which you are about to see. Ishould point out that my question wasnot aimed at the waiter (well-versed ashe probably was in solo dramas) but atmy Curry Club colleagues – both dramaschool contemporaries of mine.

“I’ve got one that would be perfect foryou. It’s about a grumpy old gardener,Old Herbaceous. Poppadom?” Choosingto ascribe my chum’s use of the term‘perfect’ as relating to the profession ofthe character rather than his demeanourand age, I thanked him and OldHerbaceous took up residence in a littlegreenhouse at the back of my brain.

My first memories of gardens andgardening go back to my childhoodhome in Leicestershire. A thick granite-walled house with rectangular walledgardens back and front; both traditionallawn and border layouts, although thesixties fashion for heathers, smallconifers and island beds had not escapedmy father’s notice (“funny how gardenschange”). He, a Percy Thrower mancomplete with tweed jacket and pipe,was a keen gardener. Because he workedfor Fison’s pharmaceuticals he had aninexhaustible supply of chemicals (all

ofwhich I’m sure are now banned) withwhich to spray, sprinkle, dowse, paint orotherwise coerce our garden intoperforming. We also had a gardener,James, who came to help on Saturdaymornings. A shortish, ruddy-faced manwith a hearty laugh (and pipe), he wasalways very patient with my gamesinvolving canes and flower pots. Lookingback he must have had the patience of asaint! It wasn’t for many years, until wellafter James’ retirement, that I learnt thename I had always called him as a childwas in fact his surname. His first namewas Tom. Adult embarrassment at mychildish rudeness could only makeamends by respectfully addressing him as Mr James whenever I bumpedinto him in the village after that, which is “the proper way to address a Head Gardener”.

So – why a one-man show? Ego?Control? Megalomania? Well yes,obviously all of those, but it’s also theattraction of the professional challenge.I’d never performed solo before. There’salways been at least one other actor toengage with on stage and get me out oftrouble, and usually many more.Responsibilities can be shared outamongst a company, who are all workingtogether to achieve maximum drama –and if somebody forgets lines, chancesare somebody else will help out. Ifthere’s a longer than average pause inthis show we’re all in for a long night,‘cause there ain’t nobody else around! So the challenge is to sustain a character

FROM ONEGARDENER TOANOTHERPETER MACQUEEN MEETS HERBERT PINNEGAR

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and take him – and hopefully theaudience – on a journey through theplay in an entirely believable andengagingly interesting manner, usingonly voice, body and brain… and ofcourse remembering the lines! The otherreason for doing a oneman show is thatit’s portable. Once you’ve got it, you canput it in, on or behind your car and offyou go – which is exactly what I’mdoing!

My move to Cumbria from south eastLondon a few years ago, is what gave methe impetus to open the littlegreenhouse door in the back of my headand let Old Herbaceous out. I decidedthere must be quite a few people aroundthe county and beyond, who would liketo meet this “ stubborn, charming,humorous old gardener” at a venue nearthem. I was right and since Theatre bythe Lake invited Mr. Pinnegar – which isthe proper way to address a HeadGardener- to be a part of their 2013spring season, he has been imparting his garden wisdom at rural venues farand wide.

Why Old Herbaceous? Well, apart frombeing “stubborn,charming andhumourous”, I am also a gardener. Fromthose early memories of watching MrJames unearthing dahlia tubers forreplanting and weekend visits to En TousCas with my father to buy roses, Iprogressed to being my mum’s‘undergardener’ and, when her earlymorning backof- the-border weedingsessions in dressing gown and welliesbecame slightly nervewracking, headgardener. That early knowledge hasstood me in good stead, as for the lasttwenty years or so, designing, buildingand maintaining gardens has become asecond (sometimes first!) string to mybow.

To portray any character on stage, anactor has to try and find a ‘way in’; anunderstanding, a reasoning, what makesthem tick. Not always easy, but as soonas I encountered Old Herbaceous I feltthat I was halfway there already. So allthat remains now is for me to put mycuttings where my mouth is!

“Poppadom, anyone?”

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JANUARY – Winter wash apple treeswith tar oil and rub carbolic soap onstems to deter mice. Cut wisterialaterals pruned in summer back to 3inches from old wood.

FEBRUARY – Spray pears with limesulphur, collodial copper & DDT toprevent scab. Thread milk bottle topson black cotton and hang on fruittrees to scare off bullfinches.

MARCH – Deadhead daffodils and tieleaves with raffia. Split snowdropsand move in the green. Start fruit-spraying programme - lindane,chlorobenzene.

APRIL – Plant new clematis belowsoil line to encourage more shoots.Watch out for raspberry beetle - treatwith Derris.

MAY – Paint shading distemper onglass. Put Calomel Dust along onionrows to repel onion fly.

JUNE – Peg down smaller phlox,verbena, etc. to encourage ground-covering flowers. Fumigategreenhouse with smoke pellets.

JULY – Take pipings of pinks. Takelights off cyclamen - frame on warmevenings to allow dew to get onleaves. Dust celery with old soot.

AUGUST – Prune flowered stems ofbasal ramblers down to ground andtie in new growth. Pick off anyblackspot leaves on roses andcontinue to spray.

SEPTEMBER – Disbud latechrysanthemums. Stop floweringshoots of first season carnations.Continue deadheading begonias.

OCTOBER – Lift dahlias after firstfrost has blackened leaves.Remember to close greenhousedoors. Spray against fungal disease.

NOVEMBER – Put sacking dipped inanimal oil around young fruit treestems to deter mice & rabbits fromremoving bark. Stack turves forpotting soil and pile leaves for mould.

DECEMBER – Top prune roses toavoid wind-rock. Dress aroundherbaceous clumps with cinder ashes.Dust cyclamen with sulphur to checkmould.

GARDENINGWITH OLDHERBACEOUSVintage hints and tips for each month from the legendary head gardener(Be advised that some ofthese practices are now illegal)

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MEET THE CREATIVE TEAMPeter Macqueen,Writer and PerformerPeter was brought up inLeicestershire, readdrama at ManchesterUniversity, ‘trained’ atthe Bristol Old VicTheatre School and

after far too long living in London,moved to Cumbria with his family in2011. He has worked in theatres all overthe country and abroad but has beensomething of a regular at Theatre by theLake in Keswick in recent yearsappearing in over 20 productions,including: The Inspector in An InspectorCalls; Scrooge in A Christmas Carol;Michael in Someone To Watch Over Me;Merlin in The Lady of the Lake; George inWho’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf.

In 2013, after a successful jointproduction with TbtL, he embarked on arural tour of a one man play – OldHerbaceous – which seems to beongoing! This experience prompted himto write his own one man show – TheProfessor of Adventure – his debut as awriter, which also started life as a jointproduction with TbtL in the spring of2016, selling out before it opened! Arural tour of the North followed andPeter aims to introduce The Professor toa wider audience further afield.

Stefan Escreet,DirectorStefan is a director, actorand radio producer. Hehas directed for The Gap,Mikron Theatre, theNew Vic, Watford Palace,M6 Theatre, Quondam

Theatre Co, Brewery Arts, ChesterGateway, Royal Welsh College of Music &Drama, Manchester School of Theatre.He was Associate Director at Theatre bythe Lake, Keswick where he directed over

40 productions and led on New Writing.As a radio producer he has worked onmany productions for BBC Radio 4. He isalso visiting tutor in Radio Acting forManchester School of Theatre. Morerecently he has set up ‘Ragged EdgeProductions’, whose first play ‘The ChefShow’ by Nick Ahad toured small scalenorthern venues and theatres to muchacclaim.

Martin Johns, DesignerMartin trained atWimbledon School ofArt and the MotleyTheatre Design courseand started his career atthe Belgrade Theatre,

Coventry. He became Head of Design forthe Tyneside Theatre Company, YorkTheatre Royal and Leicester HaymarketTheatre. He designed the set for the WestEnd production of ‘Me and My Girl’ at theAdelphi, which went on to be seen acrossthe world. Other West End showsinclude: Master Class (OldVic/Wyndhams); Passion Play(Wyndhams); West Side Story (HerMajesty's ); The Hired Man (Astoria); TheEntertainer (Shaftsbury); Brigadoon(Victoria Palace); Mack & Mabel(Piccadilly Theatre); The Romans inBritain (National Theatre). From 1999-2016 Martin was Resident Designer atTheatre by the Lake, Keswick anddesigned over 100 shows.


“ PINNEGAR WAS A GARDENER…

JUST A GARDENER.”

PMACPRODUCTIONS.CO.UK


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A PMac Production Old Herbaceous