2012 Festival
About Us
Background
This year is the 62nd year of the Shakespeare Festival founded by Dorian Williams in his family home, Pendley Manor, in 1947.
In 1947, two years after the opening of Pendley as a Centre of Adult Education, an open day was held at the end of July, each of the groups meeting regularly at Pendley every week displaying their wares, including the Drama Group. They presented some five or six scenes from Shakespeare, including a scene from Macbeth in the gardens.
Following the success of this presentation, the next year the group presented famous love scenes, using for the first time the 'big' stage, over 80ft wide with the magnificent yew hedge background and 100ft high flanking Canadian firs.
The next year a full production was presented of Henry V111 and the Festival was born… 1950 saw the first floodlit production, and by 1954 such was the success of the Festival it was decided to present two productions, Julius Caesar and A Midsummer Night's Dream.
Records show that, up to 1964, over 70 performances of the plays had been given, attended by approximately 30,000 people. Over 300 people had been numbered in the casts, and over 40 horses had taken part! Dorian's last production was in 1983 and he died in 1985, although with the exception of 1988 when the Manor was being refurbished, the Festival continued.
A stunning firework display celebrated the 50th anniversary in 1999 and in 2001 Sarah Branston took over the running of the festival. Her parents, John and Jennie Branston, actually met at a festival over thirty years ago and have been attending ever since. John has directed several productions and both John and Jennie frequently play small, character roles.
Stages
The Glade Stage
The majority of Productions prior to 2001 were given on what became known as The Glade Stage, a natural raised stage in the grounds of the Manor, west-facing, flanked by two magnificent 100 ft high Canadian Firs. Dramatic entrances made on horse back down the glade were common.
The Formal Stage
A second natural raised stage, facing south was used in 1962, 1963, 1964, 1968, 1970, 1980 and 1981. This stage had a backdrop of Yew hedges, characters would make their entrances and exits through gaps between the hedges.
Rose Garden
In 1989 during the conversion of the Manor House into a Hotel, a production of The Merchant of Venice was presented raised above the Rose Garden, on the south side of the Manor, with the Manor itself as a backdrop.
The Garden Stage
In 2001, a swimming pool and leisure centre were added to the Hotel. The electricity that this facility drew from the substation, compromised the power available for the Festival. This compromise, alongside increased demand for the Hotel's wedding facilities located within earshot of the Glade Stage, meant the Festival had to be both downsized in terms of its power requirements, and also relocated away from the wedding facilities. The Garden Stage sits in front of a leafy bank, alongside the Rose Garden. Although this smaller, more intimate stage may lack some of the grandeur of the larger stages, many believe it doesn't lack any of the magic.
Past Productions
1947 Scenes from A Midsummer Night's Dream & King Richard II1948 "If music be the food of love..." Famous scenes
1949 King Henry VIII. The first Festival
1950 Falstaff ...combining the many scenes from Henry IV
1951 Twelfth Night
1952 The Tempest
1953 Romeo and Juliet
1954 Julius Caesar & A Midsummer Night's Dream
1955 Macbeth & As You Like It
1956 King Henry V & The Merry Wives of Windsor
1957 King John & Twelfth Night
1958 King Lear & A Midsummer Night's Dream
1959 King Henry VIII & The Merchant of Venice
1960 King Richard II & The Taming of the Shrew
1961 As You Like It & The Winter's Tale
1962 Much Ado About Nothing & Macbeth
1963 Othello & The Merry Wives of Windsor
1964 Romeo and Juliet & Twelfth Night
1965 Love's Labour's Lost & The Tempest
1966 King Lear & A Midsummer Night's Dream
1967 Anthony and Cleopatra & The Taming of the Shrew
1968 King Richard III & The Comedy of Errors
1969 Much Ado About Nothing & The Winter's Tale
1970 Twelfth Night & The Merchant of Venice
1971 As You Like It & King Richard II
1972 Love's Labour's Lost & The Merry Wives of Windsor
1973 Hamlet & A Midsummer Night's Dream
1974 Romeo and Juliet & The Comedy of Errors
1975 The Tempest & King Henry IV; part II
1976 Twelfth Night & King Henry V
1977 The Taming of the Shrew & Julius Caesar
1978 The Winter's Tale & As You Like It
1979 Much Ado About Nothing & Macbeth
1980 Love's Labour's Lost & The Merry Wives of Windsor
1981 The Merchant of Venice & Two Gentlemen of Verona
1982 A Midsummer Night's Dream & King Henry IV; part I
1983 Twelfth Night & Romeo and Juliet
1984 Much Ado About Nothing & The Tempest
1985 King Richard III & The Taming of the Shrew
1986 As You Like It & King Lear
1987 Macbeth & A Midsummer Night's Dream
1988 No Festival / No Play
1989 The Merchant of Venice
1990 The Merry Wives of Windsor
1991 Romeo and Juliet & The Comedy of Errors
1992 King Henry VIII & A Midsummer Night's Dream
1993 The Tempest & Twelfth Night
1994 As You Like It & King Henry V
1995 Much Ado About Nothing & King Richard III
1996 Two Gentlemen of Verona & The Merchant of Venice
1997 The Taming of the Shrew & Macbeth
1998 Love's Labour's Lost & Twelfth Night
1999 Romeo and Juliet & A Midsummer Night's Dream
2000 The Comedy of Errors & The Tempest
2001 Much Ado About Nothing & King Henry V
2002 The Taming of the Shrew & Macbeth
2003 Sir John Falstaff and the Merry Wives & The Winter's Tale
2004 A Midsummer Night's Dream & Twelfth Night
2005 Much Ado About Nothing & Romeo and Juliet
2006 The Comedy of Errors & King Lear
2007 As You Like It & The Tempest
2008 Twelfth Night & The Merchant of Venice
2009 A Midsummer Night's Dream & Macbeth
2010 The Taming of the Shrew & Richard III
2011 The Winter's Tale & The Merry Wives of Windsor
Pendley Manor
Although Pendley Manor is now one of the most recognisable hotels in Hertfordshire, its story stretches back nearly 1,000 years and includes some famous names.
The Manor dates back to the Doomsday Book, when it was confiscated in 1066 by William the Conqueror and passed to his brother in law, Earl Moreton.
Jon de Angle, reputed to have been the first Member of Parliament, became the Manor's next owner, before it was passed to the Verney family when Sir Robert Whittingham's daughter married John Verney. The Verney family lived at the Manor for the next 150 years.
The Anderson family then occupied the Manor for the next four generations, prior to it being inherited by the Harcourt family. Sir William Harcourt abandoned the Manor in the 19th century, having objected to the building of the railway. It was burnt down in 1835.
Local landowner Joseph Grout Williams commissioned architect John Lion to build a new Tudor style Manor in 1872. He then occupied the Manor from 1875 until his death in 1923, and his widow until 1943. Dorian Williams, his nephew who had a great love of horses and was the original television show jumping commentator, opened it in 1945 as the first Residential Centre for Adult Education in the country. In 1983 it was sold to the Grass Roots Company. In 1987, the Manor was purchased by an independent Hotelier and in 1989 it re-opened as a Country House Hotel. In 1991 an extension incorporating The Harcourt Ballroom and 73 new bedrooms was completed, and in 2001 a swimming pool and spa were also incorporated.
Taking Part
Auditions and Casting
Auditions are held across the first or second weekend in January, at Pendley Manor, for the following summer's Festival. Auditions are open to all local and national applicants. You will usually be asked to prepare and perform a speech from a Shakespeare play of your choice. The speech should be suitable for the parts you wish to be considered for. It is highly recommended that you attend performances the summer before you audition, to gain some understanding of the Festival and the demands of working in the open air.
23.11.2011
AUDITIONS will take place at Pendley Manor on Saturday 7th & Sunday 8th January.
Audition Information | Audition Form | pend...@...mail.com
Backstage
We are always looking for people to help with stage management, set building and painting, props, costumes, lighting and sound. Whatever levels of experience you have, and however much or little time you have to give, please get in touch! CONTACT US >>
Directing at Pendley
Directing at Pendley requires huge amounts of nerve, energy, enthusiasm, and skill. It is not for the faint hearted. Although an amateur festival, the Festival will only continue if it is commercially successful for the Hotel Management. This responsibility lies primarily with Artistic Director, Sarah Branston, and secondly with the Directors she chooses to work with. Sarah would certainly want to attend a comparable production you have directed (similar size space, similar size auditorium, similar style of play) before considering your application.
We currently have no vacancies in this area. However, if you would like to speculatively send us your CV, please do get in touch. It is highly recommendeded that you attend performances to gain familiarity with our work before getting in touch. CONTACT US >>
