A Night at the Theatre (Peter Clarke) - review

Have been musing on last night at The Grove. Lots of folks asked me if I was going to blog it. I want to I said, shamelessly inhaling the oblique and implied flattery, but not as a critique. Such local theatrical moments, especially such an amazing goodbye to such a wonderful man, deserve a permanent comment. Even if only mine on this obscure site. But not a critique. That means singling out the best and admonishing the worst, giving an objective opinion on a theatrical presentation. Can’t do that here. There was so much goodwill, about a hundred on stage and up to three or four hundred in the audience, you could have bottled it and made a pretty penny. The best were brilliant and the rest a mixture of competent charm and earnest endeavour. But all were there to celebrate and give tribute to a man who touched so many theatrical hearts. Peter Clarke was amazing for his industry, his talent, his generosity of spirit, and his absolute niceness. All who were there, onstage and off, wanted to say thank you to him for being part of their lives and, in such circumstances, tear sodden critics (I was, especially at a brilliant montage) are superfluous. But, as I said, it has got me musing.

The media is full of celebrities and disasters. Anonymous people who touch lives for their fame or their demise or, in the case of Princess Diana, both. Millions pour out their grief or anger and the tweeters and facebook posters hum with indignation or solace. It is all very touching, sometimes, but it is all so unreal. The papers and TV may be plastered with these folks but we don’t know them. Our emotions are both media driven and second-hand. They may be famous but they are also remote. At the same time, all over the country, there are folks in small towns and communities giving a final farewell to someone who truly touched their lives. I regularly see posters, recently in Bourne (Lincs), Rugby, Aldeburgh, Hinckley (Leics) and Welwyn, where an anonymous life is truly to be celebrated. These folks never made the national papers, never got on TV or on the radio, never got those fifteen minutes of fame so beloved of Andy Warhol. But they were real people and they touched real lives in a way that media celebrities never can. For the Peter Clarke’s of this world the tears are real and the emotions raw. Only the few may know who we are saying goodbye to but, all over the country, we are saying the same. This person really did touch our lives. I did say I was musing.

And that brings me back to Alan Clarke’s Night at the Theatre. I reckon I would have enjoyed it even if I hadn’t a clue who Peter Clarke was. Alan Clarke (Peter’s son) packaged it well and Malcolm Farrar did a superb job as our compere for the evening. Sincere and engaging. The critic in me is seeping out here. The photographic montage of Peter Clarke’s theatrical life was emotionally awesome in its creation and execution, beautiful music and clever images, and the Luton Youth Jazz Section in Act Two absolutely wonderful. I reckon folks will forgive me if I say that this second half opening, including the amazing Amanda Seal and the consummate Graham Crisp, oozed considerable class. We opened with a splendid ‘Wilkommen’ from Cabaret and ended with an invigorating ‘Master of the House’ from Les Miserables. Peter Clarke would have loved the rendition of two of his favourites and everything in between. In fact I reckon he did. He was sitting there in the audience with us, as was his lovely wife Myrna. I said to her, after the show, that she must feel very proud. She was. And so was Peter’s spirit. A magnificent celebration of a life full lived. It happens all over the country with anonymous people in anonymous towns not celebrated by the media. I am glad to say I was there on the night it happened for Peter Clarke. Wonderful man, wonderful evening. Enormous thanks to Alan Clarke and Malcolm Farrar and all the others who made it happen. Three hundred, four hundred. Who cares. We all wept. Roy Hall.

For your interest:-

Jacqui Dankworth
With LYJO (Luton Youth Jazz orchestra)
Grove Theatre, Dunstable.
Sat October 6th 2012.
7.30 pm.
Tickets £20
01582 602080