05: 1995 - Trivial Pursuits

A very crowded garden set, for a modern-day barbecue. Please ignore the cast; unfortunately, there weren't enough photos to work with to get rid of them.

Technically, a lot went into this one. The basic structure was easy enough: the brickwork was a nightmare to paint. We had carpet tiles to simulate lawn, which had a disconcerting tendency to slide about. The patio, being 18" stone slabs, slid less but was rather more alarming when it did! There were real trees screening the wings and they didn't much enjoy the heat of the stage lights - fortunately, not fatally so. Add to that the need to have ladders behind the set going way up into the eaves - as one of the characters had several speeches to do while threatening to throw himself off the roof and the TV aerial had to come crashing down from above as well. It was a tricky one for props as well: the actors seemed to do nothing but eat and drink for the entire play - all those bottles on the drinks trolley were needed! Still, it's always satisfying to produce something a little different, rather than a simple lounge/dining room.