Ten years of BOAT
Summer wouldn ’ t be summer without a night in Dyke Road Park , watching a play at the Brighton Open Air Theatre , glass in one hand , blanket in the other . Peter Chrisp looks back at what ’ s happened to Adrian Bunting ’ s dream
This summer , we ’ re celebrating the tenth season of Brighton Open Air Theatre in Dyke Road Park . It ’ s the legacy of Adrian Bunting ( 1966-2013 ), theatre maker and construction manager .
Adrian had been thinking about building a permanent open-air theatre in Brighton for years . He knew what the theatre should look like , and had even picked the perfect location , the bowling club in his local park . Yet it seemed unlikely that it could ever be done .
In April 2013 , when Adrian was diagnosed with incurable cancer , the council announced it was looking for a new use for the bowling club . Adrian spent his last weeks initiating plans to build his theatre there , and asked five close friends to help create it .
Interviewed in the week before he died , Adrian said , “ I lived in Seven Dials for nearly 22 years and I had this idea for building an open-air theatre for Brighton , and because my favourite park is Dyke Road Park , I would constantly go up there and imagine putting it there . And the bowling lawn was always the place that I dreamed of – it ’ s a magical place , with its own copse , hidden from the world … But of course it was a bowling lawn . You ’ ve heard about my unfortunate illness . That , combining with the fact that the bowling green is no longer needed , was almost too big a coincidence to think about . I really think that Brighton deserves an open-air theatre ... that one of the most artistic towns in England can have a theatre that it can be proud of , alongside all the big , beautiful theatres inside ... And this is a chance for us to make one , and enjoy it for the whole of the summer .”
Adrian left his savings of £ 18,000 for the project , and £ 100,000 more was raised by benefits , art auctions and donations . It took just two years to create the theatre , which was opened by Adrian ’ s mother Isabelle on 9 May 2015 . Adrian used to say , “ I want the audience to be part of the show .” As a theatre maker , he always wanted to break the fourth wall , the imaginary barrier between audience and performance . He did this on an intimate scale with his World ’ s Smallest Theatre , which he took to Edinburgh fringe in 1996 . This was a box , with just enough space for the heads of three people – one audience member and two actors , Adrian and Clea Smith .
He broke the fourth wall on a big scale with his play Kemble ’ s Riot , which won best theatre award at Brighton Fringe in 2011 . Here the audience takes sides in the 1809 riots at
Covent Garden Theatre , sparked when actormanager John Kemble raised the ticket prices to cover the costs of rebuilding the theatre .
The most striking feature of Adrian ’ s plan for BOAT is its long-thrust stage , which brings the performers out among the audience – another way of getting rid of the fourth wall . You can see how radical this is if you compare it with earlier open-air theatres , such as Regents Park and the Minack in Cornwall , where audience and stage are separated .
Claire Raftery , one of the founding Trustees , recalls , “ Ross Gurney-Randall and I measured out the planned dimensions for the BOAT stage - with 30 metal pins and a rope on a sunny afternoon in Victoria Gardens – adjusting dimensions to make sure it would work , and trying out different types of performance in relationship to audience proximity . The stage needed to be large enough for larger casts and ensemble shows , for movement and dance , whilst making sure it had enough intimacy and connection for solo performer ….”
BOAT ’ s tenth season began with a revival of Kemble ’ s Riot , staged by Brighton Little Theatre . This was the first performance of the full-length version , as written by Adrian . Audience members sang songs and made their own banners , writing slogans such as “ No to Kembleflation !” or “ We love you Kemble !”
I went to the show with three of the founding Trustees , James Payne , Steve Turner and Donna Close . After , we talked about Adrian ’ s stage design , and how this was the perfect meeting place of a play and a space . James said , “ He was rightly proud of this innovative design . I can ’ t help feeling that it has inspired other open-air theatres . Take the Thorington woodland theatre for example , not to mention the Downlands theatre in Hassocks .”
In Brighton , we didn ’ t realise just how much we needed a purposebuilt open-air theatre until we saw what the space could do . Alongside drama , BOAT has hosted wrestling , opera , rock concerts , circus , contemporary dance , poetry slams , live art , drag in the park , Glen Richardson ’ s epic one-man recreation of the Live Aid concert , and stand-up comedy for dogs . In 2020 , we had a midwinter pantomime – Hansel and Gretel .
Many companies make use of the whole space . Wrestlers enter through the audience , with the heroic blue-eyes high-fiving , and the heels getting whacked by children with inflated clubs . Suspiciously Elvis will do walkabouts , even sitting on people ’ s laps mid song . By the end of one of his magnificent shows , half the audience has joined him dancing on the thrust stage .
It ’ s lovely to watch the sky above change as the sun goes down , and listen to the birds singing in the trees . Even rain can bring extra drama , such as the time during Mark Brailsford ’ s production of Julius Caesar when real thunder and lightning accompanied the storm in Shakespeare ’ s play .
What a remarkable journey . BOAT now runs for a six-month season , staffed by a small expert team , its Trustees and upwards of 80 committed volunteers . Without public subsidy , BOAT is kept afloat through income from ticket sales and from donations , with any profits invested into making the venue even more accessible , green and welcoming .
Take a look at this year ’ s programme on the BOAT website ; there are lots of great shows to see until the end of September . If you ’ ve not yet been , you ’ re in for a treat .
l Brighton Open Air Theatre , Dyke Rd , Brighton and Hove , Hove BN3 6EH www . brightonopenairtheatre . co . uk / 07391 357542 ( Mon-Fri , 1pm-6pm )