No . 137
The Trusty Servant
Looking into the seeds of time The Bard goes to Rome – April 1979
James Bryson ( C , 78-83 ) recalls , in some cases dimly , a 45-year-old theatre tour .
On a recent family holiday to Rome I paid a visit to the venue for a 1979 Win Coll production of Macbeth , in which I played a very small part in only my second term .
The production , under the diminutive but authoritative John Clark ( Co Ro , 69-80 ), performed for four nights at Win Coll , two nights in the John Stripe Theatre of then King Alfred ’ s College ( tickets 80p ) before heading to Rome for a week in early April . The other travelling dons were Assistant Producer and Tour Manager Simon Eliot ( Co Ro , 76-00 )) and Jock Macdonald ( Co Ro , 64-01 ) then housedon of Toye ’ s . Jock was also our Italian-speaking fixer and enabler .
As the youngest in the cast of around 20 , and on my first trip overseas , it was a memorable experience . We stayed in one of the American schools in Rome ( St Peter ’ s ?), just south of the Colosseum and commuted daily to the Teatro Goldoni , which is around a minute ’ s walk just north of the Piazza Navona . The Goldoni is housed in the basement of the 15 th Century Palazzo Altemps , now a National Roman Museum , and was first built in the early 17 th century . From the late 1950s until her death not long after our trip , it was run on a shoestring by English actress Frances Reilly . The current staff of the museum knew little of the theatre ’ s 20 th century history around the period of our production . It is now closed to the public and rarely used , but I went armed with a photo of the signed programme showing the dates of our production . The museum director kindly unlocked the private entrance to the theatre from
James Bryson with the theatre ’ s Director
the beautiful loggia in the Palazzo ’ s main courtyard . It was much smaller than I remembered and I had also forgotten its beautiful painted ceiling and gallery . According to the programme , we performed for five days in Rome , which included two matinees .
I don ’ t recall the reviews or even if there were any , but I do remember the matinées being more panto than Shakespeare as our mostly high-school Italian audiences found the Bard a little inaccessible in their second language . The trip also included prime seats at a General Audience of the Pope , I think in our case one of the Lent audiences performed in St Peter ’ s Square prior to Easter Sunday . I have a vague recollection of us arriving late or being at the back of the audience and Jock using his linguistic agility to persuade the Swiss Guard to give us preferential treatment . He also provided translation services for me at the Carabinieri office to report the theft of my camera
( containing my close-ups of JP2 ). The officer proved unable to complete his report - he dashed out mid-way through to be sick in the corridor ! Jock ’ s translation for ‘ hangover ’ wasn ’ t necessary .
Like any large group of Wykehamists , the troupe was an eclectic mix . I have only crossed paths with a few over the years but it has felt wise not to mention that the last time we met I was wearing pink tights and being stabbed by a shageared villain . I recently learned from Angus , aka Charles Garrett ( C , 76-81 ) that Win Coll performed Macbeth again , so I thought on the 45 th anniversary of the Rome trip this might be of interest .
More photos and James ’ s signed programme can be seen in detail under News Stories on the Win Coll Soc website .
James demonstrating how small the stage was
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