Alice Tay OAM and Warwick Gresty have attended Bell Shakespeare productions in Canberra for more than three decades and have been proudly part of our donor community since the 90s. Philanthropy Manager Ell Katte sat down for a cuppa to chat all things theatre, regional travel and why Shakespeare's histories outshine the comedies.
What brought you to Bell Shakespeare originally?
Alice: I had seen John Bell and Anna Volska perform at the Nimrod and I noticed they'd started a theatre company called 'Bell Shakespeare'. I can't remember the first show we saw, but I remember the tents in City Square in Canberra. We always made a point of going when Bell was in town. In the early days, it was because of our subscription to the Canberra Theatre until we begun subscribing to Bell Shakespeare. Except we didn’t go to the comedies...I don’t like comedies.
Warwick: At that time, we were working long hours and late nights. To have a plan and to go out to a theatre was a bit more interesting and exciting than watching whatever was on television. I'm not quite sure how we ended up in Shakespeare but I'm glad we did. In 1988, before Bell, the English Shakespeare Company came through and performed their version of the War of the Roses. See, I’m from Cheshire so I’m very familiar with the histories. I loved it and I wanted to see more of that stuff.
Warwick: Canberra is a bit of an outpost in many ways. The fact that Bell used to start its season in Canberra meant a lot to me, as someone whose been in Canberra 50 years.
What keeps you coming back to these plays?
Alice: For me, I just enjoy theatre. I’m one of those people who doesn't remember things. Every time I see a play, it’s as if I’m seeing it anew. I could read a book 10 times and enjoy it as much as I read it the first time. I see that as a plus. Theatre is between you and what’s happening on stage. You’re not affected by anything else. To me, it’s a personal experience.
Warwick: I’m the opposite to Alice. I remember every book I’ve ever read, every program I’ve ever seen, every film I’ve ever watched, every play I’ve been to... but I can’t remember what I had for breakfast. For me, Shakespeare is about linking the history. I don’t mind the comedies, though they are a bit sexist, but the histories are what really excites me.
Warwick: I dragged poor Alice to Rome to go to the biggest and most important structure of the Roman Empire. We stood on it and it was pretty amazing... It was the Appian Way... the highway. The most important structure the Romans ever built was the simple road. It’s been there for two-thousand years! When you talk about the plays, the Roman plays, the English history plays, they all have a continuity all the way to today... and it's not just the roads.
Why do you think Shakespeare is important?
Warwick: I remember studying A Midsummer Nights Dream when I did English at school in Canberra and was immediately hooked. The language - the naughty and the beautiful - it's 500 years old and it's still used today. It's not so much about the plays for me, but rather the links. Do a google search: "Startrek and Shakespeare"*. See how many links there are between the two - including the involvement of lead Shakespearean actors. To quote Chancellor Gorkon “You haven’t read Shakespeare until you’ve read it in the original klingon.” Most of the time, the behaviours and actions of people are the same then as they are now. We can look back 500 years and see ‘that didn’t work that well back then either did it?!’
Alice: ...and that's why history is so important - because you need to learn from it.
Why do you chose to support Bell Shakespeare?
Alice: I think the language is incredibly important. On stage and in schools. If you gave me a list of things to support, I would always be steered towards teaching and education. If you don't get them young, you've lost them.
Alice: We watched a few sessions of the National Teacher Conference and it was remarkable to see the video with the teachers from all across the country. We've been to Menindee and Broken Hill and it surprised us to see Shakespeare taking place in remote Menindee and for the teachers from those locations accessing Bell resources. In short, I like what you're doing and want to help you keep doing it.
Warwick: It's really quite simple - it's Australian. When you see a great Australian enterprise, you feel the need to support it. It's great.
* For those interested, Ell did do a google search and discovered an extensive wikipedia page dedicated to the topic. A personal highlight is discovering this quote from Sir Patrick Stewart: "All the time I spent sitting around on the thrones of England as various Shakespearean kings was nothing but a preparation for sitting in the captain's chair on the Enterprise."
Please contact Bell Shakespeare’s Philanthropy Executive, Jessie Lancaster at jessiel@bellshakespeare.com.au if you want to hear more about supporting Bell Shakespeare.
