Chapter 5. Stag Revisited
In the intervening two years between Stag 1 and 2, Genesis presented two more big productions – 'Demolition Man' and 'Tommy' (more of which later) – but it kept on simmering away somewhere deep inside me, and from time to time it would surface with a new thought: what if we did this instead, or that? As well, during the making of 'Demolition Man' and 'Tommy', I was also directing dozens of plays at The Garrick, and I was learning more and more all the time about stagecraft and structure and writing, until I remember how gradually, little by little, the true story of what 'Stag' was really about began to emerge more clearly, and I began to see what needed to be done to make it work.
Amanda and I were living in Heywood by then, and so I no longer lived just down the road from Chris, and I distinctly recall inviting Chris to come over one evening, and the two of us discussing the possibility of resurrecting 'Stag' and completely shaking it up. Chris too was excited by this prospect, for by this time he had put together further new musicians, and he felt that the music also could be refined and reworked.
And so the process of rewriting began. All the Shaw Town material went (although the two less specific songs – 'White Rose Queen' and 'The Tall Tree' – were retained, except that now I knew what to do with them and how to make them fit more naturally into the dramatic structure. Instead of running parallel stories from different time-frames, the focus was much more closely aligned to Sally's recurring dreams, so that we were able to play with the audience's perception of what they were seeing: were they actually happening, or were they all part of Sally's imagination? And if they were just figures drawn from her imagination, where did they spring from? Nature or nurture? Was she possessed, or was she psychotic? Was Herne, therefore, real or imagined? This decision also immediately made more sense of the characters of John & Mary, (Sally's parents), who could act as ciphers for the audience: as they tried to piece together the various pieces of the puzzle – from Sally's letters and diaries – so could we, the audience. This also meant that I could write the characters of Simeon and Maestro much less enigmatically. It's not so much what they say or do that counts, but how Sally interprets them. So, as the narrative builds towards its climax we are able to enter into Sally's dreamscape completely, and the actions of the 'White Rose Queen' and the final Mummers' Play can all play out according to their own inevitable, inner logic.
The rest of the dialogue was pruned, sharpened, tightened, so that every word counted: instead of what previously in version 1 had been sprawling and formless, now what emerged was lean and clear. We hit on the idea of having a Sally “double”, (played by Cathy Powell), who could enact some of the later dream sequences in such a way that the “real” Sally could observe herself while she was dreaming, which added further to the atmosphere of malice and unease that pervaded the whole piece now.
I was greatly helped in this process of re-discovery by Chris Shepherd*, a journalist on the Oldham Evening Chronicle, who had the previous year written the most amazing review of 'Tommy' for us (I expect a copy of this can be read elsewhere on the site) and had then introduced himself to us. We quickly became great friends, sharing many of the same tastes and reference points, as well as a similar sense of humour. Chris was so excited by the discussions we were having about this new version of 'Stag' that eventually we were able to persuade him to join us and play the part of John.
(*Chris Shepherd became a really close friend during the brief period he was involved with us all in Genesis. I recall one wonderful outing that he planned – to Blackpool – where he, Alison Davis, Mike Cheeseman and his partner John Paul, Shirley Hawley and I all went one Sunday on a “grand day out”. We played bingo, ate fish & chips and ice cream, went for a paddle, watched Punch & Judy, wore “kiss-me-quick” hats, rode the big dipper on the Pleasure Beach, got sick on the Haunted Swing, and generally had a brilliantly trashy time. Chris was a really fine actor, as well as a most accomplished and flamboyant pianist. He used to play in several Manchester city centre hotels and bars, where I heard him play on a number of occasions. Subsequently I was able to direct him in a production of Hitchcock's 'Psycho' that we did at The Garrick in 1982, in which he was a magnificent Norman Bates. This was the world stage premiere of the piece which, amazingly, Universal Pictures let us do for just 25 dollars. Naturally it was a sell-out – there was huge national media interest – and I vividly recall the queues for tickets every night that stretched twice round the theatre, then several hundred yards down Barrington Road. Chris succeeded me as Resident Director at The Garrick when I left for Dorset in '83, but then died following a sudden illness in '87, still in his early thirties. Dreadful).
Anyway, back to 'Stag'. While I was grappling with the structure and the script changes, Chris D. was similarly beavering away, re-arranging virtually every musical number. One of the issues that we had constantly battled with in all previous Genesis productions was the matter of sound, particularly with reference to chorus singing. It was relatively straightforward to mic. up soloists and get the balance right between them and the band, but getting adequate coverage for the choruses was always problematic. Chris would, quite understandably, become increasingly frustrated when his efforts at teaching the various rich and, at times, complex harmonies to each song were finally mastered by the cast, who would then, in the rehearsal room to the accompaniment of a piano, produce a wonderful, big sound, only to disappear when transferred to the theatre with the full band. Right from 'Hair' we incorporated extra singers who could be miked up off stage, but this was never wholly satisfactory. But as I said earlier, with each production that we did, we learned new ways to solve various problems. So, as I was stripping down the script and reducing the Followers of Herne (a kind of Greek Chorus) to just 7 individuals, Chris decided to incorporate a large choir as an integral part of the band, to be miked up and mixed in accordingly. This was a great success; we produced the best chorus sound for any Genesis production and Chris wove all the various musical elements of the piece together so seamlessly and so skilfully, that each song, when it occurred, emerged organically from the dialogue and the action.
And what great music he wrote! 'I Love You Like The Sea', 'Words', 'Fires In Your Cities', 'Sally, I Love You', 'The Tall Tree', and of course the title song 'Stag' itself – these are all beautiful, haunting melodies that capture the mood and atmosphere of the piece perfectly. Another particular favourite of mine is the coda at the end of 'White Rose Queen' when Chris changes key, shifts from the guitar to the lute, and suddenly the whole piece is transformed to an altogether different, more menacing plane. As well as these great individual themes, he also had to create pastiches of 1950's coffee bars, Italian night clubs, the classical piano pieces that Sally studies under Maestro, plus two huge full company numbers, 'Benvenuto a Roma' and 'Coming Home'.
'Coming Home' is a complex and ambitious song that describes a pivotal decision in Sally's life from 6 different perspectives, with 6 different characters having their own separate melody, all of which then fuse and overlap. It is a real tour de force, while 'Benvenuto a Roma'*, which closes the first half, appears to offer Sally a chance of escape and the opportunity to start afresh as she lands in Rome to begin her studies there. In the song we meet gangsters, prostitutes, cafe owners, street singers, corrupt customs officials, American, German, British and Japanese tourists, all of which Sally revels in. It is a brilliant achievement by Chris and was a great favourite with both cast and audiences alike, but listening back to it now, it is faintly embarrassing – not because of Chris's music, not at all (as I have said he carries the whole thing off magnificently) – but because of my lyrics, which are politically incorrect, extremely patronising and faintly xenophobic, almost to the point of being offensive, for they are so stereotyping of supposed national characteristics. If we were ever to perform this song again, I would have to rewrite those lyrics! But it was done in all innocence and it is more a reflection of the ignorance of the times, rather than any conscious act on my part. It's a good thing we can recognise this now... Even so, allowing for these lapses in taste, it remains witty and fun, and brilliantly realised by Chris's superb music.
(*'Benvenuto a Roma' was an unashamed homage to 'Un Nuit a Paris', a track by 10cc, who were one of my favourite bands from that era, and this brings in another tangential anecdote. 10cc were formed in Manchester and their manager, Harvey Lisberg, still ran his offices there, in Withington. Harvey, whom of course I didn't know, came to see the first production of 'Hair' at Altrincham Garrick and somehow got hold of my number and called me up the following day. He had been greatly impressed by the show and he wondered if I might be interested in a proposition he wanted to put to me and would I go round to his office to discuss it? Intrigued I went along and – well, what 23 year old would not be impressed to be sitting in an office whose walls were lined with framed gold discs of various bands that Harvey was managing! He asked me if I might be interested in directing 10cc's stage shows and he described in particular the group's current desire to present their songs in a more theatrical style, also incorporating film and video. He cited two songs in particular as examples – 'Don't Hang Up' and 'Un Nuit a Paris'. To say I was thrilled would be an understatement, and so Harvey made arrangements for me to visit the band on the last night of their current UK tour in Glasgow. Unfortunately, the date of that gig – a Saturday – coincided with the night before the dress rehearsal for 'How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying' which I was directing for PADOS. No problem, said Harvey, I'll organise for you to fly up there, so you can get the early morning flight back from Glasgow to Manchester so that you can be back in time for the dress rehearsal. But come the Saturday morning, however, I was struck down with a migraine. I had been prone to these from time to time all my life and this was a real humdinger, complete with white lights, dizziness, vomiting and unignorable pain, and I had to cancel. Immediately after the Glasgow gig 10cc broke up, though they would later reform with a new line-up, but the offer was never repeated. I know that it is fruitless to regret, but I do wonder whether that migraine was psychosomatic, induced by nervousness, and I do still regret that I missed this opportunity. But Harvey Lisberg has one more appearance to make in the story of Genesis – meanwhile, back to 'Stag'...)
This reworked version of 'Stag' marked our third and final collaboration with The Grange Arts Centre, where we had enjoyed an excellent welcome with 'You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown' and with 'Tommy', but things soured with 'Stag'. Their technical manager, Alan Stephenson, hitherto such a keen supporter, for some reason lost interest in us – I never knew why – and for the performance at The Royal Exchange he simply didn't turn up. This put us in a potentially very difficult situation, but fortunately I was able to call in a favour from a long-time university friend, Kevin Cahill, who came over at a moment's notice and operated the sound effects faultlessly for us. (Kevin is now the CEO of Comic Relief).
The performance at The Royal Exchange was, for me, the final realisation that we had at last achieved what we had set out to do with this radically reworked 2nd version of 'Stag'. It found its perfect venue there and the performances by the cast, choir and musicians alike all came together better than I could have hoped. I remember after it had finished, I climbed down from the eyrie that is the control desk at the top of The Royal Exchange to go and thank each individual for their own unique, particular contribution, which had collectively helped Chris and me to realise our dream for 'Stag', and feeling extremely emotional.
Everyone involved was superb, but Alison as Sally and Louis as Herne were never better, I felt, in a Genesis production than they were that night.
(Another amusing memory for me of that night relates to Amanda who, while carrying out one of the many extremely quick costume changes that all the Chorus were required to do at various times throughout the production,got disorientated by the fact that The Exchange is in the round and couldn't decide which of the seven doors she should make her next entrance through and proceeded to lap the entire theatre several times before bumping into Andrew Pastor, with whom she was meant to enter, who was similarly lapping in the opposite direction. They then emerged correctly through the right door to be cool, sophisticated dancers for the 'Roma By Night' sequence with nobody but themselves aware of the clothes being flung on and off outside in the foyer by equally disorientated cast members!)
But this final performance at The Exchange was not the end of the 'Stag' story. A whole other saga was about to unfold, which Chris has described in detail in his own entry...