Whose Pleasant Land?

I’m writing a script at the moment. Not a straight script for a conventional play but a pageant script for a project based around Leith Hill Place in the Surrey Hills. The project is called Whose Pleasant Land? hence the heading above. A pageant script differs from a straight play, involving little in the way of character development but seeking to reflect something of the arc of history through individuals and a sense of place. From a scriptwriter’s perspective this leads to a more picaresque approach, with linked scenes and musical interludes. A different challenge to a straight play and one with different rewards.

There’s some doubt as to whether ‘pageant’ is the proper name for this project as it can be taken to imply some sort of procession. No decision has been taken, as yet, about a procession of that sort. The elements which will definitely be part of this pageant are a sense of community, a reflection of change and the challenges which that presents, a provocation to think about current and future change, and a celebration of the area we live in, the people in it, and the cultural life of that community.. The show will involve people from the community as individuals and in their groups – choirs, bands, dancers and more. All of this with reference back to past pageants, not least the pageant produced locally immediately pre-war, written by E M Forster and Ralph Vaughan Williams, both local residents at the time. Big shoes to fill!

Our reaction/response to the past includes a look at land use and access as well as some of the changes seen since 1938 – no shortage of those! It’s an education simply writing the script. I’ve learnt much about enclosures, witch-hunts, and power struggles – and some of that will find its way into the script.

What is it about a project like this which makes it so exhilarating? So energising? I think it’s partly the teamwork, building something with a talented group of musicians, visual and spoken word artists, and theatre practitioners. It’s partly the sense of creating something on a larger scale, it’s the sense of community, and it’s the legacy which these projects tend to create. And, naturally, it exercises the writing muscles – always a good thing.

The Big Day

from the villages and towns they come
instruments in cases 
ready to be released

voices warmed up for song
bodies for the dance
in the gentle autumn sun

marshals guide the cars
buses disgorge passengers
actors practise their parts

greetings are exchanged
laughter, hugs
amid anticipation

a community brings friendship 
talent and joy in
creativity, participation

and before they know it
the show has started
no nerves now
they’re on!