Treasures from Worcestershire’s Past: ~45~ The Projectionist
- 10th October 2014
This week’s Treasure has been chosen by Justin Hughes, Project Officer, who has been working alongside VAMOS Theatre:
WAAS has recently been working again with VAMOS Theatre. During the first week of the Hive’s opening, in July 2012, the Worcester-based mask theatre performed ‘Offal Tales’, the story of twins Elsie and Josie who lived in Netherton Lane, off the Butts in Worcester in the 1920s and 1930s, and of Cyril Cale, who served as the cattle market foreman (on the site of the Hive) from 1930 to 1962.
During 2014 VAMOS Young People’s Theatre (with some research support from WAAS) produced a first class exhibition ‘From History to Theatre’, which explored memories of the cinema in the 1950s and 1960s.
Some of the VAMOS Young People’s cast
The Young People’s Theatre also recorded interviews with 5 local people who are, or who have, worked for cinemas as Projectionists: Matt Dainty, Andy Wright, brothers Jim & Mike Bowley & Norman Holly. Click here to listen to a sample of Tim Montague’s edited clips of the 5 Projectionists describing their work, before and during, the move to digital projection systems.
Norman Holly The pièce de résistance of the HLF funded project is the theatre performance of ‘The Projectionist’ which tells the story of Norman Holly, who worked for many years at the Regal Cinema in Evesham. The Young People’s Theatre played the roles of projectionists, usherettes and Kids Club cinema goers, with great music and film projection behind stage The shows were performed at local schools and in care homes.
Norman & Margaret performing in The Projectionist
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