Luton Library Theatre: What's Past is Prologue

National World - Other Local Sites

This 12-minute documentary looks at the history of Luton's theatre and why they need your help to preserve it for generations to come.  Video: Two Sides Studios

Transcript

00:00So we're here at the Luton Library, and on the top floor is something truly special.

00:17The Luton Library Theatre, that's what's on the top floor.

00:21To be, or not to be, this place is a true, true hidden gem.

00:27There's so much opportunity that can happen here, hidden spots, it's just so classic,

00:34old school.

00:35You ready?

00:36Yeah, I'm ready.

00:37Okay, cool.

00:38Okay, so I'm Tim.

00:39Tim Hayden.

00:40I'm here with...

00:41Terry.

00:42Hello.

00:43And we are now sitting in the Luton Library Theatre, which Luton Creative Community took

00:49over at the end of 2023, because the theatre was going to be closed.

00:58One of the local groups who does the annual pantomime here, the Griffin Players, approached

01:02the council, so this is, what, 2022, and said, well, what's happening with the theatre?

01:07We want to put our pantomime on.

01:09And the council gave them special dispensation to come in and do the pantomime, but then

01:14afterwards it would be closed.

01:43My connection is I'm part of Luton Creative Community, because I performed on the stage,

01:47I was a member of the Griffin Players from 1992, so, and then I came to see a Griffin

01:53Panto in January 2023, and found out the sad news that they were going to be closing the

01:59library.

02:00So I was like, this cannot happen.

02:03Karen and I came to a Griffin Adult Panto, which we do every year, and it was announced

02:11on the stage that this place was going to close, and we were so indignant about it.

02:15I went home, got straight onto social media, banging away on Facebook, and then it kind

02:20of had a domino effect, lots of people got involved, commenting.

02:23And so Karen put her little plant on Facebook, which I applaud.

02:26The council then realised that there was a niche for it still to be open, people still,

02:31you know, wanted the library to be open, and so they came to Terry.

02:35Because of my history with this place, can you see if you can get all these people talking

02:39to each other and come up with some sort of idea?

02:42And that's exactly what I did.

02:44I'm part of a group of people who have used this theatre actively since the late 1970s.

02:51Balls down to about 12, 13 of us.

02:54Can you name them all?

02:55Yeah, so there's myself, there's my brother Tim Hayden, and his wife Ruth Hayden, there's

03:00Debbie Cheshire, Karen Franks, John Hawley, Nova Hawley, and I'm going to miss somebody,

03:07and then when this film goes out, they'll go, they didn't even mention me!

03:17We have all got the common interest of wanting to save and rescue this place and keep it

03:23running.

03:24It means something to us, there's something about this place.

03:28I don't know what it is, but there's something about this place.

03:32No, I'm not ready, no!

03:34The most ideal five years would be that we have a full catalogue of almost every part

03:40of the arts that you could think of.

03:42Yeah, so we've got dance taking place, we've got comedy, we've got theatre, we've got musicals,

03:46we've got touring groups, we've got children's groups.

03:50So we want as diverse a range as possible.

03:53Bringing people like yourself involved, you've now learnt about it, you'll spread the word

03:58by bringing in other expertise, more people, more people know about it, and it's everyone

04:03that is interested to save it, because everyone that comes in here just loves it.

04:06I think that's incredibly humbling, in the sense that for some people they might be,

04:11it's mine now, I've finally got it, it's mine, I'm keeping it.

04:14No, no, no.

04:15But you're very much like, hey, I've got it, and I own it now, so I can give it to any

04:18one of you lot.

04:19Well, and that's what I'm desperately searching for, that person that, I don't know, is maybe

04:25in their 20s, is just starting out in life, and I want them to be sat here in 50 years'

04:32time, going, yes, it's part of my blood, this building, but there's somebody, I'm confident.

04:39They're watching, yes.

04:40Yeah, I'm confident that there's somebody, yeah, that will go, I'd love to get involved

04:44in that, and will come on board maybe just as an usher, maybe to learn some tech.

04:50We kind of, we're going to swap around a little bit, actually.

05:02There's a very interesting way that the band came together, though.

05:06So these guys all together in a company called Act, Alan Clark Theatre, and they did a musical

05:11called Once, which was amazing.

05:14And from that, The Shallows was born.

05:16So you're an actor?

05:17This is true, yeah.

05:18It's true.

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07:43And this is the nicest.

07:44It's not the biggest, but it is the most intimate.

07:48Intimate.

07:49Yeah.

07:50Once you've been on this stage, it's a really lovely theatre.

07:54I mean, I've acted on many stages in Luton, but also across the country, because I used

08:01to, in the 80s, myself and a couple of other friends started up our own acting group called

08:06Spats.

08:07Oh, nice.

08:08Just Spats.

08:09It was a strange name for a company.

08:10But we used to do plays, only ever plays, not musicals.

08:13and I started to enter drama festivals.

08:15Oh, nice.

08:16So we used to travel the country.

08:17As I mentioned earlier,

08:18the Amdram scene was really big years back.

08:21And one of the things that Luton was very,

08:23very privileged to have was the one act drama festival.

08:28It's still going.

08:30People travel from all around the country

08:31to come and perform at Luton's drama festival.

08:34It was considered, you know, top.

08:36And one year, my brother decided to direct a show.

08:41I was in it with three other local actors.

08:44It was a play called Bouncers.

08:45It was about four bouncers.

08:49And we won.

08:50Oh, nice.

08:51No Luton group had ever won the Luton drama festival.

08:53So you guys were the first.

08:54We won.

08:56And I can still remember the chaos of that night.

09:01I can still remember at six o'clock in the morning,

09:03drinking champagne out of a cup that we won.

09:06It was an incredible night.

09:07But the point I was trying to get to is,

09:10after we'd won and the excitement,

09:12and we'd left and I went into the bar area,

09:15there was my then wife standing

09:18with my two year, two day old daughter,

09:24Vicky.

09:24Yeah.

09:25Who was here last week volunteering as an usher.

09:29Another one of my daughters, elder daughters,

09:33was on this stage when her mum was pregnant.

09:36Oh, okay.

09:37You know?

09:38So not only my family,

09:41but my brother, Tim and Ruth as well,

09:44and their girls have been brought up here.

09:47And I mentioned earlier, you know,

09:48Karen and Debbie and Dee and Richard,

09:52who were two names I missed off that list earlier.

09:55We got them.

09:58But they as well, Dee and Richard, you know,

10:00they were, well, they were performing here separately

10:02before they knew each other.

10:04It's way deeper than just a building.

10:06It's in the fabric of all our lives.

10:08Best moments of my life, yeah,

10:10a lot of them have been here at this theatre.

10:13So you can understand why on the 18th of October last year,

10:18when it was ours.

10:21Yeah.

10:23All the others were on messenger and go,

10:25yeah, it's ours today and it's yours today.

10:26And I went, yeah, I know.

10:28And I left my day job and I came here.

10:32Make me emotional talking about it.

10:34Yeah, I can feel it, I can feel it.

10:36I came in here and I unlocked the door

10:39and I turned the lights on

10:41and I stood in the middle of that auditorium

10:44and that feeling, this is ours.

10:48It's not just I'm the manager.

10:50I've been the manager before, but I run it.

10:53If I want to rip that seat out, I bloody will.

10:56If I want to do that, I can.

10:58This is ours and it's ours

11:01for the benefit of the rest of us.

11:05♪

11:16♪

11:26♪♪

11:37♪♪

11:47♪♪

11:56♪♪

12:01There's a magic in this building.

12:03There is a magic in this theatre and the bar area.

12:06And if it grasps you, you're stuck.

12:10Yeah.

12:11You're not getting away from it.

12:12Case in point. Case in point.

12:14It was actually amazing talking to you.

12:16It was a really...

12:18...honouring experience talking to you.

12:19And just meeting every single one of you

12:21and being involved with this entire group.

12:23And I think we'll be involved for a long time coming.

12:26I certainly hope so.

12:27Definitely.

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