On Saturday 15th February at approximately 9:20pm the lights went out at all over Aldermaston and the Parish Hall was thrust into darkness.
At the time the Players were half-way through the second night of Come On, Jeeves, a farce by Guy Bolton & P.G. Wodehouse.
Due to power cuts earlier in the day, Front of House were prepared and the audience had been briefed to stay in there seats. Front of House and Backstage crews took control, there was no panic. Torches were brought out to supplement the emergency lighting at the hall and we waited to see if power was restored. After about 10mins it became clear there was a big issue in the electrical supply network. The audience, cast & crew were consulted and everyone was happy for the show to continue by torchlight!
The blitz spirit arose again in this corner of Royal Berkshire!
The hall remained without power for the rest of the night but “THE SHOW WENT ON” and everybody had a lovely time, some thinking that torch light had enhanced the performance … I wonder what Pelham Grenville Wodehouse would have thought of that!
It was still not over as the audience were escorted safely out of the building and to their cars; while the Catering Crew completed the washing up and Front of House tidying up, the actors de-robed and wiped off the make-up.
It just remained to have a quite, torch lit snifter at the bar before locking up and going home.
