Parkway Dreams - Onesuffolk
2 October 2015
So how do you make the history of New Towns interesting enough to keep an audience entranced for over two hours? How do you put the struggles over planning regs and council meetings on stage in a manner that doesn’t bore your audience to tears?
Going back to what they do best – Eastern Angles bring their drama charting the development of Peterborough during the 60’s 70’ and 80’s to Ipswich at the start of a new tour for this production – and with a cast of six that sing, dance and bring to life the birth of Peterborough as a new town with humour and pathos.
Peterborough is an ancient cathedral town in the heart of the Fens, but between 1971 and 1991 it changed out of all recognition with the creation of three new townships expanding the population by 45% and developing 32 miles of Parkway roads, creating a new park and redeveloping the heart of the city with a huge shopping mall - Queensgate. This play is part documentary, part story of a London family looking for a new start. The set is a brilliant mix of blown up plans and urban streetlights. Projections on a back screen show us the detailed maps and areas that were targeted for new builds, as well as old photos of the time.
New Towns were not a 60’s idea but had been written about at the turn of the century by Ebenezer Howard in his book ‘Garden Cities of Tomorrow’, leading to the creating of Letchworth and Welwyn. But with the baby boomers after the war, and the problems of overcrowding in London, the Government revisited the possibilities – and the idea of creating the Parkways of Peterborough was born.
Using memories and experiences of those who lived through those times and worked with the Peterborough Development Council, or moved into the new builds as eager families, this production builds up a picture of the struggles involved, the political ramifications and the successes and failures of the project. It also focuses on a single family and the effect of the move on their relationships and fortunes.
Every trick is used to bring the story to life including original music, or adapted lyrics to songs of the times, and spoofs of period game shows such as ‘Crackerjack’ and ‘Blankety Blank’ to get the points across. Fast paced and energetic – the cast play a number of different characters from planners and officials to well known politicians and of course game show hosts.
This is quite a long show that maybe could have done with a little bit more editing – and the end is rather drawn out. It would have also been good to have found out a bit more about what Peterborough’s indigenous population thought about the huge influx of newcomers.
Nevertheless – this is still a really interesting exploration of recent history – and of a social experiment that is still having an effect - told in an entertaining and informative way. Thoroughly recommended - and if you lived through the 60’s-80’s – also a bit of a nostalgia trip.
Suzanne Hawkes
Peterborough is an ancient cathedral town in the heart of the Fens, but between 1971 and 1991 it changed out of all recognition with the creation of three new townships expanding the population by 45% and developing 32 miles of Parkway roads, creating a new park and redeveloping the heart of the city with a huge shopping mall - Queensgate. This play is part documentary, part story of a London family looking for a new start. The set is a brilliant mix of blown up plans and urban streetlights. Projections on a back screen show us the detailed maps and areas that were targeted for new builds, as well as old photos of the time.
New Towns were not a 60’s idea but had been written about at the turn of the century by Ebenezer Howard in his book ‘Garden Cities of Tomorrow’, leading to the creating of Letchworth and Welwyn. But with the baby boomers after the war, and the problems of overcrowding in London, the Government revisited the possibilities – and the idea of creating the Parkways of Peterborough was born.
Using memories and experiences of those who lived through those times and worked with the Peterborough Development Council, or moved into the new builds as eager families, this production builds up a picture of the struggles involved, the political ramifications and the successes and failures of the project. It also focuses on a single family and the effect of the move on their relationships and fortunes.
Every trick is used to bring the story to life including original music, or adapted lyrics to songs of the times, and spoofs of period game shows such as ‘Crackerjack’ and ‘Blankety Blank’ to get the points across. Fast paced and energetic – the cast play a number of different characters from planners and officials to well known politicians and of course game show hosts.
This is quite a long show that maybe could have done with a little bit more editing – and the end is rather drawn out. It would have also been good to have found out a bit more about what Peterborough’s indigenous population thought about the huge influx of newcomers.
Nevertheless – this is still a really interesting exploration of recent history – and of a social experiment that is still having an effect - told in an entertaining and informative way. Thoroughly recommended - and if you lived through the 60’s-80’s – also a bit of a nostalgia trip.
Suzanne Hawkes