An amateur dramatic group in Kesgrave has paid tribute to one of its longest serving members ahead of its new show – the first in 49 years not to have included his input.
David Street from Claydon died on July 29 last year at the age of 76, having been involved in the set design and construction for the Masque Players Amateur Dramatic Group since 1967.
The gifted set-designer and stage manager, who worked as a draughtsman by trade, was involved with every show for 49 years, with this week’s production of When We Are Married being the first not to bear his work.
At the time of his death, he had announced an intention to reach his 100th production – a target he missed by just one.
Paying tribute to Mr Street, David du Boulay from the group said: “He was quite quiet in his own way, but everybody knew him and he had a really great brain.
“When you have someone like that who knew what they were doing it was very good.
“You would have a production meeting and the director would say what we wanted – and you got what David would give you.We never had a play turned down – he was very adept.”
Mr du Boulay recalled times when props would accidentally be left on stage or missing from a key scene, and said it was always Mr Street who would save the day.
“We did a production in 1971 where somebody had started the next scene and one person in the audience shouted that a pitchfork had been left on stage. A hand appeared and removed it – you didn’t have to tell him he just did things,” he said.
“We did The Importance of Being Earnest where we were discussing a silver cigarette case that should have been on stage.
“Some ad-libbing went on to fill the void, and suddenly this hand appeared through the fireplace – David again, he had found it!”
But the remarkable stage designer’s legacy will continue with his flat boards still being used for each production, while a tree planted in his memory at the group’s rehearsal space at Kesgrave Community Centre will mean he will always be there in spirit.
“That was really nice, it was his fiancée’s [Lynda Donaldson] idea because it was really his second home.”
The group’s production runs from March 29-April 1, with tickets available online at the players’ website here.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here