Yvonne Chadwell has done about 90 shows with HAODS in Horsham; around 40 she has directed and choreographed, just as she is directing and choreographing again the latest show, Kipps: The New Half a Sixpence Musical (May 14-18 at The Capitol Theatre in Horsham).
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00:00Good afternoon, my name is Phil Hewitt, Group Arts Editor at Sussex Newspapers. Lovely to
00:06speak to Yvonne Chadwell. Yvonne, you are directing Hey Odds in their latest production,
00:11which is Kip's, which is at the Capitol Theatre in Horsham from May the 14th to the 18th.
00:17Now you have history with this show, twice before, when it was half at sixpence. It's
00:21a rather different beast this time, isn't it, under the new name Kip's, with a little
00:27Absolutely. It's much more lively, but it still has that same storyline running through
00:34it. So we follow Kip's from his journey at the beginning as a young person, all the way
00:40through to getting married at the end. For those people that don't know the story, he
00:47suddenly gets money through his grandfather, who dies, and then that money is lost through
00:55a bad investment. At the end, then true love comes to the front and he marries his childhood
01:03sweetheart Anne. And at the very end of the show, he gets some more money, which will
01:09allow him to open his bookshop with his best friend Sid. And everybody can smile and have
01:15a fun time.
01:16The lovely thing is, even though you've just told us the complete story, you haven't ruined
01:20it because we want that to happen, don't we?
01:22Oh, yes. I mean, he's a lovely, engaging young man.
01:26We've got to be behind him, haven't we?
01:29Absolutely. And there are people that know the story and there are people that don't
01:32know the story. And I think putting something like this on the stage, we're hoping to attract
01:37both audiences. So perhaps the older people who know the old half of sixpence, but also
01:44the new people who are more involved with something like the likes of Hairspray or whatever,
01:51because the music is very lively and not the old fashioned music that people may look
01:56up. You need to look at for the more modern version.
01:59Absolutely. So tell me more about what you feel as director you've really got to bring
02:03out of this production to make it as good as it possibly could be.
02:08So from my point of view, it's making sure that the set works and that the set works
02:12as well for Kip's to be able to get on and off and at least have a drink of water and
02:17change his clothes every now and then. Yeah. So it's structuring it so that everybody,
02:25be they on stage or off stage, all know what they've got to do when to make it as slick
02:30as possible, because I think what we used to, especially if we go to London shows is
02:35they've got these rollators and things that things move on off. We don't have that. We
02:38have people and they have to take things on and off. So making that as slick as possible
02:43for everybody is absolutely the main thing. And then everybody having a great time.
02:47But what you have that these London shows possibly don't is the great hailed sense of
02:52family, which is why you've been with the company for so long and that must count for
02:56such a lot. You've done so many productions with this company, haven't you?
03:00Absolutely. Of all different kinds. And part of that is then making you make sure that
03:05everybody has a great time, even if it's a tough show. I mean, this is a lovely show
03:10full of love and excitement and prospects. Other shows that we do are a little darker.
03:16Yeah. So I've directed Sweeney Todd, Jesus Christ Superstar. So they're on the darker
03:21side, but still the same thing comes right. You want people to enjoy themselves doing
03:26what they're doing, even if the story is not quite as pleasant as this one.
03:32And that's a real characteristic of Hales, isn't it?
03:35Oh, Brett's. Brett's of shows, the people that we have there, their vocal ranges, their
03:43acting ranges. Hales doesn't just do musicals, they do plays. And we've done a variety of
03:50things over the years. So we're not a one trick sort of pony from that point of view.
03:55Again, that makes it really refreshing to be part of that Hales family.
03:59Fantastic. So Kipps, Capitol Theatre, Horsham, May the 14th to the 18th.
04:05And we'll be performing on the bandstand the two weeks beforehand as well. So if you're
04:08in town, do come and see us. We're there from 11 till one. So come and listen to some of
04:15the music, even if you don't know it very well.
04:17Fantastic. Well, have a great time with the show. Lovely to speak to you. Thank you.
04:20Thanks, Bill. Take care.