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
Video: Two Sides Studios
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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♪
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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.