Frome’s Merlin Theatre, a prime mover in the town’s ever-growing reputation as one of the liveliest centres for the arts in the West, is now under way with a strikingly imaginative and varied winter programme.
“Scheduled over the coming months are performances from local players, touring companies, acclaimed comics, musicians, and guest appearances from the Royal Shakespeare Company, the New York Metropolitan Opera, the Royal Ballet and a Donald Trump impersonator,” said Claudia Pepler, director.
“Put this together with the offerings of the Cheese and Grain, Silk Mill, Rook Lane Chapel, Memorial Theatre, Black Swan, the Festival and the town’s other thriving venues and it’s not hard to see why Frome is earning its reputation as the “artsiest place around”.
“The Merlin has been leading the way for over 40 years now with its lively, clever mixture of community involvement and professional standards, local and national productions, theatre, song, dance and spoken word.
“Named after the famous local wizard of the same name in the hope of inspiring and provoking some of his magic, perhaps the Merlin’s greatest trick has been its survival in our austere times. At the peak of grant largesse, The Merlin was receiving £135,000 a year from the Arts Council and Somerset, Mendip and Frome councils: now it’s down to £2,000 from the town council.
“It’s been a struggle,” added Claudia Pepler, who has been with the theatre for 18 years and its director for the last eight. “Not only have we had to cope with such a dramatically reduced budget, but we’re now also facing much more competition from all the other newer and excellent venues in Frome.
‘So it’s about recognising your strengths and being realistic – and creative! – with your ambitions.
“And our great strength is our community here in Frome, whether they’re in their seats watching family and friends up on the stage, up on the stage themselves, backstage learning theatre as part of our highly-skilled production team, or volunteering to do everything from front of house to doing the books.”
That’s why the Merlin has decided to finesse and refocus its offer by concentrating on this vital role as a community theatre. From the new year, the emphasis will be less on touring companies and more on local productions, supplemented by the hugely popular live screenings from the great national and international companies like the RSC, National Theatre and New York Met.
“Some people think live screening is still one fixed camera and no atmosphere,” says Claudia. “But these days it’s clever, multi-angle stuff with very high production values that give you a different – but equally exciting – experience from being there. And you’re seeing it for £14 in the comfort of your own town!”
Live-screenings coming up include Carlos Acosta’s Don Quixote and Mark Gatiss in Alan Bennet’s The Madness of George III.
The Merlin’s own in-house offerings include the keenly-anticipated Journey’s End, timed to coincide with Frome’s other remembrances of the end of the First World War, and a Christmas production of The Nutcracker to follow last year’s award-winning Hansel and Gretel. The much-praised Frome Drama Club is putting on Pygmalion at the end of November.
“The Merlin’s a great, friendly little place,” says Claudia. “It kind of gets under your skin and you want to be part of it. We would love to have even more volunteers – we are a charity! – providing expertise and enthusiasm. We need new board members and we need more sponsors – if you’re a business looking to raise your profile in Frome, there’s no better place than the Merlin. Or just come along and have a good time at your very own theatre.”