In another of our series on those who run some of our local clubs and associations Patrick Middleton talks to Lena Walsh of the Riviera Amateur Dramatic Association

Lena Walsh didn’t, like some youngsters, come home from her childhood visits to the cinema dreaming of becoming an actress. Her involvement with drama was really accidental. “Forty years ago I got a teaching job at South Shields Marine and Technical College on Tyneside in England’s north-east. It was a flourishing place back then, before our merchant fleet started shrinking. They had a very nice building with a theatre. One of my colleagues was an ex-actor and he got drama going well at the college and I became very interested in acting. Then, some years on, my life took a different turn and for quite a while I was off-stage.”

Lena’s interest was revived – again by accident – when she came to the Coast fifteen years ago. “One day when I’d been here quite a while I was walking in Antibes with a friend and we passed the Red Pear theatre. I asked what it was and what I heard got me thinking. I decided to start a drama group here. I put the word out and ten years ago the Riviera Amateur Dramatic Association was founded. We began with readings at my home, but we soon moved into performances. A big stroke of luck was a meeting with Brian Hickmore at Mougins School. He agreed we could rehearse and have our performances there. That’s worked very well.”

“Nothing too obscure, nothing too trendy”
What’s sort of plays does RADA – as they’re always called – do? “Well, you’ve got to choose things that will appeal to members of our community. Nothing too obscure, nothing too trendy. We’ve tried to offer agreeable entertainment to our audience, and they seem to have been pleased. Recently, we’ve done plays by Alan Ayckbourn, Hugh Whitemore and Ronald Harwood. Of course, one of our problems is the gender imbalance of our membership. In other words, we don’t have enough men and this limits our repertoire. We’ve even thought of reversing Elizabethan practice and having women take male roles! Anyway, if any men feel they’d like to join us they’d be made very welcome.”

What’s the appeal of being in a drama group? “For one thing, there’s the satisfaction of contributing to a team effort. When the curtain goes up ... and even more when we sense the audience have enjoyed the evening it’s a great feeling, and that’s true for everyone, including those behind the scenes. For the actors, of course, there’s the special buzz you get from pretending to be someone else for a couple of hours. What I must say, though, is that membership calls for commitment. You’ve got to be there for rehearsals and for the performances, and that’s not easy for some people. We do three plays a year, with three performances of each.” After ten years Lena is about to stand down. “Well, I thought I’d give someone else a chance to have the fun and do the hard work of running the group.” In July RADA is putting on its first outdoor performance – Party Piece by Richard Harris which is set in three adjacent gardens. “We’ve never had to cancel a show. I hope it doesn’t rain!”
Performances of Party Piece will take place at Mougins School on Wednesday, Tuesday and Friday the 5th, 6th and 7th of July.

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