Hello and welcome to the Brentwood Buzz, a podcast
celebrating all that's good about the people and places of
Brentwood, Essex. I'm Kay Bellwood, The Brentwood
Buzz loves community theatre and many local amdram groups have
been featured on the podcast. We're stepping further afield
this time to say to the Romford Shakespeare Theatre, whose
summer 2026 production will be The Comedy of Errors, staged
outside at Ardley House in. But fear not, there's a
Brentwood connection, as it's being directed by Lindsay
Hollingsworth, a Brentwood resident and a member of the
College Players and Essex Music Services, with backup and help
from her husband Paul and daughters Amy and Phoebe.
Hello, my name is Lindsay Hollingsworth and I'm currently
directing the Romford Shakespeare Theatres production
of The Comedy of Errors. Let's start with that because
you've got a great history of directing and writing for local
community theatres. So, Romford Shakespeare, how
long have you been involved with them?
Oh gosh, since since Phoebe was 3 and she's now 20, nearly 25.
So that that long. Yes, I auditioned for Romford
Shakespeare Theatre and got a part and had just been involved
ever since. It's a lovely experience because
they perform outdoors and it's very different to any other
drama group I've belonged to because of that.
And it's also that we we perform over 2 weeks so you really get
to grips with your part and the character and and get to know
the cast and make make lasting relationships and friendships.
Yeah, because is it been a kind of like a a rolling number of
people or or are does the car stay fairly similar even over 20
years? Oh, I'd say it's pretty rolling.
You get new members coming in and people can dip in and dip
out, but it's a little bit incestuous from all the
different drama groups they will dip in.
So we've got quite a few local and DRAM groups and casting.
You can get appropriate people or more women, more men.
Because I think what we found with the podcast is that you
might kind of talk to the college players, but you find
there's somebody there from the Marlborough Dramatic Club or
somebody there from 149 or somebody there from Hutton.
And, and there seems to be like a core of people, a pool of
people that that circulate. Yes, definitely.
And it depends on what you're, what play you're doing and what
what type of age group or female, male or cast or what
who's appropriate for what part that you might dip into
different different groups. What's brought you from the
acting to the directing this time?
Because you're not new to directing by any means, but
you're new to directing with the The Romford Group.
Yes, this is my first time directing with Romford
Shakespeare Theatre. Before that, I'd always my
partner in crime, Nick Wilkes At College Players, we Co direct,
Co write and Co direct our pantomime, our annual pantomime.
And that's been going on for oh, I joined them back in, I joined
them back in 93 and we started writing pantos.
I've been acting with College players quite a while.
And then I put my hand up to direct Dad's Army, which was
fantastic production with a lovely, lovely cast and very
fond memories of that production.
And then a little bit later than that, I think I was 2015 Dad's
Army. And then a little bit later than
that, put my hand up to do, oh, what a lovely war.
Bill Wells twisted my arm to, to direct that with him.
Yeah. And that was we, we added music.
So I've got Paul Hollingsworth involved to be my musical
director, which I've also got as him as musical director for the
Comedy of Errors as well. So we're having some lovely
music to go with the Ottoman Empire theme.
Because Paul's a cornet player, trumpet player, isn't he?
So not not a lute or anything. Is it going to be more modern
type of music? What's the instrument called?
They've got mandolin, was it? And a bazookie.
I think Joe's are Joe Whiteman's playing bazookie and lots of
percussion instruments. And it's going to be, yeah,
interesting, but appropriate for the.
I mean, Shakespeare never actually went to the Ottoman
Empire and he never visited. And this was a shock to me,
never visited, visited Italy. Even though he wrote to
Gentleman of Verona, Romeo and Juliet, he never went to Italy.
He would never visited there. So my creation of the Ottoman
Empire is a kind of very Shakespearean take on what he
would have thought. It was a mixture of all
different things and costumes and music.
And how did you get involved in drama?
Have you always been somebody who did drama at school or has
done that as sort of am drams or community theatre?
Or is it something that's just happened since 1993?
Oh no. So if I go way back, way back to
primary school, I was that little girl that put her hand up
when some people came from the Queen's Theatre and I think
Chameleons, it was a Havering based drama group were doing a
production of Under Milk Wood and they needed little girl to
play Gwenny. And I put my hand up and I got
picked. So that was my first sort of
stage appearance. I can still remember the when he
calls the boys, they make such a noise.
Boys, boys, boys come along to me.
I can still remember it. It's a lovely, lovely memory.
And Nick was actually in that production as No Good Boyo in In
a Boat. I mean, it's just we were meant
to be friends. It was meant to happen.
And then I did see CSE music at Francis Bosley.
Yeah, just love that because it was, it wasn't writing, it was
improvisation. And that I think, was a great
thing as you're leaving school to be able to improvise.
So when you're sitting in the doctors feeling very awkward and
there's someone sitting next to you can start up a conversation,
you can talk about something. I was quite shy.
I wasn't necessarily outgoing and I could just chat to anybody
because of that background of CSE drama.
And then a little bit later in life I missed it.
Sort of life change for me and I thought I've got time to dip
back into drama. Saw this advertised as a the
college place where we're an adult education class.
Saw it advertised and that was in 94 and met Nick and we've
been best buds ever since. Yeah.
That was run by Angie Marshall and it was, she would include
everybody. It was really lovely inclusive
class. And we did the pantos, we did
plays. And then, yeah, we, we branched
away from the adult education and just carried on as the
college players. But yeah, it's.
And I love it. It feeds that side of my brain
with that creative side. I mean, I do musical things as
well, but I think if I'm not using that creative side, a
little bit of me dies inside. And I'm not, I'm not myself, you
know. So that was at the moment I've
got a house full of costumes and props and it's definitely taking
over. And Amy said, my daughter said,
what are you going to do when the show's over?
Because it is filling my mind. But I quite like that, you know,
with everything else that's going on in the world at the
moment, that that could really make you quite cross and, and
depressed. I'm I'm feeding my brain full of
what costume can I put so and so in and oh, should we get that
prop and oh, I need to find this and I need to direct that little
bit, little bit different. So for me, it's it's good
therapy. Yeah.
And you're also a drum teacher or a music teacher, but you
specialized in drums? Yes.
So that's also been another little hobby alongside the
drama, hence the house being full of instruments, if not
costumes. Yes.
So I work for Essex Music Services and as a Perry, a music
Perry. Yeah, I sort of fell in.
I fell into teaching. Funnily enough, Mike Applewhite,
who's in the show, I've known since we were teenagers, we did
Youth Orchestra together. He used to be in charge of
expressive arts at Shenfield. And they just got let down by
drum teacher and he said rang me up and said can you come and
teach drums? And I went no, no, no, no, no,
no, no. And then Paul said why don't
you? It's just one day and so I did
it for one day because I had Phoebe was one and that was 20
plus. Well she was one now she's 20,
nearly 25 S and I joined Essex Music Services and I joined
Thorough Services and got the training.
And yeah, I do enjoy it. It's giving back and I'm very
enthusiastic about drumming and music generally, which sometimes
gets missed a little bit and. Because you were very reluctant
to talk to me for the podcast. So I've got what am I going to
say? I've got nothing to say.
But there are so many kids who are now fully grown adults who
will have come through your, you know, drumming classes or have
seen your plays and pantomimes that it, it must be quite
enjoyable for you to kind of go. I've influenced them in some
way, shape or form. I.
I hope so, I hope so infuse them on that musical journey of
listening or remembering they they played drums.
You know when you go back you hear adults.
Oh, I learnt the, the, you know, once or I learnt the drums once
and you know, just just to, to learn that.
And it is so many, you know, music's so underrated.
It's it's history, it's maths, it's coordination, it's
creativity, it's improvisation. It's so many things I think just
gets underrated at schools. You know, you pull them out of
class to have your have your one to one lesson, but actually that
is doing them so much good having that one to one with the
teacher as well and just that time, but also thinking about
all those different things and focusing on something.
And I know, you know, any instrument comes down to
practising, but when you hear them spending hours on you know
what, what's it fortnight or something like that and they get
to level the next level, the next level.
That is exactly like learning an instrument.
If you really want to put your mind to it, you'll get to the
next level and you just work and work and work.
Because we've, we've done an interview for the podcast on
Brentwood's orchestra for young musicians, which you're involved
with as well. And the joy of all the horror of
young young. People playing.
What do you mean? When they're very young?
The the but playing together so that you have to somehow make
music and hear what other people are doing.
So you can't just go and do your own thing.
It's real teamwork. Yes, but there's a, you know,
that I help out with Fiona Hill, with the with the wind back and
the lovely kids. And they already, there's a load
of little nice banter going on and they're playing together and
they know when they play well and you know, they hear the
applause and yeah, it's a really, really lovely thing to
see and lovely thing to hear. I think you heard it when when
it was in it sort of. We're practising, rehearsing
it's, I think. There were only half members of
the the band there at the time and it was it was different and
loud. It was good, you know, we, but
the older ones, I went upstairs and I thought, that's nice.
They're they're listening to a record of some.
I thought, it's not a record, it's them.
It was so good. Well.
It's like that advert, you can't have this.
If you want this, you've got to have this and the the children
learning and playing and enjoying it.
It's got to be fun at the beginning.
It's got to be fun. They've got to enjoy it.
And they all have a laugh on a Friday.
I think it's great that they come along on a Friday night and
spend it with us. Yeah.
And, and you're the, I mean, obviously the doing the
Shakespeare kids struggle through at school with the
Shakespeare, the bits they have to do, but being able to see it
live, not necessarily the, the play they're doing for their
exams or whatever it might be. Being able to see people, normal
people, making Shakespeare sound like normal English, which it
sometimes it it doesn't when you're reading it.
In class, there's an art, there is an art to making Shakespeare
sound understandable, but also there's so much action and
emotion with everything he he's done.
So if the actors are and giving that emotion and giving that
energy, I mean, the comedy errors is a is a fast-paced boss
and there's lots of misunderstandings with identity.
And yeah, it's a it's, it's a good laugh.
But if the characters are creating that emotion and, and
the the, the confusion, it, yeah, it will come across,
they'll understand the language. Thanks to Lindsay for her
brilliant chat despite being reluctant at 1st and I know many
young people at Shenfield High School and Brentwood Orchestras
for Young musicians will know and admire her work too.
Keep liking, sharing and listening to the Brentwood buzz.
There's more from Brentwood to come soon.