Rain Cabaret

Encouraged by the success of the Fish Cabaret, Helen Porter conceived the idea of a new cabaret for further downstream, with a theme of Rain. Originally the intent was to plan the event for April 2000, and to have an 'April Showers' theme, but this did not allow enough time for successful development and rehearsal of the various elements of the work, so the performance took place on May 12th, in the village hall at Winterborne Stickland, near Blandford.

In developing the event, through group and one-to-one meetings, Helen worked with 'cellist Chas Dickie, who also performs as part of Watershed. Initial meetings with Winterborne Stickland residents revealed a number of individuals and groups that would enjoy involving themselves. Four young women from the village (Claire and Nikki Byrne, Birgitte and Ingrid Hoff), as the Scattered Shower Sisters, wrote and performed a series of comic sketches, and choreographed a 'rain dance'. The local Brownie troupe wrote their own songs and poems which they performed. Musicians Chris Davison and Paul Carr from the village performed a number of familiar songs about rain, with Helen and Chas, and guitarist Richard Foley, who also tap-danced to Singing in the Rain.

Helen held several workshop sessions with staff of the Environment Agency, at their offices in Blandford. The result was a sketch for the cabaret which wittily pricked some of the pomposity of the formal guidance given to rainfall observers.

Several groups and individuals joined the cabaret from other Confluence projects.

Shades of Blue performed to a warm reception, and provided a direct link with the Fish Cabaret. The performance made at least one of their mothers cry, such is the success of their year's work with Helen. Kate Pearce, who sings with Shades of Blue and has a very broad singing range, worked with Helen and Chas to write a selection of moving and personal songs for performance at the cabaret. The members of Helen's Irresponsible Song workshops also appeared, singing a new song written especially for the event for the whole company to sing, by Mark and Jane Pritchard. Mark Pritchard was also involved in the performance.

Another link with the Fish Cabaret was the host, Confluence's development officer Darren Giddings, who up-dated the previous event's popular limerick competition with a new contest to engage audience participation: the writing of new resolutions to the famous nursery rhyme Dr Foster Went To Gloucester.

Also on the bill was Les Jenkinson, again a veteran of the Fish Cabaret, this time appearing as part of popular local hot club jazz ensemble Crown Jazz, with whom Karen Wimhurst and Helen Porter also play and sing.

The event was a good example of how an environmental message can be put across through entertaining means. As well as the factual information that was integrated into the performed material, the hall featured displays of river sayings and lore, and informative posters provided by the Meteorological Office. Incidentally, 2000 was the wettest year for three centuries, and many people saw fit to blame us...

Wimborne and East Dorset Festival re-invented the Fish Cabaret during 2000, with some of the original performers and a number of newcomers. The festival also featured an Undercurrent Cabaret in which the Scattered Shower Sisters reworked some of their Rain Cabaret sketches and Pipeworks played some of their plumbing favourites.