A Malvern Theatre Players production at the Spanish Barn, Torre Abbey, Torquay.
15th May 2010. Performances at 2.30pm & 7:30pm
Nay. Remember me! was written by Amelia Marriette and first performed by a cast of professional actors in the Royal Shakespeare Company Fringe festival in Stratford-upon-Avon in 2001. There will be two performances only in the Spanish Barn at Torre Abbey on the 15th May 2010. This is a stunning venue and at 800 years old it is a building which was already ancient in Shakespeare's lifetime.
The play is a comedy about the printing of the first complete works of William Shakespeare - the First Folio of 1623. Shakespeare as a ghost; actors turned editors and a wayward apprentice, turn order into chaos. This fast-paced, witty, feel - good play will be reprised by Malvern Theatres resident company as part of their Spring season at the Spanish Barn, Torre Abbey, Torquay.
Shakespeare's iconic status is due in no small measure to the men who sacrificed years of their lives to compile and produce the First Folio, now one of the most important works in Western literature. In fact, if it had not been for John Heminges and Henry Condell, the editors of the First Folio, eighteen of Shakespeare's plays, including Twelfth Night and As You Like It may well have been lost to the world. However, who now remembers the actors, editors, and printers involved in producing the First Folio? Did it prove to be a worthwhile project? Did it bring them fame and fortune? And what of the families who suffered whilst their loved ones gave hour after hour to this difficult and complex task? Nay. Remember me! considers all these questions with humour and a wry take on history.
Nay. Remember me! will conclude Malvern Theatre Players 33rd season of residency at Malvern Theatres. The play is also being presented at The Coach House Theatre in Malvern from the 4th to the 8th May, prior to its run in Torquay.
Tickets are available from Torquay TIC 01803 211211 or email holiday@torbay.gov.uk
The collection includes Richard Thorn prints. We currently have an exhibition by Richard Thorn in the First Floor Lift Gallery - where normal admission prices apply.
VENICE " LONDON " TOKYO " OSLO " TORQUAY
This year Torbay Council is borrowing from Tate and the Arts Council Collection for an exhibition for the Spanish Barn, Torre Abbey that includes a work by one of the world's most intriguing, infamous and controversial artists.
Following on from the staggering success of Antony Gormley's Field For The British Isles installation last year, a work by Damien Hirst is set to literally, divide opinion.
‘It is a controversial piece of art which will stir debate and inspire visitors and local communities. I hope this will build on the success of last years Gormley exhibition which helped generated hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of press coverage and investment from visitors, and inspired so many schools, attractions and individuals to get involved.
‘Damien Hirst is such a well known artist and this is a fantastic opportunity for not just for Torre Abbey, but the whole of the Bay. It will help boost the council's long-term plan to be an exciting space for contemporary art and a leading light amongst seaside cultural hotspots.' (Cllr Dave Butt, Torbay Council)
The work is a floor-based sculpture, weighing 6.5 tonnes (the weight of a London Routemaster bus) comprising a cow and a calf, each cut in half and preserved in a pair of glass-walled tanks in a formaldehyde solution. Mother and Child, Divided was created for exhibition at the 1993 Venice Biennale and was subsequently the focal point of the 1995 Turner Prize at Tate Britain (then The Tate Gallery), the year that Hirst won the prize.
‘What do you do if an animal is symmetrical? You cut it in half, and you can see what's on the inside and outside simultaneously. It's beautiful. The only problem is that it's dead ... In a way, you understand more about living people by dealing with dead people. It's sad but you feel more ... a viewer should be intrigued. The work should attract you and repel you at the same time ... cows are the most slaughtered animals ever ... I see them as death objects. Walking food ... What's sad is that if you look at my cows cut up in formaldehyde, they have more personality than any cows walking about in fields.' (Damien Hirst)
‘Each year Tate lends many hundreds of works from its collection to a wide range of exhibitions in Britain and across the world. As part of this programme, we are delighted that we have been able to agree to the loan of Damien Hirst's Mother and Child, Divided (Exhibition Copy) for the exhibition at Torre Abbey.' (Caroline Collier, Director, Tate National)
It will form part of a free exhibition in the Spanish Barn. The piece has been lent to the English Riviera on the back of the success of the Gormley exhibition and the reputation the resort is gaining in the art world.
1. Built in 1196 Torre Abbey is not only Torquay's oldest building, but also the best surviving mediaeval monastery in Devon and Cornwall.
2. The Abbey extends to 600 square metres, and is divided into 122 rooms rambling over twenty different levels with 265 individual steps. Thanks to a new lift, and imaginative use of interconnecting ramps, 90% of the building is now accessible to visitors using wheelchairs.
3. An Abbey first appeared at the end of the 12th century when six Canons of the Premonstratensian order arrived from the 'parent house' of Welbeck Abbey, Nottinghamshire - to pray for the souls of King Richard Coeur de Lion and his father King Henry II. Premonstratensian Canons and Canonesses follow the strict rule of St Augustine; and their name can be traced to Premontré in France. The order continues today, with Canons still wearing the distinctive white habits that led them to be known as the 'White Canons'.
4. One of the first new displays that visitors see at the Abbey is a stone grave slab uncovered during excavations by a team from the Museum of London's archaeology service. It features a stunning tree-of-life carving in near perfect condition. Dating from the 14th century the slab was revealed under the cloister walk and would have covered the grave of one of the Abbey's Canons.
5. The Tithe Barn was built around the 1200s to store taxes paid to the Abbey in the form of grain, hay and other farm produce from vast tracks of farmlands across Devon. It is one of the finest early medieval barns in England. The Barn's place in the history books was firmly established when it was used to hold prisoners captured by Sir Francis Drake from the ‘Rosario', a flagship of the Spanish Armada. The ‘Rosario' was among the first of the Spanish Fleet to come to grief and was towed into Tor Bay. The 397 prisoners from the ship were held in the Barn for two weeks, making it the only surviving Armada prison in England. The Spanish Barn is open to visitors and is now a popular venue for special events, exhibitions and of course - barn dances!
6. The gatehouse was built in 1380. The Canons were known to have been armed, and considered themselves to be protectors of Tor Bay against attack from foreign invaders.
7. By the end of the 15th century Torre had become the wealthiest Premonstratensian Abbey in England - owning land across Devon and in Lincolnshire. This enabled the Canons not only to build Torquay's first proper harbour, but also to also establish a new town - Newton Abbot.
8. When King Henry VIII ordered the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1539, the Abbey church was demolished and the remaining buildings were gradually converted into a private house - eventually bought in 1662 by the local Cary family who lived there for over 300 years. They used the Tithe Barn as a stable, and later as a garage for Colonel Cary's Daimler!
9. The Dining Room originally formed part of the Abbot's private apartment. After the Cary family moved into Torre Abbey, they converted the loft space above this room into a secret chapel. In 1776, when saying mass was still illegal, the Carys were bold enough to build a prominent Chapel in what was once the Abbot's guest hall. The only Roman Catholic place of worship in Torquay until 1854, it has remained in use ever since.
10. The Earl St Vincent, a distant relative of Mrs Cary, was Commander of the channel fleet and stayed at Torre Abbey in 1800 - orchestrating defences against Napoleon. A procession of naval officers visited the Abbey during this time, including Vice-Admiral Lord Nelson.
11. The widow of prominent Victorian statuary sculptor Frederick Thrupp gifted much of his surviving work to Torquay between 1911 and 1916. His work - the largest surviving collection from a Victorian sculptor's studio - is a significant feature of the art collection.
12. Torre Abbey was purchased by the local authority in 1930 for £40,000 and became an art gallery - a use that continues to this day. It displays the town's art collection with many items having been donated by wealthy local residents over the years. Three small paintings of a small fishing village dating from the 1780s are among the earliest known views of Torquay. The Exile's Departure, meanwhile, depicts the scene in nearby St Mary's Bay on August 7th, 1815, when Napoleon was transferred to 'HMS Northumberland' for transportation to exile on the island of St Helena.
13. The Abbey was used as a base by the Royal Airforce during World War II, with the historic Tithe Barn being used as a gymnasium!
14. During the mediaeval period the Canons used part of the gardens as a cemetery and the remainder to grow herbs, vegetables and medicinal plants. They also planted an orchard. The Cary family added a flower garden, which would have supplied cut flowers for the house. In the 20th century a palm house and New Zealand border were added, taking advantage of the area's renowned mild micro-climate, and giving Torquay one of its most famous symbols.
15. Since its foundation in 1196 Torre Abbey has been a place of faith, artistic expression and welcome. The Canons were renowned for their hospitality, as were the Cary family - so much so that the Abbey was once dubbed 'the George Hotel' (George being the Cary's favourite family name). In the late 20th century Torbay's Mayors used the parlour to receive important guests.
16. Any building over 800 years old is bound to acquire some ghost stories. The most famous at Torre Abbey is the tale of the Spanish Lady, one of the prisoners who was captured on board the 'Rosario'. But another ghost is said to be that of Lady Cary, dressed in a ball gown, and being driven through the Abbey in a brightly lit horse-drawn carriage.
17. A contemporary style cloister has been constructed during the restoration project - providing a central circulation space for the buildings and the gardens. Features of the building that have been hidden for centuries will also be accessible to the public for the first time, including a decorative wall painting of the early 13th century, evidence of the enlargement of the south and west ranges, and the discovery of a series of late 17th century window frames.
18. The Abbey was officially closed for its restoration by David Suchet, who has strong local connections, particularly through his portrayal of Hercule Poirot (Agatha Christie was born and grew up in Torquay). He held the key for four years and returned to unlock the door in 2008!
19. The restoration work - costing a total of £6.5 million, and started in 2004 - has also introduced some striking contemporary craft and design to the Abbey. New elements include modern glass doors, ironwork and grave-markers in coloured concretes. A void provides a vista through four floors of the Abbey to a skylight roof above, enabling visitors to see the northern wall of the south range of the Abbey that had been hidden since around 1600. A new atrium over the kitchen stairs, meanwhile, will help visitors to appreciate the function of the former kitchen courtyard, and see some important 'finds' in this part of the Abbey.
20. Torre Abbey in its latest reincarnation is becoming a respected centre for contemporary arts and in 2009 hosted an Antony Gormley exhibition which attracted 40,000 visitors.
supported by: Devon County Council - The Royal Albert Memorial Museum, Exeter - MLA Renaissance in the Regions
designed by imaginarium built by light source