Amadeus (Archive)

by Peter Shaffer

October 1995

Peter Shaffer’s powerful play Amadeus deals with the story of an eminent composer’s gradual realisation of his own mediocrity through the sudden appearance of a true genius. The eminent composer is Salieri, the genius, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

Cast

The Venticelli Chris Squire & Hazel Blenkinsop
Antonio Salieri Paul McClean
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Graham Kerr
Constanze Weber Katy Courage
Joseph II Emperor of Austria Iain MacPherson
Count Orsini-Rosenberg (Director of Opera) John Staton
Baron van Swieten (Prefect of Imperial Library) Bob Carter
Johann Kilian von Strack (Royal Chamberlain) Joseph Hughes
Valet Ken Beer
Cook Kate O’Leary
Teresa Salieri Ruth Staton
Katherina Cavalieri Fiona Calvert
Major Domo Ken Beer

Crew

Producer Mike Calvert
Co-Producer Chris Ward
Stage Manager Pauline Townsend
Set Design Christopher Sutton, Ian Squire, Mike Calvert
Set Construction Christopher Sutton, Christine Sutton, Ian Squire, Pauline Townsend, Mike Calvert, Jo Wylderidge, Craig Eady, Nigel Roach
Sound Chris Lawes
Lighting Craig Eady
Props Christopher & Christine Sutton
Prompt Hazel Galvin
Costume The Royal Shakespeare Theatre
Wigs by The Wig Room, Birmingham
House Manager Brenda West
Refreshments Jo Wylderidge & Jenny Blake
Publicity Mike Calvert
Tickets Ken Beer

Review

From the Leamington Courier:

Players prove again that who dares, wins

Cubbington Players have a proud reputation for daring to tackle difficult plays. A while ago they produced Arthur Miller’s The Crucible. At the weekend it was Peter Schaffer’s Amadeus.

Imagination is another quality the group possesses. How else could they mount on a tiny village hall stage the 14 scenes required ranging from a masonic lodge to a music hall? They did it by drawing a curtain, moving stools and a much travelled cake stand.

You could be excused for regarding Amadeus as a typical example of the period we went through when character assassination was all the rage – the bigger they are the harder they fall. Mozart played billiards and was buried in a pauper’s grave; therefore he must have been a lecherous, foul-mouthed lout. We have suffered a lot from poetic licence.

Cubbington Players, directed by Mike Calvert, nevertheless made of Amadeus a highly successful production thanks to excellent casting and fine acting. Towering over everything was Paul McClean’s Salieri, who, starting as a mixture of Rigsby and Bob Hope, soon moved into a powerful interpretation of the jealous court composer. Graham Kerr’s Mozart leaned heavily on the film version, but again was supremely convincing.

They were ably supported by the rest of the cast, especially Katy Courage as Constanze, Mozart’s wife.

The Players will lose money on this production – hire of the costumes cost £400 – but will recover with their pantomime, Jack and the Beanstalk. This will be followed in May by a less ambitious play because it will be all hands to the pump for next October’s major Shakespearean production of The Merry Wives of Windsor.

How do they do that?