Midsummer Night’s Dream in 1978 was a whole community affair. We recently had contact from Penny Allum (nee Askew) whose mother Mary Askew worked at Bradfield until 1997 and whose grandfather Leslie Price (SCR 32-72) taught Chemistry and was Head of E House. Penny’s mother ran the College bookshop and helped with costumes for Greek plays for many years.

In 1978, Bradfieldian Charles Lepper (A 36-40) working at Bradfield since 1967 produced the summer play Midsummer Night’s Dream. He needed some fairies and Penny remembers being only 7 years of age at the time and has fond memories of the production. The college asked children of college staff and local girls to join the cast for this production. Penny also remembers that her mum’s main mission during the performances “seemed to be keeping “Bert” the make-up artist [and wigmaker for many Bradfield productions] happy (mainly ensuring he was fed), as well as those last-minute alterations to costumes.” Penny’s mum Mary made some of the fairy costumes and former Chaplain Denis Mulliner’s wife Chamaiporn made the headdresses. During the performance of Midsummer Night’s Deam, Penny remembers all the fairies got ready and waited to go on stage in the music block, while the boys were at Pool House [which no longer exists today]. The fairies had a set order in the programme and on the stage based on their height, but that “it didn’t quite work, as my sister started as the smallest, but over the time from starting rehearsals to performance she grew more than Amanda who was next to her.”

The programme for the play clearly lists the names of all the characters involved in order of appearance and Bradfieldian writer/explorer Benedict Allen (E 73-78) was the Stage Director for this play. Benedict remembers Charles and said "Looking back, I feel I never really thanked him as much as he deserved. He was such an inspiring person – and for so many people." Similarly Jonathan Clore (H 76-81) also remembers Charles Lepper as being "charismatic and energetic and inspirational, and with a very expressive face. He also used to lead Shakespeare readings at the Shakespeare Society."

A review in the Bradfield Chronicle at the time described Charles Lepper’s production as a resounding success and proving “what an excellent contribution to Bradfield life the School Play can be, managing to combine the work of boys, masters, wives, the school administrative staff and the local community, and to attract parties from fifty-odd other schools to see the results. It would be difficult to imagine a more valuable extra-curricular activity.”

Many members of its audiences subsequently wrote to say that they thought it the best Bradfield Shakespeare they had seen. “This is above all a tribute to Charles Lepper, who, with the assistance of Christopher Stace, has managed to instil an astonishing degree of professionalism into untrained actors and whose use of the Greek Theatre is admirable. The difficulties of sightlines and audibility with a circular stage and a vast, outdoor auditorium should not be underestimated; and this year, as always, it was possible to see and hear from the farthest recesses of the theatre.”

Reviews also described the comic aspects of the production as outstanding. The actors playing the Mechanicals gained high praise and Charles Aram’s (H 75-79) Thisbe “whose impassioned commitment to her role, oblivious of trouser bottoms from protruding beneath the skirt”!

Special mention in reviews also came for make-up artist “Bert”, working on Bradfield productions for many years and whose father, from whom he took over the job, used to make up Charles Lepper as a boy at Bradfield in the 1930’s. “As much as anything else, the consistency of his skill was responsible for the professional effectiveness of the play.”

Please see additional photographs in the gallery below.

We hope that this summer’s production of Midsummer Night’s Dream continues this popular tradition and will again showcase the best of Bradfield performers in this the 7th time this play has been performed in Greeker. Previous productions of this play were in 1916, 1938, 1963, 1978, 1995 and to commemorate 400 years since Shakespeare's death in 2016.

If you have any memories of your time at Bradfield and any photographs to share we would love to see them and hear your memories.