Larking about

The dancers were asked for advice on morris and rushcart traditions for Burnley Garrick Theatre Group’s production of An August Bank Holiday Lark. The play, directed by Donna Worthington, follows the fortunes of local morris dancers as they prepare for their annual rushcart festivities on the outbreak of the First World War. It runs at Burnley Youth Theatre from Wednesday, April 9, to Saturday, April 12.

So Malkin decided to promote the play by giving their first public performance of the year in Burnley town centre.

Squire Gin Crewe said, “It’s an incredibly moving play and working on it has been an amazing and absorbing experience. We assumed we’d simply teach a dance and that would be it. But we’ve been involved in different aspects of the production, including sorting out the music and songs, and playing tunes during the performances. One Malkin member puts in a brief appearance in the play as a morris dancer, too. The cast were amazing. I couldn’t believe how quickly they picked up the dances and the nuances of the traditions. You’d think they’d been dancing for years.

“We were also fortunate in having the help of Paul Cross, who is a morris dancer, albeit in the Cotswold tradition rather than our own North West style, a fantastic musician and an accomplished actor. As well as helping us with the music and dance, he has a part in the play.”

It is 1914 and the spectre of war looms large as the curtains open on playwright Deborah McAndrew’s centenary commemoration of the First World War. But it’s business as usual in one East Lancashire village where dancers are preparing their rushbearing cart. However, as the young men of the village heed Kitchener’s call and, full of high spirits and exuberance, rush to enlist, the humour quickly turns to tragedy.