Afternoon Tea with Michael Heyland

We had a delightful afternoon on Sunday 24th February sharing in a most enjoyable afternoon tea and listening to our guest speaker, Michael Heyland, who was the Director of Productions at The D’Oyly Carte Opera Company between 1969 and 1978.  He entertained us with stories from his interesting career with particular reference to his reintroduction of  The Sorcerer to the repertoire in 1971. 

Michael gave a fascinating insight into how he went about this task, developing personalities for each of the characters as well as creating fresh directions and special effects to bring the piece to life.  The talk was charmingly illustrated with some pertinent slides and fitting music.  We were also all amused by his various anecdotes about the company on tour such as at one theatre using caravans in a car park in the absence of dressing rooms!  We certainly gained a captivating insider’s view of life at D’Oyly Carte.