Humdrum Theatre celebrate a love of books with Scribbles in The Margin at The Spring Arts Centre in Havant

The cast of Scribbles in The Margins, by HumDrum, in rehearsal. They are at The Spring Arts Centre in Havant from March 8-11, 2023. Picture by Vaughan Douglas Capstick

HumDrum are back at The Spring in Havant next week (March 8-11) with their adaptation of Daniel Gray’s Scribbles in the Margins.

Director Caz Gilmore read the book – a series of short pieces about books, why they’re wonderful, why we love them and the effect they can have on your life – and felt it would make an interesting performance piece. She contacted Daniel Gray and asked his permission to adapt the piece – which he granted immediately – and she set to work assembling the cast and selecting appropriate pieces for performance.

She is joined as director this time by her son, Mackenzie, and between them and the cast they’ve brought the piece to life.

Caz says: ‘There’s a big difference between the way a writer writes and the way a person speaks, so we’ve made tweaks to Dan’s original language to make it more speech, less prosey, but we’ve stuck like glue to the spirit of the original. If you’re a book-lover, you’ll love the piece and if you’ve read the book, I think you’ll feel particularly close to this adaptation’.

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‘It’s not remotely stiff and starchy’, adds Mackenzie. ‘There’s a streak of humour running through the pieces, but also a good deal of reflection, a lot of truth and a huge slice of feelgood factor, too. While we can’t lay claim to this as our original idea, it’s very much our work based on Dan’s foundation.

‘It’s not often that a local theatre company get to perform a piece for the author. At the moment, we’re hoping Dan will make it down to see the show which will add an extra level of nerves for the cast.’

Caz and Mackenzie both appear in the piece as well as directing it and, to complete the family involvement, Caz’s husband Darren is also in the cast. They met through HumDrum, so Mackenzie is a second-generation HumDrummer. ‘I was in the middle of directing a show when he was born’, says Caz, ‘so as soon as I was able to return to rehearsals, he came too. He has, quite literally, been part of the company since before he was born!’

Next up for the company is Amanda Whittington’s The Thrill of Love, which tells the story of Ruth Ellis in the months before the murder that led to her becoming the last woman to be hanged in this country. That, too, will be at The Spring, in June.

Go to thespring.co.uk.