66 seasons of the Medway Little Theatre
Plus Medway Fighter, a review of Amore, our events guide, news in brief, and more
Most of us will have walked past the Medway Little Theatre a lot over the years, but how much do we know about what happens inside? The fascinating place is now in its 66th season of putting on amateur dramatics, and with the Duncan Rand One-Act Play Festival on the horizon, Steven decided to find out more. Further down, you’ll find news of a new Medway video game inspired by Street Fighter, a guest lunch review from Maria McCarthy, who has been down to Amore in Rochester, our weekly events guide, news in brief, and more.
What you won’t find in this edition is politics. We know there’s an election on, but even we can admit there’s been a lot of politics lately. As a result, we’ve tried to keep this edition as free from it as possible. And let’s be honest, there will be plenty more next week.
66 seasons of the Medway Little Theatre
by Steven Keevil
In 1958, an amateur dramatics organisation and charity moved to a disused warehouse in Rochester and turned it into a 100-seat theatre. They now own the building thanks to a generous grant from the old Rochester-upon-Medway City Council, which also allowed them to update the seating and create a little more room, even if it reduced their capacity to 96 seats. The Medway Little Theatre is now in its 66th season.
Member Mike Dickinson has been attending the theatre since the 1990s. Mike had been doing school plays in the late 90s whilst at Rochester Maths, and friends were going to the theatre on Thursday nights as part of MLT’s thriving youth groups. It is worth noting that these groups still happen on Saturdays and Sundays.
When Mike joined, there was another semi-independent actor's studio for people from 16 into their 20s. Mike started going with his friends as he had really enjoyed doing the school plays. The sessions were supervised but free, and they played improv games like ‘Who's Line Is It Anyway?’ before appearing in a couple of shows, including a version of Blythe Spirit. Mike went to university, and appeared at the Edinburgh Fringe. “I had a couple of years in the wilderness” before returning to Medway like so many of us.
“I was really lucky actually when I did come back because there weren't many other men my age as members.” Due to western culture more often than not featuring leading men roles, he was kept busy. “I cut my teeth, made a lot of mistakes, learned from a lot of mistakes.” Since getting properly stuck in with MLT, he has held several roles, including on the production committee that selects the shows in upcoming seasons. He is now the publicity officer, which is how he lucked into participating in this piece.
MLT puts on six shows each season, plus the Duncan Rand One-Act Play Festival. The organisation works to ensure a good mix of comedies and dramas, maybe with something more classic like Shakespeare. Their members are canvassed and asked what plays they would like to see and ‘Are you willing to direct?’ They submit their choices to the production committee, who do their best to read as many of those plays as possible. “it’s all about serving the needs of your members.”
Almost 50 years ago, founder Duncan Rand decided to start a one-act play festival for groups in Kent. Duncan died in 1981, and it was suggested that the festival be named after him to pay tribute to his driving force and guiding hand. He is so well regarded that a bust of his head sits proudly within the theatre.
But what is a one-act play, and how is it different from a regular play? In western drama, most plays have a three-act structure comprising a beginning, middle and end. So, is a one-act play just the beginning? “No, not really. You've got the three parts of the story in as much time as it would usually take to watch one act of a play.” The plays taking part in the festival can be of varying lengths, but most are roughly 30 minutes to an hour.
Mike is enthusiastic about the festival and how it enables audiences to see a few different stories in one night, even if “not everything's to everybody's taste.” The festival offers a wide variety of genres and styles, not just for the audience but also for those competing. The festival's first week is for youth groups, and the second week is for the more seasoned thespians. The plays compete each night, with winners invited back for the final night of their respective weeks.
Various groups are taking part with the Medway Little Theatre Youth Company, including the Hempstead Players and Bayside and Westside, who are coming from Gibraltar to take part. “Some members of MLT are Gibraltarians, and we have an exchange programme between our youth company and theirs.” The pieces are a mix of original work and existing plays, but you will see “more original than not.” One of the potential highlights is ‘The Reading of the Will’ by MLT member Menno. “There are some people that I really respect in the cast, so that'll be a good one. There's the Alternate Shadows, another local theatre group. They always do original material.” The competition aspect of the festival is overseen by a qualified adjudicator who trained at the Guild of Dramatic Arts to ensure impartiality.
MLT have also expanded their output beyond theatre, with music events increasingly using the space. Two big local talents are coming up: Little Storping in the Swuff taking to the stage in July, and the Ashen Keys album launch in September. Recent shows have featured names like Billy Childish and the Singing Loins, with word of mouth spreading between the musicians of Medway. While the theatre is happy to host the music, their own events understandably take priority. “Any events we host have to fit in with our programme and rehearsals that might be happening as well.”
The Medway Little Theatre is an underappreciated gem of Medway’s cultural scene. Whether it be for their season of shows, the Duncan Rand One-Act Play Festival, or their calendar of music events events, the Medway Little Theatre is an intimate, friendly venue, and most importantly, has its own bar.
Here’s to another 66 seasons.
Tickets for Medway Little Theatre’s Duncan Rand One-Act Play Festival are selling fast and can be purchased via Ticketsource, where you can also book for their upcoming music events.
In brief
🥡 Jade Garden Chinese restaurant in Chatham faces losing its licence after the Home Office raided it and detained several suspected illegal immigrants.
🏥 Medway Hospital is warning of significantly longer waiting times during the current junior doctors’ strike. The action began yesterday and will continue until Tuesday.
🏊 Roko Health Club in Gillingham has been put up for sale. The gym and swimming pool facility is on the market for £3m and will remain open until a new owner is found.
🏦 Halifax in Gillingham is set to close next year. It is the latest in a long line of bank branch closures, with the only remaining branch in Medway located in Chatham.
Medway, prepare your fighters
It’s no secret that we’re suckers for any novelty Medway items, but we didn’t have a Medway video game on our bingo card.
Canterbury Christ Church University is leading a project in collaboration with Electric Medway and Medway Hack to explore the expression of cultural heritage by creating video games. Of course, the logical way to do that is to make a Street Fighter-esque fighting game full of Medway characters and locations.
Sign us up.
Medway Fighter aims for a 2026 release and will engage the wider community using interactive workshops to generate ideas for co-designing and co-creating the game. The end result intends to highlight historical figures, community members, places, and more in a game effectively put together by the Medway community.
Personally, we can’t wait to Hadouken Charles Dickens into the River Medway from atop the Russian submarine.
You can learn more about the project and how to get involved on the Medway Fighter website.
Out to Lunch: Amore, Rochester
In a plot twist, this week Maria McCarthy is handling our lunch review. She’s been down to the recently opened Amore in Rochester…
Amore is a recent offering to the restaurant scene in Rochester, where The Garden House Café once stood. Like many of the buildings in Rochester, it is an awkward space, which wasn’t used to its best in former iterations. It’s been nicely done out, and we were greeted and seated quickly.
As a coeliac pescatarian with lactose intolerance, my choice was limited to one of two risottos – seafood or wild mushroom. I chose mushroom, minus the parmesan, and my friend ordered the seafood. Complimentary olives were a nice touch. Unfortunately, my paper napkin was not clean, and the prettily painted side dish had crumbs in it. I am always nervous about gluten cross-contamination, so perhaps an Italian was not the best choice, given the amount of flour in a kitchen where pizzas are made. Still, better care could have been taken for any customer.
The risottos (risotti?) arrived rather too quickly. Risotto should be cooked slowly, with the stock added a ladle at a time, waiting for the liquid to be absorbed by the rice before the next lot is added. The five minutes between ordering and the food arriving led us to believe that the meals had been pre-cooked and reheated. Mine was fairly creamy, but the seafood dish was too wet.
The verdict: It's okay as a reasonably priced meal, with a nice ambience and quick, friendly service, but it could do better. Mains, soft drinks, and coffee cost around £20 per head.
Maria McCarthy is a poet and author living in Medway.
Events this week
💿 Ye Ascoyne d’Ascoynes are a Medway band formed in 1988 by members of The Dentists, who recorded some demos in the early 1990s but never released them. Their album is finally coming out now, so they’ll be holding their first gig since 2011 as an album launch at Rochester Social Club tomorrow (Sat 29 Jun). Free.
🤖 Cineworld continues its excellent 1999 season on Monday (1 Jul), screening the underrated sci-fi animation The Iron Giant. Tickets £5.
🎸 The first of the new Rochester Castle Live series takes place next Friday (5 Jul) with Downtown ‘Festival’. The lineup features The Kaiser Chiefs, Daytime TV, The Wedding Present, and lots more white men with guitars. Tickets £52/£40.
More Authority
To get a sense of where the election campaign is in Medway from those who have been at the heart of the process, we spoke to Medway Council Leader Vince Maple and former Medway Council Leader Alan Jarrett about where we are and where we’re going. One of them decided to not to hold back about the choice of candidates available, but we’ll let you figure out which one.
This weekend, we have a fascinating interview with Rob Flood, local historian, newly minted podcaster, and chair of the City of Rochester Society. The conversation covers the Society's role, how Rochester was almost demolished for a dual carriageway, Medway’s LGBT+ history, and lots more.
Footnotes
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Music that soundtracked the creation of this edition: Pessimistic Pizza by My Best Unbeaten Brother, The Sky and Sea were Part of Me (or I was Part of Them) by Johnny Foreigner, and The Suburbs Have Ruined My Life by Great Wight.
Will Medway Fighter have a tag-team option where you fight a couple of binmen in Chatham High Street? Is the Strood Bollard the end of game boss?