
Taking the Waters
WED 13 - SAT 23 JUL
By David Fletcher
A new play written to celebrate the Loft Centenary
Directed by David Fletcher
Music Composed by Jonathan Fletcher BMus (Hons) MA
In our centenary year, David Fletcher’s new play celebrates the Loft’s presence in Leamington Spa by bringing to life some significant events in the town’s history through drama, music and movement. It is also a deeply human story, told through the eyes of two generations of remarkable women.
The central theme of the play is water – both as a life-giving force and also as a source of danger. Act One begins in 1784 and celebrates the transition of the sleepy village of Leamington Priors into the thriving town of Leamington Spa. By the time the Royal Pump Rooms opened in 1814, there were six bathhouses in the town and a brand new theatre. Act One concludes with scenes of vibrant theatre life.
There is a change of mood in Act Two, which focuses on the medical and political conflicts surrounding the cholera epidemic in the town in 1849. There were attempts to cover up the epidemic, and disputes about what preventative measures should, or should not, be taken – so, plenty of modern-day resonances there!
The play includes some real-life characters from the past, such as Benjamin Satchwell and Dr. John Hitchman, who is commemorated by the fountain in the Jephson gardens. It also includes fictional characters who bring warmth and humanity to these extraordinary stories from Leamington’s past.