Richard Clothier reflects on his time with Propeller

3 May 2011

I find it very difficult to belive that nearly fifteen years have passed since I first came to The Watermill…..In the spring of ’97 Ed Hall had asked if I’d be interested in being part of an all male production of Henry V… I rather grandly said I would as long as I could play Henry,he said he had someone else in mind so I thanked him for the offer and duly consigned myself to almost a years unemployment-when I heard the following year he was going back to do a production of Comedy of Errors I practically threw myself at his feet and begged to be part of the company.

We are currently touring the 2nd incarnation of Comedy with Richard III, a few months after performing the first Comedy the production was re-mounted with Henry V and went on a worldwide tour…it feels very much like a natural bookend

An awful lot has changed since that first tour both domestically and globally- I remember taking swords pikes and spears on flights as hand luggage-on this tour I’ve been asked to surrender nail clippers! But much remains. Friendships that were forged then continue to grow and develop while new friends new work and fresh challenges have been made welcomed and met. There have been births marriages and deaths some great highs and relatively few lows

And all this life,energy,creativity and wonder has spun out from one tiny beautiful theatre in West Berkshire.