Living aboard and treading the boards

“What makes Mikron special is the feeling of belonging you get while travelling the waterways,” says Marianne McNamara, the company’s artistic director. “Because of the type of places we perform, the actors are always out talking to the punters and getting to know them. There’s a real sense of community among the people that follow us – they’re always telling us stories about their memories of the company or the first show they saw.”

Touring the canals

Now office-based, Marianne started out as an actor in the company, so she has first-hand experience of spending a long summer season living and touring aboard Tyseley, a 72ft 1936 Grand Union Carrying Company narrowboat with a Russell Newbury engine.

“It was a wonderful experience,” she says. “It’s just the greatest way to see the country – it’s so relaxing. You get up in the morning, the sun’s shining, you might see kingfishers or other wildlife and there’s always people waving at you as you pass. Of course you have to be considerate, spending all summer living together. It’s like being a family – you eat together, cook together and so on. I’m sure there’s been the odd year where people haven’t got on, but mostly it’s great. I’m very jealous of the actors this year.”

Bringing theatre to new audiences

Though the performers may change from year to year, the company has continued to travel the canal network for 40 years, ever since its founder, actor Mike Lucas, decided he wanted to bring theatre to parts of the country where it would never normally be seen. Inspired by a boating holiday, spent sampling the delights of waterside pubs, Mike hit on the idea of touring by narrowboat and so the Mikron theatre company was born. Mike continued to run the company until 2005, and is still involved; this year he is directing one show, Hell and High Water, while the other, Beer Street is a revival of a play which he wrote in 1994.

All Mikron’s shows are designed to be informative as well as entertaining, and often tell the stories behind big events or social trends. This year is no exception, with Hell and High Water telling the story of how the Bridgewater Canal was built, while Beer Street is a lively look at the role of pubs and beer in society.

Unusual canalside venues

As you might expect, given the unusual venues, the performances are also a far cry from what you might see at a more formal theatre. “The performances are very lively and fast-paced,” says Marianne. “There’s a lot of music, comedy and caricatures.” The shows require minimal set-up and can be performed almost anywhere. In the past, they have performed in people’s front rooms, the bows of a boat and even inside a tunnel.

“I remember one performance at the Anchor Inn in High Offley, on the Shropshire Union Canal. We were supposed to be performing outside, but the weather was bad so we had to perform in a tiny room in the pub. People were crammed in close to us, some of them had to watch in the reflections in pictures, but they all wanted to see the show. We’ve had dogs cocking their legs against our instruments and chickens wandering across the stage.”

This creates a very different dynamic between actor and audience than if the performance took place at a distance on a stage. “The play changes massively throughout the season. The play you see in opening week and the play you see at the end are very different, because the audience responds to some bits and not others. You have to change it to keep it alive.”

The performers have to get used to some robust responses – Marianne remembers performing a play about the suffragettes at Reading Abbey, which is next to a prison. She was standing on a ladder and singing a song about women’s rights when she was interrupted by a very un-PC heckle from a prisoner! However, more often they find that they make converts wherever they go. “People often say to us ‘I don’t normally do theatre, but I like what you do’. We take down barriers.”

Funding crisis

This unique brand of theatre was almost lost last year, when Mikron lost all of its formal funding. “We didn’t think we’d be able to carry on,” says Marianne. “We thought we’d have to sell Tyesley.” However, the company was unprepared for the level of support and loyalty it inspires. The Ruby Appeal was launched, to raise funds at performances, online and through show sponsorships, and it raised an amazing £37,000 in the first nine months alone.

Marianne says: “It’s fantastic. Some people gave £10, some people gave thousands. The letters of support we get are very moving. If ever you need reassurance, or someone to tell you to work hard and pull your socks up, the letters will do it.”

Thanks to the generosity of its fans, the Mikron Theatre Company will be able to continue using the UK’s waterways to bring theatre to the people.

Find a Mikron performance near you by searching our events page, or checking the schedule on the Mikron website.

Last updated: 14/04/2011