Cambridge University Light Entertainment Society

The Cambridge University Light Entertainment Society (CULES) is a student drama society at Cambridge University. Its aims are

• to bring theatre to those who normally do not get a chance to see it
• to raise money for charity
• to have fun

Activities

Each term, the society performs one or more pieces of (usually comic) theatre. Staples include pantomime, comic plays, revues, and skits, but in the past the society has also shot a short film and put on a music talent competition, amongst others.

The pantomimes performed are almost always written by members of the society, and include many parodies of popular songs (such songs by ABBA or Queen) with accompanying dance moves, while the comic plays may be original works or adaptations (such as the Jeeves and Wooster plays by P. G. Wodehouse, or a play by Oscar Wilde). These productions are invariably realised on a minimal budget (to increase the donations to charity, see below), through making full use of the members' (sometimes unusual) possessions and creative talents. Elaborate costumes and props are often created, at great effort, with little more than cloth, cardboard and string — often adding to the humour in a production. All props and costumes must also be easily portable, as to facilitate transport to the different venues (see below).

In Michaelmas and Lent terms, the productions are then performed at several venues for people who would not normally be able to attend such productions, such as special needs schools, homes for the elderly, homeless shelters, and hospital wards. These performances are greeted with anticipation and enthusiasm by the target audiences, as they often represent a welcome departure from an otherwise monotonous daily routine. After these performances, a final performance is organised for the students of the university, the proceeds of which are donated to charity. This final performance often entails (conscious or unconscious) script changes, particularly concerning the adding of lewd or suggestive dialogue which would not have been appropriate for other audiences.

In Easter term, exams prevent members from actively participating throughout most of the term, so the schedule is compressed into the final week, after the end of exams and before May Week. The productions during Easter term tend to have much smaller casts and shorter running time to allow them to be rehearsed and performed in a week. In order to nonetheless involve the entire society, in recent years a series of parallel productions have been run at the same time, with a consistent theme (such as Greek myths or plays by Shakespeare). Like the Michaelmas and Lent productions, these plays almost always written by members of the society, and often heavily lampoon their subject matter. To take advantage of the English summer, these are performed for a student audience in one of the college gardens of Cambridge, with all the proceeds going to charity.

CULES is a non-profit society, and it seeks to minimise its expenditures so as to be able to contribute almost all the revenue from its student productions to charity. In recent years, it has succeeded in raising several hundred pounds a term to support such causes as The Samaritans, cancer support and children's hospices. [1]

Membership

All members of CULES are students or former students at Cambridge University, both undergraduate and postgraduate (although the former make up the bulk of the society), and membership is free. It is unique amongst Cambridge drama societies in that it seeks to include students who have an interest in drama (particularly non-serious drama) but may lack the necessary ability or free time to join one of the other drama societies (such as Footlights or the Amateur Dramatics Club). However, the members make up for this with a great deal of enthusiasm and motivation, necessary as they are often called upon to help organising a production they are in, making props or costumes, or assisting with choreography or music. Also, CULES performances can be demanding, with difficult audiences (for instance, disabled children, or hospital patients...) and highly improvised facilities (such as a school gymnasium).

Many members have commented that the focus on 'non-serious' theatre, on performing humorous pun-filled scripts, on including those who do not wish to become 'serious' actors ("thespians"), coupled with the impromptu nature of the venues, props and costumes, and ethos of collective support gives the society a unique, warm and friendly atmosphere not found elsewhere. Indeed, one of the three main aims of CULES (as stated in its constitution) is to "have fun", a goal which is taken very seriously by the membership.

For many members, CULES offers a unique opportunity to experiment with different roles in dramatic productions (writer, director, producer, technician, choreographer, musical director — not to mention actor) without much of the stress and pressure involved in 'breaking in' to these roles in the more traditional drama settings. Several well-known former members of CULES (see below) went on to successful careers in the entertainment business.

History

Early years

The exact origins of CULES are unclear, but it has existed for at least fifty years. In its heyday in the late fifties and early sixties, it was considered a drama society on par with the legendary Footlights. Performing revues and comic sketches, it could boast such future celebrities as John Cleese and Graeme Garden amongst its members (with Flanders and Swann as honorary presidents of the society).

In the 1970s, the focus shifted to more music-hall shows, often performed in homes for the elderly. During this period, the likes of Andy Hamilton and Douglas Adams were members (the latter, having found Footlights "aloof and rather pleased with themselves", joined CULES instead [2]). These were complemented by musicals and revues in the 1980s, with members such as Sandi Toksvig and Prince Edward.

The society returned to its original aims, comedy and pantomime, in the 1990s, reinterpreting stories such as Dick Whittington, Wind in the Willows and Snow White, as well as introducing the Easter term garden performances (which were dedicated to Emma Clements, a CULES member and Cambridge student who died of cancer).

Recent history

After a brief lull in the early 2000s, when membership was down to just a handful of students, CULES reemerged in 2002 with a pantomime of Little Red Riding Hood. Its success drew more students to join, necessitating two parallel productions for each term to accommodate all the members. 2003 saw the introduction of an Easter term production of four short plays around a common theme (in 2003, that theme was Shakespeare, with parodies of Othello, Romeo and Juliet, The Tempest and Macbeth).

The society has gone from strength to strength since then, putting on two (or more) productions each term. It has adapted stories such as Cinderella and The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe for pantomime, performed plays such as A Charming Little Murder Mystery and Diary of a Nobody, and even created entirely new pantomime scripts (including Once Upon a Time). [3]

Links with Oxford

As the society grew, it reestablished links with its sister society at Oxford University, the Other [Oxford] University Light Entertainment Society (OULES), which had been founded by a former CULES member several years previously. Every summer, the two societies had organised a joint production in the form of VOLES (the Varsity Oxbridge Light Entertainment Society), which mostly performed for homes for the elderly in rural Britain. In addition to VOLES, the two societies organised an annual Varsity match (in the tradition of rivalry between the two universities). The two societies would perform a play jointly, with one performing the first act, the other the second, and the third being performed by a mixed cast, the winner being declared by a panel of judges, who would award points not only for acting, but also for improvisation, phony accents, and use of spurious words, amongst others. The first Varsity match, in 2003, was a tie (won by Oxford after a tiebreaking game of rock, paper, scissors), and the tradition has continued since.

Edinburgh Fringe

In 2003, CULES and OULES created the Two Shades of Blue[4] theatre group to perform at the Edinburgh Fringe festival with their own version of The Three Musketeers. With performances to over three hundred audience members, the show was a success [5].

A year later, Two Shades of Blue returned to the Fringe with their take on the Dracula story. Performing at the Bedlam Theatre, they improved on their success from the previous year, attaining audience figures well above average for both the venue and the festival as a whole. [6]

In 2005, Two Shades of Blue brought, for the first time, two shows to the Fringe, The Wind in the Willows and The Dalmatian of Faust. Both played to positive reviews [7].

Continuing a successful trend, the group returned to the Edinburgh Fringe in 2006 with a Science Fiction spoof, Paradox- Set Phasers to Pun![8] which smashed previous audience records for a single night.

External links

• Cambridge University Light Entertainment Society (CULES)
• Other (Oxford) University Light Entertainment Society (OULES)
• Two Shades of Blue
• Portal for Light Entertainment societies