‘We’re not scared of anything’
Julia Thorley talks to Bonkers Playhouse director Mark Walker about his unique venue.
Tucked away in a side street just outside the town centre, Bonkers Playhouse is Kettering’s only dedicated playhouse theatre. It takes its name from a venue in Spain that founder Mark Walker came across in 1997 when he was filming an advert there, Bonkers International Showbar. He liked the name, so back in the UK used it when he set up Bonkers Disco. Then in 2009 it seemed natural to keep it when he set up Bonkers Theatrical. At this stage the company was touring various local venues, but in 2015 Mark took the plunge and leased the space where Bonkers Playhouse now has its home.
“The building had been used as a warehouse and was in a right mess. It took us three years to refit it and pull everything together. We opened in 2018 with Whose Life Is It Anyway? and now we have 40 productions under our belt.”
This wasn’t an easy play to begin with (it deals with a man’s fight to choose to end his life and die with dignity), but then Bonkers has never shied away from serious topics. One of the company’s recent plays was a two-hander called The Guys, which centred on the fallout from 9/11.
“Yes, we’re not scared of anything. I’ve only ever wanted Bonkers to produce quality drama, including the gritty and thought-provoking, as well as the very funny. We want our audiences to think about what they have seen long after they’ve left the theatre.
“We don’t usually have any problem getting the licences for plays we want. If something is on in London, it can’t be performed within an 80-mile radius – and we’re 76 miles away, which is annoying! The only one we’ve struggled with is Shirley Valentine, which we’ve waited 14 years for, but we’ve got it for this October. I’d also like the chance to put on Twelve Angry Men and The Odd Couple.”
Bonkers Theatrical is an amateur company, which will perhaps surprise anyone who has been to any of its performances, as the standard is incredibly high. It puts on between four and eight of its own productions each year, and the space is also available for hire by other companies.
Mark is an accomplished performer. He began his acting career in local theatre in 1977 with Kettering & District Youth Theatre Group’s Aladdin. He trained as a dancer in his teenage years with the Peggy Hale School of Dance, learning tap, ballet, stage and jazz. However, it was playing the lead in Barnum that elevated him to the status of all-round performer. He moved into directing, learning on the job, and these days this is where he’s most comfortable, including directing for companies other than Bonkers Theatrical.
“I’m not tempted to go back to acting, except for the occasional bit part. Directing is really rewarding. Even as a kid, when I wasn’t on stage I’d be watching how a show was put together. What I love is sitting round a table during a read-through and feeling that spark, imagining how the finished production is going to look on stage.”
Bonkers Theatrical has a core company of about a dozen actors. If casting from outside the group, Mark doesn’t usually audition for roles. Instead actors are invited to join the cast.
“Northamptonshire is England’s most populated county for amateur drama groups. I go to watch a lot of them and in a way every performance is a kind of audition. I often think ‘Oh, they’d be good for such-and-such a role.’ I choose who I want for the parts. After all, I’m the one taking the risk, so I make the rules!”
He says the local scene is in good shape.
“It took a while to get going again after Covid, of course, but we’re doing OK now. I’m not in competition with the other main venues in town. I have an understanding with Kettering Arts Centre that we won’t host any standup comedy because they have a very successful comedy club going on there. As for the Lighthouse, it’s a 500-seater venue and so puts on different shows that we wouldn’t have room for. For instance, we couldn’t host a big choir because it would be overpowering, although we have done our own ‘Bonkers Do’ music nights with stuff from the likes of The Commitments, Blues Brothers and songs from the musicals. Generally though we go for more intimate stuff that would get lost in a big theatre.”
Mark is open to ideas for ways to use the Playhouse space, including for events during the day.
“We host workshops, such as wreath-making, and have just started to hire out the venue for small business conferences. The space is very flexible, and we can offer TV and projection equipment, and bring in caterers if required. We also run low-stakes poker nights.
“We’re very grateful to our sponsors and are always on the lookout for more. Apart from that and ticket sales, we rely on our bar sales. It’s a godsend. We stay open after the performances, which is really unusual, but I’ve never understood why more venues don’t do it. It gives the audience a chance to chat and the cast can come out and join them.”
The Bonkers Playhouse auditorium only seats 40, and many of the people who come to the shows are regulars.
“We’re on first-name terms with a lot of them. We have coffee mornings every Friday and a lot of our regulars come along. I have no desire to move to a bigger venue. It works as it is.”
You can book tickets for Bonkers Playhouse productions on its website.
If you would like your arts project or venue to feature as a weekend cultural piece you can get in touch with Julia Thorley at julia.thorley@googlemail.com
Another insightful look at the local artistic scene.