'All Change' Act 1 Scene 6 - Robert Stephenson Catches a Cold.
Scene 6 : Robert Stephenson Catches a Cold.
A letter from Robert Stephenson to the L & BR Committee complaining of the intolerable weather in the Wolverton area and his being laid up in the Cock Inn, Stony Stratford, provided us with a “here and now” which sustained a whole sequence.
The detailed contracts for building the Wolverton embankment and the viaduct, the amazing conflict with the Canal Company, and the misfortunes of the contractor, Soars, could all be contained in a sequence where Stephenson goes to bed with a cold, has a feverish dream and wakes up to face the latest difficulties of getting a line built.
The ‘dream’ enabled us to show the navvies marching to the foot of Stephenson’s bed, singing the narrative line to the tune of Wenceslas.
The whole bridge-building routine was carefully choreographed, with their staves beating the rhythm. The inspiration was traditional sword’ or Morris dancing, adapted to suggest hard, muscular work. The completed bridge was represented by the actors frozen still like pylons, and their staves creating the span. The canal navvies arrive with clubs, knock the staves to the floor and start pulling up the ‘pylons’. With the actors engaged thus, the fight breaks out, is stopped by a whistle, and the two ‘armies’ depart opposite ways shaking their fists at each other.
The dispute between the canal company and the railway company was finally settled by the courts, the railway company obtaining an injunction against the canal company. (Public Record Office)
(Description adapted from the script notes in ‘All Change’ booklet – 1977)
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