Tiger roars at the Orange Tree again (From Wimbledon Guardian)

Tiger roars at the Orange Tree again

4:10pm Monday 14th December 2009

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In 1975 Keith Strachan started his career in theatre as the musical director and accompanist for the Orange Tree’s production of The Lady or the Tiger, writes Will Gore.

The former teacher didn’t look back and went on to forge a successful and varied career in theatre and television – he wrote the theme tune for Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? and penned Cliff Richard’s Mistletoe and Wine.

Strachan has now returned to the Orange Tree to work on The Lady or the Tiger for a third time and he spoke to Will Gore about this latest experience.

How did you first get involved in the first production of The Lady or the Tiger?

It was the first show I ever did. Before that, I was playing music in rock bands. I started putting together a musical with one of the groups. The bassist knew Michael Richmond and Nola York and told me they were looking for a piano player for a show they were working on. He wanted me to do it so we would have a way in for our musical. At the time, I was a teacher and it was my summer break. I did it and it opened my eyes to what I could be doing with my life.

That production caused a buzz – what do remember about it?

It was one of those balmy summers and it became very popular. Sam [Walters, artistic director] didn’t have a booking system. If people came 10 minutes before the start they wouldn’t get in, so people started arriving earlier and queueing around the block.

You are now back working on a third new version. How did you get roped in this time?

After the first production in ‘the room above the pub’, I directed it in the late 80s originally and Sam told me he was doing it again this year. I said, if you are looking for a director, I’ll do it but he said he quite fancied doing it himself he and suggested we do it together. I thought it wouldn’t work having two directors and said I would do the music instead – I couldn’t resist it.

You have done huge West End shows and TV projects but is it good to be back at a small venue like the Orange Tree?

Oh yes. There is an immediacy about it and you get the direct contact with the audience you don’t get in bigger theatres. I have been off doing shows around the country and in the West End but have a great fondness for the theatre and the staff.

What is it about the show that makes it perfect for Christmas?

It’s a charming little show, light, frothy and fun – a fairy story set in a barbaric kingdom. It’s not a panto but it is the closest the Orange Tree could get to one. The instructions on the first page state there are elements of panto and vaudeville but it musn’t be played like it. You play it for real and that gives it an extra dimension. The actors never step out of character but they do silly pantomimic things all the time. It’s a great little show.

How different is this production to the previous ones?

When I directed it, I did a couple of things slightly differently but Sam was in love with that first production and it is fairly similar to that.

Do you enjoy hearing Mistletoe and Wine on the radio at this time of year?

Yes, it is very good. The odd thing about that song is that it was part of a musical, The Little Match Girl, written for the Orange Tree. The first time it was heard was at the theatre in 1977. There was a TV version of the show and one of the producers kept on telling me it was a hit song. He knew someone who lived next door to Cliff, although it didn’t come out until a few years later.

The Lady or the Tiger, Orange Tree Theatre, December 16 to February 13. Visit orangetreetheatre.co.uk for further information.

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