THE MILL at Sonning is to celebrate one of the nation’s most-loved living playwrights by renaming its auditorium in his honour.
From September, plays will be performed in The Ray Cooney Auditorium. And the first show that will be performed will be his classic farce Two Into One.
And among the cast is Carol Royle, the daughter of comedian Derek, who appeared in the very first production of the comedy in the West End.
For The Mill’s owner, Sally Hughes, the association is a way of thanking Mr Cooney for his support not just over the pandemic, but going back many years.
“Around our second year that we were open we did a production of Run For You Wife,” she explained. “I’d never met Ray but his manager suggested Dennis Ramsden as director, who became a great friend. During the run, he became ill. He wasn’t just directing, he was playing one of the main parts.
“Ray sent his understudy down to us from the West End production. That was his first act of generosity to The Mill. It meant we didn’t have to cancel the show, they were fantastic.
“We’ve done a Ray Cooney play every year since, some of them we’ve done three times and Ray has directed some of them.”
And when lockdown hit last March, Ray was one of the first to offer to help out.
“We were going from income coming in to nothing, absolutely nothing coming in to the box office, it just stopped. There was no furlough (for the industry), but there was all the staff and bills to pay. What where we going to do? Ray stepped in and was just extraordinary in his generosity.
“I’ve seen him step in over the years and help people, very quietly. He’s helped actors and productions. I just thought how can I thank you? I think it’s very fitting.”
And Ray, Ms Hughes says, was thrilled when she told him.
“He was delighted, he just adores the Mill,” she said. “And he will be there on the night, and he’s coming to our first rehearsal next Monday for a readthrough, which will be exciting.”
Two Into One opens on Thursday, August 5, and runs until Saturday, October 9. The unveiling will be at a special star-studded gala performance on Saturday, September 11. Tickets for this are £2,000 each and there are also opportunities to sponsor a seat, with all proceeds going to the Mill’s Angels fund which helps ensure the dinner theatre can keep going.
It’s not the only way in which The Mill has been reaching out to supporters since it was able to reopen earlier in the summer. It has been hosting special celebrity events featuring supporters such as Upstairs Downstairs star Simon Williams, Strictly Come Dancing star Debbie McGee and an afternoon with Dame Judi Dench.
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“Debbie did a wonderful show for us last weekend and Judi raised a huge amount of money for us. I emailed her way back towards the beginning of the year, asking if she would consider doing an afternoon for us. She came back immediately and said, ‘Darling, you know, whatever, whatever you want’. Just amazing.”
The theatre has benefited from the cultural recovery fund, which is allowing the production of Two Into One to go ahead, and it will continue to offer appropriate covid-safe measures to keep everyone – actors, staff and visitors – safe.
“I think it’s so very important that people get behind us now,” Ms Hughes says.
“I feel that we will bounce back really well. I feel that because we’re a slightly smaller venue, people feel a little bit safer.
“Theatre is important, not just to people’s wellbeing, but to the economy, and The Mill is a huge boost to the local economy and we employ local people, so it’s very important.”
For more details on Two Into One, or to book, call 0118 969 8000 or log on to millatsonning.com
