Singing the virtues of beer

For more than 30 years, I've been trying to explain verbally and in print how beer is made and now I know where I've gone wrong: I should sing about it. One of the high spots of the Mikron Theatre Company's play Beer Street is a vocal rendition of the brewing process, as a result of which I now see germinating barley and cask finings in a completely different light.

Beer Street is a funny and rumbustious play that covers every known aspect of beer, brewing and pub-running, from the monks of Burton Abbey making ale in the 12th century to the present day problems of pubcos, excise duty and binge drinking. If that sounds like heavy going, be assured that Beer Street offers an evening of memorable performances, hearty singing and knockabout humour, plus food for thought.

The Mikron Theatre Company, in common with the Campaign for Real Ale, is celebrating 40 years of activity during 2011. Over the years, it has toured the country, performing at pubs alongside the country's network of canals. Canals are the lifeblood of the company, for the actors travel on a restored narrow boat, Tyseley, and moor it alongside pubs while they perform.

Mike Lucas launched Mikron after training as an actor and appearing in television, film and theatre. In common with many of the other actors, directors and writers who support the company, Lucas was inspired by his love of pubs, good beer, canals and the half-hidden working-class history of Britain — the early co-operative movement, the navvies who cut the canals, the brewers who make good ale and the publicans who serve it.

It's been a tempestuous 40 years. During that time, Lucas has twice broken his shoulder and almost drowned on the Oxford Canal. As artistic director, he had to grapple with the loss of an Arts Council grant and launch an appeal to find new sponsors. At the age of 70, he has stopped touring, but remains the inspiration and guiding hand behind Mikron. Not surprisingly, he wrote Beer Street, first performed in 1994 but constantly updated to take into account the many changes in the brewing industry and pub trade.

This is not the company's only play. Hell and High Water, which marks the 250th anniversary of the birth of the canals and is part of this year's repertoire, is a drama about the cutting of the Bridgewater Canal. In total, there have been 15 different productions over the past 40 years and new plays next year will deal with the Luddites — the opponents of machinery at the birth of the industrial revolution — and the allotments movement.

If allotments sound worthy but dull, you can bet they won't be portrayed that way. Beer Street is pacey and moves around in time brilliantly, with a modern pub intertwining with an ancient ale house. Brewing monks turn into modern beer makers, while customers range from bawdy boozers to respectable women in search of a Port & lemon.

The pace is dazzling and all the more remarkable when you consider the play is performed by just four actors — Adrian Palmer, Nicola Redman, Sally Ann Staunton and Dan Wilder — who change costumes at lightning speed and also play guitars, banjos, fiddles and flutes. All the actors have impressive backgrounds in theatre, TV and film. Palmer is a vastly experienced actor and he uses his skills to perfection in the hilarious, show-stopping song that details the 1,001 euphemisms for the state of drunkenness.

I saw Beer Street not in a pub, but at the London Canal Museum at King's Cross, where the cast had moored their boat on the large basin of the Regent's Canal. There was a surprisingly large but deserved audience of around 100 people for the performance, who not only paid to watch but made further contributions when buckets were passed around at the end of the show.

Mikron, in common with many small, dedicated theatre groups, exists on a shoestring. In place of the Arts Council grant, the company gets support from individual supporters and companies, including printers, solicitors and, naturally, brewers: Castle Rock in Nottingham, current holder of the Champion Beer of Britain award, brews a special ale to commemorate Mikron's 40th anniversary called Rock the Boat.

Throughout the play, the actors regularly pretend to down copious amounts of beer. They deserved a real pint after their labours on stage in support of good beer and pubs.

The company will tour until the end of August, when it goes into hibernation until spring, though they do continue to perform away from the canals in community centres and museums in the autumn.

If you have a suitable venue, book them for a show at www.mikron.org.uk​