Mikron Theatre Company has welcomed former performers Buffy Davis and Mark Williams as patrons, announcing their appointments during celebrations to mark the 90th birthday of Tyseley, the group’s floating home.
FRIENDS and supporters of the company gathered at Calcutt Boats, Southam, to raise a glass to Tyseley, a 71ft 10in Town Class large Northwich boat. It was built by WJ Yarwood & Sons for the Grand Union Canal Carrying Company, and during its working life, it carried cement from Long Itchington to Camp Hill before passing to British Waterways after nationalisation.
Tyseley was later converted into what might have been the first restaurant narrowboat, based at Thrupp on the South Oxford Canal. Mikron began using it for theatrical waterways tours in 1975 and bought it in 1979. Today, the nationally registered historic vessel transports actors between venues and serves as the cast’s summer home, rather than as a floating stage.
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The birthday gathering saw many memories shared and a performance of Wensleydale Whey, one of Mikron’s current productions. Guests also welcomed new patrons Buffy Davis, a Mikron performer in 1977 who stars in The Archers, and Mark Williams, who toured with Mikron in the 1980s before appearing in The Fast Show and the Harry Potter movies.
They join journalist, author, environmental and political activist George Monbiot in cheerleading the unique theatre company. He was a patron alongside the late Prunella Scales and Timothy West for decades.
Buffy said: “I’m so thrilled to be a Mikron patron. I travelled on Tyseley to wonderful, remote locations where, magically, an audience would appear! I loved starting the engine, the peaceful early mornings on the cut, with a kingfisher leading the way, or being helped to a venue by the audience because we were stuck and needed their strength to rope us off a shopping trolley.
“The show I co-wrote, I’d Go Back Tomorrow, involved us interviewing boat people about their lives as children growing up on the boats – carrying goods, fly-boating and their extraordinary, often heartbreaking adventures. We chose the scenes we were going to include and wrote the music to suit the instruments we could play, and we performed it with pride.
“That magical time holds a special place in my heart and now, as a patron, I can truly say, like the boat people we interviewed, I would go back tomorrow.”
Mark said: “Both my grandads would have approved of me becoming patron material.
“Joining Mikron was my first professional job as an actor, so it has a special place in my heart. When I joined the company in 1983, we were very quickly involved in a battle with the Arts Council, which wanted to cut our revenue funding; £25,000. We lost the battle. “It’s satisfying to see Mikron in 2026 once again an Arts Council-funded company, which it should be and always should have been.
“I had a great three years with Mikron – in many ways, for me, a dream job. I chose as my Year 10 history prize at school RA Buchanan’s Industrial Archaeology, so living and working on the canals on Tyseley and being based in Marsden meant I was endlessly fascinated… a fascination that has never left.”
For the latest tour dates, visit https://mikron.org.uk/
