Scotland, France, Belgium, Germany, Israel and now Bermuda: they're all the same to British director/choreographer Vanessa Gray - or are they?

Here to direct and choreograph the Gilbert & Sullivan Society's October production of `Fiddler on the Roof', the much-travelled Miss Gray has already decided that Bermuda ranks among her favourite places.

From a professional freelancer's standpoint, Miss Gray had no idea what sort of standard to expect of the all-amateur cast and crew with whom she would be dealing here, her only previous experience of non-professionals being what she calls "community-type projects" involving children. But as Shakespeare said, `All's well that ends well', and Bermuda has been a revelation.

"This is my first time working with non-professional adults, but clearly some of them are at a stage which is every bit as good as some of the professionals I have worked with. I have been really delighted with the standard in general, especially the singing. There is just the most fantastic enthusiasm and willingness, not just from people in the show but also everyone else involved. They are really putting themselves out, and I am very impressed by how much people have to offer and how much they give."

In fact, from the numbers of people not normally in shows who turned out for the auditions Miss Gray has found it "absolutely incredible" just how much talent reposes in tiny Bermuda.

Although rehearsals are well under way, she first visited the Island in the Spring to audition the cast of actors, singers and dancers, and also meet with representatives of the many backstage facets of the production, including technical, lighting and costumes, and she also visited City Hall Theatre, where `Fiddler' will be staged.

With a few small exceptions, by the time she left Miss Gray had not only sewn up all of the major details, but also had a very clear idea of how the production would be staged - and it will not be along the lines of the popular, eponymous film in which Israeli actor Topol made the lead role of Tevye his own, or the Broadway production starring Zero Mostel.

Instead, working in partnership with fellow Londoner, set designer Cleo Pettitt, Miss Gray has devised what she describes as a "21st century production of a 20th century story in a way. It has a very cinematic quality to it, I think".

"My approach is: Often people see `Fiddler on the Roof' as a very pass? kind of piece. What we are trying to do is look at it honestly but also with fresh eyes so it is not all drudgery, patched costumes and poverty, and a traditional kind of scenery," she says. "(In this production) the elements are all there, but the look is more modern. In terms of the design concept, it is quite simplistic. For me that is very important because this is a story about a group of people in society; their relationships and inter-relationships; how the community is self-sufficient, and how it works, and I really want that to be the emphasis throughout the story, so it is very much down to the performers, the direction, the lighting and the staging."

Set in 1905, the musical takes place in the small Jewish village of Anatevka in Russia. The heart-warming story of family, love, sorrow and loss revolves around dairyman Tevye and his attempts to preserve his family's traditions in a changing world. Among Jews who moved to Russia from Poland well before the Russian Revolution, he and his family face religious and political discrimination. When his oldest daughter chooses a poor tailor rather than a middle-aged butcher he has chosen, Tevye must choose between his daughter's happiness and the beloved traditions that kept the outside world at bay. Tevye's other eligible daughters also wish to break with tradition and marry by choosing a revolutionary and a non-Jew. Tevye likens living in Anatevka to being a fiddler making music while perched precariously on a rooftop.

"The interesting part of this production, and the era in which it was placed, is that it was a time when people were more aware of the outside world; of how Jews were living in other cities and being educated; of having their eyes opened to different things, and realising that some of the old ways, although they might have respected them, were not particularly in tune with them. In this production, a lot of the values are changing."

Certainly, Miss Gray is no stranger to this musical, having made it her personal choice when given an open commission to direct a musical at the Birmingham Conservatoire.

"To be asked to do it again somewhere else is wonderful," she enthuses. "It is a great piece - the history and the wealth of resources that you can draw on: the Jewish religion and faith, and the origins of the traditions which you can put into the production are fantastic. I love researching the history and the plight of the Jews of that period - following their progress from Poland to Russia, and their existence in the hands of the Russian authorities pre-revolution. It was such an exciting time in history."

Like all musicals, `Fiddler on the Roof' also includes dance sequences and, again, Miss Gray's choreography will mark a departure from what she calls "the slick Broadway kind of stylised dancing".

"Although there will be some stylised Russian dancing, in general it will be much more rustic," she says.

As a director/choreographer, Miss Gray, herself a former dancer, says her approach to any show is always the same.

"You have to be realistic, but you should always challenge people. I don't lower my standards - that is too easy to do. The will is always there if the instruction is good enough," she says. "It is one of the most rewarding things when you start off and people say, `I can't do that' and after five weeks they get it. That is the biggest sense of achievement. Making people do the unexpected is always very rewarding."

In fact, Miss Gray brings a wealth of experience to her twin roles as a professional, freelance director and choreographer. Originally trained at Laine Theatre Arts and the London School of Contemporary Dance in Britain, she also studied at the Alvin Ailey school in New York on scholarship. Thereafter she worked as both a dancer and teacher for several European companies before concentrating her efforts on choreography. In 1994 she established her own company, Jumpstart, and was also a resident artist at the Palace Theatre in London. She then went on to gain a first class honours degree in Arts Practice and Cultural Policy at Coventry University.

Today, Miss Gray's list of professional engagements is as impressive as it is extensive, and includes such prestigious venues as Glyndebourne, and a host theatre and opera companies in Britain, Europe and Israel. This year alone she has fulfilled contracts with the Welsh National Opera, as well the Scottish Opera at the Edinburgh Festival is a where, in addition to being movement and assistant director for Wagner's `Ring' cycle, she also met a Bermuda gombey!

Her many directing credits include `The Marriage of Figaro', and a 30-minute `Don Giovanni' which she co-wrote for Britain's Opera North company, as well as co-directing two operas for the Rhine Opera in Strasbourg. Future projects include `La Traviata' at the Flanders Opera in Antwerp, Belgium, `Manon Lescaut' for Opera North, and `Betrothal in a Monastery' at Glyndebourne Festival Opera in 2005.

Her choreographic credits include `Eugene Onegin' and the world premi?re of `Zoe' at Glyndebourne, `War and Peace' for the English National Opera, `Faust' for the Mid Wales Opera, and `Macbeth' for the New Israeli Opera Tel Aviv.

While her professional schedule keeps Miss Gray away from her London base for long periods of time (this year alone she has spent just two weeks in total at home), it has also afforded her a host of incredible memories, and as so often happens one contact frequently leads to another adventure. Such was the case in her ultimate arrival here.

It was through Mark Tinkler, who directed Bizet's opera `Carmen' for the Gilbert & Sullivan Society and now has his own company, the Camberwell Pocket Opera, in England that she got the Bermuda assignment. Because he was unable to fulfil the invitation to return and direct `Fiddler on the Roof', he called Miss Gray instead.

"Vanessa," he said, "it will be perfect for you. You will really like it out there," and so it has proved.

"I love the Island," the charming woman says. "It is a complete privilege to be working somewhere like this. I have met a lot of people who are incredibly warm and welcoming. In the nature of a small island it is very open and inviting, and it is also lovely to be working in this kind of climate."

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