A Month of Sundays by Cheriton Players

a month of sundays by bob larbey

Wednesday 16th – Saturday 19th March 2016 This amateur production of “A Month of Sundays” is presented by special arrangement with SAMUEL FRENCH LIMITED

www.thecheritonplayers.org.uk

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A Month of Sundays

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16th-19th March 2016 First presented under the title The First Sunday in Every Month at the Nuffield Theatre, Southampton on 14th November 1985. A Month of Sundays transferred to the Duchess Theatre, London on 7th February 1986.

From the director This one is a little bit different! Esmonde and Larbey were TV comedy scriptwriters who were the creators of such popular shows as Please Sir, The Good Life, Ever Decreasing Circles, Brush Strokes and As Time Goes By. A Month of Sundays was Bob Larbey’s first stage play. First produced in Southampton in 1985, it won the Evening Standard award for Best Comedy in 1986, starring George Cole as Cooper. Writers of this class are not easy to come by, especially given the restrictions of our stage.

When I first read A Month of Sundays I was struck immediately by the quality of the writing and by the opportunity it provided for six actors. The play is set in a rest home for the elderly and revolves around two of its residents, Cooper and his friend, Aylott,

who manage to cope with the difficulties of ageing and with their challenging and limiting situation, including the awkward ritual of Sunday visits from the family, with a delightful humour and wit. The appeal of the subject matter may have something to do with the fact that I am no spring chicken.

I am now having to deal with the inevitability of, and the problems associated with, old age as I suspect will be a few others amongst our audience! In production, this play has been a challenge to all and I do like a challenge! I am fortunate to have been blessed by having a very talented cast and crew working on it with me. I hope that you will find the efforts of all have been worthwhile.

Reg Large

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16th-19th March 2016 The Cast (in order of appearance) Cooper Nurse Wilson Mrs Baker Aylott Julia Peter

The Production Team Director Producer Stage Manager Lighting/sound Wardrobe Mistress Prompt Props Set Design Set Build Décor Photography Publicity Programme and poster design Front of House

David Cradduck Alison Carter Marilyn Weston David Baldwin Claire Smith Craig Robb

Reg Large Jan Conway Roger Bennett Jamie Herdman, Graham Arnott Jan Conway Tracey Anderson Lauren Anderson, Jenny Cridland Tim Day Tim Day, Dave Wright & Players team Henrietta Hellard Craig Robertson, Rachel Gover David Cradduck Owen Jones Pauline Cornter, Sue Herdman & team

SYNOPSIS OF SCENES

The action of the play takes place in Cooper’s room in a Rest Home for the Elderly in Surrey

ACT ONE

Scene 1 – Morning, the first Sunday in April Scene 2 – Later the same afternoon There will be an interval of 20 minutes between Acts 1 & 2, during which refreshments will be available.

ACT TWO

Scene 1 – Morning, the first Sunday in May Scene 2 – Later the same afternoon Time – 1986

We would like to thank everyone who has loaned props or helped in any way with this production, in particular Brendoncare Meadway Care Home, Winchester (furniture); Sian Tabberer and Jo Bartlett (furniture); Ruth and Mark Horner (furniture); Jenny Sundheim (costume alterations); Winchester College Wardrobe (costumes); Dave Evans (Wisden); and members of the cast and crew.

Brendoncare, who have lent us some genuine care home furniture for our set, is a registered charity providing among other things care homes for elderly people, with its central office in Winchester. We appreciate Brendoncare’s generosity in supporting our production and will be making a donation to the charity. We hope you will support our efforts by placing your donations in the collection boxes too.

Thank you.

Please turn off all mobiles and keep aisles clear at all times. Please refrain from flash photography and note that video or audio recording of the performance is prohibited.

From the chairman It gives me great pleasure to welcome you to another production from the award winning Cheriton Players. Having been nominated three years in a row, 2015 turned out to be our year and in January Jamie Herdman, Graham ‘Sparky’ Arnott and Mike Ludgate won The Daily Echo Curtain Call Award for ‘Best Lighting, Sound and Effects’ for Third Week in August and David Cradduck was awarded ‘Best Actor in a Comedy’ for his role as Neville in Third Week in August. Our thanks and congratulations to them all.Tonight we present A Month of Sundays, our second time of asking! Originally scheduled for production in November 2014, A Month of Sundays had to be rescheduled due to illness. Our rehearsal schedule has, this time, been relatively illness free, hard work but great fun.You will, no doubt, notice some familiar faces on stage this evening – where would we be without them? In addition we are really pleased to welcome back Alison Carter, hot on the heels of her magnificent portrayal as Carmen at the Winchester Theatre Royal in 2015 but who managed to squeeze in a guest appearance with us in our Great Cheriton Variety Show. Cooper, Aylott, Nurse Wilson, Mrs Baker, Peter and Julia are ready and waiting to bring to life the poignant and moving story of rest home life, summed up with humour, banter, friendship and bravery. We hope you enjoy our latest offering.

Marilyn Weston

Cheriton Players is a small friendly theatre group always keen to encourage new members to join us onstage, backstage and front of house. If you are interested in joining the Players, please get in touch through the website www.thecheritonplayers.org.uk or by email to thecheritonplayers@gmail.com You can also join our mailing list through the website to receive our regular newsletters and details of future productions.

We would love to hear from you!

Biographies David Cradduck (Cooper) David is one of the Players’ more ‘senior’ members having joined in 1974 at the age of just 20. Credits here include title/lead roles in Charley’s Aunt, Wind in the Willows, Worzel Gummidge, Lord Arthur Savile’s Crime, Pride and Prejudice, Outside Edge, The Importance of Being Earnest, An Inspector Calls and Oh Clarence! He appeared as Fagin in Oliver. Other productions include The Real Inspector Hound/Black Comedy, Jungle Fantasy, The Noble Spaniard, Out of Order, A Christmas Carol, Table Manners, Murder in Cheriton!, ‘Allo ‘Allo, The Ghost Train, Ten Times Table, Alice, Murdered to Death, Season’s Greetings and A Bolt from the Blue. Recently he was Neville (the Nerd) in Third Week in August, for which he won the 2015 Curtain Call Award for ‘Best Actor in a Comedy’. His most recent performance was as Herr Winklekopf in Lord Arthur Savile’s Crime. He is also a member of RAODS and Maskers Theatre Co. where credits include Noises Off, Under Milkwood, Mikado, Relative Values, Tom Jones, Shadowlands and Far from the Madding Crowd. He has directed three Cheriton shows, including Alan Ayckbourn’s Confusions. David says of this latest role: “by far the most challenging to date”.

Alison Carter (Nurse Wilson) When Alison moved from being a full time mum in London to Winchester in 2011 she joined The Winchester Musical and Opera Society with whom she has performed in several musicals and operas/operettas. She won a Curtain Call award for ‘Best Performance in an Opera’ in 2012 as Anna Glavari in The Merry Widow. She most recently achieved a life long ambition by playing the title role in Bizet’s Carmen. She has also performed with The Pocket Theatre in their first musical, Sweeney Todd. Although Alison has mainly performed in musicals and opera, she studied theatre studies and is always happiest on stage. She joined Cheriton Players in 2014 and performed in The Great Cheriton Variety Show, singing a great solo from the Musical CATS. Marilyn Weston (Mrs Baker) Marilyn first became involved with amateur dramatics whilst living in Rio de Janeiro in the early 1980s. Her first involvement was sourcing costumes for The Pirates of Penzance and her second sourcing props for Fiddler on the Roof, including live chickens and ducks! Since 1993 Marilyn has been involved with ACTS, usually back stage as Stage Manager, but did venture on stage for their production of Sandcastles, where she played the cantankerous grandma – thankfully heavily disguised. This is only her second time on stage with Cheriton Players, having been in the audience on many occasions before her first appearance as Rachel in Season’s Greetings. She said at the time that she was a little nervous to be playing alongside some experienced am drammers! Well, she is now the Players’ Chairman… onward and upward!

David Baldwin (Aylott) This is only David’s second appearance with the Cheriton Players, but by no means the second role, as he played multiple characters in A Bolt from The Blue. He has been involved mainly with the Chesil Theatre, although he has also acted with the Winchester College Players at the Minack in Cornwall. Recent appearances at the Chesil have been as Walter Franz in Arthur Miller’s The Price, Henri in Heroes, Miller in The Deep Blue Sea and Roat in Wait until Dark. Earlier roles have included Stietl in Metamorphosis, Eddie in A View from the Bridge, for which he received a Curtain Call nomination for best actor, Vic in Man of the Moment, Colonel von Schmelling in ‘Allo ‘Allo and the Common Man in A Man for all Seasons. From time to time he designs and rigs the lighting at the Chesil, namely Kindertransport, Last Train to Nibroc and Entertaining Angels. His most recent role was that of Prof Marcus in The Ladykillers with Micheldever Players. David is the fight director for Chesil Theatre’s open air production of Robin Hood to be staged in July of this year.

Claire Smith (Julia) Claire has been involved in theatre in one form or another since the age of five when she started learning to dance. As a result she soon started joining musical theatre groups. Since returning from university, Claire has been busy with WMOS (Winchester Musicals and Opera Society), mainly taking parts in the chorus and as a dancer. In recent years she has taken roles such as Hebe in HMS Pinafore and Lady Ella in Patience. Claire was involved in the Great Cheriton Variety Show, mostly singing in various roles – as a cat, posh lady and in the chorus. She also recently appeared as Nellie in Lord Arthur Savile’s Crime, her first appearance in a non-musical production since secondary school. She says she is thoroughly enjoying the new challenge.

Craig Robb (Peter) After missing out on tickets to An Inspector Calls, Craig was keen to join Cheriton Players as it seemed to be the surest way of getting a seat! He started acting as a teenager in a local company in Weymouth, where he played the lead in Pure and Organic and Tiny Tim in A Christmas Carol before taking a 20-year break to concentrate on his career. Craig rekindled his love of drama playing The Rev Rupert Bingham in Oh Clarence! and took part in the Great Cheriton Variety Show (in which he played the hilarious Claude Body in the melodrama). Craig played with aplomb the lead and title role in the recent Lord Arthur Savile’s Crime, which he says was certainly his most demanding role so far. Having risen to that challenge he is now tackling an altogether different character again in the form of Peter, Cooper’s ‘flat-roofed’ son-in-law. Craig is also currently writing both a musical and a play – a busy chap!

Reg Large (Director) Reg is no stranger to the Players, having directed Alan Ayckbourn’s Table Manners for us a few years ago. Since then, he has been enjoying his retirement, happily passing the time by doing jolly things like practicing his golf swing, watching test matches and paying visits to his favourite hostelry, The Flower Pots. Then, out of the blue, and with a little arm-twisting, Reg stepped into the breach to play – with hilarious results – the role of ‘Bunting’ the butler in Murdered to Death. Treading the professional boards was once a way of life for Reg, and although it is many years since he last took to the professional stage and (he says) he is creakier, deafer and possibly not wiser, he obviously has never forgotten his stage craft as he directs this multi-layered, bitter-sweet play.

Past Productions Lord Arthur Savile’s Crime – Nov 2015 Third Week in August – June 2015 The Great Cheriton Variety Show - April 2015 Oh Clarence! – May 2014 An Inspector Calls – Dec 2013 A Bolt from the Blue – April 2013 Season’s Greetings – Nov 2012 Murdered to Death – May 2012 Clerical Errors – Nov 2011 Alice – June 2011 Blithe Spirit – Nov 2010 Don’t Dress For Dinner – April 2010 Together4Christmas – December 2009 Ten Times Table – April/May 2009 The Ghost Train – November 2008 Habeas Corpus – April 2008 Allo’ Allo’ – November 2007 Murder in Cheriton! – May 2007 The Champion of Paribanou – January 2007 Parallel Lines – November 2006 Table Manners – April 2006 A Christmas Carol – December 2005 Out of Order – April 2005 Idol Talent – January 2005 The Noble Spaniard – November 2004 Jungle Fantasy – May 2004 The Real Inspector Hound & Black Comedy – November 2003 Oliver! – January 2003 Don’t Utter a Note – May 2002 Forty – Not Out! – December 2001 Murder in Play – March 2001 Confusions – November 2000 An Evening’s Entertainment – March 2000 Move over Mrs Markham – November 1999 Party Piece – November 1998 After the Ball is Over – April 1998 And then there were None – November 1997 Cat on the Fiddle – April 1997 Love’s a Luxury – November 1996 She Stoops to Conquer – April 1996 Key for Two – November 1995 ‘Bless ’em All’ – May 1995

Lord Arthur Savile’s Crime – Nov 1994 Pardon Me, Prime Minister – April 1994 Variety Music Hall – November 1993 Murder in Company – April 1993 Worzel Gummidge – November 1992 Outside Edge – April 1992 My Fair Lady – November 1991 Two One-Act Plays – April 1991 Lock up Your Daughters – November 1990 Haul for the Shore – May 1990 Best of Old Time Music Hall – February 1990 Tons of Money – November 1989 The Late Mr. Larrington – April 1989 Merry Christmas Music Hall – December 1988 Man Alive – April 1988 The Wind in the Willows – December 1987 I’ll Get My Man – May 1987 Music Hall – Jan/Feb 1987 Laughter in the Dark – December 1986 Salad Days – April 1986 The Proof of the Poison – December 1985 Gala Music Hall – September 1985 Charley’s Aunt – May 1985 Music Hall – February 1985 Small Hotel – November 1984 Beyond a Joke – May 1984 Music Hall – February 1984 Play On! – November 1983 Present Laughter – May 1983 Old Time Music Hall – February 1983 And So To Bed – November 1982 Here We Come Gathering – April 1982 Music Hall – February 1982 Book of the Month – November 1981 Pride and Prejudice – May 1981 Music Hall – Jan/Feb 1981 The Full Treatment – November 1981 Fish Out of Water – May 1980 Music Hall – February 1980 A Friend Indeed – November 1979 Lord Arthur Savile’s Crime – April 1979 Music Hall – January 1970 Jam Tomorrow – November 1978

White Sheep of the Family – April 1978 Old Time Music Hall – Jan/Feb 1978 Love Birds – November 1977 Running Riot – May 1977 Jubilee Revue – January 1977 Your Obedient Servant – November 1976 Person Unknown – April 1976 Old Time Music Hall – January 1976 The Importance of Being Earnest – November 1975 Wolf’s Clothing – April 1975 Old Time Music Hall – Jan/Feb 1975 Love’s a Luxury – November 1974 Sailor Beware – April 1974 Old Time Music Hall – Jan 1974 See How They Run – November 1973 Doctor in the House – April 1973 Old Time Music Hall – January 1973 Quiet Weekend – November 1972 Who Lies There? – April 1972 Old Time Music Hall – January 1972 Pools Paradise – November 1971 Something to Hide – April 1971 Old Time Music Hall – January 1971 Beside the Seaside – November 1970 Trap for a Lonely Man – February 1970 Man Alive – November 1969 Busybody – May 1969 Sleeping Partnership – February 1969 Dear Delinquent – November 1968 Goodnight, Mrs Puffin – May 1968 A Pig in a Poke – February 1968 Wanted One Body – November 1967 Still Life & Speaking Terms – July 1967 Flat Spin – May 1967 The Happiest Days of Your Life – February 1967 See How They Run – October 1966 The Bride and the Batchelor – April 1966 Breath of Spring – November 1965 Blithe Spirit – November 1964 Pools Paradise – May 1964 One Man Banned – November 1963 Haul for the Shore – November 1962 Friends and Neighbours – March 1962 Here We Come Gathering – Nov 1961

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