Lord Arthur Savile's Crime – Nov 2015

Based on a short story by Oscar Wilde

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Wednesday 18th Saturday 21st November 2015 This amateur production is presented by special arrangement with Samuel French, Ltd

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Based on a short story by Oscar Wilde Wednesday 18th - Saturday 21st November 2015 This amateur production is presented by special arrangement with Samuel French, Ltd

From the director

Having enjoyed many years of directing Cheriton Primary School’s summer plays and my home village of Old Alresford’s pantomimes, tucked away in the back of my mind has always been the thought that I would like the bigger challenge of directing a full length play. Cheriton Players had invited me, on several occasions, to be part of their productions. But, until 2015, the dates were never right. So the first jump into the big pond that is Cheriton Players was in February of this year, chained to the village hall piano for a few weeks as part of the Great Cheriton Variety Show.

At the party afterwards, a glass of wine in hand, I casually mentioned to Jan Conway that if there was ever a shortage of directors and a play that she thought I might be able to cope with,

I would be willing to have a go. Her response was to ask if I would like to direct the next production! I gulped and quickly put the glass down. So, here I am, a first timer with a brilliant play, an amazing cast & backstage team. I owe them all a great debt of thanks for their patience and their creativity. Constance Cox has created a script full of delights, based on Oscar Wilde’s short story. This is a tale of polished cynicism revealing the gullibility and amorality of the upper classes.

We hope you, the audience, will find it as witty and amusing as we have done in rehearsal.

Sue Alexander

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Based on a short story by Oscar Wilde Wednesday 18th - Saturday 21st November 2015 This amateur production is presented by special arrangement with Samuel French, Ltd

The Cast (in order of appearance)

Baines, the butler Lord Arthur Savile Sybil Merton, his fiancée The Dean of Paddington, his uncle Lady Windermere, his aunt Lady Clementina Beauchamp, his great-aunt Lady Julia Merton, Sybil’s mother Mr Podgers, a cheiromantist Nellie, the maid Herr Winklekopf, an anarchist Understudy and rehearsal stand-in

The Production Team

Richard Perkins Craig Robb Katie Hinds Ian Monier-Williams Alexandra Lofts Jenni Watson Helena Gomm Mike Cornter Claire Smith David Cradduck Jan Conway

Director Sue Alexander Producer Jenny Cridland Stage Manager Angela Ledsham Lighting/sound Jamie Herdman, Graham Arnott Wardrobe Mistress Pauline Cornter Assistant Wardrobe Mistress Jan Conway Dressers Tracey Anderson, Sally Williams Prompt Dave Wright Props Marilyn Weston Set Design Tim Day Set Build Tim Day & team Décor and portrait of Lord Arthur Savile Senior Henrietta Hellard Photography Craig Robertson Publicity David Cradduck Programme and poster design Owen Jones Illustration of butler Guy Nicholson Pianist Gail Straker Front of House Jan Conway, Pauline Cornter & team

SYNOPSIS OF SCENES

The action of the Play passes in the drawing room of Lord Arthur Savile’s house in Grosvenor Square, London

ACT ONE

One evening in June

ACT TWO

Scene One – The following morning There will be an interval of 20 minutes between Act 2 Scenes 1 & 2, during which refreshments will be available.

Scene Two – Morning, three days later

ACT THREE

Scene One – Early evening, several days later Scene Two – The following morning Time – the 1890s We would like to thank everyone who has loaned props or helped in any way with this production, in particular Littlehampton Musical Comedy Society, RAODS, Salisbury Playhouse and James Poore 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

For the first time in my chairmanship of Cheriton Players it is my pleasure to welcome you all to our autumn 2015 production, a repeat performance of Lord Arthur Savile’s Crime. LASC was first performed in the village hall in April 1979 and again in November 1994, making it the first Cheriton Show to be performed three times. You may notice one of the 1994 cast on stage tonight – guess who?

A huge welcome to our director, Sue Alexander. LASC is Sue’s first foray into directing at Cheriton Players, having made her debut as Musical Director earlier in the year, for The Great Cheriton Variety Show. Sue’s calm and considered direction has been a joy to watch; let’s hope that this is the first of many productions under her keen eye.

Lord Arthur Savile’s Crime follows hot on the heels of our summer production Third Week in August, which was a resounding success, but a logistical nightmare! Thanks to all at The Flower Pots who made it possible, to all of the crew and cast and to all of you who came to support. The weather was kind and we played to packed houses.

For your diaries, our next production is A Month of Sundays, to be performed 16th-19th March 2016.

Tickets will be on sale from 1st December from www.ticketsource.co.uk/cheritonplayers Ladies and gentlemen, you’ve been shown to your seats, the cast and and the backstage crew are all set and ready to go, so sit back and enjoy tonight’s unfolding of Lord Arthur Savile’s Crime.

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!

thecheritonplayers.org.uk

Biographies Sue Alexander (Director) Sue has fond memories of playing a range of roles at school... Mr Rochester, Caliban and Sir Andrew Aguecheek! The stage then disappeared from her life and lay dormant until she moved to Old Alresford and became a TOAD, directing and appearing in village pantos. She became a teacher at Cheriton Primary School in 1996 and loved putting on the end of year show with the children. She joined the Cheriton Players in 2015, was Musical Director for the Great Cheriton Variety Show and has risen to the dizzy heights of Director for Lord Arthur Savile’s Crime.

Helena Gomm (Lady Julia Merton) Helena’s first role with Cheriton Players was that of Ruth in Blithe Spirit. She also played Dorothy in Murdered to Death, Phyllis in Season’s Greetings, Mrs Birling in An Inspector Calls, Lady Constance in Oh Clarence! and most recently Mary, the dragon from Essex, in Third Week in August, Cheriton’s outdoor production in May. Helena lives in West Meon and also performs with West Meon Theatre, where her roles include Gwendolen in The Importance of Being Earnest, Mrs Drudge in The Real Inspector Hound, Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing and Marie in Calendar Girls, which was performed at the Theatre Royal Winchester. Helena has directed Neville’s Island and The Night of January 16th for West Meon Theatre and she also directed the ‘drama’ items in the Great Cheriton Variety Show earlier this year.

Richard Perkins (Baines) Richard’s early acting career consisted of semi-scripted New Year Mummers Plays (an excuse for a pub-crawl around the New Forest). Early Cheriton roles were in Cat on the Fiddle, and Alastair Spenlow in Move over Mrs Markham. His characters have included vicars, doctors, and – yes – butlers! He appeared in the Cheriton 2000 Revue, several parts in Confusions and The Real Inspector Hound. Richard was seen in Out of Order, Table Manners, ‘Allo ‘Allo, Habeas Corpus, The Ghost Train, Don’t Dress for Dinner. He was Bernard in Seasons Greetings and most recently played grumpy old laird, Sir Gregory Parsloe-Parsloe in Oh Clarence!. When not acting or selling/ planting trees, Richard can be found on Amazon as the co-author of a delightfully witty book on cricket entitled Not Out First Ball.

Craig Robb (Lord Arthur Savile) Craig moved to Cheriton a couple of years ago with his wife Katie, who is playing Sybil in this production.

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 production company in Weymouth, where he played the leading role in Pure and Organic and Tiny Tim in A Christmas Carol, then took 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). Both the latter parts have helped Craig to get to grips with this lead role, Lord Arthur, certainly the most demanding role so far for Craig, who has risen wonderfully to the challenge.

Katie Hinds (Sybil Merton) Katie joined the Cheriton Players in 2014 but this is her first role on stage with them. Earlier this year she appeared in Night of January 16th with the West Meon Theatre and many years prior to this her acting credits are with St Anne’s Convent school in Southampton, Rosalie Woollcombe in Winchester and the Liverpool University Drama Society. She is also a member of the Cheriton Singers. Katie says she is particularly thrilled to be playing the part of Sybil, opposite her real-life husband Craig.

Ian Monier-Williams (The Dean of Paddington) Ian joined the Players in 2003, since when he has avoided typecasting by playing a murderous Detective (The Real Inspector Hound), a duelling Judge (The Noble Spaniard), a trouser-dropping hotel manager (Out of Order), a German Colonel (‘Allo ‘Allo), a chest prosthetics salesman (Habeas Corpus), an unhinged exsoldier (Ten Times Table), a murderous chef (Don’t Dress for Dinner) and a singing Tweedledum (Alice). As a child Ian wanted to be a professional actor, but dropped the ambition when he heard that most actors live at or close to the bread line. He became an accountant instead and satisfies his thespian urges by his appearances with the Players. Ian is also the man with the chequebook as the Players’ Hon. Treasurer.

Alexandra Lofts (Lady Windermere) Alexandra’s first appearance with Cheriton Players was in Salad Days but she was enticed back some years later to the stage as Sarah Appleby, ‘a girl who spent a lot of time with fruit flies’ in A Bolt from the Blue. Alexandra has also utilised her musical talents singing with the Waynflete Singers and performing at The Proms and St Paul’s Cathedral being some of the highlights and latterly with the Cheriton Singers.

Her most recent appearance with Cheriton Players was as dippy Jennifer Parsloe-Parsloe in Oh Clarence!.

She has also performed in productions of The Pirates of Penzance and The Mikado. Her interests outside performing include horse riding, skiing and her dogs.

Jenni Watson (Lady Clementina Beauchamp) This is only Jenni’s third production with Cheriton Players, the first being Alice, when she played the formidable Red Queen and the second in a variety of roles in the Great Cheriton Variety Show. Some of you might have seen some of her other performances with The Maskers Theatre Company from Southampton, RAODS and Studio Theatre, Salisbury. For this production she is playing Lady Clementina, a 60 year old doting, but crafty auntie to Lord Arthur Savile. Jenni says “As usual, it has been a pleasure working with such a talented, hardworking and friendly bunch as the Cheriton Players!”.

Mike Cornter (Mr Podgers) Mike has been with Cheriton Players for some 48 years, having met his wife Pauline whilst rehearsing for Pig in a Poke in 1967. His roles down the years have been many and varied, from Mr Bumble in Oliver! to a Brummy tribal chief in Jungle Fantasy. He has sung his way through many an Old Tyme Music Hall and appeared as the ‘front man’ of Cheriton’s answer to the Wurzels. Mike was KGB agent Henry Bastable in Murder in Cheriton! and took the leading roles of René in ‘Allo ‘Allo and Dr Arthur Wicksteed in Habeas Corpus. He played the crusty stationmaster Saul Hodgkin in The Ghost Train, was the Mock Turtle in Alice, delighted audiences with his Colonel Craddock in Murdered to Death and most recently appeared as the bigoted Arthur Birling in An Inspector Calls.

Claire Smith (Nellie) 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 Musical and Operatic 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. Lord Arthur Savile’s Crime is her first appearance in a non-musical production since secondary school and she is thoroughly enjoying the new challenge.

David Cradduck (Herr Winklekopf) David joined Cheriton Players in 1974. Credits include title or lead roles in Charley’s Aunt, Wind in the Willows, Worzel Gummidge, Lord Arthur Savile’s Crime (1994), Pride and Prejudice, Outside Edge, The Importance of Being Earnest, An Inspector Calls and Oh Clarence!. Other credits include Fagin in Oliver!, 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. 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 I’ll Get My Man and Confusions. His most recent appearance was as the nerd, Neville, in Third Week in August.

Previous Productions 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 – November 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 The 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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