TUESDAY 25th - SATURDAY 29TH APRIL 2023
Welcome to The Massive TragedyofMadame
Bovary! It’s a Greek tragedy, morality tale, literary masterpiece and farcical comedy all rolled into one. It really does have something for everyone but it’s a strange play to introduce as there are two distinct sides to the story – the novel and the adaptation.
I first read the novel of MadameBovary six years ago, having found a copy of it in my mother-inlaw’s bookcase. I don’t read much, and I’m not really sure why I picked it up, but a few pages in, I found it deceptively easy to read. Biographers of the author Gustave Flaubert have described him as the father of modern realist narration, his influence almost too familiar to be visible. I had no idea of Flaubert’s obsession with finding the right word – he would spend a whole day writing one page – but I had been aware of the novel’s infamy, it being talked about in the same breath as LadyChatterley’sLover . So, whilst I was expecting to be skipping the parts where Flaubert describes the intricacies of a French dresser (to the parts where he describes the intricacies of a French undresser) I instead found every page to be witty, well-paced and luridly captivating.
So that’s the novel. And what of the adaption? Well, it’s written by a theatre group called Peepolykus, more specifically John Nicholson and Javier Marzan; they’ve written, produced and performed a number of madcap comedies including ATrespasser’sGuidetotheClassics and a comedy adaptation of The Hound of the Baskervilles. So when a friend at work told me about seeing the original run of this play, that it was one of the funniest plays they’d seen, I felt committed to having some part in its production at Cheriton Players at the next opportunity.
I really hope you enjoy our production as much as I, the cast and production team have enjoyed creating it. Finally, my thanks to my wife Katie and son Pippin for their support – without them it would have been impossible for me to direct this show.
Craig Robb
The Players now have an extensive supply of theatrical costumes/props for hire to other Dramatic Societies and individuals. For further information contact Jan Conway (01962 771834) or Pauline Cornter (07568 375985).
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In the last few weeks Cheriton Players have been asked if The MassiveTragedyof MadameBovary! is a comedic or serious play. Having been at rehearsals I can assure you all that you’re in for a real treat and lots of laughs as you enjoy this irreverent romp through provincial France in the mid 19th century, filled with mayhem, absurdity, adultery and hilarity. This retelling of the classic Flaubert tale is definitely for laughs.
Our thanks to Mark McGann for his dedicated acting workshop, a real treat for those involved. Thanks too, to the numerous people who have contributed to the production, including the loan of many props.
As I’ve said on many occasions we are always on the lookout for new members and we are thrilled to introduce Natashia Berrio, Tom Dangerfield and Jane Wilde, our newest members, who will all be entertaining you this evening. Welcome to you all and break a leg.
The Players’ year will continue apace as we plan for a rehearsed reading in conjunction with Blue Apple. LashingsofGingerBeer was performed at the Theatre Royal Winchester in January and we are pleased to be able to bring this lovely story to Cheriton. The date is yet to be confirmed so keep an eye on our social media pages and website.
As ever, thanks to all of you who come to support us. Enjoy the show and see you all again next time.
Marilyn Weston
It’s not very often in the non-professional theatre that we can benefit from the experience and detailed guidance of an Olivier award nominated actor and dramatist. But that is exactly what we have been lucky enough to experience for this production.
Mark McGann, one of the McGann acting dynasty of four brothers, and who runs Drama Direct, a Frome-based company that offers theatrical, Shakespearian, directorial and screen acting workshops, put together for us
a dedicated one day session for our actors and gave us new insight into what is possible, what works and what doesn’t. TheMassiveTragedyof MadameBovary! is a complex play to perform with its many scenes/changes, multi-roles and enormous range of emotional themes.
So having Mark to help direct a handful of the trickier scenes has been invaluable for us and a rewarding experience for all those who took part. The general style of direction for those particular scenes we have now rolled out across the whole play, resulting in what we hope you will agree to be a polished production.
More information on the workshops that Mark runs can be found at dramadirectblog.com
GUSTAVE FLAUBERT’S COMPLEX NOVEL LOVINGLY DERAILED BY PEEPOLYKUS
ADAPTED BYJOHN
NICHOLSON & JAVIER MARZAN
Tim Conway, playing: ............. Himself/Rat-catcher 1, Justin, Bailiff, Mother Superior, Charles’ mother, Footman, Lheureux, Robert, Girard
David Cradduck, playing:.................. Himself/Rat-catcher 2, Roault, The Marchioness, Berthe, Cab Driver
John Weston, playing: .................................................. Blind Man, Homais, Viscount, Curé, Dr Cavinet, Beadle, Driver
Natashia Berrio, playing: Herself, Emma Bovary
Jane Wilde, playing: .............................Herself, Madame Codoux, Sister, Charles Bovary
Tom Dangerfield, playing:........................ Himself, Hippolyte, Tuvache, Rodolphe, Léon
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!
Crew
Director................................................................................................................................. Craig Robb
Producer .....................................................................................................................Marilyn Weston
Stage Manager Angela Ledsham
Lighting/Sound ............................................Graham Arnott, Jamie Herdman, Peter Wilde
Costumes/Props ........................................................................... Jan Conway, Pauline Cornter
Rehearsal Prompts ............................................................ Angela Ledsham, Marilyn Weston
Choreographer ..................................................................................................... Maureen Cheong
Special Direction Mark McGann
Set Design/Construction............................. Jan Conway, Tim Conway, David Cradduck, Pete Reay, Craig Robb, Marilyn Weston, Peter Wilde
Set Decoration .............................................Henrietta Hellard, Melissa Simm, Jane Wilde
Front of House...................................................................................... Jenny Cridland and Team
Publicity/Marketing David Cradduck
Poster/Programme design .................................................................................................. Ian Lock
Photography ........................................................................ Simon Newman, Craig Robertson
TheactionoftheplaytakesplaceinandnearYonville,NorthernFrance,1850-ish. There are well over 40 scenes, and we have deliberately asked you to use your imaginationstohelpuscreatesomeofthem.
There will be an interval of 20 minutes between Act 1 and Act 2 during which refreshments will be served.
Warning:containsadultthemesandoccasionalbadlanguage.
Pleaserefrainfromtakingflashphotographyandturnoffallmobilephones.Inthe interestsofsafety,andaccessforperformersandFoHstaff,pleasekeepaislesand walkwaysclear.
Welcome to the Massive Tragedy of Madame Bovary - the real one.
Gustave Flaubert dedicated his 1856 novel to his lifelong friend, Louis Bouihet, who wrote to him in 1851 to ask him whether his next novel would be about Don Juan or Delphine Delamare. In a way, it was both.
The character of Emma is possibly based on Flaubert’s romantic lover, Louis, who was married to Hippolyte Colet, but the events described in the novel bear an uncanny resemblance to the life and demise of another real young woman, Delphine Delamare, whose husband, Eugene, was a failed medical student of Flaubert senior, a renowned physician.
Delphine was a farmer’s daughter who, at the age of seventeen, married Eugene, who, by that time, had become a health officer.
1. Yonville-l’Abbaye is described as a “street with a few stores on either side that stops short at the road bend” and bears a strong resemblance to Ry
2.
Maitre Guillaumin’s Office - in the novel, Leon Dupuis works here as a clerk
3. The Lion d’Or Inn - where the villagers meet and the carriage to Rouen stops
4. The Bovary’s House - where Emma and Charles live when they move to Yonville
He, being a widower and ten years her elder, resigned Delphine to an unsatisfactory life of boredom in the Seine-Maritime village of Ry. Disappointed with her banal existence, and falling in love with Narcisse Bollet and Louis Campion (in the novel, Leon Dupuis and Rudolph Boulanger respectively) she fell into debt and died from hydrogen cyanide poisoning by her own hand in 1848 at the age of 26.
This page shows the plan of Ry and the locations of all the buildings that mirror those that appear in the novel. So, let’s cross the cow-plank and take a stroll through Ry, past the pharmacy, the Golden Lion and finally to the churchyard and the stone commemorating the life of Delphine Delamare - Madame Bovary.
2 3 1
5. Pharmacy - where Homais’ works. In Ry, the real pharmacist, Mr Jouanne, created a mutual insurance system for the poor and a school for the children
6. The Village Square - where the agricultural fairs take place
7. Lheureux’s Shop - literally, Mr Happy, he is a merchant and money lender
8. The Church and the memorial for Delphine Delamare
Craig Robb (Director)Craig first joined the Cheriton Players in 2014 and has taken a few acting roles and produced a couple of rehearsed readings since then, Grave Concerns and YoungJane. Previous acting roles have included vicars, the eponymous aristocrat in Lord Arthur Saville’s Crimes and an unwilling benefit cheat in CashOnDelivery . He has written a few plays as well, including one, MysteryShopper , which was recorded during the pandemic as a radio play. Although, with the Cheriton Players, he has directed one full-length play – Alan Ayckbourn’s CommunicatingDoors in 2018 – this is the first play he has directed that involves actors playing multiple roles which is an exciting new challenge for him.
Tim ConwayTim has appeared in a dozen or so productions with the Cheriton Players since he accidentally joined in 2005 by attending a play reading for A Christmas Carol. A natural for the downtrodden humility of Bob Cratchit, he fooled us into believing he was acting. His sister, however, observed he was just being himself, thus making his convincing portrayal of Julian, the psychopathic matricide in CommunicatingDoors all the more disturbing. Making full use of experience gained in his recent role as Rattlesnake the bewhiskered old fossil of a stagecoach driver in CalamityJane, Tim now looks forward to another opportunity to not actually ride on a horse drawn vehicle in the current production, TheMassiveTragedyofMadameBovary
David CradduckDavid has been acting with Cheriton Players for well over 45 years.
Title/lead roles include Charley’s Aunt, Wind in the Willows, Worzel Gummidge, Lord Arthur Savile’s Crime (1994), Pride andPrejudice, OutsideEdge, TheImportanceof BeingEarnest, AnInspectorCalls, Oh Clarence! and AMonthofSundays. Other productions include Oliver!, TheRealInspectorHound/BlackComedy , JungleFantasy , TheNobleSpaniard, Out of Order , A Christmas Carol, Table Manners, Murder in Cheriton!, ’Allo ’Allo , The Ghost Train, Ten Times Table, Alice, Murdered to Death, Season’sGreetings, A Bolt from the Blue, Lord Arthur Savile’s Crime (2015), CashonDelivery and The Game’s Afoot. He won the 2015 Curtain Call Award for ‘Best Actor in a Comedy’ for ThirdWeekinAugust and took part in both Cheriton Variety Shows, (Another)Murderin Cheriton!, Diamonds Are For Trevor and NeverSay TrevorAgain! Credits with other theatre companies include Noises Off , Under Milkwood, The Mikado , Relative Values, Tom Jones, Shadowlands, Far from theMaddingCrowd, The39Steps and Murdered To Death. Long retired from his ‘day job’ as a designer, David now spends his time as a film/TV actor.
John WestonJohn is a retired petroleum geologist who still accepts consulting roles in dispute resolution. His career in amateur theatre began in an Aberdeenshire dancing competition, followed by revues in Rio de Janeiro prior to moving to Alresford where he took to the stage with the Alresford Community Theatre in Sandcastles, Under Milk Wood, AllQuietontheWesternFront and Annie Since joining Cheriton Players, John has appeared in Season’sGreetings, FallenAngels, Diamonds Are For Trevor (as President Putitov), An International Revue (in which he also took on many different accents) and most recently CalamityJane.
John is actively involved in local rugby as Chairman of Alresford RFC and is a keen kayaker, fly fisherman, hill walker and outdoor cooking enthusiast!
Natashia (Tash) joined the Cheriton players only last year after moving to Alresford in September. From the ouset she immersed herself in the group and was able to offer her help backstage for our last show NeverSayTrevorAgain!. After attending a play reading of the A Christmas Carol she was determined to be a part in the next play. She says he has always had a passion for theatre from a young age and playing the lead role of Emma Bovary has given her the chance to jump back in. She was involved with theatre and improvisation classes at university and school where she played Miranda in a remake of TheTempest but hasn’t had another lead role – until now! Theatre is a great outlet for her creativity as she spends her professional life working in cyber security. Other interests include travel and art – she sells pencil sketches to pet owners (see advertisement elsewhere in this programme).
Jane WildeWe are delighted to welcome Jane to Cheriton Players, coming as she does with a wealth of theatrical experience. Having recently moved to Old Alresford, she has a long association with the theatre and considerable experience both as performer and director. She has helped set up amateur theatre groups, with particular focus on youth drama. In addition, she had a 30 year career teaching English and Drama (amongst other things) during which she has piqued the interest and encouraged the talent of many young actors When off stage she can be found gardening, crosswording, singing, walking, ‘yoga-ing’, or wrangling grandchildren.
An award-winning actor with a decade’s worth of experience on both stage and screen, Tom says he is delighted and proud to be ‘a part of the fantastic team bringing you TheMassiveTragedy ofMadameBovary’.
This will be his first on stage performance with the Cheriton Players, if you don’t count his brief screen cameo as Tom Cruise in last year’s NeversayTrevor Again. He has previously appeared at the Chesil Theatre, portraying such characters as Lord Byron, and Konstantin from Anton Chekhov’s ‘TheSeagull’ , as well as a few productions with The Worthy Players. Aside from this and his work in a wide range of films, he makes a living voice acting for a variety of different platforms and genres.
Tom says ‘for me the chance to take on five different parts is both thrilling and slightly nerve-wracking, but this is all part of the fun. Doing it alongside such a fantastic group of performers and artists is the perfect cherry on top, one that I am very grateful for!’
Never Say Trevor Again
Calamity Jane
Murder Weapon
An Unexpected Fate at The Fête
November 2022
June 2022
November 2021
June 2021
Doctor Doctor/The Dominatrix Solution
Let Nothing You Dismay
Hologram
Mystery Shopper
Jack
Diamonds Are For Trevor
A Very International Variety Show
Fallen Angels
March 2021
December 2020
November 2020
September 2020
August 2020
November 2019
April 2019
November 2018
The Browning Version/A Matter of Taste
Communicating Doors
The Game’s Afoot
Young Jane
(Another) Murder in Cheriton!
June 2018
April 2018
November 2017
September 2017
June 2017
The Even Greater Cheriton Variety Show
Cash on Delivery
A Month of Sundays
Lord Arthur Savile’s Crime
Third Week in August
The Great Cheriton Variety Show
Oh Clarence!
An Inspector Calls
A Bolt from the Blue
Season’s Greetings
Murdered to Death
Clerical Errors
Alice
Blithe Spirit
Don’t Dress For Dinner
Together4Christmas
Ten Times Table
The Ghost Train
Habeas Corpus
’Allo ’Allo
Murder in Cheriton!
The Champion of Paribanou
Parallel Lines
April 2017
November 2016
March 2016
November 2015
June 2015
April 2015
May 2014
December 2013
April 2013
November 2012
May 2012
November 2011
June 2011
November 2010
April 2010
December 2009
April/May 2009
November 2008
April 2008
November 2007
May 2007
January 2007
November 2006
Table Manners
A Christmas Carol
Out of Order
Idol Talent
The Noble Spaniard
Jungle Fantasy
The Real Inspector Hound & Black Comedy
Oliver!
Don’t Utter a Note
Forty – Not Out!
Murder in Play
Confusions
An Evening’s Entertainment
Move over Mrs Markham
Party Piece
After the Ball is Over
And then there were None
Cat on the Fiddle
Love’s a Luxury
She Stoops to Conquer
Key for Two
‘Bless ’em All’
Lord Arthur Savile’s Crime
Pardon Me, Prime Minister
Variety Music Hall
Murder in Company
Worzel Gummidge
Outside Edge
My Fair Lady
Two One-Act Plays
Lock up Your Daughters
Haul for the Shore
Best of Old Time Music Hall
Tons of Money
April 2006
December 2005
April 2005
January 2005
November 2004
May 2004
November 2003
January 2003
May 2002
December 2001
March 2001
November 2000
March 2000
November 1999
November 1998
April 1998
November 1997
April 1997
November 1996
April 1996
November 1995
May 1995
November 1994
April 1994
November 1993
April 1993
November 1992
April 1992
November 1991
April 1991
November 1990
May 1990
February 1990
November 1989
NEVER SAY TREVOR AGAIN, NOVEMBER 2022
