Oh Clarence! programme June 2014

The Cheriton Players Present

A comedy by John Chapman

11th-14th June 2014 www.thecheritonplayers.org.uk

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The Cheriton Players Present

A comedy by John Chapman Adapted from Blandings Castle and other Lord Emsworth stories by P.G. Wodehouse

11th - 14th June 2014

This amateur production is presented by arrangement with Josef Weinberger Limited

From tHe Director So there I was, wondering what the next Cheriton production was going to be, and perhaps there will be a meeting soon, when I get this message wondering if I would be prepared to direct the forthcoming play. So I sent a message back saying yes I’d love to and what’s the chosen play? Well, we don’t know yet, but we think it should be a comedy with only 6 to 7 cast members and we’re having a reading in a week or so and we’ve got 3 or 4 plays to choose from unless you’ve got one you’d like to do. Well I hadn’t, so we had this play reading and

couldn’t quite decide, so we had another one and the unanimous decision was that we liked Oh Clarence! which had not the 6 to 7 cast characters we were aiming for, but a whopping 13. Oh yes, it’s a great play but where do we find 13 actors of mixed ages and gender? Don’t worry we’ll find them, and find them we did, and so we started rehearsals. We had good rehearsals, we had bad rehearsals and we had hilarious rehearsals with everyone corpsing with laughter, and with the help of lots of super heroes backstage, we’ve mixed up the good, the bad and the comedic, tweaked and honed it for you to sit back and enjoy.

So please just relax, imagine you’re back in the ‘good old days’, and watch Cheriton Players’ production of Oh Clarence!.

Tim Day

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The Cheriton Players Present

A comedy by John Chapman A Comedy by John Chapman, adapted from Blandings Castle and other Lord Emsworth stories by P.G. Wodehouse

11th - 14th June 2014

The Cast (in order of appearance)

Lady Constance Keeble Helena Gomm (sister to Lord Emsworth) Beach Paddy Roadnight The Hon. Freddie Threepwood Charlie Hellard Clarence, 9th Earl of Emsworth David Cradduck Austen, a parlourmaid Millie Cheong Gertrude Wibberly Rebecca Leadley Dame Daphne Winkworth Jan Conway Jennifer Parsloe-Parsloe Alex Lofts Sir Gregory Parsloe-Parsloe Richard Perkins The Rev Rupert Bingham Craig Robb Dr Simmons Tim Conway Sir Eustace Chalfont, OBE, MRCP Steve Gapper Police Sgt. Evans Paul McTaggart

The Production Team

Director Tim Day Producer Jan Conway Stage Manager Paul Hellard Lighting/sound/special effects Jamie Herdman, Graham Arnott, Mike Ludgate, freesfx.co.uk Voice Coach Barbara Large Prompt Angela Ledsham Props Pauline and Mike Cornter, Paul McTaggart,

Millie Cheong, Maureen Cheong Costumes Pauline Cornter, Katie Robb Make-Up Julia Kimber Set design and build Tim Day, with help from Alan Kettle, Richard Perkins,

Mick Roadnight, Mark Horner, Tim Conway,

Jan Conway, Craig Robb Décor Henrietta Hellard Photography Craig Robertson Publicity David Cradduck Programme and poster design Owen Jones Illustration of Emsworth family Henrietta Hellard Front of House Pauline and Mike Cornter,

Sue Herdman and team

ACT 1

Scene One – The drawing room of Blandings Castle, one summer morning in 1927 Scene Two – The same. Later that morning Scene Three – The same. The following afternoon Scene Four – The same. The following afternoon

ACT 2

Scene One – The same. After dinner that night Scene Two – A bedroom in Blandings Castle. Later the same night Scene Three – The drawing room. The next morning There will be an interval of 20 minutes between acts during which refreshments will be served.Please note: the first act is well over an hour and much longer than the second half. The show should finish by 10:20pm.

We would like to thank everyone who has helped in any way with this production – and in particular for loan/hire of costumes/props/furniture Heather Witham, Craig Robb, Mary Dawson, Salisbury Playhouse, Soberton Players, Eddolls Carpets, Littlehampton Musical Comedy Society, the late Peggy Sumner and History in the Making. Special mention should be made of Debbie, Roly and team at Manor Farm Country Park for allowing us to visit their prize sows Violet and Blossom one Sunday morning to take some photos. Needless to say, neither pig was particularly interested but we still got some nice pics, for which many thanks to Craig Robertson for his skill and patience.

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 Jan Conway, Chairman

Welcome to Cheriton Players’ latest production, Oh Clarence!, John Chapman’s homage to PG Wodehouse’s classic Blandings stories. This play brings us back to our regular farcical comedy repertoire and we have all had enormous fun during the hilarious rehearsals. The play has of course given us some challenges too – fitting a cast of 13 on our small stage isn’t easy!

We hope you enjoy Oh Clarence! as much as we have enjoyed putting it on. Huge thanks to our Director Tim Day for his unflappable dedication, skill and good humour. Not only has he directed the play, he also designed the set and masterminded its construction! Thanks too to all the dedicated cast, backstage and front of house crew who have worked tremendously hard on and offstage. We are delighted that Rebecca Leadley wasn’t frightened off by being thrown in at the deep end in An Inspector Calls and is back on stage in the role of Gertrude. We are also delighted to welcome new member, Craig Robb to the Cheriton stage for the first time and his wife Katie to the backstage crew (Craig and Katie managed to fit in their wedding during the rehearsal period!) We are also delighted to have Millie Cheong on stage and her mother Maureen backstage for the first time and to welcome Paddy Roadnight and Steve Gapper in their first (but hopefully not last!) performances with the Cheriton Players. We are also very grateful to Mick Roadnight and Mark Horner for helping out with set building for the first time. Finally, in case they think they have been forgotten we are also delighted that so many of our regular members are once again involved in Oh Clarence!

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 We would love to hear from you!

We hope that we will see you again at Cheriton Players’ next production on November 19th – 22nd.

Finally, I am very sad to announce the recent death of Peggy Sumner, who was the last of the Cheriton Players’ Founder Members. Many of you will have seen Peggy regularly onstage in Cheriton and, more recently, after retiring from performing, she continued to support us and was usually to be seen in the middle of the front row at the first night of every play. We will miss her very much!

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Biographies

Helena Gomm (Lady Constance Keeble) 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 and recently Mrs Birling in An Inspector Calls. Helena lives in West Meon and also performs with West Meon Theatre, where her past 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. Last year she directed a production of Neville’s Island for West Meon Theatre.

Paddy Roadnight (Beach) Paddy is making his debut for Cheriton Players after a long career with other local groups: he has appeared in various productions, from his debut as King Herod aged eight at St Lucy’s Convent Medstead, to many years with the Matchmakers Drama Group in Preston Candover, usually as the villain. He has produced and directed Music Hall, Variety and Gala nights for Matchmakers and ACTS (Alresford Community Theatre Society). He says he loved playing the stoical role of Badger in the ACTS open air production of Wind in the Willows and recently appeared with TOADS (The Old Alresford Drama Society) in TOADS at the Front.

Charlie Hellard (The Hon Freddie Threepwood) Charlie first performed with the Cheriton Players in their 40 Anniversary production Forty Not Out in 2001 and has appeared in numerous plays since such as The Noble Spaniard, Oliver!, Jungle Fantasy, A Christmas Carol, Together4Christmas, the lion in our outdoor production of Alice and PC Thomkins in Murdered to Death. He was Clive, the much put upon writer in Season’s Greetings, excelled as Edward, the pylon engineer who started growing younger, in A Bolt from the Blue and as Eric in An Inspector Calls. He has also performed with Alresford Community Theatre in The Boyfriend, Annie and Oklahoma for ACTS and only last month appeared with WMOS in their production of High Society at the Theatre Royal Winchester. th

David Cradduck (Clarence, 9 Earl of Emsworth) David joined Cheriton Players after playing Tom in Tom Jones at college. Credits at Cheriton include title or 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 and An Inspector Calls. He appeared as Fagin in Oliver! Other credits 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. 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. th

Millie Cheong (Austen) Millie joined Cheriton Players last year to help out with front of house for An Inspector Calls. She is currently studying at Alton College and is on track to study Performing Arts in September.

She has been an active member of the Cheriton Church Choir and has enjoyed dancing and performing in school productions. Millie was also a member of the Winchester Youth Theatre in 2011 and had a role in the company’s production of Goblins.

Rebecca Leadley (Gertrude Wibberly) Rebecca has been a keen actor since childhood, entering drama festivals and exams throughout school, as well as appearing in numerous theatre productions, including Little Shop of Horrors and Midsummer Nights Dream, and as the rather clichéd position of the back end of a pantomime cow in a particularly memorable Chichester Youth Theatre production. After uni, Rebecca worked for a murder mystery company, portraying wartime murderers and medieval corpses at many a team building event and wedding. Rebecca was thrown in at the deep end when, having been cast as the maid in An Inspector Calls, and having played two nights as such, she stepped into the role (and dress) of the leading lady because of illness at 25 minutes notice.

Jan Conway (Dame Daphne Winkworth) Jan joined the Players in the late 80s and helped with front of house and refreshments for several productions before ‘retiring’ when her children were small. She ventured back on stage in Cheriton in A Christmas Carol, having been a regular performer in many University productions.

Jan played the short-sighted Ruth in Table Manners, Mable Labelled in Murder in Cheriton!, René’s French maid Mimi in ‘Allo ‘Allo, surpassed herself as Lady Rumpers in Habeas Corpus, Philippa in Ten Times Table, and Miss Pearson in Clerical Errors. She played a variety of parts for A Bolt from the Blue, including an American newsreader. Aside from appearing on stage, Jan was also responsible for the costumes in the outdoor production Alice and has taken on the extra burden of Producer and ASM for the last three productions, plus chairmanship of the Players!

Alexandra Lofts (Jennifer Parsloe-Parsloe) Alexandra’s first appearance with Cheriton Players was in Salad Days many years ago but was enticed back to the stage last year 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 Pauls Cathedral being some of the highlights and latterly with the Cheriton Singers. She has completed her second degree (in Environmental Management) and has performed in productions of The Pirates of Penzance and The Mikado. Her interests outside performing include horse riding, skiing and her dogs.

Richard Perkins (Sir Gregory Parsloe Parsloe) 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 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 and – yes – as another vicar, Canon Throbbing, in Habeas Corpus, The Ghost Train and Don’t Dress for Dinner and most recently as Bernard in Seasons Greetings. Richard is pleased to not be playing another doctor but a grumpy old laird. 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 (The Rev Rupert Bingham) Craig has recently moved to Cheriton with his new wife Katie. After missing out on tickets to their last production, 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 hiatus to concentrate on his career. Now Craig hopes to rekindle his love of drama with Oh Clarence!

Tim Conway (Dr Simmons) Tim made his debut as the unenviable Bob Cratchit in A Christmas Carol, took part in Parallel Lines, our ‘play in a day’ and then the part of Nasuh in The Champion of Paribanou. He helped backstage with ‘Allo ‘Allo and also appeared as a German soldier. He played Sir Percy Shorter in Habeas Corpus, unusual baddy Herbert Price in The Ghost Train and the annoyingly pedantic Donald in Ten Times Table. His most demanding role to date was the Reverend James Martin in Clerical Errors. Most recently Tim was stage manager for An Inspector Calls and is pleased to be returning to the stage once again as the bumbling Dr Simmons.

Steve Gapper (Sir Eustace Chalfont) This is Steve’s first play with Cheriton Players. His previous acting experience has been with TOADS (The Old Alresford Dramatic Society) of which he is still a member; apparently his portrayal of Hydrophobia, an ugly sister, in last Christmas’s panto was something to behold! He says that he was attracted to Cheriton Players as there is no singing involved! Although not a local (he lives in Itchen Abbas) he says that he has been made to feel very welcome by all the cast.

Paul McTaggart (Police Sgt Evans) Paul is a keen member of Cheriton Players having joined a few years ago to help back stage for Blithe Spirit and ‘got the bug’ for all things theatrical. Although normally backstage – his roles have included Stage Manager, Assistant Stage Manager and Props Manager, Paul appeared as the Red King in the Players’ outdoor production of Alice. Paul is also a keen amateur cameraman and has been responsible for many of the promotional videos published to promote recent shows.

Previous Productions 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 – Dec 2009 Ten Times Table – April/May 2009 The Ghost Train – Nov 2008 Habeas Corpus – April 2008 Allo’ Allo’ – Nov 2007 Murder in Cheriton! – May 2007 The Champion of Paribanou – Jan 2007 Parallel Lines – Nov 2006 Table Manners – April 2006 A Christmas Carol – Dec 2005 Out of Order – April 2005 Idol Talent – Jan 2005 The Noble Spaniard – Nov 2004 Jungle Fantasy – May 2004 The Real Inspector Hound & Black Comedy – Nov 2003 Oliver! – Jan 2003 Don’t Utter a Note – May 2002 Forty – Not Out! – Dec 2001 Murder in Play – March 2001 Confusions – Nov 2000 An Evening’s Entertainment – March 2000 Move over Mrs Markham – Nov 1999 Party Piece – Nov 1998 After the Ball is Over – April 1998 And then there were None – Nov 1997 Cat on the Fiddle – April 1997 Love’s a Luxury – Nov 1996 She Stoops to Conquer – April 1996 Key for Two – Nov 1995

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

‘Bless ’em All’ – May 1995

Music Hall – Jan 1970

Lord Arthur Savile’s Crime – Nov 1994

Jam Tomorrow – Nov 1978

Pardon Me, Prime Minister – April 1994

The White Sheep of the Family – April 1978

Variety Music Hall – Nov 1993 Murder in Company – April 1993

Old Time Music Hall – Jan/Feb 1978

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

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