Bishopsteignton Players Play ‘Rude Mehanicals’
2014
Mission Accomplished
We looked at various options for our next show and in the end, as 2014 was the centenary of the outbreak of the First World War, we decided on a commemorative evening, “Mission Accomplished”, masterminded by Richard Lamming. This was made up of a first act on the First World War incorporating a sketch from “Blackadder Goes Forth”, a second act using Viv Nietrzebka’s one act play about a village putting on a show for the soldiers returning from the Second World War and a third act, written by Richard Lamming, which reflected on the war in Iraq. We had a read through of this in January; it was going to require a big cast but fortunately we welcomed several new, young members at this time. Among them, Kym Dyer, Sam Plumb, Steve Allen and Megan Nellie. We performed this in the round at the Village Hall, separating off a kind of foyer at one end using curtains, so it was more like a real theatre. We did this at the beginning of April 2014.
Play ‘Mission Accomplished’ Programme
The 39 Steps
Later that year, we began work on “The 39 Steps” adapted by Patrick Barlow, based on the John Buchan novel and also the famous Hitchcock film. The play had been written to be acted by 4 actors doing all the parts and I did actually get to see the show in the Criterion Theatre at Piccadilly Circus which was sensational! We did it with a full cast. Marilyn and Peter dreamed up a set using four big wooden boxes for most of the scenery – these could quickly become a train, or the furniture of a Highland guest house. But they took up a lot of room on the tiny Village Hall stage. Peter and Marilyn also made a marvellous mobile window. On the last night, Keith took a tumble climbing through the window in pursuit of Hannay. Calls rang out ‘Is there a doctor in the house?’ He also somehow managed to get his policeman’s helmet on back to front!
Bishopsteignton Players Play ’39 Steps’ 2014
I was Miss Morag McGarrigle, owner of the McGarrigle hotel where Hannay and Pamela arrive in the middle of the night in a storm without any luggage and handcuffed together. My sister, Janet, was played by Rosy Plumb, whose lovely son, Sam, was our Richard Hannay. We had some difficulty with our Scottish accents and worked very hard on them. One member of the audience told me afterwards that they had been very impressed, “I couldn’t understand a word you said!” At the end, the villain is apprehended in the theatre where Mr Memory is performing his act and, as we couldn’t very well kill Richard, Marilyn and Peter made a marvellous dummy to throw onto the stage at the critical moment. This dummy later propped up the bar in the pub where we repaired for refreshments after the shows were over. The show went ahead in November 2014.
Brian Wright and ‘Richard’ in the post show celebration (at the Cockhaven) after the Bishopsteignton Players production of the ’39 Steps’.
Bishopsteignton Players Play ’39 Steps’ 2014
’39 Steps Programme’ Nov 2014
2015
Return to the Forbidden Planet
In the new year, 2015 we started thinking about doing another of John Patton’s pet projects, “Return to the Forbidden Planet”, a rock musical loosely based on “The Tempest”. With the musical input of John and Richard and with some new blood – Roger Gallagher, Steve Allen, Yvonne Helin Hobbs and Tom Churchward – it now looked as though a full cast of principals could be assembled.
Cast of the play ‘Return to The Forbidden Planet’
And there was plenty of scope for the rest of us to be in the chorus as well. The plan was to perform this in a big marquee up at Humber Farm but the weather that spring was frightful and a couple of days before our opening night, the marquee was literally blown away! But we were able to switch to one of the huge barns and our wonderful set was put in there instead. Marilyn and Peter created a fantastic spaceship out of all sorts of recycled stuff – plastic containers, old computer bits, bottle tops and so on – to create our space ship, including a terrifying space monster. We of the chorus sat in a row at the front of the stage and were supposed to look busy with our imaginary computer keyboards.
Cast in the Play ‘Return to the Forbidden Planet’ 2015
The floor of the barn was pretty uneven which made our dancing quite tricky, but we had a very strong cast of principals and very appreciative audiences – despite the dreadful weather and the freezing temperatures even though it was May! Blankets were issued and we had a big electric fan heater at the back of the barn to try and warm things up. Linda and Anna had worked tirelessly with the costumes which were very effective – again making use of recycled bits and pieces – video tape and plastic food containers.
Programme for the play ‘Return to the Forbidden Planet’
Programme for the play ‘Return to the Forbidden Planet’
We repeated it for one night only at the Village Festival a few weeks later in June. We rehearsed in the big marquee on the Festival site the night before the official opening in whispers so as not to disturb people living nearby. Once the Festival proper had started, we could make as much noise as we liked! The show went really well even though we left out loads and everybody was standing, dancing by the end! A truly memorable production!
Cast in the play ‘Return to The Forbidden Planet’
Later in the year, Liz Mac and I began working on a new pantomime, based on “Hansel and Gretel”. This became “Hansel and Gretel: A Trip in the Forest”. The hot topic at the time was the relocation of the doctors’ surgery and this was gleefully incorporated – we had the surgery setting up in Haldon Forest for want of a mutually agreeable spot. And naturally, we had to have hippies inhabiting the forest too. And there were shades of illicit drug use! And a Fairy Swan who made everything right in the end. And Yvonne Helin Hobbs as a truly fearsome witch.
2016
Hansel and Gretel – a trip in the forest
Poster for the Play ‘Hansel and Gretel’ Panto 2016
At the AGM in August, Roger Hunt was elected as Chairman to take over from Linda Wilmot. Roger played one of the hippies in our pantomime, as Sonny singing You Got Me Babe, a memorable moment!
We did the pantomime at the end of January 2016. The opening night went well apart from a few hiccups. The hippies’ campfire got dragged off when the curtains opened for instance. All this was ironed out in the subsequent performances and our audiences thoroughly enjoyed themselves. Richard and John did their usual musical magic. I only had a small part this time, but it did include leading the audience to participate in a rousing chorus of Widdecombe Fair together with Derek Greatorex, who had been the doctor manfully carrying on as usual in Haldon Forest, delivering twins among other things!
Scenery from the play “Hansel and Gretel’ Panto 2016.
The Rude Mechanicals
In spring 2016, we started work on Richard’s musical play, “The Rude Mechanicals”, based on Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”. This was a serious work but had light-hearted moments too. It was structured round the scenes which involve a band of workmen rehearsing their play to be performed as part of the wedding celebrations of Duke Theseus. This tale of amateur thespians naturally resonated with the Bishopsteignton Players! Fairy input was provided by Tom Churchward and Becks Jones. And in fact, love was in the air, because Tom met his future wife, Sasha, as she painted him green for the part of Puck, the mischievous forest imp. I was one of the Rude Mechanicals, Snout the Tinker. And very pleased I was to be selected. It involved quite a lot of singing, in particular a duet with Roger Hunt who was Snug the Tailor. But as Snout I also had to play the Wall in the play within a play which was great fun.
Bishopsteignton Players Play ‘Rude Mehanicals’
Derek Greatorex in the production of ‘Rude Mechanicals’.
We performed it at Humber Farm in one of the barns. Our musicians – Richard and his band – were on a raised platform in the adjoining barn, a kind of musicians gallery, and Marilyn and Peter once again excelled themselves with a magical backdrop to our forest scenes. We broke boundaries also with our first ‘gay’ couple – Jayne Gallagher and Kym as two of the lovers, Lysander and Hermia! It was quite a spectacle; and Richard has continued to work on it, tweeking and improving so that it can be used by other groups. After the show, an elderly friend rather threw me with his verdict: ‘Were you singing off key deliberately?’ Hmm!
Bishopsteignton Players Play ‘Rude Mechanicals’
Photograph of Bishopsteignton Players play ‘Rude Mechanicals’
Season’s Greetings
In September 2016 we started rehearsals for “Seasons Greetings” by Alan Ayckbourn which we would perform in the Barn at Humber Farm as our Christmas production. A typical Ayckbourn play bringing together a group of assorted husbands, wives and boyfriends for a festive Christmas.
My part was Phyllis, a bit of a lush, whose hopeless husband, Bernard, insists on putting on a puppet show to entertain everybody. Marilyn and Peter created the puppet theatre and puppets which worked brilliantly.
Programme for Bishopsteignton Players play ‘Season’s Greetings’ front
As Phyllis, I spent the first Act offstage cooking a massive roast lamb dinner and getting gradually plastered! Meanwhile, Belinda, played by Suzie, was trying to have an affair with her sister’s boyfriend, played by Sam, who had arrived for Christmas unannounced. Megan as the sister did a lot of crying! John Patton directed us.
Cast of ‘Season’s Greetings’ 2016
Programme for the Bishopsteignton Players play ‘Season’s Greetings’
We put on the show in the Barn in December 2016 and it was freezing. So cold in fact that we shortened our dress rehearsal so that we could all go home and get warm. But as a concession to the cast, we had a portaloo installed backstage. My main memory of this show is that I had a dreadful cold and hacking cough and was mainlining throat lozenges backstage in an effort to keep the cough under control. I can thoroughly recommend Proctors Pinelyptus Pastilles as used by members of the House of Lords for clarity of voice. We had a terrific after show party at which we gave John a goody bag with mementoes of the show – a Christmas pullover, a game of snakes and ladders, and a packet of Angel Delight among other things. Derek had written a poem about the production, based on The Night Before Christmas, and Steve composed and sang a song about memorable moments. Steve’s songs have since become quite a tradition of Players’ productions.
Cast of ‘Season’s Greetings’ 2016
A scene from the play ‘Seasons Greeting’ performed at Humber Barn December 2016 by Bishopsteignton Players.
This article highlights Pat’s reminiscences from 2014- 2016
and will be continued in Part four – starting in 2017 with the play ‘Three’s a Crowd‘, so watch out for the next article.
This article was assembled by Dawn Rogers and the Bishopsteignton Heritage Hub team.