Ever closer now to opening night on Thursday 23 February for Pam Valentine’s The Day of Reckoning and at the risk of tempting fate, I can tell you that rehearsals are proceeding with an ever increasing surety. There are some truly excellent performances brewing which I am sure will delight our audiences. Much credit for this must, of course, go to the director, Sonia Williams, who despite suffering from a recent fall has, along with all the cast, put in a prodigious amount of work that the extra rehearsal nights have imposed.

This production deserves to be an outstanding success and I’m sure this will turn out to be the case.

 

Tickets are still available from the Box Office, the number for which is at the head of this page. Please scroll down for details of times and for the Theatre Experience.

 

 

04 January 2012

 

Once again, and because we are actually now in the month of January, a very Happy New Year to you all.

 

There are now just 7 weeks to go before our opening night for The Day of Reckoning and things are going so well, we have decided to open the Box Office early, so if you want to book tickets now you may do so by ringing Sonia on the number above.

 

Ticket prices are £6.00 for adults and children,

                            £5.50 for members and senior                                                citizens.

 

When you telephone the Box Office, you might like to enquire about the Theatre Experience which, for the cost of £17 per person, allows you to include a two-course meal with your ticket. The venues are Bartella’s adjacent to Hook Green, and The George located opposite the street. Both are in Meopham and are on the Wrotham Road. Please note, however, The George does not serve Theatre Experience meals on Saturday.

 

Performance nights are: Thursday, Friday and Saturday 23, 24 and 25 February 2012. Curtain up 8pm.

 

If you are new to our productions and are unfamiliar with the location of Meopham Village Hall, please refer to the Who We Are page.

 

 

 

05 December 2011

 

Rehearsals for our next production, The Day of Reckoning by Pam Valentine are now well under way. We were delighted to have so many people auditioning for this one, but of course such enthusiasm does mean the director (Sonia Williams) and her selection team has to make - in the words of David Cameron - some tough choices. And they were tough, but such is the camaraderie within Meopham Players, those who didn’t make it into the cast, cheerfully volunteered to help backstage.

Anyway, these are the chosen ones:

 

Ethel Swift                             Eileen Bush

Angela Brownlee                  Louisa McNally

Mavis Partridge                     Joy Roberts

Sally Martin                           Brenda Ogden

Gloria Pitt                               Karen Williams

Pauline Morris                       Terri Horton

Marjorie Organ                      Keren Read

Geoffrey Morris                     Ian White

 

To save you scrolling down, the following is the synopsis provided by Sonia on 29 October:

 

The play evolves around a meeting of the Summer Fete Committee of a typical British village. As Committee protocol gives way to bickering and gossip, we begin to see the personalities of those present – Ethel, the village shopkeeper, who knows everything about everyone; Pauline the Vicar’s long-suffering wife; Gloria, exhausted by caring for her elderly mother; horsey Marjorie a lesbian who is very attentive to the shy new teacher, Angela; elderly Mavis who chooses when to observe and when to play senile, and Sally, the brisk Army wife; Geoffrey, who enjoys rather more than the sip of communion wine.  Thus the tip of the iceberg is presented, but it is in Act II, during and after the Fete, that the secrets and hidden agendas of the “ordinary” people unravel.  Much has happened to everyone six months further on, not all of it predictable.  The cathartic events of the Fete are related with humour and pathos, and the upbeat ending affirms the enduring value of village life.

 

The Box Office opens on 01 February, 2012.

 

Now, this is probably the last update I will be making this year so, on behalf of Meopham Players, may I wish you all a

Merry Christmas

and a

Happy New Year

 

 

 

07 November 2011

 

I don’t think I would be exaggerating if I said Jungle Book was one of the best - and certainly one of the most imaginative - productions we have ever put on at Meopham Village Hall. Congratulations to everyone involved. This how our chairman, Eileen Bush, wrote about it in the Players newsletter issued immediately after the first night:

 

Jungle Book: Judged on the opening night, I can only say performances from all concerned were superb. Singing (thanks to Margaret D) and acting were of a very high standard. There was some great physical theatre performed with enormous energy and confidence.  I am sure that our audience went away thrilled and amazed at what was achieved. The wonderfully imaginative costumes were provided by Lisa and her team, and props by Terry F. assisted by Anne H. The whole production really was a feather in the cap of Meopham Players.

Not a single prompt was needed. Lighting was by Les Peters and David Micklethwaite, who did a splendid job with the lighting installation and design.  I hope we will have a long and happy association with them. Sound effects by Fred and the music by Bill and Margaret D were great. This was really a traverse stage as opposed to theatre-in-the-round, because the audience occupied only two sides of the acting area. Martin Bartholemew is Stage Manager. Thanks are also due to our great FOH team and of course, our new Box Office Manager Sonia who also did the make-up. Congratulations to John W and all concerned.

 

It is finished now and there was the usual faint feeling of anti-climax as we cleared away the set last Sunday. But we have our memories and here are a few photographs taken by John Ogden to keep them sharp:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Orchestra

(Jackie Wright, Beverley Prankhard, Margaret Day, Micky Brooks,

Bill Bates and Amanda Ratcliffe)

 

 

The Choir

(Not necessarily in the right order: Sue Smith, Emer Bernsten,

Lach Bernsten, Ann Twomey, Margaret Winson, Agnes Laheurte,

Tracey Langford, Wendy Holden, Jean David and Terri Horton)

 

 

 

 

29 October, 2011

 

Well, today sees the last two performances of The Jungle Book. The matinee starts at 2.30pm and the evening performance at 8pm. If I manage to get this out in time, and you manage to get around to reading this - also in time - you might like to know that there are still a few tickets left and that the show is well worth seeing.

 

We have had quite a lot of feedback already about the individual performances as well as the music and the set, all of which have been positive. At the next update, we will publish some of them along with photographs.

 

Before that though, let me tell you about our next production for 23/24/25 February, 2012. Sonia Williams will be directing this one - Day of Reckoning by Pam Valentine. Auditions will take place at Meopham Village Hall, starting at 8pm on Wednesday 2 November. If you would like to take part, please ring Sonia on the Box Office number at the top of this page.

 

Sonia writes:

 

“The play evolves around a meeting of the Summer Fete Committee of a typical British village. As Committee protocol gives way to bickering and gossip, we begin to see the personalities of those present – Ethel, the village shopkeeper, who knows everything about everyone; Pauline the Vicar’s long-suffering wife; Gloria, exhausted by caring for her elderly mother; horsey Marjorie a lesbian who is very attentive to the shy new teacher, Angela; elderly Mavis who chooses when to observe and when to play senile, and Sally, the brisk Army wife; Geoffrey, who enjoys rather more than the sip of communion wine.  Thus the tip of the iceberg is presented, but it is in Act II, during and after the Fete, that the secrets and hidden agendas of the “ordinary” people unravel.  Much has happened to everyone six months further on, not all of it predictable.  The cathartic events of the Fete are related with humour and pathos, and the upbeat ending affirms the enduring value of village life.”

 

Cast of characters

 

         Ethel Swift: Country woman, and village shop-keeper. Middle-aged

Angela Brownlee:  Infant School teacher, 20’s – the ingénue

 Mavis Partridge:  83, very deaf when she wants to be!!

       Sally Martin:  Army wife, early 40’s

          Gloria Pitt:  Honorary Secretary, middle-aged and harassed

   Pauline Morris:  Long suffering wife of Geoffrey, 50’s

  Marjorie Organ:  A breezy, outspoken lesbian, 30’s

 Geoffrey Morris:  Vicar of the Parish. 50’s likes to imbibe

 

 

 

24 September, 2011

 

Please note the Box Office for our forthcoming production of Stuart Patterson’s musical adaptation of THE JUNGLE BOOK is now open and that Sonia would be happy to take your bookings on the telephone number above.

 

Ticket prices are £6.00 for adults and children,

                            £5.50 for members and senior                                                citizens.

 

When you telephone the Box Office, you might like to enquire about the Theatre Experience which, for the cost of £17 per person, allows you to include a two-course meal with your ticket. The venues are Bartella’s adjacent to Hook Green, and The George located opposite the street. Both are in Meopham and are on the Wrotham Road. Please note, however, The George does not serve Theatre Experience meals on Saturday.

 

 

 

 

 

26th August, 2011

 

Sorry for the delay in updating the site this time. I’d been hoping to get some pictures of our visit to Tunbridge Wells when we saw The Birmingham Stage Company’s performance of The Jungle Book - see below. So far, however, these have not been forthcoming.

Also, of course, we are in the middle of the holiday season (though the weather seems unaware of it) and we do not have a Monthly Meeting in August. But that does not mean there is nothing going on. Our dedicated producer, cast and crew of our version of Jungle Book have all been beavering away rehearsing and preparing costumes and props.

As well as this, we have been getting ready for the September Monthly Meeting at which we will have rehearsed readings of some previously unperformed works written by Meopham Players. This will take place on Wednesday 7th September at 8pm in Meopham Village Hall. If you are someone who is not a member, but would be interested in joining us, this might be a good time to pay a visit. The only cost would be 20p for a cup of tea/coffee and a biscuit, and you would see us at our enthusiastic best.

Details of how to get to Meopham Village Hall can be found on the Who We Are page.

 

Our younger Players were also in action (ably assisted by a few oldies) during July. Here is Eileen’s report from the July/August newsletter:

 

15th July A Dog’s Life:

Congratulations to John Winson the director and the cast, Lauren Kelly, Brooke Turner, Harry Quested, Ellis Morgan, Liam Williams and Katie Ogden. They all gave marvellous performances at the Duncan Rand I Act Festival. Of course, they could not have achieved so much without the outstandingly brilliant stage and tech crews of Sam Ogden (ASM) Connor Williams (Lighting) and Fred Greenstreet (Sound). This very strong team really flew the flag for Meopham Players and we should be very proud of them. They came 2nd place, quite something I’m sure you will agree. In addition, Sam Ogden was awarded a merit certificate for his cool and level headedness in taking over as Stage Manager at the last minute. The Festival Stage Director told me how very impressed he was with Sam’s attitude and efficiency.

 

 

 

10th July, 2011

 

Before we leave Over My Dead Body, I thought you might like to see a few pictures taken of the very fine cast during the dress rehearsals. The one above shows, from left to right, Sharon Baker, David Alexander, Brenda Ogden, Mark Waterfield (just), Leslie Thurnell and Terri Horton.

To make up for Mark being almost lost in the background, here is a close-up of him and David as

Mark Tyler and Gerald James respectively, discussing the meal being prepared in the kitchen by Mark’s wife, Shirley (Terri Horton).

And how’s this for a bit of Product Placement?

 

But now, it is on to the Stuart Paterson adaptation of Jungle Book which will be our next production, to be performed at Meopham Village Hall on Thursday, Friday and Saturday 27th, 28th and 29th October. Because the show will appeal to children as well as adults there will be a matinee performance on the Saturday. The Box Office won’t open until 1st October so there is no immediate necessity to rush for tickets, but when the time comes, you should know the number to contact will have changed (new number shown at the top of this page).

This will be a really big production for us as the following list will show. Consequently, even though there are still over 3 months before opening night, we are well advanced with rehearsals. Fortunately, our producer/director is the inexhaustible, boundlessly enthusiastic John Winson so you can expect the results of all this preparation to be of the highest order.

The staging for Jungle book will be unusual in that it will be in the centre of the hall, with the audience sitting around the players on all four sides (“In The Round” I think it’s called). I am told this was tried for an earlier production by Meopham Players, but not in my time. Perhaps one of you reading this might remember. If you do, let us know in our Guest Book.

Anyway, here is the very extensive - and inclusive - list of everyone involved:

 

Mowgli                                     Harry Quested
Akela                                        Alex Bryant
Raksha/ Messua                       Karen Williams
Shere Khan                               Mark Waterfield
Baloo                                        Matt Dallas
Bagheera                                  Liam Williams
Tabaqui                                    Brooke Turner
Kaa                                           Shannen Turner
Village Woman                         Katie Ogden
Bulstrode                                 Andy Bryant
Hunter                                      John Winson

Wolves/ Monkeys                     Katie Ogden
                                               Connor Williams
                                               Maddie Stickings
                                               Ellis Morgan
                                              Abbey Read

Choir                                        Sue Smith
                                               Emer Berntskin
                                               Lach Berntskin
                                               Annyes Laheurte
                                               Terri Horton
                                               Margaret Winson
                                               Jean David
                                               Tracey Langford
                                               Anne Twomey
 

Costumes                                  Lisa Bryant
                                               Janice May
                                               Margaret Winson
                                               Jean David
                                               Sylvia Fairhead

Stage Manager                          Martin Bartholemew
Props                                       Anne Horrocks

Lights                                       Les Peters
Sound                                      Fred Greenstreet
Musical Arrangement                Bill Bates
Musical Directors                      Bill Bates and Margaret Day
Box Office                                 Sonia Williams
Front of House                          Leslie Boycott, John Ogden                  
                                                         and Team

 

 

As luck would have it, The Birmingham Stage Company was performing The Jungle Book at the Assembly Hall Theatre, Tunbridge Wells in July and a number of us involved in our production decided to see how the professionals did it. The show was great of course and we learnt much from the performance of the very fine cast. But then, even better than that, we were allowed backstage afterwards to meet some of the performers and crew - a generous act on their part and much appreciated by us amateurs.

For the next update I hope to be able to include some photos of the after-play event.

 

 

 

 

30th May, 2011

 

Over My Dead Body is now over; done and dusted. By 11 am on Sunday the set had been broken down; the audience ramps and the seats had been cleared away; the carpets had been cleaned and the hall floors swept.

There is always a feeling of anti-climax; a nostalgic sadness, when a production finishes. This one was no different. After all the hard work put in by the production team, the cast, the stage manager’s crew Front of House; not to mention all the volunteers who helped through the various phases, all we are left with are a few memories.

However, it was a very good production with an absolutely brilliant cast. The only regret, if that’s the right word, was the comparatively small size of the audiences, though they more than made up for their lack of numbers with the quality of their enthusiastic response.

In due course, we will publish some photographs of the action in the Past Productions page, but in the meantime, we start on the next production at the Meopham Village Hall which will be Stuart Paterson’s musical adaptation for the stage of Jungle Book. This will be produced and directed by John Winson and will be performed at the end of October. More on this next time.

Before that though, our younger actors will be perfoming in A Dog’s Life, which will be our entry for the Junior Duncan Rand One-Act Play Festival at the Medway Little Theatre on 15th July. There will be more on this as well later on.

 

 

 

 

17th May, 2011

 

The Box Office (Lindsey on 01474 814582) is open for our next production, Over My Dead Body written by Derek Benfield. The performances will take place, as always, in the Meopham Village Hall. For any first-timers, the location of the hall can be found on the Who We Are page. Performances will be on Thursday, Friday and Saturday 26th, 27th and 28th May at 8pm.

Ticket prices are £6.00 for adults and children,

                            £5.50 for members and senior                                                citizens.

When you telephone the Box Office, you might like to enquire about the Theatre Experience which, for the cost of £17 per person, allows you to include a two-course meal with your ticket. The venues are Bartella’s adjacent to Hook Green, and The George located opposite the street. Both are in Meopham and are on the Wrotham Road. Please note, however, The George does not serve Theatre Experience meals on Saturday.

 

Last time I updated the site, I promised to tell you a bit more about the October production of The Jungle Book but unfortunately for me, the producer has had the audacity to take his wife away on a cruise to celebrate her 50th birthday so I’ll have to leave it until next month.

 

14th March, 2011

 

 

Following the receipt of an email from someone outside the Players, we were quite surprised to realise we don’t give too much information on this site as to where most of our productions are performed.

We do actually say at the top of the Calendar Page where we are, but it isn’t in an obvious enough place for anyone unfamiliar with the web site, or indeed, the organisation to find it. Accordingly, we have updated the Who We Are Page to not only make our venue clear, but to provide a little location schematic as well.

Anyway, thank you Patrick for pointing this out to us. I hope you think this makes an improvement.

 

As to the productions, Over My Dead Body is now well into rehearsal mode and those of us who aren’t involved in it are looking forward getting a glimpse of how it’s progressing at the open rehearsal on Wednesday 4th May.

The October production, The Jungle Book. is even more advanced in terms of its place in the schedule. Actually selecting a play this far ahead is achievement enough, I would have thought, but our production team has also held auditions and selected a cast. More on this next time

 

 

 

11th February, 2011

 

Our next production, directed by Henry And Joy Roberts, to be performed on Thursday, Friday and Saturday 26th, 27th and 28th May, will be Over My Dead Body by Derek Benfield.

 

The action takes place in the home of Gerald, a week after his wife's funeral. His daughter and her husband are staying with him to help him over this period. He is visited, in very short order, by three ladies, an old flame, his sister-in-law and his wife's cleaning lady, all who have ambitions to take care
of him. How will he cope?

 

Auditions have already taken place and the cast selected as follows:-

 

Gerald James a widower                 David Alexander
Shirley Tyler his daughter               Terri Horton
Mark Tyler his son-in-law               Mark Waterfield
Isobel French his old flame            Brenda Ogden
Carol Capstick cleaning lady          Sharon Baker

Amanda Edison his sister-in-law   Leslie Thurnell

 

 

Cindy, our pantomime, is now a thing of the past. The set was struck on the last Sunday in January and the Village Hall restored to... Well, a village hall.

 

A great deal of hard work went into this production which was fraught with difficulties from the very first rehearsal. Indeed, there were some amongst us who, with three weeks to go before opening night, would not have been surprised if it had been cancelled. But, in the spirit of “The Show Must Go On”, it went on, albeit with a smaller-than-usual number of small children (perhaps the bad weather during rehearsals had something to do with that).

Of course, lack of children meant a number of older - in some cases, very much older - members had to take on out of character parts. In act 2, for example, I - at the age of eighty - found myself coming on as a short-trousered school boy. And, I wasn’t the oldest member of the cast.

 

How did it go, you might ask? Well, I couldn’t answer that myself - it’s always difficult to judge when you are actually taking part - so I got someone from the Saturday early matinee audience, who is not a member of Players, to write a short review. Here it is:

 

The Panto this year was great fun, we all had fun and participated with the chanting, if that’s the right word!

The actors were great and it was really nice to see such a range of ages on stage.

I enjoyed the live band and was quite surprised and impressed by this. Although I think it was quite challenging for the singers, to sing along to, but they made a valiant effort.

There were plenty of good gags and humour to appeal to adults as well as for the children.

It wasn’t too long and at no point did I feel bored or like it needed to move on.

Everyone did really well and I cant believe they put n 3 performances on Saturday – what a marathon!!

I hope everyone enjoyed it as much as we did.

 

 

 

 

20th January, 2011

 

Dress rehearsals for the pantomime commence on Sunday. Set building starts tomorrow (Friday). Fingernail-biting time has arrived. Our next bulletin on this page will include a hopefully independent report on how we performed - Break a Leg everybody. Well not “everybody”, just the performers.

 

There is still plenty of time left to buy tickets and our Box Office, in the shape of Lindsey, awaits your call on the number shown below. You can still book for the Theatre Experience too, the dinner part of which can be taken either at The George or Bartella’s - your choice.

 

For members, social events are building up and are now listed on the Calendar Page. At the present time though, you won’t find the replacement for our abandoned-through-weather Christmas Party. It is coming though, so be patient.

 

Enjoy the show.

 

31st December, 2010

 

Happy new year

To one and all: to our members, our supporters, our friends and our audiences. May we hope that  2011 brings you joy and the understanding to appreciate the value of what you have.

 

As for Meopham Players, our current project is the pantomime, Cindy, based on an original idea by Edna Bell. So far I think it would be fair to say rehearsals have not proceeded with the sort of seamless cohesion that would allow the average producer/director to sleep well at night. Fortunately for us we have John Winson performing that task, a cup-half-full man if ever there was one. His phenomenal energy and enthusiasm will certainly more than compensate for the problems generated by the winter weather and seasonal illness. So, expect something spectacular when the curtain goes up at 8pm on Thursday 27th January.

Further performances will take place on Friday 28th January and again on Saturday 29th January, when in addition to the 8pm evening start, there will also be two matinees at 2pm and 5pm respectively.

 

The Box Office opens tomorrow - January 1st.

Ticket prices are £6.00 for adults and children,

                            £5.50 for members and senior                                                citizens.

Theatre Experience tickets are available for all performances, including the matinees and are priced at £17 - ask Lindsey at the Box Office for details, telephone number:

 

01474 814582

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5th November, 2010

 

In For The Kill has now ended its 3-night run.

 

Directed by Sylvia Stickings, it featured some great acting of which Meopham Players can be very proud. It was good to see David Alexander, back again after a long absence, giving a powerful performance as the deceived husband, James. Richard Burridge was perfect as the enigmatic and mysterious Frank as was Keren Read playing the part of Paula, the femme fatale of the piece. Matt Dallas as Mark was a splendid victim of Paula’s alluring charms, paying the price for her infidelity at the end of the first act. Newcomer, Kylie Rea put in an entirely convincing performance as Susan, Frank’s neglected and vulnerable daughter and we look forward to seeing her again in future productions.

 

But now it is on to our next production - our once-every-two-years pantomime. This time it will be a brand new show based on a story devised by Edna Bell entitled CINDY or WHATEVER HAPPENED TO CINERELLA? Auditions were held last Wednesday at the Village Hall when tough choices (where have I heard that phrase before?) had to be made. Unfortunately, as is usual with the panto - and unlike any of our other productions - there were more applicants than there were parts, so there were the inevitable disappointments at the end of the evening. However, the good news is that there are quite a number of walk-on parts and anyone who wants to can at least appear on stage.

 

Anyway, the talking cast will be:

 

Cinderella                Jill Oliver

Cindy                       Becky Bridger

James                       Phillip Heming

Buttons                    Henry Roberts

Flora                        Rodney Buckland

Dora                         Matt Dallas

Nip                           Alan Lawrence

Tuck                         Liam Williams

Mollie                       Margaret Day

Justin                        Sam Kelly

Dragon                     Lauren Kelly

St. George                 Conner Williams

Wilfred                      Harry

 

You will notice that artistic licence allows us to incorporate St. George and the Dragon into a play about Cinderella. The main reason for doing so is to use the costumes which have come into our hands. They were made by a friend primarily for open day events he used to hold every year at his home in Finchley. His name is Joe Michie and he is pictured in the photograph below together with his creations.

Joe was a remarkable man who served with the Glider Regiment during the Second World War, and who was wounded in the battle for Arnhem. He died earlier this year aged 90.

 

 

 

Curtain-up will be at the end of January 2011, so it will be a while before the Box Office is open for business, but we’ll keep you posted. In other words, watch this space.

 

 

 

23rd September, 2010

 

Well, it could be worse. I could have missed the opening date of 1st October for the Box Office. Sorry to have been so distracted. However, if you would like tickets for In For The Kill please ring Lindsey on:

01474 814582

 

Ticket prices are £6.00 for adults and children,

                            £5.50 for members and senior                                                citizens.

 

Performances are at the Meopham Village Hall from Thursday 28 October to Saturday 30 October.

 

Please scroll down if you would like a bit more information about the play.

 

 

 

 

10th July, 2010

 

Well, last Wednesday, we had our AGM, followed by auditions for our forthcoming production of In For the Kill by Derek Benfield. To save you scrolling down, here is the synopsis of the play:

 

Paula is preparing to go out to dinner with Mark when Frank turns up out of the blue and gets Paula to admit her infidelity. She thinks he may be going to blackmail her, but he offers to kill her husband instead. However, things do not turn out as expected.

 

After a very good audition evening, the cast was selected as follows:

 

Paula        Keren Read

James       David Alexander

Mark        Matt Dallas

Frank       Richard Burridge

Susan      Kylie Rea

 

There will be another update shortly, giving more details, but in the meantime put a note in your diaries that the Box Office for this one will be open on October 1.

Performances are at the Meopham Village Hall from Thursday 28 October to Saturday 30 October.

 

 

 

 

12th June, 2010

 

Here, as promised, is the review of Outside Edge, written by our publicity manager, Keren:-

 

 

Review of “Opening Night” of Outside Edge

Directed by Eileen Bush

 

On Wednesday 26 May, the “Hall of Dreams” was transformed into a convincing Village Cricket Pavilion and Green.  The cast brought Richard Harris’s colourful, quirky characters to life as the match progressed, in this fast moving comedy directed with great flair and vision by Eileen Bush (The play, I suspect, struck a chord with anyone who has ever organized a voluntary event J)

The cast led by John Winson as the harassed “self appointed” Captain of the Cricket Club, Roger, was played extremely well.  John’s dismissive body language, “hang-dog” expression and continued insensitivity to the needs of others, certainly came across in exchanges with his long-suffering wife Miriam “Mim”, played by Anne Bruce.

Anne captured the character of Miriam perfectly, giving a gently observed and perfectly understated performance.  She ensured that the production kept up the momentum throughout, building tension in Act two with her final confrontation with Roger.  Her delivery was magnificent.   Remarkably, this was her debut performance.

Alan Lawrence gave a believable portrayal of his character, Bob, displaying moments of bitterness and weakness, unable to say “no” to both his ex and current wife.  He became gradually more inebriated during the play and did this with conviction.

Kevin and Maggie played by Tony Fish and Jill Oliver, were magnificent.  Tony Fish portrayed Kevin with the required strength and vulnerability.   “Blister-gate”, amused me greatly.  His “child-like” state was priceless.  

Jill Oliver brought the house down with her “colourful” portrayal of the character Maggie, making the most of comedy dialogue such as “Toast and marmalade and sex. They’re the only things I’m any good at”.   A superb stage coupling, Jill played the overstated, smothering Maggie with passion and conviction and together, she and Tony contributed most “comedy moments” throughout the play.  

 Anne Horrocks played Bob’s acid tongued wife, Ginnie.  Her portrayal was interspersed with moments of sarcasm, insecurity and vulnerability. Anne appeared on stage “at ease” in a bikini, brave lady!     

Smarmy salesman, Dennis was played by Alan Williams.  His creepy dealings with the women of the club were a good characterisation and the audience’s delight when his wife set fire to his precious new BMW showed his grasp of this irritating, insecure know-it-all.

Matt Dallas gave a brilliant performance of the ruthless, insufferable lawyer Alex.  He played this obnoxious character, perfectly, his timing, faultless.    

Alex’s introvert girlfriend Sharon, played by a new member, Lauren Kelly was brought along to the "cricket match from hell" with hilarious consequences.  Her desperate character tried to suppress the urgent need to answer the call of nature, squirming and grimacing throughout Act 2.  Lauren had very few lines, although communicated her gawky character brilliantly.  The face said it all.

The set was impressive and sound lighting, conducive to mood.  Shame as I’ve always wanted to use the line “Great set, however the actors, masked it”.

To conclude, my friend, Kay, and I had a very enjoyable evening with many “laugh out loud” moments.    

The interval Gin and Tonic was also pleasing.

Keren Read

 

 

1st June, 2010

 

In due course, we will print a review of Outside Edge but, at the moment, we are still recovering from the effort of putting it on. To some, it might seem hardly worth it - the weeks and weeks of rehearsals; the nervous energy (not to say sheer panic) required for the actual performance; the sheer hard work transforming the Village Hall into a theatre over one weekend, only to tear it all down in the next. You might even suggest there is a certain amount of masochism involved, but if you did you’d be dead wrong.

You could say that the reason we do it is to satisfy a creative element we each of us possess whether we are on stage or behind it and certainly there is truth in that. However, I think there is a simpler explanation. I think that in spite of all the hard work, we do it because it is a Hell of a lot of fun.

 

But now, we turn our attention to the next production, In For The Kill, by Derek Benfield, to be performed on October 28th, 29th and 30th at our usual venue of the Meopham Village Hall. It will be directed by Sylvia Stickings who will be holding auditions immediately following the AGM on Wednesday 7th July.

This play, as the title perhaps suggests, is a thriller. The cast for which is as follows:

 

Paula Attractive woman in her thirties (age negotiable).

James Paula’s husband in his forties.

Mark Paula’s boyfriend.

Frank James’ business associate and friend.

Susan James’ daughter by previous marriage.

 

Synopsis: Paula is preparing to go out to dinner with Mark when Frank turns up out of the blue and gets Paula to admit her infidelity. She thinks he may be going to blackmail her, but he offers to kill her husband instead. However, things do not turn out as expected.

 

 

14th April, 2010

 

Our next production, Outside Edge by Richard Harris, is now well into rehearsals.

 

It will be produced by Eileen Bush who, following the auditions held in March, selected the following cast:-

 

Miriam      Anne Bruce

Roger         John Winson

Bob           Alan Lawrence

Dennis      Alan Williams

Maggie      Jill Oliver

Kevin        Tony Fish

Ginnie       Anne Horrocks

Alex          Matt Dallas

               Sharon      Lauren Kelly

 

The play will run from Thursday 27th May to Saturday 29th May at the Meopham Village Hall in Wrotham Road. The curtain goes up at 8pm and tickets, which will be on sale from 1st May, can be obtained from the Box Office, telephone number:-

 

01474 814582

 

Ticket prices are £6.00 for adults and children,

                            £5.50 for members and senior                                                citizens.

 

Theatre Experience tickets will also be available for £17.00. This price includes for the performance and a two-course dinner at either The George Inn or Bartella’s Restaurent. Unfortunately, it has been necessary to raise the price a little to cater for the recent increase in VAT.

 

 

15th March, 2010

 

Sorry for the delay in updating this time. I have had nearly 2 months of intermittent problems getting connected to the Internet. In fact, even as I write, I cannot be sure this will go out by the date shown above.

A wonderful tool the Internet, when it works, but immensely frustrating when it doesn’t. So, my apologies to anyone who has contacted us by Email and not yet had a reply - you will do so as soon as I’m up and running again.

The following report, written by Keren, our publicity manager, will appear in the forthcoming Meopham Review:

 

MEOPHAM PLAYERS NEWS - APRIL

Full houses enjoyed our February production "Breaking the Habit", written by our wonderful Terry Fairhead and expertly directed by Brenda Ogden. The domestic comedy was thought provoking and Act Two revealed an unexpected twist in the tale, with audiences on the edge of their seats. Congratulations go to the cast, crew and production team and in particular, to the author of this amazing piece. We are extremely fortunate to have such a literary genius in the society.

Terry Fairhead has published "A Pattern of Shadows", Trafford Publishing (ISBN 142514247-8). His book set in August 1914 in a Kent Village, depicts how war changes forever, the way of life of three young people who have grown up together. A story of self discovery. Available online : trafford.com/08-0689. A wonderfully insightful novel. I thoroughly recommend this work.

MAY PRODUCTION : OUTSIDE EDGE

Auditions were held at our March monthly meeting for "Outside Edge" written by Richard Harris. The director Eileen Bush successfully cast this fast moving comedy which will run 27-29 May, 2010 at 8pm, at Meopham Village Hall. Tickets will be available from 1st May, 2010 from Lindsey, Box Office, 01474 814582 and a meal deal will be available at The George public house and Bartellas restaurant, both situated on Wrotham Road, Meopham.

Set in a cricket Pavilion, Outside Edge deals with an eventful Saturday afternoon in the lives of five men and four women. Roger struggles to keep together his team to play against the British Railways Maintenance Division Yeading East, while the wives and girlfriends of his players help and hinder to devastating and hilarious effects.

Dates for diary: Wednesday 5 May, 2010, Open Rehearsal for "Outside Edge". Wednesday 7 July, 2010, ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING.

We warmly welcome new members. If you are "intrigued" to see what happens during rehearsals and behind the scenes, do join us at our monthly meeting (the first Wednesday of every month) or visit our website, www.meophamplayers.co.uk

 

 

 

25th January, 2010

 

So far, the New Year has been a bit bleak. Last year’s snow managed to stray into this year’s, making rehearsals for our next production a somewhat shivery business. Indeed, so bad were conditions we actually had to cancel one. We are however, back on course and looking forward to the open rehearsal at our next Monthly Meeting on Wednesday 3rd February. This will be the first opportunity the cast will have had to perform in front of an audience of their peers.

 

The play in question, Breaking the Habit is home grown and has, therefore, never before been performed. This means that the cast is not able to use an established, professional actor’s interpretation to guide their own. Quite a scary prospect for an amateur in some ways, but also very exciting - particularly for the author.

 

Anyway, if you would care to see this, the Box Office opens on Monday 1st February. Details of time, place, etc. follow:

 

15th December, 2009

 

We had the Christmas party on Friday

5th December - 10 days ago. I think we all had a pretty good time, particularly as we ate and drank before the entertainment started - a little alcohol always takes the edge off critical disdain. This was just as well because the big opening number sung by the committee was probably the worst rendition of “There’s No Business Like Show Business” ever heard in the Western World. Mind you, I suppose that does give it a mark of distinction of sorts.

Fortunately, some of the later acts more than made up for it and we are indebted to a number of our members who actually rehearsed their pieces beforehand.

So now it is on to our next production, which will be Breaking the Habit by Terry Fairhead. This will be performed at the Meopham Village Hall on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, 25th, 26th and 27th February 2010. Box Office opens on Monday 1st February.

The story centres on a single mum (Penny) with two grown-up daughters (Tanny and Cat) and a secret which she has been unable to reveal to them. The appearance of two men (David and Tony) into their lives creates a crisis point which changes their lives. It is a mix of humour, drama, tragedy and mystery which we hope will be to our audience’s liking.

 

Now, I am sure there was something else I was supposed to put in. What could it have been?

 

Oh! I remember:

 

MERRY CHRISTMAS

And

A VERY HAPPY 2010

to everyone who has been kind enough to visit this site during 2009.

3rd November, 2009

 

The final curtain went down on The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole last Saturday evening and by 1.00pm on Sunday the set was broken and the hall completely cleared for general use by the village.

I think “triumph” would not be too strong a word to use with regard to the overall performance and the vision of the set designer who had to create four separate locations within the comparatively tiny area of a village Hall stage.

The leading actor, who played the part of Adrian Mole (aged 133/4) was Sam Ogden. By sheer coincidence Sam himself was actually the same age on  that Saturday. For such a young man his performance in taking on the role was just extraordinary. He was almost continuously on stage throughout and never faltered once. If there is a better Adrian Mole around anywhere, he must be very, very good indeed.

 

But it wasn’t just Sam - the whole cast, which had an age range of from 12 to 89, was excellent, as was the backstage group led by the hardworking, unfailingly-cheerful Stage Manager, Martin Bartholomew.

 

There is not sufficient space to extol the virtues of everyone involved, but there is one other person we have to mention and that is the Director/Producer, John Winson. He is quite literally a phenomenon. The amount of energy he has at his disposal would probably keep Meopham powered for at least a week if necessary. As well as directing, he designed the set and obtained any extra items needed for building it. He is nearly always the first person on site for set-building and striking and is certainly the last person to leave. And he provides a great deal of the muscle required during those operations. But, despite all this, his greatest asset is his immense reserve of enthusiasm which he uses to encourage everyone involved to give of their absolute best.

Oh! And by the way, his other great passion (other than drama that is) is rugby training which he carries out during his spare time.

 

Thanks John for an absolutely great show.

 

In due course, I’ll put some pictures in the Past Productions Page, but I really need to update the site today - it has been dormant long enough.

 

 

23rd September, 2009

 

It is time to look again at our current production which is now deep into the rehearsal stage, as well it might be with the opening night being just over a month away. The play in question is The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole by Sue Townsend. The cast will be:-

 

Adrian Mole                        Sam Ogden

Pauline Mole                       Sue Smith

George Mole                        Matt Dallas

Mr. Lucas                            Richard Burridge

Mrs. Lucas                          Terri Horton

Grandma                             Sylvia Stickings

Nigel                                   Alex Bryant

Barry Kent                          Alex Bryant

Pandora                              Megan Turner/Avneet Nota

Mrs. Scruton                       Brenda Ogden

Doreen Slater                      Lauren-Jean Reeves

Bert Baxter                         Henry Roberts

Queenie                              Sonia Williams

Matron                               Tammy Barret Hayes

Electricity Board Man        Andy Bryant

 

There will be four performances, three in the evenings of Thursday, Friday and Saturday 29th, 30th and 31st October at 8pm and a Saturday matinee at 3pm. As usual, the venue will be the Meopham Village Hall. All performances will have the option of including the Theatre Experience which, for those of you who don’t know allow an inclusive charge for a theatre ticket and a meal at one of two local hostelries. For more details, enquire at the Box Office which opens on Thursday 1st October. Telephone Lindsey on:-

 

01474 814582

 

 

5th September, 2009

 

The memorial service for Arthur was held yesterday in front of a packed congregation. It was, of course, a sad occasion but it was uplifting too as we listened to anecdotes and memories of a man who had done so much for other people during his lifetime. He had been a member of Meopham Players since 1964.

This is how we will always remember him.

 

30th August, 2009

 

Earlier this month, Players were shocked to hear of the sudden and tragic death of one of our members, Arthur Kubias.

 

Arthur was a well-loved member who will be greatly missed, not just by his family, but by the whole community.

 

There will be a memorial service held for him on Friday 4th September at the Church of Saint John the Baptist, Meopham at 2.30pm.

 

Our condolences go to Lesley and her family who will be in the thoughts of all Meopham Players at this time.

24th July, 2009

 

Well, we performed Quality of Mercy at the Medway Little Theatre on Wednesday 15th July, and we performed it very well. Indeed Alan, who played the part of Chapman, was so dedicated he went on stage with his hands smeared with some sort of chest rub, so that at the appropriate moment he could transfer it to his eyes to induce tears. It made for a quite an interesting perfume in the bar afterwards.

Sadly, we weren’t selected to repeat the performance in the final, but I think we all had a lot of fun on the way as well as the satisfaction of knowing we did the very best we could. The official results are listed below. The penned in numbers are mine, showing the order of merit.:

 

27th June, 2009

 

The Meopham Players group has a meeting on the first Wednesday of each month (apart from the holiday month of August). Sometimes, if there is a production coming up the same month, we have an Open Rehearsal which gives the actors a first chance to judge audience reaction to their performances. Other times, as with the forthcoming meeting on July 1st, we hold auditions - in this case for Adrian Mole.

But, many a time, we don’t have either of these and something will be organized by our Social Secretary. At the last meeting (June), we had a talk on:

Medieval Manners

 

At the monthly meeting in June, Imogen Corrigan gave a talk on Medieval Manners.

 

She immediately dispelled the popular image of people tearing away at great hunks of meat and throwing the bones to the dogs brawling away on the rush-covered floor.

It appears that, amongst the nobility, dining was a very civilised affair at trestle tables covered elegantly with cloths. It is true that meat of different kinds was the staple diet, many vegetables only being added to our diet at a later date. Originally hard flat bread was used as a plate, this later being replaced by wooden trenchers.

 

It was the custom of the time for the sons of noble households to be sent to other nobles for their education and training and part of that training was to serve at the tables, which was considered to be a great honour.

 

The talk was very entertaining and informative backed up with some excellent illustrations. Our thanks go to Imogen Corrigan for a thoroughly enjoyable evening.

Thanks go to our current Chairman, Brenda Ogden for that report.

 

We are now concentrating on the next production, which is our entry to the Duncan Rand One-act Play Festival at the Medway Little Theatre, Quality of Mercy. There is a total of 12 amateur dramatic groups entered and 3 per night will be performing between Tuesday 14th July and Friday 17th July.

We have been allocated the 8.30pm slot on Wednesday 15th July, so if you would like to come along and see us, you can get your tickets from the Box Office on 01634 400322.

 

You might also like to know that we will have a stand at the forthcoming Big Day Out in Gravesend on Saturday 4th July where anyone interested in joining Meopham Players can come along and see what we are about. We had something similar in Meopham itself recently - on 20th June to be precise - which went pretty well. This is a report printed in our June newsletter:

 

We were a bit worried about the weather during the few days preceding the event and even contemplated cancelling our part in it if rain threatened. But we needn’t have worried. On the Wednesday before, John O rang up one of his Rotary cronies, Bob Grieves (pictured with the group below) and negotiated the loan of a gazebo, thus depriving us of our last excuse for not turning up.

On the day though, the weather was kind to us and there were only a very few drops of rain which the gazebo fended off without difficulty, so very many thanks for your generosity, Bob.

The event was pretty well attended and we had our fair share of visitors. Come to think of it, we had more than our fair share. The reason being the incredible performance put on by Matt Dallas in his guise of children’s entertainer. I had not seen Matt perform this role before but I am really pleased to have done so. If you liked Tommy Cooper, and can envisage him pitching his act at children, that would be a measure of Matt’s performance.

 

One of the great pleasures of being there on Saturday was watching the absorbed expressions on the faces of the children as they followed his antics. So, many thanks Matt for three hours (yes, three hours) of non-stop entertainment.

Thanks too to the rest of the crew for setting up and manning the stall, namely: John, Sue, Brenda, Margaret and some other bloke.

 

 

6th June, 2009

 

Well, in the parlance of the film world, that’s another one in the can.

The performance of Priestley’s first play Dangerous Corner on Thursday, Friday and Saturday of last week represented the culmination of a dream by its Director, Joy Roberts, who saw the play some forty years ago and from that time had an ambition to produce it one day.

It was worth the wait.

Arguably, it was one of best performed plays by our company, bearing in mind the complexity of the plot and the extraordinarily long passages the actors had to take on board. This latter point could have led to the Prompt taking a major part, but the thoroughness of the rehearsals and the competence of the cast resulted in her hardly having to intervene at any stage.

It was, without doubt, a triumph and one that can be looked on with great pride by cast and crew and indeed anyone who had a hand in bringing it to our stage.

 

But, moving on, we now have Adrian Mole in our sights. This will be produced and directed by John Winson who will be having auditions at the Village Hall at 9pm on Wednesday 1st July, immediately after the AGM. Opening night will be on Thursday 29th October.

John clearly has no time for a quiet life as he is rarely uninvolved with any Meopham Players productions. He has just finished playing the part of Charles Stanton in Dangerous Corner. But not content with going on to produce our next play at the Village Hall, he has also offered to take on the job of Stage Manager for our entry to the Duncan Rand One-act Festival at the Medway Little Theatre.

Outside of theatrical activities, he has a demanding job which requires him to travel around the country on many occasions and in his spare time he coaches local youth teams in the art of rugby football.

 

The Quality of Mercy is the play we are entering for the Duncan Rand Festival. Chronologically, it will be performed before Adrian Mole, quite soon in fact, some time during the week commencing Monday 13th July. At the moment, we do not know which day, but the moment we do, we will put it on the web site. Should we be fortunate enough to reach the finals, the play will also be performed on Saturday 18th July. Louisa McNally makes her directing debut with this one. Her cast is:

 

Mary                    Sam Oliver

Chapman            Alan Lawrence

John                     Tony Fish

 

The play is a black comedy in which the central character (not a nice man) awakes to find himself in a strange place, under interrogation. But where is he and who is doing the interrogating?

 

 

7th May, 2009

 

Just a small update. Those of you with AOL browsers will have realised that the music playing is not what it says in the top right-hand corner - it is still Sarah McLachlan. Very nice, but it is not what should be there.

We’re working on it.

There are a few other minor things as noted in the What’s New page.

 

1st May, 2009

The Box Office for Dangerous Corner is now open.

Please note: Curtain-up time (inadvertently missed from the poster) is 8pm.

 

THEATRE EXPERIENCE

 

Since the rather abrupt closure of the Kings Arms a few weeks ago, we were forced to consider making alternative arrangements for an addition to The George Inn for our Theatre Experience.  

 

I am delighted to announce that Bartellas Restaurant on Wrotham Road, Meopham just south of Hook Green, has agreed to provide the same facility.

 

This will start with our production of “Dangerous Corner” from 6.00pm on all three nights of the 28th, 29th and 30th of May.  Obviously you will need to leave by 7.30 at the latest, if you are to get into the car park at the Village Hall, but we have arranged with Meopham Secondary School for our patrons to use the school car park to should the Village Hall car park be full.

Those who know Bartellas, will appreciate that this is a great addition to our range and we hope therefore that you will encourage as many of your friends and colleagues to take advantage of both our Theatre Experience venues.  

 

For those who have not eaten at Bartellas, or have yet to use the Theatre experience, we can guarantee that the quality of food and the service provided at both establishments is excellent, and for only £16 a head for a two course meal, at either establishment, and a ticket to the play, it is astonishing value for money anywhere.

 

So, do come along and try the Theatre Experience, you won’t be disappointed!

 

John Ogden

Front of House Manager

 

19th April, 2009

Now here’s a funny thing - or at least it would be if I hadn’t spent a couple of days trying to sort it out, and failing. You may notice in the 16 April update

I told you the music playing was the theme from Due South. Well, that is wrong. For those of you who have AOL, at least you have music, but it is not what I said it was. It is from Due South, but it is a piece written and sung by Sarah McLachlan called Possession. For those of you whose ISP is Mozilla Firefox, on the other hand, it seems you have no music at all although I have gone through exactly the same sequence as for previously successfully installed clips, so I don’t know what’s going on. But I hope to find out soon. I’ll keep you posted.

 

16th April, 2009

Time to change the music, especially as the band has now left the site. What we had before was the theme tune from the American series, shown from 1990 to 1996, called Dream on. Judging from the reaction I had, it was not terribly well known. I liked it though and that’s what counts until someone else takes over from me.

The new piece - to save you that agonising wait - I will identify now. It is the later, non-vocal theme  featured in Due South, a series which you just have to remember.

 

Right - PRODUCTIONS.

Opening night for Dangerous Corner looms ever closer - scroll down for details of dates and cast. The Box Office will open on 1st May. Tickets are priced at £6.00, but there is a concessionary price for old geysers like me of £5.50, so it pays not to be coy about your age. The box Office number is:

 

01474 814582

 

Next up will be our entry for the senior section of the Medway Little Theatre’s annual Duncan Rand One-act play Festival. The play chosen is The Quality of Mercy by Terry Fairhead. It will be directed by Louisa McNally who will be holding auditions at the next Monthly Meeting at the Meopham Village Hall on Wednesday 6th May. The play is a black comedy in which the central character (not a nice man) awakes to find himself in a strange place, under interrogation.

There are three characters involved:

Mary: middle-aged and well-dressed in a dark business suit. She is clearly someone with authority.

Chapman: a middle-aged, unscrupulous, hard man – a gang leader.

John: young to middle-aged. Well-built and well-dressed. Mostly cheerful, but can be menacing.

The play will be performed during the week commencing Monday 13th July, 2009.

 

Looking even further ahead, to the last week in October, 2009, we will be performing Adrian Mole by Sue Townsend. More details on this in a later update.

26th March, 2009

I am sure you will be pleased to know the Guest Book, as you may already have observed (even if you haven’t written in it) has now been brought back to working condition. So don’t hold back, use it to identify the show the tune comes from.

 

NEXT PRODUCTION

 

28th to 30th May, 2009 at

 

Meopham Village Hall

 

DANGEROUS CORNER

By

J.B.Priestley

 

                                      CAST

      Freda Caplan                         Keren Read

      Miss Mockridge                     Brenda Ogden

      Betty Whitehouse                  Becky Bridger

      Olwen Peel                            Jules Doe

      Charles Stanton                     John Winson

      Gordon Whitehouse             Matt Dallas

      Robert Caplan                       Alan Lawrence

 

The cast is already a good way towards being off the book and morale is high, so be ready to book your seats when the Box Office opens towards the end of April - this is going to be a really good one.

 

18th March, 2009

Just a short update this time to rearrange the band and to let you know the Guest Page is currently under construction by the company that provides the guest book - if it’s not one thing, it’s another. With any luck though, they won’t be too long.

 

 

  

 

10th March, 2009

Okay! It appears that my forecast of our imminent demise proved to be wrong, thank goodness. We have now made our transfer to our new domain provider. Not that there weren’t a few final hiccoughs. When we got to the point of uploading to the web, we found it wouldn’t take on AOL although it was fine on Mozilla Firefox - no idea why, of course. But eventually, after a lot more scrabbling about in the dark, it all came good.

 

So, it is back to business and I can tell you that preparations for Dangerous Corner are going well.

Although opening night is not until 28th May, some of our actors are already close to being off the book. For more information on this production, scroll down on this page.

 

Past Productions

Our pantomime, Once Upon A Time, has now taken its place on the Past Productions page. I don’t have all the photographs yet, so we’ll have to make do with a few snaps taken at the dress rehearsal for the time being - more will be added later as they become available.

 

Theme Music

The theme to Paddington Bear, as you no doubt realise, has given way to our new piece. It belongs to a very successful American series that ran from 1990 to 1996. The central character was male, in his early middle-age, who was constantly finding himself in situations which caused him to have sudden and total recall of old movies he had watched in his early childhood, when his mum had dumped him in front of the TV.

But what was it called?

Should you feel so moved, use the Guest Page to respond.

 

 

 

20th February, 2009

This could be the last time you see our web site in its current format. We have a problem, you see, brought about by the company from which we lease our domain deciding it no longer wishes to continue in this particular field. It has made arrangements for all its current domain holders to be transferred to another company, and for all I know the others may have gone through very smoothly. Ours hasn’t though and there is now less than a fortnight before the old company pulls the plug on us and deletes all our files.

I won’t bore you with details, but the correspondence - or lack of it - doesn’t fill me with the confidence that all will be resolved in time.

So, there may be a break in the service while we consider our options - one of which could be to get someone who knows what they are doing to run the site. Rest assured though that, like the phoenix, we will rise again.

 

Now, on to other matters. In the few days we have left, I’m sure you would like to know that the last piece of music was the theme from - yes, you guessed it - Twin Peaks, the cult series that began and ended in the early nineties. I won’t leave you in suspense over the new, and quite jolly, piece - it is the theme from Paddington Bear. Sorry about the image - it is the closest I could get from my clipart collection.

 

PRODUCTIONS

 

I still don’t have the photographs for Once Upon a Time, consequently I am unable to update the Past Productions page and for the reasons given above, I may not have the chance to do so now. Suffice to say though, it all went well and great fun was had by audience, cast and crew.

But now, it is on to the next production - Dangerous Corner by J.B.Priestly. This intriguing play, written in the Thirties, was of its time, but also ahead of its time involving, as it does, a hint of a homosexual relationship. It has now been cast and rehearsals have already begun even though it doesn’t go live until 28th May. Joy Roberts is producing this one which virtually ensures a meticulous production. Her cast and crew are:

 

CAST

Freda Caplan                         Keren Read

Miss Mockridge                     Brenda Ogden

Betty Whitehouse                  Becky Bridger

Olwen Peel                            Jules Doe

Charles Stanton                     John Winson

Gordon Whitehouse             Matt Dallas

Robert Caplan                       Alan Lawrence

 

CREW

Prompt                                    Sonia Williams

Stage Managers                      Matt Smith &

                                                 Terry Fairhead

Props                                       Sue White

Costume                                  Lisa Bryant

Lighting                                   Bill Bates

Sound                                      Fred Greenstreet

 

Director                                    Joy Roberts

Assistant Director                    Terri Horton

 

THE WILMSLOW GREEN ROOM

 

You may recall that last September we had an Email from Emma Toms from Chesire who had stumbled across our web site and noticed on the Past Productions page we had recently performed Nobody’s Fool. She was particularly interested because her group was going to do the same play this year, her part being that of Dee Dee.

Well, it is all over now and we have lots of photographs and a video slide show which though far too numerous to put on this site are well worth looking at. So, if you are interested, let me know by the Meopham Players Email and I will forward them to you. To give you an idea of the excitement which this play generated, I have copied below part of Emma’s Email she sent a couple of weeks prior to opening night:

 

We are actually two weeks away from show week and I tell you I am seriously LOVING being Dee Dee, she is amazing.

I have never so much enjoyed rehearsals, we do NOT stop laughing, but then I also love the tender moments with Uncie (Grampi is now Uncie because the two men are too close in age!), and Lenny when he's dressed as Myrtle.

Our Letitia, June is mad as a hatter so her scenes are going to steal the show!

Everyone involved is lovely and so talented. I played opposite Christina (Fran) as Alice to her Annabel in Snake in the Grass by Alan Ayckbourn in the first play of the season, so it's nice to do one with her where I can be nice!

I actually showed Charlie our director (who's fantastic, so encouraging and patient), your photos of the set because I thought it looked so amazing. I will send you all the photos I accumulate!

In answer to your original question about the phone and the fish tank, we have some very clever sound effects for various stages of distruction of Lenny's Mobile which works. And Myrtle's ringtone is " Dude looks like a Lady"... genius!

On the subject of music, we have a fantastic original piece of music Charlie wrote and performed called " Nobody's Fool" which is just the perfect introduction to Lenny's reflective opening scene.

I had the " My Mum ran off with an Italian and all I got was this lousy T Shirt" T Shirt actually made and I wear it in the second act which looks so funny.

I have made Dee Dee (with the glastonbury and Justin references) quite punky and unique, coloured hair pieces, dark make up etc.

We did however notice a few holes in the script like the phone ringing for Dee Dee (Once Lenny already disconnected it!), and updated it slightly, ie The Emirates instead of Highbury during the baby conversation.

All in all it's going really well and I cannot wait for show week :) I literally long for rehearsals and I know I'm going to be gutted when it closes.

 

 

2nd February, 2009

You can look on this as a sort of interim update, just to acknowledge the end of the pantomime season - at least as far as Meopham Players is concerned.

 

At the moment, I don’t have the photographs from this latest production Once Upon A Time, but the moment I do, I will update the Past Productions page. In the meantime, I can tell you that the show was very well received, especially by the children who responded with enthusiastic jeering each time the villainous Baron (Henry Roberts) appeared.

There will be a fuller report at the next update.

 

You will, without doubt, note the change of music. The previous theme, as I’m sure most of you will have guessed, was that from “Minder”, sung by Dennis Waterman. The one playing now is from what became a sort of cult series, which perhaps the music itself helped to foster.

What was the show?

 

 

10th January, 2009

Right! Well, that’s now sorted. You will note the music has changed - it’s easy when you know how. For those of you who didn’t know or recognise it, the last piece was the theme from the 1970s spoof series called SOAP. American, of course, and ground-breaking in its concept. I know it wasn’t to everyone’s taste, but I liked it.

No doubt, most of you will know the current piece of music, especially as the programme is now being repeated on one of the Freeview channels. But I won’t confirm what it is until we make the next change.