Archives - March 1998

SUDDENLY AT HOME
by Francis Durbridge

Produced by Mary Frost

THE PLAY

Thriller, set in modern-day London. Ruthless and charming Glenn Howard is married to a very rich woman he detests. Divorce and ensuing poverty is not an option he welcomes, leaving one other option: murder. With the help of his mistress, Sheila, he devises a plot to rid himself of Maggie and frame her old friend Sam for the crime.
The first part of the scheme works exactly as planned and Maggie is duly disposed of. However, her sister Helen is asking awkward questions and Sam seems to have vanished. Sheila starts to buckle under the pressure of questioning by the mysterious Remick, but Glenn has an answer for that. He always intended to use her to help in the murder then get rid of her, because the woman he really wants is au pair Ruth: a girl cast in the same mould as himself. He arranges for Sheila to go overseas, but when she overhears he and Ruth in the bedroom, they overpower and poison her.
Sam, meanwhile has proved his innocence and tries to do the same for Glenn's guilt. It soon becomes academic, as the dying Sheila staggers in and shoots Glenn dead...

FROM THE GROUP

My last venture into the realms of present day thrillers was not a good choice, so I was reluctant to try again. However this play was written by the well known author Francis Durbridge, so I gave it another try. The villain of the piece was known to the audience from the start as he smothered his wife on stage. The main plot was concerned with how he would cover it up and if he would get away with it. Bob Wakelin played the murderer with icy-cold menace, though he gave us some hairy moments as the details of his fiendish plan unfolded. It was so important to get things in the correct order that every night we were holding our breath and keeping our fingers crossed! Samantha Merrick gave a good performance as the villain's junkie girlfriend dragged unwillingly into his vile scheme.
Mary - Producer

DEDICATION

Sadly, we learned just prior to the production that John Rodick had passed away after a long illness. John had been one of the founder members of the group, and had acted and directed but was best known for spending many years as our set designer and stage manager. Most of our original scenery - including some pieces still around today - was built by John in his garage. In recent years, illness had forced him to take a much less active role, but he could still be called upon to help whenever possible. We dedicated the production to his memory.

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