Archives - July 2008
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Archives - July 2008 |
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Produced by Mary Frost
THE PLAY
One of a series of modern-day plays about the (mis)adventures of the Farndale Avenue Housing Estate Townswomen's Guild Dramatic Society as they attempt to entertain an audience with their latest self-penned masterpiece. This one is a romance set aboard a shipboard cruise back in the swinging twenties. Or, at least, it would be, if the cast could stop bickering amongst themselves, the stage crew could pick up their cues and any of the actors could remember what they were supposed to be doing or saying on the stage. Despite that, they struggle through the plot: Constance, sailing to Naples to marry Beauregard, meets up with childhood sweetheart Noel. As Beauregard is secretly also on board, the ensuing love triangle develops on the voyage, inevitable shipwreck, sojourn on a desert island island and eventual rescue. Nobody is quite sure how it finishes, though: that part gets rather overlooked amidst the chaos. It's a comedy, by the way.
FROM THE GROUP
I vowed never to do another Farndale play but apparently the
audiences have been asking when we were going to do one again! For our Summer
play we wanted something light and fun and because of circumstances at the
Village Hall we needed to find a play with minimal set to deconstruct; also we
had a shortage of men at this time as many of our most valuable members were
either unavailable or taking a well earned rest. Although I don't like
revisiting plays we have performed in the past 'SS Farndale' seemed to fulfill
most of the criteria the situation demanded. Many of the original cast members
were no longer with us so, with the exception of Ann Burfoot reprising her role
of prima donna Thelma, we started from scratch. Although Farndale rehearsals are
notoriously unstructured the new cast coped really well. We made a few additions
to the script to lengthen it slightly and played about with a few of the set
pieces. Music was a major factor and this was resourced by Mike who took control
of all backstage matters. Our group is not renowned for their musical ability so
they had to work extra hard. Sometimes rehearsals disintegrated entirely but the
end result was a triumph. The audience rocked with laughter which was pleasing
to hear. All in all well worth revisiting.
Mary - Producer
When I first
read this play I was a little dubious because it isn't the sort of play I would
go and see, this sort of humour doesn't usually appeal to me. However after a
few rehearsals I really warmed to it and I think it is one of those plays where
the funny bits are all done in the acting. With the cast enjoying themselves it
really worked and I think it must have looked funny to the audience because they
were really laughing. Backstage, I would giggle away as there were a number of
scenes I found very funny.
My main character was daisy and she was great to play. As she lost more and more
blood through the 2nd Act she became less lucid every moment and on the last
night I even smudged fake blood all over the back drop of sea. The funny part
was that every one kept asking me if I was alright in rehearsals so I must have
been getting it right.
All in all a great laugh and I look forward to another Farndale Avenue
production.
Clare M - Actress
Produced for this play as a limited edition set of three
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 Set Build & Technical |
 Dress Rehearsal |
PREVIEWS & REVIEWS
Worthing Herald, 10th July
Unpublished review sent to Worthing Herald by a member of the audience
Love
and laughter found in Findon Village
The Cissbury Players
presented their summer production at the Findon Village Hall from 17 to 19
July. The play, entitled “We Found Love And An Exquisite Set Of Porcelain
Figurines Aboard The SS Farndale Avenue”, is one of a popular series of
plays by David McGillivray and Walter Zerlin Jnr. The cast play characters
of a very English and decidedly amateur dramatics group called the Farndale
Avenue Housing Estate Townswomen’s Guild as well as characters of a play
that is haphazardly staged by that group.
A full house was treated
to well-judged comedic performances from the Cissbury Players that began
even before the curtain opened with duelling battleaxes played by Lyndsey
Kite and Ann Burfoot trading insults. John Maplesden proved once again he
can be hilarious in the right role. However so too were Clare Buckland as
Noel Nightingale, Carol O’Connor as a dancing crab and Dave Holden as an
over-eager DJ, each of whom regular audience members will recall from more
serious roles. There was also a fine debut from Daphne Proudfoot and a most
welcome second performance from Clare Mitchell, both as several characters.
Mary Frost ably produced
this play within a play where plot took a back seat. The costumes and sets
played their parts well and the audience laughed throughout. The last few
productions from the Cissbury Players have been particularly good and many
will be looking forward to their next production in the autumn.
Craig McLean
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