Newsletter January 2011

Belated New Year wishes one and all. May* 2011 be happy, prosperous and above all, healthy for each and every one of us. As ‘Tiny Tim’ said in our November production of ‘A Christmas Carol’, ‘God bless us everyone!’ (* not just the month of May, but all year! Ed.)

This leads me into saying what a resounding success the play was. A new venture for us in joining forces with the Grange school in Hartford, it resulted in new members, the experience of working in very different surroundings and playing to larger audiences.  Enormous thanks go to Phil Perry, who against all odds struggled with setbacks, all with tremendous grace and charm, but in the end pulled it off. Thank you Phil !

Bye Bye Sue - On 24^th November we said a sad, but fond farewell to Sue Tamblin our Chairman, who with her husband Nick, has moved to Cornwall.  Sue keeps in touch and is settling in well to the local community of St. Austell, where she has already joined the ‘St Austell Players’.  We made sure that Sue will not forget us by presenting her with a picture of us!!! Phil Perry has kindly agreed to stand in as chairman until the AGM when a new committee and officers are elected.

Party Time - The Christmas Party was postponed until the new year and actually took place on 8^th Jan. 33 people attended and enjoyed music from the folk group ‘Madcap’ with a tasty hot-pot supper prepared and served by Gill Gregory. Thanks go to Andrea and Vanessa, who ran the Tombola and cajoled a lot of people into parting with their money!!

Work Party - A very worthwhile work party has already taken place in early Jan when an amazing 11 people turned out to help. As a result, the green room, long in need of a face lift, is now the beige room. We are eternally grateful to members for helping in this way and work parties will be on-going for some time to come.

Gas Cooker & Kitchen Cupboards - We are always on the lookout for things which will improve our theatre and our kitchen cupboards could do with a face-lift, so if you know of anyone throwing out theirs, please bear us in mind. We are also still in need of a gas cooker in good condition.

Next Production – ‘Billy Liar’ - Early into the new year, auditions took place for ‘Billy Liar’, our next play at Davenham which opens on Tuesday 15^th March running until Saturday 19th March. Doors open 7pm and all performances start at 7:30pm.

‘Billy Liar’ is a comedy with a strong underlying dramatic theme. A young man, Billy Fisher fights to escape his stolid, complacent and cliché-ridden background using his fanciful imagination. Billy began life in Keith Waterhouse’s eponymous novel. The book made such an impact that the film rights were immediately sold, starring Tom Courtenay as Billy, Wilfred Pickles and Mona Washbourne as Billy’s father and mother and Julie Christie as Liz. Rodney Bewes and Leonard Rossiter played the parts of Arthur and Shadrack respectively.

Only two weeks after the film opened, Keith Waterhouse received a telephone call from an old school chum, Willis Hall, with whom he had originally collaborated as a teenager on sketches for a youth club concert. Hall quickly convinced Waterhouse that the book would make a marvellous play and within three weeks they had completed the adaptation of the 190 page novel into a 75 page play script with composite settings. The play opened at the Cambridge theatre, London starring Albert Finney as Billy and Trevor Bannister (later Mr Lucas in ‘Are You Being Served’) as Arthur.

Our cast has Jamie Morris as Billy, Sheila Hetherington as Florence, Billy’s grandmother, Andrea Scott as Alice, Billy’s mother and Graham Wright as Geoffrey, Billy’s father. Beth Anderson plays Barbara, a fiancée and Jacqui Campuzano plays Rita, also a fiancée. Millie Outen plays Liz, a girlfriend. Matthew Darlow plays Arthur, Billy’s friend and work-mate at undertakers Shadrack and Duxbury.

2011 is not the first time this play has been performed by the ‘Players’.  Way back in 1970, former member Peter Riley produced the play and hopes to come up from Wales to watch this production. One of the young female members of the cast at that time was Paulette Anderson who has in 2011 become the producer of the play in 2011. Current member Janet Illidge was also in the 1970 cast.

We welcome several new members in both cast and crew and hope they will be with us for many a year.

Tickets are on sale at £7 from Bob Almquist 01606 45186 (email: Robert.almquist @ btinternet.com). Book early to avoid disappointment!

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

FRIDAY 11^th Feb at 7.30p.m. Barbara Crellin invites you to spend an evening listening to readings to celebrate  Valentine’s Day. There will be a light supper of cheese and biscuits. Tickets £6 from Paulette 01606 79779

THURSDAY 17^th Feb at 8.00p.m. DAN Jazz with the Jonas Backman trio and Catherine Legard vocals. Tickets and details from the DAN office 01606 41597

THURSDAY 3^rd March at 8.00p.m. DAN Jazz with Wychcraft Big Band. Tickets and details from the DAN office 01606 41597

SATURDAY 5^th March - We have been invited to take part in an evening at Sandiway Library to celebrate ‘World Book day’. Anyone who would be willing to go along to do a reading or sketch of their choice, please contact me, Paulette on 01606 79779. The evening lasts from 7pm to 9pm and we would be expected to fill a slot of approximately 15 minutes.

TUESDAY 15^th March to SATURDAY 19th March – ‘Billy Liar’ – tickets £7.00 from 01606 45186

THURSDAY 31^st March at 8 p.m. DAN Jazz DB5 with Orli Nyles. Andy Scott (saxes), John Barber (trombone) Ulrich Elbracht (guitar), Ollie Collins (bass), Dave Hassell (drums), Orli Nyles (vocals and keyboard). Tickets and details from the DAN office 01606 41597

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Subs due!  subs due!  subs due!

And finally..... I am afraid January is the time when subs are due and this year, due to rising expenditure, the committee has decided to raise them to £15. If you have not already paid, please send to :-

Paulette Anderson,  24 Queensgate, Castle. Northwich CW8 1DX

cheques payable to: ‘Davenham & Sandiway Players’.

Thank you.....................

Phil Perry – Chairman 01606 46382
Paulette Anderson - Secretary 01606 79779
Bob Almquist – Treasurer 01606 45186