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Programme Tacchi-Morris Theatre 9th - 13th March 2010 Programme_pages.indd 1 02/03/2010 18:48:38

Programme for Taunton Thespians' production of Cold Comfort Farm

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Page 1: Programme for Taunton Thespians' production of Cold Comfort Farm

Programme

Tacchi-Morris Theatre9th - 13th March 2010

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AcknowledgementsAlongside the people named as members of cast and crew, Taunton Thespians would like to

thank the following for their generous support in the making of this production:For displaying Billboards: Mrs Tooze, Chelston, The Civil Service Sports & Social Club, •

Taunton, Yule Brown, TauntonWye Theatre Company, Hereford for the supply and loan of props•Glenys Woodford for loan of The Tricycle•Charlton Orchards for Graceless’s wooden leg •Prockters Farm, Monkton Elm Garden Centre and the Merry Monk for prizes and photo •

shoot locationsAdrian Bridges for transportation of the exploding clocks•Cast Members and other Taunton Thespians for loan of various props and costumes•Notes – No Water Voles were hurt in the production of this play•

Taunton Thespians is a Registered Charity, Number 800217

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Director’s NotesWelcome to the Tacchi Morris Theatre and the Taunton Thespians’ spring offering – a stage adaptation by Paul Doust of Stella Gibbons’ wonderful novel Cold Comfort Farm, which was first published in 1932 and which beautifully parodied the many angst - laden classic rural novels of the early twentieth century as penned by authors such as DH Lawrence and Thomas Hardy, their pages all crammed with characters dripping with emotion, intrigue and darkness.

I have two copies of the novel, a very old, much loved, well thumbed copy given to me by my father many years ago and a lovely brand new copy given to me by a dear friend for my birthday last year. It made me smile to see the contrast between the condition of both these books when they were sitting side by side on my bedside table. The old one: tatty, worn and battered by the ravages of time and the new one: clean, smart and tidy. Just like the contrast between the Starkadders and Flora!

For those of you not familiar with the novel, I hope that the story is one you enjoy and makes you want to go on and read the book one day after seeing this play. For those who, like me, love the weird and wonderful characters contained within its pages, I hope you enjoy our efforts at lifting them from the two dimensions of the written word into the three dimensions of the stage – and what a lovely open stage it is to work on, too. You may also notice that one or two characters from the novel are missing, a necessary and I think perfectly acceptable cutting process, which allows the stage version to flow.

Rehearsals have been thoroughly enjoyable and all the cast and crew have worked incredibly hard and happily together to produce the finished result. Staging of this piece has been challenging as the script requires lots of props, which are just as weird as the characters woven around them. We have spent a few ‘Blue Peter’ days sticking, cutting and making various masks, interesting shaped flowers, dried rodents and clettering sticks. Not to mention The Tricycle, wooden bovine leg and scranlet maintenance classes! Due to the combined effects of laughter and sheer number of bodies, we have managed to generate heat in our chilly rehearsal space. ‘Cold Comfort’ has been a very apt title throughout this exceptionally cold winter; it adds an extra dimension to character work when you can see your breath vaporise as words are spoken! My heartfelt thanks to everyone involved with this production. I now release my grasp on ‘ee all!

Jane BurtDirector

Strobe lighting will be used during this show

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Stella Dorothea Gibbons:

A BiographyStella Dorothea Gibbons was born in 1902, the daughter

of Telford Gibbons, a widely respected doctor in the Camden and Kentish Town area of London. Despite many admirable qualities, Dr Gibbons’ drinking, womanising and appetite for emotional scenes – a characteristic of the Gibbons family – made Stella’s childhood a difficult one.

Stella was close to her mother and brothers, but her father and grandfather made her childhood miserable with their self-dramatising scenes and emotional outpourings. Telford was depressive, tyrannical and a drunkard and often resorted to whiskey, and later laudanum, to deal with his inner demons. He once threw a knife at Maudie, and had a series of affairs with the governesses and maids he employed.

As a young girl, Stella Gibbons sought refuge in literature, and her turbulent upbringing was to play a significant part in the creation of her most noted work Cold Comfort Farm.

She went to the London Collegiate School where she was a contemporary of the poet and novelist Stevie Smith. After leaving school, and knowing that her spendthrift father would give her nothing to live on, she attended a journalism course at University College, London, from 1921 to 1923. In 1924 she obtained a job with a news agency, the British United Press, from she was sacked in 1926 for a miscalculation in the exchange rate which caused a temporary shiver in the financial markets.

The same year she was employed by the London Evening Standard where she flourished. It was there that she was set the task of doing a synopsis of a novel called The Golden Arrow by Mary Webb, which was being serialised in the newspaper. She thought the book absurd, and it was to inspire her parody of the rural novel in Cold Comfort Farm some years later. In 1930 she was sacked from the Standard and went to work as editorial assistant on The Lady magazine where she wrote her first novel, Cold Comfort Farm, on trains going to and from the offices of The Lady and in spare moments during working hours.

By this time she had met her future husband, the actor and opera singer Allan Bourne Webb, whom she married in 1933. They had one daughter, Laura. The success of Cold Comfort Farm (which won the prestigious Prix Femina Vie Heureuse) prompted her to leave The Lady and devote herself full time to writing and a quiet domestic existence.

She was made a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 1951, and in 1959 her husband Allan died. She published her last novel in 1970, but continued to write for her own pleasure, and bequeathed her unpublished writings, including two more novels, to her grandsons Daniel and Benjamin. Up until two years before her death in 1989 she would have “open house” on the first Saturday of every month at

which you could meet a wide variety of people, literary and unliterary, who were drawn by her engaging personality, kindly and wise but not without the acerbic wit which characterised her famous first novel.

The above and the piece on page nine were largely culled from the archived writing of Stella’s nephew (Reggie Oliver), to whom we are indebted, and who supplied the photograph from his personal collection, and the letter from Stella to her sister (his mother) reproduced on the page seven.

He adds: If you’d like to know even more about Stella Gibbons, you can buy the biography of her called “Out of the Woodshed” (Bloomsbury 1998) by Reggie Oliver (that’s me!). You can order it from the Bloomsbury web site, or Amazon, or you can buy a signed copy direct from the author. Contact [email protected] for more details on buying a signed copy.

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TT On Tour 2010 10 Years of Open Air Theatre

This coming June, Taunton Thespians will take a classic play on the road for the tenth successive year. Previous productions have been:

2001 Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare2002 The Merry Wives of Windsor by William Shakespeare2003 A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare2004 A Comedy of Errors by William Shakespeare2005 Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare2006 Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë, adapted by Willis Hall2007 Tom Jones by Henry Fielding, adapted by Joan MacAlpine2008 The Rivals by Richard Brinsley Sheridan2009 London Assurance by Dion Boucicault

In 2010, we’re doing a Shakespeare once more – As You Like It. This year’s director is Ray Court, who you will see this evening thumping his Bible as Amos Starkadder, and who has also been thumping nails to create the set for tonight’s show.

As You Like It is one of Shakespeare’s funniest comedies, and has one of his best roles for a younger actress – Rosalind – and some of the most famous speeches out there. Not least of these is the Seven Ages of Man, delivered by the melancholy Jaques (pronounced Jake-wees...).

The Tour is a fantastic experience for any actor or backstage person, putting on a show for one night at a selection of wonderful outdoor venues in Somerset –

Wednesday 16th June Frank Bond Centre, Bishop’s Hull Thursday 17th June Glastonbury Abbey Friday 18th June Rose & Crown, East Lyng Saturday 19th June Crowcombe Heathfield Tuesday 22nd June Binham Grange, Old Cleve Wednesday 23rd June Muchelney Abbey, Langport Thursday 24th June Cleve Hotel, Wellington Saturday 26th June St James’ Church, Taunton

Come along and have a go! Auditions are on the 29th & 30th of March at our home base, The Place in Wilfred Road, Taunton.

Any audition pieces will be posted on our web site at http://www.tauntonthespians.org.uk

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In her own words

This is a letter from Stella Gibbons to her husband’s sister, Renée, written

in March 1931 while Stella was working on The Lady magazine – and pinching their

notepaper! Our thanks to Reggie Oliver, (Renée’s son) for sending us this letter and permission to use it.

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Tel: 01823 412381www.monkton-elm.co.ukMonkton Heathfield, Taunton(5 mins from M5 J25)Open: Mon-Sat: 9am - 5.30pm;Sun: 10.30am - 4.30pm

Something for every season

• Family restaurant:Breakfast; morning coffee; hot lunches; afternoon tea

• Extensive range of plants• Huge garden shop• Pots and stoneware• House plants• Patio and shed village• Gifts galore• Garden furniture• Pet & aquatic centre• New craft centre• Water features• Children’s play area• Disabled facilities• Free parking

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Cold Comfort FarmCold Comfort Farm was published in 1932 and its success was immediate and long-lived; its

legacy over-shadowed all Stella Gibbons’ other writing while she was alive and after her death. The novel satirises the works of authors such as Mary Webb, whose writing Stella

encountered whilst working at the Evening Standard. Webb’s The Golden Arrow was ripe stuff, and it so happened that one of Stella’s tasks on the Evening Standard was to summarise the plot for readers who were joining the serialisation late. The ‘Story So Far’ was always full of incident: “Eli becomes enraged with his daughter because she has decked herself out with cheap finery for the benefit of Joe and in his fury cuts off Lily’s long golden hair. She fires at him with a rook rifle, but misses...”

The task of précis is not calculated to endear one to any novel, even a novel to which one is sympathetically disposed, and Stella did not find The Golden Arrow sympathetic. She found it ridiculous. “The large agonised faces in Mary Webb’s book annoyed me”, she wrote in Punch in 1966. “They were over life-size but they were also silly, and I did not believe people were any more despairing and passionate in Herefordshire than they were in Camden Town.” The world of Webb’s novels was peculiarly confined. Little or nothing of life beyond the Shropshire countryside intruded. Stella began to wonder how the grim, outlandish characters of Webb’s suffocating rural milieu might fare if confronted by a brisk, smart, sensible young lady from London. This was the germ of Cold Comfort Farm.

A critical element which went into the creation of Cold Comfort Farm was Stella’s own family. Stella began to realise that it was a trait of the Gibbons family as a whole not simply to be prone to melodramatic scenes, but to take pleasure in them. She detected an element of pretence in their passion, and it was this which made her the enemy pretentiousness throughout her life. The conclusions Stella drew from these experiences animated Flora in Cold Comfort Farm. In Stella’s comic fantasy, the Starkadders were changed into saner, more fulfilled human beings.

Once motivated, she observed: “The book seemed to write itself. It dashed itself onto paper; sometimes on the backs of envelopes, sometimes on office paper, in office time, in a dark little den, to which I had been gently relegated because I made the other two in the main office laugh so much that we couldn’t work. Sometimes while I was on my way to work or coming home in the Underground; in those days there were quite often men sitting down who offered a girl a seat. Thus protected, I wrote; using a little suitcase or the back of my library book as a desk, and often laughing to myself.”

In 1934 Stella Gibbons accepted the Prix Femina Vie Heureuse at the Institut Français in London for Cold Comfort Farm. Stella attributed much of the success of Cold Comfort Farm to ‘coming at exactly the right time.’ Punch wrote: We have suffered too long from that school of novelists whose roots run so deep into the sad soil that their thoughts have grown consequently limited to the inevitability of gloom and reproduction; but at last we are revenged by Miss Stella Gibbons, who has arisen to mock with devilish skill at ‘a certain type of much read, earthy passionate novel; the kind of story in which peasants have babies in cow sheds and push each other down wells’.

Stella’s invention of parody rural words has often been imitated. Rambling Sid Rumpo, of the radio classic Round the Horne, with his repertoire of moolies, gander-bags and nadgerings, was obviously a near relative of the Starkadders. He was a great favourite of Stella’s, and she was delighted when she heard that Kenneth Williams was going to read Cold Comfort Farm on the radio.

What gives the satire of Cold Comfort Farm its depth and lasting quality is that Stella is not merely mocking the superficial failings of a literary genre, but attacking its underlying assumptions. She takes some of the stereotypical characters of the rural novel

– the tyrannical matriarch, the religious bigot, the mystic simpleton, the farmyard Don Juan – and, by revealing unexpected sides to their characters, imbues them with life. Cold Comfort Farm is a comic encyclopaedia of the fads and fancies of the period, and it is remarkable how many are still with us.

In 1966 she wrote: “Cold Comfort Farm is a member of my family; he is like some unignorable old uncle, to whom you have to be grateful because he makes you a handsome allowance, but who is often an embarrassment and a bore.” However, the book became an A-level set text in 1978, and Stella consequently received a large number of letters from eager and appreciative young students. It was these that finally reconciled Stella to “that book”. One of the last things she said to me on the subject was: “You know, after all, it is something to have made so many people laugh.”

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Express Print Ad

Down on the Farm with Adam Lambsbreath

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Cold Comfort Farm, by Paul Doust,

adapted from the novel by Stella Gibbons

ACT IScene 1: The Kitchen at Cold Comfort FarmScene 2: The SameScene 3: The CowshedScene 4: The KitchenScene 5: The Kitchen and Ada’s RoomScene 6: The KitchenScene 7: The Meeting Place of The Quivering

Brethren

Interval of 20 minutes

ACT IIScene 1: The Gardens at Hautcouture HallScene 2: The KitchenScene 3: The CowshedScene 4: The KitchenScene 5: The KitchenScene 6: Howling ChurchScene 7: Cold Comfort Farm

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Cast in order of appearance

Flora Poste . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Charlotte Briggs

Judith Starkadder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nikki Court

Aunt Ada Doom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cynthia Jones

Elfine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Elaine Rawle

Rennet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chloe Stepney

Mrs Hawk-Monitor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Nicola Dawson

Reuben Starkadder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Charlie Dorr

Amos Starkadder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ray Court

Sneller . . . . . . . . . . Dennis Carter (Tues/Weds) Stuart Lyddon (other perfs)

Urk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tony Leach

Richard Hawk-Monitor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tom Cooney

Adam Lambsbreath . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . John Burbery

Mr Earl P Neck . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mike Leach

Seth Starkadder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jack Horwood

Charles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .David Northey

Dandelion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Catherine Vicarage

Jacob . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Maria Coe

Ensemble

John Burbery, Tom Cooney, Nicola Dawson,

Karen Kerslake, Mike Leach, David Northey,

Mary Paker, Carrie Vaughan, Christine Stepney,

David Waring, Angela Widgery

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BackstageDirector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jane Burt

Stage Manager: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bryan Hallett

DSM: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Keith Gibbons

Producer: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Martin Jevon

Assistant Producer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . David Northey

Set Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jane Burt and Ray Court

Set Construction . . . . . . . . . . .Ray Court, Terry Wood and members of the cast

Prompt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Tony Venn

Props . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Dinah Rawle, Emma Vicarage, Amy Parker

Make Up & Hair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Amy Parker, Rhian Pugh

Wardrobe Mistress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nikki Court

Wardrobe Assistants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kirsten Whyte

Chaperone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Emma Vicarage

Photographer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Terry Wood

Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Peter Wilmott

Sound . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Graham Reeks

Backstage Crew . . . . . . . . . . . . . Michael Gilbert, Amy Parker, Swannie, Emma

Vicarage, Abi Vickery, Matt Webber

Choreographer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Graham Barrett

Musical Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tony Leach & Angela Widgery

Cast Dressers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kirsten Whyte,

Annie Bowles, Jane Emmott and Jane Dyer

Front of House Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Arthur Cummins

Front of House Team . . . . . . . . . . . . Members and Friends of Taunton Thespians

Materials Sourcing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .John Burbery and David Northey

Publicity . . . . . . . . . Rene Kilner, Michael Gilbert, Ron Roberts, Jane Edwards,

Carrie Vaughan

Poster design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Matt Webber

The Ladies of the Sukebind . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Charlotte Briggs, Jane Burt, Nicola

Dawson, Swannie, Angela Widgery

Transport . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Webbers Removals

Programme . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Michael Gilbert

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Charlotte Briggs - Flora PosteHaving been in several Taunton Thespians’ productions,

I’ve been lucky enough to play a variety of different women. In Daisy I loved being meany toady Monica and now I get to be very bossy! Flora likes everything to be “tidy and pleasant and comfortable” and sometimes it’s a wonder the Starkadders don’t just throw her out, but I think they soon realise, as I did, that Flora has a kind heart. Hopefully I manage to show you all that, and you find some of her advice from the Higher Common Sense as useful as I have, especially about when to call for tea!

Cynthia Jones - Aunt Ada DoomIn recent years I have played a variety of eccentric old ladies

including a Grand Duchess, an aristocrat, an alcoholic and even a ghost! All were great fun to play, as was the part of a rather long in the tooth vamp. Aunt Ada Doom is something else as she rules the roost and treats her family terribly, her dreadful behaviour resulting from a traumatic incident in her childhood when she “saw something narsty in the woodshed”. In my experience it is unusual to have the opportunity to play a part that allows you to shout, scream and go completely over the top, so of course I am relishing it.

Ray Court - Amos StarkadderMy last appearance with the Thespians was as the bombastic

Sir Anthony Absolute in The Rivals. This time I play Amos, a bombastic ‘Blood and Thunder’ preacher. I seem to see a pattern in this. The Director says that I have the voice for it. I have no experience of such a preacher personally nor within the church that I attend. However, in my youth there was a Lay Pastor, who used to put the fear of God in me. I won’t tell you his name, but a little bit of my performance is based on him.

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Photographs from Judith’s Album

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Nikki Court - Judith StarkadderOnly seven weeks ago I was cavorting about the

stage as an impish ‘Genie of The Lamp’ in Aladdin. In total contrast I now find myself playing a character which has been an interesting challenge, very different from the roles I am usually cast in. Judith is a trapped, lonely, unfulfilled wretch who is ignored by her husband and besotted with her youngest son (although his morals are something of a disappointment!) They say ‘variety is the spice of life’ and this is what I love about performing: the infinite number of different characters we can be allowed to inhabit, just for a while.

Jack Horwood - Seth StarkadderI have always had an interest in theatre and have studied

GCSE Drama as well as A Level Theatre Studies which has developed my acting and theoretical knowledge and has introduced me to the works of William Shakespeare, Willy Russell, and Tennessee Williams. This is my first performance outside of the academic curriculum and I have thoroughly enjoyed the rehearsal process and working with Taunton Thespians. When I’m in the audience seat I enjoy watching musicals such as Wicked, Blood Brothers and Billy Elliot, comedians such as Russell Howard and Rob Brydon, and of course my favourite leading lady Lotta Funchal!

Charlie Dorr - Reuben StarkadderMy first real experiences of theatre occurred when I was 9 and

10 and a member of the Boston Youth Theatre (which sounds grand until I clarify that it was Boston in England). Since then, however, I have taken part in very little drama at all, although from time to time I used to think about getting involved. Finally I joined Taunton Thespians last May and got stuck in to the summer production of London Assurance – coming on stage with a violin in my hand a few times and doing a bit of stage managing (which was a bit of a challenge to say the least, but a great way of appreciating how plays are put together). Last autumn I got my first lines – playing Mr Scoblowski, a Russian music teacher, in Daisy Pulls It Off and got credit for the number of accents I could recite in one show.

Reuben is a bit of a step up for me, in terms of the number of lines and the time spent on the set. It’s been great playing someone who, while he is seen as being a very cooperative and helpful character, is also quite emotional and a little complex, when it comes down to it.

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Chloe Stepney - RennetI have been a member of the Taunton Thespians for the last

eight years and have been lucky enough to have been a part of many productions since then. This is the second time I have been in Cold Comfort Farm, the first time being with the Bradford Players. I have had a lot of fun playing the part of Rennet, and luckily I did not have to practise being doused in water until the dress rehearsals, otherwise I think I would have frozen as due to the very cold weather and lack of heating, it really has been COLD comfort farm at rehearsals!

John Burbery - Adam Lambsbreath Over the years with the Taunton Thespians I have

played many different characters, but none quite like Adam Lambsbreath. As soon as I read Cold Comfort Farm I knew that as a septuagenarian this was the only part I could conceivably play. In order to become Adam Lambsbreath I have allowed my usual designer stubble beard and crew cut hairstyle to remain untrimmed since auditioning for the part last November. Consequently I now look like a rather untidy mixture of Terry Pratchett and Santa Claus (with apologies to both these eminent characters).

A day out on a sunny, February Saturday for the publicity photo shoots at Prockters Farm and Monkton Elm Garden Centre ended with a tasty meal at The Merry Monk. The friendship and camaraderie among the cast has been an excellent example of Thespian teamwork. I am also the Membership Secretary of the Taunton Thespians, so if you fancy joining in the fun give me a call (details elsewhere).

Elaine Rawle - Elfine This is my first production with Taunton Thespians

and I am delighted to be playing dippy, proto-hippy Elfine Starkadder. I have been known to write the odd poem myself, but my bird watching skills are not what they should be. I doubt I would be able to recognise a Marsh Tiggett if one landed on my nose. Never mind, I will endeavour to dance and prance about the stage, trying to avoid a wholly unsuitable suitor and the wrath of Grandmother Doom. When not running around in smocks I can be found painting, crocheting and making jewellery.

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Nicola Dawson - Mrs Hawk-MonitorLast Thespians’ season, I was busy backstage as director

for Black Coffee (Brewhouse March 2009) and as stage manager for Daisy Pulls It Off (Tacchi Morris November 2009) so it was a thrill to be offered the role of the aristocratic Mrs Hawk Monitor. (And her demi-cousin thrice removed Chastity Starkadder.) One of them even gets to dance with heart-throb Seth.

Rehearsals during winter months are always something of an endurance challenge due to the sub-zero temperatures at the Thespians’ premises. So we’ve been very grateful for the dancing practice. And the many layers of clothing required for quick changes. And the quivering.

Tom Cooney - Richard Hawk-MonitorThe first time I acted I was just five years old. I enjoyed it

then but I didn’t get another chance until I was 21. Since that time I have been involved in as much acting as possible, every chance I get. I spent a year in L.A., and studied Cold Reading with John Ennis, Meisner Technique with Justine Visone, and Scene Study with Unknown Theatre. The second time out I went to the Improv College. I am currently happy to be playing Richard in Cold Comfort Farm.

Tony Leach - UrkAs an actor, taking that intensive, gruelling journey to the

heart and centre of the character is never easy – finding that inner ‘truth’ in order to construct a living, breathing character from the inside out – a journey from conception to birth, birth to death, countless hours of intensive workshopping endured in a foetal position listening to dolphin sounds. None of this, however, was necessary for the part of Urk as I just put on a funny voice and scratched myself – to the great satisfaction among my fellow cast members and director who enjoyed watching me make a complete ass of myself and were always forthcoming with new and improved ways I could look disgusting! I also played the organ (no jokes, please). I have thoroughly enjoyed this latest Taunton Thespians’ instalment, thanks to all involved!

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Page 19: Programme for Taunton Thespians' production of Cold Comfort Farm

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Page 20: Programme for Taunton Thespians' production of Cold Comfort Farm

Mike Leach - Earl P NeckMost of my theatrical experience dates back to my 20s and

includes directing Peter Shaffer’s Black Comedy and my own Twenty Minute Macbeth, and playing Biedermann in Max Frisch’s The Fire Raisers, Birdboot in Stoppard’s The Real

Inspector Hound, The Court Envoy in Genet’s The Balcony and a whole load of parts in, shall we say, avant-garde works by my fellow students. I returned to the boards last year after a 23 year gap, and enjoyed it so much that this will be my fourth production (and fifth accent) in twelve months. Getting to be in Cold Comfort Farm is a great treat as I have loved the novel ever since first reading it aged about 14 – next year can we do Three Men in a Boat?

Catherine Vicarage - DandelionAt the age of ten, this is my sixth show but the first with the

Taunton Thespians. In the last four months I have gone from being a pirate and a devil in Wellington Operatic Society’s Transport of Delight with the NODA review saying “the youngest who sparkled her way through act one with enough enthusiasm for the whole company!”, to a singing and dancing bee in Wellington Pantomime Group’s Snow White. I have enjoyed my début with the Thespians as I get to be cheeky on stage. I love panto and musicals, and also love to dance.

David Northey - Charles FairfordThe story of Cold Comfort Farm is no stranger as I had in

my younger days played the part of Seth with the Bradford Players. I remember quite vividly Judith shouting “Seth, Seth” every time I entered the set; now as the years have moved on I am now in the more sedate and responsible role of Charles. Although Charles has seen action during the First World War as a fighter ace he is now looking to spend the rest of his life with Flora who means so much to him. In addition to playing Charles I have had fun locating some of the more quirky items for the set, such as exploding clocks, a tricycle, a yoke and cards of glamorous film starlets of the 1930’s. I managed to locate a group in Hereford who put on the production a few years ago and still had all the props including the sukebind; after some logistical planning, all the items were transported without incident to Taunton and can now be seen on the set.

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A Handful of Quivering Brethren

Angela Widgery I have been a member of Taunton Thespians for many years now and have appeared in a variety of productions. My most memorable ones were The Hollow, Ghost Train where I had to get drunk, Two Gentlemen of Soho where I played a fellow (which reached the National Finals in Woking last year) and Daisy

Pulls It Off (I was pianist). The last was also performed in Gambia last November which was such an exciting experience. Rehearsals and performances took place outside in 34 degrees. We were made very welcome. I am just a country bumpkin in this one.

Christine StepneyThis is my first performance with the Thespians and I am really enjoying it. COLD, it’s certainly been that at rehearsals during January and February. COMFORT, there has been this from other welcoming members.FARM, we have been lucky enough to have our publicity photos at Prockters Farm.I have been involved in productions at Hemyock for the last 20 years both on stage and backstage. The latest a few weeks ago as the pantomime horse, and now a cow and one of the Quivering Brethren, where next?......

Mary PakerI have thought about taking part in amateur dramatics for ages but only recently joined the Thespians, in good time for beginning Cold Comfort Farm. I had no idea what to expect; when I turned up for the first time it wasn’t long before the guys had me mucking in to transform The Place into our rehearsal area for the coming months! It’s been wonderful to see the development of the

characters, I’ve found myself getting quite lost in the plot and trying to decipher the zany use of language. I am certainly intrigued as to what Ada Doom actually saw in the woodshed that was so very naaarsty! I hope the show will be a success with the audience and look forward to future productions in the pipeline...

Karen KerslakeI joined the Taunton thespians in January

2009, because a friend thought it would be a good idea. It was my first sojourn into drama; never having acted or even read a play before. I was lucky, following my first audition, to be selected to play a waiter in Two Gentlemen of Soho which entered the County Drama Championship. In the autumn I was in The Crimson Cocoanut which was performed in the Ten Parishes Festival, and helped with props in the summer tour of London Assurance. My most recent part was of an English teacher in Daisy Pulls It Off. I was lucky enough to be in the cast of that which went to Gambia. How right my friend was!

Carrie Vaughan Well, yer ‘tis – my second

venture with the Thesps. Last November it was a great pleasure to work with in Daisy Pulls It Off as Mademoiselle, the crazy French mistress. We were then over the moon to be chosen to take Daisy to the Gambia, what an honour, the first English company to play there! Rehearsing in 35 degs, and at night performing the show in only 29 degs! I wish rehearsals for Cold Comfort Farm could have been more like this!! After 34 years with Taunton’s very own Wayfarers, I decided to hang up my wand and now find myself a very rural and dim-witted Starkadder! Oh well. C’est la vie.Enjoy .

David WaringA new recruit to the Quivering Brethren – David has joined Taunton Thespians following a Physical Theatre workshop and a many years in Panto with Bradford Players.

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This production is entered for

The Phoebe Rees Awards

Founded by Phoebe Rees and run by the Somerset Fellowship of Drama, the competition

is open to amateur drama societies and groups in Somerset. Plays are adjudicated by members of the Fellowship’s committee who also run an annual Original Playwriting Festival and the county’s first round of the All England Theatre Festival, and organise drama training.

The Rose Bowl Awards

Founded by the families of Walter Hawkins and John Coe, this is now funded through the Quartet Community Foundation, with individual awards sponsored by the Bristol Evening Post.

Amateur operatic and dramatic productions throughout former Avon, Gloucester and Somerset are assessed by GODA qualified adjudicators.

Taunton Thespians are members of NODA

The National Operatic and Dramatic Association (NODA), founded in 1899, is the main representative body for amateur theatre in the UK. It has a membership of some 2500 amateur/community theatre groups and 3000 individual enthusiasts throughout the UK, staging musicals, operas, plays, concerts and pantomimes in a wide variety of performing venues, ranging from the country's leading professional theatres to village halls. Members have access to a wide range of benefits.

NODA aimsTo give a shared voice to the amateur theatre sector;To help amateur societies and individuals achieve the highest standards of best practice and performance;To provide leadership and advice to enable the amateur theatre sector to tackle the challenges and opportunities of the 21st century.

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Rita AdamsPatricia AttrillAnnette BalaamMichael BarryTony & Tessa BeavenMatthew BottenPenny BradnumPolly BrayCharlotte BriggsHarriet BrineDona BullionJohn & Carol BurberyJane BurtJason CarterSasha Collard-JenkinsTina CookThomas CooneyRay & Nikki CourtJon CozensKim CrooksArthur CumminsMark & Nicola DawsonCharlie DorrAnne DowseyJane DyerJane Edwards

Sylvia FellgettTerry FinnOlivia GentileKeith GibbonsMichael GilbertDavid & Maggy GoodallCharles GraceStephanie GraftonKen & Anne HagueBryan HallettJennifer HancockLynn HendenJean HoleJack HorwoodJohn HoweRosemary HumphreysSally JagoAlison JenkinsonLinda JevonMartin JevonCynthia JonesKaren KerslakeRene KilnerMichael LeachTony LeachJane Leakey

Peter LewisJessica LindenMichael LinhamClive LinthorneRebecca LivermoreStuart LyddonJosephine MannHilary MarshallVerity MartindillJohn & Audrey MeikleBeryl MorrisDavid NortheyMary PakerImogen PapworthAmy ParkerGemma PayneMarck & Emily PearlstoneMartin PetersRhian PughElaine RawleDinah RawleJoy ReasonGraham ReeksLaura Richmond

Ron & Jacqueline RobertsVivienne SharlandRobert SmithRichard StennerChloe StepneyKatherine StoneNigel Stuart-ThornSusan SwanVera SweetingStuart SymondsPauline TilleySusanna TookeyChristine VaughanCaroline VaughanAnthony VennAbigail VickeryThelma WanderMargaret WayMatt WebberAngela WidgeryPete WilmottBethanie WinterKatherine WinterHelen Witcomb

Taunton ThespiansPresident – John Meikle

Vice Presidents – Margaret Way, Thelma Wander, Ron Roberts

Coming SoonWednesday 17th March – Open Evening to discuss the Summer TourSaturday 20th March – Taunton’s performance arts societies are staging a Brewhouse Benefit ShowSaturday 27th March – Somerset County Drama Festival, King’s College, TauntonMonday 29th & Tuesday 30th March – Auditions for Summer Tour production of As You Like ItWednesday 16th – Saturday 26th June – As You Like It On Tour across SomersetNovember 2010 – Next autumn’s public production is a joint venture with Street Theatre. Two Alan

Ayckbourn plays, GamePlan and RolePlay, use the same setting. Taunton Thespians will present the former, Street the latter. Each production will be done night about at the Tacchi-Morris and Strode Theatre, one week here and one week there. Watch the press for further details and audition announcements.

Joining usIf you’re looking for something to do that is huge amounts of fun, gives something back to people

and doesn’t cost a fortune, come and join us! Full membership of the society is only £12 a year. For more details, check out our web site at www.tauntonthespians.org.uk or call the Membership Secretary, John Burbery on 01823 442118. As well as everything listed above, we have a Club Night on the first Wednesday of every month from September to May at our home base, The Place in Wilfred Road, Taunton. And you don’t have to want to act; we have a huge wardrobe which needs caring for, sets need building, shows need lighting, makeup needs to be put on, props need to be made... all sorts of things.

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