Season’s Greetings

by Alan Ayckbourn

28 Nov-1 Dec 2012

28th Nov - 1st Dec 2012www.thecheritonplayers.org.uk

<Scan Here

A MOVINGPERFORMANCE!

For the Sale and Rental of Residential Property

Tel: (01962) 736333 (24 hrs)www.hellards.co.uk

If you are secretly dreading a family Christmas, it might be wise to ask for your money back now and give this evening’s play a wide berth until the festive season is safely over. I hope that you

won’t, because Alan Ayckbourn’s Season’s Greetings has all the right ingredients to cook up a delicious pre-Christmas treat.

Laughter and reminiscences, too much food and drink, presents for adults and children (sometimes thoughtful, sometimes inappropriate), classic films on television, brisk walks in the winter sunshine… what could possibly spoil yet another perfect Christmas?

Well, we have we have the general farcical calamity that surrounds a Christmas-time in which friends and relatives are thrown together more out of politeness than of any genuine desire to see one another and then we have the family members themselves. Meet Harvey, near-psychopathic ex-security guard of an uncle, who wears a knife strapped to his calf, is giving all the kiddies guns for Christmas and who has prepared a

few nasty surprises for the grown-ups too; neurotic and frustrated housewife Belinda, married to neglectful Neville, a successful retailer with a passion for fixing things; Neville’s ex-colleague Eddie, unsuccessful in his own business-dealings and ever hopeful of being given a leg-up by Neville, and his pregnant wife, Pattie, struggling to get her loser of a husband to acknowledge her existence at all; brother-in-law and unsuccessful doctor Uncle Bernard, whose annual presentation of an agonizingly boring puppet show is dreaded by all, and his vulnerable wife Phyllis, who hits the bottle, and Belinda’s spinster sister, mousy and emotionally fuddled Rachel, who has invited a stranger into the nest, young up-and- coming novelist, Clive, with whom she has a relationship which you can’t describe as being unstuck by being made the focus of one tipsy married woman behaving very, very badly under the Christmas tree because it never really had a chance to become sticky in the first place.

Maybe family gatherings should come with a health warning.

Merry Christmas!

From the Director

Barbara Large

Season’s Greetings

by Alan Ayckbourn

28 Nov-1 Dec 2012

Cheriton Players Present

Telephone: 01962 771800

info@georgecanngardenmachinery.co.ukwww.georgecannmachinery.co.uk

• Showroom has at least 100 different machines on display

• Large display of Wolf garden and hand tools

• Extensive range of accessories

The ChapelSchool Lane

CheritonHampshireSO24 0QA

tel 01962 771828fax 01962 771442

MALCOLM EDWARDSGENERAL BUILDER

T: 01489 894995mledwards@gmail.com

Extensions

Renovations

New Build

Est. 1979

Cheriton, Nr. Alresford, Hampshire. SO24 0PXTelephone: Bramdean 01962 771 251

Support your local village shop and Post Office. Call in and see us for

* BEEF, LAMB & MUTTON FROM SCRUBBS FARM

* GOOD SELECTION OF WINES, LAGERS & SPIRITS

* NEWSPAPERS, MAGAZINES & CONFECTIONERY

* FRESH BREAD & CAKES DAILY

* LOCAL CHEESES

* CHILLED & FROZEN PRODUCE

* DRY CLEANING & SHOE REPAIRS

* FAX & PHOTOCOPYING

NEW

CastNeville John WestonBelinda, his wife Caroline HolleyPhyllis, his sister Helena GommHarvey, his uncle David CradduckBernard, Phyllis’s husband Richard PerkinsRachel, Belinda’s sister Marilyn WestonEddie David BartholomewPattie, Eddie’s wife Tracey AndersonClive Charlie Hellard

The Production TeamDirector Barbara LargeProducer/Stage Manager Jan ConwayASM Tim DayLighting/sound Graham Arnott, Mike LudgateStage Crew Phil Clarkson, Jamie HerdmanPrompt Angela LedshamProps Jamie Herdman, Phil Clarkson, Rhia WestonCostumes Pauline Cornter, Jan Conway and the castSet Design Tim Day, Barbara LargeSet Build Tim Day, David Cradduck, Roger Bennett, Alan Kettle, Phil Clarkson, Tim Conway, Jan Conway, Tom Cradduck, Angela Ledsham, Henrietta Hellard, Mike ClarksonPuppet Theatre Henrietta HellardGun and knife hire History in the MakingPhotography Craig RobertsonPublicity David CradduckProgramme and poster design Owen JonesFront of House Alan Kettle, Robin Good and Team

Season’s Greetings

by Alan Ayckbourn

28 Nov-1 Dec 2012

Cheriton Players Present

The action of the play takes place in the home of Neville and Belinda Bunker.

Synopsis of Scenes (don’t worry, the second Act is a lot shorter than the first!)

Act 1 Scene 1 Christmas Eve, 7.30pm

Scene 2 Christmas Day, noonScene 3 Christmas Day, midnight

There will be an interval of 20 minutes between Act 1 and Act 2, during which refreshments will be served.

Act 2Scene 1 Boxing Day, 3.30pm

Scene 2 December 27th, 5.15am

Please note that there are loud gun shots during the performance.

Please turn off all mobiles and keep aisles clear at all times (several entrances are made by the cast through the auditorium). Please refrain from flash photography and note that video or audio recording of the

performance is prohibited.

From Jan Conway, Chairman and ProducerWelcome to The Cheriton Players’ latest production Season’s Greetings. Alan Ayckbourn plays are always popular with our audiences, cast and crew alike. We are a small friendly theatre group and are keen to encourage more people to join us onstage, backstage or front of house.

Over the past year we have been looking at how we can simplify and improve the ways we communicate with our members and friends on the mailing list. We recently launched our new website www.thecheritonplayers.org.uk and we are also on Facebook and Twitter – follow @cheritonplayers. Please take a look at our new website – you will find information on past productions; photos of Season’s Greetings in rehearsal and information about future productions when it’s available.

We hope you enjoy Season’s Greetings as much as we have enjoyed putting the show on. Thanks once again to Barbara Large for her expertise and patience as Director; to all the cast and the backstage and front of house team who have put in immense efforts to stage this show - it has been a real challenge to put on a play set in three rooms at the same time on a small stage like ours! It has been great too to welcome new members on and offstage in this production.

But we would still like more people to get involved in future, so if you are interested in joining the Players, please get in touch through the website; by emailing jan.conway@btinternet.com or by phoning 01962 771834. We would love to hear from you!

Best wishes for an enjoyable (and hopefully more peaceful!) festive season than this one experienced by Neville, Belinda and their guests in Season’s Greetings and we hope to see you again at the Cheriton Players’ next production in spring 2013.

Barbara Large (Director)Barbara directed Ayckbourn’s Ten Times Table, Noel Coward’s Blithe Spirit and the recent Murdered to Death comedy murder mystery for Cheriton before working on the current production. She is experienced both on the professional stage and in working with amateur groups and says she has been honoured and more than delighted to have been able to make use of that experience in working with The Cheriton Players. For this production, the challenge of squeezing a quart size set into a pint size stage and working with some new and relatively untested talent has not daunted her one bit. We hope she has the staying power to do more…

John Weston (Neville)Seasons Greetings marks John’s debut for Cheriton Players after many visits as a member of the audience to recent productions. His previous experience of amateur dramatics is restricted to Sandcastles for ACTS and appearing in revues for the Rio Players during several sojourns in Brazil. John’s part in Seasons Greetings is Neville, an ardent tinkerer in the tool shed, who couldn’t be more different to John, who claims that DIY is most definitely not his middle name! John and Marilyn have both caught the acting bug, it seems, and their daughter, Rhia, is helping backstage tonight.

Caroline Holley (Belinda)It is over four years since Caroline appeared on stage with Cheriton Players, as the hilariously promiscuous Muriel Wicksteed in Habeas Corpus. Originally ‘volunteered’ to help with costumes on first joining, it was not long before Caroline’s acting talents came to the fore and she has taken part in numerous productions including Pardon Me Prime Minister, Key for Two, She Stoops to Conquer, Cat on the Fiddle, Party Piece, Confusions, Murder in Play, Oliver!, The Real Inspector Hound and as Nurse Gladys in Out of Order. She was then Sarah, in Table Manners, a part she described as ‘a little more grown up’ – another of Sir Alan Ayckbourn’s put-upon leading ladies with whom Belinda shares more than a couple of characteristics.

Helena Gomm (Phyllis)Helena, it seems, is a glutton for punishment – her excuse for being absent from rehearsals for a week in November was that she was also appearing in a sell-out production of The Real Inspector Hound with West Meon Theatre, where she also writes much of their material. For Cheriton Players, Helena played Ruth, Charles Condomine’s first wife in Blithe Spirit immediately followed by The White Queen in Alice. Her most recent appearance here was as Dorothy in Murdered to Death. Elsewhere she has appeared in the farce Rumours, Much Ado About Nothing, Hay Fever, Outside Edge, The Importance of Being Earnest and Stepping Out. She says her performance as the Vegetable Fairy in Jack and the Beanstalk is probably best forgotten, and she was also once cast as a chicken.

David Cradduck (Harvey)David joined the Players after playing Tom in Tom Jones at college. As well as directing and helping backstage he has appeared in over 65 productions at Cheriton including title or lead roles in Charley’s Aunt, Wind in the Willows, Worzel Gummidge, Lord Arthur Savile’s Crime, Pride and Prejudice, Outside Edge and The Importance of Being Earnest. He appeared as Fagin in Oliver! Other credits include The Real Inspector Hound/Black Comedy, Jungle Fantasy, The Noble Spaniard, Out of Order, A Christmas Carol, Table Manners, Murder in Cheriton!, ‘Allo ‘Allo, The Ghost Train, Ten Times Table, Alice and recently as Inspector Pratt in Murdered to Death. He is also a member of RAODS and Maskers Theatre Co. where credits include Noises Off, Under Milkwood, Mikado, Relative Values, Tom Jones, Shadowlands and Far from the Madding Crowd.

Biographies

Richard Perkins (Bernard)Richard’s early acting career consisted of semi-scripted New Year Mummers Plays (an excuse for a pub-crawl around the New Forest). Early Cheriton roles were in Cat on the Fiddle, and Alastair Spenlow in Move over Mrs Markham. His characters have included vicars, doctors, and butlers, He appeared in the Cheriton 2000 Revue, several parts in Confusions and The Real Inspector Hound. More recently, Richard was seen in Out of Order, Table Manners, ‘Allo ‘Allo and – yes – as another vicar, Canon Throbbing, in Habeas Corpus. Richard’s most recent productions include The Ghost Train and Don’t Dress for Dinner. Richard is ‘pleased’ to be playing… another doctor. When not acting or selling/planting trees, Richard can be found on Amazon as the co-author of a delightfully witty book on cricket entitled Not Out First Ball. Put it in your Christmas stocking!

Marilyn Weston (Rachel)Marilyn first became involved with amateur dramatics whilst living in Rio de Janeiro in the early 1980s. Her first involvement was sourcing costumes for The Pirates of Penzance and her second sourcing props for Fiddler on the Roof, including live chickens and ducks! Since 1993 Marilyn has been involved with ACTS, usually back stage as Stage Manager, but did venture on stage for their production of Sandcastles, where she played the cantankerous grandma - thankfully heavily disguised. This is only her second time on stage and the first for Cheriton, having been in the audience on many occasions. She says she is a little nervous to be playing alongside some experienced am drammers! In February 2013 Marilyn will be found backstage once again, for the next ACTS production, Annie.

David Bartholomew (Eddie)Prior to his first appearance as the much put-upon Lawrence in Ten Times Table, David’s only previous acting experience was aged five at Kindergarten – as a monk in a play whose name he forgets, wearing a brown habit and a chopped off stocking placed over the head with a tonsure made from cotton wool. However, he has been known to do some singing - mainly classical arias – and he claims a ‘lyric tenor voice’. David, Jo and daughter Isobel live in Owslebury and Blithe Spirit saw all three of them being involved in some way or other, with David taking the part of Dr Bradman. Likewise, all three appeared in Alice, David as the Red Bishop and one half of the Tweedles. He most recently played the rather oddball Theodore Brown in Clerical Errors.

Tracey Anderson (Pattie)Tracey recently rediscovered her love for drama and joined The Cheriton Players, as well as TOADS and ACTS, for whom she appeared in The Boyfriend. As a child she joined in keenly with all school productions and was encouraged to return to the stage by her two children, Amy and Lauren, both themselves keen actors and singers. She appeared alongside them this year in The Players’ 50th anniversary production of Alice, staged in Cheriton Cottage Garden, and more recently played Sylvia, the vicar’s fiancée, in Clerical Errors and the scheming Elizabeth Hartley-Trumpington in Murdered to Death. Reminding herself of what it’s like to be eight months pregnant has been a hilarious learning experience in the run up to this production as long suffering Pattie.

Charlie Hellard (Clive)Charlie first performed with the Cheriton Players in their 40th Anniversary production Forty Not Out and has appeared in many plays since such as The Noble Spaniard, Oliver!, Jungle Fantasy, A Christmas Carol, Together4Christmas, Alice (in which he played a timid Lion that had managed to end up in the wrong play) and most recently as PC Thomkins in Murdered to Death, in which he was shot in the foot by Inspector Pratt, played by David Cradduck. Not giving too much away but in this production Charlie gets shot…by Harvey…played by David Cradduck. Is someone trying to say something? Charlie studied Music & Music Technology at Chichester University and often uses this knowledge to help backstage on various productions with sound effects and music.

Murdered to Death – May 2012Clerical Errors – Nov 2011Alice – June 2011Blithe Spirit – Nov 2010Don’t Dress For Dinner – April 2010Together4Christmas – December 2009Ten Times Table – April/May 2009The Ghost Train – November 2008Habeas Corpus – April 2008Allo’ Allo’ – November 2007Murder in Cheriton! – May 2007The Champion of Paribanou – January 2007Parallel Lines – November 2006Table Manners – April 2006A Christmas Carol – December 2005Out of Order – April 2005Idol Talent – January 2005The Noble Spaniard – November 2004Jungle Fantasy – May 2004The Real Inspector Hound & Black Comedy – November 2003Oliver! – January 2003Don’t Utter a Note – May 2002Forty – Not Out! – December 2001Murder in Play – March 2001Confusions – November 2000An Evening’s Entertainment – March 2000Move over Mrs Markham – November 1999Party Piece – November 1998After the Ball is Over – April 1998And then there were None – November 1997Cat on the Fiddle – April 1997Love’s a Luxury – November 1996She Stoops to Conquer – April 1996Key for Two – November 1995‘Bless ’em All’ – May 1995Lord Arthur Savile’s Crime – November 1994Pardon Me, Prime Minister – April 1994Variety Music Hall – November 1993Murder in Company – April 1993Worzel Gummidge – November 1992

Outside Edge – April 1992My Fair Lady – November 1991Two One-Act Plays – April 1991Lock up Your Daughters – November 1990Haul for the Shore – May 1990Best of Old Time Music Hall – February 1990Tons of Money – November 1989The Late Mr. Larrington – April 1989Merry Christmas Music Hall – December 1988Man Alive – April 1988The Wind in the Willows – December 1987I’ll Get My Man – May 1987Music Hall – Jan/Feb 1987Laughter in the Dark – December 1986Salad Days – April 1986The Proof of the Poison – December 1985Gala Music Hall – September 1985Charley’s Aunt – May 1985Music Hall – February 1985Small Hotel – November 1984Beyond a Joke – May 1984Music Hall – February 1984Play On! – November 1983Present Laughter – May 1983 Old Time Music Hall – February 1983And So To Bed – November 1982Here We Come Gathering – April 1982Music Hall – February 1982Book of the Month – November 1981Pride and Prejudice – May 1981Music Hall – Jan/Feb 1981The Full Treatment – November 1981Fish Out of Water – May 1980Music Hall – February 1980A Friend Indeed – November 1979Lord Arthur Savile’s Crime – April 1979Music Hall – January 1970Jam Tomorrow – November 1978The White Sheep of the Family – April 1978Old Time Music Hall – Jan/Feb 1978

Love Birds – November 1977Running Riot – May 1977Jubilee Revue – January 1977Your Obedient Servant – November 1976Person Unknown – April 1976Old Time Music Hall – January 1976The Importance of Being Earnest – November 1975Wolf’s Clothing – April 1975Old Time Music Hall – Jan/Feb 1975Love’s a Luxury – November 1974Sailor Beware – April 1974Old Time Music Hall – Jan 1974See How They Run – November 1973Doctor in the House – April 1973Old Time Music Hall – January 1973Quiet Weekend – November 1972Who Lies There? – April 1972Old Time Music Hall – January 1972Pools Paradise – November 1971Something to Hide – April 1971Old Time Music Hall – January 1971Beside the Seaside – November 1970Trap for a Lonely Man – February 1970Man Alive – November 1969Busybody – May 1969Sleeping Partnership – February 1969Dear Delinquent – November 1968Goodnight, Mrs Puffin – May 1968A Pig in a Poke – February 1968Wanted One Body – November 1967Still Life & Speaking Terms – July 1967Flat Spin – May 1967The Happiest Days of Your Life – February 1967See How They Run – October 1966The Bride and the Batchelor – April 1966Breath of Spring – November 1965Blithe Spirit – November 1964Pools Paradise – May 1964One Man Banned – November 1963Haul for the Shore – November 1962Friends and Neighbours – March 1962Here We Come Gathering – Nov 1961

Previous Productions

Enjoy a drinkafter the show!

Wholesome Homemade Bar FoodEn-suite Accommodation

Award-winning AlesNOW SERVING:

Telephone: 01962 771318

www.flowerpots-inn.co.uk

Dutton Gregory Solicitors26 West StreetAlresfordHampshireSO24 9AQ

nkingsford@duttongregory.co.ukwww.duttongregory.co.uk

Also at Winchester, Southampton, Bournemouth and London

Always afriendlyface in townDutton Gregory partner Nick Kingsford has lived

and worked in the Alresford area for over twenty

years, offering legal services and advice to the

town’s businesses and residents.

Call Nick on 01962 732633 quoting AD12

for a complimentary discussion.

Season’s Greetingsfrom all at

Dutton Gregory

DG_Ad.indd 1 8/11/11 15:47:58

mill farm trees

A Service and Repair Facility for most makes of motor vehicles. Agents for Castrol Classic lubricants.

Please feel free to contact Mike or Shane for your requirements:

Tel: Alresford (01962) 734466 www.servicepointalresford.co.uk

Alder . Ash . Beech . Birch . Blackthorn. Box . Buckthorn . Cherry . Crab Apple . Dogw

ood . Elder . Field Maple . Guelder Rose . H

awthorn . H

azel . Holly . H

ornbeam .

Norway Maple . Lime . Horse Chestnut

. Box

. Bu

ckth

orn

. Che

rry

. Cra

b Ap

ple

. Dog

woo

d . E

lder

. Fi

eld

Map

le .

Guel

der

Rose

. H

awth

orn

. Haz

el .

Hol

ly .

Hor

nbea

m .

Hedging Plants.

Broadleaved Trees.

Native Shrubs.

Winchester01962 862400

www.millfarmtreeswinchester.co.uk

Dutton Gregory Solicitors26 West StreetAlresfordHampshireSO24 9AQ

nkingsford@duttongregory.co.ukwww.duttongregory.co.uk

Also at Winchester, Southampton, Bournemouth and London

Always afriendlyface in townDutton Gregory partner Nick Kingsford has lived

and worked in the Alresford area for over twenty

years, offering legal services and advice to the

town’s businesses and residents.

Call Nick on 01962 732633 quoting AD12

for a complimentary discussion.

Season’s Greetingsfrom all at

Dutton Gregory

DG_Ad.indd 1 8/11/11 15:47:58

Excellent prices on both new and second hand cars.For further details telephone 01962 733097 or visit us at www.ivcuk.com

Belmont House The Dean Alresford Hampshire SO24 9BQ Telephone: 01962 733097 www.ivcuk.com

Selling new and used cars in Hampshire and beyond since 1987

Rarely Advertised, Regularly Sold

Husky Sport | WOR HondaThe Green, Cheriton, Nr Winchester

Hampshire, England SO24 0QATel: (0)1962 771122

huskysport.co.uk | worhonda.co.uk

30 years of service and supply to Southern motorcyclists