2003 productions

15–17 May 2003

Absent Friends

By Alan Ayckbourn

Colin’s old friends are holding a tea party to comfort him after the death of his fiancée, but try as they might to steer the conversation away from her, he is more than willing to talk about their short time together and show his photo collection to everyone.

What Colin is blindly unaware of is that the perfect lives he imagines they are all living are a sham and behind the forced smiles over the sandwiches, lies a seething mass of jealousy, anger and frustration. Tension starts to boil over and maybe Colin isn't the one who needs help… with friends like these, who needs enemies?


9–11 October 2003

Holiday Snap

By Michael Pertwee and John Chapman

A Portuguese time-share villa has been double-booked, unknown to the company Rep, the myopic tippler Commander “Chitto” Chittenden.

When Mary and Henry arrive shortly after Eve and Leslie, Chitto manages to remain unaware that there is more than one couple on the scene. The confusion is compounded when each couple mistakes the other for the servants.

Henry seems to have the upper hand as he discovers that Eve isn't married to Leslie, but when Henry's mother-in-law arrives it becomes clear that Henry isn't with his wife either and he has to bribe the other couple to impersonate his alibi, Sir Piers and Lady Marchbanks. It looks as though things might work out until the real Sir Piers arrives, followed by Henry's real wife.

22–25 January 2003

Sleeping Beauty

By Norman Robbins

In the land of Entertainia life is good and everyone lives in peace and harmony, especially now that the King and Queen have been blessed with a baby, the Princess Aurora.

But when the King and Queen invite all the fairies to their daughters christening but forget to invite the evil Carabosse, in her fury she casts a wicked spell that when the princess turns 16 she will prick her finger on a spinning wheel and die. Fortunately our beautiful princess has a magical fairy Godmother; who casts a counter spell that means the princess shall not die but fall into a deep sleep, only to be awakened by her one true love after 100 years.

The king decides to outlaw all spinning wheels to thwart the evil spell, but Carabosse tricks the Princess into using a spinning wheel and she pricks her finger bringing the spell to life.

With the aid of Tickles the Jester's time machine, him and Nurse Ammonia Goodbody travel forward in time 100 years to bring the Prince back to save the Princess, but with most of Tickles' inventions failing spectacularly things don't go to plan.