The recent play performed by the Bovey Tracey Players,”Fahrenheit and Celsius” by James Gillingham, is very topical and also has a local connection. The author grew up locally and is also the son of Ann, chairman of the Players and Nigel who has directed the production.

No doubt the issues and frictions encountered by local people when wind turbines are to be erected in their countryside will be experienced in many locations in the future.

The play’s five characters are strongly portrayed. Yvette, the fading TV presenter is played with flair and great style by Kirstyn Munro. Jerome, portrayed by David Scott, who is totally opposed to the “white monstrosities” gives a strong and commanding performance, and his relationship with his daughter, Laura, shows paternal concern and uncertainty. Laura, played with great sensitivity by Jenny Connelly, has formed a relationship with David, played with confused exasperation by Mark Dunn. The comedy content is expertly delivered by Alex, portrayed by David Cartwright, whose attempts to help his friend David don’t always go to plan.

Overall this was an entertaining and interesting production with excellent special effects by stage, sound and lighting crews. Congratulations to all concerned.

Photos courtesy of Bim Photography

Shelagh Stephenson’s 1996 play The Memory of Water explores the fractured relationships between three sisters on the eve of their mother’s funeral.

David Wilson’s production with the Bovey Tracey Players gave the good-sized audience plenty to enjoy with moments of both excellent comedy and plausible and affecting pathos.

Jenny Connelly played Mary the eldest of the three sisters with an air of weary sadness and it is to her credit that the scenes shared with both her lover, performed with admirable confidence by Mark Dunn and the ghost of her late mother, played with an affecting melancholic tone by Liz Parr, gave an altogether different, more vulnerable side to the character that was hidden in the scenes with her sisters.

The two younger sisters were performed by Su Kaye as Theresa and Lisa Huet as Catherine both of whom gave contrasting but equally impressive interpretations of these pivotal characters, the latter giving the play some vital energy and comic relief.

The production had many highlights including a wonderful scene between Teresa and her husband Frank, who was played with clarity and perfectly judged restraint by Mark Godwin, but was never more moving than in its final moments as Mary, unable to escape the persistent, eroding effects of her own memories, prepares to face the remainder of her life alone.

This was an excellent play very well performed by its cast; a brave choice perhaps for a local drama group but one that was amply rewarded.

I look forward to 2011 and another successful season by the Bovey Tracey Players, beginning with its traditional pantomime ‘Dick Whittington’ directed by Juliet Harper.

David Wilson directed our spring production, a thriller called “The price to pay”. This play was entered into the South Devon Drama Federation Festival and the wash-up evening was a great success with a very high standard from all entries. The Players recieved two nominations for best supporting actor – James Harper and Darren Parr, Darren was the lucky recipient of the award for his portrayal of the truculant police Sergeant.

The Players’ latest production in the Town Hall was “The Price to Pay” by Ian Hornby, a thriller in which Laura, an ‘ordinary housewife’,  is kidnapped  by Dianne and Benny to ensure that Laura’s husband Roger,  will help them steal his firm’s payroll.  We haven’t put on a thriller for a long time now, so ‘The Price to Pay’ made a welcome change.  The play was entered for the South Devon Drama Festival.  With a split set – one half Roger and Laura’s suburban house and the other a barn – the director and crew had quite a challenge but the result was a great success and received praise from Peter Reeves the adjudicator.

The cast:  Juliet Harper (Laura), James Harper (Benny), Liz Parkyn (Maria), Darren Parr (Dave), Sarah Mallett (Diane) and Jenny Connelly (Carol).   The cast was a mixture of experienced actors and relative newcomers to the Town Hall stage (this was only Jenny’s second appearance with us) and also welcomed David Wilson to the Players as Director.  Although it was his first time Directing with us, David is an ‘old hand’ at directing and acting with TOADS and other groups.  Thank you David.

Peter Reeves was very complimentary about the whole production and awarded Darren ‘Best Supporting Actor’ at the ‘Wash-up’ last Sunday.  Congratulations to all.

The Players’ Autumn production for 2008 was ‘Blue Remembered Hills’ by Dennis Potter, presented in the Town Hall at the end of October. Set in the Westcountry in the Summer of 1943, it is the story of seven children – convincingly played by adults! Juliet’s creative direction allowed the audience to immerse themselves in the play and forget that they were not actually watching seven year olds upon the stage! It made for uncomfortable watching at times as the different characters of the children were so believable and consistently played that we were often able to empathise with them. The actors threw themselves into the role, quite literally in some cases, and how some of them did not get hurt is amazing! Using real children at the start and close of the play was a powerful tool which added to the poignancy of the ending with such effectiveness that the audience was mesmerised and for some time just sat in their seats, in quiet reflection. Congratulations must go to Juliet for another stunning production and to her talented cast.

We have Nigel Gillingham to thank for the Spring production. Due to unforeseen circumstances we could not put on Farenheit and Celsius as originally planned so Nigel bravely stepped in and offered to direct Outside Edge by Richard Harris, and what a success it was! A real ‘bums on seats’ comedy; Outside Edge attracted an audience of more than 350 over its four night run, all of whom went out with smiles on their faces. It also gave us the opportunity to welcome some new faces to the Players’ stage and also welcome back some familiar faces from past productions – returning to us after many years. Of course it was also a pleasure to see some of our stalwart ‘regulars’. Sarah Mallett who played Maggie is a newcomer to the players, as is Su Kaye who played Sharon. We hope that these were the first of many appearances on the Bovey stage. Darren Parr made a welcome return after his last appearance in ‘The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe’ two years ago. More recently we have become used to seeing Bob, Kevin and Bim appearing in Pantomime so it was good to see them in a straight play (after 17 years for Kevin!), whereas Liz has recently become a more familiar figure at the piano at our cabarets – nice to see you acting again Liz! Kirsten last appeared on stage for the Players in ‘Charlie’s Aunt’ as a teenager! It is great to have her back on stage in a superb performance as Mim, appearing undaunted by such a demanding role. Timing is of the essence in such a complicated play and this was seemingly effortlessly achieved, giving a slick and pacey production. This would not have been possible without the convincing sound effects which, together with Bernie’s set (complete with very realistic grass), added to credibility of the evening. We have come to expect a professional standard from the Players and certainly this production did not disappoint – congratulations to everyone! ……….. Patricia Berry

Bouncers was our Autumn production for 2007 and our entry into the SDDF festival. All four actors received nominations for best supporting actor, Mark Godwin, David Cartwright, Michael Geldard and the eventual winner, Sean Arberry. Well done to all and of course to the Director, Juliet harper.

Three one act plays, very different in style but with a linking theme of confusion, loss and distress, caused by words, spoken and unspoken. The Monkey’s Paw is a creepy tale of avarice, curses and ghosts, a warning to us all to be happier with our lot. Early Blight, a short play from the Deckchairs collection, is about the manipulation of another person’s life. And lastly, Sliced was written by James Gillingham, a member of the Players. It is a moving account of life after a death, a time when we realise that we didn’t ask enough questions or give enough answers, when we wish we had talked a bit more about the things that mattered to us.

LWW, as it became to be known, had nearly sixty people in the cast/crew list although the actual number of people involved was nearer to seventy. Enough white muslin to go around the world twice was used to create the winter wonderland of Narnia, director Juliet Harper and a cast of thirty created a little bit of magic in BT town hall.

Ten Times Table. For a better view of the programme right click your mouse and use the zoom, I will try for a better copy later. A super picture of the cast, clearly enjoying their costumes, or someone has just fallen over at the back of the hall.

As you can see from the programme, if you look closely, Two for One had a combined cast of nineteen, pretty good for two one act plays. I cant find a review so if you would like to submit a retrospective review then go to contacts and e-mail me. I have a vague memory of the plays that included some disco dancing, padded stomachs and a lot of pathos, or was that the Ghost Train?

W Somerset Maugham’s The Noble Spaniard was billed as a comedy and looking at the cast photos it certainly made me laugh.