Review of LotSW 1983 Summer Show from "Stage" paper

PKDurham

Active Member
I posted this on the Summerwinos blog, but thought you might like to see it here.

It's the review, from The Stage newspaper, of the first summer season of the LotSW play at Eastbourne, dated August 11th 1983

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The cast was

Peter Sallis as Clegg
Bill Owen as Compo
Jane Freeman as Ivy
Jonathan Linsley as Crusher (described as Hilariously frightening)
Jean Fergusson as Marina

Plus in this first version
Kenneth Waller as Howard
Jean Trend as Pearl
Lucy Aran as Glenda (crushers punk girlfriend, presumably not the same Glenda as later appeared, judging by the accompanying picture lol
 
Thanks for this, so the young damsel's name is Glenda. Roy Clarke obviously liked that name.
 
Does anyone know if there are any other picture's the stage show on a website anywhere?
 
Yes, thanks for that article. There doesn't seem to be a lot out there regarding that play, which ran for two summer seasons and ended up giving the show four characters. I've never even seen a detailed summary of the plot.
 
I found two bills for two of the stage shows they did , after Eastbourne seems it moved to Bournemouth then in 1985 there was a second show Compo plays Cupid that played at Blackpool Grand theatre . More research to be undertaken .

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I have searched extensively and there seems to be no published play for the one in Eastbourne or Bournemouth. The only published play being the one which adapts the novel The Moonbather.
 
I looked through You tube which is probably the most likely source but to no avail . The problem is they were staged in 1984/1985 and we didn't have the personal based technology available to film stage shows like people do now, plus, it's not something the BBC or any other Broadcaster would cover other than possibly as a news item. Even then it would probably be a regional broadcaster who cover the areas where the Theatres are located . If you were lucky you may have seen the merest snippet of the show on that report .
 
Agree - the performance will be lost. However some one must have a copy of the actual script used at the time. It was probably never published as such so unlikely to even be a copy at the British Museum or the Bodleian Library (both places where a copy of all written material is meant to be deposited). Shame my Bodleian Library ticket has expired otherwise I could have checked!
 
It was based on a play written by Clarke so presumably at least that version of the script should be available.
 
It was based on a play written by Clarke so presumably at least that version of the script should be available.
Only if some one has kept it. There would not be that many copies - presumably one for each actor and stage crew and Roy Clarke would presumably have a copy - somewhere. Not sure what happens at the end of a run - they might well be collected up and held by an agent.

It would likely not be bound as such so not a published document with an ISBN - therefore in deed, lost. Maybe only Roy Clarke has it - and I do not think he has released his material to an archive unlike, say, Alan Bennett.
 
I've found another review, this time of the second run in 1984 at Bournemouth. Another good photo too, basically the same setup of publicity shot as the first review, but this time with Caroline Dennis who played the role of the punk rocker Glenda in that second run.

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I've found another review, this time of the second run in 1984 at Bournemouth. Another good photo too, basically the same setup of publicity shot as the first review, but this time with Caroline Dennis who played the role of the punk rocker Glenda in that second run.

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Tantalising is it not. If only we could see the script but alas not very likely ....
 
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