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2009
Stags
& Hens
29 Apr
- 1 May 2009, Peterborough High School
Thorpe Road, Peterborough. 8pm
A popular
choice by amdram groups and part of the GCSE drama
curriculum, HATS tackled this play with resounding success
due to clever casting and a realistic set. We chose to set
the play in 1984 which inspired a brilliance of additional
music and costumes.
Directed by Kevin Hughes.
Photos:
Stags & Hens | Backstage
Video:
Promo
Trailer | Set
Build
'Stags
& Hens' by Willy Russell. It's 1984:
Frankie Goes To Hollywood are riding high in the pop charts,
everyone is watching The Young Ones on TV, and Margaret
Thatcher is the most hated woman in Northern England.
A group of girls and local lads venture out for a night of
pre-marriage stag and hen party celebrations to Bransky's
nightclub, somewhere deep in the back-streets of
working-class Liverpool.
The action takes place in the gents and ladies loos, where
Dave and Linda (bride and groom-to-be) have decided,
unbeknownst to each other, to hold their stag and hen
parties. Will either of them be ready for their wedding?
(Produced
by arrangement with Samuel French)
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CAST:
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Linda...............................
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GISELE
RAWLINS
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Maureen..........................
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JULIE
JORDAN
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Bernadette.......................
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HEIDI
SEMPLE
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Carol...............................
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PAMELA
WREN
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Frances............................
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CALLI
ROBERTSON-DUPONT
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| Dave............................... |
ANTHONY
CARD |
| Robbie............................. |
JAMES
CUTHBERT |
| Billy................................. |
MARC
RIGARLSFORD |
| Kav.................................. |
FARRON
HUSSEY |
| Eddy................................ |
MICHAEL
SKINNER |
| Pete................................ |
PHIL
RIGARLSFORD |
| Roadie............................. |
MAURICE
ARNOLD |
 The following
review for 'Stags And Hens' was submitted by our NODA
Eastern Area rep Michael Williamson for the Autumn 2009
edition of 'NODA Eastern Area News':
"Over
the last few years, it has been a great pleasure observing this new
society going on from strength to strength and this production was,
undoubtedly, their finest achievement to date, and a great credit to
Kevin Hughes in his debut role as Director. To begin with, the
setting was well conceived and constructed, creating exactly the
right kind of atmosphere. The music and lighting matched the overall
mood and the large cast worked hard to take us back into the 80s
when George Michael was a young girl’s ultimate dream. There were
some really excellent individual performances and I was particularly
impressed by the solid teamwork of the Hen Party where each
character was thoroughly established and consistently maintained. I
especially loved the facial expressions of Julie Jordan as Maureen,
the confident optimism of Heidi Semple as Bernie and the
philosophical realism of Pamela Wren and Calli Robertson-Dupont.
Among the stags, Michael Skinner was a very convincing Eddy, easily
able to dominate and manipulate his diverse mates. Clear and
sympathetic portrayals here from Farron Hussey as the uneasy Kav and
James Cuthbert and Marc Rigarlsford as the more amusingly
predictable Robbie and Billy. Phil Rigarlsford gave a very sensitive
interpretation of the difficult role of Peter and his guitar
serenade was a highlight of the show. However, much of the success
of any production of ‘Stags and Hens’ relies on the amount of
sympathy that the audience can ultimately feel towards the confused
bride, Linda. In this central role, Giselle Rawlins had a
deceptively quiet start which built up steadily throughout the
evening to a very moving climax. A very enjoyable re-staging of a
familiar classic".
Local
newspaper
reports: 'Drama
group's production is almost sold out',
'Group adds another date to sell-out comedy play',
'Roll
up for spring play'
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