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HOW THE VOTE WAS WON

PRODUCTION DETAILS

 

TITLE: How The Vote Was Won

PERFORMANCE DATES: 17th - 19th May 2018

DIRECTOR: Mike Waters

RUNNING ORDER

 

The Politician and the Suffragette
A Liberal politician - Bob Wells
A suffragette - Linda Baillie
A male steward - Alan Rome

A Change of Tenant (by Helen Margaret Nightingale)
Squire Brooks - Nick Leaf
Keen, the squire’s servant - Linda Baillie
Mrs Basset, a widow - Lisa Valentine
John Smith, the prospective new tenant - Alan Rome

Cautionary Tale in Verse
Sadie Ashton

An Anti-Suffragist, or The Other Side (by Harry Major Paull)
Miss de Lacey - Julia Birkett

 

When Good Queen Bess Was On The Throne (by H. Crawford)
Maudie Spark, Queen of the Comediennes - Astrid Croasdale

Pot and Kettle (by Cicely Hamilton and Christopher St John)
Frederick Brewster - Gary Bateson
Maria Brewster, his wife - Jill Pearson
Marjorie Brewster, their daughter - Nicki Clay 
Nell Roberts, their niece and a suffragette - Linda Baillie
Ernest, Marjorie’s boyfriend - Andrew Faulkes

 

Woman This, and Woman That (by Laurence Housman)
Norma Nicholson

Lisa Valentine

Nicki Clay, 
Sadie Ashton

Julia Birkett

Astrid Croasdale

A Chat with Mrs Chicky (by Evelyn Glover)
Mrs Holbrook - Helen Lawley
Mrs Chicky - Elaine Wells


Beware! A Warning to Suffragists (by Cicely Hamilton)
Nicki Clay

How The Vote Was Won (by Cicely Hamilton and Christopher St John)
Horace Cole, a clerk - Bob Wells
Ethel Cole, his wife - Pat Davison
Winifred, Ethel’s sister and a suffragette - Norma Nicholson
Lily, Horace and Ethel’s maid - Lisa Valentine
Gerald Williams, Horace’s neighbour - Samuel Valentine
Agatha, Horace’s sister and in service as a governess - Jill Pearson
Molly, Horace’s niece - Julia Birkett
Madame Christine, Horace’s distant relation - Linda Baillie
Maudie Spark, Horace’s first cousin - Astrid Croasdale
Lizzie Wilkins, Horace’s aunt - Helen Lawley
Newspaper seller - Gary Bateson

Rise Up Women (by Theodora Mills)
Sung by all the women

 

Click HERE for production programme

SYNOPSIS

A cabaret evening of original plays, verses and songs to celebrate the centenary of women getting the vote (some of them, anyway!)

 

CHAIR’S PRODUCTION NOTES

Welcome to our May production of How The Vote Was Won. 

The idea for an evening of suffrage pieces was first mooted by Mike Waters a couple of years ago; he convinced the membership it would tie in perfectly with the suffrage centenary during 2018. Furthermore, his preferred pieces offered an abundance of acting opportunities, something which a regular play cannot always provide. 

During the early stages of rehearsals, Mike was keen to enlighten the group with all things ‘suffragette-y’! He disseminated his in-depth knowledge of the suffrage movement with a multitudinous array of historical research, some of which you may find contained within the programme. Please take home with you for further bedtime reading. There will be no exam to sit afterwards!

When we rehearse a regular play, we block each scene and then rehearse page by page, increasing to a full scene and then a full Act, ending with a full run during the last few weeks. It wasn’t as straightforward this time around. Mike had to coordinate eleven pieces and seventeen actors with multiple crossovers and all within the same rehearsal period; and it was his first time directing with The Monday Players. 

Well done Mike! It will all be worth the hours of planning and preparation. Time for you to enjoy a drink at the bar and enjoy the rewards of an appreciative audience!

The gratitude I feel towards those who battled for the rights of women has grown immensely during this process, as it has for others. Where we are now, a hundred years on, is remarkable, however there are still battles going on right now for women with the gender pay gap, #MeToo movement and Time’s Up movement; the ironic timing of this has not gone unnoticed. 

On a cheerier note, I hope you partake in a drink or two (or more) and enjoy another value for money evening! 

The Monday Players would like to thank Anita and Barrie Shipley for organising and running the bar. 

And finally... thank you to our audience, sponsors, village hall users and village hall committee for your continued support and patronage. It is, as always, greatly appreciated. Enjoy the show!
 

Nicki Clay

Photos taken by Nancy Waters

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