Written By
A play adapted for stage by Derek Web, from the novel by Roy Horniman, upon which the Ealing Comedy was based.
Where and When
15th – 17th October 2026 @ The Tivoli Theatre, Wimborne
The Plot
Archie Gascoyne-Williams would have been heir to an Earldom, had his mother not married beneath her station. Archie, however, never lets a little thing like that stop him from getting what he wants, which is why he hatches a plan to get to the top of the family tree. But that kind of work, well, it can be murder: six of them in fact!
Directed by Michelle Barter, an amateur production by arrangement with Stagescripts Ltd.
Ticket Info
Online Ticket £20.35 eve / £18.15 Matinee (includes £1.85/£1 .65 online booking fee)
Box Office Ticket £18.50 eve / £16.50 Matinee
1 in 10 free all performances (available via Box Office only)Box Office Ticket £18.50 eve / £16.50 Matinee
Cast
- Archie – James Riley
- Grahame – Cameron Elliot
- Lionel – James Turrall
- Sibella et al – Nicole Wyatt
- Gascoynes – Sam Moulton
- Doubling Males
- Malachi Pike
- Neil Sutherland
- David Beddard-Banks
- Colin Pile
- Doubling Females
- Kira Bradford
- Trish Ruff
- Charlie Cash
- Natasha Galton
Creative Team
- Director – Michelle Barter
- Stage Manager – Suzanne Viney
- Props – Dee Hawes and Charlie Cash
- ASMs – Anthony Cutler, Colin Pile and Richard Scotson
- Sound – Nick Clark
- Visuals – Nick Clark and Kevin Barnes
- Costumes – Heather Birchenough and Tracey Clark
- Costume Assistants – Boo Feltham and Sali Pike
- Prompt – Pat Adams
For The Tivoli
- Lighting – Josh Bridley
- Technician – Kieran Ray
Gallery
Reviews
Scene1+ – Jon Cockeram
Have you ever heard of six degrees of separation? It’s the idea that any two people on this earth are connected by a chain of six or fewer personal acquaintances; In Kind Hearts and Coronets, originally a book and then a 1949 film starring Alec Guinness, we see this idea take on a particularly murderous slant. Archie Gascoyne-Williams is very aware that six people stand between him and the title of Earl of Gascoyne, an earldom which might have been his if his mother had not married beneath her station. However, there’s nothing to stop that number … reducing, if Archie can have his way. And so begins our darkly tale, narrated by Archie himself reading his memoirs out loud from his prison cell; in that sense, the ending has already been written, but exactly how Archie gets to this point is a journey indeed.
Archie is played by James Riley, who has the lion’s share of the lines in this play – and by that, I mean a good 80%, if not more. As the narrator, Archie laughs in the face of the fourth wall as he looks to us as he reads from his memoir, entirely unrepentant in telling us his deeds in his own charming way. James does a great job with this character, making him very likeable, though he can be a little on the shouty side and he did occasionally stumble over some of his lines when reading from the book – I’d chalk these up to opening night nerves.
The other main part in this is done by Sam Moulton, who has the unenviable task of playing all of the Gascoynes that meet their end in various different ways. Sam’s managed to do an excellent job of making every single one feel different, not just in look (aided by a number of different outfits and sets of facial hair), but also in mannerisms and ways of talking; not an easy task, and it’s done with aplomb.
Everyone else play their parts very well, especially the people in doubling roles which sees them portraying various characters as the story unfolds, be that policemen, pub patrons, blacksmiths, church congregationists and many, many more. They all help bring the scenes to life, and boy howdy are there a lot of them!
The play is essentially a sequence of short vignettes, snapshots of Archie’s life; this means that there’s a lot of people going on and off stage, along with much shifting of furniture, done by a plethora of backstage people (and the occasional characters) who did an excellent job. This is helped by the use of projected backgrounds to convey the scenes, but I can’t help but feel that the pauses in between some of the scenes were a little protracted; not helped by the fact that I think some of the lighting and sound cues seemed to be a bit delayed as well, but I’m sure that this will improve as the show continues its run.
Overall, director Michelle Barter and her team have done a great job of bringing this play to life. Kind Hearts and Coronets continues at the Tivoli Theatre, Wimborne, until 17th October and is a great watch – I’d be a little cautious if you were a Gascoyne though!
Dorset View – Marilyn Barber
Made famous by the 1940s Ealing comedy film, this story of Archie Gascoyne-Williams who plans to murder six of his relatives in order to accede to an earldom was always going to be a difficult one to stage as it requires multiple scenes. The only way round it was instead of scenery to have filmed backcloths depicting stately homes, churches and grand sitting rooms, with items of furniture being moved onto the stage as required.
And on the whole it worked pretty well, giving the audience the required sense of grandeur that Archie aspired to.
It was a huge lead role for James Riley who was on stage all of the time, and he depicted the rascally would-be Earl with just the right amount of sang-froid with a measure of menace. He also interacted well with the audience.
There was great characterisation from Sam Moulton who had to portray all the prospective heirs in a variety of different guises, which were so good it was hard to believe it was the same actor.
James Turall put in a spirited performance as Archie’s love rival Lionel, as did Nicole Wyatt in her first acting role with the group as the objects of his affections. Cameron Elliot was confident as Archie’s friend Grahame.
Malachi Pike, David Beddard-Banks, Colin Pile, Kira Bradford, Trish Ruff, Charlie Cash and Natasha Galton each had multiple roles that required them to assume a wide variety of identities which they did with aplomb.
Once again this company has proved it isn’t afraid to tackle a challenging play, so plaudits to director Michelle Barter who spent 20 years as a theatre professional before joining the company a decade ago.
Programme
