Written By
Brian J. Burton, Mrs. Henry Wood
Where and When
13th November 1971 @ The Church House, Wimborne
The Plot
Lady Isabel is cunningly seduced by the villain into believing that the clandestine meetings of her husband and another woman are for romance rather than business. In despair, she abandons home and children, only to come back in later years disguised as a governess to her own children and to die in her husband’s arms in heartbroken penitence and forgiveness.
Cast
- Lady Isabel – Linda Pawley
- Francis Levison – John Anthony
- Archibald Carlyle – Graham Brown
- Cornelia – Janine Brockes
- Lord Mountsevern – Frank Meekum
- Barbara Hare – Patricia Marlow
- Richard Hare – Alan Guillaume
- Joyce – Elizabeth Anthony
- Wilson – Iris Platt
Creative Team
- Producer – Arthur Brooks
- Stage Manager – Anthony Pawley
- ASM – Alan Lewis and Ian Raeburn
- Prompt – Jennifer Waring
- Costumes – Thelma Dryden
- Properties – Sheila Chevlin
- Business and Front of House – Edward Mickleborough, Janine Brockes, Arthur Brooks, Mike Waring and Ted Henbest.
Gallery
Reviews
Little Willie, Though Unseen, Got Many Laughs
East Lynne without Little Willie: it was like Hamlet without the Prince! Though probably few members of the ‘invited’ audiences who saw Wimborne Drama Club’s production of Mrs Henry Wood’s centry-old tear-jerker at Church House last week-end were old enough to know what they were missing.
For the last Wimborne audiences to see East Lynne saw it performed on the ‘Green Man’ site 50 years ago, by a ‘stock’ company which presented T.A. Palmer’s version. And Little Willie then seemed destined to share immortality with Little Lord Fauntleroy, Little Eva(‘Uncle Tom’s Cabin) and Eric (or ‘Little by Little’) – his harrowing death being the high spot of the play.
But in the Brian J Burton production, which the Drama Club presented, Willie remains throughout an ‘offstage allusion’ bodying forth only in the closing moments, in the well worn tag (written by Palmer and not by Mrs Wood): ‘dead … dead … and never called me mother!’.
Maybe the audience didnt know much about Willie; but they knew that line. And it’s utterance by the expiring Lady Isabel (Linda Pawley) – who like King Charles II, took ‘an unconscionale time a-dying,’ was greeted with a roar of approval, and loud applause.
No-one was disconcerted by this however, for wisely deciding to play the outrageous melodrama ‘for the laughs’ and, in the programme, invited their public to ‘enter into the spirit of the presentation’. They responded with a will, punctuating the performance with ‘ooh’s and a-ah’s’, ‘boo’s’ and groans; hissing the suavely villanous Francis Levison (John Anthony); cheering the virtuous Archibald Carlyle (Graham Brown); and weeping with the ‘innocent, wronged heroine’ – though their tears for Lady I were of laughter, rather than compassion!
Playing as ‘straight’ as was possible – having regard to the preposterous ‘asides’ and other outmoded conventions – Janine Brockes was convincingly tyrannical as Archibald’s sister, Cornelia; and Frank Meekum was a pompous Lord Mountsevern. Patricia Marlow was a tenacious Barbara Hare, out to ‘get her man’; And Alan Guillaume was suitably dithery as her misjudged brother, Richard. Elizabeth Anthony and Iris Platt gave strong support as the maids, Joyce and Wilson.
An extremely well-designed setting and first-rate ‘period’ costumes created an authentic ‘atmosphere’ for the conventional productional directed by Arthur Brooks and Anthony Pawley – the later also acting as stage manager, assisted by Alan Lewis and Ian Raeburn. Jennifer Waring prompted; Thelma Dryden – who made most of the ladies’ costumes – was wardrobe mistress; and Sheila Chevlin was property mistress. Business and Front of House duties were shared by Edward Mickleborough, Janine Brockes, Arthur Brooks, Mike Waring and Ted Henbest
Programme
