Written By
L. Du Carde Peach and Ian Hay
Where and When
12th – 14th November 1964 @ Church House, Wimborne
The Plot
This impious comedy is about a family of well-to-do crooks who are shocked when the son, an excellent forger, quits the fold to go straight. The reason is not long hidden: he has met a girl. He takes a job in a bank (his forged references are excellent). The family makes every effort to get him back into his ancestral profession, to no avail, until it is discovered that his fiancée, the daughter of a Scotland Yard inspector, is a first-class safe-breaker. The white sheep is happy to reenter the fold, and the family welcomes their talented new daughter-in-law. Half the fun of the play is the way in which the members of the family rationalize their trade on the basis of free enterprise economics.
Cast
- Alice Winter – Peggy Lewis
- Jane (The Maid) – Gill Lucas
- James Winter – Arthur Brooks
- Pat Winter (his daughter) – Rita Stuckey
- Asst. Commissioner – Tim Eling
- The Vicar – Sam Fawcett
- Sam Jackson – Michael Webb
- Peter Winter (Jame’s Son) – Russ Guillaume
- Angela Preston (Peter’s fiancee) – Pat Wood
Creative Team
- Producers – Donald Waterfield and Muriel Brooks
- Prompt – Muriel Brooks
- Stage Manager – Miss H. M. Coles and Thelma Dryden
- Lighting – Dennis Curran, Vera Conway and Miss H. M. Coles
- Wardrobe – Esme Hembest and Stella Tory
- Properties – Thelma Dryden and Sheila Scadding
- Make Up – Douglas Treharne
- House and Business Manager – Edmund Henbest
Gallery
Reviews
A Play For The Chucklers
Surely one of the jolliest three act productions staged by Wimborne drama Club in recent years. That is my verdict on their comedy The White Sheep of the Family staged for three nights in the Church House, Wimborne last week.
It was an ideal show for the “chucklers” in the audience; raucous laughter was as out of place as a wrong entry in appreciating the subtle humour.
The story of the son of a family of criminals who quits forging and crime for the straight and narrow all for the love of a policeman’s daughter, only to discover she was an accomplished safe-breaker , kept the stalls well pleased and smiling.
Producer David Waterfield did well with his casting of some tricky parts but it was generally allround acting ability from this little band of amateurs which made it a success. Two of them were outstanding – one for the way he got laughs and the other for his handling of a long part. As an absent minded Vicar Sam Fawcett was ideal. He is normally landed with this type of part and thrives on the opportunities it presents. I fell taht it is enough to say that he was well applauded each time he left the stage and laughed at when he frequently reappeared.
The weight of the show fell on the broad shoulders of Arthur Brooks as the father of the disreputable family with its thouroughly reputable appearances. He was a church wardne and J.P. and among his friends was a top-notch in the police force. Mr Brooks hardly left the stage and coped with some difficult speeches with imposing assurance. He was truly the head of thehouse and, apart from one or two forgotten words, master of his part.
The power of the play was provided by half a dozen in the cast. Alice Winter, the mother and an expert at “picking things up” and daughter Rita Stuckey – the most charming of pick pockets – had very similar parts. The added poise and polish to the family scenes.
Then there was the shame of the family, the son (Russ Guillaume) who took a job in the bank to leave crime temporarily, and policeman’s daughter Pat Wood. They were good. Ebullient Michael Webb as the fence made neat work of his first part in amateur dramatics; maid Gill Lucas shows good promise for the future and Tim Eling as the ploiceman and the only “honest” one of the cast, apart from the vicar, did his short part well.
My one big criticism was the lighting. The shadows on backcloth and ceiling were more suited to a horror show and the shadows thrown across the faces of the cast were, at times, very annoying. The rest of the set, however, was very well put together on the small stage.
Assistant producer an prmpter Muriel Brooks and the rest of the backstage hands were: Stage Manager – Miss H. M. Coles and Thelma Dryden; Lighting – Dennis Curran and Miss H. M. Coles assisted by Vera Conway; Wardrobe – Esme Hembest and Stella Tory; Properties – Thelma Dryden and Sheila Scadding; Make Up – Douglas Treharne; House and Business Manager – Edmund Henbest.
EFFECTIVE TEAMWORK IN WIMBORNE COMEDY
Wimborne Drama Club scored heavily last week with a presentation, at Church House of ‘The White Sheep of the Family’ – the well-known comedy (by L. du Garde Peach and Ian Hay) of a Son who lets his ‘crook’ family down, by going straight and becoming engaged to the daughter of an assistant commissioner of police !
Arthur Brooks, Peggy Lewis and Rita Stuckey were teamed effectively as James and Alice Winter and their daughter, Pat, and made the most of their arduous parts, which necessitated their being on Stage for most of the play.
Sam Fawcett kept the audience rocking in his frequent appearances as the muddled ‘vicar’ earning a round of applause at every exit; and Michael Webb’s Sam Jackson was an excellent characterisation, notable for vigorous attack.
Vivacity
Russ Guillaume was convincing as the ‘White Sheep’, Peter Winter; and Pat Wood played brilliantly as his fiancee, Angela Preston – her vivacity and sincerity steering the play clear of the third-act ‘trap’, at which it
tends to sag. Tim Eling and Gill Lucas gave capable support as assistant Commissioner Preston and the maid, Janet.
Donald Waterfield produced, assisted by Muriel Brooks, who prompted. Miss H. M. Coles, who stage-managed, was responsible for the attractive setting, and she and Dennis Curran arranged the lighting, assisted by Vera Conway. Esme Henbest and Stella Tory were wardrobe mistresses; Thelma Dryden and
Sheila Scadding looked after properties; Douglas Treharne was make-up artist, and Robert Tomlinson provided interval music. Edmund Henbest was house and business manager.
Programme
