Look Sharp, Ginger!

AuthorLucy Flannery

Lucy Flannery is an award-winning writer with credits in theatre, radio, film, TV, fiction and non-fiction. She leads playwriting courses at Chichester Festival Theatre and is a member of the Writers' Guild of Great Britain Audio Committee. Lucy lives in central Havant, very close to The Spring and so is always last to arrive at rehearsals. She is a member of a Bench-heavy Playwrights Group which meets regularly to try out new work, provide constructive feedback and complain about getting caught at the level crossing.

Although the Bench Theatre has performed many of Lucy's one act plays, including two in the previous Supernova9 production, this is the first full length play of Lucy's the Bench has performed.

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The Bench Production

This play was staged at The Spring Arts and Heritage Centre (formerly Havant Arts Centre), East Street Havant - Bench Theatre's home since 1977.

Cast

Pearl	Katy Bailey
Jerry	Elly Willats
Ginger	Jeff Bone
Mabel	Tasmin Halford
Lady Osborne	Laura Sheppard
Miss Strang	Roger Niven
Mellors	Jaspar Utley
Mabel	Tasmin Halford
John Mills	Gilbert Downs
Reverend Peabody	Jaspar Utley
Hilda	Sally Hartley
Bert	Alan Welton
Mrs Miniver	Sally Hartley
Mr Ballard	Pete Woodward
Winston Churchill	Alan Welton
First Judge	Pete Woodward
Second Judge	Emma Parkin
Parker	Alan Welton
A Society Lady	Sally Hartley
Another Society Lady	Emma Parkin
Newspaper Seller	Pete Woodward
A Schoolmistress	Emma Parkin
Another Schoolmistress	Laura Sheppard
Home Guard Captain	Pete Woodward
Train Guard	Alan Welton
Schoolgirls	Members of the Cast
Home Guard	Members of the Cast
Old Lags	Members of the Cast

Production Team

Directors	Roger Niven, Lucy Flanney & Laura Sheppard
Producer	Jeff Bone
Stage Manager	Tasmin Halford
Lighting Design	Thomas Hall
Lighting Operator	Ian Banachowicz
Sound Design	Laura Sheppard
Sound Operator	Paul Millington
Handbill Design	Laura Sheppard
Programme Editor	Derek Callam
Photography	Caitlin Green
Front of House Manager	Ingrid Corrigan
Front of House	Members of the Company

Director's Notes

When we were looking for a play to stage in November, there were several options available to us. Laura, Roger and Lucy came together to stage Lucy’s play 'Look Sharp, Ginger!' and to direct it as a team. To have three directors on a project is most unusual. It has been a pleasure to work together, and our shared vision for the project enabled us to speak with one voice. We were drawn to the project because it was a funny script that required careful staging and a creative cast.

'Look Sharp, Ginger!' is a fabulous comedy that satirises a host of beloved films from the 1940s and 50s. Everything from Brief Encounter to ‘Allo ‘Allo gets the rise taken out of it. Part of the fun for the audience is to spot the references.

We decided to adapt the original stage play into a live radio performance. This means that the cast deliver their lines, script in hand, as they would were they on the Light Programme. This approach has welcomed back Bench members who hadn’t acted for some time or had retired from performing - a wonderful bonus for us as directors, and we’re thrilled with the performances they’re giving. It also captures the spirit of the piece. A madcap race to unmask villains and spies and to get home in time for tea.

We are also delighted to introduce three new members to the Bench—Katy Bailey as Pearl, Elly Willats as Jerry and Gilbert Downs as Able Seaman John Mills. They are very talented, fun people to work with, and we look forward to working with them again.

'Look Sharp, Ginger!' is a riotous romp full of wit and visual comedy - the perfect dose of laughter and light-hearted fun as winter draws in.

Laura Sheppard, Roger Niven and Lucy Flannery (Co-Directors)

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