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40 Years On: November 2014

By Alan Bennett

'40 Years On' programme cover

Newspaper review

Sheringham Players' directors Bernice Escott and Moya Leighton met playwright Alan Bennett at a book signing in Holt, and their inspiring exchange led to this show.

Bennett penned the script in the late 1960s and it includes some very funny parodies of great British writers, notably Oscar Wilde, T.E. Lawrence, Virginia Woolf and Max Beerbohm.

Each little sketch builds into a larger play following the memories and literary loves of a retiring headmaster.

John Standish as the venerable pedagogue is truly brilliant, not least because he manages to keep track of his speeches and the rest of the action on stage as well.

Escott and Leighton's directing brings an effortless flow to the action which feels just right.

The seventeen-strong cast really work their socks off and clearly love the material.

This rare outing of Bennett's early play was a treat.

Eve Stebbing

 

Scroll down for photos, cast and crew.

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Cast Backstage
Headmaster: John Standish Director: Bernice Escott
Franklin: Tim Travers Assistant Director: Moya Leighton
Tempest: Guy Bartle Stage Manager: Matthew Warrington
Matron: Laura Williamson Assistant Stage Manager: Bernie Alexandrou
Miss Nisbitt: Thelma Torr Prompt: Hazel Randall
Mr. Romulus: John Meikle Set and Design: Kees Van Woerkom, David Moore
Music Teacher: Sarah Mapes Costumes: Sheringham Community Wardrobe
Caretaker: Matthew Warrington Lighting: Matt Coomber
Foster: Chris Balding Photographs: Ben Britton
Charteris: Sam Cobbold Promotional Material: James Travers
Wigglesworth: Tyler Jones Runner: Rosie Gilding
Wimpenney: Shai Ashkenazi  
Rumbold: Chloe Annison  
Lord: Michael O'Driscoll  
Leadbetter: Harry Gilding-Hewitt  
Tredgold: Tieran Cain  
Crabtree: Mat Coomber  
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