Is it just another day in the Garden Veiw residential home? The Mob, some Geordie lads, a few fairies and the 'Screaming Monkey' all conspire to make this a day the residents will never forget. Who knows what lurks at the bottom of your garden! This curious tale is full of laughs and music - another inventive play presented by the the CYT junior group players.
Russian Gangsters:
Ivan.....Jacob Viner
Olga....Flora Harvey
Gorky.... James Thomas
English Gangsters:
Jackie Connor... Annabel Adcock
Chesney....Archie Cornwall
Nodge......Tom Harvey
Doug....Harry Hall
Fairies:
Bluebell....Vanessa Thomas
Primrose.....Emily Rooke
Foxglove......Martha Cornwall
Honeysuckle......Becky Bouston
Oldies:
Steven..... Freddie Goff
Major...Henry Hyde
Agnes....Katie Lloyd
Beryl...Eliza Nenadich
Doreen...Molly Piggott
Hilda...Loren Merell
Carers:
Mary....Harriet Stack
Sophie....Oliva Webb
Dawn...Isla Gordon
Geordies:
Davy...Mark Oliver
Billy......Josh Skyrme
Director ....Libby Vale
Sound; Mark Cornwall
Lighting...Boz Farey and Lawrence Hall
Costumes....Barbara Hockley, Libby Vale & Cast
Props....Derry Hall
Poster artwork by Martha Cornwall
Photos by Jim Rolt
OTR Review
Last Month the Junior Section of the Conquest Youth Theatre brought us an eclectic collection of old people, fairies, the Russian mafia, clubbers and football fans in a show called The Things They Don’t Know by Pete Thorogood and Julian Barnicoat. Assembling these groups into a coherent play must have been a delicious challenge for the authors, and meant that every actor had a wide choice of parts to choose from, to suit their own particular talent.
Remarkably, the plot was not only quite logical, but also managed a twist at the end that surely nobody could have seen coming. It seemed to hinge around some shady Eastern European gangsters, led most convincingly by the diminutive Jake Viner in wide shouldered suit and dark glasses, and their attempt to recover some stolen Fabergé jewellery, which had been traced to the garden of an Old People’s Home. The doyenne of the residents was Molly Piggot, and if she was imitating life in her performance she must have some remarkable elderly relations. Obviously, the there were fairies at the bottom of the garden, a punky quartet led by Emily Rooke, and only one batty old lady (a sensitive performance by Katie Lloyd) could see them. The Russians enlisted the feisty Annabel Adcock, owner of the Flying Monkey nightclub, to carry out the raid, which was only foiled by the appearance of a couple of drunken Geordies, who maintained their accents surprising well. In the end it turned out that in fact the target of the mafia boss had been his long-lost brother, another resident of the old people’s home, a gentle old man tenderly portrayed by Freddie Goff, and their reconciliation brought the performance to a close.
Under the direction of Libby Vale the Youth Theatre brought us a showcase of different acting skills, clear diction, confident singing and enthusiasm for their audience, and I very much look forward to future productions.
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