Purple Showcase



 

Performance Details

The Purple Showcase 2006 was performed at the following venues:

  • Friday March 17th 2006 at the Diorama Centre, London
  • Saturday 18th & 25th March 2006 at Iver Heath Village Hall
  • Friday 24th March 2006 at Ickenham Village Hall

Production Team

Producer / Director Joanne Reeves-Baker
Musical Director Toby Vennard
Assistant Director Charlie Kerridge-Smith
Assistant Musical Director Mandy Gasson
Choreographers Michelle Allen
Emma Beckitt
Miranda Kirschel

Istanbul (not Constantinople)

by Jimmy Kennedy and Nat Simon
Leave it to musicians to turn centuries of ethnic and religious struggle into a catchy ditty. This song is a direct descendant of a humorous piece called ‘Al-Bar the Bubul Emir’.
Cast Michelle Allen
Audrey Bink
Peter Burnett
Mandy Gasson


The Importance of Being Ernest

by Oscar Wilde
Probably his most famous play, it tells a wonderfully witty story of love, society and how a name can make a man who he really is!
Director Charlie Kerridge-Smith
Gwendolyn Miranda Kirschel
Cecily Emma Beckitt
Jack Phil Burton
Algernon Peter Burnett


Luck be a lady

from Guys and Dolls
This song became a staple part of Frank Sinatra’s repertoire after he was not allowed to sing it in the film. Instead Marlon Brando was given that honour and it gave him one of his most memorable performances on the silver screen.
Choreographer Michelle Allen
Cast James "Bas" Dickson Leach
Michelle Allen
Phil Burton
Peter Burnett
Gideon Coles
Mandy Gasson


I Wish I May

from The Witches of Eastwick
From the musical stage version of the classic movie.Three women tell poignantly of how their lives differ from their childhood dreams. How they wish that they could return to those youthful fantasies.
Choreographer Michelle Allen
Cast Michelle Allen
Emma Beckitt
Mandy Gasson


My Mother Said I Never Should - 1

by Charlotte Keatley
This is a story which explores the lives and relationships of four generations of women from the same family through a series of snapshots from key moments in their lives. The play uses ‘fantasy/dream’ sequences when all the women play together as children.
Director Joanne Reeves-Baker
Jackie Miranda Kirschel
Rosie Lorna Cameron-Fisher
Margaret Audrey Bink
Doris Chrisa Constantinou


Catch 22

by Joseph Heller
At the heart of Joseph Heller’s bestselling novel, first published in 1961, is a satirical indictment of military madness and stupidity, and the desire of the ordinary man to survive it.
Director Charlie Kerridge-Smith
Sergeant Townsend James "Bas" Dickson Leach
Major Major Peter Burnett


Mamma Mia

by ABBA
One of the most popular hits from the most famous Eurovision winners. It has formed a staple of the highly successful musical of the same name, which is now a hit all around the globe.
Choreographer: Michelle Allen
Cast Melanie Aspinall
Lorna Cameron-Fisher
Amelia Gamble
Mandy Gasson


I love EP

by Toby Vennard and Peter Burnett
Another premiere from the duo who brought you ‘80 Days the Musical’ and ‘Something Wicked’.This song is sure to put a smile on your face!
Cast Toby Vennard,
Peter Burnett


A Midsummers Night’s Dream

by William Shakespeare
A perfect example of Shakespearean comedy.This scene, referred to as ‘the play within a play’, occurs at the end of the play. The ‘actors’ are labourers of Athens who have decided they will perform the Greek myth ‘Pyramus and Thisbee’ to celebrate the marriage of Thesus to Hippolyta.
Director Joanne Reeves-Baker
Helena Melanie Aspinall
Demetrius Peter Burnett
Lysander Phil Burton
Theseus Gideon Coles
Hippolyta Chrisa Constantinou
Hermia Mandy Gasson
Prologue Audrey Bink
Wall Lorna Cameron-Fisher
Thisbee
Moonshine
James "Bas" Dickson Leach
Lion Miranda Kirschel
Pyramus Toby Vennard


Fever

as covered by Elvis Presley
Elvis was hot, but this version is even hotter. Be prepared for some steamy action with this rendition of a classic song.
Choreographer Emma Beckitt
Elvis Gideon Coles
Backing singers Peter Burnett
Phil Burton
James "Bas" Dickson Leach
Toby Vennard
Dancers Michelle Allen
Emma Beckitt
Joanne Reeves-Baker


The Crucible

by Arthur Miller
Set during the Salem witch hunt of 1692, this play mirrors the McCarthy trials of the 1950s.Terror grips the town, and Miller portrays this perfectly, exploring the frightening gullibility of the human mind. This scene explores the destructive effects on John and Elizabeth Proctor’s life and shows how their love has been tested to its limit by John’s illicit affair with Abigail Williams, the young girl who has brought about the mass hysteria.
Director Joanne Reeves-Baker
Proctor Peter Burnett
Elizabeth Mandy Gasson


Defying Gravity

from Wicked
From a new broadway musical set in the magical land of Oz.The story of a little green skinned girl called Elphaba, who will grow up to become the infamous Wicked Witch of the West. Elphaba is a smart, prickly, misunderstood creature who challenges our perceptions of the nature of good and evil.
Cast Emma Beckitt


My Mother Said I Never Should - 2

by Charlotte Keatley
Director Joanne Reeves-Baker
Rosie Lorna Cameron-Fisher
Doris Chrisa Constantinou


Blithe Spirit

by Noel Coward
Many consider this to be one of Coward’s best and most unusual farces. Novelist Charles Condomine invites a medium to hold a séance to learn about the occult for his new book.The last thing he or his second wife expect to happen is the materialisation of his first wife, Elvira.
Director Charlie Kerridge-Smith
Charles Gideon Coles
Ruth Emma Beckitt
Elvira Amelia Gamble


My Friend Never Said Goodbye

by Robert Mauro
A moving scene which explores the anguish of the human soul.
Director Joanne Reeves-Baker
Tommy Phil Burton
Annie Charlie Kerridge-Smith


Cell block tango

from Chicago
From one of the most successful stage musicals of the decade comes this song of the merry murderesses of murderer’s row! They tell their tales of love, loss and murder in a sharp and sexy song.
Choreographer Miranda Kirschel
Velma Emma Beckitt
Hunyak Audrey Bink
Mona Lorna Cameron-Fisher
Annie Chrisa Constantinou
Liz Miranda Kirschel
June Joanne Reeves-Baker
Backing singers Mandy Gasson
Michelle Allen
Melanie Aspinall
Amelia Gamble


Sunday Morning at the Centre of the World...

by Louis de Berniers
Louis de Berniers lived for ten years in a south London suburb. This one act play captures the essence of the people he had known, saw daily and come to love in his time there. Brilliantly capturing the myriad voices of modern Britain, with their different rhythms of speech and accents, their humour and their tragedy.
Director Joanne Reeves-Baker
Thrombotic Bert Toby Vennard
Antique Annie Lorna Cameron-Fisher
Emphysemic Eric Phil Burton


Here

by Michael Frayn
Michael Frayn is a British playwright, well known for fast paced comedies such as ‘Noises Off ’ (play 1982, film 1992), ‘Here’ features a couple who move into a room and start the arduous task of making decisions ‘together’.
Director Charlie Kerridge-Smith
Phil James "Bas" Dickson Leach
Antique Annie Chrisa Constantinou


America – West Side Story

from West Side Story
Probably the most famous song from one of the best known musicals of all time, this loud and colourful song brings a touch of Puerto Rico to the small stage.
Choreographer Miranda Kirschel
Guys Peter Burnett
Phil Burton
James "Bas" Dickson Leach
Gideon Coles
Gals Melanie Aspinall
Audrey Bink
Lorna Cameron-Fisher
Chrisa Constantinou
Amelia Gamble
Mandy Gasson
Charlie Kerridge-Smith
Miranda Kirschel


Publicity and Front of House

Front of House Manager Aneka Rai
Graphic design Phil Burton
Front of house display Phil Burton
Mandy Gasson
 
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