Hebden Bridge Little Theatre, Holme Street, Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire, HX7 8EE.

Our 2009 Plays

Dead Guilty

By Richard Harris, Directed by Jacki Reed

February 23- 28^th

When John Haddrell dies of a heart attack at the wheel of his car, the woman at his side is not his wife but his lover, Julia. Recovering from the severe injuries she sustained in the resulting crash she is visited by Margaret, John’s widow, who apparently knows nothing of the affair. At first she cannot do enough to help Julia recover but things become more menacing as she gradually takes over her life.

She engineers the dismissal of Julia’s home help Gary and isolates her from her counsellor, Anne - all with a smile on her face and seemingly with the best of intentions. Finally they are alone in the house together, locked in deadly combat.

A tense, intriguing revenge thriller by the author of ‘Stepping Out,’ which will keep you guessing until the very end.

 

Ten Times Table

By Alan Ayckbourn, Directed by Steve Hirst

April 20-25

Leading lights of the Pendon community have formed a committee to organise a pageant to celebrate a piece of local history, ‘The Massacre of the Pendon Twelve’- the crushing of a group of rebellious workers who were asking for a pay rise. The committee soon divides into political factions with the left wing led by a Marxist school teacher and the right by the chairman’s conservative wife.  Their antagonism becomes more and more acrimonious throughout the preparations. The day itself descends into chaos with violent confrontations reflecting the original event.

This hilariously funny comedy is Ayckbourn at his best, delivering sharp insights into the internal wranglings of committee life, with an array of classic character types, many of which we will all too readily recognise. 

 

 

The Odd Couple

By Neil Simon, Directed by Hannah Stow

June 15-20

Oscar Madison, a recently divorced sports writer has descended into the life of a slovenly bachelor. The play opens in the midst of his weekly card school attended by his ‘poker buddies’ who have helped him to turn his apartment into a mess. Into this shambles arrives his friend Oscar who has just been thrown out by his wife and whom they suspect is on the edge of suicide as a result. The only way of preventing this is for him to move in and be under constant supervision, a recipe for disaster given that he is uptight and neurotic about neatness, a complete mismatch with Madison. Watching the ‘odd couple’ try and accommodate each other’s habits and lifestyle is a perfect comedy situation and we clearly see why their wives despaired of them.

The ‘Odd Couple ‘ has had several lives, after its long run on Broadway it was turned into a successful film with Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon before becoming a successful television series

 

The Anniversary

By Bill MacIlwraith, Directed by Vaughan Leslie

October 5-10

 

Ever since Dad’s merciful passing, Mum has carried on the family building business and profits have increased two hundred and fifty percent but not without cutting a few corners. As Tom her youngest son says “We must be the only builders putting up condemned property.’ She keeps a tight grip on her three sons, binding them to her with gifts, threats and a ruthless exploitation of their weaknesses.

The play begins with the annual family ritual, a reluctant gathering to celebrate Mum’s wedding anniversary (regardless of deceased dad) for which there is a three-line whip.

However this year revolt is in the air, Terry has gathered the courage to tell mum he is emigrating to Canada with his wife and children and Tom cant wait to tell her of his impending marriage to Shirley. However Mum is ready to fight back with every weapon in her considerable armoury. Will her powerful grip over her family at last be broken?

‘The Anniversary’ is both funny and outrageous and in the character of mum, Bill MacIlwraith has created one of the most memorable grotesques in modern theatre, brought vividly to life in the film of the book with Bette Davis’ defining performance.

 

The Turn of the Screw

Adapted from Henry James, By Ken Whitmore, Directed by Sharon Kelly

November 30-December 5

This adaptation of Henry James’ famous ghostly tale has all the suspense and sinister depths of the original. Miss Grey, a young governess arrives at Bly to take charge of Flora and Miles, two orphaned children. Shortly afterwards she begins to see two ghostly figures who seem to match the descriptions of Quint and Miss Jessel, former valet and governess at the house, both of whom are dead. As no one else appears either to notice or be troubled by these visions Miss Grey begins to wonder if they are products of her imagination brought on by the strange atmosphere in the house.

But to her horror she begins to feel that it is not her but the children that the ghosts want. She determines to save them from damnation and destruction at the hands of these ’Devils’ but does she have sufficient power or courage to prevent them being ‘spirited away’?

Something different to round off the year, a good old ghost story with menace growing eerily out of the ordinary and day-to-day.

 

 

Our 2008 Plays

Theft, by Eric Chappell, Directed by Ray Riches

February 25- March 1

It’s everybody’s worst nightmare, you return home after a pleasant anniversary celebration to find that your house has been burgled. Worse still the burglar is still in the house and after you see through his pretence of being a policeman he begins to reveal all kinds of uncomfortable truths about you, your friends and your spouse.

Spriggs the burglar has used his time well in exploring the house and wastes no time in his attempt to escape by disturbing and challenging what seemed to be happy marriages and friendships.

This is Eric Chappell at his best milking the unusual situation to write a comedy – thriller packed with stinging one-liners, amusing reversals of morality and sharp comments on marriage, money and friendship.

 

Deathtrap, by Ira Levin, Directed by Sharon Kelly

April 21-26

Sidney Bruhl, once the toast of Broadway whose plays were masterpieces of murder mystery has dried up and it has been years since his last hit. When an unknown playwright sends him a script to die for, in his desperation he is faced with an interesting question, What lengths are you prepared to go to for a hit play? What if it meant you committing the perfect murder?

The audience continually have the rug pulled from under their feet as the plot continually changes directions and things take a bizarre turn when a dotty psychic turns up who is famous for pointing out murderers.

Deathtrap is a superb ‘play within a play’ and was one of the biggest hits in the history of Broadway. It also made a very successful Sidney Lumet film starring Michael Caine.

It’s a cleverly constructed thriller guaranteed to keep you guessing, laughing and surprised to the very end.

 

Rebecca, by Daphne du Maurier, Adapted by Clifford Williams

Directed by Jennifer Crossley

June 16-21

Based on Daphne du Maurier’s classic novel ‘Rebecca,’ which was made famous through Hitchcock’s film starring Laurence Olivier and Claudia Cardinal. Clifford William’s adaptation sticks closely to the basic romantic storyline where a lady’s companion meets a rich widower Maxine de Winter in Monte Carlo. They have a whirlwind romance, marry and he sweeps her off her feet, taking her back to Manderley his large home by the sea in Cornwall.

Here everyone is obsessed with the memory of Rebecca who was drowned at sea and whose unseen presence haunts the play. Mrs Danvers, the housekeeper fanatically loyal to Rebecca, will go to any lengths to make life impossible for the new Mrs De Winter. This battle and the gradual revelations about Rebecca’s real fate keep this intense melodrama moving stirringly onwards. Played against the moody atmosphere of Manderley the play is full of suspense and mystery, as riveting a drama as when it was first performed.

 

Curtain Up On Murder, by Bettine Manktelow

Directed by Alan Stockdill

October 6-11

An amateur drama company are rehearsing a play at the end of the pier. Storms roar overhead and the sea is raging, a fitting atmosphere for a thriller. Suddenly they discover that the doors are locked – they are trapped! Events take a sinister turn when a ghostly presence passes over the stage and when the assistant stage manager falls to certain death through a trapdoor deliberately left open the actors are thrown into disarray. Their panic increases when one of the actresses is poisoned. They are no longer acting they are in their own Agatha Christie play. A real murderer is in their midst. Who next?

This is a skilfully written piece of suspense, an engaging and entertaining thriller with plenty of laughs and suspense.

 

The Winslow Boy, by Terence Rattigan

Directed by Jenny Gore

December 1-6

Based on an actual legal ‘cause celebre’ in the Edwardian era The Winslow Boy tells the story of Ronnie, a 14-year-old cadet at the Royal Naval College being accused of stealing a 5-shilling postal order. He is found guilty without the benefit of representation and he is expelled. His father believes he is innocent and with the aid of his suffragette daughter, takes on the might of the Admiralty establishment. Their David versus Goliath contest gains strength with the support of Sir Robert Morton a leading barrister of the time. A seemingly trivial matter over a postal order becomes a matter of principle. What are you prepared to suffer to see right be done?

 The play has been described as ‘a courtroom drama with most of the action outside the courtroom.’ It’s a good, old-fashioned drama with strong characters facing sacrifices in their personal lives to see justice done. One of Rattigan’s finest, examining moral issues just as relevant today