Dorchester Life article:
Dorchester Life

The peaceful English countryside may never be the same after Bertie Wooster and his unflappable valet Jeeves pay a visit. What starts as a plan to pair tongue-tied newt-loving Augustus Fink-Nottle and fanciful, poet-loving Madeline Basset quickly goes awry. Soon Bertie is fending off Madeline’s amorous advances, reluctantly participating in an attempted burglary, and fleeing attacks from a homicidal French chef. With the stakes this high, the solution must lie with the one and only Jeeves!

Dorchester Drama actors are rehearsing hard ahead of their Summer production of “Jeeves in Bloom” which is going on stage at the Sunninghill Community Hall, Culliford Road Dorchester from Thursday 18th July to Saturday 20th July” 7:30pm. The play has been adapted by Margaret Raether from the stories of PG Wodehouse. “The play has been cleverly written around a number of Wodehouse’s stories.” says David Reeve, the director and chairman of the group. ”It is great that Wodehouse is having a revival. This play brings alive some of the great characters in a typical madcap Wodehouse adventure. What is more exciting is the play is making its UK première since it is still being performed to critical acclaim on the professional circuit in America.”

The play stars Sam Kelly as Bertie, Nick Heape as Jeeves and Dee Thorne as Anatole the French chef. There is a welcome return to Stella Hollis playing Aunt Dahlia and also stars newcomers Emma Follis as Madeline and Paul Wallis as Uncle Tom. “The cast are having great fun with the script and we think this is a perfect way to celebrate our 50th anniversary. I think it must rank as one of the funniest productions!” Tickets are £8 in advance (£5 for students and U18s) from Trinity Stores, Trinity Street or box office 01305 889202 or £9 on the door

I am pleased to announce the cast of our Summer Production of “Jeeves in Bloom is:
Bertie Wooster – Sam Kelly
Jeeves – Nick Heape
Gussie Fink-Knottle – Jonny White
Dahlia Travers – Stella Hollis
Colonel Tom Travers – Paul Wallis
Madeline Bassett – Emma Follis
Anatole – Dee Thorne

Rehearsals are now underway. The production takes place on 18 to 20 July at the Sunninghill Hall, Culliford Road. Further details will be available soon

Book reading: Wednesday 17th April at the Sunninghill Community Hall, Culliford Road 7:30pm. Open to all
Auditions: Wednesday 24th April at the Sunninghill Community Hall, Culliford Road 7:30pm. Open to all
Rehearsals Mondays and Wednesdays
Performances: thurs 18th to Saturday 20th July

Tickets are now on sale for our Spring Production of “A Fly in the Ointment” a farce by Derek Benfield.

The production takes place at the Sunninghill Community Hall, Culliford Road on Thursday 11th to Saturday 13th April 2013. Tickets are £8 in advance at Trinity Stores, Trinity Street, £5 for students and children or from our box office 01305 889202. Tickets are £9 on the door. There is a licenced bar.

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The Dorchester Drama Committee are pleased to announce that the Spring 2013 production will be “A Fly in the Ointment” a farce by Derek Benfield. It will be directed by David Higham who is an experienced director, new to the group, with David Reeve as production manager.

“A Fly in the Ointment” is a typical British farce with 6 characters. Why should Ron Corley MP, minister for the Environment be searching the seaside bungalow of his ex mistress Donna? Why does his virtuous wife, Louise, turn up at the same place on the same day? What was a romantic doctor with a bunch of flowers doing in Sussex when his practice is in London? Add to these world-shattering questions the presence of a frustrated policewomen and a devious pizza delivery boy and you have the makings of a riotous farce in true Feydeau tradition!!

There are 6 parts, three male aging from 20 to 50s and three females (30s to 40s) though David is relatively flexible about this so don’t let that put you off! ALL ARE WELCOME

There will be a play read on Wednesday 5th December and the auditions will take place on Wednesday 19th December, both at Sunninghill theatre 7:30pm. This is an open auditions and we are very keen to see lots of people there. As well as the six actors David will be looking to pull together a team to cover backstage, lighting, front stage and the running of the bar!! If anyone has any queries then just send me an email.

Rehearsals will begin on Wednesday 9th January at Sunninghill theatre with the production taking place on Thursday 11th to Saturday 13th April 2013.
For those who recognise the playwright’s name but just can’t picture him, Benfield was a famous British Actor and playwright who’s roles included the second actor to play Patricia Routledge’s character’s husband in Hetty Wainthropp Investigates . Arguably Benfield’s best known character portrayal was as transport company foreman Bill Riley in the UK television series The Brothers as well as Walter Greenhalgh from Coronation Street and Albert the Clerk from Rumpole of the Bailey.

As the light fades in the gloom of a foggy Victorian London street a street seller does his final rounds, while in the tall, forbidding house which is becoming her prison, Bella Manningham is slowly losing her mind. But are the mysterious disappearances, unexplained footsteps and ghostly flickering of the drawing room gaslights simply a figment of her delusional mind? Or is her husband intent on convincing Bella she is going mad like her mother before her? However, the arrival of an unexpected visitor leads Bella to question all that has taken place, as the murky events that happened in the house some twenty years previously are slowly revealed.

Patrick Hamilton’s powerful and popular play ‘Gaslight’ is a psychological thriller guaranteed to keep you on the edge of your seat and is being performed by Dorchester Drama at the Corn Exchange, Dorchester on Thursday 8th to Saturday 10th November 7:30pm. Tickets for the play are on sale at Trinity Stores (formerly Trinity’s Treat), Trinity Street or from the box office 01305 889202. Tickets are £8 in advance (£5 for students and under 18s) or £9 on the door.