CRINGLEFORD AMATEUR DRAMATIC SOCIETY present

A Comedy By
Richard Harris

Performances commence 7.30pm at Cringleford Church Hall on 13th, 14th and 15th May 2010 The play is set in the adjoining back gardens of two families, where Michael and Roma are busy preparing for their fancy dress housewarming party. They anticipate a lively evening with lots of friends until a string of hilarious disasters strike, including a distinct lack of guests, a burning shed and a marauding zimmer-frame! Michael and Roma’s precisely organised party is further disrupted by the arrival of their neighbours, the Hinsons, complete with grumpy Mum and squabbling son and daughter-in-law. In a 2005 production, Mrs Hinson curiously became Mr Hinson and was played by George Cole, but her gender is fully restored for our show and, with a firm grip on her zimmer-frame, the indomitable Mrs Hinson is ready to do battle with her family and neighbours to show who’s really in charge!

Tickets, £7.00 each, are available at Cringleford Stores, or call CADS Box Office on 01603 454602

We do hope you can join us for an entertaining evening.

CRINGLEFORD AMATEUR DRAMATIC SOCIETY present
Happy Birthday
A Comedy By
Marc Camoletti. Adapted by Beverley Cross

Happy Birthday is a play for two men and three women. Bernard has asked his mistress, Brigit, to his home on her birthday despite the fact that his wife Jacqueline is present. To lull his wife’s suspicions, he has also invited his oldest friend Robert and asked him to complete the cover up by pretending that Brigit is his own mistress. Robert refuses since he has been having an affair with Jacqueline but Bernard involves him by low cunning! By chance, a temporary maid who Jacqueline has engaged for the evening arrives when Bernard and Jacqueline are out and, her name also being Brigit, Robert mistakes her for Bernard’s girlfriend!

Thus the foundations have been laid for a shaky edifice of frantic complications, in which identities, plots, counter plots and bedrooms are changed round with ever increasing confusion until an unexpected ending is reached which leaves everyone happy – not least the “temporary” Brigit who has acquired a fur coat and a wad of £5 notes!!
We do hope you can join us for an entertaining evening.

CRINGLEFORD AMATEUR DRAMATIC SOCIETY present
Are You Being Served?
A Play By
Jeremy Lloyd and David Croft

We are pleased to announce that our first production of 2009 is the play “Are You Being Served?” based on the smash hit 1970’s TV comedy and adapted for the stage by its original creators Jeremy Lloyd and David Croft.

Double entendres are non - stop in this production as the well-loved staff of Grace Brothers department store prepare first for a sale of German goods and then depart en masse for a staff holiday at a one-star hotel in Spain.  Will the wind-up teeth, tropical heat, Spanish crumpet, creepy crawlies and randy revolutionaries prove too much for our happy band?  Don’t you believe it!  With the aid of a nun’s habit, a bowler hat and Mrs Slocombe’s Union Jack knickers, they survive their holiday with everything in tact but their modesty!

We do hope that “you’re free!” to join us for this lively production of a seventies classic which is bound to raise a chuckle or two.

When the Big Bad Wolf sets his sights on having Red Riding Hood for dinner (cooked on gas mark 5 for 3 hours) he employs pompous Sir Cecil and wimpy Sir Sydney to help him in his wicked schemes.  Before long some playful lambs and Red's sister, Mary Quite Contrary, are kidnapped and taken to the Wolf's lair.  Can they be rescued by Prince Rupert (who's pretending to be a common woodcutter) aided by sleepy Uncle Tom Cobley and silly but well-meaning Muddles?

Then Red Riding Hood pays a visit to her Granny deep in the woods and notices that she looks a little odd today.  "What big teeth you have!" could be Red's last words, but never fear, if slightly-faded fairy Forget-Me-Not can work her magic there might still be a happy ending - oh yes there will!

For a full printable poster click here

 

The action takes place in the Common Room of a Mission Station in an un-named eastern country in the year 1950.  A group of Irish nuns are stranded in the middle of a revolution, forbidden from carrying on their work with orphaned children and on the point of being forcibly evacuated from the country.  Led by the resolute Reverend Mother, the sisters risk their lives giving refuge to the British Consul and his wife, and hiding the Mission's German doctor and priest, Father Schiller, who is being hunted by the sadistic Captain Lee.  Will Lee succeed or will the sisters help Schiller to escape?  All appears lost when a letter from the General, new Governor of the Province and Godson of one of the nuns, seems to offer a way out - but at what cost?

This is a dramatic story of revolution and its innocent victims, when old wartime differences are re-kindled and the characters' personal, marital and vocational values are tested to breaking point.

"A Letter from the General" will keep you bound to your seats until the final curtain.

For a full printable poster click here

This is the story of three uncomfortably-married couples during three successive Christmas Eve get-togethers in each of their respective homes.  All of the action we see takes place in the couples’ kitchens.  We meet Sidney Hopcroft, a cheerful and confident businessman who, with his duster-wielding, slightly dippy wife, Jane, is aiming for better things.  Then there is disastrous architect neighbour, Geoffrey Jackson, and his apparently sane (but be prepared) wife Eva, who are heading for trouble along with their monstrous dog.  Finally we have calm and conservative bank manager Ronald Brewster-Wright whose wife, Marion, is no stranger to the bottle.

As the curtain rises we find Sidney and Jane waiting nervously for their guests to arrive, hoping that all their careful arrangements will pay off.  Sidney needs a loan from the banker and thinks that the architect can help him realise his dream of becoming a successful property developer.  With such a motley crew gathering together at Christmas time things cannot be expected to run too smoothly, and what follows is an engaging, funny and bumpy journey through the two-year time-span of the play.

In May 2007 CADS presented Mike Hardings poignant and funny 1993 play, “Last Tango in Whitby”.

Slightly irreverent, at times very funny and occasionally quite moving, this play tells the story of a bunch of far from ‘past it’, plain-speaking, Yorkshire pensioners on their annual off-season “tango and touch-up” week in Whitby.
Although they may be in their dotage, the spark of romance is not dead, as recently widowed Pat discovers.  However, interfering busybody Kathleen does not approve of entertainer Phil who is the object of Pat’s affections, and his wife, bitter and lonely Edna, is not too pleased either!

When first time director Laura MacKinnon chose this play, CADS members discovered they’d have to learn not only how to tango, but also to waltz, foxtrot and cha cha cha, not to mention spoon-playing, tap-dancing and a recreation of Wilson, Kepple and Betty’s famous sand dance routine (for those who can remember that far back).

The props list was also rather unusual, requiring items ranging from a wind up gramophone to a dead seagull and even fake dog’s dirt!

For a full printable programme click here

For CADS' 40th production in May 2006, we had fun presenting a bright comedy/mystery play called "Caught Red Handed" or (No Trouble At All). Written by local playwright, Roy Smith, it was first performed in 1993 at Taverham Village Hall.

This is an entertaining story about a perfectly normal family and their friends in some almost perfectly normal situations. It all begins when Harry Haynes unexpectedly brings home his new boss to stay for the night, only to find that his wife, Jo, has taken it upon herself to decorate the lounge. The Haynes' daughters also bring home more guests, and with the appearance of the local Weightlosers Club, and the disappearance of a large sum of money, confusion ensues. To top it all, Jo's mother has left her husband and turns up wanting a place to stay! This delightful comedy was directed by Keith Moore who played the part of Harry in the original Taverham production 13 years earlier. For full printable programe click here

 

 

 

 

In Spring 1999, CADS presented "Midsummer Mink", an amusing play by Peter Coke with shades of the Ealing Comedy about it. Set in the early 1960s, it tells the story of a group of genteel mature folk who find themselves caught up in a slightly dodgy scheme of dealing in furs. The action takes place in the living room of of Dame Beatrice's flat which is close to the Royal Albert Hall.

The main problem we had with this production was acquiring a convincing array of fur coats, capes and stoles! There was also a last-minute change in casting when it was found that the person chosen to play crook, Michael Hogan, couldn't produce the required Irish accent! Chris Price eventually took the role, wearing a very questionable crumpled suit found in a local charity shop. The play was directed by CADS regular Sue Bailey and had a cast of eleven. The production photos shown here were actually taken in The Red Lion in Cringleford which has some wonderfully atmospheric wood panelled walls and an amazing fireplace - many thanks to the landlord. We also loaned their coal scuttle for the set.

Members of CADS deep into rehearsals

CADS is a friendly and sociable amateur dramatic society. If you are interested in joining us in an onstage or backstage role (or any other capacity), or if you require any further information please contact us . We are always looking for enthusiastic new members