| The Brewster family could at least be described as “odd”
if not “eccentric”. Led by the two aunts Abby and Martha who
are old-fashioned in an ironic sense. They appear to be a quite, conservative
elderly couple who value the conventions of the past, attend church regularly
and donate toys to the local Christian fund. Their traditional values,
however, do not extend to their treatment of the elderly men who come
to their home looking for lodging. While their desire to help the men
to “find peace” is aligned with their Christian faith, they
resort to murder to achieve their goal.
Teddy Brewster, Abby’s and Martha’s live-in nephew, has lost
all contact with reality, completely immersed in the delusion that he
is Teddy Roosevelt (President of America 1901 -1909), which in fact is
quite useful as he covers up the aunts' murderous activities, as he buries
the dead bodies in the basement, which he insists contains the lochs of
the Panama Canal.
Jonathan Brewster, another nephew has been away for a while engaged in
criminal activities with a touch of torture, who on visiting the family
homestead is more than a little put out when he discovers that Abby &
Martha’s “Body Toll” might be higher than his.
Mortimer Brewster, a third nephew and Theatre critic for a City newspaper,
is possibly the sanest of the bunch, although he finds it difficult to
maintain his senses when he discovers what has been going on in the house,
the discovery of which puts strains on his courtship of Elaine, and his
feelings towards his role in life.
Arsenic and Old Lace
By Joseph Kesselring.
Arsenic and euthanasia.
Canterbury Players.
Whitstable Playhouse. November 2009.
The euthanasia debate is given a comic angle in the house of the Brewster family
of Brooklyn and does so without a trace of offence.
Two sisters dispatch lonely old men with poisoned wine and have them buried
in the cellar by their deranged nephew Teddy, despite the horror of his brother
Mortimer.
Another nephew, Jonathan, returning after a career in crime, reveals a very
different penchant for murder. Tony Johnson in this role was
outstanding as was Jim Akhurst as plastic surgeon Dr Einstein.
Martha (Ruth Cameron) and Abby (Jill Akhurst)
were captivating.
Andreas Lowson played Mortimer with the paradoxical mixture
of suavity and confusion which endears him to his feisty fiancee Elaine, compellingly
acted by Sally Brown. All the actors demonstrated the hilarity
of Kesselring's marvellous play.
Reviewed by Nina Del Gedoe
For Kentish Gazette.
Director:
Ian Burroughs, Honorary Secretary, performance director and actor.
|
Ian Burroughs.
Honorary Secretary.
Actor: Friar Francis - Much
Ado About Nothing
Performance director: Seasons
Greetings; The Birthday
Party; Gosforth's Fete;
Play It Again, Sam ; Arsenic
And Old Lace
Ian is one of the major stalwarts of the Canterbury Players, working
hard behind the scenes to ensure everything runs smoothly: organising
sponsorship; publicity; ticket sales; venues; taking part in the choice
of performances and a great deal more besides.
His first production, as a director with the Players, was Alan Ayckbourn's
"Seasons Greetings".
This was a joint production between Playcraft and Canterbury Dramatics
Society, before their merger into The Canterbury Players. Since then,
he since been involved in one way or another with virtually every - if
not all - productions. This includes directing "When we are
Married" in November 2004; Harold Pinter's "The
Birthday Party" and later, Alan Ayckbourn's "Gosforth's
Fete", here giving a few of the newer members the opportunity
to take their first tentative steps on stage - after which they have never
looked back. |
Stage Manager:
Assistant Stage Manager:
Adam Summers. Actor.
|
Adam Summers
Actor: Much Ado About
Nothing; Two; Day
After The Fair
Assistant Stage Manager: "Arsenic
And Old Lace"
Assistant Stage Construction and Lighting Engineer: "Bazaar
& Rummage".
Adam joined the Canterbury Players as a result of an email that asked
him to come along to an audition for 'Much
Ado About Nothing'. The rest as they say is history.
Adam has always loved drama and as a result, studied the subject at college.
He has appeared in a number of productions, where he has played roles
such as Hatch in 'The Sea', Algernon in 'The Importance
of Being Earnest' and Napoleon in a musical version of George
Orwell's 'Animal Farm’.
He is greatly looking forward to future productions with the Players.
|
Set Design & Construction:
Colin Sherwood.
As Martha Brewster
Ruth Cameron
|
Ruth Cameron.
Actor: Much Ado About
Nothing; Bazaar and Rummage;
Arsenic And Old Lace;The
Vortex.
Ruth was a singing, dancing, and acting child and won the best actor prize
for Lady Macbeth at age 16. Despite gaining a provisional place at the
Hampstead School of Drama, she did not follow an acting career.
In the 1980s Ruth co- produced a school pantomime with the writer John
Larr and took part in local sketches, but then did not return to drama
until 2006 when she joined the Canterbury Players; Ruth has been involved
in most productions since. This includes singing in Marie Lloyd songs
in "Palace of Varieties",
being an attendant in "Much
Ado About Nothing" and performing the outrageous, yet poignant
part of the blaspheming vulgarian Margaret Gittings in "Bazaar
and Rummage".
|
As Abby Brewster
Jill Akhurst. Actor. Director. Director's
Assistant.
|
Jill Akhurst
Director – "Palace of Varieties"
and "Bazaar and Rummage"
Director's Assistant "The
Accrington Pals"
Singer of saucy songs; Actor Fallen
Angels; Two; Arsenic
And Old Lace; The Vortex.
This is the second "old lady" Jill has played for the Canterbury
Players - are they trying to tell her something? Guildhall trained Jill
has been with the Players now for three years, during which time she has
directed "Palace of Varieties"
in 2007 and "Bazaar and Rummage"
in March this year. She also played the maid Saunders "Fallen
Angels" in (March 2008) and the Old Woman in "Two"
in July this year. She is also involved with the "Really Promising
Company" and enjoyed some success last October playing the Princess
Puffer in "The Mystery of Edwin Drood" at the Theatre Royal,
Margate. |
As The Rev. Dr.
Harper
Hugh Elsom. Actor.
|
Hugh Elsom
Actor: Arsenic And Old Lace
To quote the bard “One man in his time plays many parts”. That can be said of the characters I have played over the last 50 years. They range from a Knight on murderous intent to the front half of a pantomime horse. However I have always wanted to act in “Arsenic and old Lace” and the character of Dr. Harper is just right for me in the twilight of my career.
|
As Teddy Brewster
Pip Piacentino
Read more about Pip?
Click HERE |
Pip Piacentino
Actor: Play It Again Sam; Arsenic And Old Lace
Performance Director: The
Accrington Pals, Fallen
Angels;
Pip fell in love with Britain when stationed here with the US Navy and
decided to make it his home. His links with Kent, especially Deal, stretch
back to 1964.
Pip first appeared on stage in New York when his father brought the
three-year old Pip on stage to liven up his act. He is equally at home
as an actor, director or playwright. A member of the South London Theatre
Centre, he directed many plays for them including Peter Whelan’s
"The Accrington
Pals" which he also directed in April 2007 with Canterbury Players.
Pip is to direct Canterbury Players in "Fallen
Angels" by Noel Coward. |
As Officer Brophy
Phil Hadland. Actor.
|
Phil Hadland
Actor: Arsenic And Old Lace
After school, many years of university studies, volunteer work and pot
washing, Phil eventually moved to Canterbury for a job in the local museums
service in 2008. His appearance in "Arsenic
And Old Lace" is his first acting role since; when at the age
of fifteen he read the voice of God in a contemporary play about the birth
of Christ.
He enjoys many hobbies including painting, collecting fossils, playing
bass guitar and football. Phil joined the Canterbury Players in the hope
of meeting some interesting, like minded people and to get some experience
of acting. To that end Phil feels he has been successful.
|
As Officer
Klein
Peter Fox. Actor.
|
Peter Fox
Actor: Arsenic And Old Lace;
The Vortex.
Peter has previously worked behind the scenes on "Bazaar and Rummage" for the Canterbury Players,
in set production and assistant stage manager capacities.
He is also a budding young singer-songwriter, having played his first ever public gig in September 2009.
Peter dreams of one day writing for the big screen, that's if the music thing doesn't take off!
|
As Elaine Harper
Sally Brown
|
Sally Brown
Actor: Maudie in "Two"; Elaine Harper
in Arsenic And Old Lace
Sally is delighted to be performing in Arsenic
and Old Lace; especially as her late grandmother had played the same
role over 60 years ago. Theatre has played a large part of her life since
an early age and as a result she has been involved in some fantastic,
some bizarre and some downright awful productions; crawling out of a wardrobe
screaming “the chickens won’t stop dancing” in 448 Psychosis
being an example for the latter. But such experiences has not put her
off treading the boards in roles such as Frauline Kost in ‘Cabaret’,
Katherine in ‘Taming of the Shrew’ and of course most recently
Maudie in ‘Two’.
|
Before ‘Two’, she had a three year break from
acting since graduating from Aberystwyth University as she has been teaching
Performing Arts. During these years she made use of her students by testing
out her writing material on them…Mortimer Brewster has nothing on
these dramatic critics!
She currently is studying for her MA in creative writing at Canterbury
Christchurch and is trying to live by her pen – or laptop to be
precise. |
As Mortimer Brewster
Andreas Lowson
|
Andreas Lowson
Actor: La Ronde; Play
It Again Sam; Fallen Angels;
Much Ado about Nothing;
Arsenic And Old Lace
Andreas is descending the ladder of nobility. In La Ronde, he was only
a count whereas the previous year he was a duke (Twelfth Night) and before
that a prince (Caucasian Chalk Circle). He has, however, deigned to play
mere commoners in such roles as a dotty priest (Gosforth’s Fete),
a burglar, an inspector (Disposing of the Body), a solicitor, a boss and
an eccentric puppeteer uncle and now, a husband, for Noel Coward's "Fallen
Angels".
Back all but full circle now as Count John in Much
Ado about Nothing. |
As Mr. Gibbs
Robert McGregor
|
Robert McGregor
Actor: Arsenic And Old Lace;
The Vortex.
Robert woke up one day and decided to 'give acting a go'; as it happens,
the Canterbury Players company was able to accommodate him.
Robert's only previous acting experience was over 30 years ago in a school production of Ubu Rex (Ubu Roi). He seems to remember forgetting his opening lines but doesn't think anyone noticed.
He mentions, by way of an aside, that he is not suffering from a mid-life crisis, although he also tells us that he has recently started riding a motorbike. |
As Jonathan Brewster
Tony Johnson
Read more about Tony Johnson. |
Tony Johnson
Actor: RolePlay;
Much Ado About Nothing;
Arsenic And Old Lace; The
Vortex.
Tony made his acting debut in the first year at Grammar school, when he
was cast as the Virgin Mary in a Nativity play.
"The embarrassment of this put me off acting for about twenty years,
until I joined the Charing Guild of Players with the proviso that I would
play only male roles.
"I began this acting hobby more than forty years ago and despite appearing in over fifty Plays and Musicals since then, I'm still trying to get it right!
"The
Vortex is only my second Noel Coward play since "Blithe Spirit" in 1977 so I'm looking forward to the role of 'Pawnie' - an elderly maiden gentleman - as the playwright describes him!
Should be a lot of fun." |
As Dr. Einstein
As Officer O’Hara
Mike Ayris
|
Mike Ayris
Actor: La Ronde; Play
It Again Sam; Arsenic And Old
Lace; Day
After The Fair
Michael has been with the Canterbury Players for many years, first acting
in Sailor Beware at the old Marlowe. He went on to study theatre at the
Rose Bruford College and worked professionally for a time. His love of
acting keeps him in touch with the society and he is always open to new
challenges. |
As Lieutenant Rooney
|
Mark Charles Smith
Actor: For Canterbury Players Gosforth's
Fete; La Ronde; Fallen
Angels; The Accrington
Pals; Much Ado
About Nothing; Arsenic And Old
Lace
Sound Engineer for Blue Remembered
Hills.
For Chilham Players: Seasons Greetings
For Kent Shakespeare Company: Twelfth Night.
Mark is pleased to be back in rehearsal with the Canterbury Players
after a brief foray at Mt. Ephraim with Kent
Shakespeare Company's production of 'Twelfth Night'. He is looking
forward to his first 'farce'. (Comments will surely appear after that
statement!)
Mark has appeared in a number of Canterbury Players productions, as
well as end of year short films at universities in Canterbury and Hastings,
as a film extra for various productions filmed in Kent including "The
Other Boleyn Girl" and "Wild Child", in a Chris Tarrant
TV programme called 'Tarrant Lets the Kids Loose' and as a major player
in a KETV production
called 'The Sea Shall Have Them'.
Mark is looking for more TV and film work to get him out of the office
once in a while.
My Facebook page.
A recent video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LY9qcWjPomk |
As Mr. Witherspoon
Geoffrey Learner, Our Chairman and actor.
|
Geoffrey Learner
Chairman (2004 - )
Actor: Much Ado About
Nothing; Arsenic And Old Lace
Geoffrey began his acting career as Professor Theophilus Brainwave in
a sci-fi play at his junior school in the 1930s.
After being Secretary of his college dramatic society at university,
he became a junior school teacher and over his career directed more than
twenty plays on the school stage.
|
Retiring to Canterbury in 1989, he joined the Canterbury
Dramatic Society in 1998 for a production that never reached performance.
As Secretary, he helped to bring about the reuniting of C.D.S. with
Playcraft in 2003 and established the pattern of regular performances
before the public at the Gulbenkian Theatre, the Whitstable Playhouse
and other venues.
He has appeared in seven productions of the group and directed the performance
of the play ‘597’ connected with the unveiling of the statues,
in Canterbury, of Ethelbert and Bertha by Prince Michael of Kent in May
2006. Geoffrey appeared as Signor Antonio in Much
Ado About Nothing and Mr Witherspoon in Arsenic And Old Lace.
|
As himself.
Adam Hoskins.
|
Adam Hoskins
Actor: Arsenic And Old Lace
This is Adam Hoskins' first venture on to the stage, althought not his
first public appearance. His background is in retail, where he has appeared
as a male fashion model for a well known menswear store in Canterbury.
His role here was to stand motionless in the shopwindow for hours at a
stretch, not an easy task. He apologises in advance for his rather stiff
performance in this performance, but hopes it is nonetheless effective
and well received.
|
|
