Cast in order of appearance | |
Camille Chandebise | Ray Green |
Antoinette Plucheux | Sheila Young |
Etienne Plucheux | Geoffrey Wharam |
Dr. Finache | David Bartlett |
Lucienne Homenides de Histangua | Joy Steele |
Raymonde Chandebise | Mollie Manns |
Victor Emmanuel Chandebise | Graham Buchanan |
Romain Tournel | Richard Bowen |
Carlos Homenides de Histangua | Kenneth Spencer |
Eugenie | Ann Kitchen |
Augustin Feraillon | David Jupp |
Olympe | Sylvia Sherlock |
Baptistin | Peter Whiite |
Herr Schwarz | Michael Shailer |
Poche | Graham Buchanan |
Guests at the Hotel Coq D'Or | Sheila Chitnis, Harry Manns, Una Tompkins, Terence Pring |
For the Maskers: | |
Directed by | Kenneth Spencer |
Technical Director | Keith Hooper |
Stage Manager | John Schwiller |
Production Assistants | Ronald Avery, Bob Hart, Graham Barnes, Ron Tillyer, John Riggs, Roger Lockett, Karen Bartlett, David Cooke |
Set design, construction and decor | Kenneth Spencer, John Schwiller |
Costume hire | Bristol Old Vic |
Wardrobe Mistress | Serena Brown |
Lighting Design | Derek Jones |
Lighting and Sound | Bill Sloman |
Properties | Angela Stephens |
The Southampton Echo wrote:
The Maskers, no slouches when it comes to handling difficult material, are tackling one of the most difficult forms of theatre -- farce -- at the Nuffield Theatre this week.
One of the city's busiest amateur dramatic societies, the Maskers are presenting the classic Feydeau farce "A Flea in her Ear". An enterprise which could easily have left them flat on their faces, but after their exhilarating production of "Taming of the Shrew" earlier in the year they could hardly step backwards. Being of a literal turn of mind, farces, with their improbable misunderstandings used to irritate me. they have become an acquired taste. Done well they can be a joy of sheer technique. In "Flea" there is no shortage of unlikely blunders: doors to bang, or bedrooms to enter by mistake. It is when the doors really start swinging in the second act that Ken Spencer's fast-paced direction becomes almost a bit too hysterical.
Ken Spencer also takes the part of the jealous Spanish husband, De Histangua, one of the many performances from the men that make the production so lively. First and foremost there is Graham Buchanan (who directed "Shrew") in the double role of a moral, upright and priggish husband, Victor Emmanuel Chandebise and as the coarse drunken porter Poche. He alternates between the two with ease and at times his gestures and expressions are comic genius. Then there is Ray Green as Camille Chandebise who makes us laugh with him. Richard Bowen is the terribly nice languid lover, Tournel; Michael Shailer is the stilted German forever losing his girls at the vital moment; Peter White is an old servant in the hotel (sounding like a cross between Marty Feldman and the Goons), and David Bartlett is the over-rational Dr Finache. A production well worth seeing.
Jasmine Profit
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