Performed at the

Nuffield Theatre

on

30^th January to 3^rd February 1996

Cider with Rosie played to full houses throughout the week, the "House Full" boards being displayed outside the theatre on a number of occasions

Laurie Lee was born in 1914 in the Cotswold village of Slad, Gloucestershire where he spent his childhood.

Cider with Rosie, published in 1959, is Laurie Lee's best known work. It is a nostalgic and evocative account of his childhood in a secluded Cotswold valley, and describes a vanished rural world 'a world of silence...of hard work and necessary patience...of white narrow roads, rutted by hooves and cartwheels, innocent of oil or petrol'.

Laurie set out from his home 'one mid-summer morning' at  the age of nineteen to walk to London. He carried with him a tent, a violin, and only a few shillings and some biscuits and cheese in his pocket. He walked to Southampton because he wanted to see the sea (perhaps the tide was out when the choir outing went to Weston Super Mare!). Here he stayed in a down-town boarding house for a shilling a night and near there, under a bridge by the old Terminus station, he had his first experience of 'busking'.

After a few weeks he travelled along the coast as far as Worthing (he was moved on by a policeman whilst playing 'Bless This House' outside Chichester Cathedral and then on to London where he worked as a builder's labourer before setting off to Spain, walking from Vigo to Andalucia, paying his way by playing the violin. The account of his journey is described in the second volume of his autobiography As I Walked Out One Mid Summer Morning.

A Moment of War, the third volume of  Laurie Lee's autobiography published in 1991 is an account of  his return to Spain in 1937, when the country was in the grip of civil war.

He has described himself as a chance witness of 'the end of a thousand years of life'.

Laurie Lee returned to live in Slad and died in May 1997

The Southampton Evening Echo wrote:

Laurie Lee's nostalgic account of his childhood in a rural Cotswold village is brought to life on stage by the Southampton based amateur group The Maskers Theatre Company............. The set showed Laurie's home, the outside and a school room by using different levels on the stage ........... the story moved along at a gentle pace with many moments to make you smile ........ this production, directed by Mollie Manns was impressive.

Cast
Laurie	Brian Stansbridge
Mother	Sheana Carrington
Loll	Paul Taylor
Tony	Tom Stansbridge
Jack	Michael Coleman
Harold	Andrew Wagstaff
Phyll	Carmen Betteridge
Doth	Emma Carrington
Marge	Polly Morris
Midwife	Brenda Atkinson
Mrs Moore	Chris Baker
Crabby B	Sonia Morris
Miss Wardley	Belinda Drew
Assistant Teacher	Jan Ward
Spadge Hopkins	Carl Dunnington
Walt Kerry	Dominic Peckham
Granny Trill	Hazel Burrows
Granny Wallon	Philippa Taylor
Baker	David Jupp
Mrs Davies	Jean Durman
Mr Davies	Graham Hill
Vincent	Steve Clark
Youths	Carl Dunnington, Matt Betteridge, Emanuel Vattier
Girls	Claire East, Michelle Cox
Bar Maid	Jan Ward
Miss Flynn	Belinda Drew
Maurice	Alec Walters
Uncle Ray	David Pike
Uncle Sid	Geoff Wharam
Fred the Milk	Albie Minns
Rosie	Amy Stansbridge
Jo	Katy Ward
Betty Gleed	Linzi Harvey
Squire	Michael Patterson
Vicar	Graham Buchanan
Baroness	Julie Baker
Mrs Pimsbury	Chris Baker
With Hannah Stansbridge and Paul Woodman
Pianist	Belinda Drew
Violinist	Chris Nelson

For the Maskers
Director	Mollie Manns
Production and Stage Manager	Ken Spencer
Assistant Stage Managers	Georgia Emm, Tamasin Garland, Louise Merritt
Technical Coordinator	Ron Tillyer
Set Design	Ken Spencer
Set Construction	Bryan Langford, Geoff Cook, Douglas Shiell, Ron Randall
Lighting Design	Clive Weeks
Lighting Operators	Nathan Weeks, Edward Randall, Gemma Smith
Sound	Laurie Gee, Andy Roberts
Properties	Ella Lockett, Christel Mauffet
Poster Photograph	Hazel Burrows
Show Photography	Clive Weeks
Publicity	Michael Patterson, Philippa Taylor, Jan Ward, Harry Tuffill, Jim Portman, Vicky Griffiths
Programme Production	Sandy White
Wardrobe	Christine Baker, Hazel Burrows
Chaperones	Angela Stansbridge, Jan Ward

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