Cheshire Cats

Cheshire Cats was written by Gail Young who in 2006 took the play to the Edinburgh Fringe with her local Society, Guilden Sutton Players and it was a sell out.  The story tells of a group of friends as they train to walk in the London Moonwalk in aid of breast cancer charity. They all have their own reasons for wanting to do this walk, to enjoy a girls’ night out or in a mission to support a worthy cause, with loads of laughs, a few blisters and tears along the way.

Director, Michelle had seen this play shortly after losing her mum and said she was blown away by this wonderful story. She was determined to direct it but with a different take on it by adding in some musical numbers and underscoring.

These 5 ladies and one man deliver their lines with wonderful characterisation and an incredible range of emotions. It was funny, sad, and had lots of touching moments, whilst being physically and mentally exhausting for this talented cast. Samantha Harvey played Hilary, appointing herself as leader and was determined to get her team round the course in record time. Her caring and diplomatic friend Siobhan was played by Alli Sparrow-Hewitt. Yvonne, played by Emmi-Dawn Garnett, was desperate to escape her family for a fun girly weekend. Maggie played by Debbie Osborne was the newcomer to the group and gave a very moving performance as her story unfolded at the end of the play. Katy Pointer was the glamorous divorcee Vicky, a fitness fanatic. One of their group had had to pull out of the walk and Vicky found a replacement in the shape of Andrew (Sam Broadley). He has his own poignant reasons for wanting to join them in this walk but was also determined to have a fun weekend by dressing up with the girls in a pink tutu and decorated bra.  There were also several good comedy cameo performances. All the cast and ensemble gave us some strong and well performed songs. The choreography by Michelle was artistic and with some great energy and enthusiasm from the cast (and the audience) in the participation section to begin Act 2.

The set mainly comprised of photos and videos projected onto the backcloth and these were also very effective in keeping the pace flowing as the minimal set was moved between scenes. Video editing was by Samantha Harvey and she had, along with the cast, sourced the props and costumes. The typical midnight walk pink sparkly costumes with bra tops were just perfect.

Well done to Michelle and all her cast and crew. I’m sure we and all the audience certainly did enjoy the performance and I think many of us left feeling rather emotional.

There was a very important reason for this performance and that was to raise money for The Blossom Appeal to build a new state-of-the-art Breast Care Centre at Ipswich Hospital. Deben Players had done their very best to increase donations with a memory wall in the foyer. They also incorporated some photos of loved ones they had lost and others who had been personally affected and these were projected onto the screen at the end of the show. It was a very poignant moment.  I have just heard they raised a total of £483.00

Very well done to you all.

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.