Margaret Palmerone

Margaret Palmerone

Programme Notes  The Bumper Book Of Stirring Stories For Boys And Girls was published (albeit briefly) in October 1938, the brainchild of now-forgotten wit, raconteur, radical thinker and general know-it-all Travers Wagg. Casting about for a vehicle to promote his "vision", he hit upon the idea of a book of tales "for children of all ages". Contributions came chiefly from the dubious circle of poets, writers, drag-queens and talentless hangers-on Wagg had gathered around himself. Notorious for his controversial and establishment-baiting views, he had trouble placing the finished manuscript with a reputable publisher until bailed out by Toerag Press, a small company that specialised in lawnmower catalogues! The reviews were uniformly unsympathetic - "glib and obnoxious", "near pornographic", "shameful",  and, worst of all, "decidedly unfunny". Charged with being "likely to deprave and corrupt", Wagg was dragged through the courts and ultimately ordered by the judge to pulp the lot.
Luckily, a handful escaped and a bettered copy fell into my hands last year. But what was shocking in 1938 seemed rather tame by today's standards and Wagg's magnum opus revealed itself to be just a collection of breathlessly silly adventure yarns. Nevertheless, I was able to select seven tales that would provide a balanced theatrical experience, retaining all the characters and plot - only the jokes have been changed to protect the innocent! Edgar

Author! Author!  As anyone who remembers seeing Simon Temple-Meads and Count Braggadocio in my earlier plays may have realised, the programme notes above are just as fictional as the rest of it - just a way of providing a context for some ideas that wouldn't stretch to a full length play - or even a one act. She-Devils Of The Deep was written as a response to seeing another local group do a rather poor play where every laugh came from somebody saying "gonads" or something similar. So I decided to see if our audience would respond to a barrage of double entendres and naughty bits in the same way. (They did). "Just like a Carry On script", commented one of the group - there is no higher praise! Nowadays, of course, if I see a double entendre in one of my scripts, I whip it out immediately!
Some of the other bits didn't work quite as well and, although the Players did really well with the material, I suspect it may have been twice as funny at half the length Edgar

Director's Commentary  Another year, another Edgar. And I certainly wasn't going to let the parts of Bunty and Clegg get away from me and Sharon. Although being bossed about by my wife isn't much of an acting stretch! I think the rest of the cast enjoyed it too, and it was nice to involve Dermot again as the voice of the less-than-impressed Continuity Announcer. From a directing viewpoint it was a bit of a headache ensuring that the right cast members turned up to the right rehearsals at the right time!
Oh yes, you haven't lived until you've seen Terry's Dick! (Oh, come on, SOMEONE had to say it) David

Quote, Unquote  As usual, Edgar did it again. A bit different this time, but just as funny Terry
Playing four characters was a big jump from playing an elf, with only five or six lines to say, in Lords and Ladies.  I loved playing a space vampire although the wig did make me feel that I was about to start singing an Abba song. Louise was fun too - that moustache was very fetching, although it did have a habit of not sticking properly and ended up hanging half off my face! The She-Pirate was my favourite character, however I do think I looked more like Peter Pan, also my sword had a habit of falling on the floor...how annoying. Playing a blind person was hard I just hope it looked ok , but I thoroughly enjoyed it and I hope the audience did too Melissa
Definitely the best parts I've had to play up to now, playing evil old Uncle Jabez even if I did resemble Ming the Merciless. Space Captain Crater was great fun too. Hope they make a reappearance in the future sometime. Think the highlights for me were Matti's died-of-fright expression in The Moustache Of Terror and Neal's she-pirate (think he enjoyed that a little too much!!), both absolutely hilarious. Other mentions must go to Neal's song writing skills and Melissa's fantastic performance of his "Won't You Marry Me Vicar?"; I'll be whistling that tune for weeks. Also Laura for taking on three roles in her first ever foray into Am dram Simon
I enjoyed it. "I'm over here" has now become a catch phrase for anyone who came to see me! Highlights were Melissa's song, which was brilliant, and Neal made a very convincing she-pirate! Laura
If I'm right, and I invariably am, Bumper Book was enjoyed by not only myself but all the cast. Two roles meant I got the chance to swap costumes. Although swapping them with some guy who walked in off the street wasn't what I had in mind. On reflection I did get a gun pointed at me in both of my roles which is quite worrying. It was good to play the silly Count again and I was told I have the right looks for a radio actor Brian

Was I In That One?  Return of the Chameleons part IV. Tanya returned after a five(!) year absence, Margaret made her debut after answering an ad in the paper, Laura made her debut after being press-ganged by Simon and Mark said he couldn't resist appearing in another Edgar. Although his enthusiasm may have waned after being lusted over by Terry during She-Devils Of The Deep!