Director's Commentary  I had missed the opportunity to be involved in this play when my school performed it due to A Levels but I enjoyed seeing it. So I suggested it might be one the Chameleon Players might like to do. Because of the variety it was great fun to do and it kept its freshness through rehearsals and into the performances.  As we all had so many parts there was time for everyone to shine and I believe we'd never "consumed" as much alcohol in a play before. It was a personal pleasure getting it on and a lot of fun Jonathan

The Ups And Downs Of Epsom  Although the Hull Daily Mail didn't come to review us (surprise, surprise) they did give us the full colour front page of Fridays Arts Mail, so we can't complain too much. There was also a lengthy article inside featuring an interview with Ray. And this is what he had to say about Epsom Downs...
"First the audience sees the people clearing the course and then the families and the bookies arrive and set up. Eventually there is the race - with live commentary - and the aftermath until the event finally draws to a close. When Jonathan proposed the play we knew it was an odds-on winner. We always ask people to let us know if they have a particular play that would like to do. We are a good fun group and it seemed a good fun play to do and also a great challenge. Once under director's orders we had to brush up on our equine skills - and strength. As you can imagine, carrying an eleven stone man on your back while pretending to be a race horse isn't all that easy. We want to be as convincing as possible and not like pantomime horses.
In the production the stage is kept quite bare, its colour comes from the great variety of people at the event which includes both shady and conservative types - as well as horses and riders. Everybody plays about five or six characters each. It's an unusual idea, but it makes the whole thing much more interesting for the audience. What's more, it's a very human drama, race meetings are, of course, very interesting events".

Quote, Unquote  A great play. I still launch into Lord Rack’s long speech about Derby Day every time we pass a racecourse. It annoys Sharon no end. The script actually specified that the actors playing the horses should be naked - a sight for which the world is not yet prepared! Although changing from nearly naked to fully clothed in the space of one page was a fine art in itself. And I never did work out the horses motivation David
Left me with a love of oranges and ginger biscuits Helen
A star is born Phil

Was I In That One?  Mary made her debut playing a variety of female (and male!) roles. Phil was finally persuaded by his better half, Joanne, to appear on stage and was seen as a jockey, a horse and a gambling evangelist. And he can still remember all the runners in the 1977 Epsom Derby stakes.