A Tomb With A View by Norman Robbins

Spring Street Studio Theatre
March 12-14 1987

In a sinister old library dominated by the portrait of a mad-eyed old man, a lawyer reads out a will, involving some millions of pounds, to an equally sinister family.

Cast

Hamilton Penworthy

Dave Barber

Lucien Tomb

David Burton

Dora Tomb

Val Howell

Emily Tomb

Jill Kennedy

Marcus Tomb

Richard Wood

Anne Franklin

Sarah Gregg

Agatha Hammond

Kathryn Hoyle

Freda Mountjoy

Marilyn Wade

Peregrine Potter

Brian Andrews

Monica Tomb

Liz Ratcliffe

Directed by Yvonne Berry

Mind Your Feet!

After finishing 'Delayed Arrival' with even less people than when we started, it was time for a major recruitment drive. So we put an ad in the Hull Daily Mail and optimistically chose a play with a large (-ish) cast. And all the new people who turned up got parts. Then it was back to the enclosed environs of Spring Street Studio Theatre so getting all ten of the cast (and the furniture) on stage was a bit of a tight squeeze. Two of the audience had their feet in the fireplace and Richard had to die almost in the laps of the front row!

Anne is unconvinced by Penworthy's offer to go for help
Agatha predicts more murder and mayhem Penworthy disposes of Freda
Quote, Unquote

Hull Truck aren't exactly on my Christmas card list but their little Studio Theatre was a godsend to us in the early days with there being a lack of decent performing spaces in the centre of Hull and the Film Theatre being financially out of our reach for more than one production a year. So their arrogant and condescending attitude was just something we had to put up with. But working in the Studio, they tended to ignore us completely and leave us to our own devices, which was fine by us. All I can remember of the play is messing up the first scene on the dress rehearsal and having to start again. We also performed Act I in the All-England Theatre Festival. Never a good idea just to do half a play and, accordingly, we came nowhere David
I like playing dotty old serial killer ladies Val

Was I In That One?

Marilyn never did another play with us. We got the impression that her husband regarded all actors as a bunch of queers and he didn't want her hanging around with us!

The Tomb family argue over their inheritance
The Audience Won’t Notice

Act One ends with Penworthy crashing through the French Windows with a knife between his shoulders and dying spectacularly. So on Friday night Dave Barber crashed through the French windows straight into the back of one of the chairs, breaking it in two. Not content with that, he went and expired in the wrong place. Peregrine was supposed to faint upon discovering the body. But, "He died in my fainting space", moaned Brian in the dressing room afterwards.