Two For Tea

by Edgar Harrison

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Northern Theatre Studio2
Dec 3-5 1999

Two spoof whodunnits concerning the misadventures of tea-drinking amateur sleuth Lily Punnet, her public school sidekick Rhiannon and the incompetent Inspector Hardy.

The Unfortunate Cup Of Tea

Lily

Sharon Burton

Rhiannon

Natalie Marcus-McBride

Rachel Dovercourt Helen Robinson
Inspector Hardy Simon Kibblewhite
Montague Montcalm Andy Hodgson
Baron X Matti Kiviniemi
El Hombre Dermot Rathbone
Mrs Ocleot Jenny Stewart
Lady Margaret Montcalm Val Howell
One For The Pot

Rhiannon

Natalie Marcus-McBride

Lily

Sharon Burton

Smiling Jack Cummerbund

David Burton

The Lovely Lena Mandy Green
Signor Tetera Matti Kivniemi
Inspector Hardy Simon Kibblewhite
Dingy Ron Trumpet Andy Hodgson
Lucky Heather Val Howell
Isabel Charming Helen Robinson

Directed by Jenny Stewart
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Baron X and El Hombre put the screws on Montague The Lovely Lena comes out of hiding

I Don't Understand The Plot  First up was The Unfortunate Cup Of Tea with murder and mayhem at Montcalm Manor as Lily is ensnared in the evil machinations of oily foreign nobleman Baron Xímeca de Chá and his attempts to destroy the great British Cuppa and plunge the Empire into chaos. In One For The Pot Lily’s night at the theatre is ruined as flamboyant tea-swilling magician Signor Tetera is murdered on stage. Can Inspector Hardy expose the vaudevillian villain before the tea goes cold?

Director's Commentary  My first (and last) attempt at directing - harder than it looks; in difficult circumstances, i.e. an empty butcher's shop. Wonderful cast, when they turned up, but not always all at the same rehearsal! Jenny

Shouldn't It Smell Of Beef?  As the Lonsdale Community Centre was closed for building work we rehearsed this production in a disused butchers shop just round the corner which was freezing cold and smelled of fish.

Author! Author!  An author always has mixed feelings watching the first production of his work. First there's pride that the group thought this was good enough to put on in the first place, and then there's the nail-biting terror of waiting for the audience reaction. Very positive with laughs in most of the right places - to my great relief (not to mention surprise).  Simon Kibblewhite was magnificent. I'd never envisaged Inspector Hardy as an ultra-seedy combination of Columbo and Rigsby but now I can't think of him any other way! Edgar

Lily sees somehting strange in the tea leaves Simon Kibblewhite IS Inspector Hardy
I Can't Believe It's Not Samuel French  One audience member couldn't get their head round the fact that this was written by a member of the group as it was "too good". Now is that a compliment, or what?!

Was I In That One?  New arrivals in the shape of Dermot, Simon and Matti. Matti hailed from Finland and made his Chameleon debut as an English speaking Spanish nobleman. Now there's versatility for you. Simon was a real comic discovery so it was a shame he only did two more plays with us.

We Don't Want To Peak Too Early  On the final dress rehearsal of One For The Pot, we missed out two whole pages of dialogue including the vital clue that forces the murderer to confess, making the plot even more convoluted than it already was! We almost did the same thing on the Sunday night as well.

Quote, Unquote  Simon as Inspector Hardy – what else can I say! The trench coat has never recovered. Brilliant debut from Edgar Harrison Sharon
"Oh no", the hardest part I've ever done!
Andy
Simon's performance was... er... unique
Ray
Inspector Hardy - what more can I say
Mandy
I haven't laughed at the theatre so much for ages
Joanne

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