The Red Door Theatre Company has recreated a wireless program in its current production which is called Magical Moments Radio Show. There have been four shows so far and each has been pretty much sold out. There is one show left: at 2pm next Sunday, 14 April 2019, at St Peter's Anglican College, Broulee. You do not want to miss this cultural feast.
Some of us are old enough to recall the days before television, or at least the days before television became popular. My parents bought our first TV in 1963 when I was 13. Before that I can recall going down the road to a friend’s house to watch Popeye the Sailorman. It’s hard to think about what we all did when the nights were cold and dark outside. But we listened to the radio or, as my Father would have it, the wireless.
The show is in two parts. The first part recreates a 1930s wireless studio in a set that has been designed by The Red Door’s set design genius, Phil Barr.
The first part of the show is a recreation of a program hosted by the well-known (at the time) Jack Davey. Jack Davey was a popular presenter on the wireless and in 1955 one of Davey's contestants was a sixteen-year-old fellow called John Howard. That’s the one that became Prime Minister. Jeremy Kemp plays Jack Davey and is particularly impressive in the evening dress that radio presenters of the time always wore – even though you could not see them. This first segment contains a short comedy called The Plotters by Harry Junkin.
The second part of the show is a farce called Cancelled. It takes part in the same studio as The Plotters. Getting people to laugh at the right places in a farce is not easy. Almost by definition a farce is counter-intuitive, fast moving and full of double entendres. It needs a Director of consummate skill to coerce an unruly bunch of actors into performing so that the audience gets what’s going on. The Director of Magical Moments Radio Show is Linda Heald, her fourth play as director for the company.
The music for the show is provided by Stafford Ray and The Moonlighters. Stafford has worked tirelessly to find suitable tunes, to arrange them and to get The Moonlighters to sit still long enough to play them. Ruth Henderson joins The Moonlighters to sing the theme tunes from two very well-known 1930s adverts … songs that are about as catchy as a song can be. Jeremy Kemp croons Bing Crosby’s Faraway Places as if he was born to be a night-club entertainer.
Luke Ryan has once again done a tremendous job at the sound table. Producer Anthony Mayne acknowledged the production team work and efforts of Luke and Phil Barr in bring to life this wonderful play.
Finally, the stage management is superb. The stage manager is the person who ensures that every prop is in place, that every exit from the stage or entrance to the stage is managed and that the actors who are off stage keep quiet. The Stage Manager is Hendre Roelink. He would normally be an unsung hero. We are singing him here.
You can get your tickets ($20) for the final performance at Moruya Books, online at South Coast Tickets or at the door. It’s at 2pm next Sunday, 14 April 2019, at St Peter's Anglican College, Broulee.
Also, of course, thanks to our major sponsor: Southern Phone and other sponsors, South Coast Property Specialists & Moruya Books.
