A Murder is Announced – Cast and Crew – The Marlow Players

The Cast

	Julia Simmons Anthea Platt Anthea is new to the Marlow Players and this is her first outing with them. She is an English teacher and has been recently involved in the drama in her school and has just played the “Princess” in a back to front pantomime of “Cinderella”. Her claim to thespian fame is starring alongside Hugh Grant as a twelve-year-old girl in the film “Privilege”. She plays Julia Simmons, Patrick’s sister, who has recently arrived at “Little Paddocks”
	Letitia Blacklock Gloria Kendrick One of the ‘modern’ Players stalwarts, Gloria is a multi-purpose actress taking on all roles from floozy to spinster. She has been with the Players for 6 years appearing in such productions as “The Weekend” (Distraught wife), “A Pack of Lies” (Spy) to her last part as the mistress in “Haywire”. In Letitia Blacklock we have a combination of these characters.
	Dora Bunner Maura Ross Maura has been with the “Players” more years than she cares to remember, appearing in more than 40 plays. Her favourites roles to date are Anne Shankland in Separate Table,s Jane Hopcroft in Absurd Person Singular and Marie in Hay Fever. Twenty years ago she played Mitzi in “A Murder is Announced“, tonight she plays Bunny, and is now on the receiving end of the line “..she is the screwy one!”. Bunny has recently moved in with her childhood friend Letty Blacklock.
	Patrick Simmons James Platt Apparently, when you get one Platt, you get them all. James is Anthea’s twin brother, (which is very helpful to the plot) and is his first outing ever on stage. He is currently reading for his Master of Studies at Oxford having gained his degree in history. His dashing good looks and penchant for the occasional tipple, made him a natural for the part of Patrick Simmons (brother of Julia), a young post war ex-Naval Officer staying with his aunt Letty.
	Mitzi Pip Stacey Another newcomer to the Players, Pip plays the part of Mitzi, a mid-eastern European maid, and a recent immigrant, with all the best one-liners. Pip comes to us from the Lane End Players where she performed for seven years. She has also taken part in the Wycombe Gang Show and we wish her well in her first outing for the Players.
	Miss Marple Hillary Cox A longstanding member of the Marlow Players, Hilary’s involvement has spanned roles, serious and comic, leading and supporting, as well as backstage. She appeared most recently as May Davenport in Noel Coward’s “Waiting in the wings”. However, as Miss Marple, she is reprising the part she played over 20 years ago.
	Phillipa Haynes Ellena Spisto Continuing the new faces theme, Elena has not acted a great deal before, but she was the first to learn her lines and shown great enthusiasm in rehearsals. She comes to via a Marlow Player with whom she works. She plays the part of Mrs. Phillipa Haymes, another of the waifs and strays that Letty Blacklock has taken under her wing.
	Mrs Swettenham Wendy Bailey Wendy has been with the players for many years now and has been backstage as prompt or props for several years. After her return to the limelight in Hugh Whitemore’s “Disposing of the Body” she went on to play the waspish Cora in “Waiting in the Wings” and now plays the nosey Clara Swettenham, wife of the late Henry Swettenham of the Diplomatic Service in Turin.
	Edmund Swettenham Nick Dewey Yet another new face for the Players, Nick does at least have an antecedent. The late Gil Anderson, our former President, trained him in basic acting. He has participated in a number of amateur productions within the Scout movement as well as a semi-professional production of the Greek tragedy “The Orestia”. Nick is playing the part of Edmund Swettenham, a young writer who has recently returned from Europe with his mother.
	Rudi Scherz Tony Bew In his sixth year with the Players, Tony has done most things; acted, directed, produced, stage-managed, built sets and is the current Chairman. In this play he has tried to do all of them in one production. One thing you cannot get him to do is to get off the stage. He plays the part of Rudi Scherz, a young Swiss national.
	Inspector Craddock Tony Konienczny This is Tony’s first time on stage with the Players for six years, but he has been a member for over 20. His debut was as Councillor Albert Parker in Priestly’s “When we are Married” and his favourite Sir David Metcalfe in Jeffrey Archer’s “Beyond Reasonable Doubt”. A proven second-rate actor, he was runner up best actor in both the King’s Lynn and Long Sutton Festivals in the late seventies. Tony plays Inspector Craddock, a copper who has rarely left these shores.
	Sergeant Mellors Stuart Sneddon Stuart’s second outing with the Players, sees him, due to pressure of work, in a much smaller role. With so many new faces around him, he is feeling like an old hand, but this is no excuse for him not learning his ten lines until a week before the production. His last role as the bone-idle Jamie Firth in “Haywire” is in stark contrast to the upstanding, cockney Sergeant Mellors.

The Crew

Director	Tony Bew
Stage Manager	Brian Plested
Set construction	Jeff Woodbridge Brian Plested Brian Couling
Costumes	Jane Newcombe
Prompt	Rachel
Lighting	Graham Everitt Briony Howe
Sound	Rod Paterson
Properties	Brian Plested Christine Parker
Front of house	Olive Smith
Assistant stage managers	Christine Parker Clare Burch
Posters	Christine
Telephone bookings	Olive Smith
Advertising	Clare Burch Olive Smith
Programme	Briony Howe
Transport	Alan Samson