Robin Hodges
 
Costume Design : Simona Hughes
 

Performance Dates & Times :
Tuesday 13th - Saturday 17th March at 7.45
Matinée on Saturday 17th March at 3.00
at the Rosemary Branch Theatre, Shepperton Road, Islington

Rehearsals will start on Sunday 22nd January and will be Monday - Thursday evenings + some Sundays.
Cast and crew may be needed all day on Monday 12th March for technical and dress rehearsals.

The director writes :
In a nutshell, this is a play about two racist, homophobic, potty mouthed couples from somewhere in East or South London, who have taken a summer trip to Brighton. Although the era is unspecified, information in the text indicates that it is probably set around the mid-eighties, while the approximate age group of the four central characters could be anywhere between 35 and 65 years old. The play is relatively short – only 26 pages long – and will run with no interval.

Although the four central characters are loud, boorish, and generally obnoxious, they are also desperately unhappy, and should be pitiable to a certain degree. As such, the play requires subtle, nuanced performances if it is to be successful: in the wrong hands, BBS could easily become a nasty, sneering, Wayne-and-Waynetta-Slob-esque parody, or an unrelenting shoutathon. So no Alf Garnett impressions please!

The characters are :

Derek (Age 35-65) : The ringleader of the group: a belligerent, self-important, opinionated bully, who seeks to impose himself on all around him. Underneath, he is desperately insecure, hence his fear and intolerance of anything or anyone that he doesn't understand.
Dinah (Age 35-65) : Dinah is married to Derek, a man who she loves and loathes in equal measure. Generally speaking, she is miserable and unfulfilled. Dinah echoes Derek's reprehensible views on race and sexuality, but articulates them with less bile. She has had children, and is subsequently a little large, something that makes her feel extremely self-conscious.
Dave (Age 35-65) : Dave is a coward. He rides on Derek's coattails, and changes his views whenever his friend takes umbrage with them, although he is man enough to stand up for his wife. He struggles to deal with conflict of any sort, and although his mouth is not a large as Derek's, whatever bark he has is far worse than his bite. Dave's relationship with Doreen is much happier than Derek's relationship with Dinah.
Doreen (Age 35-65) : Doreen is probably the most likable of the four central characters, although that's not saying much. She cares a lot for her friend Dinah, and is not afraid to stand up to Derek when he goes too far. However, she is still ignorant, uninformed and fairly repugnant.
Tom (Age 25-45) : Tom and Ted are two gay lovers who appear during the last quarter of the play. Tom is a bit camp, but not quite as effeminate as his companion. He is fiercely proud of his sexuality, leading him to stand up to Derek and Dave when they return to their deckchairs.
Ted (Age 25-45) : Although Tom is more prepared to stand up to intolerance, Ted is less afraid of flaunting their intimate relationship in public. He is camp, effeminate and rather genteel in his use of language.