Read an Interview with the Scarlet Pimpernel himself!

Pictures from the trip to Haslemere Wardrobe...

Read the Synopsis and buy the Broadway Cast Recording... 

Cast List

 _{Cast Photo by Lynda Barrett}

Who is this blasted Pimpernel?! 

A lot of Gilbert and Sullivan (with BODS and other societies) - I’ve done most of the operas apart from Grand Duke and Utopia Limited, I think -  and the odd operetta like ‘Christopher Columbus’ and things like ‘Brigadoon’ and ‘A Chorus of Disapproval’.

Which would you say was your favourite role?

Mmm ..well I enjoyed playing the lead role in Christopher Columbus. A man after my own heart, you know – a woman in every port (oops, I didn’t mean that Dear!)  and a nice sing as well actually (but bloomin’ high though!)

Any embarrassing moments?

I got my arm twisted to do a pantomime and I was one of the Ugly Sisters and I went off (stage) and promptly started changing and they were basically calling us … and we were saying ‘We’re not due on yet’. But we were – so I flew back on (stage) with a sheet wrapped around me and a wig on top and had to do all the dialogue in a state of undress!

Any other roles you would like to play?

I’d quite like to do Macheath in ‘The Beggars Opera’ but that’s a bit low for me. Whatever comes along!

What got you interested in playing Sir Percy Blakeney in ‘The Scarlet Pimpernel’?

Well, firstly a couple of people I know said ‘you must go for it – you’d be perfect for it’ but what actually decided it for me was the fact that there is quite a bit of comedy in the role .. and that’s something I happen to do reasonably well and enjoy doing. It’s nice to do something like that instead of the typical ‘dopey tenor’ parts. Most of them are pretty thick – probably to do with the vibrations in the skull or something, destroying the brain!

How did you feel when you heard you had got the part?

Very pleased indeed – I wasn’t expecting to get the part to be honest because I felt I did a pretty awful audition – but very pleased and I’m enjoying it very much.

What do you like about the character?

‘He’s a nincompoop Sir! – so I hardly have to act at all really!

And how is your French?

My French? Erm,  Je ne parle comme petit peut!

When you’re not rehearsing, what other things do you do?

Read and Drink! – I probably drink more than I should do but then that goes with the reading I always find! If you’re reading a good book, a glass of wine with it enhances the enjoyment. I probably read 4 or 5 books a week so I do quite a lot of reading. I cycle a bit .. and go to the pub, but that comes under drinking!

There are quite a few rumours (in the script) about the Pimpernel, so I thought you might be able to ‘put them to rest’. So, do you ‘swagger on a heath with several daggers in your teeth’?

Oh no! There’s a special thing for daggers – a special bandolier plus a spring-sheath of course!

Do you have any tattoos?

Not that I could mention! You’d have to ask the surgeon who did my last operation what he’s left behind!

Are you a ‘lusty lover’?

Well, I’m not latin!

Have you ever been for a ‘sail upon the Seine’?

No, but I have Bicycled in Brussels!

When was the last time you ‘danced in the Nude’?

Apart from in Pantomime? Weeks ago, I would have thought!

And do you have good ‘sea legs’?

I do actually – having done Christopher Columbus!

Thanks, Peter - and Bon Chance!

Pictures from the trip to Haslemere Wardrobe

^{Photos by Lynda Barrett}

Walk for Wigs - Sunday 17th September 2006
To raise money for the production, 12 people successfully completed an 8 mile sponsored walk (20200 steps according to Brian's pedometer!) on a lovely day!

Ann Staddon organised the walk and Gini King came to see us off with a Scarlet Pimpernel flag. We raised £670 towards the cost of the show

Synopsis
The story is set during the Reign of Terror of the French Revolution. Sir Percy Blakeney, a wealthy English aristocrat, has married the beautiful French actress Marguerite St. Just. However, on the night of their wedding, Percy learns that his wife betrayed his friend the Marquis de St. Cyr to the Revolutionary government, ultimately leading to the Marquis' execution by the guillotine. The Blakeneys' marriage grows cold and Percy determines to make amends for his friend's death by saving other innocents from the guillotine. Thus, he takes on the identity of "the Scarlet Pimpernel" and convinces some of his friends (subsequently called "bounders") to join him in his daring rescue attempts. The band pretend to be inane fops, effectively throwing off any suspicions about the identity of the League of the Scarlet Pimpernel.

Soon, the French agent Chauvelin is sent to England with orders to discover the identity of the Scarlet Pimpernel. He enlists the aid of Marguerite, threatening to have her brother Armand, also a member of the League, guillotined if she refuses.

Marguerite manages to have a conversation with the Scarlet Pimpernel, who remains hidden in the shadows, keeping his identity concealed. She tells him of Chauvelin's plans and explains that she betrayed the Marquis de St. Cyr under coercion. The Scarlet Pimpernel, Percy, sets out for France in order to save Armand. Still unaware of the Pimpernel's identity, Marguerite does the same. Disguised as a tart, Marguerite attempts to uncover information about her brother, but is quickly recognized and apprehended by Chauvelin. Marguerite finds her brother Armand in prison, but Chauvelin allows the two to escape, knowing that Armand will head for the hide-out of the Scarlet Pimpernel. They find him in a town on the French coast, where Marguerite learns her husband's true identity. Chauvelin confronts the Scarlet Pimpernel but is outwitted once again. Percy, Marguerite, and Armand escape safely to England.